Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

An alarm rang.

Once.

Twice.

I weakly reached out to turn off the alarm. 

“𝒮𝒽𝓊𝓉 𝓊𝓅 𝒶𝓁𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝓎…” I muttered, pulling my blanket over my head, blindly searching for my phone on the bedside table. 

I grabbed it, turned down the volume and sighed. New school… I can do this. I stretched out my limbs before sitting on the bed, yawning. I walked out of my room, heading to the kitchen where my parents were already. 

“𝑀𝑜𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓅𝒶’, 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓂𝒶’...” I said caressing the cat resting on the counter. “𝑀𝑜𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝐵𝑒𝓁𝓏𝑒𝒷𝓊𝓉𝒽.” 

The black cat purred happily as my father put down his newspaper. 

“Morning kid, how did you sleep?” He asked me, standing up to go put his empty coffee cup in the sink, placing a kiss on top of my head on the way. 

“Good, you?” I answered, grabbing a bowl and the box of cereal before sitting down in front of my mother. 

“𝒜𝓌𝒻𝓊𝓁𝓁𝓎, 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒻𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓀𝑒𝓅𝓉 𝓈𝓃𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉. 𝐼 𝒷𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓁𝓎 𝑔𝑜𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝓎 𝓈𝓁𝑒𝑒𝓅..” My mother said dramatically, smiling at me as my father washed his cup. 

“And your mother kept moving.” My father replied, placing his cold hands on his wife’s shoulders, surprising her. 

I chuckled at their small bickering, eating my breakfast, my hand absently petting Belzebuth. 

“How are you feeling on this first day of school 𝓈𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓉𝒾𝑒?” My mother asked, both of them looking at me with a concerned smile. 

Shit… I gulped, trying to smile back at them.

“I’m fine. I’ll be better I promise.” I said, not wanting to worry them more. 

My father stood next to his wife, he reached out to take my hand. 

“You don’t have to feel bad about that, Kikyo.” He said, giving me a comforting smile. 

I nodded, smiling back at them before focusing back on my breakfast, my father letting go of my hand to get ready for work. My mother stayed longer, looking at me with a sad light in her eyes before getting up to prepare to leave as well. 

Sometimes I feel like she thinks I’m going to fall apart…

         "Kikyo?” My father called out, his hand resting on my shoulder. “Come on, let's go home. Mom will come back later.” He said, his hand gently squeezing my shoulder as an attempt to comfort me. 

         “I’m sorry…” I muttered, looking at my mother hugging a crying woman. 

         “It’s not your fault sweetie.” My father said, pulling me into a hug. “You couldn’t have known.” He added, placing a comforting kiss on top of my head. 

         “It was my idea…” I muttered, tears starting to form in the corner of my eyes. 

         “Shh… Everything will be okay…” My father whispered in my hair, slightly rocking me, his hands gently rubbing my back, soothing me.

I washed my empty bowl before going back to my room, grabbing my clothes before heading to the bathroom to take a shower. I enjoyed the warm water for maybe twenty minutes before getting out to dry my hair. I put on the black, plaid patterned, pleated skirt, the white shirt, tucking it under the skirt’s waistband. I secured the ribbon around my neck, brushed my teeth and washed my face before looking back at my reflection. You look pathetic, Kikyo Nollan. I sighed and grabbed my hairbrush, untangling my hair before styling it in a simple messy bun. I went back to my room, putting on socks and my black blazer before taking my bag and going into the living room. 

Just as I entered, my father was standing by the front door. 

“Have fun at school, Kikyo.” He said before kissing his wife and leaving.

My mother hurried back to the kitchen as I made sure I had everything I needed. 

“𝐻𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝑔𝑜 𝓈𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓉𝒾𝑒.” My mother said, handing me a lunchbox. 

I thanked her and placed it in my bag. I put on my sneakers and clipped on the roller skates under the sole of my shoes. 

“𝐵𝓎𝑒 𝓂𝑜𝓂.” I said, putting my bag over my shoulder and grabbing my keys. 

“𝐻𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒶 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝒹𝒶𝓎 𝓈𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓉𝒾𝑒.” She said warmly, I smiled back at her before leaving. 

I put on my headphones and played some music as I skated towards my new school.

Once in front of the school, I unclipped the roller skates and put them in my bag. Okay Kikyo. It’s not a school that will scare you. I took a deep breath and followed the flow of students towards the school building, glancing at the many cherry blossom trees around me. The first years went to see in which class they were on the posters while the other students went straight to their lockers. I looked at the posters from afar, not getting closer as it was unlikely that the second years’ classes were up there. 

“Kikyo Nollan?”

I turned my head to face the girl who had called my name, putting my headphones around my neck. She had a stern look on her face and beautiful white hair. 

“Megami Saikou, I am the head of the students council.” She said, nodding her head as a greeting. 

I copied her nod, quietly observing her white uniform. 

“Follow me.” She said before turning around and entering the building. 

I took a few steps after her before she pointed at one of the small lockers. 

“Here is your locker. Change shoes and we will start the visit.” She said in her monotone voice. 

I decided to ignore the unfriendly expression and undid my shoelaces, taking off my sneakers and putting on the white indoor shoes. 

I followed Megami around as she showed me the classrooms, the clubs and basically every room in the school building. She would occasionally stop and introduce me when we happened to meet one of her council members. Once in a while, she would point things out the window. The garden, gymnasium, the girls’ changing room and the incinerator area. She immediately commented on the last one.

“Avoid it at all costs.” She warned with a glare. 

Wrong move. I don’t listen to anyone. I looked at her before glancing back out the window, seeing six students settling against the fence. Megami then led me to our class: 2-2.

I sat down at the desk Megami had pointed at and took in a deep breath, happy that it was finally over. 

“Try to avoid the groups of blondes.” Megami said before walking out of the class, answering a phone call. 

I eyed her as she left, not really liking how she was ordering me around. I put my headphones back on my ears and played my music, taking my sketchbook and pencils out of my bag. I drew until my classmates started arriving, looking at me curiously. A girl with short brown hair happily approached me. 

“You must be new. I’m Amai Odayaka, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” She said, smiling brightly at me. 

“Kikyo Nollan.” I introduced myself, smiling at her as she pulled the chair of the desk next to me to sit beside me. 

“I’m the leader of the cooking club.” She said sweetly, and I could not just stare at her unbothered. 

There was something about her that made me smile happily. We started to talk, getting to know each other when a group of four students entered. Amai leaned towards me, whispering in my ear. 

“That’s the delinquents. They always hang by the incinerator. I heard they help out the local gang for fights.” I tried not to laugh at her words, finding it both cute and a little stupid that she believed in rumors.

“Oi.” 

I looked up at the guy standing in front of my desk. He was glaring at Amai with his piercing purple eyes. 

“Get off my chair, cooking freak.” He ordered, frowning with disgust at Amai whose face went pale. 

She stood up, apologizing as she wiped the chair. What the hell? At this point, the guy got really annoyed and he reached out to push Amai away. I immediately stood up. I grabbed his wrist and slightly twisted his arm, standing in front of Amai with a glare. The guy hissed and pulled his arm away, taking a few steps back as he glared at me. 

“You don’t get to talk to her like that. Nor to touch her.” I said as Amai tried to pull me back, whispering that she was okay and that it didn’t matter. 

“Who do you think you are? Wonder Woman?” He spat back, his fist clenched as he stepped closer menacingly. 

I scoffed, taking a step closer as well. 

“What are you? Five?” I asked, glaring at him. 

As he was about to say something else, Aoi, a member of the student council, entered. 

“The fuck is going on?” She asked and Amai pulled me back a bit, trembling. 

I looked at Aoi and Amai before looking back at the guy, who was also pulled back by his friends. The girl who was with him stepped forward as Aoi approached me. 

“Are you alright?” She asked me, I nodded and she turned around, looking at the blond girl. 

“Hold your dogs, Shidesu.” She warned, making the girl roll her eyes. 

“Still humans, Ryogoku.” She replied.

The two girls glared at each other until the teacher arrived with the rest of the class. 

We all went to sit down, the guy with purple eyes quickly glared at me as he sat at the desk beside mine. 

After the lesson, Amai hurried back to me as soon as the delinquents left the class, glaring at me. 

“That was… scary…” She said as I stood up. 

“What was scary?” I asked, turning to look at her as we left the classroom to go eat. 

“You talked back to a delinquent!” She said, leading me to her clubroom. 

I chuckled, telling her that they were just some rude teenagers and that she did not need to be scared. 

“Still! They have weapons!” She insisted as we entered the cooking club’s room, where all the club members were already. 

“And you have your knight in shiny armor.” I said, flexing a bit, making her laugh. 

“Let me introduce you to the members.” Amai said, focussing on her friends, who were smiling at me. 

“Here is Seiyo Akanishi, he’s in our grade.” Amai said, pointing at a boy with messy blond hair and blue eyes. 

I waved at him with a smile and he waved back happily, food in his mouth. 

“Saki Miyu and Ajia  Ashitomi are our lower classmates.” 

The leader continued, pointing at a girl with long cyan hair and bright eyes and the one sitting in front of her, she had black hair tied in two buns. They smiled at me brightly before focusing back on their food. 

“The last two are our upper classmates, Kenko Sukoyaka and Shoku Tsuburaya.” She finished. 

I smiled at both boys, one had green hair and blue eyes, the other bronze hair and green eyes. Tsuburaya stood up and approached us with a smile. 

“Welcome, I’m Amai’s right hand man.” He said proudly. 

“Kikyo Nollan, her knight in shiny armor.” I introduced myself with a smile, bowing slightly. 

“Enough talking, more eating.” Amai said, pulling me to sit at the table where the others were already. 

Tsuburaya and I chuckled and sat down across from each other. They were all talking happily about how they wanted to start the new school year and Amai eventually brought up the incident with the delinquent.

Chapter Text

I listened quietly as Hokuto insulted his new classmate, making my leg shake a bit, occasionally looking at the others who were rather amused by the situation. 

“That bitch! I’m going to kill her!” Hokuto said, hitting a tree with his bokken. 

“Who’s that girl anyway?” Gaku asked, looking at Osoro curiously. 

“A new girl in our class. I think her name is Kikyo Nollan.” He answered, making us frown at the last name. 

“Nollan?” I repeated, making Osoro nod as a confirmation. 

At that moment, a member of the student council walked past us. I pushed myself off the fence I was leaning against and called out for her. 

“Hey.” I said, not bothering playing the scary act. 

She turned around eyeing me up and down, suspicious. Don’t make me want to punch you kid. 

I pushed the violent thought aside.

“What’s up with the new second year?” I asked the silver-haired girl, who seemed surprised by my question. 

“She came from France to join the school.” She answered in a nonchalant tone, quickly glancing at the rest of the gang, making sure they weren’t doing something stupid. 

“Why?” I asked, frowning at her words. 

“I don’t know. Go ask her if you’re curious. She’s cool.” She said before focusing back on her task. 

I watched her walking away, an annoyed expression on my face. I hate those kids. 

I went back to the group as Gaku started teasing Hokuto about ‘Wonder Woman’. Dairoku and Hayanari were laughing at them as Osoro leaned back against the fence next to me. 

“Why are you so interested in her?” She asked, making me look at her. 

“I’m not.” I simply answered, eyeing the others as they continued fighting. 

“Right.” Osoro said, smirking. 

I rolled my eyes, ignoring her as Hokuto pushed Gaku towards me. I caught him before he could bump into me, giving Hokuto a stern look. This calmed their bickering instantly and we finally sat on a bench to eat. 

At one thirty pm, I lazily got up, following Osoro as they headed back to class. I heard Hokuto cursing and looked inside the classroom. Sitting on one of the desks was, I supposed, the new girl. At least her long brown hair and bright royal blue eyes were a new sight. 

“She’s pretty.” Gaku mumbled quietly, looking at the girl as well. 

I stood there. I didn’t know why but I found myself unable to take my eyes off of her. So that’s Wonder Woman. I absently said bye to my friends as Gaku turned to head to his own class. I could not look away. I stood there for a second, just observing the girl with a neutral expression. I must have stared too much when I saw her turning her head to look at me. And just like that, I snapped back to reality and turned around to get to my classroom on the third floor. 

After class, everyone gathered their stuff and talked about their assigned cleaning part. I quickly walked out of the classroom, not wanting to stay there even more. As I reached the second floor, Gaku was already waiting in front of Osoro’s class. I joined him, leaning against the wall as the students walked out. Then she walked past us, her sweet, flower scent filling the air around me. Once again I found myself looking at her. She was talking and laughing with the leader of the cooking club. 

“Umeji?” 

I looked back at Osoro, mentally cursing myself for letting this chick get to my head. 

“Yeah, let’s go.” I said, pushing myself off the wall and walking to the stairs, ignoring the gang’s confused gaze. 

We settled at the incinerator area once again. I sat on the ground, leaning my back on the fence and pulled out my phone. Gaku and Dairoku started bickering about some random stuff like what kind of pasta was the best. Hokuto and Hayanari started a game of Mario Kart, I sighed and started scrolling on my phone while drumming my fingers on the back of it, watching the different videos popping on my for you page. Osoro sat beside me, leaning on my shoulder to watch the videos with me. 

