The Path of Kings - Nakama

[Dawn]

The Path of Kings
~Nakama~

(An Alternate Universe story)

​

---

The steady drum of rain against the third year classroom's windows acted like a pacifier for an already drowsy young man. The rest of the class was as loud and as energetic as usual, though. Curse words were tossed back and forth so casually and laughter and shouting was in abundance. Of course the teacher had given up trying to teach the lesson about a half an hour ago and was instead just reading a magazine.

After all, trying to teach any class at Gushiken Tech was like trying to herd cats.

Delinquents. Not exactly every last one of them, but about 99% anyway. The other 1% were unfortunate souls too poor or too stupid to qualify for a better school. But these delinquents were something else. Loud and obnoxious and so abrasive that no one had ever managed to unify the lot of them into even a school gang. Instead, little pockets of friends had formed and they ran around fighting with each other, their leaders continuously trying to stake claim on the title of "The King of G-Tech".

Nakano Hidenori had been one of them.

Despite all the racket happening around him, that rain was so soothing and it was threatening to put him to sleep. His eyelids hung low, dark brown gaze barely focusing on the glass pane and the stream of water snuggling up to it. A boy normally so animated and rough, this docile behaviour would have seemed unnerving to his classmates if they hadn't already grown accustomed to the change that had been happening over the course of a few months now. It took a lot, these days, to trigger Hidenori's rage mode. And when it happened, the boy hardly held himself back.

He was nearly asleep when a rubber bouncy ball pegged him on the back of the head and as it ricocheted off in a random direction, all noise ceased in the classroom as if it had been sucked away but a vacuum. Hide's eyes fluttered open and slowly he got to his feet, the scraping of his chair legs against the floor loud and somehow frightening. He turned around just as slowly, eyeing the boy who had thrown the ball with a stony face and the promise of murder in his stare.

The poor boy didn't even have a chance to stutter out that it was an accident. No, Hidenori was already striding across the classroom, shoving the boy's friends aside when they tried to get in the way. He grabbed hold of the boy's shirt collar with both hands, dragged him away from his desk, pivoted on his heel, and yanked hard, sending the idiot crashing through the classroom door. Yes. Through it. Everyone in the classrooms for that hall were on their feet in an instant because the sound of the door breaking had echoed down the hallway.

 

[Vay]

It was with an unsteady limp that Suda was walking down the corridor, late for class yet again. Yesterday she had pressed a guy for information about Kiyoto and today he had brought friends for another chat. Still all four of then were now on the ground after Suda's eloquent arguments.

Black eye forming and a split lip she leaned against the wall and sighed. It had been months since her brother had disappeared but it felt like years, except for the fact that it burned in her. It was HER fault. She was the reason why he had come to this school and she was nowhere closer to finding out ANYTHING. Being hit was nowhere near as painful as hitting brick walls.

Her train of thought was interrupted by the door a little to her right exploding and two boys came out, one on his back and one right after looking like a raging bull. "Ow what the fuck?" Suda yelled as half the landed half off and half on her foot and the jolt of pain fed on her guilt and frustration turning quickly into anger.

But before she could attack the other boy was on the first and a pathetically one-sided fight began, students first peeking out the doors of their classes and then flooding the hall to watch. Still angry Suda placed her hand on Hidenori's shoulder, unknowingly in a way Kiyoto had many times before. "He's had enough." she said, firmly, hoping that she could be able to score points from someone by stepping in. She needed allies after all.

 

[Dawn]

The boy's nose and mouth were bleeding and yet still Hidenori kept punching. He was mad. He was so fucking mad whenever he was fully awake. He was mad at the teachers and the other students because they'd given up looking a month ago. He was so unbelievably pissed off and he was taking it out on that poor kid's face.

Well at least until that hand touched his shoulder.

It was like electricity sparking, spreading from that very spot underneath the hand, coursing through his whole body and screaming of familiarity. His fist stopped just four inches from the boy's battered face, blood soaking his knuckles and dripping crimson back onto the source. His body was tense as he slowly looked over his shoulder, following the length of the arm attached to the familiar hand, up to the person's face.

