Petals of a Cherry Blossom - Chapter 2A - KazukixManabu
Title: Petals of a Cherry Blossom
Chapter: 2a/??
Author: atmosphere_zero
Beta-Reader: misfitmisfit (Thanks a lot! <3)
Genre: Angst, Comedy, Drama, Romance, School life, AU
Rating: R
Warnings: Abuse, Strong Language, Some Violence
Band(s): Alice Nine, Ayabie, Sadie, ScReW
Pairing(s)/Character(s): KazukixManabu, MizukixManabu, ToraxByou, KenzoxRui
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with the bands, people, artists, and musicians mentioned in the story. The story is a work of pure fiction and is in no way meant to represent or reflect the real bands, people, artists, and musicians mentioned in any way. Any similarities are pure coincidences. I do not make anything off of the story as this is simply meant for pure entertainment. No harm or disrespect in any way is intended.
Summary: Behind the fading color of the cherry blossom petals, the truth unveils itself.
Comments: Woohoo! Finally updated this story ヽ(；▽；)ノ I apologize for taking so long, but here it is, lol. This chapter is broken into two parts due to LJ's text limit so please read both parts（＾_＾）More in the author's note on the next part. Enjoy!
Previous Chapters: Chapter 1a/ Chapter 1b || Chapter 2a/ Chapter 2b || Chapter 3a/ Chapter 3b
Ring! Ring! Ring!
He rolled over in his bed at the sound of his alarm clock. He pounded his hand against the digital clock seeing the time was 7:45am. Aye, it was almost time for class.
He quietly got ready for class as he noticed Mizuki still sleeping on the top bunk bed. Manabu remembered last night that Mizuki stayed up cheerfully talking to his mother, but he had fallen asleep right through Mizuki’s obnoxious conversation. He didn’t want to listen to Mizuki and his mother. He wondered when Mizuki took a shower and went to bed.
As Manabu was tying up his shoe about ready to leave, he heard a polite knock on the door. That must have been one of Mizuki’s friends that he made yesterday.
He reached for his school bag and opened the door unprepared for who was at the doorway.
“Hello!” Kazuki loudly greeted him.
Manabu gasped at the sight. “Shh!”
“Huh? What’s wrong?” Kazuki blinked his eyes.
“My roommate is still sleeping.” Manabu lowly whispered.
“Ooh. Sorry.” Kazuki immediately apologized.
“What are you doing here?” Manabu softly inquired.
When they both heard Mizuki roll around in his bed, the both of them instinctively gazed over and anxiously watched Mizuki. Shortly afterward, Mizuki loudly snored relieving them of their fears. Phew. Manabu didn’t want to deal with Mizuki this early in the morning, and Kazuki preferred to avoid Manabu’s annoying roommate.
“Hey, obviously, I’m going to walk you to class. What’s wrong with that? Then we can get to know each other more!” Kazuki giddily explained to him.
Manabu sighed. He motioned for Kazuki to scoot further back so he could get out of the room. Once Kazuki took a few steps back, Manabu exited his room and shut the door behind him.
“How did you even get inside?” Manabu curiously asked.
“Me? I waited by the door until someone came out. Hehe.” Kazuki embarrassingly revealed.
There was something different about Kazuki’s face this morning…
“Did you eat breakfast yet?” Kazuki interrupted his train of thoughts.
Manabu shook his head. “Not yet.”
“Cool! Let’s go eat together then!” Kazuki declared.
XOXOXOXO
Rui depressingly gazed out his window watching the scenery pass by him. He sat in the passenger seat while Kenzo drove.
Kenzo heard about the commotion Kazuki created last night with his brother. Unfortunately, he was away on important business and therefore could not prevent the situation from escalating to that level. He would have stopped Kazuki from acting irrational around Rui. Now, he was slightly upset at Kazuki, but he knew Kazuki didn’t mean it. Still… He swore to himself to always protect Rui…
“What are you staring at, Kenzo?” Rui noticed Kenzo lost in his thoughts.
“Are you all right from last night?” Kenzo kindly asked.
“I’m fine. I’m fine. It was just a little bruise. Nothing serious.” Rui waved it off as if it meant nothing. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school with Kazuki-nii-san?”
Kenzo’s heart twanged at the words. Ever since, his parents abandoned him at the age of three, Kazuki’s father took him in and trained him to be, in lame man’s term, an assassin. He was cold-hearted and a bastard since the world had treated him unfairly. For most of his life, he viewed his existence in life to simply kill others. When he was assigned to protect Kazuki, he only did what he was told and slaughtered people like worthless animals… until he laid eyes upon Rui.
“The chauffer was sick today and I couldn’t bear the thought of you missing school.” Kenzo calmly fabricated a legitimate excuse.
At first, he thought Rui was slightly annoying and irritating. He couldn’t understand how someone could be so sheltered from the world’s tainted cruelty. Bit by bit, as he was forced to hang out with Rui more often, his frozen heart started to thaw. Rui showed him the brighter side of world and how there was still hope in humanity. Rui carried the belief that there was always a good side to any situation. After getting to know Rui, he discovered his reason for existing.
Before he would have gladly died for no reason, but now he was fighting for his survival. He was fighting to survive, to stay alive, and to shield the only person who ever cared about him.
“You’re constantly looking out for me, Kenzo. I’m not a baby, you know.” Rui pointed out.
“I’m sorry if I offended you.” Kenzo humbly apologized. “I was merely worried about you. That’s all.”
Rui wryly smiled at Kenzo’s comment. He wished Kazuki could feel the same way about him. All he ever wanted was acceptance and love from his older brother. The incident from last night reminded Rui that Kazuki didn’t seem to want to have any part of him. His only living blood brother didn’t even like him. He couldn’t understand what he did wrong to his older brother. He tried very hard to think about any incident he caused that may have offended Kazuki, but he couldn’t. He just couldn’t.
“Rui-sama?” Kenzo’s voice echoed in his ears.
“I’m sorry. I was just thinking about Kazuki-nii-san.” Rui honestly revealed to Kenzo. “Some days, I wonder why he doesn’t like me. I wonder if I ever did something to offend him… He doesn’t seem to like me.”
Kenzo softly sighed to himself. Even to him, Kazuki was a complex character. From what he could deduce, Kazuki simply despised Rui because of the difference in treatment that their father gave them. He treated Kazuki as a business partner while he deeply cared for Rui like an affectionate father. Kazuki must have taken out his frustration and anger onto Rui. If only there was something Kenzo could do to lessen the hate between them. Unfortunately, it wasn’t his place to do much of anything.
“The only thing he ever gave me was Maru-san, but even then he wasn’t there on my birthday. You gave it to me. Not him…” Rui sadly turned his head away staring out at the window.
This family was drowned in too much sorrow. Kenzo didn’t know much about this family, but from what he saw and heard… He wished he could have the power to change it all.
XOXOXOXO
When Manabu and Kazuki arrived to the cafeteria, Kazuki gladly took Manabu’s tray and paid for his portion as well. Manabu was flabbergasted by how Kazuki could treat him like a woman. They ended up sitting near the window where the beautiful view of the school laid before their eyes. Manabu took note of the food Kazuki ordered. Strange. He usually had hot soup for breakfast. How come not today?
“Hmm… The cafeteria cooks such great food!” Kazuki complimented.
Manabu spotted Kazuki’s left cheek bruised as if someone had punched it with tremendous force. What happened to him yesterday?
“What happened to your left cheek? Did you get into some fight?” Manabu bluntly asked him.
Ack, the bruise was kind of too obvious to hide. What kind of lame excuse could he give Manabu? He didn’t want to tell him the truth.
