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Fearful
Chapter 3
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The brunet wasn't getting very far in getting his trusty black bag back as of yet.
His back ached from turning around to see where his bag went and his head with throbbing overdrive thanks to that fall. It hadn't hit him full force yet given that his mind was preoccupied in retrieving his backpack that the pain was sitting in the back seat, waiting for the lovely moment to kick out the mind on the bag and on to agonizing pain.
He was contemplating whether to deck the next bastard's light out to the next decade on whoever held possession of his bag or just tackle and beat them to a bloody pulp. Ken was obviously leaning to the former since the latter was going to be messy, when a senior chucked his bag clear across the crowd and would have flown out the intentionally opened window if it wasn't for what seemed to be two seniors; one with strikingly red hair and the other a blonde, had intervene.
'Red hair . . . Oh! He's Fujimiya Ran isn't he? Or was it Schuldig?'
The redhead caught the bag and a slender brow went up, revealing more of those cool violet eyes that were set upon flawless ivory skin that most females would die to have.
'Definitely not Schuldig.'
For one, the Duke of Playboys did not have piercing violet eyes and certainly he did not obtain pale skin over night after all that tanning he did with the King, Yohji, during P.E period somewhere last week.
"That would be mine," Ken spoke up with his hand out, expecting the taller male to drop it in his hand.
Feeling like he was being scrutinized under those intense eyes, Ken lifted his eyes to clash with mesmerizing violet ones. The brunette was instantly captivated. 'Since when did someone have purple eyes . . .?' Snapping out of his fleeting stupor, Ken realized that it didn't seem likely that the redhead was going to give it back due to the silence.
"Planning to give it back anytime soon?" Chocolate hair tilted to the side with a questioning look.
Maybe that wasn't the first best thing to say to a popular senior, but he wanted his bag back since; after all, it contained some stuff that he did not want to be known or publicized to the world.
"Have some manners." Violet eyes harden.
Being paid for being rude to him as Ken would have guessed after the forcefully thrown bag to his chest, his back seating pain had taking reign once the collision made contact with the very tender and recent contusion below his collar bone.
Beautiful. Fucking beautiful.
Ken flinched, biting back the groan and quickly regain his ground as he held his backpack rather possessively. At least this temporary distraction was able to keep his mind off the pain. "You're the one to talk. Don't you have a date to go and screw?"
'Ooh, bad Ken. Very bad choice of words!'
He couldn't help it. It was like his mouth had a mind of its own and being very blunt about it, too. Did he mention that he had a short temper? Guess not.
As a response to that remark, a junior piped up while cracking his knuckles. "Want me to put a lid on him, Fujimiya-sempai?"
The blonde one, Ken knew was none other than Yohji, decided that this was the time to depart. Thank Kami since Ken wasn't in a particularly good mood as of now. "Ah, I'm sure he doesn't want any bloodshed on behalf of his name," he placed an arm over the redhead's shoulder, seemingly budging him away from the crowd, "ne, Ran?"
Violet eyes said very much other wise, wanting to bore holes into the brunet's head with his icy glare but he decided to say, "What's your name, kohai?"
"Hidaka. Hidaka Ken" teal eyes peered up at the taller male defiantly.
"Well, this one's for you, Hidaka Ken," harden violet eyes narrowed to slits, "Don't tell me what to do."
With that said and done, Yohji dragged the redhead away and the crowd slowly treaded to their classes, giving the brunet a rather dirty look much to Ken's disliking.
"Dinnng-donng!" went the school bell.
Homeroom passed and the start of class began. Disgruntled with the confrontation as he slung his back over one shoulder, Ken had the feeling that it wouldn't be the last time he'd meet the redhead again.
How right he was. Lady Luck definitely had plans for our brunet.
"I'll see you right after school, right, oniichan?" Sapphire blue eyes mixed with pleading and determination stared hard into teal eyes before Ken sighed and reluctantly nodded.
"Okay."
"Oh, damn! Homeroom!" Bolting down the deserted hallway, Ken skidded to a halt in front of his Trigonometry (who would've thunk?) classroom entry, sliding open the door only to be met with a dozen or so pairs of eyes trained on him.
One of many more reasons why Ken hated being late to class was that people stare and stare and stare at the latecomer like some sort of freak show. Don't they have anything better to stare at?
