*Author's Notes: Hmm, a lot of happens in this part, the main reason being I'm trying to introduce the last key players in this fic, but they can't come in until I actually get rid of a character. Well, I hope this part is interesting--Enjoy! ^_^
Van had to admit that as much as he was convinced that he wasn't afraid of Dilandau, the leader of the Ryuugekitai still lived up to the rumors about him. From far, Dilandau had the looks of a pale weakling hiding behind his six henchmen. Close up, Van could easily understand why people feared him. He had eyes like a devil, a voice that was deprived of all compassion and human regard, and a twisted mind to complement his other qualities. Still, until Van saw Dilandau exert some real power, Van saw no reason to take caution around him.
Even though Dilandau didn't scare Van, Dilandau did puzzle him. As Van gazed at Celena at the end of class, Van wondered how someone as sweet as Celena could be related to a bastard like Dilandau. Even more puzzling was the way Celena acted as if she had no idea how horrible her brother was. Van figured she just didn't want to let Dilandau get her down.
Van finally put on a smile and walked up to the front row of desks. He sat on the edge of a desk next to Celena and greeted her. Celena looked up from her writing and returned Van's smile.
"Fanel-san, right?" Celena said. Van nodded and she rested her pen on her desk. "Is there something you want?"
"Yeah…you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Sure, what is it?"
Van's face became more serious. "Well--"
"Van." Celena and Van turned back to see the chestnut-haired girl step in between them. Both were a bit unnerved at her sudden appearance, even if she was a student of the class. "Do you really think it's a good idea to be intruding in Celena-san's business?"
"Hitomi-san," Celena said, stuck between giving her a warm greeting or staring at her like she was some kind of magical creature, "you sound as if you know exactly what Fanel-san's going to say." Hitomi only smiled in response.
Frowning, although not finding Hitomi's question amazing, Van slid off the edge of the desk. "Anyone would want to know what's going on," he said.
Celena turned her attention back on Van. "What are you talking about?" she asked.
"I tried…" Hitomi said softly.
"I wanted to ask about your brother," Van said, having not lost his frown.
"Dilandau?" Celena said, her heart beginning to beat faster. Somehow she had a feeling Van would be able to answer some of her questions about her enigmatic brother. "What about him?"
"Well, you know," Van said, holding up a hand as if she should be able to guess, "why is he such a menace?"
"Huh?? Men…menace??"
"Yeah, you know--"
"She has no idea what you're talking about," Hitomi interjected.
"What don't I know??" Celena demanded, her heart beat increasing as if some danger was headed her way.
"Masaka (No way)!" Van said, partially ignoring Celena. "How couldn't she know? I've been at this school only one day and it's the thing I hear about most."
"This is my first year at Zaibach as well," Celena said, but I haven't heard anything about Dilandau being a menace."
"Still, how can that be?" Van said. "You live in the same house, right?"
"Uhn, but I hardly see him. Dilandau is always out with his friends and he barely says a word to me or our older brother."
"Sou…sou ka," Van said. He rested against the desk, looking opposite of Celena's direction.
"Tell me why you think Dilandau is a menace," Celena said, noticing Van intended to say no more.
"Uh…"
"Please, Fanel-san." She waited until he looked at her before continuing. "Dilandau is my brother, I want to know what's going on with him."
Van glanced at Hitomi, who shrugged, before nodding. "Okay, since you're bound to find out anyway."
"What is it?" Celena prepared herself for whatever it may be.
"Dilandau is a menace because he's part of Zaibach's infamous gang, the Ryuugekitai," Van said.
Regardless of her anticipation of something terrible, Celena would have never been able to take Van's news without astonishment. "Dilandau's in the Ryuugekitai??" Celena said as if the words didn't make sense. "Sonna (No way)!" Ferra said I had seen all of them, she thought, except someone named Gatty and the leader…
Celena's mouth dropped and began to shake before she was able to speak. "Ma…masaka! Dilandau is the…the…"
Van nodded. "Dilandau is the one and only leader of the Ryuugekitai," he confirmed. "He's also the one most responsible for causing the school so much trouble."
Celena covered her mouth. Then all those scary guys are Dilandau's friends, she thought. And also…
If you chose to interfere with me and my friends, you'll regret it. Soon you'll learn that I control the school.
"So that's what Dilandau meant," Celena said quietly to herself. "I can't believe this is what he's been up to."
"Sorry I had to be the bearer of bad news," Van said, rubbing the back of his head.
Celena shook her head. "It's not your fault," she said. Her head lowered an inch. "I just can't believe Dilandau has gotten his bad. He used to be so sweet."
"I can't believe that," Van said. He could still see Dilandau's heartless face when Van had spoken to him last period.
"It's true," Celena said, lifting her head back up. Her face seemed desperate for Van to believe her. "We used to be best friends, and we told each other everything."
