Chapter Twenty-Five
Desperate People
...
"That was fun! I think I did pretty well this time, don't you agree?" Renei was boasting as she exited the sporting building with her friends, her skin still flushed and shiny with sweat even after she had changed back from judogi into her much cleaner school uniform.
Her friends exchanged uneasy glances behind her back, still trying to recover from what they had just witnessed. None of them knew she could be so... terrifying.
"I am... thoroughly exhausted." Ryota admitted, heaving a great sigh while Nao pulled him down to her height to wipe a scuff mark off of his cheek. Renei had knocked him pretty hard in the face, at some point, with her elbow as they were grappling.
"Yeah you did a great job, Renei-chan!" Haru chirped, for once keeping himself at a respectable (and safe) distance from the tall, athletic young woman. "I still can't believe you actually had Ryo pinned to the mat at one point!"
"How barbaric."
Everyone turned to look over at a certain small, blonde girl; who was, surprisingly, leaning against the building they had just exited; arms folded and face pinched into a scowl.
"Umekoji." Renei stared at her curiously, wondering why she would be waiting in such a place. "Fancy meeting you here."
Upon noticing the lack of a teddy bear in Kaon's arms, Nao jumped in to comment, "Where's your one and only friend? I do hope poor Edgar is alright."
"It's Edward." Kaon stressed, tilting her nose up in a decidedly snooty manner. "And if you must know, he had to be taken to the dry cleaners. He had a hot beverage spilled all over him earlier." She paused to acquire a blush. "And I have plenty of friends!"
The bassist's eyebrows shot upward. "Real ones?" She coughed into her fist, "Doubtful."
"Nao..." Ryota's deep voice held the hint of laughter behind it. "Play nice with the other students."
"Let me know what they've done to deserve better treatment from me." Nao griped back, brown eyes narrowing at the Elite troublemaker. "I don't 'play nice' with people who cause problems for my friends."
"There's already been more than enough bickering for one day." Renei placed a light touch on the shorter girl's shoulder, causing her friend to blink up at her innocently. She pulled her hand back and addressed the small blonde next. "Kaon-san, I can only assume that there is something that you need."
"Always." The other smiled cheekily at her. "I'm not here for anyone but you though. Everyone else can leave." She gave Nao a particularly icy look, and lifted one hand in a shooing motion. "Including you, 'little miss perfect'. Off you go."
Nao rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "I'm not perfect. Don't call me that."
"Perfect nails, perfect makeup, perfect style, perfect boyfriend..." Kaon smirked. "No sense being shy about it. It's only obvious you think you're better than everyone else."
"I don't think―"
"You should hear what the other girls in school say about you. It almost makes me pity you, I mean, it must be annoying only having silly boys around to keep you company. Since they're the only ones who can stand to be around you."
"Hey," This time when Ryota spoke, his deep voice was firmer than before. "Take that back."
"It's fine, Ryo." Nao said, but her voice held a slight quiver of doubt.
"Ooh, and now your big, bad boyfriend is stepping in to protect you." Kaon's eyes gleamed with malice. "How typical."
"Now now," Haru tried to step between the two short girls, imploring with his puppy-dog eyes, "There's no reason to fight like this―"
"You're just jealous, like everyone else." Nao shot the cool remark over his shoulder, tilting one eyebrow at the other girl. "Not to mention the biggest hypocrite in the world, since the only people who can stand to be around you are your own brother and childhood friend, who are also both boys."
"Hah, at least I don't have―"
"I said," Renei moved to step between the two instead, gently nudging Haru aside, who was at a complete loss of what to do. "That is more than enough, from both of you. This isn't an episode of 'Gossip Girl'."
"It may as well be..." Haru muttered from her side, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Umekoji." She gave the sly blonde a meaningful look. "I know you didn't come here to insult my friends."
"She started it." Kaon shrugged and casually pulled away from the wall. "I was just finishing it. Now, if you don't want me to continue, then tell them to get lost. You and I have some private matters to discuss."
Renei sighed, and turned to her three friends with a shake of her head. "Do you mind if I give her a moment of my time? Alone?"
The singer and the bassist shared a reluctant glance, while Ryota studied the look on her face, and nodded. "We have to get to the other side of campus for our next classes anyway." He said, stepping between his two band mates to clap each of them on the shoulder with his large hands. They jumped at the sudden contact.
