A/N: I'm so excited! You guys are so awesome! Thank you. I just need a little more input. I know I will always find fault with it, but let me know it something is just not jiving right with the show, okay? Here we go, ENJOY! Yeah!
And also, I don't own Wolf Girl and Black Prince.
Kyōya rolled his eyes as yet another text from Erika came in. She had already sent six texts before this one. He looked at his phone as it flashed and vibrated on the coffee table. What was the reason again for giving her his cell phone number? Oh, yeah, right so he could tell her to get something for him. Now she had turned the tables on him. She was constantly asking him to meet her or talk with him.
He looked at the clock above the TV, 2:30 p.m. He sighed, it was his day off from her but really he never had any time to himself. They had been fake-dating now for a month and he was starting to wonder how long she was going to let this lie go on. She always looked at him with hate whenever he was being an ass towards her. He was used to it. Every guy looked at him with hate, now there was a girl among their ranks.
Kyōya looked back to his phone—it had stopped its dance of lights and had been quiet for a while. Knowing that he was walking a fine line, he picked it up. When he unlocked his phone, he realized that he must have spaced. He shook his head, just like Erika. There were ten texts, nine from Erika and the last one had him opening the text.
"Hey Kyōya. I'm sorry but work has pulled me away again. I put 1,000 dollars in your account to help with food and getting to school. Sorry again—Dad."
Kyōya almost threw his phone across the room then he thought better of it, locked it, blackening the screen. His dad was almost never home anymore and he wanted to talk to him about what has happened lately. In reality, though, he wanted to talk about Erika but he knew that would never happen. Kyōya never talked about what happened to him—why would he start now.
He sat for a little bit then decided to read what Erika had sent. Again he rolled his eyes when he read the first couple of messages but then he smiled when he read the last few. She was mad that he was ignoring her and that she was tired of his crap. He saw through it, she was only mad because she didn't have any say in what he did. Good, he thought.
Kyōya sighed as he leaned his head back, resting it on the couch as he looked up at the ceiling. He thought about this past month. Erika was playing along but so was he. Everyone believed they were dating but there was a shadow of doubt that hung around everybody. He closed his eyes—he wouldn't believe himself either if he were somebody else.
His phone went off, this time he recognized the sound and cringed. "Why the hell is she calling?" he said as he tried to bury his phone under the couch cushions.
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Kyōya looked out the window at school and frowned. It was another wet day and he was tired. He had tried to stay home but his dad was home for once—even if it was only for three days—and he wasn't taking no for an answer.
"Okay class, head home. It's wet out, so be careful on your way," the teacher called out.
Kyōya frowned even deeper—he didn't want to be with his father any sooner. He walked the short distance to his locker and changed shoes. As he headed towards the door he saw Erika and her friends standing out under the small overhang of the school—looking at the sky. He sighed when he noticed that she had no umbrella and that put him on the spot. He had one.
He walked out just as the tall brunette was saying something.
"Sure is handy having an older boyfriend at times like this. You want him to give you a lift, too?"
He shook his head, sure it was. He spoke up for Erika, "That won't be necessary." He opened the umbrella then pulled Erika close to him. His skin burning where she touched him. "Taking Erika home is my duty."
She looked at him, confused as to what the hell he was doing. "Huh?" Then she realized that he was being nice by sharing his umbrella with her. He wanted to sigh so badly. They walked a ways from the other two then Erika turned back to them. He turned too, smiling as best he could. "You heard the man. Bye, bye! Say hi to your older boyfriend."
They turned and headed away, all the girls watching as they walked by. He could hear all of them. He growled in his mind, idiots! They were jealous and he wanted to yell at them. They seriously only saw him as a sex god or something to possess. Erika on the other hand was trying her best to stay as far away from him as possible because she was seeing what was under the surface. She didn't realize it was because of her that he acted differently.
He smiled despite himself, she was the only one who saw the real him and she hated him. Everyone fawned over him and thought him nice, he cringed at that. It left him feeling nice that she was still willing to stick next to him even though he was being a total dick towards her. She was starting to grow on him.
As soon as they were far enough away he decided that he had been nice long enough and his bad side was scratching at the door. He shoved the umbrella handle towards her and laughed when her face fell.
"Huh?"
