The sudden thought bubble that rushed through his mind in the middle of class, that his father was still alive at that point of time, was enough to make Shao Long choke a sob right then and there. The teacher was startled at the pained noise, to which Shao Long responded with a sheepish smile and a bout of soft coughs. He randomly gestured to his throat, and the teacher had advised him kindly to visit the nurse's office on his way back to the dorms.
Shao Long nodded, in lieu of an affirmative, as his rapidly overwhelming emotions built up in the base of his heart. Subconsciously, his fists clenched tight.
His father was alive.
His father he lost years ago in another lifetime, was now alive and well, and possibly not in the best relationship with him as he had remembered it to be. Scratch that, he and his father had never had a proper relationship, not since his mother's death, which was technically before Shao Long could walk so that didn't count. He didn't know how or why it happened, but he and his father just...didn't click that much. Shao Long being too expressive, and the other too subdued to match his energy. Oftentimes the fights were one-sided and nothing was explained or justified. It was always Shao Long demanding answers and Xi Yuze scowling silently, enraged and yet never speaking a word. Shao Long never really knew if that was better than him shouting back. Part of him wished he had. The silence was distance. For years, Shao Long lived together with him and yet they've never been as further apart.
But at one point, the man had died, and Charles had been the cause, and the Shao Long from back then, upon receiving the news, had felt his world crumbling to dust. As if the rug was pulled from under his feet and suddenly everyone around him stretched out their claws and bared their maws. Every smile became predatory and every word was either poison or trap. Before, he'd always thought he was alone. It took the death of the single pillar in his life for the thought to become the truth.
The moment the class bell rang and the teacher went out, Shao Long was on his phone scrolling through his contact, getting frustrated when he couldn't find his A-Die's name through the list. Giving up, he dialed the number, apparently having memorized it obsessively after the man's death — It wasn't a difficult thing to achieve, Shao Long had sent the man a voicemail every single night since the man's death — and tapped call.
By the time the third ring passed, Shao Long's anxiety grew to a frightening level, so much that he bit the insides of his cheeks, and getting a tad bit closer to chewing them with each second the call was left unanswered, until—
"What is it?"
Shao Long felt his heart stutter to a stop, all air having left his lungs and so were the words in his mind, leaving him blank. His tongue lead, his fingers trembling and shoulders sagging in relief. For the first time in a decade or so, the world stilled into silent tranquility, as if the raging river settled on it's own, the surface quiet and the water clear. For the first time since Shao Long's world crumbled down, his heart was at peace.
"Shao Long?" The voice sounded impatient. Silky smooth, like his own, as if the man hadn't ever screamed a day in his life. Shao Long could imagine the frown on his face on the other end of the call, irritation growing as his question was met with silence. Xi Yuze had never really been much of a patient man, his schedule too packed for silly pranks, his energy too drained with work for him to indulge in ridiculous fun. It was the same way over and over again, Shao Long's father would call out his name in such exasperation, such irritation, but still he would call. No matter how many times Shao Long had annoyed him. No matter how pointless his whining was. And oh, how he'd missed the man.
"....A-Die...." He croaked, because his voice box was a betrayer and Shao Long was a creature so filled with fear and hatred that couldn't listen to his father's voice without breaking down. The father he'd missed so much more than he thought he would.
"What?" The voice demanded, terse, harsh, and the traces of worry was nigh impossible to be heard through the phone, but it was there.
"....Nothing." Shao Long forced himself to choke out. His cheeks ached, and only then did he realize how he was grinning, a little too widely, a little too crooked, a little too close to a scowl than what it was supposed to be. He watched as his vision blurred ever so slowly, and shut them tight with a hitched chuckle. With tightened fists, he buried his face into the crook of his elbow, relishing in the sound of his father's voice.
It was almost as if he could see his father pinching his nose all the way back in China, really.
A voice inside him urged him to stop making his father worry so much all the time.
Another told him to indulge in whatever pinch of affection he could get.
"Talk. What is it?" The voice demanded, terse and harsh, once again.
"I just..." Shao Long swallowed, fighting the simple urge to break down once again that day, right in the middle of class where his classmates were watching and the next teacher on their way. He didn't know who else had suspected that he wasn't entirely alright, and honestly, he couldn't find it in itself to care too much. These people meant nothing to him either way. It didn't matter if they thought him a freak or made fun of him for crying. He was a child in the shell of a man, wanting his father. People could go fuck themselves.
