Hands All Over [R18; cazuki x ukeme]

[Cazuki101]

"Maybe...maybe you're right. Maybe I unconsciously act all high and mighty. Maybe I'm someone who can be and wants to be friends with everybody just because I don't want anyone to see that I'm actually lonely inside. Maybe I'm someone who tries so hard to be good at everything just so that nobody would get into my head and analyze what really is going in there."

 

Mugen didn’t interrupt Haruto as he spoke. Despite his words, tone and bitter smile, a part of Mugen instinctively knew that Haruto was spilling himself out to him.

 

So, I was right.

 

Haruto held Mugen’s gaze, his blue eye piercing. Mugen couldn’t discern the emotion those eyes currently held. They were misted up, in much the same way as they are when someone is about to cry. Mugen didn’t want to be rash, however, and assume that was what they meant. Haruto continued on.

 

"But right now, you don't have to understand anything about me. Heck, you don't actually need to understand me."

 

That statement, in itself was interesting. Since when had Mugen said he ‘had’ or ‘needed’ to understand him? He’d said he ‘wanted’ to. Mugen decided to keep that tidbit to himself for now. It could prove useful.

Haruto paused for a long time, making Mugen think he was about to leave him hanging. As Mugen was just about to leave, Haruto spoke again.

 

"I don't need you worrying about me...I don't need..."

 

He sounded, to Mugen, like he didn’t completely want to say what he had said. This was further supported by his sharp intake of breath. The words were hurting him, in one form or another. Whether he knew why or not was a different matter.

 

After saying one last thing, Haruto dashed off and took a taxi, effectively ending the conversation.

 

If Mugen was honest with himself, he had absolutely zero idea what had just happened. Not just the conversation either, but everything. Sitting in the treehouse, humming that song together. It was something Mugen had not planned for. However, he realized that he shouldn’t try and plan out his capture. Why make up conversation routes? Why try and construct scenarios in his head? This was real love he was playing with, not the kind kids had.

He felt a surge through his body. Not like before. It wasn’t a hot fire or a bolt of electricity, rather it was like cold water surging through his veins. His rashness of before had been replaced with a steely determination and underlying patience.

 

"...I don't need your pity."

 

Haruto… This is exactly why you are so interesting.

 

Mugen started walking home, he wasn’t in a rush anymore. He was going to take his sweet damn time, capturing Haruto’s heart. He had all the time in the world, as far as Haruto was concerned.

 

In the shadows of some nearby houses, concealed by bricks and mortar. A boy observed the entire scene. When it was over, he waited for a minute in silence. Then left.

 

Mugen spent that night in a semi-blissful state. He felt like he was walking on clouds. He assumed it was because he had finally started to unlock his true potential. His family assumed it was because he had been sniffing something he shouldn’t have. Either way, the evening passed peacefully. And, as Mugen crept into his bed, Fionna on his heels, he couldn’t help but hum a tune to himself.

 

It was the same song he and Haruto had been humming together.

[ukemextreme]

When Haruto entered the dining room, he was slightly shocked that his father was already sitting at the other end of the long dinner table, sipping a cup of either tea or coffee. He sat down by his right side but made sure to distance himself by a few feet.

 

"I'm sorry I haven't been able to fetch you," his father, Shingo Ushuzima, began right after Haruto has taken his first bite of his ham. "Something came up in the labor department. the mayor had me look through it." The boy never said a thing and just continued eating. "But I heard you went home alone and you rode a taxi, at that! Just how absurd can you get, Haruto? You could have called up Kanda-san to fetch you up," his father continued, his voice rising now as he lowered his cup of coffee with a soft thud, "You could have been kidnapped, or worse, killed! It would be such big news and it might taint my name and your mother's. Don't you ever think your actions through?!"

 

The last statement had Haruto frozen, his hand midair. He thought it was a good thing that his father was making a fuss over him that he listened secretly but he was wrong; his parents only want their names and titles clean. He never cared about their children.

 

What selfish pricks.

 

The thought hurt Haruto because, of course, it was his parents who were selfish. He sat up straight and pushed his plate forward before standing up, leaving his meal unfinished. He deadpanned his father. No, he would not whine and cry lest he'd be reprimanded on how spoiled he was. He should act strong or something. But I'm not spoiled, you just don't get it...what I feel, as your son.

 

But things just kept flowing out from his mouth without second thoughts about its consequences. "Thank you for your concern," he said, emphasizing the word concern as if giving it a second meaning, "but in case you forgot..." He took a deep breath, he was going to say it now, the words he so wanted to tell him and his mother everytime they neglect their duties as parents. He never knew what triggered it. Maybe he was hurt too much and couldn't take it anymore. "...I am your son and your son had waited for you last night until the moon was high up. I'm not just someone, Father. I'm not one of your subordinates who could wait for you even if their life was at stake just because you're sitting so damn high on your horse." Haruto backed up and then turned on his heels, walking away.

 

His father didn't say anything and he didn't care about what he thought right now. He realized, then, that he should act like this more often. He had the right to do so. And he was acting like a real son for the first time in his life. All these thoughts made him remember about some things he had forgotten about; he hadn't thought of them for so long because it was years when he had last seen them. Stopping short and opening the door, Haruto looked over his shoulder and finally said, "I just remembered I have older siblings and realized that this, this thing you've been doing, was probably the reason why Nii-chan and Nee-san left us for good."

 

"Oi you insolent ch ---"

 

He never heard the end of it because Haruto rushed to the car and left for school.

 

When he reached the campus, he was early again and again, it gave his homeroom teacher and friends a shock. He didn't talk much throughout his classes and morning break. Even in his gym class, he was acting like the most valuable team player for the first time; he had Takashi direct them during the game. He spent the morning just smiling and laughing at everything his friends said. His laugh, though, wasn't as hearty as it usually gets and he hoped no one noticed.

 

But someone did. And that someone walked up to him when his two other friends volunteered to buy them their lunch for them.

 

"Is something wrong? You haven't been yourself, Haruto." Akira sat beside him, on Sato's seat, and looked at him intently. Haruto sighed and rubbed his temples. He rested his chin on his hand.

 

"You noticed?" He chuckled softly. "I hope Sato and Takashi didn't..."

 

"...They're dense as solid objects. Don't expect them to notice such things because you're still smiling. Just not that...that...genuine."

 

Haruto was taken aback, looking over at his friend. Did he have a genuine smile? Only Akira could notice such thing. He wanted to ask him why and how but instead he replied, smiling, "Really? Thanks..." He playfully kicked his friend's shin. "I'm just having a not-so good day though."

 

"Wh-"

 

"Shh. Don't ask."

 

Haruto laughed and kicked again.

 

Don't ask because I want to forget how I was so naive, loving them so much that I forgot I had fragile feelings too and kept pushing the thought of loneliness to the back of my mind just because I couldn't get mad at them.

[Cazuki101]

(Sorry i didn't post yesterday, i was with friends for most of the day and when i got back i had to do work and i was really tired.)

 

As soon as Mugen opened his eyes, he knew it was probably going to be a strange day. For one thing, he had actually woken up without being tipped off his bed. Even stranger was the fact he felt oddly refreshed and ready to start the new day. He got up slowly and dressed himself, walking out his bedroom and into the living-room, where Sakura was watching some children's program. She turned towards him as she heard his footsteps and giggled.

 

"Moo-Moo is awake!"

"Yes, your brother wasn't rudely awoken this morning." Mugen responded, giving two of the words a pointed edge. A laugh echoed from the small kitchen a little ways down the hall.

"Now, don't blame me. It ain't my fault you have the sleeping habits of a cat."

As if to add to that comment, Fionna walked into the room, mewling as she head-butted Mugen's leg before rubbing against it, purring quietly.

 

"Heh, at least I sleep." Mugen responded as he picked Fionna up and held her to his chest, stroking behind her ears softly, making her purr louder.

 

"Keep smart-mouthing and no breakfast for you."

That made Mugen keep quiet. Mugen was never the type of man to compliment people easily, in fact complimenting a stranger like Haruto last night had been an absolute rarity. However, he did like things, like reading and sleeping. He also liked good food, like the kind his dad made. Apparently, his father had once been friends with some semi-famous cook and had learnt from him in his teenage years. It showed. Mugen was glad to have woken up early just to be able to get a proper breakfast for once.

He sat down next to Sakura and played with her for a bit before food was served. He left the house in good time and got to the school five minutes before first bell.

 

From the beginning of the day until lunch, nothing much really happened. Mugen's mind felt clear today, as opposed to the planning frenzy it had been in the day before. He focused on his lessons, occasionally gaining entertainment from Iwata when he answered a simple question wrong. As the lunch bell rang, Iwata instantly ran up to Mugen.

