Omi's Clothing Crisis.
By Mari-Chan
July 2003
Warnings: AU. School bullies, school assemblies, fist fights. Pairings: None
Disclaimer: I don't own Weiss Kreuz..Boo hoo.
The morning air was clean, and crisp. The sun was beginning to peek over the building across from the Koneko, lighting the windows up and begging the flowers to open. The early morning silence was punctuated by a loud.
"AGH!!!!"
Inside the building, three sets of feet ran toward the source of the yell, and rounded the corner of the doorframe. They were greeted by the image of Omi kneeling on the floor, holding a bunch of shorts in his arms.
"What's wrong?" Yohji said, somewhat alarmed. "Bishu?"
Omi looked up, his tear stained face reddened and his eyes still leaking fluid. "I can't wear these," he sniffed.
Aya huffed and walked into the room. "What can't you do?"
By this time, Ken and Yohji had also entered the room and the three of them sat and kneeled around the youngest, waiting for an explanation of the tears and the yell.
"I can't wear these," he said, his voice becoming steadier.
"Why not?" Ken asked.
"Not clean," he said softly. " I have spent so much time on homework that I did not get to do laundry. I have no clean shorts.
Yohji almost fell over. "Honestly," he said "Wear something else. You must have a clean pair here somewhere."
Omi shook his head, "None that will go with anything I have," he said.
Ken stood up and walked to the pile of clothes slung over the chair in the corner, and began pulling items and holding them up.
"These?"
"Dirty."
"These?"
"Ruined."
"These?"
"Soiled with dirt."
Ken threw his hands up in defeat. "I." He turned to the closet and opened the sliding doors. Once again he went back to rummaging through the closet, pulling items on hangers and holding them up.
"No."
"These?"
"No."
"How about these?" he said without looking at them.
"Ken, they're pink."
"Oops, sorry," Ken said returning them to the closet.
After another few minutes, Ken had given up and was back to sitting on the floor while Yohji paced and Aya lounged on the bed.
"You will just have to wear pants today," Aya commented from the bed.
"No," Omi replied. "Someone else can go for me."
Ken looked over. "Don't look at me, I have plans today."
Yohji spoke up next. "Date."
Aya sat up on the bed. "You were invited, you are going. Clean up this mess and get dressed." He stood up and walked to the door.
"We'll be downstairs."
Yohji and Ken both stood and walked out of the door. Once out of earshot from Omi, Ken turned to Aya.
"That was mean, Aya." he said.
"Maybe, but he has to learn," Aya replied. "You have to set priorities."
"Yes," Yohji said. "He has priorities; taking care of us."
Aya stopped in the kitchen and turned to them. "It's a big deal event at the school. It's not everyday that a kid is handed an award for top academic marks. Omi needs to dress for this, and taking the clean shorts away was the only thing I could think of to get him into pants and a jacket."
Yohji smiled at this. "Omi would probably wear shorts to his own wedding." He went back to what he was originally thinking. "Does he know that we are going to be there?"
"He doesn't even know why he's going to school. All hush hush," Ken said. "So I guess we should get ready?"
"No," Aya said, "not until Omi has left."
Several minuets later, Omi walked in wearing dress pants and a nice shirt. His jacket folded across his arm. He looked very uncomfortable, and shifted from one foot to the other as he stood there.
"I'm leaving," he said. "I'll see you later."
Yohji looked up. "You look great, Bishu."
"Hm," Omi replied, turning and leaving through the shop.
Mamoe stopped him at the door. She helped him put the jacket on and smoothed it down on him, then pulled a small flower from one of the pots and fixed it into the lapel of the jacket. Omi gave her a quick hug and a smile before stepping out into the morning air.
Once Omi was out of sight, Mamoe signaled to Aya, who nodded back. He walked to Yohji and Ken.
"Now we can get ready. Omi is out of sight."
"He walked to the school?" Ken asked after not hearing the rev of Omi's cycle.
"Yep," Aya replied.
"It's not far."
Yohji stood up from the table and excused himself. A few moments later Ken followed him out the door.
Omi walked at a leisurely pace towards the school, as he got closer, he noticed other students walking up to the gates, and getting dropped off by family members. They were all dressed in nice clothes, and all looked somewhat lost.
"Omi!"
Omi turned around to see one of the girls from his homeroom walking towards him.
"You're here?" Omi asked.
The young girl caught up to Omi and stopped to catch her breath. Once able to speak again she told him what she knew.
