Okay. I just saw my story on this website called Novelhd, like what??? I only have my story here on wattpad and nothing else. So please, no to plagiarism. That's all. Thank you for understanding.
Warning: Cussing. Profanities. Violence. A little spoiler from the manga. Mention of a main character in TR. Long chapter.
"I-I AM REALLY SO sorry for what happened yesterday, Ishiyama-kun!"
Ishiyama was startled. He was taken aback when Akari stood right in front of his seat while he was chatting with one of their classmates and suddenly bowed her head to him at a 90 degree-angle while repeatedly apologizing to him. He was the very first person she wanted to see as soon as she entered their classroom that very morning. His golden-brown hues dilated at her gesture. "H-Hanagaki-san?!"
"What Iza—I mean my friend did to you yesterday was a little bit harsh. I wanted to apologize to you in his stead. So please forgive him!!!" she pleaded teary-eyed. Their loud conversation immediately gathered the attention of the entire Class 1-A, all eyes darted on the two individuals, arousing their curiosities. Even Nanami was gawking at them in wonder.
"H-hey it's alright, Hanagaki-san! It's not a big deal! Please stop bowing!" Ishiyama told her, red-faced. He anxiously roamed his eyes around and caught everyone staring at them. "You're making me feel the bad guy here."
"Y-you're not angry?" Akari queried as she straightened up her body and looked at him.
He shook his head. "Why would I? You did nothing wrong. On the contrary, it's partly my fault your boyfriend was acting that way."
Her eyebrows pulled together. What? Boyfriend? Who? Him? "He is not my boyfriend," she quickly corrected him in a flat tone with an emphasis on the word 'not'. She didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea of them in an intimate relationship. Izana was a few years ahead of her and was nearing his adulthood, whatever she had with him was purely platonic. She wasn't supposed to be romantically attracted to him. It didn't feel right. "As I said earlier, he's just a friend to me. Actually, more like an older brother." Although, the last two words left a bitter taste in her mouth in one way or another. Yet, she just dismissed it like it was nothing.
"Oh, you're not?" Ishiyama questioned, confused. "I just thought... well, nevermind." His face was somehow showing signs of... was that relief? He smiled at her. "Just don't worry about it, Hanagaki-san. I'm not bothered."
"Really?"
"Yup, really!"
Her blue eyes sparkled in delight and beamed at him brightly. He was so kind. "Thanks, Ishiyama-kun."
Ishiyama's heart skipped a beat same with the other boys and the world seemed to stop spinning inside the classroom when they witnessed her beautiful smile. 'She's so pretty,' all of them thought in unison. Her smile was so contagious that it was affecting everyone around. They were all smitten by her charm.
"I'll be going back to my seat then," Akari told him soon after and was about to leave when he quickly stopped her by the wrist.
"W-wait, Hanagaki-san! I was wondering if we can... uhm... if we can have lunch together later?" Ishiyama asked out of the blue as he rubbed his nape in a bashful manner.
Akari blinked her eyes at his invitation and gave him a close-eyed smile. No one had done that to her before. She thought it would be nice to eat lunch with someone else other than Nanami for a change. The more, the merrier. "Of course, Ishiyama-kun!" she gladly accepted without hesitation.
The brown-haired boy looked extremely happy with her answer and silently muttered a word 'yes' while pumping his fists like he just won a jackpot.
The petite girl gave him a quizzical look yet was rather clueless to his odd action. "Is there something else?" she only asked him.
Ishiyama laughed awkwardly. "Oh, haha. N-no, there isn't."
Akari only nodded and waved at him. "Later then!" She turned around and walked back to her seat. She sweatdropped at the pile of sweets popping on her desk. Again. Where in the world did they all come from anyway?!? She appreciated the blessings but this was simply too much.
"What was that all about?" Nanami queried with a raised eyebrow as soon as the dark-haired girl took her seat next to the brunette and placed all the sweets inside her school bag. Her fridge will surely be crammed again with all of this stuff. "I didn't know you and Ishiyama-kun are close friends."
"Uhm, not exactly. I just learned about him yesterday. He introduced himself to me after our last afternoon class and told me he just transferred here last week. He's a nice person."
"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you about our new transferee," her friend stated as if she only remembered it now. "But why are you apologizing to him? Did something happen yesterday?"
"N-not really! Uh about that, well, it's just that my other friend... you know, the one I mentioned to you before? He acted kind of rude to Ishiyama-kun yesterday," she explained. "That's why I wanted to say sorry to Ishiyama-kun first thing in the morning when I came to class."
Nanami nodded her head in understanding. "Hm, I see. And this other friend? You're talking about the 'biker guy', right?"
