Petals of a Cherry Blossom - Chapter 3A - KazukixManabu
Title: Petals of a Cherry Blossom
Chapter: 3a/??
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, the GazettE
Pairing(s)/Character(s): KazukixManabu, MizukixManabu, KazukixUruha, 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: Yay, another chapter to this story ( ＾∇＾) 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 || Chapter 4a/ Chapter 4b
Mizuki deeply sighed as he came out of the shower and climbed up the ladder to plop on his bed. He was saddened by the fact that Manabu had left all day to hang out with Kauzki. He was crazy enough to get up early to stake out and watch Manabu leave the place. Then he proceeded to follow Manabu for the rest of the day.
Okay… Maybe he was being a bit stalkerish, but he couldn’t help himself! He was worried to death about Manabu’s safety. There was no telling as to what Kazuki, the mafia kid, could do to him.
He couldn’t believe his eyes! Kazuki and Manabu looked like they were having the time of their lives. They went shopping to several stores, ate at restaurants… Yes, it was insane. Kazuki was driving in an American Ferrari car while Mizuki drove on his Kawasaki motorcycle. It was the only way he could keep track of them.
He eventually lost them at the nightstands because they sat somewhere in the middle of the big crowd. Goddammit. He took his eyes off for one moment and lost sight of them. He didn’t know what happened to Manabu afterwards. Well… If Manabu didn’t show up tonight, then he would have to go confront that stupid Kazuki the following day.
Mizuki sat on his bed, hugging his teddy bears, and decided to read some mangas. He would wait to see if Manabu came back. He peered up at the clock noticing the time. It was eleven o’clock at night. He prayed for Manabu’s safety and return.
XOXOXOXO
Kazuki drove up to the school’s parking lot and rolled into the first spot closest to the sidewalk. He would escort Manabu back to his room since he didn’t want him to get hurt especially since it was unsafe to be alone at night.
When he stopped the engine, he was about to wake Manabu up, but he heard Manabu deeply breathing in and out. Hmm. He didn’t want to disturb this breathtaking view of Manabu’s beautiful face. He wasn’t sure what to do until he thought about what most couples did in those cheesy, romantic movies. Piggyback style! He snapped his fingers together, proud of this idea. He had to admit that it was difficult to get Manabu on his back piggyback style, but he somehow managed and trekked back to Manabu’s dorm.
Manabu softly snored in his deep sleep. Kazuki smiled seeing such a relaxed and childish face. It was too adorable hearing him snore with his mouth slightly parted. He wished he could kiss Manabu’s sweet lips again, but he was sure Manabu was tired after today’s adventures so he didn’t want to disturb his precious sleep.
He wasn’t sure why, but he received elation watching Manabu. Perhaps… this was normal?
When he arrived to Manabu’s dorm, he wondered how he was going to get inside until some students came out and opened the door widely without taking any real notice of him. He swiftly dashed inside relieved that he wouldn’t have to stand outside the entire night.
He hoped he would be able to spend more time and get to know Manabu on a deeper level. He didn’t want Manabu to slip away from his hands only to be stolen by someone else. For the first time in his life, another human being meant more to him than his own life.
Up in the room, Mizuki decided to go down to the vending machine to buy a drink. He was a bit thirsty and was craving for a sweet drink. Hmm… He wondered what the choices were.
He slipped on his slippers and exited the room with some change in his hands. He strolled down the quiet dormitory not expecting anything out of the ordinary until he spotted Manabu sleeping on Kazuki’s back!! Not to mention that Kazuki carried a ton of shopping bags… Ahhh! What had Kazuki done to Manabu?!
“What have you done to Manabu-san?” Mizuki called out to Kazuki.
Kazuki frowned when he heard that annoying voice. It was Manabu’s roommate and classmate, Mizuki. Goddammit. He wasn’t expecting to deal with Mizuki this late at night. Grr… Kazuki still remembered that day when Mizuki stole Manabu right out of his hands. He wouldn’t let that happen again. Never again.
“Uh… hi.” Kazuki tried his best to greet Mizuki without sounding hostile.
If Manabu woke up and found Kazuki harshly speaking to Mizuki, Manabu might actually scold him for being evil to his friend. Urgh. What a complicated yet stupid predicament he was placed in. Merrh… Damn Mizuki for being here.
“Did you do something to Manabu-san?” Mizuki questioned.
“Nope. We just hung out for a whole day. Something wrong with that?” Kazuki casually responded.
Mizuki couldn’t tell if this guy was fabricating some story or speaking the truth. Damn him. Why did Kazuki have to wear such a poker face? If only Manabu was awake, he would know the truth.
Before Mizuki had a chance to interrogate any further, they both heard Manabu stir from his sleep.
“Kazuki-senpai, what’s going on?” Manabu murmured as he rubbed his eyes.
“Oh, nothing. I just bumped into your roommate, Mizuki-san.” Kazuki turned his head toward Manabu.
What? It took a moment for Manabu to register what was going on. He was sleeping on Kazuki’s back with his arms wrapped around his neck and Mizuki was standing smack dab in front of them…. Witnessing this scene. With big grape eyes.
Dammit. What horrible timing. Now Mizuki might get the completely wrong idea.
“Can you put me down, Kazuki-senpai?” Manabu politely requested.
“Okay, as you wish.” Kazuki oddly listened to Manabu’s words and bent down.
Mizuki watched Kazuki act so kindly toward Manabu. It was off kilter from Kazuki’s supposedly cruel personality. How could someone like Kazuki care about Manabu’s words? Something was definitely going on between the two of them. Did Kazuki possibly brainwash Manabu?! Oh, no!!
“I guess I’ll see you on Monday morning, then?” Kazuki handed Manabu the shopping bags.
“I suppose.” Manabu agreed.
Instinctively, Kazuki leaned in to kiss Manabu on the cheek and squeezed his waist.
Mizuki quietly gasped at the sight of it. Kazuki stuck out his tongue at Mizuki as if rubbing it in his face that he had won this round. Kazuki loved it when he saw Mizuki’s cherry, red face. Haha, he was closer to Manabu than Mizuki was! For no particular reason, that fact made him quite proud. Mizuki couldn’t believe it!! The jerk was seducing Manabu! Mizuki knew he was horrible from the start!
“Goodnight and sweet dreams, Manabu!” Kazuki released him and winked his eye at Manabu.
Manabu, oblivious to the secret battle, going on between Kazuki and Mizuki, watched Kazuki leave wondering why he seemed so happy and joyful.
Mizuki sighed as he noticed Manabu staring at Kazuki’s back. Could it be that Manabu…? No! He couldn’t think that. They barely knew each other!
“Manabu-san, are you okay?” Mizuki worriedly asked.
“I’m fine.” Manabu faced Mizuki.
Manabu felt comfortable and at ease around Mizuki. Unlike with Kazuki. With Kazuki, his heart pounded hard as if it was going to shatter into pieces. He wondered why his heart beat differently around the two of them.
“What are you doing in your pajamas?” Manabu noticed.
“Uh… I just took a shower and was going to get a soda from the vending machine.” Mizuki realized his original purpose, but what did it matter anymore? Manabu was back! “Oh! Let me carry those bags! It must be heavy!”
“What? I-” Manabu was about to protest, but Mizuki already snatched it out of his hands and rushed toward the room.
Manabu quickly followed behind to make sure Mizuki wouldn’t hurt himself.
“Let me open the door, Mizuki.” Manabu insisted. “You’re going to hurt yourself carrying all of those.”
“Better me than you, right?” Mizuki happily said.
Manabu shook his head at Mizuki comment. How could he be such an idiot sometimes? Manabu swore Mizuki was like that silly brother who he had to keep in line and watch out for. Manabu took the keys out and opened the door to let Mizuki in first.
As Mizuki put the bags down, Manabu softly closed the door. He wondered where Mizuki had gone all day.
“So how was your date with Kazuki-san?” Mizuki immediately inquired.
“It was fine. Nothing serious happened.” Manabu answered nonchalantly.
“Really? He didn’t try to advance onto you, did he?” Mizuki persisted with his question.
Manabu paused for a moment thinking about the car scene where Kazuki kissed him forcibly several times. Not to mention that he returned those kisses as well. Wait… That would be considered ‘advancing’… Oh, god! Why was he getting hot thinking about it?
“Huh!” Mizuki dramatically gasped. “I knew it!! I knew it!! Your red face tells me that he did!”
“No! He didn’t! Stop being a pervert!” Manabu denied Mizuki’s allegations.
“Yes, he did, didn’t he? Tell me! Tell me!”
“No! Mizuki!!”
Manabu couldn’t believe the trouble he got himself into.
XOXOXOXO
Kazuki drove back home in silence. He was already reminiscing about his date with Manabu. God, he almost didn’t want to leave Manabu back there. If annoying Mizuki weren’t in the way, he wouldn’t have left Manabu’s side. Oh, geez! He might have slept over… Ah, he couldn’t help thinking about Manabu’s cute facial expressions about the idea.
Suddenly, he stopped and looked at the rear view mirror. What the hell was he thinking? The whole time… He was genuinely caring for Manabu. Shit. That wasn’t supposed to be his goal, was it? What the hell was just running through his mind? What was going on with him?