“Oh. Haha! You know my reputation. People are always picking fights with me. It’s nothing serious to worry about.” Kazuki painfully brushed it off.
“You sure? It looks serious.” Manabu persistently asked.
For someone who didn’t like the mafia, Manabu seemed quite concerned with him. He was surprised Manabu even bothered to further interrogate. Most people would have shrugged the matter off without any thought. What was up with this guy?
“I’m positive! I’m positive!” Kazuki nodded his head. “Now, hurry up and eat! Don’t want to be late to class.”
Kazuki immediately stuffed food into his mouth to avoid Manabu’s questions. Manabu sensed it was something else more than a simple fight. He only thought this because he knew the difference between the bruises from his classmate and the bruises from his father…
After the silent breakfast, Kazuki noticed they had a little time before class started and decided to show Manabu the pathway of the cherry blossom trees.
“You saw this yesterday, right?” Kazuki pointed at the breathing taking sight of the cherry blossom trees.
“Why do you ask?” Manabu gazed at the row of breathtaking trees.
“The school is famous for them. Did you know?”
“I heard about it. What’s your point?” Manabu didn’t understand why Kazuki was showing him this before class.
Actually… what the hell was his point? Why did he bring Manabu all the way out here? The only person he brought was Kenzo, but that was because Kenzo constantly watched over him. Other than that, he didn’t even bring his supposed “closest” friends. And yet he barely knew Manabu…
“Er… Well… This is kind of like my quiet place where I can get away from everybody.” Kazuki quickly fabricated as the words slipped out of his mouth.
Huh? Kazuki came here to get away from people? Manabu never would have thought, out of all people, Kazuki wanted to be alone. He seemed like the guy who loved being around people.
“I mostly come here to think and meditate. I know I sound like an old person, but it’s nice to be alone sometimes.”
Manabu sensed an honest tone beneath Kazuki’s words. How could Kazuki be part of that horrible mafia Mizuki described? The more Manabu saw Kazuki, the more he believed Kazuki was anything but that horrible mafia person.
“Do you like this place?” Manabu curiously inquired.
Did he like this place? It was the first time anyone asked him such a frivolous question.
“Yeah, I suppose.” Kazuki seriously responded.
“Me too.” Manabu, surprisingly, agreed with Kazuki.
The wind gently swayed the cherry blossom petals and some of the flowers flew off of the trees. The petals of the cherry blossom surrounded the scenery, but all Kazuki could see was Manabu standing right in front of him and nothing else in sight.
XOXOXOXO
Manabu arrived to class just barely in time before the bell rang. He got carried away being with Kazuki in the cherry blossom pathway. He noticed the desk next to his was empty. He wondered why Mizuki was missing. Was he in the room still sleeping?
Kazuki headed to class and took his seat in the back. He noticed Kenzo already there with a book propped open. He didn’t bother to greet Kenzo as he took the seat next to him. He figured Kenzo was with his little brother, Rui. Kazuki suspected Kenzo developed feelings for Rui, but he didn’t bother to interrogate. He simply didn’t care.
From the corner of his eye, Kenzo watched Kazuki sit in his seat partially dazed out for some reason. Kenzo wondered what could cause Kazuki to be in such deep thought before class. Did something happen?
The day rolled by much faster than Manabu thought. He almost expected Kazuki to find him for lunch, but oddly felt disappointed when he didn’t see Kazuki. Ah, right. He was part of the mafia… He probably had more important matter to do during his free time. But he was surprised to see Mizuki still missing. As much as he thought Mizuki might have been annoying, he worried about Mizuki not showing up and missing the important lecture and homework. Unconsciously, Manabu grabbed two sheets of paper. One for himself and the other for Mizuki. He even wrote his notes neater this time for Mizuki to read later on.
Damn. What was he doing? He hardly knew Mizuki…
When it came time for art class, Manabu forgot that Kazuki was his partner until he saw Kazuki already there sitting alone. He noticed how the class had their backs toward him as he stared at everyone with an unexplainable melancholy. Everyone seemed to ignore his presence happily chatting away to themselves. Manabu was baffled by the sight. If Kazuki was as powerful as everyone claimed, wouldn’t they pay more attention to him? Instead, he found just the opposite. No one cared about him. No one even gave a shit that he was sitting without any company.
Kazuki gazed at the others joyfully gossiping about their friends and what plans they had for tonight. He wished he had a group of friends like that. But everyone was too afraid to associate with him. They turned their backs simply in fear and didn’t bother to get to know the real him. Any time he came within close distance to anyone, they all scurried away like he was some infectious disease. And those that got close to him were only after his money. He didn’t understand. Was he such a scary person? He tried to be friendly, but… but… He-
Manabu approached Kazuki and said, “Hey.”
The sorrowful countenance on Kazuki’s face immediately disappeared as he widely grinned. “Hey! I was wondering what took you so long.”
“My class was on the other side of campus.”
“Ooooh. I was beginning to worry that you wouldn’t come to class today. Then I would be all by myself. That would be absolutely terrible!” Kazuki spoke in such a light-hearted tone.
Despite how Kazuki sounded, Manabu had a feeling that it was a façade to disguise his real feelings.
During class, Kazuki pestered Manabu while partially fooling around. He acted as if he didn’t know what he was doing half of the time and purposely marked up a part of Manabu’s arm with black marker. Manabu became easily annoyed and irritated by his actions. Kazuki enjoyed seeing Manabu so easily aggravated or irked by his childish actions. It was quite cute and adorable of him.
Manabu could hardly stand Kazuki’s stupid antics and had to constantly remind Kazuki to complete the project at hand. He had to restrain himself from beating Kazuki to a pulp. He couldn’t get in trouble in class over something stupid Kazuki did. To the outside world, it seemed the atmosphere between the two of them was like best friends who had nothing to hide from each other. It was odd and almost unreal that Kazuki was interacting so friendly with someone he hardly knew…
After class, Kazuki said he would pick up Manabu when classes were over so they could eat dinner together. And he did just that. Manabu wasn’t sure how Kazuki found him, but somehow he knew what Manabu’s last class was and where it was located. During dinner, Kazuki and Manabu conversed about school and some of the teachers. Kazuki did most of the talking and complained about eighty percent of the time, but Manabu didn’t mind since he chuckled at some of Kazuki’s ridiculous jokes. Without even realizing it, Manabu felt at ease and comfortable listening to someone else’s story while Kazuki didn’t have to restrain in saying how he felt in front of Manabu.
Just like yesterday, Kazuki adamantly insisted on dropping Manabu off at his room. Manabu wasn’t sure why Kazuki wanted to escort him back.
“Ah, I always get so sad when I see your door.” Kazuki frowned when they arrived.
“Huh?”
“Ah! Nothing. I’ll see you tomorrow then, right?” Kazuki changed the subject.
“Okay.”
“All right. Bye!” Kazuki waved his hand and made his way out of the hallway.
Manabu watched Kazuki slowly leave. Where did Kazuki go after he left him?
He shook his head snapping back to reality. Aye, what was he thinking about? Manabu opened the door only to find Mizuki sitting at his desk surrounded by a plethora of tissue papers.
“Oh, no! Manabu-san!!! Why didn’t you wake me up?!” Mizuki cried.
“Huh…?” Manabu blinked his eyes.
“I overslept and you didn’t wake me up? How could you ignore your roommate like that?” Mizuki was bawling in tears.
Oh, crap. Mizuki missed class because he overslept? God. He didn’t think Mizuki slept in.
“I…” Manabu wasn’t sure what to say.
“I hope I didn’t miss much.” Mizuki sniffled.
Manabu sighed as he took out his folder and proffered out the paperwork, which he grabbed for Mizuki. “Here.”
