first blush of morning

(A/N: I don't own anything from this franchise. Respective ownership belongs to Ken Wakui for this wonderful manga).

"Here's your bento box. Now keep moving or you're gonna be late for school Takemichi!" His mom yelled at him after handing his bento box to him.

"Thanks mom! See you later!" He quickly stuffed the bento box into his bag and bid a rush goodbye to his mother before he put on his shoes and ran outside his house.

"Ugh. I knew it was a terrible idea to read those manga at Chifuyu's house until midnight when we still have school the next day!" Takemichi cursed at himself for snoozing the alarm thrice for 5 minutes until he was woken up by his mother that he only had 20 minutes before getting ready to school.

Takemichi was already running recklessly along the street, ignoring the way his feet were hurt and how he was slow out of breath.

'Almost there.' Takemichi thought to him hopefully when he could almost see the building of his school a few miles away from his sight.

Takemichi was about to enter the gate of the school when someone yanked the collar of his shirt forcefully from the back that sent him flying to the other side of the place.

"W-what the h-hell..." Takemichi winced in pain and coughed up slightly because of the dust surrounding him.

Before he could even get up, he was slumped down on the ground once again when someone stepped on his chest that made him yelped out in pain.

"Ya think you can get away like that you pathetic little fucker?" One of them rasped out in a gravelly voice.

Takemichi's eyes widened in disbelief and disgust. He knew these men. They were one of Kiyomasa's lackeys in the underground fight that he was in the other day.

He had thought that they would back away after Mikey and Draken had purposely went there and beat the shit out of Kiyomasa for using their gang's name in the illegal fights.

Apparently, that wasn't the case for him unfortunately.

He can still see the visible annoyance and hatred of these men towards him which doesn't make sense as he was not the one who humiliated them in the first place.

"Get off of me y-you s-sick f-fucks!" Takemichi gasped sharply as the heel of his shoe stomped harder on his body.

"Shut the fuck up. People like you doesn't have the right to talk back like that to us got it? Lemme put you in place to know where ya stand." He grinned viciously at him and was about to kick him.

Takemichi could only closed his eyes tightly at the impending pain that would course through his body afterward.

But seconds passed and it didn't come which confuse and surprise him at the same time.

He slowly opened his eyes and it almost bulge out of his skull upon seeing a stranger holding his attacker's legs midway like it was nothing.

He held a bored look on his face.

"It's ass o'clock in the morning and you keep yapping like a dog to the point where you fuckin' disturb my sleep." He said in a dangerously calm yet monotone voice.

The other guy seemed surprised yet offended at the same time. "Who the fuck—."

His words were cut short when the mysterious guy suddenly took him by the leg and rolled it carelessly which made his attacker stumbled on the ground like a ragdoll.

"Oi! How fucking dare you interrupt—!"

The other guys couldn't even react properly as the mysterious guy suddenly took on the offensive route and clocked them on their jaws like it was nothing, sending them reeling on the ground like pins in a bowling alley.

"Next time I see your faces around here and prattlin' like pathetic horses, I won't hesitate to beat the shit out of you. Got it?" He drawled out lazily and stared down on them.

The group of men gulped and scrambled back on their feet, running away like their life depended on it.

Takemichi could only watch with an astounded expression on his face. Everything was going on too fast that he couldn't track the moves of the stranger who saved him.

The only thing that he was sure of was this guy was a skilled fighter... he was inwardly thinking to himself if he belongs to another gang and if it was he could probably go head to head and toe to toe with Toman's captains and vice captains.

The stranger finally faced him with a sunny smile on his face which made Takemichi gasped slightly and mind reeling because of the sudden turn of his mood and the striking profile of his face.

It was like he didn't threaten and beat up those guys before because of how cheery his disposition was when he faced him currently.

And the mysterious guy was also easy on the eyes as well... Takemichi hated to admit it but his savior was sort of handsome in a rogue kind of way.

He had a messy yet shapely wave of short, silvery locks with some wisps of dark highlights on the other side of his head. He was tall yet lean at the same time because of the way the polo hugged and accentuated his body with his tie loosened in front of him. His eyes were a dark shade of indigo framed with thick lashes and held a small yet sharp outline of his jaw which leant him a certain aura of appeal in the eyes. He had a tan skin tone which emphasized the lustrous and striking hues of his eyes and hair.

Overall, despite his lax attitude he held a dangerous charm that made him a mystery to his eyes.

"Hey, you okay there bud? Need some help?" The man's deep yet husky voice jolted out Takemichi's thoughts and he couldn't help but to stare like an idiot in front of him as he offered his hand to him.

He berated himself inwardly for acting like a moron in front of him. 'Get a grip of yourself stupid!' His mind screamed at him.

Takemichi accepted the offered hand at him and gave him an awkward smile.

"Uh yeah thanks for that... And thank you for uhm, saving me even though you didn't have to..." Takemichi trailed off sheepishly.

"Nah. That's fine. They're fuckin' loud anyway. Their voices grate on my nerves. 'Sides it's damn unacceptable for them to be beating up a cute guy such as you." He replied smilingly as he held Takemichi's hand in a firm yet gentle grip which sent an electrifying sensation throughout the other's nerves.

Takemichi's mind short circuited, feeling as if his face was coated in a hot mess of vermillion.

"W-what did y-you say...?" He stammered as he blinked at him owlishly.

The handsome man seemed amused at his reaction and was about to say something when another voice piped out from somewhere the distance.

"Oi! Ryusei! Get over here! We're gonna be late!" An unfamiliar figure was calling him from behind of what Takemichi could assume was his classmate because of the same uniform that they wear.

"Yeah! Coming, coming! Sheesh." Ryusei replied to them in a lackadaisical manner before he faced him again after letting go of his hand.

"Well, I'll be seeing you around cutie." He shot him a playful wink and a small smirk before he turned around and left him completely.

Takemichi could only gaped in wonder and embarrassment as his heart thundered wildly inside his chest.

He fought off the stupid smile that threatened to bloom on his face but he couldn't help the small sliver of hope within himself to meet him once again in the future.

(A/N:

me trying to finish my WIPs: okay just another paragraph and we're almost done for this chapter.

my brain for no reason at all: how about writing a random one-shot for Takemichi and Ryusei and call it Ryutake?

me: no.

my brain: yes.

me: bangs my head into the nearest wall then proceeds to write it anyway).