Kazama wasn't surprised to find a police car parked on the curb of his school as he pulled up to the front gate that morning. His driver had tossed a concerned look towards him in the rearview mirror, but otherwise said nothing about the unusual presence as he watched him exit the vehicle for class.
The front courtyard was absent of students considering that the sun had barely risen above the horizon and class wasn't starting for another hour and a half, but the school gate remained open for any teachers that needed to arrive before the mandatory time to plan their day ahead.
It was his responsibility as student council president to arrive as early as he could to ensure that his work could be done as efficiently as possible. Regarding school activities, he needed to be up-to-date with any changes the staff made the day before, and extra time made him able to visit the teachers' room to collect any and all files necessary so that the students can be better aware of the upcoming events posted along the walls of the school.
He never slacked in his duty and made certain that he was someone people could rely on in terms of his abilities. The personal affairs of the students didn't matter much to him, however. Rather, he preferred the praise of his teachers compared to his classmates. He was someone that could get the job done, he was the one that could meet all expectations.
Kazama's reputation made others respect him in a different way than those connected with his family's business did. His position, popularity, they were things that he himself had earned the right to have all on his own. Countless sleepless nights studying to remain top of the class, long hours staying after school to plan events in the council room. Balancing his education with strict lessons from his parents was an everyday thing, and Kazama never knew any different from his life.
Had he been caught last night by the police, or if Heisuke revealed it, everyone would find out that he had been there past curfew too. That kid didn't have a volume button, one word with Yukimura and his whole damn class could hear everything. The image he had worked so hard to maintain would be smeared with rumors of sneaking out at night, of being some delinquent he clearly wasn't.
He hated to admit it, but Heisuke was the one that ultimately had control over him. In a way, Kazama had been lucky it hadn't been another student that could have made the ordeal turn in their favor. If it had been anyone else that caught him that night they would have used that information to blackmail him most likely. And while Heisuke probably hadn't even considered using that material with ill intent, he didn't want to risk the chance of someone finding out by eavesdropping.
Which was exactly why he needed Heisuke to keep quiet about everything.
He never made it a habit to skip school. Days when he was feeling too under the weather, and Chizuru more or less forced him, he took a sick day just to keep her from worrying. During those times he'd simply sleep the hours away in his bed until he had the energy to make himself some food before promptly falling back asleep.
Now he didn't even have the luxury of sleeping, not when someone could easily walk into the room at any time and find him there. He had been up since five in the morning when Kazama came in and startled him awake by kicking his ribcage none too gently. His upperclassman claimed that he needed to hurry and wake up due to the morning shift maid making her rounds and he didn't want Heisuke getting them in trouble if he was caught.
He begrudgingly followed directions and folded the futon back into the closet without a complaint so Kazama could be satisfied. If the maid did in fact move anywhere near the guest room Heisuke could hear the footsteps approaching thanks to the thin walls of the house, and it would be easy to sneak into the yard from the back door.
Heisuke had argued why he couldn't just return to his home by morning to avoid being seen by anyone, and with Chizuru attending school during the day, he could avoid her in the state he was in.
"Because a student out in the streets during school hours isn't going to draw attention," Kazama answered sarcastically.
Kazama had a stubborn streak that rivaled his own and it was infuriating trying to reason with him when he always believed himself to be the smartest guy in the room. Convincing him to do anything against his own thoughts was the equivalent of trying to pull teeth and it was far too early for Heisuke to put up a proper fight.
So, he relented.
He remained in the room just as he was told to do for hours, listening intently for any signs of footsteps and keeping himself close to his only exit by sitting in the corner next to his shoes. He discovered earlier that his cell phone battery had died during the night, leaving him without any contact or entertainment to possibly occupy his time as he waited in boredom. He humored actually leaving to his house to grab his phone charger, but Kazama's words reminded him that it was best to play it safe for now.
"I hope Chizuru isn't too worried." Heisuke imagined she must have been if she stopped by his home that morning to walk to school together. She probably tried to call him once she realized he wasn't going to show up, but with his phone dead, he had no way of reassuring her that he was okay. His only comfort was knowing that Amagiri seemed faithful to his promise and that he would ensure Chizuru be informed eventually.
