The Path of Kings - IC

[Dawn]

"It's different, I say!" Hotaru roared, leaning forward and promptly headbutting Takumi if only to make him drop the matter. Head swiveling toward Momoka as she approached, Hotaru's eyes lit up and a smile spread across her lips. "My hero!" she swooned as the hoodie was wrapped around her and the moment those thighs were covered, the owner shifted her position, locking Takumi into an armbar before he had a chance to recover. "Different! A peek is different than the whole thing!" the moronic girl shouted and tugged on the arm in her grasp.



So Kenzue favored misdirection as well. Up went Hidenori's arms at once and his focused stare peered through the gap between his wrists. Kenzue was darting here and there, trying to throw him off. It worked at first when the boy leapt into the air and faked a kick, forcing Hidenori to pop his arms together tightly in order to protect his face from damage. But when he felt the subtle gust of air paw at his neck and shoulder and pass on by, he knew he'd just been deked. Blinded he was from being flanked, his focus now turned to his other senses, mainly his hearing.

In the midst of the several fights still going on, the young Nakano boy was as focused as ever. He heard Kuro's feet hit the ground, the scrape and scatter of gravel giving way. He heard the cry leave his opponent's lips and the whistle of wind forcing around a flying fist aimed straight for the back of his skull. Knuckles caught only the wisps of his hair as he dodged to the side, pivoted on his heel and came to face Kuro head on again. Up went the arms, elbows dropping to block the steady stream of kicks to his sides while he stood solid as a brick wall. He could already feel his arms bruising - that Kenzue had a swift and rough kick on him - and quickly he jumped back to avoid the leg sweep.

This time, however, Hidenori didn't pause to reassess his opponent. This time he immediately sprung forward again, throwing jabs left, right, right, right left, left, right, backing Kuro up. Then came the fake while the real power swung for those ribs again and this time, Hidenori had every intention of using his full strength.

And then a sound finally caught everyone's attention and Hidenori's punch slowed to a stop, fist falling back to his side as his head whipped toward The Pit's front gate.

 

[Dawn]

Sirens were ringing out in the night. Men in uniforms were shouting and flashlights were throwing beams of light down into The Gravel Pit in an attempt to catch a face or two or anything else useful for identification. A nearby delinquent shouted "IT'S THE COPS! RUN!" but most of the crowd was already doing just that.

Motorcycles roared to life and tore out of The Pit and fighters started running in all directions. No time to regroup. Time to get the hell outta there!

 

[Vay]

Kuro was only slightly disappointed that Hidenori hadn't fallen for the trick, but it was a lot harder to trick someone who used the same kinds of tricks themselves and not Kuro was on the defensive. Back, duck, block, try a faint but be forced to block again. Hidenori seemed to favor his arms to do damage... if Kuru could get half a step between them...

His opportunity came, not for a kicks but plans were easy to adapt on the fly. Hidenori was winding up for another punch to Kuro ribs and that meant that his right guard would be non existent... the temple was a tempting target...

It was an all or nothing gamble, another blow to Kuro's ribs would weaken him but a shot to the head might be enough to knock Hidenori senseless long enough to force him to the ground, get on top of him and finish the job leaving the other boy face down on the gravel...

10 inches, 5... 2...

The fist stopped, Hidemori's hair sliding against the knuckles as he turned to see the cops entering the pit.

"Everyone find me." he called out before his eyes set themselves in a glare ailed at his opponent. "This isn't over..." he said before turning and heading of into the mass of fleeing bows.

*​

Suda was at her banchou's side the instant the fight was over and grabbing his arm and pulled towards the edge of the pit. The pit was emptying of those who could still move and those who couldn't and had no one to help them were out of luck. "Hi boss." she said without looking back at him. "This way, there should be a hole in the fence."

Pulling him along like a charge did not mean she thought he couldn't look after himself, but he had told her to stay close and she hadn't had a fight of her own to distract her. Scrambling over piles of gravel she saw the gap in the fence she was hoping to see... freedom was just ahead and once they were out the banchou could be in charge again.

 

[Dawn]

Hidenori's battle craze ended abruptly at the sound of the sirens snuffing out his concentration like a bucket of cold water dumped upon a fire. Suddenly he became aware of the bad situation they were all in, though he couldn't help but hesitate because this damn rivalry between himself and Kenzue Kuro had once again been cut short of the result.

He wanted to stay and fight, dammit!

