A/N: Work's been hectic but that has never stopped me from supplying chapters. So enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kekkaishi or anything related to it.
"speech"
'thoughts'
And it finds me
The fight inside is coursing through my veins
And it's raging
The fight inside is hurting me again
And it finds me
The war within me pulls me under
And without you
The fight inside is breaking me again
'Fight Inside' by Red
Chapter 3: Of Trust and Conflict
It was another calm day at Karasumori. With no clouds in the sky and with the students being as noisy and carefree as ever, all seemed to point to nothing eventful being unleashed within school premises. Unfortunately Gen could have used the distraction.
As it commonly happened, Gen was trying to keep a level head even though he was being bombarded with all kinds of troubling thoughts. Notions of the danger he was to others occupied his brain as they seemed to have taken permanent residence in his head; as well as the haunting memories of his past.
Yet they have somehow taken a backseat to more recent worries involving his stay at Karasumori. Or to be more specific, worries involving a certain legitimate successor from the Sumimura clan.
Gen was sure that Yoshimori didn't have a clue of how much his words and actions affected the ayakashi-hybrid, but Gen was troubled precisely because they indeed had an effect on him.
Yoshimori was impulsive, no doubt about it, so it's obvious he would go and say things without giving it much thought. It would be silly to look for any meaning in it, Gen knew that. There was no reason to take anything the Kekkaishi said at face-value…
'But then why can't I get it out of my head!' he grumbled inwardly. 'He's reckless, dumb and maddening. Not to mention that we are always fighting. It's not like we are getting along any better, and I don't care if we do either. So what should it matter to me if he says something out of the blue to me like that? Why did… why did I freeze when he told me that he wanted me here?'
"Tch, this is giving me a headache" he groaned under his breath as he made his way through the school hallways. Gen rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand to remove the tension. He needed something to distract himself with and he needed it fast.
Turning the corner he got a whiff of something that didn't belong there. Opening his eyes he spotted the ghost of a cat sitting atop of a teacher's shoulder. Exactly the kind of distraction he needed. 'Ha, so there is a God' he thought sarcastically. But not wanting to appear ungrateful, Gen made his way toward the ghost as aloofly as he could.
Just when he was about to slash the cat way from existence, his claw was caught. That's when Gen caught sight of the previously unnoticed Yoshimori who wasted no time in pulling him away from the teacher. After making their way toward the end of the hall Yoshimori started to combust on the ayakashi-hybrid.
"What the heck do you think you're doing?" whispered the Sumimura frantically.
"He got a ghost" pointed out Gen.
"You can't eliminate it while it still on his shoulder" droned out Yoshimori in reprimand. He had just promised Yurina that he wouldn't metsu the cat after all.
"Big deal" Gen replied unconcernedly while raising one hand. "No one will see with my speed. All ghosts that come here must be eliminated anyways"
"I wish I could eliminate that messed up thought process of yours" the Sumimura grumbled.
After that, the teacher excused himself but offered to see Yoshimori after classes were over. With that in mind Yoshimori quickly snatched Gen's hand and pulled him outside the building. Gen didn't put up a fight as he was being dragged away from the ghost. In fact his ability to compute thought seemed to have completely left him at that moment. All Gen could concentrate on was the fact that his hand was connected with the Kekkaishi's hand and on how strangely warm it felt.
Yoshimori let go of the other boy's hand when they hid behind the building, turned around and quickly started to blurt out reasons of why Gen shouldn't obliterate the ghost cat without first trying to help it move on. Gen of course wasn't paying attention to that.
The ayakashi-hybrid leaned against the wall and stared into space, somehow feeling weird about making possible eye contact with the Sumimura. Gen clenched and unclenched his hand before shoving it in his pocket hurriedly once he realized that he was acting too self-consciously. Yet the tingling feeling in his hand remained; making it difficult for Gen to focus on anything else.
Tokine found them shortly afterwards and Gen was thankful for the distraction she provided. With her around, his previous concerns were instantly forgotten and his thoughts reverted to being work related once more.
Yoshimori was quick to debrief the girl of their recent dilemma and both boys were surprised when she sided with the taller male. Still, Tokine decided to let Yoshimori handle it however he wanted to while Gen set a time limit for the Sumimura. If Yoshimori couldn't deal with the cat by the end of school hours, Gen would dispose of it the only way he knew how.
'By destroying it, just like I do with everything else'
It wasn't until the last bell rang that Gen met up with Yoshimori again. They were hiding behind a tree as they spied on the teacher. In the end it seemed like no action needed to be taken as right before their very eyes the ghost banished into the light.
"The cat moved on" Gen pointed out from his position behind Yoshimori.
"That's right. It just wanted one more compliment" replied Yoshimori with his eyes still glued to the scene unfolding before them. He leaned further against the bark of the tree to try to remain inconspicuous.