"Ah, right." Nao took a moment to agree, and Haru shook his head vigorously up and down.
As he led the pair away, the drummer paused while passing Renei's side, to lean down and speak into her ear, "I hope she doesn't cause you too much trouble, Renei-san... It's good to see you acting like your usual self again."
When Renei looked up at him, he smiled ― bright and big, which completely transformed his stoic face into something that literally took her breath away ― and suddenly, she was able to understand exactly what it was about him that had garnered so much loving attention from Nao. He had a heart of gold underneath his tough exterior, a genuine gentleman to his very core.
She offered him a smile of her own. "Thank you, Ryo-san." For trusting that I know what I'm doing. For distracting me with strenuous sparring and meaningless 'Star Wars' facts until both my body and my mind were able to forget Igarashi for a short while. For being... such a good friend to me. "I really am feeling much better now, and I can easily handle Umekoji."
He nodded, and continued ushering his other two friends away; who looked over their shoulders and seemed more relieved now that they could see a real smile back on Renei's face. They three of them ambled across the lawn together, slowly getting farther away, and Renei watched them for as long as she could until the repetitive tapping of Kaon's foot on the pavement became too much to bear, and she turned back to face the shorter girl.
"Well, I sent them away like you asked. What's so important that you had to come looking for me between classes?"
"Color me impressed," Kaon tilted her head like a curious cat, her eyes narrowed. "you actually did as you were told. Are you really that interested in what I have to say?"
"I'm not terribly interested, but you are such an incessant creature." Renei countered, with an eyebrow cocked high. "And I don't understand why this couldn't have waited―"
"No, what I am is simply... an aggressively enterprising person. I know what I want, and I go get it." The blonde corrected her. "That's what I'm trusted to do, and yet, you somehow manage to make that sound like a bad thing."
"The only bad part about getting what you want," Renei checked a scowl. "is how you seem to do so by any means necessary."
Kaon merely twisted her lips into a smug little grin in response.
Tiring quickly of going around in circles, Renei's gaze turned stern on the smaller girl. "Listen, I've had a very trying day, so I'd rather get this over with before the free period is over, if you don't mind."
"Hm. Well lucky for you, I'm not in the mood to drag this out." Umekoji placed a finger to her lips as if she had to think hard about the topic. "I suppose I came to deliver a warning?"
"I don't know what that means."
"Don't worry, I'll put it in simple terms for you to understand. You see, with how close you've become with our dear President Igarashi―"
"We aren't close."
"―we were really hoping that someone might get in the way of your progress. Rulin-san, for example. She would have been the perfect candidate, but unfortunately, her attention has been turned elsewhere lately."
Renei's brow raised in interest. She didn't even know what to say to that. "Okay... For the sake of giving you some form of assurance on the matter, there are plenty of other women at this school who have Igarashi in their sights. And I'm sure he has them in his."
"The Elite Group is aware of the President's countless admirers," With a roll of her eyes, Kaon started speaking slower, as if she thought the tall brunette was having a hard time understanding her. "And when you came along, it was a bit of a shock to us. Honestly, not one of us thought you were a good match for him. But Rulin? They'd make the most perfect power couple, totally worthy of doing business with in the future... Except now, she's been wasting her time with―"
"Has it occurred to you," Renei bluntly interjected. "That I might be relieved to find her directing attention on someone other than my fiancé?"
"Has it occurred to you that she's only using Yoshikawa to get to Igarashi?" Kaon quipped back.
"Wait," There was a tense pause where Renei actually considered her words. "What does Yoshikawa have to do with all of this?" She wouldn't be quite so worried, if she hadn't heard once already about this 'development' between Shin and Sanyu.
Kaon's smile was sly with her next words. "I told you this was a warning, didn't I? It would seem one of your close friends has gotten himself into part of the mess that you started, Nakajima."
"I didn't start anything I didn't intend to finish, and I fail to see how my engagement to Igarashi would effect so many other―" She shook her head, reminding herself to stay calm and focused. "In any case, since when is Rulin interested in Yoshikawa? Romantically, I mean. Or even at all."
"Oh, that's not free information. You see, I've been hiding out at the coffee shop recently, listening in on their conversations, and I'd hate to let all that hard work go to waste." Kaon wagged her finger in an irritatingly condescending manner. "No, no, no. If you want to know what the two of them are getting up to, then you'll have to give me something in return."
