Petals of a Cherry Blossom - Chapter 2B - KazukixManabu
Title: Petals of a Cherry Blossom
Chapter: 2b/??
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 at the end of this part. Enjoy!
Previous Chapters: Chapter 1a/ Chapter 1b || Chapter 2a/ Chapter 2b || Chapter 3a/ Chapter 3b
“Achoo!” Tora sneezed covering his mouth.
“Are you all right?” Byou came over toward Tora who was unpacking some items from the boxes in the living room.
Byou leaned on Tora’s shoulder rubbing Tora’s arm and stared at the items that Tora was taking out from the cardboard box.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s strange, though. I only sneeze if I smell danger.” Tora said as he rubbed his nose.
Byou chuckled at Tora’s comment. “I think it’s from all of the dust I’ve been wiping off.”
It was a medium sized apartment with one bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and a decent sized living room. Byou was excited when he could put small decorations such as antique paintings and expensive statues. He even made sure to put pictures of the two of them around the place. Tora would have objected to it, but he was a married man after all.
Tora touched Byou’s hand and squeezed it. Byou blinked his eyes. “Tora, what’s wrong?”
Tora was afraid of putting his loved one in danger. This mission could put Byou in serious danger and there was a serious possibility that Byou could be hurt! Agh… if the enemy ever found out Byou was connected to him, they would come after Byou and use him as a bargaining chip. Dammit. Why did his boss have to do this to him?
“Is everything all right?” Byou used his other hand to rub Tora’s back.
“I’m fine.” Tora lied.
Byou sensed something bothering Tora’s mind, but… He wouldn’t push Tora for now. He could tell Tora was under a lot of stress from this new mission… whatever it was and the least he could do was support Tora.
Tora couldn’t help but feel there was more to all of this. But why? Dammit. It had been almost a whole week of unpacking and he still wasn’t done. What the hell was wrong with this place? It gave him the creeps.
Tora dropped the items and turned around to hug Byou.
Byou was stunned by his sudden action. “Tora?”
“Can you just let me hug you for a little bit?” Tora softly said with his arms wrapped around Byou’s waist.
Byou responded by returning Tora’s hug. “Yeah.”
Would all hell break loose when he started this mission?
XOXOXOXO
“Kenzo, why are we in the young adult section of the bookstore? Just because I’m in high school doesn’t mean that I can’t read harder material.” Rui glared at him.
“Hmm? What are you talking about?” Kenzo played dumb.
“Kenzo. I doubt Kazuki-nii-san reads young adult fiction… next to the teen novels.” Rui frowned at the sight of it.
Shit. He couldn’t counterattack Rui’s statement. “Kazuki reads all sorts of things.”
“Kenzo.” Rui cutely pouted.
Argh. He couldn’t resist that look on Rui. “Fine. But you can’t ever tell him that you know of this.”
“Fine. Fine.” Rui agreed without giving it any thought. “Just show me. I want to know.”
“All right. Let’s go.” Kenzo nodded his head.
Kenzo took this chance to hold onto Rui’s hand and lead the way. He hoped Rui would return his feelings one day. He hoped so.
Rui was flabbergasted when they arrived at a very quiet section of the bookstore where there were hardly any other people. Only a few nerdy students stood in the aisle examining books or reading the contents inside of the books.
“Whoa! Kazuki-nii-san reads lot of hard material.” Rui became awed with amazement.
Philosophy, history, law cases, science, and probably more than Rui could conjure up in his head. Rui never knew his brother was such a genius. He knew Kazuki was smart, but this was beyond his imagination. Hmm, maybe if he read these materials, he could understand Kazuki more.
“Kenzo, can you help me read these materials?” Rui kindly asked.
“As much as I would love to, I cannot read as well as Kazuki-sama.” Kenzo suavely lied through his teeth.
“What? But… I want to learn how to read this.” Rui frowned.
Rui went ahead further down the aisle inspecting what other books there were. Kenzo depressingly looked away from the sight. He couldn't admit to Rui that he could read these books. Even Kazuki didn’t even know that he read the same books. In fact, he wasn’t even supposed to be revealing the secret fact that Kazuki came here to read all the time. Gah… Why was it that when it came to Rui he began to get careless? Damn. He understood the feeling when people admitted that love made them do outrageous acts.
“Why don’t we learn it together then?” Kenzo offered as an alternative.
He wanted to find any excuse to be with Rui; to learn about Rui; to be Rui’s sole protector.
“Really? You mean it?” Rui excitedly ran over with a jubilant look on his face.
“Yes, I do.” Kenzo nodded his head.
“Cool! Let’s go pick out some books!” Rui clapped his hands together.
XOXOXOXO
“Manabu-san, are you done yet? You’ve been in there for over an hour.” Kazuki stood right in front of the changing room’s door.
Jesus. He looked weird wearing this. He was wearing a clean-cut medium sleeved white dress shirt and a black and white plaid cardigan sweater along with nice looking jeans and brand named sneakers. Not to mention that Kazuki gave him a nice watch to wear on his wrist. He smoothed out the clothes a few times carefully inspecting the quality. They were soft and comfortable unlike his tacky clothes. But… He couldn’t imagine himself wearing this! For the longest time, he had been wearing his overused clothes.
“Manabu-san!! Are you in there? I’m going to come busting in if you don’t hurry!” Kazuki threatened him.
“I’m coming. I’m coming.” Manabu grumbled at the sound of Kazuki’s impatient voice.
Kazuki was elated wondering what Manabu looked like. When the door creaked wide open, Kazuki gaped for a moment. Manabu had a sheepish and shy expression on his face.
“Hohoho! I am gooood!” Kazuki was proud of himself.
He ran over and immediately circled around Manabu.
“What are you doing?” Manabu immediately questioned.
“I’m seeing how you look and you look wonderful. Now, you look like a smart and studious person!” Kazuki grinned like an idiot.
“I-I can’t wear this. How am I going to pay you back for all of this? I… can’t.” Manabu protested against the idea.
“Don’t worry about it.” Kazuki reassured him. “Now all we have to do is to change your dorky glasses. They look like ages old!”
When was the last time? When he first came into the care of his grandparents. That was several years ago.
“You are in desperate need of changing those!” Kazuki exclaimed.
Suddenly, Manabu heard someone’s stomach loudly grumble. He stared over at Kazuki who sheepishly chuckled. “Maybe after we find something to eat first?”
They ate at a sushi restaurant where it was an all-you-can-eat sushi. The sight secretly elated Manabu. He had never eaten this much sushi in one time. He couldn’t help, but eat every single one he saw. Kazuki burst out chuckling. He thought the sight of Manabu grabbing so many like a little child was interesting. Manabu was embarrassed and scolded Kazuki for laughing at him. Afterward, they had gone to the eyeglasses store in which Manabu got his eyes checked out and received a completely brand new pair of eyeglasses that day.
He was surprised how everyone just listened to Kazuki like he was a king… It was like at school. So were Mizuki’s words true? Kazuki’s family controlled everyone and everything striking fear into everyone. But how could someone like Kazuki… who was so lonely… be so powerful?
By the time they were finished, Kazuki decided to bring them to eat at the late night market stands. It wasn’t late, but they were started to open since nighttime was coming.
Manabu’s mouth watered at the sight of the food. He came here several times with his grandmother when he was still a little kid. After he grew up, he stopped coming to places like these…
“What do you want, Manabu-san?”
“Yakisoba.” Manabu answered without thinking.
“Haha, that’s what I was thinking! Let’s get several.” Kazuki cheerfully agreed with him.
Kazuki ordered several yakisobas for them to eat at their heart’s content at one of the small dinner tables. Aside from the sushi buffet, this was the second time Kazuki had seen Manabu’s eyes light up at the sight of food. Usually at school, Manabu ate very little and in small portions. He wondered if these foods meant anything special to him.
“Itadakimasu!” Kazuki clapped his hands together.
Just as Manabu picked up the chopsticks, Kazuki declared, “I challenge you to an eating battle. Whoever finishes three bowls of yakisoba first is considered the better man!”
“What? You’re joking.” Manabu could hardly believe him.
“Are you up for it? If you refuse, you’ll only look like a woman.” Kazuki threatened him.
Woman. No. He couldn’t look like a woman.
“Nrrgh… What’s the price?” Manabu implicitly consented.
There was no way he could be a woman. At all.