He pulled up into the driveway and got out of the car. It was dead silent, but he carried on like normal. This was the normal. If there were noises, then something would be really wrong.
When Kazuki stepped inside of the mansion, one of the housekeepers approached him in a humble manner. “Kazuki-sama.”
“What?”
“Someone is here to see you.”
“Who?” Kazuki mindlessly asked.
“It’s Uruha-sama,” the housekeeper responded. “He’s waiting in the lounge room.”
Kazuki was surprised that Uruha would be over his house so late. Come to think about it, he hadn’t been hanging around with Uruha lately. Ah, dammit. Oh, well.
He headed to the lounge room where he found Uruha sitting on the couch staring at the fireplace with a book in his hand as the fire burned brightly in the darkly lit room.
“Hey, I didn’t expect to see you here.” Kazuki casually greeted him.
“Kazuki-chan!” Uruha addressed him in a childish, but calm manner. “Where have you been?”
“I’ve been out and about. How about you?” Kazuki sat down in the chair across from Uruha.
“Hmm… I went to the bookstore to buy some books to read.” Uruha tapped his cheek as he thought about it.
Kazuki knew Uruha from elementary school. Uruha was the lonely kid and didn’t have many friends. The guys criticized him for liking boys and the girls thought he was gross and disgusting. Kazuki didn’t care much for Uruha’s sexual orientation since he saw a good person and partner in Uruha. He could rely on Uruha never to backstab him.
“You’re such a bookworm.” Kazuki teased him with his usual smile. “Hey, butler, some tea?”
“Right away, sir.” the butler who stood at the door bowed and left.
Even though their families knew each other, Uruha’s family distanced themselves from him because he didn’t like girls and wouldn’t continue their family legacy. They pretty much viewed Uruha as a curse to their family. And Kazuki knew exactly how that felt… for their parents to see them only as an eyesore and a menace. If anyone, Uruha understood his pain best and managed to cheer him up whenever he was feeling down.
Anyway, it wasn’t as if someone would care to listen. Only Uruha cared to listen.
“I can’t help it. I like to read everything and anything.” Uruha giggled.
Kazuki rolled his eyes in a playful manner. “You should get your head out of the books and start reading less, haha.”
“Oh, Kazuki-chan, speak for yourself.” Uruha pouted in disappointment by Kazuki’s statement.
“Psssh, what are you talking about?” Kazuki waved off his statement.
To Kazuki, Uruha had always been that little brother he could rely on when in desperate situations. Anytime he was in a bind, he trusted Uruha more than he trusted Kenzo.
“Excuse me, sir.” The butler came back with the teapot, cups, and a cart full of small desserts. “Would you like anything to eat with the tea, Kazuki-sama and Uruha-sama?”
“Custards, tarts, mochi cakes, and…” Kazuki listed some foods off, but then paused thinking if he missed anything else.
“And sweet buns.” Uruha finished his sentence. “You always forget those, Kazuki-chan.”
“I was just testing you. I didn’t forget.” Kazuki feigned even though he really did. Uruha seemed to always have his back.
The butler placed everything down on the table and quietly walked away rolling away the cart that carried the deserts leaving Uruha and Kazuki alone.
“Are you doing anything tomorrow?” Uruha took the initiative to start a conversation.
“Uh… why do you ask?” Kazuki remembered that he had a date with Manabu tomorrow.
He usually hung out with Uruha after school, but lately he had been avoiding Uruha and hanging out with Manabu. Actually, he hadn’t been avoiding. He just… kind of forgot about Uruha since his main priority was Manabu.
“It’s just that we haven’t hung out in forever!” Uruha sweetly complained. “And I miss hanging out with you.”
There was something about Uruha’s voice that made him feel guilty. But it wasn’t in the same way as Manabu made him feel.
“Uh… well… uh… I made prior arrangements for tomorrow.” Kazuki scratched his head.
“Wah? With who?” Uruha gasped.
Gah, why did Uruha have to be so nosy? Ack. Well, it was natural. Kazuki usually informed Uruha of everything, but when it came to Manabu… He never told Uruha anything.
“Uh… well…” Kazuki shifted his eyes toward the fireplace.
Uruha heard rumors about Kazuki hanging out with a freshman called Manabu. Apparently, they met in art class and Kazuki was the one who approached him.
“Don’t tell me… It’s with that freshman I’ve been hearing about. Manabu-san?” Uruha did his best to hide his dislike.
Even Uruha heard about it? Damn, news spread fast.
“Uh, well, it’s not like that! I-I mean… It’s not what you think!” Kazuki suddenly found himself getting nervous.
“Here’s the real story! I arrived to art class first and saw that Manabu and I were partnered up! A-and, well… You know how it is when I get bored. I talk to everyone and anyone! Beside, I’m stuck with a bunch of freshmen that I don’t know and he was the only who bothered to respond to me!”
Kazuki recanted the whole story in one breath. Goddamn. Why was he getting all fucking worked up? It wasn’t as if Uruha was a stranger. But then… why this strange… feeling?
“Oh, so you’re playing around with Manabu-san?” Uruha jumped to the conclusion.
“Yeah! Yeah, I’m just messing around with him.” Kazuki nervously chuckled.
Why was his heart betrayed by such a cold and careless response?
“Hehe, that’s what I thought when I heard it.” Uruha giggled.
Uruha began to worry that Kazuki was serious with someone, but that wasn’t the case. Still… Uruha couldn’t help feeling anxious. Why did Kazuki set aside time for someone else and not inform him? In the past, when Kazuki pretended to date other people, Kazuki made sure to let him know. But this time was different. Was nothing really going on? Uruha would have to find out to make sure.
“So… is there any other day we can hang out then?” Uruha brought the subject matter back up.
Ack. Damn. One day he couldn’t hang out with Manabu?
“Uh… day after tomorrow?” Kazuki hesitantly suggested.
He hoped Uruha wouldn’t agree, but that would be like asking his father to treat him like a real son.
“Yay! Day after tomorrow!” Uruha clapped his hands.
Ooh, man. One less day he could hang out with Manabu. Bah. It wasn’t as if he hated hanging around with Uruha, but… He couldn’t lose to that stupid, idiot Mizuki! He had to spend any time he had with Manabu. So far he was winning the battle with Mizuki… He had to make sure to keep it that way.
XOXOXOXO
Tora shot up from his bed at the sound of his alarm. Ah, goddammit… It was the start of a new day. Ah, well. His new mission.
When he peered over to his side, he noticed it was vacant. Where was Byou? Maybe somewhere in the house.
He lethargically slunk out of bed to get ready for the long day ahead of him. He thought about the long arduous process of sitting in an office staring at papers for a whole day. This was exactly why he didn’t choose to work in the academic field. He simply got too bored of such mindless tasks.
When he finished getting ready, he lugged his box of paperwork, located on the floor, out into the living room. He didn’t notice Byou around.
“By-chan?!” Tora gasped immediately dropping everything in his hands.
He dashed inside the kitchen and spotted Byou kneeling down to the ground searching for something in one of the lower cabinets.
Byou paused in his endeavors and gazed over at Tora. He noticed a concerned face on Tora’s expression. “What’s wrong?”
“God, By-chan! Don’t scare me like that!!” Tora breathed out a sigh of relief. “I thought something happened to you.”
“Stop being a worrywart, Tora. What could seriously happen to me?” Byou shrugged off his thought and continued to search through the cabinet.
“What are you looking for, by the way?” Tora finally registered what Byou was doing.
Tora inched over toward Byou and stared into the cabinet along with Byou. Byou nonchalantly answered, “Looking for some pans. But I made your lunch. It’s on the counter.”
“You made my lunch? Byou!! I love you!” Tora hugged Byou’s neck and leaned on him.
Perhaps this was a benefit living with Byou. Not just making his lunch, but receiving Byou’s love and care that he had missed for so long.
After helping Byou search through the cabinet for his pots and pans, Byou alerted Tora that it was time for him to go to work. Byou didn’t exactly understand why Tora worked in a school, but he wasn’t privy to such sensitive information. Tora said it was for his own good anyway. He wished he could be part of Tora’s life even more, but circumstances wouldn’t allow it.
“Have a good day.” Byou said to him as Tora put on his shoes. “Don’t beat up any of the kids.”
“Ah, dammit. Even if they’re annoying?” Tora snapped his fingers.
“Yes, even if they’re annoying.” Byou nodded his head.
“Man. Why, By-chan? I hate when they’re annoying.” Tora helplessly complained.
Byou knew Tora had little patience when it came to high school or college kids simply because he never knew how to interact with them.
Tora kissed Byou on the cheek and winked his eye. “Wish me luck!”
Before Byou had a chance to say anything else, Tora skipped out of the house and went on his way to work. Byou headed over toward the window and peeked through the window curtain to see Tora carry his paperwork into his car. He hoped Tora wouldn’t put himself into any unnecessary trouble since he was known as the center of attention.
In the distance, Byou spotted a strange looking man wearing a black suit and a hat in the middle of the summer. The man watched Tora happily pack his belongings and start the car. Suddenly, the man slipped away and disappeared. Byou wondered who that man was… Why was his heart arrested with fear? He decided to shut the curtain and lock the door. He would have to make sure not to leave today.