All of the anger drained from him and the tension that'd been so obvious, in his shoulders and arms and especially in his face, just melted away. The fist unballed itself, the other hand unclenched and let go of its hold on the boy's shirt collar. With just a touch and a few short words, the raging Hidenori had been pacified once more.

"...Kiyo?" he asked, his voice so meek. It couldn't be, right? Because Kiyo had gone missing. Because Kiyo was probably dead and the police just couldn't find the body. But that was Kiyoto's face looking back at him. "Kiyo... Where have you been?" His voice was a little louder this time and he rose to his feet, turning around and advancing on the ghost of a boy. "I've been so worried," he said and his voice shook. Hands reached out to grab hold of the boy's shoulders. "Say something, you asshole."

And everyone around them looked just as shocked and confused, murmuring to each other.

 

[Vay]

If Suda was honest she had expected fight. The fury with which that boy had been attacking his victim was frighting. Instead she was looking away at the mention of her brother's name. She felt silly in front of him. Surely this was one of Kiyoto's friends who doubtlessly knew he had a twin sister. His confusion would have any second and then he would see a girl dressed as a boy.

"No suck luck." she said, shrugging off the boy's hands. "Kiyoto was my brother."

Past tense, it stung.

She rolled the dice. She would either meet rejection, a fight or her first break. "Can we go somewhere where we're not being stared at by every cocksucker in g-tech?"

No, she didn't normally talk like this, but she was playing a guy and they tended to swear. "You knew him and that means I have questions."

She took his arms and pushed them off of herself.

"I'm Suda by the way... Kiyoto's twin."

 

[Dawn]

Such a cold reaction, looking away like that, and Hidenori knew instantly that he'd been mistaken, that this wasn't Kiyoto but just a look alike. Barely a minute later the imposter confirmed it with his own words.

"Brother?" he muttered, confusion on his face. Since when did Kiyo have a sibling? It was a hard bit of information to swallow, but not as difficult as the fact that this brother was a splitting image. Well, maybe a little more slender in build with a softer face but for the most part absolutely identical. He gathered they were twins even before the boy stated it and he tucked his hands into his pockets once they'd been pushed away. Well, at least the one hand that wasn't still coated in blood.

"Fine. I want answers anyway," he stated with a much calmer voice this time. "This way." He jerked his head toward one end of the hallway, gesturing for this Suda fella to follow, then he turned on his heel and started walking as if there wasn't a kid laying in the middle of the hall, face a wreck because of his anger, as if it was just another day at school.

Around the corner he went and hung a sharp left to enter the bathroom. "Kiyo never mentioned a sibling, let alone a twin," he said rather bluntly while he washed the red off of his hand. The anger had clearly subsided and for once he was level-headed. But maybe that was because this was a development worth paying attention to. Maybe this supposed twin could help him find Kiyo.

"Nakano, Hidenori," he said. "My name," he added for clarification.

 

[Vay]

She followed, hesitating only slightly to enter the bathroom. Her arms wrapped around her chest instinctively. How did she do this? All the talks she had had recently had involved punching people. "So if you're calling him 'Kiyo' you must have known him pretty well." She said to ease the silence. "Surprised he never mentioned me then... But then he was always protecting me..."

She could feel the change. The past couple months had been a haze of rage and hurt. "YOU FUCKING MORON." she screamed a second before her foot shattered what was left of one of the few dirty mirrors left in the bathroom. "Is should have been me to get sent here you IDIOT."

"I was born before you. I should have been the one looking out for you. Why did you cover for me..." She was instantly regretting her outburst in front of a perfect stranger but maybe it needed to be one for her to not bottle it all up like she had been doing. "What are you staring at?" She snapped at Hidenori before slapping the side of her own head.

"Sorry." she lowered her gaze ans having half a mind to flee the scene. "He is dead because of me... He got sent here to die because of me..."

She sank down against the wall to hide behind her knees. "You probably want to go now." Please go... before it gets messy with tears.

 

[Dawn]

'Pretty well' was an understatement. "Until today I thought I knew everything there was to know about him," Hidenori muttered. But it made sense. It made so much fucking sense that Kiyo would keep things even from his best friend in order to protect a loved one. From what, Hide didn't have a clue, and he wasn't about to start assuming things. But that was Kiyo - the damn bleeding heart.