"You just?"
"Well, I...just wanted to say that I missed you."
Something warm and wet touched the back of his hand. Shao Long belatedly realized that it was a teardrop.
The line was dead silent for a long pause. Shao Long's fingers continued to trembled as he sniffled as quietly as possible. What kind of idea would it give Xi Yuze, honestly, to listen to his only son crying on the other end of a call, halfway across the world, suddenly calling in the middle of the day, saying things like 'I miss you' as if — as if he was so terribly homesick. It must've looked petty. After all, Shao Long was the one who begged his father to be transferred here, convincing him for a week straight that he wouldn't cause a single problem in Momosu.
And look at where that got him, huh?
But his father was quiet. So awfully, painfully, terribly quiet.
When the waiting became too long, Shao Long released a shaky sigh and ended the call.
His relationship with his father hadn't been the best.
It may never have been.
But it was enough that he was alive.
It was enough that the two couldn't speak properly to each other without the familiar surge of distrust and anger to rush back into their hearts, so long as they could still talk at all.
That was all he wished for.
Shao Long was reading, as was demanded of him earlier that day, when the fight broke out. He didn't pay attention to what the cause was, nor was he even remotely interested in what the topic of discussion was even about. All he knew was that he had to revise all this shitty academic stuff if he was going to live like this from now on. Back in his younger days. Learning heh, chemistry and eugh, biology.
By the time he realized that the princes were fighting at all, everyone had already stood from their respective chairs, tense and alert, directing their focus to the main characters of the day, namely Gion and Ciel. Ah, those two were at it again. It was funny how childish their banters were, now that he was properly listening for once. Back then, after the two took over their respective thrones, their banters often covered the topics more politically sensitive, and Ciel who was forced to mature faster than he thought possible, had to struggle each time to make a decision that wouldn't uproot his whole family's ancestry and lose his country all at once. He was a good king in the end, genuinely speaking, but right now? Right now he was just a naive kid, bragging about his looks, caring for nothing other than himself, his friends and what he believed to be right.
And then there was the Principal's voice breaking the two princes apart. And then there was the decision to play a game. But wait, a what? A game? Board game? Monopoly? Seriously?
Had this happened—
Oh.
Oh yeah. This was the bullcrap piece of garbage that got him suspended the first time, wasn't it?
This was around the time the old Shao Long took one look at the board and thought confidently, arrogantly, haughtily, that he was going to win. After all, there was no other business monster as crazy as he was among the Student Council. None of them, not even Gion, was exposed to that much business as he was.
And of course, back then, there came the asshole Anubis who thought it was a good time to play the idiot and went full on silent mode as Shao Long waltzed into the trap laid out for him by Your Honour Charles, for everyone to witness and amuse themselves with.
Ah yes, this was the game that Shao Long swore he wouldn't touch again in his life.
"I refuse." He surprised himself with how firm he sounded. And it did look like everyone else in the room was similarly startled by his stepping down. Shao Long hid a scoff. Why wouldn't they be surprised? One would think that the Shao Long would jump to every opportunity to beat their asses, especially in something they all knew he had the best advantage at. Monopoly was his thing, his industry, his career. The princes had sociology. They probably never heard about any game theory before. Well, everyone except Charles that is.
Shao Long mentally sneered, knowing full well what kind of impression they had on him to warrant such reaction. What a shame that the Shao Long they thought they knew had already died, replaced instead by this broken man who wanted nothing more in life than to mind his own fucking business. In the first place, how did the princes' fighting managed to drag his ass into this shitty game anyway? He hadn't even said a thing throughout the whole meeting! What the hell, Evan?!
"Not an option, kid." Evan sneered at him, and Shao Long sneered back. Distantly, he could hear someone gasp behind him. Probably Alex. Or Albert.
"Yes, it is an option. It is fully within my right to participate in any activity that wasn't scheduled in the Academy's planner, officialized by the management and teachers, offered to and accepted by me. And the consequence is what? Suspended from the Academy? Like it's a crime? Sir Evan, no such laws would ever be approved in any country, please do not be so dramatic. I am not sacrificing my education over a dumb board game just because some assholes decided that games are a clear sign of one's level of intelligence." And then he glared at Gion, sharp and full of judgement. "And clearly it's not, if those same assholes decided that winning a board game was worth the risk of tarnishing their academic reputation."