"My parents woke me up and told me to get dressed. My mom had even left a new dress in plastic for me to wear." She did a little turn for Omi, who smiled.
"You look very nice," Omi replied.
"So do you. You clean up nicely, Omi."
Omi blushed slightly. Even though his school uniform had pants, he still kept some sense of his style by having the shirt sticking out whenever he could.
"Thanks," he said, "but do you know why we are here?"
"No clue, my folks wouldn't tell me."
"Same here. I mean my guardians."
She smiled briefly, as though she had said something wrong. Omi didn't advertise that he had no parents, and most of the time acted like nothing was wrong. After all, Omi could not remember not being with Aya, Yohji or Ken. To him, they were his parents. A picture of the old painting of the Woman and the Man with the pitchfork came to his mind, but instead of the two older people, the woman was replaced by Yohji, and the old man by Aya holding the pitchfork. Omi found himself smiling as his friend was pointing out another member of their class.
The three walked through the gates and into a gathering of other students from their year. Most of them didn't know each other, so many were standing in silence wondering what to do next. After waiting a few minutes, a voice boomed over the speakers.
"Students, please make your way to the gymnasium."
Omi looked up at the speaker and back to his friends, "Shall we?"
"OK."
"Sure."
Upon entering the gym, they noticed that the bleachers had been opened and the teachers present were ushering the students into the rows.
*
Aya looked up the spiral staircase and yelled to Yohji and Ken.
"Come on, guys, we have to go."
Aya turned to Mamoe, who was dressed in a nice dress. For once she was not holding a cat.
"I always though women take the longest to get ready." he said
Mamoe smiled. "That's what we want you to think."
Aya just smiled as Ken walked down the stairs, followed by Yohji a minute later.
"Got the invite?" Ken asked.
Mamoe nodded.
"Gift?"
"Yep," Aya answered. "Well, I'm not taking it with us, he will get that when we get back."
"Gift," Yohji said "Didn't he just have his birthday?"
"Yep," Aya said again.
Ken looked to Yohji. "It's a new drive for the computer in his room, he has already filled the two internal drives the system came with."
Yohji smiled. "Yeah, that sounds like our Bishounen."
Ken looked between them.
"Camera," he inquired, patting his pockets.
"I have it," he said laughing at himself.
Aya looked at the clock. "Let's go. We'll take Mamoe's car. It can fit all of us, with Omi."
* The gym hummed with conversation as students made their way to seats. Omi sat with the two people from his homeroom and looked around to see if he recognized anyone else. Most sat with people they knew and basically wore the same confused expression.
One of the teachers stood up and walked into the center of the floor.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, quiet please."
The room fell silent as all faces turned to face the voice.
"Good morning."
"Good morning," the voices said in unison.
"I'm sure many of you are wondering why you are here on a Saturday and why you are all dressed up?"
He was met with several nods and comments.
"A few months ago, we gave all students the academic tests for their year.."
Omi nodded to his friends. "I remember," he said.
"The study regimen was crazy," replied the young girl on his left.
"Of those students who passed the test, the people assembled here today received outstanding grades."
"Cool."
"Therefore, we have decided to honor those students who have risen above the levels required for their grade standard." The teacher paused for a moment.
"Shortly, you will be guided towards the auditorium where your parents, peers, and friends have been invited to share in this occasion."
Omi felt his heart sink. Everyone would have someone here to share their achievement but him. His guardians all had plans for the day. He was forced out of his thoughts by the young lady beside him linking her arm in his and smiling.
"Omi, this will be great. I hope my parents will be there."
Omi smiled at her and tried to hide his disappointment. This day was going to be a real downer.
* Aya pulled the large sedan into a handicapped parking space and turned the engine off. He opened his door and stepped out, closing the door behind him. Ken stepped out from the rear passenger door and stepped around the car to help Yohji with Mamoe. Together they helped Mamoe stand and get her balance.
"Are you sure you don't want the wheelchair?" Ken asked.
Mamoe brushed him away. "No, Ken, I want to walk. This is a special day, I will not be confined to that metal baby carriage."
Aya found himself smiling at the words. He motioned to the auditorium signs and led them in that direction. Soon they found themselves merging with other people, as the entrance loomed closer. They presented their tickets and followed the slow moving line inside until they found their seats and moved to sit down.
*
Omi stood waiting in a single file line. They had been placed according to year and homeroom, so at least he was able to remain with his friends. In the line across from him, two older boys were pointing and making remarks. Omi could hear them making fun of him. He glared in their direction.
