Disclaimer: I don't own MFB.

I know the little red riding hood is supposed to be a naive character but, thinking again about MFB's first episodes (especially those where Kyouya becomes a Dark Nebula member), I realized there were some similarities: Kyouya follows Daidouji (a wolf) beyond the good path and nearly gets eaten by wolves. Then he is saved.

Now, you know how I came with this fanfiction idea xD

The little green riding hood

Once upon a time, in a big city, a teenager was dreaming of adventures. He had a loving family, never known the pangs of loneliness, and enjoyed all the material comforts one could dream of–for example, all he had to do was ask his father to build him a stadium. He led an ideal little life, without any interesting events. He was in a perfect little ivory tower and would surely be there until his death. He would inherit his father's immense corporation–he would be paid to give orders all day long, what perfection–and continue to gravitate in the same uneventful world...

It was deadly boring.

The boy's name was Kyouya Tategami, and he had decided to enjoy life. He was no longer a child, and was therefore able to manage on his own, but he wasn't an adult yet, and therefore didn't have tons of responsibilities and obligations to fulfill.

It was the perfect time to live a life of freedom and adventure! To know adventures, to face dangers and to always come out victorious–because how could he lose?

Kyouya was determined to grab life by the horns... or fangs, for more similarities with his beloved bey, Rock Leone.

The world was at his feet and, from the height of his twelve years, he considered he had six years left to enjoy before receiving the horrible chains of adult life. He had just passed two-thirds of his life-without-responsibilities... he had only one left. But, a third was more than enough for what he had in mind, right?

Kyouya smiled. He had the impression his whole being was bubbling with impatience. He was eager to taste greatness and freedom. That would just be great.

He was going to live!

XXX

Three years had passed and Kyouya was still deadly bored.

He had done his part, however. His project hadn't been idle words. He had begun to conquer the city. First of all, he had decided to set up a gang–lots of people willing to obey all his orders and spread terror in his name, it seemed so exciting in anime and movies! The first step, assembling people, had been as simple as he had imagined–who wouldn't want to follow him? Kyouya had defeated this blader, Benkei Hanawa, who had some followers. Of course they had turned their attention to him, Benkei the first. All he had to do was ask for more than one hundred people to obey him. Until then, everything had been perfect. Kyouya had directed his Face Hunters firmly, sending them to carry his name to the edge of the city. It had been entertaining. At first. Then it had become repetitive. Gathering them and giving them orders had ended up looking like a chore... worse! as homework.

So Kyouya had moved on.

He had begun to roam the city by himself, fighting many bladers, and had quickly disillusioned: they were all weaker than each other. So weak that crossing their eyes was a waste of time–so imagine fighting them! Kyouya had crushed them so easily he was probably the best blader in the whole world.

One thing led to another, Kyouya had sought so much a way to kill time he had ended up investigating urban legends. He, Kyouya Tategami, who didn't believe in magic or supernatural.

That was it. Now Kyouya was 15 years old. He had three years left before he started his professional life and he had nothing to do. He was so bored that adult responsibilities seemed almost attractive.

He spent his days in his bedroom, cursing each inhabitant of the city not to bring a little bit of fun in his life. You'd think they were being as boring as possible just to ruin his life. This theory seemed credible to Kyouya, as it seemed impossible for him to be so uninteresting naturally. It must take a lot of effort.

Kyouya was in this state of mind when blows knocked on his room's door. He groaned, his face buried in his pillow, before turning his head to look at the door. The beatings were brutal, so it wasn't his mother. She always acted with delicacy, even when she skinned someone alive–only with words, but she left her victims in such a state Kyouya was willing to bet they would rather be literally skinned. They lacked Kakeru's typical enthusiasm. So there was only one option left: their father, Gaou Tategami.

And Kyouya had no desire to talk to him.

He buried his face in his pillow, determined to ignore him. The blows resumed, betraying a certain annoyance.

Keep wasting your time.

Kyouya wasn't going to talk to him this afternoon.

He frowned and straightened up. He glanced at his clock and realized he wasn't mistaken: they were indeed in the middle of the afternoon.

Why wasn't his father at his office–or at one of his meetings then?

Kyouya was torn between annoyance and curiosity. Curiosity prevailed: he welcomed with open arms any surprising event.

"Yes?"

His father opened the door. He was so wide-shouldered he barely got through the frame. His scowling air, caused by Kyouya–like ninety percent of the time–made him look patibular. He was holding a package in his hand.

"What do you want?"