He would definitely have to tell Tora when he came back.
XOXOXOXO
Manabu woke up with purple bags under his eyes. Mizuki pestered him all night long and questioned him about the date. He wanted to punch Mizuki, but he knew Mizuki was only worried about him due to Kazuki’s status. Manabu couldn’t really blame him, but now he could hardly get out of bed.
“Manabu! Manabu! Are you awake yet?” Mizuki loudly said in a singsong tone.
How could Mizuki be up so early with this much energy?
Manabu sat in his bed barely conscious of what day it was. Goddamn. What day was it?
“Hurry up! We have to meet our new Academic Advisor today.”
Academic Advisor? Damn.
XOXOXOXO
Kazuki ended up sleeping in due to his late night chat with Uruha.
He and Uruha were having a chat about their nostalgic past. They remembered the days they played in the pond and stayed up to see the fireflies. Kazuki wondered if there was any way he could return to those blissful, ignorant days… without any of the mafia training. Uruha advised him not to think about the mafia business when he didn’t need to, but Kazuki couldn’t help it. He was trained to constantly ponder about the mafia business. It was his life.
After a long discussion about the past, Uruha decided to go home. Kazuki stayed with Uruha until his ride came driving him home in the darkness. Kazuki knew all good things would come to end. Just like his good, friendly conversations with Uruha.
Luckily, Kenzo woke him up and informed him of the new advisor they had to meet… Tora.
Kazuki’s ear perked up at the name of Tora. Hmm. Finally. He would get a chance to see Tora face-to-face.
“Good morning, Zuki-chan.” Uruha surprised Kazuki by showing up at the door just as they were leaving. “Good morning, Kenzo-san.”
Kenzo simply nodded his head in response.
Kazuki grew embarrassed whenever Uruha addressed him by the self-made nickname. If it was anyone else, Kazuki might have not liked it and beat the living daylights out of them, but Uruha had been his friend forever so he let it slide. He figured it was Uruha’s way of being cute and friendly.
“What are you doing here?” Kazuki raised one of his eyebrows in confusion.
Uruha immediately slipped his arms around Kazuki’s arm to show affection.
“What do you mean? We always go to school together at this time. You’re the one who’s been going to school early as of late.” Uruha reminded him.
That was right. He had been going to school earlier than usual to pick up Manabu. Damn! He forgot to set his alarm last night. Ack, if Uruha hadn’t kept him up last night, he would have remembered.
Kenzo was placed in a very awkward situation. Here Uruha was openly showing his love in the open without any regard of the public. Kenzo made sure to steer out of Uruha’s way because he found Uruha to be a bit scary. Uruha wore a beautiful, cute face at school, but Kenzo sensed a vicious personality underneath. He heard Uruha could be ruthless from the other mafia henchmen although he had never seen it himself.
Kenzo wasn’t sure what to do in this situation, but he was disappointed in the fact that he couldn’t chauffer Rui to school.
The three of them headed to school with Uruha instigating conversations and forcing Kazuki to respond. But Kenzo noticed that his master’s responses were to keep the conversation going and not out of pure interest. Something was definitely up… Something changed. But was it for better or for worse?
When they arrived at school, Kazuki hoped Manabu was all right. He would probably have to see his new advisor as well. Hopefully, they were with the same one. That way he could apologize for not coming to get him this morning.
As they approached the hallway of students, Kazuki immediately noticed Manabu with Mizuki. They were already there holding a conversation. Grrr!!! He didn’t know why his blood was pulsating like crazy, but he didn’t enjoy the sight of Mizuki being close to Manabu. Goddamn, Mizuki!
“Kazuki-chan?” Uruha called out his name, but Kazuki didn’t respond.
Kazuki didn’t hear him and went ahead to line up behind Manabu and Mizuki.
“Good morning, Manabu-san!” Kazuki cheerfully greeted him purposely interrupting Mizuki.
Manabu turned around seeing Kazuki’s jolly face. “Good morning, Kazuki-senpai.”
“How was your beauty sleep last night? Did you dream of me? Or maybe of you and me together?” Kazuki mischievously grinned.
Manabu’s eyes widened at the perverted implication behind Kazuki’s statement. He punched Kazuki in the chest and angrily stated, “Shut up, you pervert!”
Uruha was stunned by the close interaction between the two of them. Even he never acted that way around Kazuki and yet Manabu was so carefree… Not to mention that Kazuki never allowed this behavior around anyone.
“What?! I knew it! I knew it!” Mizuki gasped. “You advanced onto Manabu, didn’t you? Manabu didn’t tell me, but I can tell from the look on your face. You did!”
Kazuki simply shrugged his shoulders and stuck out his tongue. “So what if I did?”
Manabu was stunned as to how Kazuki could admit without any embarrassment.
“Why you…!!!” Mizuki was about to charge and pounce onto Kazuki, but luckily Manabu held him back.
“Wait! Stop being stupid, Mizuki!” Manabu restrained him.
“No! No! Let me at him! Let me at him! He deserves it!”
Uruha was further enraged hearing this. What? Kazuki… Kazuki…! Kazuki kissed Manabu?! What on Earth was this? He never even received a kiss from Kazuki!
Kenzo shook his head as he watched the drama unfold. He couldn’t believe this was a love…square. He wasn’t sure if any of them realized it, but as a third party… He could spot it as clear as day. Wait a second. A love square? But Kazuki wasn’t supposed to fall in love with Manabu…
“Oh, you frog face, don’t think so highly of yourself.” Uruha impulsively stepped in on the conversation with his deep voice.
They spotted a tall guy with a pretty face and beautiful eyes. It was almost unimaginable that someone with such amazing physique existed. Manabu felt quite small and incomparable to whoever this guy was.
“Hey, who are you calling a frog face?” Mizuki defended Manabu. “You little whimpy girl!”
He wasn’t supposed to be picking a fight the school’s second biggest mafia leader, but he couldn’t let Manabu get picked on for no reason. Or just because someone got jealous or… whatever!
Uruha loudly gasped. He couldn’t believe someone called him a wuss. “Huh! How dare you…! You! You! You ugly toad!”
“What?! Who are you calling a toad?!” Mizuki angrily responded to him.
“You! Who else could be as ugly as you?!” Uruha covered his mouth appalled by Mizuki’s daring actions.
Manabu dreaded this conversation. Why was Mizuki picking a fight? Was he trying to attract more unnecessary attention?
“What?! I’m not ugly!” Mizuki grew defensive. “I-”
“Mizuki-san!” the advisor opened the door and called on his name.
Dammit. He would have to go away and Manabu would be defenseless all by himself. He would get eaten alive by these voracious wolves!
“Mizuki-san!”
Manabu slapped Mizuki’s arm. “Hurry up. The advisor is calling for you.”
“What? But… but… Manabu…” Mizuki protested.
“It’s fine. Just hurry up before you get in trouble.” Manabu urged him.
“Okay… I’ll be right back out.” Mizuki reassured him and headed to the advisor’s office.
Uruha realized he might have approached Manabu the wrong way. Contrary to last night’s conversation with Kazuki, he could sense that Kazuki held Manabu very dear and close to his heart. He might as well befriend Manabu to find out the reason why.
“So glad we have the same advisor, right?” Kazuki hung his arm around Manabu’s neck and leaned against him.
Uruha restrained himself from getting upset or putting on an angry face. He had to pretend as if this didn’t bother him… Merrh!
Manabu was embarrassed by Kazuki’s actions. He wasn’t sure why Kazuki was being this friendly around him.
“Umm, you’re Manabu-san?” Uruha kindly asked him.
It took a moment for Manabu to realize Uruha spoke to him. Shit. Was this Kazuki’s friend? Kazuki didn’t introduce him. What was his name?
Damn, seeing this guy, made his pride go down the drain for some reason. But why? Was he feeling… inferior?
Manabu bluntly responded in a nervous manner, “So? Why do you want to know?”
“Oh, boy! Manabu, you’re being so bold and mean!” Kazuki dramatically exclaimed as he pinched Manbu’s cheek and wiggled it. “You must have dreamt of me last night.”
“Stop it, Kazuki-senpai. I’m not a kid.” Manabu said as the words he spoke were distorted due to Kazuki pulling on his cheek.
“Just admit it! You were. You were. You were…” Kazuki pestered him.
Kenzo observed the scene in front of him taking note of how odd Kazuki acted intimate with Manabu. He hadn’t seen a happier face on his master’s face in years. This had to be one of his master’s happiest moments… But why?
Uruha was torn apart by the scene happening in front of him. How could Kazuki be this cuddly, wuddly with Manabu? He hardly knew Manabu. In fact, he only knew Manabu for a few weeks… whereas Kazuki had known him forever. What was going on?
“I knew it! One minute I go away and you start molesting Manabu!” Mizuki unexpectedly hollered at Kazuki.
Everyone around them grew quiet and stared at them. Manabu was mortally embarrassed by the words that came out of Mizuki’s mouth. The other students wanted to laugh and snicker, but due to Kazuki’s presence, they restrained themselves. Eventually, they turned their backs and sniggered in a low tone.
Uruha slightly smiled at the embarrassment. Manabu definitely deserved that one.
