*hides in corner* I'm so sorry this is so late! This summer has been really busy for me, not to mention I hit some small writer's block with this chapter. Needless to say, it's gone now, but maybe a little too late. -.- Not much to talk about other than that I'm really tired now and want to sleep. So I'm cutting this short. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, as always!
Blakk Magic: It's perfectly fine. That happens to us all, and I'm just glad you took the time to review this chapter. ^^ I'm sorry I couldn't update sooner, but I'm glad you like the chapter. For guardians: Kazuki is the sun, Jun is the storm, and Yume/Kurohana are rain. Hope you like this chapter!
dJhAmystery: I'm truly sorry this is so late. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.
dotYui: I'm glad I have your approval on that one. :p Don't stab Retsu! He's the protagonist! The story dies with him! I don't know why I chose Hiro. I just like that name too. I like caps in anime too. ^^ Right, you can go ship those two for the time being until I crush your dreams with her introduction. :p I love writing her, though I think you'll find her a little different than those two. Still, a combination of Hibari and Yamamoto... that would be an interesting character. Izumi the puppy. It makes a cute image. ^^
Reborn22: It is exactly like him, isn't it? ^^ I'm glad you like her.
5minutes-to-midnight: I never thought of it that way, but I guess you're right about that. They are kind of similar. Unintentional, but not unwanted I guess. ^^
ja: The explanation for that is actually in the first part of this chapter.
Our Sky
Chapter 37: Edogawa Rui and Kimidori Hiro
Namimori Junior High was a very unique school. Any student, teacher, or former student would tell you that with perfect honesty, making it one of the few things that they all agreed on. But just word of mouth isn't convincing enough. Why was it such an odd place?
Well for starters, unlike other nearby schools with uniforms, the dress code was not enforced very harshly. To give a few examples: Jun wore jeans instead of black pants, Kazuki usually wore shorts, and Yume wore capris instead of the usual skirt. At least half of the students didn't wear the tie that was supposed to be used, so basically, as long as one had a light-colored top and dark bottoms, one was clear.
But why did such a strange custom exist then? Why not just give up on uniforms? Well, that would be courtesy of Namimori's other main problem: delinquents.
Ever since the days of the golden generation of Namimori and Hibari Kyoya, there had always been one person in every year who would, in short, make life hell for the rest of their class. But above all of these, there would always be one who stood above the rest, the delinquent of all delinquents. The king of the school. Or in the case of Retsu's year, the queen.
Edogawa Rui, the undisputed queen of Namimori Junior High. Many had tried to knock her off her throne, but none had succeeded. She and her faithful second-in-command, Kimidori Hiro, ruled the area with an iron grip. Some people said that if Hibari had had a daughter, her name would be Edogawa Rui. Ruthless, cunning, and beautiful in a scary kind of way, the girl seemed to have no weaknesses. That coupled with Hiro's extensive blackmail network made the two practically invincible, even to teachers.
On the second to last day before summer break, one brave teacher had taken it upon himself to finally suspend them for fighting on campus. Rui took it much better than anyone would have believed, only smashing a few windows with her ever-present baseball bat before taking off in an angry huff. True to their word, neither of the pair showed up in school the next day.
Neither did the man who'd suspended them.
But back to how any of that tied in with uniforms, Rui refused to wear the outfit as it was supposed to be, and since the teachers couldn't do a thing about her, the custom began to rub off on the rest of the student body. Soon, there were too many for the administrators to deal with, and with the threat of the queen's wrath should they try to make any new rules, they were forced to live with it and move on.
Of course, Izumi was completely oblivious of all of this when he stepped into the school that day. He thought that the girl in the doorway was just another student, albeit an odd looking one. So he really didn't understand why Retsu and his friends looked so horrified when he accidentally ran into the other because he hadn't been able to see her through the tinted glass of the doors.
"S-sorry," Izumi muttered, jumping back from the person he had just run into. Her fiery red hair flew through the air as she turned to stare at him in shock. Later, he would wonder how he'd missed the bat clenched menacingly in her left hand, but at the moment he was too preoccupied with apologizing. "I didn't see ya there," he continued, refusing to meet her searching gaze in embarrassment.
"What the- Who the hell are you?" she growled, green eyes narrowing into a glare. They widened fractionally in recognition a second later, but her ferocity didn't in the least. "Wait a minute... Do I know you from some-"
"Hey!" Retsu cried, running over and grabbing the younger by the arm.