"Hontou ka (Really)?" Van said as if making sure she didn't imagine it all.
"Daijoubu (It's all right), Celena-san," Hitomi came in. "I know that Dilandau-kun is a sweet person."
Van raised a brow. "Dilandau…kun??" he repeated. "Why does it sound like you really do know Dilandau?"
"I do," Hitomi said. She smiled at Van's surprised expression. "We met a long time ago before I met you."
"I never knew that…" Van said. "Why didn't you say anything about it?"
Hitomi shrugged. "You never asked," she said. Van seemed annoyed at her response.
The bell rang, ending the class, and Celena got her things together before she stood up with other students. "Arigatou, Fanel-san, for telling me about Dilandau," she said. She walked toward the door where other students were leaving. "You've given me a lot to think about."
Van blinked. "A…aa…" he said.
Celena had almost reached the door when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and met eyes with Hitomi who had on the same mysterious smile as ever.
"As long as you don't give up on Dilandau-kun everything will work out," Hitomi said.
"How do you know?" Celena asked. She was given nothing but Hitomi's smile and Hitomi left shortly after her strange words.
Celena blinked and wondered a little about her classmate. The first day Hitomi had introduced herself and suggested they be friends. Celena, having no qualms about having new friends, accepted her offer and found Hitomi to be a very pleasant person. However, Celena had the distinct feeling from day one that Hitomi was no ordinary girl.
Van stepped up to Celena after getting his things and said, "Hitomi is a bit of a psychic," he explained. "She has visions of the future."
"Hontou (Really)?" Van nodded and Celena made a strange face. "Weird…"
******
"Kuso…" Dilandau said. After the incident with Van Fanel, his main concern was to find his sister and see if anything strange was going on between them. He didn't need Celena to get in the way of his plans to destroy Van Fanel. He had to make sure Celena had nothing to do with her, but he hadn't any luck finding her before the time it was his lunch period. Dilandau was eased by the fact he would surely see her at lunch.
Van Fanel…temee… Dilandau thought, giving Van the credit for making things complicated. Soon I'm going to--
Dilandau's thoughts ceased as he ran into someone. It threw him off for a minute before his foul mood came back to him. He angrily stared ahead, ready to hurt the person who had dared to cross his path.
"Where the hell do you think you're going??" Dilandau barked as he backed up to see whom he had hit.
"Gomen ne, Dilandau-kun." Dilandau instantly was removed of any intentions to harm anyone, seeing her vibrant smile.
"Kan…Kanzaki?"
Hitomi laughed, inviting Dilandau to share her jovial disposition. "It's all right for you to call me Hitomi," she said.
Dilandau held back his urge to slip into Hitomi's pleasant mood and placed a frown on his face. "Where did you disappear to yesterday?" he asked.
"Van needed me for something, so I had to leave to help him," Hitomi said without a sound of guilt.
"Fanel??" Dilandau said as if fire was coming out of his mouth. He stepped closer to Hitomi. "What exactly is Fanel to you??"
Hitomi's brows lowered, but her smile remained. "Dilandau-kun," she said, "don't let your anger cloud your better judgment. If you do, you won't like the consequences it will bring."
Dilandau's frown deepened. "Nan da?"
"Dilandau-san?" Recognizing the voice, Dilandau looked behind him and saw Shesta approaching.
Dilandau blinked and quickly gazed back ahead. His mouth dropped open, seeing the empty space. Dilandau cursed and stared ahead as if that would force Hitomi to appear again.
"Is there something wrong, Dilandau-san?" Shesta asked, having heard Dilandau curse when Shesta stood next to him.
Dilandau whirled around and grabbed Shesta by his shoulders. "Did you see her??" he demanded.
"Wh…Who?" Shesta asked, frightened by the intensity in his leader's eyes.
"The girl I was talking to!"
"You-You-You were talking to someone? I…I…I must have not n-n-noticed. Wh-Wh-Who was it?"
"Damnit!" Dilandau threw Shesta back, ignoring when Shesta tripped and fell on his back.
"Ouch…" Shesta mumbled, rubbing his back as he sat up. He slowly got to his feet, eyeing his frowning leader as if he was a nearby rattlesnake Shesta wanted to avoid attracting its attention.
Dilandau turned back to where he had been talking to Hitomi, unable to make sense of her disappearance again. "If I let my anger could my better judgment, I won't like it's consequences…" he muttered. "What the hell does that mean??"
"Di…Dilandau-san?" Shesta said almost as if he didn't want Dilandau to hear. "What…What are you talking about?" Shesta jumped as Dilandau faced him as though he were going to murder him.
"Shesta," Dilandau said too softly for Shesta's comfort, "is there any reason you interrupted me?"
Oh, God, he's in a terrible mood! Shesta realized. Maybe this isn't my lucky day at all… "Be-Be-Be-Bestu…ni (N-N-N-Not really)…" Shesta struggled to say. "I-I-I just…just saw you in the hall…and thought…thought I would t-t-talk to you…"
His answer didn't seem to pacify Dilandau but add more fuel to his fiery temper. "Sou desu ka (Is that right)?"