"I'm tired. You hold the umbrella."
She looked like she wanted to argue but for once she didn't and took the handle. They walked next to each other but the umbrella kept drifting her way and he glared at her.
"Hey, I'm getting wet! Lean it in a little closer."
She glared up at him saying, "I'm sorry but I'm right on the edge here myself."
"I see. As you wish. I can drop the boyfriend act at any time," he said, knowing she would get upset with him. Honestly he wouldn't do it—he liked telling her what to do.
She did freak. "Huh?" she asked.
"If it turns out you never really had a boyfriend, you'll be alone tomorrow." He knew it was mean to say but there was a part of him that was saying 'it's okay, she won't leave you.' He knew better than that, people eventually left him alone.
She didn't argue, again, like she did about the umbrella. She moved the umbrella to be more over him. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
He couldn't help how that cut through him. She sounded like she was close to giving up. That's why when he spoke next it wasn't as harsh. "Yes! A dog has to be smart."
They walked on and stopped in front of her house. He looked down at her and sighed, she was soaked. He tried to think of something to say that would make her feel better but she shoved the umbrella toward him and ducked out from under it. He watched as she dragged her feet, opened the door, and closed it—with not even waving to him. He should have been pissed at her but the only feeling that filled him was regret.
Kyōya tried to shake off the feeling but it stuck. He was regretting that maybe he should have let her be a little more under the umbrella but now it was too late. He turned away from her house and headed south—towards home.
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The next day at lunch he could tell that something had happened to her that made her eyes unfocussed. At first he was lost as to what was going on in her head but then a dreamy look clouded her eyes. He bit back the words that threatened to tell her to tell him what she was thinking—but he knew she would never tell him, she hated him. He frowned. That didn't make any sense to him. He should be cold and uncaring as to why she was day-dreaming but it made him curious as hell as to what she was thinking.
He looked up when he heard a small thunk and sighed—she was completely missing her mouth. She lifted another piece of lunch to her mouth and once again missed. He finally spoke up, "Hey, you spilled some."
She snapped out of her stupor and cringed a little. "Oh!"
He didn't mind her spacing but she seemed to be embarrassed that he had caught her and that made him even more curious as to what she was thinking. Damn. "Don't act unseemly. It reflects badly on me, too." Though really he didn't care but then again she was day-dreaming.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry already," she said as she started cleaning.
He continued to eat but felt her boring holes into his face. That made the hair on the back of his neck stand up, so when he spoke it came out a little hard. "What?"
She tried to play off staring at him when she asked her question. "How many girls have you dated before me?"
He choked down the laugh that arose in his throat and put his spoon down before it could show the slight trimmer that went through his hand. He knew that question was coming but honestly, he had no answer for it. He wasn't proud of the number nor was he going to let anyone know that it wasn't very high, either. The question was had he dated which was, "None."
She slightly jumped from the answer. "Huh? How come? You're so popular with the girls."
He made sure not to show the slight grinding of his teeth. Once again she was showing that she was like everybody else—assuming. "So what? No girl's ever gotten me serious about them." He was mad but how could he tell her that he didn't … He stopped that thought.
"But you said you had no lack of girls before, right?" She fired right back at him.
He knew he'd be eating those words. He closed his eyes as he answered, "I do have no lack of them."
"Huh?" She asked but then he knew she was making the connections. He opened his eyes and saw she was beet red, well crap, didn't take her long. He leaned his head on his hand as she finally came up with words. He made them seem to be hitting oil—sliding off. "Y-You're awful!"
"I knew you'd say that." He was getting tired and let slip something that made him so badly want to put them back. "Romance is like an extra in life."
She was confused, "Huh?"
He continued but there was a big part of him that was punching the shit out of himself. "I don't mind having it, but I'm not in the mood to chase it. What's the problem, as long as I'm not dissatisfied?" He couldn't help the note of sadness in his voice. Some part of him was longing to have that connection but then he could feel his self-loathing raising. Who needs it? It's not like it last long anyways…
He looked up to her and saw she was trying to work something over in her mind. He bit his tongue. She was really beginning to slip through his walls and it was starting to scare the hell out of him. He gathered his tray up and bitterly bit out, "See you after class."
