Disclaimer: PoT does not belong to me.
This is set in an older timeline, where the third years are eighteen.
Warning: OC-centric
Beta: Eternal.Angel
Enjoy.
Security these days… Sanada thought as he walked along the river canal. At times when the government couldn't control the level of noise pollution, yakuza (1) members could hush them with a single stare. Where the government faced difficulty in getting people to cooperate, yakuza members could accomplish it within days. Perhaps it was because they were allowed to use any means to do so, by hook or by crook. Sometimes, yakuza organizations were even more efficient in bringing aid to earthquake-stricken victims than the government itself. They were growing in power. Still, Sanada could not bring himself to allow such gangsters to taint his world.
They are uncouth, Sanada huffed. He had seen too many of them, extorting money and bullying the weak. At least members of the police would never be seen doing such underhand acts. Luckily for him, he had a glare so deadly that any thoughts to provoke him vanished almost instantly. Sanada had a particular hatred towards the Red Phoenix organization. Some ignorant boy from Red Phoenix had his eyes set on Yukimura a few days ago. Yukimura would have handed over his money if not for Sanada rushing there in the nick of time.
It's alright; I only have a little money.
Sanada sighed. Yukimura was always too kind for his own good.
Still, something nudged him from the back of his head. Red Phoenix members were not usually seen around Tokyo. Their headquarters was situated further up Japan. The organization that controlled Tokyo's black market was the Blue Dragon, Red Phoenix's largest competitor.
And that was all Sanada knew, or allowed himself to know. Deep inside, he feared that knowing too much might land him into somewhat closer relations with the yakuza.
"Help!" A shrill cry pierced the air.
Sanada whirled around to see a young girl running at full speed towards him. His eyes widened; the girl whisked behind him, clutching the edges of his shirt tightly.
"Help me!" She cried fearfully.
Sanada directed his gaze towards the two capped boys coming from the same direction as the girl.
"Hand the girl over," one hollered at him. "She's supposed to be our date today."
The girl shook her head vigorously. Sanada recognized them as members of Red Pheonix; the tattoo on their forearms was blatantly obvious.
First it was extorting money, now forcing innocent girls to keep their company? Unforgivable!
Sanada really needn't do anything more; the first glare had stopped them in their tracks. When they saw the anger burning in his eyes, the two robotically turned around and ran for their lives.
Sanada looked at the shaking girl behind him. Her face was a mix of shock and amazement.
Bad sign.
"You got rid of them so easily…" She said in wonder, clasping her hands together in utmost admiration.
"It's nothing." Sanada fervently wished that she did not become one of his rabid fan girls. Those in school were already crazy enough; he couldn't bear to imagine what an outsider was capable of.
"Ah, I'll be late!" The girl brushed her skirt lightly and attempted to look neater than she already was. Sanada's eyes followed the invisible trail of her fingers: the white pleated skirt, the pink chiffon blouse and the flower-patterned scarf. Her eyes revealed an energetic, cheerful spirit within her.
No wonder those buffoons had their eyes on her, Sanada thought. She was pretty.
Finally pleased with her appearance, the girl straightened and lowered herself into a polite bow.
"Thank you for rescuing me back there…?"
"Sanada."
"Sanada-san (2)," She tucked her fringe behind her right ear, revealing turquoise eyes. "I cannot thank you enough!"
"You should go; aren't you running late?" Sanada replied monotonously.
"Oh, right!" She waved a hand, flustered.
Sanada had turned around and continued on his way home when he heard her voice call him once again.
"Sanada-san? You should be more careful, you know!" She hollered at him from a distance. There was something strange about her smile; her words were even more intriguing, but Sanada couldn't quite catch it. Sanada pushed it away, thinking that it was all his imagination. Hurrying home was his current top priority.
He needed to calm that racing heart in his chest.
Needless to say, by the time he had stepped into the house, the blush had receded. Still, he felt uneasy. A walk in the garden might help, Sanada mused.
The garden was one of the most relaxing places in the compound. When he lied down on the grass, he shut his eyes and listened to the faint coordinated shouts of the kendo students, like a soothing rhythm.
You should be more careful, you know?
Sanada frowned. This girl not only disrupted his daily route, she also invaded his time of tranquility! Sanada pulled his cap over his eyes and rolled to the side, shutting out her voice from his head. Sanada frowned again. His pants felt unusually comfortable today. There was no bulge that protested against him as he leaned on one side.
