The Silent Whispers of the Heart - Chapter 3
Title: The Silent Whispers of the Heart
Chapter: 3/??
Author: atmosphere_zero & misfitmisfit
Genre: Angst, Comedy, Romance, School life, AU
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Strong language, Some violence, Mention of rape (No, it doesn't happen for real, >.>;;;)
Band(s): Alice Nine, the GazettE, Vidoll
Pairing(s)/Character(s): ToraxUruha, UruhaxShun, ToraxKanon(solo artist)
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: A simple denial turned into a cruel reality.
Comments: I'm in a very writey mood, I suppose, xDD;;;. More at the bottom. Enjoy! ^_^
Chapters: Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4
On Monday morning, Uruha could barely climb out of bed. His limbs felt extra sore from yesterday’s basketball game. He put more drive into scoring than usual. He hoped that it would be enough to ameliorate his pain, but it quickly resurfaced as soon as the game was over.
During class today, Sensei talked about the history of gold. Uruha gently rolled the sleek gold necklace around his neck with his fingertips. He would never forget that blissful rainy afternoon.
“A green dot for my left hand? My limbs need to be made of out silly-putty for that to happen!” Tora was testing out the move he had just spun on the Twister board game spinner. “Okay, here goes nothing.”
Seconds later, he felt Tora tickling him. Uruha tried to defend himself without losing his position on the board, but he collapsed on top of Tora.
“Gotcha.” Tora winked at Uruha and gave him a small kiss on the forehead.
Uruha was stunned. His heart raced uncontrollably and harder with each beat. Was this love? He felt his face getting hot and tried to squirm away, but Tora firmly held him close. “I have your birthday gift.”
Tora lifted his head to expose his neck. “Unclasp it for me.”
Uruha regained strength in his body and reached over to unclasp the sleek gold necklace with a miniature tiger-shaped pendant hanging off of it.
“Now you must always wear it, so that the Tiger may forever protect you.” Tora chuckled.
Uruha’s eyes filled with tears. He wrapped his arms around Tora’s neck and whispered into his ear, “I thought you forgot.”
“I admit… I forget a lot of things, but I never forget the matters revolving around you.” Tora rubbed Uruha’s back.
Uruha felt his heart race a little as he recalled that moment in his memories. They had spent many days together close like that afterwards, which was why Uruha was sure Tora loved him back. But Tora started keeping a little bit of distance between them after he joined the basketball club. He began lecturing Uruha about how to be a man, and things like that. The only time Tora didn’t restrain himself was whenever Uruha cooked for him. He would nosily rummage through the refrigerator and cabinets for food to munch on while he waited and sometimes he even naughtily tickled Uruha or hugged him to distract him from cooking.
That was when Uruha had an idea. Last night before he went to bed, he decided to win Tora’s heart back once in for all. He hadn’t cooked for Tora in quite awhile, but he still knew what made Tora drool. He had spent several hours cutting, cooking, and arranging the bento. Uruha felt for sure this would return Tora back to normal. The bento contained white rice with a picture of two playful tigers outlined by thin strips of carrots and eggplant. There was a boiled egg cut in half representing the sun. The grass was made with seaweed salad, and Tora’s favorite was the pork that made up the soil beneath the grass.
That morning, Uruha didn’t wait for Tora at the school’s front gates because he was too nervous about the bento he had prepared for him. He wanted to gather his nerves and build his confidence for the crucial moment. He didn’t want this to go on any longer. He had to let Tora know just how much he loved him. Uruha could barely focus all morning.
XOXOXOXO
Yesterday’s game with Uruha was intense. At one moment, Uruha was here, then there. He never seen Uruha play that hard before, but at the same time he was proud Uruha was becoming a stronger basketball player. Tora always knew that Uruha had been holding back before. After the game, Tora wanted to ask Uruha more about what had happened between him and that transfer kid, but Kanon called him. He really didn’t want to abandon Uruha, but she said she had a problem with her schoolwork, so Tora felt obligated to go and help her. He was more surprised that Uruha didn’t object when he told him this news. In fact, Uruha just went straight home.
In any case, he felt so embarrassed going over to Kanon’s house. Not only did he not remember how to do any of the calculus problems she needed help with, she helped him finish his biology homework. Then he really screwed himself over by promising to pick her up for school tomorrow. She lived farther from school than he did, so he had to get up extra early to backtrack to her house then go past his own house to school.
Luckily, Kanon had a bike. At first he thought it would be more gentleman-like to let her ride on the bike as he walked, but then he realized he could just bring them both there by riding it for her.
“Come on, Kanon-san. Hop on!” Tora patted the seat.
She shook her head and started walking. She was too nervous to so readily agree. They weren’t even dating yet…. although she really wanted to feel Tora’s body close to her again like that day they took those pictures. Oh dear, what was she thinking? She chewed on her lip as she continued walking ahead.
Tora knew she was just being shy. He rode faster and braked right in front of her. Without her consent, he grabbed her and seated her sideways behind him. He wrapped her arms around his waist. “Okay, Kanon-san, get ready for the ride of your life!”
Kanon was trembling with fear and excitement. She could feel Tora’s strong, muscular back working as he pumped on the pedals. Her knees suddenly grew weak from the nerve-wrecking joy surging through her. She was thankful to be sitting as a passenger.
Tora sped forward at full speed. “F- Errr, Whooooo!”
Kanon buried her face into Tora’s back. She could barely keep her eyes open against the whipping wind, but she didn’t care. Being able to hold and smell Tora was more blissful than she had ever imagined.
Tora didn’t stop for anything, not even speed bumps. Sometimes they would get too close to on-going traffic, but that only encouraged Tora to be even more risky. He weaved through the cars like it was a game. Kanon gripped on tight. Sometimes she would loosen her grip a little, afraid that she was suffocating Tora, but it seemed he barely felt anything except for the overwhelming excitement from his dangerous bike riding.
Somehow they managed to arrive at school in one piece.
“Man, that was f- err, great fun!” Tora looked back at Kanon, who had her eyes squeezed shut.
Tora laughed as he lightly ruffled her hair. She gently hopped off the bike, and pulled out a brush from her purse to quickly comb her hair. She couldn’t let her classmates see her wild hairdo. Tora quickly apologized for ruining her hair. She giggled at Tora’s dorky awkwardness. Tora quickly went to park and lock her bike. Raindrops started to splotch the ground.
“Ah, shit.” Tora pulled his backpack over his head, but Kanon popped open her umbrella for him.
Tora motioned to hold it for her and they hurried off to class. Tora walked her to her classroom and waved a small “bye-bye” as he rushed off to his own classroom. One minute left. Tora skidded through the door and swiftly slipped into his chair. The bell rang. Whew, he just made it.
Uruha noticed Tora holding a pink umbrella. Where did he get that?
When Sensei called to collect the projects, Shun quickly stole a glance at Uruha, who gave her an organized, thick portfolio. He already told Sensei about the situation and he would have to stay for detention tomorrow. He had to skip work, but there was nothing he could do about it.
XOXOXOXO
The bell for lunch finally rang.
“Whooooo!” Tora cheered. “Half of the school day is over.”
Uruha held the bento tightly in his hands. He dreaded another rejection, but reveled in the hopes this could be the key to rekindling their relationship. Uruha approached Tora’s desk.
“Want to go grab some lunch?” Tora yawned as he stretched.
“I brought this for you today.” Uruha placed the bento on Tora’s desk and slid it forward towards Tora.
Tora snickered, “What’s with these cute little tigers smiling at me?”
Uruha’s ears burned red. “You know I don’t have plain colored bento boxes.”
Tora was already opening the bento. “Wow! Can I really eat this? It looks like a piece of art.”
Tora poked at one of tigers with chopsticks. “Where did you buy this crafty little piece?”
Uruha quickly blurted, “The grocery store sells them like that. My mom always buys a bunch for herself to bring to work, and yesterday I asked her to buy that one for you because there was a super deal.”
Tora grinned and patted Uruha’s arm. “For a second, I almost thought you made it all by hand like in the old days. Okay then. Itadakimasu!”
Tora went straight for the pork, “Mmmm, Uruha, you always make the best-“
Uruha smiled with glee and lightly clapped his hands. The bento was working.
Tora dropped his chopsticks. He slapped his forehead. This pork was definitely made at the hands of Uruha. Nowhere in the world sold pork this good. Awww, shit! He should have known better than to believe that this wasn’t the work of Uruha. Oh, shit! Handmade bentos meant one thing, and one thing only! How could he have been that fucking blind? Tora abruptly picked up the bento and shoved it into Uruha’s hands.
