A/N: I am reeeaally sorry for not updating recently! Family problems here and there and as my family's only son I need to be there for them. I hope this update would make it up to you guys. I love you all! *flying kiss for everyone*
With Akihito gone, I began hanging out with Hotaru and his friends. I find his friends really odd by the way they dress and by the way they act but... I still felt at home. Compared to my real home, I feel all alone. But with Hotaru and the others, I thought it would be nice that I should be more open and make friends. The police are still looking for Akihito's killer, which left me greatly bothered but Akihito's parents told me that I shouldn't worry since I have school and that there were exams next week. I'm currently eating lunch once again in the special classes classroom, watching Ryuuko and Kako bicker. Hotaru's trying to break them up while Sho is reading some sort of... book. I just kept eating and eating, growing interested in were Ryuuko and Kako was bickering about.
"I'm just new here," Ryuuko said calmly, but I could tell he was growing impatient, "and you're already being a huge asshole to me. Whatever did I do to you?"
"Y-you just called me a moron!" Kako shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Ryuuko.
"Move on," Ryuuko said, crossing his arms. "There's still a chance that we'll be... acquaintances."
"To hell with that! I don't want to be friends with you!"
Ryuuko shrugged. "Suit yourself."
"You guys," Hotaru said, laughing nervously. "We shouldn't be fighting like this! I-I mean, Harumi's here with us. Don't you think that's a little rude?"
I turned to Sho. He glanced at me.
"Doesn't it seem fun that you guys have a new classmate?" I asked, smiling.
Sho sighed and closed his book. "Never was it fun to be here."
I felt taken aback by his answer. "W-well..."
"Listen, Harumi," Sho said, sighing, "why are you hanging out with freaks like us? Anything can happen to you."
I smiled. "Are you worried about me?"
Sho raised an eyebrow. "Don't be ridiculous. I don't care if anything were to happen to you. I'm just warning you."
I felt slightly disappointed. "O-oh..."
"Avoid us while you have the chance, Harumi."
I stared at him. "And why is that?"
"Because we're not who you think we are."
"W-what?"
Sho opened his book once again and began reading. It would seem rude to disturb him but I couldn't stop thinking of all sorts of questions. I decided to eat again and listen to Ryuuko and Kako argue. I'd prefer it that way.
"Shortie!"
"W-what did you just say?!"
"I said you're short! Like, really short!"
"Take that back, dimwit!"
"Oh? Is that the best you could say?"
"I can take you down right here and now..."
"Oh, yeah? Well, I know kung fu!"
"I don't give two shits about that."
"YOU GUYS!"
I turned to Hotaru. His face seems to glower. Ryuuko had an expressionless gaze at Hotaru. Kako looked a little afraid but it seems he's trying hard not show it.
"IF YOU GUYS WANT TO KILL EACH OTHER, DO IT! I DON'T GIVE A SHIT!"
"W-whoa, Hotaru--"
Hotaru shot Kako a glare and tilted his head.
"YOU STARTED ALL OF THIS, SO CLEAN IT UP! YOU AND YOUR IMMATURE ATTITUDE IS BETTER OFF INSIDE THE GARBAGE CAN. HAVE A LITTLE RESPECT FOR THE ELDERLY, ASSHOLE. YOU KEEP SAYING YOU'RE GOOD AT KUNG FU BUT YOU CAN'T EVEN HANDLE YOUR OWN ATTITUDE! IT'S NOT JUST BECAUSE OF SKILL BUT BECAUSE OF VALUE! DUMB-ASS!"
Ryuuko's boring eyes seems to have widened just a bit. Kako looked surprised. I covered my mouth to stop myself from gasping. I've never seen Hotaru this mad before.
"You've triggered his--"
I looked at Sho. He cleared his throat and quieted down.
"FOR YOU, RYUUKO, YOU'RE BEING AN INSUFFERABLE PRICK!"
"E-excuse me?" Ryyuuko said, slightly raising an eyebrow.
"D-don't provoke him, Ryuuko..." Kako muttered.
"I'll have you know that that's just what you think. An insufferable prick. Yeah, call me that. It's because that's what you think. I'm trying to reason with this DORK right here who doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut. I'm seriously going to kick you both in the groin if you don't know how to shut up. Quit all this act, Hotaru. You're the one being the prick here. Pardon for my language to the lady in the room but seriously..."
Ryuuko shook his head in a calm demeanor. Kako seems to be in a state of shock.
"W-WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
"I said you're the one being the prick here."
"YOU'RE JUST NEW HERE, GOT IT?! STOP ACTING ALL HIGH AND MIGHTY!"
"Kako, get the tranquilizer."
"O-on it..."
"Tranquilizer?" I muttered to myself.
"Yeah," Sho said, nodding. "Kako stabs Hotaru with one if he ever goes out of control."