"Seeing as you just openly admitted to stalking two of your classmates, what makes you think I'll strike a bargain with you?" She frowned her disapproval. "I could just go to Yoshikawa and ask him what's going on."
"What makes you think he'll tell you the truth? Do you really have that much faith in anyone these days?"
"Yes," The answer was immediate, automatic; but Renei didn't sound too sure of it.
"Sanyu's slowly wrapping him around her little finger, and pretty soon, he'll regain his old habits and become a lost cause. And that wouldn't be good for him or your brother, now would it? Or the rest of the band." Kaon sighed, as if it would be such a shame, despite the fact that she didn't care about any of those people.
"I've already talked to him about that, he wouldn't risk―"
"Let me tell you something that you should have already known by now, Renei-san." The blonde pierced her with a serious look. "Any guy, anywhere, would risk anything for a chance with Sanyu Rulin. It's not a matter of if, but a matter of when."
"In that case, why don't you just get Igarashi to steal her away? I'm sure he would love to step in and sweep her off her feet, any time its needed." Even as she said it, the words put a sour taste in Renei's mouth. She struggled with her composure, feeling her face scrunch in uncertainty.
It didn't escape Kaon's notice; her eyes lit up in mischief as she carefully looked the taller girl up and down, churning something over in her mind. "Mm-hmm... Yet I wonder if you'd really be okay with that, even if you say it's just an arranged marriage, and you hold no special feelings towards the President... In any case, his interest in Rulin seems to have dwindled quite a bit. He doesn't actively pursue her anymore, which is part of the problem."
"Oh." Renei found that she wasn't sure how to feel about that, if it was even the truth.
"So, lucky for us, I have a plan." Kaon smirked, showing off her pearly whites in a snappish fashion.
Renei knew better than to trust it. "Let me stop you right there, Umekoji. You see, as much as I promise I harbor no romantic feelings towards him, I still don't want any part in pushing Igarashi into another woman's arms. He's my fiancé, and we have an agreement―"
"That isn't the plan, obviously! Igarashi is far too smart for us to ever try manipulating him into something he doesn't want." Her grin spread wider, making her look shamelessly devious. "However, I still need your help for something else."
Dark eyes narrowed. "And what would you have me do?"
"It's simple, really―"
"It's never something simple with you."
"―you will need to seduce Yoshikawa."
A silent spell fell over the two of them as Renei's mouth fell open in astonishment. That was certainly... unexpected.
"Do you accept?" Kaon asked after a minute had passed.
Renei's eyes lit up with a flash of emotion, her tone sounding harsh and disturbed as she came out of her stupor with a snap, "I absolutely refuse!"
The blonde folded her arms in a stubborn stance. "Well the very least you could do is try to spend more time with him, getting him away from Sanyu-san,"
"So that you can encourage her to start pursuing Igarashi again, thereby putting our engagement in jeopardy?" Renei glared down at her. "I don't think so."
"And thereby rescuing Yoshikawa from running himself, his band, and essentially your brother's good name into the ground, yes." Seeing the fire behind the other girl's usually cool and collected facade, Kaon felt a shiver of delight. "It's time to prove what kind of desperate person you are again, Nakajima. Will it drive you to selfish, or selfless acts this time?"
Going quiet again, Renei clenched her fists uselessly at her sides. Had she not been taught better by Ryota and Kentaro-sensei, she would have hit the other girl. Probably very hard, in the face. Wipe the smirk right off of it ― especially seeing the way that it had grown all the more delighted as she noticed Renei's inner struggle.
"What, no comeback? Nothing to add about how you've 'never been desperate' before? Does that mean you're starting to feel what it's like? To not have all the answers, and not be able to fix everything so eas―"
"Kaon." Renei casually spoke the girl's first name with the slightest of growls, and it was enough to silence her. "Today is not the day to be poking your fun at me."
Taking note of the strong look of warning in the other woman's eyes, and partially shocked by that growl, Kaon took a slow step backward. "Well, I- I suppose... I could give you some time to think it over. I'm serious about this, just so you know!"
The brunette breathed out a sigh, and placed a hand to her head as if she were fighting off a headache. Kaon started to turn away, as if she were going to leave the matter alone for the time being...
But then she thought better of it at the last second. "Oh! Before I go, on a totally unrelated note, I was supposed to mention that the rest of the Elite and myself would like for you to practice a piano piece for Usui's birthday party, which we've been roped into planning. You're good at that sort of thing, right?"