"So you decided to show up, Hidaka?" Birman asked as she flipped open the attendance book, skimming over the pages. She looked down on him with slightly narrowed eyes of annoyance, "Fourth time this week. One more and you'll get yourself two hours worth of detention with yours truly."
Another reason why he hated being tardy. Birman would stare you down like an itty-bitty mouse.
"Hai, sensei" Ken nodded as he trudged over to his seat towards the back and near the open window that over looked the field.
Good thing Birman didn't give him detention or else his petite brother would've extremely defined 'nagging.' He'd experienced it once before and he didn't intend to experience it again for as long as he lived.
The pounding at his temples returned tenfold after musing over the said thoughts, feeling like his eyes would pop out of its eye sockets and his wounded back was slightly throbbing in pain. Omi didn't mention how much thinking could really amplify the headache. Oh, well, at least he knows not to do it again in the future. The brunet exhaled a long sigh as he glanced over to the field. In any case, at least he had an excuse not to play soccer today since the pulsing headache was proving to be a contender and refused to go away. Ken wondered if it will last until then and if it did, he was so going to plan to pop an aspirin in after.
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Boy, oh boy, did the brunet felt guilty lying to the coach even though it was partially the truth. He sighed as he tilted his head back on the cold stone wall with his ocean eyes staring up into the afternoon sky . . .
The older man didn't take notice of the fib, seeing that Ken was practically an expert at being deceitful, not wanting the authority to be involved in such a common domestic family violence, despite the fact that it nearly killed him with his conscience eating at him every time he did it. As the brunette would've expected, the coach did nag the athlete as to why he couldn't play. It took nearly half the period to convince the man by having Ken ending up in the infirmary for the pounding headache. He wounded up staying there until school ended. Oh . . . well, at least the man stopped nagging and saved the teenager from lying any further for the rest of the day.
Getting a blissful and honest reprieve was what Ken needed as he exhaled a deep sigh, letting his head fall back on the provided slightly stiff pillow after drinking a cup of much needed water.
"Ding-Dong!" The bell chimed, signaling the last class for the day.
He was about to drift into a light nap until two distinctive voices was heard from the other side of the divided curtain.
"Itaiiiii" whined one, "why'd you go and do that for?"
"Urusei" the other snapped, hinting of irritation rising from, what appears to be, a calm voice, "You were asking for it. And beside, I had nothing to do with it."
"Are you sure?"
"Hn."
"Aw, c'mon! Don't go into that 'I-Have-A-Stick-Up-My-Ass-So-Fuck-Off' mood!"
" . . . ."
"Y'know, I think this is why you can't get a girl."
A moment of silence.
"Aw, turn off that oh-so-petrifying glare of yours. Won't work on me buddy. Now let's see who we can fix Mr. I-think-I'm-Better-Than-Everyone-So-Screw-Them up with . . . Well, seeing that you don't react to girls, how about we try boys this time around?"
Another moment of silence.
"Hmm, how about . . . . Takashii-baby? Heard that he was gay and very fuckable, too."
"Now, boys" the nurse intervened, slightly shocked at the obscene words used so fluidly and carelessly, "I suggest you keep it down if you plan on staying here since I have a resting student on the other side of the curtain or get out and back to class."
"Well" a flop was heard. Ken figured the first person hopped onto the bed. "Guess we're staying! While we're here, Ranny, let's meet our roomie for the day!"
"Urusei or you'll lose something very valuable."
"Ehehehe . . . ."
Ken's body stiffened considerably. 'Ranny?' He's not –it's not possible, is it? Dammit, he was right. It's wasn't the last time he saw that redhead and now the playboy blonde, too? Oh, shit. He heard the rustling of a body turning over, getting ready to yank the curtain aside. Maybe . . . Teal-eyes fluttered closed as he tried to calm down his suddenly tensed body, attempting to feign a nap, which he did successfully right before the curtain was pulled aside a bit.
"Oh, look, it's Kenken!" Yohji smiled after he realized who it was and then yanked the drape wide open for the entire world to see.
Ken seemed to be asleep peacefully with his black bag on a nearby chair. With the gentle spring breeze blowing in from the open window, it played with his chocolate tousled hair, allowing the viewers to see the long black lashes splayed upon the golden skin that the envious sun splashed on.
