Chapter Twelve
"I-I don't understand."
Gakushuu had awoken, showered and grabbed a portable, already prepared breakfast meal before school could start, bringing us into his car with him so we wouldn't be late.
The Chairman had already left by the time we had all awoken, so me and Nagisa could enjoy nosily exploring the large house unrestricted for a few precious minutes alone until it was time to leave.
"It doesn't make sense... don't tell me he had a rat of some sort fighting to defend him in the police the whole time..What if he knows I tried to stop him?"
His face had gone red with embarrassment and fear, making him vulnerable and afraid before our eyes. The approaching dread, the fear of pain was so visible it was nearly displayed before our eyes like a video.
"Don't fret over it. They probably had a lot of cases to review. I'm sure they'll have your files read by tonight." Nagisa comforted. Making me feel the opposite as he sat beside the boy.
I only watched from the sidelines as Gakushuu leaned his neck out to the side as his head rested against his bent elbow against the car window wearily in spite of his upright position, as if hanging his head was too shameful, his back remained perfectly postured back. He pressed his thumbs into his eyelids until the skin flickered to pink and then pale white.
"No hard feelings, but I'll drop you two off a bit before the school. I don't want the A class giving me any shit today for being with you. I'm not in the mood."
"That's fine." Nagisa responded. It wasn't fine to me. The fact that he was still too coward to be seen with Nagisa made me fight the urge to start an argument with him just so I wasn't the insensitive villain here. I knew Nagisa, as precious as he was, saw a distorted truth where Gakushuu was the least likely person to be responsible of evils.
The strawberry blonde went quiet again, shyly muttering when he finally did speak up. "You guys can come over again tonight, can't you?"
Nagisa looked at me, nodding when he said that he could. I shrugged.
"Guess I'll have to make up another excuse."
"My home is not a hotel." Asano glowered,when he found us at his door once more, putting up as much of a fight as he had yesterday. "What is it you boys are even studying for?"
"Gakushuu is my tutor so he's simply continuing with catch up work, and Karma is helping us out."
Taking another look over us, the man subsided, raising his arm to about Nagisa's height, inviting the boy in, though he would have to get pretty close to him to squeeze through, and of course I myself wouldn't be allowed.
"Nagisa may come in. You on the other hand have no reason to be here. A delinquent such as yourself with a lack of respect for your elders would benefit from going home."
I rolled my eyes, taking a hold of the back of Nagisa's hoodie as if to keep him on a leash even though he hadn't moved an inch.
"But Gakushuu has been expecting us both Mr. Asano."
He shot Nagisa a purple glare, making me yank him back so he was beside me as I returned his look with equal menace, wanting time to just skip so I could see this pompous bastard getting dragged out of his house by cops. It seemed the sort of thing that would be interesting if it somehow ended up recorded and on the internet.
"Very well then, neither of you come in."
He made a move to shut the door - but before it was slammed shut, it closed on the rubber end of one of Gakushuu's crutches. The sound was violent and awful, the door bouncing back until it was open as far as the unseen man behind it would let it be opened. Beside me, the blunette had a mini panic attack that there was a door between us and a potentially violent situation, he jumped up and swung the door open. Standing there, Gakushuu looked up defiantly at his father, head tilted slightly towards us, though his eyes were still fixated on the Chairman's.
"You guys come right in."
"You seem plucky lately." That look he sent him alone manifested every single punch and kick he had ever probably thrown at his son, trying to shrink him down and shatter his display of courage.
Before I could stop him, Nagisa had come between the bickering pair. The tension radiating from the two made the house looked darkened and terrifying, yet he slipped up fearlessly.
"He has good intentions, forgive us." Nagisa piped, breaking their eye contact and standing directly between them.
The man stood still. He didn't seem like he would be putting up anymore of a fight. We turned to head up the stairs. Our backs had been turned for a split second. Barely enough time to realise our mistake, only to regret our carelessness as we heard a loud ringing of metal falling. The sound was so sudden in the quiet room, I'll admit it even made me jump.
"Gakushuu!" Nagisa caught the stumbling male by the shoulders before he could drop.
"Uh...I dropped one of my crutches." he explained, glaring up at his father who was now far enough from him to be considered innocent, back coldly turned. Despite this, everyone in the room knew who was really responsible. No evidence was needed. What kind of innocent father let his injured child fall and continued to walk away? What kind of good man would keep his child hostage in a massive, practically empty prison white home like this and threaten away any company? We all knew the truth, the issue was the uncertainty of how drastically saying so would change our situation.
