*Author's Notes: This chapter took a long time and I'm very sorry about that. I'm also sorry that this chapter didn't really turn out as well as I wanted it to. I just hope someone is pleased by my work because I did spend a good bit of time trying to get this chapter out. This part has all the flashbacks in it, so I hope no one gets confused. Thanks to all who reviewed last time and as always enjoy this long chapter! ^_^
"Oi, niichan (brother) [1]," William said as Shesta came out of the bathroom, "can we play together today like we did yesterday?"
Shesta laughed while rubbing his damp hair with a towel. "Probably not, Will," he said. He smiled at his brother who pouted. "Hey, we'll do that again real soon, okay?"
'Hai," William said. He frowned and shoved his hands into his pockets.
Shesta rubbed his brother's blonde head and went toward the stairs. "Why don't you play with Livvy?" he suggested.
"Aw, she's no fun, niichan," William said, following him down the stairs. "I wanna play with you; you're cool and fun."
"Cool, huh?" Shesta repeated. He used his towel to wipe a little water off his bare chest before wrapping the cloth around his neck.
"Uhn! I wanna be just like you when I'm in high school."
Shesta looked back at William when they had fully descended the stairs. "I'm not so sure about that…" he said, noticing for the umpteenth time how much his brother looked like him. A couple of times Shesta had pretended to be William's father (lying in the process about his own age, as well as Will's) in order to get sympathy from some girls who thought Shesta had an ex-girlfriend who ran off after William was born and left the responsibility to him. Shesta was able to get William several free meals, toys, and discounts from that.
"Why not?" William asked when Shesta had stopped looking at him.
"Just trust me," Shesta said. He went into the kitchen where his sister was seated at the table. "Ohayou, Livvy-chan."
Olivia looked up from the comics. "Ohayou, niichan!" she said. "Ne, ne--what's 'c-o-n-s-e-q-u-e-n-c-e-s' mean?"
"Consequences?" Shesta said, sitting across from her. "Hmm, they're like what happens after you do something You know, like if you ride you bike on bumpy road, the consequences are the bike will shake a lot."
"Sou ka (I see)," Olivia said. She went on reading, mouthing the words as her eyes scanned them.
"Shesta, did you have a nice time last night?" His mother, who had been busy trying to reach something from a high cupboard, finally turned to her son.
"A…Aa…" Shesta said, turning red.
"Ee?? You went somewhere without me??" William said, sitting next to his brother. "No fair!"
"You were asleep, Will," Shesta said. "Besides, Gatty and I stayed out way past your bed time."
"I haven't seen your little friends in a while," Shesta's mother noted. She smiled and placed a plate in front of each one of her children. "You should invite them over soon."
"Don't think that's such a good idea, kaasan," Shesta said.
"They're all such nice boys, especially Dilandau," his mother went on as if not hearing him.
"Oh, yes, Dilandau's the nicest of us all," Shesta said. I don't think I'll ever understand why she's so taken with Dilandau, he thought. Even when I first met him I knew he was a scary person…
*****
Shesta watched his two "favorite" classmates laugh in triumph as they finally got their hands on his lunch. Shesta always sat at a table by himself, so there was plenty of room for the two boys to sit with him as they seized his property. Shesta usually was pissed off at them, but today he was hoping his plan would solve his little lunch problem.
"Another yummy lunch made by Mommy, huh?" Moron One (as Shesta thought of him) said. He yanked out Shesta's sandwich from the bag and cracked up.
"Aw, a ham sandwich with no crust," Moron Two said. "Gosh, it just looks so good."
"Give it back," Shesta said evenly.
Moron One gave half of the sandwich to his buddy. "Aw, sorry, Shesta," he said. "There's only enough for two." As the morons laughed, Shesta veiled his smile.
Laugh while you can, Shesta thought.
"Zan'nen da (Too bad), no lunch for you again," Moron Two said, bringing the sandwich up to his mouth. Moron One nodded and did the same as Moron Two.
The two boys stuffed the sandwich in their mouths and chewed them like animals. Their full-mouthed chuckles came to a abrupt stop when they both experienced a sudden burning sensation in their mouths. The morons jumped up and spat the sandwich out of their mouths, screaming about how hot it was. Shesta sat there watching them with a devilish smile, happy with his decision to do to trick them.
"Hot!!" Moron Two screamed, running around the cafeteria.
"I need a drink!!" Moron Two yelled, desperately trying to grab someone else's drink. Soon the commotion came to the attention of some teachers.
"What's going on here??" one of Shesta's teachers demanded. She watched the two boys running around like crazy.
Shesta smirked for only a second before putting on a pitiful face. "Those guys were tryin' to trick me into eating a sandwich covered in hot sauce," Shesta explained with his puppy dog eyes, "but when they tried to show me the sandwich was okay, their trick backfired on them."
"Oh, you poor dear," the woman said. She put her hand on Shesta's shoulder. "Well, I will make sure those two get into deep trouble for this!"
"Thank you," Shesta said, keeping his sad look until his teacher was gone. "Zama miro (Kiss my ass)…" He snickered and gave his two foes the birdie.
"My tongue--my tongue!" Moron One said, his tongue hanging out like a dog.
"It hurts--it hurts!" Moron Two said, tears coming down his face.
"You two are going to the principal!" the teacher said. She grabbed them by their arms and dragged them away. "Causing such a scene!"
Shesta sat back and put his hands behind his head. "I guess if I ever wanna do something like again, it'll have to be a while…" he murmured to himself. "Took me forever to just think of that."
Shesta stiffened as a shadow spread over him and a wicked laugh filled his ears. "Da…dare (Wh…who)…" he said as he turned around. He was surprised he was able to hold back his gasp at the frightening white-haired child before him.
