After a long absence, I'm back. Unfortunately, I've hit a nasty case of writer's block. That's not a good sign so early in the story, is it? Oh well, whenever I beat writer's block, it goes away quickly. Just need to get the creative juices flowing.
---Kouji Tamino
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Kurogane High
Chapter 3: Saya
Tetsunosuke awoke, groaning and examining his surroundings. His big toe was wrapped up in bandages and it seemed to still be there… He raised an eyebrow as he saw a familiar face. "Ms. Yamazaki? What are you doing here?"
Ayumu sighed, an annoyed expression on her face. "Yeah, low budget equals doubling up on certain jobs. I'm also the school nurse." Her expression softening, she smiled at the boy. "Your foot should be fine. Only the very tip of your big toe was cut off." She suddenly gave him an upset look. "But be more careful next time! Todou told me you had been messing with the old buzz saw!"
"I'm sorry…" Tetsunosuke replied humbly, bowing in shame. "Did…" he began, looking up slowly. "Did Mr. Todou get fired because of me?"
Shaking her head, she gave him a comforting smile. "No… Since it wasn't his fault in the first place, he was simply given another job." Sweat dropping, she chuckled nervously and began to whisper. "Don't tell Mr. Hijikata this if you ever see him, but I think he also didn't to get in trouble since he would be held responsible for the current under funded state of the school…"
Tetsu gave her an odd look for a moment, before laughing.
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As Tetsu walked back down the hallway, limping a bit, he walked past Susumu, who sighed. "So, how many toes do you have left?" The bell had rung a few moments ago ,effectively ending the school day.
"That's not funny, you bastard!" Tetsunosuke snapped, stomping his foot angrily. "I could have lost my toe or something!"
"Hmph…" He grunted in annoyance, grabbing Tetsunosuke by the head and picking him up. "Then don't play with buzz saws, you damn idiot!"
"You're the idiot!" Testu screamed. "Put me down!" By this point, a small crowd had gathered in the hallway to watch this little confrontation. A few girls began to pout over the fact that someone as small as Tetsu was getting picked on by someone was big as Susumu.
"Now, now, what's the problem here?" asked a kind sounding voice. The crowd cleared to reveal a man in custodial clothing. He had brown hair an old-fashioned Japanese haircut, complete with topknot, with bangs hanging in the front. Smiling, he walked over and stood next to the boys. "What's going on here? If you two don't stop fighting, the principal may get involved."
"Daaah!" Tetsu screamed, suddenly remembering his earlier meeting with Mr. Hijikata that day. After accidentally bumping into the man in the hallways, he was given a rather frightening glare. He made himself an oath to never cross his path ever again, if he could help it. "N-no! That's fine with me!" He shouted frantically. He chuckled in and nervous, awkward tone. "Me and Susumu were just joking around, right?"
"Whatever…" Susumu muttered, letting the shorter boy go. "Just stay out of my way." With that, he walked off.
"Bleh!" Tetsu stuck out his tongue and pulled down one of his bottom eyelids. "Ya big jerk!" He gasped as the man put a hand on his head. "Um… I was just--"
"Try and stay out of trouble, okay?" Smiling, the man left, just as quickly as he arrived. The crowd had dispersed, leaving only a few people. They watched the head custodian walk off in wonder.
Tetsunosuke stared off into the distance for a while, raising an eyebrow. "What an odd guy…" As he checked his watch to see what time it was, he screamed and made a made dash out of the main building. "Damn, I'm gonna be late for Kendo Club!"
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Suzu frowned as he suited up. Where was Tetsunosuke? Sure he was a bit annoying at times, but he was still his friendly rival. While sparring with older, more experienced members was cool, he needed someone his age with around equal skills to keep him getting too cocky. He raised an eyebrow as Okita put a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he gasped. The master had a sad expression on his face. "Huh? What's wrong, Master Okita?"
"Tetsunosuke… Had an accident today…" Sensing the boy's worry, he gave him a comforting smile. "Oh, don't worry! From what I've heard, it wasn't very serious!" He sighed in disappointment, turning a few heads as he pouted like a child. "But I don't think Tetsu will make it tod--"
"Sorry I'm late!" the fiery redhead shouted, limping in. "Got into a fight with some punk and lost track of time!"
"Tetsunosuke!" Souji shouted, frowning. "You shouldn't be here! You're injured!" Pointing at his student's foot, he huffed. "Just look at you! You can barely walk it hurts so much!"
Suzu nodded in agreement. "You should go home and get some rest! I will not fight a crippled opponent!"
"But I'm fine!" Tetsunosuke shouted pleadingly. "Please, Mr. Okita! Let me spar today!"
The feminine looking man shook his head. "No way. Go home and rest that foot! The club will still be here when you return. That's an order!"
"Yes, sir…" Tetsunosuke said with a solemn look on his face.