Arguing with his father would give him a good half an hour of non-boredom–or more, if none of them cracked and walked away like a tornado.

"You can't stay in your room all day."

Wonderful. It started with blame.

"That's why you're skipping work?"

His father scolded again. Kyouya prepared mentally. An argument was about to start and he hoped to win it. He had an excellent sense of repartee and he would not spare Gaou because he was his father. Kakeru was the only one who deserved his mercy.

Kakeru, his younger brother, who had decided to live his passion in a distant country and leave him alone with his boredom. The traitor. Did he really deserve his mercy?

I should have guilted him into staying.

Kyouya would never do such a thing, but he liked to pretend the opposite from time to time.

Gaou sighed. Kyouya frowned. He didn't seem ready to provoke an argument. What was his problem? Why did the whole world want Kyouya to be bored?

Three years of boredom and a lifetime of work. Grrr! It so unfair. I hate you all!

Gaou dropped the package on Kyouya's bed.

"Hey!" cried the teenager.

"I would like you to transport this to the headquarters of the Shogun Steel Corporation."

"What did you take me for? Your delivery guy? There are people for that!"

"Kyouya," sighed his father with a hint of annoyance.

"Do I look that bored?" Kyouya pursued his lips. In fact, yes, he was so bored it was almost attractive. He looked away. "Don't answer me," he muttered. "All right, I'll go."

Gaou stood on the threshold for a moment before backing up and closing the door behind him. Kyouya sighed. He couldn't believe he was that bored.

"You're talking about a life of freedom," he muttered as he left his bed. "There's nothing to enjoy."

He was almost eager to start leading the TC. At least with all the work he would have to do and all the responsibilities he would have, he wouldn't have time to get bored.

Kyouya went to his closet. He unhook the emerald jacket hanging on the door and put it on. He arranged the hood behind his neck. He picked up the package and left his room, without ceasing to grumble. "Piss me off. Not one of them can make my life even a little bit more interesting."

Kyouya just didn't want to be bored. It wasn't too much to ask!

"I'm sure they do it on purpose. They all work together to ruin my life."

It was not possible otherwise.

Kyouya took a heavy step down the stairs. The whole world, including inanimate objects, had to know the extent of his anger.

He walked through the entrance of the same step, royally ignoring his father, who didn't point it out to him– not even a tiny reprimand, nothing! – and went out. A beautiful spring sun was shining in the sky, as to taunt him. Kyouya looked at it with suspicion, blinding himself in the process, before glancing at the humans he saw beyond the his house's fences. They were moving forward as if they had something to do with their lives.

Kyouya hated them.

He left the Tategami's house. It was large and luxurious, without being oversized. It was ideally placed: quiet, yet close to everything. Yeah, it was shouting their social status and Kyouya had no shame. They had an international corporation. Why should he be embarrassed? You couldn't say his father was twiddling his thumbs. He deserved everything he earned. He earned it the hard way. And Kyouya would do the same.

Unless he died of boredom before.

He stepped over the first hundred metres before slowing down. What was the point of rushing? He had nothing else to do all day.

Kyouya therefore advanced with a quieter approach. He quickly left his neighbourhood and found himself in another residential area, a little more modest, where he never hung out because there was nothing to do.

There was nothing to do in the whole town. Kyouya had already visited the clothing and accessories stores more than reason, so much so he noticed if there was one new item. He had stopped these completely unnecessary trips, which he ended up doing only out of habit, and had decided to spend all his time lying in his room. If you're going to waste your time, you might as well do it frankly.

Kyouya continued to move away from the city center, to get closer to its outskirts, and more precisely to the neighboring city. He slowed down every step, for as soon as he finished the mission entrusted by his father, he would have nothing to do.

To what was he reduced frankly?

"Young man?"

That was pathetic.

"Young man?" repeated a voice beside him.

Kyouya turned around slowly. He found himself in front of an adult man, dressed in a purple suit, decorated with yellow motifs of very bad taste. He had an angular face, in front of which fell a lock of yellow hair. His faded eyes harbored a malicious glow, in no way attenuated by his rectangular glasses.

"What?"

"Are you a blader?"

"You can tell, can't you?"

Kyouya wasn't bored enough not to carry Leone and his launcher. There were limits!

The man nodded and Kyouya grimaced with disgust. Given where his launcher and bey were hung, he preferred not to know where the man's eyes had dragged.

He was going to need a bath on his way home. He was feeling dirty.

"Indeed," said the man, adjusting his glasses on his nose, briefly hiding his eyes. "You even seem to have a high level. You're exactly the kind of blader we're looking for."

