The Delinquent

by NJestrella

All criminals start off as delinquents. But what would've happened if fuutarou never met Yotsuba in Kyoto and changed his life for the better? Will the girls still have feelings for a boy in the criminal underworld? Read and find out

1. The Delinquent

The Delinquent

Ichika Nakano

The sun began to pour in the room through the small gap in the blackout curtain. One quick glance over at the alarm clock was all it took for me to add a little pep to my step as i carefully got out of bed. I really don't feel like having to explain to him why I'm sneaking out without saying goodbye. It's just awkward for me. He still doesn't know my first name. I don't want him to know about me if my acting career starts taking off. Last thing I need is some questionable character coming out to reporters talking about the nights we've had. My career would be over before it even began.

After picking up my clothes off the floor I take a quick glance at my phone and see all the missed texts from the girls. I don't know why they worry so much if they have my location and I told them I wouldn't be coming home. Still, it makes me smile knowing they worry about their big sister. I put my phone down and put my clothes on. I never realized how hard it was to put on clothes without making a sound. All the little grunts you make as you bend over to put your socks on sound so loud in a quiet hotel room. Which reminds me, Miku and I need to get back to yoga class.

As I grab my bag and head to the door I give one last glance over at lover boy and luckily his face is buried in the pillow letting out a soft snore. He looks so cute and soft when he sleeps even with his messy blonde hair. The one single tattoo behind his ear was just barely showing behind his hair, a Crecent moon. I never got around to asking him what it meant, I feel like it's still too early to ask him such a personal question. I blow him a kiss and open the door as gently as possible. Before I can even take one step out the door I hear him waking up behind me.

"You just gonna leave without saying anything? I didn't think I was that bad last night" he said groggily without getting up. He turned his head so now he's facing me. "was it because I wouldn't let you drink last night?" he said with a little laugh under his breath. His eyes barely open.

"uhhh... no, I just thought... you know, you looked so tired I didn't want to wake you up and bother.." I couldn't even finish stumbling through my words before he started laughing.

"it's ok Momo, you gotta get to school. I should get going myself" he said as he started getting out of bed still naked.

I could feel my cheeks burning up as I started to blush and rushed to turn around. Before I could even gather my thoughts, I felt his arms wrap around me. One hand around my stomach, the other around my chin as he turned my face to his and said "good morning" before he kissed me. His lips so soft and gentle. One gentle kiss lead to another, and another, and another. Then next thing I realized I was on top of him on the bed again. As I sat up to take my shirt off the sound of his ringtone cut through the air. I thought we would just ignore it, but he quickly pushed me off of him as he rolled over to the other side of the bed where his phone sat on the night table. He grabbed his phone and looked at the caller id. His face went white almost immediately as he gathered his composure and answered the phone.

"hello... good morn...yes sir...yes sir...no sir i would nev...yes sir...yes sir...understood. On my way. Yes sir. Thank you si..." he looked at the phone to notice whoever was on the other side of that call had already hung up. Without saying another word to me he got out of bed and began to get dressed in a hurry. "im sorry for this Momo" he said as he finished buttoning his shirt. "Maybe we can do this again this weekend?"

Momo. I almost forgot that we call each other by our movie names. We've been having nights like this for almost 2 months now and we still don't know each other's real name. I call him Barry since he played 'barista #2' and his only line was to say 'order for Momo?'. I shouldn't really judge. I only had two lines myself since I played the irrelevant classmate of the main character. I think this was Barry's first part ever since he looked so confused on set but the director never gave him any critiques even when he messed up his only line like three times. It was almost as if he was scared to say anything to him.

"I don't know Barry. My sisters and I start our new school this week. It might be a little busy with the move to the new apartment and everything...but I'll definitely call you" I said with a soft smile. I meant it. I want to see him again but at the same time I know he's not good for me either. I mean we purposely don't know each other's real name because we don't want this to be anything official. I know that whatever he does in his personal life isn't legal. I think he's involved in something shady. The expensive suits he shows up in. The tattoo that he keeps hidden behind his hair. The way he's so secretive about his phone calls. He picks me up in different expensive cars. Are they even his? Of course not, he told me he lives in the Ryzo district. That's one of the poorest districts in all of Tokyo. I know eventually I have to cut him off, maybe I should just do it now.

He walks up to me. Puts his hand on my cheek and smiles gently. His golden eyes looking straight into mine as I look up at him. "I hope that whichever school you go to, you have an amazing first day" he says as he kisses me on my forehead. My cheeks instantly turn bright pink "Thank you for an amazing night Momo" he said before he started walking towards the door. That's it, that's why I can't just walk away. This man is a walking talking red flag but he has these moments where he's every girls dream. 6 foot 2, muscular build, just the right amount of chin hair, clearly has good taste in fashion, and aside from his earrings he doesn't really wear jewelry. It's like a wild wolf that likes to cuddle. Cute when you think about it, but the reality is that same wolf is a dangerous creature capable of immense violence. I can't prove it, but I just know.

He opened the door then stopped and looked back at me. "I know you might not feel comfortable telling me your real name... But my name is Fuutaro". And just like that he was gone, and I'm left with this weird feeling deep in my chest. Am I missing him right now? No, of course not. He's just a plaything. A toy I pick up and play with when I'm bored. I can get rid of him whenever I want, it's just convenient to have him around now because he has connections with the hotel owner to get us rooms here, and it doesn't hurt that he's a great fuck. But still, he told me his real name. Why would he do that if he didn't look at me the same way I looked at him? It was his idea to use these movie names in the first place. I just went along with it because it worked out perfectly for me. Or did he just do that to make me feel more comfortable? Ugh, what am I doing sitting here thinking about some random fuck buddy? I have to get home and finish unpacking, we start our new school tomorrow and he's the last thing I should be worrying about right now.

Akira Takebayashi

I'm so sick and tired of having towalk to school because this idiot can't wake up on time. And then I'm always the one defending him and lying to keep it a secret that I'm getting to homeroom late. I only defend him because I know that if Father found out he would do something horrible. He's always so defensive about me and my studies.

Oh NOW he shows up.

My peaceful morning walk is interupted by you blaring your horn blasting your obnoxious music as you pull up next to me and park the car and get out to open my door and greet me. A lit cigarette in your mouth. Ugh, Such a disgusting habit. How is it only 7am and I'm already this annoyed. My head is in my hands as I begin to rub my temple.

As I raise my head to yell at you, I look up to see those beautiful golden eyes. That gentle smile. The cigarette is already on the floor. You have an iced coffee for me just the way I like with a little bag containing a blueberry muffin. My favorite. Ugh, this is why I love you. This is why I can never stay mad at you no matter how much you annoy me; you always make my day better even though you're probably the reason my day was ruined to begin with.

I look at you and I refuse to smile, I just snatch the coffee and muffin and walk towards the car as you run over to hold the door. "Good morning princess. My upmost apologies for coming late on this dreary morning, making you walk to school like the rest of us peasants" you said in your best high-class impression voice.