"Not by a longshot..." The gang leader muttered as he watched Kuro disappear into the shadows of The Pit. Then all of a sudden he was being tugged away and just in time to avoid a sweep of light from a nearby police officer. Surprised but not ungrateful, Hidenori started jogging to keep pace with--

His heart nearly stopped right then and there. For a moment, he thought he was being saved by a ghost. Feelings welled up in his chest - some bad, some good, some that still seemed to confuse him even half a year after that ghost's death. With a shaky breath, Hidenori swallowed his emotions again. "Suda-kun, thanks," he said after a moment.

They reached the edge of The Pit and started scrambling up the gravel hill to a hole in the fence. The leader's heart was still hammering in his throat as he climbed, muttering and cursing under his breath. I'm screwed if I end up booked a second time! he thought to himself and of course Fate just had to go and give him the middle finger. Suddenly a flashlight shone on him and Suda from behind and a few officers down below shouted out. "Go!" Hidenori hissed and he might have, in his desperation, put a hand on Suda's *ahem* rear and pushed the boy up the hill faster.

Squeezing through the hole in the fence, the young banchou's eyes darted around before he picked the best direction and darted off. "Hurry!" he whispered to Suda and, keeping close to the shadows, he scurried down the alley at full tilt. With far too much ease, the boy heaved himself up on a dumpster. He crouched low and sprung up into the air and grabbed hold of the bottom ledge of the fire escape above with a slap of his hands on rusting metal. A few grunts and wiggles and a lot of physical effort brought him up, under the railing and he quickly spun around and reached his arm down for Suda to take.

He might have been a hell of a lot of things but he wasn't one to leave a man behind.

 

[Vay]

Pieces of gravel cascaded down behind them as they ascended towards freedom making a sound like rain. She didn't look back as Hidenori thanked her, she was doing her job, staying close to him and that meant is she was running he'd have to run too. Almost there... almost free and... As she was reaching for the gap in the chain links she felt something...

"Hide..."

Framed in the gap she turned to look back at him her hand rising to twist her index finger into the hair just behind her right ear, it was always her right side. Once the finger was firmly wrapped it curled into a hook and the hand pulled down, tugging on the hair as the tip of her pinky just brushed the earlobe.

Lights, shouts, reality...

"Going..." She squeezed her light frame through the fence with no trouble and stood to glance around ignoring the impulse to pull Hidemori through the gap to make him go faster, but it was too late, Hidenori was already dashing off in the lead. She kept up, vaulting over a bench and darting into an alleyway before scrambling up the dumpster and in one fluid motion grabbed his hand and with his help pulled herself up.

"Thanks."

Wasting no time she kicked the glass pane of a window and climbed through, not noticing that a stray shard dug into the palm of her hand. "Out the other side?" That was the assumption she was working with anyway as she took off down the corridor, the sounds of shouting fading behind then as the walls dulled the sound. She allowed herself a smile they were home fr...

She was blinded, the powerful beam of a torch hitting her right in the face and her arms raised up to shield it. Blinking back tears she listened to the officers shouting at her to raise her hands.

"Like hell!!!" she screamed back. "Boss, go back I got this."

She didn't know where they were but she knew where the light was coming from and that's what she aimed for, using the slope of the stairs to gain momentum and slamming into the body of the police officer and sending him tumbling, then aimed a kick at the other knocking him over too. That was her plan, keep them busy and then make her escape... As the second officer hit the stairs she sat on to of him raising her fist... she needed to make sure he stayed down before the first made it back up the stairs.

 

[Shiny]

This girl sure was hard headed. Literally. He was sure he could expect a bump and bruise later.... "Ahh-!" he complained as the Hotaru gripped his arm and locked it in her hold. "Yeah, well..." he started, hand balling into a fist as he struggled in the girl's grip, "I can see everything now," he said, pointing out how, in their current position, he could easily see up her skirt even with the hoodie around her waist. He hoped that comment could fluster her a little, because that's when he tried putting a little more strength into breaking her grip and pulling his arm away. And if she refused to let go then, well, she'd probably find herself being lifted up a little. "And, yeah, some help would be appreciated," he answered Taiki.


Momoka made a joking, gasping face at Taiki before looking to Hotaru again, despite the other girl being busy at the moment. "Did you hear that, Hotaru-chan? He said I'm cute. Boys never call me cute, even though I'm pretty sure I am." Strange, though, she got that one a lot. She could tell Taiki wasn't saying it in an insulting way, though. "Anyways~ If you wanna help your buddy, you're gonna have to go through me first!" She was already running forward, fist drawn back. But then, she heard the not-so-magic word and stopped dead in her tracks. Cops. "Dammit, it was just getting good too.... Hotaru-chan, we gotta go! Drop your boy-toy and move those gams!" She said with a giggle, eagerly jogging in place as she waited.