 

"Dude, are you sick of something?"

"What?"

"Well, you seem really calm is all."

"Why is that such a rarity?"

"It's not, but, i don't know, you seemed happy or something."

 

Mugen's eyes widened. Had he seemed happy? He didn't remember acting any different than usual.

 

"Did something good happen with the ass?"

Mugen paused, thinking carefully before speaking.

"Yes, i suppose you could say that."

"Come on then, what happened? Did he confess to you or something?"

"Heh," Mugen said, enjoying the sight of Iwata pratically begging for infomation "maybe. Not telling."

"Aw, come on."

 

They walked out of the classroom together, Iwata constantly asking Mugen questions as they walked down the hall. Eventually they split up as Iwata went to get his lunch and Mugen went to sit outside. As he entered the green space with the tree, he saw that Tsuna was already there, staring into space as he chewed a sandwich. Mugen sat beside him, intiating conversation as he opened his lunch.

 

"Anything new?"

"Something happened."

"Hmm." Mugen hummed as he started eating his own sandwich.

"You're not concerned?"

"I am, but developments had told me that being rash is not good as of right now. What happened?"

"Don't know. Bad though."

"How can you tell?"

"Forced smile."

"Right, anything else?"

"Akira."

"Him again? The man you told me to be cautious of."

"He noticed."

"Noticed?"

"Be careful."

 

Without any further claification, the conversation ended there.

 

It seems that i may have sparked something off

Mugen thought. He gave a small smile. He found he was liking this conquest more and more as time passed.

[ukemextreme]

(it's okaaaaay. like, really. i have been busy yesterday too because i had class and i had requirements to finish so no big deal. hope you had fun yesterday ^^)

 

Haruto did not want to go home early today so he had asked his friends to play basketball with him. Well, more like he forced them by showing them his puppy eyes and pout and saying 'please' in the most childish way he could muster. They gave in in the end and walked out to the court together.

 

Nothing big happened to him today. Well except for the argument he had with his father earlier that morning. Besides that, there was no trace of Mugen anywhere and he, for the first time, felt quite relieved that he did not have to do some overthinking again; the things that happened yesterday gave him quite a headache. Reminiscing gave him a headache too. So when he squinted and closed his eyes for a moment, he tripped on one of the balls that were left astray in the court. He almost fell if not for Akira who caught him. Akira unusually had been by his side all day long. He probably was really worried that I was feeling down.

 

Haruto looked up and sheepishly smiled. "Thanks, man." Akira only nodded.

 

They split up into two teams. Akira and Sato automatically paired up so Haruto was left with Takashi. The game began right after they tossed a coin. 30 minutes later, all boys were soaked with set and the score was 20-18 with Akira and Sato leading. Haruto had the ball now and Takashi was looking at him like his life depended on it. Well, maybe because he was in the school's varsity that he took this game seriously. Haruto took a deep breath and prepared to shoot from the 3-point area. Sato was running towards him now. His sweat went into his eyes and it stung but Haruto threw the ball anyway, hoping that it goes in.

[Cazuki101]

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Mugen yawned loudly as he stared at the clock, waiting for the final bell to go and signal the end of the day.

 

“Psst! Hey.” Mugen twisted his head to his right and saw that Iwata was looking at him.

“What is it?”

“Do you wanna go to the ‘Arcade’ tonight?” Iwata whispered.

“The Arcade? What’s the occasion?” Mugen whispered back. The Arcade was a place in town where a lot of kids went after school. Like the name would suggest, the Arcade was a video-game area with old and new arcade machines. It had also been partially converted into a restaurant and café, with disco parties available. The group rarely went there, mostly because none of them except Iwata were fans of video games and it was normally rather crowded.

 

“Can’t we just go and have fun once in a little while?”

“If you want to go, go. You know it’s out of my way.”

Iwata paused, eyes shifting from side to side before he sighed.

“Fine, fine. I need you and Tsuna’s help.”

“With what?” Mugen said, smirking now. Iwata looked nervous about something and Mugen was enjoying watching him squirm.

“Well, um-“

 

“Is there something you would like to tell the class, Mr. Iwata?” It was the Chemistry teacher.

“Nothing, Miss, just asking Mugen out!”

That got everyone laughing and Mugen face-palmed as Iwata slowly realized the connotation of what he’d said.

“Well, keep that out of the classroom please.”

“Yes Miss” Iwata murmured, blushing up to his ears.

 

After the bell went, Iwata turned to Mugen and apologized.

“Sorry man, I didn’t think.”

“You never do. Now, why do you want to go to the Arcade with Tsuna and me?”

“Well…” Iwata looked around, then up again “I kind of….” The next few words were so mumbled that Mugen could’t understand them.

“What?”

“I said, I kind of…”

“What?” Mugen said, slightly louder now. This was fun.

“Fine! I kind of have a crush on one of the new workers there, alright!?”

Mugen smiled.

“That’s all I needed to know.”

“So, you’ll come?”

Mugen started walking out of the class, seeing as it was now empty.

“You’re paying for me and we are going nowhere near any big crowd, got it?”

Mugen could practically feel Iwata grin behind him.

“Of course!”

Iwata ran to catch up with him and soon they had collected Tsuna, who was waiting outside their classroom. It seemed Iwata had convinced him at an earlier stage. With that, the three friends walked out of the campus and towards town.

[ukemextreme]

Haruto still did not want to go home after the game. But he did not like the idea of having to go to town either.

 

"Let's go to the Arcade," Takashi had suggested, grinning like a kid. Besides Sato, Takashi was the other hyper person in the group but unlike the former, he was more composed and used his brain more often than the other. "Haruto, you coming?" The boy in question shook his head and pretended to pant heavily as he sat on the bleachers. He waved his hand, signalling them to go ahead. Although Haruto did not want to go home just yet, he did not want to go to such a crowded place. It's hard to be a politician's son. So when Akira wordlessly pulled him up with his full strength on, Haruto let the other boy drag him like he was a big sack of rice.

 

All of that had happened around twenty minutes ago.

 

The boys now got off the train and assumed quite a protective formation around him -- Akira was behind him and Sato and Takashi were right by his sides. As much as he hated it because it was embarrassing, he was still happy, thinking that the boys cared for his safety. All four of them walked to the Arcade in this manner but in ninja style; it wasn't obvious. It only looked like they put him in the middle because he was short.

 

When they got to the Arcade, Sato and Takashi immediately went to the hoops. Haruto just stood there, not knowing what to do since it was his first time there after so many years. His brother used to bring him there and play with the kiddie bowling pins. But that was before his father became who he was now.

 

"Care for some air hockey?" Akira asked, his hand on Haruto's shoulder.

 

Haruto grinned mischievously. "If I win, you buy me cookies." Akira nodded and gave a thumbs up. The boy grinned, he now liked this taller guy's presence around him.

 

As they roamed around, looking for the hockey table, Haruto spotted Iwata and Hawada. He blinked. Was Muritaka here with them?

 

Haruto wished he wasn't.

[Cazuki101]

Getting to the Arcade hadn’t been particularly difficult. It was only about ten minutes’ walk and a short train journey away from the school campus. As the three friends drew closer and closer to the popular hang-out, everything began to get more and more crowded, Mugen, of course, felt very uncomfortable with this, considering his dislike of crowds, almost to the extent of it being a fear. This was one of the times having friends, especially a surly one with a reputation like Tsuna, came in handy. Most people kept away from them, only glancing in their direction before turning away with a look of caution.

 

As they travelled, they mostly stayed quiet, thinking to themselves. Of course, Iwata was the one who tried to start conversation, but even he knew that Mugen and Tsuna weren’t talkers. It’s what made him tolerable.

 

Anyway, it wouldn’t matter. He’s probably thinking of that girl.

From what Mugen had experienced of Iwata, he could tell you three things for certain. He was lively. He was short. And he had an ability that Mugen liked to call ‘Nympho’s Repellent’. Since Mugen had first met Iwata about a year ago, he had been in love with several girls and about five guys. This would be the seventh girl. Obviously, you’d ask then why Mugen and Tsuna had bothered to go along. Well, Mugen didn’t really know Tsuna’s reason, but his was simple. He wanted some entertainment. It was fun sometimes watching Iwata be outright rejected. He couldn’t honestly say though that that was the only reason. He also didn’t want him crying the next day, so he’d look out for him if something went wrong.

