Hey guys! Thanks for the review Eramis8! I think I just may add a little fight scene, I've been quite peaceful up until now after all ;) I'm not too sure if all the characters are actually kept in character so forgive me! . A hint: Ryou will challenge Rentaro to a Shokugeki but under what circumstances I won't tell! I'll try to follow the manga with minor changes.
WARNINGS: If I hadn't said this before I'll say it now, since this story IS T Rated there WILL be some…use of certain language (mainly due to Ryou's, sometimes Soma's…etc. potty mouth!) Just wanted to make that clear! Well then, enjoy the story dear readers!
Disclaimer: I don't own Shokugeki no Souma or any of its characters! I just own my OC!
Chapter 8: Temperature Change
The Polar Stars including the Aldinis, Ikumi and Akira, who had just arrived, froze when they saw one of Central's dogs here.
Takumi clapped a hand on Souma's shoulder and asked in a hushed but alerted whisper:" Yukihira, why is he here? He shouldn't be here! Who invited him anyway?" Isami tried to calm his brother down, but he frowned at the sight of the Central teen, his hair didn't look as messy, he didn't wear that cross anymore and he wore a black, elegant suit with polished black shoes. The first button on his white button up shirt was unbuttoned, giving him a more casual appearance. Just what was going on?
Rentaro Kusunoki bowed his head in respect and said:" Greetings Lady Nakiri, thank you for inviting me to your beautiful mansion," .The tall woman smiled and said in her broken Japanese:" Ah, thanks for coming!" Alice looked at her mother in disbelief, why did she invite him of all people? She didn't understand any of it, she glanced worriedly at Ryou.
Lyca cleared her throat uncomfortably, Ryou moved close to her and whispered in her ear softly:" Should we go somewhere-" Lyca firmly said:" No. I'm fine, don't worry." Ryou looked at her, his red eyes were swimming with concern.
Souma, Takumi and the rest of the boys looked either uncomfortable or angry all except Shun, who remained calm. Rentaro stepped forward straight towards Lyca and extended his hand. He looked at her with a smile and asked:" May I ask the lady for a dance?" before Ryou could rudely brush him off, Lyca smiled at him and said:" A-alright."
She expected him to be rough, just like the time when he gripped her arm but to her surprise he was very gentle, like she was made from glass. He gently enclosed her smaller hand into his larger one and led her gracefully to the dance floor. She shot a reassuring look to Ryou and the others, though the girls were all looking concerned, not buying her façade. They knew she felt uneasy, lady Leonora was observing the situation from the side, conversing quietly with her fuming daughter in Danish.
"Mother! I can't believe you would invite someone from Central here! How could you?!" Alice's cheeks puffed out in annoyance, not understanding her mother's intentions. Her mother smiled and replied:" Calm down, Alice dear. Everything will be alright, I received word of the encounter between Central and the Polar Star dorm. I talked to Gin and Kojirou, if he makes any trouble he will be immediately removed from the party. For now, let's observe." Alice nodded reluctantly, feeling the aura her mother was emitting.
She had meant what she said, if he caused trouble he definitely will get kicked out from the mansion and if Central does anything rash toward any of the Tootsuki members, there will be severe consequences to pay. Judging her mother's serious aura, Alice had no doubt the punishment would be severe.
Yuki stuck her tongue out and whispered to Ryoko and Megumi:" Ew, why in the world is he here?! Did Lady Leonora have a hand in this? Why did she invite him anyway? Why didn't Kurokiba step in and shoo him off?" Ryoko whispered back, her eyes fixated on the dancing pair:" He wanted to but Lyca said she was alright. You know her, she always gives people a second chance, even when they don't deserve one."
The girls looked to the side at Ryou, his fists were in his pockets, his eyes trained on the dancing pair like a hawk. He was watching them carefully, observing Rentaro's movements and looking for any signs that signaled Lyca wanted to get away from him.