The other looked as if she were about to try denying it, but Kaon quickly cut her off. "And don't say no, because we all saw you play at Aya-sama's birthday gala!"
"Fine. Now is that all?" Renei's voice was soft, almost defeated in its tone. She wanted, so desperately, to smack that proud, arrogant look off of Kaon's face. Just once would be all the satisfaction in the world.
And maybe Kaon sensed this, because she took another step back. "Yeah, yeah," She flapped a hand in the air between them. "That's all for now. The rest is up to you to make a set decision on. You're the only one who can do it, you know. Seduce Yoshikawa, I mean."
"I refuse." Renei repeated it plainly, not bothering to ask why she was the so-called 'only one' for the job.
Kaon pretended not to hear her. "Also, we'd like for you to start practicing your piece for the birthday party as soon as possible, so we've freed up Music Room 2 for you to use at the end of today, and the next several days." Kaon bowed forward in order to hide her sly grin that was making a reappearance. "The Elite Group thanks you in advance for your cooperation."
"You mean the Elite Group, which I am supposedly a part of? That Elite Group?" Renei mentioned accusingly, and when Kaon didn't rise from her bow, she scoffed and spun on her heel; heading for the direction of the main school building and muttering as she went, "I really don't see why I can't be informed of these last minute decisions sooner... It gives me so little time to prepare..."
The tiny blonde stared after her with a haughty sense of accomplishment, feeling warm and bubbly about the fact that she had caused Renei to storm off in frustration this time. And it was only after the secretary had walked a significant distance away that Kaon dared to straighten up and bring her phone out to make a private call.
"Hey, it's me." She said over the line, sounding far too pleased for her own good. "Yes, she agreed to it, more or less. Now you just have to deliver on your side of the bargain. Go pass the message along to your little boy toy, and―" Her voice suddenly shot up an octave in anger. "―don't forget to pay my dry cleaning bill! I don't care if you split it between the two of you, no one spills coffee on my precious Edward and gets away with it! Even if they're helping me act out my revenge plans."
xx
Music Room 2, it just so happens, looked exactly the same as the music room in which she had had one of her recent encounters with the Student Council President. But, Renei supposed every music room in the school probably looked exactly as extravagant and overfilled with expensive instruments as the last one.
It was as she stood just inside the doorway, with old memories bubbling to the surface of her mind as she blankly stared around the room full of instruments bathing in the glow of the early evening sun, that someone else walked through the open doorway behind her.
"Renei?"
She jumped at the familiarity, seeing as that's what Tora had taken to calling her these days. "Don't―" She started, and stopped when she turned to look into the surprised face of Shin Yoshikawa. Who just so happened to be the last person she wanted to see other than Tora Igarashi right now.
"What are you doing here?" His smile was crooked as ever as he stepped further into the room, looking around with his hands shoved down his pockets, as though he had not a single care in the world. "I was told I'd have this room to myself today."
"Ah." Renei watched him with a careful, considering gaze. Could he really be interested in Sanyu-san? She never would have guessed... The two of them together just didn't make sense. He deserved better, really. He was a nice guy, handsome, too, and talented. And Sanyu was... Well, terrifying, for one. She'd surely ruin him, it was only a matter of time... Kaon was right. "Do you come here to practice often?"
"No, actually," Shin placed a hand behind his head, ruffling his hair. "It's kinda weird, but the Elite Group approached me of all people, about doing this gig for the new student's birthday..."
Renei balked at him. "That's not possible."
"Yeah, except that it is?" He shrugged. "They really want me to play guitar at Usui-san's birthday party, says he'd be really into it, I guess... I dunno, do you think it could be a prank they're trying to pull on me?"
"Well, no, it's just... I'm supposed to do a piano piece for the same event."
"Then, they're trying to prank both of us?" His gaze was questioning as it landed on hers, but he couldn't seem to get her eyes to meet his. "Or, are we supposed to work together on a piece? I wasn't told it would be a collaboration."
"Maybe we're both supposed to perform separately, and they just got the practice rooms mixed up." Renei responded shortly, wringing her hands in a sudden sense of nervousness. Damn it, Umekoji must have planned it this way from the very beginning! That little... "Or the day, or the time?"
"Hey."
Renei froze completely when she felt a hand cupping her chin, turning her face toward his. Her eyes focused slowly; on the ruby-red bangs that nearly covered the dark depths of his gaze, the smoothness of his skin, the piercing above his eyebrow, and how his brow was furrowed as he looked at her.