 

Eventually, the three got off their train and walked into the Arcade. It was a fairly modern place, but with a retro feel. It’d been converted from an old arcade, hence its name. Arcade machines littered the shop floor, various numbers of people playing them at any one time. The restaurant was situated on the floor above.

Iwata ran in first, breathing in the air of activity as if it were the purest air.

“Ah, I’m in heaven~”

“Don’t you have something to do?” Mugen asked rhetorically, standing beside Tsuna. He tried his best not to look discomforted, but even still, he wanted to either get this over with as soon as possible or find a less crowded area.

“Oh! Right! See you guys!”

 

With that, Iwata ran off. When he left, Tsuna looked at Mugen.

“Wait for him?”

“I suppose we have to.” Mugen responded, smiling. Tsuna started leading them to a quiet corner of the floor, close to the back wall and as far away from the crowds as they could get. Mugen gave a heavy sigh of relief as he slumped down onto the floor. He still felt uncomfortable, but it was tolerable now. Tsuna didn’t say anything, but smiled at him, which calmed Mugen further. For a while, the two just sat together, occasionally talking but mostly just waiting for the inevitable.

 

It happened shortly after Tsuna had gotten them both some drinks. Over the sound of excited voices, Mugen could clearly hear Iwata shouting. He sounded disheartened. Soon, he saw Iwata as well as he appeared from the surging crowd and ran to them. His eyes were tearing up and his lower lip jutted out. He looked remarkably like a kicked puppy.

 

“She dumped me…” he said meekly.

“You weren’t going out in the first place.” Mugen corrected.

“But still, she’s just so… heartless! How could I have ever fallen in love with a bit— like that?!”

Now came the angry part. Iwata swooped down and grabbed Tsuna’s wrist, dragging him up from the floor.

“Come on, I need to drown my sorrows.”

“Don’t drag Tsuna along if he doesn’t want to go. Plus, you’re underage. ”

“Fine, I’ll drown myself in milkshakes. And Tsuna isn’t a pussy when it comes to crowds, so he’s coming with me.”

Mugen would have retaliated, seeing the hidden insult, but Tsuna defused the situation with a simple phrase.

“It’s fine.”

 

With that, the two – well Iwata dragging Tsuna – went off, leaving Mugen behind. He sighed and sipped his milkshake again, trying to keep his discomfort away by putting his legs to his chest and curling in a ball. He really hated crowded places.

Meanwhile, while Iwata and Tsuna were going through the crowd, Iwata wasn’t looking where he was going. Suddenly, Iwata hit something. He shook his head and grumbled.

“Hey, look where you’re going, idiot!”

When he looked to see who it was, he was surprised. It was Akira Tanzaki, one of the ass’ friends. Iwata looked across the air hockey table they were at and saw Haruto on the other side.

“Oh great, what are you guys doing here? Are you following Mugen?”

[ukemextreme]

Haruto was surprised to see Iwata and Hawada together, partly because it was his first time seeing Hawada getting along with anyone. And Mugen wasn't with them. It should be a relief to Haruto, however...why was he feeling uneasy like something was wrong? He shook his head lightly to clear his head of these thoughts.

 

"Oh great, what are you guys doing here? Are you following Mugen?"

 

Haruto looked directly at the pair. Iwata was jeering up at Akira who stood a feet taller. Hawada looked calm but his eyes were as piercing as it always were; Haruto quivered a little.

 

Akira looked down at Iwata. His face was stoic, voice indignant when he replied,"Malicious prick. We're here to play." Iwata bared his teeth when he was called malicious.

 

Haruto tried to listen more into the conversation but a sudden outburst of nearby students caught his attention. He looked into the direction of the pinballs. Students were circling around one of the machines and pulled out the tickets the machine coughed up. Damn. They could get the free Mario stuffed toy with that much. By the time he looked back at his friend and the other two boys, Akira was holding Iwata's shirt and pulling him up. Iwata looked like he was choking; Hawada was trying to break the two apart. When Akira held a fist up, Haruto knew what was coming.

 

But before he was able to step forward and shout at Akira, he was already pushed back by numerous patrons who circled around the three and screaming, "Fight!" He heard a rather loud smack and he knew that Akira had lost it.

 

Shit. Shit. Shit.

 

Haruto instantly retreated, wanting to look for the other two. He passed by the back wall because it was less crowded. He was walking briskly when his feet caught unto something. He looked down and turned. He saw feet. He saw a curled up body.

 

He saw Mugen. But what was he doing there?

 

He foregone his plans of looking for the two; he thought that he could ask Mugen a question or two and inform him of what was happening before proceeding. Backing up a few steps, Haruto stopped and then hovered above Mugen.

 

"Hey," he nudged Mugen's foot with his, "what are you doing there curled up like a ball?"

 

Haruto waited for Mugen to respond and then spoke quickly. "By the way, you should get up dude. Iwata, Hawada and Kanzaki are fighting."

[Cazuki101]

Iwata didn’t notice Haruto looking at them, even if he had, he wouldn’t have reacted. Ever since he had first entered the school, he’d disliked the presumed ‘prince’. Iwata had always had a sixth sense when it came to figuring out someone’s personality. When he sensed Haruto, he sensed a pretentious and boring man, unlike Mugen. In Iwata’s opinion, while Mugen could be more of an ass than even Haruto sometimes, he wasn’t boring and Iwata always felt that somewhere underneath his dry wit and sarcastic words there was a good person. It was why he had stayed with him so far. Anyway, since Iwata had not been given a response, he started jeering up at Akira, even though he was significantly taller than him. Akira wasn’t that bad. He was strong athletic and kind, sadly, he had gotten into company with the ass and so Iwata found it hard if not impossible to be friendly to the other man. Even if he did somewhat fancy him.

 

"Malicious prick. We're here to play." Akira replied indignantly.

Iwata bore his teeth as he was called malicious, twisting his face so he looked like an animal almost.

“Oh, using fancy words are we? I didn’t even know the ass’ pawns did play without the ass’ permission.”

Akira growled, stoic face dropping slightly at the insults. Iwata knew that Akira hated being insulted, especially by him.

“I am not in the mood for your ridiculous insults. Go away and leave us alone.”

Iwata’s mouth formed an ‘o’ shape at that. Akira had no idea how much material he had just given Iwata.

“Ooooh! So that’s it?”

“That’s what?”

“So you like the ass, right?”

“What!?”

“Iwata, stop.” Tsuna said from behind Iwata. Iwata didn’t listen, continuing to poke the bull with a stick.

“Yeah, it’s obvious now.”

“You better stop.”

“Or what? You’ll kiss me?”

That seemed to crack Akira. Suddenly, Iwata felt a hand on his shirt as he was pulled up. His feet were almost off the ground. He felt himself starting to choke. Tsuna walked in, trying to separate the two and stop the fight. However, Akira was firm and didn’t drop Iwata. Without a word, Akira drew up a fist and gave Iwata a glare.

 

Suddenly a large group of kids, who had noticed the disturbance, surrounded them, shouting ‘fight!’ and whooping like howler monkeys. The increasing pandemonium fuelled Akira further and as the circle around them closed he brought his fist forward to hit Iwata. Iwata scrunched his eyes close, heart beating fast as his mind raced. He’d really done it now, good bye world.

At the last second, Akira changed his hand from a fist to a palm, smacking Iwata around the face and letting him go, leaving Iwata to fall to the ground in confusion.

“Shut up for once in your god-damned life!” Akira shouted, clearly having lost it. Iwata, spurred on by the confusion of his senses and raw anger, shouted back.

“Fu— off, prick! You hit me!”

“Iwata…” Tsuna began. He was standing near the circle of kids, trying to stop the fight, even though now he knew it was going out of control. Iwata cut him off.

“Tsuna! Don’t try and tell me I shouldn’t fight this guy! He hit me and he disrespects us along with his other friends. I’m sick of it!” He slowly stood up, looking Akira straight in the eye. Part of him didn’t want to fight the guy he had a semi-crush on, but the other half was too stirred up by the shouts and ringing in his head to care. He ran forward, screaming at Akira.

 

Meanwhile, Mugen could hear what was going on. Or, at least, whatever was loud enough to go over the sound of the crowd’s shouts. He knew a fight was going on, but he didn’t know between who. He curled into a closer ball. The increasing energy of the crowd made him even more uncomfortable than he had been before.

 

I should have refused.

Suddenly, Mugen felt someone’s foot catch on him. Mugen would have just ignored it, had he not felt someone hovering over him. It was a familiar feeling.

 

"Hey," He knew the voice instantly. Haruto. Haruto poked his foot with his own and continued. "what are you doing there curled up like a ball?"

