Lessons Well Learned

By Violet Ice

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"I cannot believe…Why would he…Oh, I could kill him."

Kaoru followed Misao out of the school building when the bell rang at two-fifty. Three hours had passed since the confrontation in the cafeteria and Misao was still livid. At times like these, Kaoru had learned early on, it was best to let the anger runs its course and not try to interfere. So she had listened all afternoon to her friend's grumbling, not saying a word one way or another.

Now she was about ready to explode.

Her mouth opened so she could put her two cents in as she hurried behind Misao, her ponytail bouncing in time with her step. She was really going to let Misao have it and she didn't care what happened. Too be sulking over something so minute was just pointless and she didn't think she could stand another minute of her friend's grousing.

She never got her chance to talk though because her train of thought was derailed when they rounded a corner to see a group of senior boys gathered in a crowd near a couple of trash cans.

"I hate him so - hey, I wonder what's going on over there." Misao's mood suddenly lightened and she jerked her head over in the direction of the cluster of boys.

"I dunno…" Kaoru's brow furrowed, "Hey, wait a minute!" Misao had taken off across the parking lot in an attempt to find out what exactly was going down.

Pushing her way between two big, muscular jocks, Misao was only somewhat surprised to see Kamatari in the center of the circle, his book bag clutched up to his chest, a terrified look on his face. His thin body was visibly shaking with fear and he looked ready to burst into tears, but there was also a certain determination and pride in his eyes as they taunted him.

"Not so tough without your buddy here, are ya?" One of them snorted out, "Nothing at all with that damned Miru around. How many nasty diseases have you given one another, hmm?"

A second one grabbed for Kamatari, causing him to step back into a wall, only to realize there was nowhere for him to run to. Shit, I'm in trouble…They're going to beat me up, all because I'm a little different. They're going to beat me up and leave me here for dead and no one will help because they don't care and then who's going to look after Miru? His eyes squeezed shut and he cringed, preparing for the blows that were to come.

This was nothing new; he'd been putting up with jock beatings most of his teenage years. They didn't want to understand him. They couldn't understand him. Whatever it was; they simply did not understand. He minded his own business, never went near them, but that didn't seem to be enough. Even though he knew his place was at the bottom of the social ladder with all the other misfits, they didn't care. It was their goal to destroy every little shred of his happiness, to make Miru suffer as well.

Misao's eyes widened slightly as she watched the first boy shove Kamatari. She knew well enough who and what he was, but something snapped in her mind as the would-be girl stumbled backwards, tears rolling silently down his cheeks. What the hell were they doing, picking on some one completely defenseless like that? What kind of idiots were these guys? It never crossed her mind, even as these thoughts were present in her stream of consciousness, that she was doing the same thing.

"Kamatari!" A great black streak suddenly came flying across the lot and tore through the tight circle of jocks. Miru was fighting his way through, pushing whoever needed to be pushed, not caring who was in his way. He was hitting, fighting dirty, it didn't matter, so long as Kamatari was okay. "Get out of here! Get the hell out of here, you damn jocks. Leave him ALONE!" He roared, stepping between Kamatari and the three or four boys who hadn't backed down. Most people knew better than to get in Miru's way when he was angry. Most people knew better than to mess with Kamatari when Miru was around.

The jocks were stupider than most people.

There were a tense few moments as the guys all stared at one another, then the bullies lumbered away. None of them really wanted to face the wrath of Miru and, anyway, this game was more fun when it was just Kamatari to pick on.

Misao watched, wide-eyed, yet trying to look unconcerned as Miru grabbed Kamatari by the shoulders. "Are you all right? Did they hurt you?" The transvestite just stared at him, a dazed expression on his face. He had to be given credit - for once, he didn't cry. He simply fell into Miru's arms, his face buried in his shoulder, and Miru hugged him tightly, his chin resting on the top of Kamatari's head as he told him he was sorry, that it was his fault because he was late leaving and Kamatari shouldn't have waited for him.

"Misao? Come on, we should go." Kaoru tapped Misao on the shoulder, "You wanted to go to the mall, remember? Let's go."

"Can…" Misao's braid quivered down her back and her head bowed slightly. What had she just witnessed? Was that what it was like to have some one truly care about you? That they would fight for you even when the odds were hopeless and then they would take you in their arms and tell you it would all be okay? She didn't think, in all of her sixteen years, that any one had ever done anything like that for her. "I want to just go home. I don't feel like shopping."

"Okay…Are you sure? There's supposed to be that great sale today and-"

"I want to go home!"

"All right; don't yell. C'mon." Kaoru hoisted her bag up on her shoulder and started across the parking lot towards her car. "When are you going to get your license? Your car is so much nicer than mine is."

"Of course it is. It's brand new. Only been taken for test drives. And I'll get my license as soon as I can. I just got my learner's permit yesterday, remember?" She snapped as she flounced along behind Kaoru.

Kaoru unlocked the doors to her pink Sunfire, but instead of getting in, Misao glanced back over her shoulder again. Miru was still holding Kamatari tightly in his embrace, still keeping him safe from harm. What is it like to have some one care so much…?

"Are you getting in or what?" Kaoru questioned.

"Yeah, whatever." Misao pulled the door open and slid inside.

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"Crap."

Meibi was running late. She had to get home immediately so her step-mother could pawn Mitsu off on her and get to work. Her literature teacher had kept her after class and now she was hurriedly digging through her locker, trying to find the book she'd never bothered to read for said class.