“Mizuki-” Manabu was about to scold at Mizuki, but Kazuki surprisingly jumped in before him.
“Don’t say such inappropriate things. I don’t think Manabu appreciates it.” Kazuki defended Manabu stating the true feelings deep within his heart. “Besides, I wouldn’t do such a thing to Manabu.”
Mizuki turned speechless by Kazuki’s statement unable to concoct a decent comeback. Kenzo observed something bright glistening in his master’s eyes… but what? He couldn’t put his finger on what it was. It couldn’t be love… could it?
“Manabu-san!” the advisor called on him.
Due to the awkwardness, Manabu used this chance to escape everything. The awkwardness and tension. He dashed out of the situation and quickly headed inside the advisor’s office.
Tora opened the door for Manabu and merely gaped at the sight of his little brother entering the office. Oh, goodness. He was becoming nervous. What would he say? How would Manabu react? The thoughts were mindboggling! He shut the door behind Manabu and regained composure before heading back to his big office desk.
“Have a seat.” Tora stopped and hastily pulled out the chair just before Manabu sat down.
Manabu thought the guy acted funny, but didn’t think much of it. Maybe he was new to the job and had no experience working with students. Whatever. He hoped he could finish with this as soon as possible so he could stop Mizuki and Kazuki, for that matter, from murdering each other or doing something incredibly stupid.
Tora sat down and opened Manabu’s student file. He grimaced scanning through the numerous of notes documented by every school official Manabu ever saw and well… There were even notes of child services in here. Many physicians, counselors, psychiatrists, and all of those people signed on several different papers stating labeling Manabu as a troubled child from a broken home.
Tora knew about the broken home part, but a troubled child? Tora had to find out. Carefully, of course. Damn their father. And damn him for leaving Manabu.
Manabu spotted the huge file the advisor held in his hands. His whole life story was laid out like a storybook in that vanilla folder. That huge volume of paper was due to the years and years of bullying, abuse, and mistreatment he received from other people.
“So… I see that you have good grades and a full-ride scholarship for your amazing art skills.” Tora complimented him hoping it would get Manabu to open up.
“Yeah.” Manabu responded not sure what the advisor was scheming.
Oh, shit! He forgot to introduce himself!
“By the way, forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is Tora. I will be your advisor for this year.” the guy happily introduced himself.
Every counselor acted as if they cared, but they didn’t give a shit. They were just there to get paid.
“Ahem. So… Manabu-san, I see that you were bullied a lot in your younger years and came from an abusive… family.” Tora tried his best to speak as calm as possible hoping not to offend Manabu. He knew it was a sensitive subject… since it was pretty sensitive for himself.
The fact that some stranger knew his life better than most people… It annoyed the hell out of him. What did they know? What could other people understand about the pain he suffered through?
“So?” Manabu acted nonchalant for the subject matter.
“Well… That means that you’ve been flagged.” Tora revealed.
Manabu blinked his eyes. “What?”
“Uh, well… basically… You have to come see me twice a week.” Tora nervously explained.
As much as Tora tried, he had no idea how to be a big brother. He watched movies and movies of siblings’ interactions, but he never had any experience. Just seeing Manabu in person and knowing that he was related... was odd. The interaction between brothers was different than sisters. There was no such thing as hugging or crying together. If that was the case, what consisted of brotherly interaction?
“What? Twice a week?” Manabu frowned at the idea. “Why do I have to see you? I don’t like you.”
Goddamn. Already off to a bad start. He was fucking nervous talking to Manabu. He hadn’t seen his little brother in many years. Since he was a baby! Okay, well… he saw Manabu’s middle school photos… But… Still… It wasn’t the same! In picture and in person were two separate ideas!
“What? You don’t - I mean, ahem.” Tora coughed to control his strong eagerness to see Manabu. “I am your academic advisor as well as your counselor. Therefore, you have to come see me or else you will get in trouble.”
“What?” Manabu exasperated at the idea.
“Think about it like this. You don’t have to go see the school’s doctor and it saves you the pain of talking to some old geezer. I might be old, but I’m not grandpa, right?” Tora tried to convince Manabu otherwise.
Manabu grumbled at the idea. “Whatever”
“I have to ask you some sensitive questions, okay? They’re on the file so don’t get mad at me. It’s what I have to ask.” Tora started to see more and more of Manabu’s personality.
His little brother was defensive and built a barrier around himself, but only to protect himself. He saw a sad little guy wanting to make friends and open up to someone who wouldn’t betray him. After all, those who were supposed to love him hurt him the most.
Manabu watched Tora take a pen from his desk and clicked it. “Did you… ever… see a counselor or a psychiatrist when you got bullied at school?”
Manabu wasn’t sure how to respond. Well, of course he did! Wasn’t it obvious? Why did the counselor inquire such a stupid question?
“Are you making this up?” Manabu asked him in a hostile tone.
“No! I swear. It’s on the paper. See!” Tora waved the paper in the air and presented the sheet of paper to Manabu. “I’m not making it up.”
Manabu gazed at the questions. Reading these questions poked at his heart. He didn’t want to answer a single one. Why was he obligated to answer these ridiculous questions? What purpose did they truly serve? Honestly, no one gave a shit about him.
“I don’t want to answer them.” Manabu stubbornly refused.
Uh… boy. He told Manabu not to get mad and yet Manabu got upset. Well, it was understandable since this particular topic was not easy to discuss about. Tora decided to play by Manabu’s needs and desires. It was the only way to get to know Manabu.
“Okay. I don’t have to ask them. But I’m still going to ask you questions since I have to write something down here for today’s notes. I’m required to keep a log.” Tora wouldn’t completely be pushed over by Manabu.
There was a moment of silence as Tora shuffled through some papers. Manabu didn’t understand why this guy was so damn persistent.
“Why do you care? Aren’t you just an academic advisor?” Manabu shot the question at him.
“Well, maybe I do care.” Tora spoke in a lighthearted voice.
“Why? You get paid more?” Manabu was suspicious of his intentions.
“Don’t worry, Manabu. It’s only out of genuine kindness that I care for you. Trust me!” Tora smiled.
“I don’t believe you.” Manabu didn’t believe Tora’s words.
Tora’s heart was sunk to the ground when Manabu was being mean and utterly harsh to him, but he supposed it was expected of Manabu since life, for him, was unfair and indifferent to him.
“That’s fine. Trust is earned, not given.” Tora unexpectedly said. “I’m sure we’ll develop more of a rapport as we get to know each other!”
He would wait for Manabu to open up. He wouldn’t force Manabu to open up, but he did want to see more of Manabu. He didn’t have to say anything; he just wanted to see his long lost little brother.
Manabu was surprised. This guy wasn’t going to give up or back off. But why? Why?
“Okay. So twice a week, remember? Or else principal is going to get me fired and put a note on your record and mine!” Tora shook his head in despair and sighed.
Being around this guy, Manabu’s spirits was lifted up as if some burden was carried off of his shoulders. Could he really trust this guy? Why did he receive such… warm feelings? A type of feeling that he could trust and hold on to. It was sort of the same feeling as if he was around Kazuki, but it was different. He couldn’t really describe it. But what was it? Perhaps similar to the feelings he had when he hung out with Mizuki.
Tora saw the confusion written all over Manabu’s face. Nothing probably made sense to him. In fact, he probably wondered why this crazy lunatic was being nice to him. Tora was dying to reveal to Manabu that they were actually brothers and he had been searching for him for many years! But he didn’t want to scare Manabu away with too much information. For now, he would linger in the shadows and observe his little brother. To take care of his brother at this school, Manabu didn’t need to know about their relationship at the moment. Maybe when the time called for it.
“Okay! That’s it for today’s session!” Tora announced, although a little disappointed that Manabu wouldn’t answer any of his questions. But he would get Manabu to open up a bit more next time.
Tora stood up from his chair, in which Manabu followed suit. Tora… he was certainly a strange, weird guy. But not bad.
Tora opened the door and watched Manabu leave into the hallway. He spotted Manabu meeting up with his friends. Oh, well… Aye. He was glad that- Wait. Why did that one guy look familiar…? Why was he acting very intimate with Manabu? His little brother?
Tora immediately shut the door and softly gasped to himself. “Oh, shit. That’s the mafia’s kid, Kazuki. Shit.”
When Manabu came back, Kazuki immediately asked him, “How did it go?”
“It was fine.” Manabu answered.
“Good thing nothing happened to you.” Mizuki breathed out in relief.
Uruha didn’t bother to add anything to the conversation as he merely watched the three of them interact. Kenzo leaned against the wall hoping this would end soon.
“Kazuki-san!” Manabu heard Tora’s voice.
“Yay! It’s my turn!” Kazuki excitedly clapped his hands. “I’ll be right back.”
As Kazuki disappeared into Tora’s office, Mizuki urged Manabu to hurry to class.
“No, I’m going to wait for him.” Manabu insisted.
“But why? Manabu…” Mizuki couldn’t understand Manabu.
“Don’t worry, Mizuki-san. I’m sure Manabu is just trying to be a good friend.” Uruha found this to be the perfect opportunity to redeem himself as a good person in Manabu’s eyes.
