14Disclaimer: If I owned Tsubasa, Kurogane would be more swooned over by girls. (Which in reality he is)
I have no idea where this came from. Oh yeah. Yes I do. At first I thought, "Maybe he lost a bet?" Then I realized, being the awesome fangirl I am, I said, "Kurogane never loses". So, I made something a little more, well, drastic…
Wee! Since this is fanfiction, Kurogane and Fai are going to be OOC a lot. Meaning that: Kurogane doesn't really have a temper until later but does distance himself and Fai hasn't gone through hell with that blasted Ashura, ok? Please read it still…
-9-1-1-
Panting harshly in the dark alley, the 14-year-old stared wide eyed at the scene in front of him. The woman flashed him a smile, a horrid smile that told him he was next. The body that lay before him had its hand outstretched towards the raven haired boy, his last words echoing through his head.
The woman advanced, her axe in her twisted gloves. The red eyed boy let out a blood curdling scream as he ran. Ran faster than his partially developed legs could handle and he eventually collapsed on a porch, one that had a family arriving just seconds after. The smallest of the family, a boy about the same age, stared down at the bloody teenager with his blue eyes. Shock danced about his face when a woman appeared, her axe in her hand. She lifted it up, shouting profanities at the boy who lay broken on his porch as she brought it down…
The dark-redheaded teen sat up, drenched in sweat. He remembered those nights all too clear. He rubbed his red eyes, wiping away anything formed into tears. It had been almost two years since then. A year since his mother killed his father and was sent to jail for too short a time. Since it was family, she was not put to death.
-9-1-1-
Fai sat up in his seat, his desk being in the front row. He couldn't believe that he had acquired such a low class, being a straight A student and all, but he didn't want to make the teacher think he hated him. After all, he was the smartest in Mr. Sorata's class. It had been at least three weeks since school started and he was already well liked by everyone and in most of the clubs. He was just coming out of his prideful thinking when the bell rang and everyone sat down.
"Ok class, we have a new arrival today. He is from out of town, so please, welcome him warmly. Mr. Suwa, you can come in now…" Mr. Sorata said, waving to the open door. Fai had to hold his gasp of surprise down.
In walked an easily 6 foot 5 inch tall teenager, spiky, rust colored hair with a few strands falling in his brown eyed vision. His skin was tan, with black scruffy hair lining his jaw. He was carrying a few books in one hand and his school uniform was kind of ruffled. A few buttons were left open, showing a scarred chest and a black undershirt. His boots echoed against the walls whilst he walked in with a lovely fashion. All this sexiness was topped with a band aid on his neck and few red and black earrings on both ears. Fai almost slapped himself for thinking he was sexy. He was the top of the class looking at an appalling sight. Mr. Sorata stared at him for a second or two, remaining standing while the teen stood by his desk.
"Introduction, Mr. Suwa." He said in a kind of awkward whisper. The boy's eyes lazily looked over to him, then back to the class.
"Fine… I'm Haganemaru Suwa… You can call me either if you want… I don't care if you want to socialize… but leave me alone if you don't…" He said, his eyes never leaving the class president in the front row. This kind of creeped Fai out. Mr. Sorata sighed, pointing to the desk in the back next to a window. Haganemaru slowly walked to the back of the room, all eyes on him. When he sat down, he realized this, and folded his arms rather disgruntled. Mr. Sorata "a-hemmed" and got everyone's attention. He then began to teach class. Fai stole a look at Haganemaru, who was staring sadly out the window. Fai felt like he had met the boy before, but couldn't put his finger on it.
-9-1-1-
"Nya! I'm so glad lunch came!" The blonde president stretched back in his seat after the bell rang. He was joined slowly by his friends.
"That's just like you, huh, Fai-san?" Said the brunette at his side. He laughed with her, pulling out his lunch box.
"Yeah, guess so."
"Fai-sama… did you hear how that boy got into our class?" Asked the black haired boy across from him, staring at the redhead still looking out the window. The blonde shook his head for his mouth was full of rice.
"I heard he got kicked out of his last school just a day after it started." Said another blonde boy. The others snickered.
"I heard he was put on probation for doing drugs." Whispered another person. Haganemaru then turned and stood, heading for the door. All the people stopped whispering to look at him when he stopped.
