Something was up, Yuuki could sense it, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out what it was. This caused her to be riled up throughout the day. Was Reborn somehow a part of this? She knew that he was one of the few people who knew her well enough to hide things from her. What could he be hiding?
"Let's go," Hibari said, startling Yuuki from her thinking.
"Huh," Yuuki sat puzzlingly at her desk as Hibari entered the student council room.
"The baby wants us on the roof," Hibari explained, crossing his arms as he waited for Yuuki to move.
"Okay," Yuuki warily agreed as she got up from her seat. Whatever Reborn was hiding, she would just have to wait and see. Cautiously, she followed Hibari to the roof of the school where they found Reborn, Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto waiting for them.
"Tsuna-kun, Yamamoto-kun, Gokudera-kun," Yuuki greeted as the two arrived at the roof.
"Eh?! Yuuki-senpai! Hibari-san!" Tsuna shouted, surprised to see them there. Reborn had called them to the roof for something, but didn't say what it was.
"Yo, Kaichou!"
"Good afternoon, Yuuki-sama!"
After exchanging some pleasantries, Yuuki turned to stare sternly at Reborn. "Reborn," Yuuki stressed, silently asking for an explanation.
"I like to introduce you to some new guests," Reborn eventually revealed.
"Guests?" Everyone, but Hibari, chorused.
"They're people you know, Yuuki."
"Huh?" Yuuki tilted her head, looking perplexedly at Reborn. She knew a lot of people. Which ones were Reborn talking about? Wind blew across the roof before four distinct shadows blanketed the group.
"How could you forget us, Ojou-sama," a voice whined. "Especially after we spent all those intimate times together."
Yuuki twitched, recognizing the voice while feeling irritated by the statement. What did he mean by 'intimate times together'?!
"Yeah, are we that forgettable?" Another voice added.
"You can be so cruel, Aneki," a pair of voices simultaneously chorused.
"Those voices," Yuuki trailed off, gradually turning to look behind her. The others followed suit. There, standing on the small roof above the door entrance were four males, all wearing the school's uniform. The tallest of the group seemed to be around Yamamoto's height with short, sandy-colored hair and deep blue eyes.
The other two guys were twins whose height reaches the tallest guy's chin. They both have short, silver hair and violet eyes. One of the twins has a scratch mark from the middle of his left cheek to the left side of his face and his hair was a bit more spikey and wild-looking than the other twin. The second twin didn't have any scars, but he had a black-rimmed glasses perched on his nose and his hair was longer and flowy, which gave him a more feminine look. In his hand was some kind of compact computer with the Mugen's crest on it.
The last guy in the group was the shortest out of the four, only reaching the twin's shoulders. He has short brown hair and sharp brown eyes. He has a grumpy look on his face, but it softens slightly when his eyes landed on Yuuki.
"Kazuo! Arata! Shoshi! Ken!" Yuuki shouted, elated that they were there.
"YUUKI!" The tallest boy and wild-looking twin happily shouted as they leaped off the roof, tackling Yuuki with a glomp.
"Oof!" Yuuki fell to the ground from the sudden attack.
"Are you alright, Yuuki-senpai? Do you know them?" Tsuna asked, sweat-dropping.
He really cares for his friends, doesn't he? Sure, he can't do much, but his dedication to his friends overweight that. As mentioned before, Mugen valued loyalty and strength. Tsuna was so far showing that with his Family. Hm, maybe Yuuki's assessment would come to a close soon.
"I'm alright, Tsuna-kun and I unfortunately do know them," Yuuki teased, pulling away from the two boys' group hug. The other two members swiftly got down from the roof as Yuuki stood up, patting away any invisible dirt.
Once she was satisfied, she turned to the group. Pointing to the tallest one she introduced, "The blond one is Chevalier Kazuo, but just call him Kazuo. He's 16 years old and is the oldest out of the group."
"Yo," He grinned. Yuuki pointed to the twins next.
"The twin with the scar is Hayashi Arata and the other one is Hayashi Shoshi. Just call them by their first names to not mix them up. The two of them are both 15 years old."
"Hello," Shoshi politely greeted, pushing up his glasses.
"What's up?" Arata waved. Yuuki pointed to the last member of the group who stood to the side, scowling at everyone who looked at him.
"And the last one is Maeda Ken. You may call him Ken. He's the youngest at only 14 years old."
"Hmph," Ken crossed his arms, turning his head away from the group.
"They're my…," Yuuki scratched her cheek, pondering, "I guess you can call them my Family. Basically, they are my trusted subordinates."
"Subordinates," Tsuna and the other exclaimed. "Does that mean they're also a part of the Mugen clan?"
"Yup!" Yuuki smiled before turning to her team. "Anyway, why are you guys here? I thought you were all on a mission."
"We missed you, Ojou-sama," Kazuo whimpered as he crouched down and latched onto Yuuki's waist. He didn't stay like that for too long, though. Since, once Hibari saw what the boy has done, the skylark directly kicked Kazuo away.
"Hey!" Kazuo shouted, springing away to avoid the kick before glaring at the other boy. Hibari glared right back and the two got into a glaring contest with lightning zapping between them.
"What he meant," Shoshi started to explain, ignoring the two, "was that since we haven't been in contact for a while, we started to miss you and thus we went to check up on you. We found out from the clan where you were and what you were doing. Therefore, motivated to get back to you, the team finished up the mission early and got in touch with Reborn who made sure our arrival would be a surprise."
"I should have known this would happen," Yuuki said, shaking her head. Her team can get a bit clingy sometime and she knew that if Reborn had the chance, he would tease her like this. He might not torment her as heavily as he does with Tsuna, but he still does it.
Yuuki like to think that it was his way of showing that he cared for her – even though his tricks can sometime be too much. Looking to the side, she took notice of the little competition between Kazuo and Hibari. "What are you two doing?"