"Yeah. Him," Akari answered, frowning. She remembered again how Izana was giving her the cold shoulder from yesterday up until now not knowing the reason for his strange behavior. Although he was still the one dropping her off at school in the morning, however, he wasn't talking to her like he always does which made her bothered more.
She wasn't used to his silent treatment. For once, she felt scared. She was scared he'll also leave her too just as everyone else did. She didn't want to be alone again. She hated it. He means a lot to her. Izana was... he was a very important friend and she can't afford to lose their friendship because of some misunderstanding she didn't even know the cause.
Maybe she really did do something wrong to make him angry like that. Will he not get mad anymore if she apologized to him? Was that it? She'll probably do that when he picked her up later at the school gate.
She'll apologize to him properly as how it should be.
"S-STOP P-PLEASE! I'm b-begging you! S-stop!"
But Izana had no intention to stop his cruelty very soon despite the delinquent's harrowing cries for mercy. He ruthlessly continued to give crushing blows while pinning down the bastard's battered body to the concrete. Blood spattered to his fists, some to his face, and also to his shirt. He was mad. So damn fucking mad! With clenching fists, he was venting all of his anger to this poor soul, showing his monstrosity through violence. He could fucking care less if this pathetic asshole die. The fucker deserved it for being too weak. Too bad for him, Izana was not in the mood for petty talk. The atmosphere inside the abandoned warehouse was surrounded by his murderous aura alone. Not even his subordinates had the nerve to stop him from getting out of control. They were all intimidated by his fearsome demeanor and didn't want to get on his bad side. Otherwise, they were asking for their own death sentence.
Only Kakucho did.
"Izana, stop it now! He already lost consciousness!" his servant refute, trying to intervene in his torture to the severely bruised male on the ground.
Izana shot the dark-haired teen an icy glare. "Who are you to fucking stop me, servant? This fucking snitch tried to sell us out! Traitors like him don't deserve any second chances! They are ought to die!" he spat angrily, gritting his teeth. His orchid hues darkened with malicious intent to kill anyone right now who attempted to get in his way. What he despised the most were those people who stabbed him behind his back and those who were trying to outsmart him. They were the worst fucking scums in the world and should be burned into the depths of hell for all he cared!
In spite of that, Izana decided to stop his beating and stood up but not without stamping his foot on the guy's stomach and crushing his insides, making the latter cough out blood. He already beat up 10 fucking useless bastards in a row and thought it was enough for him today since his bloodlust had been satiated. Afterwards, he made his way to Kakucho and halted his footstep on the latter's sideways, nearly bumping his shoulder.
"Next time you tried to meddle with my business again Kakucho, I swear I'll also going to fucking beat you up," Izana warned him in a stern voice.
"I understand, Izana," was Kakucho's only reply as Rindou approached them and handed the older teen a white handkerchief.
Izana wiped off the blood from his face and his hands using the given hanky. Then he looked at the rest of his subordinates. "Clean this fucking mess," he ordered them and everyone obediently complied his command with a nod. "Where's Mochizuki?"
"Right here, Commander," Mochizuki answered, calling his attention.
Izana shifted his gaze to the sturdy male. "Is there anyone else aside from these fools?" he asked.
Mochizuki shook his head. "None that I think of."
"What about our enemy? Any news?"
"So far, we still got nothing. Those fuckers won't really talk."
Izana clicked his tongue and raked his fingers through his bleach-blonde hair. He blew a harsh breath. "Then, I guess we're at an impasse." They were back to square one again with this unknown enemy of theirs. Or was this bastard even existed in the first place? What if they were all just wasting their time chasing a non-existent being? "Where the fuck are they now?"
"At the hospital. Bedridden. The Haitanis made sure they won't be able to move their bodies for months."
The corner of his lips curled into a grin. "Good job. I don't want any of those filthy scumbags roaming around the city as they please including these ungrateful traitors." He pointed to the ones lying unconsciously on the ground. Every delinquent across the streets of Yokohama City must know not to mess up with the king or even try to betray him for the consequences will be too deadly.
There was a sudden ring on his phone.
Izana took out his gadget from his pants and saw Madarame Shion's number flashed on the screen. It had been ages since his last conversation with this guy. At first, he thought it was Akari who called him only to remember how badly he treated her yesterday. He didn't even understand why he was acting like that to her. Yet, when he saw her laughing with another guy around her age and acting all friendly with each other, he can't help himself but get furious. He answered the call, "what is it, Madarame?"
[Heya, Izana~ I've got some juicy info for you. I thought you might be interested in this one.]
Izana put a hand on his waist. "Pray tell."