I look at you and roll my eyes as I get in the car waiting for you to close the door before I let out a small laugh. You get back in the driver seat and start to drive off not before looking at me through the rear view mirror and saying "whats up Takke!". It's like once we're completely alone you turn back into your normal self and we can let our 10 plus years of friendship finally show.

I smile. "you gotta stop being late Fuu. I can't keep covering for you if I'm late for homeroom because they call my father directly!"

Before I can even finish giving him a piece of my mind he says "I know, I know. I lost track of time this morning I had a crazy long night but I'm here now with time to spare!"

"excuse me. And what were you doing last night that was so crazy?" I asked angrily.

He started to laugh and said "Oh cmon takke you know I'm a true gentleman. you of all people should know I don't kiss and tell"

I can feel my cheeks start to blush as I began to pout. I don't even try to hide my jealousy anymore. Fuutarou knows I love him. I've loved him since elementary school. He's my closest friend. He was my first kiss. He took me on my first date. If it wasn't for the fact that he works for my father, I truly believe we would be together. But instead, I have to hear about his stupid one-night stands with these whores he meets out on the job. Everything between us came to a screeching halt 3 years ago when my fathers right hand Hideo brought in his 'protégé'. I still remember Fuutarous face when he raised his bowing head to see me at the same table as my father. We never even spoke of it but right then and there we knew whatever our relationship was, it could no longer continue. Not as long as he worked for my father.

"so help me god Fuutarou, you better be using protection with these creatures. Did you even shower after? You smell like a whole ninja turtle this morning. Have some self respect" I said angrily as I sipped on my iced coffee. Why does the coffee have to be so perfect? Just the way I like it. I'm trying to be angry right now but this taste of caramel is forcing a small smile to creep on my face so I turn to face the window so he doesn't see.

"Did you just call her a ninja turtle?! Oh you got jokes this morning?" he said as he burst out laughing. I couldn't hold my laughter either and joined him.

Before I knew it, we pulled up to the school, but he didn't park the car. He was at the student drop off section in front of the school.

I looked up at the rearview mirror to meet those beautiful golden eyes and before I can ask he said "i got a delivery today over at Goro's". The smile was nowhere to be seen. His tone was firm and cold.

He's been an errand boy for the organization for a couple years now. Every year his jobs get a little more dangerous. I know he trains under Hideo but he's still only 17. I don't care how well he can handle himself, they need to remember that.

"I'll bring the classwork home today if you want to stop by and pick it up" I said softly. No matter how uncomfortable I am when he makes these deliveries, I have no power to stop him. I know the significance of a direct order from my father. And the consequences if his orders are disobeyed.

He gives me a reassuring smile through the rearview then gets out to open my door. He reaches out his hand for me to hold as he helps me out of the car. "Have a good day Takebayashi-San". And just like that he's back in character. Students walking around us towards the school. The teacher supervising student drop off acts like she doesn't see us. Fuutarou gives her a nod and puts on his sunglasses as he gets in the car and proceeds to skip school for the day.

I watch him drive off until I lose sight of the taillights. Please be careful.

The day felt like it was never going to end. Minutes felt like hours. I texted fuutarou asking him to text me when he was done. A text I never got. Before I knew it the final bell rang and I grabbed my things and ran to the shoe lockers to change and go home. I slipped on my shoes and walked outside hoping he would be there to take me home, instead I see Yushin? Yoshin? I never remember his name but he's just some low level guy who runs errands for my father. He's tall, bald head with tattoos all over, dressed in a beautiful 3-piece suit tailored perfectly to his slender body topped off with a very expensive pair or Armani sunglasses. The man looked like a walking talking advertisement for a yakuza movie main character. He's been assigned to me a couple of times but he never says more than 3 words to me other than 'good morning' or 'good evening'. Without saying anything he opens the door for me but just as I'm about to sit down I hear someone call out to me.

"Takebayashi! You forgot something!" my classmate screamed out. A boy named Jiri who sits a couple seats away from me. I don't even know his name. Before I can even tell my security anything he's already in the boy's face with his hand placed firmly on his chest. The look of terror on his face. Damn it. This is why I can't make any friends.

"Yoshin that's enough, he's my classmate" I say sternly

"Yes ma'am" he said as he took his hands off of him and began to fix his shirt and tie. "My apologies sir" and stepped aside.

"I'm so sorry about him, did I forget something in class?" I asked.

"Um. Yeah" he said shakily. Clearly still shaken up about what just happened. "Our teacher said you were going to give Fuutarou our classwork for the day, but you were in such a rush after class you left it" he said as he handed over the folder.

"Oh, thank you so much." I said as nicely as I could. He looked so uncomfortable. Glancing over at Yoshin out the corner of his eye knowing that he's still in danger if he says or does anything wrong.

I said goodbye and got in the car. As Yoshin closes my door I almost immediately forget about this awkward Exhange and all my attention shifts to getting home, hoping that Fuutarou is waiting in my driveway. Sadly, that wasn't the case. Once again I come home to an empty house. I put in the security code to get in and close the door behind me as I say goodbye to Yoshin. He bows his head then leaves. I turn on the lights to the kitchen but keep the lights off in the living room as I put on one of fuutarou's old hoodies and sink into my giant couch. The tv is just background noise as I stare at my phone waiting for him to text me.

Even though I've lived here by myself for a couple months now it's still a little weird. I asked for my own place for my 17th birthday because I wanted to be independent. I was expecting a small apartment or condo, not a whole mansion. I would say it's because father likes to spoil me, but the real reason is probably because of the added security. Cameras, gate, guard shack, etc. I was tired of relying on our butlers and maids for everything, but now I'm just lonely all the time. Six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a study, and a nice backyard with a pool. Four of those bedrooms are empty and the other two are my bedroom and the place where I store all the boxes I still have yet to unpack.

An hour goes by and still nothing. I go over to the kitchen to make myself some tea before I sit down and start studying for the night. I start with history then transition to math. Biology is too easy; I finish with that in under 20 minutes. Just as I finished, I look up at the clock and notice that it was already 9pm. I grab my phone and sigh as I see that I have zero notifications. Nothing from Fuutarou. I feel my chest get tight as every bad possibility runs through my mind. And almost like on cue my phone rings. Its Fuutarou.

"hello" I say after picking up on the first ring.

"Hey open the door my hands are full!" he says in a playful demeanor

I run to the door and open it to see Fuutarou with a pizza box in one hand and convenience store bag in the other filled with ice cream and energy drinks. Right away I notice how his face is all bruised. One of his eyes is swollen making it half closed. Some of his dirty blonde hair looks almost pink since it's mixed with blood. I can see his knuckles are cut up and bruised. He sees me staring and gives me a reassuring smile.