Mizuki peered up with a distinctive shine in his eyes due to the light. “School work…? Manabu-san got this for me?”
“Here. Just take it.” Manabu waved the papers in the air hoping Mizuki would get over the fact and move on.
Mizuki’s suspicions about Manabu’s real personality were right. Manabu was a nice, softie on the inside, but he didn’t know how to show it to the rest of the world.
“Oh, Manabu-san. Thank you so much! How do I ever repay you?” the tears disappeared from Mizuki’s eyes.
Mizuki came over, snatched the papers out of Mizuki’s hands, and wrapped his arms around Manabu. Manabu instinctively stiffened at the touch of Mizuki’s warm body. He had never been this close to anyone.
“Just don’t bother me.” Manabu muttered under his breath.
Manabu could barely breathe for some reason. Mizuki’s body this close to his made him nervous. “Can you get off of me?”
Mizuki didn’t even realize how tightly he had been squeezing Manabu. “Hehe. Sorry.”
Manabu readjusted his clothes and wiped it off acting as if there was dust. Mizuki widely grinned and suggested, “Hey! Why don’t we hang out this weekend?”
“This weekend?” Manabu repeated his words.
“Yeah! As a way of saying thank you.” Mizuki explained himself.
He remembered he had plans with Kazuki this weekend. Damn. How could he explain this to Mizuki without causing chaos?
“I have plans already with Kazuki-san.” Manabu decided to reveal the truth.
“What?!” Mizuki’s eyes widened to the size of grapes. “But it’s dangerous. He could do something bad to you.”
“I know you mean well, but I don’t think he will.” Manabu flat out revealed his feelings.
Manabu headed to his desk and started to put his belongings in the right places. Mizuki watched Manabu studiously unpack his bag. Manabu would be hanging out with Kazuki this weekend. What would be they doing? Oh, no… Would Kazuki do something terrible to Manabu?
Goddamn. What could he do to protect Manabu?
XOXOXOXO
Kazuki cautiously entered the house hoping he wouldn’t find anyone. He breathed out a sigh of relief. He didn’t have a curfew, but he hated to see his father this late at night.
“Meow.” Maru approached him.
Kazuki sighed seeing Maru. He bent down and softly stroked her back. He remembered Kenzo forced him to personally pick her out of a shelter home for pets. She was only a kitten when he picked her out and now she had grown so big. He recalled when he first saw her that she was sitting in that cage alone and lonely wearing such a sorrowful countenance. The vets of the place informed Kazuki that the original owner had abandoned her after her mother gave her birth. He specifically picked her out because he found a part of himself in her. His mother left him as did her mother. Even if he couldn’t love Rui in the way he was supposed to, he hoped, by choosing Maru, she could give Rui the love that he wouldn’t ever be able to show him.
“Maru-san? Where are you?” Kazuki heard Rui’s voice.
“You better go back to your owner. He’s waiting for you.” Kazuki told her.
She longingly stared at him as if trying to guilt trip him. He wryly smiled at her. “Dammit, don’t look at me like that. Go back to your real owner, okay?”
“Meow.” she cried out at him.
Kazuki heard Rui’s footsteps approaching closer. Oh, shit. He took his hand away and swiftly left to hide behind the staircase where there was only darkness.
“Goodness, Maru-san. I was worried about you. Where did you go?” Rui bent down to pet Maru.
She meowed as if trying to tell Rui something. Rui blinked his eyes and chuckled. “Goodness, Maru-san. You must be hungry. I’ll go get you some food. Let’s go.”
Rui picked her up even though she meowed several times to tell Rui about Kazuki’s presence. Kazuki watched the scenery from behind the staircase where there was no light. Good thing Rui didn’t know he was here or he would try to get Kazuki to talk to him. And he didn’t want to deal with Rui.
“Rui? What are you doing?” their father appeared.
“Oh. I dozed off reading and when I woke up Maru-san was missing so I went to go look for her.” Rui explained.
“I see. You made me worry for a second that something else happened,” their father kindly told him. “By the way, I’m going to Kumamoto next week. Would you like to come along?”
“Really? I can go? I want to see all of those castles. Oh, boy! Can I bring Maru-san along, too?” Rui spewed out millions of words.
Their father chuckled at Rui’s excitement. “Of course.”
“Is Kazuki-nii-san coming along, too?” Rui surprisingly inquired.
Their father paused in his thoughts as he shifted his eyes upward toward Kazuki’s direction.
Shit! His father knew Kazuki was standing there watching. Kazuki started to breathe heavier as his whole body tensed up.
“We’ll see if he finishes his school work,” their father suavely answered as he wore a smile.
“Oooh, okay.” Rui agreed.
“Now, let’s go back to the study room…” their father said as Rui and him walked away.
Kazuki should have known his father would have detected about his presence. After all, it was his father who taught him all of those dirty tricks to defeat your enemy. Dammit. He gripped onto the staircase railing and bit on his lip. He scoffed thinking about the conversation. That was right. He never once went on a vacation with Rui and his father. No… He never went anywhere. If anything, he always went by himself. No one cared about him. No one loved him. Not even his mother… who left the family when he was still a baby.
If that was the case… what did he have to live for? What was his reason for existence? Who did he have to protect…?
XOXOXOXO
The rest of the week played out in the same pattern. Kazuki came to pick him up everyday, brought him to class, and ate lunch and dinner with him, although Mizuki tried to butt in all the time and warned Manabu that Kazuki was a dangerous person. Manabu mainly ignored his words. He knew Mizuki had the best intentions, but he knew what it was liked to be ignored and given first judgment without any trial. It had always happened to him. He wasn’t going to do the same to Kazuki. Even if Kazuki was the son of a big mafia boss, that didn’t necessarily define Kazuki as a frightening gangster.
Mizuki couldn’t understand why Manabu kept on shoving him away. He tried to warn Manabu several times, but Manabu paid no attention to his warnings. Mizuki secretly prayed that nothing would happen to Manabu, but Kazuki was a tricky person to be around. Gosh… Why was Manabu making him so worried? He found himself acting like a mother or… or… Argh! And he barely even knew him. But he couldn’t help it. Manabu was his roommate and good friend. He couldn’t let Kazuki hurt Manabu. Not on his watch.
By the time weekend rolled around, Manabu remembered he had a “date” with Kazuki. Kazuki told him to meet him in the cherry blossom parkway. He wondered why there out of all places.
That morning, he got up early seeing Mizuki out of his bed already. Where did Mizuki go? Oh, well. At least he wouldn’t impede on Manabu’s outing with Kazuki. He remembered last night Mizuki tried to dissuade him in going, but Manabu wouldn’t budge from his opinion. He couldn’t betray Kazuki and back out at the last minute.
Manabu wore a plain tee shirt and a pair of old fashioned jeans. Compared to the stylish clothes Kazuki wore all the time, Manabu was feeling inferior. Bah.
He swiftly left his room when he realized the time. Crap. How could he be running late already?
Kazuki widely yawned as tears flowed out of his eyes. He made sure to get there an hour early in case Manabu was already there. Usually, he would be terribly late to these dates, but he couldn’t afford to have a bad reputation around Manabu. Besides, his main goal was to get Manabu to have eyes only for him.
Kazuki peered at his watch noticing that Manabu was late! Ten minutes late. Aye. He got here early for nothing?
When he turned around, he spotted Manabu running toward him in a hurry.
“What took you so long?” Kazuki asked.
“Sorry. I got up late.” Manabu panted for breath.