He put away his tray and found the nearest but less used bathroom in school. The only one that came to mind was the teachers' restroom and thanked whatever god there was for this small gift. He pushed the door open and quickly turned around to lock it. Nobody else was in the room.
Before he could even make it to the farthest corner of the room he broke down. He was angry that somehow he was getting attached to Erika. His dad was a total flake when he was home. That had made him pissed but now it was infuriating! More than anything he was angry at himself for letting some of his walls crumble.
He fell to his knees as pain lanced across his chest—what's this? He huffed in a breath as he tried to figure out what the hell was going on. Then it hit him—fear of losing Erika. His mind finally figured out what that look was in Erika's eyes. She was day-dreaming about someone else and he was afraid of...Erika leaving him.
He tried standing but his body was lax and shaky. He needed to find out who and why they were doing this before she got hurt. That made him chuckle—yet I hurt her all the time…?
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Kyōya didn't make it to class after his little break down in the bathroom. He did make it, however, to his next period of class and tried to blend in. No one noticed him slipping in and strangely that upset him. Then again, wasn't that the whole idea, was to have no one notice that he wasn't in last class. He looked around and everybody was in their own groups talking with each other. One group in particular got his attention because of the way they were animated about something.
"Yeah, like that guy was a total asshole. He didn't need to butt in like that." A short girl with short dark hair said.
"You're right." A tall dark haired girl said.
"Well she needed to be told what was going on and taught a lesson that she needs to get away from The Prince." A blonde girl said, looking angry.
The short girl turned to the blonde and Kyōya could see that she was angry too. "I wish I could tell that other guy to go get bent, but damn it."
Kyōya was surprised with these three girls. They knew he was in here and yet they talked about how they touched Erika—trying to tell her to leave him. Like that woman needed anymore encouragement! At that point he wanted to choke every last one of them for messing with Erika.
He tried to listen in a little more but the class started and they stopped talking. Crap! He tried to think of some other way of figuring out who the guy was that saved Erika. Though, he felt like a moron because he should have been the one who saved Erika not this other guy. What was he to do? Tie her down and make sure that she stays out of trouble? Yeah, right! She would really call him a monster for even thinking that.
Kyōya slumped down in his chair as the class dragged on—what was he to do? Erika would never tell him what happened to her and that seriously made him bristle with anger. He knew that it was his fault for her not to trust him but still, he was starting to question his body. His emotions were not in check as he had thought and some small part of him wanted to let Erika go.
Kyōya stopped short. No, he wouldn't be able to do that. His heart skipped a beat in protest and his stomach knotted. So he had to find out who was playing around with Erika and put a stop to it before Erika got herself in too deep.
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After school Kyōya found Erika at her locker—still looking like she was day-dreaming. He sighed, what could he do to get her to stop? There still was no way to force her to tell him. Would she give up the farce if he did? Would she leave him because of that?
He shook his head, no, she would rather be somewhere else that was as far away from him as possible. He walked up to her and gently laid a hand on her shoulder.
She jumped, turned around, and had a name on her lips that quickly died when she noticed it was him. "Kimu…"
His eyes narrowed, that name sounded familiar. He quickly tucked that information away and set a frown on his face. "Who?"
Erika turned red as she quickly turned around and continued getting her things out of her locker. "No one. I thought you were someone else who…" she finished quietly, "was going to beat me up."
He really caught that one and was thankful that she wasn't facing him because he flinched. He had failed in protecting her. "Well, let's get going. I'm tired and it takes an extra fifteen minutes to walk you home." He turned to leave.
"You don't have to walk me home!" she yelled.
He stopped, pain stabbed at him as he heard the hurt in her voice. Whatever had happened today had really upset her. He trumped down the irritation that arose and quietly told her, "I want to walk you home."
Erika took a minute before she stepped up next to him and elbowed his arm. He looked down and she was looking at the ground but she wanted him to walk her home. He smiled, that didn't hurt now did it? He wanted to snort at that small voice in his head but he led the way as she followed.
They were about two blocks away from her house when he spotted a car coming. He stopped, if she wanted to play dumb with him about who she was day-dreaming about then sweet revenge was his. There was a puddle next to them and just as she stopped, the car went through the puddle, splashing her.