"Oh," I said, looking downwards, "I see."
"Don't worry, he'll be fine."
I looked up again and saw Ryuuko restraining Hotaru as Kako stabbed a syringe on Hotaru's neck. Hotaru's eyes fluttered shut as he lay down the floor, knocked out. Kako sighed in annoyance while Ryuuko just stared at Hotaru's unconscious body.
"That was actually a great teamwork, Ryuuko," Kako said, scratching his head.
Ryuuko nodded slightly. "Yes, I kind of agree."
"So, what should we do with his body?"
Sho sighed. "He'll be back in a few hours."
Kako raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I'm kind of worried."
"Wow, this is the first time you've been worried about something peculiar."
"S-shut up! Well..."
Sho turned to me. "Harumi, I very much apologize about what's happening here right now. You wouldn't mind if you leave for a moment?"
I shook my head. "No, it's fine. I'll be here if you need help."
Sho sighed. "If you say so."
"Man, this is just messed up," Kako said, groaning in instance. "How are we going to explain this to our teacher...?"
"He doesn't even give two shits about the special classes," Sho said, crossing his arms. "I doubt he even thought about us for a single second."
Kako sighed. "Well..."
"Do something about his body. Don't just leave him lying around like that."
Ryuuko nodded and grabbed Hotaru by the waist. I could feel my eyes widen when I realized how he can carry a guy THAT tall...
"Er," Kako said, raising an eyebrow, "should we continue our lunchbreak, huh?"
I nodded. "Yeah..."
I finished my lunch and watched Kako finish his. Sho read a book while Ryuuko looked after Hotaru's unconscious body. He may be small but he's someone you wouldn't want to mess with.
I turned to Ryuuko. "Hey."
Ryuuko glanced at me. "What is it?"
"How is he doing?"
"He's still unconscious. Obviously."
"When do you think is he gonna wake up?"
He shrugged. "A few hours or so."
"Do you think he'll be okay?"
"You ask a lot of questions for a girl I just met," he said, shrugging. "Well, as a matter of fact, he is. He's going to be okay."
I smiled. "Thank goodness."
"Don't worry about him. He'll be fine."
"So, what school did you come from?"
"I didn't come from another school. I came from an orphanage."
"Oh, really?"
He nodded. "Yeah. I was supposed to be at school when I was fourteen but I decided to stick around the orphanage just a little bit longer. That was when after a few years, I decided that I should learn something better than something as limited as an orphanage."
I could feel my mouth gape. "Wow..."
He glanced at me again. "What?"
I shook my head vigoriously. "Sorry. It's nothing."
"Since when did you start hanging out with these guys?"
"Well," I said, thinking deeply, "it began when I bumped into Hotaru. After that, he introduced me to his friends in the special classes."
"I see."
"Well, they were there after my one and only friend was murdered."
"Come again?"
"My only friend was murdered. Hotaru and the others were there the day after it happened. It's just..."
"I see."
"It's pretty much messed up, huh," I said, faking a smile.
He nodded. "Pretty much, yes."
"How about you? Where are your parents?"
Ryuuko seems to be spacing out. I decided to inch away from him just in case he goes crazy like Hotaru. He waved his hand at me and coughed.
"I-it's fine, Kasumi, I--"
I furrowed my eyebrows. "Kasumi? I'm Harumi."
"Er--right. I'm sorry."
"Are you okay, Ryuuko?"
He shook his head. "I was never fine, Kasumi. Remember what I told you?"
My eyes widened. "R-Ryuuko?"
"I killed them! I'm the one who did it!"
I turned to Kako and Sho. Kako seems to be surprised and so was Sho. They both stared at Ryuuko and I in surprise.
"What did you do, Harumi?" Sho asked in a calm tone.
I shook my head. "I don't know! What's going on here?!"
Kako grabbed another syringe from his pocket. "Hold still, shortie! You're hallucinating again!"
"NO...!"
Ryuuko shouted in a raspy voice. It sounded so inhuman. I backed away and bumped into Sho.
"Leave, Harumi. You don't belong here."
Sho grabbed me on the shoulder and dragged me towards the door. He opened the door and pushed me away. He threw my bag at me and stared at me with those deep violet eyes. I stared back at them, hoping to find an answer to what was going on.
"Get some real friends, Harumi," Sho said, narrowing his eyes at me. "We're not worth it."
After that, he slammed the door with great force. The sound echoed throughout the empty hallway of the abandoned floor. I stood up and dusted myelf, grabbing my bag. I sighed and walked down the dark hallway once again.
This time, it made me more scared than usual.
~
I began fiddling with my thumbs. I glanced at Kako and Sho, who were staring down at me. I sighed and began to fiddle faster. Kako cleared his throat.