I glared at his retreated back as Nagisa fussed over the 'poor' Asano victim and even offered him his shoulder as if his leg had been broken all over again. I could barely look at the two, rolling my eyes bitterly.
"He won't get away with this."
By now, the man responsible was long gone. Gakushuu was back on his feet and looking ashamed. The dark hallway was making me sick. The pitying look of restrained hatred on Nagisa's face made my own anger struggle.
I saw the trapped, restricted light in the strawberry blonde's purple eyes when he stood, making his way towards the stairs powerlessly. The dejected way his body dragged itself, leaning on the shoulder of my Nagisa. It reminded me of my hatred for him. I really didn't like Gakushuu at all.
But the shred of respect I had for him came from his strength.
Staying here, trapped in the fog of the bomb of negativity that had just gone off would only deplete that strength further and further. Much like Nagisa, it wouldn't be long before he lost sight of the person he once was.
"Don't move."
Nagisa and him turned to look at me, half curious, but mainly just wanting to get as far from here as they could. At this rate, they would only end up hinding behind Gakushuu's bedroom door where they were barely any safer. There was just no point in it all.
"Come back down here Nagisa, I think I have a better idea."
Gakushuu scrunched his face,"The Chairman doesn't want to see us-"
"And he won't." I sly smirk came onto my face,"Not if we're out of the house."
The Asano boy was an open book, it was effortlessly easy to tell how appealing that sounded to him, but there was still that resilience that forced him to remain behind the bars of this place to please his abuser.
"There's no way he'll allow such delinquent behaviour." He emphasised the words as if he still believed he was somehow better than me.
"He can't be angry at what he doesn't know."
"You're expecting us to be able to sneak out?!" He looked over frantically down the hallways to where his father had disappeared, eyes narrowed, voice lowered to a bitter whisper.
"Maybe with your parents, but not with him."
He was still reluctant to accept. I couldn't force him to leave, but I knew I wouldn't have to. A flash of blue revealed Nagisa's arm over his shoulder, whispering back. "Karma's right, you've been stuck with the guy for weeks, your leg's healing up fine so getting out of here will be great for you. It will be better for all of us."
Annoyed by the excitement in his eyes, my own hand found it's way brushing against Nagisa's skin gently, so I now stood between them where I could lead the other down the steps and closer to the front door. He backed away from me like my touch would lead him into dirt, but my grip was clearly stronger, and he didn't exactly have an alternative at present when his walking aid was behind the wall of my back and in Nagisa's palm.
"Come on Gakushuu. Don't tell me you've never sneaked out before?"
He glanced breifly over my shoulder to meet my blunette's eyes, conscious of how he would look to him,"I've never had to-"
"Don't tell me you're too scared," I laughed, "Your daddy's gonna kick your ass so badly but all you can do is sit around waiting in his home like a frightened little duckling."
My eyes gleamed in delight when he slapped my hand away, marching forward towards the door, humiliation written all over him. He was so easy to manipulate, so self conscious of appearing weak and inferior it was tragic. He snapped up so easily at the news that doing something would prove him the opposite, when in reality he was just being used again.
"Fine then. I'll do it but just to show you that I can." He sneered.
I smirked triumphantly, ignoring the tutting Nagisa gave me as he walked by, footsteps suddenly ghost like.
"Just follow me."
My eyes met with Nagisa again. We nodded to each other, a silent agreement, made before the door quietly clicked open, "I'll take him to the gate, wait here and count a few minutes before opening he gates up."
Outside was dark, allowing both me and Asano to become shadows, having no choice but to take our time in walking until we reached the large metal gates, knowing there was no way they would open without notifying the demon sitting behind the gates of the castle.
We turned back, just able to see the blur of blue standing beside a much higher up blur of brown and grey standing before the beside the sealed door we had escaped from not long ago.
Nagisa was talking to him. Nagisa was alone with the abuser. The man himself didn't know it, but if he wanted to grab the boy by the hair and slam his skull into the concrete beside him, even I wouldn't be fast enough to stop it. I couldn't drag my eyes from them, yet I could somehow sense that the other beside me shared the same feelings.
"K-Karma..." Gakushuu nearly stepped forward. He nearly revealed himself and outed our whole plan in that moment of concern, but my hand clamped onto his bruised shoulder and stopped him.