At first he was surprised that it splashed her then he wanted to laugh. How could he have planned that so perfectly? He didn't and he was wishing that he had but there had been another reason for why he had stopped. He was going to ask her a question but that thought was lost to the wind.
"Ahh!" she yelled, looking down at her skirt.
He couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his face. "Clumsy," he whispered out. He continued walking on, feeling the heated glare coming from her on his back.
She caught back up just as a kid yelled something, running by. More kids ran by then out of nowhere a sharp pain hit him in the leg. To someone just watching, they would think he just seemed to deflate but really it had hit a sore spot on his leg. He couldn't help it—it pissed him off that of all places to poke, the damn stick would strike there.
"Ow…huh? My Excalibur…" the kid that fell said.
The other kids, that had already went by, had turned around and were looking at what had happened. One of them spoke up, "What are you doing?"
The next one spoke, "C'mon already."
Kyōya couldn't help the rage that rolled through him. He had barely gotten rid of the bruise and it was still a little sore but taking a tumble out of your bed was no laughing matter. He turned his head to the kid that just had to hit that area on his leg and gave the look of his full wrath.
The kid backpedaled quickly away from him, getting up, and running away. The other two followed suit, yelling something to the kid running from him. As they cleared away from him, Erika just had to say something. "Clumsy!" She put her hand up to keep him from seeing the smile on her lips.
His anger rolled toward her. "Hey. Poochie," he said. She just had to say something to him.
Erika's face froze as he grabbed the stick and chucked the damn thing as far as he could throw it. She turned and watched it fly through the air—he clapped his hand together to help him release the rest of his pent up anger. With one final word towards her, "Fetch," he was satisfied.
She quickly turned back toward him, surprise etched into her face. "Huh? Why should I do that?"
He didn't care if she hated him for the rest of her life. He was hurt that she didn't notice the pain thrumming through his body. So he did the only thing that he knew that would piss her off and leave him time to work through the pain. "Didn't you hear me? I said, fetch. You're a dog, right?"
She shook with fear as she finally understood her position and took off after the stick. He watched as she turned a corner of a building then he was finding the nearest place to take a seat. His leg hurt like a motherfucker and really he just wanted to head home. Erika had royally pissed him off with her laughing at him but also with the fact that she wasn't telling him what had happened to her today. He knew that she wouldn't tell him because it now dawned on him that telling someone else what had happened to them is in a whole different ball park.
Kyōya sighed, why did fake dating have to be so complicated? He knew there were rules but what happened to the rules when the heart and body didn't follow them? He gnashed his teeth when his leg let him know that it still was in pain with a stab. He gripped the edge of the low wall he was sitting on and let the wave of pain crash through him. It eased up finally and he tried standing, it hurt but he would be able to make it home.
At that same time Erika came back around the corner of the building with a stick in hand. She was sweaty and panting hard. She looked like she wanted to take the stick and beat the crap out of him. Instead she came up to him, holding out the stick.
"You're late. What took you so long?" he said, trying to sound pissed but to him it had no heat.
"B-But I didn't know where it went…" she panted out.
His words carried a sigh as he spoke, "You could have picked up anything that looked about right." She had the look of realization as he continued. "This is where those lies of yours should come in handy. What a moron." He turned away from her, wanting to hide his eyes from her. Pain had settled at the base of his skull and he didn't want her to see nor did he want to her anymore of her whining.
He walked toward a soda vending machine—trying to work out the knot that had settled into his muscle—and pulled the change for a drink. He selected a drink but felt her staring at him expectantly. He turned to her, knowing that he was going to get mad at himself later when he spoke the words, "What are you getting your hopes up for? Bad dog. You're not getting a treat." He opened the can and started guzzling it down.
She retreated but tried covering her tracks, "I-I wasn't hoping for…"
He finished his drink then looked back at her. "Good grief. Looks like I need to train you again from square one."
Erika got the look of disbelief across her face when he turned away from her. He really hated himself for that one but at that moment in time he didn't give a shit what she thought. He hurt like hell, he was tired, and Erika was being unusually Erika today. All he wanted was to get her home then head home himself so he could go to bed early.
She followed behind him, making sure that she stayed a good three feet away from him. In some way, he was sure that she could feel that he was giving off a 'don't talk to me' vibe. She was making sure that he had enough space to know that she didn't get in his sights again. She said nothing the rest of the time and he was thankful for that.
