A Romeo and Juliet Story

Chapter 3

Kaede slid onto the bike, feeling the motor purring between his thighs. Enjoying the power underneath him he clipped the chin strap on his black helmet closed and leant forward to grasp the handle bars. He revved the engine once, twice, and then urged the bike forwards with a full-throated roar, speeding through the tall gates of the estate in a spray of gravel.

The bag on his back shifted side to side as he took corners and sailed down the roads, hearing the sound of the engine filling the space around him as it echoed deliciously off the houses he passed. This particular bike had been a gift from Akagi for the younger Rukawa son. A Yamaha, custom tuned. The paint was lime green with a thin red zigzag motif. Not what Kaede would have personally chosen, but he didn't dislike it nonetheless.

He passed through the local neighbourhood without paying much attention; the route being so familiar he didn't even have to concentrate on which way to go. He often came to the public facilities here. The Rukawa estate had its own courts of course, but Kaede preferred to get away from the house; away from the servants, guests, his father's and Hisashi's lackeys, and enjoy his favourite pastime in privacy.

Perhaps he was bringing risk upon himself by going out alone in this way, but he didn't care. He was such a low-profile figure these days he didn't think he would be a target. Anyone looking to threaten the family would go through Hisashi.

He rounded the final corner onto a quiet back-street where the familiar sight of the red fencing marking the entrance to the park met his eyes. He drew up to the kerb and jumped the bike off the road onto the pavement and drove straight over the grass to the furthest side of the field where the basketball courts were situated. The roughness of the ground vibrating up his arms and cheeks. This park was large, almost entirely open grass bordered by a thick, scrubby growth of trees. At the centre of the lawn was a children's playground complete with swings, slide and sandpit. Around the edges were areas devoted to various sports including full size basketball and tennis courts. Football posts were set up further out in the field. At this time of the morning the place was always deserted.

When he arrived at the edge of the tarmac he drew to a stop and dropped a foot to the floor. With an easy, fluid motion he lifted his arms and removed his helmet, shaking his hair loose. Even as he did so a monotonous sound reached his ears. A ball bouncing regularly on concrete. He looked up towards the court and was irritated to see that someone was already there.

Akira had noticed the park the previous night. When he had passed this way on his secret visit to the party last night and had seen the excellent condition of the Shohoku public courts he had resolved to visit them for his practise. He knew he was running a risk, moving into Rukawa territory, but the park was still some distance away from the Rukawa house, and he didn't seriously predict any problems. Besides, it was the morning after a night of revelling. Those loyal to Rukawa would have attended the event, danced the night away, and would probably still be sleeping at this early hour.

When he had first heard the sound of the approaching bike however, he had looked up in concern that it might be a hostile group. Upon seeing that the rider was solitary he relaxed. A single individual would not be much of a threat to him. He dribbled the ball absent-mindedly as he watched the new arrival pull to a stop beside the court. His eyes followed the long, thin arms that reached up and tugged at the plain black helmet. Before it was removed he could already see the almost ethereal milky skin of the swan neck. His eyes followed the movement of the hands as the helmet was finally removed to reveal the raven black hair, feathered fringe and startling blue eyes of the boy he had seen the night before.

He couldn't believe his luck. Any thought of danger fled. A grin spread across his features. The newcomer gave a shake of his head, his fringe falling across his eyes and then, for the first time registering the sound of the ball on the tarmac, he looked up and met Akira's gaze.

He was as startling to behold as Akira remembered. Blue eyes cold and devoid of emotion and yet at the same time full of depth drew Akira's gaze. The young Sendoh opened his mouth to give a greeting but the stranger had already broken their eye-contact with disinterest. With cat-like movements he swung his leg over the bike and stood beside it, hanging his helmet from one of the handlebars and shrugging his bag off his back.

In fact Kaede recognised the face he'd half seen at the party. He was a handsome man. Tall, confident, powerful in some quiet way. He didn't know why the face had stayed in his memory, in fact he couldn't even recall the situation when he'd seen it, but the recognition was definite enough. He was curious to know who he was, not recalling having ever seen him before. He felt no undue suspicion. The boy had been at the family party and as such must be an ally of the family.

Kaede unzipped his leather jacket, conscious of Akira's eyes on him, and draped it over the bike. Underneath his leathers he was wearing a simple white t-shirt with a black Nike logo and knee-length sports shorts in white and blue. Akira turned his attention back to the shooting practise which had been under way before the other boy's arrival. Although he continued to shoot baskets his mind was not really on the task. He was waiting for the boy to finally approach, to hear his voice, to learn his name.

He was rewarded when he spoke from close behind him, though he had not heard the boy's footsteps.

"I saw you last night."

Akira turned back and came face to face with him. A smile, starting from his lips and filling up his eyes, appeared on his handsome features.

"That's right." He confirmed.

