Chapter 1 Choice
It's a dark rainy day as I look out the window of the math room. It s the last hour of the day and the rain is slowing down. I sigh and run my hand threw my long black hair that rests on my shoulder. The teacher, Mrs. Kurikata, is droning on with her math equations and asking each person to answer a question. I was three people from being called on and she was going down the rows. I feel a tap on my shoulder and look behind me, it was Ryu. His hair is medium long and white, his eyes are a very strange bluish grey color. He is wearing his usual skull headphones around his neck, along with a spiked dog collar and a matching one on his wrist, a white hoodie and jeans. He is putting his hand up to his head and making a fake gun. We laugh under our breath and the teacher calls on me. I stand and look at her.
"Ichimaru, 10z=1000. What is Z?" she says staring me down. "Z is 100 ma'am" I say. I sit and put my chin on my hands.
good Ryu 100w=3000 what is W?" she asks.
Ryu stands quietly and gracefully.
" W is 30" he sits just as gracefully as he stood and the teacher continues on to the next student not ever telling Ryu good job at all. The bell rings and the teacher dismisses the class. Everyone gets their books and goes to their lockers to get their stuff for the day. Seeing as we didn't have any homework I just got my notebook and book. As I do Ryu leans against my locker grinning.
"Hey Ryu-kun" I say smiling and closing my locker.
"Heh hi, so you going to go to the dance tonight?" he asks as we begin to walk down the hall. "Um no I don t think so I don t have anyone to go with"
"Well if you want to go I could take you" he smiles "Oh but. Only as a friend"
"If you wanna go we can Ryu ill go if you want me to"
OK then go home and get ready ill pick you up at 6:30 Kay?"
"OK ill see you later Ryu-kun" I run out of the school and to my house as fast as I can knowing that my mother would never allow me to go if she knew and she was going to be home soon. I walk to my room after setting my books on the kitchen table and look threw my closet. The room is small and has almost nothing in it. Just a bed a dresser and a bedside table with books and notebooks on it, nothing to fancy or pretty. My closet is stocked thinly with mostly dark old cloths but I have two dresses, one is my real mothers little black dress, its strapless and it goes just below my hip and then slants down and it s made of a silky material that makes it shimmer in the light. My mother gave it to me before she died. The other is a long red and black dress she got me for prom. I wouldn t be going to prom for another three years so I was saving it for then. I grab the black dress and walk into the bathroom to take a shower. Once im out of the shower I dry my hair with a blow-dryer and brush it. I let it hang down my back reaching my knees and put the dress on. I hear a knock at the door and go to open it. "Hey Ryu-kun"
"Hi Ichi" he says smiling "you ready to go?"
"Yep, you like the dress? I ask spinning then facing him again.
"Yeah it fits you nice he says looking the dress over causing me to blush.
"Lets go we are gonna be late if we are walking"
"We aren t walking I got my brother to drive us he just got his license a month ago"
"Oh ok witch brother is it?"
"Its Ikuto you haven t met him yet he has been away for a while"
"Oh ok well lets go" I grab his hand and pull him outside and to the car, Then I let go of his hand suddenly realizing what I was doing.
The car was just a old black pick-up truck. A boy with long red hair sits in the seat of the car his arm out the window. His black shirt seems like the front was almost completely cut out, the V-neck went down to the middle of his waist showing nearly all of his chest. I figured this was Ikuto, seeing how his eyes were almost exactly like Ryu's but there was a little more grey in them. As we reach the car he looks at us and smiles, it was a sexy and almost dangerous smile.
"Hello. Im Ikuto, It s nice to meet you, im guessing your Ichimaru?" he says opening the door of the car and getting out.
"Yes I am and it s nice to meet you too"
Ikuto grabs my hand and kisses it "you re just as beautiful as Ryu said" He grins and glances at Ryu who looks away a bit. I blush, Ikuto was definitely not a bad looking guy, in fact he was just the opposite, he was one of the most beautiful people I had ever met his eyes seemed to glisten in the light and the way his shirt was just made it better. I wonder if Ryu would mind if I liked his brother... As this thought went threw my head I suddenly felt a strange, somewhat bad, feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something bad was going to happen, and my best guess was mom was coming home.