Kazuo and Hibari snapped out of their little match, in good time too since Hibari was just about to take out his tonfa and bite this newcomer to death. "Nothing," Kazuo happily exclaimed, trying to distract Yuuki. "So anyway, from now on, we will be attending this school with everyone and staying at Yuuki's place!"
"I don't think so," Yuuki instantly denied, causing Kazuo to turn into stone from shock.
"What?!" Ken angrily shouted.
"B-B-But," Kazuo stuttered, "We always live together!"
"Yeah, what's the big deal," Arata frowned while his twin stayed quiet.
"I'm sorry guys," Yuuki sighed, "But Hibari, for some reason, sort of moved in with me and I don't think he like sharing his living space."
"What?! Hibari-san is living at your house, Yuuki-senpai?!" Tsuna shouted in shock.
"Maa, Hibari-san and Kaichou have gotten quite close to each other," Yamamoto commented.
"That's correct. I don't want some herbivores crowding the house," Hibari glared. Yuuki's team glowered back, mad at Hibari for being in their way of reuniting with Yuuki. Seeing the tension between Hibari and her team made Yuuki feel a bit sad. She wanted them to get along. She knew it would take some time for Hibari to accept the team, but she would have thought that the team would at least be a bit more understanding of the situation – they were being a bit too clingy.
Shoshi was the most observant out of the group and so he noticed the sad look on Yuuki's face. Their leader has always valued family and seeing them fight like this was probably upsetting her. He, like the others, never liked seeing her hurt – both emotionally or physically. Luckily for them, his cleverness was able to find a loophole to this situation.
"Fine, we won't live in the house," Shoshi said, surprising his other teammates.
"What?! What are you saying, Shoshi!" Ken yelled.
"Shoshi?" Arata silently asked, noticing the familiar glint in his twin's eyes.
Shoshi ignored his teammates' outburst, "We will instead build a house on the property lot and live there instead. Just like the Mugen compound. That way, we can both visit and be near Yuuki without actually living in the house and crowding Hibari-san."
Hibari frowned, but did not opposed while the other members blinked, astonished by the idea. Meanwhile, Yuuki smiled, happy that the problem was solved. Yuuki hoped that with time spent together, the five of them can get along with one another.
Yuuki turned to Tsuna's group, "Why don't you introduce yourselves while I go make some phone calls for the constructions."
Walking off to the side, Yuuki started to dial her phone. With Yuuki's gone, there was an awkward silence between the groups before Tsuna managed to build enough courage to introduce himself. "U-Um, my name is T-Tsunayoshi Sawada. I-It's nice to meet you."
"Oh! You must be No-good Tsuna we all heard about," Kazuo bluntly stated, taking Tsuna's hand and shaking it frantically.
"Kazuo!" Yuuki scolded, managing to hear Kazuo's comment. She immediately went back to her call when she heard the person on the other side started speaking.
"So, this is the guy Reborn was always talking about," Arata said, circling Tsuna as he inspected the boy.
"He seems remotely average to me." Shoshi pushed up his glasses and bended closer to look.
"Tsk, he looks weak. Bet you I can beat him with my eyes closed," Ken cockily boasted.
"Leave Juudaime alone you bastards!" Gokudera shouted, shielding Tsuna.
"Maa, maa calm down Gokudera," Yamamoto said.
"Shut up, you baseball freak!"
"Feel his arm, there's barely any muscle on it!" Kazuo exclaimed, bypassing Gokudera and starting to feel Tsuna up.
"You're right," Shoshi said, following him.
"He's weak," Arata finished.
"Hey! Stop touching Juudaime!" Gokudera barked, pulling Tsuna away.
"Oh, you must be Gokudera," Kazuo said when he saw the grey-haired boy. He turned to baseball-loving boy next. "And you must be Yamamoto."
"Look guys, look at their strength. It's great!" Arata said, studying the two boys and the state of their bodies. Once Arata had said that, the rest of Yuuki's team started swarming everyone and feeling up their arms and torsos.
"Hey! Stop touching me you bastards!"
"Eeeekkk!"
"Hehehehe," Yamamoto laughed, not feeling uncomfortable, but ticklish from their touches. The members avoided Hibari, instinctively knowing that they would be severely harmed if they go near him.
Finishing up her calls, Yuuki put away her phone and faced the current situation. Seeing the chaos made her paused for a second, but then she sighed with a small smile of endearment. She missed her boys.
Perhaps, now that they were here, they could help her with the Student Council work. Better yet, they could become members of the Student Council. It could easily be attained for them and their help would be wonderful to have. Just like her, this was not their first time attending a school for a mission and so, this process wouldn't be anything new to them. Now, to have them sign up…
"Let's go, Kazuo, Shoshi, Arata, Ken! It's time for you to be introduced to your individual classes!" Yuuki called out, stopping the boys' shenanigans.
"Hai!" They all chirped, following Yuuki and leaving the rest of the group behind.
"Juudaime, are you ok?" Gokudera asked Tsuna once they were gone.
"Y-Yes."
"Those guys are pretty funny," Yamamoto smiled.
Tsuna sweat-dropped. It seemed that Reborn wasn't the only person with weird acquaintances. Life just can't give Tsuna break, can it?
-`ღ´-
After sending the boys off to their respective classroom, Yuuki headed to the Student Council room where she got the application forms ready so that the team can join the Student Council. Additionally, since she was not informed of their arrival a head of time, there were a lot of things she needed to do to smoothly integrate them into the community.
First, she made sure that her team were safely immigrated into the country and thus the town. Then she had to make sure that they were correctly registered into the school. Reborn can do a lot of things and was quite talented, but Yuuki doubt he was virtuous enough to register the boys properly. Most of the time, he usually just avoid the hassle of handling any legal measures and instead, go for the easy, illegal pathway. If that was true, she would not be too surprised by that since they were a part of the underworld after all – it was a common thing to do.