“Hehe… Loser has to listen to whatever the winner says!” Kazuki mischievously chuckled.
“Fine. You’re on.” Manabu accepted his challenge.
He hated losing. He wasn’t going to let Kazuki win. His pride as a man was on the line. He didn’t normally eat a lot, but he couldn’t lose face. Not in front of Kazuki.
“1, 2, 3… Eat!!” Kazuki shouted.
They launched themselves at the food and started to chow down at everything voraciously. They seemed like ravenous people who hadn’t eaten for days. Kazuki tried to pull tricks on Manabu such as pouring soy sauce into his bowl or spraying water on him to make him lose, but Manabu always managed to stomp on Kazuki’s foot or swat him with his hands as payback. At other times, Kazuki purposely nudged Manabu’s arm or rubbed his shoulder against Manabu, which only made him shudder or slink away from shock. Manabu couldn’t believe this guy had the time to be playing games like this!
It was a battle of man pride on the line. Manabu had to do anything to win. Kazuki found it amusing that Manabu would go up against him in an eating contest. He was known as the eating king at school. He would easily be victorious in this battle.
As Manabu finished his second bowl, he saw Kazuki already halfway through his third one. Oh, god. He was feeling nauseous from eating too much. Shit… He was going to lose. Gah… Dammit. He was going to lose face here.
Manabu covered his mouth feeling as if he had to puke. Shit. He didn’t want to… But his stomach…
Kazuki slammed his bowl down and proudly announced, “Haha, I finished! Manabu-san, you-”
He noticed Manabu missing from his chair. He blinked his eyes to take a moment to register what happened. Oh, shit!! Where did Manabu go?? “Manabu-san! Where are you? Manabu-san!!”
Manabu quickly raced to one of the alleyways as he threw up everything he ate. Goddammit. He fucking hated this feeling. He heard himself breathing heavily. Shit. He got weak under pressure. He couldn’t even handle pressure like a man. Shit. Now, his breath stunk.
“Is there any aspect of you that represents a man?!”
Manabu shut his eyes as he felt his heart throb. He threw up from eating too much. Dammit. Why did he have to eat like a woman?
“Hey, you! What the hell are you doing here?” a hostile voice approached him.
He peered up and saw a group of people who appeared to be gangsters.
“I think he’s looking for trouble. What do you think?” one of the people in the group asked.
“I think so too, eh?” the guy who seemed to be the boss said.
Oh, no. One trouble after another. Manabu’s feet started to uncontrollably shake. It was like those days back in school when those big kids bullied him. Seeing these people brought back terrible memories of when he would come home after being brutalized and bruised up. It was a nightmare… one he didn’t want to return to.
Manabu swiftly turned around and made a mad dash away from the group. He had to fucking get out of here! He had to go back to where Kazuki was. He hoped Kazuki wouldn’t be mad at him for disappearing all of a sudden. He just couldn’t let Kazuki see his weak side.
“Go get him!!” Manabu heard one of the guys holler.
He was already getting tired after a few paces. Shit. He was never good at physical activities. Why did his leg have to start failing on him now?!
Unexpectedly, his foot tripped over a beer can, which caused him to slip and tumble onto the ground.
“Huph!” Manabu gasped as he slammed against the hard ground.
Before he even had a chance to regain his conscious, someone had already picked him up by the collar of his shirt.
“Whoo! Now, you’re going to feel the pain of invading our territory!” the guy who picked him up hollered.
His other members were cheering and hooting like it was some game show. Oh, god. Manabu didn’t want to relive through the torture of his high school days. Somehow, he prayed for someone to come and save him.
“Not if I can help it!” a familiar voice butted in.
Someone punched the sleazy guy in the face dropping Manabu to the ground. Manabu opened his eyes and peered up finding Kazuki before him.
“Hey, that’s the mafia kid…” one of the guys said stunned.
“If you don’t get out of my sight, I’m going to make sure you regret you were ever born.” Kazuki menacingly threatened.
“Go get him! Show him where he belongs!” the leader of the group hollered.
Without even questioning the leader, everyone charged at Kazuki. Manabu gasped wondering what would unfold. Could Kazuki even handle all of those strong guys?
One of them swung his pipe at Kazuki, but he swiftly dodged the guy’s swing and ended up punching him in the face. The poor guy ended up flying across the ground and out of sight. Another one came from behind, but Kazuki somehow managed to grab the guy’s wrist and swung him around like paper in which he collided against his own group members.
The vicious fighting continued like this for a good ten minutes. Kazuki senselessly beat these guys to a pulp without any mercy. He had no sorrow or sympathy in his eyes. There was only survival and blood lust in his eyes. This dark feeling shivered down Manabu’s spine. Not too long ago, Kazuki was his jittery self, who now transformed into a dark, killing machine designed to defeat what was in front of him. There was so much blood, screaming, and yelling going on. Manabu had to look away since he couldn’t stand the sight of it. It was unbearable for him to witness.
After a while, every single guy was either on the ground helpless or badly beaten up. The sight of it shocked Manabu. More than a dozen guys tried to kill Kazuki yet Kazuki took them down without having a single scratch on his body.
“R-run!” one of them shouted.
“Yeah!”
They ended up high tailing out of there as fast as they could before Kazuki had the chance to say anything to them.
“Ha, serves them right. Stupid to begin with.” Kazuki harshly commented to himself.
Kazuki turned around. Manabu suddenly became afraid of him. What was he going to do him?
“Manabuuuu! Why did you do that to meee? I was worried where you were!” Kazuki immediately changed into his bubbly personality again as he knelt down.
“What…? I…” Manabu couldn’t coherently fabricate an excuse.
“Aww, is there something wrong with you, Manabuu?” Kazuki instinctively patted Manabu’s head.
Manabu didn’t mind and realized that Kazuki was presenting such affectionate actions. Manabu’s mind was preoccupied by what had just happened.
“Manabuu, is there something wrong? Do you need to go to the hospital?” Kazuki noticed how Manabu’s face was a little pale.
“No. I’m fine. I want to go back to the dorm.” Manabu demanded.
Kazuki was about to reject the idea, but then smiled. He knew better than to refuse Manabu’s request. “Okay. Let’s go then.”
Manabu didn’t think any odd about Kazuki’s easy agreement with him. He was too tired and sick to think about it. All he wanted to do was to get some rest and forget about what had happened especially about that scene with Kazuki and those thugs…
XOXOXOXO
Tora decided to eat out and took Byou along with him. He worried at the thought of Byou being alone in that prearranged house.
Byou gazed at the scenery around him. People bustled around everywhere. The lights flickered on and off. Cars zoomed and halted. Life was moving around in such a swift manner. There seemed to be no slowing down.
“Hey, want to eat at a ramen shop? My treat!” Tora suggested.
“You know ramen isn’t healthy for you.” Byou protested to give Tora a bit of a fight.
“Awww, come on, By-chan. Pleeasseeeeeee!” Tora annoyingly begged.
“Fine. Just for tonight, though.” Byou consented. He wanted to do everything to make Tora happy.
They stumbled upon a restaurant and settled into their seats. Tora examined the menu pointing out the ridiculous dishes and cracking a joke for everything he could. Byou heartily laughed at Tora’s corny jokes. He hadn’t heard that boisterous, funny guy’s voice in such a long time.
After Byou ate and waited for Tora to finish his five bowls of ramen, they decided to explore the city getting a view of what it was like. They stopped to look at the small shops or street stands. Tora usually loathed waiting, but today was a different story. He hardly ever got to hang out with his lovely paramour. He had to cherish every moment he had. There was no time to waste in complaining. Any moment he got with Byou… he never forgot it.
When they finished browsing through all of the shops, Byou ended up buying a necklace with a cute tiger pendant on it. He knew Tora’s favorite animal was the tiger. It was meant to be strong and protect those precious to them. Somehow, it seemed to fit Tora perfectly fine. And well, Tora meant tiger.
They sat down in front of an ice cream shop with a cup of green tea ice cream and two spoons stuck into it. Tora and Byou gladly dug into it. In fact, they raced to see who could eat more.
“Ah, damn! I hate you, Byou!”
“Haha! I still win.” Byou smirked.
“Dammit. I’m gonna win one of these days. You just watch!!” Tora curled his hand into a ball shaking it in front of Byou.
Byou covered his mouth as he laughed. Tora could be so silly and childish sometimes.
