"Are we really doing this?"

Izuru sat at his drum-set, Ibuki stood before a mic with her guitar in her hands, and Hajime shared said mic. The brunet shifted uncomfortably as the rest of the Class 77-B sat at the dining table—their homeroom teacher included. He rubbed his brow, sighing.

Ibuki laughed, "We'll be great, Hajime!"

Izuru fiddled with his drumsticks, "And you're not singing alone."

Sonia brought her hands together, "We believe in you."

Kazuichi grinned, "Yeah, you'll do great, man!"

Mahiru smiled, "You don't have to if you don't want to."

Nekomaru brought his fist to his chest, "You have to overcome yourself, Hajime!"

Hajime pinched the bridge of his nose, "How are the words of encourage more embarrassing than the performance itself…?" He loosened his necktie, "Okay, let's just get this over with." He blinked, "Wait, are you guys even gonna understand what we're singing?"

Akane picked at her ear, raising a brow, "What do ya mean?"

The brunet let out a breath, "I'm significantly more comfortable with this."

The rocker grinned at her bandmates, "Ready?"

The ravenet lifted his drumsticks, "Yes."

Hajime bounced on the balls of his feet, leaning towards the mic, "As I'll ever be."

Ibuki strummed her guitar; her hands becoming blurs as she blasted heart-thumping tunes. Izuru started up drumline underneath her melody.

"He who makes a beast out of himself; gets rid of the pain of being a man…"

Ibuki took over the mic, letting out a guttural scream. This caused her classmates to reel slightly while Hajime took a step back. She did just scream into his ear, after all.

The brunet sung as Ibuki rested on her leg, strumming her guitar, "Caught here in a fiery blaze~! Won't lose my will to stay~…" His voice sped up, matching the increasing tempo, "I drive on through the night~. The heat stroke ridden weather… The barren empty sights…" He brought up his pitch, "No oasis here to see~!" He slowed, hanging on each word, "The sand is singing deathless words to me."

Izuru's drumming grew loud and harsh as he took the vocals, "Can't you help me as I'm starting to burn~?"

Ibuki and Hajime backed up his voice with their own, "All alone~…"

"Too many doses and I'm starting to get an attraction."

The twins sung in-sync, "My confidence is leaving me on my own!"

Leaving Ibuki with the back vocals, "All alone~…"

Izuru sung in his lonesome once more, "No one can save me, and you know I don't want the attention."

Ibuki stood before the mic, singing in amazing English, "The rarely tired lights will take me to new heights~! My hand is on the trigger and I'm ready to ignite~! Tomorrow might not make it, but everything's all right!"

Izuru took the vocals, "Mental fiction follows me~, show me what it's like to be set free…"

As they fell into the chorus once more, their classmates continued to listen on. Their reaction was a mixed bag. Most didn't seem to like the brand of music. Though, there was an appreciation of the performance itself. Through previous conversations, everyone understood that they were playing without an ounce of practice. Hiyoko smiled brightly, clapping her hands together. Gundam didn't seem to mind it. Kazuichi had a light smile on his face alongside Fuyuhiko and Chisa. There were also the neutrals as Akane had already started to eat, Chiaki played on her small console, and Ryota was doodling on a napkin, planning out the next frame of his animation.

The song slowed as Hajime sung once more, "So sorry you're not here… I've been sane too long my vision's so unclear~… Now take a trip with me~. But~ don't be surprised when things aren't what they seem~."

-X-

The brunet sat at one end of the table while his twin took a seat upon the other. Ibuki slotted herself amongst a few of the girls. The class had already begun to partake in their Ultimate dinner. Nekomaru and Akane were wild in their style of eating. Hiyoko looked upon the gymnast with disgust before nudging Mahiru to switch seats. The redhead did so after snapping a few pictures at the table.

Gundam regaled a strange story that was either a heavily exaggerated story of a real event or something that was spun in the moment. Ibuki injected her own commentary during several parts of his story. Sonia soaked in every detail, and Kazuichi scowled at the particular 'dark-lord' within the affair.

Mikan had somehow ended up in a compromising position with a calamari dish. Chisa and Chiaki moved to assist her while Hiyoko spouted her usual insults. Teruteru was also observing the overall scene with discomforting levels of attention. Sato, Ryota, Fuyuhiko, Peko, and Nagito ate their meals in silence—well, apart from the occasional comment or two.

