Oh My Kichigai!
By Uchiha Xairylle

Chapter Seven : One, Two, Three!


Ken'ichi leaned on the wall as his honey blonde-haired companion sunk on the floor. Both of them were huffing and missed consecutive periods trying to outrun middle school bullies. Ken'ichi wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked down on the other boy who looked like he was going to have an asthma attack.

"We are… so dead." The stranger said, "Especially… me…"
"Thanks for… the rocks back there…" Ken'ichi bent and put his hands on his knees as he watched his sweat trickle from his forehead.
"No biggie."

"By the way…" Ken'ichi looked at the boy beside him and offered his hand, "I'm Kurosaki Ken'ichi."
"I'm…" the boy continued to huff as his trembling hand shook with Ken'ichi's, "…Ishida Ryu."

Ken'ichi sat down on the floor with Ryu as they bought caught their breaths. Their huffing slightly echoed along the empty corridor and they could slightly hear sounds coming from the classrooms nearby. Ryu looked at Ken'ichi and said, "Should we go back to class?"

"And then what? Waste the remainder of our afternoon?" Ken'ichi replied, "There are only fifteen minutes before dismissal."
"You've got a point."

Ken'ichi did not know what his mother and father would do to him when they see his bruises. He was going back to being called "my little baby Kii-chan" again. Three stupid older boys ganged up on him and he let them. Not that his father would scold him but he just felt so silly being worked up from running from three airheads who just happened to be larger and older. Well, you can't always have things your way.

"Oh my god, I thought I was going to die…" Ryu threw his head back slowly, "Never thought it'd feel different when it's not my father trying to kill me."

Ken'ichi raised an eyebrow.

"Your father?"
"Y-ye—Never mind."
"No, my father tries to kill me, too." Ken'ichi shrugged, "With his bare hands. Now that you've said that, it makes me wonder if all fathers are like that."
"The normal ones aren't, I guess." Ryu chuckled and Ken'ichi grinned before both of them started laughing.

But all revelries were cut short.

"THERE THEY ARE!"

Ken'ichi's eyes widened and Ryu gasped as he saw three middle schoolers running their way. Ken'ichi, having better reflexes, immediately stood up and grabbed Ryu by the collar. The boy had a bit of trouble getting up but eventually ran with Ken'ichi.

"We are sooooooo dead!" Ryu complained.
"Double dead if they catch us! Keep running!"

Ken'ichi would've faced these three guys again if he had to but not with someone he had just met. He did not like getting other people involved in his fights since he did not want other people getting hurt because of him. It was one of the things his father taught him.

"RYU!" A female voice shot through the air as a girl stepped into the corridor.

"Y-YUI-CHAN!" Ryu gasped but had no time to stop. The girl's eyebrows furrowed and then her eyes grew wide upon seeing three other students hot on her brother's trail. She opened her mouth to say something but Ryu and Ken'ichi immediately grabbed her and dragged her away. The girl released a small shriek before she could get her feet to coordinate properly. As soon as she was sure she was not going to stumble stupidly in front of her brother and his new found chase buddy, the girl turned to Ryu and glared, "What is the meaning of this!"

"Why are you out early?" Ryu asked instead of answering.
"We were dismissed early now answer my question!"
"News flash! Head for the stairs!" Ken'ichi pointed.
"Okay!" Ryu nodded.

"Wha— HEY!" Yui exclaimed as Ken'ichi grabbed her by the waist and flung her on his shoulder as he leaped down the steps with Ryu, "What do you think you're doing! Unhand me this instant!"

"I'm not watching a girl slip down the steps!" Ken'ichi replied.
"I can manage, thank you!" she complained as she pushed herself up, "Now let me go!"
"As soon as—"
"I said unhand me, you pervert!" she shrieked and pulled on his hair.
"OW! Stop that!" Ken'ichi squirmed in between steps, "You're not light, you know so sorry for being a young gentleman! OW! It hurts already! Stop that!"
"Yui-chan…!"

"Who do you think you are? Let me go!" she was kicking now and she looked up. The three middle schoolers were still after them. With a pout, she blew the stray wisp of hair that was dangling on her face and said, "Why the hell are we running!"