He noticed Kazuki was wearing a short-sleeved thin black jacket, a long flowy shirt, which barely covered the left side of his hips and the right side of the shirt extending onto his crisp, navy blue jeans, that had several belts wrapped around it, and boots which extending up to his calves. Not to mention that he wore several necklaces and rings on both hands. God, Manabu was feeling a little plain for the occasion. Kazuki completely dressed up in style while he looked like he was going to volunteer. He had to admit that Kazuki was handsome and good looking wearing those fashionable clothes.
“Oh, my god!!” Kazuki loudly gasped.
Manabu was wearing a plain tee and worn out jeans?! He looked like he was still in junior high school!
“What?” Manabu was puzzled by Kazuki’s words.
“Manabu-san, I didn’t know you were so deprived of good clothing. Not to mention, how long has it been since you’ve changed glasses?” Kazuki sporadically mentioned.
“Since middle school.” Manabu answered without any thought.
“Goodness, Manabu-san! Today, I’m going to take you shopping for some new clothes and get you a pair of new glasses!” Kazuki declared.
“What? But I can’t-” Manabu was about to protest against the idea.
“No buts! It’s something that has to be done!” Kazuki cut him off.
“But I’m fine. I-”
“Let’s go! We don’t have any time to waste!” Kazuki grabbed Manabu’s wrist and dragged him along.
“Wait!!” Manabu hollered as Kazuki took him away.
He was afraid of what Kazuki had in mind.
XOXOXOXO
Rui waited in the cherry blossom garden located behind the house. Ever since he was a child, he remembered he stumbled upon this garden on accident and found his older brother, Kazuki, sitting here peacefully staring at the trees. He wanted to approach Kazuki that day, but it was rare to see his older brother with such a tranquil face. Actually, it was the first time Rui saw Kazuki with such a relaxed face… Since then, Rui came here as well and slowly came to understand why Kazuki always came here. Being here took Rui’s mind away from reality, but he knew it was no perfect solution to simply run away from the cruel reality.
“Rui-sama?”
Rui recognized Kenzo’s voice right away. “Hi, Kenzo.”
“Meow.” Maru softly cried out.
She jumped up onto Rui’s lap and comfortably rested her body on him. Rui smiled as he stroked Maru. She was the only bond he had with his older brother, Kazuki.
“Are you planning to go anywhere today?” Kenzo inquired.
Rui sighed thinking about what happened the other night with Kazuki. Rui was about to answer, but then paused. What was another way he could understand his older brother, Kazuki?
“Rui-sama?”
“Kenzo! Where does Kazuki-nii-san like to go in his spare time?” Rui eagerly inquired.
“Well…” Kenzo thought about where Kazuki liked to spend his time.
Most of the time, Kazuki spent time alone in the cherry blossom pathway at school or sat in the bookstore or library reading books on end. He didn’t go to other places. Ever since Kazuki left his group of friends, he had been alone and remained that way for a while. He didn’t do activities with other people anymore. That was why Kenzo was surprised when Kazuki told him he had a date with someone. And it wasn’t just a random person. It was Manabu-san.
“Kenzo? Are you there?”
“Of course. I will show you where he goes.” Kenzo answered him.
XOXOXOXO
Manabu thought they were going to take the train, but Kazuki drove Manabu in a nice American Ferrari car. Manabu’s jaw dropped as he was completely flabbergasted unable to create a coherent statement about Kazuki’s Ferrari car. He had only seen these cars in commercials or online. He never thought he would see one in person… much less ride in one. When he got inside of the car, it was made out of smooth, beige leather. Not to mention that the scent of the inside was fresh and clean. But he noticed the lack of decoration around the car. He wondered why Kazuki didn’t have some stupid bobble head decoration or an ornament hanging around the rear view mirror. For some who was filthy rich, Manabu couldn’t understand why his car looked as if he bought just yesterday.
“You looked flabbergasted.” Kazuki commented.
“I’ve never rode in one. How do you expect me to react?” Manabu openly stated.
“Well, today will be your first for many things!” Kazuki winked as he slid into the driver’s seat.
Manabu wasn’t sure what Kazuki was referring to until he registered the deep meaning behind Kazuki’s perverted statement.
“You! You pervert!” Manabu pointed his finger at him.
“Hmm? What are you talking about?” Kazuki played dumb.
Manabu clenched his teeth together. How could Kazuki make such a vulgar statement? “Nothing like that today!”
“Nothing like what?” Kazuki blinked his eyes.
“Argh!!” Manabu let out a deep breath.
He couldn’t believe Kazuki was playing with him! Although, he didn’t expect someone like Kazuki who was in the mafia to create some heartily joke as this.
Kazuki chuckled to himself seeing Manabu’s angry, but cute expression. He loved to provoke Manabu whenever he got the chance. He normally wouldn’t jest around with others, but around Manabu, his whole body was at ease and he could let loose. He didn’t have to worry about Manabu backstabbing him.
“Hurry up and hop in! We’ve got lots of place to go!” Kazuki patted the passenger seat next to him.
Manabu took a seat in the passenger’s seat and blew a raspberry at him since he was still upset with Kazuki. Kazuki chuckled with a devious grin on his face.
Once they hit the road, Kazuki showed off his driving skills by almost getting them killed in swerving to their destinations at the last second. Manabu scolded Kazuki for being reckless as Kazuki embarrassingly laughed off his mistakes.
They ended up going to stores that he would have never dared to walk into, much less purchase any of these outrageously priced items. Kazuki picked out insanely expensive brand name shirts, jeans, pants, shoes, and any other possible clothing for him. What was even stranger was they didn’t have to pay for anything. Everyone merely bowed as Kazuki browsed and picked out the desired merchandise.
When they entered another store, Kazuki immediately dragged Manabu to one of the clothes rack picking out which and what. Kazuki, acting like a gentleman, held the shopping bags that had all of Manabu’s new clothes. Manabu deeply sighed growing tired from the nonstop shopping. He had never been forced to try on this many clothes and enter so many stores in one day.
“Kazuki… can we take a rest?” Manabu asked.
But Kazuki didn’t respond since he was too busy inspecting more clothes. Manabu went over to take a seat on one of the cushioned chairs to wait for Kazuki. When he sat down, he saw himself in the mirror. He peered down at his own clothes and started to examine them. These were clothes he had worn ever since he could remember. He couldn’t afford to buy much especially since his grandmother was poor.
“Hey, Manabu!” Kazuki rushed over toward him. “I think I found the perfect piece of clothing!”
Manabu saw that he was holding onto a sleeveless cardigan sweater. What was this for?
Kazuki placed the sweater in front of Manabu. “Hmm. I think this will work!”
“What are you talking about?” Manabu didn’t know what he was doing.
“Alright, Manabu-san! Let’s get changed!” Kazuki declared.
“What are you talking about, Kazuki-senpai?!” Manabu shouted as Kazuki started to push him into the dressing room.
Kazuki stopped for a moment when Manabu said his name. Manabu… called him by his name? And he didn’t even bother adding ‘-sama’ at the end of it like most people. Was this… progress?
“Oooooh! You knew I was your senpai??” Kazuki eagerly asked him.
“W-what? I just heard about it in school that you are a second year.” Manabu embarrassingly admitted.
He happened to overhear it when a few girls were talking about Kazuki’s family. They mentioned Kazuki was studying law and how he aced every single class he took… even the hardest theory classes… except for art. Manabu wondered how Kazuki could have failed such an easy class compared to those difficult theory classes.
“Ooooh. Does this mean that Manabu-san has some interest in me?” Kazuki spoke in a chipper tone.
“Doesn’t mean anything. I just happened to hear it.” Manabu denied Kazuki’s statement.
“Ooh, well… I suppose it’ll take some time to admit that you want to be my friend!” Kazuki happily stated.
“What? I-”
“Let’s get you changed then!” Kazuki shoved him inside.