That was fine. Since the Mugen handled a lot of information, it wasn't far fetch for them to have A LOT of connections with other people, especially powerful and influential ones. Therefore, aside from the usual informant business, they also dabbled a bit in regards to the legal businesses. In fact, they even have their own private law firm that were mostly run by the lower, citizen member of the Mugen Clan.
Moreover, the law firm was the second largest business that the Mugen clan have within their depository; standing below their informant/underworld business and above other occupations like bodyguards.
It was quite easy for the firm to flourish, simply because they already have a vault of information available for them to use. They just had to go through the normal, clan procedures to get the information they needed – whether it was materials related to the court hearings or some persuading materials.
In cases like this, knowledge truly is power.
After dealing with most of the legal documents for her team, Yuuki went to visit the principal and politely inform him about the arrive of her team while strongly pointing to their close connection with her.
She wasn't threatening him or anything, of course not.
She just did not need any unnecessary trouble to arise, especially insignificant ones.
Anyway, once everything was settled, school had just ended for the students. Feeling responsible, as both a leader and as the school's president, Yuuki decided to go check up on the boys.
Since he was the youngest, Ken was the first person she decided to check on. Upon entering his classroom, her eyes were immediately drawn to a crowd of girls. What was distinct about the group was the person stuck in the middle of this crowd, the very person she was looking for, a grumpy-looking Ken.
Yuuki was not surprised by the sight she has encountered. Her team was considered to be filled with good-looking people; all with unique features and personalities. Ken, in particular, was a bit of a tsundere and a bad boy – something most girls tend to adore as traits.
Unfortunately, despite getting into multiple situations that others would kill to be in, it only caused his temper to flicker. Being bombarded by obnoxious girls tends to test his patience real quickly. Luckily, Ken was raised up to be a gentleman and was taught some self-restrains to not let his temper get the better of him when interacting with others, especially with the female population.
He may act tough and make jabs at others to get them to fight him, but in actuality, he would avoid fighting anyone too weak to defend themselves. He was not the type of person to bully the weak.
He already knew what it was like to be weak against a superior person…
"Yuuki-kaichou," a student exclaimed upon sighting Yuuki at the door of their classroom. This immediately caught everyone's attention, including Ken's.
Whispers burst out from among the students, all filled with urgency and excitement. Not only was it an upperclassman visiting them, but more specifically it was their respected president!
"Yuuki-sama," Ken called out, getting up from his seat upon seeing Yuuki.
"Yuuki-sama?" The students chorused, confused as the watched their new student headed towards their president. Do they know each other? Why did he call 'him' with such a revered title?
"What are you doing here?" Ken asked, stopping in front of Yuuki.
"What? I can't check in with my subordinates to make sure they're ok?" Yuuki gently teased. In response, Ken shyly ducked his head, attempting to hide the small smile on his face – warmed by her concern and care. The female students watched the two with bated breath, their hearts swelling as they observed the warm interaction between the two. This was a surprising contrast to Ken's previous grumpy behaviour shown in class.
What sort of relationship do they have?
Was the rumors about Yuuki true? Were they, perhaps, secretly lovers?
"Come, let's go see the other," Yuuki indicated forward with her head before walking out of the classroom with Ken following her, leaving behind the fantasizing females.
"Ne, who do you think is the seme?"
"Perhaps Yuuki-san? He seems to embody the 'gentle lover' quite well."
"No! I disagree! Didn't you notice the tsundere nature in Ken?! He must be the bottom!"
"I second that! Besides, just image a dominate Yuuki behind that gentle smile of his!"
In-tune with each other's thoughts, the group of females simultaneously imaged a gently smiling Yuuki peering down at a bashful-looking Ken who was caged against the wall of the school hallway by Yuuki's arms. The president's tender smile contradicted with his domineering presence and action, providing an almost forbidden perception to the ambiguous scene.
The multiple girls squealed in delight, getting further immerse with their speculating debate. Ken scowled in aggravation, having heard their passing comments as the pair left the vicinity. His burning ears beings the only indication that he was embarrassed by what he heard.
He preferred females, thank you very much!
He was not saying that he did not think Yuuki was a girl or anything! But those girls are clueless with Yuuki's true gender and so in their minds they were shipping him with another guy and-and…
Gah! Just forget it!
Ken fumed as his chaotic thoughts spun around his head while Yuuki stayed oblivious to his conflict. In fact, Yuuki did not care too much about what was being said behind her.
Why should she?
For one, she had become used to such words, especially because of her current appearance and identity. It would also be hypocritical for her to get angry over such trivial words because this was obviously an inevitable consequence for her intentional disguise and actions.
Nonetheless, it was always exhausting – physically, mentally, and spiritually – to continuously keep up a full façade for a long length of time. Therefore, it was always better to partially merge your true character in the disguise or at the very least takes a lot of breaks to reorganize yourself.
The latter technique may be a bit more riskier than the first because if you take breaks during the period or within the environment your façade was created for, there was a higher risk of getting caught. That was why, despite 'relaxing', you must also be skilled enough to quickly get back into character or vigilant enough to prevent others from discovering your secret.
While the first technique can be a bit tricky too since the blending of a true persona with a fake one may cause a person to become confused of their true identity. That was why a person need to have a high awareness of their self to perfect such techniques – something her father had warned and advised her.
Fortunately for Yuuki, through some guidance from her father, she was trained and skilled enough that such task was not too much of a burden for her. So, despite the act of affiliation being stressful, it was not overly so that it becomes a problem.
Anyway, as the pair headed to a different part of the school, they soon arrived at a classroom where the twins were assigned to. Walking into the classroom, the two of them immediately noticed that the twins were sitting at different ends of the room, surrounded by different types of people. Shoshi was surrounded by mainly girls; some who liked him and some who admired his feminine looks.
Arata, on the other hand, were surrounded by both males and females. Females because they liked him, and males because they were charmed by Arata's personality. Basically, Arata was in similar situation with Yamamoto – popular with the girls while friends with the guys.
