Sorry, it took a while. Thank you for the 700 reads! Also for the votes and comments! Really appreciate it! :)
Warning: Cussing. Profanities. Violence. Another long chapter.
IT WAS a peaceful Saturday morning.
Akari had a very wonderful dream of rainbows and taiyakis floating above the fluffy white clouds when her stupid flip phone suddenly let out an irritatingly shrilling tone underneath her pillow, disturbing her beautiful deep slumber. She groaned and tried to ignore its continuous loud piercing cry for a good few minutes until the annoying sound was now hurting her damn ears.
Who in the world would call her so early in the freaking morning?
Was it Izana being an annoying jerk again? She still hadn't forgiven his sorry ass yet for suddenly jumping down from the jungle gym without apprising her the other night. It nearly took the life out of her.
Or was it her aunt, maybe? She'll probably just ask her if she was doing fine here in Yokohama and that her good-natured cousin was causing trouble again in his school back in Shibuya.
She groggily woke up and snatched the gadget to know who the offender was. She squinted her droopy blue eyes on the screen and saw Inari Shizune's name—the senpai who gave her the flyer and also the manager of the softball club—calling her.
Oh shit.
As if being splashed with a bucket of cold water, she bolted out of her bed at once and received the phone call quickly. "G-good morning, Inari-san!" Akari greeted quite loudly at the other end of the line.
[Oh, yes. A pleasant morning to you too, Hanagaki-san,] Inari greeted back, there was sarcasm in her voice. [I assume you only woke up just now, am I right?]
She sweatdropped and scratched the back of her head. Crap, she was so freaking dead. "Oh, uhm... actually..." She found no words to say as an excuse because lying was not part of her dictionary. It was her fault she was this forgetful in the first place.
[Well, let me remind you again, Hanagaki-san.] A shiver went down her spine as Akari could feel an ominous aura coming from her phone. [Today is the start of the training for the new recruits and I wanted your ass to be here in fifteen minutes or you're out, understood?!]
"Y-yes, ma'am!" Damn, their manager was a lot scarier than her aunt and her sister combined.
[Good. I'll see you later.]
The call ended.
Without wasting any more time, Akari tossed her phone on the bed and went straight to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. She almost flipped her bedroom upside down while changing her clothes in a haste and preparing the necessary things she needed before going out of her apartment. She only made one egg sandwich for her breakfast since she was already running late for her training as a new member of the softball club and left a sticky note on the fridge for her aunt just in case the middle-aged woman decided to come for a visit at her place.
"So much for a nice weekend," Akari mumbled under her breath while making a quick dash towards their school like a madman, ignoring all the curious bystanders left and right.
One hour passed.
"Heads up, rookie," Inari said loudly and tossed Akari a face towel and a bottle of water after the team's usual warm-up exercise routine was done. Their coach gave them at least a five-minute break before proceeding to the fielding drills which evaluates how well the players are while in a game-time scenario and also what position was best for them. "I thought you wouldn't show up."
"I thought so too," Akari replied nonchalantly and wiped off the beads of sweat forming on her forehead with the given towel. She opened her bottle and drank the water thirstily as she sat down on one of the bleachers. She never thought playing softball was as tiring as shit. The weather was also scorching hot that she could almost see the uprising of the surrounding vaporized air in the open field area.
Why on earth did she join the club again?
Oh, right. She was bored. And also the fact that she wanted to swing a bat. Now, Umeda-sensei must be so proud of her.
"Luckily, you're in the nick of time or you'll be out from the team," Inari told her. "Tardiness is not allowed in the club, Hanagaki-san. You've got potential, you know that. Even the captain was amazed by your athleticism and fast-thinking during the tryouts. It will be a waste if you don't use it here. Have you already decided what position you want in softball?"
Akari nodded her head and gave an immediate answer, "I actually wanted to try the Batter." Which was a half-truth.
Inari bobbed her head and grinned. "Oh, that's nice. Well, good luck with that." The softball manager patted her shoulder before walking over to the other players and handing each one of them their drinks.
"Aren't you Hanagaki Akari-san of Class 1-A?"
Akari whipped her head as an unfamiliar cute girl with braided golden-brown hair and braces approached her. She greeted her with a friendly smile. Akari's forehead furrowed at this unknown figure. Ah, who...?
The braces girl seemed to have read her mind. She giggled. "Oh, sorry. How rude of me. I haven't introduced myself yet." She took a seat next to her. "I'm Hayase Iori of Class 2-C and the team's Catcher. Nice to meet you!"
Oh, a senpai. Akari nodded her head in acknowledgment. She waved a hand. "Hello, Hayase-senpai."
The upperclassman smiled again. "There's no need to be formal, Akari-chan," she said warmly. "Oh, you don't mind calling me you by your first name, do you?"
