Before The Game

Chapter 4: Friendship

Yokoya sat in a comfortable armchair absently tapping his pale fingers, while waiting for Kikuzawa to arrive. It was silent in the room except for the sound of his mice scratching from the cage he'd placed them in. He was irritated at himself for having underestimated Asami. Earlier he hadn't been thinking properly. All he'd seen was an irritating thorn in his plan of domination and had been hasty in dealing with her. If he'd acted as usual and hadn't been so careless, she would never had had the chance to become friends with Kikuzawa. Friends bring trust and support, something he knew was very dangerous to his system built on fear and isolation. Which is why he'd spent lunch carefully devising a plan to totally crush Asami Koyama. In bully situations, people with friends they could count on for support tended to rebel much more than those without. Therefore the easiest and most logical way to solve the problem was to get rid of her only friend. He'd bribe Kikuzawa into selling her out. The blow wouldn't be the 'punishment' for whatever Kikuzawa said, but the betrayal itself. When Asami discovered it was the one person she thought she could trust, she'd realize it was hopeless to fight on her own and end this silly challenge of hers. Suddenly the room's peace was disturbed by a rough knock on the door.

"Come in." Yokoya said coldly. The old, wooden door creeked opened and Sasaki walked in dragging a terrified Kikuzawa behind him. Perfect, thought Yokoya. The more scared a person is the easier it is to manipulate them.

"Here's Kikuzawa sir." Sasaki stated

"Good work Sasaki." Yokoya told him while handing him a bundle of bills. Kikuzawa stared greedily as Sasaki stuffed the cash into his pocket. "Kikuzawa-san, I've called you here to talk to you about something." Yokoya said, making Kikuzawa jump a little. He'd forgotten his situation for a second there. "Do you know what it is?" Yokoya asked.

"N-no." Kikuzawa answered.

"Come now, we both know you aren't stupid, surely you have an idea why I called you." Yokoya continued, careful to hide any maliciousness from showing on his face, He needed to execute his plan as calmly as possible for it to work.

"Is it about...Asami-chan?" Kikuzawa asked hesitantly, though he already had an inkling where this conversation was headed.

"Yes. It seems you've become friends with Asami. Unfortunately though, I've heard rumours that she's been disrespecting me and the Sasaki group. I was wondering if you could confirm these rumours."

"I-I don't know about tha-"

"Of course you'd be richly rewarded." Yokoya interrupted. "The information concerning a disobedient servant is worth a lot, don't you think Kikuzawa?"

"I guess," Kikuzawa said helplessly. What could he do but agree?

"So what'll it be Kikuzawa?" Yokoya asked, smiling coldly.

"What do you mean?" Kikuzawa asked, trying to avoid the question for as long as possible.

"I mean, in exchange for information on Asami I'm willing to pay you money and guarantee not to demote you from rank C." Said Yokoya while taking out a few rolls of cash. Kikuzawa's eyes widened. There must've been at least 80 000 yen! "And all for a little bit of information." Kikuzawa stared at the money greedily. He thought of the possibility of never worrying about being demoted again. He could get his revenge on people like Tanaka who'd sold him out, and not worry about the consequences. He'd also have a ton of spending money, a luxury he'd been without ever since his father was fired. It was more than he'd hoped for when he befriended Asami-chan...so why hesitate? He glanced at Yokoya, then the money. Asami-chan did seem like a good friend but things didn't get any better than this.

He was about to agree to this deal when he noticed the mice eating in their cage. He stared, transfixed, as they nibbled on seeds and a few vegetables. They reminded him of lunch with Asami-chan earlier that day.

Kikuzawa looked bewildered as the brunette dragged him towards the school door, curls bouncing everywhere.

"You do know it's lunchtime?" he asked her. Asami laughed lightly.

"Of course I know that!" she said cheerfully.

"Then mind telling me where you're dragging me off to, and why you feel the need to leave my arm bruised?" he asked. Asami quickly let go of his arm.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to hurt your arm." She muttered remorsefully. Kikuzawa shrugged. "I just thought that since it's really nice out and everything and the cafeteria is kind of...um..." Asami struggled to find the proper word.

"Suffocating?" Kikuzawa suggested helpfully.

"Exactly!" Asami exclaimed. "I just thought it'd be nice to eat outside instead. Is that ok with you?"