Mizuki dubiously shifted his eyes toward Uruha who creepily smiled. What was this guy planning?
Part B
Chapter: 3a/??
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, the GazettE
Pairing(s)/Character(s): KazukixManabu, MizukixManabu, KazukixUruha, 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: Yay, another chapter to this story ( ＾∇＾) 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 || Chapter 4a/ Chapter 4b
Mizuki deeply sighed as he came out of the shower and climbed up the ladder to plop on his bed. He was saddened by the fact that Manabu had left all day to hang out with Kauzki. He was crazy enough to get up early to stake out and watch Manabu leave the place. Then he proceeded to follow Manabu for the rest of the day.
Okay… Maybe he was being a bit stalkerish, but he couldn’t help himself! He was worried to death about Manabu’s safety. There was no telling as to what Kazuki, the mafia kid, could do to him.
He couldn’t believe his eyes! Kazuki and Manabu looked like they were having the time of their lives. They went shopping to several stores, ate at restaurants… Yes, it was insane. Kazuki was driving in an American Ferrari car while Mizuki drove on his Kawasaki motorcycle. It was the only way he could keep track of them.
He eventually lost them at the nightstands because they sat somewhere in the middle of the big crowd. Goddammit. He took his eyes off for one moment and lost sight of them. He didn’t know what happened to Manabu afterwards. Well… If Manabu didn’t show up tonight, then he would have to go confront that stupid Kazuki the following day.
Mizuki sat on his bed, hugging his teddy bears, and decided to read some mangas. He would wait to see if Manabu came back. He peered up at the clock noticing the time. It was eleven o’clock at night. He prayed for Manabu’s safety and return.
XOXOXOXO
Kazuki drove up to the school’s parking lot and rolled into the first spot closest to the sidewalk. He would escort Manabu back to his room since he didn’t want him to get hurt especially since it was unsafe to be alone at night.
When he stopped the engine, he was about to wake Manabu up, but he heard Manabu deeply breathing in and out. Hmm. He didn’t want to disturb this breathtaking view of Manabu’s beautiful face. He wasn’t sure what to do until he thought about what most couples did in those cheesy, romantic movies. Piggyback style! He snapped his fingers together, proud of this idea. He had to admit that it was difficult to get Manabu on his back piggyback style, but he somehow managed and trekked back to Manabu’s dorm.
Manabu softly snored in his deep sleep. Kazuki smiled seeing such a relaxed and childish face. It was too adorable hearing him snore with his mouth slightly parted. He wished he could kiss Manabu’s sweet lips again, but he was sure Manabu was tired after today’s adventures so he didn’t want to disturb his precious sleep.
He wasn’t sure why, but he received elation watching Manabu. Perhaps… this was normal?
When he arrived to Manabu’s dorm, he wondered how he was going to get inside until some students came out and opened the door widely without taking any real notice of him. He swiftly dashed inside relieved that he wouldn’t have to stand outside the entire night.
He hoped he would be able to spend more time and get to know Manabu on a deeper level. He didn’t want Manabu to slip away from his hands only to be stolen by someone else. For the first time in his life, another human being meant more to him than his own life.
Up in the room, Mizuki decided to go down to the vending machine to buy a drink. He was a bit thirsty and was craving for a sweet drink. Hmm… He wondered what the choices were.
He slipped on his slippers and exited the room with some change in his hands. He strolled down the quiet dormitory not expecting anything out of the ordinary until he spotted Manabu sleeping on Kazuki’s back!! Not to mention that Kazuki carried a ton of shopping bags… Ahhh! What had Kazuki done to Manabu?!
“What have you done to Manabu-san?” Mizuki called out to Kazuki.
Kazuki frowned when he heard that annoying voice. It was Manabu’s roommate and classmate, Mizuki. Goddammit. He wasn’t expecting to deal with Mizuki this late at night. Grr… Kazuki still remembered that day when Mizuki stole Manabu right out of his hands. He wouldn’t let that happen again. Never again.
“Uh… hi.” Kazuki tried his best to greet Mizuki without sounding hostile.
If Manabu woke up and found Kazuki harshly speaking to Mizuki, Manabu might actually scold him for being evil to his friend. Urgh. What a complicated yet stupid predicament he was placed in. Merrh… Damn Mizuki for being here.
“Did you do something to Manabu-san?” Mizuki questioned.
“Nope. We just hung out for a whole day. Something wrong with that?” Kazuki casually responded.
Mizuki couldn’t tell if this guy was fabricating some story or speaking the truth. Damn him. Why did Kazuki have to wear such a poker face? If only Manabu was awake, he would know the truth.
Before Mizuki had a chance to interrogate any further, they both heard Manabu stir from his sleep.
“Kazuki-senpai, what’s going on?” Manabu murmured as he rubbed his eyes.
“Oh, nothing. I just bumped into your roommate, Mizuki-san.” Kazuki turned his head toward Manabu.
What? It took a moment for Manabu to register what was going on. He was sleeping on Kazuki’s back with his arms wrapped around his neck and Mizuki was standing smack dab in front of them…. Witnessing this scene. With big grape eyes.
Dammit. What horrible timing. Now Mizuki might get the completely wrong idea.
“Can you put me down, Kazuki-senpai?” Manabu politely requested.
“Okay, as you wish.” Kazuki oddly listened to Manabu’s words and bent down.
Mizuki watched Kazuki act so kindly toward Manabu. It was off kilter from Kazuki’s supposedly cruel personality. How could someone like Kazuki care about Manabu’s words? Something was definitely going on between the two of them. Did Kazuki possibly brainwash Manabu?! Oh, no!!
“I guess I’ll see you on Monday morning, then?” Kazuki handed Manabu the shopping bags.
“I suppose.” Manabu agreed.
Instinctively, Kazuki leaned in to kiss Manabu on the cheek and squeezed his waist.
Mizuki quietly gasped at the sight of it. Kazuki stuck out his tongue at Mizuki as if rubbing it in his face that he had won this round. Kazuki loved it when he saw Mizuki’s cherry, red face. Haha, he was closer to Manabu than Mizuki was! For no particular reason, that fact made him quite proud. Mizuki couldn’t believe it!! The jerk was seducing Manabu! Mizuki knew he was horrible from the start!
“Goodnight and sweet dreams, Manabu!” Kazuki released him and winked his eye at Manabu.
Manabu, oblivious to the secret battle, going on between Kazuki and Mizuki, watched Kazuki leave wondering why he seemed so happy and joyful.
Mizuki sighed as he noticed Manabu staring at Kazuki’s back. Could it be that Manabu…? No! He couldn’t think that. They barely knew each other!
“Manabu-san, are you okay?” Mizuki worriedly asked.
“I’m fine.” Manabu faced Mizuki.
Manabu felt comfortable and at ease around Mizuki. Unlike with Kazuki. With Kazuki, his heart pounded hard as if it was going to shatter into pieces. He wondered why his heart beat differently around the two of them.
“What are you doing in your pajamas?” Manabu noticed.
“Uh… I just took a shower and was going to get a soda from the vending machine.” Mizuki realized his original purpose, but what did it matter anymore? Manabu was back! “Oh! Let me carry those bags! It must be heavy!”
“What? I-” Manabu was about to protest, but Mizuki already snatched it out of his hands and rushed toward the room.
Manabu quickly followed behind to make sure Mizuki wouldn’t hurt himself.
“Let me open the door, Mizuki.” Manabu insisted. “You’re going to hurt yourself carrying all of those.”
“Better me than you, right?” Mizuki happily said.
Manabu shook his head at Mizuki comment. How could he be such an idiot sometimes? Manabu swore Mizuki was like that silly brother who he had to keep in line and watch out for. Manabu took the keys out and opened the door to let Mizuki in first.
As Mizuki put the bags down, Manabu softly closed the door. He wondered where Mizuki had gone all day.
“So how was your date with Kazuki-san?” Mizuki immediately inquired.
“It was fine. Nothing serious happened.” Manabu answered nonchalantly.
“Really? He didn’t try to advance onto you, did he?” Mizuki persisted with his question.
Manabu paused for a moment thinking about the car scene where Kazuki kissed him forcibly several times. Not to mention that he returned those kisses as well. Wait… That would be considered ‘advancing’… Oh, god! Why was he getting hot thinking about it?
“Huh!” Mizuki dramatically gasped. “I knew it!! I knew it!! Your red face tells me that he did!”
“No! He didn’t! Stop being a pervert!” Manabu denied Mizuki’s allegations.
“Yes, he did, didn’t he? Tell me! Tell me!”
“No! Mizuki!!”
Manabu couldn’t believe the trouble he got himself into.
XOXOXOXO
Kazuki drove back home in silence. He was already reminiscing about his date with Manabu. God, he almost didn’t want to leave Manabu back there. If annoying Mizuki weren’t in the way, he wouldn’t have left Manabu’s side. Oh, geez! He might have slept over… Ah, he couldn’t help thinking about Manabu’s cute facial expressions about the idea.
Suddenly, he stopped and looked at the rear view mirror. What the hell was he thinking? The whole time… He was genuinely caring for Manabu. Shit. That wasn’t supposed to be his goal, was it? What the hell was just running through his mind? What was going on with him?