Pain encroached on his heart. So much pain even though part of him refused to accept that the boy was lying dead somewhere. But hearing Kiyoto's own twin brother speaking about him like he'd actually been found, like Suda had given up... That hurt so much. So even you've quit on him?

The shout and the crash of glass startled him out of his thoughts, but other than his gaze shooting up to Suda's form, he showed no response. Hands back in his pockets, leaning against the counter, he watched the boy and he listened. There was some small, twisted comfort in the fact that he wasn't the only one who felt guilty. He wasn't the only one who was thinking 'If I had just...' and dragging themselves through the mud.

Pushing off from the counter, he took both hands out of his pockets and promptly grabbed hold of Suda's shirt collar, drawing the shorter boy up to his height. "Don't you fucking dare say he's dead," he growled through gritted teeth. "If you do, then you're just another piece of shit like the rest of these people. I'm not going to give up on him. I'm going to find him and I'm sure as hell not going to let myself think he's dead until I've seen otherwise."

He let go of Suda then, letting the boy drop back to the floor for all he cared. "If you're really his twin, then shape the fuck up and help me look." He backed away, one step, two... Then he turned around and stormed out of the bathroom, kicking the door wide and startling people passing by in the hall.

 

[Vay]

She wanted to punch him right there and then. Kiyo was dead, she could feel it. She felt it even before her parents had told her he was missing, but he was already gone and running after him she realized that this was the first of Kiyo's friends she had met and that was a lead.

"All I know is that Kiyo would never disappear like this, so someone is to blame and when I find them I am going to kill them." she said catching up. "And that is no exaggeration."

She wanted revenge, more than anything. Kiyo wouldn't like that but Suda didn't care. Someone had killed her (barely) younger and they would pay. "Tell me everything you know and together we will find them, and when we do we'll find him..."

She didn't believe that but she was desperate for a lead. It was even enough to swallow the tears that made her eyes wet. "Start with the last time you saw him..."

 

[Dawn]

Well, he was expecting the brat to just sit there and cry. Or just do anything else other than what he actually did. And when Hidenori heard those thudding footsteps coming up from behind, a tiny little bit of relief flickered in his heart like a pilot light coming alive.

"You're damn right he would never disappear without a word," he grumbled in reply, gaze fixed firmly ahead down the hall but even a sideways glance at his eyes would let Suda see just a little of the pain Hide was feeling. "We're family. Nakama."

The only reason he wouldn't tell me something... His gaze shifted to Suda for just a moment. To protect someone... Kiyo, just what the hell did you get yourself into?

"Last time I saw him, he had stayed back after school. Detention for fighting. He..." Looking back ahead, Hidenori traipsed down the stairs with his hands tucked into his pockets, despite the teacher calling after him to get back to class. "Kiyo took the fall for me. Said I didn't need any more marks on my record. That I needed to do well in school because I.. It doesn't matter anyway. He was in detention in the first years' B classroom."

He stopped outside a door on the bottom floor of the school. The marker above read "1-B". He doubted after months there would be any evidence, but if it helped Suda sleep at night, whatever.

 

[Vay]

"So when we both last say him he was covering our asses... well at least I know he cared about you, means I can maybe trust you." She might be overcompensating for crying but at the same time she was trying to build something resembling a bridge with this guy. Without waiting for him she entered the room and looked around. Kiyo's last known location.

"I don't know what you're hoping to find here." she said looking over the room. "There's probably been a dozen fights in here since then and unless we search every desk to see if he left you a note...
And that's exactly what she started looking for, throwing open the closest desk and looking inside for pieces of paper or notes scratched into the wood, then looking under the desk and seat for anything taped underneath.

 

[Dawn]

For some reason, hearing someone say that Kiyo cared about him had his ears burning. Gaze shifting away from the person who looked uncomfortably similar to Kiyo, Hidenori took to staring down at the candy wrapper next to his shoe. All of the halls in this school were speckled with litter, so it wasn't surprising in the least.

"Hey--" But Suda was already letting himself into the classroom. Hide sighed, hanging his head in defeat. This guy... Suda wasn't anywhere near as bright as his brother was, or maybe he just didn't give a shit where Kiyo did.

