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Anime4us
Chapter 4:
It's been a few days since he shared Yakisoba with Baji's sister. Losing his cat had been a real hit to the face. Right after losing his best friend, Chifuyu wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to take on all the holes in his chest at the same time. He forgot that he wasn't the only person that worried about his wellbeing. Maybe it was selfish of her to force that thought onto him, but it made it easier to talk to her about that things that had felt impossible beforehand. She'd actually gotten him to laugh a few times, which was a better feeling than he'd been experience for the entire day.
Pulling up at her school, Chifuyu leant up against the pillar that connected to the front gates. They always met here after she was done classes, so it was safe to say that she'd come straight here after classes. His phone vibrated in his hands, indicating a text message.
'Please come bust me out of math.'
Chifuyu feels the beginnings of amusement pulling at his lips as he taps the reply button.
'Don't think I can pull off a skirt very well.' Is the response he sends her way.
Because, of course Baji's twin sister goes to an all girls' school. It's insane to think that he managed to keep her hidden from Toman for this long. In all reality, he wasn't really hiding her. Nobody had ever thought to ask, and so all he had to do was evade any questions about family that didn't directly involve him and his parents.
'I think you would look fabulous.'
Chifuyu snorts at her message, highly amused by the fact that she was ignoring her math teacher in favor of picturing him in a skirt. Then again, maybe he should worry about being a terrible example for her. If her grades slipped, he'd have to get on her case. He refused to be the reason Baji's sister flunked out of the life that her brother had worked so hard for her to keep.
"You Chifuyu?"
Chifuyu looks up from his cellphone, annoyance clear in his eyes. He blinks as he takes in the group of boys before him. It's been a while since he's been called out like this. Ever since he'd become Baji's vice-commander, his tendencies to test his vigor against the kids in his school has become much lower than before hand. Then again, after he'd seen how cool Baji was, he didn't need to look for the perfect opponent.
"Depends who's asking." The first division vice-captain drawls, rolling his shoulders back.
The boys before him look like high school kids. They were definitely older than he was, though that had never stopped him before. Five on one was probably a terrible idea. Baji wouldn't be coming out of nowhere with his nerd getup to save his ass either.
"I'm askin'."
Chifuyu doesn't recognize the boy that steps out from behind the bigger boys. He hadn't even seen him hiding back there. Fantastic, there are six. Either way, he doesn't think it'll change much.
"Ok?..." Chifuyu leads off, hoping someone will let him in on what's going on.
0_0_0_0
It takes all of your willpower not to laugh out loud at the image that Chifuyu had birthed in your head. It was pretty bad how quick your brain was able to provide you with a clear image of Toman's first division's vice-captain in a skirt. You cover your mouth to hold back any string of noises that risk jumping out at that thought. It takes longer than necessary for you to compose yourself enough to be able to text Chifuyu without your teacher noticing you pulling your phone out.
Eventually, math ends, along with your suffering for the day. You throw your arms above your head, popping your shoulders in a long stretch. Grabbing your books, you file out of class along with the rest of the herd. Switching your indoor shoes for your outdoor ones, you grab you bag and slam your locker shut. You startled to find a group of girls leaning against the lockers beside yours, staring at you with a mix of expressions. One's giving you the piteous look you hate to the point that you contemplate punching her. Another one looks irked, though for what reason, you couldn't quite tell. The others just look worried, looking over their shoulders as if they're paranoid that the walls are listening.
"Can I help you?" You venture, adjusting the straps on your shoulder.
"Baji... uh... how do we say this without coming off as rude?" One of the nervous ones starts, looking especially perturbed as she looks over your shoulder.
"Why is it even rude? We're worried." The angry looking girl huffs, crossing her arms as she leans into the lockers.
"Well... Maybe we are judging a book by its cover, and—"
You were growing irritated as they talked amongst themselves. If they weren't ready for this confrontation, perhaps they should have conferred beforehand.
"Spit it out already." You huffed, earning a flinch from at least half the group.
"Don't talk to her like that." The angry one snaps, earning a raised brow from you.
What type of teenage drama bullshit was this? How was it any of your problem if no one knew how to bloody well articulate themselves?
"If you need a day, we can try this again tomorrow. Someone's waiting on me." You say, tightening your grip on your bag as you go to turn away.
"Wait, Baji!" the nervous girl grabs your arm, forcing you to stop. "I just—We were just worried about you because lately..."
God, could this chick just get through a bloody sentence? Chifuyu was definitely bound to be annoyed with you making him wait. You turn your attention to the front door, trying to spot Chifuyu's blond hair in the distance. You're surprised to see what looks like a group of boys leading him away. You cock your head as you watch Chifuyu turn down the corner and out of view. You rummage around your pockets before finding what you're looking for.