“So… New girl caught your eye?” She asked, making me look at her instantly. 

I looked at the boys, who were too focused on their little fights to listen to the conversation. 

“No. Not really.” I answered, looking back at my phone. 

“That wasn’t the impression I had.” She insisted, a teasing smile on her lips. 

I shrugged it off, not really wanting to keep the conversation going. 

“You were staring at her.” She added, wanting  to get a reaction out of me. 

“Was wondering why Hokuto let her win over him.” I answered, not looking at her. 

“I think you have a…” She started before whispering in my ear : “...crush.” 

I leaned away, almost falling, as I wanted to put back a distance between us, letting go of my phone in the process. I looked back at her surprised, one hand holding my body off the ground, the other covering my ear. 

“What the fuck?” I asked, calming my heartbeat. 

“You’re blushing.” She teased, getting me to glare at her. 

I know I’m not. I don’t blush. 

She rolled her eyes and stood up, signing to us that we were leaving. I stood up last, walking a bit behind them as I glared at Osoro; who completely ignored me. 

As we changed our shoes back, Gaku shoved his bags in Hayanari’s hands. 

“Restroom.” He said before hurrying towards the toilets. 

I rolled my eyes and walked out of the school. I stood in front of the gates, waiting for them to join me. I pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one before looking back at them. I shrugged as I saw them simply leaning against the lockers, waiting for Gaku inside the school. After finishing my cigarette, I put it out under my shoe as Osoro approached me. 

“Ten minutes.” She said when the other joined us. 

They had begun another round of Mario Kart, still waiting for Gaku. 

After five more minutes, Gaku ran back to us once he had changed his shoes.

“Finally. What did you do in there?” Dairoku asked as Hayanari threw the bags back at Gaku. 

I turned to walk away, the group following me as Gaku began explaining his little adventure. 

“I bumped into Kyo on my way out.” He said, securing his bag on his shoulder. 

“Kyo?” Hokuto repeated, frowning at the name. 

“Sorry, Kikyo.” He corrected himself, making me look back quickly. 

“She was carrying a bucket of water. I helped her since she was struggling. She’s pretty cool.” Gaku said, smiling. 

I did not need to look back to know he was getting weird looks from the boys. And I could feel Osoro’s eyes on me. I missed a large part of the conversation, too focused on walking and trying to get Osoro to stop looking at me. 

“That’s why I invited her to eat with us tomorrow.” Gaku said, making me stop in front of the crossroad. 

I turned around in a split second. 

“What?” I asked, looking at Gaku, feeling their eyes on me. 

“Kikyo is eating with us tomorrow?” Gaku repeated, confused. 

I saw the quick light of stress in his eyes and sighed. I turned back around.

“Okay.” I said as I resumed walking, faintly hearing their confused muttering behind me. 

We quickly parted ways and I headed home. I started playing with my keys as I turned in my neighborhood, whistling a song as I reached the porch. 

“I’m home.” I said as I closed the door behind me. 

I took off my shoes and headed to the living room. 

“No it’s not!” I sighed, smiling at my siblings as they fought over who-knows what. 

“Hey guys.” I said, gently ruffling my little sister’s hair. 

“Umeji! Tell Sokka that Batman is the best superhero!” The young girl said, looking up at me with her determined gaze.

“No it’s Superman!” Sokka said, frowning slightly. 

“Sorry Aiko, I’m with Sokka on this one.” I told my sister, making my younger brother laugh proudly. 

“See! Superman is the best!” Sokka said and the two of them started bickering again. 

I rolled my eyes and went to my room after greeting my parents. 

After a quick shower and getting in more comfortable clothes, I tried to focus on my homework. I quickly glanced at my phone as Dairoku started sending me multiple messages. What do you want now? I read the last message he sent me, frowning. 

         DAI – Call me, it's urgent. 

What is so urgent? I sighed and quickly finished my homework before calling him. 

“What do you want?” I asked, leaning back in my chair. 

“Have you seen the news?” He said, panicking a bit, “They said a girl from school just got murdered.” 

I froze at his words, my mind racing as images flashed my thoughts. Not her please god…

Chapter Text

It has already been a while since I joined this new school, I made a few friends, and there was a lot of drama. Other than the delinquents scaring the whole school but me, their almost best friend, girls are being murdered. Just great…

I came back to my senses when Belzebuth purred, rubbing against my leg. 

“𝒮𝑜𝓇𝓇𝓎 𝐵𝑒𝓁𝓏𝓎..” I apologised, kneeling down to fill his bowl. 

“𝒜𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓈𝓊𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝑜 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝒸𝒽𝑜𝑜𝓁?” My mother asked as she placed dinner on the table. 

“𝐼’𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝑒, you don’t have to worry.” I told her as I put away the bag of cat food, giving her a smile. 

“I agree with your mother. It’s too dangerous.” My father said as he sat down at the table. 

“Tsuburaya is taking me back home. I’ll be fine.” I repeated, joining them as I rolled my eyes. 

My father gave me a quick nod as we started eating. Technically, I am taking Amai to her house and Tsuburaya insisted on not leaving us alone.

“𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓂 𝒸𝓁𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒷𝑜𝓎 𝒯𝓈𝓊𝒷𝓊𝓇𝒶𝓎𝒶, 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒾𝓉?” My mother said, making me choke slightly. 

“𝐻𝑒’𝓈 𝒶 𝒻𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒹, 𝓂𝑜𝓂.” I said, frowning at my parents’ insisting gaze. 

“Remember you can trust us with your friend group. That goes to boyfriends too.” My father said, a tight smile on his lips when he mentioned the hypothetical ‘boyfriend’ I had. 

“I know, I know.” I said, smiling at them. 

They eventually dropped the topic and we finished our dinner happily. I helped with the dishes before going to my room. Trust you with my friends? Even if they are ‘delinquents’?

The next day, I absently listened to the lesson, sketching lightly in the corner of my notebook. Amai quickly glanced at me with a smile. I returned it as she pointed at her watch. I chuckled as she ran towards me as soon as the bell rang. 

“I’m so excited for tonight.” She squealed as I finally stood up after shoving my notebook in my bag. 

“What’s going on tonight?” I asked, frowning a bit as we walked out of the classroom. 

“The drama club is performing in the gymnasium after class.” Tsuburaya said, surprising me as I did not see him waiting in front of our class. 

“Oh, sounds fun.” I said as we took a few steps towards the stairs. 

As Tsuburaya smiled at me warmly, Too warmly…, he accidently bumped into someone. As he was about to apologise, he froze upon seeing who was in front of him.

I took a look at the person he had bumped into and froze as well. Tall, fit frame. Short, bleached hair. Tan, slightly scarred skin. Piercing, amber eyes. With the deep scar across his right eyes and his natural glaring face, he was really intimidating. He gave Tsuburaya the dirtiest look before his sharp irises lended on me. 

Wow…

For a second, time seemed to stop. As his golden eyes glared into my soul, I drowned my own in the endearing colour. 

He has beautiful eyes. 

“Umeji.” A voice called out, pulling me out of my daydream. 

When I glanced back up at the guy, he had not moved a muscle. Just his head turned to the person who had called his name. He glared one last time at Tsuburaya who lowered his head, probably both frightened and ashamed. He walked off without a second glance at me and I turned to leave, following Amai who was pulling Tsuburaya behind her. 

During lunch, I had a lot of fun with the cooking club members, and once again, they tried to get me to join. I enjoy walking around too much to let go of that freedom. And during the whole time, I could not help the growing feeling that someone was looking at me. That Tsuburaya was looking at me. I pushed it off as being in my head, focusing on the conversation I had with the girls. Trying at least. My mind was completely off. I miss Gaku. Should I go see him after class? But there’s the performance…

“What’s on your mind Kyo?” Tsuburaya asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. 

“Nothing, don’t worry about it.” I said, chuckling awkwardly as I had not listened to anything they had said. 

“You can tell me, you know that, right?” He insisted, placing his hand on mine. 

It made me cringe. 

Was a simple contact like that supposed to give me such a reaction? I did not know. I gave him a smile, nodding , wanting him to drop the subject and let go of my hand. I am not telling this guy I want to go talk to a delinquent. As the conversation continued, I noticed the others’ glancing at the table and smiling. I kept a smile on but I was ready to burn the place down inside. Let go of me dude. I mentally cried, trying my best to remain calm as he gently moved his thumb. I don’t need to be comforted. Stop that. I was so glad when one of his classmates came in, asking to talk to him. As soon as he closed the door I sighed. 

“So?” Saki sang slightly, giving me a curious look. 

I frowned, seeing that they all had the same expression. 

“So what?” I asked, drinking a bit. 

“Are you and Shoku a thing?” Sukoyaka said as he wiggled his eyebrows. 

I choked on my water at his words. Seriously, what is wrong with people these days? I eyed the group as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. 

“No we are not.” I said, coughing a bit. 

Just as Ajia was about to add something, Tsuburaya came back, sitting down. The conversation died instantly and I sighed, focussing on the conversation as much as I could. Even if I had no idea what to do with the information that white sugar was sweeter than brown sugar. Isn’t sugar supposed to be sweet either way?

When we finally sat back in class I let my head fall on my desk, wanting the day to end. Amai chuckled at my move as she pulled the chair from the desk in front of mine. We talked for a bit before the teacher came in. Amai hurried to her seat and the delinquents arrived late. A habit probably. As they headed to their seats, the girl handed me a piece of paper. I frowned and discreetly read the note as the professor continued her lesson. 

hey Kyo :D it’s been a while since we spoke :( I suppose you’re going to the play tonight, wanna sit together? :p – Gaku ;)

I chuckled as I finished reading the note, I looked at the blond girl. She already had her eyes on me. I nodded with a smile and she nodded back before looking back at the teacher, uninterested. With everything that had happened, the murderers, the delinquents were the prime suspects of the students' stories. And I could not eat with them, which broke my heart. Gaku is the sweetest guy on earth, I wanted to spend time with him but Tsuburaya was always there to pull me away. 

After the lesson I told Amai not to wait for me and that I will join her later. She reluctantly left, pulling once again Tsuburaya with her. I stood up and followed the delinquents outside as Gaku came running towards us. 

“Kyo!” He said immediately, pulling me into a tight hug. 

“Hi.” I replied, chuckling as he started spinning us around. 

“I’ll introduce you.” He said, finally putting me down as he grinned happily. “So that’s Osoro, our leader.” He said, pointing to the girl who nodded in acknowledgment. 

I waved at her with a smile as Gaku continued. 

“Here are Dairoku and Hayanari.” He said, pointing to my classmates, one in blue, the other in gray. “Hokuto.” He continued, turning me to face the guy with a purple shirt. 

I gave him an awkward smile as he glared at me. 

“And Umeji, our eldest.” He said as if he was a proud parent, making the tallest glare at him. 

Gaku hid behind me with an awkward chuckle as I looked at the guy in front of me. Umeji… When his golden irises met my gaze, I gave him a kind smile. 

He turned around. Rude much?

As we walked towards the gymnasium, following the flow of students, Umeji made his way through the crowd in front of us as I talked with Osoro and Gaku. It is pretty useful, students parted to let the oldest delinquent through, letting us through as well. 

“Even if I’m the leader, Umeji is the scariest.” Osoro whispered, leaning towards me. 

“Does he ever smile?” I asked her, a grin making its way to her lips. 

“Not unless he’s beating someone down.” She answered, making Gaku and I chuckle.

Once we arrived at the gymnasium, Umeji leaned against the wall as the rest of the group got inside. I looked back at the door. 

“Isn’t he coming?” I asked as I sat down with Gaku. 

“He doesn’t really like the drama club.” Hayanari replied and I nodded. 

I can understand why. Soon enough, the seats were all taken and the play started. I should have stayed outside. I’m bored… I looked at Gaku who was already sleeping. Actually, the whole group was sleeping. Except Osoro. 

“I’m going to get some fresh air.” I whispered and she nodded absently, focused on the play. 

Really? I never thought you would like those cheesy romances. I quietly got up and walked past Gaku. Luckily we had settled for the last row so it was easy to make my way out of the building without disturbing the other students. 

As soon as I closed the door behind me, I heard a small mumble. I turned behind the building and saw Umeji, stomping his foot on the ground. 

“What are you doing?” I asked, trying to see what was under his foot. 

“Seriously?” He mumbled, obviously annoyed as he looked at me. “I thought a teacher was coming.” He said, kneeling to pick up something. 

I approached to see what he was holding. A cigarette? I frowned, seeing it was barely lit. 

“Were you smoking?” I asked as he stood up and turned to face me. 

“What do you think?” He sighed, eyeing the destroyed cigarette before throwing it in the distance. 

Damn. Nice throw. He pulled out a box, bringing it to his mouth as he picked out another cigarette with his lips. He quickly lit it and put the box back in his pocket. 

“What are you doing out?” He asked, smoke coming out of his nostrils.

Chapter Text

Why does this always happen to me? I thought, remembering the teacher’s words. Expelled? I can’t believe I’d ever think about a solution to stay in school… I pushed the thought aside as I reached the second floor, joining the group. 