Without the blunette their for me to caution myself with, I forgot to maintain restraint. The action made him cry out and thrash at me until I pulled away. I was still looking at him sternly, though no longer violent as he had stopped moving. I let him know that I was pissed he'd taken my attention from Nagisa, and he went quiet.
"Don't worry. He wouldn't dare hurt him."
I hadn't meant the words. I knew that the monster of a man very well would if he were provoked enough, and I knew that it would be Nagisa's own skills that would save him long before any of us could do a single thing. I just couldn't afford to share that secret with this boy in case he fell even more in love. Although the words I had said were spoken so convincingly, I nearly started to believe them myself.
I found comfort in repeating that Nagisa was an assassin. A strong one too.
Gakushuu breathed in deeply when the door clicked open, The small boy was smiling in that disturbingly casual, lethal fake smile of his that caught me off guard. I was half expecting him to attack the Chairman right there and then, having seen so many similar things play out, but he only stepped out of the house quietly.
"..He only sent us away so early because he's so tired. You should let him get his rest." His threatened inconspicuously.
"He didn't tell you to say that to me did he?" The man inquired grimly, leaning back out of the door as I felt Gakushuu tensing like he was near a wild fire.
"Of course not, I meant it myself. I know he's stopped all of his club activities, but he seems so overexerted lately. Even Karma saw it, which is why he left earlier." He added convincingly.
"Coming to my house and telling me what to do now Nagisa.."
The man hummed domineeringly, smiling down falsely when he said his goodbyes, spitting bullshit that would have sadly fooled even those trained to look out for this sort of behaviour when he promised he'd let his son rest for the night. The door clicked shut, and we both knew that he would be heading up the stairs to cause the boy more pain the moment he knew Nagisa was out of hearing range.
None of us wanted to be around when he discovered the empty bedroom. Hopefully, we would be even further from here when he realised he was in an empty house.
"Come on."
We were free. We could go whatever we went and do whatever we want, but we had to be quick. Nagisa raced up beside me, emerging from the shadows as if he were one himself.
I turned to Gakushuu, hoping he was damn appreciative of what we were doing for him. But when I turned, his eyes were alarmingly still, looking outside the gates. He was breathing heavily, leaning back frozen. It wasn't until I saw flashing lights in the reflection of his night darkened eyes that I realised why. I turned to see what had him so struck by lightning.
A single police car had pulled up, sirens silent but lights flashing strongly as the door opened and revealed two officers.
"Shit. He's gonna come out here." I muttered in annoyance.
"We have to go." Nagisa appeared suddenly and grabbed hold of Gakushuu, tugging him back, attempting to take him in what seemed like the direction of the back of the house, knowing we couldn't escape now. Hiding was the best option, but by the time we would get to the house at this rate, Asano would have heard the ringer and come out to check the gate. Footsteps sounded, then a loud knocking against metal gates.
"Come on." I repeated.
I was about to slap the boy into his sense, but Nagisa had taken him by the hand and wheeled him a safe distance from me before I could.
The nearest place we could reach before our movements in the dark caught any unwanted attention was behind the sleek black car, all three of us crouching in the darkness as the door clicked open. We weren't nearly as far as we would have liked. Despite having an entire massive home to hide in, we were stuck barely two metres from the man.
"W-why did they only send two people? What are they thinking?" Nagisa let go and the Asano boy fell back with his face in the ground almost lifelessly onto the concrete, you would have thought he were dead if not for the insanely heavy breaths of his. "T-This can't go right...f-fuck..."
I glanced over to Nagisa, but his eyes were completely focused on Gakushuu. He wouldn't look at me if I screamed.
"Breathe, we're safe here, he can't see us." His nails dug into the hard floor, completely unfazed, gritting his teeth, "Gakushuu? Trust me."
"I don't think he can here you. He's having a panic attack."
"Gakushuu, calm down." Nagisa shook his shoulder gently, leaning in, trying to keep quiet. He was too close to him.
Reaching over, I pinched into the boy hard, snarling at him to snap out of it, and that if he didn't his father would see us for sure.
It was too late. The man stepped out of the house, walking forwards towards the gate, the picture of perfection and sophistication when he answered the officers with not even the slightest trace hinting at guilt in his demeanour. Gakushuu clambered back even further. It was easy to tell this wasn't the same person we knew. It was another side of him we had never seen, even as he clung on to his pride, his face flickering from immense fear to a crumbling attempt at stoic control as he brought his eyes up to watch ahead of him like he was about to witness a massacre. The sound of his breathing drowned out every single one of my blunettes comforts.