When they finally made it to her house, she zipped around him, making a bee line for her front door. "See you tomorrow," he said as she passed him. He turned but not before he caught her turning around and giving him a surprised look. That was the first time that he had ever said that to her. He made sure that he was making tracks.
He made it home in record time, found the shower, and then he was diving into his bed. A thought ran ramped in his mind as he tried to clear it. He couldn't help but wonder if Erika was starting to like him or if she just wanted this faking to stop soon. She seemed ready to give up but then she surprises him and keeps going. He was starting to feel like he needed to give it up because he was starting to get attached to her.
He shook his head—no, he wasn't going to be the first one to punk out on the deal they made. He rolled over and stuffed his pillow under his head, haunted—she was going to be the first one to give in. He closed his eyes and found sleep quickly but it was hunted by a girl with brown hair and mocha eyes.
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The next day was no better than the day before for Kyōya. He was tired and still hurt but he was able to function. Classes seemed to drag on but how was that any change to any other day. He sat in his chair, staring at the board, hoping that some idea would come to him about Erika. That never happened before the bell rang and he stood up to leave.
He walked the short distance to Erika's class room to pick her up to head home. He was surprised when he was greeted by Tezuka and Marin, who both had a mischievous glint to their eyes. "Oh?" he said as they came closer.
"You're late, Satsie!" Marin said.
He couldn't help repeating her last word as he thought that pet name would roll right off Erika's tongue perfectly. "Satsie?"
Tezuka walked up next to Marin speaking, "Erika went to the health room with a boy."
He was taken by surprise, how did Erika get hurt? He whispered out, "Oh?"
Marin's eyes lit up, she had caught the scent of his surprise. "It doesn't look good. You'd better go after them."
Tezuka picked up the thread of conversation. "Bet she's cheating on you."
Kyōya remained cool on the outside but he couldn't help that their words had sliced him. He knew he shouldn't be mad but in some small way he was, she could have at least texted him. He turned away from the piranhas that were looking for anything to use against Erika and headed to the health room.
Just as he reached the door he heard a male's voice come from the health room. "I wouldn't do it for anyone, but you."
Kyōya stopped in his tracks—who the hell is this guy?! He didn't catch Erika's soft reply but he felt his rage ignite when the next words came out of the other guy's mouth. "Listen…Sunday's coming up. Would you go somewhere with me?"
Erika quickly replied, "S-Sure!"
"I'm glad. Then meet me at Kobatodai Station at 1:00?" the guy said.
Past that Kyōya wanted so badly to rip through the door that he couldn't see straight for a full minute. The last thing he heard was they were exchanging e-mail addresses. He sucked in a breath and tried to reign in his anger before he did something that he'd regret later. He breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth and it was helping—marginally.
Finally after some ranting and almost making himself light headed, he was back to his stoicism. He opened the door with a fake smile on as he said, "Looks like you're having fun, Erika."
She went ram-rod straight then turned to him, looking like a dog caught stealing food from the table. "K-Kyōya! What are you doing here?" she said.
"Tezuka and Marin said you were coming to the health room. I was worried," he said, worry actually leaking into his voice. He lifted her bag up, "I brought your bag." He looked at the guy next to her and a shiver ran up his spine. "Who's this?"
Erika looked taken aback by his question of the other guy. Was she hoping that he wouldn't notice him? As if! She brought her hand up to point at him as she introduced him. "Th-This is Kimura from class 7! He saved me from some scary girls before and today I skinned my knee…"
Kyōya continued to smile but really he wanted to choke the hell out of the other guy. Though he was mad at himself because now he knew why she had been acting weird yesterday. Now all the pieces made sense to him, the three girls talking, her being all day-dreamy, and now this guy, Kimura. He played it cool as he said, "Oh? Well, well. I hope you'll let me thank you, too."
The look Kimura gave him made Kyōya bristle. There was something off with the way he was staring him down and Kyōya wanted to snatch Erika and get the hell away from Kimura. His smile faltered and he made up his mind that this guy was going down for messing with Erika. He turned away from the room telling Erika, "Let's go, Erika."