"Problem, Tsukiyono?" one of them asked.
"No different than usual," Omi replied deadpan.
"Omi, don't," his friend said placing a hand on his arm.
"Relax, " Omi replied. "Neither of them is worth my breath."
"What was that, Omi?" the second guy chided.
Omi looked directly at them. "I merely said that neither of you are worth my breath."
"Why don't you come over here and say that?"
Omi handed his jacket to his friend.
"Hold this for me," he stated as he stepped out of line and over to the two bullies.
One of the teachers had noticed the movement and commented down the line.
"Tsukiyono, back in line, please."
Omi chose not to hear him and stopped inches from the two older teens. They looked down at him and glared.
"Now what were you saying?"
"You are not worth my breath," Omi bit out each word.
"Tsukiyono, back in line, now," the voice behind them bellowed.
"Damn orphan, they let anyone in this school," one bully spoke to the other.
Omi lost it then. He could take being called almost any name under the sun, but when you made fun of his parental situation, one that was a particular sore spot, Omi found he could not control his anger. He lunged out at the first teen's neck, grabbing the tie in his fist and yanking the taller boy down to his level. The boy grunting as he was pulled forward to stare into blue eyes that were blazing red with anger.
"I could break your neck for that remark."
"Yeah, I'd like to see you try."
"Would you?" Omi pulled the tie and wrapped the loose fabric around his wrist in one fluid motion, tightening the loop and causing his would be taunter to cough.
"Hey!" the second boy yelled. "Stop it, man."
This alerted the teachers along the row, who came running to see the commotion.
"Tsukiyono, back off," one said.
"Not until I get an apology," Omi said unconcerned.
The man in his chokehold sank to his knees, as his friend lunged at Omi.
Omi neatly sidestepped the fist that shot in his direction, while keeping a hold on the tie, but as the flash moved past him Omi's friend yelled something and jumped into the battle. That was it. Pandemonium ensued. Boys and girls, forgetting that most of them were dressed in good clothes jumped into the foray head on. The teachers were almost unable to do anything but watch.
Whistles began to blow, teachers began to yell, and students began to cheer. One by one students were pulled back from the fight until four remained. Omi's friend stood up sporting a cut above his eye, and a bruised lip. The second bully sat on the floor crying over a banged up knee, much to the delight of his past victims. The boy with the tie found that he no longer had a tie, instead he had a large welt on the back of his neck, and several scratches on his face. Finally the teacher pulled Omi to his feet and held him there. Omi still held the ripped tie in his fist and had hardly broken a sweat.
The room fell silent as people realized who was at the center of the fight. Omi could hear the whispered comments
"Did you see that?"
"Where did he learn to fight like that?"
"Did you see the sweep motion move he did?"
"Cool."
"Yeah."
"That's Tsukiyono?"
"Which one?"
"The shrimp in the burgundy shirt".
Omi shook himself free of the teacher's grip, and looked around. The teacher looking at him in stunned silence as he nonchalantly straightened his shirt and smoothed his hair down. His shirtsleeve was ripped at the shoulder seam and hung partially down his arm. His pants were ripped at the knee, and his dress jacket was nowhere to be found. Aya was going to kill him.
Once order was reestablished, and the lines were reformed, the students were led into the auditorium. Omi glanced around the sections he could see, but did not recognize any faces. He found his seat and sat down, absently playing with the ripped fabric of his shirt.
*
Yohji strained to look as the students walked in to applause and noise.
"I don't see him," he said.
Ken had his nose in the program. "He's one of the last awards. Hopefully we will see him soon."
The school principal stepped up on the stage.
"Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen, Students. I'd like to welcome you to this special awards presentation. Although we usually do not have awards until the end of the year, we thought it would make a nice change."
Ken had folded his program and was beginning to fall asleep. Yohji elbowed him when he thought Ken snored. Ken threw him a look of disgust.
"Well, enough of my talk, let's get on with the awards."
The principal introduced the first teacher and the crowd applauded.
Minutes became an hour and soon they were down to the last four awards.
The first award went to Omi's friend and when he stood up to let his friend pass, Yohji pointed him out to the others. Aya and Ken nodded as Omi sat back down. From the distance they did not notice the torn clothing.
The second award went to the boy whose tie currently lay on the gym floor. As he stepped up to get his award, the crowd murmured at the boy's attire. Ken found himself smiling.
"Wonder what happened to him?" he asked.
"No idea," Yohji said. "Maybe we should have let Omi wear shorts."