"Yattekuru ja nai ka (Not bad), Shesta," the boy said.
Shesta swallowed. "Dare…dare da (Who…who are you)?" he asked. "How do you know my name?"
The boy's grin appeared like a fan unfolding. "Dilandau," he said. "I can use a guy like you."
"Use…me?" Shesta said. He stared at Dilandau as if he were a wolf about to pounce on him.
"How would you like to change your image?" Dilandau offered. He narrowed his eyes. "No one would ever tease you again, as long as I'm around."
Shesta was of course intrigued by Dilandau's proposition, but he couldn't shake the feeling he was making a deal with the devil…
*****
"…think that Dilandau-san is really cool," William said, interrupting Shesta's memory. "He has that cool car and he dresses really cool."
How did Dilandau manage to make Will call him "Dilandau-san?" Shesta wondered. I always call him "Dilandau" at home…
"I think he's pretty," Olivia said, smiling. "His eyes are shiny an' his hair is soft like a blanket."
"What the he…" Shesta closed his mouth and then opened it again. "Livvy, how do you know how Dilandau's hair feels?"
"He let me touch it last time I saw him," Olivia said. She looked proud. "You were lookin' for something' so I walked up to him and axed him if I could feel his hair while you was gone."
"Sou ka (I see)," Shesta said. He laughed only to cover up his displease. Children are too easily attracted to things and people… he thought.
*****
Celena sighed as she heard the door slam. It wasn't often she was woken by shouting but it had happened a few times. Of course, such loud noises made by her brothers made her nervous, but it made her depressed more than anything. She really wished Allen and Dilandau would get along better.
"One step at a time," Celena said, going to the fridge. It was eerily quiet now that Allen had too left. Dilandau had left a little while before Allen did.
after pouring herself some cranberry juice, Celena sat down at the table. "There's something about the Ryuugekitai," she said to herself. "I wonder if they have to do with Dilandau's change…" She decided to find out today, having lacked to see her brother the first day of school.
"Demo!" Celena said as she stood up again with an empty glass in her hand. "Allen can't find out about those guys… He'd never let me go back to Zaibach again. They're scary, but Dilandau is my brother and I'm gonna find some way to connect with him again."
Celena smiled and nodded as if to agree with herself. She went over to the sink and began washing out her glass. However, her hand shook the whole time as she did.
Still, she thought, I have a bad feeling… A very bad feeling…
*****
Just as his mother finished making breakfast, the door bell rang. Shesta raised a brow and wondered who it could be. It wasn't seven o'clock yet, so Shesta doubted it was Dilandau. He managed to talk William out of answering the door before he went to answer it himself. The doorbell had ran twice before he opened his front door.
"Di…Dilandau-san??" Shesta couldn't help his surprise.
"What took you so long?" Dilandau asked, unable to show his annoyance with Shesta looking so shocked. Shesta's expressions were always entertaining.
"Well, uh…I'm not even ready yet…" Shesta said, preparing himself to rush. "I haven't eaten yet, I need to get dressed, and--"
"Settle down," Dilandau said, holding up his hand. "I came over to have breakfast with you. Ii desshou (That's all right, isn't)?"
"Uh, hai…" Shesta said. He blinked at Dilandau.
"You gonna let me in then?"
"Ha-Hai!" Shesta stepped over so Dilandau could enter. "Dilandau-san?"
Dilandau looked back at him as Shesta closed his front door. "Nan da (What is it)?"
"We…Well…" Shesta rested his hands on the end of his towel. Iie, he thought, frowning a little. I shouldn't pry.
"Well, what?"
"Nanimo nai (Nothing)." Shesta smiled at Dilandau and began to lead him to the kitchen. "I'm just surprised to see you, that's all."
"Hmph, thought I'd disappear because you didn't see me last night?" Dilandau said behind him.
"That wouldn't happen even if I wanted it to," Shesta said. He stopped just before they neared the kitchen.
"Doushita (What's wrong)?" Dilandau said, knowing there was a specific reason he was hesitating.
Shesta faced him, trying not to have a concerned expression. "Did you…did you let Olivia touch your hair last time you saw her?" he asked.
Dilandau's grin did concern Shesta and this time, Dilandau was aware of it. "Aa," he said. He chuckled when he saw Shesta struggling not to get flustered. "Daijoubu, 'oniichan' (It's all right, big brother). I was just trying to be nice. I like your family, remember?"
"Yes, I do remember," Shesta said, unable to think Dilandau wasn't teasing him with the "oniichan" thing. "That's very strange because you like few people."
Dilandau shrugged. "What can I say?"
Shesta let out a breath. "Sometimes I feel very stressed out around you…" Dilandau laughed and for some reason Shesta calmed. "How do you know how to do that to people?"
"A few more years around me, and you'll know how to make people break into tears just from looking at you."
"I doubt that," Shesta said, smiling. "I'll stick to the little that I've picked up so far."
"Koujin ni (As you like)," Dilandau said, shrugging. He followed Shesta into the kitchen.
"Look who's here for breakfast," Shesta said as he stepped into the kitchen with Dilandau.
"Cool, it's Dilandau-san!" William said. He hopped out of his chair and sat in the one next to it. "You can have my chair."
"Arigatou," Dilandau said, grinning as he sat by Shesta's enthusiastic brother. He turned his grin upon Olivia who was staring at him as if he was some new toy she wanted to have. "Good to see you again, Olivia."
Olivia giggled and waved to him. Shesta was a bit worried about her affection actions, but he sat down next to Dilandau without a word. Shesta's mother set a basket of muffins on the table and smiled at their guest.
"You look so nice today, Dilandau," She said. "I'm so glad you decided to join us for breakfast."