'Kenken? Yup, definitely Yohji. He'd give people the weirdest nicknames on earth.' Ken mused and suddenly realized, 'Wouldn't that usually mean . . .!'
"Hn." Analyzing violet orbs studied the brunette before settling it upon jade green eyes. "Given him a name already?"
"Yup. He's cute, like those boys-next-doors type with a spunky 'In Your Face' attitude. Hmm . . . I wonder how flexible he is . . . . ?" The blonde wondered for a moment and grinned, "Got from a tip that he plays soccer so I take that as a 'yes'."
Ran rolled his eyes as he seated himself on the edge of the bed, attempting to dust off some particles off his shoulders.
'. . . that I'm a target for the proclaimed Sex King,' Ken mentally shuddered. 'I'm not gay, dammit! And I certainly don't plan to be one, either! Hey, does that mean he did it with Ran . . . ?' Another shudder. 'Never mind, I don't even want to know. And what are they doing here, anyways?'
"Ah, too bad I can't bed him right this instance" Yohji sighed dramatically, "since you," shot a glance in the redhead's direction, "made me fall down a flight of stairs carrying stacks of papers in crates no less!" His hand moved over his body as to emphasize it, "You bruised my beautifully crafted body!"
'Bed me. How nice. How pleasantly nice of them to talk about me when I'm right in front of them!' the brunette had to restrain himself from pouncing on the blonde and suffocate the life out of him.
Another roll of lilac eyes before sighing in exasperation, "I told you before, I had nothing to do with you fall. If you want proof, go ask the bubbler you walked into when you made the turn." He rubbed his temple in circular motion. "What I can't understand is why you pulled me along for the ride."
The recipient had his mouth in an 'O' as if he had just seen the light. "Hey, are you being sarcastic with me?" A 'What do you think?' look was the response from the violet-eyed being. Yohji then grinned, "Well, since we're friends and both share burdens and everything, I figured, 'Why not share the pain, too?'"
"Yohji . . . "Ran gave his best 'Drop Dead and Stay Dead' glower as he drawled out his friend's name vehemently.
"You pain me, my dear friend, with that glare of yours!" The playboy mockingly placed hand over his heart, "What have I ever done to receive this punishment?"
"Do you really want me to get into that?"
Before the addressee could answer, the nurse popped in, giving the two a rather evil look, carrying in a tray of pill and a cup of water. "Ssh!" She walked over to the supposedly slumbering Ken, settling the tray on the undisturbed side of the bed and gently nudged him awake. The evil look vanished as a concern expression washed over her features, speaking softly, "Hidaka-san, it's time for your medication."
He debated whether to wake up and face the two seniors or just pretend to be dead asleep for, oh, say another 45 minutes? Damn, Ken couldn't sit still for ten minutes let alone over half an hour so he opted for the first option.
Ken slightly stirred and slowly nodded as he attempted to act as tired as he could while opening his wide-awake teal eyes. Rubbing his eyes to highlight it, the brunet blinked, adjusting to the bright afternoon light that stream through the window.
Once the nurse deemed him awake, she left him before shooting the two with another evil expression. Ran and Yohji glanced at each other before shrugging.
He helped himself up and saw the tray next to his legs as a soft smile danced across his lips. Funny how the school nurse acted so much like Omi. Feeling two pairs of eyes trained on him fixedly, Ken glanced up, scowl in place of the smile.
The brunet noticed that the two sported some good amount of falling-down-the-stairs bruises as well as looking untidy and very well disheveled. They must've fell down the stairs to the basement if cobwebs on the clothing were of any indication.
"What?" Ken popped in the aspirins and gulped down the cup of water. "Have nothing else better to stare at?"
Ran's scowl matched Ken's as the brunet noticed a slight twitch of his brow.