"I enrolled in this dump to get back in school, not because I got kicked out or do drugs, dipsticks." He said softly, not opening his eyes as he walked out. Fai and the rest of them got the shivers when the door closed.
"I can't believe he heard us from way over there!" Uttered the brunette. She put a hand over her mouth in worry.
"It's ok, Sakura-chan, I think it was wrong for us to be talking about him anyway… though he does look familiar…" Fai said, tapping his lip with his finger.
"Oh? You met him? When? Where? You have to tell us, Fai-san!" Said the black haired girl. Fai bit his lip, trying to remember.
"I'm not really sure… I think it was last year or so…" He said, looking at the ceiling. Then it hit him. Could he be that boy who was on his porch? Didn't he have red eyes and black hair though?
"Maybe I do know him… But I have to talk to him first…" The blonde gave an inquisitive smile, rubbing the back of his head. The others whined a bit but soon returned to their lunch. At that time, the figure of their gossips entered the room again. He was carrying another book. Fai was about to get up at go over to him, when the bullies of the class got up and stalked over to him at his desk.
"We don't like your attitude, new kid." Said the fat one, his pink hair spiking up in two different directions. The other three nodded with smug smiles on their faces. Haganemaru looked up at them from over his book's cover, uninterested in them.
"Go away. I'm reading." He said, and the whole class hushed. Fai, once again, was about to go over to them, but a hand landed on his arm. When he turned to see who it was, it was Doumeki, shaking his head.
"Watch." He uttered, turning to look at the outnumbered man. Fai did the same, looking just in time to catch a "You're going to regret saying that, punk!" and a swing of a fist. The class president gasped in shock when the fist was caught. The brown eyes had never left the book.
"I told you," He said in a low tone. He swung his legs off his desk, still holding onto the fist while he rose to his full height. Then, he bent the fist backwards, forcing the man to his knees. "I was reading." The others then came at him from three different sides. He let go of the man's hand, kicking him away as he jumped onto his desk. Two of the boys collided into another, knocking them down as the last one tried to grab for Haganemaru. Instead of grabbing his leg like he had intended, he swiped at air, for the redhead had leapt up to ricochet off the ceiling and landed on the other's shoulders, standing on him until he sunk to the floor. Haganemaru then stepped off of him, his book still in his hand as he sat back down and opened it. The whole class stared for a little bit, still in shock that he had taken all four of them out. Fai finally stood, walking timidly over to Haganemaru. Said boy looked at him from over his cover and watched him.
"Um… Hi, I'm Fai D. Flowright, I am class president of this class B and would like to know if-"
"Go away. I'm not interested in socializing with you." Haganemaru said, his eyes returning to his book. Fai's smile twitched, his hands stopped twiddling in front of him. A small laugh escaped his lips.
"But, Hagane-kun, I only wanted to-" Fai stepped back as Haganemaru stood, causing his chair to fall over. His book was on the desk while his other hand wrapped itself around Fai's collar.
"Don't…Ever… Call… Me… Hagane-kun…" He said in a low, venomous whisper, though Fai's smile only faltered from surprise for a second.
"Ok, suppose, Hagane-chan is better?" Fai was shoved roughly away from him, earning a few whispers and stares.
"Leave me alone. I have got nothing to do with a breaking porcelain doll." Haganemaru seethed, getting a few glares and angry mutterings. Fai stood there, his smile not damaged.
"Be that way then, Hagane-sama, but your going to get in trouble if that attitude of yours doesn't vanish soon!" Fai said, a finger swishing back and forth in front of him as he sat back down.
-9-1-1-
"Ah! What happened in here?!" Mr. Sorata said, just entering the room to see the four passed out boys on the floor near Haganemaru's desk. All the children looked at the boy who was still reading with his feet back up on the desk. Mr. Sorata teemed with anger as he strode over to his desk, slamming a hand down on it hard. Haganemaru's eyes slowly left his book and stared at his teacher indifferently.
"What did you do, Mr. Suwa?!" He shouted at the boy, who blinked slowly.