“What’s going on tonight?” A voice asked, getting my attention. 

I looked at Osoro’s class. Wonder Woman was coming out with Amai. Too focused on my observation, completely forgetting my last worries, I had not noticed the vice president of the cooking club next to the two girls. 

“The drama club is performing in the gymnasium after class.” He said, smiling at them. 

I hate that guy. 

“Oh, sounds fun.” Kikyo said as they headed to the stairs, making me realise I had stopped walking. 

I quickly glanced at them, my eyes falling on the warm smile the third year was offering the girls. The fuck you smiling at like that? I accidently bumped into the guy. My bad. I tried my best not to smirk as he went pale upon seeing me. 

I glanced at Kikyo and time stopped. As her electric blue eyes pierced my facade, I drowned my own in the endearing colour. 

She has beautiful eyes. 

“Umeji.” Osoro called, pulling me out of my daydream. 

I quickly glared back at the dude, enjoying, maybe a bit too much, how he avoided looking at me. Ha. Pussy. I walked towards my friends without looking at the girl again. I heard them walking away and finally turned around as Gaku hushed us to go eat. I looked at her, her hair tied up, some strands falling out of the bun. 

During lunch, Gaku kept saying that he missed talking to Kikyo, almost crying as he pleaded Hokuto to let go of his grudge. 

“I know!” He suddenly said, smiling again, “I’ll invite her to the arcade after class.” he said as the boys started to insult him, saying it was a boys’ night. 

Are they forgetting Osoro is a girl? I sighed. 

“She’s going to the show hosted by the drama club.” I said, scrolling on my phone. 

After maybe ten seconds of silence I looked up. All staring at me, shocked. What did I do now? 

“What now?” I asked, rolling my eyes. 

Osoro chuckled. 

“How do you know that?” She asked me, making me glare at her. 

This is seriously starting to annoy me. 

“She was talking about it with Amai and the other idiot when I bumped into him.” I said, looking back down at my phone. 

“Then we’re going too.” Gaku said as he pulled out a paper, scribbling on it. 

“What do you mean ‘we’?” Hokuto asked, ready to punch the kid. 

“I want to get to know her so we’re going.” Osoro said, glaring at the others who had no other choice but to comply. 

Liar, you just want to see the play. 

I brought them back to their classes as Gaku asked Osoro to give his note to Kikyo. As soon as Dairoku closed the door behind him, I rushed to class. I can’t get expelled. As soon as I crossed the doorframe, the teacher gave me a disappointed glance. Shit. I nodded awkwardly, quietly apologising as I went to my seat. I tried to focus on the lesson. 

Keyword : tried.

Since when is it so hard to understand a few words? I sighed as class ended, shoving my notebook in my bag as I stood up. 

“Kizuguchi.” The professor called out, motioning for me to approach her desk. 

I did so, watching as the other students left the classroom. Well, more like glaring. 

“I thought I was clear this morning. You can not afford another bad grade. And for that you need to be on time and not skip your lessons.” She warned. 

I simply nodded, knowing she wanted to help. Not my fault math is hard. She sighed and dismissed me. I apologised and walked out, heading down the stairs to the second floor. 

When I approached the group, Gaku was introducing Hokuto to Kikyo, the girl giving him an awkward smile. 

“And Umeji, our eldest.” He said as if he was a proud parent. 

I glared at him and he hid behind the poor girl as she looked up at me. I met her gaze and she smiled. 

And, god, her smile. I turned around.

I started walking away. Not fully knowing why I was avoiding her. I easily cut through the crowd, ignoring the conversation behind me as I glared at every one in my way. Being the scary guy has it’s pros. We soon arrived in front of the gymnasium. I leaned against the wall as the other entered. Ain’t no way I’m watching this shit.

I watched the people entering the building, and the play started quickly. I sighed and walked behind the gymnasium, leaning against the wall once again as I looked up at the sky. I stayed like that for a bit, thinking of a solution to my current problem. I can easily arrive on time. But if I don’t understand the lesson it’s useless. I drummed my fingers on my thigh as I kept searching for the better solution. I sighed, giving up as I pulled out the small box of cigarettes. I lit one and smoked for a second. As I was going for a third puff, I heard the door of the gymnasium opening.

“Shit.” I said, throwing my cigarette on the ground and putting it out under my foot. 

Come on, come on. I kept stomping onto the barely smoked cigarette. 

“What are you doing?” A voice asked and I almost stumbled. What is she doing here?

“Seriously?” I sighed, annoyed that I had ruined a perfectly fine cigarette for this chick. “I thought a teacher was coming.” I added, kneeling down to pick up the body of the cigarette. 

I heard her approaching behind me, her flowery perfume filling my nostrils once again. 

Shit. 

I stood up as she spoke. 

“Were you smoking?” She asked as I turned to face her. 

“What do you think?” I said, frowning a bit as I sighed, my eyes falling back on my hand. 

What a waste. I threw the cigarette away watching it fall at least ten metres away from us. 

Haven't lost my touch. 

I looked at her as her eyes were fixated on where the body of the cigarette had ended. She’s rather tall for a girl. I think she might be almost as tall as Osoro. I let my eyes run over her figure. Pale skin, pear body shape, bright electric blue eyes and long brown hair. Why does she keep her hair up?

I got the box out again, pulling a cigarette out with my lips as I grabbed my lighter from the box. I lit the end and put the box back in my pocket. 

“What are you doing out?” I asked, smoke coming out my nostrils in a weak attempt to get rid of her scent. 

“I was bored.” She said, shrugging as she leaned on the wall beside me. 

“Yeah, could have guessed that.” I said, looking back up at the sky. 

“So… How are you?” She asked, wanting to keep the conversation going. 

I glanced down at her. 

“Good. You?” I simply said. 

“I’m tired. And sometimes I really wish I could punch people.” She answered, chuckling and I had to keep myself from smiling. 

“I get that.” I muttered, looking at her. 

She looked back at me with a grin. 

We talked for a bit, and I had to admit, people were right. She is cool. And pretty. A smile crept to my lips as she talked happily about her life in France. What? As she looked at me, my smile disappeared, my expression going back to neutral. She chuckled and looked up at the sky. 

Stop it heart… 

I placed my hand over my chest, my eyes glued on her. 

“What about you?” She said, bringing me back to reality. 

Fuck... 

She chuckled when she saw I was completely lost. 

Do it again… 

She looked up at me.

“I can see something is bothering you.” She said, giving me a warm smile. 

Don’t smile like that… 

I looked up at the sky, sensing I will do something stupid if I look at her any longer. 

“It’s just classes.” I said, not understanding why I was telling her when I swore to always handle problems alone. 

“Do you need help?” She said, surprising me a bit. 

“I’m not asking anyone.” I muttered, refusing to ask some kid from my class for help. 

“I’m offering.” She said, gently punching my arm. 

I frowned at the words.

“You know the third year lessons?” I asked, unsure of what she meant. 

She simply nodded, not offering any explanations of how. 

After a while, the play ended and everyone walked out of the gymnasium. Kikyo and I waited by the door for the others. She kept on talking as Gaku walked out, yawning. 

“Kyo, where were you?” He asked, going for a hug, making her chuckle. 

“With Umeji.” She simply answered as the others stretched their limbs. 

Told them it would be boring. Osoro elbowed me with a smirk.

“Are you going home now Kikyo?” Dairoku asked the girl who nodded, looking around. “Do you want us to walk you back?” He offered, smiling awkwardly. 

“Oh, don’t worry, I can go back alone.” She said, flexing her arms proudly. 

“You look ridiculous.” Hokuto said with an unbothered face, earning a playful glare from the girl. 

We walked back to the hall, changing our shoes before walking out of school. 

“Kikyo?” Someone called, and I instantly got annoyed. 

I glanced at the dude as he smiled at Kikyo. Hope you have a death wish. He carefully approached us, standing at a short distance. 

“Tsuburaya? Where is Amai?” Kikyo asked, frowning as a hint of worry filtered her words. 

“She left a few minutes ago.” The guy simply said, not understanding his mistake. 

“You left Amai alone when there’s a killer around?” Kikyo muttered, her words darkening in a second.

I looked at the others and at the guy. Am I the only one who noticed her tone changed? I turned to Hayanari. 

“Go find the girl.” I said, making him frown. 

I glared at him and he was off, Hokuto following him as they tried to catch up with Amai. 

“Are you an absolute idiot?” The brown-haired girl asked, she was trembling as she tried to contain her anger. 

“Want me to punch him?” I whispered to her but she shook her head no. 

“I’m going home.” She said, walking away as she pulled out her phone, probably calling her friend. 

Gaku, Dairoku and Osoro went with her as I stayed behind. I glared at the guy in front of me. 

“What are you doing Kizuguchi?” He asked, smiling at me innocently. 

What are you doing? I could kill you so watch it. 

I ignored his comment and walked off.

“I love her.” He said, making me freeze, “I can give her everything. So stay away from her.” He added. 

I turned around to look at him. Now I’m mad. If a glare could kill, he would have been destroyed. 

“What?” I asked, my voice heavy with threats as he smiled. 

“I can see you like her.” He said, “She would never settle for you.” He finished, a smirk on his lips. 

I fully turned to face him, and in a split second I was in front of him, my fist inches from his face. As I was about to punch him, Osoro called me. I glared at him one last time before leaving, ignoring the small thud as he tumbled on the ground, frightened.

Chapter Text

Last night I double checked with Amai to make sure she had got home safe. And now, I was reading the oh-so-sweet apologetic message Tsuburaya had sent me.

TSUBURAYA – I’m so sorry, I should have known better :( I’ll buy you coffee after class?

I did not reply. I almost had a heart attack when he told me he had left Amai alone. And the poor girl also had the fright of her life when Hayanari and Hokuto ran after her. I had calmed her down over the phone and the two boys made sure she got home safely. Which I am really thankful for. I sighed and finally focused on changing my shoes. 

“Hi there.” A voice said in an overly flirty tone. I turned my head with a smile. 

“Morning Osoro.” I greeted as the boys rolled their eyes at their leader’s attitude. 

Osoro and I had grown close really fast. Hayanari and Dairoku seemed to be a bit shy around me. Hokuto was still a pain but I know he cares a lot about his friends. Gaku is still my favourite. And there is Umeji. I’m not sure what to think about him. One time we are close, and then he is distant. Not that I care a lot, we are barely friends. Yet I really enjoy the time we spend together. 

“Can you tell the sports teacher I’m on my period and I can’t go to her lesson?” Osoro asked as the boys started going towards the incinerator area. 

“Sure, see you in class.” I said, chuckling as I waved at the boys, Gaku and Dairoku returning the wave as Hokuto pulled Hayanari away. 

“Thank you baby.” The girl said, winking at me, getting weird looks from the boys. 

“Anything for my favourite lady.” I answered, bowing dramatically, making my friend laugh. 

As I was about to focus back on my phone, my eyes landed on Umeji. 

“Okay.” 

I looked at him, confused

“What?” I asked, frowning as I tried to remember our past conversations. 

“I could use your… help for… classes.” He said, his voice dropping to a whisper as he hid his face behind his hand. 

“Oh, okay great.” I said, smiling at him as he glanced at me through his fingers, “We could study at my house?” I offered and he simply nodded, turning his head to where the delinquents had left. “Do we start tonight?” I asked and he nodded again. 

We agreed to do it every Wednesday and Thursday after class. And with one last ‘do not tell anyone’ glare, he left.

I headed to the cooking club room, wanting to see the girls as I sent a message to my parents about studying with a friend at home after school. They agreed just as I opened the door. 

“Hey Kyo.” Amai greeted me with a warm smile. 

I smiled at her and walked over to see what she was cooking. Correction : baking.

“Cookies?” I asked, trying to snatch one. 

“It’s for Tsumeato and Furukizu.” The girl warned with a sharp glare. 

“Uh, who?” I asked, searching for anyone with those names. 

The short girl sighed and leaned in to whisper in my ear. 

“Hayanari and Hokuto.” She said and I nodded dramatically as she made me understand I had no idea what my friend’s last names were. 

She rolled her eyes and I watched her bake. It’s really fascinating, even covered in flour, Amai would look dashing. As I was about to compliment her, the door opened on Tsuburaya. And just like that my mood dropped. 

“Good morning Kikyo.” He said, smiling at me but I just glared at him. 

Amai talked to him for a bit but his focus returned to me very quickly. Do I need to mention too quickly? 

“Come on Kikyo… Why aren’t you talking to me? I apologised.” He said, coming beside me and reaching to take my hand. 

Ew. 

I gave him a stern look and he gave me puppy eyes. Under his persistent gaze and Amai’s encouragement I accepted his apology. 

“So, can I buy you coffee after class?” He asked, insisting. 

“I have other plans, maybe another day.” I said, pulling my hand away from his as I took my phone to answer the notification I had.

PAPA – Is your friend a boy or a girl?

KIKYO – 𝐼𝓉’𝓈 𝒶 𝑔𝓊𝓎, 𝓊𝓅𝓅𝑒𝓇 𝒸𝓁𝒶𝓈𝓈𝓂𝒶𝓉𝑒

PAPA – Is it Tsuburaya?

