Resisting Temptation (A Kyoya Ootori Fanfic)

Chapter 2

(Seina's POV)
The next few weeks passed smoothly and without incident. I kept my head down and did my school work, then the work for my Uncle, then I threw myself into my extracurriculars. I broke a man's nose at the Dojo and practiced the piano so feverishly that my teacher made me cut back for fear I would develop Tendonitus. I was desperate for the distractions. I figured that if I worked enough I could drown out the worries in my head and then I'd be tired enough at night to sleep soundly. Not that my hypothesis had proved true yet. Day after day I danced around my classmates, friends like Haruhi and the twins who wanted to hang out. It was probably fair to say that I was slightly in denial. Out of sight was out of mind. Right? If I admitted the truth to my friends, I felt like it would seal my fate. There would be no going back. So I worked.

I arrived at the Dojo full of energy and spoiling for a fight. When I entered the class, only a few people had arrived. Mori-senpai stood to the side packing away his kendo equipment. He had clearly been practicing before karate began. Honey-senpai meanwhile was settling Usa-chan into a corner at the front. A handful of students milled to the side. The man whose nose I'd broken was watching me a little too carefully and I wasn't sure if it was apprehension or a misconceived desire for vengeance that I saw in his eyes. Not that he had anything to complain about, it looked to me like his nose had been properly set. When Honey-senpai saw me he scooped up Usa-chan and rushed over, 'Sei-chan!' I smiled as he jumped up and down around me. This in turn attracted the attention of Mori-senpai who made his way over to us. He smiled slightly at his cousin's antics as he greeted me. I started to mimic Honey-senpai making it into a little dance as I jumped about next to him. When we finally stopped I noticed Mori-senpai was looking at me like he had something to say (a rare occurrence indeed). However, when I opened my mouth to ask about it the doors to the dojo slid open and the rest of the class filed in.
We ran through the initial drills and my eyes remained focused on Mori-senpai who was leading the class, Honey-senpai happily watching everyone from his side. I copied every move as precisely as I could with all the force I had. Every punch and kick well coordinated. Then we all moved to sit around the outside of the room to clear a space for one on one sparring. Honey-senpai stepped into the centre, his earlier excitable behaviour repressed in favour of the eerie calm and black aura he tended to adopt before and during a fight.
'You will fight one on one, one pair at a time. Winner stays on and eventually fights me.' Several of the men around me visibly gulped at the prospect of fighting the miniature force of nature before us. Even at the half strength he was restrained to he was lethal. I grinned, relishing the challenge even though I knew I couldn't beat him.
'First fighter!' Mori-senpai selected an average sized man from the class and had him choose an opponent. I watched in frustration as pair after pair fought it out, clenching and unclenching my fists, desperate to fight. Finally a familiar figure won his fight and chose his next opponent. I looked up in surprise as the man whose nose I'd broken called out my name. I suppose he wanted a rematch. In one easy movement I surged to my feet and stepped into the ring. Adrenaline rushed through my body as we circled each other. Then he threw the first punch and the fight had begun. We exchanged blows here and there, I blocked most of his, he blocked fewer. Still I knew I'd have bruises later. I could see him getting angrier with every deflected hit. This was a matter of pride and he wasn't pulling punches. So I wouldn't either. He sent a grazing blow to my head that spun me sideways slightly. I turned back around just in time to see him aiming a kick at my face. However, one glance at his grounded foot's bad stance told me this was a weak kick, so I reached out and grabbed his leg. He stared at me eyes wide with surprise. I gave a yank on his leg forcing him to hop forwards, only just managing to maintain his balance. I pulled him closer and punched him twice in the face before pushing him back harshly. He landed hard on his back, temporarily winded and got up slower. I allowed him the chance to get up then sent a roundhouse kick at his head. This time he stayed on the ground conceding that I had won.
I offered him my hand to help him to his feet which he accepted hesitantly. We then bowed to each other and I managed to change my victorious smirk into a gracious smile. Hopefully he would learn his lesson both about pride and challenging me. I may not have been quite the force of nature that Honey-senpai is but I was still a force to be reckoned with.
I glanced at Mori-senpai to catch his nod of approval and smiled.
I then picked my next opponent. From that point on I won almost effortlessly, each victory only energising me further while the morale of my classmates appeared to be waning. I also noted, to my endless amusement that they were hesitant to aim a kick at me from that point on. Finally, I was the last one standing. Except for Honey-senpai of course.