Shesta wiped the sides of his face, wet from his nervous sweating. Oh, no, I'm going to get my ass kicked for whatever I did wrong, Shesta thought. Kuso! Why did I pick this moment to run up to Dilandau??
"Um…um…" Shesta prayed some words would come to him that would help him appease Dilandau. His prayers weren't answered but his cell phone ringing did cause an appropriate distraction. Shesta blinked and took it out of his pocket.
"Why the hell do you have that ringer turned on during school hours?" Dilandau asked, somewhat less angry.
"Just in case of emergencies…" Shesta said, hoping it wasn't one. He frowned and answered his phone. "Hello? …What's wrong? …What??"
Shesta let out a growl. "All right, I'll be there as soon as I can," he said before ending the call.
"Doushita no (What's wrong)?" Dilandau asked, mildly interested.
"Will got suspended from school," Shesta answered.
Dilandau grinned. "Nani? What for?"
"A fight." He pocketed his cell and looked pleadingly at Dilandau. "Is it all right for me to miss the rest of school? I'll have to wait until the babysitter comes by before I can leave Will at home."
"Do what you have to do," Dilandau said, waving his hand, "but how are you going to leave?"
Shesta grinned the tiniest bit. "You know how good friends the guidance counselor is with my mom," he said. "Since that woman thinks of me like her son, she'll surely let me borrow her car and make sure all my absences for the rest of the day are excused."
Dilandau snorted. "Sou ka (I see). Check with someone later about tonight's plans."
"Hai. Ja, Dilandau-san."
Dilandau watched as Shesta left, thinking of Hitomi's words again. "Letting your anger cloud your better judgment, huh?" he said. Will must have done that, he thought, and now he has to face the consequences.
******
"Shesta ran away before we were able to get him back," Viole said, sitting in his regular seat at the Ryuugekitai's lunch table.
"That just means we'll get him tonight," Guimel said. He and Viole laughed in agreement.
"I couldn't ever take responsibility of my siblings like Shesta does, if I had any brothers or sisters," Gatty muttered.
"I'm glad I'm an only child," Miguel said.
"I wish I was," Viole and Guimel said.
Dallet ran his finger along the rim of his soda can. "It's not so bad," he said. "Me and my sister get along pretty well."
"I think we all know why that is," Miguel muttered. Viole and Guimel laughed while Dallet glared at them.
Dilandau made an irritated sound, discouraging the others from saying any more. "Are you guys going to go off on a tangent every time I tell you something??" he snapped. He ignored their apologies, his foul mood still with him. "Speaking of Shesta anyway, I told him earlier today that I would show everyone who Celena is. I'm sure someone can inform him later of this 'mystery.'"
"Hai, Dilandau-san," the Ryuugekitai said.
"Now," Dilandau said, glancing around the cafeteria, "where is that girl…?"
******
"I hope you don't hate us for lying," Terry said. She kept pushing up her glasses though they were well positioned on her nose. "We're really sorry."
"Yeah, really sorry," Liliana said. She laughed nervously. "We thought it was better you learned at home or something."
"We didn't want you to get upset at school," Ferra added.
"It's okay, it's okay," Celena said, waving her hands. "I'm just glad I found out before I saw Dilandau do something wrong. If I saw him walking with the Ryuugekitai and figured out he was the leader, I think I would have been more shocked."
"Are you really going to be all right?" Terry asked. She had finally stopped messing with her glasses.
Celena nodded and made a serious face. "This just makes me more concerned about Dilandau," Shesta said. "I never knew things had gotten this bad… I have to make him change his ways."
"Are you out of your mind??" Liliana said. She held handfuls of her blonde hair. I don't even think you, his sister, are capable of that."
"I can't see anything short of jail time and therapy turning Dilandau around," Terry said, tapping her forehead.
Celena frowned. "You guys are wrong," she said. "I can make my brother a better person."
"Okay, maybe you can," Ferra said for the sake of argument, "but you should still be careful about it. Yeah, Dilandau is your brother, but he also has a stranglehold on the school. If you make him angry with your good intentions, he might take it out on the school."
"That wouldn't happen…" Celena said, though she were unsure herself.
"I hate to say it, but we know your brother better than you do," Terry sighed. "Last year Dilandau had gotten a bad haircut one week and so he had the Ryuugekitai beat up anyone who had a nice haircut or haircut he didn't like. Several people didn't get haircuts for months to avoid Dilandau's wrath."
"Yeah, so many guys looked so ugly during that time with their terrible hairdos…" Liliana said.
"How could they gain so much power??" Celena said. She couldn't imagine something like this being true outside a book or television.