"Arigatou, Caroline," Dilandau said on both accounts. Shesta noticed the almost sincere look on his leader's face. "You don't look so bad yourself this morning. New hair style?"
Caroline laughed and lightly hit Dilandau's shoulder. "I've had this same hair style for years," she said, "but I appreciate the compliment."
"Dilandau-san, why do you call my mother by her first name?" Shesta asked, trying not to have a cynical expression. Dilandau did that a lot around his mother; he always talked as if he was trying to flatter her to death. Shesta never quite understood that.
"Your mother looks too young to be called by anything other than her first name," Dilandau said, Shesta the only one knowing doubting his reply. "I find it hard to believe she's had three children."
"Oh, you are so sweet," Caroline said. She brought the pitcher of orange to the table. "Now what can I get you, Dilandau?"
"Anything is fine," Dilandau said. He laughed at Shesta's doubtful face. "You know I like Caroline's food."
Shesta let out a sigh. "Hai," he said. It's very hard to handle such a long period of Dilandau's fake politeness, he thought. Especially around my family…
"Dilandau-san, how come your hair is so nice?" Olivia asked, having little interest in the food her mother had put on her plate.
"Mmm, just lucky, I guess," Dilandau said, flicking a few strands of hair.
Shesta didn't miss the pride in Dilandau's eyes and laughed at his answer. Lucky, he thought while laughing. Now if only Dilandau would truly think that! That would be the day!
"What's so funny, oniichan?" William asked.
Shesta coughed away his laugher. "Nanimo nai, nanimo nai," he said. He smiled and looked at Dilandau. "You need anything else, Dilandau-san?"
Dilandau picked up a muffin and took a bite out of it. "Hot sauce," he said while chewing.
"Ah, I should have guessed," Shesta said. He rose and went to the cabinet.
"Hot sauce?" Caroline asked. She finally took her seat at the table.
Dilandau licked some crumbs off his lips. "I like things hot," he said. He grinned at Shesta when he set the bottle next to his plate.
"Yeah," Shesta said as if Dilandau had asked for confirmation.
Shesta sat back down and tried his best to make Dilandau's actions seem normal. This was difficult when his leader began pouring hot sauce on his eggs, bacon, and hash browns with the same glint in his eyes he had when he lit things on fire. It was even harder to keep William and Olivia from imitating him. Shesta noted that Dilandau didn't help him any by laughing the whole time Shesta tried to handle his siblings.
*****
"Sou ka (I see)," Dilandau said, crossing his legs on top of Shesta's bed. He slipped his hands between his head and the pillow. "Couldn't see you two going out like that a few years ago."
"Yes, really," Shesta said. He placed his towel on his dresser and then brushed his hair a few times. "I'm glad we're past that little issue."
"Little?" Dilandau snickered and closed his eyes. "What was so little about it?"
Shesta rested his brush on the dresser and coughed. "Okay, maybe it was a bit more than 'little,'" he agreed. He sighed and walked over to his closet. "I didn't like Gatty very much and he liked me even less."
"Aa," Dilandau said. He listened to Shesta move hangers across the metal bar in his closet. "Don't even think about wearing that white shirt."
Shesta's hand froze, inches away from grabbing a white shirt. "Ho…how did you know?" Dilandau scared him sometimes when he did things like that.
Dilandau grinned. "One reason I decided you were vital to the Ryuugekitai was your reliability," he said. "Even if you surprise me sometimes, I trust you the most."
Shesta couldn't help but smile. "And here I thought you were going to say I was so predictable," he said. He moved his hand toward a different shirt and pulled it from the rack.
"That too." Dilandau knew without seeing that Shesta was frowning so he laughed briefly. "At least you're getting better at not being so predictable."
"Thanks a lot, Dilandau-san," Shesta muttered. He pulled his shirt down past his head and tucked it into his khaki pants.
"You know one of your problems, Shesta?" Dilandau went on. "You still see some of the things we Ryuugekitai do as wrong."
"Some of the things we do are wrong," Shesta said. He fixed his collar. "That's why we do them."
"I've never done anything wrong in my life," Dilandau said. Shesta had to admire how Dilandau breezed through that lie as if he thought it was true.
"Well, there are some things I regret doing," Shesta said. He frowned at how amused Dilandau's face appeared. "Like the playground horror? Olivia plays at that playground all the time. I hope she never figures out why I had to keep her away that day."
Dilandau made a sound of disapproval. "Ah, Shesta," he said as if in dismay, "I clipped your wings a long time ago, but I see them trying to grow back all the time."
"Heh," Shesta said, taking his comment as an insult. "Even you don't wear your horns all the time, Dilandau-san."
Dilandau opened one eye and peered in Shesta's direction with a slightly annoyed expression. Shesta's expression, in turn, was neutral, indicating he wasn't joking nor being smug. Dilandau slowly closed the eye back and shifted a little on his back.
"So, did you find any time yesterday to do what I asked?" Dilandau said, deciding to pretend like Shesta hadn't ever said his last comment.
Shesta snorted and pulled his shoes from the floor of the closest. "With that tone, you sound as if you'd be fine if I said 'no,'" he said. He sat down on the edge of his bed and put his shoes on. "I typed up all the information on Van Fanel that your sources could find. I'll get his school schedule for you before second period is done."
Dilandau opened both eyes and sat up with a devilish smile. "Good," he said. "New kids need to learn the danger of crossing any member of the Ryuugekitai, especially me."
"Uhn," Shesta said. He stood and grabbed his book bag next to his door. "I'm ready, Dilandau-san."
"Yoshi (All right)," Dilandau said. He hopped off his bed and glanced at his watch. "We'll pick up Miguel and Dallet and you can read me the report on the way to school."