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As Tetsu limped pitifully down the street, he kicked a can in anger with his good foot. "Damn it! As if this day couldn't get any worse!" As he trudged towards the train station, he caught sight of someone familiar in the corner of his eye. "Huh?" Looking over, his jaw almost dropped. Walking out of a Burusera store was the cute short haired girl and her friend. Tetsunosuke stared in disbelief. What in the hell was she doing in a store that sells used panties and school girl uniforms for fetishists? Running over to the girls, he panted heavily as he stopped in front of them. "What the heck? What are you two doing?" Catching his breath for a moment, he continued. "Don't you two have more pride than that?" Unexpectedly, his comment was met with a hard slap to the face. Rubbing his stinging cheek in pain, he frowned angrily. "What the hell was that for?"
"Mind your own business!" The other girl shouted. She had longer hair than Saya's and a Kansai accent. "It's none of your concern what Saya and I do to make ends meet!" Huffing, she turned away from him. "You have no idea what we have to go through! Jerk!"
"But…" Testu began, stuttering as the short haired girl named Saya glared at him. "I… didn't mean it like--" Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth with his head toward the ground, the two girls quickly ran off. "W-wait!" he shouted, reaching towards them. "Wait…"
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A few days later, at lunch time, Class 1-A's homeroom teacher Souji Okita frowned as he watched a pouty Tetsunosuke pick at his food. "I think our little puppy boy is depressed…" he said to Sanosuke, who was hanging around until his next class started. "He's been like this for 3 days, and it's worrying me!"
"Hmm…" Harada rubbed his chin, a smirk growing. "I think I have an idea on how to cheer him up--"
"No." Okita suddenly said in a dark voice, his eyes becoming demon-like. "You will not take him to a brothel…"
"Are you still sore about that? The kid only got expelled for 10 weeks!" Sanosuke waved his hands in defense, referring to an earlier incident with a different student. "Anyway, I was just going to suggest getting him something to cheer him up."
"Hmmm…" Souji tilted his head, thinking for a moment. He was a bit short on cash at the moment, but there was one thing he did have with him at the moment… Walking over to the boy, he cleared his throat. "Ahem! Hello there, Tetsunosuke! Something seems to be bothering you."
"Um… I guess…" He replied weakly. "I really don't want to talk about it…" he muttered, moving his lunch out of the way and setting his head down on the desk. Saya, the cute girl he had been infatuated with, now seemingly hated him. Every time they met eyes, she would stare at him for a while until her friends chased him away. Needless to say, he was feeling pretty bad right now. Just as he was about to get lost in thought, an envelope was plopped on his desk. "Huh?" He lifted his head, looking to his teacher. "What's this?" As Souji motioned him to open it, he complied. He gasped as he pulled out a pair of tickets. "Whoa! These are for the new Seven Samurai remake!" he shouted excitedly. "These tickets are sold out everywhere! Where did you get them?"
"I bought these ahead of time." The man replied. "But you seem to be a bit down, so I'll give these to you."
Excitement began to waver as Tetsu sighed. "I can't take these, Mr. Okita…" He began, pushing the tickets away. "These are really valuable." He really appreciated the offer, but he didn't want to seem selfish. Besides, he'd rather earn the tickets, not receive them in pity.
He chuckled. This boy had good morals. "Tetsunosuke Ichimura!" Okita shouted, a determined expression on his face. "You will go to the movies with a friend, you will like it, and you will cheer up! Got it?"
Suddenly tensing up, he snapped up out of his seat. "Yes sir!" he replied, picking up he tickets. He did not feel like invoking "Demon Okita" at the moment.
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At the end of the day, he cheerfully walked home, his foot's pain having lessened greatly. Gone were the feelings of guilt of taking Okita's tickets. He was about to go see the year's most anticipated movie on Sunday! Now, who to take? He could ask Suzu. He definitely wasn't asking Susumu. As he pondered this question, someone suddenly ran into him from behind. "Hey!" he shouted, turning around to face the person. He gasped as he ended up face to face with Saya. His initial thoughts were to blow her off, but she was staring at him in the most pleading, frightened look he had ever seen on another person's face. "Saya…" he began, reaching out to her. Sensing no attempt to recoil, he put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "What's wrong?" He tilted his head as she slipped a piece of paper in his hand, taking both his hands and staring at him with big, teary eyes. "What's going on? What is this paper you gave me for?"
"Oh, there you are, Saya-chan!" a middle aged business man replied, walking over to her. He had black hair with a comb over and was wearing a gray suit. "Now why in the world did you run off on me like that? You should be getting ready for our night of--" As he spotted Tetsunosuke, he quickly stopped himself. Grabbing Saya's hand, he practically dragged her away.