"Who are you?" the boy demanded, his tone unfriendly.

Akira blinked at his directness. "Uhm..." he thought quickly. There wasn't any harm in revealing his first name. It was a common enough name in any case, "My name is Akira."

The boy looked at him curiously and Akira was aware that it was unusual not to provide a family name. He hoped the boy wouldn't press him on the matter because he wasn't sure what he could say. Luckily the boy seemed to be prepared to accept the information without further question. He turned away and started to dribble the ball he had removed from his bag.

"Hey... wait..." Akira spoke.

A glance back over his shoulder, irritation in his eyes.

"You haven't given me your name."

A look of surprise flickered momentarily on that pale face although it was gone as soon as it came. Kaede had naturally assumed that the boy was aware of who he was. He was, after all, still the second son of the family, no matter what his father had to say about it. He was well known as the kitsune. In the face of Akira's ignorance he felt considerably wrong-footed. He nearly frowned in puzzlement although he quickly managed to control his features not to reveal that moment of confusion. If the boy didn't know his identity then...

"Kaede."

"Huh?"

"My name is Kaede."

He mimicked Akira's tactic of not revealing his family name. The idea of being anonymous appealed to him. The falseness, subservience and fear he usually received irritated him. It would be nice to avoid that for a little while. After all, wasn't it the main reason he chose to practise here; to get away from those annoyances?

Content with his decision he nodded slightly to himself.

Akira noticed the lack of family name but, in the face of his own concealment, knew he had no right to ask more. He tried to remember if he'd heard the name Kaede before. Rukawa's eldest son was called Hisashi, he was sure of that, and besides he had seen him at the party with his father and his younger brother, and so Akira would have recognised him now. Since no memory came to him he decided that this boy must be from one of the extended families under Rukawa; the Myagi or the Akagi families perhaps.

He knew he was probably pushing his luck, inviting one his enemies to play with him, but he didn't think any harm would come of it in the end. He smiled and spoke;

"One on one?"

Kaede had already started moving to the far end of the court to pursue his own solitary practise but Akira's words made him stop and turn back. He didn't usually waste his time on others but at the same time something uncomfortable was growling inside him: his pride. He didn't like to admit it, even to himself, but perhaps he was offended at not being recognised, being as used as he was to hearing the word -sama tacked onto the end of his name. Perhaps if he could defeat this stranger in a game he would feel better about it. He dropped his now surplus ball, which rolled obediently away to the side of the court, and nodded to indicate that he accepted the challenge.

Akira looked pleased, "first to ten".

Kaede's only response was to drop his body into a low, focused defence, his eyes following the movement of the ball. Akira recognised the seriousness in his opponent's face and felt excited at the prospect of a rival.

He made an immediate drive towards the basket. Though he had allowed enough space, he was surprised to see Kaede's hand appear in the path of the ball. It took all his wits to turn his body away and protect his possession. Akira pushed back into the boy, their bodies gently bumping one another, trying to force him to give way, but the boy was firm in his place and still reaching for the ball which was in danger of being taken at any moment. With a swift and sudden spin Akira dodged away, aiming to power around him towards the basket. For a moment he thought he was successful, but almost immediately Kaede was there again at his side, pressuring him, a lithe and pale hand making another attempt to take the ball. Akira stopped short. He rose quickly up for a shot. Relying on the defending boy to have to take a couple of extra steps he allowed himself a moment to sight carefully. He released the ball gracefully, with perfect precision, all within a moment.

He was considerably surprised when he saw Kaede's hand rising up to meet the airborne ball. The younger boy was too late to block the shot, but he managed to nudge it most definitely with the tips of his fingers. Akira watched in disbelief as the ball sailed towards the basket, bashed into the ring with an echoing boom, and fell out.

In the silence that followed the two just stood and stared at each other. It occurred to each of them in turn that they had seriously underestimated the other one. In response to this realisation Akira's face broke out into a grin, while Kaede's descended into a scowl.

Kaede broke their eye contact and went to retrieve the ball. It was his turn to attack and he wouldn't underestimate his opponent again. They continued their game.

The score was 8-4 in Akira's favour when they were interrupted. They had been playing for about twenty minutes and both were hot and panting with their efforts. Akira had just taken the shot that would give him a two-basket lead for the first time when a distinct sound reached both their ears. It wasn't a sound you would expect to hear at a park. A quiet little mechanical click. It was the noise of a gun being gently cocked.

A dog of that house.

Kaede and Akira had both been raised in the same environment. They knew how to fight and defend. They both lived in danger of assassination simply on account of being their father's sons. They were as sensitive to the noises of a gun, the smallest indication of danger, as it was possible to be. They both heard the sound, although another might not have even noticed it, and in a reaction so trained that it was almost instinctive they both dropped to a crouch. The ball rolled away, suddenly entirely forgotten.

