Although this story is my own the idea of a slice of life boarding school tale involving Kai and Wyatt comes from the mind of Inyoface and her story This Is England. Give it a read. I never would have written this the way that I have without that inspiration and I wouldn't be in my late 20s still falling asleep to elaborate romance plots regarding a childrens anime (I regret nothing). Some of the wording is going to be very Americanized due to the fact that I'm American and it's likely that all boarding schools are in fact, not exactly the same (in both rules and culture) but I'm just gonna give it a shot in the dark. If you have any silly memories of things that sucked about school back in the day feel free to shoot me an idea! Sorry about format and grammar issues, I'm dyslexic and struggle a bit with writing. I'll take all suggestions to heart.
Chapter 1: Welcome to Hell
Rain hit the windshield of the car in what you could almost call a rhythmic style, making a beat similar to what you might hear in a lullaby. In a way, it was hard not to nod off to. Fog covered most of the windows omit the drivers windshield and the lack of sight on top of the fact that it was already dark out gave me a sense of claustrophobia.
I didn't want to be here… they all knew that. Not that I was given much say in the matter since child protective services had learned about the position I had been put in. They had taken it upon a small council to decide my fate, suggesting that I take part in a state funded experiment where I would opt out of being sent to a typical foster home. Instead, I was to be placed in a boarding school with the state continuing to have custody over me. Once I turned 16 I would be able to look into becoming an emancipated adult, although the chances of the state allowing it were slim.
I unbuckled my seat belt as the car made a near silent stop at the entrance, taking the small amount of luggage that I had managed to wrangle together and stepping out into the drizzle. The air felt heavy and I suddenly found my clothes sticking to my skin from the amount of excess moisture surrounding me.
"The Dean of the school is expecting us." My case manager stated, touching her hand to my shoulder. I had told her previously that I didn't like being touched, but I suppose it doesn't make any difference. I wasn't her only case load and it was doubtful that she remembered anything about me at all.
I threw my bag over my shoulder without saying anything, following her up the stone steps to the large doorway of the posh looking building. I guess this was where my torture was destined to begin.
I looked at nothing but my shoes as she rang the buzzer, relaxing myself to the feeling of the rain water wetting my hair. I would be soaked by the time we got inside the building.
"Can I help you?" A voice sounded from within the speaker, a woman.
"Yes, this is Lin Ono, from the state, I'm bringing in the student Dean Nakamura and I had spoken about. He should be expecting me."
So much for 'us', I thought to myself.
The door made a low sounding humming noise as it opened and we walked out of the now down pouring rain.
"I need you to wait right here." Ono-san stated. Great, I at least had a nice entrance rug that I could drip onto. How very thoughtful.
As she walked through another door, leaving me alone and soaking wet, I caught the whispers of the other students who passed by. I wasn't sure how common it was for them to see new faces, especially in the middle of a school quarter and my face ran flush from the unwanted attention that was being drawn to me. The door opened again.
"You can come in now, Kai." She stated. Slumping my head forward I entered the doorway, not allowing myself to lift myself up until the door was closed behind me. A dark haired woman was smiling at me, taking a pencil from behind her ear and attaching it to the clipboard she held.
"If I could have you fill this out while we wait for Dean Nakamura, there are a few chairs behind you. You're names Kai, correct? You're beginning here as a Sophomore?"
I nodded. Having a summer birthday and being young for my grade tended to get me questions from time to time. "You were home schooled before this?"
I began wondering how many questions she planned on rattling off before things got awkward. I wasn't exactly what you would call a typical case regarding my transfer, and asking about my past schooling would lead into the same direction as asking about my grandfathers arrest and current prison sentence, not that I was bothered by the topic, I was fully aware that I wasn't wanted. My father was somewhere in Europe with what I can only assume was a replacement family and no one even knew where my mother was. I hadn't spoken to either of them since I was a little kid and they had never made any sort of effort to keep in touch with me. They didn't matter to me anymore.
I looked down at the paper I was supposed to be filling out, reading it as best I could. I wasn't nearly as fluent in reading and writing Japanese as I was at speaking it, though I typically managed to get by, and I was good at hiding this flaw for the most part, although I think Kenny had picked up on it. He would read over me on occasion, trying to act as though he wasn't doing me a favor. Thankfully the main print was just asking about my name and date of birth, the paragraphs above that seemed to just be a run of the mill Welcome.
Without speaking I handed the paper back to her, having filled it out to the best of my ability, and as though watching me from a window the door to the Deans Office opened, startling me.
