Masamune exhaled as he watched the smoke slowly float upwards, mingling with the grey cloud curling from the rolled cigarette burning in his fingers. Fuck. This place was so fucking annoying. He scowled irritably as he pushed the volume control up to the max on his iPod, trying to drown out the inane chatter and general excitement of his fellow house mates. Fucking losers. He scanned the room quickly with his one good eye, inwardly cursing the racket he could still hear over the music playing loudly down his ears.
"Oi! Date! Oi!"
Masamune glanced sideways, reluctant to respond to Motochika's persistent bellows. The bastard could see that he was clearly listening to music. What the fuck did he expect? He whipped his headphones off suddenly, his mouth curling into an angry snarl as a cushion connected heavily with the back of his head "What the fuck?! You have a fucking death wish?!" he yelled as he whirled around to glare at his house mate "What?! What do you want?!"
Motochika raised his eyebrows playfully, completely ignoring the intimidating aura emanating from the smaller boy before him "Your turn bro" he smirked confidently, jerking his head towards the console control resting in his hands "Kei said if you beat him, foods on him tonight. Plus you need to do something about that snarl, you're turning my milk sour" he grinned reaching for one of his seemingly bottomless bowls of cereal.
Masamune sighed irritably as he snatched the controller and slumped down onto the floor next to Keiji "Whatever" he muttered from the corner of his mouth, balancing his cigarette on his bottom lip
"Make sure you win. We're broke remember?" Motochika sighed, flopping down onto the sofa and taking advantage of the extra room since Masamune had moved "Some of us have to pay for our food you know Kei, we're not all lucky bastards who get to sneak away for home cooked meals 3 times a day"
"Yeah, yeah" Keiji laughed playfully over his shoulder "Bitch please! Don't hate coz you ain't"
"Can we cut the small talk and get this shit over and done with?" Masamune growled "I've got a shit load of work I need to get through" he added sullenly
"Ok Ok princess. What the hell has crawled up your ass?" Keiji cried as began to push buttons furiously, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he tried to concentrate on the game at hand "I thought you had everything down this semester?"
"You shitting me? I have myself covered, I have to do extra tutoring for some ass hole from first year who is flunking nearly every damn subject there is" Masamune replied as he mirrored Keiji's concentration "As if I haven't got anything better to do with my fucking time!"
Motochika propped himself up on his elbow in order to gaze at the back of his friends head "Why do you have to do something like that?" he asked, genuinely confused by the revelation. Date Masamune was athletic, clever and popular, but despite these attributes he wasn't exactly a model student. Motochika could think of plenty of better candidates for such a role, himself included!
"That old bastard Takeda is making me do it. That old fart has it in for me I swear to God" Masamune replied gruffly "One of his precious little soccer stars is close to getting thrown out on his ass unless he does some serious grade restructuring. And yours truly is top of Old Man Takeda's enemy list for some reason!"
"Well you did organise that halls party last month" Keiji sang thoughtfully
"And then there was that time you scratched his car when you took my bike out without telling me" Motochika added
"And when he paid that dude to steal the soccer teams uniforms and dye them pink" Keiji called over his shoulder
"All right! This isn't my fucking trial and execution! That bastard is just over reacting!" Masamune interrupted before his friends could remember any more of his past actions "The point is that I have a shit load more work to do and it's not even going to benefit me!"
Motochika and Keiji exchanged a knowing glance between them. It wasn't going to benefit any of them if Masamune was going to be in such a foul mood for the foreseeable.
"Aaaggggghhhhhh! Why does this have to be so difficult!" Yukimura cried as he threw his pencil across the room before instantly standing to retrieve it "Why won't it just sink in Sasuke?!" he whimpered pathetically as he slumped down over the table once more
Sasuke scratched his nose thoughtfully and continued to thumb through the magazine resting in his lap "I have no idea. English isn't exactly one of my strong points" he smiled sympathetically "Anyway, is your English module even that important?" he added glancing at his friend for the first time "Won't your other grades pull your average up?"