The book was nowhere to be found.

She tried to remember the last time she had seen it. When had that been? They'd been assigned that novel several weeks ago and what had she done with it? I took it home…Read, like, the first page, left it…Damn it all! It's already at home!

Slamming her locker shut and giving the latch a tug to make sure it was locked, she tore off down the hall. It was the same thing every day. "Be home by three-thirty and watch your brother because I need to get to work." Never mind that Miru was home nearly every weekday and that he could easily take care of Mitsu. Never mind that Meibi hardly ever had any time to herself. Never mind that taking care of her half-brother should not have been her responsibility.

She knew when she got home, Miru would be there. Miru would be there and it was likely Kamatari would be also. But his mother would never ask the boys to watch Mitsu, for fear of them "giving him gay" as she so tactlessly put it. This was a shame too, since Kamatari and Mitsu got along quite well. The little boy loved when his brother's "girlfriend" would play with him. Kamatari loved children and had dreams of someday working with them, but he knew as long as he felt about himself the way he did, this was virtually impossible. No parent would want some one like him spending large quantities of time with their child.

Meibi was practically sprinting down the hall. Shinju would be angry with her. She hated being late for work and hated when Meibi was late getting home. She wished her father had never married that woman, wished they weren't a "family." That was a load of shit and all of them knew it. No matter how much Daddy and Shinju tried, they would never be a family. Having Mitsu hadn't made it any better. If anything, the toddler made it worse.

"Hey, watch it!" Some one exclaimed as she pushed past them. She wasn't paying much attention to where she was going; she was in such a hurry.

"Meibi."

She slowed a little at the sound of her name. Aoshi was just stepping out of the library and he had seen her whirl of pink hair hurrying by. "Can't stop and talk. Got to get home to the brat." She called over her shoulder.

"Wait; Meibi, I can give you a ride." He caught her by the arm as she continued on down the hall. "Come on, this way. I'm parked out back."

"God, thanks, Aoshi. I'm gonna be in deep shit if I'm not back on time." She followed behind him, trying to match his long strides. He was a good foot or so taller than she was and he walked a considerable amount faster. "And it isn't my fault for once. Sensei kept me after…"

"What didn't you do this time?" He looked over his shoulder at her, wondering why she let her grades slide the way she did. Meibi was smart. She should have been working just as hard as him to get out of there after she graduated.

"I kinda didn't read…" She smiled sheepishly, "…A whole book."

He shook his head, thinking she had to be crazy. What a huge waste of brains. "What's the big hurry? Didn't Miru go right home?"

"Oh, Miru never has to take care of the kid." Underneath her curtain of hair, her eyes were rolling. "His mother won't leave him alone with Mitsu, especially not if Kamatari is over. She thinks they're both repulsive."

"And you think so as well."

"I never said that!" She defended herself. "I just think the way they are with one another is disgusting. Miru doesn't really care about him. He doesn't give a shit about any one but himself. All he wants Kamatari around for is to make him feel good. He's clever, Miru is…He knows all the right things to say, all the right things to do to keep Kamatari happy."

"Do you ever think maybe he does that stuff because he really does care?" Aoshi looked over his shoulder at her as he tugged open the passenger side door on his dumpy old car, "Maybe there's more to Miru than we all think. He's not just a wise-ass, Meibi. I've seen him do things most people wouldn't have the balls to do."

Meibi peered through her bangs, trying to distinguish whether he was being serious or not. His usual deadpan expression was played across his face and his voice was as cool and level as always. "Whatever. I still think he's just using Kamatari. And I know he'll be heartbroken when he finds out."

Aoshi said nothing more, just slid in behind the steering wheel. Meibi was wrong about Miru. He was respectable, even if he acted like an insensitive jerk most of the time. Aoshi had seen him come to Kamatari's rescue numerous times and why would he do that if he didn't really care? He was forever beating on the people who tried to destroy Kamatari's reputation and spread the nasty rumors about the two of them. Why would he throw away his own reputation for some one else's if he didn't care?

He eased the car out of the half-empty parking lot, hoping it would make it home. He never knew when the fifteen-year-old car would give out on him. But if Meibi got in trouble and it was his responsibility, he would never forgive himself.

"Look, there's the indomitable duo." Meibi said sarcastically, inclining her head towards Kamatari and Miru, who were walking down the sidewalk together. Miru had an arm around Kamatari, who was dragging his book bag behind him.

"You want to stop and pick them up?" Aoshi asked quietly.

"No. They don't need to be home for any reason. They can walk." She slumped down in her seat, feeling rather disgruntled, wishing she didn't have a care in the world or any responsibility. If only she could throw it all away…If she could be as free as Misao…That girl had her head in the clouds. She needed a good reality check.

"Are you all right?" Aoshi's eyes were glued to the road, even as he asked Meibi the question.

"You ever wish you could be as ignorant as Misao is?" She asked slowly, "Do you ever wish you had that much money and you could just ignore things you didn't want to deal with? I wish I could just pretend they weren't there, Miru, Shinju and Mitsu…I wish they would just disappear. Everything was different after Dad married her…Everything got bad." She stared at her hands, "I used to be happy…"

Aoshi stared straight ahead, unsure of what to say to this. Meibi was a drama queen at times, so he wasn't sure how much she actually bought in to what she was saying. She seemed so bleak at times. He sighed. She needed to get over herself and think about what would be best for them all in the long run.

Sometimes, you just couldn't be happy.

No matter what.