Gen scratched the back of his neck before looking away. "Well lucky for us it didn't transform" he commented indifferently.
At this Yoshimori turned his head toward the other boy and offered a smile. "Yeah, I'm glad that we didn't have to do anything" he said before turning his face once again to continue to spy on his homeroom teacher.
Grunting his reply and seeing that his services weren't necessary, Gen found no reason to stay there any longer. Yet despite that he didn't leave and subsequently lingered with the shorter boy through his spying. Gen's attention, however, failed to remain on the teacher and instead strayed toward the Sumimura. Yoshimori was too preoccupied to become aware of this.
There was just something about Yoshimori that captivated Gen and he wanted to figure out what it was. His previous thoughts of this morning returned to plague his mind. But seeing the content smile Yoshimori kept on his face for something as insignificant as a cat being able to move on to the afterlife kind of quieted the quarreling voices inside Gen's head.
'He really is too soft' Gen thought as a shell of a smile began appearing on his lips before he caught it and frowned instead. 'But such compassion could lead to complications in the battlefield' Gen analyzed, forcing his brain to stay on work related issues.
Yet it wasn't long before his mind began to wander again.
'Friend… he said he wanted to be my friend back then. Did he really mean that or was that an act of compassion as well?' he wondered. The thought did not quite sit well with him. 'Does that mean that he was just taking pity on me? No, he probably said it because he felt obligated to since we were gonna have to keep working together… But then why did he tell me he needed me?'
Gen palmed his face with his right hand in aggravation. His failed attempts at making sense of the other boy were giving Gen a headache. That fact that even with the pain he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it did not help his throbbing head either.
'Damn it, why can't I get you out of my head?' questioned Gen as he glared at the back of Yoshimori's head. 'Why do you continue to let your guard down? Don't you already know what I'm capable of? Why don't you push me away like the others do? How can you even smile around me?'
The more questions ran through Gen's head, the more the intensity of his glare seemed to diminish. It continued that way up till no trace of his anger remained. Before he knew it Gen was back to feeling lost. Thus it was only then that the question that was truly bothering him surfaced.
'And since when did I start caring so much about what you think of me?'
Gen was so transfixed in his thoughts that he didn't notice when his body had started leaning forward and closer toward the Sumimura. His face was literally inches away from the Kekkaishi's.
As focused as Yoshimori was with his spy work, he found himself distracted when he felt something graze the back of his hair. He absentmindedly combed his fingers through his scalp while turning to ask Gen about it only to find that said person was no longer there.
"That's odd" Yoshimori mumbled as he returned to watching his teacher give a proper burial to a dead bird. His brain however was focused on a different matter altogether.
'Did Shishio just… sniff me?' he asked himself before making a quick armpit check. 'I don't smell bad, do I?'
Meanwhile, a couple of buildings away at a back alley, Gen was on the verge of ripping his hair and banging his head against the wall.
'What the hell got into me back there? I can't believe I just did that!'
Gen was breathing hard and his heartbeat had accelerated. The scary part being that he knew it had nothing to do with the physical activity he just pulled while fleeing the scene. That didn't stop him from wanting to put the blame on something else though. Anything was better than admitting that Yoshimori's scent from up close had done strange things to Gen's body, some parts being stimulated more than others.
Yet even if he accepted the fact, he doubted it would be of much help to him since it still wasn't enough to explain the reason why he was affected by the other boy in the first place.
The only thing he was certain of was that he felt utterly confused; a feeling that angered him.
"Stop screwing with me!" he growled while punching the concrete wall. His knuckles hurt but he paid no mind to it. It would heal soon enough anyways. Plus it helped to calm him down.
He stared nonchalantly at the sizeable crack on the wall he had just created. A crack that only served to make him feel even more discouraged. 'Even outside the battlefield all I can do is destroy'
With his thoughts unavoidably becoming a jumbled mess again, Gen shoved both hands in his pockets and proceeded to abandoning the alley with the intention of walking the rest of his way home. Hopefully that would provide enough time for his mind to find some kind of clarity.
~0~0~0~
When Tokine arrived at Karasumori that night she was met with the sight of her teammates already engaged in some kind of altercation with one another. Sharing a sigh with Hakubi who was already making comments about how he much rather watch girls wrestling, Tokine approached the quarreling duo and asked them what the fight was about. She wasn't at all surprised when Yoshimori was the first to voice his complaints.
"Tokine you should have seen it! There was this really fast ayakashi and just when I was about to trap it this bastard over here slashed through my kekkai and took the kill away from me!" he complained while pointing an accusing finger at Gen.
"That's not how it happened at all" Gen defended, not sparing a glance at Tokine as he maintained a confrontational stance toward Yoshimori. "Not a single one your kekkai landed anywhere near the ayakashi. The only reason I even slashed through your kekkai was because it got in the way!"