Ferra folded her arms across her chest. "The Ryuugekitai has been building power ever since middle school, so when they came to high school several people were already afraid of the Ryuugekitai and those who didn't know them learned from those who did. Also the Ryuugekitai has hassled the school to add to people's fear."
celena released a breath. "I'm sorry my brother caused you so much trouble," she said. "I feel partially responsible."
"No way," Liliana said. "Dilandau is Dilandau and you are you." Ferra and Terry agreed.
Celena nodded and rose from the lunch table. "I'm going to get some fries," she said. "I'll be right back."
"Mou!" Liliana said once Celena was gone. "I feel bad for Cel!"
"Maybe Celena will be able to change Dilandau around," Terry said," changing her opinion to raise hope.
"One can only hope," Ferra said. She pulled off the crust off her sandwich, having little appetite at the moment. "Hey you guys know that Cel was talking to Shesta earlier?"
"Uh, why?" Terry said. "Oh, wait. I guess she didn't know who he truly was."
"Uhn. She was being real friendly with him."
"You mean Cel was flirting with him??" Liliana guessed.
"Maybe." Ferra held up her hands to stop Liliana from doing any more assuming. "Whatever she was doing talking with him, I got her away from him as fast as I could. We all know even the 'sweet' Shesta is no good."
"Yeah," Terry said.
"Sumimasen (Excuse me)." The male voice grabbed their attentions.
Liliana blushed and smiled as if seeing a movie star. "You're Van Fanel, right?"
"Aa," Van said, standing between where Terry and Ferra were sitting. "Sorry to interrupt, but I was told you guys were Schezar-san's friends."
"Yes, we are," Terry said, "but what do you want with Celena?"
Van rubbed the back of his head, but kept his face from revealing his concern. "I just wanted to apologize to her again about telling her about Dilandau," he said.
Liliana pointed a finger at him. "It was you!" she exclaimed.
Terry glared at him. "You ruined everything!" she said.
"How could you??" Ferra demanded.
"Uh…" Van began thinking of retreat.
The girls laughed and stopped pretending. "Just kidding," they said.
"We should have told her the first day, but we didn't have the guts to," Ferra said while Liliana and Terry continued to laugh. "We're glad you told her in a way that didn't destroy her."
Van frowned and muttered a thanks. "So where's Schezar-san?" he asked.
"Getting some fries from the cart over there," Ferra said, pointing to the other area of the cafeteria.
"Thanks," Van said before leaving.
Liliana grinned, telling her friends what she was thinking before she opened her mouth. "I wonder if Fanel-san likes Celena." She giggled while her friends rolled their eye at her. "Everyone likes her--she's so lucky."
"Lucky to be related to Dilandau?" Ferra said. "I don't think so."
******
Dilandau was in a good position that he could see students moving around in most of the area where food could be purchased. He hadn't seen Celena yet, but he was sure if he kept watching the area, his sister would pop up. Dilandau, of course, would never lower himself to actually getting up to find her, especially if it meant venturing to the "good" side of the cafeteria.
"Oi, Miguel," Dallet said lowly. "Have you seen that cute girl again?"
Miguel snorted. "Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you, he said in the same tone.
"Kusotare me (Shithead)…" Dallet said.
"I wonder if we've actually seen her before and didn't notice," Gatty said, speaking as softly as the others. He, like his friends, had no desire to let Dilandau, who seemed to be surveying the area like a hawk, hear him.
"I think if it was Dilandau-san's sister, we would have realized it at some point," Viole said.
"Dilandau-san's so noticeable, his twin surely would catch our eyes," Guimel added.
"I don't remember Dilandau's twin looking too much like him," Gatty said.
Dilandau, having tuned out the conversation the Ryuugekitai was having, finally spotted his sister in a line for one of the food carts. "There she is," he said more to himself than to the others.
The Ryuugekitai tried to look in the direction Dilandau's eyes seemed to be fixed on. "Where?" they said almost in unison.
"She's the one wearing the blue skirt and white blouse in that line over there," Dilandau said.
Viole, Gatty, and Guimel had to move so they could see the line, but their reactions were no different from Miguel and Dallet who had a pretty clear view from their seats. "Oh, shit…" Viole said, the first to verbally express his shock.
"That's…Celena??" Guimel said.
"Shimatta (Oh, crap)…" Dallet muttered. I'm glad I found out before I tried anything… he thought.
Man, I wonder what would have happened if Dilandau saw me hitting on the sister he said to ignore… Miguel thought. That could have been really bad…
Gatty put a hand to his head. Damn, I would have never guessed, he thought. Even though now I see the resemblance…
"What the hell are you all surprised for?" Dilandau asked. He began to get heated, believing they thought she looked a lot like him.
"Bestu ni," his friends said at different intervals.
Dilandau's frown turned nastier. "I hate that she is at my school," he said almost as if he were talking to Celena.