Ken snorted in response.
*
Omi sat in his seat and exhaled. With only two awards left he knew that one belonged to him. He almost wished for this ceremony to be over, so he could go home and hide in his room for a few hours. Everyone had a cheering section, except him. He shook his head, scolding himself. So what if he had no one here. He was proud of the hard work he had put in and what he had accomplished, and he would hold his head high and accept his award with a smile.
*
The principal was once again up at the microphone; he waited for the noise to lower before speaking.
"Thank you for your patience through the ceremony. We are down to our last two awards, and this year they are going to be awarded together. The first award is for the Highest Marks in the School on the standard test given to all students. The second award is for Excellence in Moral Standards. This year we are happy to present these two awards to one person. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to bestow these honors to Omi Tsukiyono."
There was a moment of stunned silence before Yohji wolf whistled and yelled out.
"Yes, OMI!!!" he shouted. "My Man!!!"
Omi was beginning to stand when he heard the familiar voice, and almost fell back into his seat. His friends looked to him with concern. He straightened himself up and made his way past people who after the morning festivities could hardly believe the award winner was the same person who beat up the school troublemakers.
About this time Aya had noticed that Omi was not wearing his dress jacket. He looked harder, and though he saw a flash of flesh peeking out ? by Omi's shoulder. He dismissed it until Omi stepped fully onto the stage and into the light.
"What the.?" he whispered.
Yohji was now laughing at the sight in front of him. It now made sense. The boy with the ripped shirt and black eye, Omi with the ripped shirt and pants. He muttered to Ken and pointed in Omi's direction. Ken looked over and smiled.
Yohji stood up, cupped his hands around his mouth and toasted his partner "Yeah, Omi, that's my boy. Woo Hoo."
Ken grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the seat.
On the stage, Omi blushed a shade of red to compliment his shirt. His heart leapt at the noise of his family member's voice. He looked out into the audience trying to pinpoint where the voice was, but could not see past the bright lights. Omi walked to the principal who held out his hand. Omi shook the hand and the principal leaned in to him.
"We will just forget about this morning, Mr. Tsukiyono."
Omi smiled at the man and nodded. He took his two awards and walked across to the other side of the stage, and back to his seat. With a loud exhale he fell back into his chair and sank low enough that he disappeared below the seat line. All the while his heart raced a mile a minute.
*
The front door to the Koneko opened and Yohji walked inside carrying food boxes and one of the award trophies in his arms. Omi followed close behind, his clothing still disheveled. He held his other trophy, and an assortment of envelopes. Behind him Aya could be heard talking.
"I can't believe you lost your only dress jacket, and the shirt is useless now."
"I can fix the shirt," Mamoe said from the doorway, as Ken helped her inside.
"That's not the point. It was a perfectly good shirt."
"Oh, give it a rest, Aya, It's just a shirt," Ken said.
Yohji placed the items down. "Besides, he beat up the two bullies that have taunted him since he first enrolled."
He walked over to Omi, grabbed the smaller blond in a chokehold and ruffled his hair.
"My boy, I taught you everything you know. I'm so proud," he said dramatically wiping a tear from his eye.
Omi shook free of the hold and smoothed his hair, "Yohji."
"Go change," Aya said to Omi. "Before you start a new fashion trend."
Omi left the room and Ken looked over to Aya.
"Where is the gift?"
"Wait," Aya answered holding a hand up to silence them all.
A moment passed.
Then another.
"Oh my gods!" suddenly was heard from the vicinity of Omi's room then.
"Guys.how did you.. holy shit.. how much RAM?
Aya smiled. "I think he likes his gift."
Silence ensued for a moment before feet were heard scrambling onto on the spiral staircase, and Omi's sock clad legs were in view. Omi bent over the railing, his hair falling forward.
"Oy, can I have my shorts back now?"
"Oops," Aya said. "Where did I put them?"
"Aya!" Omi yelped. "What did you do with them."
Yohji laughed. "Don't panic, Bishu. I have the solution," he said pulling a bag out from under the table and walking over to Omi.
Omi opened the bag and pulled out new shorts. He smiled, "Thanks, Yohji."
Yohji looked up and smiled, blushing slightly. He realized why Omi had not come down the stairs. He quietly whispered to Omi, "Go put your shorts on, Kid."
Omi blushed and smiled. "It could be another clothing crisis."
"No thanks, Bishu," Yohji said as he walked away.
Owari.
