Title: Wilds of My Heart
Pairings: Akame, Ryopi, others
Rating: NC-17 (for violence, abuse, language, etc.)
Summary: 10 years ago, he'd wanted to save him. But now, after having been thrust into a new life, who'll be saving who?
Prologue//
Chapter 1//
Chapter 2 Chapter 3:
“This is Tanaka Koki, he’ll take you back.”
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He tried not to stare at the person that walked a bit ahead of him. He tried not to stare at the buzz-cut, the torn shorts, or the gun looped on the other’s belt. Concentrating too hard on not staring, he couldn’t help but jump a bit when the other spoke, “So you know Akanishi, hm?”
Looking up, he nodded wordlessly.
Suddenly, they came to a stop, “Well, we’re here, you should know how to get back to your place from here, hm?”
In the dark, he couldn’t make out the other’s features, not really, not even with the help of the streetlights. He pursed his lips, “…would it be alright…if I come back tomorrow?”
The elder blinked and shrugged, “why would you want to do that? I know I wouldn’t, but it’s not like that’s going to matter to you. Whatever. Just do whatever you want.”
With that said, he watched as his escort turned around and began heading back. Though, he noted, his hands never moved, hooking onto his back pockets with his thumbs, right by the gun, ready to pull it out at any time.
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The next day, he sat behind the one that had been identified as ‘Shige’ during class as the professor began his endless lecture. He watched as the other’s head began drooping as the speech went on, “Hey…” he whispered, and when the younger boy didn’t wake up, he tried again, “hey…hey, wake up!”
The other boy’s head snapped up and looked around, blinking at him, he pointed to the professor and continued to pretend to listen. Shige, getting the hint, turned around and once more, attempted to stay awake.
A bit later, he passed a note down.
I’m going with you after this.
Discreetly, a reply note was passed back through a mock stretch.
Why?
He pursed his lips and jotted something down quickly.
Long story.
Shige glanced back at him momentarily before shrugging and turning his attention back to the professor.
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After class, the two walked down the street, the younger boy explaining who the characters he met yesterday were. “Well, you seem to know Akanishi-kun, he’s…I guess you can call him our leader. But technically we have more than one ‘leader’ since we’re all split up into different groups because there are too many people,” he made gestures with his hand as he continued explaining, “There’s Akanishi-kun’s group, and Yamashita-kun’s group, he’s the other person you more or less met yesterday.”
Pursing his lips, he tried to recall a face to match the name, “The one that pointed a gun to my head?”
Shige nodded, “yea, he’s technically the leader of the group I’m in; he’s the ‘third in command’.”
He blinked, “wait, if Jin’s the leader, and this Yamashita person’s third, who’s second?”
The other hesitated, “Nishikido-kun’s second…but I should tell you right now that talking about him is a bad idea, especially around Yamashita-kun. These titles don’t actually mean anything, it’s just because they were the first three there and Akanishi-kun’s the oldest so he got the title of first.
“Let’s see…the people in Akanishi-kun’s group are Ueda-kun, Taguchi-kun, Nakamaru-kun, and Tanaka-kun, he’s the one that walked you home last night. And the people in our group are me, Tegoshi, Kei-chan, Massu and Kusano…and Nishikido-kun is usually with us now.”
His brows furled as he tried to remember all the names, “I have no idea who those people are.”
Shige let out a rueful smile, “Don’t worry about it, you’ll figure it out when you get there. But remember, don’t talk about the second group,” he repeated himself for emphasis, “I’m serious. By the way, you might not see Akanishi-kun around today, he seemed pretty upset from yesterday. And by that, I mean you might not be safe if you see him.”
Kame frowned, “Oh…”
They reached the tattered house and stood in front of it. Out of the side of his eye, he mentally made a note of the empty bottles, there was well over a dozen, that lined up against the wall, a single flower placed in each one.
“One final thing,” he shifted his attention back to his classmate, who had a serious look on his face, “the only thing we can really do when you’re here is keep you from getting hurt physically, and even that’s not guaranteed. You’re free to do whatever you please on most parts, but whether or not the other guys talk to you, or how they react to you is out of our control. Just…respect them…we all have our stories so…”
He gave a kindly smile to the other, reassuring him to the best of his ability, “It’s okay, I understand, I’m not going to push anyone or anything, I just wanted to see Jin. I’ll just keep myself busy somehow while I wait for him.”