“Hey, Tora. You think I could put this necklace on you?” Byou offered.
Tora remembered Byou had bought that tiger necklace. “Okay.”
Byou came around behind Tora to put the necklace around his neck. When Tora exposed his neck to let Byou properly lock the necklace, he noticed another necklace around Tora’s neck. What was it?
“Hey, Tora.” Byou called for his attention as he put the necklace around Tora’s neck. “What is the other necklace you have?”
Out of all of his years with Byou, he never told Byou about this pendant that he carried of his family. He told Byou about his dreadful past, but never about this pendant. Perhaps it was time.
“It’s a pendant of my family and my younger brother, Manabu. I always carry it around me to remind myself to never forget my little brother.” Tora explained to Byou.
Byou knew of Tora’s terrible past yet he was still able to become such a loving, funny man. Byou locked the necklace and wrapped his arms around Tora’s neck while leaning on his head. “Don’t worry. You’ll find him.”
“I hope so.” Tora held onto Byou’s hands and rubbed against it.
Byou kissed Tora’s cheek hoping to comfort him. Even if it was just a little. “You’re Superman, remember? Nothing can stop you.”
“Yeah.”
Yes… He hoped he would find his brother soon and apologize for leaving him alone so many years ago.
XOXOXOXO
“Alrighty, Manabu-san! We’re here!” Kazuki excitedly called.
When he stopped the car and peered over, he noticed Manabu peacefully sleeping. Kazuki had never seen Manabu so relaxed. Kazuki couldn’t help, but sit there and study Manabu’s beautiful features. He had such cherry, red lips and fair skin. He wondered what it felt like…
Kazuki slowly leaned over to lightly caress Manabu’s face. His heart started to pound faster as his body grew hot. Oh, Jesus. What the hell was wrong with him? He just wanted to touch Manabu’s soft skin…
He reached out his hand and lightly slid his fingers on Manabu’s cheek. Kazuki immediately pulled away receiving a tingling feeling from within. Manabu shifted in his seat, but still didn’t wake up. Hmm, how could he wake Manabu up? Oooh! He had the perfect idea.
Kazuki inched up to kiss Manabu’s cheek. He would have aimed for Manabu’s lips, but he didn’t want to scare Manabu away from him. Although, he was quite curious as to what those tasted like.
Just as Kazuki was about to peck his cheek, Manabu happened to turn his face towards him and Kazuki ended up planting his chaste kiss on Manabu’s lips.
Kazuki was temporarily shocked, as he didn’t expect to have such close contact so soon. But he couldn’t resist deeply kissing Manabu… His instincts told him to go right for it without any hesitation. And that was exactly what he did.
Manabu suddenly woke up not expecting to receive such feelings from anyone much less… Kazuki! It was too sudden and too close. Manabu tried to pull away from Kazuki, but Kazuki used his arms to grip onto Manabu’s shoulders. He struggled to not give in, but Kazuki made it difficult as he was pouring in such passionate feelings. Soon enough, Manabu found himself giving into Kazuki’s kiss. For that transient moment, Manabu closed his eyes and let Kazuki take over. He didn’t mind Kazuki was kissing him.
When Kazuki parted his lips away from Manabu, he found Manabu’s face burning red. It took a moment for Manabu to realize what just transpired. God!! He… gave… in! He gave into Kazuki’s kiss!! Goddammit! How could he do that?!!
“Kazuki, you jerk! I was sleeping! How could you do that?!” Manabu scolded him, despite his real emotions.
Without responding to Manabu, Kazuki slipped his arm around Manabu’s waist to bring him in closer as he heard Manabu gasp. Manabu was about to utter something, but Kazuki cut him off by pressing his lips against Manabu’s. Manabu’s eyes widened as he attempted to push Kazuki away, but Kazuki was much stronger than him.
Kazuki slipped his tongue in between Manabu’s lips and touched against Manabu’s tongue. He didn’t know why, but he was receiving such euphoria just by being in close contact with Manabu. He felt an overwhelming feeling of joy and… love. What was more exhilarating was that Manabu was hardly resisting and was more or less returning the same feeling.
No… why? Why was this happening to him? Manabu couldn’t believe he was returning Kazuki’s zealous kiss. Why…?
Just when Kazuki parted his lips for a few seconds, Manabu thought he was done, but Kazuki pressed his lips against Manabu’s lips again. He continued to do this several times with such great zeal. Strangely enough, Manabu returned each and every single one. Although he could barely breathe, he was receiving such a sensational and overwhelming feeling as Kazuki kissed him each time. For the first time in his life, his heart was pounding… but not because of pain.
Kazuki released his lips from Manabu’s as he was heavily breathing. Kazuki’s heart thumped harder and louder. He got to taste Manabu’s sweet and delicious lips. Hmm… He wanted to taste it some more. But would Manabu allow him?
Manabu could hardly believe what had taken place. Here he was in Kazuki’s arms being kissed by him. He felt he could be sucked into this romantic moment. He… What?! Gah!! No… the jerk stole his first kiss!!
“You bastard!!!!” Manabu shouted as he landed a punch on Kazuki’s face.
“Ahhh!” Kazuki hollered caught off guard.
Kazuki flew back and had no choice, but to release Manabu. He cupped his own cheek feeling the throbbing pain. Oh, it was a punch from Manabu. He never expected Manabu to have such powerful strength. Well, he didn’t mind as long as it was coming from Manabu. Geez, was he even thinking straight? Normally, he would have instinctively smacked his attacker, but he didn’t do that with Manabu. How could he?
“I was… I was sleeping! Grrrrh! How dare you do that to me?!” Manabu pointed his finger at him angry and upset.
“I didn’t mean it! I swear!” Kazuki tried to defend himself.
“Yeah, right! Just because I’m sleeping doesn’t make it right for you to kiss me!” Manabu raised his voice.
“No, I wasn’t going to! I was just going to kiss your cheek and then you happen to move your head! I swear! Manabu.” Kazuki pleaded with him for his forgiveness.
Manabu noticed his surroundings. Where the hell were they? He noticed sand and the ocean. Huh? They were at a seaside… or something? Wait.
Manabu glared at Kazuki. “Why are we are the beach? You were supposed to bring us back to school.”
“Oh. Well… uh… You see. There was some road construction going on and we were going to have to wait forever in traffic. So rather than wait forever in that long traffic line, I thought: what better way to spend time? Going to the beach!” Kazuki formulated an excuse on the spur of the moment.
Manabu narrowed his eyes. “Bring us back.”
“Not until you tell me what was wrong with you.” Kazuki mischievously smiled.
“What? Nothing is wrong with me.” Manabu denied.
“Come on. You were pale and pallid when I found you. You even ran away when we were eating.” Kazuki pointed out. “What’s wrong with you, Manabu-san?”
Manabu became tight-lipped. He couldn’t tell Kazuki he threw up and ran away because he was afraid of looking like a wuss. Kazuki would definitely laugh at him for being so stupid.
“Come on, Manabu-san. I’m going to tickle you if you don’t tell me.” Kazuki threatened him.
“What?” Manabu’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t dare!”
“Hehe. I’m going to when I count down to three and then I won’t stop until you tell meee.” Kazuki stupidly grinned. “1… 2…”
“Fuck you!” Manabu scrambled out of the car to get away from Kazuki.
Kazuki chuckled as he rushed out of the car and chased after Manabu who ran away at the sight of him.
“Come back here and tell meeee!” Kazuki hollered.
“Don’t even touch me!” Manabu yelled at him.
Kazuki knew he could easily outrun Manabu, but that would be no fun if he could normally tackle Manabu.
“Huh! Oh, my gosh! Manabu-san! Look!!” Kazuki purposely gasped, speaking in a worried voice.
Manabu actually stopped and turned around. “What-”
“Hyah!!!” Kazuki raced over and tackled Manabu to the ground.
“Ahhh! You bastard!” Manabu cursed out loud to Kazuki.
Kazuki smirked at the sight of a flustered Manabu. He loved seeing Manabu’s cute face in such distress. When Manabu opened his eyes, he saw Kazuki on top of him. He gasped as horrible scenarios ran through his mind. Oh, no…!
Kazuki caressed Manabu’s cheek and asked him, “So my darling… Why did you run away today when we were eating?”
“D-don’t call me that! I’m not a girl!” Manabu defensively shot at him.
He wanted to smother Manabu with kisses, but he wanted to hear that answer first from Manabu.
