The Outsider

by starazure

Kenshin is an aimless student who has nothing to look forward to in life. He and his friends receive a surprise when they must welcome a new student to their high school; the refined, young and attractive Soujiro Seta. While everyone is taken by his charms, Kenshin is suspicious of him. Some things, however, are better off undiscovered. Dark fic, AU, non-canon, yaoi, hard lemon.

8. Excuses

Author's notes:Hey everyone. :) I know, I know, I know what you're all thinking. But, great news! I downloaded this thing on my iPhone which is the official app, and I could actually update my documents on my phone. So what this means is that I get to write and work on the chapters wherever I go as long as I take my iPhone with me! So while I was working at my job, every time I get my short breaks and lunch, I just go at it like crazy for the past week on the app. So I'm really happy I have this and now I don't have anymore excuses to avoid writing while attending my full time job, LOL! I'm really sorry for the hiatus, but I am back for real and you will all be rewarded with an update every Friday evening in the EDT time zone. Hope you enjoy this long awaited update!

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"These excuses
How they serve me so well
They've kept me safe
They've kept me stoic
They've kept me locked in my own cell"

- Alanis Morisette

It's the morning after. I woke up from my cell phone buzzing on Soujiro's night stand. He must've charged them together before our little movie night. Groaning from the sleepiness, I grab my phone from the charger and flip it over to see who in the world is bugging me. It's ten in the morning, and it's Sano trying to call me. Being butt naked and sleeping next to Soujiro, I don't think I'm in any position to talk to my best friend of over a decade like this. I press my thumb on the red button, sending him to the voicemail realm. I place my phone back on the night stand and roll around to see that I'm in the bed all by myself. I frown. Where's Soujiro? I sit up and rub my eyes with my palms, grumbling. Maybe he already woke up and is making breakfast for himself. Wonder what I can find to eat around here.

I can't believe last night happened. I don't really believe a lot of things have happened since I've met Soujiro, really. But this.. Last night.. It was different. More profound. There was something really disturbing in Soujiro's behaviors and thought processes, and I keep ruminating it inside my head as to what it could mean. I understand that getting molested by a teacher would really be traumatizing for some people.. well, anybody, really, when you think about it. I would hate to have been in Soujiro's position at age fourteen. That's so disgusting and wrong on so many levels. I kick the blankets off of me and hop off the bed to trudge myself downstairs. Maybe there's more to Soujiro's confession that he's not telling me at this time..

But the question is.. Why?

As I step inside the kitchen, the scent that lingers couldn't be denied. Soujiro's making pancakes, like from the West. I don't really eat stuff from America or Canada, but pancakes really are a favorite of mine when I tried it the first time with Hiko some years ago. I watch Soujiro as he flips one pancake on the hot skillet, the butter hissing as he does so. I lean against the door way to just watch him. With his hair slightly tousled and pursing his lips as he concentrates on his cooking, he looks absolutely adorable. I had to try my best to hide my sheepish smirk. I cross my arms and it seems like he hasn't heard me come in yet, so I take this opportunity to study him. With just his boxer shorts and white t-shirt, Soujiro looks surprisingly ordinary. And I mean that in a good way. Just like that punk outfit he wore at the house party, I have to wonder just how many masks he puts on whenever his father is (or isn't) around. Is he the star pupil when his dad's home, or is he really the trash rocker when he isn't home? Is he the neighborhood's beloved charity worker, or is he the homosexual deviant who sleeps with anyone with a pulse?

My stomach drops slightly as I think about my memory with Hiko and the pancakes. I was only fourteen years old. I barely grew any facial hair at that age. I was practically skin and bones, and made fun of girls more so than wanted to date them. And then I think about the teacher that did those terrible things with a fourteen year old Soujiro.. And it just doesn't seem plausible at all. I know that pedophiles exist. It's just so hard to believe it. I guess tragedy has that sort of thing to them. It's unbelievable because believing it would hurt like hell when you admit that it's real. I can't believe people like that teacher even exist, and wonder how many children out there gets hurt because of them. It's horrific. It's sickening. Soujiro hums to himself soothingly as he picks up the plates and turns around to walk over to the kitchen table, still unaware of where I am standing. Once he set the platters down, I clear my throat which made him jump in surprise, whipping his head at me with shock.

"Oh! You scared me!" He laughs, "Morning! Are you hungry? Better eat it now before it gets cold!"

"Well, aren't you my little Steward Wife," I cooed teasingly as I walk my way up to the kitchen table to sit down, "Not that I mind, of course."

"Be my guest," Soujiro sits down with a grin, "I think you'll love these."

"Judging by the smell, I bet it's awesome," I take my fork and knife to dig in, "Do you do this whenever your dad travels?"

"Oh yeah. I eat like a pig when he isn't around to.."

I wait for him, cutting my piece of pancake. Placing it in my mouth, I chew on it and moan in delight, "Mmm, this is delicious!"

"Yeah," He chuckles after a pause, "I'm glad you like it!"

We continue eating in peace, scarfing down on pancakes drenched in maple syrup and with melted butter on top. He then made us some coffee with I drink plain black and some sugar. He seems to love to take it with lots of cream in it, though. I kind of like the contrast. We then walk to the living room to finish off our coffees together on the couch. Soujiro turns on the live TV and switches it to the local news, while I fumble with my phone to text Sano back.

kenshin where you been?

busy with homework.

YOU? BUSY? WITH HOMEWORK?!

yes dude, i actually want to fucking graduate with you guys.

yeah right! i didn't think you cared!

well i do so fuck you :)

... dude, was that an emoji? since when did you do that kinda shit?

I flinch inwardly. Oops.

since i damn well felt like it. what's it to you? and what are you guys doing?

me and yahiko got some kush if ur interested.