"They kept me from my book and tried to hurt me… so I did a thing called self defense… I was sorely hoping that this school didn't have people like that in it too…" He said calmly, wide eyed gazes coming from all over the room. Mr. Sorata pointed vehemently at the door, closing his eyes so he wouldn't have to stare down at him anymore. Haganemaru stood slowly, closing his book with a light thud and leisurely walked to the door. Fai stood up, a smile on his face.
"Sir! Since I didn't do anything to stop the inconvenience from happening and since Mr. Suwa-san doesn't know his way around school yet, I'll escort him to the office and receive punishment as well!" And not even pausing to get an affirmation, the class president rushed out the door, latching onto Haganemaru's arm in the process to drag him out.
Haganemaru got fed up of this really quickly, so he shook his arm roughly until Fai let go.
"What are you doing? I know good and well where the office is, you little-"
"Look, Hagane-san, you can't beat people up here, not even for self-defense. I don't know your story, so I can't say much, but please, try to refrain from hurting anyone else, ok?" Fai said, his eyes pleading sincerely and his lips showing no signs of a smile. Haganemaru eyed him for another second or two, then sighed, folding his arms around his books.
"Fine. Is this the only reason you wanted to usher me to the office?" He said, starting walking again. Fai followed next to him.
"No, I will get scolded for not stopping the fight."
"Why didn't you?" Fai smiled brightly.
"I wanted to see how you would stick up for yourself, Hagane-min." Haganemaru's eye twitched.
"Will you stop with the names?" Fai only giggled.
"A big, bad, strong man like you can't even stand even handle sissy, little girl names!" Fai dodged his hand while laughing.
"Ah! Here we are!" Fai said, ignoring a growl from the redhead.
-9-1-1-
"Therefore, you will only have to stay here until the bell rings, Mr. Flowright, but as for you, Mr. Suwa, we're going to have to call your parents."
"I don't have any parents, lady." Fai and the woman stared at Haganemaru, shock written on their faces.
"Well then, who enrolled you in the school?"
"I did. Don't even bother looking at my emergency list, I have no living relatives willing to take me in."
"Surely you have foster parents to take care of you?" Haganemaru scoffed.
"I can take care of myself. I have been for one and a half years now. My parents will left me with enough money to buy a house and live on, so I live alone. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd rather get back to my book instead of explaining my life history to you." And with that, Haganemaru stood and walked into a "waiting room" and sat down with his book open in front of his nose. Fai and the counselor stared, not sure what to make of him. Fai was the first to break their silence.
"Ma'am, if you could allow it, I would like to keep an eye on him, to make sure this nuisance doesn't happen again. I can make up my work tomorrow after school if you would like." Fai flashed her a smile and she warmly agreed. Fai then left her room, taking a deep breath as he started towards Haganemaru. He sat down next to the teen reading and plastered on another smile. It didn't take two seconds for the redhead to slam his book shut to glare at Fai. The blonde smiled wider.
"So, Hagane-chan, you live alone?"
"I told you I didn't want to talk about my past to you." He said, rather annoyed that he didn't reach the end of his current chapter for all the interruptions. Fai only smiled and took his book.
"Hey! Give that back!" The hazel eyed boy shouted, reaching for his book. Fai's smile grew huge.
"Not until you tell me a little bit about yourself." Feeling defeated, Haganemaru slumped back down in his seat, staring at the joint where the floor becomes the wall.
"Fine… what do you want to know?" Fai, feeling triumphant, bounced a little in his seat so he was facing those brown eyes.
"Where did you originally live? What's your favorite color? How old are you? Where did you learn to fight? Where are your paren-?"
"One question at a time. To answer the ones you've already asked; In Tokyo, black, 16 ½, I taught myself…" Fai cocked his head a little.
"What about my last one?" Haganemaru shot a glare at him.
"Some questions are to remain unanswered." Fai gave him a small pout before sighing.
"I'm not giving you back your book until you answer."
"Keep it then…" the class president stared shocked at him. Where his parents too bad to be mentioned? Or worse, were they dead?
"I'm sorry."
"For what?" Fai twiddled his thumbs whilst the boy next to him folded his arms.
"Your parents. I'm sorry for your loss." Haganemaru raised an eyebrow.
"You don't even know what happened to them." Fai sat up straighter.
"They died, didn't they?" Haganemaru snorted, making the blonde feel awkward.