 

Mugen didn’t really want to answer that question, considering it would mean he was openly admitting a weakness to his quarry. However, he also didn’t want Haruto to think he was so weak he couldn’t speak either.

 

“I am uncomfortable with crowds.” He said curtly.

 

"By the way, you should get up dude. Iwata, Hawada and Kanzaki are fighting."

 

That caused Mugen to lift his head.

“What?” He looked towards the crowd. So that was what happened. However, Mugen stayed curled up in his ball. He would never admit it to anyone, but he felt slightly scared of the prospect of approaching such a large and angry crowd. They reminded him of storms. He tried to make it discreet, but still, he curled in tighter on himself and his eyes showed his emotions well.

[ukemextreme]

Iwata ran forward and screamed. His fist was up and ready to strike. Akira looked calm; he was just standing, waiting for Iwata's attack. That was if his eyes didn't look like he wanted to strike a punch, himself, as well. When Iwata's hand was almost to his face, Akira dodged it and caught Iwata's wrist, twisting it in a way that was only enough to stop the other guy from throwing anymore punches. Hawada must have been surprised because he jumped in and swatted his hands away.

 

"Don't hurt Iwata," was all he said. Akira glared at him and then smirked.

 

"If he would have just shut up, that would not have happened. Just go and leave, pricks."

 

Hawada was furious now and Iwata was up and back. "Pricks?" He chuckled mockingly. "Please. The prince is a prick. He acts high and mighty, using words to derail people like me, like us, but he cowers in fights like these. Where is he huh? Looked around. He left you."

 

Now Akira was the one to bare his teeth. He knew for a fact that Haruto wasn't there anymore. But he knew, too, that he probably went off to find the others. He has known the guy since middle school; he wouldn't be wrong about his instincts involving the other guy right now. "Shut up," was all he replied.

 

Iwata cocked his head then grinned in an insulting way. "Oh yeah? Tell me that once you confirmed that he's not just using you." And that was when Akira sent a kick flying.

 

While the fight raged on, Haruto studied Mugen closely.

 

"I am uncomfortable with crowds."

 

Was this guy for real?

 

Haruto sighed, nudging his foot again. "Aren't you getting up to help them?" Mugen curled up closer than before and then Haruto knew that he got his answer. Sheesh. He looked away for awhile, furrowing his eyebrows in thinking what he could do to coax the boy into stopping the fight. Haruto didn't in the first place not because he was afraid but because he knew he was not strong enough. Knowing those three, he could risk into getting his face hit.

 

When he looked back at Mugen, he noticed the other boy staring into space as if he was trying to shut out something. He looked like a little boy who was cold, or someone who hugged himself to sleep just because he was afraid of the raging storm. Either way, Mugen looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

 

Haruto was about to leave because he had nothing to do with Mugen's problem despite him really wanting to comfort the other when his phone buzzed. He checked it and his eyes widened in horror.

 

From: Takashi

 

Dude, where are you? There was a fight and Sato got scared. I pulled him out of the way. Akira isn't replying to my mails. Leave now. Someone called on the cops.

 

Shit. What timing.

 

Haruto looked at Mugen again. The other boy didn't want to budge.

 

Damn it.

 

"Stay here."

 

Before Mugen was able to respond, Haruto ran back to the fight. The boys had been throwing punches at each other now. Akira threw a kick or two. Haruto knew that this would get any more worse. He pulled one of the chairs and stood on it. He frantically waved his arms at Akira, wincing in pain for him when he finally did but got hit on the face. He mouthed that the cops were coming and then jumped down, running back to Mugen. He took him by the arm and pulled him up.

 

"The cops are coming! Stand up or you'll be stomped over by these kids!"

 

He did not wait for Mugen to respond. Haruto just pulled him up with all his might and ran, pulling the other boy with him.

[Cazuki101]

Mugen felt ridiculous. He was an almost fully grown man and here he was, curled up in a ball, hoping to god that the crowd didn’t drift over to him. He could almost feel the pity Haruto must feel for him as he sighed. Mugen, much like Haruto, did not like being pitied for anything, from the unfortunate death of his mother to his fear of storms and large crowds.

 

"Aren't you getting up to help them?"

Mugen outwardly curled further in, but inside, the question resounded in his brain. He didn’t want to abandon the others, even though he himself wasn’t the greatest fighter. However, whenever he looked at the whooping crowd and tried to gather his resolve, it failed him and he would look away again. He was hating himself right now, but couldn’t find a way to move.

A fleeting thought in his mind said that if only Haruto would make him break his ball shape, he would do something. Mugen, rather shamefully, could only truly break out of his fear when he was forced to by another person’s touch, which could be either comforting or forceful. Precious few knew that however, only including his father and mother. Haruto did not know this either, so of course he didn’t do what Mugen needed him to do.

 

Instead, Haruto looked at his phone. Mugen saw his face twist and knew it wasn’t good news. Most likely someone had called the cops (it was the only logical conclusion he could come up with).

 

"Stay here."

 

Haruto then rushed off, leaving Mugen alone on the back wall. Mugen felt even worse now, the smallest of trembles hitting him. They were barely noticeable to even someone who touched him, let alone someone just looking at him, but they were still there.

 

God, why did it have to be crowds?

Before Mugen knew it however, Haruto was back.

"The cops are coming! Stand up or you'll be stomped over by these kids!"

Mugen didn’t have time to respond as his wrist was gripped and he was dragged up out of his position. He immediately started to feel better, though tremors still moved through his body. He felt Haruto pull him along and as they trawled through the crowd to get to the exit, Mugen gripped Haruto’s wrist back, hard.

They moved through slowly. Someone else must have seen what he’d said, because there were shouts of ‘let’s get outta here!’ and the crowd began to quickly disperse and run to the exit. As the crowd began to fall away from around the fight, Mugen saw Iwata, Tsuna and Akira. Iwata looked like he’d been in a rage and even Tsuna looked mildly riled up. Akira had noticed what Haruto had said and had stopped fighting the other two, who stopped as well as they noticed the scene around them.

 

“Get out!” Tsuna exclaimed, even in these chaotic moments only using a few words. Iwata nodded and they both ran off together. Akira followed behind, wordless.

Eventually, most everyone was outside.

 

Even when outside, Mugen held onto Haruto’s wrist tightly, hardly noticing the embarrassing gesture as they were still within the surging crowds. He was, however, blushing, unbeknownst to him (for if he had known, he would have started beating himself around the head for looking so stupid).

 

Meanwhile, Iwata and Tsuna looked for Mugen. They knew they had to get out of here at all costs before the cop arrived, but they couldn’t leave without Mugen.

“We’re idiots!” Iwata yelled. He seemed to have calmed down now, for the most part.

“Hmm.” Tsuna hummed, agreeing. He knew Iwata had said that because he thought they were idiots for starting a fight (even though it had been Iwata who started it). Iwata, however, knew they were also idiots for leaving Mugen alone in a place with a large crowd.

It hadn’t taken him long after meeting Mugen to know he was afraid of crowds. However, Mugen had never told him and Tsuna kept so quiet that Mugen probably thought he didn’t know. He’d never had to help Mugen out, seeing as he kept well away from his fear and so hadn’t needed to fight it. However, Tsuna knew that they needed to find Mugen and fast, before something else happened.

[ukemextreme]

Haruto pulled Mugen out of the crowd and dragged him into the nearest alley. He hid behind an unused vending machine, hand still on Mugen's wrist. He did not notice and therefore, never bothered to pull away. He didn't even notice the reddening of the other guy's cheeks. His mind was on other things. Like how his father could kill him if he knew he was involved in the fight. And probably the reason why the fight broke out.

 

When he heard a whistle and heavy footsteps, he pulled Mugen to his side and slid down, pulling the other boy with him as well. He peeked a little and saw a cop running, probably chasing someone. He let out a breath and leaned back. "Don't ask why we're here. Or why I'm hiding, okay? It's complicated," he told Mugen before the boy could even ask anything. For precaution. In the first place, he didn't want to explain himself to the other boy.

 

His hand was still on Mugen's wrist and he gradually noticed how the boy's hands were sweaty and cold. Was he this nervous? So afraid of crowds?

 

Like a puppy, he thought, puppies don't really like large crowds, right?

 

He turned to Mugen and asked. "Before anything else, if you didn't like crowds, why didn't you just up and left?"

 

As the boys hid, Akira was already lost in the conversation between Iwata and Hawada. Something's off.

 

"Hey, what's up with Mugen?" he asked, looking back and forth between the two. He seemed to have forgotten that he just fought with them both awhile ago; his face even had bruises and scratches. Nonetheless, he needed answers. And he needed them now. He thought that the information might serve useful.

