"~Now I never meant, To do you wrong,
That's what I came here to say.
But if I was wrong, Then I'm sorry,
I don't let it stand in our way.
As my head just aches, When I think of,
The things that I shouldn't have done.
But, life is for living, We all know,
And I don't wanna live it alone~
You woke up to the early sunlight peering brightly through the window of the dorm room.
Stirring slightly, you blinked several times in an attempt to clear up your blurry vision due to the drowsiness of your long slumber.
And after rubbing your eyes, you finally managed to clear the fog away before you tried sitting up... only to find yourself unable to do so thanks to a certain white-haired someone, who just so happened to have you wrapped tightly inside of his surprisingly strong arms.
Glancing at his still sleeping form, you couldn't help but be overwhelmed with a sense of nostalgia.
The way his eyelids twitched whenever your breath fanned gently across his face, the adorable smile that tugged at the corners of his lips as he laid there sleeping peacefully, looking like he didn't have a single care in the world... even if the current situation he was in suggested otherwise. And lastly, the way both of your limbs intertwined with one another; jumbled together as bare skin met clothed.
So peaceful.
With his different appearance, the scenario did seem a little odd, but to hell with it.
This alone brought you happiness.
Just having him by your side and the comforting warmth he gave off was enough for you, especially in this moment.
What you wouldn't give to be able to stay like this for just a while longer...
But unfortunately,
You had a job to do.
And as much as it pained you to pull away from this familiar sensation, you didn't really get a say in the matter.
"Sorry Adolf..." You whispered, before carefully unlatching his arms from around your shoulders.
Afterwards, you made sure to create as little friction between the two of you as possible, while also making sure to avoid the clumsily snoozing Neko, who in her comatose state, still somehow managed to make drooling cute beyond measure. You even had to stifle a giggle from the way she laid on her back in cat form, as her tail and ears twitched uncomfortably from the dream you'd assume she was having. She almost seemed more dog-like than cat-like...
Finally after some twisting and turning, your bare foot came into contact with the floor, giving you the opportunity to stretch out your muscles as you raised your arms above your head before hearing a few pops from your spine unravel.
"That's much better." You said releasing a sigh.
The early rays from the sun were another feeling that helped soothe you... Especially as they rained down on your form with startling brilliance.
"Always beautiful, even from the ground."
"What is?"
You turned around towards the deep voice, only to be greeted with sleek long black hair and translucent blue irises peeking out at you from the bathroom.
Squinting in curiosity, you took in more of this somewhat bizarre sight in front you, giving the figure a good once over before attempting to speak.
Yatogami's hair was still loose... but not disheveled in the slightest. He didn't appear tired, or even give off any hint of being so. Somehow... he had managed to remain completely refined even in lazy mornings like these.
"I was talking about the sunrise." You replied averting your gaze back to the window.
It didn't seem as if he caught onto your observation from a few seconds ago. But even if he did, apparently he must've been used to it due to the lack of interest in his expression, because he simply nodded and gave a small grunt in agreement.
"I'm not used to others waking up before me other than Master Ichigen, so I apologize if I startled you."
"And I guess I'm not used to it either. Also... It takes a lot more than something like that to startle me." You retorted.
There was a short silence in the room before he spoke.
"Is that so? Could I ask, what does it take?" He asked arching a brow.
Sighing, you looked him in the eyes and replied with a teasing,
"Nope~"
~...~
About an hour later, after cleaning up, you took it upon yourself to help the early bird, currently in the kitchen, with cooking.
Just like yesterday, he once again began whispering instructions to himself (and to you indirectly) without his focus ever breaking.
"Fold the omelet quickly while the egg is still half cooked... The outside should be a golden yellow..." You heard him chant as you went to check on the rice cooker.
Meanwhile, the sound of shuffling bed sheets and soft groaning from the other room caught your attention.
"Looks like they're awake now." You said.
"Why don't you help him get ready? I'll finish up here." Yatogami replied, not even bothering to avert his gaze.
Admirable concentration.
Shrugging, you took him up on that offer and proceeded to enter the bedroom area with a small smile.
"Good morning... Do you always wake up this late?"
Yashiro's face instantly lit up once he noticed your presence. From the looks of it, you weren't sure if he was happy... or embarrassed. Either way he sat up straighter and tried to look you in the eyes while speaking. "Are you alright? Did you sleep okay?" He asked trying not to blush.