"Sure." Kikuzawa agreed. They walked outside and sat on the grass under a big tree. Both took out their bentos and ate in peaceful silence. Kikuzawa started drinking his juice when Asami put down her food.

"Um, Kikuzawa, I just wanted to say, thank you for being my friend. I, I think I kind of understand now how hard it must be for you to trust me. That's why I want you to know that I think you're being super courageous, and that I will NEVER betray you, ok? So you don't have to worry or anything." She said, a shy but very friendly smile on her face. Kikuzawa felt a pang of guilt in stomach as he remembered exactly why he'd become her friend in the first place.

"Thanks." He muttered quietly, before turning back to his juice box.

"Well?" Yokoya asked, impatience evident in his voice. He'd had enough of waiting for Kikuzawa to answer.

"No." Kikuzawa said firmly, frowning determinedly. A heavy silence descended in the room. Kikuzawa felt his heart bang crazily on his ribcage.

"What?" Yokoya asked, voice frigid. Kikuzawa felt the little courage he'd gained drain right back out of him.

"I-I mean, she hasn't said anything, so there's nothing I can do." Kikuzawa lied. Yokoya narrowed his eyes, detecting the dishonesty in his eyes.

"We both know she's thinking them. All you have to do is say you heard her insult me."

"You mean lie?" Kikuzawa clarified.

"Technically, I suppose, but we both know if something isn't done now she'll grow to be more disobedient. So if your smart, you'll claim a reward before somebody else does." Kikuzawa considered it for a split second before shaking his head. He'd decided not to sell Asami out, and as crazy and illogical as it may be, he would stick to that decision.

"I-I'm sorry Yokoya-san, but I couldn't l-lie about my friend like that." Kikuzawa lowered his gaze to the floor, careful not to look Yokoya in the eye.

"I wouldn't tell her it was you, so you could remain friends with her and reap the benefits." Yokoya lied smoothly, sure he wouldn't be able to resist such an offer. Kikuzawa thought about it, a reward and Asami would never be the wiser...

"She wouldn't know but I would." Kikuzawa whispered, surprising both of them. Yokoya's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. This wasn't how his plan was supposed to go.

"So you refuse to co-operate with us?" he asked Kikuzawa.

"It's not that I refuse to... I just can't. I couldn't live with myself." Kikuzawa said earnestly.

"Well then you're a fool. I'm sorry this is your response Kikuzawa. I thought you were smarter, but it seems like I'll have to lump you with idiots like Asami." Kikuzawa just continued to silently look at the floor. "What exactly do we do to idiots like that Sasaki?" Yokoya asked the forgotten bully. Sasaki answered by cracking his knuckles menacingly, finally succeeding in getting Kikuzawa to look up away from the floor. Yokoya watched lazily as a bead of sweat travel down Kikuzawa's terrified face. "Are you sure you want to be considered an idiot, Kikuzawa?" he asked seriously. Kikuzawa only nodded, unable to find his voice. "Suit yourself." Yokoya nodded at Sasaki to begin.

---------

"Are you sure we should've let him off so easy?" Sasaki asked about ten minutes. They'd beaten Kikuzawa for a while, and when it was obvious he wouldn't give in, thrown him out of the room.

"Of course I'm sure." Yokoya said sharply, throwing Sasaki a look that dared him to contradict.

"My apologies" Sasaki muttered quickly before leaving the room. Yokoya walked over to his mouse cage and took them out before sitting back down in his armchair. There'd been no point in beating Kikuzawa too much. It was clear he wasn't going to crack and there was no point in leaving him with so many bruises Kikuzawa's parents would get involved. His plan hadn't work, but it didn't really matter. There'd be plenty of opportunities later, so it was quite unnecessary to get upset over something so trivial. Afterall, a fish can swim against a current, but it can't change it. Whatever Asami or Kikuzawa did wouldn't change a thing. He'd always remain supreme ruler in this school.

* * * * *

Kikuzawa slowly made his way home. He couldn't believe that he'd just defied Yokoya. Him! The one who'd sold out many of his oldest friends for small rewards, had refused selling out someone he'd just met for a huge reward! He chuckled a bit at the irony of it.