 

Then, he realized why it would be useful. His thoughts lingered back to the time when Iwata had declared that Akira liked Haruto. Did he really? Because for starters, he was never gay and he was not interested with the drama that love brought.

 

Akira shrugged and just waited for either of them to respond.

[Cazuki101]

Mugen let himself be pulled away from the crowds and into an abandoned alleyway. The alleyway was fairly small, with only a few piles of rubble and general debris scattered around. Haruto dragged him behind an unused vending machine. His hand was still wrapped around Haruto’s wrist, but, like Haruto, his mind was on other things. Two things actually. The first was where the hell Iwata and Tsuna were and the second was calming himself down. He wasn’t so worried about his family learning what had happened. He hadn’t been involved in the fight and the worst his dad would probably do is lecture him about not helping his friends.

 

A shrill sound pierced through the air and a heavy clumping sound echoed off the walls. Mugen felt Haruto pull him next to him and then pull him down to the floor. They were close together, almost uncomfortably so. This didn’t escape Mugen’s notice, but instead of jumping away, he accepted the proximity. If asked, he would say it was because it would further his aims with Haruto, however he knew it was because even though he was rapidly calming down, he was still nervous. Thus is why he also hadn’t removed his hand yet.

Haruto sighed and Mugen looked over at him.

 

"Don't ask why we're here. Or why I'm hiding, okay? It's complicated,"

 

Mugen’s eyes flashed with confusion, before settling again. He nodded, deciding not to speak for now.

 

Most likely, he thought, it has something to do with you not getting into trouble.

 

It was a reasonable conclusion, seeing as Haruto most likely came from an upper-class family. In any upper-class family, there were standards to uphold. This whole scenario was against those standards. He also looked like he didn’t particularly want to go into detail about it.

 

As Mugen regained his full senses back, he started to notice things about Haruto. For one thing, he was quite warm, but then again, that might have just been the contrast between his cold hands. It was soothing in a way, the same way that Tsuna’s smile was soothing. It was something he didn’t really expect of someone like Haruto, who had been so cold the night before.

 

"Before anything else, if you didn't like crowds, why didn't you just up and left?"

 

The question both did and didn’t take Mugen by surprise. It didn’t because it was the logical question anyone would ask if they had seen Mugen. It did because he didn’t really know the answer. He stayed silent for a while before speaking.

 

“Don’t know…”

 

If Mugen didn’t have an image to uphold, he would have said it was because he didn’t want to leave Tsuna and Iwata behind. Despite all that Mugen said, he had gotten used to their company and thought it would be rude if he had simply up and gone without even telling them first. Of course, that begged the question as to why he didn’t do that, but his answer to that was simple, because of the crowds. He would have waited until they’d returned to say that.

 

“They would have kept looking for me… Iwata would get worried and call a search party probably. I don’t want that trouble.”

 

It was basically the same thing, but Mugen hid it beneath his words. He didn’t want Haruto to pity him or think he was a sissy girl who couldn’t do things without their friends. He was a man and a prideful one, which he blamed on his mother.

 

Slowly, as things began to calm down, Mugen separated himself from Haruto and stood up. He’d recovered now, to the extent of which it looked nothing had happened. In silence, he began to walk out of the alley-way. He needed to find the others. Just before he left, however, he turned to Haruto.

 

“Sorry for disturbing you and thank you for your assistance.”

 

The words were said with such awkwardness that Mugen almost winced. He wasn’t used to thanking people, especially someone who he was capturing. With that, he left, the last remains of his earlier blush fading from his face and his hand still tingling from Haruto’s skin contact.

 

Meanwhile, Iwata and Tsuna were still searching for Mugen.

"Hey, what's up with Mugen?"

Iwata turned to Akira, still walking as he talked.

“What do you mean what’s up?”

Iwata had a few bruises here and there, especially a big one on his face where he had been slapped, otherwise he was fine and likewise to Tsuna, who hadn’t seemed to be touched at all by the fight. Iwata continued, carefully considering his words for once. He didn’t want to tell Akira that Mugen was in love with Haruto, in case he tried to stop them. Despite everything, Iwata did believe that Akira liked Haruto, at least in some form.

“He’s just going through some stuff right now and we’re helping him out. That’s all you need to know.”

 

Shortly after, Mugen appeared from around a corner of an alleyway. Iwata yapped like a small dog when he saw him and ran over as quickly as he could, jump-hugging him.

“Mugen! We were looking for you!”

Mugen growled from beneath his hold and pushed him away.

 

“Don’t try and be ignorant. What did you do?”

 

Iwata at first teared up. What was Mugen accusing him for? Then he saw the look in Mugen’s eyes and decided that wasn’t the best course of action.

“Sorry.” He murmured. Tsuna, meanwhile, drew up beside Iwata and looked at Mugen. He didn’t say anything, simply looking at him for a good few seconds before mumbling himself.

“Apologies.”

 

Mugen sighed. He had idiots for friends.

“Fine. Let’s go.” And with that the group left, sneaking out of the area and back to the train station to go home.

[ukemextreme]

"They would have kept looking for me… Iwata would get worried and call a search party probably. I don’t want that trouble."

 

Haruto did not judge. For once, he simply nodded and agreed with Mugen's response. He thought that he would probably do the same thing if he had been in Mugen's shoes. Or he could wait outside and sat on a bench or something. Or if he was the weakling type of guy, he would have probably clung unto his friends' shirts the entire time. Seeing that Mugen was so earnestly thinking of his friends made Haruto respect him a bit.

 

But right now, Mugen was as good as lost. Haruto thought about the possibilities. They could wait here. Akira is probably looking for me, his gang would probably be all around the place as well, looking for him, and then...

 

All of a sudden, Mugen slowly stood up and let go of his hand. Haruto watched as he walked away. But before he was really out of the alley, he turned around and said something that surprised Haruto. "Sorry for disturbing you and thank you for your assistance."

 

The words rung in his ear for a good few seconds and then he jumped up. He wanted to tell Mugen that he wasn't a disturbance. In fact, it was on his own will that he pulled the guy out of the crowd lest he be involved in a stampede and died. Because if I didn't help him out, I would feel guilty about it especially if I know what he was going through. Guilt would eat me up, I would get depressed about it and then I would eventually die of it....SHIT calm down, Haruto.

 

When he got out of the alleyway with words already at the tip of his tongue, he saw Iwata and Hawada all over Mugen. Haruto took a step back and everything that he had wanted to say vanished. Iwata looked like he was about to cry; Haruto thought that it was probably because he was worried. Just as he watched the trio, Akira suddenly put a hand on his shoulder which made him jerk his head up. The guy had bruises on his face. Haruto flinched at the sight of them.

 

"You okay, Akira?"

 

Akira only nodded and turned towards the direction of the trio. He looked like he wanted to say something but the three guys were already walking away.

 

Haruto looked at their retreating backs, specifically - and unconsciously - at Mugen's retreating back. He looked down at his hand, closed it, opened it, and closed it again. He did it for a couple of times while thinking about Mugen's hand. How it was bigger than his. Like if he held it again, it would encase Haruto's hand like a shell.

 

All his thoughts dissipated into the thin air when he heard a familiar voice call out, "Bocchan!"

 

Haruto and Akira's head instantly whipped around and they saw a man clad in black running towards them. "Kanda-san?"

 

And with that, Haruto was reprimanded - slightly - for being out in the streets at night and was 'abducted' by his driver and brought home. He dropped Akira by his house as well.

[Cazuki101]

Getting back home was thankfully an uneventful affair. The small group got to the train station with no problem, through they had to go around a few back alleys first, just to make sure. On the train ride back, Iwata spent his time surveying his injuries and boasting to the other two about the few good hits he had gotten in on Akira. Mugen tried to shut him up twice before he just sighed and let him continue on, blocking his words out like so much white noise. Tsuna spent the trip in silence and Mugen would have thought he had forgotten about the whole fight had he not noticed him give him an apologetic look once in a while. It seemed he was reflecting. Mugen himself was thinking about something different.

 

Why did he help me?

 

It was a prominent question. Haruto, the man who had acted so cold to Mugen the night before and on all other occasions before now, had saved him from the surging crowds of the Arcade. Why? Mugen started chasing that idea around in circles, until eventually giving up and deciding he had done it because he would have felt bad if he had left Mugen, who -in retrospect- had been obviously terrified, behind.