“Uruha! Didn’t I tell you this before? We’ve got to be men! Men don’t give other men bentos, Uruha. When will you ever learn?” Tora continued talking about his motto.
Uruha couldn’t comprehend a word Tora was saying except his action of returning his bento. Tora didn’t even bother to taste the rest. He stared down at the playful tigers. Couldn’t Tora see what he was trying to tell him? Was Tora really that blind or was Tora simply ignoring his hints? Uruha’s hands started to tremble. There was so much more Uruha wanted to say, but he didn’t know how to convey it to Tora without him always cutting him off and going off on a long spiel that he fucking cared less about.
“Uruha, are you listening?” Tora slapped Uruha’s arm with the back of his hand repetitively.
The only thing Uruha felt that he did wrong was to confess his real feelings. Was it such a sin? Uruha raised the bento over his head and without thinking any further smothered Tora’s face with the bento. Tora’s muffled voice reverberated into the box. Uruha couldn’t believe that Tora could still be talking about his motto. When did Tora care so little about him? Where did he go in Tora’s heart? Uruha cursed Tora in his mind, “Tora, I loved you so much. Now I h-h-a…” It hurt too much to finish the thought.
Tora grabbed Uruha’s arm and pulled the bento off. The box crashed to the floor. Uruha instinctively punched Tora’s jaw and dashed out of the room in panic and pain.
When the bento box crashed to the floor with a loud bang, the classroom suddenly went silent. Everyone immediately turned his or her head. Some snickered at the sight of Tora with food smothered all over his face. Tora nervously chuckled as he sunk to the ground to clean up the mess. Geez, what was Uruha thinking? It must have been that transfer kid making Uruha crazy. Tora distinctly remembered Uruha’s melancholy demeanor from Sunday, and it was weird that on Saturday when Uruha called him no one was on the other line. Uruha never hung up on him. Tora paused. Shit! What if that transfer kid had tried to r-r-. No, no. He had to stay calm. That transfer kid had better not have done anything like that to Uruha, otherwise Tora swore he would have to get justice for Uruha the next time he saw that fucking transfer kid.
Uruha ran wherever he legs took him. Somehow he burst out onto the rooftop. Hot tears streamed down his face and sobs choked his breathing, but he didn’t care anymore. Nothing mattered, actually. The pain seared through his mind and ripped at his heart like millions of tiny paper cuts. He couldn’t really see, feel, smell or hear anything except the deafening pain throbbing all over. He bounced back hard from running into some solid structure and fell smack down on his bottom, but he felt nothing.
Uruha tried to stand up, but his legs gave way under him. Blindly, Uruha crawled to the wall and desperately grabbed onto the railing above to steady himself up. He leaned against the railing and felt his necklace dangle against his heaving chest. Out of sheer anger, Uruha gripped the tiger pendant and tore the necklace from his neck, then chugged it over the railing as far as he could throw. He watched his necklace soar as fast as it could away from him. His head felt dizzy and this time when he collapsed onto the floor, Tora wasn’t there to catch him.
The noise finally subsided. Curious about the cause of the commotion, Shun slowly lifted his head from his knees. He rolled his head around a couple of times. Damn, the cramp in his neck had come back. He rolled his shoulders several times to ease his tensed muscles. Ah hell, he probably shouldn’t have come up here to sleep. His legs were numb from the pressure of his head. He tried to move one of them to allow blood flow back into his legs, but the numbness froze him in place. It painfully tickled to move. He had to patiently wait for his body to come back to life.
Meanwhile, he turned his head to the left where all the noise had come from. He immediately squinted his eyes against the overbearingly bright, midday sun. His leg jerked awake. Finally, he could move now. He pushed himself up from the ground and limped a little as he walked over to the other side of the roof. To his dismay, it was the class president lying on the ground. Shun stuck his hands in his pockets and circled the body. He prayed the class president was sleeping. When he squatted next to the body, he saw the class president’s tear-streaked face and wet eyelashes. To cover all grounds Shun leaned his cheek near the class president’s nose and mouth. There was no breath pulsating against Shun’s skin.
Shun clenched his fists that were still inside his pockets. Damn, he couldn’t rid himself of the class president’s troubles. The reason he moved to a new school was to avoid these types of interactions, problems, and situations. Shun gritted his teeth as he pulled his hands out of his pockets and scooped the class president into his arms.
Going to the infirmary was a nightmare Shun couldn’t avoid. Girls from all over the hallway circled him and the class president. Determined that it was neither his or their business to know what happened, Shun dodged into a nearby men’s bathroom. After a few minutes of waiting for the girls to lose interest, Shun reemerged into the hallway and safely made it to the infirmary.
Inside, the nurse helped Shun carry the class president to the nearest unoccupied bed. Shun flexed his arms as the nurse checked the class president’s vital signs. She said he was breathing very shallowly, but he should be okay. She would give him a shot, and call his mother later to pick him up. Shun nodded politely and left to return to class.
XOXOXOXO
One last lap. One last lap. Kanon kept telling herself that as her legs started to cramp up. Today in P.E. class they had to run a mile as part of their weeklong P.E. exam. Kanon dreaded coming to this class every day, but she didn’t want to fail school just because of this requirement. Sweat dripped into her eyes and burned her vision.
“Ahh!” She blinked several times. She was afraid of rubbing her eyes, as her hands were also sweaty.
In the distance, near the finish line, she noticed something glisten in the sunlight. Her curiosity drove her to the finish. She was about to collapse with joy, but she continued running over to the grassy sideline. The mysterious object glistened again. Kanon reached for it and felt something smooth. She lifted it out of the grass and to her surprise it was a tiny tiger pendant, though there was no chain.
“Oooh, what’s that?” Mimi finally finished her lap as well.
“I’m not sure, but I’m going to ask my dad to make it into a little bracelet for me.” Kanon smiled.
XOXOXOXO
When Shun arrived to class, the girls immediately flocked over to him. “Is Uruha-chan okay?”
Shun wondered when he would be left alone. He ignored them and sat down into this seat, but the girls wouldn’t leave his desk. “How is Uruha-chan? What happened to him?”
Shun figured he should say something. He lifted his head from the desk and to his confusion girls were being tossed left and right.
The force was Tora pushing and shoving everyone out of the way. “Stay away for your own safety! Coming through, everyone!”
Shun rolled his eyes and rested his head against his arms again.
“Hey you!” Tora violently shook Shun’s shoulder. “I know you’re still awake. What did you do to Uruha?”
Shun didn’t move.
Tora’s blood boiled. He rolled up his sleeves and lifted his arm as far back as he could to sock a punch into Shun’s side.
“Tora! What on earth are you doing?” Sensei scolded him.
Tora sheepishly smiled, “Stretching, Sensei. Stretching, hehe…”
“Get back in your seat at this moment. Class has started.” Sensei opened her lesson book and turned to write it on the board.
Tora spat at Shun, “I’ll settle this with you later.”
Shun shifted his arms to better support his neck. He didn’t want to worsen the cramp in his neck when he woke up.
XOXOXOXO
“Fuck this shit.” Tora wrote on his paper. Last night he stayed up late surfing the Internet about rape victims. He had to diagnose Uruha’s situation for him because he knew Uruha’s passive personality all too well. Anyway, long story short he was late again to class this morning, and well, he doing his favorite after-school activity right now - detention. He always wondered why Sensei loved giving him detention. He was practically here every day after-school. Only recently after he started hanging out Kanon, he didn’t need to stay after as much. Oh, he knew why. Sensei probably felt that grading papers was super boring, therefore she used detention as an excuse to make him keep her company. Well, if that was the case, why were his grades still so low? Shouldn’t he be given extra points for this?
“Tora-kun.” Sensei called out to him sternly. “If you don’t get writing, I will raise the number of times you need to write that sentence.”
Tora grumbled as he put his pencil to his paper.
“Shun-kun, please come forward and sit next to Tora-kun.” Sensei motioned for Shun to move up.
Tora wondered who was Shun. He looked behind him and saw the transfer kid. “Oh, so that’s your name?”
Shun settled down in the desk next to Tora and pulled out his books. He laid a notebook on his desk and continued taking the notes he had started.
Tora glared at this Shun. He didn’t like the looks of this guy. Yeah, he was definitely one of those that would hurt innocent people and no one would ever suspect. Tora felt Sensei about to lecture him again and he quickly started writing again.
After a few more “Fuck this shit.”, Tora glanced over at Shun, “Hey, you like Uruha or something?”