Shoshi had a polite smile on his face, but was not too engaging in any of the conversations happening around him while Arata was slouching amongst his peers in a laid-back manner.
Being the most observant – and most intellectual – out of the four guys, Shoshi was the first to notice some movement by the door. The glasses-wearing adolescent looked up and saw their leader standing by the door with a gentle smile on her face. It was quite obvious to him that she was still within her president facade because compared to her usual domineering demeanour, the current appearance was like a small animal – fragile and weak.
Unconsciously, Shoshi's mind took notice of the small-framed, Ken standing behind their leader, but aside from that, the glasses-wearing boy paid no more mind to his presence. All of his focus was on Yuuki. Immediately, Shoshi perked up, his eyes glistening in happiness despite the indifferent look on his face.
"Aneki," Shoshi serenely called out.
Shoshi stood up and pushed his way out of the crowd of classmates, being careful to not be too rough despite the internal annoyance he has for them. He may tolerate them for the sake of the mission, but in reality, he cared little for their existence. He thought they were below him, not in an arrogant way, but more so that they would never be able to understand or accept him. Their Family, mainly his twin and Yuuki, were the only ones who can truly and fully understand him.
Having noticed his twin's actions, Arata too found Yuuki. "Aneki!" Arata piped, enthusiastically waving at Yuuki. Following his twin, Arata made his way through the crowding students.
Once he arrived beside his twin, Arata snuck a peak at him – having sense his twin's cold mood. The whole crew was deeply attached to their leader, Yuuki, but his twin was probably the most sensitive out of the four and thus, has the most emotional dependency for her. There was, of course, a more deeper reason for his insecurities and attachment, but let's leave that for another day.
It was because of this reason that the short separation after finally being together with her was taking a bit of a toil on Shoshi. Arata wasn't too worried though. He knew that after spending some more time with her, Shoshi would get better.
But, man…
Shoshi in a bad mood was not someone you want to be engaged with. Their last mission served as a good example...
Bumping shoulders with Shoshi, Arata cheekily grinned at his younger brother, trying to cheer the boy up. Shoshi scoffed and rolled his eyes in reply, but Arata could see the glitter of affection in his brother's eyes.
Everyone in the class watched, intrigued, as the twins stopped in front of their president. All of them were full of meddlesome curiosity.
Their president knew the transfer students?
Uncontrollably, the female students started to secretly pair the three dashing guys with their president – each student growing more preference for one pairing over the others.
How can they not when there were with such fine specimen available for them to use?
Ignorant of his classmates' thoughts, Shoshi greeted, "Yuuki," his eyes softening behind his glasses before nodding to the short-statured boy beside her. "Ken."
"Hello Shoshi," Yuuki smiled.
"Why are you two here?" Arata asked, slightly rocking on the soles of his feet. Ken shrugged his shoulders, his arms still crossed. He didn't know why Yuuki has gotten them. He was only told to follow her.
"Just checking on everyone," Yuuki answered. "I also have something I want you guys to do."
"Oh?" The twins said, eyes gleaming with interest.
"Let's go see Kazuo before I say any more," Yuuki redirected, strolling out the door and keeping the boys in the dark with her intentions. The three exchanged looks before following the disguised girl.
Meanwhile, the students in the classroom reluctantly watched the four leave – they had wanted to know what the four's relationships were.
Eventually the small group arrived at a classroom where they immediately saw upon entering, Kazuo flirting with the female teacher. "My belle," he breathed, littering small, feathery kisses on the knuckles of the teacher's hand, "you are one of the most beautiful ladies I have ever seen. Your beauty seems to seep into my very soul, grabbing it and placing it onto a leash where I can never leave you. I feel like a mere servant to a heavenly goddess like you. Oh, how bittersweet my love is. Should I be flattered to be owned by a gorgeous being like you?"
"C-Chevalier-san!" The teacher squeaked, flustered over such a bold display.
"Call me, 'Kazuo'," Kazuo winked, causing the girls in the class to squeal with heart-shaped eyes. Most of the boys in the class were glaring at Kazuo, but there were some few, surprising exceptions who were taken with Kazuo's daring, straightforward charm.
Yuuki could only shake her head. Kazuo was such a flirt. Fortunately, his flirtation were harmless and he doesn't get into a relationship with anyone unless he was truly serious about it. She just only hoped that there won't be too many broken hearts because of him – she has spent way too many time picking up those broken pieces before.
"Cut it out, Kazuo," Yuuki interrupted. "Leave sensei alone."
Kazuo's eyes widen upon seeing Yuuki and a smile formed on his mouth. His eyes sparkled with uncontained glee. "Yuuki-sama~!" He shouted, glomping the girl. Since that skylark was not there to stop him, he was going to take advantage of every single moment they have together.
Yuuki winced from the volume, "No need to shout Kazuo. I can hear you just fine."
"Still your disgusting self, huh," Ken sneered.
"You know you love me," Kazuo grinned.
Ken scoffed, turning his head to the side. "As if."
"Please restrain yourself, we're in front of an audience," Shoshi pushed up his glasses.
"Now, Shoshi, there's no harm in having a little fun," Arata assured his brother.
Kazuo's classmates watched as Kazuo hovered around their school president like an overenergetic puppy. How does he know Yuuki? What were their relationship and who were the other boys behind Yuuki?
"How was your day? Was it nice? Did you see my introduction? Was it great or what?" Kazuo blabbered to Yuuki. The crossdresser simply smiled, slightly missing this ball of energy.
"Ummm Yuuki-kaichou," a timid voice spoke up, stopping Kazuo and his stream of questions. Looking up, Yuuki saw one of Kazuo's classmates. She was fiddling with her thumb and was shyly looking down at the ground. The other students watched the girl in admiration at her bravery. They were going to have their questions answered!
"Yes," Yuuki tiled her head, "what is it?"
"Well, I am wondering what kind of relationship you have with Kazuo and the boys behind you," she blushed. Surprisingly, she had managed to not stuttered through that. Yuuki could tell that she was very nervous.