 

[Saint Tribs]

Himura,Daiki

Daiki had been about to comment or something, he wasn't sure because once the sirens had hit his ears his mind went blank. He'd never been in trouble before. This was a totally new sensation, that what he did out here could mean something to the police and their bright flashing lights and noisy sirens.

He stalled. Unsure of where to go or what to do. He'd lost Kuro and Nakano and ... Suda? Was that his name? But they weren't shocked from the sirens and the lights. Which way had Kuro gone...? Daiki decided to trust his feet, they would always lead him back to Kuro and as such, the tall young man was darting away into the darkness just as a police officer shone his light over his legs. Daiki ignored the cries of 'halt' and kept running.

[dash]
Tsukino,Taiki [/dash] [dash]
"Tanaka-san. Do you need assistance?" Kuro had asked. The girls were fussing and being weird and silly, they were cute though. In their own weird way and their fashion disaster outfits. Still, he should help Tanaka out of his predicament. A girl should be sitting on you sweetly, not trying to punch your lights out. Unless you're into that sort of thing. But Taiki didn't think Tanaka was into that sort of thing.

At least until the sirens sounded. At that point it was every man for himself. Or woman for herself. Taiki raced away back to where he grabbed his backpack. After all, it had his name on it. Leave no trace, no evidence. Backpack on his back he looked back. They weren't moving!

"Come on! The cops are almost to us! I can't afford another mark on my record!"

[/dash]

 

[Dawn]

"YOU ARE WAY TOO CALM ABOUT THIS!" Hotaru shouted as she struggled against Takumi. She was a strong girl, all things considered, but in a battle of strength against a boy who was taller and more built, she was quickly losing. Takumi's arm was curling and her body along with it, but that didn't deter her from casting her gaze sideways at Momoka and replying back with, "Damn right you're cute! I'd smooch you right now if I wasn't dealing with this perv!"

She struggled for a few more seconds with Takumi's arm, before he finally broke her grip and she rolled back to her feet rather quickly for someone wearing stiletto boots. And just when she'd been about to pounce on attack her opponent again, the words "cops" finally penetrated her thick skull and she noticed the sirens and everyone scramming in all directions. Taking a step back, "He's not my boy-toy!" she protested with a flushed face as she frowned at Momoka. "Like I'd ever like a guy like that!"

"Hey you there! Halt! You're under arrest!" shouted a police officer, shining a bright light in all four delinquents' eyes. Hotaru squatted at once, blindly groping for a pebble and when her fingers wrapped around one, she whipped it directly toward the light. A small pop! sounded as the pebble broke the glass of the flashlight and the bulb behind it and they were blanketed in shadows again. "Run!" she hissed, grabbing Momoka's hand and taking off for the fence.

Or at least, she'd thought it was Momoka in the darkness but this hand she held was too big and kinda sweaty. Eyes adjusting again as the four of them reached the fence and started to climb, Hotaru cast her gaze sideways and found that all along, it'd been...ugh, Takumi.

Dammit! Just her luck!


Hopping through the broken window was easy, even in the dark, and only the back of his shirt snagged a little on a shard jutting up from the frame before popping free again. He landed on both feet and took off down the hallway, right at Suda's heels. It wasn't like he wanted to lead and be bossy or anything like that, but this guy was still a newbie and--

"Shit! Hey, no!" Hidenori shot a hand out to try to catch Suda but he only grabbed air. Next thing he knew, the blinding beam of light shot straight toward the ceiling and then flickered before finally going out. Thump, thump, thump! sounded from the stairs and the young banchou wasted no time in reaching the top one to look down. There was one cop sprawled on the floor at the landing and the other two steps down from where he stood, and Suda was about to wail on him.

"This isn't the time to be a god damn, hero!" Hidenori growled, reaching out and grabbing hold of that wrist before the other boy had a chance to give the cop another punch. Hide yanked on the wrist, tugging Suda forward, dropping a shoulder to catch the boy and hoist him up onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

He's awfully light for a boy, Hide thought to himself as he raced back down the hallway for the broken window, not really caring whether or not Suda was kicking and squirming or cooperating. He skidded to a stop, however, when he heard boots hitting the dumpster down below. "Shit! Trapped!"

What to do now? Cops in front and the cops Suda did a number on behind them were stirring on the stairs.

 

[Vay]

In the confusion of the crows breaking up a hand reached out to grab the tall figure who was Daiki. The hand spun the boy around until Kuro caught his eyes and stared into them. It was obvious Daiki was afraid but there wasn't time for that and the tingling beneath Kuro's skin urged him onwards, to run. "Didn't think I'd leave without you?" he asked with a lobsided grin. "You don't belong here but you followed me anyway, that makes you my responsibility... the others can look after themselves we'll meet up with them later."