"You must be Kai, our new transfer from Social Services. It's nice to have you in our program."
Nice? Yeah… the only thing nice about it was the chunk of cash they got from the government for housing me. Never the less I gave a brief bow out of politeness and adjusted the bag that hung over my shoulder. "I'll lead you to your dorm." The Dean continued, completely ignoring how clearly uncomfortable the entire situation was. I'm not saying the guy should be coddling me like a child but damn, how peppy do you need to act while bringing a newly acquired orphan to their new home? Even while we walked together the man refused to just shut up. "As tomorrow is Sunday you won't have any classes, but your schedule and new enrollment pamphlet will be on the desk in your dorm room along with your school uniforms which you'll be expected to wear on weekdays from 7:30 to 5:00, after which you'll be free to change. You and the other students will be expected to be in your dorm no later than 9:00 at night and lights out is at 10. This will include weekends for all students who are under the age of 18 and any overnight visits will require signed permission from both the school, meaning myself, and a legal adult at whatever residence you plan on staying at." He paused briefly. "Normally your parent or legal guardian would also be required to sign for you to leave but due to your circumstances you'll be required to have written permission from your case worker."
What was this place, a prison?
He handed me a key attached to a chain which read my dorm number. "Students at our academy do not room with other classmates due to difficulties we've experienced in the past so yourself as well as the other boys room alone. We have night time security guards whose job it is to see that students are alone in their rooms and that lights are out at the designated times and you will be subjected to random room checks any time between 9pm and 6am."
Yeah, it was definitely prison.
"I'll give you time to unpack, you'll have the rest of the evening to introduce yourself to your classmates. The floor your on along with the one below it cater entirely to the sophomore class and the lounge below will be primarily your classmates, although the different grades are free to intermingle, most of the boys stick to their own grade."
So they segregate on purpose? I thought to myself as I unlocked the door and flicked the light switch on. The dorm wasn't much to look at. A neatly made twin size bed sat at one end of the room side by side with a small desk and reading lamp. The two pieces of furniture where separated by what appeared to be an antique style dresser; there wasn't even a closet. I was expected to wear a blazer as part of a uniform and they don't even have a damn closet?
Sighing under my breath I threw my bag on top of the bed. I could unpack later, not that I was allowed to bring many belongings with me. I sat down on the mattress, taking in the silence around me. It was nice to at least have some quiet. I had never cared much for excessive stimulation; constant noises and lights forced me to heighten my concentration, which made it hard to focus on anything happening around me while in the stadium. Come to think of it I was probably a perfect candidate for a pick pocket.
A knock on my door interrupted my peace, followed by a quiet 'Hello?' and some indistinguishable whispering.
Shit… someone had recognized me…
Don't get me wrong I wasn't planning on hiding my identity or anything, there was bound to be someone at this school who knew who I was, although I wouldn't exactly call myself famous. With all of us under 18 we did have certain rights regarding the media.
I attempted, unsuccessfully I might add, to ignore the knocking. It was possible that some of the other students simply knew that I was fresh meat and wanted to introduce themselves, even if it was unlikely, but the knocking continued, louder this time. It was nice that whoever this was had at least built up their confidence while they waited for an answer. Giving it another brief moment of thought, I got up and unlocked the door, opening it slightly.
"Can I help you?" I asked, not attempting to sound polite. A boy with shoulder length red hair stood outside the door, accompanied by a pair of clearly identical twins.
"You're the new kid, right?" The red head asked. Oddly he wasn't looking at my any differently than he would anyone else. It was possible they actually didn't know who I was. "You just transferred?"
I opened the door fully, the tension settling.
"Uh… yeah." I said quietly.
"We just wanted to introduce ourselves. My name's Haru." He bowed briefly, the guys behind me are Koji and Koichi."
I nodded, avoiding making eye contact.
"Kai." I said, bowing my head slightly in return.
"Hiwitari, I know. I've seen you on TV."
My face flushed, it really was too good to be true. Haru seemed to notice my embarrassment toward fame. "You don't need to worry about people bombarding you for autographs or anything like that. You aren't the first celebrity to attend school here."
Celebrity? In what world was I a celebrity?
One of the twins, I wasn't sure which one, continued where Haru stopped. "Most of the Politicians in Japan send their kids here." He said, "Others started to take notice and hopped on the trend. Haru is a Taniguchi. You know, the clothing brand? You might recognize Koichi and me from one of our tv gigs. We're actors, but we aren't very well known yet."
How long was I supposed to pretend that this conversation was interesting?