"Hai," Shesta said. He opened the door for his leader as Dilandau approached it and followed him out the door.
Shesta almost had completely forgot about the peculiarity of Dilandau's presence at his house until Dilandau joined in with his goodbyes to his family. That inspired him to question it again. Before he thought it was best not to pry, but his curiosity was too much. Shesta would risk the possible slap.
"Dilandau-san," Shesta said as Dilandau sat down in the driver's seat. Shesta was already seated and secured by his seat belt.
"Nan da?" Dilandau said. He closed his door and started up his car.
"You mind if I ask why you joined me for breakfast?" Shesta said. He swallowed when Dilandau was quiet during the time he left Shesta's house and started for Miguel's house. "Er, never mind, Di--"
"I thought of going to Gatty's house," Dilandau said, his eyes always looking ahead, "but not only is his place depressing, but I know Gatty would immediately know why I was there. I wasn't in the mood to handle his questions about the fight I had with Allen."
"Sou ka." Allen and he must have had a pretty big one if it forced Dilandau to leave his house so early, he thought. It still surprises me, though, he chose to come to me instead of Gatty, considering how close those two are…
"You'd never think your family was missing your father," Dilandau continued. "For some reason now that I've been to your house, I feel less angry."
"Yokatta (I'm glad)," Shesta said, even though there was a frown on his face. He couldn't help it; the mention of his father always did that to him.
"But then again as annoying as my family is," Dilandau said, not missing Shesta's frown nor the what it was for, "I wouldn't change places with you. Your siblings are more in the way than mine are."
"No offense, Dilandau-san," Shesta said, his frown turning into a grimace at the thought of Dilandau and he trading places, "but you'd be terrible at being the oldest. Being the middle child suits you."
"Hmph, I agree," Dilandau said, grinning though Shesta's comment was nearly an insult. "I wouldn't want to be a badgering bastard like Allen or a pathetic little baby like my sister."
Sister, Shesta thought. "That reminds me, Dilandau-san," he said. The rare occurrence of Dilandau acknowledging the presence of his sister reminded him of an important fact. "Celena--"
"What about her?" Dilandau asked. He took his eyes off the road and gave Shesta a stare that meant his friend should be treading carefully on the subject.
"Uh…well, um…" Shesta tugged at his collar as if he was choking. He coughed twice and tried again. "None of us…we…we don't know what…what she looks like. You never…never…described her or…or showed us…"
Dilandau glared at Shesta a while before looking back ahead. "Not that I was looking for her or anything," he said in a voice that was too soft for Shesta's comfort, "but I thought at some point I'd run into her. I guess she was smart enough to stay out of my sight after she learned how much power I have at school. I think she has the same lunch period we do, so I'll show you all what she looks like then."
"All…All ri--"
"Shikashi (However)," Dilandau aid, "that will be the last time we should recognize her existence. She will be a ghost to us."
"Ha…Hai…" Shesta said. He adverted his eyes from his leader, becoming tense by the sight of his leader being so tense himself. I wonder why Dilandau seems so adamant about treating his sister like she's nothing, he wondered. Maybe he doesn't want us to treat her nicely and show the other students that we Ryuugekitai aren't always cruel. Oh, well. Dilandau's the boss; if he says treat his sister like she's invisible, then I will. After all, Dilandau said he trusts me the most. Heh, zama miro, Gatty.
"What the hell are you smiling about?" Dilandau snapped.
Shesta lost his smile and looked down. "Bestu ni (Nothing)," he said quickly. "Um, should I begin reading the report now, Dilandau-san?"
"Better wait until we get those other two," Dilandau said, sounding as if he was over whatever made him lose his temper. "Those two will just interrupt unless they hear everything."
"Hai," Shesta said. He eyed Dilandau getting his cell phone and dialing Gatty's number, no doubt.
Shesta took that moment to gaze out the window and to try to just enjoy the ride as long as he could. He didn't know about the others, but whenever he could take a breather from the whole Ryuugekitai business, he'd take it. Sometimes Shesta was merely content with just a two-minute break.
*****
Shesta wasn't surprised his second period teacher gave him an angry look when he came in about twenty minutes late. However, Shesta merely handed the man his late pass and waited for his teacher to accept it. It seemed as if the teacher was going to deny his pass, but eventually (after grumbling and glaring at the piece of paper) Shesta's teacher pardoned his tardiness and allowed him to take a seat.
Shesta decided he wouldn't dwell on the fact his teacher seemed to have something personal against him and looked for somewhere to sit. In the back of the classroom he spotted Gatty beside an empty seat. His friend motioned to Shesta and Shesta took the seat. Shesta settled his eyes ahead, trying to pretend as if he cared the teacher had started his lesson again. Gatty grinned and locked his eyes on Shesta.
"Didn't know we had second period together," Gatty commented.
"You would if you had came to class yesterday," Shesta replied.
Gatty wasn't sure why Shesta seemed bitter about that, but he merely laughed and left that discussion at that. Gradually Shesta became bored from listening to his teacher and started up conversation with Gatty again.
"Finally doing your job today?" Shesta asked.
"I've gotten a few orders today, but I only picked up some weed from the Vione yesterday," Gatty said low enough that only Shesta would hear. "I'm planning to just sell that off and gather some more orders before I carry around anything else."
"Hmm."
Gatty's look became smug. "Dilandau-san can only trust me with that sort of thing, of course. Ever since we started the Ryuugekitai, I've handled the drug dealing."
Shesta frowned and finally turned to see Gatty's smug face. "The reason you've always been the dealer probably has to do with tradition," he said. "I mean, even Dilandau-san has patterns he sticks to."
"Nani?" Now they were both frowning.