He was a good kid... No. Not "was". IS.

"I'm not hoping to find anything because I know I won't. But I figured you'd want to look anyway," he retorted with a frown. His hands were still snug in his pockets, his nonchalant stance evidence that the 30 or so pairs of eyes on them right that second didn't bother him in the slightest.

Yeah. The classroom was being used and Suda didn't seem to even notice. Hide just didn't care that they were all staring with a look of mixed confusion, curiosity, and fear. Hell, even the teacher had frozen, chalk in hand pressed to the board and was staring over his shoulder.

Sighing, Hide leaned against the closest desk and lazily watched Suda skittering around the room, looking for clues like this was some goofy Scooby-Doo mystery.

 

[Vay]

"Shut the fuck up." Suda had to grown more than once during her search, which of course turned up nothing before she moved back over to where Hidenori was and glared at him. "Come on let's get out of here." she was irritated that there had been nothing and yet knew at the same time that there wouldn't be and now she needed to keep moving to keep her doubts from catching up to her.

Pushing past Hide she was out the door in a second and walking down the corridor in a random direction.

She didn't even notice that someone was waiting just outside the door with a grin on their face. Hodenori though had no choice but to notice. Two strong arms shot out either side of him and soon a baton was pressed across his throat as he was pulled roughly along to the stailrwell next to B-1 and anfter his ear was slowly, lovingly licked shoved to the ground as above him, the batton was held threateningly in a leather glove. Supporting the glove a bare arm extended back and up to disappear inside a shirt, tied off to expose the wearer's midriff.

Below the abs a pair of short shorts struggled to contain the man within them for man it was. Close cropped black hair, chiseled jaw, lipstick, and all.
"When were you going to tell us your boyfriend was back? We've missed him."

 

[Dawn]

Leaving already? Good. He was getting tired of the sheer stupidity in this room anyway. "Yeah, okay." But god, he was so quick to agree with this Suda kid that he really must have been Kiyoto's brother. They were so damn alike. Suda's face is a little....softer.

Oh what the actual fuck?

Too busy shaking off those uncomfortable feelings, Hidenori let his guard down. That's how they jumped him so easily. But the moment he felt that tongue slobbering on his ear like a stupid mutt, he knew exactly who it was. A quick turn of his head hurt his neck but it saved him from kissing the floor and swallowing teeth, which was lucky for that idiot.

"Oi~" Hidenori said quite clearly and boldly at that. There was a smirk on his lips as he slowly rolled over onto his back. "Didn't you know? We got married. That's husband now, dumbass," he snickered, if only to keep the pain from rising to his face. Hearing people mention Kiyo really fucking hurt. A leg lifted, slowly pressing his foot upward against the idiot's crotch. "Hey. How did you even squeeze into those shorts, Crossdressing Idiot?"

"Personally I think Onii-chan wears them better than I do," said a new voice, raspy and a little low for a girl but a girl's voice nonetheless. The owner's long black ponytail fell into Hide's face as she leaned over him on her hands and knees and planted a firm, bold kiss on his lips, leaving behind lipstick that Hidenori quickly wiped away with the back of his hand and a disgusted expression. Unlike her twin brother, who was a chiselled son of a bitch, Tanaka Suki was lithe and seemingly fragile. Seemingly.

In a split second, she'd pivoted on her knees and caught Hidenori up in an armbar, legs squeezing off the air from his throat. "You're not marrying anyone but me, Nakano-senpa~i!" she shouted while Hidenori struggled.

 

[Vay]

Booming laughter was all the reply Hidenori got before Izumi flopped down on the stairs next to him and pulled on a strand of his hair, running it through his fingers. "You never told me what shampoo you use, but I guess I'll find out when we're living together." He seemed to be completely unaware of Hidenori's struggles to breathe and he continued to gently stroke his hair.

Where Kiyo's style had been primarily defensive, a boxer through and through Suda was no such thing, then came in foot first the full force of her crage aimed at the seemingly bigger threat.