Sanada sat up. He felt his pants pocket.
Empty.
Sanada finally realized what he had seen in that smile.
Mockery.
Sanada cursed under his breath.
It was only early evening, yet the neon signs were lit and loudspeakers were blaring announcements in no particular order. Hardly anyone was paying attention to them; they were all too busy going about their lives.
Within the tsunami of citizens walking the streets of Tokyo, a girl came out of the ladies and waved to her buddies. She pushed her belt lower, and tucked back her fringe.
Turquoise eyes.
"That was evil; you picked such a difficult opponent." One of the guys hooked his arm over her neck.
"I need to have a strong prince in order to play the damsel in distress; have you ever seen the damsel rescuing the prince before?" She shoved his arm off, and draped one arm across his shoulders.
Phoenix wings.
"You rescued Daisuke once before, does that count?" The guy chuckled, while the other flushed bright red.
"That was accidental; I could have handled it by myself!" Daisuke spluttered.
Hiroyuki moved backwards to avoid a wayward punch.
"Oh really? I heard that you tried threatening a Mr. Smiling Face, and then met up with a very scary Mr. Stone Face who knew judo. Luckily, the princess was around to create a distraction for the prince to escape in one piece." Hiroyuki teased.
The girl bent over in laughter, clutching her stomach.
"Stop laughing, Mikan! At least I didn't do something like pick pocketing!" Daisuke argued with his face still very red.
"Oh? Why try threatening when it's so dangerous? Remember, you nearly broke an arm because of Mr. Stone Face. He was horrifyingly angry…" Mikan countered in mock seriousness.
"Yeah, his face can rival Mr. I-Am-Pissed this afternoon! You could practically feel the heat of his radiating anger!" Hiroyuki cut in amusedly.
"Do you know? He's only eighteen."
Both guys dropped their jaws. Snapping out of his shock, Hiroyuki exclaimed, "He looks like some teacher!"
Mikan hit him on the head. "Can't you see the uniform? And, his ID says so."
Mikan twirled the card between her fingers.
"He's a good one. Must be from one of those rich families." Mikan overturned the leather wallet, and shook it.
"Nothing. There it goes!"
Mikan let the wallet slip from her fingers, straight into the rubbish bin.
"Alright! We can go party now!" Mikan shot an arm into the air, when she felt someone tapping her shoulder.
"Pick pocketing, have you?" A low feminine voice sounded next to her ear.
Mikan freezed. She turned very slowly, and grinned sheepishly.
"It was only for fun…" Mikan began.
"For fun?! What fun is there? Have you got no pride, no sense of shame? To pickpocket! We need not stoop so low; we are different from those petty thieves!"
"Yes…" Oh great, Mikan groaned. Of all the people I could bump into, I had to bump into Toshi
"I'll make a move first; she's gonna take a while." Hiroyuki whispered in her ear, before moving off with Daisuke. Daisuke stuck his tongue out at her, and mouthed 'Ha Ha'.
Mikan wanted to stick out her tongue back at him, but was stopped mid-way by Toshi's thundering.
"Are you paying attention!?" Toshi hardly asked questions that sounded like questions.
"Yes…"
"And so, as punishment, you will work in the café for a week."
Mikan's eyes widened, and she tugged Toshi's sleeve.
"Come on, don't be so hard on me!" Mikan begged.
"Are you negotiating?!" Toshi flared.
"No. I'll do it." Mikan conceded meekly. I don't want to fight Monster Yamada!
"Why will you ever learn…" Toshi sighed, muttering.
It's going to be another boring week…
Sanada scowled as he went through the application papers.
He needed a new ID. Not only that, he was grounded for being careless and losing money.
She had better not let me see her again, Sanada uttered silently.
fin.
Notes:
1. Yakuza organizations are criminal organizations in Japan. I have taken certain liberties to tweak information a (large) bit, so it is not all factual.
2. san – honorific to respect someone older than you
3. Kobayashi Mikan and Yamada Toshi are leaders of the youth branch in the yakuza organization, Red Phoenix. Kobayashi Mikan will be the main focus.
4. Kuro Hiroyuki and Abe Daisuke are minor characters.
5. All of the OCs introduced in this chapter are nineteen.
6. Mr. Smiling Face and Mr. Stone Face are PoT characters.
Reviews would be helpful.