[There's this newly formed gang around Shibuya that has been the talk of the town recently. My boys here got beaten up by this so-called Tokyo Manji Gang and the members are just a bunch of middle schoolers.]
He arched an eyebrow in question. Tokyo Manji Gang? Never heard of that name before. "And? What's so interesting about these punks?"
[Here's the good part. The name of their leader is no other than Sano Manjiro also known as "The invincible Mikey".]
Izana went stiff at the mention of that very familiar name. Sano Manjiro?
[You heard of him, right? He's the first-gen leader's kid brother. How interesting is that? It seems like he's also following his older brother's footsteps as a delinquent.]
Izana said nothing. Shinichiro's younger brother? Anger overtook him as memories of that guy came into his mind and how the older male proudly kept bringing up his younger brother's name to him whenever they were together. He gritted his teeth. That fucking liar! Great. Just fucking great.
[His little gang also challenged the Black Dragon into a brawl! He said he wants revenge for his dear friend.] Madarame let out a high-pitched laugh. [How fucking crazy is that?! So what do you think, boss?]
That sparked his interest. Revenge, huh? He smirked. "Tell me more about it, Madarame."
IT WAS almost five in the afternoon.
Akari was standing outside of their school gate, her back leaning against the brick walls. She was staring at the late afternoon sky as the sun slowly descends into the horizon, the vast sky glowing in beautiful orange hues. She was humming her favorite song while patiently waiting for Izana to pick her up with his motorbike. Her classes were already over an hour and a half earlier. Nanami and her new friend, Ishiyama, had already left the school 30 minutes prior. The teen boy even kindly offered himself to walk her home since she was on her crutches but Akari politely decline and told him someone will come for her.
15 minutes had passed and still no sign of him.
'He's late,' Akari thought, looking at her watch and sighed.
Izana was also not replying to her messages nor he was answering her calls. Where the heck was he? Did something bad happen to him? Was he involved in another gang fight somewhere? Should she try calling him again? She was actually starting to get worried for him and didn't know what to do. Izana was never this late. He was always on time or sometimes, much earlier.
Or perhaps, he was still mad at her?
Akari shook her head in dismissal. She decided to wait for him for 10 more minutes. And if he didn't show up, then she'll just have to walk home by herself. It only meant he was either busy with his gang-related matters or it must be something else. Right, she'll do that.
Another 10 minutes had passed.
It was now getting dark, the sun was almost completely gone as twilight emerges. There were only fewer students left inside the school premises. Akari then checked out her watch for the nth time and a sad smile crept her lips. "He's not coming anymore," she mumbled to herself in dismay, tears pooling in her blue eyes. "That idiot. He should've just told me if he was busy."
She wasted almost two hours of her precious time waiting for no one. She grabbed her phone from her school bag and noticed it was on low battery. She just typed a quick text message to him that she'll go ahead first and turned off the device, placing it back inside her bag.
Wiping off her tears with the back of her palm, Akari fixed her crutches and started to walk her way home. With how slow she was, she'll probably be at her apartment by 6 in the evening onwards. She didn't mind it though. It was her fault anyway. She should've just accepted Ishiyama's offer to her instead of waiting for some stupid jerk who promised to fetch her, only to stood her up.
Akari continued to walk along the pathway when she suddenly felt goosebumps prickle across her back as if she was somehow been followed.
What the—?
She halted in her steps and cautiously looked around her surroundings to check any suspicious person lurking by.
She saw nothing. It was only herself, her shadow, and this eerie silence.
She blinked a few times and just shrugged it off. It was probably her imagination.
Right?
Akari started to walk forward again. She wasn't yet that far from her previous spot when she heard footsteps approaching from behind. Her heart almost dropped. She tightened her grip on her crutches and moved at a much faster pace, praying silently to herself that everything will be alright and it was just some random passerby on this freaking street.
Some of the streetlights on the other side of the road flickered, thus not providing much light along the pathway. The view reminded her of that particular scene she had watched in a horror film which only made her spook more, her heart hammered loudly inside her chest. She gulped anxiously. This was seriously getting creepy. If only she wasn't injured, she would've already run for her life!
Her petite body soon went rigid as she felt a hand patted on her shoulder, making her all jumpy. She sucked a deep breath.
Holy shiiiiitttt!!!
She shut her eyes closed and bit her lower lip out of nervousness. She first counted to three before she carefully spun her body around and quickly attacked whoever that person was using one of her crutches in combination with her school bag as part of her self-defense.
"Take that, you creepy stalker!!!" Akari screamed and repeatedly hit the bastard with her eyes still closed. "Why are you following me, huh?!? Leave me the hell alone!!!" Next time, she'll buy a pepper spray for situations like this!
