章 6: Chapter 6
Gakushuu never understood why, but Ren had always, always held him in high regard.
There were many skills in his life that had almost seemed normal. Things like acting, lying, manipulation; some things like staying wherever in the social hierarchy that he wanted, things like playing multiple instruments, being good at fighting, being good at sports.
Those were the things that Gakushuu learned through his own sweat, blood and tears, and Ren didn't let him forget that.
There were other things- things like kindness, empathy, being a decent human being; that Gakushuu didn't forget because of Ren either.
It wasn't to say he didn't have his own issues, or they didn't have their own secrets from each other. Just that, they had helped each other far more than the other person could ever know.
And Gakushuu respected Ren for that, as much as Ren respected Gakushuu.
It was a balanced relationship.
…
So.
It really fucking pissed him off when someone tried to push him around.
There weren't many things that made him angry. But.
He was really possessive.
He couldn't handle someone stepping over a line with his people.
Ren was allowed his secrets.
Ren was always, always allowed to keep his secrets and his opinions.
But this?
Oh no.
This was not allowed.
Gakushuu had been expected to go to Ren's house that day. It was the weekend, and one of the rare days Gakushuu and Ren would meet up and just relax.
They would talk and talk for nothing and everything and do whatever they wanted. It was just them.
So.
Why was some bitch all over Ren like she was in heat?
Ren had discomfort written all over his face while a random half dressed dark haired woman laid over Ren on their couch. Ren's step mother laughed, stepping into the living room with a bottle of wine in her hands, wearing only a robe.
Well, "wearing" was a stretch. It was draped on her wet body, sticking to her skin in a manner Gakushuu could only call revealing, if asked to explain in a polite manner.
She smiled at the other woman harassing Ren, and Ren was trembling under her.
Gakushuu wouldn't be able to describe the fury in his veins as the woman pressed a kiss on Ren's neck and complimented his body.
"What. The hell is going on?" He asked, his voice flat and cold. There was ice in his veins.
Ren's head jerked up in shock before an uncomfortable look fell upon it. His fingers clenched on the couch.
Ren's step mother gave him a seductive smile.
"Well, hello, pretty boy. It's been a while hasn't it? Ren has been naughty," she said, her voice lilting with laughter. "We were just teaching him a lesson on women."
Gakushuu smiled, walking- stalking- up to Ren and the other woman.
"Oh?" He asked, then he gently touched the woman's cheek before tilting her head up to face him. She had a slight blush that had nothing to do with how intoxicated she was.
Yeah, she was definitely about to force herself on him. He smiled at her gently. His hand went to her nape and he pulled her hair, keeping her head tilted at an uncomfortable angle.
He tilted his head just out of view from Ren's step mother and let his smile drop.
He had faced his father a lot . He had seen his father freeze grown men in their seats with a glare and seen him manipulate a room with a few words.
He was pretty sure he could give a pedophile a little breakdown.
"That's right. It's a bad time, isn't it?" He said, his eyes meeting hers. The expression on her face froze from the secret pleasure she had been hiding. "That's right," he almost purred, "You've been doing some bad things to Ren haven't you?"
His voice rose and fell, almost musically. He could tell from the surprised silence behind his back that even Ren's step mother was surprised by how seductive and smooth he sounded.
But only Ren and this woman could see his face.
"Should I punish you?" He asked almost innocently. His bloodlust leaked, and he tightened his grip on her neck.
'How foolish,' his face said. 'How foolish of you to let me near your neck to bite it out.'
He grinned before letting go.
She collapsed, her face covered in cold sweat.
He turned around to face Ren's step mother.
"But!" He interrupted the mood cheerfully, "I actually made plans with Ren and a few others outside, so we'll have to meet again another time."
He grabbed the bowing woman by her shoulder and Ren's arm before pulling him out from under her. She tumbled onto the couch but didn't protest.
Ren and Gakushuu made their way out the house, walking almost naturally towards a nearby cafe where they went to study sometimes.
When Ren finally got a hold of himself, he let out a light chuckle.
"You know," he started, his voice cracked a little when Gakushuu tilted his head towards Ren, "you can be pretty scary when you want to be."
He didn't bother acknowledging that.
Just like Ren's stepmother had always been one of his secrets, Gakuhou had always been one of his.
They were just two damaged rich kids making it out into the world.
Self Defence Club had become an unofficial place to go if students wanted to talk to Gakushuu.