"You sure ask a lot of questions, don't you?" Ken'ichi commented as he grunted, "Aside from that and being bossy, what else can you do?"
"Shut up! I don't remember talking to you!" She said shrilly and hit Ken'ichi on the head, "There's three of us and three of them so why are we running!"
"Yui-chan, they're middle schoolers!"

Yes, and they have more air in their head than brains!

"Well, they look like airheads to me!" Yui pouted, "Three of us, three of them! We shouldn't be running!"
"That's two and a half!" Ken'ichi corrected.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't know you didn't have it in you."
"I don't get girls into fights so you're the half."
"Excuse me!" she began pulling on his hair again, "Unhand me thi—"

Yui looked up and saw the fat guy holding up a trash can he picked up and aiming at them.

"DOWN!" she shrieked.
"What?" the two boys chorused and looked back.
"I said down, you morons!"

Flying trash can right at them!

"GAH!"
"WAAAH!"

Ken'ichi and Ryu kicked off towards opposite directions and the large aluminum object whizzed between them as both of them hit the wall. Ken'ichi was fast enough to have shifted Yui so that she'd hit his body instead. With a thud, they fell on the floor and Ryu got up. Yui was the next to sit up and Ken'ichi would've sat up as well if the girl had not been sitting on his stomach.

"Here they come." She said, "Ryu, get up."
"B-b-but Yui-chan…!"
"What about you get off me!" Ken'ichi complained.

"Heads up!" Yui kicked off the ground and Ken'ichi groaned as her weight left him in a bad way.
"Y-Yui-chan!"

The three middle schoolers caught up with them and the fat one aimed for the girl. She ducked just in time and sent a jab to his midsection. The older student winced but did not fall back. The girl gasped and then the normal built guy took her by the head.

"Bitchy little—"
"Hold it!" Ken'ichi kicked Bully in the face and the boy threw to the wall. The Kurosaki boy landed and shoved Yui to one side.

"I can take care of myself!"
"You're too open when you attack!" Ken'ichi glared and she smirked. The girl looked beside her.

Janitor's closet!

Yui's hand grabbed the door and opened it. Her feet kicked up a bucket before throwing it straight at Bully's face. The middle schooler arched back from the impact and he fell on the floor. His two companions watched in shock. Before they could return to the current situation, Ken'ichi had already grabbed a broom and began hitting them with it in swings and in thrusts.

It would've looked cool if he wasn't holding a broom but other than that, for a ten year-old kid, he was doing it with elegance and strength at the same time. Yui's eyes widened.

This boy's footwork is insanely synchronized!

The girl was too absorbed with watching Ken'ichi that she didn't realize the giant hand that was coming to grab her.

"Yui-chan…!" Ryu exclaimed and rammed a mop towards the fat guy's gut. The middle schooler groaned as he fell and Yui gasped a short "Arigatou" as Ken'ichi finished up, handling the broom as if sheathing a sword. And Ken'ichi slowly breathed out.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!" an adult male voice hollered and all three children gasped. Ken'ichi straightened from his stance as he and Ryu dropped whatever it was that they were holding. The male bearded teacher was eyeing them all as well as the three half-wasted bodies of middle schoolers on the floor.

"A-a-ano…" Yui was now pale and Ken'ichi scratched his head. Ken'ichi groaned and Ryu hung his head on his neck, "I told you we were dead."

"Get in the office! NOW!"

The three filed in towards the door as they sported various looks on their faces. Heavy footsteps prodded into the room and it felt like doomsday when the teacher closed the door.

"What do you think you were doing?"
"Sensei, we can explain." Yui began.

Ken'ichi sighed. Who should he think of being now? His father was no diplomat. His ojisama was a superior. His ojisan was nowhere close to normal. Great. Now, if his mother were here, what'd she do?

Lights! Camera! And in three, two, one…

"Sensei." Ken'ichi said lowly.

Action!

"I admit. I was violent." The boy began as the siblings beside him looked on, "No matter what reason I may have, it was not right for me to behave in such a reckless manner not fit for a young boy like me."

"You bet you have no right." The teacher nodded, his eyebrows still meeting each other.

Ken'ichi looked down and bit his lip, his hands clutching into fists and he sighed before looking at the man who was behind the table. The adult blinked and the boy spoke again, "But sensei, would it be fitting for me to leave a girl being disrespected right before my eyes?"