"You okay?" His voice was an intense thing ― low and concerned.
"I'm sorry," She stared at him, brushing the warmth of his hand away as she spoke. "Yes, I'm okay." She took a deep breath for good measure.
He cocked on eyebrow, the one with the piercing through it, and the glint of silver caught her eye. "You sure? We haven't talked in a while, but you do seem kind of tense right now."
"I'm always tense." She shrugged him off, turning to the side a bit. "It's nothing new."
"Ain't that the truth," He chuckled, and seeing that crooked grin forming on his face again somehow put her at ease. She found herself smiling back, but only just. "Well then, if you don't mind, I think we can both use this room for practice. You can have some time to relax and play the piano after school, and maybe I can write something that compliments it, since I'll be here too."
"No," Renei instantly thought about what Kaon had said, about seducing him away from Sanyu, and somehow Shin's idea suddenly seemed a little too intimate. "That wouldn't work."
He pouted, folding his arms at her. "And why not? I thought you liked how I play."
"I do, of course I do, it's just... It's because..." She stumbled for a proper excuse. "Guitar and piano just don't go together." Again, she wasn't meeting his eyes as she spoke. Why did she have to feel so awkward around him now? Stupid Kaon and her stupid, evil plans...
"You could say that about a lot of things, that they don't go together..." Being as carried away in her own turmoil as she was, Renei completely missed the way her friend was looking at her now, with eyes full of affection and determination. "And you'd still be wrong about it."
"What?" She sighed the question halfheartedly, staring around the room, lost in deep thought.
Shin's eyes flickered away, all the meaning behind his last statement going with it. "Nothing." He sighed. "Look, don't worry about whether or not our two instruments will go together. Their sounds can match, I promise. Actually, I have the perfect piece in mind for it."
She still appeared more than a little reluctant, meeting his gaze briefly in order to turn his offer down, "Yoshikawa―"
"If," He stressed, smiling the most trustworthy smile that he could muster. "You'd be willing to try it out with me."
Her silence wasn't very reassuring, not at all. But he was hopeful, and he didn't have to wait too long until she nodded her head in agreement.
"Great! Let's get started then!" Shin perked up at that, practically skipping over to the part of the room where the guitars were stored, and Renei found herself smiling wider at his enthusiasm.
It was a wonder how his smile could be so infectious.
xx
"Ahh, looks like it's time to stop for today." Shin stared down at his phone with a frown. Sanyu was blowing it up with text after text, the impatient little minx. "Damn, I was hoping we'd have a little more time, but, uh, my ride just got here."
Renei leaned back in her bench with a stretch, her fingers slowly pulling away from the shiny piano keys. He looked over at her and sighed, staring at her fingers like they were made of magic. With the way that she played, he wondered if they were, somehow. "You know..." The sweet sound of her voice met his ears. "I think that song will work, Yoshikawa. We'll just have to practice it a bit more..." Her voice faded as she considered it.
"Yeah? You think?" Shin coughed, trying to control his excitement as best he could after hearing that. His hands had been sweating during the whole session, and he'd barely been able to focus, because he was so worried she'd end up not going along with the plan. Plus, practicing and playing music with her was like a dream he didn't want to wake up from. She was so talented, yet so humble about it that it baffled him. "How does every day after school sound? Same time, same place."
She hummed an affirmative response, and glanced over at him ― his phone buzzed again, another text from Sanyu, and when he looked back at Renei, she was staring pointedly, curiously, at his phone.
"Who are you getting a ride home with tonight?"
He gulped. Then, playing it cool, he offered her a smile and a flirtatious wink. "Do I detect a hint of jealousy in your tone, Ms. Nakajima?"
Her mouth pulled up at the corner, giving him the slightest smirk. "Oh, because I'm so very much the jealous type? No, I'm curious, that's all. You don't have a girlfriend that you haven't told us about, do you? The others and I missed you at lunch today..."
"I was getting coffee, since I didn't get much sleep last night." He shrugged.
"And, did anyone join you for coffee?" Renei stared once more at his phone. "Rulin-san, for example?"
Not knowing what else to do, Shin started to chuckle uneasily, shaking his head. "Ah, I see Haru's been talking about that a bit..."
"So it's true then?"