There was a hand brushed down Daiki's cheek, a tiny hint of tenderness in Kuro's eyes that was in stark contrast to the look they had carried during the fight, and then he was turning to run towards the edge of the pit. "Keep up, I'm going to need your height to get over the fence."

*​

There was a shriek when Suda was suddenly lifted and found herself being carried off, but surprise quickly melted away to something else entirely. "Hidenori! Put me down!" As he stopped she arched backwards , rolling over his shoulder and landing, less than gracefully on the floor. "God dammit..." Her arm was quickly held across her chest... it felt like a mess down there, all jumbles thanks to Hidenori and she couldn't let him see. "Stay here..." there was irritation in her voice and she clealy wasn't thinking about the approaching cops as he slipped through an ajar door through which various mops, buckets and bottles were visible. Fuck... if Hidenory say she was a girl he'd kick her out of the 'boys' for sure.

 

[Saint Tribs]

Himura,Daiki

When Kuro had taken his hand, Daiki had felt the familiar shock of whatever it was that Kuro had and did. It was always reassuring though when it turned out the young man hadn't left him behind. Sometimes Daiki found himself wondering why Kuro didn't abandon him... "You're mine to follow, Kuro...." His heart leaping at the little touch to his cheek and the look in Kuro's eyes.

Kuro had turned away and Daiki followed swiftly, long legs closing the gap between them as he wrapped his arms around the slender frame of his Banchou and pressed himself against him before he nuzzled into the back of his neck, his mouth closing on the skin below his hair. That tingle. It shot through him, it was as unhealthy as fast food and just as delicious. The taste of sweat on Kuro's skin and the tingle. Daiki bit down, sinking his teeth into Kuro's neck gently before pulling away.

"Couldn't help myself. You're delicious. Want me to boost you over the fence?"

 

[Shiny]

"Dammit, I'm not a perv!" the girls of Sadaka Fists were quite infuriating to say the least. Even the usually calm Takumi was starting to get annoyed at being called a pervert for what must have been the third time tonight. And just why was this girl still attacking him while cops were sweeping the pit? Just as he finally broke her grip, the message seemed to sink in. Takumi rushed to his feet, glancing to Taiki, "you won't get a mark on your record, we just get over that fence an--" he was interrupted as a hand suddenly grabbed his and ran. There was quite the bewildered expression pointed at Hotaru, until he realized the girl's silly mistake.

"Don't give me that look. You grabbed my hand," he said in response to her expression of disgust. Fingers gripped the chainlink fence then, pulling himself up as he climbed. Carefully straddling the top, he hesitated a moment to glance at Hotaru again, a brow risen. Even without words, his look clearly said 'I assume you won't need help getting over this fence, right?' He then turned to hop down on the other side, making sure Taiki was out before starting into a run.


Momoka smiled a big, teasing grin, "I never said anything about you liking him~." But all jokes aside, it was seriously time to get out of the gravel pit. That became even more the case as a bright light was pointed their way. But in a show of skill that amused the pink haired girl immensely, Hotaru accuracy'd the hell outta that rock throw. ...Right before running off with Takumi. Well... that was weird. But, Momoka was still quick to follow, feet flying over the piles of rock and dust until the hand of an officer gripped the back of her hoodie. She struggled for a moment before shedding the piece of clothing entirely and dashing for the fence. Her being small made pulling her body up pretty easy, her actions almost monkey-like as she climbed over.

 

[Dawn]

"Oi, oi! Is that any way to address your ban-- Where the hell are you going?! What do you mean 'wait here'?!" Seriously, the nerve of this guy!

Hidenori, who was terrible at listening to others, immediately followed Suda through the doorway and quietly shut the door behind him. And before the other boy could say anything, he clamped his hand over Suda's mouth and pushed them both further into the closet. Like this he waited, listening for sounds outside and after a few seconds the cops called out to each other and light shone through the crack at the bottom of the door.

"Where did they go?"
"Didn't they go out the window?"
"No. Let's check these side rooms."

Aw shit. Without a word, Hidenori spun Suda around so that the boy's back was to him. Then he promptly squashed them like that into the narrow space between the shelves laden with boxes and bottles of cleaning agents, and just in time too because the door swung open and a cop shone a flashlight into the room.