Satisfied with Gatty's frown, but not losing his own, Shesta looked ahead again. "Then again, the reason could be you're the only one who'd understand a drug addict."
"Oi!!"
The teacher turned his back to the chalkboard he had been writing upon. "Is there something you want?" he asked Gatty.
Gatty grinded his teeth and muttered a negative response. A few students laughed and the teacher told them, as well as Gatty, to keep quiet while he was teaching. The teacher stared at Gatty for a minute or two, as if expecting him to dare to speak, before turning his back to the class again.
Gatty folded his arms. "Che (Shit)," he said. He waited a few minutes before going on in a softer tone. "What would you know anyway, Shesta? You're just a secretary, after all."
Shesta's hands immediately balled up, but after a few seconds of thought, he relaxed again. "You know, Dilandau-san came over to my house for breakfast this morning," he said with an obvious boastful air.
"Nani?" Gatty said. Seeing Shesta's satisfied expression rather than the heated one he had anticipated, he himself became vexed.
"He and Allen had a fight," Shesta continued, "but he didn't want to go over to your house."
Gatty picked up his pen and began to hold it with a crushing intent. "What the hell are you getting at, Shesta?"
"Dilandau-san also said I was the one he trusted the most out of the Ryuugekitai," Shesta added, ignoring Gatty.
"Shesta, Gatty said, addressing him by name to force Shesta to listen to him, "I don't know why you're purposely trying to stir up trouble. Since we've already gotten through that bitter enemy thing back in sixth grade, we've gotten along the best among the Ryuugekitai."
Shesta turned and smiled at Gatty as if the two were have a pleasant conversation. "I'm simply telling you about my morning," he said.
Gatty snorted. "Your innocent little act may work with adults like the guidance counselor, but not with me," he said. "I know your games." Shesta laughed softly and Gatty glared at him. "Can we talk about something less annoying now?"
"Whatever." Shesta shrugged and took out his pencil and paper to pretend to be taking notes.
"Why are you so late?" Gatty asked, doing the same as Shesta.
Shesta stopped looking amused then. "Dilandau-san wanted Van Fanel's schedule, so I went to the guidance office to get it and then I delivered it to him," he said.
"Van Fanel," Gatty repeated. "What's with him and Dilandau-san? He never said what bugged him about this guy."
"Dilandau-san really must want him gone," Shesta said. He began tapping his pencil on the blank sheet of paper. "He hasn't done a background check on anyone in a long time.
Gatty too showed signs of discomfort, wringing his pen in both hands. "Last time was in eighth grade. Those kids dropped out of school and moved to another country."
"I almost feel sorry for this Fanel person…"
Gatty forced a smile. "Maybe it'll be fun," he suggested.
Shesta glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "For who?" he asked. He stopped tapping his pencil and began to make random marks on his paper. "I hope I don't have to fight anyone…"
"I thought you had fun beating up the RAT last night [2]," Gatty said with a grin.
"I did what was necessary. No sense in getting beat up when Dilandau-san would beat us again later for letting ourselves get beat up."
"Aa, but it was fun--especially when you threw a brick at that one guy."
"I did what was necessary."
Gatty placed a hand on his cheek. "Man, you're not too different from when you first joined," he muttered. "You're still relatively a good person."
"I tell you what I told Dilandau-san: " Shesta said, unsure whether or not Gatty's remark was a compliment or not, "you don't wear your horns all the time."
Just as Gatty's mouth opened, the two heard a loud slam from the front of the classroom. "I've had it with you two talking while I teach!" The teacher snapped. "Get out of my classroom!"
Gatty stood and made a fake expression of dismay. "Aww, we'll miss today's lecture," he said. Shesta stood with him as he finished his comment.
"You've lost the privilege!" their teacher said. He pointed to the door. "You can get notes later! Now get out!"
Gatty snorted and started out while the teacher added he would send someone to let them back in later. Shesta, noticing the amusement from the majority of the class, decided to just walk out without any last words. He had thought Gatty was annoyed by the teacher's punishment, but seeing Gatty grinning at him as Shesta and he leaned against the wall outside, Shesta figured class was the last thing on his mind.
"Did you really say that to Dilandau-san?" Gatty asked. Shesta nodded and Gatty laughed. "Man, I bet that pissed him off."
"Seemed like it." Shesta couldn't help but smile now.
"I wonder how you managed to escape a slap for that comment."
Shesta shrugged and smiled more. "Today just must be my lucky day."
*****
Dilandau was sure it wasn't just a temporary hatred he had for Van Fanel. He knew that the more days of class Dilandau would have to sit and watch the infuriating boy show off, the more Dilandau would hate him. Van was an annoyingly studious student and (in Dilandau's opinion) a huge brownnoser. It was bad enough the teacher (or old hag as Dilandau liked to think of her) seemed to give Dilandau a look of "you should be more like him" every time Van answered a question correctly, without several girls in the class praising Van as if he was something amazing. It seemed as though if Van was aware of Dilandau's position at school, it only seemed to make Van more inclined to try to impress everyone in class. If Dilandau had hated Van yesterday, Dilandau could easily say he despised him today.
The teacher had left the classroom to get something she left in her car, so Dilandau finally had some time to look over Shesta's report with his own eyes. Having Van's schedule in addition, Dilandau tried to find something in the report that would help him destroy Van a little easier. As much as Dilandau wanted Van gone from his sight, he had no desire to waste precious time on him. Dilandau wouldn't allow himself to let his hatred for Van to consume all the time he would have spent on Ryuugekitai business. Dilandau, however, was frustrated with the report because it told him nothing of what Van's connection was to Hitomi. Yes, his main goal was to just figure out a way to eradicate the bothersome boy, but as much as he tried, he couldn't ignore his desire to know why Hitomi disappeared after saying Van's name. Several of Van's friends, past and present, had been listed in the report, but nothing said a word about Hitomi.