"No it didn't!" Yoshimori turned to face Gen head on. "You just couldn't handle the fact that I was doing better than you!"
"Better than me?" Gen retorted, he would have laughed had he known how. "Each one of your kekkai appeared one second after the prey moved from the spot. At the rate you were going it was going to transform before you could finish it. If anything I did you a favor!"
"A favor? You only think that because you were unable to understand the brilliance of my strategy" he excused. "I wasn't missing; I was just trying to be dynamic!"
"As if I would believe something like that. It's obvious that the ayakashi was just toying with you"
"Huh well, so are you but what am I?"
"What?" Gen sputtered. "That doesn't even make sense!"
"Well it doesn't have to" Yoshimori countered. "All that matters is that I am right and you are wrong!"
Hakubi and Tokine shared another collective sigh as both boys continued to go back and forth about who was in the right and who wasn't. Madarao however was never one to let the opportunity for teasing his master pass him by.
"Aww, how sweet. It's always nice to see a couple of pubescent boys bonding so well" he mocked before lifting his tail to his forehead. "I feel so left out" he lamented overdramatically.
"W-What?" Yoshimori blushed before closing his eyes and shouting "We were not bonding!"
"Oho, you're in denial!" Madarao sang.
"And you are an embarrassment!" Yoshimori shot back.
"Gah, you take that back you half-pint! You're 500 years too early to be using that kind of language with me young man!"
Hakubi shook his head in disapproval and commented on how obvious it was that Madarao was just vying for attention. Hakubi was about to suggest to Tokine that they should probably leave them behind but found that she wasn't paying them any attention. Instead she was focused on Gen who for the most part stood there forgotten.
'Hmm' Tokine tapped her index finger on her chin as she reflected. "What Madarao said may not necessarily been without basis" she mumbled loud enough to get Gen's attention. "You know Gen, this is the first time I've seen you speak your mind so freely" she pointed out while choosing to omit the fact that the ayakashi-hybrid only did so during argument. "I remember that when we first met you used to hesitate a lot before saying something. But you aren't doing it now"
She smiled and Gen immediately averted his eyes. "I, uh" he started before spinning around ready to make a dash for it until he was tripped by a kekkai that appeared at his feet. Needless to say he face-planted the ground none too gracefully.
"Harsh, Honey" said Hakubi already feeling sorry for the boy he had affectionately nicknamed as 'GenGen'.
Tokine ignored his comment and unapologetically made her way to crouch in front of Gen. It was rude of him to rush away when spoken to, so she didn't feel that bad for making him eat dirt. She wasn't the compassionate Kekkaishi after all.
Gen clenched his fist in aggravation before lifting his head "What was that for?" he snarled. But when he realized he was face to face with Tokine he quickly looked away. He chanced another glance at her but couldn't hold it as he realized she was staring intently at him.
She was making him feel self-conscious, which in turn made him feel stupid and then ended with him feeling angry for it. So gritting his teeth he turned his glare at the girl "What?" he asked/growled. The ayakashi-hybrid wasn't expecting for Tokine to reply with a smile though.
"So you can maintain eye contact after all" she said while patting his head twice and effectively stunning him. "Now was that hard?"
With his thought process completely halted, Gen's voice was literally stuck in his throat. He didn't know what to say and he wanted to flee but his body wouldn't respond. It was like his entire nervous system had shut down.
A boy who didn't suffer from the same communication trouble was Yoshimori. And he was more than willing to be heard. "What the heck is going on here?" wailed the male Kekkaishi, shoving himself between Tokine and Gen faster than the speed of light. "Well? Are you two gonna start explaining yourselves or what? I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here!" he reprimanded.
Trying to assess the situation, Tokine raised her hands in a nonthreatening manner and took a step back. "There, there Yoshimori," she tried appeasing him, "Now tell me, what is this really about?"
"What is this about?" repeated Yoshimori turning his body to face Tokine. "You think I can't see it?" he asked laughing a little too hysterically for comfort. "You two are obviously flirting!" he shouted.
'Say what now?' thought Tokine taking another step back in recoil. Her face painted a clear look of disbelief.
"Oh don't give me that look" reproached Yoshimori. He brought his fingers up and began counting the evidence. "Siding with each other at school, ruffling his hair, staring into each other's eyes; next thing I know he is gonna be sniffing up your hair!" he accused in alarm at the final part.
"No I wouldn't" muttered Gen with apathy while standing back on his feet and dusting himself. He didn't expect for the inquisitor to switch screaming targets so abruptly though.
"And why wouldn't you?" countered Yoshimori advancing on the other until he was able to poke Gen accusingly on the chest. "You obviously had no trouble doing it to me before!"
"T-That wasn't what it looked like!" defended Gen weakly, averting his eyes. A slight blush of embarrassment at being caught appeared on his face but Yoshimori was too busy making accusations to notice. And it was with another poke to the chest that Yoshimori continued his rant as if the other hadn't spoken.