Dilandau, continuing to watch his sister, nearly gasped when he saw Van approach Celena. By that time only Dallet and Miguel were still observing her while Gatty, Guimel, and Viole had sat back down in their seats with uneasy expressions. None of Dilandau's friends had noticed how wide his eyes were at that moment.
"Isn't that Fanel?" Miguel asked. The three that couldn't see rose from their seat and stood where they could see again.
"Looks like he's hitting on her…" Dallet commented.
Dilandau balled up his fists and began to shake, but it wasn't until he saw Van put his hand on Celena's shoulder that he felt something inside him snap. Everything was gone from his vision except Van and Celena smiling at each other as they spoke.
Dilandau's annoyance finally came to his friends' view when Dilandau suddenly stood with a vicious stare. For a moment all the five could do was watch Dilandau as if they were afraid speaking to him would cause his rage to be targeted on themselves. Gatty was the only one able to overcome the fear and call out to Dilandau, but Dilandau went on as if Gatty didn't exist.
Van and Celena only noticed Dilandau when he was standing a foot from them. "Di…Dilandau…" Celena said, expressing concern from both his unexpected arrival and his deadly look.
"Sche--" Van began before Dilandau shoved Celena away from Van.
Celena cried out and managed to gain her balance before she fell over. She didn't know whether she should be pondering Dilandau's reason for shoving her almost into a table six feet back or be embarrassed by all the attention Dilandau's action had brought upon her. Of course, those in the cafeteria were also watching Dilandau and Van closely.
"What the hell are you doing??" Van asked, the noise in the cafeteria only dropping a little from his words.
"I warned you," Dilandau said so lowly that Van only realized Dilandau had spoken because his lips had moved.
Just as Van thought to ask Dilandau what he had said, Dilandau's fist came flying across Van's face. In the process, Van was knocked back several feet, fell onto the cafeteria floor, and slid back underneath a table so that his back slammed against the table's metal supports under it. Celena, though not the only one, gasped at the sight and covered her mouth with both hands. The cafeteria was in an uproar at Dilandau's action; those that hadn't seen what happened, running to an area in the cafeteria where they could see Dilandau and Van.
Van, experiencing pain in both his face and back, slowly wiped blood trickling from his mouth, but did not try to get on his feet yet. Dilandau hadn't moved, merely standing there staring evenly at Van on the floor. Dilandau still had no awareness of the students talking around him, nor the teachers who had witnessed his attack.
The Ryuugekitai, though fully competent of Dilandau's bad tempter, were astonished just like the rest of the students. "Dilandau-san just knocked the shit out of Fanel!" Viole said. The others, except Gatty, began to murmur about Dilandau and what his intentions were.
What the hell was Dilandau thinking?? Gatty thought as teachers began to settled down the excited students and approach Dilandau. He's never done anything like that in public…
******
"I can't believe I had to leave school to take you home," Shesta said, turning right at an intersection.
"Sorry," William said, head turned toward the door's window. "I couldn't get kaasan; they told me she was too busy at the hospital to take my call."
"It's just as well," Shesta sighed. "If I talk to kaasan first, she might not be very angry."
"Okay.
"We're gonna have to change the story."
"Huh?" William finally looked at his older brother.
"We're not gonna tell kaasan the real reason you got into a fight."
"Why?"
Shesta scowled. "We don't wanna worry her that we're having problems without tousan being here," he explained. "I told kaasan a long time ago that everything would be fine as long as I was there. Do you want kaasan to worry??"
"Iie, demo--"
"Then don't tell her you got into a fight because kids teased you about tousan running out on our family," Shesta said. "We'll say you fought because some kid hit you first or something like that."
William gripped his seat belt tightly and nodded. "Okay," he said. The two remained silent until they arrived home.
Once William had entered the house, he tried to rush up to his room. "Matte, Will," Shesta said as William started up the stairs. Shesta lifted his scowl and smiled at his brother. "Don't worry about our bum of a dad; you're perfectly fine without one. Unlike tousan, I'll always be there for you, so don't worry what those other kids say."
William returned the smile. "Hai, oniichan," he said.
"Just because you're suspended for three days doesn't mean you can have fun!" Shesta called up to him after William had fully ascended the stairs. "You're grounded without television, computer, or video games!"
"What am I supposed to do then??" William whined back.
"I don't know, but you better have all your makeup work done by the time you go back to school!"
"Hai…" The sound of William stomping to his room and his door closing was heard after that.
Shesta sighed and was glad William had been suspended a few days in elementary school instead of high school. Suspension in high school, at least in Shesta's opinion, looked a great deal worse on one's permanent record. He shook his head.
"Suspended for three days…"
******
"…suspended for three days."
"Nan da??" Dilandau had gotten his cool back by then, but Principal Adelphos was going to make him lose it again.