“Okay, honey, what was wrong with you today?” Kazuki cutely asked him.
Manabu was instinctively about to punch him Kazuki for still pegging him as a woman, but Kazuki swiftly grabbed his fist with daring speed. He was taken back by Kazuki’s fast reflex.
At that moment, Manabu noticed those deep chocolate eyes earnestly trying to search for an answer as to what happened in that eating contest moment. Did Kazuki truly want to know what happened to him? Why he was like that? But no one ever wanted to know why he was such a whimp.
Kazuki saw Manabu’s eyes afraid yet eager as if he was conflicted on what to do. Why was there such internal conflict buried deep within those beautiful, sparkling eyes?
Kazuki smiled and said, “Okay, honey. You forced me to do this the hard way.”
“What?” Manabu was frightened by Kazuki’s next action.
Kazuki hastily got up and picked up Manabu bridal style. Without even realizing, Kazuki took it upon himself to free Manabu from that conflict chaining him down… He had to be the one who would get Manabu to say the words he wished he could express without fear. Yes, it was his obligation to transform Manabu into that genuine and kind person he really was.
“If you don’t tell me, we’re going to take a little swim!” Kazuki excitedly proclaimed.
“What?!” Manabu’s eyes widened to the sizes of grapes. “You fucking little…! Put me down!”
Kazuki rushed onto the shores of the beaches where the ocean barely crashed against the soft, mucky sand. “If I count to three and you haven’t told me, then I’m going to throw you in!”
“No! Let me go!” Manabu pleaded with him.
“Not if you don’t tell me.” Kazuki deviously stated.
Oh, no! Kazuki was going to chug him into the water like some ball being thrown around in the field. Shit!
“1…”
Crap. Crap. What would he do?
“2…”
Manabu unconsciously tightly gripped onto Kazuki’s neck so that he wouldn’t go flying in the air like a bird without wings.
For a moment, Kazuki was shocked that Manabu held tightly around his neck. Did that mean Manabu sought him as a means of protection?
“2 and a half…”
Damn, Kazuki! Stalling time… Argh…
“Fine. Fine. I’ll tell you, but you promise not to laugh or tell anyone, okay?” Manabu finally gave in.
There seemed to be no negotiating with Kazuki.
“Hehe, I promise.” Kazuki was elated that Manabu would finally tell him.
Manabu grudgingly thought about how he would have to spill his story. Damn.
Kazuki placed Manabu down on the sand and sat down right next to him. Manabu couldn’t believe he was humiliated. A man wasn’t supposed to be humiliated. Did he just lose a part of being a man?
“So…? What’s the story?” Kazuki scooted himself closer to Manabu.
For once, Manabu sensed a sort of protective warmth from Kazuki… as if he would never leave his side no matter what. Could he trust Kazuki… a kid of a mafia?
“I couldn’t eat that much.” Manabu shortly responded.
Kazuki blinked his eyes befuddled by Manabu’s answer. “Huh?”
“I can’t eat that much in such a short time and… Well…” Manabu paused thinking about what to say next. “And, well… I… I had to regurgitate the food I ate.”
Kazuki gazed at the scenery in front of him as he pondered on Manabu’s answer. During their meals at school together, he observed the small amounts of food Manabu ate. It made sense. He couldn’t eat that much. “Ooh, so that why you don’t eat much whenever we eat together.”
Manabu sighed as if silently responding to him.
“Well, nothing’s wrong with that. See? It’s easy peasy if you just tell someone.” Kazuki spoke in such an optimistic tone. “If you have something you can’t do, then tell that person or else they won’t know.”
“Would you have even listened at the time even if I told you?” Manabu shot at him.
Kazuki didn’t answer right away. He was always used to everyone listening to him for requests. Not the other way around. Would he have listened?
“Of course!” Kazuki let the words flow out of his mouth. “Why not? You’re my best buddy in the world!!”
Kazuki slapped his back causing Manabu to cough from the heavy force. The force reminded him of that scary fight in the alleyway. Kazuki beat up those people like nothing as if taking their lives was a small part of a bigger goal.
“Hey, can I ask you something?” Manabu looked over at Kazuki.
“What?” Kazuki happily said in a singsong voice.
Manabu hesitated whether he should inquire about the matter, but it bothered him. What happened back there… seemed to a part of Kazuki that Manabu could never see at school. Would Kazuki answer him truthfully? He hoped so. He wished to know the real Kazuki.
“You… Back in that alleyway… You… punched them real hard with such a frightening look on your face.” Manabu stated his observation. “How do you know how to fight and all of that?”
Such a frightening look. Manabu actually dared to ask him. The question took Kazuki back for a moment. No one he ever knew would care enough. Not even his father. What was this pounding feeling emanating through his veins?
“Haha!” Kazuki loudly laughed, but it pained him to do so. He wished he could tell Manabu the truth, but he had to spare him from his tainted universe. “I’m a son of a mafia so I have to learn how to do those things or else I will get killed! Lots of people want my father, so haha. For self-defense. Really.”
Kazuki’s response came off a bit forced. Manabu wondered why. “Oh.”
Kazuki didn’t expect Manabu to have some elaborate statement, but he secretly yearned for Manabu to question him further or provoke him to say more, but he didn’t. Dammit. How could he reveal his secret? Could he ever reveal his secret to Manabu?
“Hey, Kazuki.”
“What is it?”
“Can I lean on your arm? I’m a little tired.”
Kazuki’s heart skipped a beat. Manabu? On his arm? Oh, god. Could he control himself? “Sure.”
Manabu rested his head on Kazuki’s shoulder and closed his eyes hearing only the sound of the ocean and seagulls crying in the faraway sunset. When he was little, he imagined sitting in this kind of tranquility forgetting about the gruesome pain his father inflicted on him. It was his imaginary paradise.
Kazuki became extremely nervous. Manabu’s body was in close proximity to his. He had to severely restrain himself from doing anything since he didn’t want to scare Manabu away. This one moment… Manabu let his guard down. Kazuki wondered he should to do.
“Hmm…” Kazuki thought to himself. “Oh!”
He slowly took his arm out and wrapped one of his arms around Manabu’s waist. He thought Manabu would have jerked or hit him over the head, but there was no response. Kazuki peered over to find Manabu’s eyes closed. He heard him deeply breathing as his chest rose and fell.
Manabu was sleeping. He was fast asleep.
Kazuki brushed Manabu’s hair to side and lightly caressed his soft skin on his face. Manabu still didn’t stir. He disappointedly studied Manabu’s beautiful features. If only time could stand still and let them sit in this very moment forever… He wouldn’t mind being here all day long. Unfortunately, he had to return to the harsh, cruel reality awaiting for him at home.
He impulsively lifted Manabu’s sleeping face and smelled Manabu’s sweet fragrance. Why did God have to curse him? More than ever… He wanted to be Manabu’s protector… To be by his side at all times. But his job working as a mafia would never allow that… would it?
He softly whispered into Manabu’s ear. “I think I’ve fallen for you… you quiet little idiot.”
Kazuki gently kissed Manabu’s lips knowing that the sleepyhead wouldn't return the same feeling. But it didn’t matter. He wasn’t sure when would be the next time he would get to taste Manabu’s lips again.
In Manabu’s dream, he noticed a field of flowers and grasses around him.
Suddenly, he found Kazuki standing in front of him.
“What are you doing here?” Manabu asked him.
There was a pause.
“I think I’ve fallen for you… you quiet little idiot.” Kazuki unexpectedly confessed in a hushed voice.
Manabu’s heart stopped for that moment. What? Kazuki…? Someone as handsome as Kazuki truly liked him?
Suddenly, Kazuki leaned in and lightly kissed Manabu’s lips with such sorrow, but joy at the same time.
Manabu’s heart was jumping with elation as his stomach had butterflies. Unfortunately, this was only his dream. Kazuki would never truly fall in love with someone as awkward as him. If only he could find someone like the Kazuki in his dreams… then maybe he could finally shed those unconscious tears hidden in his soul.
A/N's
Yay, finally finished writing this chapter ヾ(´▽｀;)ゝ It took me a while, but I managed to do it, lol. Personally, I loved the interaction between all of the couples in this chapter. It was very cute and romantic. I've started the next chapter, but no promises that it will be finished any time soon (。┰ω┰。) I apologize for being such a sporadic writer ;w;
Constructive criticisms and comments are greatly appreciated (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡
Chapter: 2b/??