When that question was answered, at least for now, Mugen started drifting off into his thoughts. When Mugen thought, it was like him going to sleep. His body would relax and his senses would deaden, leaving him to float in his mind the same way he did when he napped (which is probably why he liked both activities). He saw images of the crowd writhing in the Arcade, could hear their bloody war-cries mixed with the cheerful ringing of arcade machines. For a fleeting moment, he felt Haruto's warmth by his side, like a small radiator. Haruto liked warm places and things, much like a cat would. He had concluded long ago that Fionna thought of him more as a brother than an owner.

 

Eventually, the train stopped at their stop and Mugen shook himself awake, suddenly feeling tired. As they exited the station, Iwata was still talking to himself.

"I can't believe i did that. Dude, do you think i'm gonna get hunted by the police or something?" He sounded worried, but also slightly proud.

 

"If the police went after every stupid high-schooler, they'd never sleep. You'll be fine..." Haruto responded. He saw Iwata grin out of the corner of his eye. "Probably."

He smirked to himself as he saw Iwata's face fall again.

 

They walked towards the school and when they got there, they said goodbye to Tsuna, who walked off with an aplogy, leaving Iwata and Mugen. They walked home together, until eventually they got to Mugen's house. It was dark now and undoubtedly quite late. Mugen said goodbye to Iwata and walked to his front door. His father would throw a fit when he saw him, considering he was back late on a school night, but he honestly didn't care right now. He could feel fatigue taking over, having been rushed by the earlier events.

As he walked in, he heard nothing. That was, until he walked past the front room. His father was sitting on the couch, watching TV with Sakura leaning on his lap and sleeping. They'd probably been waiting for Mugen to return.

 

"Hey Dad."

"Where were you?"

"Just out with Iwata and Tsuna, down at the Arcade."

"I heard the police got called down there. Do you know anything about that?"

Mugen would have lied. It wasn't like he always lied to his dad, but he preferred it that the event just be forgotten. However, his father backed up his words by staring into his eyes. His father's eyes held a mysterious power to make people tell the truth. Of course, Mugen was no exception. He told him the whole story, or at least what he knew, leaving out such things as the depth of his fear and similar things that would have made him sound like a love-sick puppy.

 

"So, let me get this straight. Iwata had a fight with some kid at school over something you don't know about. While that was going on, a crowd gathered and you couldn't go and help stop the fight or get out. Then a boy named Haruto helped you out. Is that it?"

Mugen shook his head yes. His father sighed.

"You have some dumb friends, Mugen."

His dad had seen Iwata and Tsuna before, when they'd come over to his house. He liked them, if only for the fact it meant his son wasn't totally alone.

"Anyway, you need to thank this Haruto person."

"Do i?"

"Yes. You do. Invite him to dinner on Friday."

"What?"

"You heard what i said."

Mugen opened his mouth to protest. Sure, he was trying to capture Haruto, but he didn't want to wine and dine him. He however, shut his mouth. His father, he knew, was stubborn, as his mother had been. He was too tired to argue anyway.

 

Mugen shuffled his way up the stairs and collapsed on his bed, falling asleep almost instantly as he curled into a small warm ball. The events of the day finally went away as he feel into the blackness of sleep.

[ukemextreme]

The ride back home was quiet. Kanda, his driver, did not say much about finding him at the downtown area. He just got mad when he picked him up, saying thing like his father would explode and probably would ground him.

 

"Then don't tell him, don't say anything," Haruto had told him, stubbornly looking out the window. "He would not know unless someone told on me."

 

Kanda only sighed.

 

When they reached Akira's house, Haruto scooted over to the window and took a good glimpse of the place, an action which scared Akira a little bit. For the few years that they have been friends, he had never once asked him to come over, thinking that Haruto was picky and that he would disdain his friends because they weren't as rich as him. But the boy said nothing. He only looked.

 

"Is your mother always home before you sleep?" Haruto asked so suddenly, making Akira jump on his seat. The question wasn't exactly what the other boy had expected to come out from the other's mouth but he kind of knew the reason why; Haruto's mother, much like his father, was never always home.

 

Akira nodded. "Y-yes," he stuttered. Haruto nodded in understanding and then rummaged through a compartment and tossed him a band-aid and some pain relievers. He turned to Akira and slightly pushed him out of the car. "Go. Don't make your mother worry."

 

Haruto left Akira on the street just outside his house, watching the car as it drove away.

 

On the way home, Haruto made a run-through of what was happened, from the fight to him helping Mugen. That last one made him think of the real reason why he had helped the boy. Was he feeling helpful? But he didn't like the boy. Did he took pity on him? But he's kinda brave for trying to deal with such stuff so nope, not pity.

 

Haruto thought about it over and over until he settled on the reason he had formulated just before Kanda picked him up. That he would feel guilty if Mugen had died because of a stampede.

 

When Haruto reached home, he saw a fur coat hanging on the one of their fancy coat hangers and he instantly knew who owned it. Instead of going up to his room to study - because he kind of lost his appetite from the events today - he proceeded to the family room and there he saw his mother sitting daintily as she sipped her tea.

 

She looked up and smiled, opening her arms for him. "Haru-chan, mommy's home." Haruto only sighed and slowly walked up to her, kissing her cheek but not hugging her back. His mother had pouted. He knew that it was one of her tactics to get what she what; Haruto had acquired that trait from her. Her mother looked so much like him except that she had fuller lips and a soft edge to her chin. She was a brunette, too, not like Haruto who had his father's hair.

 

His father had walked in the room just after her mom pouted and he immediately grabbed Haruto by the elbow. "Where were you so late at night?!" He shouted to Haruto's ear making the boy wince. "I just told you to think your actions through! You never listen!"

 

Haruto's mother jumped in and tried to soothe her husband. "Calm down. Haruto didn't mean to, right honey?" But despite her trying to coax her husband with such words, he still had a tight grip on Haruto's arm.

 

Haruto has had enough, he pulled his arm back so violently that he almost stumbled. He looked up at his father and said, "Do you really care about me, about your son? Or is it that you just started to care because I opened your eyes to the truth with what I said this morning?" He glared at his father. "If you can't act like a father, stop this thing. In the first place, I don't want to have a father who ne--"

 

"Enough!" His father cut him from speaking his last words. "I'm grounding you, forever!"

 

Haruto stared at his father and walked away, screaming, "You can't make me!" He ran up to his room and locked himself up.

 

He had tried to study that night but after reading the first few modules of his Trigonometry book, he decided that he was so tired, mentally and physically. Haruto proceeded to sleep with his uniform on, wanting to dream about all the stuff that he wished he had in his life.

[Cazuki101]

Mugen awoke the next day to feel a weight on top him. At first, he didn't know anything more than the fact there was something on him. As he regained his senses however, he could feel it was a warm and fluffy weight... on his face. When his body realized this, he bolted into a sitting position, the weight jumping up and leaving hid face. Mugen looked to his side, of course, it was Fionna, who had once again fallen asleep on his face. He hated it when she did that.

 

"Bad Fionna, bad." he said.

 

The cat simply ignored him and padded away, annoyed about having lost it's warm bed. Mugen sighed, observing he had fallen asleep in yesterdays clothes. He got up, but felt a bout of dizziness move through him. He put his hand on the wall to steady himself and eventually the surroundings stabilized. He'd gotten up too quickly. He grumbled, rubbing his eyes as he walked over to his dresser and started to change out of his old clothes. Today, he would have to ask Haruto if he wanted to come over for dinner. He knew what the answer was going to be, but decided he still had to try, considering if he didn't his father would probably hit him round the head.

 

As he walked downstairs, he kept yawning, still tired.

 

I suppose that's what i get for going out and coming back late.

 

He'd take a nap at school, he decided. The smell of breakfast floated through the air, drifting through every room and snatching Mugen's nostrils. He walked into the kitchen to find Sakura in her small chair, eating some sort of past while his dad was at the hob, preparing some food.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Need you ask?"

His dad chuckled.

"That's what you get for staying out late."

"Not this again."

"Don't forget to ask Har-"

"I won't." Mugen grumbled, snappy because of his tiredness.

 

The morning passed without incidence and soon Mugen was walking out the door and towards school. When he was half-way up the street, he heard a yell from behind him. it was Iwata.

"Hey! Wait up!"

Iwata appeared at Mugen's side a few moments later. The mark on his face from Akira's slap could still be seen, but ti wasn't so noticeable. A number of smaller bruises covered his arms and were uncovered. Iwata smiled at Mugen, noticing he was looking at his injuries.

"Proof." he stated.

"Proof? Of what?"

"That i fought against those who think they are better than us."

"You do understand if you really wanted to do that you could leave the school, right?"

"What? And piss off my dad more than he already is? It's suicide."

Mugen smirked.