Kyouya almost rolled his eyes. Was this guy naive or didn't know who he was dealing with to compliment him and think it would make him listen? People spent their time praising him, hoping to attract the good graces of his father through him. All idiots but, thanks to them, Kyouya was able to spot tricky manipulators from miles away.

Like that guy, who was talking to him right now.

"I am Kyouya Tategami. I am not just anyone."

"I see," was the adult's only reaction.

Which was particularly upsetting. Who hadn't heard of the Tategami? The TC was a huge corporation, international. Who did that guy think he was for not hearing about it?

Or he was faking it. Yeah, it had to be. It wasn't possible otherwise.

"And I do not serve anyone," continued Kyouya, in a haughty tone.

"Of course. I never imagined otherwise."

Kyouya frowned more. This guy had said he was looking for bladers like him. Kyouya was''t stupid. It meant he wanted to use him.

Not even in a dream.

"Leave me alone then. I have more to do than waste my time with you."

He had time to waste, but not that much.

His father would probably resent him for talking so unformally to an adult, but a guy who didn't know about TC–or claimed not to–didn't deserve the slightest respect.

"Of course. But I thought you might be interested in meeting bladers at your level."

It shouldn't have stopped Kyouya. Really. This guy was suspicious, untrustworthy, even a blind man could see it. Yet he was unable to take one more step.

"Go on."

The adult's smile grew stronger, stirring Kyouya's mistrust... without pushing him to leave.

"I do research about the bey's power–some are simply amazing. For the result to be as complete as possible, I need the data of many bladers, preferably of high level."

And now he's trying to be complimentary about him. Again.

Although he saw it, Kyouya couldn't help but be intrigued. What if it was true? A tiny glimmer of hope was born in the darkness of his boredom.

"Where can I meet these bladers?"

"For that, you'll have to follow me."

Kyouya raised an eyebrow. Was the adult serious?

"Follow you," he repeated, letting it appear in his tone how grotesque the idea was.

"Exactly."

The adult turned his back and began to walk away. He really seemed to think that Kyouya was going to follow him. What was his problem? No parent advised his children to follow a shady guy, they didn't know where, and Kyouya's parents were no exception. On the contrary, they feared more reasons for kidnapping: the classics by crooked, but also pressures, blackmail, ransom demands and plans for revenge in connection with the TC.

Following him was a bad idea. Kyouya could feel it.

Yet he followed in his footsteps.

XXX

Kyouya leaned against a wall, his heart pounding, unable to find his breath. How long had he been running like that? He wouldn't be able to say, but he was getting close to his limits. His thighs' muscles were burning, his knees and ankles were aching, he was pulled by a point on the side and he couldn't breathe normally.

"I shouldn't have followed that guy!" he exploded.

What had gotten into him? He had known it was a bad idea. He had known the moment the adult spoke to him. Then why was he in this situation?

…Oh yes. Because he was bored.

You're talking about a reason.

Kyouya's breathing and heartbeat calmed down. He straightened up, though still sore everywhere, and glanced at the corner of the corridor, which extended for about twenty metres before turning abruptly. The one Kyouya was in was conceived in the same way.

He was trapped in a damn maze. Like a rat. And not a maze where you were rewarded for reaching the right exit, no. More like the kind of trap where you die at the slightest slip.

I'm going to die. Just because I was bored and behaved like an idiot.

The worst part was knowing he was going to die because he didn't listen to his parents. This was what would be written on his funerary stele. Not beloved son or brother, but "he should have listened to his parents". And that was the only thing that would be remembered about him.

That's out of the question! he thought bellicosely. I'm not going to die now, and certainly not like that.

I'm not going to!

Kyouya had to find a way to get out of there. He was smarter than average–which wasn't complicated. He could find a solution. With luck, he would do well enough to claim this never happened and, more importantly, make sure it never reaches his father's ears.

With a lot of luck. After all, there was not much point in surviving now if it was for his father to kill him later.

(Let's be honest. His father wouldn't really kill him, but Kyouya had no desire to be told off. Especially since he would be right and Kyouya wouldn't be able to reply.)

We'll leave that for later. For now, I only have one problem: how do I get out of here?

Unfortunately, his Leone would be of no use. He had already used it to foil traps and had taken the opportunity to throw it against one of the walls, with no result–they were bey-proof.

"You've had enough rest," sizzled a voice. "Let's go back to the evaluations."

Kyouya had heard it more than once since he got into that damn maze. It was syrupy, but it lacked the point of condescension present in Daidouji's.