I frowned at the text.

KIKYO – 𝒩𝑜, 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓃𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝒰𝓂𝑒𝒿𝒾

I ignored my father’s curious comment about my love life and waited for Amai to finish baking. Once the cookies were in the box, she followed me sheepishly to the incinerator area. 

The first thing I noticed? Umeji was not there.

“Where did he go?” I asked, holding Amai’s hand to reassure her. 

“He said he had to take care of something and left.” Dairoku said, looking between me and my friend. 

“What are you doing back here?” Gaku asked, smiling warmly at us. 

I gently pulled Amai forward, making her yelp. 

“I… wanted to thank you for walking me back home.” She quickly said, her face bright red as she handed the box to Hokuto. 

He did not move. He simply looked at her. Hayanari grabbed the box thanking her happily as he pulled her behind him. I glanced at Hokuto and I swear he was blushing. Amai sat awkwardly as Hayanari shared the cookies with the group.

After a bit we headed back inside, Amai now much more comfortable with the group. 

“See, they aren’t that bad.” I said and she nodded, chuckling as we walked to our class. 

“Why aren’t you going out with Tsuburaya? He seems pretty interested in you.” The girl asked, making me frown in disgust. 

“I don’t see him that way. And if he keeps pushing it, he’ll get punched.” I told her , making her laugh as we entered the classroom. 

“Do you have a crush?” I asked her as she sat down, her face turning bright red. “So you do huh?” I teased, wanting to know more. 

Amai spent the short time we had before the teacher arrived telling me about that amazing guy she had a crush on. A year older, kind and cute. Honestly he seemed perfect for her. I was happy that she was smiling, yet also a bit sad for Hokuto who seemed to have developed a crush on her. 

“I’ll introduce you at lunch.” She promised before I got to my seat.

As promised, at lunch time we ran upstairs to the third years’ classrooms. Tsuburaya got out followed by his classmates, surprised to see us there. 

“He’s here.” She said. “Yamada.” She called out, waving at her crush as he turned to face us. 

What the hell? Approaching us with a smile, the most basic guy I have ever seen in my life. 

“Hello Amai.” He greeted her before turning to me. 

“Kikyo Nollan.” I said absently, nodding my head. 

“I’m Taro Yamada.”

I glanced at Amai who was almost drooling over the guy as the two boys talked about their grades on the last test. I perked up when Yamada said he was never the best student and that he would rather read all day than come to class. What the actual fuck?

“Kyo?” A voice said, pulling me out of my thoughts. 

I turned my head at the same time the boys and Amai did. 

“Umeji.” I said, smiling at him. 

Yamada went pale and excused himself before leaving. He’s not even brave! Who is this guy? Amai tried to smile, yet she was still obviously scared. The guy having the coldest expression ever. Tsuburaya was glaring at him as he took a step back. What a pussy… I ignored them and focused on Umeji. 

“Did you need something?” I asked and I thought he smiled for a second. 

“Yeah, for tonight. Do I need to bring something?” He asked as he quickly glanced at Tsuburaya. 

“No, it’s fine. I’ll be in the cooking club room if you want to stay back a bit.” I told him with a kind smile. 

He nodded and quickly greeted Amai before walking away. 

“What is going on tonight?” Tsuburaya asked as Amai tried to get over the fact that the scariest guy in school had said ‘hello’ to her. 

I rolled my eyes. 

“Nothing, we’re just studying at my place.” I said as we started going down the stairs to the club room. 

“Why are you asking for his help? I can help you. You don’t need this guy.” He insisted, his tone grave, almost sounding like an order. 

I did not answer, knowing I had no right to tell anyone about Umeji’s learning problems.

We finally arrived in the club room and Tsuburaya immediately told everyone I was inviting a delinquent in my house. That’s how rumors start, 𝑔𝑒𝓃𝒾𝓊𝓈. I ignored every comment as Amai gave me a sympathetic look.

Chapter Text

After hanging out with the group for a bit, I left, saying I hade to take care of some things. I headed to the cooking club room, It’s just a study session… As I was about to open the door, voices came from the room. 

“You can’t be serious.” A man’s voice reached my ears. 

“Seriously it’s not a big deal.” Kikyo answered. 

I can easily imagine her rolling her eyes. I reached for the handle. 

“Kikyo, trust me. This guy agreed to help you for the wrong reasons.” 

A voice I recognised too fast came out and I opened the door quickly, the loud sound of the door hitting the wall interrupted their conversation. 

Before my eyes, Tsuburaya Shoku was holding Kikyo’s hands tightly. The other members of the club sitting around a table as Amai tried to calm everyone down. And now all their eyes were on me. Just great.

“Can we go now?” I asked Kikyo and the vice president of the club instantly pushed the girl behind him. 

Hell no. 

I glared at him, trying my best not to end his life right now. I never thought I could hate this guy that much. Kikyo pulled her hands away from his and hurried to join me, pushing me out of the room. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me behind her, leading the way to the hall. 

“Seriously, what was that?” She asked as she let go of my hand, rambling as she changed her shoes. 

I could not help but smile at the sight. I changed shoes as well and she led the way to her house, still angrily rambling about the guy. 

“Like seriously? Leave me alone, I'm not a kid.” She said, looking at me for support. 

“You were uncomfortable.” I simply commented, to which she nodded happily. 

“Why can’t he understand that?” She asked, relieved that I was on her side. 

“Sometimes I feel like no one understands you.” I added, hands in my pockets as we waited at a crossroad. 

“Yeah…” she muttered, crossing her arms to enclose herself. 

I dropped the subject as we continued walking. 

“I thought of pulling you out of there but you can do that yourself.” I said, glancing down at her. 

“If you do that, they’ll be even more on my back.” She said, chuckling. 

I was glad I could get her to smile again. 

“Or they’ll let you be. Everyone is scared of me, they’ll get on my bad side.” I suggested, forbidding myself to smile. 

“And then everyone will think we like each other.” She chuckled again at her comment, “That would be so weird.” She added as she turned in another street. 

Ouch.

I entered the house after her. 

“I’m home.” 

“Welcome home kid.” Her father answered from the kitchen.

Kikyo took off her shoes, inviting me to do the same as she headed to the kitchen. I followed her, looking around the house. It was so different from my house. Here it was so clean, tidy and elegant, whereas my house was messy, lively and wild. 

“You must be Umeji.” Her father said, pulling me out of my thoughts. 

I nodded and bowed.

“Good evening sir.” I said. 

“You don’t have to be so tense son, make yourself home.” The man said, giving me a nod. 

I looked back at the living room as a woman came running down the stairs. 

“Oh, hello darling.” She said, excitedly hurrying towards me. “It’s so good to finally meet you.” She said, taking my hands as she smiled brightly. 

I glanced at Kikyo, Help me! 

She chuckled. Really? 

I gave her a quick glare. 

“𝑀𝒶𝓂𝒶𝓃.” She said and it made me freeze. 

You knew she was half French, why are you surprised? The woman let go of my hands and turned to her daughter. 

“𝒪𝒽, 𝓈𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓉𝒾𝑒. 𝒞𝒶𝓃’𝓉 𝐼 𝒷𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓎 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝑒𝑒𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒷𝑜𝓎 𝓌𝒽𝑜’𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒽𝑜𝓂𝑒? 𝒯𝓈𝓊𝒷𝓊𝓇𝒶𝓎𝒶 𝒾𝓈 𝒾𝓉?” She said and my heart dropped at the name. 

I did not understand what she said. Just the name. Why is he everywhere? I scoffed quietly. 

“𝐻𝑒’𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒯𝓈𝓊𝒷𝓊𝓇𝒶𝓎𝒶. Umeji.” Kikyo replied, getting my attention as she called my name. “Sorry about my mom, do you want to eat or drink something?” She offered, ignoring her mother’s pout. 

“Just water… Thanks.” I said as her father invited me to sit down beside him. 

“It’s nice of you to help Kikyo with her homework. I was afraid it would be hard to change schools like that.” Her father said, as I and his wife sat down. 

“𝒫𝒶𝓅𝒶.” Kikyo warned as she placed a glass of water in front of me. 

I thanked her and tensed up slightly, feeling that the subject was heavy for everyone. 

“Actually,” I started, trying to change the subject a bit, “Kyo is the one helping me. She does great at school. Has lots of friends.” I said, quickly glancing at Kikyo who smiled, thankful. 

Stop smiling like that, you make me nervous.

After a bit, we settled in the living room under the spying gaze of her mother. 

“Ignore her.” Kikyo whispered as she sat next to me on the couch. 

I felt my heartbeat quickening. What the fuck is happening to me? I watched as she grabbed my notebook and flipped through the pages as she read a few lines of the lesson. Was Osoro right? I glanced at her hands, her fingers flipped the pages elegantly. Do I have a crush? My eyes moved up to her face as she replaced a wild strand of her hair behind her ear. No. No way. She looks up at me, smiling as she hands me the notebook. 

“Umeji?” She called out, making me realise I had not listened to a single word. 

“Sorry. I dozed off.” I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck. 

She nodded and repeated herself without any comment. I found myself listening to her every word attentively, strangely understanding the lesson at her every explanation. Fuck, I love math.

After maybe two hours, we stopped working. 

“Are you staying for dinner son?” Her father asked as I shoved my books in my bag. 

“Uh, no. I’m gonna go back home.” I said before checking my phone, seeing the messages my mother had sent me. 

“Do you want me to drive you back?” He offered as I stood up. 

I shook my head, thanking him as I walked to the door. 

“Thank you for having me.” I said as Kikyo opened the door once I had put on my shoes, her parents waving goodbye. 

She closed the door behind her. 

“Sorry about them. They’re really interested in my life.” She said, chuckling awkwardly. 

“It’s fine, don't worry. They seem fun.” I said and she smiled, seemingly grateful. 

“I hope I could help you.” She said after a short silence. 

I nodded.

“You helped. A lot. Thank you.” I replied, my voice sounding off at each word. 

“I’m glad.” She smiled, not noticing my weird voice. 

We stood there in silence for another second. I don’t want this moment to end. I cleared my throat. 

“Well, see you tomorrow.” I said and she smiled, nodding. 

“Bye, see you tomorrow.”

I nodded before finally tearing myself away, walking to the main street. Just before turning around the corner, I turned around. She stood on the porch, waving at me with a smile as she saw me turning around. I waved back, a smile on my lips, only slightly visible. She looked back inside the house, glancing at me one last time before getting back inside.

I started walking back home, pulling out my phone as it started vibrating.

“Mom.” I said, answering the phone. 

“Are you on the way home?” She asked, I could hear Sokka and Aiko through the phone, asking where I was. 

“Yeah, I was studying with a friend, sorry.” I said, remembering I had not told her I would be home late. 

“It’s fine, you’re old enough to do whatever you want.” She said and I smiled, “Can you stop by the convenience store? I need you to buy flour.” She asked, shushing my younger brother. 

“Yeah of course. I’ll be quick.” I said, spotting an open shop at the end of the street. 

“Thank you baby.” She quickly hung up, Aiko calling for her. 

I sighed and hurried to buy what I needed before going home. 

“I’m back.” I said, taking off my shoes. 

“Umeji!” Sokka yelled, jumping in my arms. 

I caught him with one hand as he wrapped his arms around my neck, the shopping bag in my other hand. 

“Hey kiddo.” I said, holding him against me as Aiko came clinging onto my other hand. “Careful Aiko.” I warned her as she grabbed the shopping bag, handing it to mom before pulling me to play. 

“Your punishment for being late is to play with us.” Sokka said, pouting. 

“Let me change at least.” 

The two kids finally let go of me and I hurried to my room after saying hi to my mother. 

I quickly took a shower and changed to my pajamas : simple black sweatpants and an old Metallica shirt. I went back to the living room and was immediately attacked by my siblings. I played with them a bit before my father came back from work, Aiko instantly running to welcome him back as Sokka started to get tired. 

“Hey dad.” I said, grinning happily as took off his coat. 

“What got you smiling like that, Umeji?” He asked, picking up Aiko as my mother called us over for dinner. 

“Well… There’s this girl…” I started, plotting down on the chair. 

There was a long silence. 

“What?” I asked, looking at my parents and siblings. 

“I thought you were gay.” My mother said as she started filling our plates. 

“Seriously mom?” I frowned but my father shushed her. 

“Who is this girl?” He asked, smiling at me curiously. 

I ignored my mother as she mumbled under her breath about me being gay. 

“A new girl in Osoro’s class. Her name’s Kikyo.” I answered, suddenly feeling nervous at the idea of ever inviting her over to study. 

My father nodded quietly as my mother started going off about wanting to meet the ‘fantastic girl’ who made her son smile.

Chapter Text

I gazed at the clock absently. Why does time pass so damn slowly? I thought, sighing as I looked out the window, meeting Osoro’s eyes. She smiled and I smiled back, relieved that I was not the only one waiting for the bell. As soon as class ended, Osoro quickly ran towards me.

“Let’s hang out this weekend.” She said, excitedly. 

Hokuto immediately spoke up. 

“No way.” he said, glaring at me. 