Akira did not have his gun on him but Kaede did. As the young Rukawa dropped, his hand flew into the holster under his shirt and drew it out at a lightning speed, cocking the hammer quickly in one smooth action. Before Akira was even fully crouched on the ground, Kaede's gun was trained on the man who had just stepped out of the trees. The gun he had raised was only inches away from Akira's face. Unfortunately Akira was too distracted by the arrival of the man to look at it properly. If he had, perhaps he would have seen the engravings there that Hanamichi had warned him about. For down the barrel of the otherwise plain black piece, silver foxes were dancing.

The man that had stepped out of the thick tree line was tall, his shoulders broad and tanned, the toned muscles of his upper body clear to see under a tight fitting tank top. His lips were large and his eyes had something of a permanent daze about them, as though he were a heavy user of drugs. Most striking was his hair, which was blond and wavy, most unusual in Japan.

Kaede recognised the man instantly as one of his brother's companions.

"Tetsuo..." he said, a note of confusion in his voice. Tetsuo didn't spare him a glance. His eyes and his gun were trained exclusively on Akira. Out of the corner of his eye Akira saw Kaede lower his gun and his heart sank in realisation of his situation. For a moment, only a fleeting moment, the two of them, himself and Kaede, had been banded together against one enemy. For a moment, Kaede's gun had been protecting him. Now he remembered that he was alone here. These two were both his enemies. His eyes flashed towards his black sports bag which he'd earlier discarded at the side of the court. Inside was his gun. Why hadn't he kept it on him?

"Well, well, well..." Tetsuo muttered, smirking. "Look at this big fish I've caught."

Kaede rose out of his crouch, but he didn't return his gun to its holster, letting it hang against the smooth fabric of his sport shorts. He took a step towards Tetsuo so that he stood between the two men, his back to Akira. However Akira couldn't bring himself to even glance at him. He couldn't take his eyes off the gun pointed his way as though entranced by it. He'd never experienced such a situation before. He'd never involved himself in the Rukawa-Sendoh feud, and while he knew how to shoot and defend himself and all the principles of gang-warfare, he rarely ever had to put his knowledge to use.

As the dangerous situation he was in became more and more realised in his mind he saw more and more of his mistakes. He'd discarded his weapon. He'd entered Rukawa territory. He'd come alone. He'd voided almost half of the essential rules of survival. What would Hanamichi have to say about his idiocy? He blinked in surprise at his own thoughts. The way it was looking, he might not ever see Hanamichi again.

"Tetsuo..." Kaede said in a low, warning voice "...explain yourself."

He'd been called Akira Sendoh since his birth. Eighteen years to live with a name. Before this day he'd never been ashamed of it, hadn't sought to hide it or keep it a secret, he'd never been anything other than proud of who he was. But now he recognised his name, passing those large, smirking lips, for what it was - a death toll.

"Stand up, Akira Sendoh."

That was all he said. That was all he had to say.

Kaede's back stiffened. With slow movements he turned back to look again at Akira, who willed his legs to push him up and out of his crouch. He didn't know where to look.

"Ah." That was all Kaede said. It like more like a breath of air than an utterance.

Too early seen unknown...

Kaede, like Akira, was silently reprimanding himself. How could he have accidentally put himself in such a dangerous situation? He'd made the foolish assumption that Akira was a Rukawa ally simply because he'd seen him at the party, despite the fact that he didn't even know his family name, didn't know his identity. It had been a potentially serious mistake.

If Tetsuo hadn't arrived when he had… who knows what might have happened.

This wasn't some miserable nobody. This was the Akira Sendoh, the sole heir of Sendoh himself.

Although Kaede had never met him before he felt foolish for not being able to recognise him, especially since Tetsuo clearly had. Of course, Kaede was not involved in the petty street wars that Hisashi so enjoyed, but it was no excuse. He should have known better. The fact that Sendoh Akira had been at his father's party was a worrying anomaly as well. It meant that the Sendohs had wound their tendrils closer to the Rukawa family than was comfortable.

And yet… Akira hadn't seemed like much of a threat. He still didn't, truth be told. Kaede hadn't seen him at these courts before, but Kaede himself only came here intermittently. If this meeting was an attempt to take his life, there were better places that Akira could have waited for him.

Kaede stared openly at Akira, scrutinising him. He gazed straight into the other boy's eyes, and searched his face and his posture for any hint of guilt, for the telling sheen of blood in his gaze, the look of a killer, an assassin, a look Kaede knew so well.

For a long time Kaede stared, but he failed to find what he was looking for.

The young Sendoh's face was a mask. His mouth, which had earlier been smiling so readily, was drawn into a thin line. His eyes, although focussed, were dull and unseeing. He didn't move even a hair's breadth, held in place by Tetsuo's firearm. There was no emotion to be seen, no fear, no arrogance, no guilt.