To think that he once agreed to this.
Truly, he was such a child.
Seriously, what kid was he back then to agree to something like this. And how stupid must they seem in Evan's eyes for him to be certain that they would accept such a challenge. Shao Long didn't have any problem with Ciel and the Alex Squad to accept it, it was basically in ther nature to not back down in any challenge that was based on an insult to their general morality, but Gion? Sure, Gion was smart. He could win anything he set his mind into. He could beat them without sparing that much effort. But to risk his reputation?
It's no longer about whether or not he would win. It's about taking such a stupid risk to save his own ego. Sure, monopoly is close enough to a realistic simulation of the real world outside, but no king should ever be willing to simple participate in something that could possibly endanger those he ruled.
Age truly did wonders to a person's mind. The 'King Gion' from Shao Long's memory was someone who would sooner stay quiet than agree to such a thing. For all that he was a confident asshole, he bore the responsibility heavy enough upon his head that risks wasn't just something you take because it was small. The King Gion from his memory, if given two options, would create a third to ensure his side could not be cornered into a tight spot.
But this younger Gion didn't seem to understand risks just yet. Or he simply didn't have that much responsibility to think things over. Or maybe he knew for a fact that there was no way he would ever lose to someone like Ciel in a stupid childish board game.
Whatever it was, Shao Long resented that part of him. He resented the childishness and immaturity these princes displayed. Resented that they took too lightly their education and reputation.
(He didn't realize the way Charles' bore through his head with the same intensity as he had since the first day he came back.)
"In the real world, Shao Long," Evan drawled, expression as if pondering over Shao Long's words, "There are no such options."
"Yes there is." Shao Long scoffed. "By rights, a game could not be the indicator of my worth in the Academy. And if you're so pissed at these guys, why must you involve me? Did you see me pick a side? Did you see me agreeing to the bet? No you didn't." A harsher gasp behind him. "I'm not simply allowing you to rope me into whatever game you're planning to your amusement. With respect, I will have to decline." The 'you can't force me' wasn't spoken, but it couldn't be any clearer.
It wasn't his fight.
Why should he be involved in other people's war?
"Fine then," Evan sighed harshly. "If you win, you get a titled position in the SC. Are you willing now?"
"Absolutely not." Shao Long hissed.
Because what kind of idiot fell for power like that? His younger self may be fooled, but he was a 34-year-old man. He'd seen the shit the world has to offer. He wasn't proud of the person he became, but he trusted his experience, and he followed it like a manual.
Except when it came to Charles, of course.
Shao Long caught an amused glint in Evan's eyes. The man clearly wasn't expecting it. Of course he wasn't. The Shao Long of the past was such an idiot after all. But instead of looking like he'd given up coercing him to join, there was this determined look that flashed across his eyes, like Shao Long was the final tile to be set in place for the dominoes to topple over. Like he would do anything to get him to join. Like he was some kind of personal mission. And hell no, Evan, Shao Long wasn't going to let himself be stringed along with the other princes in a theatre of marionettes.
A/N: Be aware that Author-san doesn't hate Evan nearly as much. We are still in Shao's POV, so expect some bashings, no matter how untrue they may sound. Shao Long's perspective on things are entirely my characterization and had nothing to do with popular opinion. Or my personal opinion, for that matter. This is what I think Shao Long would think.
Before the man could open his mouth, Shao Long was already turning around, not wanting to listen in anymore, lest Evan found a blackmail material to really force him to play. As firm as he could be in his standing, Shao Long didn't trust Evan with his tongue and power-high. If the man wanted to demote him from the SC, then jokes on him, Shao Long didn't need to be an SC to be a billionaire.
And then there was a firm pressure on his shoulder, stopping him in his track.
Shao Long felt the voice before he heard it. The soft tickle against his ear, brushing away some strands the figure closed in for a whisper. A husky voice, a familiar dread.
"Join the game," was what Charles growled, lower than anyone within the first three feet could hear.
A shiver travelled down his spine, cold and harsh that it froze Shao Long in his step.
And Charles must've noticed the shiver, because he stepped back, smiling all over again, with the sweetest and most charming smile there was. It was the face he made when he knew he had won.
And won he did.
Shao Long pursed his lips, forcing himself to take a calming breath.
Because if there was anyone out there who could rattle him into obedience, it would be this demon.
"Fine." He hissed.
The smile on Charles' face stretched even wider.
24/8/2023