That would be smash. Too bad I'm too busy having great sex.

this will sound stupid but i can't. maybe next time. i think i know what i wanna do when i go to uni.

fo real? what?

i can't say. ;)

fuck you lol. i'll tag you later on fb with pics.

bye

"Are your bros doing okay?" Soujiro asks with a strange leer while I back off with a yelp, "They must miss you dearly."

I scoff, "Whatever, they can fuck off and have a life without me in it twenty-four-seven. I have my own life, too."

"So you are enjoying yourself here.." He muses to himself, smiling down at his coffee cup, "That's a relief."

"A relief?"

"Yeah. I thought you'd leave right after we fucked."

My eyes snap open a centimeter. Soujiro..

"Is that.. Is that why you cried last night?"

Now it's his turn to look distraught, but only for a few seconds until he just snaps out of it and beams at me, "No! I told you already, it was because of those terrible memories! I'll be alright!"

"Soujiro.."

"Come on, we should do something fun together! What do you want to do? We can't just sit here and watch the TV all day." He switches off the device as a point of demonstration, "What can we do today?"

I just stare at him, not knowing what to say. What the hell can we do today? I mean, he's the one who invited me here in the first place.. He should know what to do, not me. If I had invited him to my place, I'd know what to do to keep him entertained. And I don't mean fucking him, though that would take up most of the day's activities if I could have my way with him. Anyway. But I just don't know what to do around here. Well, the nearby town has some activities that I am aware of, but I've never really been around that area before. Wouldn't hurt to look it up on my phone, though..

"We could.. I don't know. Take a trip."

Wow, Kenshin.

Great fucking job.

Are you twelve?

"That.." Soujiro starts, and I cringe, ".. Is a great idea, actually! Yeah! Let's do it! Let's take a trip, together!"

Huh?

"W-what?" I stammer, blushing, "I..!"

"Hmm? Oh, don't worry about the money. I'll take care of that. Why don't we travel by bus to Hiroshima? I mean, I could drive us, but.. I bet it'd be fun for me to travel just like you regular folks."

"Us regular folks?" My eyebrow shots up. He grins.

"Exactly. Like you wonderful, wonderful regular people. I had fun on the bus ride with you and your friends to that zoo, remember?"

"You're.. something." I sigh and get up, giving up, "Fine. Let's go to Hiroshima."

"Yay!"

So that's what we're going to do. After we showered together and brushed our teeth, got dressed, and packed a couple of small carry on luggage, Soujiro and I left the mansion to head down to the nearest bus station. I check the bus schedule on my phone while Soujiro asks the receptionist there for what the price for the tickets to Hiroshima are. After all that's said and done, I find myself staring blankly ahead to the front of the bus shuttle, stunned at this strange turn of events. How did we get this far already? How is it that Soujiro and I are taking a trip many miles away from home, when I don't really know much about him since last week? How? How does Soujiro have this much power over me?

Well, there really is no more time to ponder. As the bus lifts up and hisses, my mind does a record scratch and I am awake to find the world peeling past us on the window next to me. Soujiro brought us a pair of our own earbuds so that we can listen to our respective music on our phones, and thank goodness he did. I like to let my mind wander while I listen to some tunes, especially when things are stressing me out. I wonder where in the world we're going to sleep at. Does Soujiro even know which hotel to rent? I've never been to Hiroshima before. What do people even do there, anyway?

During the bus ride, Soujiro took out his ear buds and just fiddled with his phone to read an e-book of some type. It didn't take long, however, for him to start dozing off and rest his head on my shoulder. Despite me blushing deeply, I don't dare move him. His hair smells so nice today.

After three hours of being stuck in that bus, we finally made it. Hopping off the bus, we roll our luggages behind us as I start asking Soujiro where we should stay for tonight. He mentions something about a place he stayed at with a friend one time, and should have a hotel in this city too. He looks in his phone and immediately finds it, and we hail a cab to get there.

"Shouldn't you reserve a room first?" I ask.

"Don't worry about it."

We arrive to the front of this massive grand hotel. I mean, it looked like a fucking palace. What is this place? I was staring at it like a dumb fuck while Soujiro was still in the cab, paying and chatting with the driver. The driver was laughing, not sure why or what Soujiro might've said to make him do that. My mind is too focused on the beautiful place in front of me. Royal families must've lived here eons ago. It looks brand new, or maybe it's a very old hotel that has since been updated to attract more clients. Either way.. I really like it so far. Soujiro and I walked through the glass doors that separate automatically as we come near it. Like Soujiro's bathroom, there's marble and glass and gold trimmings everywhere, and it smells like a spa room in here. I relax immediately. Maybe I really don't have anything to worry about, right?

"One bedroom, please."

"Your name, sir?"

"Seta Soujiro, of the Seta Enterprise."

"O-Oh, yes, yes of course! Right this way, sir! Shall we carry your luggages too! I'll be sure to have someone bring up champagne on ice for you two pronto!"

My mind is swimming. Our suitcases were taken from us by a couple of these butlers and we went inside this really neat glass elevator where I can see the entirety of the hotel's insides as we ride upwards. Traveling up through one level, I see a big blanket of water coming down on one side, and Soujiro tells me that it's just part of their little entertainment for the guests. Like some weird fountain or something. I was a little too stumped to reply to him and just watch as the water continues to go down from outside of the elevator. We finally made it all the way up of the building, where we were brought inside a "presidential" suite. Whatever in the world that means..

"Say, Soujiro.."

"Masters, your room.. awaits." One of the butlers interrupts me, opening the massive door to our room.

...

Holy fuck.

Am I dreaming?

This place, it's..