“Ahhh! Kazuki-senpai!!”
Part B
Chapter: 2a/??
Author: atmosphere_zero
Beta-Reader: misfitmisfit (Thanks a lot! <3)
Genre: Angst, Comedy, Drama, Romance, School life, AU
Rating: R
Warnings: Abuse, Strong Language, Some Violence
Band(s): Alice Nine, Ayabie, Sadie, ScReW
Pairing(s)/Character(s): KazukixManabu, MizukixManabu, ToraxByou, KenzoxRui
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with the bands, people, artists, and musicians mentioned in the story. The story is a work of pure fiction and is in no way meant to represent or reflect the real bands, people, artists, and musicians mentioned in any way. Any similarities are pure coincidences. I do not make anything off of the story as this is simply meant for pure entertainment. No harm or disrespect in any way is intended.
Summary: Behind the fading color of the cherry blossom petals, the truth unveils itself.
Comments: Woohoo! Finally updated this story ヽ(；▽；)ノ I apologize for taking so long, but here it is, lol. This chapter is broken into two parts due to LJ's text limit so please read both parts（＾_＾）More in the author's note on the next part. Enjoy!
Previous Chapters: Chapter 1a/ Chapter 1b || Chapter 2a/ Chapter 2b || Chapter 3a/ Chapter 3b
Ring! Ring! Ring!
He rolled over in his bed at the sound of his alarm clock. He pounded his hand against the digital clock seeing the time was 7:45am. Aye, it was almost time for class.
He quietly got ready for class as he noticed Mizuki still sleeping on the top bunk bed. Manabu remembered last night that Mizuki stayed up cheerfully talking to his mother, but he had fallen asleep right through Mizuki’s obnoxious conversation. He didn’t want to listen to Mizuki and his mother. He wondered when Mizuki took a shower and went to bed.
As Manabu was tying up his shoe about ready to leave, he heard a polite knock on the door. That must have been one of Mizuki’s friends that he made yesterday.
He reached for his school bag and opened the door unprepared for who was at the doorway.
“Hello!” Kazuki loudly greeted him.
Manabu gasped at the sight. “Shh!”
“Huh? What’s wrong?” Kazuki blinked his eyes.
“My roommate is still sleeping.” Manabu lowly whispered.
“Ooh. Sorry.” Kazuki immediately apologized.
“What are you doing here?” Manabu softly inquired.
When they both heard Mizuki roll around in his bed, the both of them instinctively gazed over and anxiously watched Mizuki. Shortly afterward, Mizuki loudly snored relieving them of their fears. Phew. Manabu didn’t want to deal with Mizuki this early in the morning, and Kazuki preferred to avoid Manabu’s annoying roommate.
“Hey, obviously, I’m going to walk you to class. What’s wrong with that? Then we can get to know each other more!” Kazuki giddily explained to him.
Manabu sighed. He motioned for Kazuki to scoot further back so he could get out of the room. Once Kazuki took a few steps back, Manabu exited his room and shut the door behind him.
“How did you even get inside?” Manabu curiously asked.
“Me? I waited by the door until someone came out. Hehe.” Kazuki embarrassingly revealed.
There was something different about Kazuki’s face this morning…
“Did you eat breakfast yet?” Kazuki interrupted his train of thoughts.
Manabu shook his head. “Not yet.”
“Cool! Let’s go eat together then!” Kazuki declared.
XOXOXOXO
Rui depressingly gazed out his window watching the scenery pass by him. He sat in the passenger seat while Kenzo drove.
Kenzo heard about the commotion Kazuki created last night with his brother. Unfortunately, he was away on important business and therefore could not prevent the situation from escalating to that level. He would have stopped Kazuki from acting irrational around Rui. Now, he was slightly upset at Kazuki, but he knew Kazuki didn’t mean it. Still… He swore to himself to always protect Rui…
“What are you staring at, Kenzo?” Rui noticed Kenzo lost in his thoughts.
“Are you all right from last night?” Kenzo kindly asked.
“I’m fine. I’m fine. It was just a little bruise. Nothing serious.” Rui waved it off as if it meant nothing. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school with Kazuki-nii-san?”
Kenzo’s heart twanged at the words. Ever since, his parents abandoned him at the age of three, Kazuki’s father took him in and trained him to be, in lame man’s term, an assassin. He was cold-hearted and a bastard since the world had treated him unfairly. For most of his life, he viewed his existence in life to simply kill others. When he was assigned to protect Kazuki, he only did what he was told and slaughtered people like worthless animals… until he laid eyes upon Rui.
“The chauffer was sick today and I couldn’t bear the thought of you missing school.” Kenzo calmly fabricated a legitimate excuse.
At first, he thought Rui was slightly annoying and irritating. He couldn’t understand how someone could be so sheltered from the world’s tainted cruelty. Bit by bit, as he was forced to hang out with Rui more often, his frozen heart started to thaw. Rui showed him the brighter side of world and how there was still hope in humanity. Rui carried the belief that there was always a good side to any situation. After getting to know Rui, he discovered his reason for existing.
Before he would have gladly died for no reason, but now he was fighting for his survival. He was fighting to survive, to stay alive, and to shield the only person who ever cared about him.
“You’re constantly looking out for me, Kenzo. I’m not a baby, you know.” Rui pointed out.
“I’m sorry if I offended you.” Kenzo humbly apologized. “I was merely worried about you. That’s all.”
Rui wryly smiled at Kenzo’s comment. He wished Kazuki could feel the same way about him. All he ever wanted was acceptance and love from his older brother. The incident from last night reminded Rui that Kazuki didn’t seem to want to have any part of him. His only living blood brother didn’t even like him. He couldn’t understand what he did wrong to his older brother. He tried very hard to think about any incident he caused that may have offended Kazuki, but he couldn’t. He just couldn’t.
“Rui-sama?” Kenzo’s voice echoed in his ears.
“I’m sorry. I was just thinking about Kazuki-nii-san.” Rui honestly revealed to Kenzo. “Some days, I wonder why he doesn’t like me. I wonder if I ever did something to offend him… He doesn’t seem to like me.”
Kenzo softly sighed to himself. Even to him, Kazuki was a complex character. From what he could deduce, Kazuki simply despised Rui because of the difference in treatment that their father gave them. He treated Kazuki as a business partner while he deeply cared for Rui like an affectionate father. Kazuki must have taken out his frustration and anger onto Rui. If only there was something Kenzo could do to lessen the hate between them. Unfortunately, it wasn’t his place to do much of anything.
“The only thing he ever gave me was Maru-san, but even then he wasn’t there on my birthday. You gave it to me. Not him…” Rui sadly turned his head away staring out at the window.
This family was drowned in too much sorrow. Kenzo didn’t know much about this family, but from what he saw and heard… He wished he could have the power to change it all.
XOXOXOXO
When Manabu and Kazuki arrived to the cafeteria, Kazuki gladly took Manabu’s tray and paid for his portion as well. Manabu was flabbergasted by how Kazuki could treat him like a woman. They ended up sitting near the window where the beautiful view of the school laid before their eyes. Manabu took note of the food Kazuki ordered. Strange. He usually had hot soup for breakfast. How come not today?
“Hmm… The cafeteria cooks such great food!” Kazuki complimented.
Manabu spotted Kazuki’s left cheek bruised as if someone had punched it with tremendous force. What happened to him yesterday?
“What happened to your left cheek? Did you get into some fight?” Manabu bluntly asked him.
Ack, the bruise was kind of too obvious to hide. What kind of lame excuse could he give Manabu? He didn’t want to tell him the truth.
“Oh. Haha! You know my reputation. People are always picking fights with me. It’s nothing serious to worry about.” Kazuki painfully brushed it off.
