Draw Again

Chapter 2

I was out the door before he could start talking again. When I arrived home I expected to be scolded by my parents, but they had bigger problems to deal with. My father was having troubles at work and had decided last minute that we were going to move. Even though I didn't understand his reasoning I went along with his decision.

By Friday afternoon we were on the other side of Shizume City with a different surname. As I transferred schools I couldn't help but feel completely out of place. We had moved so far up town that visiting Totsuka at the hospital and returning home before curfew was impossible, but his free will and what he told me about his "King" kept my mind busy while my parents tried to stay hidden. I was not entirely sure when it started, but I stopped following the routine I had lived by for so long. I started wandering the streets after school, attempted a few clubs during high school, I even tried skipping classes like Totsuka had done.

As the years past my parents had become disappointed in me, my grades having dropped severely and myself becoming much more disobedient. I didn't want to stay hidden like they were, I wanted to explore and try things I had been ignoring since I was little. I wanted to find where I belonged.

After one particularly bad fight with my father I decided to skip my morning classes by relaxing on the roof of the gymnasium. I had bought a can of juice and was using it as an ice pack for my bruised and swollen cheek.

"Give it back you stupid monkey!"

I wasn't alone on the roof. Walking around the closed off stairwell I spotted two underclassmen arguing over a video game. I paused there for a moment just watching the two of them wrestle one another.

"Shut up. I'm about to win," the other said keeping the game out of his friends reach.

"You two are gonna get us caught if you're that loud," I broke in.

They both froze mid struggle as they stared at me. The smaller one who had brown hair flushed as he clamped his mouth shut, while the one wearing glasses just gazed at me with half-lidded eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to rat you out. I just need a place to hideout for a while," I said.

I took a seat against the wall a yard or so away for the glasses guy. It felt weird speaking with a fat bottom lip, it made my words sound slurred.

"Just ignore me," I said.

Though the can separated my vision of them I could still feel both sets of eyes on me. After a while my cheek had gotten so cold from the juice that it began to go numb, so I moved it to my lip hoping that it would stop the throbbing there too.

"Whoa," one of the guys gasped.

"Stop staring stupid," the other muttered.

I peeked sideways at them, and the brunet adverted his gaze. Was the bruise that bad? I wondered. I didn't want to think about it, I was still angry about the punch, but there was nothing I could do about it now.

Lowering the can from my face I said, "Do you guys know how to play Sevens? I have a deck with me."

"Yeah," they both said slowly.

"Great," I smiled.

Pulling the cards out of my blazer pocket I removed them from the box and began shuffling. It took a few rounds, but they eventually loosened up -well except for the brunet, who's face held a consistent light pink blush.

The one who broke the silence was the guy with glasses. "Senpai," he said.

"Nao," I corrected.

He gazed at me for a moment before looking back down at his playing hand. "Nao-senpai," he began again.