There was a very good reason why Junpei had signed up for an art class. The guy needed guidance for sure. You watch him struggle to make his primary circle. It's shakey, and he's pressing in with too much force. That'll never erase.
You hold your tongue to be considerate. Artists don't like criticisms when they don't ask for them, you're well aware. Besides, he has an idea of the correct steps in creating a face. He has his dividing lines... though they're a bit crooked and again, not light enough to be erased later. Why is he starting on the eyes already? He hasn't marked for the nose or ears... They're going to be crooked.
"Okay, I'm sorry, I'd like to make a suggestion," you blurt out, causing him to jump in his seat.
"Uh, s-sure. What do you think I should do?" He taps his pencil lead against the tip of his finger awkwardly.
"Start over."
He wilts visibly.
"Oh..."
"It's not bad for a first try, but... you press really hard. It's going to look messy when you're done. And I think you can make something really good. Do you want to try again?" You try hard to make your advice sound totally optional. He seems like his feelings were hurt by your remark, but he nods in agreement.
"Let's try this way." Your desk scrapes loudly as you reposition it to the right of him. A few students turn to stare with annoyance. They're nobodies to you.
"Alright, now start a new circle, but hold the pencil like this." Reaching over to cup your hand over his, you pry his fingers looser. "There you go. That's better," You speak in a low voice so only he can hear.
"Let's pretend that you're drawing with a stick of pocky. Don't hold it too tightly, or it would snap in two, wouldn't it?"
Junpei can't respond; he can barely breathe. Your hand is so warm. He can faintly see and feel there is a scrape on your palm from when you had pushed yourself off the asphalt of the alleyway that morning. When you were defending him, he remembers. Those hands look so strong, how can they also make such gentle strokes to draw as well as you do? More prominently, he wonders what else they may have done.
"Are you listening?" You speak closer into his ear to get his attention. Without pulling away from his side, you remove your hand off of his.
"Now do the same steps you were doing before, but so much lighter. There, you see? That's a good boy." This time you say it intentionally.
Snap! goes the tip of his pencil.
He gasps and looks to you in alarm, but you only smile at him. "Pressed a little hard there. Didn't you, Yoshino?"
He doesn't look away from you this time, despite the warm color creeping up his neck to his face. You watch him swallow.
"So earlier you heard my introduction," You remind him. "But I think I only know your last name. What do your friends call you?"
His green eyes flick down for a moment before returning back.
"...Everyone just calls me Yoshino."
He didn't want to say aloud that no one was close enough to him socially to want to use his first name. He can see his answer isn't good enough for you.
"My mom calls me Junpei," he says more awkwardly than he intended. It sounds as if his mother is his only friend. It isn't exactly false.
"That's a nice name. Junpei. It's okay if I call you that, right?"
He nods mutely.
Fuck, he's a cute one. You almost follow your urge to reach out and play through his hair again.
Unfortunately the instructor's teakettle pitch cutting in prevents you.
"Class, that's all the time you have for today. These portraits are due the day AFTER tomorrow. Pack up in an ORDERLY fashion, if you please."
Dammit.
"What class do you have next?" Junpei asks you.
You shrug.
"Third period classes were never really my thing. It's hard to focus when I'm hungry."
Now he smiles back at you again finally.
"Hey, me too. Actually... I cut third all the time and go somewhere else. How about I show you?" He hauls his backpack over his shoulder and exits the room with you.
"Sure. You're supposed to be showing me the school grounds anyway, remember?" You fall in behind him as he takes you up a level of steps and through a set of double doors.
"Ah, sorry I ran away earlier. I thought that maybe you were..." He leaves it hanging, but you pick up what he means.
"An asshole?"
"I wasn't going to call you that!" He reddens. "You just... really surprised me this morning. I didn't know what to make of you."
"Well, I'm glad I changed your mind and you started talking to me finally. This place is too fucking big and I don't like how any of these other dipshits are looking at me."
As if on cue, two girls with braided hair previously chatting at their lockers turn to stare as you pass. They exchange a look of disgust with each other afterwards that gives you an urge to turn around and make them chew sand.