"We need food if we're gonna spend all night studying Takke" he said as he walked past me straight into the dining room and set the food down. "And I got your favorite, grilled chicken and vodka sauce pizza from the spot around the corner and I even stopped by the convenience store to grab us some deser..."

I didn't even let him finish. I ran up to him and hugged him, burying my face in his chest as tears began to fall down my cheeks. My arms squeezing as hard as I can. I wanted to be angry that he didn't text me when the job was done. I wanted to be angry that my father has him doing these "deliveries" in the first place. But at that moment I was just happy he was in my arms. After what felt like an hour-long pause before he finally understood. He gently wrapped his arms around me and placed his head on top of mine. He stood there with me as I cried and quietly whispered "I'm ok Takke".

Hideo Sasaki

"boom baby! I told you, you got nothing on me!" I said as I threw my gamecube controller on the coffee table. I stand up and reach out my hand to Akio. Man does he hate losing, but man do I love rubbing it in. "aww c'mon dont go crying now because your Samus is trash" I say laughing.

Akio and I have been friends since we were born. Our fathers were also best friends, they referred to themselves as brothers just like us. We've been inseparable our entire lives. We've been part of every major event in each other's lives. Weddings, child births, hospital stays, funerals, everything. We've laughed, we've cried, we've fought, but there isn't a man alive I trust more than my brother Akio Takebayashi. Even at 47 years of age we still act like kids when we're together. Even after Akio rose to head of the family, he may have changed to a ruthless leader to everyone else, but to me he's still my brother who hates vegetables and sucks at smash brothers.

"you know you got lucky when you pulled that spike out of your ass Hideo!" Akio said angrily with his face all scrunched up as he grabbed his beer for another swig. "god damn it, I'm all out. Bashira! Another!"

Almost instantly the office door opened, and his nephew Bashira came in and went to the fridge to grab Akio another beer and brought it over to him as he bowed.

"How rude of you to not ask Hideo if he wants one too. How dare you show my brother such discourtesy" Akio said in a stern tone. Bashira looked up scared. Face completely red.

"How rude of me uncle I apologize for my carelessness. Please allow me to correct my mistake" Bashira said as he began to speed walk over to the mini fridge to grab me a beer.

"Why you gotta keep busting his balls Hideo" I said quietly with a light laugh.

"It builds character, which he is in desperate need of since his whore of a mother doesn't know how to raise a man" Hideo said annoyed.

"Dude that's your sister" I said

"So? Doesn't change the fact that I'm raising her fatherless son" Hideo said as Bashara came with the beer. Bowing and asking for my forgiveness.

I feel bad for this kid. But when it came to Bashira Takebayashi, Akio was very serious about his tough love approach. Besides, this might actually be good for him. Ever since joining the organization this kid has done a complete 180. He came as some rude snot nosed punk to a well-dressed obedient young man. He still can't fight for shit but ever since I've begun training him, he's slowly been able to hold his own against Fuutarou, he's still nowhere near his level, but at least he's not getting knocked out thirty seconds in anymore.

"Thanks kid" I say grabbing the beer. "But maybe next time ask the person you're serving if they need a refill" I say as I point over to my beer that's of the way full.

"Yes sir i apolo.." he began to say

"Alright enough, get out" Hideo said motioning him away.

With a proper bow Bashira left. closing the door gently behind him

"Alright Hideo" Akio said as he took a swig of his beer. "I need advice my brother."

"Oh man, you get caught over at the silk rabbit again" I said with a wink and a laugh as I thought about all the nights we spent at the erotic establishment.

"No you idiot, it's about Akira" he said in a serious tone. I know that tone. He really wants to have a serious discussion.

"Ok shoot" I say

"Ok, so Akira has been asking me for permission to get a job. Some bullshit about wanting to be more independent. I thought I already gave her that when I let her live by herself, but apparently she wants to live even more like the commoners and get a job.."

"let me stop you there" I say interupting him. "you and I were once commoners Akio, don't you forget that. Second of all, I think it's amazing how your daughter wants to stand on her own two feet at such a young age when she has every reason to be some spoiled rich girl. You should be proud of her my brother. You raised an amazing young lady" I said

Akio sat there quietly twirling his beer bottle. "I just want to protect her, how am I supposed to do that if she's working in some convenience store or something where any of our enemies can just walk in and hurt her. Even if we have security on her it doesn't guarantee her safety. I can't allow it. I made a promise to her mother that I would prote..." Akio said as he began to choke up

I put my hand on his shoulder. "Mari would have been so proud of the job you've done. You know that. My god daughter was blessed to have been born into this family. Protection won't be an issue. Besides, security is my area of expertise. Let me make a couple of phone calls and let me see if I can figure something out for her. Leave it to your big brother" I said with a wink.

Akio starts laughing. "Dude you're like 2 weeks older than me" he says as he chugs the rest of his beer and picks up the controller. "c'mon one more before I call it a night"

"Just cause you're my boss doesn't mean you can avoid this ass whooping" I say as we both start laughing.

"BASHIRA! ANOTHER" Akio screams as the kid comes back in to grab another beer for his superior. "So, how's that stray dog of yours anyway. Haven't heard you talk about him in a while"

Akio has never been a fan of Fuutarou. I know Akio doesn't take kindly to outsiders, but Fuutarou's been my protege for a little over 3 years now. Maybe it was because he was rummaging through the garbage outside the club when I took him in or because he's a little too close to his baby girl. Whatever his reason is for hating this kid, he's wrong.

"that 'stray' just came back from Goro's WITH the winnings by HIMSELF. He really is something special Akio, I just wish you would give him a chance" I said

"I did give him a chance Hideo. I allowed him into our organization disregarding the better judgement of our captains because my general asked me personally. You can put him in a suit, give him the mark off the moon, and teach him how to fight but your stray has plenty more to prove before he becomes Kurai Yoru. You're lucky I even allowed him to be in charge of taking my daughter to school."

"they've been best friends since elementary. What better person to have watch your daughter than someone who's in the same class as her?" I said annoyed. "he's been through a lot Akio, as someone who grew up the way we came up I thought you would have more sympathy for him"

I know the real reason he hates him is because of the way his daughter looks at him. But I made Fuutarou swear to me that she is off limits and he's been living up to that promise. I've seen him with plenty of other girls since then. I trust him, he gave me his word. Now my god daughter is a different story. She doesn't hide her feelings whatsoever, and I know that eats away at my brother every time they're together. I'm honestly surprised he hasn't prohibited their friendship. Maybe he thinks the more he pushes him away the more she'll fall for him, which is probably true.

"we're not cut from the same cloth. We have been warriors since birth. We didn't need saving. This kid is just weak" he said angrily.

"We were warriors because we were born into families who raised us as such. Do you remember how much we hated training, you used to hide under your bed when it was time to go to my father's academy only to be dragged out by your ankles and beaten for showing weakness" I said clearly hitting a sore spot because Akio put his head down. He hated thinking about how abusive his father was. "we may not have had the best upbringing Akio, but it shaped us into the men we are today. Fuutarou didn't have that luxury. His father was a real piece of.."