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 at the end of this part. Enjoy!
Previous Chapters: Chapter 1a/ Chapter 1b || Chapter 2a/ Chapter 2b || Chapter 3a/ Chapter 3b
“Achoo!” Tora sneezed covering his mouth.
“Are you all right?” Byou came over toward Tora who was unpacking some items from the boxes in the living room.
Byou leaned on Tora’s shoulder rubbing Tora’s arm and stared at the items that Tora was taking out from the cardboard box.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s strange, though. I only sneeze if I smell danger.” Tora said as he rubbed his nose.
Byou chuckled at Tora’s comment. “I think it’s from all of the dust I’ve been wiping off.”
It was a medium sized apartment with one bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and a decent sized living room. Byou was excited when he could put small decorations such as antique paintings and expensive statues. He even made sure to put pictures of the two of them around the place. Tora would have objected to it, but he was a married man after all.
Tora touched Byou’s hand and squeezed it. Byou blinked his eyes. “Tora, what’s wrong?”
Tora was afraid of putting his loved one in danger. This mission could put Byou in serious danger and there was a serious possibility that Byou could be hurt! Agh… if the enemy ever found out Byou was connected to him, they would come after Byou and use him as a bargaining chip. Dammit. Why did his boss have to do this to him?
“Is everything all right?” Byou used his other hand to rub Tora’s back.
“I’m fine.” Tora lied.
Byou sensed something bothering Tora’s mind, but… He wouldn’t push Tora for now. He could tell Tora was under a lot of stress from this new mission… whatever it was and the least he could do was support Tora.
Tora couldn’t help but feel there was more to all of this. But why? Dammit. It had been almost a whole week of unpacking and he still wasn’t done. What the hell was wrong with this place? It gave him the creeps.
Tora dropped the items and turned around to hug Byou.
Byou was stunned by his sudden action. “Tora?”
“Can you just let me hug you for a little bit?” Tora softly said with his arms wrapped around Byou’s waist.
Byou responded by returning Tora’s hug. “Yeah.”
Would all hell break loose when he started this mission?
XOXOXOXO
“Kenzo, why are we in the young adult section of the bookstore? Just because I’m in high school doesn’t mean that I can’t read harder material.” Rui glared at him.
“Hmm? What are you talking about?” Kenzo played dumb.
“Kenzo. I doubt Kazuki-nii-san reads young adult fiction… next to the teen novels.” Rui frowned at the sight of it.
Shit. He couldn’t counterattack Rui’s statement. “Kazuki reads all sorts of things.”
“Kenzo.” Rui cutely pouted.
Argh. He couldn’t resist that look on Rui. “Fine. But you can’t ever tell him that you know of this.”
“Fine. Fine.” Rui agreed without giving it any thought. “Just show me. I want to know.”
“All right. Let’s go.” Kenzo nodded his head.
Kenzo took this chance to hold onto Rui’s hand and lead the way. He hoped Rui would return his feelings one day. He hoped so.
Rui was flabbergasted when they arrived at a very quiet section of the bookstore where there were hardly any other people. Only a few nerdy students stood in the aisle examining books or reading the contents inside of the books.
“Whoa! Kazuki-nii-san reads lot of hard material.” Rui became awed with amazement.
Philosophy, history, law cases, science, and probably more than Rui could conjure up in his head. Rui never knew his brother was such a genius. He knew Kazuki was smart, but this was beyond his imagination. Hmm, maybe if he read these materials, he could understand Kazuki more.
“Kenzo, can you help me read these materials?” Rui kindly asked.
“As much as I would love to, I cannot read as well as Kazuki-sama.” Kenzo suavely lied through his teeth.
“What? But… I want to learn how to read this.” Rui frowned.
Rui went ahead further down the aisle inspecting what other books there were. Kenzo depressingly looked away from the sight. He couldn't admit to Rui that he could read these books. Even Kazuki didn’t even know that he read the same books. In fact, he wasn’t even supposed to be revealing the secret fact that Kazuki came here to read all the time. Gah… Why was it that when it came to Rui he began to get careless? Damn. He understood the feeling when people admitted that love made them do outrageous acts.
“Why don’t we learn it together then?” Kenzo offered as an alternative.
He wanted to find any excuse to be with Rui; to learn about Rui; to be Rui’s sole protector.
“Really? You mean it?” Rui excitedly ran over with a jubilant look on his face.
“Yes, I do.” Kenzo nodded his head.
“Cool! Let’s go pick out some books!” Rui clapped his hands together.
XOXOXOXO
“Manabu-san, are you done yet? You’ve been in there for over an hour.” Kazuki stood right in front of the changing room’s door.
Jesus. He looked weird wearing this. He was wearing a clean-cut medium sleeved white dress shirt and a black and white plaid cardigan sweater along with nice looking jeans and brand named sneakers. Not to mention that Kazuki gave him a nice watch to wear on his wrist. He smoothed out the clothes a few times carefully inspecting the quality. They were soft and comfortable unlike his tacky clothes. But… He couldn’t imagine himself wearing this! For the longest time, he had been wearing his overused clothes.
“Manabu-san!! Are you in there? I’m going to come busting in if you don’t hurry!” Kazuki threatened him.
“I’m coming. I’m coming.” Manabu grumbled at the sound of Kazuki’s impatient voice.
Kazuki was elated wondering what Manabu looked like. When the door creaked wide open, Kazuki gaped for a moment. Manabu had a sheepish and shy expression on his face.
“Hohoho! I am gooood!” Kazuki was proud of himself.
He ran over and immediately circled around Manabu.
“What are you doing?” Manabu immediately questioned.
“I’m seeing how you look and you look wonderful. Now, you look like a smart and studious person!” Kazuki grinned like an idiot.
“I-I can’t wear this. How am I going to pay you back for all of this? I… can’t.” Manabu protested against the idea.
“Don’t worry about it.” Kazuki reassured him. “Now all we have to do is to change your dorky glasses. They look like ages old!”
When was the last time? When he first came into the care of his grandparents. That was several years ago.
“You are in desperate need of changing those!” Kazuki exclaimed.
Suddenly, Manabu heard someone’s stomach loudly grumble. He stared over at Kazuki who sheepishly chuckled. “Maybe after we find something to eat first?”
They ate at a sushi restaurant where it was an all-you-can-eat sushi. The sight secretly elated Manabu. He had never eaten this much sushi in one time. He couldn’t help, but eat every single one he saw. Kazuki burst out chuckling. He thought the sight of Manabu grabbing so many like a little child was interesting. Manabu was embarrassed and scolded Kazuki for laughing at him. Afterward, they had gone to the eyeglasses store in which Manabu got his eyes checked out and received a completely brand new pair of eyeglasses that day.
He was surprised how everyone just listened to Kazuki like he was a king… It was like at school. So were Mizuki’s words true? Kazuki’s family controlled everyone and everything striking fear into everyone. But how could someone like Kazuki… who was so lonely… be so powerful?
By the time they were finished, Kazuki decided to bring them to eat at the late night market stands. It wasn’t late, but they were started to open since nighttime was coming.
Manabu’s mouth watered at the sight of the food. He came here several times with his grandmother when he was still a little kid. After he grew up, he stopped coming to places like these…
“What do you want, Manabu-san?”
“Yakisoba.” Manabu answered without thinking.
“Haha, that’s what I was thinking! Let’s get several.” Kazuki cheerfully agreed with him.
Kazuki ordered several yakisobas for them to eat at their heart’s content at one of the small dinner tables. Aside from the sushi buffet, this was the second time Kazuki had seen Manabu’s eyes light up at the sight of food. Usually at school, Manabu ate very little and in small portions. He wondered if these foods meant anything special to him.
“Itadakimasu!” Kazuki clapped his hands together.
Just as Manabu picked up the chopsticks, Kazuki declared, “I challenge you to an eating battle. Whoever finishes three bowls of yakisoba first is considered the better man!”
“What? You’re joking.” Manabu could hardly believe him.
“Are you up for it? If you refuse, you’ll only look like a woman.” Kazuki threatened him.
Woman. No. He couldn’t look like a woman.
“Nrrgh… What’s the price?” Manabu implicitly consented.
There was no way he could be a woman. At all.
“Hehe… Loser has to listen to whatever the winner says!” Kazuki mischievously chuckled.