Don't Plagiarize
Don't make me Tsukiyono on your ass.
Warnings: AU. School bullies, school assemblies, fist fights. Pairings: None
Disclaimer: I don't own Weiss Kreuz..Boo hoo.
The morning air was clean, and crisp. The sun was beginning to peek over the building across from the Koneko, lighting the windows up and begging the flowers to open. The early morning silence was punctuated by a loud.
"AGH!!!!"
Inside the building, three sets of feet ran toward the source of the yell, and rounded the corner of the doorframe. They were greeted by the image of Omi kneeling on the floor, holding a bunch of shorts in his arms.
"What's wrong?" Yohji said, somewhat alarmed. "Bishu?"
Omi looked up, his tear stained face reddened and his eyes still leaking fluid. "I can't wear these," he sniffed.
Aya huffed and walked into the room. "What can't you do?"
By this time, Ken and Yohji had also entered the room and the three of them sat and kneeled around the youngest, waiting for an explanation of the tears and the yell.
"I can't wear these," he said, his voice becoming steadier.
"Why not?" Ken asked.
"Not clean," he said softly. " I have spent so much time on homework that I did not get to do laundry. I have no clean shorts.
Yohji almost fell over. "Honestly," he said "Wear something else. You must have a clean pair here somewhere."
Omi shook his head, "None that will go with anything I have," he said.
Ken stood up and walked to the pile of clothes slung over the chair in the corner, and began pulling items and holding them up.
"These?"
"Dirty."
"These?"
"Ruined."
"These?"
"Soiled with dirt."
Ken threw his hands up in defeat. "I." He turned to the closet and opened the sliding doors. Once again he went back to rummaging through the closet, pulling items on hangers and holding them up.
"No."
"These?"
"No."
"How about these?" he said without looking at them.
"Ken, they're pink."
"Oops, sorry," Ken said returning them to the closet.
After another few minutes, Ken had given up and was back to sitting on the floor while Yohji paced and Aya lounged on the bed.
"You will just have to wear pants today," Aya commented from the bed.
"No," Omi replied. "Someone else can go for me."
Ken looked over. "Don't look at me, I have plans today."
Yohji spoke up next. "Date."
Aya sat up on the bed. "You were invited, you are going. Clean up this mess and get dressed." He stood up and walked to the door.
"We'll be downstairs."
Yohji and Ken both stood and walked out of the door. Once out of earshot from Omi, Ken turned to Aya.
"That was mean, Aya." he said.
"Maybe, but he has to learn," Aya replied. "You have to set priorities."
"Yes," Yohji said. "He has priorities; taking care of us."
Aya stopped in the kitchen and turned to them. "It's a big deal event at the school. It's not everyday that a kid is handed an award for top academic marks. Omi needs to dress for this, and taking the clean shorts away was the only thing I could think of to get him into pants and a jacket."
Yohji smiled at this. "Omi would probably wear shorts to his own wedding." He went back to what he was originally thinking. "Does he know that we are going to be there?"
"He doesn't even know why he's going to school. All hush hush," Ken said. "So I guess we should get ready?"
"No," Aya said, "not until Omi has left."
Several minuets later, Omi walked in wearing dress pants and a nice shirt. His jacket folded across his arm. He looked very uncomfortable, and shifted from one foot to the other as he stood there.
"I'm leaving," he said. "I'll see you later."
Yohji looked up. "You look great, Bishu."
"Hm," Omi replied, turning and leaving through the shop.
Mamoe stopped him at the door. She helped him put the jacket on and smoothed it down on him, then pulled a small flower from one of the pots and fixed it into the lapel of the jacket. Omi gave her a quick hug and a smile before stepping out into the morning air.
Once Omi was out of sight, Mamoe signaled to Aya, who nodded back. He walked to Yohji and Ken.
"Now we can get ready. Omi is out of sight."
"He walked to the school?" Ken asked after not hearing the rev of Omi's cycle.
"Yep," Aya replied.
"It's not far."
Yohji stood up from the table and excused himself. A few moments later Ken followed him out the door.
Omi walked at a leisurely pace towards the school, as he got closer, he noticed other students walking up to the gates, and getting dropped off by family members. They were all dressed in nice clothes, and all looked somewhat lost.
"Omi!"
Omi turned around to see one of the girls from his homeroom walking towards him.
"You're here?" Omi asked.
The young girl caught up to Omi and stopped to catch her breath. Once able to speak again she told him what she knew.