"Retsu-san?" the orange haired boy turned to his friend, confusion evident on his face. "What's wrong?"
"We need to leave. Now," his friend said firmly, trying to battle down the almost instinctual fear he felt for Rui. The teen bowed to her and mumbled an apology before all but dragging Izumi out the door.
"...What just happened?" Hiro questioned, blowing another bubble absentmindedly. His expression was bored, his voice flat and indifferent, as if he had asked more out of habit than any real interest. Only the boy's eyes betrayed him, reflecting the mix of confusion and amusement he was actually feeling.
"Hell if I know," Rui shrugged in response, bringing up her free hand to lightly slap her forehead a few times in frustration. "Dammit all, where do I recognize that kid from? He's not from this school, is he?"
"No," the brunet replied immediately, completely confident with his answer despite the broad subject it encompassed. "I don't recognize him, and he wasn't registered in the weeks we've been gone."
"So where have I seen him before?" she growled out, irritated by her momentary memory loss. "Have we fought him?"
"No."
"A relative of someone we've fought?"
"Highly unlikely."
"Um...new challenger?"
"Even more unlikely," Hiro answered in the same calm tone as he had for all the others. "I don't think you're looking in the right places for this guy. You're going to have to be more creative."
"Fuck," she cursed under her breath in annoyance. "This is annoying me. I know you know who he is, so stop making me guess. You're the one with the good memory, not me."
"But that would take away all the fun." The barest hint of a smile ghosted across his lips at the others aggravation. Rui opened her mouth to yell at him for being such a bastard, but was stopped short by the sound of a poster being ripped off one of the lockers. Her eyes narrowed and flicked over to where Retsu's four friends were still standing, Kazuki now with a crumpled up ball of paper in his hand. Jun returned her glare full force while Yume just glanced between the two, head tilted to the side in confusion. Amatsu was doing his best to hide behind the blond soccer player, trying to disappear without much success.
"What do you want?" she bit out in a low voice, bringing up her bat to rest on a shoulder. "Get out of here."
"You can't make us-" Jun started angrily, but she cut him off.
"Leave," Rui snarled, taking a menacing step forward. The black haired boy made no move to back down. In fact, he was about to give her the snide reply on the tip of his tongue when Yume and Kazuki, after a look of silent agreement, each grabbed one of his sleeves and proceeded to drag him down the hall towards their classroom, ignoring his protests.
"It's not worth it," the blond whispered in his ear. "Don't make an enemy of Rui over something like this."
"Who's Rui?" Yume asked, puzzled, once they were safely inside. "I mean, I understand that she's a very scary person and all, but why did everyone run away? She wasn't that bad."
"Do you remember what we told you about that demonic prefect?" Jun, having gotten over his bout of stubborn sulking, questioned. The girl nodded, not seeing the connection. "Well...she's the Hibari of our year."
~X~
"You're so lucky she didn't get a very good look at you," Retsu sighed, slumping against the school wall behind him. Just to be safe, he had led them to the back of the building to escape the girl should she choose to follow. That was doubtful, but one never really could predict what Rui would do next. "Otherwise, you could've been dead right now."
"Why?" Izumi scratched his head in confusion, moving to stand beside the older boy. "Who was that girl just now?"
"Let's just say that she is a very scary person and leave it at that."
The orange haired teenager raised an eyebrow. "What's so bad about 'er?"
"Hm, what's so bad about Rui?" Retsu tapped a finger to his chin, pretending to think about it. "Well, to give you a clear picture, if we'd had her and Hiro last week, none of us would have had to do a thing."
Izumi gave the other a doubtful look, sure he was exaggerating. However, if the completely serious expression on his face was any indication, he was not. "No way."
"Well, hopefully you'll never have to find out firsthand just how good she is," the violet eyed boy sighed again, running a hand through his hair. "But let's stop talking about Rui. I'm probably going to start getting nightmares if we continue. Was there any particular reason why you came here today?"
"Oh yeah," his eyes widened in remembrance. The singer reached back into his ever-present green backpack and withdrew the others lunch. "Ya forgot this."
Reborn, who had been silent up until this point, snorted. "Typical. Stupid Retsu."
"And who's fault is it that I didn't have time to go back and get it!" Retsu snapped, not even bothering to wonder when it was that the baby had materialized on his shoulder. He was just that used to it.
