Damn, I used to write a lot of author notes here :DD Mostly replies to my reviewers and answers/suggestions about the story. I feel quite nostalgic reading them. Someone asked me back then about why I made Karma younger when he's actually a few days older in the canon. The answer is, I just couldn't imagine Karma being the responsible older brother. Gakushuu fits that role much better. Honestly, Karma is a younger sibling material and I'm gonna milk that any chance given (though I admit I made him extra childish the first few chapters).
Plus - personal preference.
Other than that, I mentioned that I don't ship anyone in this fanfiction and that family/friends are the main focus. I do have a ship (now, years later) and it very much clashes with this fic but hey, people change XD
Aightie, that's all for now. Like I said, please don't read anything that hasn't been reworked. I will literally die of embarrassment. I really will, don't try me.
Gakushuu's connections run far, not just in the ranges of his school. Sure, many of his classmates are sons and daughters of influential figures, from business owners to doctors or judges and through them he learns a lot. But what really makes a difference is his engagement in many community events, seminars and competitions. It's his proactiveness along with brilliance that really made a name for him. He's connected with professors from various schools, universities, and even from abroad. He's shown his eagerness to learn and contribute.
It's all part of a crucial plan. All in order to gain enough independence, power and influence to be able to defy his father. Some might scoff and think he's going a bit too far – after all, what was he supposed to be? A protagonist of some psychological, family melodrama? But he doesn't care. Because the reality is, that the chairman was a force that no one, not even Gakushuu in combination with everything he's built and learnt so far could counter. If he wanted to live life on his own terms, he needed to get stronger.
Karma falling to class E was a harsh reminder of that fact.
For all that Gakushuu tried, there wasn't much he could do. Sure, he could have tampered with the files and changed the verdict. Maybe he could have blackmailed the students from class A to retract their statements and contort the whole story. Another thing that came to mind was nullifying the decision by firing Ono-sensei – the man was sleazy and disgustingly fake enough, it wouldn't be so unbelievable if someone sent multiple complaints about child molestation.
So many possibilities and yet they all fall flat in the face of Asano Gakuho.
Just the fact that Karma was a high-achieving student who often got into fights was enough to attract attention. To his horror, it turned out that Ono-sensei brought the whole subject straight to the chairman and that it was the man personally, who condoned the behaviour and sent Karma to the End class. After all, no matter how good his grades were, no one was allowed to defy the top of this pyramid.
If the circumstances of his transfer got any more complicated and if the chairman found out that Gakushuu himself got involved, there'd be no doubt he'd dig deeper into the story. And that was a risk he couldn't take.
And so, Gakushuu, despite his brains and brawns, once again realized how truly powerless he was.
Karma had been suspended until the end of the school year and then for a week after the start. At the very least, he had the sense to look dejected and not cause any more trouble, though that might stem from the fact that he felt betrayed by his teacher. Stupid of him to trust him in the first place.
Apart from moping around, Karma hasn't been doing much and Gakushuu suspects that the boy doesn't actually feel all that troubled about his suspension or downfall. Now that he thinks about it, his younger brother has had more of these good samaritan incidents – helping and defending some of the failures of students.
It truly baffled the strawberry blond. Why would Karma even bother with that? Does he get a kick out of fighting in general, no matter who it was for and against? Did he get satisfaction from making people indebted to him and thanking him for sparing their lives?
Gakushuu sighs. No matter how hard he tries to understand his brother, sometimes it's impossible.
"Get your sorry ass out," he hisses, standing before the door of Karma's room. He's called the boy four times already and knocked like crazy. Still, he was met with silence.
"I'm serious, Karma, you need to go out. You can't hide from me forever."
Again, no response. His eye starts twitching.
"Alright, you're done. I'm going in," Gakushuu announces and proceeds to kick the door open. He's given out enough warnings. It's not like they can't afford a new door anyway.
There's a bed in the corner and on it a lump of sheets. He reaches for the blankets and yanks them out, but to no avail – Karma clutches onto them for his dear life. God knows where he gets all that strength from.
"Get out!" Gakushuu yells, slowly losing it. He knows that the brat is upset but what was this sudden avoidance? He barely even replies to his texts anymore and it's driving Gakushuu insane.
"I swear to god if you don't come out right now, I'll get really pissed. And you won't like that, Karma, you really won't."
His brother whines (alarm, alarm, what the actual fuck?): "You're already pissed anyway!"