"My parents woke me up and told me to get dressed. My mom had even left a new dress in plastic for me to wear." She did a little turn for Omi, who smiled.
"You look very nice," Omi replied.
"So do you. You clean up nicely, Omi."
Omi blushed slightly. Even though his school uniform had pants, he still kept some sense of his style by having the shirt sticking out whenever he could.
"Thanks," he said, "but do you know why we are here?"
"No clue, my folks wouldn't tell me."
"Same here. I mean my guardians."
She smiled briefly, as though she had said something wrong. Omi didn't advertise that he had no parents, and most of the time acted like nothing was wrong. After all, Omi could not remember not being with Aya, Yohji or Ken. To him, they were his parents. A picture of the old painting of the Woman and the Man with the pitchfork came to his mind, but instead of the two older people, the woman was replaced by Yohji, and the old man by Aya holding the pitchfork. Omi found himself smiling as his friend was pointing out another member of their class.
The three walked through the gates and into a gathering of other students from their year. Most of them didn't know each other, so many were standing in silence wondering what to do next. After waiting a few minutes, a voice boomed over the speakers.
"Students, please make your way to the gymnasium."
Omi looked up at the speaker and back to his friends, "Shall we?"
"OK."
"Sure."
Upon entering the gym, they noticed that the bleachers had been opened and the teachers present were ushering the students into the rows.
*
Aya looked up the spiral staircase and yelled to Yohji and Ken.
"Come on, guys, we have to go."
Aya turned to Mamoe, who was dressed in a nice dress. For once she was not holding a cat.
"I always though women take the longest to get ready." he said
Mamoe smiled. "That's what we want you to think."
Aya just smiled as Ken walked down the stairs, followed by Yohji a minute later.
"Got the invite?" Ken asked.
Mamoe nodded.
"Gift?"
"Yep," Aya answered. "Well, I'm not taking it with us, he will get that when we get back."
"Gift," Yohji said "Didn't he just have his birthday?"
"Yep," Aya said again.
Ken looked to Yohji. "It's a new drive for the computer in his room, he has already filled the two internal drives the system came with."
Yohji smiled. "Yeah, that sounds like our Bishounen."
Ken looked between them.
"Camera," he inquired, patting his pockets.
"I have it," he said laughing at himself.
Aya looked at the clock. "Let's go. We'll take Mamoe's car. It can fit all of us, with Omi."
* The gym hummed with conversation as students made their way to seats. Omi sat with the two people from his homeroom and looked around to see if he recognized anyone else. Most sat with people they knew and basically wore the same confused expression.
One of the teachers stood up and walked into the center of the floor.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, quiet please."
The room fell silent as all faces turned to face the voice.
"Good morning."
"Good morning," the voices said in unison.
"I'm sure many of you are wondering why you are here on a Saturday and why you are all dressed up?"
He was met with several nods and comments.
"A few months ago, we gave all students the academic tests for their year.."
Omi nodded to his friends. "I remember," he said.
"The study regimen was crazy," replied the young girl on his left.
"Of those students who passed the test, the people assembled here today received outstanding grades."
"Cool."
"Therefore, we have decided to honor those students who have risen above the levels required for their grade standard." The teacher paused for a moment.
"Shortly, you will be guided towards the auditorium where your parents, peers, and friends have been invited to share in this occasion."
Omi felt his heart sink. Everyone would have someone here to share their achievement but him. His guardians all had plans for the day. He was forced out of his thoughts by the young lady beside him linking her arm in his and smiling.
"Omi, this will be great. I hope my parents will be there."
Omi smiled at her and tried to hide his disappointment. This day was going to be a real downer.
* Aya pulled the large sedan into a handicapped parking space and turned the engine off. He opened his door and stepped out, closing the door behind him. Ken stepped out from the rear passenger door and stepped around the car to help Yohji with Mamoe. Together they helped Mamoe stand and get her balance.
"Are you sure you don't want the wheelchair?" Ken asked.
Mamoe brushed him away. "No, Ken, I want to walk. This is a special day, I will not be confined to that metal baby carriage."
Aya found himself smiling at the words. He motioned to the auditorium signs and led them in that direction. Soon they found themselves merging with other people, as the entrance loomed closer. They presented their tickets and followed the slow moving line inside until they found their seats and moved to sit down.
*
Omi stood waiting in a single file line. They had been placed according to year and homeroom, so at least he was able to remain with his friends. In the line across from him, two older boys were pointing and making remarks. Omi could hear them making fun of him. He glared in their direction.