Once they were out of eyesight, Tetsu read the piece of paper. It was short note that said "Help me!" and had an address and apartment number. Suddenly a dark revelation fell over him. "Saya is… part of an escort service? Why was Saya so scared looking, though?" His eyes widening in horror, he burst into a frantic dash. "Saya… Hang on! Don't let him…"
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As Tetsunosuke arrived at the apartments, he burst up the stairs, almost falling down in the process. Apartment 108 was the one he was looking for. Running down the hallway, his chest began to ache. But the thought of Saya being tainted pushed him forward. He collapsed as he arrived at the room. He lay there for a moment before hearing the sounds of mumbling and Saya screaming. "Saya!" he screamed, standing up and growling. Backing away from the door, he turned to his side and ran into it shoulder first. Wincing in pain, he repeated the action. Over and over again he slammed into the door, getting nowhere near close to making it give way. "Saya!" he shouted, smashing his shoulder into the door. "Just hold on!" As he realized the futility of his actions, his attacks on the door lessened. "Just…" He eventually gave up, falling to his knees and crying. "I'm sorry, Saya! I'm just too weak…"
"What the hell are you blubbering about?" Susumu asked, standing behind him. Holding a plastic bag with some food in it, he stared at his classmate. "…And just what the hell are you doing here?"
"Susumu!" Tetsunosuke shouted, jumping in shock. "What are you doing here?"
"My sister and I live in this building", he replied plainly. He yelped as Tetsu grabbed his leg. "H-hey! Leggo!"
"Susumu! You have to help Saya!" Tetsu cried, tears running freely down his face. "If you don't, she'll be--"
"Fine, fine…" Glaring at the door to room 108, he screamed and kicked the door, knocking it off it's hinges in one blow. With determined looks on their faces, the two boys stormed the apartment. Rushing into a bedroom, they found the perverted business man with Saya, having forcefully stripped her down to her underwear. Snarling in disgust, he grabbed the man by the head and tossed him aside.
"Saya!" Tetsunosuke shouted, running over to her. "Are you okay?" As the girl uneasily nodded, he smiled and sighed in relief. "I'm so glad… If anything had happened to you--" He blushed, realizing that his words might be taken in the wrong way. "That is, I was worried about you… as a friend…" Wanting to change the subject, he turned to his taller classmate. "Thank you, Susumu!"
"Yeah, sure, whatever…" Susumu replied, crossing his arms. How in the world did he end up in this mess? This was the last time he went on an errand for his sister on the way home from school. "Just make sure to keep a better eye on your girlfriend next time…"
Both of the shorter students blushed, looking towards each other, then looking away again.
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"TETSUNOOOOSUKEEE!" Tatsu screamed, running past police officers and grabbing his little brother in a hug. "What the hell were you thinking?" He cried, squeezing the life out of the younger Ichimura. "Why didn't you just call the police first?"
"I'm sorry, Tatsu! I was panicking!" Tetsunosuke had soon called the police and soon news vans were all over the place. He wheezed as it became difficult for him to breath. "Tatsu, you're suffocating me!" As it turned out, Saya's would-be rapist had a criminal record of past charges of the molestation of teenage girls. His capture was soon broadcast on television, attracting the eye of Saya's friend Hana and their guardian, a woman named Akesato. As they arrived, Tetsunosuke recognized Hana as the girl who was selling panties with Saya. "It's you!" he shouted, his brother having let him out of the 'death hug'.
"Thank you so much for saving Saya!" she shouted, crying in joy. She had no idea that Saya was providing 'enjo kosai' to older men. "I'm sorry for shouting at you the other day…"
"Aw, it's okay…" the redhead replied, scratching the back of his head. "It was nothing for the great Tetsunosuke Ichimura!" Humbling a bit, he added "But I couldn't have done it without Susumu!" He quickly pointed over to the frequently apathetic boy, smiling. "If it hadn't been for him, I never could have even reached Saya!"
"Ooohh…" Hana looked over to the mature looking boy in admiration, her face flushing. She quickly ran over to dote on him. "Oh, Susumu! Hi there!"
Susumu, who was standing near a telephone pole and heard the whole conversation, raised an eyebrow as the girl came up and began to stare at him with wide eyes. "Hey, wait! I…" Glancing over at his classmate, he smirked. "Funny. You'll get yours soon enough."
"I'm sorry that my Saya caused your younger brother so much trouble." Akesato replied, in yet another Kansai accent. With long, flowing brown hair, the woman wore a light yellow sun dress, wooden sandals, and a light blue wool jacket. "She'll be thoroughly scolded when we get home."
"No need to apologize." Tatsu assured her, chuckling. "Ever since our parents were murdered, Tetsu's never liked to see people be wronged. He just can't stand by and let weaker people be taken advantage of." He paused for a moment before evaluating his comment. "N-not that Saya is a weak person! That's not what I meant at all! I--"
Akesato giggled. "That's quite all right. I know you didn't mean to insinuate that Saya is weak." She frowned, absentmindedly continuing. "It's been hard lately, really hard. Saya and Hana have been doing all they can to help me with bills and such. But to do something so foolish…" She smiled, shaking her head. "What am I doing, bothering you with my problems?"
Tatsunosuke frowned, turning away, speechless.
To Be Continued…