"I'll give you evaluations," Kyouya muttered.

"You must respect the terms of our agreement–"

"An agreement?! There is no agreement! I did not sign for that."

He had been baited with tournaments and epic fights. He had never been told about a maze trap.

Even if he should have known.

"No one forced you to come," replied the voice, painfully touching correctly. "Let's resume, shall we?"

"Try to make me!"

Well, it may not have been the best idea to provoke one of the game masters, especially after deciding to survive, but Kyouya had more than enough. He felt like the scoundrel who got killed in the first few minutes of the movie, because she was stupid and she followed people she didn't trust.

If Kyouya had taken the time to think about it, instead of letting himself be guided by anger, he would have realized it. He could also have guessed what the consequences would be.

Kyouya heard a whisper. Cavities were opening in the walls on either side of the corridor. An instant later, automatic bey launcher came out. Kyouya's eyes narrowed. It wasn't looking good.

"I give you five seconds to decide."

Kyouya's hands shook. What was he doing now? The idea of obeying made him bristle, but was he able to defend himself against a multitude of beys thrown at superhuman speed?

If he had had more time, he could have appealed to the Lion's Tempestuous Roar, but here...

"Four. Three."

Kyouya heard a hiss and saw a blue lightning. A moment later, the guns of the automatic launchers fell, and their ammunition too. There was silence, then footsteps echoing between the walls. Kyouya turned his head. A boy of his age, with flamboyant red hair and honey-colored eyes, was walking down the hall. He wore a short blue jacket over a yellow t-shirt. A sling tied around his neck marked the rhythm of his steps.

He stopped a few steps from Kyouya and smiled at him. "Hi."

Kyouya needed a moment to assimilate the scene and his only reaction was to look foolishly at the stranger. The redhead didn't mind. He held out his hand and a blue bey nestled in his palm.

"Oh-oh," said the artificial voice.

The teenager raised his head and enlarged his smile. Kyouya saw his action was deliberate, well-thought-out. He could even discern something... provocative.

He didn't know you could use a smile that way.

"Hi Merci."

"Ginga Hagane. I must inform the master."

"That will not be necessary."

Ginga didn't let go of his playful air, but Kyouya felt the suspicious adult–whose name he still didn't know–hadn't come out unscathed from their encounter. He was not going to complain, of course, but he would have liked to be able to take revenge.

"Oh. I see." There was a silence, which lasted forever. Merci didn't seem to know what to do with this information.

"Well, we're going to leave," replied Ginga. "You'll open the way for us Merci? So I'll not have to use force again today." His voice had become sharper in his last sentence.

"Of course," replied Merci immediately, understanding the threat. "Retrace your steps for about ten metres and you will be in front of an elevator."

"Cool." Ginga turned around and looked at Kyouya. "Are you coming?"

Leone's blader nodded and followed him. About ten meters further, as promised, the wall opened to leave them facing an elevator. To think the solution was so close and Kyouya would never have found it.

"It will take you out. We look forward to never seeing you again."

"So do I, Merci."

The two teenagers entered the elevator. The doors closed and they went down in relative silence. It stopped, the doors opened on the outside and they went out. Kyouya stopped a few steps from the building. They were in the middle of town but he could finally breathe.

A tingling in the neck warned him he was being observed. He turned, annoyed, and noticed that Ginga was staring at him. That he was even detailing him.

"What?"

He may have saved him, but that wasn't a reason to–

Kyouya's thought stopped. Ginga had... saved him? Did that make him a damsel in distress? It was even worse than the scoundrel who was killed in the first ten minutes of the film.

"You have big eyes."

"Are you hitting on me?"

Ginga rolled his eyes. About him, Kyouya Tategami! He had never suffered such a lack of respect.

"If you don't understand the reference, that explains why you followed a wolf... Didn't your parents ever tell you not to follow strangers?"

Kyouya blushed. "Shut up!"

XXX

Kyouya was on his way home, wondering how he was going to explain to his father that he had lost the package and that he had not been able to accomplish a mission as simple as delivering it. He didn't want to tell him the truth, but did he have a choice? He was going to get yelled at, and he was annoyed beforehand.

But it wasn't the only cause of his irritation.

"How long are you going to follow me?"

Ginga walked proudly by his side. "Someone has to stop you from following shady adults in their rat traps."

Kyouya growled.

"I feel that this is the beginning of a good understanding," continued Ginga in a joyful voice.

"In your dreams!"

But Kyouya couldn't say he was bored today.

THE END