We need to go now Ryu, she s almost home and I don t want to miss the dance because of her. ok come one Ikuto get in the car we gotta go and quick with that Ryu opens the passenger side door and holds it open for me and we both get in quickly. As soon as the door slams closed the truck goes down the street at 50 MPH. As we go down the street a old beaten up car passes us and a woman with short brown hair and a very revealing outfit on glares at us that was when the feeling got the worst. It was Mitskuni, my step mother, she was the only guardian I had so I was forced to live with her. She was a cruel hearted woman who only cares about looks and money. Plus she isnt in the best line of work, in fact she s in the worst she sells her body to men she doesnt even know if they give her the right price, it disgusts me. How any woman could do that to herself is beyond me but its her choice and I have nothing to do with it in her eyes im just some slave girl who cleans the house and someone to blame everything on. To her im not even human.
As I think the truck comes to a stop and I looks around. We were at the school wow I must have been really deep in thought this time... Ryu and I get out and the truck turns off. I look at Ikuto as he gets out of the truck.
Are you going to the dance? Yeah what can I not go to my own schools dance? he says walking over.
o-oh, sorry I didn t know you went to this school Wellll the only way I can forgive you is if you go as my date not ryu s Ryu looks at me well its up to you we did just come as friends so im...im fine with it I guess even though he s using your kindness against you. Fine Ikuto but just because you will forgive me Ikuto grins and his arm slips around my waist then lets go Ichi I blush and we walk to the gym of the school with Ryu right behind us. I felt sort of bad, Ryu is the one I came with and now he's here without a date. I must have had a sad look on my face because when we got to the gym Ryu patted me head and whispered its ok Ichi im fine ill just watch With that Ikuto pulls me to the dance floor as a slow song starts, he pulls me close and looks at Ryu a flicker in his eye seems to say something to Ryu and he looks away then sits in a chair by the back wall. I dance with Ikuto for a little bit then go to sit with Ryu. Of course Ikuto follows with all the girls in the room watching him. They seemed to be watching me, no more glaring at me for being his date and not them. Its not like I asked him, he was the one who asked me...sort of. Either way they loathed me and I didn t like all the eyes on me. Luckily talking to Ryu helped he was very intuitive and understanding of what I was thinking. I was never sure how be he always seems to know what im thinking or what I mean when im talking about something confusing. Soon enough I forgot about the vultures watching me with hate in their eyes. At 10:00 the dance was over and Ikuto took me home.
Hey Ichi, could I stay here for the night? My mom is having a fit about me not doing the dishes last night Ryu asks as he lets me out of the truck.
Sure Ryu, your always welcome here, my mom should be gone for the week she has a... well lets just say a business meeting in Okinawa. Ryu shakes his head She should just leave for good she doesnt even like you so why doesn t she just go live with one of those men she loves so much She wants to make my life as miserable as possible but I don t care anymore vie gotten used to it. What are you talking about Ichi? Ikuto asks.
Oh its nothing Yeah nothing you need to know Ikuto Ryu glares at him but he just grins.
Well could I stay too Ichi? Um yeah I guess but you have to share the guest room with Ryu I say as he turns off the truck, gets out, and locks its doors. Im fine with that and im sure Ryu is too, right bro? Ikuto says putting his arm around Ryu s shoulder.
Ryu pushes his arm off, yeah, im fine with that I smile and lead them into the house. Ryu sits on the couch and Ikuto looks around the living room. A loud sound echoes down the hall and someone stops into the living room. Ryu stands up and looks at the person, Ikuto just keeps looking around the living room. Mitskuni glares at Ryu and Ikuto I see you have two boys in the house without my permission Ichi y-yes ma am I do I was going to ask you if it was ok before they stayed, their mother wont let them come home for the night and they need somewhere to stay if you will please let them as I speak I keep my head down.
No Ichi you don t need to ask permission from that bitch, she doesnt care about you does she, she doesnt take care of you and she wouldnt give a shit if you died would she? She's useless so don t even bother talking to her so kindly she doesnt deserve it Ikuto says facing her hatred in his eyes.
Who the hell do you think you are kid? Get the fuck out of my house before I call the cops! Ikuto Ryu go outside, stay in the club house ok I say, knowing what would happen if the cops came into this.
But... Ikuto begins to talk but Ryu grabs him and drags him outside without a word.