"Don't even act surprised, Schezar," Adelphos said. "You attacked a student for no reason and the whole cafeteria, including the teachers that were there saw you do it. There's no way I'm letting you off with just a slap on the wrist. Thankfully Van Fanel wasn't hurt too badly, though I should have you arrested."
Dilandau's eyes narrowed at the old man sitting behind the desk in front of him. "Do you realize what you're doing here?" he asked.
"I'm the principal of the school!" Adelphos said, slamming a fist on his desk. "It's about time I taught you a lesson! I warned you this year would be different! I won't allow you have your way this year!"
Dilandau gripped the arms of his chair tightly. "I thought you were a bit smarter than this, Adelphos-kouchou," he growled.
"Let this be a warning to you that your next offense will get you expelled."
You'll pay for this Adelphos, Dilandau thought with a clenched jaw.
The door to Adelphos's office opened and Allen entered the room. "Sorry it took me so long to get here, Adelphos-kouchou," he said.
Dilandau glared at his brother a second before saying, "Che." Allen, in turn, frowned at Dilandau a moment before he gave his attention to Adelphos again.
Adelphos cleared his throat. "I'm sorry to disturb you from your busy schedule, Schezar-san," he said.
"It's no problem," Allen said. "I had someone cover for me. Now, what has Dilandau done?"
"He punched a student today for no reason."
Allen glanced at Dilandau who was examing his nails in boredom. "Is this true, Dilandau?" he asked.
"Hmph, there was a reason," Dilandau said, eyes still on his nails.
"Which was?" Allen said, trying not to be insulted by Dilandau's lack of respect. Dilandau remained silent, causing Allen's temper to flare. "Dilandau!"
"I have to admit, Schezar-san," Adelphos came in, "Dilandau is a bit of a problem at our school. He and his buddies cause trouble all the time."
Dilandau's interest in his nails faded quickly. "What the hell??" he said, staring at Adelphos in outrage. "It's none of Allen's business what I do at school!"
"I'm your guardian," Allen said, pointing to himself. "I need to know this sort of thing!"
"The bottom line is I'm suspended for three days," Dilandau said, barely grasping his cool. "I hit Fanel and had no reason to do so--can we leave now??"
"After your brother signs this discipline slip," Adelphos said, shaking his head.
Dilandau stood up as the principal handed Allen the discipline slip and a pen. Dilandau growled and tapped his foot impatiently as Allen signed the slip. As soon as Allen had finished, Dilandau exited the office, slamming the door behind him. Allen turned to the closed door, amazed at how little common decency his little brother had.
"I'm terribly sorry about Dilandau," Allen said, turning back to Adelphos.
"I hope you can get your brother together," Adelphos said grimly. "He's definitely on the path to spend the rest of his life in prison."
"Wakatta (I understand)," Allen said, frowning. "If you'll excuse me."
Allen's frown remained when he stepped out of the principal office and saw Dilandau beside a group of five boys. Dilandau was handing his car keys to one with light brown hair while telling the others not to worry about him. Allen took the opportunity to memorize their faces, assuming they were Dilandau's troublesome friends.
"I'll talk to you guys later," Dilandau concluded. He noticed his friends seemed apprehensive and ran off seconds after he was finished with his words. Dilandau turned back to see Allen glaring not unlike himself, making Dilandau assume his brother had scared off his friends. "Thanks for showing up, oniisan. You were a big help."
"For once, Dilandau," Allen said, ignoring his sarcasm, "you and I are really going to talk and this time you're going to listen."
"You can talk, but I can't guarantee I'll listen," Dilandau said purposely trying to tick Allen off. Allen was indeed ticked off, the grinding of his teeth a telltale sign.
"Dilandau--"
"Dilandau!" Celena said as she came running up to the hall outside the principal's office. She seemed a bit relieved to see her oldest brother there as well. "Allen…what's going on?"
"Unfortunately your brother has been suspended for three days," Allen reported. "On just the second day of school, no less."
"Oh, no…" Celena said. She looked at Dilandau with sympathy, but he avoided her gaze.
"Hmph," Dilandau said, seeming impatient again.
"Why did you hit Fanel-san?" Celena asked.
"It doesn't concern you," Dilandau said. He walked past her. "So mind your own business. Are we leaving or what, Allen??"
Celena turned in the direction Dilandau was leaving and let out a breath. "Don't worry about your brother," Allen said, touching her shoulder as he went after Dilandau. "I'll talk to him at home."
Celena sighed once Allen and Dilandau were gone. "You guys fought all morning…" she said. "I'm sure that's all you'll do at home…"
******
Shesta turned off the family room's TV as he heard the front door open. Leaving the den and walking to the foyer, he saw Olivia and the babysitter, Karen, entering the house. Karen blinked at him as she took the keys out of the front door's key hole.
"Shesta?" she said.
"Oniichan!" Olivia said. She rushed over to him and wrapped her arms around Shesta's leg.
"Okaeri (Welcome home), Livvy-chan," Shesta said, rubbing her head gently.