"Tell the truth, you were planning on hitting on Tokine since the first time you met her, weren't you?"
"No I wasn't" denied Gen, staring at the shorter boy as if he had lost his mind.
"Yes you were!" shot back the Sumimura.
"No I wasn't!" countered Gen already beginning to lose his composure. "And it's not like I could ever want her that way so drop it!"
"Why not?" Yoshimori argued, "What's wrong with Tokine?"
"Nothing's wrong with her. It's just I'm, ah-" staggered Gen catching his almost slip-up. "She's not my type, okay?"
"Not your type?" Yoshimori questioned disbelievingly, "How can that be you liar, she's everybody's type!"
"Then why don't you ask her out?" retorted Gen angrily. He should have known that it was impossible to keep calm whenever the shorter boy was around.
"MememememeME?" Yoshimori stammered quickly getting flustered when the spotlight was diverted on him. "D-Don't make this about me! We are talking about you and Tokine!"
Said girl was busy rubbing her temples. She felt like if she was getting a migraine. Having two people talk about her like if she wasn't even there placed her beyond the point of agitation. So wanting no more of it Tokine put a stop to it the only way she knew how.
"Ketsu!"
A green kekkai appeared between the feuding boys and it expanded horizontally, effectively knocking both parties to the ground. Tokine then assumed a posture of authority before either could begin complaining and started relaying her orders.
"Alright listen up" she commanded, making it clear that she wouldn't leave room for more nonsense. "We're obviously too high-strung to be able to work together right now so I propose that we split up and do our jobs separately, at least for tonight. Any objections?" she asked even though the tone of her voice clearly stated that there better not be.
"Tch, fine with me" replied Gen gruffly. He wasted no time jumping away once he stood up.
"Hmph, well he's an eager one" said Hakubi commenting on how quickly the ayakashi-hybrid jumped on the opportunity to ditch them.
The Yukimura shook her head at this before making her way to the opposite direction. Not without sparing some parting words with the other Kekkaishi of course. "Try not to fall behind this time, will you?"
Yoshimori could only gape baffled at Tokine's retreating form. The way she said it made it sound like if he was the one responsible for everything that happened.
x-x- (Scene 4 from Yoshimori's Overactive Imagination) -x-x
AlternateReality!Tokine: Now look what you did. Because of you now I won't get the chance to work with someone as reliable as Gen. Why can't you be more dependable? I bet I wouldn't have this problem with someone like Masamori.
x-x- (Back to Reality) -x-x
"Bah, I'll show you dependable" muttered the Sumimura as he crawled to his feet. "Madarao! Go find me ayakashi before anyone else can. I'll show them who is more reliable!"
"Um, sorry to burst your bubble but haven't we tried that before?" questioned Madarao clearly remembering similar events happening. "Last time you ended up with a cold if I recall correctly"
"Just do it" replied Yoshimori stubbornly. He was probably unaware that he was pouting.
Madarao rolled his eyes. "Fine, but that means you owe me another slab of deer meat" he rambled as he drifted away to give his master some space.
Meanwhile Gen stopped his scampering once he deemed he was far enough from the group. But as a precaution he made base within the braches of a very tall tree. Once settled in, he buried his face in his hands.
"What's wrong with me?" he muttered quietly as he let his hands fall lifelessly at either side of him. Gen rested his head against the tree trunk and stared unfocusedly at the moon.
He had been thinking long and hard throughout the day about why he felt so awkward and confused whenever he was around Yoshimori. Gen found that the answer, although simple, weighted heavily on his mind.
It was because Yoshimori considered him a friend and…
'…I never had a friend before'
Gen tried not to cringe at how pathetic that thought made him sound but couldn't. The truth had always been a hard pill to swallow; yet it did nothing to help his struggle since Gen still had no freaking clue of how to cope with it.
You see, since Gen never really had a friend his own age before, he was at a loss on how he was supposed to interact with a friend. He had a vague idea of what friendship entailed, which was being able to tolerate one another, but other than that he was stumped.
It wasn't fun to always be the odd man out. To always have people ganging up on him. Because of this Gen had unconsciously developed a defense mechanism to protect himself from the disillusion of having yet another person shunning him out. It consisted of distancing himself from other people and never cooperating with them in order to keep his heart from building up any sense of camaraderie that would prove to be fake in the end.
Yet somehow those tactics did not seem to work on the Sumimura.
'Guess barriers don't work on Kekkaishis' he thought, still unable to laugh at his own jokes.
Nevertheless it was true. By some kind of bizarre abnormality the ayakashi-hybrid couldn't explain, Yoshimori had become someone Gen didn't want to distance himself from. A friend…
'But what am I suppose to do now?'