"That I've been having coffee with a pretty girl?" He flashed her a grin. "Renei, that's hardly anything new for me. Or have you not noticed the band's ever-growing fan-base? The hoards of girls offering me chocolates and snacks every day at school?"
"I don't make it a point to notice such things." Renei flushed slightly. "I've been busy dealing with my own stuff lately, and... It's not as though you guys talk about such things when I'm around."
"Yeah, because it's nice to just hang out with someone who doesn't want to obsess over us, cutting off chunks of our hair and seeking us out for the chance of gaining a little publicity of their own."
"You like the publicity though, don't you?"
"Oh, I'm an attention whore for sure!" He chuckled, mindlessly strumming a few chords on the guitar slung around his front. "But sometimes I like to keep certain things private. That doesn't make me seem suspicious, does it?"
"No, of course not," Her brow furrowed as she watched his fingers pluck at the different strings. "So, I take it you don't want to talk about whatever's going on between you and Rulin-san, then?"
"She's cute, when she's not being violent." He sighed, thinking carefully about how he wanted to explain things and distracting himself from Renei's gaze by focusing on his guitar playing. "We've been, flirting, I guess. And I've been keeping it on the down low, because my fans would be really disappointed, and probably angry, if they found out I was favoring one girl over the others."
Yet another text came through on his phone, buzzing and lighting up the screen for the zillionth time, which lit up his dark eyes as he paused to look down at it. He shot a text back, and looked up to meet Renei's blatant staring, finally.
"What?"
"I knew you had a thing for her a while ago, but isn't she a little... much, even for you?"
Shin started to drum his fingers nervously along the wooden side of the acoustic instrument. "I can handle her. I have so far, at least."
"Okay..." Renei didn't sound very convinced, and she stood from the bench and walked over to him, taking note of the way he quickly placed his phone in his pocket. "But I just can't help feeling that she's not someone you should be interacting with."
Shin's brow creased as he regarded her, and he wasn't quite sure where she was trying to take the conversation. Was this her own way of showing jealousy? Or was it something else? "You're so paranoid, Renei. And here I thought I'd gotten you to relax while working with you for the past hour."
"Shin."
His eyes went wide, his breath stuttering out as he heard her speak his first name. It didn't help his nerves any when she gently took the guitar away from him, his safety net, and set it off to the side.
Then she copied the move he'd used on her earlier, brushing her fingers along his jaw, down the side of his cheek, and turning his face to properly face hers. Their eyes met, and he blinked at the unreadable expression in her gaze.
"Not to be too familiar, but..." He continued to hold his breath as she spoke. "You're not getting yourself into any of your old habits with her, because of her, are you?" The breath practically spilled from him in a 'whoosh' of air, his brow furrowing in surprised confusion, and she continued. "If you ever find yourself struggling with that, you can tell me. Or Nao-san, Haru-san, and Ryo-san. We're your friends, and we can help."
In the next moment, Shin found himself frowning and pushing her hand away more roughly than he had meant to. Hell, this woman was... insanely frustrating, sometimes! "Where is this coming from, so suddenly, huh? You think I'm a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off, is that it? I thought you trusted me."
She looked a little sad about it, but continued honestly, "I don't want to believe that you could be getting yourself into any trouble, but as your friend, I'm worried that you might―"
"Just so you know," He felt the need to cut her off, because if she went on talking like that, he was going to get angry. And he'd rather not ― not with her. "Before you came along, I never once regretted anything that I've done." He turned away from her completely, eyes closed as a new sense of resolve came over him. He would show her, he would show her that he knew what he was doing, and she didn't. That she was the one making a mistake, not him. "But now that you're in my life, I feel like I can't afford to learn from any mistakes I might make. Not that I plan on making any!"
Renei gaped at him, clearly taken aback by his admission. "I'm not trying to put any unnecessary pressure on you―"
"No, you're just trying to keep me in check, make sure I'm not getting involved with 'bad' people and forming 'bad' habits again."
"I'm looking out for you, because, as you've told me time and again, that's what friends do."
"Oh, now you choose to take my advice to heart? Believe me, I'm well aware of what good friends we are, Renei."
"Look, you've been there for me!" She raised her voice at him, as if that would help her get her point across better. But he already knew that she hadn't meant to hurt his feelings, it was just that sometimes, he just couldn't stand how oblivious she was. "I'm just trying to return the favor!"
He turned back around with a snappish question on his tongue. "By questioning my integrity?!"