He pulled up into the driveway and got out of the car. It was dead silent, but he carried on like normal. This was the normal. If there were noises, then something would be really wrong.
When Kazuki stepped inside of the mansion, one of the housekeepers approached him in a humble manner. “Kazuki-sama.”
“What?”
“Someone is here to see you.”
“Who?” Kazuki mindlessly asked.
“It’s Uruha-sama,” the housekeeper responded. “He’s waiting in the lounge room.”
Kazuki was surprised that Uruha would be over his house so late. Come to think about it, he hadn’t been hanging around with Uruha lately. Ah, dammit. Oh, well.
He headed to the lounge room where he found Uruha sitting on the couch staring at the fireplace with a book in his hand as the fire burned brightly in the darkly lit room.
“Hey, I didn’t expect to see you here.” Kazuki casually greeted him.
“Kazuki-chan!” Uruha addressed him in a childish, but calm manner. “Where have you been?”
“I’ve been out and about. How about you?” Kazuki sat down in the chair across from Uruha.
“Hmm… I went to the bookstore to buy some books to read.” Uruha tapped his cheek as he thought about it.
Kazuki knew Uruha from elementary school. Uruha was the lonely kid and didn’t have many friends. The guys criticized him for liking boys and the girls thought he was gross and disgusting. Kazuki didn’t care much for Uruha’s sexual orientation since he saw a good person and partner in Uruha. He could rely on Uruha never to backstab him.
“You’re such a bookworm.” Kazuki teased him with his usual smile. “Hey, butler, some tea?”
“Right away, sir.” the butler who stood at the door bowed and left.
Even though their families knew each other, Uruha’s family distanced themselves from him because he didn’t like girls and wouldn’t continue their family legacy. They pretty much viewed Uruha as a curse to their family. And Kazuki knew exactly how that felt… for their parents to see them only as an eyesore and a menace. If anyone, Uruha understood his pain best and managed to cheer him up whenever he was feeling down.
Anyway, it wasn’t as if someone would care to listen. Only Uruha cared to listen.
“I can’t help it. I like to read everything and anything.” Uruha giggled.
Kazuki rolled his eyes in a playful manner. “You should get your head out of the books and start reading less, haha.”
“Oh, Kazuki-chan, speak for yourself.” Uruha pouted in disappointment by Kazuki’s statement.
“Psssh, what are you talking about?” Kazuki waved off his statement.
To Kazuki, Uruha had always been that little brother he could rely on when in desperate situations. Anytime he was in a bind, he trusted Uruha more than he trusted Kenzo.
“Excuse me, sir.” The butler came back with the teapot, cups, and a cart full of small desserts. “Would you like anything to eat with the tea, Kazuki-sama and Uruha-sama?”
“Custards, tarts, mochi cakes, and…” Kazuki listed some foods off, but then paused thinking if he missed anything else.
“And sweet buns.” Uruha finished his sentence. “You always forget those, Kazuki-chan.”
“I was just testing you. I didn’t forget.” Kazuki feigned even though he really did. Uruha seemed to always have his back.
The butler placed everything down on the table and quietly walked away rolling away the cart that carried the deserts leaving Uruha and Kazuki alone.
“Are you doing anything tomorrow?” Uruha took the initiative to start a conversation.
“Uh… why do you ask?” Kazuki remembered that he had a date with Manabu tomorrow.
He usually hung out with Uruha after school, but lately he had been avoiding Uruha and hanging out with Manabu. Actually, he hadn’t been avoiding. He just… kind of forgot about Uruha since his main priority was Manabu.
“It’s just that we haven’t hung out in forever!” Uruha sweetly complained. “And I miss hanging out with you.”
There was something about Uruha’s voice that made him feel guilty. But it wasn’t in the same way as Manabu made him feel.
“Uh… well… uh… I made prior arrangements for tomorrow.” Kazuki scratched his head.
“Wah? With who?” Uruha gasped.
Gah, why did Uruha have to be so nosy? Ack. Well, it was natural. Kazuki usually informed Uruha of everything, but when it came to Manabu… He never told Uruha anything.
“Uh… well…” Kazuki shifted his eyes toward the fireplace.
Uruha heard rumors about Kazuki hanging out with a freshman called Manabu. Apparently, they met in art class and Kazuki was the one who approached him.
“Don’t tell me… It’s with that freshman I’ve been hearing about. Manabu-san?” Uruha did his best to hide his dislike.
Even Uruha heard about it? Damn, news spread fast.
“Uh, well, it’s not like that! I-I mean… It’s not what you think!” Kazuki suddenly found himself getting nervous.
“Here’s the real story! I arrived to art class first and saw that Manabu and I were partnered up! A-and, well… You know how it is when I get bored. I talk to everyone and anyone! Beside, I’m stuck with a bunch of freshmen that I don’t know and he was the only who bothered to respond to me!”
Kazuki recanted the whole story in one breath. Goddamn. Why was he getting all fucking worked up? It wasn’t as if Uruha was a stranger. But then… why this strange… feeling?
“Oh, so you’re playing around with Manabu-san?” Uruha jumped to the conclusion.
“Yeah! Yeah, I’m just messing around with him.” Kazuki nervously chuckled.
Why was his heart betrayed by such a cold and careless response?
“Hehe, that’s what I thought when I heard it.” Uruha giggled.
Uruha began to worry that Kazuki was serious with someone, but that wasn’t the case. Still… Uruha couldn’t help feeling anxious. Why did Kazuki set aside time for someone else and not inform him? In the past, when Kazuki pretended to date other people, Kazuki made sure to let him know. But this time was different. Was nothing really going on? Uruha would have to find out to make sure.
“So… is there any other day we can hang out then?” Uruha brought the subject matter back up.
Ack. Damn. One day he couldn’t hang out with Manabu?
“Uh… day after tomorrow?” Kazuki hesitantly suggested.
He hoped Uruha wouldn’t agree, but that would be like asking his father to treat him like a real son.
“Yay! Day after tomorrow!” Uruha clapped his hands.
Ooh, man. One less day he could hang out with Manabu. Bah. It wasn’t as if he hated hanging around with Uruha, but… He couldn’t lose to that stupid, idiot Mizuki! He had to spend any time he had with Manabu. So far he was winning the battle with Mizuki… He had to make sure to keep it that way.
XOXOXOXO
Tora shot up from his bed at the sound of his alarm. Ah, goddammit… It was the start of a new day. Ah, well. His new mission.
When he peered over to his side, he noticed it was vacant. Where was Byou? Maybe somewhere in the house.
He lethargically slunk out of bed to get ready for the long day ahead of him. He thought about the long arduous process of sitting in an office staring at papers for a whole day. This was exactly why he didn’t choose to work in the academic field. He simply got too bored of such mindless tasks.
When he finished getting ready, he lugged his box of paperwork, located on the floor, out into the living room. He didn’t notice Byou around.
“By-chan?!” Tora gasped immediately dropping everything in his hands.
He dashed inside the kitchen and spotted Byou kneeling down to the ground searching for something in one of the lower cabinets.
Byou paused in his endeavors and gazed over at Tora. He noticed a concerned face on Tora’s expression. “What’s wrong?”
“God, By-chan! Don’t scare me like that!!” Tora breathed out a sigh of relief. “I thought something happened to you.”
“Stop being a worrywart, Tora. What could seriously happen to me?” Byou shrugged off his thought and continued to search through the cabinet.
“What are you looking for, by the way?” Tora finally registered what Byou was doing.
Tora inched over toward Byou and stared into the cabinet along with Byou. Byou nonchalantly answered, “Looking for some pans. But I made your lunch. It’s on the counter.”
“You made my lunch? Byou!! I love you!” Tora hugged Byou’s neck and leaned on him.
Perhaps this was a benefit living with Byou. Not just making his lunch, but receiving Byou’s love and care that he had missed for so long.
After helping Byou search through the cabinet for his pots and pans, Byou alerted Tora that it was time for him to go to work. Byou didn’t exactly understand why Tora worked in a school, but he wasn’t privy to such sensitive information. Tora said it was for his own good anyway. He wished he could be part of Tora’s life even more, but circumstances wouldn’t allow it.
“Have a good day.” Byou said to him as Tora put on his shoes. “Don’t beat up any of the kids.”
“Ah, dammit. Even if they’re annoying?” Tora snapped his fingers.
“Yes, even if they’re annoying.” Byou nodded his head.
“Man. Why, By-chan? I hate when they’re annoying.” Tora helplessly complained.
Byou knew Tora had little patience when it came to high school or college kids simply because he never knew how to interact with them.
Tora kissed Byou on the cheek and winked his eye. “Wish me luck!”
Before Byou had a chance to say anything else, Tora skipped out of the house and went on his way to work. Byou headed over toward the window and peeked through the window curtain to see Tora carry his paperwork into his car. He hoped Tora wouldn’t put himself into any unnecessary trouble since he was known as the center of attention.
In the distance, Byou spotted a strange looking man wearing a black suit and a hat in the middle of the summer. The man watched Tora happily pack his belongings and start the car. Suddenly, the man slipped away and disappeared. Byou wondered who that man was… Why was his heart arrested with fear? He decided to shut the curtain and lock the door. He would have to make sure not to leave today.