Now Ichi... what did you think I would say about two boys in the house? Huh? Did you think I would allow it? No you thought I was gone and you were going to fool around with them werent you? No I... I don t want to hear it you little slut! What the hell is wrong with you? She grabs my wrist and throws me into the wall.
I couldn t hit her, it s as if it is just impossible for me to fight back as she hit me repeatedly and hurt me like she always does. Sometimes its for the stupidest reasons. If I don t cook the food right or don t to her laundry, sometimes if I do badly on a test or get home late, it is all just stupid crap that doesnt really matter. Her goal in life is to make me miserable and she was winning. As she hit me and slammed me against the wall the only thing going threw my mind was Ryu and Ikuto, wanting to help them find somewhere to sleep, even as I get beat all I saw was Ryu and Ikuto. After about ten minutes I sit in my room curled up in the corner crying quietly, still only thinking about where they would sleep for the night. Then as I cry my window opens and someone hops in followed by a smaller person.
W-whose there? I ask looking up at the people who, at the moment, were just shadows. It s ok Ichi it s just us One of the people says walking towards me.
Oh... its juts you I wipe my tears not wanting Ryu or Ikuto to see me cry. They pull me to my feet and Ryu looks at me worried/ I make sure my hair is covering a large bruise on the side of my jaw.
Hey kid come on quit crying its ok, we are going to get you out of here Ikuto says smiling and patting my head. OK I say in a small whisper, I would have thought no human could have heard it but Ikuto nodded and the two helped me out the window quietly hoping my mother wouldnt notice us. Once we were all safely on the ground we begin to walk down the street and dark clouds form over our heads. The rain begins to fall in thick and fast sheets soaking all three of us within seconds, we run down the street past houses filled with sleeping people and then into the woods. About half a mile into the trees there is a small path leading up to a little log cabin looking house. It was a old house but it worked when Ryu or I had to hide. The only problems were the rooms were painted hideous colors and the roof was a bit leaky so water got in when it rained like this. We run down the path and quickly into the house. Wow nice little place you got here Ichi Ikuto says looking around his hair sticking to his face and water dripping from his cloths. Well its not really mine its Ryu s too Oh, either way it s a nice place, why don t you live here? he asks.
We cant, if we live here we have to find away to pay the bills and so far we cant get jobs with good enough pay to afford it so we just stay at home, if we could we would live here so we don t have to deal with our families Ryu says, seeming to glare at Ikuto with a hidden meaning behind is eyes. Yeah, we have to get jobs before we can properly live here Well... I could pay for it, that is, if you will allow me to live here too Ryu, would you be willing to let him? Ryu sighs and thinks for a moment, I guess, as long as he picks up after himself and doesnt break things. Ikuto grins and crosses his arms in triumph I will and ill be sure to pay all the bills I smile and the rain begins to stop. We all sit on the floor in the living room and talk for hours until the rain has finally stopped and I stand. Well we should go get our stuff shouldnt we? Yeah we should if were going to live here. Ikuto go get the truck tomorrow and we will pack and get our things. Ikuto nods, We need paint too those rooms look horrible and the color on the walls is discolored from age not to mention the roof, we gotta fix that too. Yeah well in going to get some sleep I sit by the back wall my cloths still wet.
Me too, go get the truck Ikuto ill get up early to go and get our stuff Ryu sits beside me.
Ikuto sighs and walks outside and into the street, I would guess he was getting the truck now. Rain starts to trickle down again making a relaxing sound on the roof causing my eyes to droop. I think I m gonna go to sleep Ryu Ok Ichi he smiles and leans against the wall closing his eyes, me too I smile and start to slowly drift off to sleep. Something warm wraps around my shoulder and presses against my side a bit. Not caring what it is I lean in to it taking in the warmth.
When I wake up in the morning I open my eyes and look around. Ikuto is lying in the middle of the floor and im lying against something. When I look its Ryu, his arms are around me and i'm practically in his lap. How did I get here? And what time is it... I look at my watch and it s about 10:00 in the morning. Oi Ryu... wake up we need to get our stuff Ryu doesnt respond. I get up and stretch, somehow that woke him up because he looks up at me and rubs his eyes.