Honey-senpai stepped quickly into the centre, his face such a convincing mask of destruction that even I took a hesitant step back. Then he shot me a tiny smile, so quick I wasn't sure I hadn't imagined it. Still precautions had to be taken. We began to circle each other, my eyes never leaving him. Again the initial exchange of blows was largely blocked on my end but Honey-senpai blocked every blow I sent his way. I laughed slightly under my breath, I was doomed. I sent a kick in his direction then spun and sent a punch his way. He dodged nimbly, keeping out of my way. Then as I went again to strike him, my feet were suddenly swept out from beneath me and there was Honey-senpai crouched on the ground beside me. Even as I struggled to regain my breath I laughed at myself. Honestly I should have seen a sweep kick coming, it would make sense that with Honey-senpai's short stature one of his first moves would be to get his opponent down to his level. He smiled innocently at me and went to fetch Usa-chan.
Mori-senpai's voice rang out above me, 'Alright class is finished. You are all dismissed.' That was probably the most words he'd said all day. The class bowed respectfully and left.
Mori-senpai offered me his hand and pulled me to my feet. 'Ready?'
I gave him a fierce grin and took on a combative stance in the centre of the room. After class I always trained one on one with Mori-senpai. Occasionally Honey-senpai joined us but he mainly cheered and critiqued from the sidelines. For a time he threw easy kicks and punches which I dodged, ducked or blocked. We were just getting into the rhythm of our mock fight when my stomach gave an embarrassingly loud growl. I grabbed my stomach with one hand as if in doing so I could somehow muffle the sound. Mori-senpai raised an eyebrow at me but I shrugged it off and gestured at him to resume the fight.
The fight progressed quickly and I was beginning to take the advantage. Or so I thought. I feinted to the right then threw a punch to the left. My fist connected with his face just as my stomach let out another unearthly sound, I moved to press my advantage but I had hesitated and Mori-senpai had recovered. Before I knew what had hit me, I was lying on the floor once again pinned to the ground. I groaned I had made that far too easy for him. I went to push him off of me but he refused to yield, staring down at me with a concerned expression on his usually unreadable face. 'What did you eat for lunch Seina?'
I frowned, caught off guard by his line of questioning, 'The uhh noodles they were serving.'
Mori-senpai raised his eyebrows 'Lies.'
My eyes widened in surprise 'How would you know that?' He sat up, rubbing the back of his neck, finally releasing me. I propped myself up on my elbows, 'Mori-senpai?'
'Because we saw you in the library with some Haru-chan food.' I looked at Honey-senpai who had plopped down on the floor beside me. Haru-chan food. I'd approached Haruhi earlier that week, looking for a quick, filling and nutritious food as commoners seemed to have 'instant' and 'to go' down to an art, everything was achievable with less time and money. She had returned the next day with a handful of 'cereal bars' which were apparently a snack sized, portable breakfast.
Ever since I had eaten one a day and barely left the library. However, they weren't quite as satisfying as the packaging claimed.
This was the second thing I'd learned about commoners, apparently if you don't have enough money to sue a company then they will take advantage of you with a series of blatant lies and scams.
'Why aren't you eating properly Sei-chan? Takashi and I are worried. With the amount of calories you are burning at the moment you should be eating considerably more.'
'I need to work and the library has a limit to the amount of food you can take in. I had to compromise somewhere. Why didn't you two let me know you were there instead of watching me?'
Honey-senpai swallowed a little, 'Well Sei-chan when you set your mind on something, you can be a little scary sometimes. You were writing at the speed of light and churning out papers in all directions. It seemed best not to disturb you.'
I made a face 'I am not unapproachable.'
Mori-senpai reached out and put his hands on my shoulders 'What is wrong Seina?' I met his gaze and bit my lip, it was ridiculous how four short words could cause such a rush of emotion in me. I tried to deny his words but my defence caught in my throat and I felt tears slip down my cheeks. How quickly I had broken. Mori-senpai pulled me to his chest and held me while I cried, muscle made him solid and I felt safe, so I clutched onto him and sobbed into his clothes.
'I'm to be engaged and married to someone of my Uncle's choosing. Within the year.' My words came out choked and muffled so I wasn't sure anyone had heard. Mori-senpai continued to stroke my hair, while Honey-senpai sat nearby making soothing noises.
Eventually I calmed down and Mori-senpai brushed the tears from my face. I gave him and Honey-senpai a weak smile. 'Please don't tell anyone. I haven't been able to yet. I just have to stay occupied because I don't know what else to do.' My voice broke slightly at the end of my sentence and a final tear escaped my eye.
Honey-senpai put his little arms around me 'Sei-chan you should rely on your friends. We love you. We've got your back!' Mori-senpai nodded his agreement and I smiled.
I actually felt better than I had in weeks. 'Thank you. Both of you. But how do I tell anyone else..? I mean my closest friends are the Hitachiin twins. They're not exactly known to take things seriously.'
Honey-senpai tilted his head to one side 'Karou-chan can be serious.'
I raised my eyebrows at him 'Yeah and when is the last time you saw Karou without Hikaru?'
It was Mori-senpai who answered my question, 'Seina-san this is the sort of thing you have friends for. Ask Haruhi for help.' I nodded, pleased to finally have a plan other than ignoring the issue at hand.
I stood up to leave but Mori-senpai grabbed my hand. 'Seina-san you can eat with us from now on.' I began to protest, 'I'm not sure that...' 'This is final. We will collect you from your classroom.'
I nodded my head in defeat. 'Ok.' I bowed my head deeply, 'Thank you for everything.' Then I slipped out of the dojo.