"It's.. h.." I couldn't finish the sentence, hearing Soujiro giggling from behind me. The butlers wait patiently while I take a few steps inside the master suite, probably the best room of this entire hotel. It looks like a beautiful apartment that's far too expensive for just anyone to live in. There's a massive family room with a stone fireplace, padded with lush furniture for a comfier living. A flat screen TV is adorned above the fireplace, and it's big enough for a night of watching endless horror movies with Soujiro. If he wants to, of course. I know I do. I look to the left to see that the family room stretches out to a kitchen with a complete double oven, an island for us to cut and prepare food on, and all the expensive silverware a man could ever want and more. To my right, there is a wall with the doors open to show a sitting room and a dinning room down across from it, with a large redwood finished table that's much too large for just us two boys. It would be suited for a family, actually! I wonder what the bedrooms looks like..

I gulp.

"That'll be all, gentlemen," I hear Soujiro bid them a friendly goodbye, "If you bring the champagne here, please add some edibles with it, too. I'm feeling a little hungry from my travels."

"Yes, sir!"

The door closes behind me and I turn around, my lips already crushed by that boy as he kisses me hungrily. As if all that traveling had ramped up his hormones to desire a feverish lovemaking. I clasp his forearms and yank him off of me before I whisper, "The fuck?"

He seems stunned for a second, but then his eyes cloud over with lust and tries to kiss me again, but I tighten my hold so that he can't move as freely, "Kenshin..!"

"We can't.." I shake my head with shut eyes, "We can't just fuck whenever you want! Those guys will be up any minute! And.. don't they.. don't they know your father? Do they know who you're really a part of? You're already stepping on thin ice renting an entire suite for the both of us. I'm not a girl, Soujiro! I'm a guy, just like you! What are they.. I.."

And then my heart thumps when I see him start to laugh, with a strange bitter sadness in his eyes and on his lips. What is going on now? Is he losing his mind again? I gotta wake him up from this madness. I start to shake him, snarling, "Wake up! Snap out of it! We're here, aren't we? I'm glad you took me here, Soujiro! You don't have to fuck me just to keep me around!"

That did it. He abruptly stops laughing, hesitating and not knowing what to say at that. I grunt, staring straight inside those beautiful blue eyes that will surely haunt my dreams for the rest of my life. The room stills with a silence. He stares at me for some time before his eyes naturally fall to the floor, desolate and confused. Oh shit. Is that true, then? Does Soujiro.. Does he really think that people are just out there just to use him and not really care about him? Did he ever had a true friend to depend on? Or have they all fucked him, in one way or another? Did he felt used and abused and now cannot trust that someone, anyone, could possibly find him interesting in his own right? And has to resort to waving his money or sex appeal around in order to win some friends? My grasp on his forearms starts to falter at that realization, a small startling gasp escaping my lips as I do so. I knew there was one thing I can do for him right now..

I quickly pull him into a fierce hug, wrapping my arms around his frail body and engulfing my slightly larger build onto him. I rub my face into his neck, fighting to stop the tears that are coming. Why? Why do I care so much? Why does this hurt me too? How can all of this happen so suddenly and yet, so intensely? Is the saying of two souls that meet each other, can transcend the physics of time, and can be together and actually stay together? I don't want to let Soujiro go. Something about him seems so broken deep down. I have to find out what it is. That teacher.. He must've done way more than drag Soujiro's young hand down his pants. There has to be more there that are more sinister and disgusting and absolutely life ruining for any child to go through. There has to be more..

There just has to be.

"K.. Kenshin..?"

"Don't talk." I breathe, "Please!"

He shuts up. A few beats later, he melts into this hug, wrapping his own arms around my mid section. We stay like that for a long time. I just have to let Soujiro know that he's more important than he realizes. That he doesn't need to impress me or my friends in order to get us to like him. It doesn't work like that. I wonder if maybe his father taught him that, though. That people are only interested in what you can provide for them. That nobody could possibly like or care for Soujiro unless he coughs up some yen for the enjoyment of others. I tighten my hold of him at that thought, a quiet sob escaping my lips. No. No! It's just not true! It couldn't be! Soujiro is every bit as important as I know he is! Money can never change that..

A very soft voice calls out my name, "Kenshin.."

".. Let's go out." I break the hug carefully, my grin not betraying the tears in my eyes as I look at his confused face, "Let's have fun, okay? Let's just.. I don't know. I want us to have a normal time together. Without spending a lot of money or having sex, okay? Can we do that, Soujiro? Can we?"

His eyes widen, grunting and not knowing what to say for a while until he nods, "Um.. okay.."

We leave the hotel and I take my phone out to start researching on things to do in this place. What do people around here do for fun? What is Hiroshima famous for? My search engine immediately pops up endless suggestions, from karaoke to shopping malls and aquariums and small boat rides. Perfect! I show Soujiro my phone as we walk down the busy streets, and he starts to lighten up with giggling over the phone's ideas. He first suggests going to a nearby arcade, and I agreed. We find one not too far away from the hotel, really just a short bus ride away. As we enter, the smell of cheap food and machinery hits us, and I sigh contently. I have so many fond memories of hanging out in places like this with my friends. Soujiro seems a bit lost on what to do or where to go, so I kindly show him where to get the special coins.

"Special.." His eyebrow flickers up, "Coins?"

"Yeah. They're used for the machines so that you can play the games." I laugh good naturedly, paying the kind gentleman at the reception desk for the coins, "Don't tell me you've never been to an arcade before?"

"I.. I haven't. No. This is my first time.." Soujiro's cheeks redden.

"It's alright," I shrug, "I'll be your guide."

"I'll be your guide." Soujiro repeats after me with a low mumble and foolish grin, which made me even crack a chuckle.

I showed Soujiro some machines that were showing old school titles like Donkey Kong and Mortal Kombat, and he told me his tales over playing these games a lot as a child. I join in with his reminiscing, telling him about the games that Hiko and I played together many years ago. I made sure to hand Soujiro plenty of coins to let him play the machines to his heart's content, rooting for him when he beat the level and laughing at him when he would lose. We would move from machine to machine, trying to find the perfect one that would itch the spot for us, somehow. I was busy playing PacMan like a boss when I could feel myself standing there all alone. I look around and over my shoulders to try and find Soujiro, to no avail. I frown and then shrugged, turning around to continue playing. Only one more level to go before I beat the second highest ranked player! Whoever Meechan is, they're fucking finished!