"One of them did… I wish both had…" Said the boy quietly, his expression changing from mock humor to pain and regret. Fai felt like he hit a sore spot and that he should move on to the next question but…
"What… exactly happened to them?" the blue eyed teen held his breath as the redhead slowly turned to him.
"I'll tell you… but only you… and… not here…"
-9-1-1-
Fai opened his locker, sighing as he bit his lip. The new kid had told him he would tell him about his past, but not in the office, even when they were alone. Then the kid gave him his address and told him to go there after school, and stopped talking the rest of the day. Fai had felt guilty for asking, so he gave him his book back soon after. Haganemaru never really finished reading.
"Fai-sama! What happened?! Did he get suspended?! Is he in detention?! Is he moving to a new school!? Boy that would be funny. Hey! Why aren't you talking?" Said a black haired boy next to Fai. The blonde turned to him and smiled softly.
"Sorry, Habu-kun, but I'm sorry to say Hagane-kun is staying at our school and will not receive punishment beyond this day. He only stayed in the office with me." Fai said simply to the golden eyed boy. "Habu" groaned and folded his hands behind his head.
"That sucks. I don't really like him. Hey, are you free tonight? Me and Doumeki and Watanuki are all going to the pizza place. Wanna tag along?" Fai shook his head.
"I have things to do today." Watanuki, who had just appeared, stared in shock.
"You never have anything planned, Fai-san!" The yellow eyed boy crossed his arms and puffed out his cheeks.
"It's that new kid isn't it?" Watanuki patted his friend on the shoulder, laughing lightly.
"Now, Habunaiku-kun, leave that poor boy alone. We don't want to be the ones to be beaten up next!" Fai laughed at this too, knowing his friend was a little too over protective of his close clique. Sakura and the blonde girl came up to them.
"Fai-san! I know where Haganemaru's locker is!" the brunette said breathlessly.
"Yeah, it's right next to Syaoran-san's." The blonde said, smiling smugly at the now blushing Sakura.
"Geez, when are you two going to hook up? Your puppy love is gunna make me puke one of these days." Said Habunaiku, throwing his arms up into the air. Sakura blushed brighter whilst all of them laughed at the dark haired boys antics.
"I'll walk you home, Esmeralda-chan." He said next, bringing his arm down to offer it to the blonde girl.
"It's Ezzy, and ok!" She said, taking it whole-heartedly and they walked off.
"Talking about puppy love, and there he goes!" Watanuki said, a small aggravated frown on his face. Fai tapped his shoulder and pointed to Doumeki.
"Speak for yourself." Watanuki blushed brightly as he was shoved in the archer's direction. Fai then told Sakura to walk with Syaoran home instead of him.
"But why?" She asked, a tint of pink on her cheeks.
"It's a secret!" Fai said, keeping his finger up in the air in front of his face. Sakura let out a small sigh before retreating in the disappearing crowd. Once the class president slung his light blue back pack on his shoulder, he closed his locker and began to walk out of the school. He was stopped when a crowd caught his eye. He walked over to them, pushing his way up to see what was going on.
"Not so tough now are ya?"
"He looks like a sad dog, boss!"
"Watch out! He has rabies!" cruel laughter ensued. Fai finally reached the inner rim of the crowd, gasping at what he saw.
Haganemaru was on his knees, his arms being held by two other men while another punched his stomach. Two other boys stood off to the side, watching in pure pride as his stomach received a beating. Yet, to everyone's surprise, Haganemaru hadn't made a sound. This was making the pink haired, fat boy angry.
"Rip off his shirt! I wanna see his scar!" This was followed by some of the crowds cheering. They stood Haganemaru up with much effort, for he was fighting with all his might. The one that had been punching him ripped open the 150 dollar shirt that was in the school uniform and brought out a blade to cut open the undershirt. He sliced some of Haganemaru's skin in the process, showing some blood dripping down his well shaped abs. Fai felt his heart stop. He remembered that cut. That long, twisted cut that started around the middle of Haganemaru's chest and rounded around his hip.
"Ew! He's disgusting!"
"I can't believe he lived through that!" The crowd's cheering grew louder, some throwing their fists in the air. Fai couldn't take this any longer.