Amused by the curiosity of the student population, Yuuki opened her mouth to answer when she was suddenly interrupted by Kazuo.
The older boy turned to face their audience, erecting tall and proud. The previous energetic puppy was gone and in its place, was a loyal subordinate.
"You see, my lady, Yuuki here is our master, our saviour. He saved us from the cruel world in which we lived in." His voice was filled with conviction. Kazuo twirled around to take a kneel in front of Yuuki.
"Without him we would be dead and lost," Shoshi continued, stepping forward to follow suit.
"So, as gratitude we placed ourselves into his servitude," Arata went next, kneeling beside his brother.
Ken was the last to kneel, "Vowing to serve him until death do us apart."
The four stayed in their kneeling position with their heads lowered into a bow. Onlookers watched in astonishment by the display. This was probably their first time seeing such a move performed in public like this.
Slightly embarrassed, Yuuki could only sigh, "I thought I told you to stop doing that. You know, I hate seeing you guys lower yourself like that. Come on now, get up."
With variations of smiles, the boys got up. Indeed, Yuuki had told them multiple times to stop with such flamboyant displays, but this was something they were not planning on stopping anytime soon.
Why? Well, simply because this was one of their ways in showing their absolute devotion to Yuuki. Furthermore, it was a great teasing material. Why would they give something like that up?
Seeing the determinations and stubbornness within the boys, Yuuki could only shook her head in exasperation, but the smile on her face indicated that she wasn't in any way mad at them.
"Now that all of you are here, I need you guys to do something for me," Yuuki stated before promptly sauntering out of the door.
"What is it?" Kazuo asked as he and the boys followed her. Behind them, they could hear the loud squeals coming from the room they just exited. The female classmates were all gushing over the group's relationship, especially how devoted the boys were to Yuuki.
It was like a modern-day prince and his loyal guards!
By the end of the day, everyone will surely know about what had transpired within that classroom and Yuuki's relationship with the new students.
-`ღ´-
Meanwhile, the group arrived at the Student Council room. "The Student Council room?" Kazuo questioned as the boys followed Yuuki into the room. When they entered, the group immediately noticed another presence within the room and the figure took notice of them in return.
The figure was an average-size male with short, dark-purple hair and long side fringes, giving him – not quite a feminine look like Shoshi, but more of a delicate, almost innocent one instead. A pair of clear, lavender-colored eyes peered at the group behind thick, rectangular glasses as the male tilt his head in curiosity. Overall, he had that sophisticated look to his appearance.
"Daichi-kun? What are you doing here?" Yuuki questioned once she recognized who the boy was.
"Kaichou," the boy smiled softly, rising gracefully from his seat to turn and face the group.
Hata Daichi, a male student with the most potential at becoming the Student Council President. He has the looks, the right temper, the intelligence, and the right connections to become one. It also helped that he was pretty popular among his peers.
However, don't let that serene smile and innocent appearance fool you. He was secretly a sly fox with his own hidden agenda and intentions.
In the beginning, Daichi was planning on using his time at school to build up a stable reputation to prove to his family of his self-worth. You see, he came from a rich, aristocratic family with a similar dramatic situation as those you can find in those drama shows.
Yes, that meant he has a scum of a father who cheated on his wife with a mistress and was currently showing great favoritism towards that stupid, half-brother of his. His father was a successful businessman, but he had fallen under the spell of that darn vixen and that vile brother of his was no different from his mother.
The two were such fakes and his father was idiotic enough to believe every single lies of theirs. How his father managed to survive so long with such a foolish mind? Daichi does not know. You would think his father did some research first before believing everything that comes out of that fake woman's mouth, but that was not the case.
It was because of those two, mother-son pairing, that Daichi and his mother had reached such a low point in their lives. The two were booted out of their home under the false accusation of thievery.
Daichi was not too sure how they had managed it, but one day, that harpy of a woman came storming to his father screeching about some missing jewelleries his father had gifted her. Quick-tempered whenever it came to that vixen and her son, his father quickly ordered a search of the house and they immediately found the missing jewelleries hidden in a drawer in his mother's room.
His father was already fed up with Daichi and his mother because of previous schemes and so, this was his breaking point. Filled with rage, his father immediately kicked the two of them out of his house and filed a divorce with his mother, leaving nothing for them.
You would think that such ruthless actions would garner some displeasure from the other families or pour blemishes over his father's reputation, but the mother-son pairing was too cunning during that time. They pretended to be weak, kind, and the victims of the whole situation, turning the table onto Daichi and his mother, making them the evildoer with vicious rumors and false information. This lead people to view his father's actions as virtuous or noble, not as savage and inhuman.
At that moment of time, Daichi was still too young and weak to do anything. He didn't have any power or resources to protect them – he was too naïve, believing that his father would still care for him. Despite his shortcoming, he was also smart for his age and so he quickly realized the truth after the incident. This caused him to rapidly mature in order to protect his mother.
His mother was the daughter of a family with similar background as his father and their marriage was an arranged one for the sole purpose of an alliance between families. Usually, if such arrangement was suddenly broken, it would affect everyone in both families, but the alliance was still ongoing despite the divorce.
How so?
Because that damn vixen was his mother's YOUNGER SISTER!
You heard him!
That woman was his mother's younger sister. She dared to seduce her brother-in-law and his maternal family did nothing to condemn her for it!
Instead, they took that woman's side and abandoned his mother!
He hate them! He cursed them! He blamed everything on them!
They don't know what his mother and him had to go through in order to survive!
Luckily, despite the pressure and constraint from the whole situation, his mother managed to make a few good connections during her life with his father – not everyone was foolish or blind as his father. Some of them were wise and smart enough to figure out the truth of the whole situation and some even saw some merits or valuable qualities in his mother – enough to provide some help or investment in her.