Shun put his pencil down and stared at Tora lazily, “Do you do anything productive with your life?” Then he stretched before going back to finishing his work.
“Tora-kun…” Sensei called again.
Tora shook a fist at Shun then muttered to himself. He changed the sentence on his paper to, “I kill you. I kill you.” He doodled various way of torturing Shun. In one picture he tied Shun’s limbs to four different horses letting them rip Shun apart. In another picture, he ran a machete nice and cleanly through Shun while he was sleeping at his desk. Ah, yes, the endless torture methods… The hammer flattening Shun’s body, stabbing a voodoo doll of Shun with various poisoned needless… He could do this all day. Tora started to manically laugh at his ingenious creations.
“Tora-kun…” Sensei warned him.
He swore under his breath, “Fuck you…”
Yeah, yeah. Dumb Sensei. She didn’t even understand the gravity of the situation. Shun, here, had raped Uruha… an innocent student! The class president! No worries. He would find a way to remedy the situation. He would save Uruha. He would prevent another victim!
“Tora-kun…” Sensei warned him again.
Tora mumbled and grumbled while continuing to draw the scrawny stick figures on his papers. He would find and exact his revenge when Shun was sleeping… when he would least suspect it.
Shun thought to himself… How did anyone get real work done with this buffoon around? He didn’t know how the class president could seriously stand him.
Detention was finally over. Tora couldn't wait to pulverize Shun.
XOXOXOXO
As Shun walked out of the school building, he slung his schoolbag over his shoulder. Today he wouldn’t have to go to work, which meant more time to see his mother. He would need to go buy some flowers first.
Tora quickly changed his shoes and ran out after Shun. Sensei had kept him a little bit lecturing him about why he should change his behavior and that she was worried for his future. He wanted to scream at her and tell her that she was letting a criminal get away, but he just continued nodding hoping that that would allow her to finish faster.
Tora was closing the gap between him and Shun. Tora couldn’t let the monster get away. He leaped forward and tackled Shun to the ground.
“Fuck!” Shun felt the wind smacked out of him.
He jammed his elbow several times into his attacker, but his attacker reached for his throat. Shun struggled to breathe as his attacker choked off his air supply. Shun knew that being pinned down any longer would kill him. With all his might, he pushed himself off the ground and ripped the hands off his throat. He swiftly swerved around to catch sight of his attacker. Tora?!
Tora glared hard at Shun, “You-you…”
Tora was catching his breath. He was obviously in a lot of pain, but determined to continue fighting Shun. “I’ll kill you for destroying Uruha!”
Tora charged at him and Shun crossed his arms against his chest as a shield for Tora’s punches. Kanon watched in horror as Tora raged at Shun. She didn’t know who the other senpai was, but she kept praying that Tora wouldn’t get hurt too badly.
In the classroom above, Uruha went to the window to check the forecast before walking home. He had just finished doing some errands for Sensei and it was time to head home. He avoided Tora all day, but merely seeing Tora tore at the strings of his heart. He still loved Tora dearly, but the knowledge of his unrequited love made his heart ache with enormous pain. He couldn’t remember who carried him to the infirmary, and the nurse said she didn’t recognize the student either. Uruha figured it was a janitor who got freaked out at the sight of him and rushed him to the infirmary to avoid any lawsuits. Uruha blinked back the oncoming tears. The pain was still very fresh in his mind. In the front of the school gates, he saw Tora fighting Shun and off to the side, Kanon was watching with her hands over her eyes. Uruha grabbed his backpack and rushed down to stop Tora.
Tora managed to distract Shun and kick him in the shin. Darkness grew in Shun’s eyes. He went on the offense and lashed out at Tora. Shun punched Tora in the stomach sending him flying and landing at Uruha’s feet.
“Tora… stop fighting.” Uruha bent down to hold back Tora.
Tora shrugged him off. “No… Uruha…. I will get revenge for you. Stop being so nice to this jerk.”
Uruha looked at Tora funny, “What are you talking about?”
Tora jumped back on his feet with his two fists ready to go. “Come on, Shun. Are you a man or what? You rape Uruha and now you pretend to be all innocent?”
Shun wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, “What the hell are you talking about, you fucking idiot?”
Tora ran towards Shun to give him another taste of his punches, but Uruha quickly appeared in front of Shun. “Stop, Tora!”
Tora motioned for Uruha to step aside, “Don’t worry, Uruha. I’ll get him for you! Step aside so I can finish him off.”
Uruha pleaded, “Tora, you’re bleeding at the knuckles. What’s all this nonsense you’re spewing?”
Tora threw his hands on Uruha’s shoulders, “Uruha, it’s okay. Denial is the first step. We’re going to get you some counseling, but after I beat up this jerk!”
Tora pushed Uruha to the side, but Uruha pushed back. “Tora… look at how scared you’ve made Kanon-san.”
Kanon ran over to Tora and was wiping his face with her pink handkerchief. Uruha almost puked watching her gentle touch caress Tora’s face. Why wouldn’t Tora let him do that?
Tora looked at Uruha with fierce, confused eyes. “Why are you standing up for this jerk?”
Uruha shot a look at Tora, “At least I know who I love.”
Tora stammered, “W-w-what?! You’ve made love to him? But- but-…”
Uruha turned his back to Tora. He couldn’t let him see his tears. Uruha felt so ashamed of himself for hiding his own heart, and yet so much pain from pushing Tora away and even more from seeing Kanon being so close to his Tora.
“Please, Tora-san. You heard Uruha-senpai.” Kanon pleaded. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Too shocked to fight back, Tora let Kanon drag him away. His ears rung with that sentence - “I made love with Shun”. A strange feeling seeped into his heart. In his mind, he ran through all the events leading up to this one. He swore Shun did something wrong to Uruha, or did he? He robotically climbed on the bike and rode away with Kanon clutching onto him from behind. Something nagged at the back of his mind, but he couldn’t quite grasp what it was.
After Tora and Kanon left, Uruha quickly wiped his eyes and turned towards Shun who was already walking away. “Hey, Shun-san!”
Shun stopped momentarily.
Uruha caught up with him, “I deeply apologize on Tora’s behalf. I don’t know what he was talking about. Can I make it up to you by buying you dinner?”
That’s right, dinner. He could actually eat some today since he didn’t have to go to work. Right now was happy hour at Mr. Tamagachi’s. Everything was half off, and every couple that came by could get another 50% discount. He needed to save all that he could. Shun motioned for Uruha to follow, “Fine, I know a place.”
XOXOXOXO
As Uruha and Shun walked, they passed a convenience store.
“Wait a moment, Shun-san.” Uruha disappeared into the convenience store.
Periodically, Shun glanced down at his watch. What did he seriously need? They were going to eat dinner soon. A few minutes later, Uruha appeared with a small bag. “Sorry for the wait. Let’s go eat.”
Shun wondered what was in Uruha’s bag, but didn’t bother to ask. He continued leading the way. When they arrived at the shop, Uruha was shocked at the amount of people in such a small, little restaurant.
A waiter guided them to an empty table. “Hello, welcome to Mr. Tamagachi’s! What would you like to drink?”
“Tea, please.” Uruha ordered.
“Just water.” Shun nodded.
“All right! Someone should be out shortly to take your order.” The waiter disappeared into the back.
Uruha placed his bag on the table. “Can I sit next to you?”
Shun felt Uruha was up to no good. “No. Stay on your side of the table.”
Uruha already walked over to the other seat next to Shun. He pulled out several ointments and a bag of cotton balls. “This might hurt, but please endure it.”
Shun waved Uruha off. “Thank you, but I don’t need it. Now please get back to your side.”
Uruha ripped open an alcohol pad and wiped down Shun’s wounds.
“Ahhh!” Shun instinctively gripped Uruha’s hands.
Uruha winced at Shun’s deathly grip. Shun realized what he did and quickly released them. “You shouldn’t randomly touch people without their permission.”
“Hey kiddo! Who’s your friend today?” The manager slapped Shun on the back. “I’ve never seen you bring anyone here before. Oh ho ho, you’re trying to benefit off my discount special, aren’t you?”
Shun closed the menu, “I would like a raw pork platter with the mixed vegetables plate.”
The manager wrote it down and smiled, “Hey, I’ve got some flowers today from a random customer. Would you like to take them to your mother? You might be able to save some money from buying flowers today.”
Uruha didn’t understand the connection - mother, flowers?
Shun shook his head, “No, thank you. I would like to buy them myself.”
The manager let out a hearty laugh, “Haha, all right, kiddo! Suit yourself. I’ll yell at the chefs to get cooking for Prince Shun.”