My lips curved into the slightest smile at seeing the boy so pathetically trembling like that, with eyes looking up unable to see the present. Though, it was a pitying sort of smile. Just like before, I had a feeling it would be easy to control him. I knew he would snap at the chance to not see himself as inferior.
"You're acting like an idiot Gakushuu. He would be ashamed to see you this way."
It wasn't long before acceptance slipped onto his face, sadness and desperation as Gakushuu whispered, "He's going to kill me...I-I'm dead... my future's gone.."
On the bright side, he was no longer panting like a dog that had been whipped, though the absolute lack of reaction from the Chairman gave me the impression that even without the sound we were too late. He knew exactly where we were which was why he chose to not look, because logically, he would have heard us from the moment he unlocked the door. And what people usually did when they heard sounds on their empty property was look in that direction in rage. He walked out like he knew exactly what was going on, why the police where here and why we were hiding.
On the other hand, Nagisa's face had darkened completely to a shadow.
"Don't look at me like that." I explained casually,"We can drag him back more easily now that he's become such a puppet."
I reached over, pinching the boy by the shoulders just tightly enough so that I could lift him, yet he shot up like I was the end open end of an electric wire, stumbling over and crashing right into Nagisa.
My eyes narrowed. Nagisa's hand closed around him protectively.
"Don't listen to a word he says. You're not a puppet Gakushuu and you're certainly not going to die. You have the choice of how you want your future to go, but please, you have to get up."
My smile dropped instantaneously when he looked up right into Nagisa's eyes, which I myself couldn't see. Seeing his arm around him, their eyes meeting in a secluded area outside of my range triggered something in me. Suddenly, jealousy made me oblivious to the murmurs around me. Nagisa whispered to Gakushuu, holding his close. Suddenly, I found no harm in ripping them apart and slamming Gakushuu's back into the cold hard concrete.
"What are y-"
Suddenly, I found a hand coiling around my throat. A cold, threatening hand I knew would crush my throat if I didn't react soon, I turned, striking my foot out to kick this opponent, only to find I was already the prey when my world went spinning around, and my body sent skidding backwards until I hit the concrete wall.
My skin burned from where Nagisa had attacked me, but not as much as my eyes did when I saw him on his knee's crawling towards that sly bastard I regretted ever trying to help out. Snake like and agile, the smaller boy slid between his bent legs, with one arm supporting his weight on the side, the finger from his the one opposite to this pressed against his lips to hush him, eyes big, bold blue and brilliant although innocent and oblivious to his actions as they looked up caringly, his lips mouthing silent words that had my ears ringing.
My eyes managed to focus just enough to realise that from behind them, everyone was looking their way. Shit. That was my blunder. The blue light was no longer as blinding. The two officers were now facing us. They were now inside the gates, and the Chairman walking towards us.
Walking towards Nagisa while he had his back turned.
"Nagisa!" I cried out, no longer caring about being quiet or not. A set of eyes shot back to me, though they were a detestably, uncared for purple. Not the blue I was looking for. Not the blue I needed to hear me out right now.
"Ignore him." I watched Nagisa coax his chin back with both of his hands around his face. He was looking up with as much shock and fear as the first time he touched the other.
"Everything, is going to be fin-"
"Your dad is gonna fucking kill you!"
My warning came at a sickeningly inconvenient time. Not any later, as Gakushuu would have screamed out and drowned the sound of it, but not any earlier so as it turned out, neither of them had the time to accept my words, react to them and run. My words sounded incriminating, as if I were only a jealous, taunting bastard.
The Chairman's hand reached out and so much as brushed Nagisa's shoulder, as both eyes turned up to him, Gakushuu jumped back and slammed his head into the car behind him so hard a dent marred it like a brick had been dropped there. His breathing hastened, loosing his grip to gravity and slamming down into the concrete before the police officers could get to him. It happened so quickly, the Chairman hadn't even blinked when the bottom of my foot smited his face and sent him back away from Nagisa with blood dripping down his nose.
Nagisa stood in shock, going to the officers - over to Gakushuu who was injured, the Chairman who was potentially murderous for revenge and myself who should have been the first Nagisa looked at. He went straight to the officers, holding his hands up defensively and stuttering,
"No It's not what it seem-"
I only recognised the boys intentions when they shoved past him. Seconds later, my own face had been slammed down into the car, shouting blurring out my senses and my back bent forward as my hands were clasped in metal cuffs before being reeled off into the back of a car with red and blue lights and a metal cage that trapped me, once again.