Kuso, Dilandau thought, flipping to the page that described places Van had been. Apparently the Fanel family had lived several places, including the mysterious Mystic Moon. Dilandau, though not finding that information terribly important, thought that it was a bit strange. People usually didn't move there, even the people in Mystic Moon's neighboring country, India. The Mystic Moon natives made up ninety percent of the country's population.
Hmph, why am I wasting time reading this shit? Dilandau asked himself. He let out a fast breath and glared at Van, busy talking with a few girls.
Before I get rid of him…I have to know why Hitomi [3] called out his name yesterday, Dilandau thought. I haven't seen her today and I don't want to ask Shesta to get her schedule. She might not even really exist--
"Dilandau-sama?"
Dilandau closed the manila folder with the report and placed it under his book. Gazing carefully in front of his desk, he saw a girl, joined by her three other friends, was the source of his intrusion. He might have been perturbed by their interruption if he didn't notice how nervous they seemed to be (and hadn't addressed him so properly). Dilandau, instead, smiled in his usual alluringly manner and paused his thoughts of Van for the moment.
"What can I do for you?" Dilandau said, enjoying the way the girls seemed to adore his polite tone.
"Um, well, you see, Dilandau-sama," the same girl said after being nudged by her friends. "We just, um, think you're…you're really handsome….and cool and we…we… we wrote letters for you and we hope you'll…you'll take them…" She and her friends blushed and mentioned about being embarrassed when the girl presented the letters to him.
Sometimes it's so easy, it's pathetic, Dilandau thought, only allowing himself to grin. He took the four letters from the girl and placed them into his jacket's inside pocket.
The girls made cries of joy and held hands over their hearts as if they would die from disbelief. Dilandau was good at simply keeping his grin while they did this and thanked him at least ten times. Finally he nodded to them, told them it was no problem, and watched them go giddily back to their desk, giggling about how lucky they were. Dilandau chuckled to himself and closed his eyes.
"Aa, what a curse it is to be so beautiful," Dilandau said softly.
"So you're really the leader of that stupid group terrorizing the school, huh?"
Dilandau's eyes opened so fast, they were open before he even though about it. As much as he liked to keep a calm façade when dealing with his enemies, he couldn't help but give Van, now in front of his desk, a death-glare. Something kept telling Dilandau to not even allow any conversation between them and to simply punch Van in the face. Luckily, Dilandau was able to ignore the feeling. The classroom became terribly silent, none of the students ever witnessing someone saying something like that to Dilandau's face. Behind his back--but never to his face.
"I can't believe a guy like you exists," Van said with disgust. "I don't know why you've never been expelled."
Dilandau's anger didn't fade away, but slowly he was able to grin. "Since you're new at this school, I'll inform you of my invulnerability," he said. "No one is safe from the Ryuugekitai's wrath, should one invite it."
Van slammed a hand on the edge of Dilandau's desk. "I won't ever pay for one of your dumb ART cards, kisama (bastard)!" he said. The class gasped, but Van paid them no attention.
"You don't really need to," Dilandau said, giving Van a cool stare. "An ART card won't protect you from the Ryuugekitai." The class gasped for a second time, but this time their surprise was greater.
There was a slight pause in their conversation, during which Van glared at Dilandau who continued to smile evenly. The students in the class were frozen as if they thought one false move would cause an explosion. No one had ever seen Dilandau fight someone before, but they all knew that if Dilandau called the shots in such as gang as the Ryuugekitai, he had to be powerful enough to scare the others into taking his orders.
"I'm not afraid of you," Van finally said. "I might be new at this school, but one day at this school was enough to tell me how evil you Ryuugekitai are."
Dilandau's lips curved upward just slightly. "And?"
"I won't let you and your goons control my school!"
Dilandau's wicked laughter only seemed to intensify the uneasy atmosphere of the room. "Fanel, had you said this to one of my 'goons' you might have only walked away with a simple beat down," he said. He paused to laugh again, yet softer than the first time. "Shikashi (However), you made a huge mistake to confront me with your righteous shit. I guess I have to show you how much influence I have around here."
Van removed his hand from the edge of Dilandau's desk and shook his head. "How can you be related to Celena--"
Dilandau, who stood up so quickly that he stopped Van's words, felt himself almost explode with rage. "Don't you ever say her name," he growled. Everyone, including Van, was worried about Dilandau's sudden mood swing, but Van showed his anxiety the least.
"I didn't know you two were related until I went to my third period class," Van said, crossing his arms across his chest. "I feel sorry for her."
"Temee (Bastard)…" Dilandau slowly sat back down and lowered his voice almost to a whisper, allowing few people to hear his words. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from her."
Van raised a brow. "Naze? Don't tell me you--"
"I won't repeat myself," Dilandau said a little louder. Dilandau stared at Van as if one more word from the dark-haired teen would cause Dilandau to attack him. The class became even more nervous, petrified as though Dilandau were going to attack them as well.
"What's going on in here?" the teacher said as she entered the class room. Van was the only one who looked startled; the rest of the class was still motionless with Dilandau continuing to stare angrily.
"Nothing," Van said. He went back to his seat and gradually the other students went relatively back to normal. Dilandau, however, refused to change in the least bit.
Fanel, Dilandau thought still staring ahead as if Van was still there. The teacher had began speaking, but that was of no concern to him. Crossing me was stupid, but associating with her… I'll never allow that!