"Yeah, because a certain child doesn't want to listen-"
"Not just because of that!" he objects.
That stops Gakushuu in his tracks. Karma pops his face out of the covers and looks intently into the Gakushuu's eyes.
"Aren't you disappointed in me? Conflicted as for how to treat me from now on?"
"What the hell are you on about?" Gakushuu cuts him off. For some reason, those words rub him in a very unpleasant way. Ridiculous. Disappointed?
He wasn't disappointed... right?
"You are," Karma mutters, his face turning cold and emotionless. It's a stark contrast to what Gakushuu expected when he stood in front of the door.
"Nonsense," he snaps, though it comes out rather unconvincing.
Karma's face warps into a dark grin: "I can see it in your face, you liar,"
Gakushuu doesn't comment on that. He lets go of the sheets and huffs in frustration. There's an ugly feeling in his chest, bubbling and making him want to hit something, fight or run away. He doesn't want to touch that feeling, think about it even, yet here Karma is, bringing it out. Ripping it away from the walls Gakushuu carefully built around and putting it on display.
"I'm fine with going to class E. I don't care in fact. But what about you? Are you going to tell me nothing has changed from your side? You've been nothing but cold to me ever since."
"What is the purpose of this conversation? I'm leaving," Gakushuu snaps, refusing to listen to this. He turns to walk away but there's a hand grabbing onto his wrist.
So the devil finally decided to show himself. Karma's still on the bed but half sitting half standing and pulling the strawberry blond back fiercely.
"You're running away from me again! That's exactly why I avoided you! I knew you'd lie to me and if I pushed, you'd just leave and pretend everything's fine! I know you Gakushuu, I know you keep things bottled inside for so long until you end up exploding on me!"
"I don't know what you're talking about," he argues back, irritation getting the best of him. A silent voice inside of him tells him that Karma might be right, but he's damn too proud to admit to it. Not now, when the brat fucking screwed up and instead of having the sense to feel ashamed, acted like he knew everything and was so much better.
Karma's seething by now: "You know exactly what I'm talking about! You'll have to come to terms with one way or another! You disdain the E-class and keep talking about them being a failure and now I am going to be part of that failure. Are you going to disdain me now too? Or are you going to stop being so close-minded?!"
"Close-minded?" Gakushuu grumbles, his blood boiling.
"Yeah, close-minded. Ever heard of empathy? Ever thought of someone else than yourself?!"
Gakushuu yanks his hand away from the boy as if it were on fire. Those words stung and it took all self-control to not sock him in the face right then and right there. How dare he ask something like that, as if everything that Gakushuu has done and become wasn't for this asshole's sake.
And yet, he replies this: "Empathy is for weaklings. You'll learn that soon enough."
"Is it?" Karma retracts his hand, a dark cast over his eyes.
"Yes."
"You say that but you still care about me. What's that supposed to mean?"
"I said what I said. Me caring about you is an unfortunate weakness and so is kindness, altruism and affection. You should pull yourself together, Karma. Stop with these childish expectations, the world isn't a nice place," he states, venom seeping through. He's sure this isn't what he means, it sounds terrible even to his own ears. But at the same time, he doesn't care anymore. He can't stop, because he's angry and shamefully, part of him wants to hurt the boy in front of him, even if it means lying.
And he achieves exactly that.
Karma's eyes start to well up but he grits his teeth, refusing to let the tears fall and forces a twisted smile:
"Sounds about right, coming from you. The chairman finally got into your head?" his brother asks mockingly.
It's a low blow and Gakushuu decides that's enough. Either he leaves right now or one of them dies.
"I refuse to entertain your bullshit. When you cool down and get some sense into that thick skull of yours, then we can talk. Until then, bye." He picks up his bag and walks out of the room without turning back. The redhead doesn't follow him either. The only thing Karma does is give him a goodbye in the coldest way possible.
"Have a nice day, Asano-kun."
Ah, this was hard to write. I had some sketchy shit going on initially but the essence is still same - both of them are still kids, suck at communication and letting their hotheadedness get the better of them. I know it might come across as a bit dramatic but to be honest, we've all been there. Hurting people we love and telling them terrible things because we're mad. I've definitely been there, even as an adult. So I can't blame either Karma or Gakushuu for saying what they said. Though Gakushuu was the one to fire the first shot by saying that caring for Karma was a weakness.