Izimi caught the foot deftly, without breaking the motion of his stroke with his other hand and grinned. "Don't worry Kiyoto, you'll get your turn." he said before twisting, bringing Suda crashing down so the floor and in a heartbeat had her arm pinned behind her back and was pressed up against her. "I hear congratulations are in order, though you've left my sister heartbroken, and maybe me a little as well. I always liked you, Kiyoto." He leaned in, running a tongue up Suda's neck as she struggled against his. "You sick fuck. Let me..."

Izumi shushed her and swirled her taste around his mouth before looking at his sister. "This isn't Kiyoto. Too sweet."

 

[Dawn]

God damn this woman and her leg strength! Hidenori was seeing spots by the time she actually let up a little. Distracted by her brother's comment, Suki gave Hide ju~st enough slack for him to slip his other hand between neck and leg and yank himself free.

In one fluid movement he'd rolled onto his knees, rolling Suki's leg in his grasp so that she had no choice but to roll onto her stomach. Flopping onto his butt, he hooked both of his legs around her one leg, leaned forward over her back and, clasping his hands together across her face, he pulled back.

"Ahhh! I give, I give uuuup! You're ruining my makeup, senpai!" Suki whined, and now it was her turn to try and squirm.

"Izumi's right though," Hide sighed, keeping Suki trapped in his wrestling move while she flailed her arms around in vain. "That's Kiyo's brother you're molesting. Better be careful if he's even half the fighter Kiyo is."

 

[Vay]

"Right..." Probably not the answer anyone expected from Izumi, instead of explaining that he meant that Kidenori had gone far enough though instead he shifted and spun, coming to his feet and and grabbing Suki's ankle as she tried to escape. Powerful shoulder flexed underneath his shirt and he swung the girl like a sword as she squealed and slammed into Hide's chest, knocking him loose and then in one smooth motion his hopped over his sister, sat between Hide and Suki and soon had a head under each arm, squeezing them tightly so they couldn't escape. Then the co-captain of the wresting team shook his head. "Hidenori... you always make talking to you so difficult. Always squirming and fighting. Now if you don't mind I'd like a word with Kiyoto's... brother."

He grinned and loosened his grip just enough to allow Suki to talk. "I wasn't lying, I actually miss Kiyo. He was a friend of mine so... where is he?"

Suki was red in the face and furious. "I don't know I'm here to find him."

"Disappointing, but that leaves Hidenori free for my sister... not that she'd let anything stop her anyway."

 

[Dawn]

Hidenori tumbled from one side of the space under the staircase to the other side, limbs flailing in vain. Groaning, he shoved Suda off of him just in time for Izumi to force his face much closer to the guy's armpit than Hide ever wanted to be.

"Hidenori... you always make talking to you so difficult," said the muscular boy to which Hide growled like a vicious cat and tried to tug his head free. No dice. He huffed and settled down, glaring at Izumi's sister Suki, who was laying on her side and giggling. Hide was not impressed, no sir, because "talking" with these idiot twins was too hands-on, if you get my drift.

"...He was a friend of mine..."

"He IS. Don't you dare use past tense! And let go of me already, goddammit, you won!" Hide hissed.

"Alright, alright. Joking aside," Suki cut in, sitting up and dusting her upper half off. She paused, looking Hidenori's face over as if she was searching for something. "...It's good to see you acting normally, senpai. We were worried..." Her gaze flicked to Suda then, turning curious. And maybe there was a sparkle of amusement somewhere deep in that look but Suki just said, "Twins. Hah. What're the odds? But man, you're the splitting image of him. Well, if he was angrier and smaller." She chuckled at the thought and finally locked eyes with her brother. "Izu." She didn't have to say anything more. Izumi would get it. She wanted to follow Hidenori now. And not just for Hide, but for Kiyoto who was the bond they shared.

 

[Vay]

Suda was released and scrambled away, Hidenori on the other hand was picked up and shaken. "Try not me be a stranger."

A wet tongue ran up Hidenori's neck before the boy was dropped unceremoniously on his feet. It seemed the crossdresser was string enough to treat even the other boy like a manikin.

Free Suda backed at staring at the pair. "What the fuck..." she said staring more as Hidenori than anyone else. Her brother hung out with people like this? He got sent to a school full of crazy people because of her.

Izumi cut her off. "I think I like my new weapon." he said with a grin. "Not as much heft as the old one but it screams better."