Obstinate Elitists

41

The first time you saw the picture of Aoyama Toshiaki on the computer screen a few months ago, you hoped to never run into him. But karma had other things in mind, putting you in a position that had suddenly trapped you. He was your friend's father, so like a flip switch, the problem grew so much bigger than before. Who was this man? What was this plan he sought out? What about those dark men from a while ago that appeared on the school property? Was Ginjirou involved in it in any way? Was this somehow all correlated?

Questions upon questions floated through your mind, which became a domino effect on other aspects of your life. That night, you couldn't stop tossing and turning in bed. Lack of sleep meant worse performance in school, so the next day, you made mistake after mistake.

Gripping the edge of the desk, you slumped down on your seat for the last period of the day. It was difficult walking from your last class to here, since you had sprained your ankle while running the mile. You sighed and turned around, noticing that the desk behind you was empty. The bell rang and there was still no sight of Ginjirou. Your forehead furrowing, you wondered if he was running late. Or perhaps, he wasn't at school at all?

Your attention returned to the front of the room, where you listened in to the drone of the lecture. It was boring and slow, touching on a topic of geography that you learned ages ago. As the minutes drifted by, the urge to fall asleep was kicking in. Your cheek rested on your palm as you fought to keep your eyes opened. Goddamn it. Was Ginjirou really not here today? Even though he had confirmed he no longer felt the desire to skip school? Or had he fallen ill? Or... or... maybe you were reaching, but what if it had to do something with his father?

Pulling your phone out, you went to your messages and clicked on 'Gin'. The last conversation shared between the two of you was from last night, where he sent a message asking you whether you got home safely. You responded to it, but that was the end of it. He didn't reply to it, nor did he even read it.

You began typing out a message that read: Hey Ginjirou. Are you not at school today? Is everything okay?

It didn't take long until you quickly deleted it. You couldn't help it. It felt like it was too clingy and would bother him. Groaning to yourself, you stuffed your device into your schoolbag.

Eventually, the bell rang, so you instantly shot up from your chair and joined the students who were ready to go home. Out of the classroom and into the busy halls, something had touched your shoulder. Jumping in fright, you whirled around and noticed that it was Kouki's hand. He grinned at your reaction, but you only glared at him in return. "What are you doing here?"

He held up a bag of ice and dangled it in front of your face. The crisp coldness of it wafted in your direction. "I got you ice for your sprained ankle," he told you.

Your brows lifted in surprise, and you blinked for a couple seconds. "You noticed?"

He tossed it to your hands, and you fumbled to catch it, nearly losing your balance in the process. "Well, duh. You were hobbling like some old granny out there."

"Well, thanks for this. I guess you do care," you said, lips curving upward.

He grew red for a bit, turning away and pocketing his hands into his trousers. "No, I don't. I was just helping out because you look stupid for not taking care of the injury right away."

"Whatever you say." Chuckling at his bashful retort, you followed him through the crowds. The sea parted pretty easily, with the title Kouki kept to his name. Though you used to mind the stares and the attention you would get for walking beside these elites, you didn't worry about it as much in the present. It was mainly due to the bigger problems that had everything else pale in comparison. Speaking of bigger problems, an idea had emerged. Kouki was Ginjirou's friend, and that also meant he could have insight on Mr. Toshiaki. Was it worth asking him? "Hey, do you mind if we talk for a bit? Are you busy at all?"