"We figured," Koichi continued his brothers sentence, how stereotypical. "You might want to know that there are proper people here. It's not just nameless faces. We also wanted to see if you were heading downstairs at all. Dinner is over with for tonight but there are vending machines if you haven't eaten anything."
I decided to ignore how ignorant that statement was on grounds that my stomach was growling. You would think that if the state was going to force me out of my house and make me spend nearly an entire day at a county clerks office they would at least give me something to eat. Even the airlines did a better job at taking care of people than that. Shrugging my shoulders slightly I exited my room, closing the door behind me and following them.
"You're gonna want to lock your door." Haru stated, raising an eyebrow slightly, "You're new, so people are going to try and fuck with you. I think our last new kid ended up with a used condom under his pillow."
"Weren't you the one who did that?" Koichi laughed, giving him a playful shove.
"It's not my fault they keep sticking unkempt orphan kids in here. What the hell are the adults thinking? 'Hey you've never had a hot meal in your life and your dad used to beat you but here's a uniform that you can't even afford, look around the local garbage dump for some appropriate shoes' it's pathetic."
I felt my face flush slightly, I didn't like this kid at all… I mean I wasn't an orphan and I had a trust fund that I would get until I turned 18, if anything I was raised significantly more well off than the rest of my team had been, if maybe lacking supervision or an adult who even remotely cared about me. I raised myself mentally and emotionally but I had luxury that most didn't.
"Where did you transfer from?" Koji asked as we walked, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his blazer. It was Saturday, what idiot wears a school uniform on a Saturday?
"I was home schooled." I said, keeping my answers short and to the point.
"You aren't the first." He laughed. "Everyone thinks their precious baby is too good for prep school until they start to stand up to the bullshit routines and nannies, then they board them and live like the kid never existed until they turn 18. Everyone wants a son to keep the family name alive but no one actually wants to deal with some shit kid running around."
Actually, I had to admit that was somewhat accurate. When my father lost interest in continuing my grandfathers corporation he suddenly became interested in raising me instead. He didn't actually care about me, but someone needed to keep his plane running smoothly.
Haru pushed the elevator button. An elevator? We were only going down one story… who was possibly this lazy?
Actually, I think Tyson had done that a few times too when we stayed at hotels. It was good that being a minor kept my situation private. I can't even begin to explain how embarrassing it would be dealing with my team knowing I was currently technically in foster care. Tyson would probably try and get me to live with him. That would be a disaster.
I was able to more or less tune out the three idiots the rest of the way to the Sophomore Lounge, answering all other questions with a series of interchangeable grunts. I had to admit that the space was impressive. The chairs actually looked comfortable and I counted 6 different small sitting areas, each with a coffee table in the center. The walls were open but a glass fireplace sat right in the center and was accessible both to the living area and the dining area, which had several tables and chairs, along with three vending machines featuring different foods and another two containing soda, flavored water and some coffee products. The counter had two different coffee pots and large canister of hot water sitting next to a few different flavors of tea. I'm not sure what I expected from a school of mostly wealthy rich kids, and quite frankly I also wasn't sure why this school of all places was taking a part in providing state custody for foster children. Were teenagers really that hard to adopt out?
The feeling of eyes watching me made me uneasy, I was quite confident at this point that the boys I was walking with were all complete assholes and the idea of everyone here already knowing who I was didn't exactly help to ease that tension. Quietly I parted ways with them without drawing attention and made my way over to the vending machines but the complete awkwardness of the situation had made me lose my appetite and I ended up making myself a cup of tea instead. This was a bad idea. I just got here, I should have just stayed in my room and gone to bed and I could have figured the rest of this out at breakfast in the morning, if I even decided to go. I would actually feel more comfortable eating if there weren't so many other students around.
"Are you sure that's him?"
I couldn't tell where the halfassed attempt at a whisper came from, and I wasn't sure I even wanted to know. "I've only seen him on TV, but the rumor was that he was starting today. Avery heard Dean Nakamura talking about it. He really wanted him at the school, like they don't get enough egocentric celebrities around here. The man can't get enough of the gossip."
"Wyatt is a fan of that team, isn't he?"
"Wyatt's just a fan of him. He's gonna jizz himself when he sees him. He's probably wanking off outside his door or something."
Excuse me? Someone is what?"
I turned toward the two whispering boys, raising an eyebrow in alarm. I mean, there was no way they actually wanted me to hear this conversation, right? Where they just stupid?
Mr. Wank Off chuckled quietly to himself as he looked back at me and my face grew hot wondering if they were saying all of this on purpose just to make fun of me.