Rentaro held her gently, his hand on her waist and the other holding her other one. To Lyca's surprise he wasn't aggressive or angry, instead he almost seemed…sad.
He cleared his throat, catching her attention and said:" Listen…I…I'm sorry about… hurting you. I truly didn't mean to… I really don't hate you or anything." He lowered his head in shame, Lyca froze but her feet oddly continued to move. He….apologized?
His eyes suddenly looked at her upper arm, the one where she used to have a bruise and said quietly:" I don't raise my hand on women…but I…I just…!" he lifted his gaze to look into her eyes and said:" I'm truly sorry. Azami Nakiri said you were our enemies and that we shouldn't show mercy to some shitty freshmen's…" he bit his lip in anger.
Lyca said softly after she recovered from her initial shock:" K-Kusunoki… I…thank you…" he looked at her in surprise, almost missing a step before he regained his composure and managed to avoid stepping on her feet.
Lyca lifted her head and looked directly into his eyes as she said:" Thanks for telling me the truth, I forgive you for your actions earlier but…" her demeanor changed, she said in a serious tone:" If you ever call my friends lowlifes again, you will be receiving a punishment far worse than Ryou's punches." Her "wolf" persona was taking form, her eyes filling with true anger for treating her friends that way.
Rentaro carefully watched her expression, his usually arrogant and cocky attitude gone for once. He commented with a click of his tongue:" I see you aren't called the "Ferocious Wolf" in the kitchen for nothing. If they prove to be competent cooks, then I won't utter a single word against them." Lyca smirked and replied:" I do hope to see the look on your face when the day comes that we force Azami off the throne."
The grip on her hand tightened slightly but more on reflex than actual intent, he leaned closer to her and whispered in a low voice:" Look, since I don't hate you and you're nearly not as annoying as that Yukihira guy and Kurokiba, a word of advice." He leaned in even closer and whispered directly into her ear:" Never badmouth Azami publicly, the man has connections worse than the Yakuza. If you want to stay here and stay alive, try to hold your tongue. I would hate to see you go so soon."
Lyca exhaled the breath she had been holding unconsciously when Rentaro distanced himself from her and continued to dance after he noticed they had stopped. He briefly glanced at the crowd of Lyca's friends, immediately spotting Ryou, who's dark, menacing aura clearly directed towards him was hard to miss. Rentaro couldn't resist but send him a smirk, faintly tightening his grip on Lyca's waist. No doubt the "Mad Dog" had noticed the action.
He had, judging by the further darkening of his aura as his eyes shone almost a demonic red. He focused his attention back to the young woman in his arms, who looked at him with a smirk. He froze, wondering what he did to deserve that look.
" You know, you're not frightening me with Azami. I'm used to dark, ominous people threatening my existence so whatever you say won't make my knees shake or give up the fight. We will beat Azami, me and the rest will make sure of it." She said that with a confidence Rentaro envied her for, secretly. Wasn't she afraid of the consequences she would have to face if she opposed Azami? He snorted, he was one to talk. He didn't like the bastard himself.
He asked:" I'm sorry about the thing I said about your parents…it wasn't right and it wasn't my place to judge you." He grit his teeth in anger, people often told him he didn't have much patience or anger problems…
"Tch, if I have anger problems what do you call Kurokiba with his bandanna on? The man is a freaking monster! And pretty aggressive too the guy…" he shook his head at the thoughts about the fuming male just a few feet away.
"It's alright, I understand." Her reply was simple and short, he knew he hit a nerve with bringing up her troublesome past, so he tried to diffuse the situation before the ever threatening aura near him grew worse. He looked outside the balcony at the starry night and had an idea.
"Hey, what do you say we go outside on the balcony for a bit? It's a bit stuffy in here don't ya think?" she rose an eyebrow and said:" Oh, alright I guess." Rentaro sighed in relief, he was thankful to be away from all the prying eyes.