Maybe if he hadn't confronted those bullies alone in the dark, or if he protected himself better, he wouldn't have to hide the bruises and make things complicated. He should have said something to them at school instead, embarrass them in front of everyone for picking on someone at their age, but he didn't.
If he had, would the kid they were bullying have been okay? He always heard stories about them only making it worse for the victim when they were caught, and Heisuke never wanted the situation to escalate. Kazama had told him he was stupid to challenge them all alone, and he was right, but it wasn't as if there was anyone else willing to step up against them. The only thing that he could think of was catching them before it got out of hand, even if he was outnumbered.
Heisuke sighed and shook his head. Now wasn't really the time to be mulling over his decisions, what's done is done. For now, he just needed to go along with what Kazama wanted from him and once his injuries became manageable he was a free man. While he was sure his identity wouldn't be exposed he still wondered what his absence was going to do once the school started to realize a number of its students from the same year were in police custody. He hoped he wouldn't be lumped in with the suspicion of incarceration due to the unlikely "coincidence."
Sure, the boys involved were probably going to be released by tomorrow at the latest—there are still laws protecting minors after all—but their reputation was going to suffer tremendously and odds were that they were most likely going to be removed from the school altogether depending on their parents' verdict.
Heisuke thought about his own parents, wondering what they were going to think about everything if they ever found out about his temporary disappearance, and then he remembered that they likely would never find out or bother asking details if they did. Just the "education is the most important" spiel they used every time there was an issue at school.
He sometimes doubted they ever genuinely cared about him at all, just making sure he didn't completely ruin his future living by himself so they could still have a reason to send him money every month. Anything they could do to keep themselves separated from him, he guessed.
"That's depressing to think about." Heisuke mumbled to himself before leaning back against the wall.
His phone was dead and he couldn't tell the time, but he felt that four hours had easily passed since he awoke this morning. He could feel the sun beaming through the paper-thin walls facing the courtyard and he had an idea it was close to lunchtime from the way his stomach responded. He hadn't had anything to eat since last night and, unless he wanted to chance being caught trying to search for the kitchen, he was going to have to sit through his hunger pains until Kazama could come back.
He was lucky to discover that the presence of the police at the school did little to raise suspicion by the students. At the very least, Kazama hadn't caught whiff of any rumors yet, and that meant it was being handled well by the staff to avoid any unsavory questions. While announcements were handled by the student council, there were no instructions given by the principal to call anyone into the office for questioning, so everything was currently being kept under wraps. Surely there were people wanting answers to it, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary besides the police car at the front entrance.
Classes were just about over with for the day and Kazama's study hour was coming to a close, though he mostly used his time to finish up any council work that needed to be done to avoid staying too late after school. He still always found himself coming home late, however, usually caught by a teacher asking him for favors. He personally thought the disciplinary committee was better suited for running meaningless errands, but he supposed the student council seemed more reliable in that aspect. He was the one in charge of it, after all.
Kazama listened as the bell rang and the sound of hurried footsteps rushing through the corridor outside quickly overtook the rhythmic ticking of the wall clock he had grown accustomed to in the last hour. Many students were eager to head home for the day, attend their afternoon clubs, or to an evening cram school due to the exams that were steadily approaching.
What he didn't expect was the door to slide open a minute later, Kazama looking up from his work to see a certain first year student standing at the entrance. At her presence, he easily gave her his best smile and discretely placed his documents aside. When he noticed her taking a moment to look around the room, he took the opportunity to stand from his seat and greet her. "I'm surprised to see you here, Yukimura. Is there something you're looking for?"
She snapped from her thoughts as she was addressed, the girl pausing before finding her voice. "I was looking for Amagiri senpai, I thought he would be here but…" she trailed off before finishing. Her expression suggested she was disheartened to not find him where she expected.
Kazama had a feeling he knew why she was looking for him. "He is currently preoccupied. The student council has been busy trying to cover plans of all the festivals and events coming once exams are over." He suppressed a frown as he watched her already preparing to leave in search of him, but if she was going to him for Heisuke the outcome would remain the same. "If you need him for a personal matter, you may be able to find him in the auditorium."