Using those connections, he and his mother managed to get back onto their feet after being kicked out with nothing on them and lived a regular life. It wasn't a luxurious life like they had before, but they had, at least, enough food and a roof over their heads – it was better than nothing.
Nonetheless, they were also temporarily hidden among the masses for their safety – that vile woman would not easily let them off like that unless they were dead – and so, Daichi was taking this chance to build up power and eventually issue a counterattack.
…Unfortunately, the existence of an evil being called Hibari Kyoya, ruined such possible plans. People may call him a coward for running way or for not confronting Hibari, but he would rather ignore the words coming from the mouths of idiots.
Instead, he like to think that he has a healthy level of self-preservation. He may know some level of martial arts, but nothing in comparison to Hibari's strength. Daichi was clever enough to understand that there are some battles you have to retreat from – a tactical retreat, you may say.
He wasn't ready to die just yet. He still have his mother and his revenge to think about, after all.
That doesn't mean he wasn't disappointed by his failure. He had built up such an elaborate plan for his success, but for it to all fall apart because of one person? Of course, like everyone else, he was mad for such a thing.
Since he had encounter such an obstacle, he was placed in a pickle in which he was unsure on what he should do next. His initial plan was to build up a reputation, get into a good high school, and make some powerful connections, but now he can't. He could still build a reputation as a good student, but that was not enough. He needed something grander – like the prestige of a president – so that he could grow powerful enough to pay back all his misfortune and grievances with some interests.
Fortunately, a miracle appeared in the form of Yuuki. Even though Yuuki have taken over the position that Daichi had wanted, he was willing to step down and let Yuuki have it.
Why?
Well, Daichi could tell that Yuuki had the power and the means to handle Hibari. Having lived in an environment where strengths were constantly hidden behind a façade, Daichi grew a decent set of skills to read people.
Therefore, he could tell that Yuuki was dangerous just from a single glance and despite this danger, Daichi intuitively knew that Yuuki was his ticket in achieving his revenge. He felt that if there anyone he was willing to be a subordinate of, it was Yuuki.
Not only does Yuuki have the connections and power that Daichi seek, but he could tell that Yuuki was not like most leaders. Yuuki was still selfish and greedy in certain aspects like family and information, but Daichi could see that Yuuki was a reasonable leader.
This was quite valuable given the sort of background Yuuki has been hinting at. From what Daichi could tell, it has something to do with the underworld. What the role was, was still a mystery, but that was not the point Daichi was trying to get at.
Some of the connections that his mother had made during their time with his father actually came from people who regularly danced around the borders between the underworld and the normal world. Therefore, Daichi was quite aware of the different types of people the underworld inhabited.
He was not the same naïve boy he was before.
That was why, he found Yuuki's temperament to be quite favorable compared to other leaders. Thus, by taking advantage of Yuuki's arrival, Daichi quickly got to work in trying to impress Yuuki and receive some sort of favoritism.
It was slow at first, because despite Yuuki's friendliness, there was also an underlying sense of caution and warning. But, after some persistence, it eventually paid off in the end.
Now, he was currently a high-ranking Consort and the representative of the study body – he was the voice of the students and his job was to mediate between the student council and students. With Yuuki's help, he was able to be both protected by Hibari while also receiving great benefits from the president.
Through his engagement and work with Yuuki, Daichi grew to understand the president a bit more. In fact, his first appraisal of Yuuki was reinforced through those interactions. Yuuki was strong and powerful – something he aim and strived for.
Daichi knew that with Yuuki's support, his life would become prosperous, especially going by all the hints Yuuki have been dropping. Daichi had the feeling that Yuuki will be revealing a huge secret to him soon and anticipated that this will cause a huge change to his life.
His intuition was indeed correct. Yuuki did plan on revealing her true gender and background to Daichi since he was one of her top candidates. She was pleased by his abilities so far and despite his slyness, she was also satisfied by his temper.
She knew about his family situation, of course – how couldn't she? She was an informant, after all. It was almost instinctual for her to know as much as she can about her target before making any sort of decision about them.
She did not mind his ruthlessness. In fact, she was very supportive of it. Adultery was a clear sign of disloyalty and you know how much loyalty is valued in the Mugen Clan. As a controller of information, Yuuki also felt disgusted by the actions of Daichi's father. The old man did NOTHING; no investigations on each of the woman's claims and as a person whose life was surrounded by information, Yuuki was appalled by this.
Was that man stupid or blind?
How was he still successful when he was being easily tricked by those people?
It make Yuuki want to destroy his whole life; reveal to him that woman's true face, destroy his business, and smash his family's legacy! She wanted to destroy that scum of a man! It would even be quite easy for her to do so – there was so much dirt on him and despite his power, it was fairly small compared to the Mugen Clan.
Alas, that would be rude of her to take Daichi's revenge for him – no matter how much it make her blood boiled from letting that man go. She was sure that Daichi would rather do it himself and she would let him. Pushing aside the healthy emotional output it would be, Yuuki also thought that this sort of revenge will help motivate Daichi into becoming a better subordinate for her; learning certain skills during the wake of his revenge.
That does not mean that Yuuki would let Daichi loose to do whatever he wanted. Yuuki had all the intention to keep Daichi on a tight leash in case the boy's emotions got the better of him. She would allow some mistakes through to help teach Daichi a lesson through his growth, but she would not tolerate extreme stupidity.
Revenge can be a double-edge sword that way, but every weapon can be used skillfully without any major accidents. For example, Yuuki will accept Daichi's plan to get back at his family, but she will not tolerate was any implication his actions may cause to her Clan through his association with them. He can have his revenge, but Daichi must be conscious and mindful of his memberships the Clan. His revenge may be important, but it was not as importance as his affiliation because it pertained to his future. It may sound a bit harsh, but that was life. Daichi was not allowed to let vengeance blind him.
In fact, the Clan will lend their support to Daichi in his revenge since he will be considered as Family, but the Clan expect the same level of devotion or loyalty back. If not – if he decided to try and take ilicit advantage of his membership, he will have to pay for the consequences.