"Stop it!" He shouted, running up to them and Haganemaru. The people in the crowd gasped, some started shouting about not ruining a good fight. Fai went directly to the boss, bee-lining the pudgy teen.
"What do you think you're doing?! This is a new student! He doesn't deserve this!"
"Oh what do you know, pretty boy!? This guy is getting what he deserves alright, for what he did to us this morning!"
"You were the ones who needed it! He was merely protecting himself!" Fai was now shouting, Fai never shouted. The boss was getting angry, not noticing this little problem.
"I don't like him, so I'm going to get rid of him! Boys! Do your worst! And you! Get out of our way!" With those lasts barked words, the boss slapped Fai harshly, causing him to fall into the dirt and grass. The boss turned in time to see the glint in Haganemaru's eye before he flung off his men. He grabbed them from each side, smashing them into one another. He then approached the one who had the knife, fists clenched. The guy with the knife charged, who was quickly evaded from by the redhead. Haganemaru grabbed the guy by the collar and slung him backwards, sending him flying. One of the men who had been rammed into another got up and attacked Haganemaru from behind. The scarred teen grabbed his fist, this time bending it back until you could see the bone of his wrist sticking out. The guy screamed in pain while Haganemaru flung him into the crowd. The boss and the other guy saw him coming for them next and quickly skedaddled. Fai rose from his spot on the ground, staring at the scarred man. Haganemaru turned his head to him, bowing it slightly, before dropping to his knees. Fai felt like it went in slow motion.
The whole crowd charged forward, some trampling the guys knocked out, some running into Fai. They all came down on Haganemaru, fists and shoes flying in and out of the tight circle. Fai could only be pushed away while he tried to stop them. He was shoved to the ground once more as the crowd parted, revealing a bloody and battered boy lying limp on the ground.
Fai crawled quickly over to him, noticing the blood coming from his mouth and nose.
"Hagane-kun? Can you hear me?" Fai said, forgetting formal introductions as he lifted the other boy's head into his hands. Haganemaru looked up at him, one eye bleeding lightly around its rim.
"…You…" He said, trying to move his arms to sit up. He did so, letting a grunt escape his lips.
"I'll take you back inside the school into the nurse's office. We can get you cleaned up-"
"My house isn't far from here… I can walk there…" The redhead said, not turning his head to face Fai. The blonde stood, grabbing Haganemaru's backpack on top of his own on his back. The he walked over to the sitting boy.
"Then let me help you." He murmured, outstretching his hand to him. Haganemaru looked up at him, and then took his hand weakly.
-9-1-1-
"This is your home?!" Fai declared, staring up at the mansion. It had red paint on the outside and was lined with wilting rosebushes, giving it a creepy yet mysterious edge. Fai had always wanted to live there, his house not even two blocks away from it. The black shingles on the roof had been repaired, and the white fence had been replaced with a red one. The door was black alone with the curtains on the 5 visible windows.
"Yeah… Do you like dogs?" Haganemaru asked, leaning on Fai's offered shoulder as he opened up the fence. Fai nodded, still in awe.
"Good… I have one…" He said as they made their way to his front door. Fai let Haganemaru slide off his shoulder to get to his pocket. He then cursed loudly making Fai jump when Haganemaru started feeling the light next to his porch.
"What are you doing?" He asked, cautious to why the brown eyed man was feeling up a lamp.
"Those monkeys stole my keys. Now I have to get a new one for my car and another extra for my house… oh, and one to my safe… God, even one to my freaking shed!" Haganemaru scrambled with the front door, unlocking it clumsily. Fai watched him closely in case he was to fall over again. He was greeted by barking.
"Hey, Yuui, I'm home…" He heard the other say, watching as a golden retriever pup climbed lazily into its master's arms. Fai smiled when he heard Haganemaru chuckle.
"Oh, I have three cats too…" Haganemaru said as he sat down on a brown, leather couch. Fai shut the door behind him, locking it as well. He turned to see the biggest living room he had ever been in. The walls were a light pink, stopping midway to turn into dark, rose colored wood. The ceiling was high, having been painted black with roses all over it. On the walls were paintings he had never seen and photos of faceless people. That also creeped Fai out. There was no TV in the room like the blonde thought there should be, but only a coffee table with books on it in the center with two large brown couches and three reclining chairs. In front of the chairs was a fireplace that had to be attended to, not an electric one. On the mantle held one photo between two white, never-lit, long candles. Fai slowly scanned the room, making Haganemaru cough to get his attention back.