"Come on.." I bite my lower lip in anticipation while I move my yellow round friend around and avoiding the enemies, the fluorescent flashing lights making my eyes hurt. I concentrated on the game enough to almost finish it, when I felt the emptiness grow even larger than before. I look around and all the other visitors are gone, and that's when I hear a group clamoring from a short distance away. I walk off and try to follow the noise, walking deeper into the arcade until I'm in a bigger room. I see the crowd circling around something. The energy in the air feels insane. What's going on? I carefully push through them, at least enough so that I see, just up ahead, two young men standing in front of each other. They bow, and turn their backs on all of us, the big screen that I haven't noticed before lighting up to a bright white, making the crowd go wild.

Then I hear it.

"Dance Dance Revolution 2!"

I recognize one of the player's hair and clothing..

"Soujiro..?" I whisper to myself, completely drowned by the crowd's screaming.

"Let's begin! Round one!"

The video starts and I see the players moving their feet to the colored squares flashing by, slow at first. I can't recall what the title of the song is, but it sounds pretty peppy and Western like. I know because of some of the English words that I can pick up in the air as everyone cheers on:

"I'm so into you
I can barely breathe."

I watch intently as Soujiro fluidly moves his feet under the bright lights beneath him, as if he had practiced this game to perfection. I wonder what his real childhood is like. Not the childhood that has to do with his father's business trips, or living in mansions, or going to fancy boarding schools. I wanna know how he dealt with his childish fears like sleeping the dark, or thunderstorms wailing outside when all he had was a teddy bear to hold. I wonder how many scrapes or bruises he acquired and how he would wear them with pride like I did as a kid. I wanna know if he ever received a secret valentine, or if he believed in Santa for a lot longer than his own peers.

I want to know how he reacted to his mother's passing.

"And all I wanna do is to fall in deep
But close ain't close enough
Till we cross the line."

Soujiro looks like he's having so much fun. When he would twirl around on one foot and step on one square with the other, laughing like he hasn't had fun like this in centuries.. I would feel something strange inside my chest. His brown hair would swoop over his head, his bangs nearly covering his eyes, and every time our eyes would lock for a split second, my stomach drops. I never felt this way before.

"So name a game to play,
and I'll roll the dice,
hey."

The computer screams out the scores every so often, and it looks like Soujiro is topping. Even though the song isn't really my style, I'll admit.. Soujiro looks really good dancing to it. At that thought, my cheeks flush and I chuckle nervously. The other player seems to be hesitant with his steps, but Soujiro looks every bit as confident as a dancing professional. The lights, the sounds, the heat of all the bodies screaming.. it's too much. My heart flutters and my ear drums feel raw from all the sensations. Every body seems to cheer on Soujiro more so than the other guy. Poor dude.

"Oh baby, look what you started
The temperature's rising in here
Is this gonna happen?
Been waiting and waiting for you to make a move
Before I make a move."

I wonder..

I wonder so much..

The song now picks up the pace and so does the speed of the flashing squares on the screen.

"So baby, come light me up and baby I'll let you on it
A little bit dangerous, but baby, that's how I want it
A little less conversation, and a little more touch my body
'Cause I'm so into you, into you, into you
Got everyone watchin' us, so baby, let's keep it secret
A little bit scandalous, but baby, don't let them see it
A little less conversation and a little more touch my body
'Cause I'm so into you, into you, into you, oh yeah."

The crowd goes wild as he steps on all the lights on the floor flawlessly.

Soujiro..

"This could take some time, hey
I made too many mistakes
Better get this right, right, baby."

I remember when you told me you loved me the first time..

"Oh baby, look what you started
The temperature's rising in here
Is this gonna happen?
Been waiting and waiting for you to make a move
Before I make a move."

You're not.. lying to me about that..

Are you?

"So baby, come light me up and baby I'll let you on it
A little bit dangerous, but baby, that's how I want it
A little less conversation, and a little more touch my body
'Cause I'm so into you, into you, into you
Got everyone watchin' us, so baby, let's keep it secret
A little bit scandalous, but baby, don't let them see it
A little less conversation and a little more touch my body
'Cause I'm so into you, into you, into you."

"WINNER!"

I snap out of it in time as the crowd continues to cheer a little louder this time, full of admiration of the handsome brunet who is now jumping from the gaming platform and onto the floor. Right in front of me. He takes a moment to gather himself before lifting his head up to smile at me, and my chest jumps. Soujiro. I take in a faltering breath as I feel his fingers intertwining with mines, the heat so quiet and yet so.. I couldn't finish my thoughts because Soujiro walks on with his hand in mine, almost dragging me behind him as we rush through the sweaty crowd. The song continues and I hear some folks yelling after us, but we don't stop. We start running out of the arcade, laughing for no reason. Soujiro whips around once we are in a corner of the street and giggles, "Was I good, or was I good?!"

"You were amazing!" I breathed, shaking my head subtly with a chuckle, "Damn, Soujiro!"

He beams at me, tightening his hand around mine, "Where to?"

"Huh?"

"I'm having a lot of fun! But, I want to go where you want to go, Kenshin."

Another jump. I gulp, smiling demurely at myself.

"I'm actually kinda hungry, to be honest."

"Let's go eat, then!"

So that's what we did; scouring the city for a quick bite. Because we're such big fans of sushi, we kept asking my phone for the nearest (and best) restaurant with an abundance of seafood cuisine. Finally after walking around for half an hour, we settled for a moderately upscale looking place. I think I have enough money on my debit card's savings account that Hiko helped me with when I did under-the-table job gigs since I was fifteen. Saving is super important, Hiko used to say, and I believed him. I still do, sort of.