"And now you're blaming others for your shortcomings," Reborn shook his head, feigning weariness. "A hitman should be prepared for anything."
"I thought you wanted me to be a boss, not a hitman," the boy quipped snidely. "Make up your mind."
"It's good that you've accepted your future."
Retsu had no response. He only growled in annoyance, snatching the lunch from Izumi with slightly more force than necessary. For his part, the other boy was having a tough time fighting down the urge to laugh at the previous conversation.
"Thanks," his friend mumbled, indicating the lunch he now held. "Sorry, but I need to get back to class." The orange haired teen nodded in understanding, returning Retsu's small smile with a happy one of his own before the older walked away.
"Ya think I should just go back to the house now?" he asked Reborn, who had stayed behind. The baby shrugged.
"You could do that," the tutor conceded. Izumi raised an eyebrow, waiting for the second option he knew was coming. He wasn't disappointed. "Or you could go out and familiarize yourself with the town."
The boy weighed his options, but the decision honestly wasn't that hard to make. Either go home and do nothing or be semi-productive and get some exercise. "That sounds like a better idea."
"Good," Reborn nodded in approval. "As for me..." He grabbed Leon off his hat. The lizard morphed into what looked like three small helicopter blades attached to the handle of an umbrella. The blades began to spin, carrying the infant upwards. The singer watched all of this with mild interest, having seen weirder things during his time with Shigeru. Not by much, but still more odd than a baby being lifted up by a transformed chameleon. "I'm going to go punish Retsu for being so rude."
Good luck Retsu-san, Izumi thought as he watched Reborn float away, sweatdropping. You're probably gonna need it.
~X~
"Kazuki, why do you have a poster of Izumi on your desk?" Retsu asked, holding up the article. It had been crumpled into a ball originally, but once straightened out the younger boy's face was still perfectly visible, smiling up at him from the page.
They were standing in front of the blond's desk, Jun and Yume leaning on two of the nearby ones, Amatsu off talking with someone else about the homework, explaining to the girl why she had yet to meet Rui and Hiro despite the two empty spots in their room that suggested that they were in the same class. Retsu had just noticed the balled up paper on his friend's desk. He had only arrived a few minutes ago, so why it was there was entirely lost to him.
"I tore it off one of the lockers earlier," the soccer player answered.
"Why?"
"Rui couldn't remember Izumi, and I was just thinking that if she decides to go on a rampage again like the last time she got back from a suspension, it would probably be best if she didn't know who the kid who bumped into her this morning was."
Retsu thought that one over for a second before nodding. "Good idea," he agreed right as the classroom door opened. The teacher walked in, shooing his students back to their respective seats despite their protests. When they were all seated, he began the roll call. Halfway down the list, he stopped, eyebrows rising at the additions to it. It didn't take a genius to figure out who's name the man was looking at.
"Edogawa Rui," he called, gaze searching the room for the unfamiliar teenager. He was new to the school. In fact, Mr. Tanaka was the one who had replaced the teacher who disappeared after the pair's suspension.
"Here."
All eyes flew to the source of the voice. Nobody had heard the girl enter the room, so it was understandably a surprise to see her sitting there, casually leaning back in her chair as if she'd been there from the start. Which, Retsu realized with a sudden sinking feeling in his stomach, she may have been. Had she overheard their conversation? Or worse, seen the poster?
"Edogawa-san, please sit up straight," Mr. Tanaka said, a barely veiled order disguised by polite words. He'd heard about this girl, but he'd be damned if he allowed her to act up in his class.
"Make me," she shot back, unfazed. From his seat beside her, Hiro sighed, shooting her a weary sideways glance. His fingers never stopped in their flight across the laptop's keyboard, only the telltale click-clack of the keys giving away that he was actually typing something in. The redhead huffed, but allowed her chair to fall back into its proper position with a thud. "Whatever," she muttered in defeat, turning her icy gaze back to the teacher. After a short staring contest, the man looked away, calling out the rest of the names on the list as if nothing had happened.
When roll call was finished, they began their first lesson. Math. Oh how Retsu hated math. He had nothing personal against it and he understood its significance in life, but that didn't stop the subject from being impossible for him.
Surprisingly, out of his four friends, it was Kazuki who understood it best. Despite Amatsu's high marks in every other class, there was something about this particular one that confused him just enough to mess up his otherwise perfect report card. Jun was pretty good with it, and the same went for Yume, but Kazuki just blew them all away. In fact, he had the highest overall grade in the entire class. Of course, that didn't help his 50 in English in the least, but still, being top of the class in anything was pretty impressive.