“You sure? It looks serious.” Manabu persistently asked.
For someone who didn’t like the mafia, Manabu seemed quite concerned with him. He was surprised Manabu even bothered to further interrogate. Most people would have shrugged the matter off without any thought. What was up with this guy?
“I’m positive! I’m positive!” Kazuki nodded his head. “Now, hurry up and eat! Don’t want to be late to class.”
Kazuki immediately stuffed food into his mouth to avoid Manabu’s questions. Manabu sensed it was something else more than a simple fight. He only thought this because he knew the difference between the bruises from his classmate and the bruises from his father…
After the silent breakfast, Kazuki noticed they had a little time before class started and decided to show Manabu the pathway of the cherry blossom trees.
“You saw this yesterday, right?” Kazuki pointed at the breathing taking sight of the cherry blossom trees.
“Why do you ask?” Manabu gazed at the row of breathtaking trees.
“The school is famous for them. Did you know?”
“I heard about it. What’s your point?” Manabu didn’t understand why Kazuki was showing him this before class.
Actually… what the hell was his point? Why did he bring Manabu all the way out here? The only person he brought was Kenzo, but that was because Kenzo constantly watched over him. Other than that, he didn’t even bring his supposed “closest” friends. And yet he barely knew Manabu…
“Er… Well… This is kind of like my quiet place where I can get away from everybody.” Kazuki quickly fabricated as the words slipped out of his mouth.
Huh? Kazuki came here to get away from people? Manabu never would have thought, out of all people, Kazuki wanted to be alone. He seemed like the guy who loved being around people.
“I mostly come here to think and meditate. I know I sound like an old person, but it’s nice to be alone sometimes.”
Manabu sensed an honest tone beneath Kazuki’s words. How could Kazuki be part of that horrible mafia Mizuki described? The more Manabu saw Kazuki, the more he believed Kazuki was anything but that horrible mafia person.
“Do you like this place?” Manabu curiously inquired.
Did he like this place? It was the first time anyone asked him such a frivolous question.
“Yeah, I suppose.” Kazuki seriously responded.
“Me too.” Manabu, surprisingly, agreed with Kazuki.
The wind gently swayed the cherry blossom petals and some of the flowers flew off of the trees. The petals of the cherry blossom surrounded the scenery, but all Kazuki could see was Manabu standing right in front of him and nothing else in sight.
XOXOXOXO
Manabu arrived to class just barely in time before the bell rang. He got carried away being with Kazuki in the cherry blossom pathway. He noticed the desk next to his was empty. He wondered why Mizuki was missing. Was he in the room still sleeping?
Kazuki headed to class and took his seat in the back. He noticed Kenzo already there with a book propped open. He didn’t bother to greet Kenzo as he took the seat next to him. He figured Kenzo was with his little brother, Rui. Kazuki suspected Kenzo developed feelings for Rui, but he didn’t bother to interrogate. He simply didn’t care.
From the corner of his eye, Kenzo watched Kazuki sit in his seat partially dazed out for some reason. Kenzo wondered what could cause Kazuki to be in such deep thought before class. Did something happen?
The day rolled by much faster than Manabu thought. He almost expected Kazuki to find him for lunch, but oddly felt disappointed when he didn’t see Kazuki. Ah, right. He was part of the mafia… He probably had more important matter to do during his free time. But he was surprised to see Mizuki still missing. As much as he thought Mizuki might have been annoying, he worried about Mizuki not showing up and missing the important lecture and homework. Unconsciously, Manabu grabbed two sheets of paper. One for himself and the other for Mizuki. He even wrote his notes neater this time for Mizuki to read later on.
Damn. What was he doing? He hardly knew Mizuki…
When it came time for art class, Manabu forgot that Kazuki was his partner until he saw Kazuki already there sitting alone. He noticed how the class had their backs toward him as he stared at everyone with an unexplainable melancholy. Everyone seemed to ignore his presence happily chatting away to themselves. Manabu was baffled by the sight. If Kazuki was as powerful as everyone claimed, wouldn’t they pay more attention to him? Instead, he found just the opposite. No one cared about him. No one even gave a shit that he was sitting without any company.
Kazuki gazed at the others joyfully gossiping about their friends and what plans they had for tonight. He wished he had a group of friends like that. But everyone was too afraid to associate with him. They turned their backs simply in fear and didn’t bother to get to know the real him. Any time he came within close distance to anyone, they all scurried away like he was some infectious disease. And those that got close to him were only after his money. He didn’t understand. Was he such a scary person? He tried to be friendly, but… but… He-
Manabu approached Kazuki and said, “Hey.”
The sorrowful countenance on Kazuki’s face immediately disappeared as he widely grinned. “Hey! I was wondering what took you so long.”
“My class was on the other side of campus.”
“Ooooh. I was beginning to worry that you wouldn’t come to class today. Then I would be all by myself. That would be absolutely terrible!” Kazuki spoke in such a light-hearted tone.
Despite how Kazuki sounded, Manabu had a feeling that it was a façade to disguise his real feelings.
During class, Kazuki pestered Manabu while partially fooling around. He acted as if he didn’t know what he was doing half of the time and purposely marked up a part of Manabu’s arm with black marker. Manabu became easily annoyed and irritated by his actions. Kazuki enjoyed seeing Manabu so easily aggravated or irked by his childish actions. It was quite cute and adorable of him.
Manabu could hardly stand Kazuki’s stupid antics and had to constantly remind Kazuki to complete the project at hand. He had to restrain himself from beating Kazuki to a pulp. He couldn’t get in trouble in class over something stupid Kazuki did. To the outside world, it seemed the atmosphere between the two of them was like best friends who had nothing to hide from each other. It was odd and almost unreal that Kazuki was interacting so friendly with someone he hardly knew…
After class, Kazuki said he would pick up Manabu when classes were over so they could eat dinner together. And he did just that. Manabu wasn’t sure how Kazuki found him, but somehow he knew what Manabu’s last class was and where it was located. During dinner, Kazuki and Manabu conversed about school and some of the teachers. Kazuki did most of the talking and complained about eighty percent of the time, but Manabu didn’t mind since he chuckled at some of Kazuki’s ridiculous jokes. Without even realizing it, Manabu felt at ease and comfortable listening to someone else’s story while Kazuki didn’t have to restrain in saying how he felt in front of Manabu.
Just like yesterday, Kazuki adamantly insisted on dropping Manabu off at his room. Manabu wasn’t sure why Kazuki wanted to escort him back.
“Ah, I always get so sad when I see your door.” Kazuki frowned when they arrived.
“Huh?”
“Ah! Nothing. I’ll see you tomorrow then, right?” Kazuki changed the subject.
“Okay.”
“All right. Bye!” Kazuki waved his hand and made his way out of the hallway.
Manabu watched Kazuki slowly leave. Where did Kazuki go after he left him?
He shook his head snapping back to reality. Aye, what was he thinking about? Manabu opened the door only to find Mizuki sitting at his desk surrounded by a plethora of tissue papers.
“Oh, no! Manabu-san!!! Why didn’t you wake me up?!” Mizuki cried.
“Huh…?” Manabu blinked his eyes.
“I overslept and you didn’t wake me up? How could you ignore your roommate like that?” Mizuki was bawling in tears.
Oh, crap. Mizuki missed class because he overslept? God. He didn’t think Mizuki slept in.
“I…” Manabu wasn’t sure what to say.
“I hope I didn’t miss much.” Mizuki sniffled.
Manabu sighed as he took out his folder and proffered out the paperwork, which he grabbed for Mizuki. “Here.”
Mizuki peered up with a distinctive shine in his eyes due to the light. “School work…? Manabu-san got this for me?”