He shivered, he felt like for every glare that was currently trying to burn holes through his back he received an arrow…damn he had at least twenty something arrows stuck in his back already… Kurokiba's classified as at least ten arrows because of his…intensive glare.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he inhaled the fresh air as they moved away from the celebration inside. He heard Lyca giggle and turned to her as she said with a small smile:" Sorry about my friends…I'm guessing you're relieved they're not trying to torture you in their minds now that you don't see them glaring." She covered her mouth to prevent herself from giggling again.
Rentaro shoved his hands in his pockets as he felt a uncharacteristic blush creeping up on his cheeks, he cleared his throat and asked:" So, you and Kurokiba?" Lyca turned to him with a questioning look in her eyes, combined with embarrassment.
"I see, I should have known it before from his reaction. Never touch a dog's territory if you don't want to get bitten…" he felt a not so light slap on his arm as Lyca glared at him with her hands on her hips and said:" Oi! I'm not "territory" and Ryou isn't a dog!"
He burst out laughing then, he slowly composed himself and said:" You're more riled up over the names than the claim? I'm guessing it's true then?" Lyca calmed down and looked inside, expecting to see Ryou but he was nowhere to be found. She sighed heavily and said:" No, we aren't romantically involved."
Rentaro leaned his elbows against the stone railing as he observed Lyca and asked:" You sound…disappointed?" she cleared her throat and replied:" No, no."
He felt a weird constricting feeling in his chest, but he ignored it. Weird.
"You know, I can't wait to have a Shokugeki against him." The tone he used didn't quite settle right with Lyca, it sounded too…eager. She asked suspiciously:" Why?" he looked at her sideways with a grin as he said:" So I can see the look of defeat on his face as I trample on his pride and wipe off that cocky smirk."
Lyca looked at him with a blank stare, before she moved close to him and roughly pinched his cheeks. He yelped and backed away from her prying hands. He roared:" What the hell was that for!?"
She crossed her arms and said:" For saying such things in front of me instead to him, that way I have to defend him." She huffed, Rentaro rose an eyebrow but it was quickly replaced with a smirk.
He suddenly moved incredibly close to her, their chests touching. He was towering over her by half a head, his orange/brown (AN: Sorry if his eye color isn't correct, I saw a few colored pictures of him and on the wiki website it doesn't say what color his eyes are so I can't say for sure.) eyes bore into hers, gone was the teasing glint, instead it was replaced with a serious gaze.
Lyca felt uncomfortable, she was practically caged in. Her back met the stone behind her and Rentaro was cornering her from the front. Damn it. She had half a mind to call for Ryou. But she changed her mind, she was a big girl, she could do this.
He asked:" So…" trailing off. Lyca blinked and repeated slowly, confused:" Soo…" she averted her gaze but when he leaned in even closer it forced her to look at him again. His presence was almost suffocating.
"Would you like to-"
"What are you doing to her?" a deep, menacing voice asked from behind them. Lyca froze, immediately recognizing who spoke.
She whispered softly:" Ryou…" Rentaro frowned and turned around, releasing Lyca from her "imprisonment". There stood Ryou Kurokiba, hands shoved in his pockets, his red eyes almost glowing in fury, his frown making his appearance that much more intimidating.
Rentaro smirked cockily and mocked:" Oh? Me? What did it seem like, Kurokiba? My intentions were pure and innocent, I assure you." He held his hands up in peace, chancing a glance at the shell shocked Lyca.
Ryou's frown only deepened at the remark, the guy was trying to get under his skin and it was working wonderfully. Ryou was this close to pummeling him to the ground.
"Ryou, it's not what it-" Rentaro interrupted her though:" I was just about to ask her if she had time next Thursday. I'm having a Shokugeki and I wanted to ask her if she would like to come and see it." His face was telling the truth, but Ryou was still highly suspicious.
He stepped forward and said lowly:" For asking such a simple question, you were awfully close to her…weren't you?" his eyes took on a sharper appearance as if he were wearing his bandanna.