Shige gave a nod and the two stepped into the house.
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The house was as he remembered it from yesterday, only there wasn’t a gun pointed at his head this time. Able to think clearly, he looked around in awe at how spacious and run down the interior was. Light dully illuminated the room as it shone through tattered curtains, grayed with time, which hung in rags across the window. The wallpaper was peeling, and it was evident that no one tried too hard to keep it appealing to the eyes. Within moments, his classmate had disappeared from his side and he was left alone to explore.
Taking a deep breath, he went to the right and entered the room. There were old couches lying random around the room, no one bothered arranging them in any fashion. Several of them occupied, though no one seemed to take notice of him. The most notable was on one couch where a boy rested his head contently on the lap of another black haired boy who was looking off into space, his mind too far away to notice anything.
We all have our stories so…”
He blinked and looked again, with more precision this time. And what he saw stunned him to no end, all their eyes were jaded, every single person in that room, there was something haunting them. There was a tale behind each and every single one of their eyes that words alone wouldn’t be able to express.
Their eyes…they’re like Jin’s…
“We all have our stories…”
Opening his mouth, he was about to say something when his classmate decided to enter the room with another boy, a taller, docile-looking boy. Shige shot him a look of precaution and walked over to the pair he had just been studying, a small, friendly smile on his face, “Tegoshi, Nishikido-kun.”
The younger boy opened his eyes groggily and looked up with a happy grin, “Welcome back Shige. How was class today?”
His eyes were just as jaded as the rest of them.
Glancing over at the older boy that Tegoshi was resting on, he made another mental note in his head, so that was the Nishikido person he wasn’t supposed to talk about. Just by looking, he could tell something was off, more so than the other people he’d seen so far. Those dark eyes held something so strong that it blinded him, though what that something was, he didn’t know. Not yet.
“Shouldn’t you be studying? You’ve got entrance exams to write this year,” his classmate teased the boy.
“I will, but not now, I’ll do it later. Ryo-tan’s really comfy, I don’t want to move” the other replied almost sleepily.
So that was his full name, Nishikido Ryo…
At the mention of his name, the black haired boy blinked a couple times and looked around, “Oh…you’re back…” then those dark scarred eyes landed on him, caution flicked in them, “who’s that?”
The younger boy quickly introduced him to the other, “Him? He’s Kamenashi-kun, an old friend of Akanishi-kun, and he has law class with me. Where is Akanishi-kun by the way?”
The second in command shook his head and replied with a little more life this time, “I don’t know, I haven’t seen Jin all day…he’s probably upstairs trashing his room again.”
“Oh, okay, thanks.”
Shige motioned for him to follow, and he obediently did so. He followed the two as they walked away from the room until they were out of hearing range. At the doorway, his guide pointed and named off the people that were settled on the couches and then his friend who was beside him, “…and this is Kei-chan, he’s in his fourth year of university.”
The docile looking boy smiled, “Koyama Keiichiro, it’s nice to meet you, are you hungry? We have ramen if you’d like.”
He blinked at the other’s motherly attitude but accepted anyways.
Koyama nodded and walked off, busying himself with cooking.
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Suddenly, the door opened and someone stepped into the house. From the doorway, he could see Tegoshi perking up a bit from his spot, “Welcome back Leader!”
A voice responded coolly from the main entrance, “Hey Tegoshi, did you go to school today?”
The younger boy nodded, “yea, we got our tests back today, and I got one of the highest marks!”
The voice softened, he could almost hear the small smile that was laced and hidden within the words, “That’s good to hear, you’ll probably have no problem with entrance exams then, hm?”
Then the speaker appeared.
It was Yamashita.
Kame watched as the third made his way to the pair and kneeled in front of the second with almost a tender smile on his face, “Hey Ryo-chan, did you miss me?”
It took a bit longer than expected, but his stony eyes softened as he reached over, flicking the third in command’s nose affectionately, “how was school today, Pi?”
He leaned over and whispered to Shige, “is he…?”
The younger boy shook his head, “Today isn’t a good day for Nishikido-kun, that’s all, but shhh…”
Their movement caught the attention of Pi, who looked over wearily at him, “you came back again?”
The only thing he could do was nod.
Luckily for him, Shige did the explaining in his place since he stood there, mute, “He came by to see Akanishi-kun.”
It was clear that the third didn’t trust him. He watched as the older boy got up and approached them, “Jin’s not at his best right now, why do you want to see him?”