The night trooper was having a hard time figuring out the do's and don'ts of friendship. Sniffing your friend was obviously a don't. Gen still didn't know what had possessed him to do something like that but it wasn't like he could exactly control his body urges. Getting aroused from smelling a friend was another thing he should avoid doing, probably.
Maybe it was an irredeemably weak thing for him to want but Gen didn't wish to see his newfound friendship fail.
'And then there is the Yukimura' he thought as he absentmindedly ran a hand through a few strands of his hair. The way she scolded him and then eased up on him; she had handled him exactly like any big sister would. Like he imagined Ryo would had done.
Gen closed his eyes and shook his head to cut short that line of thinking. He didn't want to reminisce on past memories of his sister. That inevitably could only lead to painful thoughts of their bitter end. He didn't need to be depressed right now.
Opening his eyes again he was able to disguise his jolt of surprise with an annoyed grunt when he saw the white demon dog floating in front of his face again.
"My my" said Madarao with a teasing grin. "Are you sure this is the right time to be taking a nap, hmm?"
The ayakashi-hybrid didn't bother to dignify that with an answer as he hastily dropped to the ground and continued on with his patrolling. Madarao didn't let that faze him; in fact it rather amused him. So finding nothing else to better spend his time with while Yoshimori finished cooling down, the demon dog decided to pester the new guy as a form of entertainment.
Gen narrowed his eyes when he felt the dog's presence trailing after him. It was a nuisance but Gen didn't doubt his capability to ignore the unwanted company. And so Gen continued his trek as if Madarao wasn't there.
However Madarao quickly grew bored of being ignored and started drifting in circles around Gen to get his attention. Seeing as the dog was now impeding him from moving ahead, Gen gritted his teeth and forced out a "What?"
"Oh Gen-kun, how rare of you to start conversation!" teased Madarao as he came to stop a foot away from Gen's left shoulder. "And here I was beginning to think you were going to pay no heed to little old me. Quite the pleasant surprise indeed" he quipped with a smirk.
Gen resisted the urge to face-palm and proceeded with his scouting. But the fact that a grinning Madarao kept floating a short distance beside him unnerved Gen to no end. "Don't you have a Kekkaishi to look after?" he finally voiced in hopes that the dog would take the hint and leave.
No such luck though.
"Aww, you're concerned about little Yoshi. How sweet of you" Madarao continued to tease before raising his chin with an air of pride. "You don't have to worry about that one though, he's plenty capable without me having to assist him" he declared.
Before Gen had a chance to retort that he wasn't worried, he caught the scent of an ayakashi and darted off in search of it. Madarao promptly followed while complaining loudly of how he didn't appreciate to be cast aside like that.
The dog rolled his eyes after turning the corner and finding Gen in a defensive stance as he tried to discern the location of the intruder. "Fourth tree to the right" Madarao supplied with a yawn. He was, however, rather impressed when Gen automatically dashed forward and eliminated the ayakashi in less than 5 seconds. 'Not bad' he thought.
Gen wiped his hand on his shirt while staring at the corpse before him. It would be wise to report that to either Kekkaishi so they could tenketsu it but he didn't really feel like facing them. That's when he took notice of the demon dog. 'Might as well' he deliberated.
"Hey," Gen started. "Can you, ah-" but he was cut off by an overly excited Madarao.
"You want me to call Yoshi don't you? Mmhmm, I can see it in your eyes. In fact all we ever seem to talk about involves Yoshimori in some way. You're quite taken with that one aren't you?" he stated more than asked.
Gen took a step back ready to voice his dissent but Madarao just kept rambling on.
"I bet you think he's a cute little guy don't you?" asked Madarao with sparkles in his eyes before moving away to avoid being swatted by the ayakashi-hybrid. "Personally I've seen better but I'm not one judge. So what exactly is it that plagues your mind? Is it his hair or maybe his height? Could it be his attitude? He's too spontaneous isn't he? Ooh wait, you were worrying about his wellbeing before. Is that it?" he questioned with obvious amusement.
"It's more like you're feeding me thoughts than actually asking about them" Gen asserted with irritation. Madarao just laughed at being caught and then joked about how Gen hadn't denied that he thought Yoshimori was cute. This made Gen's face redden with a blush that was easily mistaken with anger.
The demon dog stopped his teasing when he was confronted with a claw to his face. Madarao eyed the sharpness of the claw before him prior to shifting his gaze toward the serious looking owner of said claw. "Hmm, kinky" Madarao jested with a wink for added effect.
Gen clenched his jaw in aggravation before retracting his hand and facing away from the demon dog. "Just go already before it regenerates" he grumbled referring to the dead ayakashi before readying himself to jump away.
"Fine, fine" replied Madarao pretending to stifle a yawn. "Yoshimori is way funnier to mess with anyways" he said before acquiring an eerie grin. "But you know," started the dog with a mysterious glint in his eye as he hovered in front of Gen's face one last time. "We may be more alike than I first thought"
As Madarao hurried away to where his master was he didn't notice that his parting words had made the teenager stay rooted on the ground.