"Problem, Tsukiyono?" one of them asked.
"No different than usual," Omi replied deadpan.
"Omi, don't," his friend said placing a hand on his arm.
"Relax, " Omi replied. "Neither of them is worth my breath."
"What was that, Omi?" the second guy chided.
Omi looked directly at them. "I merely said that neither of you are worth my breath."
"Why don't you come over here and say that?"
Omi handed his jacket to his friend.
"Hold this for me," he stated as he stepped out of line and over to the two bullies.
One of the teachers had noticed the movement and commented down the line.
"Tsukiyono, back in line, please."
Omi chose not to hear him and stopped inches from the two older teens. They looked down at him and glared.
"Now what were you saying?"
"You are not worth my breath," Omi bit out each word.
"Tsukiyono, back in line, now," the voice behind them bellowed.
"Damn orphan, they let anyone in this school," one bully spoke to the other.
Omi lost it then. He could take being called almost any name under the sun, but when you made fun of his parental situation, one that was a particular sore spot, Omi found he could not control his anger. He lunged out at the first teen's neck, grabbing the tie in his fist and yanking the taller boy down to his level. The boy grunting as he was pulled forward to stare into blue eyes that were blazing red with anger.
"I could break your neck for that remark."
"Yeah, I'd like to see you try."
"Would you?" Omi pulled the tie and wrapped the loose fabric around his wrist in one fluid motion, tightening the loop and causing his would be taunter to cough.
"Hey!" the second boy yelled. "Stop it, man."
This alerted the teachers along the row, who came running to see the commotion.
"Tsukiyono, back off," one said.
"Not until I get an apology," Omi said unconcerned.
The man in his chokehold sank to his knees, as his friend lunged at Omi.
Omi neatly sidestepped the fist that shot in his direction, while keeping a hold on the tie, but as the flash moved past him Omi's friend yelled something and jumped into the battle. That was it. Pandemonium ensued. Boys and girls, forgetting that most of them were dressed in good clothes jumped into the foray head on. The teachers were almost unable to do anything but watch.
Whistles began to blow, teachers began to yell, and students began to cheer. One by one students were pulled back from the fight until four remained. Omi's friend stood up sporting a cut above his eye, and a bruised lip. The second bully sat on the floor crying over a banged up knee, much to the delight of his past victims. The boy with the tie found that he no longer had a tie, instead he had a large welt on the back of his neck, and several scratches on his face. Finally the teacher pulled Omi to his feet and held him there. Omi still held the ripped tie in his fist and had hardly broken a sweat.
The room fell silent as people realized who was at the center of the fight. Omi could hear the whispered comments
"Did you see that?"
"Where did he learn to fight like that?"
"Did you see the sweep motion move he did?"
"Cool."
"Yeah."
"That's Tsukiyono?"
"Which one?"
"The shrimp in the burgundy shirt".
Omi shook himself free of the teacher's grip, and looked around. The teacher looking at him in stunned silence as he nonchalantly straightened his shirt and smoothed his hair down. His shirtsleeve was ripped at the shoulder seam and hung partially down his arm. His pants were ripped at the knee, and his dress jacket was nowhere to be found. Aya was going to kill him.
Once order was reestablished, and the lines were reformed, the students were led into the auditorium. Omi glanced around the sections he could see, but did not recognize any faces. He found his seat and sat down, absently playing with the ripped fabric of his shirt.
*
Yohji strained to look as the students walked in to applause and noise.
"I don't see him," he said.
Ken had his nose in the program. "He's one of the last awards. Hopefully we will see him soon."
The school principal stepped up on the stage.
"Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen, Students. I'd like to welcome you to this special awards presentation. Although we usually do not have awards until the end of the year, we thought it would make a nice change."
Ken had folded his program and was beginning to fall asleep. Yohji elbowed him when he thought Ken snored. Ken threw him a look of disgust.
"Well, enough of my talk, let's get on with the awards."
The principal introduced the first teacher and the crowd applauded.
Minutes became an hour and soon they were down to the last four awards.
The first award went to Omi's friend and when he stood up to let his friend pass, Yohji pointed him out to the others. Aya and Ken nodded as Omi sat back down. From the distance they did not notice the torn clothing.
The second award went to the boy whose tie currently lay on the gym floor. As he stepped up to get his award, the crowd murmured at the boy's attire. Ken found himself smiling.
"Wonder what happened to him?" he asked.
"No idea," Yohji said. "Maybe we should have let Omi wear shorts."