That moment felt like an eternity. Hidenori's heart thumped wildly in his chest and he pressed himself closer to Suda's back. No one here. There's no one in here so just go. If the cop moved into the room just a few feet, they'd be discovered, no doubt about it! Not to mention that the space they were in was cramped as hell. Actually...this wasn't 100% bad. Suda was kinda...soft. And he smelled good, like sweat and something sweet too. The banchou's face flushed then, though he remained perfectly still, even though he wanted to squirm away.

"Anything?"
"Just junk. They must have left through a side room."
"We'll take the stairs and split up outside. See if we can't track 'em down."

The light flickered and went out as the door clicked shut, but Hidenori didn't dare move for several minutes after.





ARGH! This PUNK!

As soon as they were all somewhere safe, Hotaru was dead set on giving Takumi a good beating. "Next time I won't help you!" she huffed as she reached the top of the fence. She didn't feel the need to admit that helping him wasn't even her intention in the first place...

Turning her attention to the task at hand, Hotaru carefully straddled the fence and shifted over to the other side. From there she lowered herself down with her arms, landing on her toes on the ground below. Glancing from left to right, she spotted cops coming around on both sides of the fence. "Time to ditch this party!" the girl hissed at Momoka and, after grabbing the girl's hand for real this time, she darted after Takumi and Taiki. N-not because she wanted to but because there was no other direction to flee in, dammit!

Down the alley they went and out the other side. The streets in this direction was still really busy because of all the night clubs and shops. There was a steady flow of pedestrians on the sidewalk and stores were lit up with neon and bright whites. Hotaru skirted around a clothing store 'mascot' - a tall and handsome hunk of a man sporting the store's popular clothes and handing out flyers. She instantly back-peddled and ran a hand through her mussed hair to smoothen it out and flashed the man a charming little smile. "Hey there~" she purred, casually leaning against the side of the building.

 

[Vay]

he didn't stay and the next thing Suda knew her hand was pinned to her chest under her shirt where she had been trying to restore order down there and sandwiched between a wall and that bastard. If there weren't cops shining torches into the room she would have a word or two to say to him and...

He was pressed so hard against her back she could feel every twitch he made and past her fuming she felt him tense. She barely dared breathe but in her head she was shouting at Hidenori. Yes he was the leader but you didn't barge on someone and then pin them to a wall and that hard 4lunk in her back had better be something in his pocket...

Her hand went up to pull on her hair again before he forced it to stop halfway through... they were gone and she could unwedge herself and sink down to the floor, both arms folded over her chest and face turned away from Hidenori. She was being stupid, the banchou thought she was a boy there was no way he had... and she wasn't going to think about it... Insteadd she was going to think about how the cops were probably all over the building and there was no way out.

"GA!"

Daiki was biting him and the only reason why ther ewasn't more of a reaction was because he was used to it... if anyone ever could be. But Daiki always seemed to home in on just the right places and for a moment that lasted for far too long Kuro's mind was everywhere but on escape. "Next time wait until we're somewhere safe and not about to be arrested." he said with as much force as he could muster as his cheeks burned. "And yes, you push be up and I pull you up..." If there was one regret it was that Daiki didn't belong in situations like this. The man was far too 'Daiki' but Kuro know he wouldn't be able to get rib of him even if he wanted to.

"Here we are... and go."

Propelled up Kuro was over like a shot before reaching down and pulling the big kid up and hopping down. "We'll cut though this way, up past the mart and that should put us just a couple blocks from my place... unless you have a better idea."

 

[Dawn]

Chapter 2: Clubs? The only good clubs are ones with nails in them.

Luckily no one from either gang ended up arrested though some of the others weren't so lucky. The rumble had made the local morning news, coupled with boring statistics about youths and delinquents and blah blah blah. The news lady went on and on, switching topics eventually.

"The body of a man in his late thirties was found early this morning in the long-since abandoned cleaning solution factory on the outskirts of town. Like in previous cases, traces of charcoal dust have been found on the body but cause of death is yet to be determined. Police are admitting that this murder is looking like it may be connected to the Dust Death case. And now, for the weather with..."

Another mysterious murder greets the morning but still life goes on. And that includes school!

As the students make their way to Gushiken Tech and settle into homeroom, teachers begin explaining that the time has finally come for students to choose their clubs for the rest of the year. Club request forms are handed around the classrooms and students are told to fill them out before the end of the week. Another kind of paper makes its way into specific hands - one from a certain third year boy named Nakano. On the paper are instructions for his gang members to meet in "the usual place" as soon as they can sneak out of homeroom.