'What did he mean when he said that we were similar?' Gen questioned with clear distress written all over his face. He reflected on the debriefing he got before being assigned to Karasumori and remembered the Chief mentioning that the demon dogs where actually ayakashi kept in check by their collars to keep them from going berserk. Kinda like the tattoo around Gen's torso. 'Does that mean he thinks that both of us are monsters?' his brain supplied, quickly taking the negative route.
It made sense to Gen. The only reason the dogs weren't rampaging around was because their collars suppressed their powers and natural instincts. If not they would had been annihilated a long time ago. Likewise the only reason Gen wasn't treated as an imminent threat to society was because his seal kept him from doing a complete transformation. That's the only reason he was trusted with a mission. And that's probably the only reason he managed to land a friend.
'…but that all can easily change the moment I transform can it?'
Gen swallowed hard as the reality of it started to manifest within him. The only reason things were peaceful now was because his teammates had yet to see what he was really capable of. They would no doubt hate him and call him a monster once they saw his real form.
Come to think of it he had briefly compared Tokine to his big sister earlier. Maybe that was the reason he always felt a little uneasy around her. The more Gen thought about it the more his fear seemed to be justified. After all, his real sister had seen his true form once and he hasn't heard a word from her ever since. Not even a letter.
If someone blood-related to him didn't want anything to do with him, what's to say that Tokine wouldn't react the same way, if not worst since they had no real attachment to one another except for being colleagues.
And then there's Yoshimori who for some reason always seemed to be competing with him. Gen flashbacked to an old teammate in the Night Troops, a guy named Shoki. Gen had beaten him and acquired a higher rank at his expense within the Organization. Shoki couldn't take it and called him a monster, even going as far as bringing his sister up. What's to say that Yoshimori wouldn't do the same under similar circumstances? Has experience really taught the ayakashi-hybrid nothing?
Gen's stance faltered and he was brought down to one knee. He punched the ground hard in fury when he realized that he had once again given into false hope.
"How stupid can I be" he whispered to no one in particular. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so crestfallen.
~0~0~0~
Next morning found Yoshimori strolling through the school halls in search for Gen. The taller boy hadn't showed up at the rooftop and wasn't in his homeroom either. Yoshimori didn't particularly cared what the other was up to, especially after last night's fiasco, but his absence made the Kekkaishi anxious. What if the tanner male was getting into some kind of trouble he wasn't supposed to get into?
Yoshimori wasn't paying much attention to the people around him as he looked for Gen and ended up colliding with a fellow student. "Oops, sorry about that" he apologized before realizing that he knew the person he had bumped into. And it just so happened that this particular student could possibly be of help to him. "Oh hi Yurina. Listen, can I ask you something? Have you by any chance seen Shishio around? He's the new transfer student with the bad attitude by the way"
"I, um" Yurina Kanda was thunderstruck by the fact that Yoshimori was the one who started conversation with her as opposite of what usually happens. She didn't want to make a fool of herself so she tried to remember who this Shishio person was. That's when she pictured the scary student with the beastlike eyes from the neighboring class. But Tokine had told her that they were working together so he couldn't be bad, right? "Um, I don't sense anything remotely close to the stench of blood so he's probably not here today" she answered hoping that Sumimura-kun wouldn't blame her for it.
"Are you talking about Gen Shishio?" said a voice from beside them and they turned to see it was no other than Hiromu Tabaka.
The presence of the data collector quickly put Yoshimori on high alert. He couldn't afford revealing anything related to supernatural affairs with the other boy around after all. "What of it?" questioned the Sumimura a little defensively.
"Nothing much" replied Hiromu with a shrug as he made a beeline for their homeroom. "It's just that a few students reported to me that they saw you dragging him to the back of the school building yesterday. Kinda suspicious if you ask me" he commented aloud.
"It's not what it looks like!" Yoshimori shouted louder than necessary.
"Whatever you say" Hiromu said stopping at the classroom door and acknowledging Yoshimori one last time. "I haven't checked the obituaries yet, but considering you were the last person Shishio was seen with, I wouldn't want to be you if that name appears in the newspaper" he said before entering the room.
"Hmp" muttered Yoshimori crossing his arms in front of his chest. He swore he could never tell when Hiromu was being serious or not. The Kekkaishi turned to see Yurina watching him wearily and sighed. "It's not what it looks like. I didn't kill anyone" he defended. Yurina nodded and after a few more seconds of small talk she headed for the classroom as well but not before telling the boy to not be late.