"I'm sorry if―"
"If? There is no if. You've said things that you can't take back. Hurtful things." He looked at her, eyes glimmering and expression conflicted, as if he didn't want to ever have this argument with her, but now, it had to come out. "News flash, Renei: you're sure as hell not anywhere close to perfect, not any closer than I am. In fact, you're making a giant mistake going through with your engagement to Igarashi, and you know it."
She audibly gasped, taking a step away from him like he was spitting venom with his words. "Don't. Don't talk about that like you would know―"
"Oh, but I would know a mistake when I see one, wouldn't I?" He cut her off with a growl. "Considering that I make so many of my own."
He had never felt so angry, with her of all people. Usually his anger was directed at Igarashi, or one of the other manipulative bastards in the school, but now he realized... Renei was guilty in her own way, too. She had to take some of the blame.
Which is why the dejected look he'd put on her face didn't phase him. And when she called out to him as he swept out of the room in a hurry, he didn't spare a glance back. But gods, how did she manage to make him feel like the asshole, when he was the one trying to help her get out of a bad situation? Why couldn't she just put even the slightest bit of faith in him? She was making things so difficult, when they didn't have to be! And it only made him more certain that she needed saving.
And he had to be the one to do it. He had to be.
xx
"Yoshikawa!" Renei barely managed to catch up to him, after all the different twists and turns he made to try to shake her. When she finally did catch him, it was out in front of the school, where there were hardly any students left idling at this time. "Yoshikawa, please―" She grabbed onto his shirt sleeve, and tugged.
He stopped abruptly.
"Can you let go?" His voice shook, with what emotion, she wasn't sure. But it made her cling tighter to him.
"I won't," She gulped down a much needed breath of air. "Not until you tell me why you're so upset. If I could take everything back, everything I said or did that hurt you, then I would―"
"I don't think that's fair," He sighed. "Since I wouldn't take back what I said, about you making a mistake with Igarashi."
She released the grip she had on his sleeve.
"Why do you even care so much about that?" She asked.
"Shin-saaan! Don't you know it's rude to keep a lady waiting for so long?"
Renei's eyes flew past Shin's back, landing on the sleek black car parked in front of the school's entrance, where Rulin-san was poking her head out of the window and waving at them.
"Yoshikawa?" She was still expecting an answer from him.
"No offense, Renei," He glanced back at her, his voice rough and attaining an edge to it that she didn't like. "But you're really dense when it comes to certain things. And, I really don't feel like having this conversation with you right now."
"Shin! Hurry up!" Sanyu called again from the car.
"I just," Renei stared at him with her expression blown wide open, baring her emotions all at once. She was afraid, she realized. He was usually so friendly with her, and now... Now, he just seemed like he hated her. "I want to apologize, and try to understand what I've done to upset you so much."
"I'm busy now," Shin tore his eyes away from her, looking sad in his own way, and somehow, tense and desperate. Desperate to get away from her? Desperate for her to understand everything, without him having to explain it? Renei didn't know. "Can't we talk about this later? I have to go."
"I..." She knew she was just being stubborn. She knew now was not the time, nor the place to talk to him about such things. But she wanted so much to understand what was going on with him, to fix whatever had been broken between them. "That's... Fine. We can talk about it later."
"Thanks."
Without another word to her, he escaped down the sidewalk, reached Sanyu's car, and was quickly pulled into the back seat with her. The window rolled up, and Renei was left standing there, dumbstruck, quiet, and alone, staring after the dark vehicle that sped away from the school grounds.
"Am I dense?" She pondered aloud, thinking to herself that there had to be more going on with Shin than she had previously thought.
xx
In the car, Sanyu gently patted her red-haired companion on the arm. He flinched. "So how'd it go, Romeo?"
"It's not working," He insisted out of nowhere. "It's doing the opposite of working, actually."
"It'll work, trust me." Her hands moved further back, until she was slowly attempting to massage the tenseness out of his shoulders. "You just need to be patient."
He looked down at his own hands in his lap. "We had a fight..."
"Oh my," Sanyu purred into his ear, her teeth just inches away from nibbling on it, though she controlled herself. "That must have been hard on you. If it's any consolation though, the Elite are going to see to it that she keeps practicing with you after school. And she looked very concerned about you, from where I was watching, so that's a good thing, right? Any type of attention is good." She paused, considering something for a moment. "But, did she seem jealous of us at all? Even a little bit?"