---

Carefully, leaning over the sink to peer closely into the mirror, Hidenori poked at the faint bruise on his cheek and sighed. At least at G-Tech, he wouldn't get stupid remarks about "ruining [his] pretty face" and that was a bit of a relief. No, at Gushiken, he could wear a bruise or a cut proudly. It was a statement. "I'm tough. Don't fuck with me." That kind of thing. Sighing again, the young Nakano double checked the bit of dark shading on his eyes, fussed with his hair, and then stood straight.

"Right. Better get going," he said to his reflection, nodded, then turned on his heel. He had just left the bathroom when he heard thumping footsteps along the hall behind him and the slam of the bathroom door. Hidenori paused at the top of the stairs, back to the hallway, staring down at the landing below while he listened to the telltale sounds of vomiting. "Pathetic..." he muttered and descended, mostly just to escape the overwhelming scent of booze wafting out of that woman's bedroom.

In the kitchen, Hidenori watched the news while he made a small lunch, putting half in a wrapped dish and in the near-empty fridge. The other half he packed for school and then gathered up his homework, stuffing everything into his backpack, slipping on his shoes, and escaping out the front door before he had to actually deal with her.

As he walked toward G-Tech with his hands in his pockets and his headphones on, he wondered how his nakama were doing. It would be wise, he considered, to meet up with them and hear their accounts of last night. Also, he wanted to give the others hell for not even showing up to the "party". And get that cold coffee Taiki had promised him.

Class was loud and obnoxious as usual and while the homeroom teacher struggled to get her announcement about clubs across to the rowdy third years, Hidenori wrote a note and sent it off to his nakama. In the short time between homeroom and his first subject, the class was unguarded. Paper planes and rubber bands flew around the room and a small fight even broke out. Hidenori wandered over to the window, slid it open, and promptly leaped out of it.

THUMP! He landed on his feet on the roof sheltering the front entrance and he made sure not to loiter lest he be spotted. Slipping over the edge of the roof, he dropped down behind some scraggly bushes and quickly took off across the open space between the new school and the old school. He darted around to the backside far end and just like the previous night, he used the dumpster to climb up onto the fire escape. Though this time there was no need to break a window because it was already unlocked, and had been secretly so for years.

The delinquent squeezed through the open space and dusted himself off once inside.

The old schoolhouse had been abandoned for at least a decade. It was dusty and dirty and the floor was littered with cigarettes and alcohol. Delinquents loved hanging out here in the building and right now, it was serving as home base for the Yuushin Boys gang. Kicking aside an empty whiskey bottle, Hidenori left the classroom and entered the hallway. Morning sunlight filtered through the big picture window at his end of the hallway, illuminating the dancing dust in the air. For a moment Hidenori watched this pretty little sight, committing it to memory so that he could write it down later. However, at that moment his skin crawled. He felt like someone was watching him. Or something. Flicking his gaze to the far end of the hallway where the stairs were, he thought he caught a glimpse of a dark shadow flitting away. After a moment of holding his breath and listening intently, there wasn't even the sound of careful footsteps on the stairs and he let his breath out with an audible sigh.

"Seeing things," he muttered to himself as he started down the hallway. After passing three classrooms, he slid open the door to the right and entered. This room was a lot cleaner, considering it was his gang's room. There was a couch from the staff room, a few chairs, a teacher's desk stocked with snacks and drinks, hilarious and crude drawings on the chalkboard, thick planks of wood boarded up the windows to block out the glow from their stringed lights at night, and even a few piles of manga and magazines. The sink at the back was clean. The floor was clean. A mop and broom sat in one corner, a garbage can in another. There was order in this room.

Smiling to himself, Hidenori strolled over to the teacher's desk and flopped down into the seat, the heels of his shoes thumping on the surface of the desk, arms folded behind his head. Wouldn't be too long now before the others showed up.

 

[Vay]

It was a long convoluted way that Hidenori had shown her to get to their hangout but Suda had Had found an easier way. When she got the message she left the classroom by the quickest rout possible, rolling as she hit the ground and and started walking towards the old building. There had been another death and that put Suda in a bad mood. No one was any closer to finding out who was behind this and who she had to kill, not even her. In her mind she ran through what Hidenori's reaction might be if she told him she was leaving the gang to find out who had killed her brother alone... she had gone to them because they might know something and they obviously didn't... unless they just didn't trust her...

Growling and kicking at a stone she cursed under her breath, then louder for the world to hear. If only she was stronger she could take on the school alone but she wasn't... she needed their help and Hidonori actually looked after his friends. Damn that idiot. Suda was taking her frustrations out on him in her head and she knew it.