He stopped in the hallway waiting for Erika to catch up. When she came near he spoke, "Hey. Give me your cell phone."
"Why?"
"Just do it already." He was just going to delate Kimura's information but his anger got the better of him. When she handed over her phone he broke it in half. She went off immediately.
"What are you doing?!"
He sighed. Yes, it delighted him that she was now pissed at him. In the end, though, he was going to replace her phone when he got the chance. At the time being he wanted her to know that he was mad at her. "You're the one at fault. Don't go wagging your tail for other men." Once he said that his mind did a devilish thing. It showed Erika in a very skimpy dress. Going from one guy to another and the whole time she was smiling at him. Knowing that it hurt him to see her with other men. He bared his teeth as he pushed that image away—she didn't know that fear of his.
"I-I wasn't wagging my tail," Erika spoke defiantly.
"Never speak to him again," he said coldly.
Her anger flared up as she fired back at him. "How come?! I can do what I want, can't I? You're not even my real boyfriend! It's not even real cheating!"
He had crossed his arms and looked at her with self-loathing. If she wanted to play that game then he was game. "Oh? Have you forgotten the position you're in?" That stopped her up short. He bent down to her level and spoke levelly, "You're the dog. I'm your master. You have no power to refuse me." In short she had the power to break this off. It scared her, though, to be caught in her own lie. Granted he played the asshole that made her life hell, he made sure that he stayed away from the stuff that would make her definitely want to get away from him.
"Understood," she said as she bowed.
He bent forward to hand her the broken pieces of her phone as he said, "That's a good girl. Let's go home." He turned away from her and headed to the lockers.
On their way home Erika barely said a word. He looked back to her and saw she was glowering at him as she hopelessly tried putting her phone back together. He shook his head—tomorrow he would go to the cell phone store and buy her another one.
She stopped her tinkering to fully look at him. "What?" she snapped at him.
He stopped and half turned to her. "Don't worry about your phone."
She stopped too, a frown on her lips. "Why?"
That's when he realized his mistake. He was going to say and do something nice for her. He felt bad about breaking her phone but that didn't mean he had to tell her. So when his mouth decided to speak what was on his mind he couldn't help the look of surprise on his face. "I'll buy you another one."
The first thing that he registered on her face was shock and surprise but then it quickly morphed into disbelief. "Yeah right!" she yelled at him.
He took a step back. What was he to expect from her? Rejoice that he was going to buy her a new one—even though he broke her old one? He couldn't even begin to place how he felt at that moment. Rage, anger, disappointment, hurt, pain…sadness. The last thought has him shaking his head. No way was he sad at her refusal but then again he could feel it creeping up his throat.
With a thick throat he finally spoke, "I was being serious." He couldn't look at her anymore as he felt his face heat up with hurt. He walked the last three blocks to her house with Erika trailing behind him.
He stopped in front of the gate to her house and looked at the door. Erika stepped up next to him but she only lingered long enough to look up at him then jogged to her door. She turned back to him and he could see that she was trying to work something over in her mind. With a final half wave to him, she disappeared behind the door, clicking it shut.
He slowly turned away from her house and walked the next fifteen minutes home in silence. He couldn't think of anything to help him justify why he had been soft toward her. Maybe if he wouldn't have broken her phone she wouldn't be this pissed at him? But wasn't that what he was wanting? Her furious at him?
He stalled at his door, looking at it blankly. It was his fault. He had been stupid and in a moment of heat he had broken something that wasn't his. But…His little voice stated…if you wouldn't have broken her phone, you would have done something else to her that would make you regret even being around her. He shivered. It was true. He had been mad enough that Erika would have been the target of his rage. He stepped away from his door as if it had just zapped him.
This was not him! He would never hurt Erika! Would he? No, he shook his head, he would never have touched Erika and if he had… He gulped for air. What the hell was he thinking!? He gritted his teeth as pain shot across his head, he needed to get himself back under control and make sure that Erika was okay tomorrow.
He headed into the house and quickly went to the shower. Took a cold one and then lay in his bed until a fitful sleep found him.
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Next day Kyōya went to the cell store and bought Erika a new phone. He made sure that his number was in the phone then he headed to Erika's place to give it to her. He knocked on the door and Erika's mother answered.
