AN: Yay! My school exam is over (yesterday), all that's left is another half (non-school related) and I'm free! To celebrate the next month for not having to go to school, here's another chapter! \(^^)/ Any mistakes pointed out can help me improve so it is greatly appreciated.
Some of you gave me ideas for the art and I'm grateful but sadly until I finish drawing Furuichi, my seniors say that they want a full body and original character so I had no choice but to re-draw. I will however still pose the drawing for the cover. I may not have done a great job at it... ^^" (I think you can only see it on the computer version of fanfic . net)
Review replies are below.
The dark building seems to loom over the students who are standing at the entrance, the aura infused with menace surrounding the grounds cause most of the people in town to avoid this area. The courtyard is empty with a few patches of grass by the wall. Walking through the area is like walking through a mine field, never knowing when you would get bombed. It's like a war zone.
To the students in front of the school gate this is their chance.
Their debut as delinquents and the fight for the title of the strongest starts here!
Furuichi stare deadpan, do not know whether to react to the scene in front of him. All the first year of Ishiyama high are gathered at the front door, crying into their sleeves like their dream has come true. Some even yelling "I did it mom/dad!" at the sky as if it was a big accomplishment, patting each other's back. Apparently for someone to be a full-fledged delinquent they have to enter Ishiyama High. The whole drama of it was enough that Furuichi's eyebrow twitch in disbelief and irritation. Oga merely yawned into his hand, still half asleep from being dragged up a few hours too early by his sister.
A fight suddenly break out between the first years the next, immediately deciding to find out who is the strongest among themselves. Amongst the chaos, Furuichi and Oga still stand in position because Furuichi want nothing to do with it, the latter because he still wants to sleep. Until one very unlucky person, Furuichi hope he has life insurance, knocks Oga's breakfast out of his hand. And judging from the content of the paper bag, Oga is not going to be happy.
The both of them stare at the shattered croquettes on the soil for a while, then Oga's demon is let loose. (How can he tell? Well, that grin was kind of obvious.) "Furuichi, which bastard is it?" The silverette answer by pointing at the poor guy that at some point of time move from the border to the middle of the crowd. Oga let out a battle cry and weep his way through the delinquents like they were dust with an evil maniac grin on his face, the 'happy' expression also made his pupil disappear from view giving him an even scarier image.
Tuning out what was going to be screams of pain Furuichi walk away from the fight to cover the ground, knowing your environment is the key to survival. That way he can avoid fighting by escaping. Despite the run down appearance of the building, he noticed that the flower beds or any of the plants in this school were well-cared for. Some of the walls also have more layers of paint, looks like someone has been trying to fix this place. When he came to the back gate there was a… gardener? Seeing that it doesn't seem likely for a school like this to be able to hire a gardener, you can't even find any teacher here, Furuichi conclude that the person is the Principal. You can't have a school without a Principal after all.
The poor man was frozen in shock, looking like he was going to bolt anytime if Furuichi make any sudden movement. Maybe it's because I'm a first year… From the lack of any injuries, he guess that the 2nd and 3rd year probably had some kind of unspoken rule about keeping the fight to themselves, not involving any bystanders.
"Do you need any help?" Furuichi gave his brightest smile. The next thing he know the Principal look like he has seen hope personified. He have that hopeful smile on his face and there are sparkles around him. 'This is the first someone had offered help isn't it?' The Principal shook his head declining help and walk away with a small skip to his steps. 'Just how bad is this place if the principal can have that expression with such a simple gesture…?'
Furuichi stare at the Principal's retreating back until he was out of site before leaving this area. Coming to the front gate, there he was standing majestically on the pile of body staring into the horizon with his smaller than average gakuran fluttering against the wind.
Furuichi sweat-drop. "Do me a favour and cut out with the dramatic pose, it's embarrassing. If you want to do the Lion King pose, do that after you find a baby." Furuichi don't know how soon would that comment come back to bite him.
"What the hell are you talking about baka-ichi? This is cool." Oga announced out loud under the groans of pain coming from the pile as he points his finger at his best friend. Jumping off the bodies Oga move next to Furuichi, walking into their new school. "I wonder if they sell anything this early in the cafeteria? Thanks to those punks I have to miss breakfast."
"You could have at least eaten them before you come to school…" The silverette let out a sigh.
"So you've finally given him a name?" Oga stare at the black Bombay cat that was ignoring the fur stick he is holding out for him. "Don't you ignore me!" He shouted at the cat who, in Oga's perspective, turn away from the toy with an arrogant huff. "And what kind of name is Sebastian?!" turning to shout at his owner who happens to sit on the small couch by the wall with a clear view of what was happening.
"Don't look at me, Honoka is the one who came up with the name." He held up both of his hands in surrender. "She said something about a person in a manga who loves cat and wears black all the time. Then the name was chosen out of lack of entries."