Before she knew it she was in front of the window Hidenri had shown her, she had missed her shortcut. Cursing again she scaled the wall nimbly and slid her frame through the opening to land and head for the gang's hangout, almost kicking down the door and with the grumpy expression still plastered across her face made for the poofy chair to fall into it's embrace and without saying a word flipped open a Manga that her mother would scream at her for reading and buried her face in it. She needed to get murders and wanting to punch Hidenori out of her brain and this was one of the few things that worked, the inky lines forming the images of entwined bodies makign her tilt her head... apparently she had grabbed the demon one again...

 

[Saint Tribs]

Taiki had packed himself a lunch in the empty kitchen, packing the cans of coffee and green tea into a cold gel bag. He shuffled into his shoes at the entry way, his keys in hands. "I'm going now." He called out into the empty house, almost expecting words back. They never came. Of course they didn't. There was no one there. Door shut and locked, Taiki straddled his bike and peddled his way to school, feeling a little uneasy about the night before.

Homeroom came and went and when Taiki had gotten his 'summons' he escaped himself in the most quiet manner possible. All those years sneaking around were being put to good use, it wasn't as fun as running away from his fans at his previous school with their flowers and chocolates and false confessions. Money had been everything back then and now he was at this school where no one seemed to have money and it meant nothing. They had only loved him for his money, his influence, his family name... None of that really mattered here. The knowledge fluttered in his gut as he crawled in the window, grimacing as his uniform got a dust and considered cleaning the area... Later.

Maybe.

Taiki's bag was being opened as he used a skinny hip to wiggle the sliding door open enough for him to step into the classroom that the gang was using. "Banchou." That straight flat face that he kept on twitched and something that might be called a smile in a certain light formed as he held out a can of coffee. "From last night. Since you didn't get a chance to drink it." Bag open, Taiki made his way over to Suda. Unlike how he had waited on his Banchou to take the coffee, he was possibly more 'relaxed' with other persons of his 'rank' in the gang. Except this was Taiki and he couldn't relax. He slid the coffee can down Suda's hair till the cold aluminum bottom rested against Suda's ear. "Coffee for you, Suda."

 

[Shiny]

It had not been a good night for Takumi. After finally going separate ways from that crazy chick duo, he went into work for a late shift at the convenience store. So by the time he got into bed, it felt like only moments before the buzzing of the alarm rudely pulled him back out of his slumber. The cat pawing at his face didn't help either. "Hnmm... just how do you keep getting into my room?" he murmured to the mess of black fur, only receiving a blank golden stare as a response. "....Okay then," he spoke with a sigh before getting out of bed.

Downstairs, Takumi got on his daily morning chore of putting out food and fresh water for the house's pets, and the other cat and dogs they sheltered. Their cozy little house was full of its usual morning bustling. Animals rushing to food, his grandmother chopping something in the kitchen, and grandfather blaring the TV loud enough that he could hear the news report from another room.

A couple hours later in class, Takumi at his desk, leaning against the wall next to his chair. Usually when he was this tired he'd ditch altogether and catch some sleep elsewhere, but he had a feeling a little meeting would be called, and his hunch was correct. Slipping out the chaotic classroom was easy enough, so off he strolled, hands in pocket until the neared the old school building. Something about it occasionally made his hair stand on end, but only for a passing moment. Hell, maybe he'd just been watching too many horror flicks....

Inside their cozy little hangout he found a scene that just seemed to say 'everything is right with the world.' Hidenori sitting back in his chair, feet on desk, Suda with his nose in a weird manga, and Taiki so kindly sharing the drinks he'd mentioned last night. As for himself, he plopped down onto one end of the couch, yawning as he leaned back.

 

[Vay]

With a lip drawn between her teeth she was so absorbed into what she was reading that she didn't even notice as Taiki entered and when the cold metal touched her sensitive ear, slick with condensation she jumped and a very unmanly shriek filled the room... just as someone else entered. Great.

"Taiki..." Suda said trying to sound growly but coming out as almost pouty as she wrapped her fingers around the can with one hand with the other curling into a fist to punch Taiki's stomach with just barely enough force to knock over a drunk parrot.

Clearing her throat she listed an unshoed foot to puck against Taiki's thigh. "Thank you..." she said her voice back to normal as she pushed the boy away and then curled the leg under her as her eye drifted back down to the Manga, the wet crack of the opening can marking her acceptance of the gift. There was at least one person who accepted her...

They all did, right? Probably. Suda was just being paranoid after being stuck in a room for an hour with Hidenori trying to keep her chest hidden.

Suddenly reminded of her night she was feeling very tired, and she stretched to yawn. Everyone looked to have made it trough the fight alright... but she was probably the only one without bruises. Is that why whey were here, to report on last night?

