Shadow Of Akihito (boy x boy) COMPLETED

Questions

"What?"

"I dreamed it at first. I could hear him in my dream. He told me that he could help me. All I had to do was unlock his cage. He felt so familiar to me, but I don't remember hearing his voice before. It wasn't until I awakened that I understood. He was my Form, trying to help me find my Trigger. And when I was awakened, I could feel him guiding me. He helped me kill the demon and he used my voice."

"Hm. It's different for everyone, that's natural. But most do feel like different people when they awaken. Not to such a degree. It may be that your essence is so strong that it nearly has a mind of its own. Interesting." He presses his fingers between his brows again.

"What does this mean?" I ask.

"Hm, I'm not sure. It seems that your awakening leaves us with more questions than answers. I'll have to research this." He pats my arm. "You just rest for a while."

"But what about lessons?"

"You're excused from them for a while."

"But I won't make any progress if I skip them."

"You've made enough progress for now. Besides, even I don't want to get on Miss Fuka's bad side. Unlike with the students, she has no qualms about beating the staff." He grins before exiting.

"You heard him, Akihito. After what you've done, you deserve a little rest. You need to learn how to take it easy," Nurse Fuka says, appearing out of thin air. There's no way I'll be able to sneak out if she's that quiet. I nod my head and lay down, closing my eyes. Surprisingly enough, I'm actually exhausted. I fall asleep quickly.

***

The next week passes by agonizingly slow. Sitting in the infirmary with nothing to do is the most boring thing I could've imagined. I'm itching to get back to training, but Nurse Fuka's just as stubborn as I am -if not more. Suguru brought me some books and other things to occupy my time, but I quickly got bored with those, too. And it's not like there's a TV in the infirmary. 

"So, I can finally leave?!" I ask excitedly. "Really?!"

Nurse Fuka sighs. "Yes, for the millionth time. But, take it easy. Or I'll be after you again." She wags a finger at me sternly.

"I will! I promise!" I start packing up the things Suguru brought me.

"You better."

Right then, Suguru enters. "Huh? What's going on?"

"Nurse Fuka says it's okay for me to leave!" 

"Really? That's great!" he enthuses.

"Suguru, I need you to keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn't overdo it."

"Yes, ma'am," Suguru answers.

"I'm not a kid," I whine.

"No, but you're too hard-headed for your own good, boy."

"I'll walk you to your room, since class is over now," Suguru offers.

"Thanks," I respond. He's beside me as we walk through the corridors. "So, what have I missed?"

"Not much. Sensei's been distracted ever since the Headmaster yelled at him."

"Yeah, I know about that. But it wasn't Sensei's fault. If the bus wasn't fixed, we would've been stuck there."

"Maybe. But it was kinda worrying. The Headmaster pulled him out of class, but we could hear him yelling in the hallway. I've never heard him sound so angry." He turns to me. "Some of the others were saying the Headmaster is your uncle. I don't believe that, but even I wonder what your relationship to him is."

"Well, he's not my uncle. He was a friend of my parents. When they...were killed, he saved me and brought me here. He took care of me until I was old enough to join class. He's like my father, although he does act more like a cousin than a father."

"Yeah. Saeko was skeptical when she brought me here and met him. She thought he was on drugs." He chuckles. I'd forgotten Suguru has an older sister. She didn't inherit the Warrior trait, but he did. Strangely enough, she's not jealous of that. She's actually overprotective of Suguru. I've never met her, but I've seen her around a few times. She's the opposite of her brother; loud, exuberant, and open. The only thing they have in common is the confidence that seems so natural.

"Sometimes, even I wonder if he's on drugs. Or if he's a little kid trapped in an adult's body." Suddenly, the ribbon in my hair falls out. My black hair floats down and into my face. "Damn it," I say, turning around to look for it.

Suguru kneels down, grabs it, and stands back up. "Here, let me. Do you ever put it tight enough?"

I put my back to him. "I usually do, but this time I was in a rush and didn't check." The feel of his hands running through my locks makes my heart race. I wonder why.

When he finishes it, he gives the ribbon a light tug to ensure it won't fall out again. "There. It should stay now."

"Thanks," I say, cheeks pink. We start walking again. Outside the dorm, we see Genjiro and his friends waiting. Suguru tenses up, but I step forward. "What do you want now?" I notice his nose is slightly crooked and I smile to myself, remembering that I'm the one who did that.

"We're just here to remind you of your place. What you did changes nothing. We still won't accept you as one of us."

I smile. "I don't care if you accept me or not. The opinions of assholes don't affect me."

"What'd you say, girl?!" That's another thing he liked to insult me about: my hair. He says I look like a girl with it this long.

"My hair might be as long as a girl's, but I'm still more of a man than you are." I move forward until I'm next to him. I stare straight ahead. "I'm not a scared little boy who has to bully others to prove he has balls." Then, I go past him and into the building. I can hear the other boys in the dorm who were listening in snickering. They've never heard anyone talk to Genjiro like that. In fact, most of them were too scared to say those things to him. Nobody ever dared stand up to him, for fear of the consequences.

Shortly after I walk in, Suguru joins me. "It's about time you stood up for yourself."

One of the boys who'd been listening in, Jumin, comes up to me. "That was wicked!" he gushes. "I've never heard anyone speak to him like that!"

The other boys gather around me, cheering. "That was awesome!" "What a sick burn!" "You kicked that demon's ass! Teach me how!" "Your eyes are so cool! They're the same color as your essence!"

I look around, startled. Nobody's ever said these kinds of things to me. None of these people have ever given me a second glance. But now, they're praising me and jumping for joy. I think when I stood up to Genjiro, it gave them confidence to say their real feelings. Or, at least I hope that's the reason and not simply because I'm powerful and they're sucking up to me.

"Alright, enough. He's tired and needs to get some sleep," Suguru says, pushing them aside. He leads me out of the crowd and we make it to my room.

"Want to come in?" I invite.

"Sure."

I let him in and close the door behind him. "You totally lied. I just woke up."

"Hey, it got us out of there, didn't it?"

"True." We hang out the rest of the day until we really have to go to sleep. I finally get to attend class tomorrow. 

"I'll see you in class tomorrow, Akihito," Suguru says.

"Yeah. See you later. 'Night."

"Goodnight." I close the door after him and retire to my bed.

A/N: Hope you're enjoying the story so far! Looks like Suguru and Akihito are getting closer. Wink, wink. If I made any mistakes in this chapter or any others, feel free to comment about them! And maybe even slap this excuse of a Grammar Nazi! See you in the next chapter, my lovely cookies, and see how this story unfolds!