It was like a strange family dinner; if your family was strangely and painfully overenergetic. Izuru found the sightly enjoyable. The energy was predictable at times, but he was earnestly surprised by the flying plate and occasion shout. His crimson-colored eyes left his classmates and landed on his brother across the length of the table. Hajime was enjoying his meal, saving his drink from being knocked off the table by Akane's elbow. Mahiru had began to scold the Gymnast as green met red.

Hajime's hand shifted and his wrist twisted. His hand formed kanji and allowed the two to share a conversation without volume. "Seventeen, a crowd, yeah?" He wasn't that great at it—only mastering basic phrases and words. Luckily, his brother was the Ultimate Linguist and Japanese Sign Language Speaker, so any mistakes could be accounted for without confusion or need for clarification.

His brother's understanding wasn't perfect, so Izuru kept things simple, "Indeed."

The brunet looked about the table. They could seat the numbers, but they couldn't exactly talk. "Max number for a dinner party should be six—eight at most…" As individuals, the students could only talk to whoever was closest. The conversations ranged around four to five people. These groups didn't interact with each other. Though, the benefit of this social situation was the visible lines that was drawn amongst the class.

Mahiru, Hiyoko, Ibuki, and Mikan slipped into a strange group. Hiyoko tossed around insults and snark. Ibuki rolled with the hits while Mikan retreated with each blow. Mahiru scolded the blonde and apologized in her stead—only to be undermined when the blonde undid said apologies. The redhead was the mediator, trying to maintain order in this group's chaos.

Sato, Chiaki, Ryota, Nagito, and Chisa were in relative silence, speaking only when spoken to. When the topic of conversation slipped into their passions and if they were invited to speak, then they would and would fall into the realm of ramblings before catching themselves and retreating. For the most part, they were observers of the class—wallflowers waiting for their time to grow.

Fuyuhiko, Kazuichi, Gundam, and Sonia were an anxiety-inducing type of group. Fuyuhiko was an observer for the most part, but occasionally slipped into the role of a mediator to stop anything from going too far. Kazuichi spoke at Sonia while Gundam spoke to Sonia. Sonia interacted with Gundam and ignored—occasionally shutting down Kazuichi. The Ultimate Mechanic, himself, was either lacking in self-awareness to retreat, or was knowingly charging through and was hoping to bulldoze his way into the princess's heart. While, the Ultimate Breeder was merely confusing, being unintentionally both funny and charming. Both fires were stoked by the Ultimate Princess unwillingly and very willingly, respectively.

Nekomaru, Akane, and Teruteru were involved in a strange group of motivation and double-integra. Nekomaru and Akane were either engaging in an eating competition or an arm-wrestling competition. Either; or—there was a lot of yelling. Teruteru was supporting the fight in his own… way. They didn't break the table yet so it's fine.

The final group was of Hajime, Izuru, and Peko. These three were silent, observing. The groups' dynamics couldn't fit these three individuals. Peko didn't really talk to anyone but Fuyuhiko. Izuru would never seek out conversation with anyone other than his brother. In contrast, Hajime could enter which ever group he wanted, but as he sat at the head of the table—he was left with two groups he didn't want to directly interact with. One involving a painful social situation, and the other filled with so much yelling and physical prowess that he just didn't want to deal with it.

That was until their arm-wrestling match cracked the table.

-X-

Dinner continued without anything worthy of note occurring. When the amount of food dwindled and stomachs topped off, the students relaxed in their seats. A few even departed; that being Mahiru, Sato, Ryota, and Chisa. Mahiru had to leave for familial reasons that she didn't provide much details on. Sato left in tow as her reason to stay left with her. The teacher of the class and the Ultimate Animator had to leave for the sake of their own work. With nineteen dropping to sixteen, the dining hall's volume lowered to a more manageable state.

Kazuichi turned to one of the blonds of the group. "Hey, Fuyuhiko, you gotta have a story or two, right?"

The blond was in the middle of a swig from a bottle of soda, "Hm?" He leaned against the table, "About what?"

The punk-ish teen blinked before drawing a blank, "I don't know."

Izuru meddled with something in his hand before flicking it away, "A story from the seedy underworld, I suppose."