"Are you staying home all day or something?" Karen asked. She closed the door behind her.
Shesta shook his head. "I was just waiting for you so Will wouldn't be home by himself," he said.
"Will's home? Is he sick?"
"Iie, he had a bit of trouble at school, so I had to take him home early. Um, is it possible for you to baby sit in the morning and afternoon for the next three days? I'll pay you extra, of course."
"I don't know…" Karen said. "I guess since my classes are in the evening it's possible, but I would be here almost all day…"
Shesta displayed his trademark puppy-dog face. "I'll pay you triple what I normally pay you," he said as if he was desperate. "Please?"
Karen indeed fell for his little tactic. "Aww, you are so sweet!" she said, rubbing his cheek. "I never met a guy who was so concerned about his younger siblings. How could I say no to such an adorable face like yours?"
"Uh…" Shesta said, blushing, "arigatou. I really appreciate it."
"Why's your face red, oniichan?" Olivia asked, having been staring up at him during his and Karen's conversation.
"Uh…no reason." Shesta laughed for a moment and then smiled down at his sister again. "Hey, why don't you go watch television, Livvy-chan?"
"Yay!" Olivia said, finally letting him go and running to the family room.
"Are you staying for a while?" Karen asked.
"I'm not sure," Shesta said. "I need to make a phone call and then pick up the guidance counselor from school. I borrowed her car so I could leave school early."
"I see," Karen said. She smiled as she passed him. "Well, I'll let you get to that then."
Shesta waited until he was sure Karen was gone before he pulled out his cell phone. "School should be out by now," he said. His first instinct was to call Dilandau, but he wasn't sure Dilandau would be out of his bad mood. Instead, Shesta dialed Gatty's number and waited for his friend to pick up.
"Hey, it's me," Shesta said when Gatty had answered. "…Will's fine; I just had to wait for the babysitter to come by. So, what did Dilandau say our plans were for tonight?" As Shesta listened to what Gatty told him, his eyes widened in shock. "Three days?? I can't believe it!"
Shesta rested his hand on his chin as he listened to the rest Gatty had to add. "Wow, Allen must be serious to do that," he said. "Hmm…well, maybe I can get through to Dilandau-san. …Well, it'll only work if Allen has forgotten who I am."
Shesta laughed and nodded as if Gatty could see him. "I tell you later if what I'm thinking works or not. …All right--ja." He turned off his phone and put it back into his pocket.
"I can't believe Dilandau got suspended," Shesta said. He took out the keys from his pocket. "I'm going out for a while!"
Shesta was out of the door before he made sure Karen had heard him. Though Dilandau didn't live terribly far away, Shesta still preferred to drive to his house than to walk. In the car, it only took Shesta about ten minutes to reach Dilandau's house. Before exiting the car, he grabbed his book bag and prepared himself to look as innocent as he could. People usually didn't believe him when he claimed his sweet image didn't come as easily as it looked.
Shesta rang the doorbell and patiently waited for someone to answer. In about a minute the door opened and Allen stood in the doorway. Shesta had to admit that Allen's suspicious stare was making him a little nervous.
"Can I help you?" Allen asked.
"I'm a classmate of Schezar-san's," Shesta said, smiling to cover his tension. "I was sent by the school to bring him his assignments."
Allen stared at Shesta for a while as if trying to determine if he was telling the truth or not. "You seem a bit familiar," he said.
Shesta forced himself to keep his cool and quickly thought of a way around Allen's comment. "I live in the neighborhood," he said. "That's why the school thought it was best for me to bring Schezar-san's assignments."
"Well, give them to me and I'll make sure he gets them," Allen said.
Kuso… Shesta thought before getting an idea again. "I suppose that's fine, but I think that I really need to explain to Schezar-san how to do the science assignment," he said. "It's really tricky and our teacher is really specific on how we should do our work."
"Well…all right," Allen said reluctantly. "I didn't want Dilandau to have his hoodlum friends visiting him, but I guess you can come in a for a while."
"I won't be long," Shesta said as Allen let him enter the house. "I have to pick up someone in about a half hour."
"Dilandau's in the den," Allen said, after closing the door. He pointed to the left.
"Okay," Shesta said, though fully aware of the den's location. He walked in, not seeing Dilandau right away. "Dilandau-sa--"
Shesta saw a vase hit the wall and soon saw that Dilandau had been the one to throw it. He stood staring at the wall, muttering about who Allen thought he was. For a moment Shesta thought of leaving and coming back, but he thought it was necessary to continue.
"A…Ano…" Shesta said.
Dilandau snapped his head toward the family room's doorway. "Shesta?" he said, looking ten degrees less angry. "How'd you get in here?"
"I told Allen I was a schoolmate of yours here to bring your assignments," Shesta said, stepping farther into the room.
Dilandau smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm surprised Allen didn't remember you," he said. He looked even calmer as he sat down and motioned for Shesta to sit with him.