“Fine. You’re on.” Manabu accepted his challenge.
He hated losing. He wasn’t going to let Kazuki win. His pride as a man was on the line. He didn’t normally eat a lot, but he couldn’t lose face. Not in front of Kazuki.
“1, 2, 3… Eat!!” Kazuki shouted.
They launched themselves at the food and started to chow down at everything voraciously. They seemed like ravenous people who hadn’t eaten for days. Kazuki tried to pull tricks on Manabu such as pouring soy sauce into his bowl or spraying water on him to make him lose, but Manabu always managed to stomp on Kazuki’s foot or swat him with his hands as payback. At other times, Kazuki purposely nudged Manabu’s arm or rubbed his shoulder against Manabu, which only made him shudder or slink away from shock. Manabu couldn’t believe this guy had the time to be playing games like this!
It was a battle of man pride on the line. Manabu had to do anything to win. Kazuki found it amusing that Manabu would go up against him in an eating contest. He was known as the eating king at school. He would easily be victorious in this battle.
As Manabu finished his second bowl, he saw Kazuki already halfway through his third one. Oh, god. He was feeling nauseous from eating too much. Shit… He was going to lose. Gah… Dammit. He was going to lose face here.
Manabu covered his mouth feeling as if he had to puke. Shit. He didn’t want to… But his stomach…
Kazuki slammed his bowl down and proudly announced, “Haha, I finished! Manabu-san, you-”
He noticed Manabu missing from his chair. He blinked his eyes to take a moment to register what happened. Oh, shit!! Where did Manabu go?? “Manabu-san! Where are you? Manabu-san!!”
Manabu quickly raced to one of the alleyways as he threw up everything he ate. Goddammit. He fucking hated this feeling. He heard himself breathing heavily. Shit. He got weak under pressure. He couldn’t even handle pressure like a man. Shit. Now, his breath stunk.
“Is there any aspect of you that represents a man?!”
Manabu shut his eyes as he felt his heart throb. He threw up from eating too much. Dammit. Why did he have to eat like a woman?
“Hey, you! What the hell are you doing here?” a hostile voice approached him.
He peered up and saw a group of people who appeared to be gangsters.
“I think he’s looking for trouble. What do you think?” one of the people in the group asked.
“I think so too, eh?” the guy who seemed to be the boss said.
Oh, no. One trouble after another. Manabu’s feet started to uncontrollably shake. It was like those days back in school when those big kids bullied him. Seeing these people brought back terrible memories of when he would come home after being brutalized and bruised up. It was a nightmare… one he didn’t want to return to.
Manabu swiftly turned around and made a mad dash away from the group. He had to fucking get out of here! He had to go back to where Kazuki was. He hoped Kazuki wouldn’t be mad at him for disappearing all of a sudden. He just couldn’t let Kazuki see his weak side.
“Go get him!!” Manabu heard one of the guys holler.
He was already getting tired after a few paces. Shit. He was never good at physical activities. Why did his leg have to start failing on him now?!
Unexpectedly, his foot tripped over a beer can, which caused him to slip and tumble onto the ground.
“Huph!” Manabu gasped as he slammed against the hard ground.
Before he even had a chance to regain his conscious, someone had already picked him up by the collar of his shirt.
“Whoo! Now, you’re going to feel the pain of invading our territory!” the guy who picked him up hollered.
His other members were cheering and hooting like it was some game show. Oh, god. Manabu didn’t want to relive through the torture of his high school days. Somehow, he prayed for someone to come and save him.
“Not if I can help it!” a familiar voice butted in.
Someone punched the sleazy guy in the face dropping Manabu to the ground. Manabu opened his eyes and peered up finding Kazuki before him.
“Hey, that’s the mafia kid…” one of the guys said stunned.
“If you don’t get out of my sight, I’m going to make sure you regret you were ever born.” Kazuki menacingly threatened.
“Go get him! Show him where he belongs!” the leader of the group hollered.
Without even questioning the leader, everyone charged at Kazuki. Manabu gasped wondering what would unfold. Could Kazuki even handle all of those strong guys?
One of them swung his pipe at Kazuki, but he swiftly dodged the guy’s swing and ended up punching him in the face. The poor guy ended up flying across the ground and out of sight. Another one came from behind, but Kazuki somehow managed to grab the guy’s wrist and swung him around like paper in which he collided against his own group members.
The vicious fighting continued like this for a good ten minutes. Kazuki senselessly beat these guys to a pulp without any mercy. He had no sorrow or sympathy in his eyes. There was only survival and blood lust in his eyes. This dark feeling shivered down Manabu’s spine. Not too long ago, Kazuki was his jittery self, who now transformed into a dark, killing machine designed to defeat what was in front of him. There was so much blood, screaming, and yelling going on. Manabu had to look away since he couldn’t stand the sight of it. It was unbearable for him to witness.
After a while, every single guy was either on the ground helpless or badly beaten up. The sight of it shocked Manabu. More than a dozen guys tried to kill Kazuki yet Kazuki took them down without having a single scratch on his body.
“R-run!” one of them shouted.
“Yeah!”
They ended up high tailing out of there as fast as they could before Kazuki had the chance to say anything to them.
“Ha, serves them right. Stupid to begin with.” Kazuki harshly commented to himself.
Kazuki turned around. Manabu suddenly became afraid of him. What was he going to do him?
“Manabuuuu! Why did you do that to meee? I was worried where you were!” Kazuki immediately changed into his bubbly personality again as he knelt down.
“What…? I…” Manabu couldn’t coherently fabricate an excuse.
“Aww, is there something wrong with you, Manabuu?” Kazuki instinctively patted Manabu’s head.
Manabu didn’t mind and realized that Kazuki was presenting such affectionate actions. Manabu’s mind was preoccupied by what had just happened.
“Manabuu, is there something wrong? Do you need to go to the hospital?” Kazuki noticed how Manabu’s face was a little pale.
“No. I’m fine. I want to go back to the dorm.” Manabu demanded.
Kazuki was about to reject the idea, but then smiled. He knew better than to refuse Manabu’s request. “Okay. Let’s go then.”
Manabu didn’t think any odd about Kazuki’s easy agreement with him. He was too tired and sick to think about it. All he wanted to do was to get some rest and forget about what had happened especially about that scene with Kazuki and those thugs…
XOXOXOXO
Tora decided to eat out and took Byou along with him. He worried at the thought of Byou being alone in that prearranged house.
Byou gazed at the scenery around him. People bustled around everywhere. The lights flickered on and off. Cars zoomed and halted. Life was moving around in such a swift manner. There seemed to be no slowing down.
“Hey, want to eat at a ramen shop? My treat!” Tora suggested.
“You know ramen isn’t healthy for you.” Byou protested to give Tora a bit of a fight.
“Awww, come on, By-chan. Pleeasseeeeeee!” Tora annoyingly begged.
“Fine. Just for tonight, though.” Byou consented. He wanted to do everything to make Tora happy.
They stumbled upon a restaurant and settled into their seats. Tora examined the menu pointing out the ridiculous dishes and cracking a joke for everything he could. Byou heartily laughed at Tora’s corny jokes. He hadn’t heard that boisterous, funny guy’s voice in such a long time.
After Byou ate and waited for Tora to finish his five bowls of ramen, they decided to explore the city getting a view of what it was like. They stopped to look at the small shops or street stands. Tora usually loathed waiting, but today was a different story. He hardly ever got to hang out with his lovely paramour. He had to cherish every moment he had. There was no time to waste in complaining. Any moment he got with Byou… he never forgot it.
When they finished browsing through all of the shops, Byou ended up buying a necklace with a cute tiger pendant on it. He knew Tora’s favorite animal was the tiger. It was meant to be strong and protect those precious to them. Somehow, it seemed to fit Tora perfectly fine. And well, Tora meant tiger.
They sat down in front of an ice cream shop with a cup of green tea ice cream and two spoons stuck into it. Tora and Byou gladly dug into it. In fact, they raced to see who could eat more.
“Ah, damn! I hate you, Byou!”
“Haha! I still win.” Byou smirked.
“Dammit. I’m gonna win one of these days. You just watch!!” Tora curled his hand into a ball shaking it in front of Byou.
Byou covered his mouth as he laughed. Tora could be so silly and childish sometimes.
“Hey, Tora. You think I could put this necklace on you?” Byou offered.