“Here. Just take it.” Manabu waved the papers in the air hoping Mizuki would get over the fact and move on.
Mizuki’s suspicions about Manabu’s real personality were right. Manabu was a nice, softie on the inside, but he didn’t know how to show it to the rest of the world.
“Oh, Manabu-san. Thank you so much! How do I ever repay you?” the tears disappeared from Mizuki’s eyes.
Mizuki came over, snatched the papers out of Mizuki’s hands, and wrapped his arms around Manabu. Manabu instinctively stiffened at the touch of Mizuki’s warm body. He had never been this close to anyone.
“Just don’t bother me.” Manabu muttered under his breath.
Manabu could barely breathe for some reason. Mizuki’s body this close to his made him nervous. “Can you get off of me?”
Mizuki didn’t even realize how tightly he had been squeezing Manabu. “Hehe. Sorry.”
Manabu readjusted his clothes and wiped it off acting as if there was dust. Mizuki widely grinned and suggested, “Hey! Why don’t we hang out this weekend?”
“This weekend?” Manabu repeated his words.
“Yeah! As a way of saying thank you.” Mizuki explained himself.
He remembered he had plans with Kazuki this weekend. Damn. How could he explain this to Mizuki without causing chaos?
“I have plans already with Kazuki-san.” Manabu decided to reveal the truth.
“What?!” Mizuki’s eyes widened to the size of grapes. “But it’s dangerous. He could do something bad to you.”
“I know you mean well, but I don’t think he will.” Manabu flat out revealed his feelings.
Manabu headed to his desk and started to put his belongings in the right places. Mizuki watched Manabu studiously unpack his bag. Manabu would be hanging out with Kazuki this weekend. What would be they doing? Oh, no… Would Kazuki do something terrible to Manabu?
Goddamn. What could he do to protect Manabu?
XOXOXOXO
Kazuki cautiously entered the house hoping he wouldn’t find anyone. He breathed out a sigh of relief. He didn’t have a curfew, but he hated to see his father this late at night.
“Meow.” Maru approached him.
Kazuki sighed seeing Maru. He bent down and softly stroked her back. He remembered Kenzo forced him to personally pick her out of a shelter home for pets. She was only a kitten when he picked her out and now she had grown so big. He recalled when he first saw her that she was sitting in that cage alone and lonely wearing such a sorrowful countenance. The vets of the place informed Kazuki that the original owner had abandoned her after her mother gave her birth. He specifically picked her out because he found a part of himself in her. His mother left him as did her mother. Even if he couldn’t love Rui in the way he was supposed to, he hoped, by choosing Maru, she could give Rui the love that he wouldn’t ever be able to show him.
“Maru-san? Where are you?” Kazuki heard Rui’s voice.
“You better go back to your owner. He’s waiting for you.” Kazuki told her.
She longingly stared at him as if trying to guilt trip him. He wryly smiled at her. “Dammit, don’t look at me like that. Go back to your real owner, okay?”
“Meow.” she cried out at him.
Kazuki heard Rui’s footsteps approaching closer. Oh, shit. He took his hand away and swiftly left to hide behind the staircase where there was only darkness.
“Goodness, Maru-san. I was worried about you. Where did you go?” Rui bent down to pet Maru.
She meowed as if trying to tell Rui something. Rui blinked his eyes and chuckled. “Goodness, Maru-san. You must be hungry. I’ll go get you some food. Let’s go.”
Rui picked her up even though she meowed several times to tell Rui about Kazuki’s presence. Kazuki watched the scenery from behind the staircase where there was no light. Good thing Rui didn’t know he was here or he would try to get Kazuki to talk to him. And he didn’t want to deal with Rui.
“Rui? What are you doing?” their father appeared.
“Oh. I dozed off reading and when I woke up Maru-san was missing so I went to go look for her.” Rui explained.
“I see. You made me worry for a second that something else happened,” their father kindly told him. “By the way, I’m going to Kumamoto next week. Would you like to come along?”
“Really? I can go? I want to see all of those castles. Oh, boy! Can I bring Maru-san along, too?” Rui spewed out millions of words.
Their father chuckled at Rui’s excitement. “Of course.”
“Is Kazuki-nii-san coming along, too?” Rui surprisingly inquired.
Their father paused in his thoughts as he shifted his eyes upward toward Kazuki’s direction.
Shit! His father knew Kazuki was standing there watching. Kazuki started to breathe heavier as his whole body tensed up.
“We’ll see if he finishes his school work,” their father suavely answered as he wore a smile.
“Oooh, okay.” Rui agreed.
“Now, let’s go back to the study room…” their father said as Rui and him walked away.
Kazuki should have known his father would have detected about his presence. After all, it was his father who taught him all of those dirty tricks to defeat your enemy. Dammit. He gripped onto the staircase railing and bit on his lip. He scoffed thinking about the conversation. That was right. He never once went on a vacation with Rui and his father. No… He never went anywhere. If anything, he always went by himself. No one cared about him. No one loved him. Not even his mother… who left the family when he was still a baby.
If that was the case… what did he have to live for? What was his reason for existence? Who did he have to protect…?
XOXOXOXO
The rest of the week played out in the same pattern. Kazuki came to pick him up everyday, brought him to class, and ate lunch and dinner with him, although Mizuki tried to butt in all the time and warned Manabu that Kazuki was a dangerous person. Manabu mainly ignored his words. He knew Mizuki had the best intentions, but he knew what it was liked to be ignored and given first judgment without any trial. It had always happened to him. He wasn’t going to do the same to Kazuki. Even if Kazuki was the son of a big mafia boss, that didn’t necessarily define Kazuki as a frightening gangster.
Mizuki couldn’t understand why Manabu kept on shoving him away. He tried to warn Manabu several times, but Manabu paid no attention to his warnings. Mizuki secretly prayed that nothing would happen to Manabu, but Kazuki was a tricky person to be around. Gosh… Why was Manabu making him so worried? He found himself acting like a mother or… or… Argh! And he barely even knew him. But he couldn’t help it. Manabu was his roommate and good friend. He couldn’t let Kazuki hurt Manabu. Not on his watch.
By the time weekend rolled around, Manabu remembered he had a “date” with Kazuki. Kazuki told him to meet him in the cherry blossom parkway. He wondered why there out of all places.
That morning, he got up early seeing Mizuki out of his bed already. Where did Mizuki go? Oh, well. At least he wouldn’t impede on Manabu’s outing with Kazuki. He remembered last night Mizuki tried to dissuade him in going, but Manabu wouldn’t budge from his opinion. He couldn’t betray Kazuki and back out at the last minute.
Manabu wore a plain tee shirt and a pair of old fashioned jeans. Compared to the stylish clothes Kazuki wore all the time, Manabu was feeling inferior. Bah.
He swiftly left his room when he realized the time. Crap. How could he be running late already?
Kazuki widely yawned as tears flowed out of his eyes. He made sure to get there an hour early in case Manabu was already there. Usually, he would be terribly late to these dates, but he couldn’t afford to have a bad reputation around Manabu. Besides, his main goal was to get Manabu to have eyes only for him.
Kazuki peered at his watch noticing that Manabu was late! Ten minutes late. Aye. He got here early for nothing?
When he turned around, he spotted Manabu running toward him in a hurry.
“What took you so long?” Kazuki asked.
“Sorry. I got up late.” Manabu panted for breath.
He noticed Kazuki was wearing a short-sleeved thin black jacket, a long flowy shirt, which barely covered the left side of his hips and the right side of the shirt extending onto his crisp, navy blue jeans, that had several belts wrapped around it, and boots which extending up to his calves. Not to mention that he wore several necklaces and rings on both hands. God, Manabu was feeling a little plain for the occasion. Kazuki completely dressed up in style while he looked like he was going to volunteer. He had to admit that Kazuki was handsome and good looking wearing those fashionable clothes.