Fortunately, Yuuki could tell that Daichi seem to be clear on the dangerous path he was slowly treading upon. Yuuki wouldn't like him or indirectly made him a Consort if he didn't exhibit some favorable qualities. He knew when to repay kindness and when to take revenge.
Yuuki felt secure in supporting a person like him.
"I've a report on multiple incidents happening in the school," Daichi softly spoke, handing over a small pile of paper. "You don't have to worry though. They were mainly harmless and irrelevant; mostly quarrels. Thus, I have already resolved all of them. A layout of what I did is already included each report."
"Thanks for your hard work," Yuuki smiled, receiving the pile before quickly flipping through them. As Yuuki went through the pile, Daichi took this chance to examine the group of boys behind her and vice versa.
Both sides eyed each other, gauging whether or not the other party was a threat to them. Noticing the rising tension in the room, Yuuki looked up and saw the situation. Silently exasperated by all the male-egos in the room, Yuuki introduced, "Team, meet Hata Daichi the Student Representative of the school. Try to get along with one another as you will be working closely with each other in the near future."
Immediately, everyone perked up, having detect the implications in Yuuki's words. Now, the two sides eyed each other with a new appraisal of the one another. There was a moment of silence before Kazuo stepped over.
"Welcome to the team! We expect great things from you!" Kazuo slapped Daichi's back, breaking the ice between the group; Shoshi sighed while Arata grinned and Ken scoffed, still uptight, but less cautious as before.
Daichi, on the other hand, rubbed his shoulder as he could still feel the sting from the slap. That slap may seemed like a friendly act of affection from an outsider's point-of-view, but Daichi knew better. Despite the simple appearance of the action, it had a lot of power packed into it. So much so that Daichi suspect that he will be developing some bruises.
Even though his approach may seem friendly, Daichi could tell that Kazuo was a much deeper person than what people perceived him to be. As that slap was a warning – a warning that even though Daichi was getting initiated into the group, his every moves will still be under strict surveillance.
This group – this organization was much deeper than what he suspected. He knew that the path he was following was a dangerous one, but he didn't expect how big and broad that danger was. He simply thought Yuuki was a dangerous person, but seeing her team, he now knew that everyone was not so simple as he thought.
He was being too narrow-minded and naïve. Living in a commoner life must have dull his senses. He should have known better – he had lived in a society with hidden predators. This was different though, because despite this danger being sometime hidden, it was mostly out in the open.
Even though he had some contact with the underworld because of his mother's connections, it was nothing when compared to actually being in it. It was much more dangerous. And…
…This excited him.
This greatly excited him.
He could imagine what he could do with this sort of power, this sort of strategy or technique. That slap that Kazuo had delivered was as concealed as how most aristocrats would display their superiority, but unlike them, that slap held a dominance and sheer, raw power that those wealthy people typically lack. It was brilliantly sneaky.
Most aristocrats were basically, all bark and no bite. Sure, they have some powerhouse behind them, but they themselves are weak. What was the point of having power if you can be easily taken down by someone through physical strengths or abilities? Once you're dead, everything is over; your plans, your legacies, everything.
Intelligences can get you to a point, but there are limitations to it. Unless, your intelligence is beyond superhuman, Daichi doubt you can predict every possibilities in a single second or moment.
Yuuki and the organization he belonged to seemed to be more flexible with their range of abilities. Aside from their physical strengths and abilities, they also seemed quite informed with everything. The amount of information they can obtain about a single person was mind-bogglingly. They seem to embodied the concept of 'knowledge is power'.
Daichi made the assumption that they were some sort of informant organization, but he seemed to be partly right. There was something more to them than just being informants. For example, an important question to ask was, how do they get their information?
Do they have their own group of informers? Do they buy and sell information? What was it?
Secondly, there was another point that makes them stand out. Unlike other organizations, their group was quite balanced. What does Daichi meant by that?
Yuuki and his mysterious organization may have deep roots in the underworld, but those roots equally reach out to the regular world. Daichi was not certain what subdivision they are participating in, but if he was to garner a guess, perhaps some sort of law enforcement?
Daichi can just imagine the pressure of avoiding discovery or capture while doing illicit activities, but Yuuki and his organization seemed almost comfortable in dealing with the law. They exploit any loopholes available and play with the law as though it was their own playground.
It gives Daichi shivers just thinking about it – the amount they can do with that sort of power, knowledge, and connections.
He wants to be a part of it.
He want to be like them – to create a group just as powerful as theirs – and this inspired him.
"Don't bully him," Yuuki called out, having noticed Kazuo's warning. She knew her team too well to miss something as obvious as that.
"What do you mean by 'don't bully him', Yuuki?" Kazuo whined, looking like a dejected puppy. "I was doing no such thing. I was just welcoming him into the group!"
Yuuki skeptically hummed, eyeing Kazuo with clear disbelief. Kazuo physically slouched and childishly whined at the cross-dressing girl, but she did not budge. Instead, she shifted her attention to Daichi who was silently observing the interactions in the group. The other team members did not seem to be surprised with Kazuo's behaviour, Daichi noted.
"Sorry about that, Daichi. Kazuo tend to get a bit too hyper sometime," Yuuki apologized with a sincere smile, but Daichi thought otherwise. Yuuki's smile was genuine with sincerity, but it was also filled with cunningness. Was her behaviour unintentional? Perhaps, it was an unconscious action?
What a cover-up, Daichi thought. By linking bully with over-the-top mannerisms, Yuuki guided the meaning into a harmless joke or tease and everyone's performance fall perfectly inline with it. You see, 'bullying' can have an ambiguous meaning to it. It can interpreted into a serious and negative form of bullying or into a light-hearted, teasing one. What Yuuki did was soundlessly redirecting the meaning into the latter – laying out a trap for Daichi.
