3 Ch 3 - Soothing Warmth

Kousuke Nakano's hand gripped Yuu's shoulder as Yuu stumbled backwards. Kousuke then pulled Yuu behind him, as though pulling her as far away as possible from danger.

Dojo spat some blood on the floor and stood up.

From this distance, Yuu quickly studied his features. Dojo was tall, about the same height as Kousuke, but with build rougher. He had slick black hair and an arrogant and sinister smirk plastered on his face that spelt danger. Oozing an aura of arrogance, Dojo spoke with a crazy sinister grin, gluing his gaze to Kousuke Nakano – the boy that broke his nose.

Dojo said in a dangerous tone, "You. You never learn your lesson, you son of a b*tch."

Kousuke didn't bat an eye. Narrowing his eyes just a millimetre more as his gaze intensified, Kousuke spoke with a cold voice, "Touch the boy, and I'll kill you."

Yuu stood there, feet frozen on the floor. The warning that came from Kousuke wasn't a joke. And Yuu knew everyone that heard it felt the same chill that ran down her spine – their eyes said it all. Even Dojo froze for a second, and Yuu saw a flash of horror on his face before he regained composure. Wiping the blood off his nose with his sleeve, Dojo smirked.

"This is interesting. It's been a while, mad dog," Dojo said, bumping Kousuke's shoulder as he walked past.

There was invisible friction between the two, and Yuzuki felt it clearly when Dojo's gaze landed on her for a second. It took all her strength to stay standing there and realized something a little too late.

"How long are you going to hold on to my blazer, Yuu-chan?"

Yuzuki gasped in surprise and let go of Kousuke's blazer, adjusting her necktie as she looked away embarrassed.

'It's back – the teasing personality is back.' Somehow, something inside her chest released. She felt relieved. She could breathe better.

That dark Kousuke was scary. But, even though it seemed like he belonged to the 'wrong crowd', he protected her. First, he scrutinized her; then he teased her; now he stood up for her.

'What's his deal?! It – it can't be! Does he know about me?! No way… he hasn't said anything yet…' Wallowing in her own thought, her eyes followed Kousuke Nakano's retreating back. 'He's dangerous. Any more contact, and I might give it away. I have to stay away from him.'

Yuu entered the classroom and headed for her seat – second to the rear seat by the window.

"Osaka-kun, you're so cool!" a girl in class said. Yuu awkwardly chuckled and adjusted her glasses, 'Must be from when I kicked Dojo earlier.'

When Yuu reached her seat, she noticed the boy seated behind her with his head buried in his arms.

'Ah, I'm so bad. I didn't even learn my seatmate's name. Way to go, Yuzuki.' She mentally face-palmed herself. 'It couldn't be helped; I was extremely nervous the first week.'

The bell rang. The boy lifted his face. And their eyes locked. Again.

With a smirk on his face, the boy greeted, "Yo, you finally looked around you."

Yuzuki's eyes widened.

"Kousuke Nakano… You've been sitting there all this time?!"

'Just what is wrong with this school?! Why does it feel like there's trouble everywhere?!'

***

That afternoon, Yuzuki and Ikeda spent an hour in the detention. The call was made, and Yuu's 'guardian' took care of her part of the damage fees. At the moment, nothing big had happened yet. The deal was to keep her identity hidden after all. As for the bloody incident, no one dared to tell the teachers what happened – the blood was also taken care of by the time a teacher came after such a loud commotion. It was as if it didn't happen.

5:00 pm – end of detention. As soon as the clock turned 5:00 pm, the door burst open and came in a girl in a messy bun with a rolled magazine in her hand. The messy bun girl dashed inside the room and started hitting Ikeda on the head, spurting out profanities as she did. Yuu only grimaced at the attack received by poor Ikeda.

"You dare tell me on my father, you mutt! I'll get an earful when I get home!"

"It was true! You were at fault – hey, stop it! Stop hitting me, you damn witch!"

"Huh?! How was it my fault when I only 'helped' you move because you wouldn't move an inch!"

"Because of your dumb idea, I hit Osaka and broke the glass, and he got in trouble because that hard-headed teacher wouldn't even let me explain!"

"It's because you always get in trouble. They can't even trust your words anymore!"

"Hah?!"

"Hey. Uh…Sorry to interrupt, but can you move away for a bit? I need to grab my bag. You're stepping on it, Tadashi-san," Yuu chimed in.

Hikari stopped and looked down. Jumping away, Hikari apologized profusely for stepping on the bag handle.

"Tadashi-san is so formal. You can call me Hikari, Osaka-kun!" The girl grinned at Yuu.

Yuu's eyes widened in surprise a tad bit.

Together, the three of them stepped out of the detention room, exchanging small talk as they headed for the exit.

"You're lucky Osaka-kun was there! Or else you'd be dead by now!" Hikari glared at Ikeda.

"Hah?! You're starting a fight again, you witch," Ikeda flicked Hikari's forehead, hard enough that Hikari clutched her forehead with both hands and grimaced in pain.