"Ouch! Ouch! Fuck! Stop it, Akari! It's me! What the fuck are you doing?!?"
Akari froze. Wait. She recognized that voice! She opened her eyes and was in literal shock to see a very familiar figure. "Eehh?!? Iza-san?!?" she exclaimed, her jaw dropped as she gaped at him. "W-what???"
Izana hissed in pain as he caressed his forehead. He glared at her. "That fucking hurts, you damn brat! Why the hell did you do that for, dumbass?!?" he growled.
Akari lowered down her crutch and her school bag. "B-because I thought you're someone else, idiot!" she reasoned out. "You scared the wits out of me! Don't sneak up on me like that, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Now you put the fucking blame on me?!" the bleach-blonde teen spat in disbelief. "Why the hell didn't you wait for me at the school gate?!? Don't you know how dangerous it is for a girl like you to walk in the streets alone, especially at night! Didn't we both already make this clear?!"
"I did wait for you, Iza-san! I've waited for two hours! Yet, you never came!" Akari snapped at him, her voice was getting louder to the point that she was shouting at him. She was on the verge of tears. She really thought he stood her up. "I also tried to contact you but you didn't answer your phone nor any of my messages! I-I thought you're still mad at me and that you're busy fighting with your stupid gang!" She can't stop herself from crying anymore as tears flow down her red cheeks. "Uwaaaahhh! You're an idiot, Iza-san! Meanie! Meanie!"
Izana fell silent at her outburst and was only staring at her, dumbstruck. Afterwards, he let out a heavy sigh and closed the distance between them. He gently wrapped his arms around her small body, enclosing her into a tight hug. "Stop crying, Akari. I didn't mean it like that," he told her in a much calmer tone. "I'm not mad at you."
Akari lifted her head to look at him. She sniffled. "R-really? Y-you don't?"
"Yeah. That's why you have to stop crying now."
"B-but you didn't talk to me yesterday. Y-you're scary when you're mad, Iza-san..."
His left hand cupped her cheek and wiped her tears away with his thumb. "Today's different. Just forget about it, okay?"
She nodded. "O-okay..."
Izana ruffled her hair. "You're such a crybaby, Akari," he said as he withdraw himself from her. He flicked her forehead.
"Ouch!" She glared at him. "It hurts, Iza-san!"
He smirked. "That's my payback for hitting me with your damn crutch, stupid. Now you know how painful it is."
Akari's blue pupils gazed at the forming bruise on the side of his forehead and gasped. "I-I'm so sorry, Iza-san! I-I didn't mean to!" she apologized guiltily. She was about to touch it when Izana reflexively took a step back.
"Don't, Akari. It's just a bruise."
"B-but still—"
"I'm fine. This will not kill me," Izana cut her off. "It will go away with an ice pack. C'mon. Let's go get something to eat before I drop you at your apartment. I know you're hungry. My treat." He soon dropped to his knees with his back facing her. "Get on."
Akari was slightly taken aback, her cheeks flushed in pink. "W-what? No. I can't! That's embarrassing!" she blurted out, flustered. She was already humiliated enough at her school when he carried her, there was no way in hell she'll agree with this piggyback ride! What if someone from her school sees them? Plus, she was wearing a damn skirt for goodness sake!
"What are you so embarrassed about? There's no one here, just us. So c'mon, hop on!"
"W-what about your motorcycle?!?"
"My bike's in the repair shop right now. Some fucktard tried to mess up with the engine," he explained in a monotone. "Now, hurry your ass up! If you don't, I'll fucking leave you here."
"I—uh—uhm..." Was that the reason why he didn't come to her school on time? Now, she was more guilty than ever. She felt like crying again. She shouldn't have judged him like that. God, she was so stupid! She sighed in defeat. "Fine." She warily scanned her eyes around the area first just in case. Then she hopped onto his back and put her arms around his shoulder bone while gripping on her crutches and also her school bag in the front.
Izana placed his arms underneath her legs and slowly straightened his knees off the ground. He adjusted her weight on his back, securing her body before he started marching towards the nearest restaurant.
Akari rested her chin on his shoulder, her nose filled with his masculine scent. Although this time, he smelled rather different. It was some kind of a metallic odor similar to that of rust. Her heart froze as she realized what it was.
His body was reeked of... blood.
Thoughts?
I didn't notice this chapter was too long.
Author's Note: Please be advised that this story will have more violence in the succeeding chapters since this is Kurokawa Izana we are talking about. So if you're uncomfortable and not into this kind of genre then I'm afraid this story is not for you. Although, I'll try to minimize it as much as possible.
Ps. Takemichi's a real badass in the new chapter 😭😭😭