Dairoku slapped his neck, getting glared at as well. 

“Sure, I was going to do something with Amai tomorrow though.” I said as the girl approached, still a little nervous despite her smile. 

“We can do something together…” Amai said, chuckling awkwardly, I smiled.

I glanced at Hokuto who had looked away from the head of the cooking club, his face flushed red as Amai invited them to hang out. I chuckled, lying to poor Amai as she asked what was funny. 

As Amai and I started putting our stuff away to clean the class, the delinquents quickly escaped after waving goodbye. Some things never change. I thought, chuckling as Amai and I went to get the cleaning supplies. 

“I say, you should consider Tsuburaya as an option.” She said as she wiped the windows of the classroom meticulously. 

“I say, you should forget Yamada.” I replied, knowing both subjects were non negotiable. 

“But he’s so perfect.” She said, making a quick twirl as I finished cleaning the floor. 

“How?” I asked, chuckling dryly, making her understand I was serious. 

“Well, he’s handsome, smart, protective, kind and so, so cute.” She said, blushing at each word. 

I rolled my eyes.

“He’s basic as fuck. Not really that handsome, not that smart. Maybe protective but not brave, okay I’ll give you the kind part but really? You could do so much better. Someone with an actual personality. Taro Yamada is as flat and blank as a piece of paper.” I said, making her pout as she tried to hide her laughter at my comparison. 

“I like him.” She simply replied, making me understand I could not change her mind.

I nodded absently.

“What about you?” She asked, wanting to hear my answer. 

“He’s too much.” I said and she gave me a look saying ‘elaborate’. 

I sighed, starting to gather the cleaning supplies as we were done. 

“Too present, protective, touchy…” I said, walking out of the classroom with her. 

“Who? Kizuguchi?” A voice asked, seemingly glad to hear my words.

“Oh, Tsuburaya, are you done with your part?” Amai asked, acting as if the conversation had never happened. 

He smiled, insisting on carrying what we had in our hands for us. I refused a few times but he insisted. 

“Alright.” 

I sighed, giving him what I was carrying. He headed to the storage room, Amai following him as they talked. I quietly escaped the situation, running to my locker to change shoes and go home. 

“Excuse me?” Someone called, getting my attention. 

“Can I help you?” I asked, observing the unknown girl with black hair. 

“I am Ayano Aishi. I wanted to ask a personal question, do you mind?” She said, smiling. 

I shrugged.

“Shoot, we’ll see.” I answered and she took a deep breath in. 

“What do you think of Taro Yamada?” She asked, blushing a bit. 

Seriously, what's with this guy? I thought, sighing. 

“I think he’s basic.” I answered and I thought I saw her expression shift slightly. 

Either annoyance, relief or rage, it was weird. 

“So you don't like him?” She asked, as if my answer hinted in any way I was interested in the paper sheet. 

“No, I don’t.” I answered and she nodded before leaving. “𝒮𝑒𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓊𝓈𝓁𝓎 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒹𝓊𝒹𝑒?” I muttered, rolling my eyes as I walked out of the school building. 

“Kyo.” Another voice called. 

Can’t you people just let me be? I turned around to see Aoi walking towards me with a smile. I smiled back and we talked for a while. We discovered we lived in the same area and walked home, making plans to leave together on Friday to catch up.

I waved her goodbye after she insisted she could go her way home alone. I unlocked the door and took off my shoes quietly before going to my room, plotting onto my bed with a quiet whine. 

“𝒦𝒾𝓀𝓎𝑜?” My mother asked as she walked past my room. 

I hummed, letting her know I was home. 

“𝐼𝓈 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓁𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓈𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓉𝒾𝑒?” She asked, coming to sit on my bed. 

“Yeah, just people being all over me today.” I answered, sitting up on my bed. 

She nodded, pulling me downstairs to change my mind. We started cooking and as soon as my father got home, we started eating, happily talking about our days. 

“How is Umeji?” My father asked, smiling as my mother started asking about Tsuburaya. 

“𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓎’𝓇𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝒹. I haven’t seen Umeji today but we planned to hangout tomorrow.” I said, my parents nodding, knowing I was serious in my work. 

We talked for a bit before cleaning the table and settling on the couch for a little bonding time. I told them about my day, my friends, and eventually, boys. I tried not to enter the debate of whether or not Tsuburaya was a good potential boyfriend, thankful that my father was not fond of the idea. After a while I went to bed, Belzebuth following after me for a night of cuddles.

The next day, after a warm shower and breakfast, I made a group call with Amai and Osoro to have someone to talk to while getting ready. Amai quickly answered, wanting my opinion on what to wear. We talked for a bit, showing each other potential outfits, when Osoro joined. 

“Hey…” She yawned and I chuckled, smiling at the camera. 

“Morning sleeping beauty.” I greeted and she stuck out her tongue at me as she sat on her bed. 

“So, green or pink?” Amai asked, holding two dresses up to the camera. 

Osoro yawned again, going to wash her face. 

“Pink. Brings out your eyes.” I said, winking at the camera and she chuckled. 

She quickly changed before coming back in front of her camera. Osoro placed her phone on her desk in a whistle as Amai twirled in her pink dress. The girl blushed a bit as Osoro grabbed a hoodie and sweatpants from her wardrobe. 

“Oh god, we are buying you new clothes.” I muttered, seeing the amount of ripped clothes in her wardrobe. 

Osoro glared at me as Amai put on a cardigan. We talked for a bit longer before we decided to meet up for lunch before the guys joined us. I quickly wish my parents a good day before walking out, heading to the rendezvous point. 

I waited for a bit before Osoro joined me. 

“Hey, looking good.” I said, looking at her streetwear outfit and messy hair. 

𝒯𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓌𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓅 𝑜𝓃 𝓂𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐼’𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀𝒻𝓊𝓁. We talked for a bit before we saw Amai hurrying towards us, stumbling a few times. As she stood beside us, I glanced at her shoes, chuckling, 

“Platform shoes?” I asked, glancing at Osoro who was smiling. 

“I don’t like being the shortest.” Amai pouted, making Osoro laugh. 

The blond wrapped her arm around her shoulders.

“And I would hate to see you fall.” She dramatically said. 

I watched the scene, amused. Who would have known these two could be such good friends? I shook my head and we walked to a nearby store. We bought some food and ate as we talked happily about anything that came to our minds. 

“What about you Shidesu? Do you like someone?” Amai asked, smiling at the leader of the delinquents who choked on her bubble tea. 

“What?” Osoro asked, looking at us with a deep shade of red across her cheeks. 

Amai and I exchanged a look, smirking as our friend tried to dismiss the conversation, pulling out her phone to call the boys. After a short conversation, Osoro led the way to an arcade and we walked inside, immediately seeing Gaku waving us over. 

“Kyo!” He called and I rushed over to his side. 

“Hey.” I greeted and Gaku immediately wrapped his arms around me. 

I looked down at him, a bit confused. 

“He lost the game.” Dairoku explained as Osoro and Amai sat down. 

I chuckled, sitting down with them as we took turns on the different games around us. To my surprise, Amai was completely destroying our scores, a smile on her face. Gaku, who had encouraged us to beat Hokuto’s best score, was laughing so hard he could hardly breathe. Hokuto would have murdered him if Osoro was not holding him back, her and I talking calmly, occasionally chuckling at our friends’ behaviour. Hayanari and Dairoku were all over Amai, wanting her to teach them her ways to get better at video games. I was glad to see her laughing genuinely with them. 

I eventually turned to Hayanari.

“Where’s Umeji?” I asked and they all just seemed to realize he was not with us. 

One at a time, they all tried to call him, making me call at least four times before the oldest finally answered Gaku’s third call. 

“Yeah.” I faintly heard him grunting on the other line of the call. 

“Dude where are you?” Gaku asked, exchanging a weird look with Osoro before handing her the phone. 

She stepped out of the arcade, the phone glued to her ear. 

“What is it?” Amai asked as the mood seemed to have dropped. 

“Oh, nothing. I guess he had forgotten.” 

She nodded and they all focused back on their games, telling the shortest girl she was lucky Umeji was not here to beat her record. I glanced back at the door, debating whether or not to walk out to ask Osoro. I decided against it, telling myself that it was not a big deal. If it was, they would have told me. 𝑅𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉?

I focused back on Gaku as he asked me to play with him. I smiled and walked over, stepping on the monitor as the boy started the dance machine, picking a random song. I chuckled, seeing Gaku focusing as if his life depended on the outcome of the game. The others sat down to observe the little competition. I started dancing on the beat, following the instructions on screen. I could hear the boys laughing, Amai encouraging us and when I turned to look at Gaku, the poor boy was struggling, holding onto the back bars for dear life. I burst out laughing, unable to focus on the steps as my friend tried so hard to stay on his feet. I tried to focus back on the choreography but I kept looking back at Gaku. In the end, he was exhausted, breathing heavily as the screens generated our scores. I was not expecting much since I had missed lots of them but seeing Gaku struggling was worth it. 

“What?!” He asked, letting himself fall back on Dairoku and Hokuto as my score was higher than his. 

I patted his shoulder as he faked crying, hugging Dairoku as everyone was laughing at his childish exaggeration. We played a few more games before Osoro came back inside, seemingly pissed. 

“So?” Hayanari asked, the mood dropping again. 

“He’s not coming.” She said, sitting down next to Amai who looked at me, not understanding the situation. 

I frowned, slightly shaking my head to let her know I had no idea what was going on. 

The rest of the afternoon, the subject ‘Umeji’ was taboo and no one dared to say the name, not wanting to anger Osoro again now that she had recovered her teasing smile. Amai pulled her through many thrift shops as I tried to discreetly bribe the boys into telling me what was happening with Umeji. 

“Drop it Kikyo.” Hokuo finally answered, “This is way bigger than whatever is happening in your small head.” He told me, giving me a calm and warning look. 

I nodded, understanding that I should stop asking about it. In the end, We had a lot of fun together and planned on going out again the next weekend. We walked Amai home before they made sure I got home safely.

Chapter Text

I grunted, shifting on the sofa to find a better position. 

“Don’t move.” My mother warned me from the kitchen. 

“Yeah… I know, you wouldn’t let me go out.” I said, rolling my eyes as I glanced at the TV. 

“You can see your friends on Monday. You are grounded.” She reminded me and I sat up on the couch. 

“I said I was sorry.” I argued and she shot me a glare. 

Okay, now I get why people are scared of me. I looked back at the TV absently. I stayed still for a while, my mother quietly working on dinner. I faintly heard the doorbell but did not bother looking up. I glanced at my hands, scratching the still red scars on my knuckles. It was nothing… I sighed, scratching the back of my neck as I thought of a way to explain this whole thing to Kikyo. I hope she isn’t mad at me… As I was about to ask my mother for my phone, someone pushed me. 

“What did you do?” Osoro asked once she had sat down beside me. 

“What the fuck?” I muttered, frowning as I looked at her, Hayanari, Hokuto, Dairoku and Gaku. 

“What are you all doing here?” I asked, already annoyed to see them. 

“You said you got into a fight.” Gaku replied as if it was obvious. 

“Sick black eye.” Hokuto commented and I shot him a glare, not wanting to deal with his sarcasm. 

“Is that why you weren’t in class yesterday?” Osoro asked with a serious tone. 

I sighed.

“Yeah. Went to the hospital.” I answered, looking at her. 

There was a short pause before Hayanari cleared his throat. 

“You what now?” He asked, eyeing me up and down. 

“Broken ribs and a knife wound.” I told him, slightly lifting my shirt so he could see the bandage. 

“Who was it?” Osoro asked, not letting her feelings on the matter show. 

“Random dudes.” I muttered, looking at her dead in the eyes. 

She seemed reluctant to believe me but dropped the topic when my mother offered them drinks. We ended up spending the rest of the evening playing video games until my father was back. Aiko and Sokka immediately ran to talk to him about some kid stuff as I waved goodbye at the group. Before leaving, Hokuto had approached me about Kikyo, telling me to call her and that she had asked about me all afternoon. He gave me one last glance, probably to make sure I will call her before turning in the street. 

“How are you feeling, Umeji?” My father asked as I closed the door. 

“I’m fine, just can’t stretch too much.” I answered, sitting back down on the sofa. 

Sokka sat beside me, and I ruffled his pink hair as he put up a cartoon on the tv. 

The evening went on without much trouble, except perhaps Aiko crying over her poor score in Just Dance. I went to my room after convincing my mother to give me back my phone. I guess telling her I wanted to call Kikyo was a good idea. I closed the door of my room, nervous. My thumb hovered over her number as I tried to find something to say. Oh, fuck it. I pressed the call button and brought the phone to my ear, still debating whether I wanted her to answer or not. 

A ring. 

Another one.

“Hey.” Kikyo’s voice sounded through the phone. 

“Hey, how are you?” I asked, a dumb smile on my lips. 

‘How are you’? Seriously, that's all you got? She chuckled and I felt my heart flutter. 

“I’m great, how about you?” She asked back, making me sigh as I leaned against the window of my room. 

“I’m fine, got into a fight.” I said, lifting my shirt to lightly touch the wound under the bandage. 