Then Koyama returned with a bowl of ramen, he handed it over to Kame who nodded his thanks as he accepted the bowl, “Oh, Yamapi, you’re back? I made ramen, there’s still some left. You must be really hungry, do you want a bowl?”
A faint smile graced his lips as he nodded, “that’d be nice, thanks Koyama.” He looked almost friendly. But the smile disappeared when he turned his attention back to Kame, “so why do you want to see Jin?”
He sighed, there was nothing he could do but tell the truth, “Because for ten years now, I thought Jin was dead…and now he’s back…I…back then…I wanted to save him…”
The third frowned, “What was he to you?”
Blinking, he answered hesitantly, unsure whether or not that that was the answer the other wanted to hear, “He was my best friend?”
Yamapi ran a hand through his hair and shook his head; he could tell that the other was trying to find kinder words to use, “you’re being naïve. Ten years, we met Jin about ten years ago…he’s not the same person you used to call your best friend.”
The older boy’s words were undeniable, he gave another sigh, “…you’re probably right, but still…I just want to see him, make sure he’s still there. This might just be a dream for all I know.”
“I wish it was a dream…” the other muttered quietly to himself.
He frowned and was about to ask the elder what those words meant but he was cut off by Koyama who returned with a bowl in his hands, “Yamapi, here you go.”
The third nodded, “can I get another pair of chopsticks? I think I’m going to go eat this with Ryo-chan and Tegoshi.”
A smile, “Sure.”
Pi looked over at Shige, “When are the others coming home?”
Home.
He used the word home…
The younger book shook his head, “I’m not sure, Massu should be back from work in…half an hour-ish and Kusano should be back any time now.”
“Alright…” he looked at his ramen thoughtfully, “Shige, when…”
“Kame, Kamenashi Kazuya,” he supplied helpfully.
Pi nodded, “Right, when Kamenashi finishes eating, take him up to see Jin.” Koyama returned with the requested pair of chopsticks while Shige shot him an incredulous stare, “Thanks Koyama. Don’t worry, if Jin’s in one of his moods again, just call and I’ll come up to help…because Kamenashi’s here to see him, right?”
With that said, he watched as the third in command treaded back into the room of couches and used his foot to pull up a chair, the younger boy blinked from the second’s lap, “What’s that, Leader?”
“Are you guys hungry? It’s ramen, Koyama just made it, let’s share, ne?” Tegoshi smiled and accepted the chopsticks and began eating while the black haired boy just continued sitting there, the other blinked, “Ryo-chan? Aren’t you hungry?”
Ryo blinked, eyes focusing again, he shook his head, “no, not really, you two can eat it, I mean, you two probably need the food for your brains, after all, not everyone here can make it into university.”
The third scoffed and offered a bite to the other anyway, a worried look on his face, “don’t be stupid, Ryo-chan. Eat it or I’ll tell Koyama you’re not eating properly and you know how he can get.”
The second paused before giving a halfhearted answer, “Fine…but only because you threatened me with Koyama.”
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After he finished eating, Shige did as he was instructed and brought him up the stairs, creaking softly in protest as they made their way up. He half expected to find his childhood best friend in the master chamber but the younger boy shook his head when he asked, “a couple of us share the master bedroom. Those three have their own rooms but that’s because their rooms are pretty small.”
Kame blinked, “how did you guys manage to get a place like this?”
What he meant to ask was where their money came from.
His classmate shrugged, “we have our sources, and some of us work, you know, the ones that aren’t in school.”
He wanted to ask about tuition fees but held his question back when the other stopped in front of a door, “Is Jin in there?”
Shige nodded, “you can go in if you want, I’ll wait outside. If anything happens, just call and I’ll get Yamashita-kun and Nishikido-kun, they’re usually the ones who deal with Akanishi-kun since they’re probably the only ones that can anyways.”
He nodded and knocked on the door.
There was a silence.
Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped in.
The room was dimly lit and near the end of the room was a mattress that lay on the floor. And on the mattress was a shadowy figure.
Kame blinked and frowned, “…Jin?”
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A/N: Summer's here! I'm pretty sure my butt's melted onto my seat :P I miss winter...but summer means it's watermelon season again! XD Only another month left of school then it's vacation time :D Those of you that get out in May are lucky, but that's okay, I can wait a month :P Anyways, let's all have fun in the sun and try not to get heat strokes ^^ Enjoy!