Yukimura blushed and fidgeted sheepishly "...Well... it's not just my English" he mumbled in embarrassment "That's just the worst one"
"Well how about you find someone to help you out?" Sasuke replied cheerfully. His face instantly lit up as the door opened and Kasuga swayed into the room, her hair hanging damp around her shoulders "I'm sure the lovely Kasuga is as good at English as she is as looking beautiful" he grinned, watching the girl open the refrigerator and take a long drink of juice "She's so good at everything"
"No can do Sarutobi. My schedule is busy enough as it is without wasting my time with you two losers" Kasuga called bluntly, heading towards the door once more "But you're right about me being good about everything" she shrugged casually before slipping out of the room
Yukimura shot a defeated glance at his friend "See! Even my fellow house mates can't help me out of this situation!" he cried dramatically "Sasuke! Are you even listening to me?!" he sighed as his friend continued to smile at the spot where Kasuga had recently stood
"She wants me. She wants me bad" Sasuke smirked before turning his attention back to his magazine, completely oblivious to Yukimura's depressed slump across the table.
"Sighing and pouting isn't going to get you out of this Date. Suck it up and while you're at it, man up!"
Masamune's eye widened is shock as he glanced sideways at the towering teacher beside him "Did I even say anything?!" he replied childishly
"You didn't have to" Shingen retorted gruffly "Now sit tight and don't say anything to offend the boy. I don't want your bad behaviour rubbing off on this one"
"Hah...?" Masamune sighed half heartedly "Why force me to tutor him then? I'm sure your little soccer star deserves the finest education in the land! God knows this place likes to pamper their precious princess players!" he added sullenly from the corner of his mouth.
Shingen shot Masamune a menacing glare "Enough! That's exactly the kind of attitude I'm talking about... Yukimura is somewhat impressionable. You'd be out on your ear if it wasn't for your skill with the English language. It's tutoring or expulsion! Take your pick"
Masamune pouted and kicked at the ground. Shit he hated being lectured like this. Especially from this pain in the ass. But he couldn't risk expulsion, 2 years of studying his ass off would go straight down the drain and the lecture that he'd receive from Kojuro would be worse than helping some thick football freak study for a few weeks. He glanced up at the sound of an excited yell cutting through the awkward silence "Takeda Senseiii! You called for me?" He eyed the boy now running towards them; his face was plastered with the most idiotic smile that Masamune had ever seen. What was with this kid? He looked liked the type to get hyper from drinking one can of Coke. He'd probably pass out from even looking at a beer... how the hell was he supposed to be around someone this wet for the foreseeable future? He'd have to kiss his social life goodbye...
"Ah Yukimura, just in time! I have someone I'd like you to meet" Shingen smiled as the boy bounded to a halt before them "This here is Date. He's a second year who is going to help you perfect your English so you'll be able to play next season"
"Ah?! Really Sir?" Yukimura yelled excitedly "Oh thank you! It's a pleasure to meet you Date San! My name is Sanada Genjiro Yukimura! Thank you so much for agreeing to help me out in my time of need! It's much appreciated!"
Masamune's shoulder's lurched back and forth as Yukimura furiously shook his hand "Wh-whatever" he muttered gruffly, snatching his hand away from the firm grip "It's not like I have much choice" he sighed, rubbing his neck as he looked away
"Well, I'll leave you two to it" Shingen smiled, patting Yukimura's shoulder affectionately "You have six weeks to pull Yukimura's grade from an E to at least a B" he called over his shoulder to Masamune, making a hasty retreat before the boy had the opportunity to protest.
Masamune stared slack jawed at the retreating teacher. Six weeks? E to B? He knew he was good at English but he wasn't a damn miracle worker! He quickly turned to the boy beside him "From E to B? Is he serious? How old are you? Seven? How can your English suck so much that you're averaging an E for fuck sake?!"
Yukimura blushed and looked down at his feet "I've tried my best. I give 110% in everything I do but for some reason I just cannot succeed when it comes to English. But I'm sure with your guidance and expertise in this field, I'll succeed for sure!" he added as he looked up and clenched his fist in determination
Masamune grimaced as he glanced at the kid. Considering he sucked at English he sure used some flowery language. Six weeks of this...? He hoped stupid wasn't contagious.