"Oh shit, I didn't mean to do that hard!" With a frightened look, Ikeda back away preparing for the onslaught.

Hikari gritted her teeth, and with a murderous gaze, launched herself towards Ikeda as she screamed bloody murder.

"Sorry! Sorry, Hikari! Sorry!" Ikeda ran away horrified, apologizing as he tried saving his sorry ass. "I'm really sorry! Osaka-kun! Help me! Help me, Osaka-kuuuun!"

Yuzuki could only watch as the two ran around, a small smile creeping up the corner of her lips. Ikeda was running around as if his life depended on it.

"Fu –" Yuzuki covered her lips with the back of her hand as she tried concealing her laughter.

Looking back, she never had any memories of anything like this in her school before. She never destroyed school property. No one dared to touch her. No dared to pick a fight with her. No one dared to tease her. No one befriended her for real. It still felt too good to be true, but right now, no one knew who she really was. Right this moment, she's just an ordinary 'boy'.

"So you can smile like that," said a voice beside her. Yuu's smile vanished so quickly and masked it with a defiant expression as she looked up at the face of the boy standing beside her.

"Nakano. What are you talking about?" Yuu said as they both faced the open area.

Yuu waited, but Kousuke Nakano did not answer.

Yuu looked up and saw him looking at her with a serious expression. Yuu's face turned beet red in surprise; she had to look away a second later.

'What is he doing?! Stop staring, you idiot!'

"I understand you're a man," Kousuke started saying, "But you shouldn't pick a fight with people like Dojo."

Yuu took a big deep breath in as the breeze blew cherry blossom petals their way.

Kousuke continued, "It's dangerous".

Yuu felt a hand on her head; she looked up, and Kousuke was still looking at her with a serious expression on his face and hand on her head. This time, she did not look away. Kousuke moved his hand away, took Yuu's hand, opened it and then dropped the petal of cherry blossom that he pulled off Yuu's hair.

After that, he silently went on his way, leaving Yuu watching his back as he disappeared from her sight.

"Osaka-kun! Let's go home!" Hikari called out, waving her arms like a madwoman grinning in victory with Ikeda behind rubbing his forehead.

"Yes. Let's go home," Yuu Osaka whispered, clutching the petal gently in her hand.

'What's this feeling inside my chest? It's so warm….'

***

That night, Yuu stayed up late. Unable to sleep, Yuu opened her mobile phone, the one she turned off the day she moved out of the Osaka household.

As she stared at the quiet night from the balcony of her apartment windows that looked over the town, her phone beeped one after the other. Without even looking, she knew who it was.

There was no way it would be her immediate family. They never bothered to communicate. After all – Yuu knew there must be at least one person who had been keeping an eye on her movements since she left that house. As long as she is alive, that's all that mattered. Not even her father understands, Yuu thought – he wouldn't even try. After all, he let her mother leave like that. No matter how many times she asked the maids when her mother was coming back, they would always give her the same answer. 'Soon,' they said. Her father would not even answer her question.

At some point, Yuu stopped asking.

"Mama…" Yuzuki whispered as she buried her face in her arms.

Yuu's phone rang in her hand. Jerking up, surprised, Yuu then looked at the caller ID and answered the phone.

"Hello," Yu said quietly.

A deep velvety voice came from the guy on the other end, "Hey."

Yuu was quiet for a moment.

"Did something happen?"

Yuu shook her head. Yuu heard a chuckle from the other end.

"Don't shake your head on the phone," the guy said.

"Hey! Are you here? How did you know?!" Yuu looked around.

"Silly! I just know," the guy chuckled.

"Hey, Izumi. Sorry I didn't tell you I was leaving. I thought if you stop me, I wouldn't be able to say no."

"I wouldn't stop you; you've always wanted to leave. Just – don't keep me in the dark, please." His voice was quiet, and it stung hearing it like that. "I was worried when you suddenly disappeared."

"Sorry… and thank you," Yuu whispered as she stared at the plane crossing the sky.

Yuu could already imagine. If they were together, Izumi would definitely ruffle her hair by now. Yuu couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"Hey, Izumi…" Yuu said as she stared at the starry night sky. "I…finally found a warm place."

The guy on the other side of the line smiled the moment he heard those words.

"I'm glad," he whispered as he looked over the city lights across his condominium, "Goodnight."

'I'm glad, Yuzuki-chan,' he thought as he blew a cigarette smoke over the window.

A woman's voice called him from behind. Looking over his shoulder, the woman was laid naked on the bed, with only a blanket to cover her curves. The woman beckoned him to come over with her finger, and taking his necktie off; he couldn't help but think of someone miles away.

'No matter what I did, you've always kept me at arm's length. I couldn't do anything for you. Even when I was beside you all this time, I couldn't do a thing.'

That night, Izumi Takahashi fell asleep with one thought running in his mind, 'Was letting you go the only thing I can do right?'

Yuzuki on the other hand went to bed with a soft smile on her face after tucking away the cherry blossom petal that Kousuke had given her earlier in a small pink diary.