Shun rolled his eyes as the manager walked into the kitchen. Shun looked over at Uruha who was motioning to finish tending his wounds. Shun grabbed the stuff from Uruha and pulled the rest of the bag in front of him. “Get back over there. I’ll do it myself.”
As expected, Uruha didn’t complain. Shun watched as Uruha walked back to seat himself in front of him. It was better this way. He didn’t need the company. It was the last thing he wanted.
Uruha decided to make some small talk, “So where did you grow up?”
Shun dabbed on some ointment, “What do you want to eat first?”
Uruha blinked, “The food hasn’t come yet. Do you do any other activities besides going to work?”
Shun simply stated, “No.”
Uruha wouldn’t give up without trying, “Why did you move to this town?”
Shun looked at him, “Why are you so nosy?”
Uruha pouted, “What do you want me to do? Stare at you??”
Shun shrugged, “You’re the one who invited me to eat with you. I don’t normally eat with people.”
Uruha remembered that the manager mentioning something about Shun’s mother, “What about your parents? What do they do?”
Shun crossed his arms. “Stop acting like you know me.”
Uruha scoffed, “What? How am I supposed to get to know you if you keep building a wall around you? I’m trying to be your friend and you keep pushing me away.”
Shun shifted in his seat. He cringed at how lightly Uruha used the word friend. The word was so simple, but laced with webs of lies and deception that Uruha would never understand. Shun knew all too well about the true meaning of friendship. Shun once had a lover, who he confided in. His only mistake was the fear of his own past. Out of jealousy, his best friend poisoned his lover’s view of Shun by revealing every gruesome detail about Shun’s past. At first, Shun tried to explain his fear. Yet the more he tried to justify his fears, the more he hated himself. He knew he was a hypocrite. He expected his lover to trust him through thick and thin, yet he couldn’t completely open himself without cringing about his past. From those days on, Shun realized how fickle relationships really were. He came to understand that love was nothing but lies to make one feel less lonely. Over the years he got used to being alone. He didn’t need anyone anymore.
Uruha couldn’t understand why Shun kept avoiding his questions. Was it so difficult to talk about where one grew up? He tried to pick the most generic questions, but it seemed even those offended Shun. He rattled his brain for simpler questions, but he couldn’t think of any besides the silly ones such as ‘what is your favorite color?’.
Finally, the manager reappeared. “Hot, hot, hot. Coming through!”
The manager placed a large bowl of broth on the stove countertop to boil. He placed a silver lid over the top to speed up the boiling time. Another waiter came over and placed several plates of a variety of raw meat and vegetables, even got a plate of noodles and tofu.
Shun didn’t remember ordering this much.
The manager piped up, “Wait, wait, wait. Before you say anything, kiddo, this is my treat. You are one of my most valued customers. Sometimes you even come here after work to help me clean up, haha. And I know you don’t want the flowers, but I insist.”
The manager motioned for another waiter to bring over the flowers. The manager took the flowers and presented them to Uruha, “For you, my lovely friend.”
Shun growled, “What are you doing??”
The manager squeezed Shun’s shoulder, “In time you will understand my gesture, kiddo. Anyway, enjoy your food!”
The silence grew awkward between them. Shun shifted his focus to the others in the restaurant, but the expression on his face told Uruha nothing. Uruha glanced at the vibrant lilies and wondered whom the flowers were really for. The broth came to a boil. Shun and Uruha each placed several items into the broth. Uruha noticed Shun placed mostly vegetables.
“Do you not like meat?” Uruha asked.
“Vegetables are good for health. I rarely eat enough.”
“Oh…” Uruha nodded. It was really difficult to hold a conversation with Shun, although Uruha certainly enjoyed the awake Shun over the sleepy Shun.
Uruha watched as Shun adjusted the temperature of the hot pot and monitored whether the food was ready to eat. When his items were done, Shun grabbed it and ate in silence. Uruha was still waiting on his shrimps.
“Is it done yet?” Uruha was getting a little impatient. Shun rolled Uruha’s shrimp around and nodded.
“Hey, can I ask you a question?” said Uruha.
“What?”
“What would you do if you discovered that your best friend no longer thought of you as a best friend?”
Silence.
“I never had one. I wouldn’t know.”
Uruha rolled his eyes, “Are you serious?” He looked at Shun credulously, “Don’t tell me you never had friends before?”
Shun spooned some broth into an empty bowl and placed it to his lips to drink.
Uruha swirled some vegetables in the broth, “I always thought Tora was my best friend. I’m sorry for the injuries he inflicted upon you, but thank you for beating him up. I wish I could have your strength to do and say what I really want to say, but I always chicken out.”
Shun really didn’t want to hear this. He only fought back because that crazy idiot was about to kill him. Honestly, he didn’t care for Tora or Uruha. That was their problem, but somehow their paths kept intertwining. Shun didn’t like the idea one bit. Moving to a new town was about making a new start.
Shun placed his chopsticks down, “Listen, I’ve got things to do. See you tomorrow at school.”
Uruha tried to call out after him, but he already left. Uruha went to the counter to pay for the food, but the manager said Shun had already paid. Uruha couldn’t remember when that happened.
XOXOXOXO
Tora sat on the couch in Kanon’s living room as she tended to his wounds. He silently watched her tenderly applying the ointment and bandages. Occasionally, she asked him if it hurt. It always did, but he had to hold it in like a man, especially since she was a girl.
“Okay. Done.” She said as she placed the last bandage on his arm.
She admired Tora’s strength, but she was also a little frightened by his earlier display of rage. She hoped she wouldn’t have to see that again.
“Oh, what’s this?” Tora grabbed a random book from the pile of books on her coffee table.
The book was the exact same cookbook as Uruha’s.
“Oh!” Kanon blushed fiercely. “It was a birthday present from my parents. They gave it to me yesterday. I really want to learn how to cook.”
“What? It was your birthday yesterday?? How come you didn’t let me know?” Tora exclaimed.
“Well… we’re not official yet, so I didn’t think it was appropriate. Sorry, Tora-san.” Kanon twisted her hands in her lap.
Tora placed the book down on the coffee table. He took her hands in his, “Don’t apologize. It should be me for being so oblivious. I should have asked you ahead of time.”
Tora kissed her forehead. A strange feeling ran over him. Something about this scene felt very familiar. But what?
Kanon smiled at him with little tears of joy, “Tora-san, you’re so kind.”
Tora cupped the side of her face with his hands and wiped her tears. “Silly girl, let me make it up to you with this.”
Tora leaned over and lightly kissed her lips. The strange feeling came over him again.
Kanon’s eyes widened. She quickly pulled away. “T-t-ora-san… I- I-.. don’t know how to…”
Tora looked at her with dreamy eyes. “Don’t worry, Kanon-san. Just follow my lead.”
Kanon almost felt her heart leap out her throat. She could barely take her eyes off of Tora. Before Tora moved any closer, she immediately rose from the couch. “I- I- should cook us some dinner.”
She tried to walk by Tora, but she was such in a nervous wreck her legs weren’t working properly and she tripped. “Ahhh!”
Tora caught her in his arms and caressed her neck with several kisses as he laid her on the couch. “Dinner can wait.”
At first she tried to resist his sweet kisses, but the sensation from their locked lips overpowered her will. She returned his kisses. Tora’s head whirred. When Kanon returned his kisses, he thought he would have to control himself from becoming too passionate, but something was missing. His heart wasn’t racing like the times he was this close with Uruha… Tora kissed Kanon more passionately. He couldn’t … no, he didn’t even want to picture helpless Uruha being smothered with kisses by that evil, manipulating Shun. Kanon’s heart was beating wildly out of control. She had to get a breath of air. Somehow she managed to unlock her lips with Tora’s and looked deep into his eyes, “Tora-san, I…love you.”
Tora immediately leaned back against the arm of the sofa as Kanon sat up and threw her arms around Tora’s neck. Tora swallowed hard before he heard himself whisper, “Kanon-san, would you go out with me?”
Kanon kissed the side of his neck. His heart sunk. He wrapped his arms tightly around Kanon and silently cried in her embrace. He should have been feeling so happy, yet he felt so depressed.
A/N's
A new part added on to the story. Hopefully, it was enjoyable and not too long, ^_^;;;. When misfitmisfit and I were writing the story, we noticed that the chapter kind of became way too long, >.>. So we decided to cut it off and end this chapter with Tora/Kanon.
Yay, finally a Shun/Uruha scene! :D It took a while before figuring out the chemistry between the two of them, lol, xDD. More of them coming in the following chapters, I assure you. x3
Comments and constructive criticisms are appreciated. ^_^
Chapter: 3/??