"Still…" Oga turn his head back to the cat on the study table looking down on him, he swear the cat just smirked! "Isn't this guy too annoying?! This is the first time I want to hit a cat this bad!" He shouts pointing at the cat, having a glaring contest with it.
"No clue." Furuichi flip open his phone, pressing a few buttons to open a webpage. "It says here, Bombay cats is a highly social breed that loves to be in the company of others and tend to be attached to their families and crave attention. Most Bombay cats are not independent. They seek attention from their owners and people around them often and dislike being left alone for extended periods of time. Although they like to be around people generally, Bombay Cats also tend to have a certain person whom they pay special attention to in their lives. Overall, the Bombay breed is intelligent, playful, and attention-seeking. They have a very distinctive purr and love to snuggle." The silverette finish.
"Sociable my ass! This thing is far from it." The cat who seem to understand Oga hiss back. "Oh so you want to go at it is it?" Oga challenged. A fight was issued and as long as nothing gets destroyed in his room, Furuichi has no intention of interrupting the two.
The cat then leap out of the fight half-way and land in Furuichi's lap. Oga in his stance ready to pounce ordered Furuichi to get out of the way but he refused because he don't want them ruining his couch. "That thing is laughing at me!" He points an accusing finger at Sebastian with flames coming out his body in rage but unable to do anything. The cat seem to have found out that Oga hesitates to hit Furuichi full force, but it doesn't care as long as it kept him safe from the delinquent.
What do you know, the cat is a delinquent as well… Furuichi thought.
When Oga left they seem to have a temporary truce. (And by 'them' Furuichi meant Oga and 'Sebastian') Furuichi sighs in exhaustion staring at Sebastian walking away with one eye close. "Don't go picking fights like Oga." Only to be brushed off with a meow.
"I'm back!"
"Welcome back Honoka…" Furuichi gave a forceful grin next. "And who's this?"
"This is Dew, a friend that I met at the bookstore a few weeks back. I had so much fun talking about manga with him." Honoka smiled.
"Hi, nice to meet you." Dew gave a Cheshire grin, holding out his hand only to get crushed by Furuichi when he return the gesture.
"Of all the ways, my sister? Really?" Furuichi is stood in front of Dew like a mother scolding their children when they have done something bad.
"Come on, it's not that bad. I mean, this way you have to give any excuse and I can still visit whenever I want without sneaking in. I feel like a burglar." Dew pouts, still sitting in seiza style.
"Why can't you act like back when we were still in the castle? I'm beginning to doubt you have split personality disorder." Furuichi slumps in defeat.
"So you want to serve you like back then is it?" Dew stood up, approach Furuichi and lean next to him in a very suggestive position that Furuichi is this close to hitting his two-faced childhood friend.
"Kya! This is the position that I want to draw, thanks Dew. And don't mind me you two." Turning his head to the door way Furuichi see Honoka's eye shine like those fangirls that he has seen at Ikebukuro (a.k.a Maiden Road) then rush in the direction to her room.
"What the heck have you done to my sister?" Furuichi ask monotone.
"Hey, I didn't do anything." He retreats and holds up his hands in surrender. "She was into those kind of things even before I met her. It's more like your sister was trying to turn me." Dew took out a few what Furuichi thought to be doujinshi like he was holding cards. "But you have to admit the stories that fan can come up with are so amazing! They even have ones for the games that En play!" Thus this became the start of a newly turned Otaku. Furuichi had a hard time getting Dew to stop his ranting before they can get on with their training.
So life went by normally. Nothing new and very routine. Unless you count him getting labelled the 'Prince', again… Being the only one that doesn't have a scary face, in fact people consider him to be good looking, doesn't fight at all and is really kind gave him the whole an angel among the demons image with the towns folk. Whenever they try to attack him when Oga was not around, Furuichi just flick random items nearby at their forehead so that they'd fall before even reaching him. No one can tell it was him that was causing them to fall. The people in the area gave him the label and the delinquents just pick it up without question. And most of them stop attacking him since they seem to have another unspoken rule knowing that trying to attack him is far harder than attacking Oga since they can't even get close to him unless they do not have killing intent. For that the unofficial name 'Underground Prince' was born, can't blame them for their lack of creativity. (AN: I'm running out of names…)
Furuichi was nowhere near finding out what is he supposed to do with Oga to get rid of that uneasiness. Then his demon side is ringing in alarm one day, as if something bad is going to happen. Whatever it is, he has no time to think when Oga barge into his room, in his hand the cake that Furuichi was intending on saving for a special occasion and a cup of tea. The silverette did nothing to stop him and continue with what he was doing prior, ignoring that nagging feeling that was growing by the minute.
"I need a consult Furuichi." Oga started, taking a bite out of the cake, sitting backwards on Furuichi's office chair. The silverette didn't give a reply but he signalled Oga that he was listening. "Once upon a time, in a land far away, there was a handsome, cool, and popular young man whom everyone looked up to."
