𝚃𝙴𝙴𝙽𝙰𝙶𝙴 𝙳𝙸𝚁𝚃𝙱𝙰𝙶 ,, high&low

chapter seventeen | kingdom of cards

seventeen

kingdom of cards

The Itokan Diner was one of my favorite places in S.W.O.R.D. It was well away from the glamour of the White Rascals and their club, and far enough from the chaos of Oya High to become a beacon of calm energy in Sannoh.

I had watched Naomi and her brother build the diner form the ground up during our junior year at Sato, about a year and a half before Mugen collapsed and S.W.O.R.D took over. When Tatsuya had died, Naomi was devastated. I had helped her keep the diner afloat for the first few months before I left for Okinawa again, so in a way, Itokan was my baby as well.

Murayama was standing outside the green metal-and-glass doors, staring intently at his phone. I chuckled softly to myself, noting that all of the other leaders were already inside the diner and had likely been wondering what Murayama was doing, standing outside on his own.

Chuckling to myself, I came up behind the boy, quickly putting the palms of my hands over his eyes. "Guess who."

Murayama jumped before spinning around and playfully hitting me in the shoulder. "I knew it was you."

"Sure you did." I laughed, pulling him in for a kiss. "So is there a reason that you're standing out here like a loser while the rest of S.W.O.R.D is inside Itokan already?"

"I was waiting for you." Murayama shrugged "Thought it was only right that we both went in there together. Besides, they already think I'm a loser anyways."

Chuckling, I interlocked my fingers with his and we headed inside the diner. Instantly, all the heads in the diner came swiveling over to us. A guy in a red kimono, who I assumed was Hyuga Norihisa, chuckled under his breath.

"So he's finally decided to stop standing in the cold like a loser."

Murayama rolled his eyes. "Piss off, Hyuga-chan."

In a corner seat, a blond in a white plush trench coat raised his eyebrows. "Out of all of us, you're the one that has a girlfriend?"

In the opposite corner of Itokan, a scruffy looking guy in a winter jacket "Where's the gorilla that usually comes with you."

I snorted "Seki? He got demoted."

"Midori is way smarter." Murayama boasted on my behalf "She has like eight degrees."

I rolled my eyes, taking a seat in one of the booths by the main windows before correcting him. "I have three, working on my fourth. Fine arts, Red Cross and I did a year to become a legal assistant before I realized I hated the idea of having a desk job. Right now I'm working on construction engineering."

"If you're that smart," Hyuga started "why are you dating him?"

Yamato snickered, choking slightly on the omurice he was eating. Murayama flashed his middle finger at the man in red, and I tried to diffuse whatever tension exited by introducing myself to everybody.