Tora remembered Byou had bought that tiger necklace. “Okay.”
Byou came around behind Tora to put the necklace around his neck. When Tora exposed his neck to let Byou properly lock the necklace, he noticed another necklace around Tora’s neck. What was it?
“Hey, Tora.” Byou called for his attention as he put the necklace around Tora’s neck. “What is the other necklace you have?”
Out of all of his years with Byou, he never told Byou about this pendant that he carried of his family. He told Byou about his dreadful past, but never about this pendant. Perhaps it was time.
“It’s a pendant of my family and my younger brother, Manabu. I always carry it around me to remind myself to never forget my little brother.” Tora explained to Byou.
Byou knew of Tora’s terrible past yet he was still able to become such a loving, funny man. Byou locked the necklace and wrapped his arms around Tora’s neck while leaning on his head. “Don’t worry. You’ll find him.”
“I hope so.” Tora held onto Byou’s hands and rubbed against it.
Byou kissed Tora’s cheek hoping to comfort him. Even if it was just a little. “You’re Superman, remember? Nothing can stop you.”
“Yeah.”
Yes… He hoped he would find his brother soon and apologize for leaving him alone so many years ago.
XOXOXOXO
“Alrighty, Manabu-san! We’re here!” Kazuki excitedly called.
When he stopped the car and peered over, he noticed Manabu peacefully sleeping. Kazuki had never seen Manabu so relaxed. Kazuki couldn’t help, but sit there and study Manabu’s beautiful features. He had such cherry, red lips and fair skin. He wondered what it felt like…
Kazuki slowly leaned over to lightly caress Manabu’s face. His heart started to pound faster as his body grew hot. Oh, Jesus. What the hell was wrong with him? He just wanted to touch Manabu’s soft skin…
He reached out his hand and lightly slid his fingers on Manabu’s cheek. Kazuki immediately pulled away receiving a tingling feeling from within. Manabu shifted in his seat, but still didn’t wake up. Hmm, how could he wake Manabu up? Oooh! He had the perfect idea.
Kazuki inched up to kiss Manabu’s cheek. He would have aimed for Manabu’s lips, but he didn’t want to scare Manabu away from him. Although, he was quite curious as to what those tasted like.
Just as Kazuki was about to peck his cheek, Manabu happened to turn his face towards him and Kazuki ended up planting his chaste kiss on Manabu’s lips.
Kazuki was temporarily shocked, as he didn’t expect to have such close contact so soon. But he couldn’t resist deeply kissing Manabu… His instincts told him to go right for it without any hesitation. And that was exactly what he did.
Manabu suddenly woke up not expecting to receive such feelings from anyone much less… Kazuki! It was too sudden and too close. Manabu tried to pull away from Kazuki, but Kazuki used his arms to grip onto Manabu’s shoulders. He struggled to not give in, but Kazuki made it difficult as he was pouring in such passionate feelings. Soon enough, Manabu found himself giving into Kazuki’s kiss. For that transient moment, Manabu closed his eyes and let Kazuki take over. He didn’t mind Kazuki was kissing him.
When Kazuki parted his lips away from Manabu, he found Manabu’s face burning red. It took a moment for Manabu to realize what just transpired. God!! He… gave… in! He gave into Kazuki’s kiss!! Goddammit! How could he do that?!!
“Kazuki, you jerk! I was sleeping! How could you do that?!” Manabu scolded him, despite his real emotions.
Without responding to Manabu, Kazuki slipped his arm around Manabu’s waist to bring him in closer as he heard Manabu gasp. Manabu was about to utter something, but Kazuki cut him off by pressing his lips against Manabu’s. Manabu’s eyes widened as he attempted to push Kazuki away, but Kazuki was much stronger than him.
Kazuki slipped his tongue in between Manabu’s lips and touched against Manabu’s tongue. He didn’t know why, but he was receiving such euphoria just by being in close contact with Manabu. He felt an overwhelming feeling of joy and… love. What was more exhilarating was that Manabu was hardly resisting and was more or less returning the same feeling.
No… why? Why was this happening to him? Manabu couldn’t believe he was returning Kazuki’s zealous kiss. Why…?
Just when Kazuki parted his lips for a few seconds, Manabu thought he was done, but Kazuki pressed his lips against Manabu’s lips again. He continued to do this several times with such great zeal. Strangely enough, Manabu returned each and every single one. Although he could barely breathe, he was receiving such a sensational and overwhelming feeling as Kazuki kissed him each time. For the first time in his life, his heart was pounding… but not because of pain.
Kazuki released his lips from Manabu’s as he was heavily breathing. Kazuki’s heart thumped harder and louder. He got to taste Manabu’s sweet and delicious lips. Hmm… He wanted to taste it some more. But would Manabu allow him?
Manabu could hardly believe what had taken place. Here he was in Kazuki’s arms being kissed by him. He felt he could be sucked into this romantic moment. He… What?! Gah!! No… the jerk stole his first kiss!!
“You bastard!!!!” Manabu shouted as he landed a punch on Kazuki’s face.
“Ahhh!” Kazuki hollered caught off guard.
Kazuki flew back and had no choice, but to release Manabu. He cupped his own cheek feeling the throbbing pain. Oh, it was a punch from Manabu. He never expected Manabu to have such powerful strength. Well, he didn’t mind as long as it was coming from Manabu. Geez, was he even thinking straight? Normally, he would have instinctively smacked his attacker, but he didn’t do that with Manabu. How could he?
“I was… I was sleeping! Grrrrh! How dare you do that to me?!” Manabu pointed his finger at him angry and upset.
“I didn’t mean it! I swear!” Kazuki tried to defend himself.
“Yeah, right! Just because I’m sleeping doesn’t make it right for you to kiss me!” Manabu raised his voice.
“No, I wasn’t going to! I was just going to kiss your cheek and then you happen to move your head! I swear! Manabu.” Kazuki pleaded with him for his forgiveness.
Manabu noticed his surroundings. Where the hell were they? He noticed sand and the ocean. Huh? They were at a seaside… or something? Wait.
Manabu glared at Kazuki. “Why are we are the beach? You were supposed to bring us back to school.”
“Oh. Well… uh… You see. There was some road construction going on and we were going to have to wait forever in traffic. So rather than wait forever in that long traffic line, I thought: what better way to spend time? Going to the beach!” Kazuki formulated an excuse on the spur of the moment.
Manabu narrowed his eyes. “Bring us back.”
“Not until you tell me what was wrong with you.” Kazuki mischievously smiled.
“What? Nothing is wrong with me.” Manabu denied.
“Come on. You were pale and pallid when I found you. You even ran away when we were eating.” Kazuki pointed out. “What’s wrong with you, Manabu-san?”
Manabu became tight-lipped. He couldn’t tell Kazuki he threw up and ran away because he was afraid of looking like a wuss. Kazuki would definitely laugh at him for being so stupid.
“Come on, Manabu-san. I’m going to tickle you if you don’t tell me.” Kazuki threatened him.
“What?” Manabu’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t dare!”
“Hehe. I’m going to when I count down to three and then I won’t stop until you tell meee.” Kazuki stupidly grinned. “1… 2…”
“Fuck you!” Manabu scrambled out of the car to get away from Kazuki.
Kazuki chuckled as he rushed out of the car and chased after Manabu who ran away at the sight of him.
“Come back here and tell meeee!” Kazuki hollered.
“Don’t even touch me!” Manabu yelled at him.
Kazuki knew he could easily outrun Manabu, but that would be no fun if he could normally tackle Manabu.
“Huh! Oh, my gosh! Manabu-san! Look!!” Kazuki purposely gasped, speaking in a worried voice.
Manabu actually stopped and turned around. “What-”
“Hyah!!!” Kazuki raced over and tackled Manabu to the ground.
“Ahhh! You bastard!” Manabu cursed out loud to Kazuki.
Kazuki smirked at the sight of a flustered Manabu. He loved seeing Manabu’s cute face in such distress. When Manabu opened his eyes, he saw Kazuki on top of him. He gasped as horrible scenarios ran through his mind. Oh, no…!
Kazuki caressed Manabu’s cheek and asked him, “So my darling… Why did you run away today when we were eating?”
“D-don’t call me that! I’m not a girl!” Manabu defensively shot at him.
He wanted to smother Manabu with kisses, but he wanted to hear that answer first from Manabu.