"of what? And mine's was a fucking saint? Boo fucking Hoo Hideo. We are what we make ourselves. We walk our own paths. We pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps and rose to the top. Me and you. No one helped us" he said as he slapped my chest. "That's the type of men we are! These kids aren't built like us" he said as he pounded his chest taking a big swig of his beer. I can tell he was starting to feel it.

I took a deep breath and smiled. I wasn't changing his mind tonight, so why ruin the mood? I picked my character and looked over at him. "let's make this next game interesting" I say.

"Oh? And what do you have in mind?" he asked with an evil grin.

"You finish working on that mk4 supra yet?" I said with my own devilish smile.

"Oh hell no! There's no way! Don't even think about it" he said while taking another swig of his beer.

"Hold on let me finish" I say laughing as I pick up my beer. "i said I'd make it interesting right? you get 5 stock I get 3. I'll put up the R34. How about now, you interested?"

He took a long pause. Staring right at me. Knowing I was dead serious. Finally, after what felt like an hour he said "you get 3 stock?". I got him.

Akira Takebayashi

We were supposed to spend the whole night studying last night but we ended up just joking around the whole time. I was at least able to get him to do his homework. For someone who barely goes to class Fuutarou's surprisingly not dumb. He's never been into his academics but when he puts the effort in, he's actually pretty smart. We ended the night outside by the pool with our feet in the water. It was a chilly spring night but luckily my pool is heated. I tried to get him to talk to me about the reasoning behind his bruises but he just looked at me, no words, then just started speaking about something completely unrelated. At the end of the night he gave me a hug and said good night and once again I'm left all alone in this big house. I wish he would just stay the night.

He lives over at Hideo's place. A big mma gym takes up the entire bottom floor with a bunch of condos on each floor. Hideo ended up giving Fuutarou the entire second floor. I haven't been there in a couple months but last time I went it was beautiful. The definition of a bachelor's pad. So neat and organized. Beautiful furniture and tasteful art on the walls. You would never guess that a 16-year-old lives there. Iff i had to guess, it was Hideo's place before moving onto something better. Last time I was there he was throwing a big party with all the popular kids at school. It was probably the only time I've ever felt normal around classmates outside of school. Fuutarou was extra friendly because he was drinking and everybody was so nice. We played games all night, danced, and drank some more. But as always, the good times never last. Some guys came who knew some of the people who were already there. Fuutarou was too busy playing beer pong to realize when they came in.

There had to have been atleast 40 people. I was in the kitchen when 2 of the new guys approached me. Right away they made me uncomfortable with their inappropriate compliments. Normally I wouldn't tolerate such disrespect but we were all having so much fun so I just tried to walk away when I felt one of them slapped my ass. By the time i turned around Fuutarou was already standing over his body after knocking him down with a single punch. He mounted him and pulled out a blade and pressed it against his throat. The guy immediately started apologizing and begging for forgiveness. Fuutarou's eyes locked into to his. I was frozen. Who was this animal? That look in his golden eyes; it was cold and empty. I wanted to stop him, but I couldn't move. At this point everyone an the party had stopped what they were doing and cut the music surrounding us. A couple people started asking Fuutarou to let him go, but he didn't acknowledge any of them. His eyes were locked on his prey. A small bead of blood began to come out of his neck that made me let out a small gasp. Almost as if I broke a trance or something he looked up at me and saw how scared I was and immediately got off of him. After retracting his switch blade and putting it away he looked at his friend and said "both of you, get out".

After they left, he came over to me and asked "are you ok?"

"I'm fine..." I said with my head down. I was scared to look at him. I didn't know who this was. I've always seen Fuutarou after his fights, but I've never seen him in the act. It was terrifying.

He reached over and put his hand gently under my chin and raised my head. All of a sudden, those golden eyes weren't so cold anymore. "I'm sorry you had to see that Akira". He never calls me by my first name.

Fuutarou has had parties since then, but I haven't been. We never even spoke about why I'm no longer invited. I know he just wants to protect me, but I wish he knew how alone I feel every day. How badly I want to have friends of my own besides him. He's the only person who truly knows me, but there's still so much I don't know about him.

When I woke up this morning Fuutarou was already downstairs in my kitchen drinking his morning coffee. He looked up at me with that big smile I love so much. A bandage on his cheek covering the big gash he had. His hair is back to its normal dirty blonde look, no more pinkish look from the blood. The swelling on his eye surprisingly went down a pretty good amount. He's still not able to open it all the way but at least he's able to see out of it unlike yesterday.

He stood up and said "good morning princess" as he laughed and handed me my coffee. He knows how much I hate being called princess, but he also knows that if I'm still at home I like my coffee hot unlike when I'm on the go, I like my coffee iced. Yet another reason why this man is the love of my life. Why does he have to know me so well, it makes living day to day with him so much harder knowing that I can't have him.

"Ugh, you're perfect" I say groggily as I take a small sip. "You're here early. What, no Leonardo to keep you up all night" I ask with an attitude referring to his whore from the night before.

"Nah not last night. Besides, I'm more of a Michaelangelo kinda guy if we're being honest" he said with a wink and a smile.

Once again I can't hide my displeasure as I pout and walk away. "whatever just go start the car, I don't want to be late AGAIN today".

"Yes your majesty. Right away" he said in his best English accent.

Once again our morning commute is filled with laughter and slick remarks. But once again it comes to an end as he pulls into the student drop off section instead of parking the car.

"where you going? Missing school twice in a row? What was the point of doing homework last night if you weren't going to class today". I asked

"I'm Sorry Takke I have something very important to do today, but ill definitely be back tomorrow, I promise." He said with a smile. Something was off. Somethings not right. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I know him, and I know that something is wrong. Call it a gut feeling.

"fuutarou are you o..."

"I'm fine Takke. Like I said I'll see you tomorrow. I'd really appreciate if you handed in my homework for me" he said as he handed me his folder.

"yeah.. Sure its just.."

"I said I'm fine miss Takebayashi. Please don't concern yourself with me" he said sternly as he cut me off.

I can take the hint, but he doesn't have to be so rude about it.

"whatever" I say as I open the door.

"Wait Takke don't!" he said quickly as he opened his door and ran around to my door before I took a step out. He grabbed the door and held out his hand for me to grab. "You know this is my job Takke, don't do that" he said in a serious tone.

I don't know how to take that. On one hand it's a little romantic just how chivalrous he wants to be, but on the other hand I'm annoyed that he's only doing it because it's his job. I settled on the latter smacking his hand away as I let myself out. "Whatever just hurry up and go do whatever is so important that you have to skip school for" I say without looking at him as I walk away. I could feel him staring at me before I heard the door finally close and him drive off.