Author: atmosphere_zero & misfitmisfit
Genre: Angst, Comedy, Romance, School life, AU
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Strong language, Some violence, Mention of rape (No, it doesn't happen for real, >.>;;;)
Band(s): Alice Nine, the GazettE, Vidoll
Pairing(s)/Character(s): ToraxUruha, UruhaxShun, ToraxKanon(solo artist)
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: A simple denial turned into a cruel reality.
Comments: I'm in a very writey mood, I suppose, xDD;;;. More at the bottom. Enjoy! ^_^
Chapters: Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4
On Monday morning, Uruha could barely climb out of bed. His limbs felt extra sore from yesterday’s basketball game. He put more drive into scoring than usual. He hoped that it would be enough to ameliorate his pain, but it quickly resurfaced as soon as the game was over.
During class today, Sensei talked about the history of gold. Uruha gently rolled the sleek gold necklace around his neck with his fingertips. He would never forget that blissful rainy afternoon.
“A green dot for my left hand? My limbs need to be made of out silly-putty for that to happen!” Tora was testing out the move he had just spun on the Twister board game spinner. “Okay, here goes nothing.”
Seconds later, he felt Tora tickling him. Uruha tried to defend himself without losing his position on the board, but he collapsed on top of Tora.
“Gotcha.” Tora winked at Uruha and gave him a small kiss on the forehead.
Uruha was stunned. His heart raced uncontrollably and harder with each beat. Was this love? He felt his face getting hot and tried to squirm away, but Tora firmly held him close. “I have your birthday gift.”
Tora lifted his head to expose his neck. “Unclasp it for me.”
Uruha regained strength in his body and reached over to unclasp the sleek gold necklace with a miniature tiger-shaped pendant hanging off of it.
“Now you must always wear it, so that the Tiger may forever protect you.” Tora chuckled.
Uruha’s eyes filled with tears. He wrapped his arms around Tora’s neck and whispered into his ear, “I thought you forgot.”
“I admit… I forget a lot of things, but I never forget the matters revolving around you.” Tora rubbed Uruha’s back.
Uruha felt his heart race a little as he recalled that moment in his memories. They had spent many days together close like that afterwards, which was why Uruha was sure Tora loved him back. But Tora started keeping a little bit of distance between them after he joined the basketball club. He began lecturing Uruha about how to be a man, and things like that. The only time Tora didn’t restrain himself was whenever Uruha cooked for him. He would nosily rummage through the refrigerator and cabinets for food to munch on while he waited and sometimes he even naughtily tickled Uruha or hugged him to distract him from cooking.
That was when Uruha had an idea. Last night before he went to bed, he decided to win Tora’s heart back once in for all. He hadn’t cooked for Tora in quite awhile, but he still knew what made Tora drool. He had spent several hours cutting, cooking, and arranging the bento. Uruha felt for sure this would return Tora back to normal. The bento contained white rice with a picture of two playful tigers outlined by thin strips of carrots and eggplant. There was a boiled egg cut in half representing the sun. The grass was made with seaweed salad, and Tora’s favorite was the pork that made up the soil beneath the grass.
That morning, Uruha didn’t wait for Tora at the school’s front gates because he was too nervous about the bento he had prepared for him. He wanted to gather his nerves and build his confidence for the crucial moment. He didn’t want this to go on any longer. He had to let Tora know just how much he loved him. Uruha could barely focus all morning.
XOXOXOXO
Yesterday’s game with Uruha was intense. At one moment, Uruha was here, then there. He never seen Uruha play that hard before, but at the same time he was proud Uruha was becoming a stronger basketball player. Tora always knew that Uruha had been holding back before. After the game, Tora wanted to ask Uruha more about what had happened between him and that transfer kid, but Kanon called him. He really didn’t want to abandon Uruha, but she said she had a problem with her schoolwork, so Tora felt obligated to go and help her. He was more surprised that Uruha didn’t object when he told him this news. In fact, Uruha just went straight home.
In any case, he felt so embarrassed going over to Kanon’s house. Not only did he not remember how to do any of the calculus problems she needed help with, she helped him finish his biology homework. Then he really screwed himself over by promising to pick her up for school tomorrow. She lived farther from school than he did, so he had to get up extra early to backtrack to her house then go past his own house to school.
Luckily, Kanon had a bike. At first he thought it would be more gentleman-like to let her ride on the bike as he walked, but then he realized he could just bring them both there by riding it for her.
“Come on, Kanon-san. Hop on!” Tora patted the seat.
She shook her head and started walking. She was too nervous to so readily agree. They weren’t even dating yet…. although she really wanted to feel Tora’s body close to her again like that day they took those pictures. Oh dear, what was she thinking? She chewed on her lip as she continued walking ahead.
Tora knew she was just being shy. He rode faster and braked right in front of her. Without her consent, he grabbed her and seated her sideways behind him. He wrapped her arms around his waist. “Okay, Kanon-san, get ready for the ride of your life!”
Kanon was trembling with fear and excitement. She could feel Tora’s strong, muscular back working as he pumped on the pedals. Her knees suddenly grew weak from the nerve-wrecking joy surging through her. She was thankful to be sitting as a passenger.
Tora sped forward at full speed. “F- Errr, Whooooo!”
Kanon buried her face into Tora’s back. She could barely keep her eyes open against the whipping wind, but she didn’t care. Being able to hold and smell Tora was more blissful than she had ever imagined.
Tora didn’t stop for anything, not even speed bumps. Sometimes they would get too close to on-going traffic, but that only encouraged Tora to be even more risky. He weaved through the cars like it was a game. Kanon gripped on tight. Sometimes she would loosen her grip a little, afraid that she was suffocating Tora, but it seemed he barely felt anything except for the overwhelming excitement from his dangerous bike riding.
Somehow they managed to arrive at school in one piece.
“Man, that was f- err, great fun!” Tora looked back at Kanon, who had her eyes squeezed shut.
Tora laughed as he lightly ruffled her hair. She gently hopped off the bike, and pulled out a brush from her purse to quickly comb her hair. She couldn’t let her classmates see her wild hairdo. Tora quickly apologized for ruining her hair. She giggled at Tora’s dorky awkwardness. Tora quickly went to park and lock her bike. Raindrops started to splotch the ground.
“Ah, shit.” Tora pulled his backpack over his head, but Kanon popped open her umbrella for him.
Tora motioned to hold it for her and they hurried off to class. Tora walked her to her classroom and waved a small “bye-bye” as he rushed off to his own classroom. One minute left. Tora skidded through the door and swiftly slipped into his chair. The bell rang. Whew, he just made it.
Uruha noticed Tora holding a pink umbrella. Where did he get that?
When Sensei called to collect the projects, Shun quickly stole a glance at Uruha, who gave her an organized, thick portfolio. He already told Sensei about the situation and he would have to stay for detention tomorrow. He had to skip work, but there was nothing he could do about it.
XOXOXOXO
The bell for lunch finally rang.
“Whooooo!” Tora cheered. “Half of the school day is over.”
Uruha held the bento tightly in his hands. He dreaded another rejection, but reveled in the hopes this could be the key to rekindling their relationship. Uruha approached Tora’s desk.
“Want to go grab some lunch?” Tora yawned as he stretched.
“I brought this for you today.” Uruha placed the bento on Tora’s desk and slid it forward towards Tora.
Tora snickered, “What’s with these cute little tigers smiling at me?”
Uruha’s ears burned red. “You know I don’t have plain colored bento boxes.”
Tora was already opening the bento. “Wow! Can I really eat this? It looks like a piece of art.”
Tora poked at one of tigers with chopsticks. “Where did you buy this crafty little piece?”
Uruha quickly blurted, “The grocery store sells them like that. My mom always buys a bunch for herself to bring to work, and yesterday I asked her to buy that one for you because there was a super deal.”
Tora grinned and patted Uruha’s arm. “For a second, I almost thought you made it all by hand like in the old days. Okay then. Itadakimasu!”
Tora went straight for the pork, “Mmmm, Uruha, you always make the best-“
Uruha smiled with glee and lightly clapped his hands. The bento was working.
Tora dropped his chopsticks. He slapped his forehead. This pork was definitely made at the hands of Uruha. Nowhere in the world sold pork this good. Awww, shit! He should have known better than to believe that this wasn’t the work of Uruha. Oh, shit! Handmade bentos meant one thing, and one thing only! How could he have been that fucking blind? Tora abruptly picked up the bento and shoved it into Uruha’s hands.