Yoshimori barely listened to that as he was busy remembering that last night Gen had said something similar about the whole sniffing incident. 'Maybe it really wasn't what it looked like' Yoshimori thought as he scratched the side of his scalp. 'Not that I'm sure what it looked liked in the first place'
Whatever it was Yoshimori was starting to consider that he may had overreacted last night. 'Maybe I should pay him another visit later'
~0~0~0~
That afternoon Yoshimori found himself once again in front of Gen's apartment, the doorstep looking as cold and uninviting as he remembered. 'Oh well, better get this over with' he thought to himself as he rang the bell.
"Shishio, hey! If you're there come out man" he called.
"I don't need a newspaper subscription" came Gen's blunt reply.
"…Geez, not this again" sighed Yoshimori before inhaling enough air in preparation for a longwinded rant. "Is that really all you have to say to me? I'm no traveling salesman! Ugh, you gotta be kidding me. I'm here to bring over some handouts and stuff from school. We're in the same grade ya know. And besides, my dad made a special lunch for you so open up!"
"Just leave it by the door" was the droned response he received.
"I can't, mine is in the same bag"
"…"
Yoshimori was momentarily stoked that his efforts weren't in vain and that he was, albeit reluctantly, invited to step into Gen's apartment. Yet that feeling didn't last long as, even though he was technically welcomed in and the table was set, Yoshimori was met with noting but silence.
"So" started the Kekkaishi wanting to break the suffocating quietness. "What was so important that you had to skip school?"
"I needed time to think" replied Gen while breaking his chopsticks so that he could start digging into his meal.
Seating across from him, Yoshimori scowled at the answer he got. "To think? Since this morning? It's almost night now"
Gen didn't even spare the other boy a glance as he responded. "I was meditating" he answered, keeping his sentences short and simple.
"Whatever" Yoshimori muttered as he also began to dig in into his meal. He took the opportunity to view his surroundings but frowned at what he saw. Then he glanced at the ayakashi-hybrid and pouted between bites. 'This guy doesn't talk at all while eating. Even his room is dull… I wonder if this is ordinary for him'
He continued to shift his gaze toward different parts of the room until he stopped at the fridge. That's when curiosity got the best of him and he jumped up to open it.
"Oi, what do you think you're do-" started Gen but got interrupted when Yoshimori started to cheer because he didn't find a carton of coffee-milk in the fridge. That must have meant that Gen drank it! So Yoshimori was quick to interrogate the other boy about it.
"So did you like it? I bet you did! I can't wait to brag to Tokine about it! It was good right? Right?" he asked eagerly as he sat down on his spot and leaned forward wanting to hear the good news.
Gen had to look away from the visual representation of glee seated in front of him. He already regretted what he was about to say. "Actually, I didn't… like it"
"W-W-What, WHY?" demanded Yoshimori flailing his arms and looking like the very definition of heartbroken.
The night trooper winced in recoil and tried to look for something to distract the other boy with. "What's with the box?" he asked after taking notice of a white box situated at the corner of the table. Yoshimori followed Gen's line of vision and grinned when he spotted it.
"Oh, you saw that! Nothing gets pass you!" the Kekkaishi exclaimed as he picked up the box and held it in front of him. "Behold! After many years of research it has finally been completed. A tasty product of all my heart's dedication: the ultimate chocolate cake!"
The room was filled with nothing but silence after that declaration.
Gen found himself in a problematical situation. For one, he really hated sweets. On the other hand, he didn't want to deal with the consequences of openly voicing that. See, even with all the heartache of last night and the subsequent stress of this morning, Gen was finally able to admit to himself that regardless of any disillusion he might encounter in the future, he really wanted a friend.
At first he thought that keeping his distance from Yoshimori was the safest bet at maintaining a friendship because it gave Gen less chances to screw it up. But that theory basically went out the window when it became obvious that even if he tried to stay away, Yoshimori would simply find any excuse to seek him out. And although that did wonders against Gen's pessimistic disposition, it also presented him with the problem of having to interact with the Sumimura. And having already established Gen's general lack of previous friendships, the ayakashi-hybrid found himself in a stump.
"What's with that expression on your face?" voiced Yoshimori interrupting Gen from his inner musings. "What, you got a problem with a guy baking a cake or something?"
"No"
"Then what is it?" questioned the shorter boy defensively.
Gen avoided eye contact again. He had already tried honesty once before with the coffee-milk and that didn't receive a favorable response. So treating this as he would a battlefield, he went with another strategy. "…I'll eat it" he stated.
Yoshimori blinked back not expecting the issue to be resolved so easily without him being mocked in some way for making pastries. He placed the cake slowly on the table and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Okay then"
Things progressed in relative calmness after that. It was after they finished their meals and while in the middle of dessert that they were interrupted when Gen's past instructor, Atora Hanashima, came literally bursting through the door, dragging Tokine along.
After some very, um, distracting stuff happened concerning Gen's behavior around the instructor and a small introduction of who everybody was went down, Atora glowed when she spotted the chocolate cake. But then her demeanor changed when she heard that Gen partook in its consumption.