*****
"Hmm…" Shesta murmured as he walked down the hall. He went through his organizer, coming across the information he had put in about the RAT. I wonder if I should bother Dilandau with that information, he thought. It's not as if those guys could ever cause us a problem, but we might be able to use them as an example of what happens to those who cross the Ryuugekitai…
Shesta, upon thinking about the RAT, thought of how well he and Gatty worked together in general. Even when arguing, the two acted like the best of the friends. Had he and Gatty had such a little dispute like they had in class back in sixth grade, the effect wouldn't have been pretty. Shesta smiled wryly, thinking that their road to friendship had truly been a rocky one…
*****
Perhaps if Gatty or Shesta hadn't been glaring at each other so hatefully, they might have been nervous about being at the Vione with some many older and scarier people. However, neither had one thought of their surroundings; they were concentrating heavily on each other. Even the task that Dilandau had sent them there to do wasn't their priority, as much as Dilandau was the topic of their dispute.
"Just leave this to me, Shesta," Gatty said, breaking the silent glare-down. "You're new to this organization and not cut out to handle things such as planning pranks."
"Dilandau-san said we both are supposed to plan the next prank," Shesta said, lowering his brows.
Gatty snorted. "I don't need your help. I can do this all myself."
"No, I don't need your help. I'm not just part of the Ryuugekitai because Dilandau-san likes me."
"I don't even know why you are even in the Ryuugekitai! You're just some boy scout that will probably cause our group to fall apart!"
"Boy scout??" Shesta laid his palms on the table between them and tried to keep himself from shaking. "The reason I'm probably in this group is because Dilandau-san doesn't trust you enough to handle things on your own!"
"Shut the hell up! Dilandau-san and me stared the Ryuugekitai--you can easily be replaced!"
"The same goes for you," Shesta said, recovering a little of his calm. "With your background, you'll probably end up being a useless drunk."
"Nani??" Gatty balled up his fists.
"Like father, like son," Shesta said, grinning slightly.
"How do you know about that??" Gatty asked, a bead of sweat traveling down the side of his head.
"We live in the same neighborhood, jackass. I've heard the stories."
"Don't even act high-and-mighty, kisama (bastard)!" Gatty pointed at Shesta as if accusing him. "At least my father didn't desert his family! With your background, you'll probably try to leave the Ryuugekitai when it gets too difficult for you!"
Shesta got to his feet, barely able to control his body from shaking. "Shut your fucking mouth!" he said. "I'd rather have no father at all than an abusive drunk loser like yours!"
"That's it! I'm gonna kick your ass!" Gatty began to come around the end of the table.
"Not if I kick yours first!" Shesta said, moving to meet him halfway. Needless to say, neither of two exactly got around to what Dilandau had asked them to do…
*****
"Shesta!"
Shesta looked back and saw Gatty coming toward him. Having been heavily engrossed in his stroll down memory lane, the sight of Shesta's friend made him a bit tense. Shesta almost felt as though the two were at battle, as they had been some years back.
"Oi, I got some girl to write us copies of her notes," Gatty said, holding sheets of paper in his hand. He handed Shesta's copy to him. "That stupid teacher…did he really think that he'd get us by having an open-notes quiz and telling us to take our own notes from the book? Heh!"
"Aa," Shesta said. Gatty didn't notice the strange look on Shesta's face that suggested he wasn't sure if Gatty was real.
"Sooner or later, we're gonna to have to teach him not to mess with us, ne?" Gatty said, grinning.
Shesta snapped out of his reminiscence and shared Gatty's grin. "Aa," he said again. "So, are you going to next period?"
Gatty laughed as if embarrassed about the other day. "Of course," he said. "You know Dilandau-san doesn't tolerate us skipping class without his permission."
"Sou (Right)."
"Well, I better get going since my class is on the other side of school. Ja!" Gatty headed in the opposite direction Shesta had been going and disappeared from Shesta's sight in two minutes.
Shesta resumed walking to his next class and put his organizer back into his pocket. Unzipping the book bag on his back with taking it off or stopping, he took the notes he received and shoved them into the bag, deciding to organize them later. It wasn't long before his traveling down the hall had brought him to Viole and Guimel's path. They were doing their normal job: harassing students about ART cards and whatever else they could do give Zaibach students a hard time. Shesta didn't mind them much until the two saw Shesta coming their way and grinned at him as if they were up to something.
Shesta didn't slow his pace, but he did lower his eyelids halfway. "Yep, they're up to something…" he muttered to himself.
*****
Celena rubbed her forehead, trying to figure out where she was. "Now where the heck is my locker??" she said, glancing at the rows of lockers she was passing. The numbers were at least a hundred above those on the row where her locker was. "Mou (Geez)! This school is too big!"
She continued to moved down the hall almost turning right around when she saw Viole and Guimel. However, she stopped her feet from moving as she caught sight of who they were currently harassing. Shesta was their unfortunate target at the moment, or so it seemed to Celena. Remembering how nice Shesta had been to her yesterday, she stepped a bit closer behind Viole and Guimel so she could hear what was going on.
"What do we have here?" Viole said as he stopped approaching Shesta.
Shesta let out a breath. "I don't really have time for this…" he said.
"Hey, we're just checking for ART cards," Guimel said, holding out his hand. "Where's yours?"
"Yeah, where's yours?" Viole repeated.
Shesta frowned. I hate when they do this kind of crap, he thought.
"A nice guy like you shouldn't have to be a target for the Ryuugekitai," Viole added. Guimel laughed next to him and commented that was a good one.
"Oh, really?" Shesta asked, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, really," Guimel said. "Now, where's your ART card?"
"Oh, right, my ART card," Shesta said, laughing as if he had been silly. He dug into his pocket and then pulled out his hand with his middle finger extended. "Here it is."