“Uruha! Didn’t I tell you this before? We’ve got to be men! Men don’t give other men bentos, Uruha. When will you ever learn?” Tora continued talking about his motto.
Uruha couldn’t comprehend a word Tora was saying except his action of returning his bento. Tora didn’t even bother to taste the rest. He stared down at the playful tigers. Couldn’t Tora see what he was trying to tell him? Was Tora really that blind or was Tora simply ignoring his hints? Uruha’s hands started to tremble. There was so much more Uruha wanted to say, but he didn’t know how to convey it to Tora without him always cutting him off and going off on a long spiel that he fucking cared less about.
“Uruha, are you listening?” Tora slapped Uruha’s arm with the back of his hand repetitively.
The only thing Uruha felt that he did wrong was to confess his real feelings. Was it such a sin? Uruha raised the bento over his head and without thinking any further smothered Tora’s face with the bento. Tora’s muffled voice reverberated into the box. Uruha couldn’t believe that Tora could still be talking about his motto. When did Tora care so little about him? Where did he go in Tora’s heart? Uruha cursed Tora in his mind, “Tora, I loved you so much. Now I h-h-a…” It hurt too much to finish the thought.
Tora grabbed Uruha’s arm and pulled the bento off. The box crashed to the floor. Uruha instinctively punched Tora’s jaw and dashed out of the room in panic and pain.
When the bento box crashed to the floor with a loud bang, the classroom suddenly went silent. Everyone immediately turned his or her head. Some snickered at the sight of Tora with food smothered all over his face. Tora nervously chuckled as he sunk to the ground to clean up the mess. Geez, what was Uruha thinking? It must have been that transfer kid making Uruha crazy. Tora distinctly remembered Uruha’s melancholy demeanor from Sunday, and it was weird that on Saturday when Uruha called him no one was on the other line. Uruha never hung up on him. Tora paused. Shit! What if that transfer kid had tried to r-r-. No, no. He had to stay calm. That transfer kid had better not have done anything like that to Uruha, otherwise Tora swore he would have to get justice for Uruha the next time he saw that fucking transfer kid.
Uruha ran wherever he legs took him. Somehow he burst out onto the rooftop. Hot tears streamed down his face and sobs choked his breathing, but he didn’t care anymore. Nothing mattered, actually. The pain seared through his mind and ripped at his heart like millions of tiny paper cuts. He couldn’t really see, feel, smell or hear anything except the deafening pain throbbing all over. He bounced back hard from running into some solid structure and fell smack down on his bottom, but he felt nothing.
Uruha tried to stand up, but his legs gave way under him. Blindly, Uruha crawled to the wall and desperately grabbed onto the railing above to steady himself up. He leaned against the railing and felt his necklace dangle against his heaving chest. Out of sheer anger, Uruha gripped the tiger pendant and tore the necklace from his neck, then chugged it over the railing as far as he could throw. He watched his necklace soar as fast as it could away from him. His head felt dizzy and this time when he collapsed onto the floor, Tora wasn’t there to catch him.
The noise finally subsided. Curious about the cause of the commotion, Shun slowly lifted his head from his knees. He rolled his head around a couple of times. Damn, the cramp in his neck had come back. He rolled his shoulders several times to ease his tensed muscles. Ah hell, he probably shouldn’t have come up here to sleep. His legs were numb from the pressure of his head. He tried to move one of them to allow blood flow back into his legs, but the numbness froze him in place. It painfully tickled to move. He had to patiently wait for his body to come back to life.
Meanwhile, he turned his head to the left where all the noise had come from. He immediately squinted his eyes against the overbearingly bright, midday sun. His leg jerked awake. Finally, he could move now. He pushed himself up from the ground and limped a little as he walked over to the other side of the roof. To his dismay, it was the class president lying on the ground. Shun stuck his hands in his pockets and circled the body. He prayed the class president was sleeping. When he squatted next to the body, he saw the class president’s tear-streaked face and wet eyelashes. To cover all grounds Shun leaned his cheek near the class president’s nose and mouth. There was no breath pulsating against Shun’s skin.
Shun clenched his fists that were still inside his pockets. Damn, he couldn’t rid himself of the class president’s troubles. The reason he moved to a new school was to avoid these types of interactions, problems, and situations. Shun gritted his teeth as he pulled his hands out of his pockets and scooped the class president into his arms.
Going to the infirmary was a nightmare Shun couldn’t avoid. Girls from all over the hallway circled him and the class president. Determined that it was neither his or their business to know what happened, Shun dodged into a nearby men’s bathroom. After a few minutes of waiting for the girls to lose interest, Shun reemerged into the hallway and safely made it to the infirmary.
Inside, the nurse helped Shun carry the class president to the nearest unoccupied bed. Shun flexed his arms as the nurse checked the class president’s vital signs. She said he was breathing very shallowly, but he should be okay. She would give him a shot, and call his mother later to pick him up. Shun nodded politely and left to return to class.
XOXOXOXO
One last lap. One last lap. Kanon kept telling herself that as her legs started to cramp up. Today in P.E. class they had to run a mile as part of their weeklong P.E. exam. Kanon dreaded coming to this class every day, but she didn’t want to fail school just because of this requirement. Sweat dripped into her eyes and burned her vision.
“Ahh!” She blinked several times. She was afraid of rubbing her eyes, as her hands were also sweaty.
In the distance, near the finish line, she noticed something glisten in the sunlight. Her curiosity drove her to the finish. She was about to collapse with joy, but she continued running over to the grassy sideline. The mysterious object glistened again. Kanon reached for it and felt something smooth. She lifted it out of the grass and to her surprise it was a tiny tiger pendant, though there was no chain.
“Oooh, what’s that?” Mimi finally finished her lap as well.
“I’m not sure, but I’m going to ask my dad to make it into a little bracelet for me.” Kanon smiled.
XOXOXOXO
When Shun arrived to class, the girls immediately flocked over to him. “Is Uruha-chan okay?”
Shun wondered when he would be left alone. He ignored them and sat down into this seat, but the girls wouldn’t leave his desk. “How is Uruha-chan? What happened to him?”
Shun figured he should say something. He lifted his head from the desk and to his confusion girls were being tossed left and right.
The force was Tora pushing and shoving everyone out of the way. “Stay away for your own safety! Coming through, everyone!”
Shun rolled his eyes and rested his head against his arms again.
“Hey you!” Tora violently shook Shun’s shoulder. “I know you’re still awake. What did you do to Uruha?”
Shun didn’t move.
Tora’s blood boiled. He rolled up his sleeves and lifted his arm as far back as he could to sock a punch into Shun’s side.
“Tora! What on earth are you doing?” Sensei scolded him.
Tora sheepishly smiled, “Stretching, Sensei. Stretching, hehe…”
“Get back in your seat at this moment. Class has started.” Sensei opened her lesson book and turned to write it on the board.
Tora spat at Shun, “I’ll settle this with you later.”
Shun shifted his arms to better support his neck. He didn’t want to worsen the cramp in his neck when he woke up.
XOXOXOXO
“Fuck this shit.” Tora wrote on his paper. Last night he stayed up late surfing the Internet about rape victims. He had to diagnose Uruha’s situation for him because he knew Uruha’s passive personality all too well. Anyway, long story short he was late again to class this morning, and well, he doing his favorite after-school activity right now - detention. He always wondered why Sensei loved giving him detention. He was practically here every day after-school. Only recently after he started hanging out Kanon, he didn’t need to stay after as much. Oh, he knew why. Sensei probably felt that grading papers was super boring, therefore she used detention as an excuse to make him keep her company. Well, if that was the case, why were his grades still so low? Shouldn’t he be given extra points for this?
“Tora-kun.” Sensei called out to him sternly. “If you don’t get writing, I will raise the number of times you need to write that sentence.”
Tora grumbled as he put his pencil to his paper.
“Shun-kun, please come forward and sit next to Tora-kun.” Sensei motioned for Shun to move up.
Tora wondered who was Shun. He looked behind him and saw the transfer kid. “Oh, so that’s your name?”
Shun settled down in the desk next to Tora and pulled out his books. He laid a notebook on his desk and continued taking the notes he had started.
Tora glared at this Shun. He didn’t like the looks of this guy. Yeah, he was definitely one of those that would hurt innocent people and no one would ever suspect. Tora felt Sensei about to lecture him again and he quickly started writing again.
After a few more “Fuck this shit.”, Tora glanced over at Shun, “Hey, you like Uruha or something?”
Shun put his pencil down and stared at Tora lazily, “Do you do anything productive with your life?” Then he stretched before going back to finishing his work.