The temperature seemed to have boiled over, the liquid heat both males were emitting almost suffocated her. Lyca stepped forth and said:" Um, R-Ryou, why don't you go and ask Alice if she still has that chocolate cake I like so much? I'll be there in a minute." At the stubborn look he shot her, indicating he wasn't leaving she pleaded with her eyes "Please."
He stood there for a few, long minutes…before he breathed deeply, probably to calm himself down and disappearing back into the lively party inside.
Lyca sighed heavily, feeling the air finally not so sticky anymore. Rentaro cleared his throat, his eyes questioning as he looked at her expectantly.
"I'm still waiting for an answer." He said as he observed her reaction.
"YOU WERE SERIOUS?!" she almost shouted comically, pointing a accusing finger at him. He chuckled briefly and said:" Of course, I wouldn't have said it otherwise now would I? So, are you willing to go? The choice is yours."
She narrowed her eyes before she said after a while:" Um…a-alright I-" he interrupted:" Without your faithful dog." She glared at him crossly for calling her best friend a dog, again.
She sighed and said:" Alright, I'll go." His face suddenly changed to a surprisingly happy expression, the tense lines relaxing and making him appear younger and…relaxed. She blinked and found a blush taking over her face. She averted her gaze shyly, trying to tell herself she was just nervous being with someone from Central all alone.
She asked:" But…why me? The whole of Central will be there anyway, I'm sure you don't need me." He looked at her and said:" That's for me to decide." She rose an eyebrow at his cryptic answer.
Before she could ask him anything else, he suddenly took her hand and kissed the back of it gently. The action made her face turn a hot pink, her wide eyes looking down at his bowed form. He caressed the back of her knuckles gently with his calloused fingers, he whispered:" I'm sorry for hurting you." Why was he apologizing again?
He straightened and looked into her eyes as he promised:" It will never happen again." She smiled at him, he looked and definitely sounded sincere. She said:" Don't worry about it, really. I'm alright." She watched as his tattoo moved with his cheeks as he frowned slightly.
He suddenly turned away from her and said:" I wish we could have met under different circumstances." She smiled warmly and said:" Me too…Rentaro." She couldn't see it, but he smiled when he heard her call him by his name.
He said:" See you around, wolf princess." As he left her standing alone at the balcony, his form disappeared in the crowd of the party.
She watched the direction where he disappeared into, her thoughts still on their conversation.
"I would be more careful around him." The voice of Soma rang out from behind her, cleverly concealed by the shadows. She whirled around in surprise, since when was he there?!
"S-Souma, h-how did you?" he said seriously:" Lyca…that guy hurt you. I believe everyone deserves a second chance but you're too open with that guy. You saw how Kurokiba reacted, they will clash swords soon." Souma's golden eyes blazed.
She was quiet before she said with a determined expression on her face:" I know Souma, but like you said, everyone deserves a second chance. We got one too didn't we?" her smile was soft and understanding as Souma's gaze softened as well. He sighed heavily and said:" Still, be on your guard. It could still be a trap set by Azami."
She took the arm he offered her and said as they headed inside:" I know, don't worry about me I can handle myself." Souma sent her a warm grin as he escorted her to their friends, they were immediately bombarded with questions.
Rentaro was exiting the large mansion of the Nakiri family when a low, deep voice sounded from behind to his right:" Stay away from her." None other than Ryou appeared from the shadows he was hiding behind, his appearance under the moonlight ever the more intimidating.
Rentaro stopped, he asked with a smile:" Now why would I do that? I quite enjoy her company if you hadn't noticed." He felt more than saw Ryou's dark aura as he moved close to the male, their height approximately the same, though Ryou was slightly taller. Blazing red eyes clashed with boiling orange/brown ones, the temperature seemed to have gone up by at least 80 degrees.
"Don't tempt me, I'm not above beating you black and blue Kusunoki." His eyes narrowed, his form tense and alert, the muscles beneath his clothes bulging as if in preparation.