"Hold it!" This time he finally stop what he was reading.
"Huh?"
"Don't 'huh' me, who's kind-hearted and popular?" Furuichi answers and stare at Oga in incredulity, knowing immediately who that person in the story was. "The first thing you'd probably said is 'Everybody kneel before me', you're really a tyrant."
"You're an idiot Furuichi."
"I don't want to hear that from you." Furuichi give him a hard stare. The two of them know who the smarter one is and despite Furuichi going to a school like Ishiyama, the worst school in the entire country where its 120% Grade-A delinquents gather, Furuichi doesn't lack schools who still want him in.
"Are you sure? Think about it. Do you think I'm the kind of guy who without reason, would force people to bow down before me?"
"Yeah." He replied without hesitation and went back to reading his book. Which finally made Oga snap back at Furuichi's lack of concern, grabbing his best friend in a choke hold.
"Listen to me when I'm talking!" The only thing that was going in Furuichi's mind is he wants to leave.
Flashback (The unlined words in flashback are narrations/not flashback)
At the river, all the delinquents who made an attempt at Oga's life is now bowing in front of him, their heads touching the floor. "We apologize for rising above our station just now. You were just sleeping there so helplessly, Oga-kun, that we thought it was our chance..."
"It wasn't a chance." The Mad Dog answered, "You know, if I were anybody but me, I'd be dead." A huge steel pipe is struck through his bag where he use as stand in pillow when he was taking a nap. Oga thought that it was a good thing Furuichi wasn't here with him today.
"Yeah, that's true…" The leader of the group raised his head a little, "Sure wish you were dead..." Crying and laughing at the same time at their failed attempt. Oga laughed along with them.
"The kind-hearted young man went to do some washing up in the river" You're probably trying to drown that person… Furuichi stare at Oga with an accusing gaze.
With the person's head in the water, Oga who was holding the legs keep pulling him in and out of the water. Giving the person no time to take a breath while the other behind calling him a demon which he ignored.
"And then…" Oga drags in suspense. "From upstream, a big guy came floating down the river…"
"Okay, stop!" Furuichi held up his hand to stop his best friend from continuing, skeptic of what he has just heard. He can practically feel the room temperature dropping by a few degree with how ridiculous that sounds. "Where are you going with this story, and what the hell do you mean, a 'big guy'?" This is the first any of Oga story turning into something that Furuichi cannot explain or figure out why.
"He came floating down, so there was no helping it…" He took a sip at his drink as if he didn't say anything out of the ordinary.
"'Big guys' don't float down rivers, damn it!" Furuichi shouts, getting frustrated, still trying to find an explanation for that scenario or did Oga just twisted his words about what happened. It doesn't help with the nagging feeling that was getting on his nerves.
"Well, it was definitely quite shocking." He answers in contemplation. "Actually, all the other dudes turned and ran the second they saw him."
"Normally people would have run in that situation." Furuichi slowly explains to Oga, not that he can say anything about unusually things since if he saw it he'd also wouldn't run away. It was nothing compare to what he see in Hell, but this happening in the human isn't funny. "So this seriously happened? And I have to play along?" both Oga answers with a "Yes". Furuichi holds his hand to his temple to massage the growing headache. "Hold on while I try hold on to the limit of reality of this situation."
The only explanation the silverette has is that a homeless old man living under the bridge was, by chance, washed down stream. But Oga didn't even give him time to confirm that thought and continued with his story.
"But the kind-hearted young man was not taken aback with fear, and all by himself, lifted the big guy out of the river."
"And then split him in half."
After pulling up the old man from the river, the old man suddenly splits in half. When Oga look inside…
"From inside, a spirited baby boy."
"You split him!?" Furuichi cuts in, finally cannot keep his composure anymore since splitting a person in half means killing someone. Did Oga murdered someone? Just the thought is enough for his brain to shut down. This day is turning out to be bad. Could it get any worse?
Completely ignoring his best friend freaking out, "The young man said, "Oh, what a cute baby!"
"The kind-hearted young man was surprised."
Oga stare at the baby and baby stare back. Since this was the first time Oga has come into contact with baby he was confused what to do. Usually his actions contains; Fight, Run, Threaten, Sob, and Kill. Only to remind himself that this is a kid, killing is not an option.
"The kind-hearted young man stayed calm and responded to the situation like an adult."
He remind himself that he should react like a responsible adult and ask if he was lost. So he asked, but the image was slightly (very) different from the one he imagined. "Hold on a sec." He told the baby, not noticing how the child's eye shine while he try to soften his expression for a more light-hearted look. The more he try the more he got scarier.
End flashback (back to normal writing)
"So what are you trying to do exactly?" Furuichi could barely keep up anymore even with his intelligence. Even Oga don't know how to explain the situation anymore and just continue.