I walk into homeroom and decide I'm not going to let him stress me out for the second day in a row, so I say hello to a couple classmates I'm friendly with before I take my seat. We talk about how hard the homework was and how they're all worried about the test today when in all reality the homework was ridiculously easy, they're just dumb. Being the number one ranked student in our grade is something that came easily to me. By the time I started 1st grade I was already reading at 6th grade level. My father always emphasized how important school was to me from an early age. But around the time I had gotten to 4th grade he gave up on forcing academics on me. Not because I didn't want to, but because I chased academic excellence on my own. Going out of my way to study on my own time and schedule additional time with my tutors. That's probably the reason why father is so hands off with me. I've never given him a reason to worry about me not putting my academics first.

"Ok class, lets settle in" our teacher said as he stood in front of the class. "Before we begin, we have a new student joining us today. Let's all give a warm welcome to your new classmate Nino Nakano".

She walked in and right away the boys were at a loss for words. The whispers started talking about how absolutely gorgeous she was. Slim with a perfect figure. Perfect red hair with these cute butterfly ribbons. She stood there smiling almost as if she knew how good she looked but it wasn't cockiness it was confidence. She hasn't even said a word yet and she already made a strong impression.

"Good morning everyone. My name is Nino Nakano. My sisters and I just transferred here. I look forward to meeting you all" she said politely as she bowed. Without even trying she already had everyone head over heels for her.

"Yes. Good to have you miss Nakano. You can take the empty seat over by Fuutarou… oh it seems Mr Uesugi is absent again today. Well regardless he sits over by our class rep Miss Takebayashi" he said as he pointed over to me.

As she walked over we greeted each other with a smile. She seems nice. We haven't had a new student in a while. Maybe I can take this opportunity to make a new friend before everyone gets to her before me and tells her about my family.

"Hey I'm Akira" I say with a warm smile. "Welcome to Asahiyama High".

We only spoke briefly but she was so nice to me. She ended up introducing me to her sisters during lunch. The look of shock on my face when she told me she not only had 4 other sisters but that they were quintuplets. I could tell they were used to people being surprised by them when they just laughed at my facial expression. Even though they were quintuplets they couldn't be any more different. There was ichika, the first born of the 5 and the most mature. She had a motherly aura about her and the shortest hair of them all in a very pretty light pink color. Then there was Miku. She didn't say much but i could tell she was the most reserved. She had long brown hair with bangs that almost covered her eyes. The most natural of the five. She spent most of lunch listening to music on these big Bluetooth headphones she had. Then there was Yotsuba. Definitely the most outgoing of the 5. She was so enthusiastic when she met me and is hands down my favorite. She had shoulder length orange hair topped off with a big green bow. She was telling me how excited she was to be here and how she couldn't wait to join all the different sports clubs we had. She was cut off by Nino telling her she wouldn't be able to do any sports as long as her grades were as bad as they were. She looked so disappointed for a little before she brushed it off with a laugh and said she would get her grades up in no time. And lastly there was Itsuki. The "baby" of the group. Long beautiful red hair with these star clips. She was also very polite to me but I noticed how all the others would playfully pick on her for how much food she was eating just like how normal older siblings pick on the younger ones. They were all so unique. And I'm so happy to have met them.

I ended up having different classes with all of them. Math with Itsuki, science and homeroom with Nino, english with Ichika, gym with Yotsuba, and history with Miku. Every class they were swarmed with other students. Not even a full day and they're already popular.

As the day ends, I run into them as we leave the foot lockers. We all head out to the student pick up location together and laugh at our cars being parked next to each other coincidentally. To my surprise the driver isn't Yoshin but my uncle Hideo. I say goodbye to the girls and walk up and bow to my uncle.

"Good afternoon uncle, what a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?" I ask. He's always been my favorite family member. He's so warm and loving. He's very tall, even taller than Fuutarou at 6 foot 4, tan skin, long black hair that's starting to show a little grey pulled into a ponytail, and a long dragon tattoo that runs up his right arm from his hand to the side of his neck right next to the same crescent moon tattoo Fuutarou has. He's let himself go a little in his old age but still looks very sturdy with broad shoulders and large forearms. He's wearing jeans and a white tank top with some grease stains. He was probably working on his cars on his day off. He's got a little bit of a belly, but he's still a man to be feared. They've never come out right and said it, but I've eavesdropped in a couple conversations and learned that my uncle was one of the most feared enforcers in the organization. He's also the man that took in my dear Fuutarou as his protégé.

"What? I need a reason to visit my favorite god daughter on a beautiful spring day?" he said with a light laugh. He then hugged me so tight as he lifted me off the ground and swung me left to right just like he did when I was a child. I love my uncle so much. Everything my father lacked, he provided. With them together I had the perfect male role model.

I laughed as he put me down and proceeded to playfully spar with him. It's been a couple weeks since I've been to the gym but I'm still a Takebayashi, and along with my academics, my martial arts training came right behind it. Every member in this organization, regardless of age, learns from master Sasaki.

"ooof, ooof, oh you got me" he said as he playfully took my weak punches to the stomach. "c'mon get in, let's grab some lunch. I have some things I wanna talk to you about" he said with a great big smile. But just like Fuutarou's this morning I know there was more to it. And just like this morning I got that same tight feeling in my chest that something was wrong.

Hideo Sasaki

I still can't believe how much my little Akira has grown. This is the same girl who would 'go to the bathroom' just to sneak out of class and into my office because she knew where my secret stash of candy was. The same little girl who would fall asleep on my shoulder after watching Toy Story for the hundredth time. The young adult sitting in the passenger seat beside me might share her name and her face, but I just can't accept it.

"Oh I love this song, turn it up!" She screamed as 'popular' by the Weeknd played on the radio. She started dancing and singing.

all I could do was stare at her and smile. I never had any kids of my own. I never found the right woman to settle down with. I don't know if it was because I never found true love like Akio did with Mari, or if it was because I never wanted to drag another person into this life. Maybe it was a little bit of both. But regardless, even though I never had a child of my own, this little girl is as close to my own as any real one could have ever been.

"Cmon uncle dance with me!" She said laughing pulling my hand off the shifter.

"Oh man, you ready to get served?" I said as I started doing my secret weapon of a dance move. The all powerful, ever beautiful…. Sprinkler. One hand on the wheel the other behind my head as I screech out the lyrics "popular just to be popular!"

"Ahhhh my ears! My eyes! Please have mercy!" She screamed playfully as we both burst out laughing.

I pulled into our favorite sandwich spot with the best steak sandwiches in all of tokyo. She may be small and petite but this girl can eat. We get out and I lock the doors to my RX7 Spirit R with the remote and take a nice long look back at this gorgeous piece of Japanese engineering.

"Why do you always do that uncle. It's like you've never seen your own car before" Akira says with a little scoff.

"Listen here young lady. If a man gets out of his car and doesn't look back at it as he's walking away, break up with him. Because that's a man that's content with settling for something he doesn't truly want, and a man content with settling is a man who doesn't chase his goals, and a man who doesn't chase his goals is a weak man who quits at the first sign of adversity in your relationship" I say as I continue looking at my bad bitch sitting on a pair of volk rims that I just put on last week.