Laughing softly you nodded. "What about you? You seemed to be resting pretty peacefully when I woke."
Ah... and there was the reaction you were hoping for.
His attempt to remain aloof backfired as cheeks flushed pink and he scratched the back of his neck bashfully.
If it wasn't for Neko jumping into your arms, he probably would've died from embarrassment.
"Meow!" She mewled purring.
"Morning to you too~"
The little rascal was known to have a weird habit of staying in one form for long awkward amounts of time; so that when she finally changed into the opposite, it was always new and refreshing. Needless to say, that petting her pink fur was always an interesting experience.
"So you two met before right? I know we talked about it briefly before but, I was kind of curious as to how and when?" Yashiro piped up while also scratching her chin.
"It was only about a week ago actually. I met her only a couple of days before you did when I noticed that was wandering around the streets."
Come to think of it... You were pretty lost yourself right around that time too.
Being thrown back into the city you never wanted to return to practically had you in a fit of confusion. One that you had trouble coping with... In fact, if it wasn't for the adorable cat girl, you'd most likely would have lost your sanity...
"And then you just so happened to figure out that she was an um... what's the word... A strain?"
Shaking your head you replied, "Not exactly. Just like you, I wasn't sure of who or what she was at the time. It wasn't until I fed her something from my lunch before she revealed herself. Although... I had some sort of hunch that she wasn't completely feline. I guess I'd call my sixth sense as a clansman."
"I see... So then-"
"You should get dressed. You have classes soon, right?" You interrupted abruptly.
Somehow, in that moment, you were almost certain that he would keep trying to pry and discover more about you.
Even if you had told him everything that you knew about the world of kings and clansmen, he would continue to delve deeper and attempt to unravel how you yourself fit into the picture, and what role you played in all of this chaos.
"Oh! You're right! I've gotta get changed into my uniform." It was as if a light went off in his head because now he was scrambling to try and find his white button up shirt from yesterday. He quickly jumped up and rushed past you before he started frantically digging through his dresser. Laughing lightheartedly at the fact that he was easily distracted, you walked after him before playfully throwing your arms over his shoulders, causing him to flinch. "You're not going to find it in there." You grinned.
His shoulders eventually slackened once he took notice of your gentle grasp as he peered over his shoulder in confusion. "But then, where is it?"
"Well, I'm guessing the one you lent me last night was one of the only couple that you own, so I washed it this morning before you woke up." You could feel him tense up at the mentioning of last night, but he somehow managed to respond normally, "So that's it... Thanks a lot."
Loosening your grip gave Yashiro the chance to turn around and face you.
You two were still standing closer than he was used to, so he took a slight step backwards, almost bumping into his dresser.
Catching onto the awkwardness in the air, you averted your gaze elsewhere before declaring, "It's in the dryer."
"Ah, right..." He chuckled nervously.
"..."
"..."
"Well, are you going to get it?"
"..."
"..."
"Pffft!"
"Ahahaha!"
"We really need to stop being so formal around each other." Yashiro laughed.
"You're right." You replied grinning. "Let's start over... I'm Asaki Kitsuhara, and you are?"
"And I'm Yashiro Isana, but you can just call me Shiro."
"Yashiro."
"Eh, all right then..."
. . .
Moments like these always made life seem normal, even for four people who were anything but average.
Getting dressed in the morning, making breakfast and getting ready for the next school day; having hilarious wardrobe malfunctions that resulted with you in the gigantic jacket you wore yesterday, Yashiro putting on his shirt inside out, and even Neko who refused to wear any articles of clothing to go fully naked.
Well, mostly normal.
But then reality always seemed to find a way to punch you in the face...
"FINISHED!" The three of you suddenly heard from the other room.
Walking out of the kitchen came Yatogami with four perfectly made bento containers, each filled with a beautiful array of food.
As he set them down onto the table, you could practically see your king's expression light up.
"Yashiro Isana, I've prepared lunch boxes for you as requested. Do not put lids on the boxes until the contents have cooled. The omelets are sweet and covered with fluffy rice. But let either me or Kitsuhara know if you would prefer dashi egg rolls instead."
. . .
From the looks of it, the white-haired male hadn't even noticed what he said.
The look of pure excitement on his face nearly made you laugh.
Pretty ironic considering you've cooked things similar for him back when you still lived together on that blimp not too long ago... Speaking of which...