He always tried his best to accommodate people individually. It was hard, splitting his attention and awareness over all the people, but there were always less than 10 people present at any time. Even 10 was a stretch.
People didn't understand the purpose of the club.
Some people wanted to learn to fight, and well, if he had nothing to do, he did teach a few tricks. But mostly, he liked to keep things a little down low.
People wandered in for half an hour, or one hour and then left when they had enough. Gakushuu encouraged the behavior by spending personal time to teach them tricks about if people tried to steal from them, or if someone showed up with a knife.
Sometimes people came back more often and he drilled some reflexes into their body.
The days and times he kept separate for his own club was special, in a way. He spent time doing what he liked, talking to people with almost no pretence and just spent time being himself.
It was a time he pretended like his father was invisible. Like he wasn't a massive hypocrite. Like he was just a kid who knew some things and wanted to spread it around.
Then he heard some news from Araki that he should have gotten much much earlier.
Someone from their school had been getting into fights.
He didn't know who that was, but he was slightly concerned. A lot of people in their school tended to be foolishly overconfident, he wouldn't be surprised if someone got in over their head then kept getting bullied.
Or maybe someone actually went to seek out fights. Kunugigaoka students getting in fights? They must be looking for death. His father would never let them off.
Honestly he was surprised his father let it get to that point. He would have thought his father would have outright expelled them after dropping them to E class or something.
Fighting wasn't exactly bad , in his father's dictionary. But he prized his school's reputation. Araki Teppei was a student, abet one with a good information background, but a student nonetheless. To have reached the point where a student could accurately pin down a location? His father's standards seemed to be falling.
He hadn't even considered the person as a suspect for the fights until he came face to face with Akabane Karma in the area Araki and he had narrowed down to.
There was a slightly wild look in Akabane's eyes as he looked down at a few beaten up people at his feet. He scoffed at the back of his throat.
"You guys done too?" He asked, poking at them with one foot. There was no answer, so he rolled his eyes and leaned down to grab his bag.
Well, that wasn't what he had been expecting at all.
Gakushuu silently stepped into view before the other boy could leave. Akabane looked up at him, a smile widening on his lips.
"Asano Junior pays a visit too, it seems." Akabane put his bag on his shoulder before turning away, dismissively. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to change my class from next week. I won't darken the light of class A again." He mocked the words that seemed slightly familiar.
Gakushuu blinked, surprised.
He hadn't been aware his father had paid Akabane a visit. He hadn't been aware his father had taken to openly calling Gakushuu the 'light of class A' because what?
What was he, a doting father?
But more importantly-
"You actually got demoted from class for fighting? What did you do, get arrested?" Gakushuu asked him, curious. There hadn't been any news leakage about Akabane so whatever it was was well contained at least.
"Hmm?" Akabane stopped, tilted his back to look at Gakushuu curiously. "So Asano Junior didn't know and came to see me himself?"
He gave a mock bow.
"Wow, class rep. To what do I owe this honor?"
Yeah, class representative had pretty much defaulted to him when the time came and honestly, compared to the amount of work he was already doing, it hadn't even been a blip. Yet.
"It looks like I'm lacking as a class representative since I wasn't aware of your extracurriculars," he glanced at the two half pretending beaten up students.
"I can see why the Principal had to come by personally," he gave a mocking smile back at Akabane. There was a quick flash of something in his eyes before his expression was back to normal.
Gakushuu had to control his own expression at that. He had no idea what that look was for. He was well versed in psychology and Akabane had actually managed to hide his expressions from him. It was a bit off putting to be honest.
Akabane cocked his head looking over Gakushuu from top to bottom.
"So what? You came to stop the fight or something?" Akabane smirked, his expression making it clear he doubted his capability.
"I mean," Gakushuu smiled, a threat in it, taking a step closer to Akabane, "I'm not the Principal, but-" he took another threatening step, "I can deal with something like this myself."
He didn't give any indication whether he was talking about the two people near their feet or Akabane himself.
This time, there was a clear flash of anger at the provocation.
"Tch," he swung his bag back, "I don't want to get in trouble with the Principal's son right now." He looked back at Gakushuu, hostility and dominance laid bare on his expression, telling him as obviously as his words, 'back off'.
Gakushuu smiled wider.
"Scared?" He replied instead. Akabane immediately paused in his retreat. His shoulders bunched up in restraint.
"How about it?" His smirk deliberate in his voice, "After school tomorrow, I get the second gym for my club. I'll show you I can put you in your place."