He would definitely have to tell Tora when he came back.
XOXOXOXO
Manabu woke up with purple bags under his eyes. Mizuki pestered him all night long and questioned him about the date. He wanted to punch Mizuki, but he knew Mizuki was only worried about him due to Kazuki’s status. Manabu couldn’t really blame him, but now he could hardly get out of bed.
“Manabu! Manabu! Are you awake yet?” Mizuki loudly said in a singsong tone.
How could Mizuki be up so early with this much energy?
Manabu sat in his bed barely conscious of what day it was. Goddamn. What day was it?
“Hurry up! We have to meet our new Academic Advisor today.”
Academic Advisor? Damn.
XOXOXOXO
Kazuki ended up sleeping in due to his late night chat with Uruha.
He and Uruha were having a chat about their nostalgic past. They remembered the days they played in the pond and stayed up to see the fireflies. Kazuki wondered if there was any way he could return to those blissful, ignorant days… without any of the mafia training. Uruha advised him not to think about the mafia business when he didn’t need to, but Kazuki couldn’t help it. He was trained to constantly ponder about the mafia business. It was his life.
After a long discussion about the past, Uruha decided to go home. Kazuki stayed with Uruha until his ride came driving him home in the darkness. Kazuki knew all good things would come to end. Just like his good, friendly conversations with Uruha.
Luckily, Kenzo woke him up and informed him of the new advisor they had to meet… Tora.
Kazuki’s ear perked up at the name of Tora. Hmm. Finally. He would get a chance to see Tora face-to-face.
“Good morning, Zuki-chan.” Uruha surprised Kazuki by showing up at the door just as they were leaving. “Good morning, Kenzo-san.”
Kenzo simply nodded his head in response.
Kazuki grew embarrassed whenever Uruha addressed him by the self-made nickname. If it was anyone else, Kazuki might have not liked it and beat the living daylights out of them, but Uruha had been his friend forever so he let it slide. He figured it was Uruha’s way of being cute and friendly.
“What are you doing here?” Kazuki raised one of his eyebrows in confusion.
Uruha immediately slipped his arms around Kazuki’s arm to show affection.
“What do you mean? We always go to school together at this time. You’re the one who’s been going to school early as of late.” Uruha reminded him.
That was right. He had been going to school earlier than usual to pick up Manabu. Damn! He forgot to set his alarm last night. Ack, if Uruha hadn’t kept him up last night, he would have remembered.
Kenzo was placed in a very awkward situation. Here Uruha was openly showing his love in the open without any regard of the public. Kenzo made sure to steer out of Uruha’s way because he found Uruha to be a bit scary. Uruha wore a beautiful, cute face at school, but Kenzo sensed a vicious personality underneath. He heard Uruha could be ruthless from the other mafia henchmen although he had never seen it himself.
Kenzo wasn’t sure what to do in this situation, but he was disappointed in the fact that he couldn’t chauffer Rui to school.
The three of them headed to school with Uruha instigating conversations and forcing Kazuki to respond. But Kenzo noticed that his master’s responses were to keep the conversation going and not out of pure interest. Something was definitely up… Something changed. But was it for better or for worse?
When they arrived at school, Kazuki hoped Manabu was all right. He would probably have to see his new advisor as well. Hopefully, they were with the same one. That way he could apologize for not coming to get him this morning.
As they approached the hallway of students, Kazuki immediately noticed Manabu with Mizuki. They were already there holding a conversation. Grrr!!! He didn’t know why his blood was pulsating like crazy, but he didn’t enjoy the sight of Mizuki being close to Manabu. Goddamn, Mizuki!
“Kazuki-chan?” Uruha called out his name, but Kazuki didn’t respond.
Kazuki didn’t hear him and went ahead to line up behind Manabu and Mizuki.
“Good morning, Manabu-san!” Kazuki cheerfully greeted him purposely interrupting Mizuki.
Manabu turned around seeing Kazuki’s jolly face. “Good morning, Kazuki-senpai.”
“How was your beauty sleep last night? Did you dream of me? Or maybe of you and me together?” Kazuki mischievously grinned.
Manabu’s eyes widened at the perverted implication behind Kazuki’s statement. He punched Kazuki in the chest and angrily stated, “Shut up, you pervert!”
Uruha was stunned by the close interaction between the two of them. Even he never acted that way around Kazuki and yet Manabu was so carefree… Not to mention that Kazuki never allowed this behavior around anyone.
“What?! I knew it! I knew it!” Mizuki gasped. “You advanced onto Manabu, didn’t you? Manabu didn’t tell me, but I can tell from the look on your face. You did!”
Kazuki simply shrugged his shoulders and stuck out his tongue. “So what if I did?”
Manabu was stunned as to how Kazuki could admit without any embarrassment.
“Why you…!!!” Mizuki was about to charge and pounce onto Kazuki, but luckily Manabu held him back.
“Wait! Stop being stupid, Mizuki!” Manabu restrained him.
“No! No! Let me at him! Let me at him! He deserves it!”
Uruha was further enraged hearing this. What? Kazuki… Kazuki…! Kazuki kissed Manabu?! What on Earth was this? He never even received a kiss from Kazuki!
Kenzo shook his head as he watched the drama unfold. He couldn’t believe this was a love…square. He wasn’t sure if any of them realized it, but as a third party… He could spot it as clear as day. Wait a second. A love square? But Kazuki wasn’t supposed to fall in love with Manabu…
“Oh, you frog face, don’t think so highly of yourself.” Uruha impulsively stepped in on the conversation with his deep voice.
They spotted a tall guy with a pretty face and beautiful eyes. It was almost unimaginable that someone with such amazing physique existed. Manabu felt quite small and incomparable to whoever this guy was.
“Hey, who are you calling a frog face?” Mizuki defended Manabu. “You little whimpy girl!”
He wasn’t supposed to be picking a fight the school’s second biggest mafia leader, but he couldn’t let Manabu get picked on for no reason. Or just because someone got jealous or… whatever!
Uruha loudly gasped. He couldn’t believe someone called him a wuss. “Huh! How dare you…! You! You! You ugly toad!”
“What?! Who are you calling a toad?!” Mizuki angrily responded to him.
“You! Who else could be as ugly as you?!” Uruha covered his mouth appalled by Mizuki’s daring actions.
Manabu dreaded this conversation. Why was Mizuki picking a fight? Was he trying to attract more unnecessary attention?
“What?! I’m not ugly!” Mizuki grew defensive. “I-”
“Mizuki-san!” the advisor opened the door and called on his name.
Dammit. He would have to go away and Manabu would be defenseless all by himself. He would get eaten alive by these voracious wolves!
“Mizuki-san!”
Manabu slapped Mizuki’s arm. “Hurry up. The advisor is calling for you.”
“What? But… but… Manabu…” Mizuki protested.
“It’s fine. Just hurry up before you get in trouble.” Manabu urged him.
“Okay… I’ll be right back out.” Mizuki reassured him and headed to the advisor’s office.
Uruha realized he might have approached Manabu the wrong way. Contrary to last night’s conversation with Kazuki, he could sense that Kazuki held Manabu very dear and close to his heart. He might as well befriend Manabu to find out the reason why.
“So glad we have the same advisor, right?” Kazuki hung his arm around Manabu’s neck and leaned against him.
Uruha restrained himself from getting upset or putting on an angry face. He had to pretend as if this didn’t bother him… Merrh!
Manabu was embarrassed by Kazuki’s actions. He wasn’t sure why Kazuki was being this friendly around him.
“Umm, you’re Manabu-san?” Uruha kindly asked him.
It took a moment for Manabu to realize Uruha spoke to him. Shit. Was this Kazuki’s friend? Kazuki didn’t introduce him. What was his name?
Damn, seeing this guy, made his pride go down the drain for some reason. But why? Was he feeling… inferior?
Manabu bluntly responded in a nervous manner, “So? Why do you want to know?”
“Oh, boy! Manabu, you’re being so bold and mean!” Kazuki dramatically exclaimed as he pinched Manbu’s cheek and wiggled it. “You must have dreamt of me last night.”
“Stop it, Kazuki-senpai. I’m not a kid.” Manabu said as the words he spoke were distorted due to Kazuki pulling on his cheek.
“Just admit it! You were. You were. You were…” Kazuki pestered him.
Kenzo observed the scene in front of him taking note of how odd Kazuki acted intimate with Manabu. He hadn’t seen a happier face on his master’s face in years. This had to be one of his master’s happiest moments… But why?
Uruha was torn apart by the scene happening in front of him. How could Kazuki be this cuddly, wuddly with Manabu? He hardly knew Manabu. In fact, he only knew Manabu for a few weeks… whereas Kazuki had known him forever. What was going on?
“I knew it! One minute I go away and you start molesting Manabu!” Mizuki unexpectedly hollered at Kazuki.
Everyone around them grew quiet and stared at them. Manabu was mortally embarrassed by the words that came out of Mizuki’s mouth. The other students wanted to laugh and snicker, but due to Kazuki’s presence, they restrained themselves. Eventually, they turned their backs and sniggered in a low tone.
Uruha slightly smiled at the embarrassment. Manabu definitely deserved that one.