I've always loved martial arts. Partly because I was so good at it. But maybe I was only good at it because I was raised in it. My first steps as a baby were on the soft tatami mats in my fathers academy. I never really had a choice in the matter and just took to it easily. I was always bigger and stronger than the other kids so my father would put me with the teens when I was still a child and with the adults when I was a teenager. But cars. That was all me. My first true love. I fell in love with them growing up in Tokyo, Sneaking out with Akio in the early 90's to the underground car meets. Couldn't have been older than 14-15 years old. We would pull up on bicycles and have all the older guys mess with us. it was all in good fun because they took us in, they knew what it was like to be obsessed at that age. They would show us all the modifications they would do to their cars, how to work on them, the do's and don'ts of the car culture. We were like sponges soaking up everything this whole new world had to offer. My first car was a 1979 rx7 in a disgusting pale yellow paint with a horrific turd brown interior. Radio didn't work, cracked windshield, mismatched rims, a red replacement hood that didn't latch on correctly, and a bunch of dents all over because the previous owner cheated on his girlfriend so she took out her frustration on my future baby with a baseball bat. This car was the definition of a piece of shit. But she was mine. I worked all summer with Akio at the pool as a life guard during the day and odd jobs for the organization at night. After my summer was over I had raised around 4000 bucks. The car itself was only 500. And the rest was for me to fix it. Luckily I had made some amazing friends at these car meets. Everyone 'knew a guy'. And before I knew it, I had a beautiful pearl black rx7 sitting on a pair of bbs's that 'fell off a truck'. I've been hooked ever since.

I opened the door to the little sandwich shop and let my niece walk in before me. We walked up to the counter and ordered 2 steak sandwiches with everything on em with a coke. We grabbed our food then took a seat on the open patio. Making sure to get a seat with a good view of my RX7 of course.

"You're funny uncle" Akira said laughing with her mouth full as she saw me staring at my car.

"The only thing funny is sauce you got on your face you Neanderthal" I said as we both started laughing.

I took a big bite of my sandwich cooked to absolute perfection. Savoring every bite and washing it down with a couple sips of my soda. Letting out a big burp making her laugh.

"So listen. I hear from your father that you're looking for a job" I said after putting the sandwich down

She perked up right away and swallowed her food hurriedly. "Yes uncle. I want to be able to make my own money. I don't want to rely on father every time I want to go shopping or buy the necessities"

"Akira. You're a student. You're supposed to rely on your father. Your father being rich just happens to be a coincidence" I say as she looks down. "but regardless of your reasoning, I think I found you the perfect gig making pretty good money"

She lit up almost immediately. "Really uncle? Please tell me!"

"ok, so I got a buddy who just moved here and his kids are in desperate need of a tutor since all of them are on the brink of failing. I'm not gonna sugar coat this, he flat out told me they're all as dumb as a box of rocks, so if you're up to the challenge the job is yours. He offered the job on the spot once I told him you were the number one ranked student in your school."

"I've never tutored before aside from helping Fuutarou with his homework, but I'll give it my all uncle. Thank you so much!" she said as she ran around the table and hugged me. "So how old are these kids" she asked as she sat back down.

"they're in your grade" I say with a smile. "You were actually walking with them when i picked you up today".

"uncle, are you saying I'm going to tutor the Nakano sisters!?" she screamed out in joy.

"I take it your friends with them already?" I ask pretending to be surprised.

She went on to tell me about how they all met and how grateful she was for the opportunity. All I could do was sit there and smile knowing I did a good job. I told Akio I would take care of it, and I did.

"So, I knew you would say yes so I already told the girl's father to let them know they're going to meet their tutor today at 6." I say as her eyes widen. "they're going to be dropped off today but moving forward they're going to be going home with you. Initially their father wanted it to be at their apartment, but I explained how you're closer to the school and you don't have any of the distractions that they would have in their apartment"

"That's a great idea! C'mon let's go!" she said as she stood up and started pulling on my arm.

"But my sandwich.." I say as I'm pulled to my feet by this 115-pound girl.

She looks at the time and says "ok fine, five more minutes" she said as she sat back down and started to devour the rest of her sandwich. It doesn't matter how many times I see it, it's still impressive she can put down so much food at her size.

"I got one more thing I wanna talk about, it's about Fuutarou" I say in a serious tone as she looked up from her sandwich with a concerned look on her face. "Did he seem off at all when he took you to school today?"

She put her food down. "He did actually, I tried asking him about it but he wouldn't tell me. He actually got a little upset with me when I kept asking him. He said something about doing an important errand. Do you know anything about that?"

"mhm" I say softly. "He went to go pick up his little sister today to take her to see their mother's grave. Todays the anniversary of her death."

I can see her heart get caught in her throat as she put her head down into her hands. "Uncle I had no idea. I was so rude to him today. If I had known I..."

It's ok Akira" I say as I reach over and put my hand on her shoulder. "Fuutarou isn't exactly an open book, you couldn't have known about today. The only reason I'm telling you is because he's not answering my calls. I wouldn't worry. He probably just needs some space today, I know how close you two are, so I just wanted to give you the heads up to cheer him up next time you see him ok?"

"Of course uncle" she said as she bowed her head slightly, still clearly upset with the information she just learned.

"ok let's wrap this up, you have a job to get to today!"

Akira Takebayashi

I didn't really have much to say on the way home from lunch. I can't believe i didn't know about today. I feel like such a terrible friend. Not many people know about Fuutarou's mother. Here I am, one of the few who actually know, and I can't even remember such an important day.

I never got him to open up about how she passed. We were children when it happened. I remember Fuutarou being absent from school for almost a month before he came back. When I asked him why he had been gone for so long he just told me he was on vacation with his family. It wasn't until my own mother passed away; did he share with me that his mother also passed away. We cried together. We cried for each other. No one else could understand the pain that we were feeling better than each other. He was with me every single day leading up to the funeral. I still remember him showing up in a baggy black dress shirt that probably belonged to his father. Clearly 3 sizes too big for him, filled with wrinkles. I didn't care how he was dressed, I was just happy he was there with me. My father didn't feel the same way. He kicked him out for 'showing his late wife such disrespect'. I cried to my father begging him to let Fuutarou stay. As always he caved and sent one of his lackies to fetch him a shirt that fit. Almost 20 minutes later he came back with a shirt that was still a little big on him, but it didn't look as awful as the one he was wearing. He sat there with me and didn't say a word. He just held my hand as I bowed to everyone who came up to me to give me their condolences.