I winced quietly. 

“Are you alright?” She questioned instantly. 

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

I thought I heard her sigh and the question burning my lips slipped out of my throat in a raspy sound.

“Were you worried?”

I had the sudden urge to slap myself. Why did you ask that? There was a short silence on the other side of the call I thought I had fucked up until she spoke up.

“Well, yeah… A bit. You weren’t in class Friday, and you didn’t come today.”

I could not help the smile on my lips as I listened to the words. God, what did you do to me, woman? 

“I’ll be back on Monday. So I guess I’ll see you then?” I mumbled, cursing myself for not knowing what else to say.

“Yeah.” She paused, “Thank you for calling to tell me what happened.” 

Once again, my heart fluttered. She just thanked you, get a hold of yourself!

“Of course.” I replied, looking at the sky outside my window.

As I was about to say something else, the door of my room flung open, Sokka and Aiko rushing inside. 

“Umeji! Aiko said you were going to die!” The youngest cried as he hurried to hug me.

“I was joking Sokka!” The girl responded.

“I’m not going to die, Sokka.” I tried to reassure my little brother, who started crying even more.

“What’s going on?” Kikyo’s voice came out of my phone and the two kids froze. 

“Is it your girlfriend?” Aiko asked, trying to grab my phone.

“Hi Kikyo!” Sokka yelled, now smiling happily.

Oh my fucking god. I put my phone back to my ear quickly. 

“It was good talking to you, bye, see you on Monday.” I said, barely letting her answer before hanging up.

I looked back at my siblings, who exchanged a glance before running out, screaming and laughing.

“Get back here you little devils!” I growled, running after them. 

On Monday, I left the house with my headphones on, ignoring my mother who called me back to take the antibiotics. I said goodbye and hurried down the streets. I stopped at the crossroad, debating whether I should go directly to school or pick up Kikyo. She doesn’t live too far… I have time. I groaned and made my way to her house.

My feet moved on their own, carrying me faster to her street. As I was about to turn around the corner, I froze.

“So we’ll go out after school on Mondays and Tuesdays?”

I turned around, recognising the voice. I hurried to the neighboring street. I turned around the corner, lowering my head.

“And you can’t rant about it to others.”

The voices walked past the street, heading towards the school. I looked up, my eyes falling on Kikyo and the guy from the cooking club. Who is he again?

They continued talking about their little plans for after school as I headed to school, staying a bit behind them. He’s not in my class is he?

Tsuba– Tsuburaya?

Is that his name?

Eventually, we reached school and they parted ways. Before he left, he placed a long, affectionate kiss on her cheek. 

I saw red. 

He’s a dead man.

Kikyo waved at him and walked up behind her. 

“I thought you didn’t like the guy.” I said, making her jump slightly.

“You scared me.” She replied, smiling at me.

Is she blushing? I frowned, eyeing her up and down. A thought crossed my mind as I noticed she was avoiding meeting my eyes. I quickly formed a coherent sentence in my head before speaking.

“Kikyo? Are yo–”

Just then, Gaku wrapped his arms around Kikyo’s neck.

“What are you saying to her?” He asked, glaring at me. 

I sighed, taking a step back as the rest of the group approached us. I quickly glared back at Gaku before heading to the hall to change my shoes. I ignored Osoro’s gaze, leaving them behind. 

I went to the rooftop immediately, almost running. I breathed heavily, settling in an empty corner. I leaned against the wall, sliding down until my body stumbled to the ground. What is wrong with me? I stayed silent, looking at the sky, still breathing heavily. My hand moved weakly to my side, feeling the bandage under my shirt. I glanced down, slowly lifting up my shirt to look at the covered wound. I took off the bandage a bit, wincing as the glue pulled at my skin. It looks fine… I replaced the adhesive, pressing lightly to make sure it would stick. 

I pulled out my phone to pass time, making my leg shake uncontrollably. I had a feeling today was meant to anger me. Best if I stay away, wouldn’t want to do something to the others. I stayed on the roof until it was time for class. 

I headed to my classroom a bit early, crossing my arms on the desk and resting my head on top.A few minutes later, I heard the door opening. There was a pause before some whispers reached my ears. I ignored it, staying in the same position. The teacher arrived, immediately calling me out on my posture. I groaned, looking at the woman with a blank expression as I sat up straight. She quickly explained what we were going to do today before calling my name again.

“Kizuguchi.”

She waved me over and I sighed, standing up. I felt a sharp pain in my side as I pushed myself up. Ignore it. It’s probably nothing. I kept a straight face, walking over to the professor’s desk, my hands in my pockets. 

“Since you were not in class Friday, you will take the test your classmates had.” She said, handing me the paper.

I glanced at the page. Math? I took it from her hand, quickly overlooking the questions. I slowly turned around, heading back to my desk without a word. I, once again, ignored the gazes and whispers as I walked across the room. 

I sat down and started answering the questions, glad that it was the first subject I had studied with Kikyo.

What’s wrong with her? She’s the only one who held my gaze and now she avoids me? Other than my family.

After class, I handed the teacher my test and she thanked me. I nodded before stepping out of the classroom. I stood by the door absently. So now I’m gonna fall behind because I took a test? I groaned and looked around. I spotted the red-haired girl from the student council, a dumb idea popping in my head. Oh fuck me. I hurried behind her as she turned around the corner. 

“Akane.” I called out. 

She turned to me with a surprised smile.

“Can I help you Kizuguchi?” She asked.

“Can I borrow your notes from the class?”

She seemed even more surprised before nodding slowly. She told me to take her book from her bag in class. I mumbled a small thanks before going back to the classroom. 

I tried to remember where her seat was as I walked through the desks before remembering. I stood in front of it for a second, rubbing the back of my head. Is that really okay? I sighed, kneeling down to open the bag. I grabbed the notebook and opened the last pages. I flipped them a bit until I found the subject of the last lesson. I took pictures of the notes before putting the notebook back and closing the bag. I went back to my desk and started copying the words, shaking my leg. I definitely need a lesson on this…

Chapter Text

I waited in front of the cooking club room. Tsuburaya and I made plans to go out after walking Amai back to her house. We had a long talk this morning and I was feeling better around him. He promised to avoid unnecessary physical touch and that he would respect my choice of hanging out with the delinquents. Plus I have to admit he is kind of cute.

I smiled to myself as the small group walked out, laughing. I looked up and smiled at them. Tsuburaya’s cheeks were slightly red as he approached me under our friends’ gazes. 

“Hey.” He said, making both Saki and Ajia chuckle. 

“Hey, let's go.” I replied, smiling back at him before looking at Amai.

“Actually, I have a date with Yamada. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She said before hurrying to the central yard.

The rest of the members quickly walked away leaving Tsuburaya and I alone. I sighed and he chuckled before we both headed to the entrance. 

We talked a lot as we walked through the streets. And he was being charming. How could I not forgive him? 

Eventually, we stopped at the local café. As he had promised, he offered me a drink and we talked more as we waited for our order. 

The waitress, whom I recognised to be Ayano from school, came back with our drinks. A pumpkin spice latte with a hint of vanilla and chocolate syrup for Tsuburaya and a vanilla milkshake with extra whipped cream for me.

What? Vanilla is the best.

As we talked, I started drinking my milkshake happily.

“You look really pretty.”

His words caught me off guard and I choked on the whipped cream. I looked up at him and he just smiled brightly. With the dim light of the setting sun shining behind him, he looked like an angel. 

The thought made me blush lightly and I cleared my throat. 

“Thanks but I’m rather normal.” I chuckled, trying to change the subject.

“I love when you have your hair up.” He continued, looking at me lovingly.

I blushed a bit more. Oh my god…

“I usually tie up my hair when I don’t know how to style it.” 

“Well it makes you look perfect.” He complimented, placing his hand on mine. 

For a second the world stopped around us. I looked into his green eyes for what seemed like an eternity before my phone rang, pulling me back to reality. 

“Sorry, I have to take this.” I said, standing up and heading outside to answer the call. 

“Hey dad.” 

“Hey kiddo, are you with your friends?” He asked.

From what I could hear on the other side of the phone, he was about to leave his office. 

“I’m with Tsuburaya. Why?” I said, looking back at our table to see the boy grinning at me.

“I’m taking your mother out for dinner. I’m going to pick her up from the shop now. I think we would both feel better if you were not alone tonight.”

I paused.

“You want me to invite someone to sleep at our house?” I asked, chuckling. 

“Or go to one of your friend’s houses.” He added.

“Alright. I’ll try texting the girls. Have fun.”

“You too kid, 𝐼 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊.” He said and I smiled at the words. 

“𝐼 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜𝑜, 𝓅𝒶𝓅𝒶.”

I hung up and headed back inside, my thumb hovering over the contacts of Amai and Osoro. I don’t want Amai to walk alone at night. And Osoro is probably going to be with the boys.

I sat down and continued drinking my milkshake as I scrolled down the contacts. 

“Who was it?”

I flinched at the words and looked at Tsuburaya. His tone was much colder, his eyes glaring at me. 

“Was it Kizuguchi? Are you still talking to him?”

“Why does it matter?” I asked, frowning a bit.

Is he jealous or something?

“Look, I know you want to see good in everyone but he is not a good person.” He said, reaching for my hand. 

I pulled my hand away. 

“Can we not talk about that?”

He frowned but nodded. After a while, he paid and we left the café. It was still a little awkward but we resumed our conversation as he walked me back home. 

“Well, see you tomorrow Kyo.” 

He smiled brightly standing still as I said ‘goodbye’. I looked at him and sighed before nodding, smiling a bit. He beamed up at my approval before placing a kiss on my cheek. 

“I’m sorry about what I said. I’m just worried about you.” He said, bringing his hand up.

He gently placed it on my neck caressing my jaw with his thumb. 

“I’m perfectly capable of handling myself.” 

He smiled, taking a step back and removing his hand from my neck. 

“Sometimes I doubt it…” He muttered, looking at me with an indefinable expression.

I frowned at his words but he turned around and waved as he walked away. 

I entered the quiet house, pulling back my phone. I unlocked it as I took off my shoes and laid down on the couch. I scrolled back up the contact list, my eyes falling on the first name. 

Aoi.

I pressed the call button without another thought. She quickly answered. 

“Hey Kikyo.”

“Hey, my parents aren’t home tonight and they said I could invite a friend.” I said, missing her.

“Why not call Shidesu?” She asked. 

I winced quietly. 

She had every right to say that. We had not talked in a while and I was hanging out with someone she hated. 

I heard her sighed through the phone.

“You’re lucky I love you.” She muttered before grunting slightly. “Mom! Can I go to Kikyo’s?” 

I smiled as she screamed, glad that I could talk to her outside of school. I heard her mother agreeing and Aoi told me she was grabbing her bag before leaving. 

I played some music as I went to the kitchen, singing a bit as I opened the fridge to see what we could eat. I settled on a simple spaghetti plate. As I waited for the water to boil, the doorbell rang and I hurried to open the door. 

“I missed you!” I said, immediately hugging Aoi.

She chuckled, patting my back before we went inside. 

We spent the evening talking, laughing and joking. Mainly about school stuff. We ate our food in front of a Disney movie and did the dishes with some music before settling on the couch to finish our conversation. 

“So, are the delinquents behaving?” She asked me, grinning. 

“Oh no…” I muttered, chuckling a bit as she opened a taboo subject.

“What?”

“I don’t really want to talk about them.” I said, giving her a weak smile. 

She frowned and placed a hand on mine. I sighed and glanced at our empty cups of hot chocolate. 

“Hum… They’re fine. I haven’t really talked to them today.”

“Why? I thought you were friends.” She asked.

“We are. Just… I mean, I don’t really know what to think about Umeji.” I confessed, chuckling awkwardly. 

“Kizuguchi? Do you want me to tell you what I know?” She offered.

I looked at her, debating whether or not to jump on that opportunity. He was never mean to me… And he seems like a nice guy… But I can’t shake what Tsuburaya told me… As I was about to answer, the front door opened to my parents laughing happily.

“Hi sweetie.” My father said, closing the door behind him. 

“𝒪𝒽! 𝑀𝓎 𝒹𝒶𝓇𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒹𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉𝑒𝓇!” 

I chuckled as my mother hurried to hug me, not bothering taking off her shoes. She stumbled a bit but still managed to reach the couch. She smells like alcohol.

“𝒲𝒽𝑜'𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒻𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒹?” She asked, smiling dizzily at Aoi who tried not to laugh.

“She’s Aoi, a classmate.”

“Pleasure.” The blue haired girl said in a choked laugh. 

“I’ll take your mother upstairs, don’t stay up too late.” My father said, placing a kiss on top of my head. 

I nodded and he swooped my mother off her feet as she giggled like a little girl. I looked back at Aoi who was snickering as my parents’ voices faded.

“They’re so cool.” She said as I stood up. 

I chuckled and grabbed the two cups as we talked a bit about my parents.

Once we were in my room, lying quietly on the bed, I turned to her. 

“Aoi?” 

“Yeah?” She yawned.

“Do you think Umeji could have killed someone?”

I waited for her to answer but she did not. After another long minute she grunted and sat up on the bed.

