With parents burned to ash when he was only young, Shinra Kusakabe finds himself living a life of lonesomeness by the time he's in High School in Tokyo. He has no friends, no family, and no hope for the future. Tamaki Kotatsu, however, has a loving...
It was late at night, ten o'clock maybe. I'd lost count of the many hours I spent alone. In that hour, I found myself walking back home from the convenience store. Looking around briefly, the grimy road, the flickering lights of the overhead lamplights, and the steady fluorescent light of the convenience store created an aura of pressure around me. Finding myself staring into a window, I looked at my tired crimson eyes for a moment,
Shinra: I really need to get more sleep...I thought to myself, turning away from the window as several footsteps approached me,
???: "How could you eat something like that?" A girl's voice giggled, as they moved closer, "It's like you have a death wish Arthur!" She then laughed, as I walked slowly on,
???: "Personally, I think it's better when he does that," Another girl's voice coolly spoke, as I recognized the sound of three sets of feet approaching me,
???: "Do you want me to die or something?" A boy's voice exclaimed, cutting himself off as he spotted me with my hood up,
Not paying any attention to what they were saying, I steadily moved on as they whispered quietly. After a few minutes of walking, I found that they were following me; whether out of curiosity or simply wanting to make fun of me, just like the others. They were doing a poor job of following me as well, shuffling their feet, and making absurd sounds as they moved,
Shinra: I should really lose them...I told myself disappearing into a side alley, and taking cover behind a dumpster,
???: "Huh? Where'd he go?" One of the girls asked, moving into the alley for a closer look,
???: "I wouldn't go there if I was you Tamaki." The boy sighed, as the girl scoffed,
Tamaki: "Like anything would happ-" She began, as I stood up,
Shinra: "Would you mind telling me why you're following me?" I calmly asked, my red eyes seemingly piercing through the darkness,
She seemed frozen in place, just as the other two were. My appearance made me seem like a delinquent to most people. Because of my appearance, many people simply gave me their wallets or lunch whenever they happened to bump into me or locked eyes with me. It was depressing,
Shinra: "If you're not going to say anything, I'll be going." I sighed, just as the girl; known as Tamaki, moved,
Moving at the same time, in the tight alley, was a death trap in many senses. As I stepped forward, Tamaki also stepped forward; right in between my legs, hooking my right leg with hers by accident, I tried to move, but only found myself off balance and about to fall. Knowing that Tamaki would also fall, I moved to break it with my hands, only to feel the softness of a girl's breast. Feeling this, I heard the girl in front of me whimper a little,
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Shinra: "S-Sorry..." I murmured, ripping my hand away and turning away,
Arthur: "So you're Shinra Kusakabe?" The boy then asked, his blue eyes also piercing through the total darkness, "Everyone says you're a delinquent, so I thought we'd check it out." Arthur explained, as I averted my eyes,
Shinra: "Can I just go home?" I asked, breaking free of Tamaki and pushing past the two figures,
Tamaki: "J-Just a second, K-Kusakabe!" Tamaki stammered, her flushed face being lit up by the lamplights, "A-Are you sure you don't want to hangout with-" She began, before I turned to walk away, "H-Hey! You should listen to a girl when she's speaking to you!" Tamaki then protested, running to my side as the two other sighed,
Arthur: "Yeah...she's fallen head over heels for him, Iris." Arthur sighed, as Tamaki attempted to change Shinra's opinion,
Iris: "How long has it been though? Since she first noticed him." Iris then questioned, as Arthur thought for a moment, "I-It's okay Arthur! You don't have to push yourself!" Iris then stressed, to which Arthur looked irritated for a moment,
Arthur: "I'm not that idiotic! Of course I know how long she's noticed him...maybe...three, no four years...or was it five..." Arthur replied, his voice lowering to a murmur as he tried to recall a seemingly distant memory,
Tamaki: "You're so mean, Kusakabe-Kun..." Tamaki murmured, stopping in her tracks as I kept walking, "When a girl is so nice to you, you should at least pay her the attention she-" Tamaki began, as I turned to her,
Shinra: "I don't need fake friends...or any at all." I explained, words which stopped Tamaki and the others in their tracks, "I have...other things to worry about." I then slipped out, which made Tamaki seemingly irritated,
Tamaki: "Jeez! You annoy me so much!" Tamaki then yelled, words which I was expecting to hear, "First you fondle me, then you just ignore me?!" She angrily spoke, as I carried on walking,
Shinra: "Everyone at school knows you, Kotatsu." I replied, "I was waiting for this false persona of yours to disappear already." I added, walking over the street; after which, a truck roared past, Yeah...a false persona...that she made, I then thought to myself, opening the door to my apartment,
Walking back to her house together, Iris attempted to mediate the situation with Tamaki; but to no avail, as she had already become so flushed and embarrassed, that cognitive speech was almost gone,
Arthur: "It's not like he's lying you know." Arthur admitted, only to be punched in the side by Tamaki, "What? I'm just speaking the truth!" Arthur exclaimed, as Iris sighed,
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Tamaki: "Damn you, Lucky Lecher...of all people to go off on!" Tamaki seethed, her flushed face making her seem more like an angry fox of all things,
Iris: "Maybe there's a reason why Kusakabe doesn't want anyone close to him." Iris speculated, which peaked Arthur's interest,
Arthur: "Does he have some kind of secret? Like a private maid or something?" Arthur suggested, smiling at the thought, "Man, I'd really like a live-in mai-" He then began, just as Iris pulled on his ear,
Tamaki: A secret? Tamaki thought to herself as, back at Shinra's house, Shinra stared into the picture of his family,