"Are you aware of what you just did today, Hotaru," Kako asked in a serious tone.
I shook my head. "No."
"Well, that's a normal answer for someone with a split personality disorder," Sho said.
"You went berserk. Harumi saw everything. You do know what's gonna happen, right? If she finds out that our diseases are a lot worse than what they are, she can call the police, right," Kako asked me.
I nodded slightly. "Yes, I know that."
"Well, control yourself if you don't want to get caught," Kako said and slammed a bottle of pills on the table. "You remember these, Hotaru?"
I nodded. "Yes, I remember."
"You forgot taking them," he said, shaking the bottle a little. "You know what happens if it becomes worse, right?"
I nodded again. "Yes, I know."
"Take them or else suffer the consequences," he said, pushing the bottle towards me. "You'll get better. That's a promise."
I bit my lip and reluctantly took the bottle of pills. I could feel tears well up my eyes. I shook my head.
"No," I said, nearly choking down my words, "I'll never get better."
Kako shrugged. "Well, that's what you believe. We'll leave it at that."
"Hotaru," Sho called to me.
I looked at him. "What is it?"
"Have you been fully aware of your actions especially around Harumi?"
I froze and shook my head.
"Well, Kako and I have been."
"Yeah," Kako said, nodding. "Dude, are you seriously falling for her?"
"If you mean by fall and break, then that's a yes."
I sighed in distress. They've found out my motives. Well, I always believed that they knew that. Harumi was pretty much a "love" at first sight for me. She was pretty, she was innocent and she was a little bit fearful. Knowing that she feels fear, which is an emotion, completes me somehow. I've never been fearful of anything but breaking.
"You've got to put a stop to it, man," Kako said, shaking his head.
Sho nodded. "She may find out what you really are and she won't be really pleased by it."
"Who'll be pleased for a sociopath," I asked, turning to Sho.
Sho shrugged. "That's the point. The answer is nobody."
"I thought you've given up on typical human emotions," Kako asked me.
"I'm still human somehow," I said, shrugging.
Kako nodded and smiled, "That's a pretty good answer but that won't be changing anything, Hotaru."
Sho nodded again. "Okay, I rarely agree with Kako but I agree with this one."
"I have my own life," I said, furrowing my eyebrows. "Why don't you guys back off?"
"... And let you let loose? That's not happening, Hotaru," Sho said, crossing his arms.
"You've been going at it for twelve years, man," Kako walked towards me and patted my shoulder. "Why won't you just let it go?"
I shrugged his hand off. "Shut up, Kako."
Kako glared at me. "It's either you get rid of her or I will."
Sho glared at me. "... Or me."
I froze. "Please don't. I promise I'll take control of myself. Please don't hurt her."
"You're already hurting her, Hotaru. It's just not as visible as any other normal human stupidity you witness on TV or whatever," Kako said, shrugging.
"We won't hurt her if you stop yourself," Sho said, nodding.
"But..."
Kako raised an eyebrow. "No butts, Hotaru. Get rid of her."
I shook my head hesitantly. "I... I can't kill her..."
"That's not what I meant," Kako said, shaking his head. "What I meant was I want you to start avoiding her and move on with your lousy life like ours."
"But I can't just suddenly leave her alone," I said, biting my lower lip.
Kako nodded slowly. "True... Okay, wait until you have a relationship with her."
"What now," Sho exclaimed, shooting Kako a harsh glare. "Are you planning on killing us?"
"Well, he doesn't want her killed so whatever option do you think I have? She witnessed this guy go berserk. If we leave her now, she can tell anyone and bam, the asylum we go."
Sho went silent for a few seconds before sighing. He nodded.
"That should be the plan. I can't think of any other way," Sho said, nodding slowly.
Kako grinned. "See? I'm not as stupid as you think I am."
"Whatever," Sho said, shrugging.
"Get the idea now, Hotaru," Kako said, turning to me. "If you get in a relationship with her, tell her you're tired of her in the most normal way as possible. Wait a second... I don't think that's a foolproof idea..."
I stood up from where I sat and grabbed the bottle of pills. Kako and Sho looked at me in surprise.
"What are you doing? We're not yet done," Kako said in a stern tone.
"I'm gonna... be with her for a little longer," I said, sighing.
Kako's eyes widened. "W-what?! That's not the plan, dumb-ass!"
I stared at him and nodded. "I know that. If she ever finds out anything more about me or any of you guys, I'm gonna keep her."
"Dude, I told you--"
"I said I'm gonna keep her. That means something else, okay?"
Kako raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you just don't want her dead straight?"
I felt a pang on my chest. "N-no... Is it okay with you guys?"
Kako and Sho looked at one another and nodded sadly. They both looked at me and held out their hands. I shook both and smiled.
"Alright, just make sure you know what you're doing, Hotaru Akuma."