Ken snorted in response.
*
Omi sat in his seat and exhaled. With only two awards left he knew that one belonged to him. He almost wished for this ceremony to be over, so he could go home and hide in his room for a few hours. Everyone had a cheering section, except him. He shook his head, scolding himself. So what if he had no one here. He was proud of the hard work he had put in and what he had accomplished, and he would hold his head high and accept his award with a smile.
*
The principal was once again up at the microphone; he waited for the noise to lower before speaking.
"Thank you for your patience through the ceremony. We are down to our last two awards, and this year they are going to be awarded together. The first award is for the Highest Marks in the School on the standard test given to all students. The second award is for Excellence in Moral Standards. This year we are happy to present these two awards to one person. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to bestow these honors to Omi Tsukiyono."
There was a moment of stunned silence before Yohji wolf whistled and yelled out.
"Yes, OMI!!!" he shouted. "My Man!!!"
Omi was beginning to stand when he heard the familiar voice, and almost fell back into his seat. His friends looked to him with concern. He straightened himself up and made his way past people who after the morning festivities could hardly believe the award winner was the same person who beat up the school troublemakers.
About this time Aya had noticed that Omi was not wearing his dress jacket. He looked harder, and though he saw a flash of flesh peeking out ? by Omi's shoulder. He dismissed it until Omi stepped fully onto the stage and into the light.
"What the.?" he whispered.
Yohji was now laughing at the sight in front of him. It now made sense. The boy with the ripped shirt and black eye, Omi with the ripped shirt and pants. He muttered to Ken and pointed in Omi's direction. Ken looked over and smiled.
Yohji stood up, cupped his hands around his mouth and toasted his partner "Yeah, Omi, that's my boy. Woo Hoo."
Ken grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the seat.
On the stage, Omi blushed a shade of red to compliment his shirt. His heart leapt at the noise of his family member's voice. He looked out into the audience trying to pinpoint where the voice was, but could not see past the bright lights. Omi walked to the principal who held out his hand. Omi shook the hand and the principal leaned in to him.
"We will just forget about this morning, Mr. Tsukiyono."
Omi smiled at the man and nodded. He took his two awards and walked across to the other side of the stage, and back to his seat. With a loud exhale he fell back into his chair and sank low enough that he disappeared below the seat line. All the while his heart raced a mile a minute.
*
The front door to the Koneko opened and Yohji walked inside carrying food boxes and one of the award trophies in his arms. Omi followed close behind, his clothing still disheveled. He held his other trophy, and an assortment of envelopes. Behind him Aya could be heard talking.
"I can't believe you lost your only dress jacket, and the shirt is useless now."
"I can fix the shirt," Mamoe said from the doorway, as Ken helped her inside.
"That's not the point. It was a perfectly good shirt."
"Oh, give it a rest, Aya, It's just a shirt," Ken said.
Yohji placed the items down. "Besides, he beat up the two bullies that have taunted him since he first enrolled."
He walked over to Omi, grabbed the smaller blond in a chokehold and ruffled his hair.
"My boy, I taught you everything you know. I'm so proud," he said dramatically wiping a tear from his eye.
Omi shook free of the hold and smoothed his hair, "Yohji."
"Go change," Aya said to Omi. "Before you start a new fashion trend."
Omi left the room and Ken looked over to Aya.
"Where is the gift?"
"Wait," Aya answered holding a hand up to silence them all.
A moment passed.
Then another.
"Oh my gods!" suddenly was heard from the vicinity of Omi's room then.
"Guys.how did you.. holy shit.. how much RAM?
Aya smiled. "I think he likes his gift."
Silence ensued for a moment before feet were heard scrambling onto on the spiral staircase, and Omi's sock clad legs were in view. Omi bent over the railing, his hair falling forward.
"Oy, can I have my shorts back now?"
"Oops," Aya said. "Where did I put them?"
"Aya!" Omi yelped. "What did you do with them."
Yohji laughed. "Don't panic, Bishu. I have the solution," he said pulling a bag out from under the table and walking over to Omi.
Omi opened the bag and pulled out new shorts. He smiled, "Thanks, Yohji."
Yohji looked up and smiled, blushing slightly. He realized why Omi had not come down the stairs. He quietly whispered to Omi, "Go put your shorts on, Kid."
Omi blushed and smiled. "It could be another clothing crisis."
"No thanks, Bishu," Yohji said as he walked away.
Owari.
Don't Plagiarize
Don't make me Tsukiyono on your ass.