"There is no 'us'," Shin explained tiredly to her, for what felt like the thousandth time. "And if she were jealous..." He thought back on it. "No, she's not the jealous type. She was upset, though, but that could have had to do with a whole plethora of things."
"Well, if we need to make it more obvious to her what she's missing out on, that's fine by me." Sanyu simpered. "I figured it would make you uncomfortable though."
"Yeah... What the heck are you doing?" He groaned as she dug her thumb into a particularly hard knot on his back.
"Hm? I'm just giving you a massage?"
Shin grit his teeth as one of her hands went on kneading his shoulders and back, while the other trailed down the front of his chest, unbuttoning the rest of his school shirt. "What did I tell you about petting me like a goddamn dog."
"Oh, hush now. You like it."
"I do not."
"Really?" Her tongue trailed down his neck, and he visibly shuddered. "'Cause I think that you do." She giggled.
"I mean it, Sanyu, I'm definitely not in the mood―"
"Trust me, I know what we can do to relieve you of all that pent up stress. You just need to follow my lead." She leaned in, and gently kissed under his jaw, then his cheek, slowly making her way over to his lips,
"And you need to stop hanging all over me!" He pulled away, huffing and red in the face.
"It's part of the act, you fool!" She tossed a leg over his, slinking closer to him until there was no more room to escape. She liked to do that often, pin him in place like that. Like he was prey. He honestly hated it. "This is good practice. And I plan on making it... very convincing."
Shin gulped as she smiled up at him. "Let me out of the car. I don't care where, just let me out."
"Now now, don't ruin the fun before it's even started, Shin."
"That's Yoshikawa to you." He hissed, feeling one of her hands inching dangerously close to his waistline.
"No," She roughly grabbed him by the shirt and brought his face close to hers, staring at his lips and licking her own. "It isn't. We are far past the point of formalities, moy plamya."
"I don't know what you're talking about," He placed a hand over hers, trying and failing to get her to release her grip. "Or what that means." Raising his voice, he hoped the driver would hear him past the partition that was blocking them from view. "Excuse me, driver? Go ahead and drop me off at the nearest candy shop! I need a fix."
"He doesn't take orders from you." Sanyu rolled her eyes, before slipping away from him long enough to open up a compartment at the other side of the car. A moment later, she tossed him a bag of Haribo Gold-Bears, which he caught mid-air and stared at in surprise. When he looked back up at her in question, she cocked an eyebrow and explained, "I know you well enough by now to come prepared with treats."
"Treats are for dogs. Don't say it like that." He grumped, now staring at the bag in a whole new light.
"Well, I also have these bad boys on hand," She pulled a pack of cigarettes out of the compartment next, shaking them invitingly. "And they're certainly not for dogs."
Shin visibly gulped from the other side of the car, his dark eyes flickering back and forth between the girl, the cigarettes, and the gummy bears. His fingers twitched, before he made a low, regretful sound at the back of his throat, and tore open the bag of gummies without a second look at the cigarettes.
Sanyu shrugged. "That's too bad. I've always found smoking kind of sexy, and when I heard you used to do it I figured we could―"
"You looked into my past?"
"I like to be fully informed about the people I have even the slightest interest in."
"That's creepy, and wrong, and―" His eyes went wide, heart starting to race as he panicked, "Wait, what are you doing?!"
She'd stuck a cigarette in her mouth, and had crawled towards him across the seats on all fours, holding out a lighter for him to take. "Would you mind?"
"Yes, I mind." He swiped the lighter from her, not having any intention of using it. "Don't you know it's rude to smoke around someone who quit?"
She rolled her eyes at him, and took the cigarette out of her mouth for a moment. "Don't you know it's rude to deny a lady such a simple request?"
He stared at her, debating, before tossing the lighter back for her to catch. "Whatever." He popped a bear into his mouth, chewing angrily while she giggled at his expense.
A/N: moy plamya (мой пламя): Russian for 'my flame'. A pet name Sanyu uses to refer to Shin, that she finds fitting because of his fiery red hair, and the short temper he seems to have with her.
I promise I'm still aiming to finish this story my darlings, but you're gonna have to cut me some slack, because it's not my top priority right now. It is, however, a priority. I'm super excited to see it through to the end! And thank you for your support, you've always done such a great job to cheer me on and make me feel like all the hard work is worth it :)
Lots of love, and until next time,
CK:*