Yukimura should have wanted to head there immediately, except the look she gave him indicated there was something more to the situation.
A look of skepticism.
He hadn't lied to her, Amagiri was indeed in the auditorium helping with preparations for the school events. He hoped she trusted him enough to not give her false information just to toy with her. "What's wrong? If it isn't personal, you are more than welcome to come to me for anything."
Her response was something Kazama couldn't help but smirk from, seeing her face flush just the barest amount of red from his tone gave him a kind of satisfaction he couldn't get from teasing other people.
"No, that's not it!"
"Then what?"
Yukimura nearly stuttered trying to further deny it was anything personal, until she sighed, as if she was debating whether what she was planning to tell him was the right thing to do. "He came to me today at lunch explaining that Heisuke is apparently sick and couldn't come to school. At first I thought he had morning club practice and that was why I didn't see him, but when I asked some of his classmates where he was, they said he was absent." She seemed genuinely concerned, it was her best friend after all. "I figured since he knew he was sick, something must have happened."
Amagiri.
There wasn't anything he could do to fix it now. He shouldn't have let him tell her anything, it was Toudou's own damn fault for sticking his nose in someone else's business. Now she was suspecting him, no doubt, probably assuming one of them to be the cause of his absence.
"I believe he was in the infirmary early this morning talking with the nurse." He stopped to gauge her response. "The student council has other responsibilities, and it is important that we are kept updated before our semester's sporting events. We just recently had our physicals, after all." Kazama's reasoning was complete bullshit. The student council wasn't so involved in keeping up with personal records of anyone, much less about their own health to the point of checking in with the infirmary. "He must have showed up for club practice, realized he was sick, and was sent to see the nurse."
Yukimura did not seem to buy it completely, though her eyes had softened after giving it another moment of thought. "… He did seem bothered by something yesterday, maybe he was feeling sick," she mused aloud.
Kazama didn't want her thinking about it any longer than she had to. "If that was all you came for, I'm a little disappointed. If you have time to think about other men, you should be spending that time with me." He couldn't help riling her up. "If you're free today you can join me on a date—"
She nearly stumbled over herself at his offer, he cheeks blooming a darker shade before she shook her head wildly. "U-um, I'm sorry but I need to focus on studying today after school… exams are coming up and Harada sensei explained they were going to be tough this year." Yukimura looked up to meet eyes with him, ready to apologize for turning him down, but it caught in her throat before she suddenly remembered something.
After another painful wave of hunger churned his stomach, Heisuke decided it was enough. He had been sitting in the same spot in the room for hours listening around for anyone walking by and he hadn't heard a single footstep all day. Either Kazama had lied about the cleaning service, or they were totally slacking on the job while he was at school.
He was starving to the point of sickness, and he needed to find something to eat before it could get any worse. Like hell he was going without food the entire day just to obey Kazama's word.
Giving himself a minute to stand up and prepare, he waited by the door leading into the hallway of the home, staying silent until he was certain no one was around. Then, he slid the door open and peaked his head out far enough to survey the house. The corridor was narrow, yet it seemed to stretch throughout the home like a never-ending path. Countless rooms lining the walls and no indication to where Heisuke needed to be.
"I can't tell where the kitchen even is." Heisuke had never been in such an outdated home before. He knew if he just followed the hall and searched every room he was sure to find it eventually, but he didn't have that kind of freedom or time.
He quietly shut the door behind him and shuffled forward, careful to keep his footsteps silent and watching for any dips in the wood that could possibly creak from his weight. Shiranui was right when he said that this side of the house was vacant, the walls were plain and there weren't any signs that the rooms around him were even being used. Perhaps it really was the guest wing and not some storage room Kazama had thrown him in.
He kept walking until there was a divide in the hall, the path leading either to the left or the right. Heisuke sidled close to the wall and turned to the left after noticing the walkway down there opened up. Bigger space meant bigger rooms, right? "Please let this be the kitchen."
Nothing gave away any signs that there was food to be found. Heisuke was used to seeing kitchen tile at least. You know, something that showed the transition between the living space and the cooking part of the house. Why was the Kazama family so difficult about everything? If they were this rich to afford all this space, they could bother to install a kitchen in every major part of the house so he didn't have to sneak around just to eat.