Anyway.

"Right this way, boys." Our waitress, an attractive bottle blonde, escorts us to a nice table next to a window, "Shall we start with a drink?"

"Strawberry soda." Soujiro beams at her, making her giggle. Ugh.

I wonder if my fake ID can help me get away with having alcohol. Then again, maybe that's a bad idea..

"And you, sir?" She looks at me, her glossy smile catching me off guard for a second.

Well, here goes nothing, right?

"I'll have a beer."

She gapes at me for what feels like a long time, and then whoops into a fit of laughter, "Okay! Coming right up!"

She walks away while trying to tone down her laughing, and we both look on with confusion. Wonder what that was about?

"Do you think she knows I'm too young to drink?" I blink.

Soujiro turns to me, sniggering, "I think she did, but because you're so handsome and sure of yourself, she'll pour you a pity drink."

I scoff with a smirk, "Fuck you."

We chit chatted about school and the homework we have to sadly face after this trip. Soujiro swears that he will help me if I come to study period with him in the school library, and I reluctantly agreed with him. We talked about what is it we really wanted to do, bouncing ideas off of each other with really silly careers like "clown doctor", "marijuana chemist", and "sex technician."

Our waitress comes back with our respective drinks, making it a point to turn to me and give me a playful wink before walking away. Soujiro giggles at my red face and I grimaced at him.

"Don't laugh, but.. I've always wanted to be a vet for the animals. Especially stray animals with nowhere to go." Soujiro takes a sip of his soda while resting his cheek against his palm.

"That's.." He looks into my eyes as I talk, "Really nice, actually. You should totally do it."

He sits there staring at me quietly, his eyes flashing to his drink with an uneasy frown, "I can't."

"Why not?" I drink my beer.

"Dad wouldn't allow it. He wants me to major in international business and politics so that I am primed for the corporation when he finally retires."

I set down my beer, "Dude. Fuck that. Fuck all of that. You should do what you want, not him."

He smirks, his eyes showing a hint of melancholy, "It's not that simple."

"It's plenty fucking simple," I grit my teeth, already annoyed, "Just tell him what you want to do and he'll respect that, if he really cares about you."

He sighs, "It's really not that simple, Kenshin. You don't know what it's like to be the son of one of the most powerful men in the country."

"No, but I know what it's like to stay true to myself. That's the way to be in this world."

"In this world.." Soujiro trails off, his eyes coming up to my face, "We all play a role in this world. I happened to be pegged in mine thanks to my dad. I should be thankful for it, really. I'll never have to worry about money again."

"Is everything about money to you?" I sneer.

"Yes. Unlike you, I happen to live in the real world."

"I wonder how you'd look with beer dripping down from your hair." I threaten with a glower, his eyes also showing fierce anger. We sit like that in intense silence for a while before the waitress came bouncing back.

"Are you ready to order?"

"Yes!" In an instant, Soujiro is back to being his usual chipper self, "We'd like to order the rainbow selection for the sushi."

"Of course! Anything else?"

"Another beer." I grumble to myself. Thankfully, she heard me and giggles to herself as she takes our menus away.

We avoid each other's eyes and fiddle with our phones instead. I don't have to put up with his shit. Who does he think he is? I roll my eyes with a sigh, deciding to open up my Facebook. I decide to text Sano and see what he's up to. Oh wait.. he's offline. Okay, well, what about Yahiko? I scroll through, deflating when I realized that he too, is offline. I check Kaoru, Megumi, Misao.. they're all offline. Where the fuck are they? It's the weekend! Maybe they're out partying somewhere. Without me. I'm here, instead, hanging out with a stuck up bitch. And not even a hot female one, at that! I scroll through my friends list until I stop at one of the online ones who are available to chat:

aoshi, u there?

yes. what's up?

i'm bored.

... and?

entertain me, you jerk. what are u up to?

i'm with misao. her bunny's sick, so i'm here to support her.

you mean there to fuck her.

support, fuck, what's the difference.

LOL. how is she?

she's okay, just worried. the bunny seems to not want to eat or do anything.

that is weird. i hope it doesn't die on us.

me neither. where are you, anyway?

Um. Hmm. How do I put this down delicately?

i'm with soujiro. he's helping me study for something.

A half lie is better than a complete lie, right?

ah that's nice. how is he? still a psycho?

sadly.

lol. well, i better get going, but i'll text you later on. sano has an idea for all of us this week.

cool.

"Um.. Hi!"

I almost jump out of my skin as a new voice greets me, and I turn to my side to see two young ladies around my age smiling down at me. They're both dressed like they just got out of some night club which, with this time and setting, looks really bizzare. One has long brown hair and the other is in red pigtails, both adorned in tastefully applied makeup. I grunt, unsure of what to say, and not even Soujiro is able to say anything. Who are these girls?

"We like, totally saw you at the arcade and my friend Meechan here," The brunette elbows the red haired beauty in the ribs, "Got really jealous that you beat her score in PacMan."

"Yeah!" Meechan giggles, sticking out her tongue playfully.

"Whoa.. You're the actual Meechan?" My eyes widen, "I didn't think I could beat your score at all!"

She blushes, "Well, you did, so we just came here to congratulate you."

"And to maybe buy you some drinks. Unless.. you want to buy us drinks first." The brunette chuckles, "I'm Okita, by the way."

"Kenshin," I smile, enjoying this flirtatious banter already.

"That's such a cute name!" Meechan squeals, making her friend giggle along with her.

I couldn't help but let my eyes flash over to Soujiro and see that he's just looking at them blankly for some reason. Maybe he's a little shy with girls. Well, that wouldn't make sense, being a good looking guy and all. Whatever, more for me! I turn back to the girls and ask them a little about themselves, which they happily lap it up by talking about the schools they go and what they like to do for fun.

"And Meechan here has a thing for guys with long hair." Okita rubs her finger against Meechan's blushing cheek, "Don't you, dear?"