There was, however, one student who would have done better had he deigned to come to school more: Kimidori Hiro, Rui's best friend and partner in crime. He was, in short, a bit of a genius. The full span of his abilities was unknown to everyone except perhaps Rui and Hiro himself, but it was clear to anyone that the boy was wicked smart. Able to solve all but the most difficult of problems in mere minutes, he was probably one of the most intelligent people Retsu had ever met, if not the most in terms of raw ability. And he only came to school enough to be able to graduate when the time came. It was kind of scary to imagine what he could do if he ever put real effort into it.
They were almost done with the lesson when Rui suddenly shot out of her chair, eyes alight with triumph. The piece of furniture fell to the ground with a clatter, but she made no move to pick it up. Instead, she turned to Hiro, practically bouncing on her toes in excitement.
"I know who that guy is!" she cried happily. Retsu paled, and he was fairly sure that his friends were thinking the same thing as he was:
Damn.
"You finally remembered?" Hiro asked, smiling slightly in amusement at his friend's elation.
"Hell yeah I did!"
"Edogawa-san!" the teacher yelled, glaring at the redhead. "I've already talked to you once today. Next time, it'll be detention. Now return to your seat and stop disrupting my class!"
Wrong move, and everybody else in the class knew it. There were basically three rules teachers were advised to follow when Rui was in the room. One: Don't tell her to stop doing something. Two: Don't interrupt her. And three: Never, ever threaten either Hiro or her with detention. And Mr. Tanaka had just broken all three.
Slowly, the girl turned to face him. Her previously happy face had changed to one of steely anger. Beside her, Hiro had reverted back to his emotionless expression, eyes hardened with dislike.
"What?" Rui asked, tone threatening. She was giving him a second chance to take back what he'd said, but apparently this fact escaped him.
"You heard me! Return to your seat!"
"...Old man, you're new here, aren't you?" she said at length, seemingly taking a moment to digest his answer before turning to the brunet on her right. "What've you got on him, Hiro?"
"Tanaka Gorou, age 41," the boy rattled off, cold stare flickering between the stunned man at the front of the room and his computer screen. "Born to Tanaka Sano and Kasami in Namimori Hospital. Attended Namimori from primary to high school, then went to T University. Never married, though not for lack of trying."
"That is enough!" Mr. Tanaka cried, blushing fiercely at that last bit. "Young man, where did you find all this?"
"Around," was the brunet's vague answer before continuing. "Played mostly baseball in high school, but never made it to the starting lineup, and...oh, what's this?"
"What is it?" Rui leaned to the side to get a better look, eyebrows rising at the picture. She smirked. "That is interesting. Care to share with the rest of the class?"
The teacher blanched, and he hurried over to where there. If they had found what he thought they had, he'd never live it down. Luckily for him, both teens sat at the very back of the room, so none of the other students had seen the picture.
Yet.
He stopped at the sight of what was on Hiro's laptop, face paling even more if that was possible. "Don't...don't you dare..." The words weren't coming. Rui's smirk widened.
"What were you saying about detention again?" She ran a finger along the top of the screen, stopping at the corner and beginning to turn it towards the rest of the class. Quickly, Mr. Tanaka slammed a hand down on the computer. The girl withdrew her fingers just fast enough to avoid getting them stuck, but she was enjoying watching him squirm too much to care.
"How are you two not in jail yet?" the teacher muttered, defeated. Rui's treated him to a sly smile as Hiro stood up from his seat, blowing a bubble. The pop was unusually loud in the silent classroom, making the man flinch.
"We are merely the keepers of others secrets," she answered, heading for the door. At the last second, the redhead turned back to face Mr. Tanaka, devilish smile never leaving her lips. "Whether or not they stay secrets is entirely up to the people themselves."
And with those parting words, the two were off, leaving only a mix of shock and awe in their wake.
"I-I need to take a short break," Mr. Tanaka finally said, heading in the same direction Rui and Hiro had just gone. "You have self-study until I get back."
For a moment after his departure, the class was silent. Then, as if a dam had burst, conversation flooded it, all of the students chattering about the queen's most recent triumph and comparing it with previous ones. The general consensus was that this was one of her more dramatic performances, but also one of the most interesting to watch.
Yume, for her part, was speechless.