Masamune gritted his teeth as he noticed the kid nervously glance across the table at him for the millionth time "What?! What's your problem?" he spat in annoyance
Yukimura blushed and looked away "It's just... ummm... I mean... what you're doing... is that... are you doing drugs?" he whispered nervously, now refusing to look in Masamune's direction at all "This is a public place, you could get into some serious trou-" he frowned in confusion as Masamune's laughter cut his lecture short
"Pfffft, are you for real?" Masamune snorted, holding up the freshly rolled cigarette between his fingers. He blinked a few times as he tried to read the blank look on Yukimura's face "No way. Sanada this is tobacco. Can you seriously be this stupid?" he added, tossing his packet of smoking tobacco across the desk in Yukimura's direction "You think I'd roll a joint in a library? Hahahahaha, man where the hell are you even from?"
Yukimura's blush intensified as he glanced between the packet and Masamune's sneering face "W-well any form of smoking is bad for your health. You should look after you body more!" he spluttered
"Shhhhhh!" the librarian hissed loudly from behind her desk "Be quiet and take your cigarettes elsewhere young man! This is a library, not a meeting place for delinquents!"
Yukimura's face fell in utter dismay he as looked at the tobacco package in his hands "N-no! This isn't mine! I'm sorry! Really, this has nothing to do with me! I've never even held a cigarette in my life! I swear! I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" he cried, beseeching the now seething librarian, oblivious to the loudness of his own voice and the annoyed glares from his fellow students who he was unwittingly disturbing
Masamune sighed as he closed his books and started packing them away into his backpack "Chill out Sanada. You're 18" he added as he stood "We can call it a day anyway, I'm hungry"
"Uuh... OK..." Yukimura stammered, hurriedly stacking his books "When will our next session be?" he asked, walking quickly as he tried to catch up
"Session?" Masamune stopped on the steps, clasping his hands around the end of his cigarette as he tried to light it "I dunno. If you're going to get this miracle B then you're going to have to put the hours in" he stated as he tugged sharply on the cigarette, his one good eye locking Yukimura on the spot "Which means I'm going to have to give up my free time too" he sighed in annoyance, exhaling a large cloud of smoke upwards. He glanced at the boy beside him who was remaining strangely quiet. He looked like any average teenager, there was nothing particularly striking about him. He was the plain old jeans, t-shirt and Converse kind of kid that you saw on every bus, in every fast food restaurant and in every classroom. The only odd attribute was the long pony tail that trailed down the length of Yukimura's back. It looked strangely out of place with the rest of his bland image. Not to say that the kid was ugly or anything, he looked like the type that girls would either take advantage of or simply want to mother. The guy had probably never even held a conversation with a girl in his entire life. Masamune's eye twitched as the boy suddenly looked up, his huge brown eyes shone with determination making his whole face and demeanour somewhat different, a look of sheer will power emanated from him that almost demanded respect. Masamune found it both surprising and intriguing "OK... tomorrow. I'll meet you here at say... 10am tomorrow?" his gaze still transfixed by those strikingly fierce eyes
Yukimura's face suddenly returned to it's usual cheerful expression "Tomorrow is perfect! Thank you so much Date San! I will make sure I am here at 10am!" he waved frantically over his shoulder as he raced down the steps "See you tomorrow!"
Masamune shook is head as he descended down the steps slowly. What the hell was with that kid? And why did he have to be his damn babysitter...
"Where the hell have you been all day?" Sasuke cried as Yukimura let himself into their flat "You said you were only going to meet up with Takeda Sensei and that was this morning!" the boy added, his protective nature taking over as he fussed after him. It had been the same since childhood. Whenever Yukimura had found himself in a scrape, Sasuke had always been there to bail him out. After years of being best friends, Sasuke had come to realise that the kind yet dimwitted Yukimura was easily distracted and therefore easily found himself in trouble.
"Oh... sorry Sasuke. I did meet up with Sensei, but that's the thing!" he beamed proudly, hanging his thick winter coat on the back of the door "He has found me a private tutor to help me with my English! Isn't that great?!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes and flopped back down onto the couch "Yeah. Great news. Next time would it kill you to let me know that you're... I don't know... alive?"