"That's probably because you're walking with me. Sorry." Junpei apologizes.
"Why? What did you do?" He didn't seem like a troublemaker of any kind to you.
"Believe me, I did nothing. I just don't socialize well. People are..." He pauses to try to think up a word.
"Assholes?" You supplement.
"Well, if we're just looking for an excuse to use the word now, then yes. They're assholes," He agrees. "Those were Tsubasa's friends back there at the lockers. The girl you made move in art class? And, uh, the guys this morning too. They're friends with her. The names of the guys you kicked are Sayama, Honda, and the tallest one is Nishimura, our class rep."
"So what's the whole story?" You ask.
"She seems like the common point for everyone involved here. Girls don't normally just pick out a boy to hate. Did you tell her you liked her or something?"
Junpei grimaces like he's going to be sick. "No way. Actually it was the opposite."
"What!?" Your shocked gasp echoes down the hallway. "You spurned her?!"
"I... don't know exactly what that word means, but two years ago one of her friends told me Tsubasa was going to sit next to me at lunch and ask me to be her boyfriend. But I'd already heard that she had just been dumped by someone. So I figured-"
"She was only going to use you to make him jealous," you fill in.
"Yeah. So I told her friend I didn't like her, and that she wasn't cute."
You burst out into raucous laughter. The way he had said it so pouty like that, as if saying that someone wasn't cute was some scathing insult. To a high school girl however, it's a downright declaration of war. Still a dumb situation, nonetheless. Her reasoning may be petty, but the brutality of Junpei's suffering isn't.
"So she hears you call her ugly, and now she has all her boytoys harass you?"
"I didn't call her ugly. And I don't think she's doing anything like that with the guys who give me trouble, but yeah. That's pretty much it."
"Wow. What interesting hobbies they have." People like that piss you off. This seemed more like gangstalking, not just bullying, and it had been going on for years since he first rejected her too. Poor guy.
You follow him into what appears to be a theater auditorium. The lights are dimmed half-up, and no one is in sight. You close the door behind you.
"Well this is certainly a cozy hiding spot," You comment, taking extra care to peek up at the lighting and sound booth up above. It looks empty.
"Do you come here when you want someone to take advantage of you?"
He laughs weakly at what he thinks is a joke. "Heh, no. I-"
His words are cut off by your hand slapping over his mouth. With a barely forceful tug at the waist of his pants, you shove him down onto the floor between the rows of upright theater seats.
"Junpei... I want to tell you a little bit about myself now, okay?" Your eyes are millimeters from his, and strands of your hair fall across his face. He is breathing so heavily now that he is huffing between your fingers. The warmth of his breath is already making them feel slick.
"Whenever I get to unleash my rage on someone, I mean, when I really unload my pent up frustrations in a genuine fight... Ohh, Junpei, there is no greater feeling to me. There's no food or drug that satisfies me quite like burying my fist into someone's face. Even screwing isn't nearly as fulfilling. So this morning... I didn't get to finish my fight. Can you imagine how that made me feel?"
Briefly you uncover his mouth so he can reply, as is only polite of you to do.
"SOMEONE! HELP ME PLEASE-!"
Your hand pops back over his mouth, continuing your thought. "That's right. It made me feel really sad."
He wriggles like an eel beneath you. It's a fun sensation, but he has no real strength to dislodge you. You stretch your legs back over his, now lying completely on top of him. His heart is wildly beating against yours, which is scarcely elevated.
"So Junpei, I want to know what you can do to make sure I'm satisfied now. You said it yourself that you owed me for saving you. This is how you can repay me."
Your free hand caresses his face, brushing his long bangs aside. He's trembling beneath you, and looks so fucking cute with those enormous green eyes tearing up. You can't help pinching the suppleness of his cheek lightly, nor can you control your fingertips from circling around his ear afterwards.
"Sweet little Junpei, you'll help me won't you? Will you find a fight for me?"
The boy's breathing halts for a second, then resumes with a staggered sigh of relief.
Is... that all he would have to do? Find someone for you to fight? He could do that. In fact...
His head nods rapidly under your hand with newfound excitement.