He was amazed that he'd been able to stay firm through the whole ideal. There were a few moments when he'd been close to giving up, but he hadn't, and he felt good. Proud even, something he thought he'd never feel again. But was it really worth it, a voice in the back of his mind asked, sobering his good mood completely. Would she really do the same for you? Kikuzawa shook his head roughly trying to get rid of such thoughts, but it was too late. His good mood wasn't coming back. In fact, it just kept getting worse and worse as he made his way home. Why had he done something so stupid? Would he be able to live peacefully now that he was on Yokoya's 'bad list'? Was Asami really worth it? He arrived home about ten minutes later and went in the back way.

"I'm home!" he said grumpily while slipping off his shoes. Right now all he wanted to do was go to his room and mope.

"Oh! He just got home, one moment please..." came his mother's voice from the kitchen, followed by the sound of footsteps coming his way. He looked up from his shoes to see her smiling at him, hands covering the speaker of a portable phone. "Takahiro, the phone's for- oh my goodness!" She'd just caught sight of Kikuzawa's new black eye. "What on earth happened to you?!"

"I got hit by a stray baseball during P.E." Kikuzawa mumbled, He'd thought a plausible excuse on the way home.

"Well let me take a look at it right away!" his mother instructed, pulling his face up by the chin in order to get a better look at the bruise. Kikuzawa tried to squirm out of her grip. It was so annoying when she got so protective. "We'll need to ice this right away. My poor baby..." she crooned, dragging him to the kitchen.

"Mom!" Kikuzawa exclaimed, finally succeeding in escaping her grip. "I'm not two you know! Besides, the phone's for me, isn't it? Who is it?" He asked, glancing at the phone. His mother's eyes took on a mischievious glint.

"Well, it seems a girl' wants to talk to you. You didn't tell me you have a girlfriend!" she teased, a sly grin on her face.

"Mom!" Kikuzawa exclaimed a second time, an absolutely scandalized look on his face. "It's not like that! Asami-chan and I are just friends!" His mother's grin only widened.

"And you're on first name terms already! How adorable! I can't wait to tell your father!"

"Mom! Cut it out already!"

"Well, just grab an ice pack and I'll let you leave to talk to her in peace. I'm expecting you to bring her home one day soon though." She handed him the phone and gave him a big wink. "I can't believe my cute youngest son's already so grown up." she cooed happily. Kikuzawa ignored her, took an ice pack fro the freezer, and went to his room as quickly as he could.

"Hi, this is Kikuzawa speaking." he said, finally putting the phone to his ear. He wouldn't be surpirized if Asami had already hung up.

"Hello, this is Asami." came her timid voice. "I was just wondering if you, um, maybe wanted to hang out on Sunday?" Kikuzawa couldn't help but think of his mother's words, and a light blush appeared on his face. He really hoped she wasn't asking him out on a date... "You can come with friends if you want to. The more the merrier." She added, causing Kikuzawa to let out a relieved sigh. He liked her and all, but not that much. Figures his mom would make him all paranoid.

"Yeah, sure. Where to?" he asked curiously.

"Oh I don't know. Just around." she said cheerfully. Kikuzawa could just picture her smiling like a little kid. "I know you probably haven't gotten to hang out with school friends much this year, obviously, so I figured it was about time you did. Don't want my newest friend moping around on a perfectly good Sunday!" Kikuzawa couldn't help but feel a bit cheerful himself. Her attitude was just so contagious.

"I guess I could show you all the cool spots around here, tourist style." he suggested.

"Ok, sounds good. Well, see you at school tomorrow!" Asami hung up and Kikuzawa put the phone on his desk. He was trying hard to wipe the goofy grin off his face, but it was proving to be a difficult task. He knew he should still be worrying about school and how things would be later, but he hadn't had something to look forwards to in a while and he just didn't have the heart to think about the more serious things in life. All he knew was that befriending Asami had definately been the best idea he'd had all year.

Well, that's it. Hoped you liked the chapter. I know it took a while, but I had a lot of trouble trying to keep them in character. Please tell me if a character gets a little too OOC, because it's a lot easier to fix a character earlier on in the story than later. Please review and tell me what you think guys. If it's not too much to ask for, I'd like at least three reviews PLEASE:) Thank you to all my loyal readers. If anyone has any ideas for futur chapters, feel free to tell me them!