"It's ironic you and Will got suspended at the same time and for the same length of time," Shesta said.
Dilandau frowned slightly, looking out into space. "She was right…" he muttered.
Shesta blinked. "What did you say?"
Somehow Hitomi knew I was going to get suspended, Dilandau thought. "Don't worry about it," he said.
"Gatty told me that Allen wouldn't let him and the others into the house," Shesta commented, "and that he's trying to prevent you from leaving the house."
Dilandau snorted. "That fool also took my cell phone and told me if I tried to leave the house, he'd send me to a reform school or one of those troubled teenager facilities," he said. "There is no way I'm going to let that bastard send me away and let Fanel win this battle we've started. I also have to deal with Adelphos."
"Should we do anything special in your absence?"
"Iie. Business should go as usual. I want Adelphos to think he's won before I destroy him."
Shesta swallowed. "Ha…Hai…" He decided to not ask the details of what Dilandau was planning, knowing he would know soon enough. "How exactly did you come about punching Van Fanel?"
"I was just showing the others who Celena was," Dilandau said nonchalantly, "when the fool came up hanging around her like they were old friends or something…"
Shesta noted that Dilandau seemed to be holding back his anger as he trailed off. "Well, I just felt like hitting Fanel, that's all," Dilandau said. "I should have done that on the first day."
"Sou ka (I see)," Shesta said. Dilandau's not that different from me when it comes to our little sisters… he thought. If I thought some guy was being too friendly with Olivia, I'd have punched their lights out too. Shesta smiled to himself and decided that Dilandau must care about Celena after all.
Dilandau glanced at Shesta almost missing his smile before Shesta had lost it. "Why are you smiling?" he asked.
"Uh, I was just thinking of how much pain Fanel must be in now," Shesta lied. "I'm guessing he had to go to the nurse."
"Aa," Dilandau said, deciding to let the smile thing go. "So, why did Will get into a fight?"
Shesta couldn't help frowning. "Some punk kids were teasing him about our father," he said. "Will got angry and started swinging."
Dilandau smirked. "Sounds like someone else I know."
"Except when I tried to fight back, I lost. At least it looked like Will won his fight."
"Then it's a good thing he's modeling after the 'new' Shesta," Dilandau said on the border of teasing and being serious. "So, is being a 'demon' so bad?"
"When did I say it was?" Shesta said, not sure how to answer Dilandau's question.
"This morning it sounded like you were trying to condemn me and my ways," Dilandau said. The smile on his face was a good sign he didn't seem bitter about it.
"Um, I was only trying to justify my own good intentions…" Shesta said, not taking the chance that Dilandau might get upset any way.
"Well, don't get me and you confused," Dilandau said, grinning. "I was never an angel."
Shesta laughed. "Hai," he said. He glanced at his watch. "I better be going. I have to go pick up the guidance counselor."
"Sou ka," Dilandau said. "Let me borrow your cell until I get mine back from Allen. Expect me to call your house around midnight tonight."
"Uhn," Shesta said as he gave Dilandau his phone without a second thought.
"You're responsible for my car," Dilandau said, handing Shesta the keys. "I managed to get these back from Gatty when Allen took them from Gatty when he tried to visit. Tell the others I will get Allen to change his mind soon about locking me up in this house, so they shouldn't get comfortable with my absence."
"Hai," Shesta said. He pocketed the keys and headed out of the room. "Ja, Dilandau-san."
Shesta was glad he didn't see Allen when he was leaving, but he did hear a familiar voice as he grasped the knob of the front door. "Chotto matte (Wait a minute)…" he said, turning back. He crept to the room where the voice was coming from, the kitchen, and he himself as he took a peek inside.
"Allen," Celena said, her index finger resting on her bottom lip, "I'm afraid Dilandau is only going to get angrier staying here."
Shesta's mouth dropped open as he saw Celena and Allen sitting in the kitchen. It's that girl! he thought. Oh, shit, she must be--
"Celena," Allen said, shaking his head, "it's better that he has some time away from his friends. I know they're a bad influence on him."
Shesta quickly went back to the front door and out of it, finding out all he needed to know. "I can't believe it!" he said when safely outside. "That girl is Celena--Dilandau's sister! Now I see why he wants us to ignore her…"
Dilandau doesn't want anyone, including us, getting near his sister… he thought. Demo, somehow I don't think he can really prevent that…
To be continued...
--Next Chapter: Dilandau the Leader (Or perhaps a better title if one comes along). Learn about Miguel entering the Ryuugekitai and what Dilandau has in store for Adelphos-kochou. Will Hitomi give Dilandau another hint of what his future may be and will Celena finally take some action to change Dilandau around? Dunno, but I hope I get to this one some day. I'll be moving to Boston soon, so I'm no sure how things are gonna go. Until next chapter--ja! ^_^