“Okay, honey, what was wrong with you today?” Kazuki cutely asked him.
Manabu was instinctively about to punch him Kazuki for still pegging him as a woman, but Kazuki swiftly grabbed his fist with daring speed. He was taken back by Kazuki’s fast reflex.
At that moment, Manabu noticed those deep chocolate eyes earnestly trying to search for an answer as to what happened in that eating contest moment. Did Kazuki truly want to know what happened to him? Why he was like that? But no one ever wanted to know why he was such a whimp.
Kazuki saw Manabu’s eyes afraid yet eager as if he was conflicted on what to do. Why was there such internal conflict buried deep within those beautiful, sparkling eyes?
Kazuki smiled and said, “Okay, honey. You forced me to do this the hard way.”
“What?” Manabu was frightened by Kazuki’s next action.
Kazuki hastily got up and picked up Manabu bridal style. Without even realizing, Kazuki took it upon himself to free Manabu from that conflict chaining him down… He had to be the one who would get Manabu to say the words he wished he could express without fear. Yes, it was his obligation to transform Manabu into that genuine and kind person he really was.
“If you don’t tell me, we’re going to take a little swim!” Kazuki excitedly proclaimed.
“What?!” Manabu’s eyes widened to the sizes of grapes. “You fucking little…! Put me down!”
Kazuki rushed onto the shores of the beaches where the ocean barely crashed against the soft, mucky sand. “If I count to three and you haven’t told me, then I’m going to throw you in!”
“No! Let me go!” Manabu pleaded with him.
“Not if you don’t tell me.” Kazuki deviously stated.
Oh, no! Kazuki was going to chug him into the water like some ball being thrown around in the field. Shit!
“1…”
Crap. Crap. What would he do?
“2…”
Manabu unconsciously tightly gripped onto Kazuki’s neck so that he wouldn’t go flying in the air like a bird without wings.
For a moment, Kazuki was shocked that Manabu held tightly around his neck. Did that mean Manabu sought him as a means of protection?
“2 and a half…”
Damn, Kazuki! Stalling time… Argh…
“Fine. Fine. I’ll tell you, but you promise not to laugh or tell anyone, okay?” Manabu finally gave in.
There seemed to be no negotiating with Kazuki.
“Hehe, I promise.” Kazuki was elated that Manabu would finally tell him.
Manabu grudgingly thought about how he would have to spill his story. Damn.
Kazuki placed Manabu down on the sand and sat down right next to him. Manabu couldn’t believe he was humiliated. A man wasn’t supposed to be humiliated. Did he just lose a part of being a man?
“So…? What’s the story?” Kazuki scooted himself closer to Manabu.
For once, Manabu sensed a sort of protective warmth from Kazuki… as if he would never leave his side no matter what. Could he trust Kazuki… a kid of a mafia?
“I couldn’t eat that much.” Manabu shortly responded.
Kazuki blinked his eyes befuddled by Manabu’s answer. “Huh?”
“I can’t eat that much in such a short time and… Well…” Manabu paused thinking about what to say next. “And, well… I… I had to regurgitate the food I ate.”
Kazuki gazed at the scenery in front of him as he pondered on Manabu’s answer. During their meals at school together, he observed the small amounts of food Manabu ate. It made sense. He couldn’t eat that much. “Ooh, so that why you don’t eat much whenever we eat together.”
Manabu sighed as if silently responding to him.
“Well, nothing’s wrong with that. See? It’s easy peasy if you just tell someone.” Kazuki spoke in such an optimistic tone. “If you have something you can’t do, then tell that person or else they won’t know.”
“Would you have even listened at the time even if I told you?” Manabu shot at him.
Kazuki didn’t answer right away. He was always used to everyone listening to him for requests. Not the other way around. Would he have listened?
“Of course!” Kazuki let the words flow out of his mouth. “Why not? You’re my best buddy in the world!!”
Kazuki slapped his back causing Manabu to cough from the heavy force. The force reminded him of that scary fight in the alleyway. Kazuki beat up those people like nothing as if taking their lives was a small part of a bigger goal.
“Hey, can I ask you something?” Manabu looked over at Kazuki.
“What?” Kazuki happily said in a singsong voice.
Manabu hesitated whether he should inquire about the matter, but it bothered him. What happened back there… seemed to a part of Kazuki that Manabu could never see at school. Would Kazuki answer him truthfully? He hoped so. He wished to know the real Kazuki.
“You… Back in that alleyway… You… punched them real hard with such a frightening look on your face.” Manabu stated his observation. “How do you know how to fight and all of that?”
Such a frightening look. Manabu actually dared to ask him. The question took Kazuki back for a moment. No one he ever knew would care enough. Not even his father. What was this pounding feeling emanating through his veins?
“Haha!” Kazuki loudly laughed, but it pained him to do so. He wished he could tell Manabu the truth, but he had to spare him from his tainted universe. “I’m a son of a mafia so I have to learn how to do those things or else I will get killed! Lots of people want my father, so haha. For self-defense. Really.”
Kazuki’s response came off a bit forced. Manabu wondered why. “Oh.”
Kazuki didn’t expect Manabu to have some elaborate statement, but he secretly yearned for Manabu to question him further or provoke him to say more, but he didn’t. Dammit. How could he reveal his secret? Could he ever reveal his secret to Manabu?
“Hey, Kazuki.”
“What is it?”
“Can I lean on your arm? I’m a little tired.”
Kazuki’s heart skipped a beat. Manabu? On his arm? Oh, god. Could he control himself? “Sure.”
Manabu rested his head on Kazuki’s shoulder and closed his eyes hearing only the sound of the ocean and seagulls crying in the faraway sunset. When he was little, he imagined sitting in this kind of tranquility forgetting about the gruesome pain his father inflicted on him. It was his imaginary paradise.
Kazuki became extremely nervous. Manabu’s body was in close proximity to his. He had to severely restrain himself from doing anything since he didn’t want to scare Manabu away. This one moment… Manabu let his guard down. Kazuki wondered he should to do.
“Hmm…” Kazuki thought to himself. “Oh!”
He slowly took his arm out and wrapped one of his arms around Manabu’s waist. He thought Manabu would have jerked or hit him over the head, but there was no response. Kazuki peered over to find Manabu’s eyes closed. He heard him deeply breathing as his chest rose and fell.
Manabu was sleeping. He was fast asleep.
Kazuki brushed Manabu’s hair to side and lightly caressed his soft skin on his face. Manabu still didn’t stir. He disappointedly studied Manabu’s beautiful features. If only time could stand still and let them sit in this very moment forever… He wouldn’t mind being here all day long. Unfortunately, he had to return to the harsh, cruel reality awaiting for him at home.
He impulsively lifted Manabu’s sleeping face and smelled Manabu’s sweet fragrance. Why did God have to curse him? More than ever… He wanted to be Manabu’s protector… To be by his side at all times. But his job working as a mafia would never allow that… would it?
He softly whispered into Manabu’s ear. “I think I’ve fallen for you… you quiet little idiot.”
Kazuki gently kissed Manabu’s lips knowing that the sleepyhead wouldn't return the same feeling. But it didn’t matter. He wasn’t sure when would be the next time he would get to taste Manabu’s lips again.
In Manabu’s dream, he noticed a field of flowers and grasses around him.
Suddenly, he found Kazuki standing in front of him.
“What are you doing here?” Manabu asked him.
There was a pause.
“I think I’ve fallen for you… you quiet little idiot.” Kazuki unexpectedly confessed in a hushed voice.
Manabu’s heart stopped for that moment. What? Kazuki…? Someone as handsome as Kazuki truly liked him?
Suddenly, Kazuki leaned in and lightly kissed Manabu’s lips with such sorrow, but joy at the same time.
Manabu’s heart was jumping with elation as his stomach had butterflies. Unfortunately, this was only his dream. Kazuki would never truly fall in love with someone as awkward as him. If only he could find someone like the Kazuki in his dreams… then maybe he could finally shed those unconscious tears hidden in his soul.
A/N's
Yay, finally finished writing this chapter ヾ(´▽｀;)ゝ It took me a while, but I managed to do it, lol. Personally, I loved the interaction between all of the couples in this chapter. It was very cute and romantic. I've started the next chapter, but no promises that it will be finished any time soon (。┰ω┰。) I apologize for being such a sporadic writer ;w;
Constructive criticisms and comments are greatly appreciated (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