 

They walked together to school talking about trivial things. When they got to school, they went to home-room, seeing as they only had a few minutes until the bell rang for first period.

As the first two lessons came and went, Mugen felt like he was going to pass out and sleep in the middle of class. It wouldn't have mattered much in terms of his grades, but still he fought to keep awake. When break finally came, he shuffled out of the classroom like a zombie. His mind was so tired that he forgot to go and ask Haruto what he had been told to ask him and instead walked outside and flopped down on the bench which could be seen from Haruto's classroom. His eyes closed and he was asleep a minute after he had laid his head down.

 

Just a few minutes...

 

He thought as he curled into a small huddle.

[ukemextreme]

His father was dead serious.

 

Haruto, who had been eating breakfast, had fully awaken when his father said, "I will send two bodyguards with you to school." His jaw dropped and he dropped his spoon. Unbelievable, he thought. His dad might have been outright pissed last night that he never let go of the thought of grounding him. For like, forever.

 

"But --"

 

"You reap what you sow."

 

"That's not the point!" Haruto's voice had risen. "I know what you'll tell them. You'll make them follow me around at school. You're not grounding me," he reasoned out as he suddenly stood up, banging his palm on the mahogany table and clattering his utensils, "you're caging me!" Haruto sounded like it was the end of the world. His freedom would be taken away from him and he thought it was unreasonable. For something as simple as yesterday's events, grounding him would be okay. But this?

 

This is preposterous.

 

Without a word, Haruto took his bag and, yet again, left his food unfinished. He ignored his mother who had just entered the dining room; he was so mad he couldn't even talk nicely to the maids in his house. When he got to the car, the two bodyguards, Leo and Kim, where already waiting for him.

 

Haruto had instructed the two to just wait at the Void. "I give you permission to do whatever you want up there," he had told them, "just don't follow me around. Got it?" Both the bodyguards, as expected, protested at first but he assured them that he wouldn't leave school without them by giving them his cellphone number, something he'd never do unless they were his driver or his personal butler.

 

When Haruto reached his homeroom, he found Akira and the other waiting for him already. He had gotten used to waking up early and going to school on time; his friends didn't find it unusual and got used to waiting for him too. Akira had a small band-aid on his nose that made Haruto internally giggle (he thought it was gay but there was no other appropriate word for a boy's laugh that sounded like a child's). "You okay, now?" Akira smiled softly and nodded.

 

Half of the day passed by in a blur.

 

His Math teacher called in sick and during the whole period, Sato recalled yesterday's fight to Takashi based on what he heard from Akira. "Then Iwata threw a punch but Akira dodged it like a ninja. Hiyaaah!" Of course it was exaggerated; it was coming from Sato. But then again, Haruto found it amusing and laughed along. It was gym before break time and their teacher decided to take over their food time as well. He had been teaching them advance football for two weeks. He decided it was the right time to hold a tournament.

 

Haruto played with Sato in the group. Akira had benched because he had a nurse's pass. Apparently, he had a big bruise on his knee that hurt when he moved it too much. Haruto found Takashi a very handful contender and that he had to deal with him seeing that his teammates passed him the ball most of the time, thinking that he would make a goal. He wasn't that as athletic as the other guy so really sweated it out.

 

"Go Haruto!"

 

"Damn. Almost there, bro!"

 

All his teammates had cheered on him. He was almost at the other team's goal now and he did a kick because there was an opening. But before the ball has even reached the goalie's line, Takashi had blocked it, sending it flying towards the benches. Haruto's eyes followed the ball and realized that it's heading straight for a sleeping boy that looked like he was so sleepy he couldn't even hear the shouts of his classmates.

 

Haruto squinted and took a good look.

 

Mugen?

 

Just in time, the boy shifted,his face now facing them. "Shit."

 

Without thinking, Haruto took off and ran towards him.

[Cazuki101]

(Pfft! I don't know why, but i find a ball being kicked into Mugen's face hilarious.)

 

Mugen could hear voices, in fact, he could hear a lot of them. However, in the state he was in, he didn't really care and continued to doze, thankful that his energy was starting to regenerate a bit.

 

"Damn... there, bro!"

Mugen heard part of a shout and grumbled. Didn't anyone know the meaning of peace? Surely, they had seen him sleeping there. They could have played somewhere else. Mugen tried to ignore the sound but instead of decreasing like he wanted it to, it got louder. Mugen growled and shuffled around so he was looking towards where the noise was coming from.

 

"Shut up..."

 

Suddenly, Mugen felt that something was wrong and opened his eyes to see a football flying towards him at great speed. His eyes widened and he ducked as quickly as he could, trying to avoid the flying death ball. The ball flew at him and hit the top of his head, having ducked just in time for it to not hit his face. Mugen grit his teeth against the sudden pain on his crown and forehead. It felt like his brain had hit the back of his skull and very quickly, a headache started to come on. It took all his will not to cry out in anger, instead, he just mumbled strings of curses to himself. He rose his head and tried to see who had kicked the ball towards him. He saw Haruto, running towards him in his gym clothes.

The combination of Mugen's sleeplessness, anger and pain at being hit in the face and shock in seeing Haruto came out in a loud shout.

 

"Who the hell kicked that ball!?"

 

He swung himself off the bench, exhaustion forgotten for a second as he walked towards Haruto. He felt dizzy soo after however and as his head thumped in pain he knelt down, trying to get his sight corrected again.

 

"Son of a... That really hurts."

 

He didn't try and move past that point, still trying to get his bearings, though the dizzy spell mixed with his headache made that a long process. He kept looking at the ground as he spoke, knowing Haruto would be near him probably.

 

"Help get me to the nurse... i can't stand well."

 

Inside, Mugen was irate. Why did this have to happen now of all times?

[ukemextreme]

(sorry took me long~ i was out and i have my exams.)

 

Haruto was impressed that Mugen was able to avoid the ball without hitting his face. This, however, was taken over by shock when the boy suddenly fell on his knees, clutching his head. The boy seemed to try regaining his senses but Haruto thought the impact on his head hurt so much that it caused quite a headache. He jogged up to Mugen and hovered above him just in time the other boy said, "Help get me to the nurse...i can't stand well."

 

"Coach, emergency!" Haruto bellowed; his gym teacher gave him an 'okay.'

 

The boy pulled Mugen up to his full height and swung an arm around his shoulder. He awkwardly snaked an arm around Mugen's wrist to support him because for the love of Zeus, he was heavier than what Haruto had expected. He took his gym bag and slung it on his free shoulder. Just as they were about to leave, Takashi jogged up to them and said, "Dude, you okay? I'm sorry. I swear I was just trying to keep the ball fr--"

 

"Relax, Takashi. He'll get worse from listening to you explaining yourself. He gets it already," Haruto softly spoke, trying to calm his from down and assure him that everything's okay (which probably isn't since Mugen was still in pain). He shooed him and told him to just keep playing. Haruto then half-carried, half-dragged Mugen to the infirmary.

 

Both boys ran into the school nurse halfway to their destination. Apparently, Haruto had to stay with Mugen, much to his chagrin, until he comes back from a very important school board meeting. Sighing, he brought the taller boy into the infirmary and reluctantly closed the door shut (of course without locking it), wanting to give him some peace and quiet. They were the only students there but even so, he thought about giving Mugen some extra 'peace'.

 

Haruto lead Mugen into one of the cubicles -- those with curtains and beds -- and told him to lie down. He then, walked around the room, gathering some pain killers and a small ice pack from the mini fridge. Giving them to Mugen with a glass of water, he said, "Drink and sleep. Or else it'll get worse." He, then, sat down on a chair just outside the cubicle and closed his eyes slightly.

 

Why was he helping the other boy, again, without thinking about it so much? When he recognized who the boy on the bench was, he immediately ran to him, not even calling out for reinforcements. It was weird because normally, he'd just stand there and gasp and would rather be a bystander than the helper. To think that Takashi was supposed to be the one to help him up because it was partially his fault...

 

Now that he thought about it, what he did earlier was a reflex. Like what Mugen did to protect his face. Like it was something he needed to do. But why?

 

Haruto sighed and opened his eyes a few moments later. He sniffed himself; he smelled of sweat. He pulled him gym bag to his lap and rummaged through it. He took out a shirt, biting the edge. He started to walk towards the other cubicle as he slowly took off his shirt, not really checking if the other boy in the room was already asleep or not.

[Cazuki101]

(No prob man, stuff happens.)

 

"Coach, emergency!"