 

[Dawn]

Pretty damn relaxed. After a night like the last, Hidenori wasn't going to complain about a little bit of R&R before getting down to business. Partly the reason he didn't really say anything to Suda, who was the first person to arrive. The other half of the reason was that he was suddenly reminded of that very, very uncomfortable time in the closet with the other boy, and judging by Suda's dramatic entrance, it was still on his mind too.

Hidenori kept his gaze on the ceiling, arms folded behind his head, reclined in his seat while his face burned just a little. He didn't move again until Taiki joined them and that was just to mutter a thanks and take the offered coffee, set it on the desk for now, and settle back into his chair. Soon Takumi entered the room and he gave a little wave and then promptly snickered at Suda's girlish squeal. Actually, when Hidenori thought about it, Suda did look pretty feminine at times. Like, kind of cute in certain lights or at certain ang-- god dammit what the hell was wrong with him?! He'd never felt this way about Kiyoto, right?! ...Right? Annoyed with himself, Hidenori grumbled under his breath and glared up at the ceiling.

A couple minutes later some of the other gang members showed up and took their usual seats around the room. They were pretty quiet, especially after Hidenori gave them a sharp look. And only then did the gang leader swing his legs away from the desk and sit up properly in the chair, finally cracking open the cold coffee and taking a swig.

"First order of business," he said, leaned forward a little with his elbows on the desk's top and hands folded one atop the other, as if he were some kind of yakuza boss. "Ta-kun. Taiki-kun. Glad to see you both got out of that mess safely." Turning his attention to the other members of the gang, he narrowed his eyes and said, "I don't care for excuses. You guys should have been there to back up your nakama. You let us down." His words were stern and none of the scolded boys dare speak other than to mutter an apology.

Hidenori sighed. Taking the school was going to be tough if he couldn't get his gang fired up ad serious about it. And there was that Kenzue guy standing in his way too...

"Second order of business." Pulling the crumpled Club Registration sheet of paper from his pocket and opening it back up, Hidenori spread it out on the desk. "I know what you're all thinking. 'Clubs are a pain. I don't want to do it.' But if you want to remain in this gang, you will do it." He stood up, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he strolled around the side of the desk to the front and stood there before them. "All of you. You're not just members of my gang. You are nakama. Family. We look out for each other and right now, I'm looking out for all of you. Let's face it. The way society works, a delinquent record on top of being a dropout? That ain't gonna get you nowhere. I don't want to be working a dead end job until I'm 90. I'm sure you don't either. If that isn't enough reason, society thinks we're fuckups. They're all expecting us to fail and rot away in some dark corner where they don't have to see or deal with us. You don't have to try hard. I'm not your damn mother telling you to be a good student. All I'm saying is that if we keep afloat long enough to graduate, it's just one more way we say 'fuck you' to society, right? So pick a damn club and show up at least once in a while. Don't get yourself expelled over something so lame."

Was it an order? Yeah. Maybe. But it was more like Hidenori subtly saying he wanted to continue this year with his friends. Together, they could take the top. They could own G-Tech, but not if they all got their asses kicked out. "That being said..." And the young gang leader's lips curved with a smirk, "Who wants to join the boxing club with me this year?"

"With all do respect, boss, fuck no," said one of the other gang members - Manabu. The others snickered because they knew why. Hidenori wanted a sparring partner but none of them could stand in the ring with him for long. "I heard some first years are starting up a Paranormal Investigation club. Prime example of a slacker club. They're in the library so I can sleep on that comfy sofa they got, too."

"Aw man. Sign me up," another boy said. The group started chatting amongst themselves about choices and Hidenori leaned against the desk, sipping his coffee. For a moment his gaze shifted from Takumi to Taiki to Suda, then he strolled over to flop down next to Takumi on the couch. "So," he said to the three of them. "I think we should do something to celebrate Suda-kun's official acceptance into the gang, right?"

 

[Shiny]

Takumi yawned as Hidenori spoke, but anyone who knew him would know that didn't mean he wasn't listening. Clubs. Joining one would be a pain, and take away more precious time he could be using to sneak in naps. But a good point was made, If he wanted to finish school he'd have to join a club. That being said, the Paranormal Investigation club was sounding kind of tempting, but it also sounded kind of lame. And, well, the latter opinion was outweighing the former.

"I'll have to pass on that too," he answered Hidenori, regarding the boxing club, with small chuckle. He was pretty sure there was a judo club, and he'd probably check it out since he'd already learned some from his Gramps as a kid.

A moment passed of quietly sipping his decaf coffee, he smirked slightly again, considering a proper way to celebrate. "It's been a while since we've been to karaoke. Seems like a good way to celebrate, hm?"