"Yes? Yes, you can do it?" You clarify, not wanting to be let down again. Twice in one day would really piss you off majorly. You take your hand away from his lips. He gasps for air before blurting out, "I can find you a fight right now!"
His tone is promising, though straining while supporting your weight on top of him. Such a skinny thing. He could really benefit from working out.
Ohh, but he was a good boy, afterall. You spring up and clap your hands with all the enthusiasm you can muster, which is a considerable amount with your growing excitement.
"Alright, Junpei! I knew you'd be the one to help me! We're going to be best friends now, okay? I'll even walk to school each morning with you in case anyone feels like starting trouble. I can be there to give it to 'em."
He lays gasping for breath on the floor, stunned and full of pure relief that he wasn't going to be raped in his favorite place at school afterall. He stares at you practically bouncing in place with the thought of throwing blows with someone new. He thinks quietly to himself, "Jesus fucking Christ, he's crazy... I've gotten myself tangled up with a lunatic!"
"So? Who is it? Who will I be fighting?"
Your eyes are shining and your grin is split from ear to ear. A blush is creeping to your cheeks already, and the force of your smile has reopened your busted lip. Absently you lick the blood away as you feel the trickle. Your new friend pauses again. It almost looks like hes mentally going down a list in his head. You really hope he is. That means there could be even more fun in the future as well!
It feels like an eternity before he finally gives you a name.
.
.
.
There's a noticeable spring in your step as you hum to yourself, following closely behind Junpei who is once again leading you through the winding hallways of your new school. Entering a side stairwell, you begin climbing up to roof of the school. Of course. Number one hoodlum hangout zone. This should have been your first guess. Though you still would have needed help finding the stairs...And of course your opponent.
"What's his name again?" You ask as you climb the stairs two at a time, pausing at the top of each level to wait for Junpei to catch up. He's dragging behind.
"Rikuo Himura."
"Another friend of that Tsubasa girl?"
"Yeah. He comes to the roof to smoke around this time everyday."
"How do you know that?"
"Because the roof used to be my spot." He sounds angry now. There was clearly bitter history where you would be fighting. You keep biting your lip, riding the headines of your pre-fight glow working its way through your body. Your fingers flex and squeeze, feeling your short nails digging into your palm. This is going to be exhilarating.
"You're certain he's up here?"
Junpei stops mid-step. His hand brushes the scarred side of his face with indication. "Anytime I tried coming back up at this time to check if he was gone, he'd ash his cigarette out on me."
You remembered how many scars you had seen earlier. Nearly a dozen.
So he was definitely up there. Your eyes flicker past his shoulder up to the closed door marked ROOF EXIT in bold red. Junpei is frozen in spot, unable to reach for the door himself. You watch his balled fists shaking at his sides. That's alright, he's done plenty.
"Let's get your old spot back, Junpei." You clap his shoulder and step past him through the creaking metal door.
It's warm and breezy outside, the worst type of day to be cooped up in any classroom. You immediately see why Junpei had chosen this place to escape before. There's a nice view of the city here. You can even make out where you live if you squint hard enough. Your new friend is hanging back in the stairwell, not convinced yet that it's safe to venture out.
"Come on, I don't think I see anyone yet," You hold your hand out for him to take. There isn't a step up or anything, but he looks like he needs the additional confidence.
Junpei is trembling as he reaches out for you. He doesn't want to tell you no. Also, no one has ever asked to hold his hand before. He realizes he does want to hold onto you to feel safer.
His palm is colder than yours, but then again your blood has been pumping for several flights worth of stairs. You give him a small squeeze, and take another look around the rooftop.
Even though no one is in sight, you don't let your guard down. You run your thumb over Junpei's skin lightly, and his fingers grip with a little more strength. He's barely begun to relax when suddenly a smell wafts your way.
Tobacco smoke.
Junpei whispers your name, his voice is tinged with fear and he's squeezing you much tighter now.
"I smell it, too. Don't worry. You're safe with me," You reassure him, then call out in a loud voice, "Oi! Himura! You up here sucking on a tiny white dick?"