"Okitasan, stop it!" She whines, which made me chuckle airily.

"Heyyy, who's your friend?" Okita finally pays attention to Soujiro, "What's your name?"

He smiles, "Soujiro Seta."

"That's an even lovelier name." Okita purrs.

Do I sense a foursome?

Get a hold of yourself, Kenshin.

I refuse to be like that pervert Sanosuke.

"Not as lovely as your faces." I bravely complimented, which made them writhe and giggle among themselves. Suddenly, I feel a certain weight on my thigh which caught me off guard for a second. What is that, what―

"―Ah!" I nearly jump up from my seat and hitting the table, making the girls flinch also. Something.. something is on my leg..?

"You okay?" Okita giggles uneasily as Meechan stares at me weirdly.

"Never.. never better." I grunt, feeling the weight slowly traveling up more and more by the second, "Ha ha.."

".. Okay then," Okita turns to Soujiro now, "We were wondering if you'd like to hang out with us tonight. We know a good place to chill, it's right downtown from here and all the coolest people will be there."

"Yeah, like, DJs and new coming artists and stuff." Meechan gushes.

The weight now applies pressure on my crotch. What the fuck? Is that.. is that Soujiro's fucking foot on my lap? I glare at him from across the table, but he's too busy smiling like a happy little saint in front of the girls.

"What's the place called?" Soujiro asks with a tilt of his head, his foot driving deeper into my crotch, as if threatening me. I grunt, feeling my cheeks burning.

"The Jump Club. Really hot." Okita states nonchalantly with a flip of her long hair over her shoulder, "Where are you guys staying?"

"The Grand Golden Gates Hotel." Soujiro also answers nonchalantly. If he had longer hair, he'd flip it too. I can hear the girls gasping in stunned silence.

"What the fuck? Are you guys rich or something?!" Meechan squeaks, "That makes you two even better than before!"

"I'll say!" Okita gasps.

"U-um," I grab my napkin in a fit of desperation as Soujiro rubs his foot against my now enlarging member, "M-maybe we can exchange numbers?"

Soujiro pushes his foot deeper, threatening me even harder. I bite my lower lip.

"Sure, if you can stop making that face. You sick or something?" Okita laughs a little harshly as she whips out her phone to turn it on, "What's your number?"

Soujiro's foot dips lower. I guess he doesn't want this to happen.

".. On second thought, why don't you give me your numbers? We will definitely call you." I answer in uneven breaths, trying my best to appear as normal as possible despite the awkward circumstances from below the table.

Soujiro's foot slowly backs off. Better, then?

"Sure." Okita shrugs and I hand her my phone so she can punch her digits in before she hands it to Meechan to do the same, "Make sure you call us, or else."

"Or else what?" I smirk with a leer, which made Soujiro push his foot into my crotch a little harder than before, "Mmf!"

"Oh nothing, just something really bad." Okita winks at me before whipping around and waving her hand at us from behind, "Later!"

"See you around, boys!" Meechan now winks at Soujiro who responds with a friendly beam before catching up with her friend.

As soon as they both leave the resturant entirely, Soujiro retracts his foot away from me and he continues to eat the sushi rolls without saying anything. I gape at him in horror, ".. What the fuck is wrong with you?"

He shrugs with one shoulder.

"Come on," I chuckle nervously, "Don't tell me you don't want to get your dick wet with those girls, right?"

He chews his food quietly, and then stops, opening his eyes to look at me bemusedly, "Why would I want that?"

"Why the fuck not?" I snigger a little harder now, "They're both begging for it and you know it."

He frowns, "I don't want it. I don't want them. Why do you even want them?"

I look at him for a while, confused, "I thought.. but.. I thought you liked having sex with girls?"

"I'm sexually satisfied thanks to you." He smiles somberly while looking down at his food.

"That's not what I mean." I look around the restaurant with just my eyes, almost convinced that the entire place heard what Soujiro just said.

"But it's true." Soujiro sits up straighter now, looking defiantly at me now.

"Will you keep your voice down? People can hear us." I slouch over my plate and cringe, almost swearing I can see the guy from the next table over looking over at Soujiro for a quick moment before continuing on eating his food.

Soujiro sighs, "Fine. Let's just hurry up and go."

"What's your beef?" I seethe in a scathing whisper, making him scowl in return.

"Nothing. Let's just go."

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

We walk silently side by side down the streets, without any sense of direction or destination. That was really awkward back there. I wonder what is going inside Soujiro's head right now. I wonder if I somehow instigated his moodiness or even hurt his feelings. I mean.. he did confessed that he loves me and hasn't let up with that since then, so I do wonder if I accidentally broke his heart flirting with those girls.

I watch Soujiro walking ahead of me, studying the back of his head and how the sun gives him subtle highlights. I think he had high hopes for this trip, honestly. Maybe he wondered if it is possible for someone, even a runt like myself, could ever like him for who he is and not what he brings to the table. He brought us the bus tickets, the hotel room, and even the sushi. And what did I do to thank him? By throwing at myself to those random sluts.

I suddenly remember how he looked at me that night at his house party: "I love you.. Kenshin."

I stop walking, a heaviness falling over my head. I'm such an asshole to him. I'm a jerk to pretty much everyone else, but I think I act way worse when I'm with him. Why? Why can't I learn to trust and enjoy his presence as easily as my friends do? Am I the one in the wrong here? Is Soujiro really not hiding anything and all he really wants is to find his own place in the world?

I mean.. who am I to get in the way of that?

"Soujiro.." I mumble loud enough for him to hear and stop walking also, ".. Stop."

He waits for me. I gulp dryly.

"Let's just go home.. okay?" I state this quietly, my chest hurting from the guilt.

We stood there for a long time, our hair rustled with a strong gust of wind as it passes by us. What is he thinking of now?