Afterwards we all went to my house for the repass. It was a massive feast with 4 gourmet chefs and a full waiting staff. I wasn't hungry at all so I didn't eat. Fuutarou also didn't eat even though I tried telling him it was ok. Wherever I went, he went. I didn't talk, so he didn't talk. When the repass was over and everyone left my father had a little too much to drink and was carried off to bed by Hideo as he mumbled about how much he missed my mother, leaving me and Fuutarou alone. We went to my room as I turned on the tv and laid down on my bed. I was exhausted, physically and emotionally, having been up all day dealing with people and their fake courtesies pretending not to notice. I sank into my california king size pillow top mattress staring at the ceiling when I felt it, another wave of emotion, another realization that my mother wasn't here anymore. Another realization that I'll never see her again, that I'll never bake a cake with her again, that I'll never take a walk by the lake again as we drink our morning coffee and talk about school, that I'll never lay on the couch with her after a bad day as she stroked my hair telling me it was all going to be better. She was gone and it wasn't fair.

It started with a single tear rolling down my cheek, then another, and another. Then i started sniffling. The sniffling turned into cries, the cries turned into wailing, and the wailing turned into screaming. Screaming as tears ran down my face. I couldn't breathe. I felt the room get smaller. I felt so alone. But i wasn't alone. Fuutarou climbed into bed with me and grabbed me and hugged me as we laid together. Pulling my head into his chest as he held me tightly. Breath by breath I began to calm down. The storm of emotion began to subside. I couldn't move. I was paralyzed. I didn't want to move. I felt so safe, so loved. I didn't want it to end.

I heard the bedroom door open as my uncle Hideo opened the door. He probably came running after he heard me screaming only to stand at the door and not say anything before gently closing it. I was fully expecting him to yell at me for having another boy in my bed, but I think he understood there was nothing sexual about this. This was one friend being there for another in their time of need.

We stayed just like that until I fell asleep in his arms. I woke up in the morning alone. He probably wanted to leave before my father woke up. He was there for me when I needed him most, and here I am being a shitty friend to him. I can't even remember such an important date to him like he does for me. Every year he comes with me to my mother's grave and brings a dozen roses to place at her headstone. I have to make this right. I'll go see him tonight after the girls leave.

We pull into the driveway as I say goodbye to my uncle. "Hey, it's going to be ok. Fuutarou's a tough kid. Focus on making a good first impression as these girl's tutor" he said with the warmest smile.

"Yes uncle, thank you again" I say as I bow and close the door and watch him drive off.

Ok. First things first, I order catering from a local restaurant. I want them to feel as comfortable as possible. As i wait for the food to arrive I start tidying up and wiping down the table we'll be studying at. I'm a pretty neat person for the most part but you can never be too clean. I lay out a bunch of loose-leaf paper, pencils, calculators, everything we'll need for a proper study session. I get a call from my security booth telling me the food has arrived and I tell them to let the driver through. I greet him at the door and tell him to set up the trays of food in the kitchen. I give him a nice 100 tip and look around. Everything is perfect, they're going to love it. I look down at the time, 5:45. Perfect, just in time.

I take a seat and wait for their arrival any minute now. I'm so excited. Even though I'm happy to have my first job, I'm even more excited at the opportunity to make friends who aren't scared of me. Other than Fuuttarou they're going to be the only other people who have been to my house besides Hideo and my father. Uncle actually told me that their father is a friend of his. I wonder if he's at all associated with the organization. I don't think he is; I would've met the girls sooner at a party or something if that was the case.

I look down at the time, 6:10. Hmm, maybe they got caught in rush hour traffic. 6:30, 6:45, 7:10. Did my uncle give me the wrong time? I call my uncle and he said that he'll call his friend and ask for an update. 7:30, 8:00, 8:20. Even when it's scheduled people will do everything they can to not be around me. Did I leave a bad impression? Were they only being nice to me because they were being polite? They probably heard about me in one of their classes and told their father. He's probably on the phone right now with uncle telling him how this isn't going to work out and uncle is probably thinking of a way to let me down gently. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. It's all my fault, I should've been honest with them when I met them. Get ahead of it so I could do damage control. Instead, I'm once again left alone. I don't even deserve friends, I can't even be a good friend to the only one I have.

I get up to start clearing the table when I hear my doorbell ring. I run to the door to see an older gentleman I'm not familiar with and behind him are the Nakano sisters! I open the door and I'm greeted by all of the sisters gasping almost in unison as they all look surprised to see me.

"Hey guys, I'm so happy you all decided to come!" I say with the biggest smile.

"Oh my god! Akira? You're our tutor?!" Yotsuba screams as she runs up and hugs me. Wow this girl is so much stronger than she looks.

The other sisters begin to greet me as they all apologize for being late.

"My apologies Miss Takebayashi, my name is Maruo Nakano. my daughters were giving their butler a hard time accepting the tutor I had chosen for them so I had to leave after my shift at the hospital to go and...convince them" he said sternly as he looked back at the girls who all put their head down.

"we're so sorry Akira! If we had known you were going to be our tutor we would've been over here earlier" Nino said as she bowed her head.

"Speak for yourself Nino, you and Miku were the ones who didn't want to come, and Ichika was too busy sleeping" Itsuki said with a scoff.

"Hey don't blame me for not wanting to go to a strangers house!" Nino said with an attitude.

"I just didn't want to come" Miku said dryly

"enough" their father said sternly. All the girls stopped talking immediately. Once again Miss Takebayashi, I want to apologize for my daughter's behavior. I know it's late so we'll be going now..."

"No don't!" I blurt out as I cut him off not realizing how rude that was. "I mean, I have everything still out, and I ordered food for us.."

"Food?!" Itsuki says as she walks passed me. "oh my god it smells amazing in here!"

"Oh, uh thank you" I say nervously. Maybe i should tell her the food is probably cold by now.

The other sisters begin to walk in.

"it's so nice in here, your house is beautiful Akira" Yotsuba says as she walks in with Nino and Miku.

"If it's ok with you father, do you think we can stay for a little. It would be the right thing to do after everything Akira has done in anticipation of our lesson today" Ichika said. She was so proper. She really lives up to the title of eldest sister.

He looks over at me as I give him a nod. "Don't stay too long and disrupt Miss Takebayashi's plans for the evening. Call Mr. Ebata when it's time to go home" he said to Ichika who bowed and winked at me when she raised her head. "Thank you again Miss Takebayashi. Rest assured this type of behavior will never happen again, i can guarantee it" he said with a final stern look over at Ichika. He gave me a slight bow and excused himself and walked back to his car as his driver opened the door for him without giving a look back before driving off.

"This is going to be so much fun Akira!" Ichika screamed out as she grabbed my hands pulling me inside.

I was so nervous about what the girls would think of the cold food but they all just laughed when I voiced my concern.

"That's what microwaves are for silly" Yotsuba said cheerfully.

"Yeah, and this pasta is to die for Akira, you HAVE to tell me where you ordered from so I can go visit!" Itsuki said as she finished her second plate.

We were so busy eating and laughing I had completely forgotten to bring up what I had planned for them as their tutor. I haven't laughed this hard in years, I almost forgot what it felt like. This was the first time I've ever had dinner with friends. The first time I've ever had friends over not named Fuutarou. This feels so nice. I can't remember the last time I've smiled for this long.