Kaede frowned, and then spoke.

"I'm going to ask you a question. Answer truthfully because your life depends on it."

Akira's eyes flickered towards him for an instant before returning irresistibly to the gun. Kaede moved towards him slowly, coming within a breath of his arm, and at this closer range he could see the beads of sweat on Akira's forehead. Despite the external calm, the boy's mind was probably a blur of activity. Kaede leaned even closer, as though whispering in his ear a secret. He pronounced the words slowly and clearly.

"Do you know who I am?"

A small line of puzzlement appeared in Akira's brow. He didn't know what question he had been expecting, but this certainly wasn't it. He felt a hand on his cheek, gently turning his head. He allowed himself to be moved. The final thing to turn were his eyes, which watched the gun until the last possible moment, when they flicked to focus on Kaede's face, only a breath away from his own.

Kaede repeated the question with more insistence. "Do you know who I am?"

Akira thought that the deep blue eyes so close to his were trying to tell him something. Some secret message. He didn't know what. He gazed into them, mesmerised for a moment. And then he slowly shook his head. No. He didn't know who he was.

Kaede's eyebrow twitched slightly in interest. He drew back and removed his hand from his face. He turned his eyes to Tetsuo.

"Put that thing down." He instructed. "He doesn't even have a gun."

Tetsuo grimaced, "How do you know that?"

"I checked."

Akira thought of their one-on-one scuffles which suddenly seemed like decades ago. Their bodies had been pressed together as they fought for the ball. Kaede had been wearing a gun under his shirt all that time and Akira hadn't even noticed. He chalked up another mistake on his expanding list. But while Akira had been oblivious to such a thing, Kaede had apparently been paying close attention.

Reluctantly, Tetsuo did as he was told, and lowered his gun. Akira felt like he could finally breathe again and let out a long stream of air, although he knew he wasn't out of danger yet.

Kaede bent down to retrieve his basketball. He returned his gun to its holster. Tetsuo had taken his eyes away from Akira to watch him.

"You're... you're not going to let him go, are you?"

Akira sucked the breath he had just released back in and held it.

With disinterest, Kaede glanced at Tetsuo, then back at Akira. He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. I am."

Tetsuo's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't be a fool. Don't you realise who he is?"

Kaede shrugged. Akira watched him in fascination. Kaede didn't elaborate on his reasoning. Perhaps he felt he shared something with Akira after their close-run game. Perhaps he pitied him. Perhaps he was simply waiting for another day. Whatever it was, it was impossible to say. The younger boy turned to walk towards his bike.

Tetsuo took a few steps after him. "Kaede-sama!" he called, to no effect. Kaede kept walking.

Akira looked quickly at Tetsuo in surprise. Kaede-sama?

Tetsuo's voice was low and angry as he continued, "Hisashi will kill you for this."

At that Kaede paused in his stride. His shoulders rose and fell in a sigh of resignation and he quirked his head to one side without looking back.

"What my brother does is not your concern" he said very softly, the phrase merely a quiet breath on the wind.

...and known too late.

"Kitsune?" Akira murmured the word in realisation. He thought of Kaede's piercing blue eyes. Were they fox-like? Yes, perhaps, but then, who was the other boy? The one with glasses he had seen? The one he had assumed was the younger Rukawa son? He groaned to himself; yet another mistake.

Kaede turned back and fixed Akira with a final piercing stare, "My name is Kaede Rukawa," he narrowed his eyes, "and you, Akira Sendoh, need to leave this place. Now."

It seemed that was all he said to say, because he dismissed Akira with a swift turn and climbed onto his motorbike at the edge of the tarmac. Tetsuo reluctantly followed him, but not without giving Akira a final look of unmistakable hatred. Somehow Akira knew that next time they met there would be bloodshed.

Kaede didn't bother to put his leathers back on. Instead he stuffed them into his bag and started the engine. Tetsuo climbed onto the back of the bike behind him, setting his hands on his slim waist. This seemed to compensate him somewhat, and he looked suddenly greedy. Akira met Kaede's sharp blue eyes for a fleeting moment, but he couldn't read anything in his empty expression.

"Kaede... Rukawa..." he muttered to himself, watching him.

The next moment Kaede had turned away and set the bike off across the grass with a loud roar of the engine. Akira watched them go, suddenly feeling foolish, standing alone on the basketball court. He knew that he needed to leave as well. He stuffed his basketball into his sports bag which had been dumped at the side of the court and left as quickly as he could.

~tbc

Updated: Dec 2018

So you've probably realised by now that the story does not follow the original (as devised by Shakespeare, or, as it may be, whoever he copied it from lol) and also please note that quotations can and will be used out of context for my own selfish convenience.

Please take a moment to leave a review, even if just to say "I was here" or "I read this" or "this freaking sucks, stop wasting my time".