Soujiro finally looks over his shoulder at me with a warm smile and says, "Let's go to the shopping mall. There's something I want to buy for myself."

My eyes widen with a grunt. That's a weird thing to request after a heated argument. But looking deep into those blue eyes, I have a feeling that the last thing he wants is to drag on the awkwardness for longer than necessary. Well, if he insists. I sigh, "Okay."

We arrive at this nice outlet mall that's near our hotel. Must be where the actual rich folks shop at. I can hardly spell out or recognize the store names or clothing brands everywhere I turn. As the shopping customers walk by, they would smile at Soujiro but glared at my less than fashionable clothing choices. Class discrimination is real, y'all. Good thing my famous "Don't come close to me unless you want to die" face keeps everyone at bay wherever we go.

Soujiro stops in a big clothing store that sells nothing but pure high end brands. I can't even look at the tags without feeling nausea from all the zeroes. How the fuck do some people afford this without batting an eye at the register till? Ridiculous. I walk and look around in boredom, shoving my hands into my jean pockets casually.

I keep getting dirty looks from the store clerks, so I try not to stray too far from Soujiro in case they start following me around or accuse me of stealing. Which, unfortunately, is something I go through every time I go shopping with Hiko on a rare moon.

Soujiro leads me to the fitting room and tells me he'll be out in a few minutes. I shrug in response. When he disappears, I look around the area just a bit away from the fitting room out of curiosity. I'm really not a shopping guy, now that I think about it. Even if I had as much money as Soujiro does.. I highly doubt I'd be into dressing well or anything like that. That's for women to enjoy, honestly. Give me a pair of jeans, a shirt, shoes, the basic essentials, and I'm golden.

Clothes. Hmph. Who needs em..

I abruptly stop as my eyes land on something that's out of this world. It's a sleek, tight fitted leather jacket, finished to a near black gloss. The insides is a velvet red satin texture and, just from feeling the sleeves, it's leather is definitely of a genuine kind. Is it lamb skin they made with this too? Holy shit. I've only ever worn one leather jacket, but it's a flimsy piece of shit compared to this garment. The zippers and buttons remind me of sterling silver that Kaoru takes from her mother's jewelry box sometimes.

I dared myself to take a look at the price tag: ¥67,454.10! I take a wobbly step back, my head swimming over how expensive it is.

Oh well. It will probably look nice on a richer guy than it would on me..

"Do you like it?"

I flinch from Soujiro suddenly appearing next to me, smiling at me like a god damn idiot, "Fuck! Don't scare me like that, dammit!"

He giggles, "I'm sorry! I just came out of the fitting room and found you drooling over that jacket. So I'll ask you again.. do you like it?"

My eyes tighten suspiciously at him, "Why do you care?"

He looks at the jacket carefully before peering at the price tag. He looks back at me and tilts his head with that grin on his face still, "Do you want me to buy it?"

I looked at him like he just grew a giant fucking cock from the side of his neck, "Are you out of your mind?"

He shakes his head, "No. I want to buy it for you."

"Uh uh! No way!" I cross my arms, "I am not letting you buy me off like a whore."

Soujiro laughs harder, "Whoa there! Who said anything about you being a whore? I just wanted to give this to you as a gift. People deserve nice things sometimes. And you're a part of that group, too."

I grit my teeth despite my blushing, "Yeah right."

"Come on. At least try it. What's the worst thing that could happen?" Soujiro takes the expensive jacket from the clothing rack, "This looks to be your perfect size. Worst case, you don't like it, we can put it back here, and forget about it."

I'm looking at the floor from a side glance, "And if I like it..?"

"Then I'll buy it for you."

My eyes look at him, "What's the catch?"

He smirks, "Man, I could pinch those cheeks. Literally nothing is the catch here, Kenshin. It's on me."

But everything was already on you! I wanted to scream. But he jangles the jacket in front of me, actively trying to seduce me to try it on. I take it by the hanger and scoff, walking off to head into the fitting room.

With the curtains drawn and taking off my regular jacket, I stare at the new leather jacket hanging on the wall in front of me. Should I really try this on despite my gut telling me otherwise? I touch the fabric with my finger tips delicately; it feels so nice and beautiful. It is definitely worth its heavy price tag. I inhale sharply, carefully slipping the jacket on me, and I turn around to face the full length mirror.

With my red hair, I look like a spitfire. In a really, really good way. I look fucking bad ass! I lift my shoulders up and then my arms, and Soujiro turned out to be correct that it is the perfect fit. I turn to both my sides, and then back around to look over my shoulder to see what the behind looked like in the mirror. It fits like a dream. It feels and looks like a dream..

...

God dammit.

"Soooooo?" Soujiro coos playfully with a smirk and crossed arms, leaning on a wall where I found him outside of the fitting area.

I hesitate for a few seconds, and then I shrug, "It fits."

"And?"

".. And it looked great on me."

"Aaand?"

I glare at him, but he nods at me to continue, ".. And I really like it?"

"What's that? You want it also?"

I roll my eyes with a sharp sigh, "Yes!"

"Perfect. That was really all you had to say." Soujiro whips out his wallet and we head to the register tills for the checkout.

Lying in the huge bed back in the hotel suite, I switch on the flat screen television that hangs on the corner of the ceiling to watch the local news. Car accidents, missing persons, stock market. The same old boring bullshit. Still, I let myself doze off while watching it. I think we had made the most of this trip. There's still tomorrow to have more fun, and then Sunday will be spent traveling back home to Kyoto. I wonder what we can do tomorrow, actually. As the news anchor yap about the weather, I take out my phone to find a new Facebook message from someone. It's the girl from Soujiro's old school. My stomach drops. Oh fuck, oh fuck! I almost forgot all about her! What is she going to tell me now? Should I even care?

I realized now that her name is Ninomori. I open the app to read her message: Heyy, remember me? xx I totally got busy with school work but I got some dirt on that Soujiro if you're still interested. ;)

Hey what's up?