"Didn't you say you hated any kind of sweets Gen?" she asked loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.
"Hates sweets?" it was of course Yoshimori who overreacted. "You acted like you enjoyed it! Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because," started Gen who was already crouched in a fetal position and vehemently facing away from his unwanted guest. "…you would have felt bad" he explained.
"You still should have told me!" Yoshimori scolded before lowering his voice. "We are friends remember? That means you should trust me enough to tell the truth. I wouldn't have cared" he said. "If anything I would have probably tried to bake you something else" he added as an afterthought.
No one noticed but Gen's eyes widen at that. He never really thought about friendship in that way. Did the answers to all his previous questions about Yoshimori's behavior toward him really come down to that? Trust? 'Since he considers me his friend, does that mean that he actually trusts me?'
That train of thought didn't get far though as Gen soon found himself being suffocated by a pair of boobs as Atora excitedly congratulated him on making friends.
After that they were all sat down as Atora explained the real reason for her visit. She spoke of the importance of maintaining teamwork and declared that she was going to test their ability to work together tonight. Moreover if they weren't successful in completing it she was going to take Gen away.
Just thinking of the complete disaster that last night was already had Gen thinking that he might as well start packing his bags. But Yoshimori's confidence that they would pass any test given to them stopped Gen from taking any hasty action. That night when Atora revealed the ground rules of the trial, Gen understood that the real test was to see if he could trust his teammates like they apparently trusted him.
It was hard at first since Gen had never been in a situation when he had to depend on someone before. Yet as their obstacles continued to pile up, and with Tokine swaying/frightening the information out of him, they somehow managed to work together and pull through with 12 minutes to spare.
The Kekkaishis and their demon dogs celebrated their victory, with Yoshimori patting Gen's back and Tokine ruffling his hair. The next thing Gen knew he was already saying his farewells with his trainer.
"Aww, and here I thought I would be able to take you away" lamented Atora from her position beside Gen.
"I'll pass" said Gen unconcernedly before mumbling the next part. "Besides, I'm wanted here"
"Oh?" replied Atora with a big smile plastered on her face. Apparently the ayakashi-hybrid didn't say the last part as low as he had hoped.
"C-Cut it off" said Gen crossing his arms and looking away from her.
That wasn't enough to block the squeal of delight that escaped her though. "Oh my God, my boy actually likes it here!" she exclaimed as she once again smothered the teen between her boobs.
"I said to cut it out!" Gen shouted as he struggled against her. Once she released him, Gen took three steps backward as a precaution and fixed his uniform. Atora was still watching him with mirth in her eyes so Gen took an extra two steps backward to ward off whatever she may have been planning to do to him. Then, thinking about his trainer more carefully and considering the fact that he won't have to see her again for a hopefully long period of time, Gen decided to take the risk and ask her opinion on something that had been troubling his mind.
"Listen, about my full transformation" started Gen as he feigned interest in the wall furthest from his trainer's general direction. "Do you think they would be able to handle something like that?" he asked referring to his two teammates.
"Huh? What are you talking about? You know that a full transformation is tabooed" stated Atora seriously while raising a critical eyebrow at him. When the teen said nothing, she just patted him hard on the back and smiled when he glared at her. "Aww don't worry so much over it Gen; that's what your tattoo is for! No point in stressing over something that won't happen"
Although she was trying to be reassuring, it had the opposite effect on Gen. You see, from Gen's perspective; Atora had just cemented his fear by mentioning his seal. She had unknowingly stated that it was best for him not to reveal his true form to his friends. It was like she also believed that his friends would hate and leave him the moment they saw the monster he could become. In other words if he wanted to keep his friends he had to hide the truth about himself at all cost.
"Hey Shishio, what are you standing there for?" called Yoshimori from afar as he waved his staff around. "We still have a job to do you know!" he said as he ran off in search of ayakashi.
Gen was about to take a step forward but halted his movements when the sound of Yoshimori's voice triggered a recent memory.
-We are friends remember? That means you should trust me enough to tell the truth. I wouldn't have cared-
"Tch," Gen shook his head in order to get back his focus. "Coming" he replied before dashing away.
Atora however remained frozen on her spot with a stunned expression on her face. 'Did he just… No, I must have imagined it' she convinced herself as she rounded her beast allies. Yet she still couldn't shake the image from her mind. She glanced once more to where Gen had stood just a moment ago and pondered on what she saw.
Right there, before Gen had rushed off to where his teammates were, Atora could have sworn that she saw a ghost of a smile forming on Gen's lips.
~0~0~0~
A/N: Man this chapter was taxing to write but I'm very satisfied with how it came out. I'm really looking forward to Chapter 4 though. It's a real juicy one. Here's a hint. All you have to do is continue the lyrics to this song to figure it out. It goes something like "Gen and Yoshimori sitting on a tree…"
Until next time!