“What the fuck?” She muttered and sat as well.

“I don’t know… They have a bad reputation. Him more than the others.”

“More than Osoro and that’s a lot.” She chuckled mid sentence.

“So?” I insisted.

She kept quiet again. 

I bit the inside of my cheek. I did not want to believe this had happened. But once again I knew nothing of the man.

“Who said that?” She asked.

“Tsuburaya.”

She sighed and I saw her hesitating. What is going on?

“I don’t think it’s a story I should be the one to tell.” She muttered.

Her words made my heart stop. Why could she not tell me? Was it true? Upon seeing my worried expression she grunted. 

“I guess I could tell you about that… They were not always like that.”

Chapter Text

It started last year. Back then, things were different from what you know. There were no delinquents… Just a group of unfortunate boys…

I sat in the nurse's office with Hayanari, Dairoku and Hokuto, waiting for Gaku to wake up. Things had gone too far this time, his arm was fractured. Just a few inches up and he could have lost his ability to move it. I looked down at my hands, resting on my knees. Why did it have to be us? I clenched my fists and bit my tongue as I swallowed a sob. Tears filled my eyes as I glanced up at the others. 

Hokuto had a black eye and a huge patch on his cheek, the bandage already appearing a bit red from the blood it absorbed. 

Hayanari’s nose was broken and he held a pack of ice to his face as he kept his eyes on Gaku’s resting body.

Dairoku clutched his stomach as he coughed into a tissue, the thin material stained blood red from wiping the blood off the cut on his lips.

My eyes moved to the blue-haired boy resting in the white sheets. Gaku had his arm tightly tied against his body and many bruises over his body. 

How can someone do something like that? 

The memory of his bruised body lingered on my mind as I recalled the moment I had found them. Unconscious in the boys’ changing rooms, their clothes torn, blood mingling with the running cool water of the common showers. 

I swallowed the lump in my throat and grunted. I wiped the tears from my eyes as the door of the infirmary opened. 

“Hey ma’am.” A feminine voice said.

“Miss Shidesu! Did you get into another fight?” The nurse asked as the girl chuckled.

Curious, I stood up from the chair and peaked through the pink curtain. My eyes widened a bit as I saw the nurse patching up the girl’s red knuckles. She was smiling happily and laughing as she showed the worried nurse her cuts and bruises. As the woman went to the other part of the room, the girl grinned, proudly looking at her hands. 

I felt my heart hammering in my chest as she met my gaze. I turned around and tried to ignore the uneasy feeling in my core. I looked up to see Gaku sitting up on the bed. I focused back on my friend who was tearing up upon recalling what had happened. 

“I don’t want to stay here.” Gaku cried.

I stayed quiet for a moment. Teachers were not helping. The police could not do anything without proof. We’re on our own… 

I could hear the muffled voice of the nurse telling the girl not to get into another fight. She laughed again before leaving the infirmary. A thought crossed my mind and I looked back at the boys who were trying to comfort the blue-haired boy.

I turned around and hurried out of the nurse’s office, ignoring my friends as they called me back. I have to find her.

I need to find her!

I ran through the corridors, looking around for the blond hair I had seen through the curtains. I spotted her walking away. I ran. She’s fast…

She turned around the corner. I followed. 

She stepped outside the building. I did too.

I crossed the door breathlessly. As I looked to the left, a hand grabbed me and pulled me back. I yelped and grunted as my back hit the wall and fell on the floor. 

“Why are you following me?”

I froze and looked up upon hearing the cold and aggressive tone of that proud girl.

“I– My name is Umeji Kizugu–” I muttered, shivering as my gaze met her harsh light brown eyes.

“Answer the question.” She interrupted me, kneeling in front of me.

I stumbled upon my words, avoiding looking into her eyes. The words in my head shuffled, making it impossible for me to form a coherent sentence. Say something… Anything!

“Teach me how to fight!” I blurred out, louder than I intended. 

I kept my eyes closed as I waited for an answer. Then, she started laughing once again. I nervously opened an eye and looked at her, she was sitting in front of me, a huge smile on her face as she laughed. I opened both my eyes and sighed, relieved that she did not seem to reject my request. 

“And why should I do that, Pinkie?” She asked after stopping laughing. 

“I– I want to be able to protect my friends.” I said, looking at her with a nervous expression. “We are having a hard time… And I don’t want to see them hurt anymore.” I said, looking down sadly. 

I shook my head and looked back up at her. I froze when I saw her smile had disappeared. Did I say something wrong?

“Meet me in front of the school at four. Sharp.” She ordered, standing up before walking off.

She did not wait for my answer but it was the last of my problems. I was going to get stronger. No matter what it takes.

For weeks, months, I joined Osoro Shidesu after school. She taught me how to fight and gave me training exercises. There was not a single day without me training my body to be stronger and not a single week without Osoro making me fight her. And now I was able, ever so slightly, to stand up for my friends. No one else is going to, anyway…

The gym was always quiet, few people actually found themselves boxing in this old building. But it was our training ground. The squeak of shoes on the floor and the rhythm of gloves tapping together were the only thing breaking the silence. Months before I would have never dared to face Osoro Shidesu for a fight. But now it was one of the only things that managed to bring a smile to my face. 

Osoro moves first, sharp jab, testing me. I leaned back, slipped it and came forward with a jab of my own. She blocked it with a nod before pushing me away. She smirks, circling left. I followed, footwork light. She lunged in again. Jab, cross. I blocked her first hit but the cross landed heavily on my guard, making me take a step back. I wiped the sweat off my brow, coughing. 

“Keep it up, Pinkie.” She said, bouncing on her toes as she brought her guard up. 

I shook my head and quickly eyed her form. Find something! I pushed forward : jab, hook, cross. Osoro covered up, her guard tight as ever. The hook thumped against her side, but she didn't back off. 

“Take a punch. Give one.” She commented. 

Uppercut, fast and sharp. Her glove grazed my face as I jumped to the side to avoid her attack. I planted my feet in the ground, my shoes screeching on the floor as I did. 

I paused, out of breath and looked at her. She coughed slightly. She coughed? I froze as the realization dawned on me. I hit her… I did it… She wiped her mouth with her arm and nodded for me to get back in my stand. She got back in place, tapping her gloves to boost her energy. 

I faked a high hit and only moved my arm once her guard was up. She leaned away quickly, avoiding the punch. Quick to her feet, she threw a punk and I blocked it with my left hand, attacking with the right one. She muttered a curse under her breath and pushed me back once more. 

“Not bad, Pinkie.”

I grinned proudly, rolling my shoulders. She attacked again, faster this time. I kept my guard up, blocking her hits. Is she hitting softer than usual?

Osoro threw a right cross and I immediately ducked under. I came up, dug a hook into her body.

She exhaled sharply, but grinned through it, pivoting away. 

Jab, jab, right hand. Cross, hook, block. I attacked her restlessly, mimicking her fast movement. She blocked my hits, taking small steps back. Since when is she backing away?

“Fuck–” She grunted.

Her eyes sharpened. She jabbed back. Fast. I weaved under, stepped in closer, and fired two hard punches. Left. Right.

Cross, jab, hook. I blocked her assault and threw a right cross that made her stumble back. She caught herself, gloves up, panting. As I was about to attack again, she fired a counter, blocking my right hand. 

Think quick. I recalled her words in my mind and fired my left hand to the side of her face. Osoron quickly brought her hand up, protecting her face but the hit did send her to the ground. 

“Shit– Are you okay?” I asked, approaching. 

“I already told you not to cling onto your feelings. You’re fighting, not playing. Punch, that’s all you have to do.” She said, grunting as she stood up. 

My eyes sharpened.  I took a step back, shaking away my hesitation as I took my stance. 

My thoughts were fast as I recalled the usual pattern : She attacks, I block. I throw a punch, she counters. Uppercut, I step back. Right cross, she ducks.

A thud.

I looked at her as she breathed heavily, sitting on the floor. There was a long silence as she glanced up at me. Then a smile creeped to her lips. 

“Damn Pinkie, you hit like a trunk.” She joked, laughing. 

I let out a sharp breath. I got her… She didn’t have time to duck… She took off her gloves and I did the same, pulling on the velcro with my teeth and threw away the gloves before kneeling beside her. 

“Are you alright?” I asked and she smiled at me. 

“Sure am. I created a monster.” She said, making me smile.

We sat there for a while, catching our breath. She reached for our water bottles and tossed mine at me. 

I had changed a lot since we first started training. And the boys had also grown interested in getting stronger. But there was still a question on my mind. 

Why did you help me?

I glanced at her as she poured water over her face. 

“Why did you agree to this?” 

The words had slipped out on their own but I did not have time to regret it that she was already answering. 

“You’ve grown on me, Pinkie.” She sighed. “When you asked me to train you I was hesitant. I mean you were a loser. You were weak.”

“Gee, thanks.” I said, scoffing. 

“You were nervous and trembling as your request reached me. Yet there was a sort of determination in your eyes.” She looked back at me. “And you had good reasons.” She smiled.

I swallowed. 

“I mean… I was determined. But I doubted I could even do it to be honest.” I chuckled dryly.

“I didn’t.”

I looked back at her, surprised. 

“Your voice was hesitant, your body shaking. Yet your eyes, unwavering. That determination was endearing to watch. And, somehow, it scared me.” 

My golden eyes met her light brown ones.

“I felt like you had it in you. I was right.” She said, smiling. 

She stood up and gathered her stuff as I watched her walk to the door. 

“One last piece of advice.” She added, turning back to me and I jumped to my feet. “The key to win, is to have nothing to lose.”

She smiled brightly, giving me a thumbs up. I scoffed, smiling a bit as I mimicked her. 

“You are a great fighter, Umeji.”

With that said she left. I looked down at my hands. I was stronger. I could fight back. I gathered my stuff and looked back at the door. 

That’s the first time she called me by my name.

Chapter Text

Days.

Weeks.

Time had passed quicker than ever since my conversation with Aoi about the delinquents. I continued to hang out with Amai and Shoku but the girl always found a way to leave the two of us alone. Shoku had been nothing but sweet to me and we started going out more often. 

On the other hand, I tried to continue hanging out with the delinquents but I was very uncomfortable with Umeji. Everytime I would run after any of the others to avoid being alone with him. Amai and Osoro had asked me why I was trying so hard to avoid the oldest and I always told them they were being paranoid. I continued helping him with his lessons of course, but I insisted on going to the public library or doing group studies. 

And everytime, Shoku would ask if I was alright. 

I absently gathered my books as soon as class ended. It’s the holidays… Maybe I could have all the girls over? 

“Kyo!” Aoi yelled in my ear, making me wince. 

“What?” I asked, trying to get rid of the sharp ringing in my ear.

“What are you doing during the weekend?” She asked, sitting on my table as I closed my bag.

“Nothing special, wanna do something together?” I asked back, smiling at her. 

She grinned and gave me a nod, making me chuckle.

“I thought we were going to hang out.” A voice commented from behind her. 

My blue eyes crossed Osoro’s light brown ones. Beside her was Amai, who looked between the two worriedly. 

“I can do both. And I thought we could all hang out together.” I explained, smiling at both girls as they glared at one another. 

“I’m not going on a playdate with her.” Osoro said as Aoi stood up. 

“As if I wanted to go out with you.” Aoi spat back.

The two stepped closer, shooting daggers at each other. I sat silently as everyone in the room turned quiet, feeling the tension rising. Amai seemed terrified and I looked back at my two short tempered-friends, standing centimeters away from each other. Now kiss. 

I sighed and stood up, pulling Aoi back as Amai clung onto Osoro’s arm, as if to keep her in that spot. I chuckled a bit before letting go of my friend’s arm. Aoi looked back at me before leaving the classroom. 

“We should go to the arcade.” I told Osoro and Amai, making both of them relax.

After curricular activities, we hurried to the front door of the school to change our shoes. As soon as we walked out, the atmosphere dropped. On one side, The delinquents, standing seemingly awkwardly as Umeji glared at the other side of the pathway. There, smiling at Amai and I, Shoku. Is someone going to die? Osoro went with the boys as Shoku approached us. 

“Shall we get going?” He asked, placing his hand on the small of my back. 

“We are going to the arcade!” Amai said, obviously excited. 

“Oh, let’s go then.” Shoku responded, not taking his eyes off of me. 

“We wanted to go with Osoro.” I told him, smiling up at him. 

Shoku went quiet as he looked up at the delinquents. For a second I thought he had glared at them but the next thing I knew, he approached them.

“Let’s go together then.” He said, offering his hand to Osoro for a handshake. 

The blond girl eyed him up and down, both surprised and seemingly disgusted. 

“Back off.” Umeji spoke up, pushing him back.

Shoku tumbled to the ground and Amai hurried to check on him. I walked over as well, standing straight in front of Umeji. I glared up at him and his eyes softened. 

No. I imagined that.

“What is wrong with you?”

“Oh? So now you’re talking to me? Is it because I pushed your little boyfriend?” He asked, his tone somehow in between teasing and yelling.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” 

“Oh yeah?” He asked, leaning down a bit, his eyes locked on mine.