"Suwa and Chi are very sociable; don't even bother looking for Celes, that fat cat never does anything." Fai stopped petting Yuui and looked at Haganemaru.
"You named your cat after your family name?" Haganemaru laughed lightly, letting the black cat with green eyes called Suwa settle in his lap.
"No, I have no last name. I named myself after Suwa." He said, petting the scruff of the cat's neck.
"You named yourself after your cat?" Fai raised his eyebrow, earning a sad smile from the redhead.
"What can I say? She's the only thing I received from my mother…" Fai instantly regretted asking. He "oh-ed" softly and turned his attention back to the whining puppy. He laughed lightheartedly when the pup flopped on its back barking happily asking for its tummy rubbed.
"That's unusual." Haganemaru said tenderly, receiving a curious look from the blonde.
"Yuui hardly asks for stomach rubs." Fai smiled at him.
"Maybe he feels close to me, who knows?" Fai felt a weight on him suddenly, and then realized he was still carrying their backpacks. He stood, saying soft apologies to the whining puppy and set their backpacks by the door.
"Hagane-san, I happened to notice…on your stomach you have a scar…"
"Happened to notice with the rest of the school, you mean?" Haganemaru stopped petting Suwa as she slept lazily on his lap. Fai chose that time to glance up at the bleeding cut on his stomach.
"Yeah… oh, your stomach… where's your bandages?" Fai said, getting up from his spot by the door.
"In the midi-closet by the bathroom. It's to the left of the kitchen."
Fai found the kitchen was not that different from the living room. Its walls were lined with kitchen supplies all colored red or black or rose pink, and a small island in the middle with utensils hanging from a wire ceiling place. Fai noticed that rose prints were in a line all around the room about equidistant. Fai then found the midi-closet, having a red plus sign on the black door. He searched in it, finding everything from Midol to band aids. He found splints, bandages, medicines, gloves, stethoscopes, you name it. He had to dig for a little bit until he found wraps and gauzes and took out some pain killers, just to be safe. He closed it then, heading back into the living room where Haganemaru was leaning back on the couch with his eyes closed.
"Hagane-kun?" Fai asked quietly, earning a small jump from the man.
"Sorry… not used to having someone else in my house…" He said, blushing lightly in embarrassment. He winced, bending over a little. Fai sat down next to him, taking his arm in his hand.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah… just a little sore from the school day…" Fai felt a ping of guilt. He had tried, really, but he hadn't stopped it soon enough.
"I'm so sorry my school treated you like this… usually when a new person arrives, we welcome them warmly and treat them with respect… I mean, Sakura and Syaoran were treated nicely when they arrived…"
"That's because they're still young… That kid is still a freshman and so is his friend…" Fai gave him a curious look. Haganemaru shrugged whilst he took of his shirts.
"I may be new, but I didn't get around for being blind. The kid's locker is right next to mine, so I can hear him mumble about his classes and about his complaints about being new… he ain't that quiet when it comes to classes…" Fai blushed upon looking down. Haganemaru's body was indeed well built and his tan skin just added to the effect. The only thing obscuring such a holy sight was the long gash on his torso and the newly added cut on his abs. Fai turned his head quickly, not wanting to be caught staring at his new friend's body. That, though, did bring up a question.
"…Are we friends?" Haganemaru looked at Fai, shock in his eyes. He then turned his expression into a relieved one.
"I'd be more than happy to be…"
-9-1-1-
Oh I'm bad. I made humans and places into animals while I made animals into people! Hate me now, if you dare. Mokona is going to be a girl in the school, maybe even a teacher, who knows?! But anyway, sorry for the confusion if any. If you don't know who he is already, you'll find out Haganemaru's identity in the next chapter! BUKUKU! Also, Habunaiku and Esmeralda are OC, so yeah. Hah-boo-nai-koo and Ezzy for pronunciation. Um… did that cover everything? I think so… yeah…
Mirika-puppy-san