Gundam smirked, "Hmph." He stood on his chair, stepping onto the table for both stability and showmanship, "There is only one underworld, and I-"

Hajime interrupted frankly, "Get your foot off the table."

The Ultimate Breeder's face flushed for a moment before retaking his seat and coughing, "Sorry."

Hiyoko pulled out a piece of candy, "Do you even have any experience with that stuff?"

Fuyuhiko scowled, "Of course, I do!"

Teruteru interjected, "Anything sexy?"

Izuru and Hajime spoke in-sync, "No."

The blond rubbed the back of his neck, "Ah, well… There's a bit of a conspiracy theory type shit that I heard about." He shook his head, "Something so bullshit that it just can't be real. Only problem is that they exist and are real enough."

Akane raised a brow, "They?"

Fuyuhiko nodded, "Manti-Corp, an arms-dealing organization with hands in every pocket in every part of the world—or so they say. Some say they don't stop at guns either. Narcotics trade, laundering, smuggling, but not trafficking. According to some reports, any organization with intentions to engage with trafficking would be torn apart from the inside. Manti-Corp slips people into existing criminal organizations so they can influence each one into business from within. And if the deal goes tits-up, their poison soaks through and through. They aren't just in the criminal business either. Government contracts, mercenary bands, local law, you name it. People say it only has two leaders: Leonidas and his Scorpius. The two weirdos apparently wear animal-appropriate masks wherever they go, so barely anyone knows what they really look like."

Chiaki blinked, "Sounds like something out of a video game…"

"Yeah…"

Akane grinned, "Bet they have plenty of fights."

Nekomaru shook his head with his arms crossed, "You shouldn't get involved with those fights, Owari."

Ibuki leaned back in her seat, "Ooh, I bet they can fund a concert tour…"

Mikan frowned, "T-They sound v-very strange."

Nagito smiled, "Seems like an organization that only an Ultimate can make."

Peko nodded, "I suppose that's possible."

Hiyoko's eyes narrowed, "So, they're real?"

He shrugged, "I don't know if all that shit is real, but… the Ultimate Bike Gang—the Diamonds just swore itself to Manti-Corp. When our guys checked it out, military-grade gear: knives to guns. Motherfuckers aren't running around with bats anymore."

Kazuichi rubbed the back of his neck, "That's… kinda freaky, man… Are you guys gonna-"

Fuyuhiko interrupted him, "I can't say anything about that."

"E-Eh, r-right."

Hajime shook his head, leaning back in his seat, "Running an organization like that is impossible… What kind of weirdos go around, committing crimes and wearing masks?"

Izuru smirked, "Well, I believe most criminals wear masks."

The brunet waved his hands, "I mean, I guess." He stood, taking empty plates and stacking them, "The whole animal-theme is still weird."

The ravenet nodded, "Indeed." He then peeked underneath the cuff of his blazer, "The rest of you better get going as it is getting late."

Hajime looked up from his cleaning, "You guys know the way back, right?"

Hiyoko rolled her eyes, "It's not that hard. It's just some dirt path."

The brunet rolled his shoulders, "Then I'll get to cleaning."

Izuru stood up from his seat, "I'll see you all out."

XXX

The pair of brothers stood before a sink. Hajime soaked the dishes and wiped them down before passing them off to his brother to be dried. They stood in a long bout of silence. The only noises in the kitchen were the running of water, the squish of a sponge, and the squeak of a rag against porcelain.

Hajime smirked slightly, "Manti-Corp, huh?"

The corner of his twin's mouth tugged upward, "Indeed."

The brunet rolled his eyes, "Sounds unrealistic."

Izuru chuckled, "Very much so." He then raised a brow, "A deal with the Diamonds?"

"A favor or two was owed. Enough to arrange talks."

"They went well?"

The brunet grinned, "Of course." He nudged his brother, "I can be perfectly competent without you, little brother."

Izuru gave his vague smile, "Never in question."

Another bout of silence followed. The water ran, a sponge squished, and a rag squeaked.

Hajime passed a plate to his brother, "Izu."

"Yes."

"Izu…"

The ravenet nodded, "Yes, yes…"

The brunet teetered, "Kama-kama…"

Izuru's eyes narrowed, "…"

Another plate was passed, "Kura-kura-kura…"

His twin remained silent.