"It's alright, senpai. I don't see why not."
"Great! You may also just call me Iori if you want."
"Okay, Iori-san then," Akari noted and used an honorific as a sign of respect since the girl was still a year older than her. But she was way too friendly for her taste. "By the way, how do you know my name, Iori-san?" She didn't notice her in the tryouts the other day where they also had their introductions. So, how?
"Huh? You didn't know? You're popular, Akari-chan."
Akari blinked, confused. What? Popular?
"Okay, break time's over!" their coach announced in enthusiasm and clapped her hands to call out everyone's attention. "Let's do the fielding drill, girls! Now, move your asses back to the field!"
"Yes, coach!" all of them chorused and shot up from the bleachers in unison.
"Let's go, Akari-chan!" Iori told her in mirth and grabbed her hand.
Akari could only sigh wearily and followed her fellow teammate to the field.
This was going to be a very long and exhausting day for her.
"IZANA."
The tanned-skin teen was at the rooftop of an abandoned establishment and wordlessly observing the busy streets beneath him, not minding the heat. His bleach-blonde hair was blowing smoothly against the warm breeze along with his Hanafuda earrings. He looked over his shoulder as he heard Kakucho's voice calling him. "How's Madarame doing in my stead?" Izana asked the approaching male. Madarame Shion was a member of the S-62 Generation and one of his loyal underlings.
"Wreaking havoc against different gangs in both Shibuya and Shinjuku district," Kakucho answered in monotone and stood beside him.
The corner of his mouth quirked up with the good news. Madarame was known for his bloodthirsty and sadistic tendencies. Izana was right to entrust the Black Dragon to him as the gang's 9th generation leader. "Interesting. As expected nothing less from that bastard. The Haitanis?"
"They're at Roppongi. A small gang tried to mess up with their turf."
"I see." Not that he was worried for the brothers to screw up since he knew they can handle the situation just fine. "And the other fucking lowlifes running around this city?"
"Mochizuki and the others are already taking care of them."
Izana nodded and grinned, satisfied with the answer. "Excellent." Excitement rushed through his veins at the thought of wiping out every single worthless scumbag that will hurdle his sovereignty as the king of this era and that his dream was materializing even if it was at a slow pace. It will only take him a few years before he had all his desires within his grasp. Once he conquered everything, he'll have the whole country of Japan bow down before his knees. He will be fucking unstoppable when that time comes.
"Although, there's something else, Izana," Kakucho began as the scar-faced male interrupted his train of thoughts.
"What is it?"
"It's Akari."
He paused for a moment at the mention of her name. "What about the brat?" he asked coolly.
"Now that your strength has been recognized by most of the gangs, don't you think the girl needs our protection? Sooner or later, they'll find out about her existence. She could be in great danger."
Izana understood what his subordinate was getting at. He too had also thought about that possibility beforehand, only to dismiss it. "She didn't need one. The brat's fine on her own." No, he was confident of what she can do thus had no reason to require his strength or even his protection. She wasn't that of a weakling. "She can take care of herself," he added.
Kakucho frowned at his words. "Yes, I know about that. But, she's still a girl. Her strength is different from a man's. She might handle one but what if she faced many? I don't think she can fight them all by herself."
Izana stared at the taller male dubiously, his eyebrow twitched. With the tone of his voice and the way he spoke, it was obvious that he was concerned for her well-being. His servant was that kind of person, always thinking of others first. But to be honest, Izana didn't like it even the slightest whenever she was involved. He had to admit, he hated this insurmountable feeling bubbling inside his chest. He narrowed his orchid irises on him. "What are you implying at, Kakucho?" he demanded. "Are you worried? Do you perhaps... like her?"
Kakucho went stood still. His eyes widened at the speculation the bleach-blonde teen threw at him. "What are you talking about, Izana? Of course, I'm worried," he told him in disbelief. "And yes, I like her. She's like a younger sister to me. Don't you also feel the same way?"
Feel the same way?
That was when Akari's smiling face and sassy attitude came into his mind. He blinked. "What?" He was again left confused. He feel what for the brat? Like a younger sister? Why was that fucking question contradicting his goddamn thoughts?
Kakucho continued, "we've known Akari for over a year, Izana. She also had met some of our gang members. Even Mochizuki seems to be quite fond of her. I'm only worried that the enemies might use her to get back to you and—"
"Shut the fuck up, Kakucho!" Izana snapped and quickly cut him off with clenched teeth. His mood turned incredibly sour at this point. He was now glaring at the male with shooting knives, his hands balled into a fist. He understood neither to himself why he was so pissed off. Him and his fucked up brain. "Don't you think I didn't fucking know that? Don't tell your king what to do! You're just a goddamned servant!"