“Tora-kun…” Sensei called again.
Tora shook a fist at Shun then muttered to himself. He changed the sentence on his paper to, “I kill you. I kill you.” He doodled various way of torturing Shun. In one picture he tied Shun’s limbs to four different horses letting them rip Shun apart. In another picture, he ran a machete nice and cleanly through Shun while he was sleeping at his desk. Ah, yes, the endless torture methods… The hammer flattening Shun’s body, stabbing a voodoo doll of Shun with various poisoned needless… He could do this all day. Tora started to manically laugh at his ingenious creations.
“Tora-kun…” Sensei warned him.
He swore under his breath, “Fuck you…”
Yeah, yeah. Dumb Sensei. She didn’t even understand the gravity of the situation. Shun, here, had raped Uruha… an innocent student! The class president! No worries. He would find a way to remedy the situation. He would save Uruha. He would prevent another victim!
“Tora-kun…” Sensei warned him again.
Tora mumbled and grumbled while continuing to draw the scrawny stick figures on his papers. He would find and exact his revenge when Shun was sleeping… when he would least suspect it.
Shun thought to himself… How did anyone get real work done with this buffoon around? He didn’t know how the class president could seriously stand him.
Detention was finally over. Tora couldn't wait to pulverize Shun.
XOXOXOXO
As Shun walked out of the school building, he slung his schoolbag over his shoulder. Today he wouldn’t have to go to work, which meant more time to see his mother. He would need to go buy some flowers first.
Tora quickly changed his shoes and ran out after Shun. Sensei had kept him a little bit lecturing him about why he should change his behavior and that she was worried for his future. He wanted to scream at her and tell her that she was letting a criminal get away, but he just continued nodding hoping that that would allow her to finish faster.
Tora was closing the gap between him and Shun. Tora couldn’t let the monster get away. He leaped forward and tackled Shun to the ground.
“Fuck!” Shun felt the wind smacked out of him.
He jammed his elbow several times into his attacker, but his attacker reached for his throat. Shun struggled to breathe as his attacker choked off his air supply. Shun knew that being pinned down any longer would kill him. With all his might, he pushed himself off the ground and ripped the hands off his throat. He swiftly swerved around to catch sight of his attacker. Tora?!
Tora glared hard at Shun, “You-you…”
Tora was catching his breath. He was obviously in a lot of pain, but determined to continue fighting Shun. “I’ll kill you for destroying Uruha!”
Tora charged at him and Shun crossed his arms against his chest as a shield for Tora’s punches. Kanon watched in horror as Tora raged at Shun. She didn’t know who the other senpai was, but she kept praying that Tora wouldn’t get hurt too badly.
In the classroom above, Uruha went to the window to check the forecast before walking home. He had just finished doing some errands for Sensei and it was time to head home. He avoided Tora all day, but merely seeing Tora tore at the strings of his heart. He still loved Tora dearly, but the knowledge of his unrequited love made his heart ache with enormous pain. He couldn’t remember who carried him to the infirmary, and the nurse said she didn’t recognize the student either. Uruha figured it was a janitor who got freaked out at the sight of him and rushed him to the infirmary to avoid any lawsuits. Uruha blinked back the oncoming tears. The pain was still very fresh in his mind. In the front of the school gates, he saw Tora fighting Shun and off to the side, Kanon was watching with her hands over her eyes. Uruha grabbed his backpack and rushed down to stop Tora.
Tora managed to distract Shun and kick him in the shin. Darkness grew in Shun’s eyes. He went on the offense and lashed out at Tora. Shun punched Tora in the stomach sending him flying and landing at Uruha’s feet.
“Tora… stop fighting.” Uruha bent down to hold back Tora.
Tora shrugged him off. “No… Uruha…. I will get revenge for you. Stop being so nice to this jerk.”
Uruha looked at Tora funny, “What are you talking about?”
Tora jumped back on his feet with his two fists ready to go. “Come on, Shun. Are you a man or what? You rape Uruha and now you pretend to be all innocent?”
Shun wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, “What the hell are you talking about, you fucking idiot?”
Tora ran towards Shun to give him another taste of his punches, but Uruha quickly appeared in front of Shun. “Stop, Tora!”
Tora motioned for Uruha to step aside, “Don’t worry, Uruha. I’ll get him for you! Step aside so I can finish him off.”
Uruha pleaded, “Tora, you’re bleeding at the knuckles. What’s all this nonsense you’re spewing?”
Tora threw his hands on Uruha’s shoulders, “Uruha, it’s okay. Denial is the first step. We’re going to get you some counseling, but after I beat up this jerk!”
Tora pushed Uruha to the side, but Uruha pushed back. “Tora… look at how scared you’ve made Kanon-san.”
Kanon ran over to Tora and was wiping his face with her pink handkerchief. Uruha almost puked watching her gentle touch caress Tora’s face. Why wouldn’t Tora let him do that?
Tora looked at Uruha with fierce, confused eyes. “Why are you standing up for this jerk?”
Uruha shot a look at Tora, “At least I know who I love.”
Tora stammered, “W-w-what?! You’ve made love to him? But- but-…”
Uruha turned his back to Tora. He couldn’t let him see his tears. Uruha felt so ashamed of himself for hiding his own heart, and yet so much pain from pushing Tora away and even more from seeing Kanon being so close to his Tora.
“Please, Tora-san. You heard Uruha-senpai.” Kanon pleaded. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Too shocked to fight back, Tora let Kanon drag him away. His ears rung with that sentence - “I made love with Shun”. A strange feeling seeped into his heart. In his mind, he ran through all the events leading up to this one. He swore Shun did something wrong to Uruha, or did he? He robotically climbed on the bike and rode away with Kanon clutching onto him from behind. Something nagged at the back of his mind, but he couldn’t quite grasp what it was.
After Tora and Kanon left, Uruha quickly wiped his eyes and turned towards Shun who was already walking away. “Hey, Shun-san!”
Shun stopped momentarily.
Uruha caught up with him, “I deeply apologize on Tora’s behalf. I don’t know what he was talking about. Can I make it up to you by buying you dinner?”
That’s right, dinner. He could actually eat some today since he didn’t have to go to work. Right now was happy hour at Mr. Tamagachi’s. Everything was half off, and every couple that came by could get another 50% discount. He needed to save all that he could. Shun motioned for Uruha to follow, “Fine, I know a place.”
XOXOXOXO
As Uruha and Shun walked, they passed a convenience store.
“Wait a moment, Shun-san.” Uruha disappeared into the convenience store.
Periodically, Shun glanced down at his watch. What did he seriously need? They were going to eat dinner soon. A few minutes later, Uruha appeared with a small bag. “Sorry for the wait. Let’s go eat.”
Shun wondered what was in Uruha’s bag, but didn’t bother to ask. He continued leading the way. When they arrived at the shop, Uruha was shocked at the amount of people in such a small, little restaurant.
A waiter guided them to an empty table. “Hello, welcome to Mr. Tamagachi’s! What would you like to drink?”
“Tea, please.” Uruha ordered.
“Just water.” Shun nodded.
“All right! Someone should be out shortly to take your order.” The waiter disappeared into the back.
Uruha placed his bag on the table. “Can I sit next to you?”
Shun felt Uruha was up to no good. “No. Stay on your side of the table.”
Uruha already walked over to the other seat next to Shun. He pulled out several ointments and a bag of cotton balls. “This might hurt, but please endure it.”
Shun waved Uruha off. “Thank you, but I don’t need it. Now please get back to your side.”
Uruha ripped open an alcohol pad and wiped down Shun’s wounds.
“Ahhh!” Shun instinctively gripped Uruha’s hands.
Uruha winced at Shun’s deathly grip. Shun realized what he did and quickly released them. “You shouldn’t randomly touch people without their permission.”
“Hey kiddo! Who’s your friend today?” The manager slapped Shun on the back. “I’ve never seen you bring anyone here before. Oh ho ho, you’re trying to benefit off my discount special, aren’t you?”
Shun closed the menu, “I would like a raw pork platter with the mixed vegetables plate.”
The manager wrote it down and smiled, “Hey, I’ve got some flowers today from a random customer. Would you like to take them to your mother? You might be able to save some money from buying flowers today.”
Uruha didn’t understand the connection - mother, flowers?
Shun shook his head, “No, thank you. I would like to buy them myself.”
The manager let out a hearty laugh, “Haha, all right, kiddo! Suit yourself. I’ll yell at the chefs to get cooking for Prince Shun.”