"Hello, I'm sorry to have come here unannounced but I was wondering if Erika was home?" Kyōya said.
Erika's mother took a step back, surprise in her eyes. "W-Well, um…She's not home. But may I ask who are?"
It was Kyōya's turn to be surprised. Hadn't Erika told her mother about what was going on? Wasn't that what girls did? He mentally shook himself as he answered, "I'm a friend of Erika's and I wanted to ask her a question. I couldn't get ahold of her last night." Of course he knew why.
"Oh, well, she told me that she had dropped her phone on the way home yesterday from school. Smashed it to pieces. So that would explain why you couldn't get in touch with her. But you look familiar," she pondered.
"I must have that face. I was wondering if you possibly know where she went?" Kyōya asked, having an idea of where she was.
"Something about meeting someone at the station…"
Kyōya didn't need to hear the rest as he turned away from Erika's mother. Erika had not listened to him and was sure that now she was getting herself into trouble. He headed to the nearest train station and took the next train to Kobatodai Station. Of course he was mad but now he was more worried that Erika had gotten into something a little over her head.
He got off at Kobatodai Station and thought there was no way he could find her in this crowd. He headed to the little park outside the station and hoped that Erika would walk by. Soon he wasn't disappointed. He watched as both Erika and Kimura walked into the park and found a seat not too far from where he was sitting—hidden behind some bushes.
"No, thank you. I had a lot of fun," Kimura said. Kyōya listened in on the conversation.
"Me, too," Erika said brightly. Kyōya rolled his eyes.
"So, I've been wondering… That man before…he was your boyfriend, right?" Kimura asked. Kyōya's anger spiked, he could see where this was heading. Erika somehow kept getting herself wrapped up in her lies.
"Th-That's just…" Erika started.
"I'm sorry I invited you out when you have a boyfriend. It's probably a big brother." Kyōya shook with his anger now, the sly dog was barking up the wrong tree. But why should that matter to him? He startled back, no way? He shook his head as the feeling told him what he knew all along.
That's when it pissed him off that Erika bought the lie. "N-Not at all. Kyōya's not my boyfriend!"
"But you're going out, right?" Kimura asked, not sure how to handle the news. Well Kyōya knew how to handle the news, break the prick's neck.
"No! For certain reasons, he was pretending to be my boyfriend, but…we're not really going out." Kyōya wanted to laugh at the way she was so bought into Kimura's lie. Though, how could he? Wasn't he lying to Erika about how he felt towards her?
"Is that…true?" Kimura asked.
"Yeah! So it's totally fine. I was actually really happy you asked me… If you don't mind, Kimura, I'd like to have a real boyfriend…" So that was it? She wanted a real boyfriend?
As Kyōya expected, Kimura wanted nothing to do with Erika. It was just a ploy to get at him. Though, it still pissed him off when Kimura backed out quickly. "No, no, no way!"
"Huh?" Erika asked, lost.
"Why would I date someone like you if you're not Sata's girl?" Kimura turned away from Erika. "What am I doing? Tell a guy stuff earlier. This was a waste of time and money."
Erika was still lost as to what was going on and Kyōya slowly moved forward around the bushes as Erika asked, "K-Kimura?"
Kimura turned back to Erika as he explained, "I'm sorry. Long ago, Sata stole a girlfriend of mine. So I wanted to steal his girlfriend to get back at him. I just wanted him to know how it felt." Erika dropped the bottled drink she had, her head hung. "So anyway, forget all this, okay? Later!"
That's when the gig was up and Kyōya was past his boiling point. He wanted to kill Kimura for the way he just got Erika's hopes way up then made them come crashing down—hard. He spoke before the weasel could get away. "I see. I see. That makes sense. I thought you had the same smell about you as me." He played it cool but it was the truth. He would have done the same shit to another girl but Erika was different. She made him feel different. He pulled down his shades as the surprise started to fade.
"S-Sata!" Kimura said, looking scared.
Kyōya stood as he spoke, "Taking revenge out of spite. What a gutless move." He hung his shades on the front of his shirt.
Kimura bulked. "Sh-Shut up! You're the one who stole my girlfriend!"