'Where are you?' You send in quick succession.
"-and we're just not sure that it's the best idea that you're hanging out with that type of company..."
You blink at your screen before looking up at the nervous girl before you. You'd missed that entire conversation, and you were certain that much was painted in your features. Your phone vibrates, earning your full attention once again.
'Toman thing. I forgot to tell you about it. I'm across town so I won't be able to make it to pick you up. Sorry.'
You cock your head at the words before you. They make cohesive sense, but you'd just seen Chifuyu get lead around the corner... so how the hell could he be across town?
"I just—we all know what happened to uhm... your brother... so maybe you shouldn't—"
The girl flinches as you turn your gaze towards her. They're ablaze with enough emotions to sink a battleship. She has no right to talk to you about who you can and can't associate with.
"You don't know me or my brother." You state, gaze sharp, but voice extremely cold. "Or Chifuyu. Don't ever fucking come to me with this bullshit again."
With that, you shove your phone into your skirt's pocket, taking off in a sprint in the direction you'd seen Chifuyu get dragged off towards.
0_0_0_0
Chifuyu's still trying to piece together where this kid and his band of misfits comes from when they end up in a back alleyway. It's a classic, really. They didn't want to duke it out in front of a school, much less an all girls' school. That's fine, he didn't really want to make a scene in front of Baji's sister's school either.
"This kid doesn't even look nervous." He hears one of the older boys murmur, summoning amusement in his gut.
He continues walking when they've stopped, only turning towards them when he's managed to put a couple of feet between them. He still can't pinpoint who the damn kid his age is. He can't even remember meeting him. That's probably a bad sign. His memory shouldn't be going at this age.
"Well? Are you waiting for an invitation?" Chifuyu asks, hands in his pockets.
He's not wearing his Toman uniform, but the jacket's heavy on his shoulders. He won't win this fight, but he'll take down as many of these assholes as he can before he's forced to stop going.
"This cocky brat!" One of the older boys hisses, taking a step forward.
Chifuyu smiles for good measure, amused by the pulsing vein in his opponent's forehead as he takes off towards him. He dodges the erratic punch that is sent his way, bringing his knee up in the soft gut of the boy that's twice his height. He looks better kneeling before him.
It's not one on one after that. Chifuyu gets a few good hits in. The kid that apparently started this is laying out on the concrete, and that's enough for him. He takes a heavy hit to the stomach, much like his first victim had. He's left trying to catch his breath, but can't. Someone grabs his hair from behind, snapping his neck back as another goon punches him hard enough to set the world spinning. If this was a movie, this would be the part where Baji showed up... but it's not a movie, and Chifuyu's alone all over again.
"Nobody's coming to help you." He hears, though the words are far off.
Chifuyu coughs out a laugh, sending a hard elbow into the boy in front of him. The one holding his hair doesn't relent, striking him across the face and making the alleyway swim in his vision.
"We heard, y'know?" Another one of the boy's quips, amusement in his voice. "Baji's not here to save you this time."
Those words hurt far more than they should. Chifuyu had thought them himself before he'd even gotten into this kerfuffle. He coughs as yet another punch hits him hard in the gut, dragging him away from his precious oxygen once again.
"Who says I'm not?"
The whole thing comes to pause as that voice reaches his ears. He knows it all too well... God that absolute idiot! There's silence for a couple of moments before the guys around them start to laugh.
"Please don't tell me that one died and you replaced him with a carbon copy."
The asshole that still has his hair clenched is gone in the next instant. Chifuyu's picking himself up off the ground, eyes swiveling to find her. She's got one of the guys pinned to the brick wall with her forearm.
"What are you doing, you idiot?!" Chifuyu can barely get the words out, he's so battered.
Her hood's down, jet black locks put up in a ponytail that's reminiscent of the past. If Chifuyu looks fast enough, he can catch the image of Baji standing next to her. He doesn't have the time to reminisce in old memories, because the other guys have woken up. Chifuyu tries his best to stand on his wobbly legs, but the alleyway won't stop spinning. His equilibrium is out of whack and nausea is knocking at his door.
"Watch your back!" The words are desperate as they rip their way out of his throat.
She practically growls as she chucks the man at her mercy aside and turns to intercept her entourage. Chifuyu wants to cry. He can see Baji, fists clashing with the opponent right before him. Just like that time all those months ago when he turned to smile at him, his opponents a trivial matter, she stands above them all. She pulls her hair tie out, brushing her jet-black locks out of her face as she makes her way towards Chifuyu.
"Across town my ass!" She hisses, and Chifuyu has a smile on his face this time when tears slip down his cheeks.