Junpei grabs onto you with both hands now, "What's wrong with you?" He hisses. "You're gonna make him mad!"
"Yeah, that's the point."
From your periphery, someone stands up.
Rikuo Himura is staring directly at you, his open uniform jacket flapping in the breeze and the cherry of his cigarette glowing as he holds it between his lips.
"Who the fuck wants to know?" His brow creases with irritation. Then he notices Junpei cowering behind you.
"Is that Hoe-shino on my fucking roof again? Man, you really are the dumbest little shit in this school. Who's this? Your boyfriend?"
You make your introduction as short as possible. Names don't matter to you.
"It's my first day, and Junpei told me I'd find myself a nice fight up here. I sure hope he's right, because you've got what my old man would call a face in need of a fist."
He blinks at you incredulously, chuckling to himself and removing his cigarette from his mouth after a long drag. He flicks it at you.
"So you want someone to break you in, is that it? I'd love to." He takes a step forward. "You and my little ashtray here can be twins.
His words are already weaving their affect on you. The flirtation of two fighters is beginning, and the foreplay of insulting one another is a necessary step of the process. He's already a worthy opponent to you based on his respect of this rule.
"You don't have to be gentle, this isn't my first time." You smile sweetly as you step forward to meet him.
From behind, Junpei makes the tiniest murmer of worry. "Please, be careful."
It's not in your nature to go out of your way like this to fight a non-suspecting stranger, particularly one that you would regularly see again, being schoolmates. But this asshole is an exception for the sake of two reasons: the first is because you are still craving the satisfaction of a real challenge that has yet to be delivered. The second reason is standing behind you, trembling with anxiety.
This asshole Rikuo is going to pay for permanently disfiguring Junpei.
He's taller, so his strides are much longer than yours. Reaching you in no time, his knee comes up first to attempt to wind you. A fantastic opening move seeing as most fighters you've ever faced began with their fists. Your reaction is quick enough to side step the direct blow luckily, but changing your footing like that exposes your upper half for a precious few seconds. It's the opening he needs.
His left fist connects with your cheek, and you are knocked off balance. You didn't remember to keep your mouth closed like you're supposed to. The immediate taste of blood across your tongue from where you've bitten it surprises you for a second. Then it begins to have a different affect on you. The throbbing ache of Rikuo's punch is resonating much lower on your body as well. You're stunned and remain kneeling for a few seconds too long.
"Behind you!"Junpei yells with alarm.
Rikuo is pulling his foot back for a kick this time, teeth flashing wickedly as he aims for your face. When he releases and fires his shoe forward it connects with empty space. You've bent your upper body backward in an arch. Now it's your turn to kick. Standing on one leg like that, he's an unstable tower waiting to topple, so your heel slams into his knee to ensure his collapse. He screams when you hit your mark.
"Augh! Fuck!"
When he comes down, his hand finds your wrist to prevent you creating any distance. He jerks you back and climbs over you, pinning you beneath him with his legs. Now you've made him angry. Your hips shove against his as you arch yourself up. He doesn't budge, but you hadn't been trying to dislodge him. In fact, that movement was involuntary. Your excitement is building to its boiling point.
"I'm going to smash your fucking teeth-"
His threat is cut short by the back of your fist, the best way you know to pack a punch from a short distance like this. Not expecting you to muster such strength from flat on your back, he recoils away. It's enough for you to snake your leg up and around to his chest, firing another kick up to his jaw.
His weight displaces and Rikuo groans from the concrete slab as you pull out from under him. You throw both of your legs up and roll over your shoulder in a smooth flip, standing over him now. It's your turn on top. You hop onto his chest, squeezing his arms to his side with your thighs and swing away. Once, and again.
The slap of skin on skin is a symphony that dulls away the world around you. This is the only time you feel like a god, when you are painting in a palette of red and blue. The right side of your face has gone numb, telling you it's begun to swell. You still don't stop, you're not done yet. You're close though, so very close. If only he would make some noise! These hardened delinquents always grit their teeth too tightly to sing for you.
"SCREAM DAMMIT AND I'LL STOP!"