Shun rolled his eyes as the manager walked into the kitchen. Shun looked over at Uruha who was motioning to finish tending his wounds. Shun grabbed the stuff from Uruha and pulled the rest of the bag in front of him. “Get back over there. I’ll do it myself.”
As expected, Uruha didn’t complain. Shun watched as Uruha walked back to seat himself in front of him. It was better this way. He didn’t need the company. It was the last thing he wanted.
Uruha decided to make some small talk, “So where did you grow up?”
Shun dabbed on some ointment, “What do you want to eat first?”
Uruha blinked, “The food hasn’t come yet. Do you do any other activities besides going to work?”
Shun simply stated, “No.”
Uruha wouldn’t give up without trying, “Why did you move to this town?”
Shun looked at him, “Why are you so nosy?”
Uruha pouted, “What do you want me to do? Stare at you??”
Shun shrugged, “You’re the one who invited me to eat with you. I don’t normally eat with people.”
Uruha remembered that the manager mentioning something about Shun’s mother, “What about your parents? What do they do?”
Shun crossed his arms. “Stop acting like you know me.”
Uruha scoffed, “What? How am I supposed to get to know you if you keep building a wall around you? I’m trying to be your friend and you keep pushing me away.”
Shun shifted in his seat. He cringed at how lightly Uruha used the word friend. The word was so simple, but laced with webs of lies and deception that Uruha would never understand. Shun knew all too well about the true meaning of friendship. Shun once had a lover, who he confided in. His only mistake was the fear of his own past. Out of jealousy, his best friend poisoned his lover’s view of Shun by revealing every gruesome detail about Shun’s past. At first, Shun tried to explain his fear. Yet the more he tried to justify his fears, the more he hated himself. He knew he was a hypocrite. He expected his lover to trust him through thick and thin, yet he couldn’t completely open himself without cringing about his past. From those days on, Shun realized how fickle relationships really were. He came to understand that love was nothing but lies to make one feel less lonely. Over the years he got used to being alone. He didn’t need anyone anymore.
Uruha couldn’t understand why Shun kept avoiding his questions. Was it so difficult to talk about where one grew up? He tried to pick the most generic questions, but it seemed even those offended Shun. He rattled his brain for simpler questions, but he couldn’t think of any besides the silly ones such as ‘what is your favorite color?’.
Finally, the manager reappeared. “Hot, hot, hot. Coming through!”
The manager placed a large bowl of broth on the stove countertop to boil. He placed a silver lid over the top to speed up the boiling time. Another waiter came over and placed several plates of a variety of raw meat and vegetables, even got a plate of noodles and tofu.
Shun didn’t remember ordering this much.
The manager piped up, “Wait, wait, wait. Before you say anything, kiddo, this is my treat. You are one of my most valued customers. Sometimes you even come here after work to help me clean up, haha. And I know you don’t want the flowers, but I insist.”
The manager motioned for another waiter to bring over the flowers. The manager took the flowers and presented them to Uruha, “For you, my lovely friend.”
Shun growled, “What are you doing??”
The manager squeezed Shun’s shoulder, “In time you will understand my gesture, kiddo. Anyway, enjoy your food!”
The silence grew awkward between them. Shun shifted his focus to the others in the restaurant, but the expression on his face told Uruha nothing. Uruha glanced at the vibrant lilies and wondered whom the flowers were really for. The broth came to a boil. Shun and Uruha each placed several items into the broth. Uruha noticed Shun placed mostly vegetables.
“Do you not like meat?” Uruha asked.
“Vegetables are good for health. I rarely eat enough.”
“Oh…” Uruha nodded. It was really difficult to hold a conversation with Shun, although Uruha certainly enjoyed the awake Shun over the sleepy Shun.
Uruha watched as Shun adjusted the temperature of the hot pot and monitored whether the food was ready to eat. When his items were done, Shun grabbed it and ate in silence. Uruha was still waiting on his shrimps.
“Is it done yet?” Uruha was getting a little impatient. Shun rolled Uruha’s shrimp around and nodded.
“Hey, can I ask you a question?” said Uruha.
“What?”
“What would you do if you discovered that your best friend no longer thought of you as a best friend?”
Silence.
“I never had one. I wouldn’t know.”
Uruha rolled his eyes, “Are you serious?” He looked at Shun credulously, “Don’t tell me you never had friends before?”
Shun spooned some broth into an empty bowl and placed it to his lips to drink.
Uruha swirled some vegetables in the broth, “I always thought Tora was my best friend. I’m sorry for the injuries he inflicted upon you, but thank you for beating him up. I wish I could have your strength to do and say what I really want to say, but I always chicken out.”
Shun really didn’t want to hear this. He only fought back because that crazy idiot was about to kill him. Honestly, he didn’t care for Tora or Uruha. That was their problem, but somehow their paths kept intertwining. Shun didn’t like the idea one bit. Moving to a new town was about making a new start.
Shun placed his chopsticks down, “Listen, I’ve got things to do. See you tomorrow at school.”
Uruha tried to call out after him, but he already left. Uruha went to the counter to pay for the food, but the manager said Shun had already paid. Uruha couldn’t remember when that happened.
XOXOXOXO
Tora sat on the couch in Kanon’s living room as she tended to his wounds. He silently watched her tenderly applying the ointment and bandages. Occasionally, she asked him if it hurt. It always did, but he had to hold it in like a man, especially since she was a girl.
“Okay. Done.” She said as she placed the last bandage on his arm.
She admired Tora’s strength, but she was also a little frightened by his earlier display of rage. She hoped she wouldn’t have to see that again.
“Oh, what’s this?” Tora grabbed a random book from the pile of books on her coffee table.
The book was the exact same cookbook as Uruha’s.
“Oh!” Kanon blushed fiercely. “It was a birthday present from my parents. They gave it to me yesterday. I really want to learn how to cook.”
“What? It was your birthday yesterday?? How come you didn’t let me know?” Tora exclaimed.
“Well… we’re not official yet, so I didn’t think it was appropriate. Sorry, Tora-san.” Kanon twisted her hands in her lap.
Tora placed the book down on the coffee table. He took her hands in his, “Don’t apologize. It should be me for being so oblivious. I should have asked you ahead of time.”
Tora kissed her forehead. A strange feeling ran over him. Something about this scene felt very familiar. But what?
Kanon smiled at him with little tears of joy, “Tora-san, you’re so kind.”
Tora cupped the side of her face with his hands and wiped her tears. “Silly girl, let me make it up to you with this.”
Tora leaned over and lightly kissed her lips. The strange feeling came over him again.
Kanon’s eyes widened. She quickly pulled away. “T-t-ora-san… I- I-.. don’t know how to…”
Tora looked at her with dreamy eyes. “Don’t worry, Kanon-san. Just follow my lead.”
Kanon almost felt her heart leap out her throat. She could barely take her eyes off of Tora. Before Tora moved any closer, she immediately rose from the couch. “I- I- should cook us some dinner.”
She tried to walk by Tora, but she was such in a nervous wreck her legs weren’t working properly and she tripped. “Ahhh!”
Tora caught her in his arms and caressed her neck with several kisses as he laid her on the couch. “Dinner can wait.”
At first she tried to resist his sweet kisses, but the sensation from their locked lips overpowered her will. She returned his kisses. Tora’s head whirred. When Kanon returned his kisses, he thought he would have to control himself from becoming too passionate, but something was missing. His heart wasn’t racing like the times he was this close with Uruha… Tora kissed Kanon more passionately. He couldn’t … no, he didn’t even want to picture helpless Uruha being smothered with kisses by that evil, manipulating Shun. Kanon’s heart was beating wildly out of control. She had to get a breath of air. Somehow she managed to unlock her lips with Tora’s and looked deep into his eyes, “Tora-san, I…love you.”
Tora immediately leaned back against the arm of the sofa as Kanon sat up and threw her arms around Tora’s neck. Tora swallowed hard before he heard himself whisper, “Kanon-san, would you go out with me?”
Kanon kissed the side of his neck. His heart sunk. He wrapped his arms tightly around Kanon and silently cried in her embrace. He should have been feeling so happy, yet he felt so depressed.
A/N's
A new part added on to the story. Hopefully, it was enjoyable and not too long, ^_^;;;. When misfitmisfit and I were writing the story, we noticed that the chapter kind of became way too long, >.>. So we decided to cut it off and end this chapter with Tora/Kanon.
Yay, finally a Shun/Uruha scene! :D It took a while before figuring out the chemistry between the two of them, lol, xDD. More of them coming in the following chapters, I assure you. x3
Comments and constructive criticisms are appreciated. ^_^