Heisuke was cursing his own luck when a sudden sound alerted him from his thoughts. Just a few steps ahead he could hear someone approaching from around the corner, their footsteps coming in quick along with their voice. There had to have been more than one person, which meant Heisuke was going to be in trouble.
Thinking fast, he rushed to hide himself in one of the rooms, briefly checking to see if it was empty before sliding the door shut. He knew just from looking that he picked a bedroom of all places, but there were plenty of things he could use to hide behind in the case that he was heard in the halls.
The footsteps were coming closer, sounding heavier, so he dived towards the work desk facing an open window. It was hidden away from the entrance and if he was stuck, all he needed to do was escape through the window and run back home before he could be caught.
Trying to stay quiet, he listened as the footsteps stopped in front of the door—the voices behind the wall were too muffled for him to make sense of—and Heisuke once again cursed his luck from his hiding place the moment the door slid open.
He tucked his legs in closer to himself and pressed against the wall as far as he could to keep himself invisible as the person slowly entered the room. He couldn't see who it was, but it sounded like they weren't in any rush to check the room top to bottom. Maybe it was just the cleaning service preparing the room, and it was just bad coincidence they chose to clean the very place he chose to hide in.
He slowly began to panic thinking up of ways he could escape before he was discovered. The minute they would step away from the door to leave, he could go out the window like he planned. He could try throwing something on the other side of the room to distract them—no that was stupid. What did he have to throw anyways?
Something blunt dropped to the ground by the door and Heisuke sucked in his breath, careful not to make any noise. It scared him out of his panic, and he realized that there was only one person now. Whoever else he heard out in the hall a minute ago hadn't entered the room, and the conversation stopped.
Heisuke took a chance and slowly leaned forward until he saw a figure by the entrance whose back was turned, but that was all he needed to see that it was, "Kazama!"
The stack of papers Kazama was holding had slipped and toppled in a heap onto the floor, the older boy hissing a curse before turning to see just who was responsible for his mini heart attack.
To think Heisuke managed to avoid running into the wrong people, maybe his luck wasn't as bad as he thought. "Sorry," he stood from his hiding spot, "I was looking for something to eat and I ended up here." Had he known it was Kazama in the hall he would've saved them both the stress of what just happened.
"This was exactly why I told you not to leave." Heisuke wasn't supposed to be in his home, telling him to stay hidden was to keep his family from finding him and causing a scene. He didn't even have the patience to wait until he returned from school before ignoring his warning.
"I wasn't going to waste away in there! I thought I could grab something from the kitchen before being seen, it's not my fault your house is a maze." Heisuke had no intention of purposely getting himself in more trouble. "I haven't eaten anything all day."
Kazama looked ready to bark at him again for being a nuisance until he saw the way Heisuke had clutched at his stomach. He never ate breakfast in the mornings, he always preferred to take vitamin supplements instead. He hadn't thought to bring him anything to eat when he came to wake him up. If Heisuke had remained in the room up until now, naturally he would be starving.
"The kitchen is in the east wing of the house, you're on the opposite end, idiot."
He watched Heisuke sigh with aggravation. "I don't know this place, it would have been nice to tell me before you went to school." It would have saved them both the extra bit of trouble.
"I wasn't expecting you to sneak out." They could argue back and forth all day if possible, knowing that the boy's stubbornness clashed with his own, but they didn't have time to pointlessly blame each other. While he came home, he was greeted by one of the maids at the door before he convinced her to finally let him be. She had followed him all the way to his room, and if she continued he wouldn't have had the chance to leave for the guest wing without being suspicious.
"Neither was I." Heisuke looked down at the papers Kazama dropped a moment ago, noticing a thick packet with his name on it in neat handwriting. It looked a lot like Chizuru's own.
He bent down to pick it up and inspected the front before recognizing the subject. "Is this my homework?"
Kazama hadn't gotten the chance to answer before the bedroom door was suddenly slid open, and the maid he had shooed away earlier stood. "Kazama, your father wanted to inform you of an upcoming tea—oh my!"
Neither one of them had a moment to blink before she noticed Heisuke.