I'm good, I'm good. So like, yeah, I asked around, and it turns out that Soujiro's dad pulled him out of the school because of this really icky rumor about him.

Icky rumor?

Yeah... uhhhh, apparently our little Soujiro got his dick sucked by one of our senpais some time ago LOL!

Oh shit.. somebody caught him in the act?

Apparently so. But I'm not friends with the person who saw it. I'll have to ask around some more, but I think we are both getting somewhere with this. Because I remembered that after that rumor got around, THAT'S when Soujiro got really aggressive and started lashing out at all of us. Which, omg, it was so sad because we all really liked him but it was like he became possessed or something. But anyway, yeah, I was so shocked when you messaged me first about this because I could've sworn Soujiro was moved away to a different country altogether.

what makes you say that?

Well... I'll be honest, but I met his dad. And his dad says that he tends to send Soujiro to a weird school in Russia or something whenever he misbehaves. He apparently went there several times in his life. It's like his prison or something and his dad's the warden. So creepy.

That is weird, wtf.

Yeah :(

Will I ever meet Soujiro's dad? How private is he?

Well... you seem like a handsome guy. And if the rumor about Soujiro is true, I am more than willing to bet that you'll meet his dad soon. Apparently Soujiro always takes his fuck buddies to meet his dad as a way to, like, win the dad's trust or something. Just so the dad doesn't think his friends are actually his lovers, you know? Like this makes me sick just thinking about it but I really do think Soujiro does fuck around with a lot of guys and I bet he has herpes or something lol

Did he ever hurt your feelings?

Yeah kinda. I thought he liked me a lot but.. yeah, he's a real gentleman with the ladies. never tries to fuck them. I don't think he's even interested in women, which is sad.

So he's gay.

Sadly!

This is all very helpful, thank you. I'll make sure to ask around also.

Do so because Soujiro's a snake in the grass and has pulled some fucked up pranks and made people fight each other over him. he's a drama queen but with a dick! anyhoo, ta! xx

"Who were you talking to?"

I cringe, "My dad's worries but I told him that I'm fine and just with a friend."

I turn to my side to see Soujiro finished with showering, his hair wet and dripping. I blush, looking down at myself, and he replies, "I see. You can take the bathroom now if you'd like."

I do so, taking my time with enjoying the hot water and the complimentary toiletries. I'm not going to lie, I'll miss living like this once I go back home. Soujiro has really opened up my eyes about the luxury delights that he has access to on the daily.

I really wonder how this whole investigation is going to turn out. It sounds like his dad knows of his son's promiscuity and tries to control it with that other school. Those photos of him in Russia is starting to make sense. He seems kinda happy in them, though..

Hmm.

I come out of the bathroom in a towel, surprised to find the bedroom lights dimmed almost all the way down. The television is off and the sun is staring to set from the large balcony windows. I let my eyes fall on the bed to find Soujiro lying there casually reading a magazine on his stomach, his towel barely covering his ass.

"Soujiro?"

He turns to look at me over his slender shoulder and smiles, "You're back."

I carefully close the bathroom door next to me before walking over to sit on the edge of the bed, "Yeah. What're you reading there?"

He shows me the magazine for home design. My eyebrows slowly shifts and he giggles, "My dad's buying a new house like an hour away from our mansion."

"What for?"

"A summer home. I'm just trying to see which theme I want it to be. He lets me choose."

"That's nice," I plop down on the bed right on my stomach, crawling towards him, singing the Jaws movie jingle.

Soujiro laughs, "Oh no!"

"Here he comes!" I chuckle and glomp over him to take a nibble of his neck, "Mmm mm!"

"You're ridiculous." Soujiro chuckles even harder, "That tickles!"

I let go, smirking and looking into his eyes, "Good."

We kiss, melting into each other. Soon Soujiro climbs on top of me as we make out heavily, feeling the both of us hardening. I mean, I know I said that I like Soujiro outside of his financial and sexual gifting.. but feeling him all over with my hands and hearing his delectable moans against my mouth, I knew I couldn't resist.

He breaks the kiss and whispers, "Give me your phone."

I chuckle, "What?"

"Let me have your phone," He sits up, straddling my lap, "I want to see it."

"What for?" I shake my head, still giggling.

"Please, Kenshin.." He leans over slightly to slip his hand over my chest to start stroking and flicking my nipple, "Please?"

My breath hitches at the spark of electricity from the touching. I grab my phone from the night stand next to the bed and handed it to Soujiro, who very nearly snatched it from my hand. He turns it on, the bright light making his eyes look even paler than usual, "Passcode?"

"42069."

He smirks while rolling his eyes, punching in the numbers to open up my phone. Note to self: change my immature passcode. Even though I trust that he won't go through everything on my phone, I do want to hide Ninamori from him at the very least.

"What're you doing?"

"Looking for those girls' numbers," He replies casually, "From today at the restaurant."

"Are we calling them?"

"No," Soujiro pinched my nipple as I cry out, "I'm deleting them."

"W-why? Don't you like them?" I writhe from both pleasure and pain the harder he pinches me.

"They're not good enough for you. They don't love you like I do.."

"Soujiro..?"

"Just say it. Just say you want me to delete them. I won't do it unless you tell me to. But if you don't.." He slants over to slip in his wet tongue nearly down my throat, and I moan, coming back up to mumble against my lips, ".. Then our deal is over."

Silence.

Fuck. Shit. Dammit.

I can't let this investigation go to waste.

I close my eyes with a defeated sigh, "Fine."

Soujiro stays in his position for several seconds before he slowly sits up and fiddles with my phone to delete the girls' numbers, "Be gone.. thots."

After he finishes with that, he tosses my phone onto the area next to him on the bed before we resume making out, ready for a night of intense fucking.

The things I do for truth, huh?