He remains tight lipped, grimacing. His left eye is swelling shut, and his lower lip is doubling in size. And he still remains silent, determined not to give you what you want. That's fine too, you can keep going.
Junpei watches from a distance in absolute awe. He's never seen anyone fight like you. With each thud of your fist as it slams into Rikuo's face, his own heart thuds in response. He's never seen Himura get hit before. His hand tucks his hair out of his face and behind his ear so he can get a better look.
Finally, beginning to run out of steam on your own, you pause.
"Okay... do you wish to continue," you ask, steadily panting.
Your opponent moans, but doesn't answer. He's probably seeing a few stars. You stand up and step away from the mess you've made of his face. He rolls away onto his side, groaning in anguish. He looks done.
"You're not to come up here anymore, got it? The roof is going to be off limits to you. Smoke somewhere else."
He nods his head in agreement, appearing to be much more compliant now.
"Want me to help you up?" You extend your hand in a show of sportsmanship. You've already lowered him enough.
His hand shakily comes up to clasp yours, muttering a half-assed thanks. When you pull him to his feet, he stumbles forward, still dizzy. He's heavier than you, so you are forced to step backwards to brace him upright. Whether it was his initial plan or not, he now transitions into a clumsy rush forward shoving you back into the ledge of the roof that only came halfway up to your chest. The fucker is trying to push you over!
Rikuo looks up with unadulterated hate in his eyes. He's not going to let anyone hear that the new kid kicked his ass, and they can't hear about it if there's no new kid.
"Himura, stop it!" Junpei screams, pulling out his cellphone from his pocket, he hits the buttons to open his camera and presses record. It's shaking uncontrollably in his hand. "I'm recording this right now and it's live! So any minute someone is going to scroll through their feed and see this!"
Rikuo's hands grip around your uniform jacket tighter. He's having second thoughts now. Slowly he backs away, but his eyes are seething. He will have to back off for now. Blood is dribbling down from his temple and staining the collar of his shirt. Someone's going to see that and ask questions. Not to mention his busted face. He doesn't call any threats to you or make any promises about vengeance as he stalks to the exit door. The expression on his face says it all.
When the door latches shut behind him, you sit down hard. The exhaustion of physically coming to grips with your own mortality like that wasn't something you anticipated. Maybe a rooftop fight was an idiotic setting. It may look cool in movies, but you'd nearly shat yourself just being close to the side like that. Heights and an unknown opponent should not be mixed. You make a mental note.
You heave an enormous sigh of relief. You had gotten exactly what you wanted, a good fight. Though you had gotten too careless and fought someone on what was the equivalent of their own turf. These are rookie mistakes, you're well aware, and berate yourself.
"Fuck, my old man is gonna be furious if he hears about this." You gripe.
"Oh, I'm so sorry..."
Your friend is panting just as hard as you are, despite not having done much himself. You're grateful to him for thinking so quickly the way he did. Between breaths you manage to express your thanks.
"Hey... great job. Recording that... Though it's kind of embarrassing that everyone's gonna see me getting bested on camera." You add the last part with only a little real concern.
"I wouldn't worry about that."
"Why not?"
Junpei sits beside you and turns the device so you can see. 0 views, 0 comments. Also he has 0 friends and 0 followers. He smiles sheepishly at you.
"Oh, my fucking God. You were bluffing?!" The nerve of him!
"It was all I could think of. Rikuo is popular; everyone knows who he is. He let his ego think everyone was already watching him."
Realization is settling in now.
"Oh. So, I could have really died."
Your stomach flutters, and your face burns bright red.
You smile as you lunge forward, wrapping your arms around him.
"You're amazing!"
He chuckles lightly, awkwardly returning the embrace with his hands sliding up and down your back. It's a day full of firsts for him. He's not sure how to hold someone.
"Well, this was fun!" You exclaim and spring up to your feet. Junpei allows you to pull him up. He grimaces through his bangs which have once again fallen in his face.
"Yeah... but let's never do it again?"
You stare at him with shock,
"What! Why not?!"
The poor guy had a lot to learn about you still.
.
.
.
To be continued