Chapter 2

Demoted

Kusakabe called me into the Chairman's Office only two days later, getting me out of class.

I would have been ecstatic about getting out of class - maybe even thankful for taking on the new club if it would get me out of classes on a regular basis - if only not for the location where I had been summoned.

The Chairman's Office - formerly known as the Reception Room, only to be renamed when Hibari took over the school.

Legend had it that Hibari had ruled the school since medieval times, since back when samurai and shogun ruled Japan. It was said that long ago, he had been a shogun himself, but had defeated one of the gods in a fight and won immortal life as his prize.

I believed it.

And now, it was just him and I in the room.

A bead of sweat rolled down my neck as he flipped through some papers on the desk before him. In an attempt to distract myself from my impending doom - though for what reason, I was unsure - I allowed my eyes to scan the room.

It was rather bland, I noted, a few leather couches and a small coffee table took up a majority of the space, the rest of the room was occupied by Hibari's desk. The walls were mostly empty (just a single certificate of approval for the club from the principal) and a bookcase, filled with titles such as 'Namimori Student Guidebook', 'Namimori Student Directory A-E' and others... I could only assume that these were the school records.

By the time I finished looking around the room and looked back to the main threat in the room, I met Hibari's eyes.

A shudder threatened to run down my spine. Was he watching me inspect the room?!

"Fujioka Jin. State your motivation for joining the Disciplinary Committee."

In all of my days at Namimori Middle, I had never heard Hibari say much more than his usual tagline about biting others to death. Suddenly, hearing him say much more than his five words of 'I'll bite you to death' made my nerves multiply.

Yet, I steeled myself, knowing that I didn't have much more to fear than a beating. "I need a club that I can commit to and this was what was recommended by the principal."

Hibari didn't reply, simply flipping through the papers more.

I wondered if I had said the wrong thing, and questioned if I should have made up some lie about some dedication to Namimori and a desire to protect, but I felt that he would have seen through my lies and kicked me out the window. Telling the truth, and telling it quickly, hadn't gotten me removed from the room by force, so it had to be a good thing.

"You are unsuited for disciplinary action among the other officers." Hibari spoke again and I snapped to attention, not wanting to seem disrespectful. "What other services could you possible offer other than disciplinary action?"

I swallowed. Crap. I had to think up something quick before he decided that I was unnecessary and kicked me out of there. I scrambled to answer. "I'm quite good at office work. I can attend meetings with the other club leaders when you are unavailable as your time is more valuable than mine. I can do paperwork, organize detention slots with referred students and teachers. I could keep the room tidy and medical supplies stocked for the other officers-"

In an instant, he was in front of me and I was against the wall, choked against it by a metal rod - a tonfa, my mind not-so-helpfully supplied - gripped by none other than Hibari.

Great. I sooooo knew that this was coming.

"Cease your talking."

My mouth snapped shut and I attempted to swallow in an attempt to soothe my burning throat. Not like I could have spoken without air.

"An hour before school, I expect you to have the detention schedule on my desk, as well as a stocked medical cabinet. The paperwork for the day will be on my desk as well and must be completed by an hour after school. Immediately after school, there will be a list of the students in need of punishment on my desk for you to organize into the schedule. The medical cabinet must be re-stocked when you leave, for the aid of the night patrol. You will be informed of meetings that require your attendance."

I was becoming light-headed.

"Questions?" his mouth twisted into a smirk as I writhed.

I suddenly pitied him; if he hadn't been so wretched a boy, he might have actually been a handsome guy.

"N-No." I rasped out, resisting the urge to claw at his hands. Hibari certainly would have taken it as a threat and I certainly would have been punished.

He took a step back, allowing me to collapse to the floor, coughing and gasping for air. My lungs burned. "You start tomorrow. You're dismissed."

I all but threw myself out of the room.

Kusakabe was waiting outside the room and his eyes looked over me, pityingly, for a moment. "Gain his trust and it will get easier." he whispered to me, before he disappeared behind the looming door of the Reception Room.

I decided that I despised Hibari and at least strongly disliked Kusakabe.

But most of all, I hated that damned principal.

The next day, I arrived to school two hours before it started. The sun hadn't even began to rise yet, but the school was unlocked and I made my way up to the Reception Room, headphones in ear, humming lightly.

No one was at school yet, I was sure, and I could finish up the detention schedule and check that the medical cabinet was alright within the hour.

I was only slightly irritated. I had signed up for the Disciplinary Committee thinking that it would be less work than other clubs, but I had more likely than not signed myself up for child slavery for the next few years.

As Hibari had told me that it would be, a list of students awaiting punishment was on his desk, on top of a short stack of paperwork. A green sticky note was slapped on the top page, with my name written on it, from Kusakabe.

'Fujioka-san,

Please don't hesitate to ask me questions on the paperwork.

-Kusakabe Tetsuya'

I peeked in the medical cabinet, taking note of what I would need to swipe from the supply closets. I took the papers and left the Reception Room - I didn't want to run into Hibari and be accused of crowding or something ridiculous - and once in the safety of an empty classroom, started slotting the students for detention.

The detention schedule didn't take long to organize - not even ten minutes, I thought irritably, so easy that even stupid Hibari could do it. I began on the paperwork immediately, and had made it halfway through the stack before I glanced at the time. Ten minutes before my deadline for the schedule and the medical cabinet.

I organized my papers, closing the classroom door behind me and hurrying to the supply closet, filling my schoolbag with medical supplies. I knocked and quietly entered the Reception Room, setting the detention schedule on his desk wordlessly and began organizing the medicine cabinet.

I bowed once and started to open the door to leave, when Hibari stopped me. "More paperwork has piled up. Take it with you."

I fought back a sigh, nodded once (my silence was my rebellion, though I knew how quickly I would cave under threat), swiped the papers and left the room.

"The first day of many," I muttered, placing all of the paperwork into my schoolbag and starting for my classroom. "the life of this slave begins."

I despised Hibari Kyoya.

anyone who thinks this is a hibari/oc story... you are in for a surprise