Kakucho looked quite surprised at the sudden rise of his voice and was slightly taken aback. The black-haired male pursed his lips for a whole damn minute before bowing his head to his king in an apologetic manner. "I went too far. I'm sorry, Izana."
Izana just clicked his tongue in annoyance and started to walk away in silence, leaving Kakucho behind. His ill-tempered behavior was getting the better of him again.
"I'm going to see Akari later," Kakucho told him as he was about to reach the door downstairs.
"Do whatever the hell you want," was all Izana said without a care in the world and left.
"HUH, Kaku-san?"
It was almost five in the afternoon. Akari was on her way back to her apartment after her hellish softball training in school when she coincidentally bumped into Kakucho along the road.
Kakucho greeted her with a small smile and waved at her. "Hey, Akari. It's been a while."
"Yes, it is," she said cheekily. It's true. It had been days since she last saw him. "How are you?"
"All good. Are you heading home right now?"
"Yup. I just finished my softball training a while ago." She scanned her eyes around as she was searching for the bleach-blonde male. "Is Iza-san not with you?"
He nodded. "He's busy with some matters," he answered.
She only hummed in response. "I see." It must be some gang-related business again as usual. Was there any other reason? He even had the same exact answer when she asked Izana about him.
"Let me walk you home," Kakucho offered afterwards.
She flailed her hands to him in dismissal. "You don't have to, Kaku-san. I'm perfectly fine. I don't want to bother you. Thank you for the offer anyway."
The black-haired teen shook his head and smiled genuinely at her. "No, it's alright. I insist, Akari. Besides, I don't have anything else to do."
God, this guy was so damn nice. Oh, why can't that asshole be like him for a change? Akari had no choice but to accept his kind offer otherwise it will make her only feel guilty. "Okay, if you say so, Kaku-san."
Akari noticed some people kept on glancing in their direction as they walked together along the pavement, or rather, their wary eyes were more focused on Kakucho. Was it because of his visible huge scar across the left side of his face? Like, what the heck was their damn problem? They should just mind their own damn business.
"It's fine, Akari. I'm already used by those stares," Kakucho muttered all of a sudden. He must've noticed it too.
Akari can't help but sympathize with him. She lowered her head and was staring at the ground while walking. "I-I'm sorry," was all she could say to him.
"Why are you the one apologizing? It's not your fault."
He really is such a nice person. "Still, I wanted to say sorry, Kaku-san." She then gazed up at him and changed the topic. "By the way, Iza-san told me that you two grew up together in an orphanage?"
Kakucho seemed a bit stunned at what she told him. "He did?" Then he looked up at the beautiful blue sky and saw a small flock of birds soaring freely into the air. "What he said is true. My parents and I were involved in an accident when I was a kid. I'm the only one who survived and became an orphan." His eyes went back to her and pointed the left side of his face where the scar was. "And yet, this scar I have reminded me how fortunate I am to be alive."
Akari smiled a little at how positive he was despite his tragic past. "Iza-san is so lucky to have you, Kaku-san," she said to him as if she really mean it.
"No, that's not it. It's the other way around," Kakucho corrected her. "Izana is the one who gave me a purpose in life."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Without him, I'm nothing."
Now, that was absolutely surprising. Akari was amazed by how deep his loyalty was to Izana. Like a devoted servant to his king. Izana was really fortunate to have Kakucho by his side.
They were almost near the apartment complex she was staying at when what looked like a group of delinquents suddenly blocked their path, all with matching uniforms. Soon after, a tall, slim guy with huge eyebags and a lot of piercings stepped forward and went in front of them. The dude must be the leader.
"Hey, hey! Check this out! Now, what do we have here~?" said the piercing guy with a large grin plastered to his ugly face. "Aren't you Hitto Kakucho the so-called 'brawler'?"
"Shit," Kakucho cursed under his breath as he seemed to recognize their faces. He instinctively grabbed Akari's arm and quickly pulled her behind his back.
Akari frantically gripped the back of his shirt, her heart was beating so fast as fear washed over her system. "Kaku-san..."
"Akari, just stay close to me no matter what. I won't let them lay a finger on you," he whispered to her calmly.
"But I can also fight..."
"No, Akari. Listen to me. These bastards are no ordinary gang."
The piercing guy licked his lips and cracked his knuckles until his malicious eyes fell on Akari and gave her a very disturbing look, making the girl shudder in disgust. "Beat this fucker up," he then ordered to the rest of the thugs who were all gathered around them.
Kakucho gritted his teeth, his expression became deadly serious as he eyed each one of them. From the looks of it, he had no other option but to fight against these assholes while trying to protect the girl as best as he can.
If you find any uncomfortable words, just let me know.