“Oh, my god!!” Kazuki loudly gasped.
Manabu was wearing a plain tee and worn out jeans?! He looked like he was still in junior high school!
“What?” Manabu was puzzled by Kazuki’s words.
“Manabu-san, I didn’t know you were so deprived of good clothing. Not to mention, how long has it been since you’ve changed glasses?” Kazuki sporadically mentioned.
“Since middle school.” Manabu answered without any thought.
“Goodness, Manabu-san! Today, I’m going to take you shopping for some new clothes and get you a pair of new glasses!” Kazuki declared.
“What? But I can’t-” Manabu was about to protest against the idea.
“No buts! It’s something that has to be done!” Kazuki cut him off.
“But I’m fine. I-”
“Let’s go! We don’t have any time to waste!” Kazuki grabbed Manabu’s wrist and dragged him along.
“Wait!!” Manabu hollered as Kazuki took him away.
He was afraid of what Kazuki had in mind.
XOXOXOXO
Rui waited in the cherry blossom garden located behind the house. Ever since he was a child, he remembered he stumbled upon this garden on accident and found his older brother, Kazuki, sitting here peacefully staring at the trees. He wanted to approach Kazuki that day, but it was rare to see his older brother with such a tranquil face. Actually, it was the first time Rui saw Kazuki with such a relaxed face… Since then, Rui came here as well and slowly came to understand why Kazuki always came here. Being here took Rui’s mind away from reality, but he knew it was no perfect solution to simply run away from the cruel reality.
“Rui-sama?”
Rui recognized Kenzo’s voice right away. “Hi, Kenzo.”
“Meow.” Maru softly cried out.
She jumped up onto Rui’s lap and comfortably rested her body on him. Rui smiled as he stroked Maru. She was the only bond he had with his older brother, Kazuki.
“Are you planning to go anywhere today?” Kenzo inquired.
Rui sighed thinking about what happened the other night with Kazuki. Rui was about to answer, but then paused. What was another way he could understand his older brother, Kazuki?
“Rui-sama?”
“Kenzo! Where does Kazuki-nii-san like to go in his spare time?” Rui eagerly inquired.
“Well…” Kenzo thought about where Kazuki liked to spend his time.
Most of the time, Kazuki spent time alone in the cherry blossom pathway at school or sat in the bookstore or library reading books on end. He didn’t go to other places. Ever since Kazuki left his group of friends, he had been alone and remained that way for a while. He didn’t do activities with other people anymore. That was why Kenzo was surprised when Kazuki told him he had a date with someone. And it wasn’t just a random person. It was Manabu-san.
“Kenzo? Are you there?”
“Of course. I will show you where he goes.” Kenzo answered him.
XOXOXOXO
Manabu thought they were going to take the train, but Kazuki drove Manabu in a nice American Ferrari car. Manabu’s jaw dropped as he was completely flabbergasted unable to create a coherent statement about Kazuki’s Ferrari car. He had only seen these cars in commercials or online. He never thought he would see one in person… much less ride in one. When he got inside of the car, it was made out of smooth, beige leather. Not to mention that the scent of the inside was fresh and clean. But he noticed the lack of decoration around the car. He wondered why Kazuki didn’t have some stupid bobble head decoration or an ornament hanging around the rear view mirror. For some who was filthy rich, Manabu couldn’t understand why his car looked as if he bought just yesterday.
“You looked flabbergasted.” Kazuki commented.
“I’ve never rode in one. How do you expect me to react?” Manabu openly stated.
“Well, today will be your first for many things!” Kazuki winked as he slid into the driver’s seat.
Manabu wasn’t sure what Kazuki was referring to until he registered the deep meaning behind Kazuki’s perverted statement.
“You! You pervert!” Manabu pointed his finger at him.
“Hmm? What are you talking about?” Kazuki played dumb.
Manabu clenched his teeth together. How could Kazuki make such a vulgar statement? “Nothing like that today!”
“Nothing like what?” Kazuki blinked his eyes.
“Argh!!” Manabu let out a deep breath.
He couldn’t believe Kazuki was playing with him! Although, he didn’t expect someone like Kazuki who was in the mafia to create some heartily joke as this.
Kazuki chuckled to himself seeing Manabu’s angry, but cute expression. He loved to provoke Manabu whenever he got the chance. He normally wouldn’t jest around with others, but around Manabu, his whole body was at ease and he could let loose. He didn’t have to worry about Manabu backstabbing him.
“Hurry up and hop in! We’ve got lots of place to go!” Kazuki patted the passenger seat next to him.
Manabu took a seat in the passenger’s seat and blew a raspberry at him since he was still upset with Kazuki. Kazuki chuckled with a devious grin on his face.
Once they hit the road, Kazuki showed off his driving skills by almost getting them killed in swerving to their destinations at the last second. Manabu scolded Kazuki for being reckless as Kazuki embarrassingly laughed off his mistakes.
They ended up going to stores that he would have never dared to walk into, much less purchase any of these outrageously priced items. Kazuki picked out insanely expensive brand name shirts, jeans, pants, shoes, and any other possible clothing for him. What was even stranger was they didn’t have to pay for anything. Everyone merely bowed as Kazuki browsed and picked out the desired merchandise.
When they entered another store, Kazuki immediately dragged Manabu to one of the clothes rack picking out which and what. Kazuki, acting like a gentleman, held the shopping bags that had all of Manabu’s new clothes. Manabu deeply sighed growing tired from the nonstop shopping. He had never been forced to try on this many clothes and enter so many stores in one day.
“Kazuki… can we take a rest?” Manabu asked.
But Kazuki didn’t respond since he was too busy inspecting more clothes. Manabu went over to take a seat on one of the cushioned chairs to wait for Kazuki. When he sat down, he saw himself in the mirror. He peered down at his own clothes and started to examine them. These were clothes he had worn ever since he could remember. He couldn’t afford to buy much especially since his grandmother was poor.
“Hey, Manabu!” Kazuki rushed over toward him. “I think I found the perfect piece of clothing!”
Manabu saw that he was holding onto a sleeveless cardigan sweater. What was this for?
Kazuki placed the sweater in front of Manabu. “Hmm. I think this will work!”
“What are you talking about?” Manabu didn’t know what he was doing.
“Alright, Manabu-san! Let’s get changed!” Kazuki declared.
“What are you talking about, Kazuki-senpai?!” Manabu shouted as Kazuki started to push him into the dressing room.
Kazuki stopped for a moment when Manabu said his name. Manabu… called him by his name? And he didn’t even bother adding ‘-sama’ at the end of it like most people. Was this… progress?
“Oooooh! You knew I was your senpai??” Kazuki eagerly asked him.
“W-what? I just heard about it in school that you are a second year.” Manabu embarrassingly admitted.
He happened to overhear it when a few girls were talking about Kazuki’s family. They mentioned Kazuki was studying law and how he aced every single class he took… even the hardest theory classes… except for art. Manabu wondered how Kazuki could have failed such an easy class compared to those difficult theory classes.
“Ooooh. Does this mean that Manabu-san has some interest in me?” Kazuki spoke in a chipper tone.
“Doesn’t mean anything. I just happened to hear it.” Manabu denied Kazuki’s statement.
“Ooh, well… I suppose it’ll take some time to admit that you want to be my friend!” Kazuki happily stated.
“What? I-”
“Let’s get you changed then!” Kazuki shoved him inside.
“Ahhh! Kazuki-senpai!!”
Part B