I was so excited that a night like this was possible that I went out to target and bought a bunch of board games when I first moved in. I went and pulled them all out of the closet still in the plastic. We played for hours. Each of them was good at a different game. Miku was a killer in battleship, Ichika at Uno, Yotsuba at pictionary, Itsuki was a surgeon in operation, and even though we didn't have any beer Nino killed it in beer pong.

I didn't want the night to end but it was already 2AM. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Ichika called their driver as the girls helped me clean up when we were interrupted by my door bell ringing. Not just once but repeatedly. Ding dong ding dong ding dong. Non stop. The girls all looked up concerned. Then the ringing stopped and the pounding began.

Bang bang bang. "Takkeeeeeeee" screamed a voice. Is that Fuutarou?

The girls all looked at me nervously.

"it's ok guys just wait here I'll be right back" I said as I left the dining room.

"Takkeeee open the doooorrrr" he screamed out.

I run over and open the door Just as security began to grab him.

"get off of me, I told you Hideo sents me, you want to tell him I says you disabayed his order" he said slurring his words. A bottle of whiskey in his hands.

"ma'am we apologize for the inconvenience. He said your uncle sent him and you knew about it. He's clearly drunk. Should we call your un..." my security said as I cut him off.

"No, it's ok. I was expecting him. There's no need to bother him at this hour" I say sternly.

"See! I telled you, now get the fuck off me!" fuutarou said as he ripped his arm away and walked inside taking a drink from the half empty bottle.

I close the door and turn to face him. "fuutarou are you o..."

"What's up Takke!" he said as he stumbled over to hug me. He smelled like the inside of a bar.

"fuutarou you're drunk let's get you to bed please I have gues.." I began to say before he cut me off.

"Do you know what today is?" he said loudly as he put the bottle to his lips. "take a wildddd guess".

"Fuu please, I have guests..." I said quietly so the girls couldn't hear but I think I said it too quietly because Fuutarou didn't hear it either.

"Todays the day that bitch left me" he said as he began to laugh. His laugh was forced and painful.

The shock of what he just said left me speechless. Did he just call his dead mother a bitch?

"oh, dontcha looks at me like that Takke" he said laughing. "It's not your fault she hated me. Not your fault she left me alone with that monster" his tone was getting angrier as he fought back tears, but the forced smile didn't leave his face.

"Fuu your drunk you don't mean that" I said gently as I grabbed his arm. If I can get him on the couch maybe he'll sleep this off.

"Get off me" he screamed as he ripped his arm away from me. He pulled away so hard I almost stumbled to the floor. "Why are you defending her?" he asked. The smile left his face. Now there was just pain. "Do you even know how she died? What she did?"

"no..." I said nervously.

"She fucking killed herself Takke! She fucking hung herself! SHE! LEFT! ME!" he screamed out in pain. "you're mother fought till the very fucking end for you, my piece of shit mother CHOSE to leave me!" The dam in those eyes broke and tears were flowing out of his eyes. I've never seen someone look like they were in so much pain yet so angry at the same time.

I don't know what to say. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to help. He was there for me, he knew exactly what to do. I'm failing to do the same for him. I'm frozen once again. He's just walking around screaming and cursing. Drinking from the bottle until he finished the last drop. He raised the bottle and looked through the mouth of the bottle to realize there was nothing left.

"GOD. FUCKING. DAMN IT" he screamed as he slammed the bottle on the ground making it shatter as he fell to his knees, kneeling on the shards of glass. He knelt there sobbing. His head down. "Why didn't she love me Takke? Why did she leave me?"

My friend was in pain. He was sitting in front of me broken. All I want to do is put him back together but I don't know how.

I kneel down in front of him and I hug him. I didn't say a word. I just hug him as tightly as possible like he did for me all those years ago. Tears falling from my cheeks for my friend. I feel him begin to shake and then let out a primal cry. My ears begin to ring in pain from how loud it was but I didn't care. I need to endure this. He needs me. He screamed so much his voice started to give out. Even with no voice he continued to scream out in a broken sound until I heard nothing but his heavy breathing. We knelt there together until I looked up and saw that he had passed out from the screaming.

I notice from the corner of my eye the girls peeking out of the dining room to see what was happening. When they saw that I noticed them, they came out. They didn't say a single word. When they noticed that he had passed out they all helped me pick him up and drag him to the couch. I go upstairs to grab a blanket. Ichika was lifting his head as she placed it on top of a pillow. Yotsuba and Miku were taking off his shoes. Itsuki went and grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen to place next to him for when he woke up and Nino was sweeping up the glass.

When I come back downstairs, I noticed Ichika standing over him fixing his hair gently. She didn't notice me as she was looking at him sleep. She's probably worried about him, must be her motherly nature.

I sat beside him in silence until we were interrupted by a knock at the door. Mr. Ebata was here to pick up the girls. They all came over and hugged me without saying anything before walking out.

"I'm sorry" I say just as they were walking out. They all looked back at me and smiled.

"there's nothing to be sorry about. We'll see you tomorrow teach" Ichika said as she closed the door.

I get up and lay down alongside Fuutarou, watching him sleep. For someone who was pure chaos not too long ago, he looks so peaceful right now. His face still has some bruising from the day before. His eyes are puffy from the crying, or atleast one of them is, the other is probably still a little swollen from the other day. He has a small birth mark under his left eye that I never noticed before. I haven't been this close to him since he held me after my mother's funeral.

A single tear began to form and start rolling down his face. I place my hand on his face to wipe it away when he places his hand on mine. "I love you Takke" he said gently.

"I love you too Fuutarou".

A/N

welcome! i finally had the courage and time to release this little fan fic. As you guys can see I've made a lot of changes from the original source material but at its core it's still Quints. just to be as open as possible (if its not blatantly obvious) I'm not a professional writer. i barely passed English in high school lol. but i was inspired to give writing a chance in my spare time after reading other quints fan fiction like "sunflower", "how we met again", "a sonata of solitude", and ESPECIALLY "burning the midnight oil". i really just loved how fan fic let us keep enjoying a story we all loved, regardless of if you enjoyed the ending or not lol. As you guys can see, there's already some big differences in the personality and character of alot of people. changing Fuutarou's upbringing and his mother's cause of death, Ichika already being an actress and having a relationship with Fuutarou before they even move, Takebayashi never leaving and really just giving her a completely different backstory. you'll see completely new characters like Hideo, Akio, and Bashira (Hideo was actually inspired by Han from Tokyo drift lol). this story is going to take a much darker and more serious tone, brand new characters that i can't wait to dive into, as well as original characters with a new twist. i can't wait to hear any and all feedback, especially on my girl Takebayashi. if you think I'm not doing a certain Quint justice? let me know! hope y'all stick around and see where this dark story goes next.