"I don't remember stealing anyone. I think that girlfriend of yours fell for me on her own." Kyōya didn't remember her in any way. There were those girls who kept asking to walk home with him. Maybe she was one of them? "Anyway… Don't beat around the bush. Come at me directly." He was tired of Kimura's crap. He hated when guys tried to find anyway to tear him down.
Kimura took a step back, bringing his hands up in a half attempt of defending himself. "Wh-What, you wanna fight?"
"No way. I hate violence," he said with a smile. Though, there was half of him wanting to beat the crap out of the asshole standing in front of him. He turned toward Erika but she was looking at the ground. He spoke to her, "C'mon. Let's go home, Erika."
As he placed a hand on her shoulder she looked up at Kimura. "Kimura…was it really a lie? From the start? Everything you said…everything you did… All of it?" Tears started to gather in her eyes.
Kyōya wanted to snatch Erika up for asking those questions but he felt that Kimura was going to be the only one to explain to her that she was being led around. He listened as Kimura told her the truth. "It's your fault for being tricked. I mean…how desperate for a man are you?" Kyōya felt her shake with hurt.
He gnashed his teeth to keep from hitting the douche bag behind him as he let Kimura finish speaking. "I say a few nice things and you fall right for me. I'd never go for a girl as cheap as you."
It killed Kyōya to see her hurt in such a way that it made her cry. He had never seen her cry in front of him but he was sure that he had made her cry—a couple of times. Still it infuriated the hell out of him that Kimura was making a fool out of her. That's when something snapped inside of him. He turned on Kimura and punched the living shit out of him. It felt great to finally punch the bastard.
Kimura fell to the ground, looking a little surprised as to what just happened. "That hurt! I thought you hated violence!" Kimura yelled at him as he held his cheek.
Kyōya stared down at him, fire raging in his eyes. "Yeah. I said that. So?"
Kimura was taken aback. "What the hell? You two really are dating!"
Kyōya turned away from Kimura and hold a hand out to Erika. "No we're not. Give it up already," he spoke to Kimura. He turned Erika around so they could head out but not before he spoke the last words over his shoulder. "But she does belong to me." He put a possessive arm across her shoulders. "It gets me mad when you hurt her for no reason." He walked away from the piece of trash sitting on the ground.
When they were a good distance away he stepped away from Erika. He was coming back to his senses and realized that he had showed a side of himself that he didn't want anyone to see. At first he wanted to tell Erika that she needed to get her head straight but the words fell when he saw the look in her eyes. She was shocked badly that she looked to be walking in a daze. He let her be but knew she would ask about what had just happened.
Finally he spoke because he was tired of the silence. "You really never learn. How many times are you going to be fooled? You should learn from your time with me."
She finally spoke to him, "Did you know about Kimura from the start?"
"Of course." No he didn't. "And about your lie, too." Though she couldn't lie herself out of a wet paper-sack. He wasn't going to tell her that he had an idea about what was going on. "But no more getting me involved in this nonsense, okay? Next time, I'll throw you out a window." He was kidding but at the same time, no he wasn't. The girl was always getting in over her head.
She was quiet for a moment then spoke out, "Oh, well. I had my first love, I guess…"
He stopped, turned around, and flicked her in the head. "You idiot."
She jerked back. "Ow! That hurts."
He didn't like the way her thinking was going. "You'd gotten yourself up in a tizzy about romance, right? 'Love' you experience in that state is just self-delusion." He turned away but he knew that he was also talking about himself. He had gotten himself up in a knot because he had been worried about Erika. "There's no point in getting depressed over love like that."
He went over to a vending machine and got a drink. It amazed him that he felt that they were having a moment. He turned his head and saw her looking at him with a mix of emotions. "What are you looking at? I'm not buying you one just because you're depressed." He started walking away but stopped short when he realized that Erika wasn't following. He looked back and saw that she was looking a little…overwhelmed? "What's wrong?" he asked.
She looked up and there was a light to her eyes that made him shiver a little. Self-determination. "Let's get going, Poochie," he said, making her glare at him. But the light of self-determination still held in her eyes. He smiled, liking the look. "I might have to train you again from square one."
He continued walking on and liked that now she was determined to find something for her own. She caught back up to him but unlike yesterday she was on his heels. He peeked back and saw that she was staring at him hard. His mouth went dry—that determination was…was for him.