"Is that so Kurokiba? You are just a worthless dog, so very territorial over something that isn't even his to begin with." Ryou gripped Rentaro's wrist but the male swiftly gripped Kurokiba's tightly, locked in a stalemate. "What do you know? You're just sprouting bullshit anyway!"
Rentaro's demeanor darkened, his face serious as he said lowly:" Oh really? I have to wonder, if she really were yours, why didn't she push me away? Why didn't she admit that you were close when I asked her?" he locked eyes with Ryou, never wavering.
Almost simultaneously, they released each-others wrists. Ryou's head was lowered slightly, in no means submissively though, as he said:" If you make her feel uncomfortable again…"
Ryou lifted his head, the moonlight hit his face, highlighting the menacing, feral expression he had as his eyes danced with fire:" You will pay with more than just your position in Central."
With that, Ryou returned inside the mansion, the atmosphere gradually relaxing as Rentaro's demeanor dropped. It was a threat, a promise. Though Rentaro was always known to play well with fire.
This was no exception.
Lyca was searching high and low for Ryou but couldn't find him anywhere, she only spotted him when she started running in the direction of the mansion's entrance. She nearly bumped into him if it weren't for his arms supporting her.
She looked up at him and asked concerned:" R-Ryou! Where were you?" she looked behind him but saw no trace of Rentaro anywhere, maybe they didn't run into each-other just now?
Ryou carefully masked his anger and said:" I was out taking a breather. The air here was stifling." She didn't buy it, not from the angry red eyes looking into hers. The anger wasn't directed at her but at something else. Or rather someone else.
"Tell me the truth." He remained unaffected, she continued:" We have known each-other for far too long Ryou. You can't hide your anger from me." She stood her ground. And suddenly she was left breathless.
It was unexpected and certainly not exactly…characteristic of him to do it. She was enveloped by strong trained arms, held tightly against a warm, solid body as he hugged her tightly to him. One of his hands was tangled into her hair while the other held her by her waist, almost… possessively.
"I wanted to step in…" she blinked, she managed a weak:" Huh?" before Ryou continued:" When he…when he moved so close to you…I wanted to step in and push him back, away from you. I knew you were uncomfortable, I could see it."
Lyca sighed heavily, her body relaxing into Ryou's touch as she leaned against him. She nestled her face in the crook of his neck and said quietly:" I'm sorry."
"What for?" Ryou asked, Lyca closed her eyes as she said:" For not pushing him away. I knew he wouldn't hurt me but I was curious to what he wanted to ask me. If he had done anything else I would have pushed him away." His grip tightened on her as he replied:" I know."
He did know, he believed her. She was his best…friend. Ryou trembled for a moment, Lyca's eyes flashed with concern but he slowly disentangled himself from her, putting a respectable distance between them again.
He was calm now, she could see it. She smiled warmly and said:" Come on, the others are waiting and the party still isn't over." Ryou nodded, he stopped short and as if he remembered, he offered Lyca his arm. She smiled and wrapped her arm around his.
They walked together to their group of friends, in the meantime Erina had also arrived, wearing a beautiful long white dress, Souma was teasing her again and she looked like she wanted to throw the nearest table at him.
Ryou looked at Lyca as she laughed with the others when Erina and Souma continued to bicker with each-other.
You are just a worthless dog, so very territorial over something that isn't even his to begin with.
His hands clenched into tight fists inside of his pants pockets. Ryou was angry. Angry at himself.
Angry at Kusunoki.
Why?
Because the bastard was right.
Phew! Hehe I mentioned a fight but I changed my mind, they clashed swords more or less by their confrontation outside, the continuation of that will follow later. Well, PLEASE PLEASE leave me some reviews guys! You know I love reviews more than likes or anything! *.*
BTW: Tell me what you thought about Ryou's behavior? What about Lyca's and Rentaro's? Oh and what about Leonora? Why did she invite him to the celebration, knowing that Central and them weren't in good relations? Any ideas dear readers? ;)