Why is it that this particular individual is ruffling his perfectly placed feathers? He hardly was the one ever to be agitated so easily, save Yohji that is. The redhead couldn't quite grasp the reason why but at least he knew that it had something with this youth. And he planned on hunting down that 'why' even if it killed him. Ran hated not knowing the explanations for things he didn't understand. That explained why he did so well in Physics as well as all the other subjects when he was a freshmen; always with the 'why's and the logical reasoning behind it. He just hoped –no he wanted to make sure that this agitation with the brunet had a very good justification or else he'll have sleepless nights over something so trivial like this. 'Wait, if this problem is trivial, why make a big fuss about it?' Already, Ran was frustrated with himself. 'Give it a few days and then we'll see,' he told himself and was almost able to relax. Almost.
"Just admiring the scenery" Yohji winked.
Now it was Ken's turn to twitch. 'Ew, he's hitting on me. Very ew. Maybe I should've played dead, then?'
He placed the tray on the table beside him and flopped over on his side so the other two saw his back. "If you got nothing else to say, I'm going back to sleep." He hoped he sounded unfriendly enough so Ran and Yohji wouldn't pester him. Damn, even doing this was adding to the weight of his guilty conscious over his head. Man. But then, what was the point of him 'waking' up in the first place?
"You seem wide-awake, Kenken" Yohji smirked as his arm pulled up so he could rest his cheek on the upward face palm.
Said name fell back on his back as he turned his head to glare into jade green eyes. "Don't call me that and stop acting so familiar with me." He crossed his arms. "What did you expect? I slept for the last two or three periods."
Mock pain was shown in those green eyes, "And I was the one who saved you from Prince Ice over here!"
"Yohji . . . " the redhead's voice was just above an eerily icy whisper.
Before Ran could add more to the underlying threat, Ken beat him to it, although it wasn't much of a threat to begin with . . .
"I could've handled it myself."
. . . . Rather more like an indirect insult to the violet-eyed being.
He twitched again. Was this teenager implying that he, Fujimiya Ran, was weak enough to be taken on by someone who's a head shorter than he is? Okay, so he told himself to give it a few days to see where this agitation will take him, but, damn, it's like Ken knew how to push his buttons already!
Sea-kissed eyes, once again, clashed with amethyst orbs, locking into an intense unofficial glaring contest with Yohji glancing back and forth between the two.
'Well, that's something,' Yohji mused as he noticed the two beings form tensed as well as the increasingly chilly atmosphere in spite of spring, 'Ran's never the one to be irate so easily never mind by the same person.' Usually, the redhead would've given them the 'Fuck-Off-Or-Die-Horribly' glare and they cower away. Oh, but not this brunet. Hmm, this is proving to be interesting . . . . wonder how's the soccer player was in bed? Oh, there he goes again with his guttered mind. Oh, well, can't be help, since; after all, he is the King of Playboys so there was nothing wrong with thinking like that . . . .
"Oniisan!"
Omi's energetic voice snapped Ken back to reality, smiling as he shifted the strap on his shoulder. "Hey, there."
"You've remember!" The youth's exuberant went up several notches then took a nose dive, "You didn't do anything to your wounds did you?"
"No. I stayed far away from the field. Literally."
"And you're headache? Is it gone?"
"You never told me that thinking would make it worse than it is, Omi."
"I thought you knew!" He huffed indignantly as he peered up at his older brother.
Ken smirked as he ruffled the honey blonde's hair, "Other than that, I'm just fine with a mild headache."
"Oniisan, that's not funny!"
"Heh, let's go." The brunet started off first with the petit one in tow.
" 'Oniisan'? Whoa, who knew the two were brothers?" Yohji threw his hands behind his head as he glanced over to a still glowering Ran as the two left the school gates with Ken's and Omi's figure a mere speck in the distance. "Ah, stop scowling or it'll stay that way. " The glower was in his direction. "Oh, well, never mind. Been there ever since, ne?"
"Urusei."
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Yikes, I didn't notice that a month and four days had pass since the last update. Wow, I guess time really does fly when you type bits and pieces while reading fanfiction at the same time. Oh well, this chapter is kind of weird to me but amusing at the same time. In case you're confused with Ken in the infirmary and then jumping back to Omi, its a little flasback to last period. Hmm, over three thousand words just to make it up for the late update. Thanks to those who've reviewed and those who just read and didn't bother! Ahem, me sometimes so if you think you're not getting reviewed, least you know you've been read by moi!
One last thought, this fic might up to M somewhere in the possibly close future if things go the way I want it to. Just thought I'd let you know!