Hajime shook a plate before the ravenet's eyes, "E-za-rue…"

Izuru took it, looking between his brother and the plate. He brought the rag to its surface before slowing to a stop and turning to his brother, "You're awfully bored, aren't you?"

The brunet took a breath, "Yeah… a bit…"

The water ran, the sponge squished, and the rag squeaked.

Hajime passed another plate, "The box?"

"It is what we expected."

"That's good."

His twin turned, "Be sure to run by our Customs contacts to make sure the deliverers were none the wiser."

The brunet nodded, "Don't worry. I already sent out the feelers."

The last of the plates were past and were left to be put away.

Izuru brought a new rag to his hands, cleaning them off, "We've gained the attention of the Kuzuryu Clan."

"That we have."

The ravenet raised a brow, "A meeting?"

"Unlikely."

"Not enough attention then."

His brother shrugged as they left the dining hall, "We're an unknown. A curiosity—not a player to them."

Izuru's face turned firm, "Perhaps we should set the board."

Hajime smiled, "I'll start with a few pawns. Send them out—hopefully, a knight will take 'em."

"Pawn against pawn, is more likely."

"Hm…" He teetered his head, "Then should we avoid the front line and focus on the powerful pieces?"

"Like?"

"Queen and King."

"Instead of going for the throne, we mingle with the heir."

The brunet teetered his head, "But then again… It's putting peas into the potatoes."

The ravenet slowly nodded, "Yes… We should plate the meal properly. We don't want any unnecessary complications."

Hajime nodded, "Yeah, well, we already have a prominent celebrity at the table. Should we invite more? Or should we get some of the… opposite reputation at the table? Well, under the table more like."

Izuru slowly nodded, rubbing his chin, "Should we invite friends? Or bring in more faces?" He shook his head, "We shouldn't rush things. We can't risk losing our current ratings just for clout. Bring in some friends."

The Reserve Course student nodded, "Understood. I'll get some stuff going. Order the produce. Get the chefs ready for anything. We'll avoid the lunch rush. Keep things calm, quiet."

The Ultimate Everything agreed, "Let them enjoy their meals, but leave them wanting more. We want niche; not mainstream. If we build up enough of a limited attention, we may not even need to humor getting… public attention."

Hajime smirked, "Less known for quantity and more for the quality. Got it." The twins shifted their conversation as they made their way to their rooms.

Izuru rubbed his chin, "Your thoughts?"

"It'll take time. If ya got the patience for it, then there's no real problem," he said with a shrug.

"The… board… is only a march away." His hands balled into fists, "We have the power. The men… Now, we need the influence."

The pair slowed to a stop at their rooms. "What'll happen once all of this is done?" The Ultimate blinked for a moment before slowly turning to his twin. "Ever put any thought into that?"

Izuru slowly shook his head, "No… I haven't."

Hajime crossed his arms, "Hmm, well, if we do this and do it right, then you'll have all the freedom in the world to do it."

"Yes… I suppose." The ravenet went silent as his brother slipped into his room. With a moment to ponder, he stared into his own hand. A breath slipped into his lungs before he balled his hand into a fist. "It doesn't matter…" He turned, pushing open his room's door and slipping within.

X|X|X

AN: Howdy everybody! I got my wisdom teeth removed and it sucks. Not really the pain; mostly the food.

To start, the song. "Bat Country" by Avenged Sevenfold, don't own it-never have; never will. Two reasons as to why I picked it. 1: It is close to Ibuki's genre of music. 2: The lyrics can relate to Hajime and Izuru's characterization in this story. Of course, it isn't a direct relation and is entirely based on my interpretation of the lyrics in this scenario. A relation nonetheless.

Next, Manti-Corp. It is understandable if that affects one's suspension of disbelief. However, it is important to note that everything that Fuyuhiko states are based of what he's heard from the grapevine. A collection of rumors that may or may not be true. Hence why he shares it in the first-he doesn't believe in most of it.

Lastly, Hajime and Izuru are scheming with the older leaving the younger with some food for thought. Is it a bit on the nose? Probably.

Now, real world stuff. I got a job that takes up a lot of my energy. So, it's kinda hard to write. With Shadows Upon a Desert and the difficulty of writing this story, they both are on an alternating schedule. Next month, SUD is getting updated and April is when this story will update. Sorry for that.

With that said, thank you for reading and criticize away!