"Oh, he's a smart ass," Viole said, grinning. Celena couldn't see Shesta's hand, but she figured from Viole's comment that Shesta hadn't shown them his card.
Celena gasped as Viole lifted Shesta up by his collar and Guimel cracked his knuckles. "No one gets away with crossing the Ryuugekitai," Guimel said.
"Are you guys that bored?" Shesta muttered as the two laughed, preventing Celena from hearing Shesta's remark.
"We're just having a little fun," Viole said, only enjoying Shesta's annoyed face.
"Put me down already," Shesta said, really starting to get irritated.
"And if I don't?" Viole challenged.
"Are ya gonna fight us?" Guimel asked, chuckling again.
"Omae-tachi (You two)…" Shesta said, considering his suggestion. Viole and Guimel laughed again, tempting him to go through with it.
"Matte (Wait)! Don't bully him!" Celena said, unable to stand by and only listen any more.
Viole and Guimel stopped their laughter and turned their attention to the person who was trying to get in their way. Shesta, who had seen who it was before the other two, was surprised and perplexed. Guimel and Viole just grinned.
"Hey, it's that girl from yesterday," Guimel said.
"Hey, cutie," Viole said, dropping Shesta. At that point the two walked away from Shesta, leaving him on the floor.
Celena swallowed, but stood her ground. "If he doesn't have an ART card, I'll pay for his, but please don't pick on him," she said. She didn't like that she seemed to be their center of attention now, but she was grateful that they weren't going to hurt the boy that had helped her out yesterday.
"Why you worried about him?" Viole asked. "You outta have some fun with us."
"Aa," Guimel came in, "you'll never have to worry an ART card again." He and Viole's laughter didn't convince Celena that his claim was true.
Shesta got onto his feet and clenched his fists. "Hey, lay off her," he said. Viole and Guimel only snorted at him and kept their backs to him. Shesta growled and walked between his friends and Celena. "Don't you two have ART cards to sell??"
Instantly Viole and Guimel scowled at Shesta. "Onore (Why you)…" Viole said.
"Why are you spoiling our fun?" Guimel said.
"I wonder what would happen if you didn't sell all your ART cards and were taking more time to have 'fun,'" Shesta said.
"Che," Viole said, tapping Guimel on the arm. "Let's go. We'll get him back later."
"Whatever," Shesta said, relieved they were going, but still frowning at them. He watched them go, ignoring the two's muttering about getting him back. Finally he let out a breath when Viole and Guimel had left the hall and turned to Celena with a smile.
"Sorry about that," Shesta said. "Those two can be like animals."
"Th…Thank you…" Celena said, face having been red ever since Shesta had stepped in front of her. "I wouldn't have known how to get rid of those two."
"Just think of it as my way of thanking you for helping me out," Shesta said. He glanced at his watch, noting the bell was going to ring in about a minute. "Well, I should be going…"
"Ah! Matte!" Celena said after Shesta had taken two steps away. Her face felt warm as he looked back at her. "I never got the chance to ask your name…"
"I'm Shesta," Shesta said. He rubbed his cheek, hoping it was his imagination that he was blushing.
"Shesta," Celena repeated, smiling as though she had found out something incredible. "Well, my name is Ce--" She was cut off by someone pulling her from behind.
Shesta blinked at Celena being pulled away by some strange girl, but didn't have the time to figure out what was going on. He didn't have the desire to be late, even if he couldn't easily get himself excused. Shesta was sure he'd see Celena again.
Celena, on the other hand, was less unconcerned. "Hey, what was that for?" she asked when she had stopped being dragged.
"You can not be associating with the Ryuugekitai," Ferra said, wiping her forehead. "It's dangerous!"
Celena scratched her head. "Well, it wasn't so bad this time…" she said, thinking she wasn't aware Ferra had seen her with Viole and Guimel. "Shesta was able to send those two away."
Ferra knocked on Celena's head. "Hello?" she said. "I was talking about Shesta. He's a member of the Ryuugekitai."
"Uso (That's a lie)." However, Celena didn't see why Ferra would lie about something like that.
"I'm for real. He may look nice, but he's just as dangerous as the others. All the Ryuugekitai members are bad people."
Celena put a hand to her cheek. I would have never guessed… she thought. Demo, it would make sense why he was able to make Viole and Guimel leave… "How many guys are in the Ryuugekitai?" she asked.
"There's only seven and you've seen all of them except Gatty and…the leader…" Ferra said.
"The leader?" Celena said, distracting her for a moment from being dismayed about Shesta's true identity. The bell rang, marking they were late for class.
"Don't worry about the leader," Ferra said, shaking her head with a nervous smile. "He usually lets the others handle his business and sits back just giving orders. Hey, I'll walk you to your next class."
"Uhn," Celena said as Ferra told hold of her arm and started leading her down the hall. Regardless of what Ferra said, she thought, I still can't believe that Shesta is a bad person. He seemed nice to me…
To be continued...
Some Footnotes:
[1]- I probably should capitalize this word since it is the name by which Will calls his brother, but it just looks funny, so I decided not to do it. I do the same thing with "kaasan" and "tousan."
[2]- RAT, for those who haven't read the little side-story, is the "Ryuugekitai Annihilation Team." They may or may not appear again later.
[3]- Notice that when Dilandau thinks or her or is alone, he refers to her as "Hitomi." To her face and others, he calls her by her last name. Just didn't want anyone to think I was being inconsistent. ^_^
--Next Part: Dilandau the Angel Slayer, Part Two. Van enlightens Celena about something and changes her view about everything. Dilandau sees Hitomi again, so what do they talk about? Shesta has to leave school early, and Dilandau finally shows Van just how serious he is about taking his threats seriously? Interested? Read on! ^_^