"This kind of thing has almost become a ritual for when a new teacher shows up," Kazuki supplied, seeing that she wasn't going to ask herself. "Neither of them take kindly to being told what to do, so this was bound to happen eventually. I swear, Hiro-kun can find something about anyone."
"Don't bother asking how he does it," Jun chimed in, walking over from his own desk. "None of us have any clue, and it's not like he's just going to come out and tell us."
"See why they're so scary?" Amatsu prompted, approaching with Retsu at his side. The white haired boy's attention was fixed on the classroom door, and more specifically, the footsteps he heard outside. As expected, it opened seconds later, admitting in possibly the prettiest girl in the school.
Her almond-shaped hazel eyes roamed the room, searching for someone. Dark brown hair floated around her pretty, pale face, accentuating her fine features. The hair ended just below her shoulders, and her uniform was worn just as it was intended to be, straight down to the color of her tie. She was slim but athletic looking due to her position as captain of the girls' volleyball team. And as for her name...
"Retsu-kun!" she exclaimed happily, eyes meeting with his as she made her way over.
"Yuuka-chan," he smiled, ignoring the shocked looks he was getting from his classmates. "It's good to see you again."
"You too," Yuuka returned the smile, but it quickly changed to small frown of worry. "Sorry to cut our conversation so short, but I came in here because I heard Hiro was in school today. Is he?"
"He was," Retsu sighed apologetically. "He and Rui drove another teacher insane, then left. I don't know where they are now."
"I see..." the girl's frown deepened. "I haven't seen him in the house for a week, and now I can't even find him in school. I'm worried."
"He looked fine when I saw him, if that's any consolation."
"Thanks, and it really is. It's just that he has those periods where he doesn't return home or go to school for days at a time, and I wonder if he's really alright..."
"I understand," he patted her shoulder reassuringly. "But think of it this way; as long as he's with Rui, no harm will come to him."
She giggled slightly at his comment. "I guess you're right about that," Yuuka conceded with a smile. It was at this point that she finally noticed the four other teenagers, turning to face them with a small blush. Her gaze went first to Yume, which was to be expected with her wild hair and unusual eyes. She recognized the rest of Retsu's friends, but this girl was new. "I don't think we've met before," the older girl said, extending a hand with a smile. "My name's Kimidori Yuuka. You?"
"Yamanaka Yume," the other replied, taking the offered hand and shaking. "I'm new here, so no, we probably haven't."
"Well, can't say that anymore," Yuuka winked. "I'm in the year ahead of you guys, but I'm down in this part of the building a lot. Hopefully, we'll see a lot of each other."
"Yeah..." the younger teen nodded, a small smile on her face. The high schooler turned to Amatsu and Jun in turn, exchanging greetings. When she got to Kazuki, however, she couldn't shake his hand or even meet his eyes. She was blushing, trying and failing to cover it up. The blond however, being who he was, didn't notice.
"Hi," he chirped in his usual, cheerful way. "I'm Kazuki. We've seen each other after school a couple times, right?"
"U-um, yeah," she mumbled shyly, still looking at the floor. Retsu thought his female friend might faint if the conversation continued, but she ended it for him. Eyes darting to the clock, she faked surprise. "Oh, would you look at that time! I-I got to go. The teacher'll want me back in class. Um, bye!"
Yuuka scrambled out the door, leaving behind a confused Kazuki and his four friends who couldn't decide if it would be alright to laugh.
"Did I say something wrong?" the soccer player asked, genuinely confused.
"Kazuki..." Yume started, fighting back her urge to laugh.
"You are possibly the densest person I know," Jun sighed, which only puzzled his friend more.
"What do you mean?"
"Never mind," Retsu cut in before an argument could start. "Let's talk about something else."
"Good idea," Jun agreed, immediately moving his attention to the boy who'd spoken. "Let's talk about what's most important here: how do you know Kimidori-san?"
"Her dad works with my mom," Retsu replied casually. "We've met a few times 'cause of that, and bonded over our worry for our brothers."
"Worry for your brothers?" Yume echoed. "Who's her brother?
"Eh? You didn't know?" She shook her head. "It's Hiro. Yuuka-chan is his older sister."
Oh gosh, I completely forgot this until now! Here's your belated guardian question!
What guardian is Izumi?
What can I say, I'm really forgetful. Don't trust me with important phone numbers or anything. :p With that lovely parting note, please review!