If he get upset over it or confront them, the blame will then be placed on him for overreacting. This consequence will become more apparent because of the fact that Kazuo's slap looked impeccably normal despite its hidden abnormality.
It was irritating being manipulated like this, but at the same time, it was also quite exhilarating.
"No, it's ok. There's no problem," Daichi softly smiled, ignoring the sting of his back while Shoshi raised an eyebrow, silently scrutinising the boy.
Yuuki secretly smirked, feeling a bit content by Daichi's reply before switching over to her typical presidential facade. "Is there anything else you need, Daichi?"
"No," Daichi shook his head, "That is all I needed. May I be excuse?"
"Of course," Yuuki said, letting the boy walked passed them. "Take care of yourself, ok?"
Daichi paused by the door, slowly digesting Yuuki's words. "Heh," he breathe as his eyes flashed with mirth. What a sly boss he has.
"As you wish," Daichi softly replied before closing the door behind him.
The remaining people in the room waited, listening as the boy's footsteps faded away. "So," Shoshi said, breaking the silence. "A potential candidate?"
"Him?" Ken stressed, voice filled with suspicion.
"Now, now, he must be something if Yuuki have taken a liking to him," Arata commented. "It has been a while since we got a new member."
There was a moment of silence as everyone got lost in their own thoughts. "You shouldn't judge him too quickly, you guys," Yuuki slightly reprimanded. "His beginning of recruitment may be different than yours, but you too had to go through your own tests before becoming official members."
"B-But, you don't need someone like him. You already have us," Kazuo whined, giving Yuuki his puppy-eyes. "Are we not enough for you?"
Yuuki rolled her eyes, immune to his looks. "I meant what I said when I said to get along with each other. I understand that the sudden appearance of a new member may be startling and I do not expect you guys to be all buddy-buddy so early, but please, just keep an open mind, ok?"
The boys glanced at each other, before facing Yuuki, "Yes, ma'am!"
Yuuki sighed, but she could not blame the boys for being a bit defensive. The circumstance in which each members was introduced to each other was much different than how Daichi was introduced. The team's circumstances were during times of vulnerability and thus, right from the start, they got to see each other's true, raw, exposed self.
When compared to the disguised Daichi, it was no wonder that the team did not immediately warmed up to the boy. That was why the previous interaction was so stiff. This include Yuuki as well because she did not fully trust the boy yet, but that may change once she revealed her secrets to him.
Hopefully things will turn out fine in the end.
"By the way," Shoshi pushed up his glasses, "what did you need us for again? Before we were interrupted by Daichi-san."
"Yeah, yeah, what was it?" Kazuo chirped, his sad appearance instantly disappearing.
The team followed Yuuki as she stepped up to her desk. She rearranged her desk for a bit before picking up a pile of papers. She handed each boy a slip.
"An application?" Arata questioned, reading over the form.
"Yes. As you may already know, but I am the student council president at this school and is the only permanent member of the student council. Daichi-kun does not count as he is only a representative of the study body – a mediator between the council and the students. The reason for the lack of members is because of the association between the Student Council and the Disciplinary Committee. Other students are too afraid to cooperate with Hibari-kun and thus no one even attempt to apply. Therefore, I was forced to fill in every role whenever I can, which can be taxing for my body," Yuuki explained.
Hearing her words, Shoshi's head immediately snapped up in alarm. "Are you okay!? You shouldn't be working if it's too much for you! Think about your health!"
Yuuki smiled at Shoshi's worry. The others looked troubled as well. "It's fine. I had some of the students help me and took plenty of breaks to rest my body."
Shoshi frowned, still upset with Yuuki's apparent lack of care for her health. He looked over the form one last time before making a decision. "I'll do it. I'll join the student council. That way, I can help with the paperwork and lessen your burden, Yuuki-sama."
"Don't forget about us!" Kazuo said, popping into the conversation.
"Yeah! We're always there for you, Yuuki! Just like how you were there for us!" Arata grinned.
"Just leave the hard work to us!" Ken smirked, flexing his arm.
"Thank you, guys!" Yuuki laughed as the boys pulled her into a group hug.
After filling out the forms and getting the approval from the teachers and the study body, the guys officially became members of the Student Council. Gaining the approval was quite easy. Since Yuuki had such a high reputation, the teachers were more than willing to give their approval to Yuuki and in her recruitment of the boys. Besides, even if they didn't approve, Yuuki could always use the principal as a back-up plan.
The student body's approval also took little to no effort to gain. After the information about Yuuki's relationship with the boys spread like wildfire, the boys' reputation and popularity skyrocketed. They were approached by many people; some who were their fans while others who wanted to know more about Yuuki and hoped to gain some indirect knowledge on her. In addition, their assumptions on the boys' bravery to go up against Hibari also helped with the boys' popularity.
Overall, the whole process went smoothly and soon the boys became official members of the Student Council; Kazuo was voted for the Vice President position whose role was to work closely in-line with Yuuki, the President; Shoshi became the Treasurer who was responsible for of all the finances; Ken was the Secretary which basically meant administrative work; and Arata was the Public Relations Director whose job was to basically communicate – like informing the school on events, keeping communication between schools, approve for events, and maintaining the school website. Alongside them was Daichi, who usually bring over any sort of complaints or concerns the students have to the council, among other responsibilities.
Anyway, with the boys now there to help her manage the Student Council, Yuuki was able to relax a bit more and focus on more important task like the Family business. Not that the previous temporary members weren't helpful or anything, but she trusted the boys more and it was easy for them to fall back into the same dynamic they had before.
Now, how to reintroduce them to Hibari? Yuuki could remember the first time she introduced Daichi to Hibari. Unsurprisingly, Yuuki had to act like a shield most of the time, but that only seemed to make Hibari angrier. She wonder why…
Hopefully this would go much more smoothly than the one she had on the rooftop. Yuuki has a feeling that it won't, not until the boys can prove to Hibari their worth, but she can hope, can't she?
She really does miss her boys.