A Throne Of Greed

II

For Katou Haru, walking down the grocery aisles feels like being at a red-carpet runway. It's a luxury when he gazes past those price signs on the grocery shelves with the confidence of being able to pull out his cash from his own wallet and pay them at the cashier.

"I can't believe you wanted your award to be like this." Kamei thought that he won the bet at the cafe but when the 'make-out' couple's female also went whimpering and running to the door, he saw Katou grinning at him.

"Are you that kinda broke?" Kamei asked a little worried about his acquaintance who had no car, buys Top Ramen noodles in bulk, and chooses a ride to the grocery as an award for winning a bet.

"Do you have any idea how expensive the university's convenience store is?" Katou tips on his toes and stretches his left arm, like an ungraceful ballerina, to grab the bulk noodles on the top shelf and places it in his shopping cart.

"That school is built upon a throne of greed," Kamei muttered, grabbing some individual Yakisoba noodles to his shopping basket

"And Yes, I'm officially kinda broke." Though he's almost broke, Kamei wasn't like last year where he's bags were much heavier than before, and he fails to nourish his body. The burning passion to attain a Criminal justice degree continues to push him through this vigorous path of college, especially his troublesome involvement last year.

The warm yeasty aroma of fresh bread lured them to the bakery section. The right side presented an arrangement of cakes while the left side set an array of bread varieties held in wooden crates.

"Yakisoba buns!" Kamei's golden eyes glistened upon a crate of bagged hotdog buns. He knows that the earthy flavour of the Yakisoba noodle blends well to the soft texture of bread. His acquaintance also bought one and placed the buns in his shopping basket.

"That dude really caught me off guard." Kamei inevitably brought up the topic referring to that break up at the café.

Because of that break up, Katou will expect himself to wince so much when seeing that male customer around the campus. His words of "How much to break up with you" echoed into Katou's brain with the "how much" ringing louder than the rest.

"He thinks he can slap his money around to people's faces, and I bet he's one of those kids who bribed their way to university." Kamei gritted his teeth, and the hotdog bun's plastic packaging crunched in his grasp.

"Katou."

He looked at his sandy blonde haired acquaintance.

"Since you're technically the first person I've met in college, will you come with me to the club rush?"

Katou scratches his head, "Unless you help me run my club booth."

"Wait, you're in a club?"

"What made you interested in the club rushes anyway?" Katou dodged Kamei's question and looked at him.

"Professor Motoyama"

"The Humanities professor?"

Kamei flashed a giddy smile from ear to ear while Katou narrowed his golden eyes.

.....

Kambe Daisuke enters college to escape from the grips of his household, and he comes out with no wrinkled clothing except for that one part: the girlfriend. He succeeded in breaking up with the girlfriend, and his red cheek, a reminder of the aftermath, still feels sore as he exited the café.

The sky's blinding sun no longer shone. The gloomy grey clouds covered it, but the sun's faint glowing light remains visible on the grey clouds. He descended the stairs leading to the sidewalk. His black car parked along the street curbside next to a full bike rack at the sidewalk. Naked trees surrounded the street, and its autumn leaves piled the tree's bottom. Across him stood the university's library, a tall historical granite building.

Suddenly, a weeping female rushed past him, and her heels clapped on each stair step. It was the customer from the café.

With a quick drive, he arrived at his single dormitory room. The bathroom door stood on his right and a sliding built-in closet stood to his left. He steps closer to get a full view of his room. Few unopened suitcases splayed around the room. A twin-sized bed was pressed against the right corner of the room's cream-colored walls and next to it is a study desk parallel to the closed curtained window. The room was simple and not what Kambe is accustomed to. He opens the dark curtains of his window, shedding some light into the room. Outside the window shows a wonderful view of the dormitory's front lawn flower garden which is decorated with pumpkins and warm-colored daisies.

The muffled buzzing phone rang deep into his duffel bag's pockets sitting on his desk. He held his breath and shoved his hands into the pockets. His palms recognized the shape of a buzzing brick; it was his other phone. He released his breath and pressed the phone's tiny call button and put it up to his pierced left ear.

"I have the info." It said. He listens as it spills out information worth like mercury, for once it evaporates within the university's prestigious grounds, it will poison them with no recovery.

"That's it?"

"You know what to do."

His blue eyes gazed at his own mischievous smirk along, reflecting on his bedroom window.

"So, you got rid of her?"

"Our families' business ties are done."

The family business pulled together their relationship, but this gravity didn't last, and it released the relationship. She didn't like it, for she claimed that she fell in love with Kambe Daisuke.

"You didn't like her at all, but you put up with her for a whole year."

"I wasn't the same back then." Kambe scoffed. Everything changed on that certain day. As he goes through college, he'll continue to pave a mighty high brick wall to distance him away from his damned family.

"Have fun in college!" The phone call ended.

With the girlfriend and his family out of sight, his intended path to scheming became clearer.

~

(A/N) What do you think Kambe Daisuke's up to?

Thank you for the wonderful support I got in the last chapter! I really appreciate it, and I hope y'all stick with me 'till the very end :D