“Mizuki-” Manabu was about to scold at Mizuki, but Kazuki surprisingly jumped in before him.
“Don’t say such inappropriate things. I don’t think Manabu appreciates it.” Kazuki defended Manabu stating the true feelings deep within his heart. “Besides, I wouldn’t do such a thing to Manabu.”
Mizuki turned speechless by Kazuki’s statement unable to concoct a decent comeback. Kenzo observed something bright glistening in his master’s eyes… but what? He couldn’t put his finger on what it was. It couldn’t be love… could it?
“Manabu-san!” the advisor called on him.
Due to the awkwardness, Manabu used this chance to escape everything. The awkwardness and tension. He dashed out of the situation and quickly headed inside the advisor’s office.
Tora opened the door for Manabu and merely gaped at the sight of his little brother entering the office. Oh, goodness. He was becoming nervous. What would he say? How would Manabu react? The thoughts were mindboggling! He shut the door behind Manabu and regained composure before heading back to his big office desk.
“Have a seat.” Tora stopped and hastily pulled out the chair just before Manabu sat down.
Manabu thought the guy acted funny, but didn’t think much of it. Maybe he was new to the job and had no experience working with students. Whatever. He hoped he could finish with this as soon as possible so he could stop Mizuki and Kazuki, for that matter, from murdering each other or doing something incredibly stupid.
Tora sat down and opened Manabu’s student file. He grimaced scanning through the numerous of notes documented by every school official Manabu ever saw and well… There were even notes of child services in here. Many physicians, counselors, psychiatrists, and all of those people signed on several different papers stating labeling Manabu as a troubled child from a broken home.
Tora knew about the broken home part, but a troubled child? Tora had to find out. Carefully, of course. Damn their father. And damn him for leaving Manabu.
Manabu spotted the huge file the advisor held in his hands. His whole life story was laid out like a storybook in that vanilla folder. That huge volume of paper was due to the years and years of bullying, abuse, and mistreatment he received from other people.
“So… I see that you have good grades and a full-ride scholarship for your amazing art skills.” Tora complimented him hoping it would get Manabu to open up.
“Yeah.” Manabu responded not sure what the advisor was scheming.
Oh, shit! He forgot to introduce himself!
“By the way, forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is Tora. I will be your advisor for this year.” the guy happily introduced himself.
Every counselor acted as if they cared, but they didn’t give a shit. They were just there to get paid.
“Ahem. So… Manabu-san, I see that you were bullied a lot in your younger years and came from an abusive… family.” Tora tried his best to speak as calm as possible hoping not to offend Manabu. He knew it was a sensitive subject… since it was pretty sensitive for himself.
The fact that some stranger knew his life better than most people… It annoyed the hell out of him. What did they know? What could other people understand about the pain he suffered through?
“So?” Manabu acted nonchalant for the subject matter.
“Well… That means that you’ve been flagged.” Tora revealed.
Manabu blinked his eyes. “What?”
“Uh, well… basically… You have to come see me twice a week.” Tora nervously explained.
As much as Tora tried, he had no idea how to be a big brother. He watched movies and movies of siblings’ interactions, but he never had any experience. Just seeing Manabu in person and knowing that he was related... was odd. The interaction between brothers was different than sisters. There was no such thing as hugging or crying together. If that was the case, what consisted of brotherly interaction?
“What? Twice a week?” Manabu frowned at the idea. “Why do I have to see you? I don’t like you.”
Goddamn. Already off to a bad start. He was fucking nervous talking to Manabu. He hadn’t seen his little brother in many years. Since he was a baby! Okay, well… he saw Manabu’s middle school photos… But… Still… It wasn’t the same! In picture and in person were two separate ideas!
“What? You don’t - I mean, ahem.” Tora coughed to control his strong eagerness to see Manabu. “I am your academic advisor as well as your counselor. Therefore, you have to come see me or else you will get in trouble.”
“What?” Manabu exasperated at the idea.
“Think about it like this. You don’t have to go see the school’s doctor and it saves you the pain of talking to some old geezer. I might be old, but I’m not grandpa, right?” Tora tried to convince Manabu otherwise.
Manabu grumbled at the idea. “Whatever”
“I have to ask you some sensitive questions, okay? They’re on the file so don’t get mad at me. It’s what I have to ask.” Tora started to see more and more of Manabu’s personality.
His little brother was defensive and built a barrier around himself, but only to protect himself. He saw a sad little guy wanting to make friends and open up to someone who wouldn’t betray him. After all, those who were supposed to love him hurt him the most.
Manabu watched Tora take a pen from his desk and clicked it. “Did you… ever… see a counselor or a psychiatrist when you got bullied at school?”
Manabu wasn’t sure how to respond. Well, of course he did! Wasn’t it obvious? Why did the counselor inquire such a stupid question?
“Are you making this up?” Manabu asked him in a hostile tone.
“No! I swear. It’s on the paper. See!” Tora waved the paper in the air and presented the sheet of paper to Manabu. “I’m not making it up.”
Manabu gazed at the questions. Reading these questions poked at his heart. He didn’t want to answer a single one. Why was he obligated to answer these ridiculous questions? What purpose did they truly serve? Honestly, no one gave a shit about him.
“I don’t want to answer them.” Manabu stubbornly refused.
Uh… boy. He told Manabu not to get mad and yet Manabu got upset. Well, it was understandable since this particular topic was not easy to discuss about. Tora decided to play by Manabu’s needs and desires. It was the only way to get to know Manabu.
“Okay. I don’t have to ask them. But I’m still going to ask you questions since I have to write something down here for today’s notes. I’m required to keep a log.” Tora wouldn’t completely be pushed over by Manabu.
There was a moment of silence as Tora shuffled through some papers. Manabu didn’t understand why this guy was so damn persistent.
“Why do you care? Aren’t you just an academic advisor?” Manabu shot the question at him.
“Well, maybe I do care.” Tora spoke in a lighthearted voice.
“Why? You get paid more?” Manabu was suspicious of his intentions.
“Don’t worry, Manabu. It’s only out of genuine kindness that I care for you. Trust me!” Tora smiled.
“I don’t believe you.” Manabu didn’t believe Tora’s words.
Tora’s heart was sunk to the ground when Manabu was being mean and utterly harsh to him, but he supposed it was expected of Manabu since life, for him, was unfair and indifferent to him.
“That’s fine. Trust is earned, not given.” Tora unexpectedly said. “I’m sure we’ll develop more of a rapport as we get to know each other!”
He would wait for Manabu to open up. He wouldn’t force Manabu to open up, but he did want to see more of Manabu. He didn’t have to say anything; he just wanted to see his long lost little brother.
Manabu was surprised. This guy wasn’t going to give up or back off. But why? Why?
“Okay. So twice a week, remember? Or else principal is going to get me fired and put a note on your record and mine!” Tora shook his head in despair and sighed.
Being around this guy, Manabu’s spirits was lifted up as if some burden was carried off of his shoulders. Could he really trust this guy? Why did he receive such… warm feelings? A type of feeling that he could trust and hold on to. It was sort of the same feeling as if he was around Kazuki, but it was different. He couldn’t really describe it. But what was it? Perhaps similar to the feelings he had when he hung out with Mizuki.
Tora saw the confusion written all over Manabu’s face. Nothing probably made sense to him. In fact, he probably wondered why this crazy lunatic was being nice to him. Tora was dying to reveal to Manabu that they were actually brothers and he had been searching for him for many years! But he didn’t want to scare Manabu away with too much information. For now, he would linger in the shadows and observe his little brother. To take care of his brother at this school, Manabu didn’t need to know about their relationship at the moment. Maybe when the time called for it.
“Okay! That’s it for today’s session!” Tora announced, although a little disappointed that Manabu wouldn’t answer any of his questions. But he would get Manabu to open up a bit more next time.
Tora stood up from his chair, in which Manabu followed suit. Tora… he was certainly a strange, weird guy. But not bad.
Tora opened the door and watched Manabu leave into the hallway. He spotted Manabu meeting up with his friends. Oh, well… Aye. He was glad that- Wait. Why did that one guy look familiar…? Why was he acting very intimate with Manabu? His little brother?
Tora immediately shut the door and softly gasped to himself. “Oh, shit. That’s the mafia’s kid, Kazuki. Shit.”
When Manabu came back, Kazuki immediately asked him, “How did it go?”
“It was fine.” Manabu answered.
“Good thing nothing happened to you.” Mizuki breathed out in relief.
Uruha didn’t bother to add anything to the conversation as he merely watched the three of them interact. Kenzo leaned against the wall hoping this would end soon.
“Kazuki-san!” Manabu heard Tora’s voice.
“Yay! It’s my turn!” Kazuki excitedly clapped his hands. “I’ll be right back.”
As Kazuki disappeared into Tora’s office, Mizuki urged Manabu to hurry to class.
“No, I’m going to wait for him.” Manabu insisted.
“But why? Manabu…” Mizuki couldn’t understand Manabu.
“Don’t worry, Mizuki-san. I’m sure Manabu is just trying to be a good friend.” Uruha found this to be the perfect opportunity to redeem himself as a good person in Manabu’s eyes.
Mizuki dubiously shifted his eyes toward Uruha who creepily smiled. What was this guy planning?
Part B