"Kai Hiwitari." He said, crossing his arms to his chest and grinning. An unkempt mess of dark blue hair partly obscured his large glasses. "There had been a rumor going around that you were starting today. How'd you manage to get into this place so quickly? I mean we're pretty well known for our wait list and the emergency openings are usually saved for, well, emergencies. You pay your way in?"
I glanced at them and then to the cup of hot tea in my hand.
"That really isn't your business." I stated.
The green haired boy next to him started to chuckle.
"So is the whole Bad Boy persona just a character you put on during competitions? You've come up in conversation with some of the guys around here before. Is it an act or are you just an asshole?"
Okay well the name calling seemed really unnecessary, not that I'd never heard it before.
"I don't have time for this." I said, turning around and finding an open table. The less I interact with any of them the faster I can get back to my room and go to sleep.
"Hey, Smithwright," Blue haired boy yelled, both of them exploding into giggles once again like school girls. A well groomed brunette had joined them, coming out of the elevator with an inquisitive look.
"Why did you text me that my wet dream was here?" He asked with what I was pretty sure was an American accent.
"Dude, we got a new student!"
"Okay?"
"Kai Hiwitari."
The conversation ground to a haul so fast that even I found myself curious about what was about to happen. The American boy looked wide eyed at me, face so red that I wondered if someone should make sure he was okay.
"What the fuck, Emil?" He attempted to yell quietly.
"What? You're the one who's obsessed with him."
"I am not!" Smithwright, I'm pretty sure that was a last name, sounded like he was talking through clutched teeth and Emil and green hair started to lose control of their quiet giggling, now just laughing.
"What did you tell him?" He attempted to yell quietly.
"Wyatt, relax. Henri just asked him if he's actually a jerk or if he just plays one on TV."
Wait, so this was the Jerk Off Guy?
"Actually, I said asshole."
Wyatt unsuccessfully attempted to hush the two boys. Now might be a good time for me to go back to my room. I really didn't want to listen to this conversation anymore, although I suppose I was technically the one eavesdropping.
Ignoring the fact that I still hadn't eaten anything, I got up from the chair and put my tea cup in the small counter top dishwasher. Was I actually supposed to run it or did someone do that once it was full? Would I look stupid going through the cabinets for dish washing liquid? There were a few other dirty dishes inside of it, which I took as a sign that someone would take care of it later. Doing my best to ignore everyone around me, I brought my gaze downward and headed back the way I had come.
"Are you going back upstairs already?" Haru yelled at me, he was seated hunched back on a large chair, legs crossed. I gave a slight glance toward him and shrugged. "So I take it the strong, silent type isn't just for the cameras?" He laughed. Okay, what was up with these people? Would it kill them to just leave me alone? "Once a jerk, always a jerk."
"For fucks sake, give it a rest, Haru."
I paused…
That was that Wyatt kid again, right? "You're by far the biggest dick we have at this school." He allowed silence to fall for a moment before continuing, probably for dramatic effect. "Actually, I would say the biggest asshole. I don't want you to think I'm saying you have a big dick, since everyone knows it's tiny."
"Is this your plan for getting on his good side?" Haru laughed. "You gonna follow him up to his room and ask if you can blow him?"
Even Wyatt's friends chuckled. What on earth was with these people? They didn't even sound like they were fighting, they were just shouting out dirty one liners and then giggling to each other. I wasn't even sure if they were enemies or friends.
I avoided the rest of the conversation and went upstairs, concerned that if they kept going at it I was going to learn if Wyatt actually did have wet dreams about me, which I definitely did not want to know the answer to… I don't know why I thought this would be a better option than traditional foster care. At the end of the day I resided within four walls that I was able, for the time being, to call my own, but it scarcely changed the fact that I didn't have a home or a family. I wasn't sure I really even had friends.
I locked my door behind me, putting my back against it and letting myself slide to the floor, my face falling into my knees. I had a headache, I was tired, and I was hungry.
And I was on my own.
Alright, that was chapter 1. I know not a lot has happened yet but I wanted to start out setting the scene and introducing characters. Feel free to give me any pointers!
Also: I know that Kai is the oldest member of the team in the anime and manga, but since he has a summer birthday I'm messing with the timeline and making him the youngest, putting him in a more vulnerable state and stopping myself from needing to mess too much with a plot line involving emancipation, which, lets be real, is likely the direction someone with Kai's personality would go. Also as a kid I, for some reason, thought that he was the youngest member of the team and like the idea of him being young but being mentally mature enough to take lead, especially after what he had been through growing up.
Anyway, thank you for reading!