"I also made dessert for later. In case you're wondering, they're called crepes; and they're a wonderful thin pastry that I've filled with my specialty ice cream and strawberry sauce. For now, I put them in the freezer so that when we leave for school, they won't start to melt for a while and then we'll be able to store them in the cafeteria center until lunch time." You added.
"Really?!" His amber eyes sparkled dramatically.
"Mhm~"
Suddenly, Neko reached over the table into one of the food containers and stole one of the omelets, unleashing the wrath of the Black Dog. Meanwhile, at the same time, Yashiro was having his own difficulties with the maintenance robot, who somehow mistook his disheveled appearance as garbage before it gripped the poor guy by the scruff of his shirt and attempted to drag him away. You especially loved when the machine yelled, "You hillbilly samurai!" as it continued to cause a commotion throughout the room.
A huge mess of chaos ensued as you found the cat girl on top of said robot, yelling at it to let go of her, "precious Shiro," while Yatogami threatened the aforementioned, recalling how the white haired boy made a promise to prove his innocence...
"Ahahaha~"
Yeah your life was definitely not normal.
~...~
It wasn't until after the four of you left for Yashiro's class did you actually take the situation seriously.
After all, your king's life was still dangling dangerously on the hook.
If you had to choose though, then the most strenuous part of the day was definitely when the Black Dog stepped foot through the classroom doors, causing a stir of confusion... And if that wasn't enough, the moment you followed after him, was even worse.
Before actually strolling inside any of the building rooms, the, "ordinary high school student," had insisted that you wear one of the female uniforms to help divide the other classmates' attention away from the random unknown people entering his classroom.
And it did help...
But only a little bit.
As the both of you proceeded to stand behind the only actual student of your group, a barrage of whispers broke out.
"Wow, she's really gorgeous!"
"I'm so jealous~"
"You should try to ask her out..."
"There's no way I could do that man!"
"You're right, but hey... She and that other guy walked in with Shiro... You think they're dating?"
"That new guy is pretty hot too, wonder if he's single?"
One after another, you heard someone say something to the other, the hushed tones growing louder with each passing comment.
And just when you were thinking about backing out, instead attempting to return with your gigantic hooded savior (even though that particular jacket was being dry-cleaned), a small voice piped up to reassure you,
"Ignore them. They gossip just about anything."
Turning your head to the unfamiliar tone, you were met by a surprisingly familiar face.
This was the same girl who had helped the raven-haired danger zone find your king.
Giving you a warm smile, she sat back down in her seat and waved her hand as a way of saying not to worry about it.
It turned out that this was also the girl who was friends with Yashiro and whom sent him to do the errands that nearly got him killed yesterday.
'So clearly she doesn't know about the world of Kings and Clansmen...' You thought.
That alone made it so that you couldn't really hold a grudge against her, even so... She still caused a substantial amount of trouble for you...
Oh well.
Ignoring the small details, you took a seat next to Yatogami as the lesson went underway.
During the middle of it however, there were a few moments where the poor white-haired boy struggled to keep the clansman's identity under wraps whenever he tried announcing himself as a vassal to the former Colorless king... Eventually he kept his mouth shut and thanked Yukizome for all of the "help" she had provided him previously.
For a little bit afterwards, it was calm.
But as time passed, you were slowly drifting away from the lecture as your thoughts shifted to more important matters. Like how and when the three of you (with the exception of the Black Dog) were going to actually have the chance to prove that your king was innocent...
You were definitely more focused on the when aspect.
God forbid you from having to stay in this city for longer than you had to.
There was nothing more important then getting away as soon as possible... Otherwise you'd have to do the worst thing imaginable...
Face your past.
Your eyebrows furrowed grimly at the idea that that might happen, so instead you opted to look around the room to avoid anymore thinking on that particular subject; and in the meantime you happened to notice how Yashiro had scribbled multiple notes over his notebook about how he could prove his innocence.
And knowing Adolf on an more personal level, he really was taking the situation seriously... But he was also known for over-analyzing whenever he was thrown into similar circumstances. Needless to say that right about now, he looked pretty funny balancing a pencil on his upper lip, while Neko in her cat form tried to draw on the Black Dog's face with a bright marker.
In the next moment, everyone turned their heads to the raven haired boy's booming voice, only to find a now humanoid Neko dressed up in the school's uniform.
Well at least now the attention was away from you...
~...~
The long awaited lunch time was when you finally decided to bring up the subject that was plaguing your brain ever since the first period ended...
Apparently, according to the roster for the school, there was also some kind of festival-contest planned for the evening.