"How creepy, what are you his mother or something?" Kasuga called flatly as she concentrated on delicately painting her toenails
"You worry too much Sasuke!" Yukimura laughed, flopping down onto a large beanbag "Anyway, I'll be out a lot more over the next few weeks. I'm meeting up with Date San tomorrow morning in fact... I guess I should get an early night..." he trailed off, glancing at the clock
"It's 5pm! Anyway... did you say Date? As in Date Masamune?" Kasuga asked in surprise, looking up for the first time
"Yeah! You know him?" Yukimura smiled enthusiastically
"Pffft, yeah I know him. I was in the same English class as him last year. Granted, he happens to be good, but why the hell would someone like him be tutoring?" she shrugged as she lost interest and returned to her nail painting once more
Sasuke frowned as he looked between his two house-mates "Why? What's the deal with this guy?"
"He's an arrogant ass hole!" Kasuga laughed
"I don't know. He seems kind of cool to me" Yukimura smiled, a slight blush creeping onto his cheeks
"Really? Your definition of cool is obviously different to mine!" the girl sniffed, not even bothering to look at her companions anymore. She had lost all interest if the topic of discussion was Date Masamune of all people.
Sasuke remained quiet as he watched Yukimura, that slight smile and blush still remaining on his face.
"Dude! You're back! Come play me!" Keiji cried without tearing his gaze away from the screen "I've unlocked like six new characters already" he added in excitement as Masamune let himself into the flat
Masamune pushed a small cluster of junk aside in order to make enough room to sit down on the couch next to his friend "I thought you had class today? You been here since this morning?" he asked, his eye wandering around the empty bowls and instant noodle cartons littered around Keiji's vicinity "You're going to be a student forever at this rate, aren't you sick of it already?"
"Pffft! Are you kidding me? Who the hell wants to grow up and become part of the rat race called life?! I'm developing my heart and soul here man. Freedom is the best way to train your mind, not from some professor lecturing out of a text book!" Keiji replied, his eyes still firmly planted on the flashing screen before them
"You're the only hippy I know who spends all day killing" Masamune laughed nodding towards the computer game "You want tea?" he asked as he rose to his feet
"Huh? Oh... no. I don't know how you can drink that crap all day"
"... It keeps me awake" Masamune replied filling the kettle "Is Mo in?"
"...Dunno" Keiji shrugged, finally setting the controller down and looking at Masamune for the first time "Anyway, where have you been all day? I thought your lectures had already finished for this semester... who is she and why are you hiding her from us?" he pouted, stuffing his hands into his huge woollen jacket and skulking towards the kitchen
"Nothing of the sort man. It's that tutoring crap that old bastard Takeda has me doing. I'm going to be stuck doing that for the next few weeks while you lazy bastards get to sit at home and play games all day"
"But we're such loveable lazy bastards!" Motochika yawned as he appeared from the hallway wearing nothing but a vest and boxers shorts. He ran a hand through his tousled hair as he headed towards his friends, his scarred left eye remained closed and exposed and his one good eye squinted slightly; a sure sign that he had just woke up
Masamune stared blankly at his friend "My point exactly. Here I am babysitting some backwards brat while Kei plays games all day and you're only just dragging yourself out of bed at..." he craned his neck around to glance at the clock on the microwave "5.10pm!"
Motochika waved his hand up and down in playful dismissal "You reap what you sow Masa-Chan. You got yourself into Takeda's bad books. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time" he grinned as he filled a gigantic bowl full of cereal
"You're so full of wisdom. Please teach me more of your valuable clichés"
"In time young one. I don't want to overload your human brains with too much of my genius all at once" Motochika sang quietly as he closed his eyes "Who will help me pay the rent if your heads explode?"
"My head will fucking explode soon enough anyway" Masamune pouted as he perched on one of the tall kitchen stools "This kid is something else. He's like straight out of a Disney film or something. He actually thought my smokes were pot before"
"Pffft. Awww. Sweet" Motochika laughed through a mouthful of cereal "Oh by the way, Katakura was looking for you before. I said you'd give him a call" he added, pointing his spoon in Masamune's direction
Masamune frowned as he checked his phone "Kojuro... what did he want?"
Well hello and welcome to my first BASARA fic - I hope it has been to your liking so far. Sorry if the bad language has offended anyone - but this is literally like writing about people I know in RL. All students are scarily similar! All reviews bring me joy! I'd love to hear what you think. Thanks for reading :3