"Anyway, after that I tried a bunch of things and the result was…" The face of a demon appearing before you to take away your soul. Furuichi thinks it was a pity Oga wasn't born a demon, he would have taken over a continent in a month quickest with that expression.
"After that the baby, got totally attached to me."
"Enough already, who the hell would believe that story?" Furuichi stand up from his couch to grab his jacket, the nagging feeling is coming at him in full force and the splitting apart thing and baby not afraid of scary things is really getting to him, he have to get out of here to find out what is it. "It's my fault for seriously listening to your story, since you oddly came to me for a consult." And here he was thinking finally he can help Oga with something.
"C'mon, I was telling the truth."
"I don't have time to play along. If you want to continue, then try bringing that baby here, then we'll talk."
"It's fine if I can bring it?"
"Yes." Opening the door, Furuichi thought that he didn't think he would be meeting with someone he probably won't be seeing until he resolve his problem with Oga.
"Da." There was Beel, his youngest brother sitting out in the hallway with Oga's gakuran jacket on him. Oga moved him to the middle of Furuichi's room.
'Well, that explains why the 'baby' was so attached to Oga…' Furuichi's brain has completely crashed. First of all, why was Bel here and where is Hilda? And why the hell didn't Dew mention anything? That valet/friend of his is going pop his vein someday. Furuichi stares at Bel with Oga next to him.
Bel who was still staring at Oga with that admiring stare finally seem to notice Furuichi and crawl towards him to lie down on his foot. Furuichi smiled internally, glad that Bel didn't seem to have completely forgotten him. Oga looking at this situation gives him a predatory grin. "Looks like he likes you."
Knowing what Oga was thinking and wanting to prove him wrong, Furuichi picks Bel up and ask Bel if he likes Oga. Oga who was trying to get rid of him made another one of those demon face, 'You're only making it worse.' Bel response by jumping out of Furuichi's hand, clinging onto Oga's shirt, crawling up to his shoulder and rubbing his chin against the delinquents face. It was clear who the baby prefers.
"He's totally attached to me." Oga states, the truth finally hits him in a form of steel pipes.
"Attached to you?" Now there's a voice that Furuichi thought he would never hear again in a long time as well. "You're delusional. The Master would never take to the likes of you! Die gutter-trash!" There she was, the demon that always looks after Bel for him during work and with him after work, wearing her usually elegant black dress and black boots holding her trusty umbrella sword standing on his study table. She hasn't changed a bit. The corner of Furuichi's lips twitched upwards a bit at the nostalgic feeling. Looks like my room may not be in one piece by the end of the day…
AN: When I was typing my laptop suddenly crashed because of connection failure and half of what I've written was gone! (You guys feel my pain don't you?) I'm am so close to shutting down my laptop without continuing but I prevailed! (Muhahaha!) So we finally arrive at the main story! So how did I do? I really tried to write out what happens without too much detail in them. I was planning to add omakes as well but then it wouldn't fit the story so they may appear in the next chapter. :)
Two of the reviewers seem to be Furu/Nene fans, which happen to be my straight pairing if he wasn't with Oga. But as mention before I will only throw hints to be fair so happy hunting for the pairing you support.
To MessingWithFire:
You're welcome. :) Thanks for sticking around. Hope Dew lives up to your expectation.
To suntan140:
I went with your idea about the drawing in the end. Hope I didn't disappoint you.
To chacra:
Dew is a supporting character of the story so yes, he may appear in every chapter once in a while. And about the Queen, something did happen but I'm not telling. You can actually guess what happen if you have read the manga. :)
To first reviewer: [Hope you're still reading this since it's hard to check for updates without an account]
I'm happy you like my version of Furuichi, I'm afraid I'm turning him into a mary sue if I'm not careful. Your compliments brighten my day. :D I think they have good chemistry as well but [read author note]. I guess my mind created Dew/Aldred to take over Furuichi's role as the funny man since my version of Furuichi try to stay calm in every situation. Here is a new chapter and my incomplete art, hope it doesn't disappoint you.
To Sir Kuma Kid:
I guess I will try to fulfill your everyonexfuru desire by adding interactions between the other characters. It's a great way to add omakes as well :3 I will try to make an update whenever I'm free. Thank you for the support. ^^
To KyaaILoveIt:
Thank you, you don't have to review for all the chapters, I'm happy just getting one. Plus I can only give one reply. XD Here's another chapter, hope you like it. As for the pairing please read author note.
To ryidaniel1:
Thank you, here's another chapter. Hope you like it. :D
AN: I just realize something. If only a small part of the manga is this long... Wouldn't this be a really long/many chapter story? I could squeeze a lot in a chapter to reduce the amount of chapters but... I guess I'll worry about that when I cross the bridge.