He could easily read the anger in Akabane's back. He wasn't even restraining himself anymore. He was so blinded by his own anger that he couldn't even sense the things around him at the moment.
So easy.
Gakushuu turned around and left.
Akabane clearly had anger management issues, but, Gakushuu remembered the lazy way he behaved in class, he also avoided a fight unless he was confronted.
He was like some territorial cat. Left alone, he was happy enough to do his own thing, but he would bring out his claws the moment he found something unpleasant.
Akabane had been dancing around Gakushuu for a while now. In class, in academics.
They would have been having their interclass sports event soon and something in him wasn't even surprised that Akabane ditched their class right before.
He probably hadn't been planning to attend at all. He would have been dropped a class anyway, Gakushuu reasoned. His father would never allow someone who didn't live up to his ideals to stay.
He bit his lip, before realizing the impulse and stopping.
How annoying.
He didn't see hide or hair of Akabane Karma the next day.
He was completely missing. There wasn't even an announcement from the teacher about Akabane dropping a class.
Gakushuu still couldn't figure out when his father had gone to see Akabane, but he had confronted Araki about his source and he had confessed that it was the Principal's secretary who had spilled it to him.
Gakushuu was mildly impressed. She hadn't been moved by Gakushuu's occasional attempts at bribery and manipulations. Araki either found something on her, or she liked him enough to give him a few hints.
He guessed it was probably that she liked him. Araki had this innocent air about him, that served him well, unless he was actively talking shit, that is.
But after class that day, a quick meeting in the math club aside, he was on his way to take over the second gym for the day. And he was surprised to find Akabane leaning against the wall, his hands stuck in his pocket, looking utterly bored with the world at large.
Akabane could even go into modelling with that kind of side profile, he thought, his thoughts stuttering for a moment.
"I thought you weren't coming," he noted casually as he unlocked the gym doors. He had to take the key from the staff room too.
Akabane got up, a mischievous grin on his face.
"How could I miss and leave the class rep at his lonesome?" Asano wouldn't miss the sarcasm in Karma's words in a mile. He started getting out mats and getting a couple of pamphlets he had made in the second week.
He handed them to Akabane with a smirk before going back to setting the place up. Karma took them curiously before going through it for a second then dropping it to the side.
"What's that, teach? Class manual?" Akabane mocked, antagonistically. Gakushuu bared his teeth with a smile.
"No, just some things you should take to heart." Gakushuu actually had a list of general tips written on it which basically amounted to "Keep your cool".
Obviously, Akabane seemed to have gotten the message because he looked a shred more annoyed as he dropped his bag and followed Gakushuu on top of the mat.
Gakushuu watched as Akabane confidently strode up to him, that wild look back in his eyes.
"So how about it, class rep?" A hint of cruelty leaked out, and Gakushuu-
Well, he wasn't sure. But he doubted what he was feeling was anything bad. His blood was thrumming in his veins after all.
He took a hold of his tie before pulling it off. He could tell that he'd be choking on it if he kept that on. Akabane had easily taken down two older, more muscular students. He didn't doubt his technique or strength.
Akabane watched him without a change in expression as Gakushuu shifted from the Principal's son, number 1 in class A, to club president.
Gakushuu ran a hand through his hair and grinned at Akabane.
"Let's fight then," he said.
Akabane turned out to be prodigiously talented.
He was good, but Gakushuu could beat him easily.
The first time, Gakushuu brought Akabane down with a single move.
He could tell how shocked he was just by the look on his face. Gakushuu almost couldn't suppress the smile (or the slight disappointment).
The second match was a little better but Gajushuu still brought him down, this time struggling a little. Akabane was strong. He looked strong, of course, but Gakushuu felt a little like he was going up against a tank or something.
He felt surprisingly solid . His footing must be excellent, he absently noted even as he blocked and strangled a punch into an arm lock.
Of course, it wasn't anywhere close to his level. But he could tell what kind of people Akabane must have been fighting against, the fighting style he must have been using in the streets.
A few more fights, and he could see Akabane acknowledge the distance in their ability and close off. He could get much better, he bet, but it would take time.
Even as Gakushuu laid up on the mat after a bout, Akabane got up, grabbing his things and stormed out.
He couldn't help the breathless laugh he gave out a few moments later. Akabane was one petty bitch.
But at the same time, he thought privately, he didn't particularly hate it.
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