"Wha—" Yui was about to say something when her brother tugged at her sleeve, "Ssh!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Tell me, sensei…" Ken'ichi's voice was shaky, "If you were in a situation that both questioned your manhood, a situation that called for you to make a choice, what would you do? Would uphold the rules and leave the girl or save the girl no matter what the rules say?"

The teacher wasn't speaking and Yui was raising an eyebrow.

"Tell me, sensei!" Ken'ichi slammed his palms on the table, "Tell me!"

Yui was blinking and Ryu was in awe. Was this an act or was he serious? This boy was sincerely insane. She was not getting associated with him after this. She would not even learn his name. There was no way in earth, heaven or hell that what he was saying now would pass up as an excuse. He was worsening the situation and he was getting themselves into a bigger trouble than they were already in. Perhaps she should speak up and tell him she did not know this man and sorts? She could say that she and her brother were unwittingly dragged into his mess so this boy should suffer the consequences of his actions alone. She could do that, right? After all, this acting was going to get them nowhere, right?

Right.

So how the hell did they out of the office unharmed without any disciplinary sanctions again?

"Phew, that was a close one, Kurosaki!" Ryu sighed as they walked out of the school building, "It's a good thing you were a good at speech."

It was not genius. It was totally ludicrous! How could that male teacher give in to that lame acting of his! Now she owed him one or maybe two since he saved her brother as well.

"Like you said… No biggie." Ken'ichi shrugged.
"This is the first and last time I'll be getting into such a big mess with you… you… you…" Yui was looking at Ken'ichi, unsure what to call him.
"If it helps, my name is Kurosaki Ken'ichi." He blinked at her and she pouted as she said, "Ishida Yui."

"But since you're the first guy I've met properly on my first day of school here where I got into my first fight ever…" Ryu rattled on, "You can just call me Ryu!"
"WHAT!" Yui blasted, "You can't do that!"
"Yui-chan, he helped us out and you have to admit that." Ryu reasoned, "Besides, we've already decided that when one person calls me by name, he calls you by name as well."

"Well that's…!"
"Yui-chan!"
"Hmph. Fine."

"I won't call you by name if you don't want me to." Ken'ichi said.
"Shut up. It's an agreement between twins so stay out of it." She glared at him, "So just go with the flow and call us by name…!"
"O-okay but you will have to call me by name, too…" Ken'ichi shrugged, "…Ryu, Yui."

Yui felt goosebumps all over her body. The only males to call her by name were those who were part of her family so to hear her name being said by another male's voice was really, really weird! Plus, he was staring at her as he blinked dumbly.

"Stop looking at me!" she glared.
"Why the hell are you so edgy?" Ken'ichi raised an eyebrow.

The Ishida girl's glare intensified as she bit her lip, drew a deep breath and stormed off. Ken'ichi's head tilted in apparent curiosity as he looked at her brother who was chuckling.

"What's so funny?"
"Well, you see, Yui-chan doesn't really talk to other people so much." Ryu was smiling, "So it's really weird to see her interacting with a new person this early."
"Really?" Ken'ichi blinked, "Gee, it would've been fun if I had a twin, too… Or a brother or a sister."
"You're an only child?"
"Yes…" Ken'ichi hung his head in dismay, "And it really sucks… most of the time."
"Well, sometimes I want to be an only child."
"Really?"
"Yeah."

"Ryu, what are you standing there for! Let's go home!" Yui screeched and Ryu pointed at her with his head as he raised his eyebrows at Ken'ichi as if saying, "See?" And the Kurosaki boy smiled and nodded before watching the Ishida boy walk towards his short-tempered oddball of a sister.

"Yui-chan, you didn't have to be so prickly." Ryu muttered when he caught up with her.
"And you must learn how to analyze people before trusting them."
"Ken'ichi doesn't look like he's a bad guy."
"Well, he's totally freaky."
"Andyou're edgy."
"Whose side are you on!" she put her hands on his waist.

"I could've at least used the Rikka to cure the bruise on his face." Ryu shrugged and looked at a green six-petal flower on his finger. His sister looked at him and shook her head, "Moron."

- End of Chapter 7 -


Author: Yay! I finished Chapter 7 today! Wootness! –silly dance- I have a twist in mind but it's not really final so I won't say much at this point except please review!! Lurfsh you all! Ah, and thanks for the e-given ramen. It's raining cats and dogs here. –slurps-