Hmmm hi Ichi, what time is it? Its about ten, we gotta get our stuff packed if you want to move in any time soon. Oh, well we can pack today and paint and fix the roof, but it'll be a couple days before we can move in Oh, ok well I m gonna go get some boxes Ikuto already got them, he got boxes, paint, paint brushes and rollers, tools and roof shingles Oh wow I would have helped him if he told me what he was doing You don t need to help hi he owes me for something he did Oh? And what did he do? That s nothing you need to worry about for now Fine, but I will find out I grin and look out a window. Well I m gonna head out to start packing. How you gonna get the boxes to your house? Um.... I don t know Ill wake up Ikuto and he can drive you home and carry boxes in for you Ok thanks Ryu stands up and walks over to the sleeping Ikuto and looks down at him. Then he kicks him, I watch as Ikuto jumps up and swings a fist at Ryu who dodges easily. Ikuto glares at him and swings at him again and this time makes contact hitting Ryu in the chest.
Heh got you this time brat I let you because if I didnt you would be embarrassed by me. We need you to drive us to her house so she can pack Fine let s go Ikuto walks out to the truck and gets in. I follow with Ryu close behind. As we get into the truck Ikuto turns it on. His eyes are half closed with dark rings under them, it makes me wonder how he can drive like that. I look out the window as we drive past a small store. As we pass a group of kids from my class point at the truck and the girls giggle and the boys all cross their arms. They almost seemed mad, it was kind of strange, why would they be mad? A chill goes down my spine as Ikuto speaks.
I'm gonna stop at the store and get some pop you want any? sure ill take root beer I say as he parks Ok ill be back he gets out of the car and walks into the store.
I m gonna go with him to make sure he doesn t get into trouble Ryu says and he follows Ikuto into the store leaving me in the car.
I sit by the window watching for them to come back, I didnt like the look of the kids in front of the store. Then just as I sit back in the seat of the truck the girls from the group walk over and knock on the window. Realizing I know most of them I roll it down to see what they want. hey... um I know we don t know you to well but we were wondering, that boy your always with, is he going out with you? one of the girls named Miki asks.
no! of course not he's just a friend ok, what about the other one? He took you to the dance so he has to be going out with you right? no, that was just a deal we made I'm not going out with either of them. They all seem a bit down hearted then a couple whisper something and they all run into the store. I watch wondering what they were up to. The boys watch them and shake their heads then look at me. I curl up against the seat making myself as small as possible hoping that Ryu and Ikuto would be out soon. Just as I look at the store again Ikuto walks out with the girls trailing behind him and Ryu rolls his eyes and gets in the truck. God, he can t go anywhere without some girl asking him out can he? what's wrong with that? nothing really accept he usually picks one up then drops her breaking her heart, its cruel really I see, well they all look pretty down hearted now I look out the window at them as they stop with the group of boys and Ikuto gets in the truck.
they are so annoying, they didn t bother me on the way in and the second I go to leave I'm attacked Ikuto mutters getting into the truck.
eh sorry, I suppose that s my fault, they came over and asked me if I was going out with you or Ryu and I told them no, I should have told them to leave you alone because you seem tired and not in the mood for anyone to bother you, i'm sorry. I begin to babble but Ryu covers my mouth.
Sheesh you sure do talk a lot for it being this early I agree Ryu, but he grins if she wants to go out with me she certainly can ask instead of trying to cover it up. I blush a bit and Ryu rolls his eyes just drive Ikuto I don t think she wants to go out with a womanizer Ikuto sighs and drives to the house without another word. Ikuto sighs and drives to the house without another word. I wonder if it is true that he is a womanizer, he did seem like it but didn t end up with any of those girls then again maybe they werent his type. I shake my head. What was I thinking! It doesnt matter if he was, I didnt like him!
Ryu looks at me you ok? Yeah, I just sort of forgot where we were going. Ok. Well were here, you can pack your stuff and me and Ikuto will go fix up the house. I nod and climb over Ryu s lap to get out of the truck. When I look back at them Ikuto is grinning and Ryu is blushing. I ignore it and get a bunch of boxes from the car, drive safe you two and don t get into trouble Ikuto smirks yea yea mom he laughs and drives to the house. I walk into my house, extremely glad to find that my mother isn t home. The TV is off and so are all the lights so, unless she was conserving energy, she was gone. I walk to my room and press play on my iPod. My favorite song, caramelldancen, begins to play on the speakers as I pack my cloths into boxes.
Hey um i hope you like this story im using ikutos name not the character from Shugo chara (if you know what it is)
Please comment ill get up what i can soon!