"So does this mean that we all have to dress up? Since were 'students' and all?" You questioned popping an omelet in your mouth.
"Yeah, I promised Kukuri that I would. If you don't actually mind... Would the rest of you all participate in it with me? It'd be easier for the rest of you guys if you just tried blending in as much as possible." Yashiro replied.
"You might've mentioned this, Yashiro Isana. You can't expect us all to cooperate when we still have something else far more important to discuss?" Yatogami added menacingly.
"Sorry, sorry! But this is for everyone's benefit, I promise." Your king retorted.
Sighing you turned to both of the boys before speaking up, "It's fine. I think he's right. Playing along would cause less of mess for those around us, although I do agree with the Black Dog for once, it is a bit of an inconvenience."
Taken aback by your comment of agreement, the clansman stared at you with an eyebrow quirked. "We haven't forgotten what we need to do. We'll just have to do both at the same time. Is that good enough for you?"
Sensing your slight sarcasm, he nodded hesitantly with a small frown. "Alright. I'll accept those terms."
Yashiro's eyes lit up empathetically.
"Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it."
Damn.
You really were in love with this man.
That dopey smile really was your weakness.
. . .
"Shiro brought a homemade lunch."
The four of you turned your heads to see Yukizome holding an extra bento box with a dazed expression on her face.
'Was that extra lunch for Adolf?' You wondered.
If so, then kudos to her trying to get him to eat something other than the leftovers he received from the other students the past few days. But still, now that job was taken by someone else...
"My loving wife Kuro made it for me~" He replied with a blushing grin.
Smiling at the wonderful comeback, you continued to watch as the raven-haired male spat back a comment about cutting off his tongue for saying so; only for the brunette girl to interrupt them by pointing out that the PDA your king held was different from the school issued one.
"It belongs to my loving wife~"
"Say farewell to your tongue."
Heh.
In all seriousness though, they started discussing about finding proof of your king's innocence.
"Any new leads?" Yatogami asked.
"No, I can't tell anything from this blurry image." Yashiro replied.
Their voices faded into the background as you remained silent; trying to think of anything that would help subdue the situation. And in your thoughts, they drifted back to earlier when Adolf left the first lecture, with you following closely behind.
That was when another friend of his approached him with the same video that replayed the murder of Totsuka (you also disregarded the previous video he wanted to show him about pornography), and whom joked that both the man in the playback and your king looked alarmingly similar to one another.
It was that moment, when he'd asked the other boy to send him the recording so that he would be able to study it more.
. . .
"Is it the video again?" You had asked with a scowl.
Without turning back to you Yashiro sighed, "Yeah. I had him send it to Kuro since I don't have my school PDA, but still... He really does look like me..." He replied solemnly.
'But it isn't you.' You frowned.
What could you do to help ease his burden?
Not knowing what to do, you shifted slightly, before walking close to him and leaning forward until your face peeked over his shoulder. "But it isn't you... Right?" You smiled trying to reassure him in the best way only you were capable of.
You guessed it was something about the closeness of your figures and the strong expression you wore that helped to lift his mood... at least that's what you gathered when he returned your gaze and grinned hopefully.
"You sure do have a lot of faith in me..."
Laughing, your king continued to walk towards the cafeteria, with you following even closer than before.
. . .
When your mind recalled these events, you slowly went back to the conversation going on between the two boys and Yukizome.
For some reason, the brunette girl was blushing uncontrollably...
And the suspect in question suddenly seemed to remember something important...?
What's up homies?! Guess who's back?!
Well if you guessed, "This lazy piece of shit," then you WERE RIGHT!
Honestly, I have no excuses. I guess you could say I'm going through rough times right about now. With working full time until I go back to college in the fall, and dealing with depression that probably stems from me being trapped in one state for pretty much my whole life, well needless to say that it has put me in quite the slump.
But as much as I've said I don't think I have much drive to write anymore, wouldn't you believe that I do, but that it's probably bubbling beneath the surface.
And so, here I am, finally posting the ninth chapter of this fanfiction (even though I'll probably update it several times like I do with every chapter in this). I owe everyone reading this an apology and I hope that even though I might not finish this until years from now, that you will all just bear with me and my lazy ass, lol.
Anyway, I've slowly been gaining drive again, so it might take until I finally move out of New York to get me back into my groove and passions.
Until then, Enjoy the chapter!
Word Count: 3,500 (roughly)