With his face inches from mine, I could faintly feel the warmth emanating from his body, our breath mingling. 

“Not the impression I had.” He muttered, his tone harsh.

I felt a shiver going down my spine as his sharp golden eyes glared through my soul. I clenched my fists, my vision getting blurry. 

A slap.

Without realizing it, my hand had moved up. There was a long silence, for a second, I thought I had heard Amai gasp. I slapped him… Tears running down my face as I looked at him. His eyes were wide open. Not angered, nor surprised. His cheek slightly red, he reached his hand up to my face. 

“Kyo–”

“𝒴𝑜𝓊’𝓇𝑒 𝒶𝓃 𝒶𝓈𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓁𝑒.” I spat, turning around.

I walked away, wiping my eyes to get rid of the tears. I ignored Amai and Osoro as they called me back and started running. 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝑜 𝒽𝑜𝓂𝑒! I faintly heard a yell, maybe a punch but I did not look back. 

I hurried through the streets. Not caring about anything but my goal: home. I turned the corner, avoided an old lady and her dogs, and eventually, burst through the front door. I ignored my mother, who was just coming back from the shop and locked myself in my room. 

I opened the window and sat on the sill, hugging my knees as I sobbed quietly. Belzebuth jumped beside me, nuzzling against my leg as I ignored my mother’s knocks on the door. 

“𝒮𝑜𝓇𝓇𝓎 𝐵𝑒𝓁𝓏𝓎…” I sobbed, trying to smile as I pet the cat. “𝐼'𝓂 𝑜𝓀𝒶𝓎... 𝐼 𝓈𝓌𝑒𝒶𝓇…” I muttered, allowing Belzebuth to settle between my legs. 

I hugged him, enjoying the little comfort he offered me. 

I stayed there all evening, ignoring everything but the calming purrs of the black cat against me. My phone kept buzzing and both my parents tried to get me to open the door but I did not move a muscle. And soon enough, I doze off. 

The next morning, I woke up to the warm rays of the sun. I rubbed my eyes and grunted as I went back through the window. I gently patted Belzebuth’s small head as he kept sleeping. I unlocked the door and went to take a shower.

I stayed under the pouring warm water for almost an hour, trying to get rid of the aching feeling that had taken over my body. I wrapped a towel around my body and went back to my room. I put on a large hoodie and sweatpants before heading downstairs. 

“How are you Kikyo?” My father asked, giving me a comforting smile.

“I’m hungry.” I said, opening the fridge to find something that triggered my interest. 

“𝐼 𝒷𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒾𝒸𝑒 𝒸𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔.” My mother said, making me open the refrigerator. 

I grabbed the pot of vanilla ice cream and took a spoon before sitting down at the table with my parents. They watched me dig into the cold snack quietly. Fuck me…

“I grew closer to Shoku…” I started, not looking up from my food.

“That’s amazing 𝒹𝒶𝓇𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔.” My mother said, beaming up slightly. “Who’s Shoku?”

“𝒯𝓈𝓊𝒷𝓊𝓇𝒶𝓎𝒶.” I added, making them nod. “Umeji was being rude towards him so I stepped up and…”

I paused, feeling another wave of tears reaching me. I sniffled, not wanting to cry again.

“I don’t know what got into me… I didn’t want to do it… He wasn’t even being mean…” I teared up, looking at my father.

He stood up and leaned beside me, wrapping me into a comforting embrace. 

“What happened honey?” My mother asked, giving me a tender smile as she squeezed my hand in hers. 

“I slapped him…” I muttered, wiping my tears as best as I could. 

I noticed my parents sharing a worried glance before they spent the rest of the day trying to get my mind off of the whole situation. 

Eventually, we settled on the sofa to watch a movie. Just the three of us. I had stood up to feed Belzebuth and let him go out but overhaul, I stayed close to my parents. 

I’m glad to have them. I thought, watching as they had fallen asleep sitting next to each other. I gently pulled the cover over their bodies before quietly heading back to my room with the vanilla ice cream. 

As soon as I entered my bedroom, the repetitive sound of my phone buzzing gave me a headache. How long has this been going off? When the call got sent to my voicemail, I picked up my phone and looked at the notifications.

Many missed calls and messages from Shoku and Amai. Fewer from Osoro and the boys. Some from Aoi. Does she know about what happened? I sighed, keeping on scrolling blindly through the notifications. 

I stopped on a message. A single one – well technically two. No spamming, no calls. Just one single message had caught my eyes. 

UMEJI – I’m sorry about earlier, hope you’ll feel better soon. 

UMEJI – Call me?

My thumb hovered over the notification as I mentally debated whether or not to text him back. I should be the one apologising… 

I took a deep breath in before typing in a number and bringing the phone to my ear.

Chapter Text

I sat at the dinner table, looking at the cards in my hand as Sokka kept doing the same thing over and over again. 

“Plus two!” The young boy tried once more and everyone around the table shared a look. 

I saw my brother’s face drop as everyone kept adding plus-twos over his card. I looked at my phone screen as it lit up with a notification, praying it was from Kikyo. Yet, another text from the group chat. Gaku, letting all of us know he had no responses from the girl. I sighed. 

“Umeji! It’s your turn.” Aiko called, waving her hand in front of my face. 

“Yeah, yeah.” I muttered. 

I reached for my plus-two card before glancing at Sokka who was tearing up at the idea of picking up eight more cards. I sighed once again and folded my hand. I reached for the deck and picked up six cards, making Sokka beam up. 

We played for a while and I kept looking at my phone. Eventually, they all noticed I was out of it. 

“Umeji, darling?” My mother called.

I hummed absently, not taking my eyes off the screen.

“Are you okay?” My father asked, finally getting my attention. 

“Yeah.”

“Are you expecting a call?” My father questioned, curious why I was not focusing on the game. 

I kept quiet, for a bit. I wanted to tell them but at the same time, if I did, I would hear of it for the rest of my life. I looked at my mother who had that curious yet menacing glance. 

“I had a… fight? With Kikyo…” I muttered, not sure if I was using the right words.

There was a long pause before my mother uttered a word, breaking the silence. 

“Kikyo?” 

I looked up at her. What do I say now? I glanced at my father and my siblings, all had the same expression. Shock? Confusion? I could not tell. I simply nodded, grabbing my phone. 

“What happened?” My father asked, placing down the cards in his hand. 

“Well… This dude– Shoku Tsuburaya, I think, is always around her. Like, glued to her and… He thinks he’s better than me or something.”

As I explained, my father told Sokka and Aiko to go to bed and that my story was for grown ups. The two kids tried complaining but eventually went up the stairs before the end of my sentence.

“And?” My mother said, inviting me to continue. 

I grunted.

“And he’s just annoying. I want to punch him in the face every time I see him.” I added, scratching the back of  my shoulder. “He’s always with her, talking to her, looking at her. He’s touching her and she’s uncomfortable but he doesn’t see it. And every time he’s with her he gives me this look that just makes me want to kill him–”  I paused, realising I was getting angrier with each word about him. 

“Why?” My father asked and I looked up at my parents.

They sat calmly, across the table, facing me with inviting looks. 

“Because–” I paused again.

Just why was I so mad at this guy? I don’t even know anything about him. I shook my head, dismissing the thought. 

“Because he doesn’t respect her space. He lets Amai walk alone with a high-school-girl killer on the loose. And he’s messing with Kikyo’s head!” I said, everything about him made my blood boil. “She barely looks at me… And when she does I’m an idiot and make her cry…” I muttered, lowering my head.

“Umeji…” My mother said, her voice quivering slightly.

I did not bother looking up at them, I focused my gaze on the notifications of my phone, not wanting to see my mother cry.

“He had the audacity to look me in the eyes and say some shit like ‘Kikyo will never really like you’.” I said, remembering the first conversation I had with the dude.

There was another silence as I waited for my parents to say something. I wanted, no needed, advice. My whole body was aching, I did not feel like doing anything. I could only focus on my notifications, praying Kikyo would call or text me. 

“You really do love her.” My mother said in a sniffle.

My head snapped up instantly. What?

“Love?” I scoffed, dismissing the idea.

But as I answered I remembered her laugh, smile, mind, humour, hair, eyes… I remembered her hand on mine, her flowery scent surrounding me. I remembered acting stupid, childish, almost needy when it comes to her.

Why do I hate Shoku Tsuburaya? Simple. Because he is going after her. 

And I love her.

My face started feeling hot as I kept looking at my mother blankly. I saw the woman smiling at me then her husband. I saw her lips moving as she said something. My ears started ringing. My heart, hammering in my chest. I felt that familiar sharp pain in my side as I sat there, frozen. My feelings mingled with the pain, something I had managed to ignore for weeks. I had fooled the doctors, telling them I was fine to get rid of the antibiotics but now it all came out. 

My hand moved to the wound, clinging onto it as I breathed heavily. My vision got blurry, I noticed my parents’ figures coming closer to me as I looked at my side. I lightly felt their hands on my shoulders, slightly hearing their voices. But when I glanced at my hand over my ribs, I saw a deep red colour staining my shirt as the liquid spread quickly over the fabric. I coughed, there again, the deep red colour. 

I closed my eyes, trying to calm down. Then I saw an electric blue colour shining, fast. 

Darkness.

Friday morning. 

On my way to school, I ignored the loud noises of the streets and kept walking until a sharp, quick yell reached my ears. I stopped moving and looked around. Nobody seemed fazed by the sudden noise. I frowned and searched for the origin of the far scream. 

I hurried through the streets and walked past a dead end, paying little attention to it. 

I stopped in my tracks and took a few steps back, looking through the dark alley. 

Standing there, a group of what seemed like four college students had cornered a young woman. I could not make out her face, nor theirs. I noticed long brown hair and the next thing I knew, I had punched one of the dudes. 

“What the fuck?” One said, looking at his friend on the ground.

The guy held his nose, cursing under his breath. I dropped my bags to the ground.

“Go after someone your own size.” I spat, the young woman taking the chance to run off. 

“Piss off boy.” Another warned, stepping in front of me.

I eyed him up and down with a scoff. 

“I haven’t fought in a while. Want a piece of it, big guy?”

I brought my hands up, ready for a fight as I studied his and his buddies’ form. He was the tallest of the group, but barely taller than me. They did not seem in that good of a shape. Might take a few punches but I could take them four on one easily. 

“Very cute, boy.” The one I had punched chuckled as he wiped the blood running from his nose with the sleeve of his jacket.

They laughed.

Then the first guy lunged. 

Compared to Osoro, this guy is in slow motion. I thought, rolling my eyes. 

I easily sidestepped, driving an elbow into the guy’s ribs before sweeping him off his feet. The dude hit the pavement hard, gasping as his face smacked against the ground. 

“Too easy.” I said, stretching.

“Get him!” The tallest one, who seemed to be the leader, ordered. 

The other two came at once. One threw a punch. Wild, undisciplined. I weaved around it, grabbed the guy’s wrist, and twisted it. He yelped in pain. I yanked forward, smashing my knee into the guy’s stomach. He grunted, dropped to the ground and stopped moving for a while.

The second tried to grab me from behind, but I noticed. 

Do they even know how to fight?

I spun around, slamming a fist into his jaw. Neat, precise. The crunch of impact sent him sprawling. 

Only one left standing. I rolled my shoulders and stripped my uniform jacket off. 

“Alright, I gotta get to class so let's finish this quickly.”

The leader hesitated, eyes darting to his groaning friends. The guy cursed and swung. A haymaker. I leaned back, his fist missing by an inch. 

Before he could recover his stance, I drove a brutal kick into his thigh, making his leg buckle. A second later, a punch to the face sent him to his knees. 

He spat blood onto the pavement and grinned. 

“I’m going to kill you.” He threatened, glaring at me. 

He lunged forward, ramming his shoulder into me, slamming me against the alley wall. I gritted my teeth. Before I could counter, his fist connected with my face. A sharp pain shot through my body, making me push him back using all my strength. He tumbled back into the other wall.

“Fuck, that stings.” I spat out a bit of blood, a wicked smile on my lips as I ran a hand over my face. “Better not leave a bruise.” 

The college guy  cursed, moving forward to hit again but I was faster. I twisted out of the way, shoving my elbow into the guy’s nose with a sickening crunch. Blood streamed down his face, but he didn’t fall. Instead, he roared and came again. 

Damn dude, take a break will ya? My thoughts focused away from the fight. If I get bruises, what would she think? 

I absently blocked the first punch, redirected the second. When the dude pushed me off, I tumbled a bit, focusing my attention back on him. I was annoyed now, I wanted to get to school but this guy was holding me back. I planted my feet, feinting right, then spinning left. My foot came up in a brutal roundhouse kick across the dude’s temple. He tumbled to the ground and stayed there. 

I sighed, rolling my shoulders and turning around to grab my stuff from the ground. 

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my side. I hissed. Looking down, one of the guys held a knife, the blade deep inside my flesh. 

I pushed him off and quickly pulled out the blade in a muttered curse. 

In the opening of the alley, a police car. And inside, the girl I had helped. 

The officers ran towards me and arrested the four college students before driving me to the hospital to treat my wound.