 

The bellow made Mugen’s head throb, making Mugen wince in pain and grumble underneath his breath. However, the grumbling ceased as he felt himself be pulled up off the ground by Haruto. It was a strange feeling to say the least, however, Mugen knew he should try and make it slightly easier for Haruto, on pain of him being dropped back onto the floor.

They had just started to shove off when another boy suddenly ran up to them, apologizing to Mugen. It didn’t take long for Mugen to realize it had been this man who’d kicked the ball towards him. If Mugen hadn’t been in pain, angry and tired, he would have brushed it off. However, he was all of those things and opened his mouth to shout an insult at the male.

 

"Relax, Takashi. He'll get worse from listening to you explaining yourself. He gets it already,"

 

Mugen shut his mouth and stayed quiet. Yeah, he got it, but he wasn’t happy about it. He decided conflict wouldn’t be good at the moment, so stayed silent and let Haruto guide them away and towards the nurse’s office.

On the way, they met the nurse, who said he had an important board meeting to go to.

“I’m so sorry,” he said “I’ll come back as soon as I can. Until then, Haruto, you stay with him and make sure he doesn’t hurt himself.”

Mugen could sense Haruto wasn’t at all pleased with the responsibility, but didn’t say anything, focusing instead on trying not to fall over again and do himself even more damage than before.

 

Eventually, the two made it to the infirmary. Haruto, thankfully, closed the door behind them, leaving them in glorious silence. The atmosphere of the room was soft and comfortable, which in itself took the edge off of Mugen’s headache. He let himself be dragged to one of the cubicles and sat down on the bed. Mugen felt slightly better now, but still felt slightly confused when Haruto came back, this time with a few painkillers, a drink of water and ice pack.

 

"Drink and sleep. Or else it'll get worse."

 

Mugen took the pills with no complaint and took them with the water, lying down on his back and almost instantly relaxing into the warmth of the covers. He was being strangely obedient, though he assumed it was because of his headache.

As the medicine began to kick in, he felt his limbs slowly start to lose feeling and the familiar sense of sleep start to overtake him.

 

Why did he help me again? Surely, he could have left it to someone else?

 

The questions were ignored as he suddenly remembered about asking Haruto to dinner. He turned his head to the side and was met with the sight of a shadow. Mugen could tell the shadow was takig something off and he found himself staring for a short moment. Was it someone else or was Haruto really stripping himself in the infirmary? Mugen’s confused mind came up with a scenario like in a manga. He felt his heart rate increase. He didn’t even plan to go that far with Haruto and Haruto was going to do that to him? He tried to shake the thought from his mind and decided to ask Haruto the question to distract himself.

 

“Haruto… do you… want to come… to dinner… at my house… tomorrow?”

 

His words were slow due to tiredness and as he said the final one, he felt his grip on realty fade, slipping into sleep before Haruto could give an answer.

[ukemextreme]

Haruto had never been a sports fan all because he did not want to get smelly and sweaty. Too bad for him though, they had gym today so he didn't have a choice but to change in the infirmary; he had to, unless he wanted to feel sticky for the rest of the day -- which would be okay because his bodyguards and Kanda-san would not probably complain. They would probably be jealous just because they also wanted to play.

 

When Haruto was about to wear his spare shirt, Mugen said, "Haruto..."

 

The boy jumped at the sound of his name, his head whipping to the side, to Mugen's direction, as he raised his shirt to cover his body defensively. There was no one there so it meant that the other boy was still lying on the bed.

 

"...do you... want to come... to dinner... at my house... tomorrow?" Mugen continued, tiredness and drowsiness hinted in his voice.

 

Haruto blinked. "What?"

 

There was no answer.

 

Reluctantly, Haruto peeked from between the curtains to see Mugen already fast asleep. The guy probably took out his energy to say those words.

 

Sheesh.

 

Haruto finished changing. He decided he'd rest for awhile, too. He leaned on the bed in the cubicle where he changed and leaned over to open the curtains between them. In this way, he thought, I could keep an eye on him until the nurse comes back.

 

Why did he ask Haruto if he could come to his house? Was it to thank him for yesterday? Or was it because he was already making his move on Haruto that Mugen had to tell him now lest it'd be hard to trace Haruto in the school? Either way, Haruto had a response; he was grounded.

 

However, if Mugen insists, rebelling against his father and escaping would not be bad just to shut the other guy up, he guessed.

 

Haruto decided to wait for Mugen to wake up before he'd ask him what his real purpose was and tell him what he'd like to do. As he waited for both that and the nurse to happen, Haruto, who now stared at the ceiling, didn't know when he dozed off but he knew he did when he had already been dreaming about a complete family and cakes.

[Cazuki101]

At first, Mugen had no idea where he was when he opened his eyes.

 

Ugh... what happened?

 

Mugen blinked several times, clearing his vision. Meanwhile the memories of what had happened before he fell asleep came flooding back. He grumbled.

 

"Stupid sport fanatics."

 

He rubbed his head and found there wasn't much damage, though there was doubtlessly going to be an angry red mark where the ball had made contact with his forehead. He shifted onto his side, eyes widening when he saw Haruto.

Haruto was leaning against the bed of the other cubicle, head leaning on his shoulder as he dozed. Mugen couldn't help but smile at the display.

 

Not only did he stay here and keep watch over me, but he also fell asleep even though i'm here.

 

"You are oddly quite cute, Haruto-chan." he mumbled to himself, thinking Haruto couldn't hear him in his sleeping state. Mugen continued to look at Haruto. He seemed more peaceful when he slept, which was surprising as Mugen hadn't really noticed that Haruto's facial expression was normally stressed before now. Mugen almost felt bad that he'd have to wake him up, almost.

 

He shifted his body around, finnaly having his sense of balance and direction again. Even the headache had worn off, thakks to the painkillers. He paced slowly over to Haruto and leant down to his sleeping body. He took his shoulder and shook him gently.

 

"Haruto, wake up."

 

Mugen still needed the answer to the question he had asked earlier. Plus, he imagined that if Haruto stayed asleep until the nurse came back the nurse would be angry and tell Haruto off and Haruto would blame it on Mugen somehow and Mugen would be back to square one again in terms of his conquest. He hoped Haruto wasn't one of those people who hit the people who woke them up.

[ukemextreme]

Haruto was a light sleeper. He just kept his blinds shut before he sleeps that's why he was never able to know that the sun was already high up in the sky, causing him to be always late in class (well that was before everything). So when Mugen gently shook him, Haruto was already starting to stir awake.

 

"Haruto, wake up."

 

He nodded slightly then sat up straight, like a zombie who just came alive yet again. He opened his eyes and tried to focus his senses. Tilting his head backward to look up, he saw Mugen. "How long have you been awake?" he asked, yawning slightly and rubbing his eyes. He looked over at the nurse's desk; she was not still there.

 

Groggily, Haruto sat on the edge of the bed and stared at Mugen. He remembered that he had say something to him...

 

"Ah. About you inviting me for dinner, uhm...why?"

 

He contemplated on telling him that he wanted to rebel against his father like what he had thought before dozing off but he thought it would give too much away considering that he still didn't want to tell Mugen anything; he barely even knew the guy.

 

So Haruto just said, "Because if you insist, I could go but..."

 

He looked up at Mugen and smiled sheepishly. "...I'm...kinda...grounded?" Haruto's eyes were a mix of pleading and being earnest. He hoped the other boy understood what he meant.

[Cazuki101]

"How long have you been awake?"

"Only a couple of minutes." Mugen responded to the question, allowing Haruto to rouse himself and take in his surroundings. He didn't want him to think he was going to do anything after all or scare him by moving too quickly. Eventually, Haruto moved up and sat on the bed that had previously been unoccupied, staring at Mugen before asking a question.

 

"Ah. About you inviting me for dinner, uhm...why?"

"Why?" Mugen was confused for a moment, before he realized and smiled down at Haruto, moving to sit by him. The answer was clean, but he decided to have a bit of fun first. "Because i want to get intimate with you, Haruto-chan."

He leant away, laughing.

"Nah, kidding. My dad wanted you to come over, for helping me out yesterday."

 

"Because if you insist, I could go but...I'm...kinda...grounded?"

Mugen started laughing even harder at that. Grounded? The prince was grounded? It was a strange thing to behold. He then, however, looked at Haruto and stopped instantly when he saw something. Something he had never seen before. Haruto smiling. It was the first time he had seen Haruto smiling, at least at him. He felt his heart make a weird movement, but he ignored it, putting it down to shock.

Mugen looked at the other's eyes. They looked akin to a puppy's eyes when he was pleading for something he really wanted but shouldn't have.

 

"Grounded, huh?" Mugen smirked. "Well, that shouldn't be a problem at all. So, you accept?"