Chapter 1

Maybe it was my fault for getting myself into this situation without it being my business but as much as they say that curiosity killed the cat,it keeps going towards the things that spur it on. It could have been this danger from the start that makes it want to know what's behind the mystery but basically I didn't care about any of that at the time.I had more serious problems to bitch about.

"Just so you know,I hate you" I told him and instead of answering,he gave me another one of those wide smiles of his that so got on my nerves.I was beginning to think he did it on purpose but maybe I would never get the chance to ask him.

I could see them through the crack of the door and that satisfied my desire to know what had happened with the two students who had caused trouble almost in sync to the point of troubling the principal and claiming it was a terrorist attack. It was a room from a club if I wasn't mistaken but the situation they were in was truly deplorable. There were boxes everywhere and old broken school equipment as if that area was being used as a storage room. As the midday sun streamed in through the dirty windows, its rays revealed the mist of dust that was in there to the point of making you wonder how they could talk without coughing.

The boy who was standing and was probably in charge of the two troublemakers,whose backs I could only see since they were sitting on chairs,turned abruptly towards them while he had been wandering up and down for so long.His movement made me start backing up a little fearing that he had noticed me.I let out a relieved breath when I saw that his attention was focused on the two boys and he seemed ready to talk to them. I smiled at the thought of the punishment he might inflict on them but frowned when I detected the lively and encouraging smile on his lips.

"So, boys? How does it feel to become members of this club?" He asked like some substitute teacher trying to look friendly to the boys so he wouldn't get eaten up.

"Cool!I've always wanted to be a cheerleader!" replied one who looked irritated and his head was a little lower on the chair as he sat more relaxed. The other was too tense and didn't dare to respond as his whole body was shaking and he tried to stop it. He must not have wanted to cause a commotion and had unwittingly done so. He did not look like a troublemaker.

"How about you, Nen?" The boy reminded me more and more of a teacher trying to encourage his students to participate and that made me both dislike him and frustrated because I was hoping to witness a very severe punishment.Still I stayed there without leaving.

"Whoa big guy!Just because the principal agreed to help you with this lousy club to keep it from ceasing to exist as a punishment,doesn't mean we're buddies!"The one who was sitting more casually sat more straightly and grabbed the handles of the chair as if he was about to get up.I didn't blame him. I wouldn't want someone I was seeing for the first time to call me by my name either,even if he hadn't called him but the other guy.

"I-I...I don't understand how this is exactly punishment... "Nen's voice came out like a mouse trying to communicate with another rodent.The standing boy immediately turned to him as if he had completely ignored the other one without a single crack in his bright expression.

"I suggested it so you wouldn't get expelled and also because the school needs a cheerleading squad for the upcoming tournament. "He explained as if he was facing a small child or a frightened bird and the truth was that Nen wasn't much different at that moment.It was obvious from the unease in his movements that he wanted to object to all this and ask for expulsion but he didn't dare to do so.

"What is he talking about man?!Do you even know why I'm here?Not only do you want to make me a cheerleader but you want the whole school to see me just to cheer for them?No way!" By now he had stood up and was making vigorous gestures with his hands to emphasize how adamant he was about this.The boy in charge of the club, who I could tell from the black pin was a third year,looked at him with the same kindness almost closing his eyes from smiling but what he said was sharp even if wrapped up in a soft voice.

"Then can we ask the principal to revise the punishment and suspend you for a week huh Fujita-kun?" If he had been upset a moment ago for calling the other boy by his name,surely now he would have been furious at the addition of the even friendlier "-kun" but he knew he didn't want to be expelled so he bit his lip and sat back down. His hands however did not cease to be clenched into fists.

"Now that this is solved, while we're here we'll all be called by our names. Besides, surnames are longer and it's not convenient if we want to do something.I'm Kaoru and if you want you can call me senpai since you're sophomores but it's not mandatory." I believe that even I who have been told repeatedly that I have cold blood,would have gotten irritated with a man whose expression rivaled the sun and seemed to be unbreakable.Fujita however was definitely already indignant about the whole situation because I saw him cross his arms and slip even further into the chair while puffing away. Nen beside him kept nodding at every single thing Kaoru said as if it was some very important information he was jotting down in his mind so he wouldn't forget. Those three were very different and I had no idea how they would manage to form a harmonious club.

"Good.Now can we go?" asked Fujita and he already looked ready to get up and leave since the briefing was over and he thought that this was the only thing for the first day.

"We haven't started yet "Kaoru replied and walked towards a closet that the room had. He must have known the room quite well because his footsteps not only concealed confidence but no one else would be able to spot the furniture with the naked eye the way it was hidden behind stacks of stuff. He seemed to literally disappear for a while with the only indication that he was still in the room being his coughing from the dust and some boxes that could be heard falling.

"Are you going to leave before he comes back?" whispered Fujita towards Nen, but the boy looked at him with rolled eyes as if he was dealing with a madman; he shook his head negatively several times before he too made a failed attempt to whisper.

"I'm already in enough trouble,I don't want any more. "He replied with all the courage he could muster because he was obviously scared of the other boy.Fujita sighed and sat back up properly because he was leaning towards him while putting his hands behind his head. He didn't look that disappointed though because he probably expected that this would be the boy's reaction.

"Well...Nen will sweep and mop while Fujita since he's so strong and doesn't want girly things,will carry all the boxes to the bins."Kaoru's voice was heard making his presence felt a few seconds before he appeared with cleaning tools in his hands.His light brown hair was so dusty that when he moved it seemed like fairy dust was falling from his head.

Nen obeyed immediately and stood up to pick up the broom.Fujita was in no hurry to move.He was looking at Kaoru,who though his words could be considered ironic his voice didn't betray that,as if he was torn between whether or not it was worth it to protest. Finally he stood up with a movement as if his feet kicked the air in case some tension escaped and approached him to ask him which box to start from.

Somewhere around now it was time for me to leave as they hadn't been punished so there was nothing to see but also Fujita would be constantly moving in and out of the room to move the boxes and so he would see me. Perhaps I felt a little sorry for him as I could see he had a lot of nerves but he was cramming them into a lean body that wouldn't be able to bear that much weight for that long a distance. The bins were downstairs and outside the school while the club was on the second floor. Not to mention that the boxes were endless.Yes,this felt more like detention.

As I saw him coming towards the door distinguishing his facial features for the first time,I moved quickly to move away and my mind led me to the next open door which was the neighboring club.To my relief,there was no one inside and apparently it wasn't even being used so I didn't need to make excuses. There was another interesting feature though.The wall separating it from the next room was very thin and I could hear everything they were saying.

I was trying to convince myself to leave once Fujita was away enough so he wouldn't see me but then the other two in the room started talking and got my attention so the rest of my thoughts flew away.

"Why are there no more people interested in this club?" Nen's shaky voice came out, albeit a little distorted due to the barrier separating us. I was sure at that moment Kaoru would reply something melancholic as he recalled his memories of the club when he was younger and it had more appeal and I wished I could finally see his expression change to have the satisfaction of knowing he wasn't as perfect as he seemed.What followed,however,surprised me once again.

"It may have ceased to be interesting or they may not even know it exists.And I'm kind of stuck here because my senpai made me promise to be president of the club.Maybe I wouldn't be here otherwise." It was as if his voice had only two colors and that was all he could use. There was the sweet version and the polite version and they alternated as the situation demanded. This made my petty self who had nothing better to do than spy on them,want to annoy him.Even playing a prank crossed my mind but I would see about that later because now they were still talking and I didn't want to miss anything.

"And you think that's a good substitute for punishment?Maybe some people..." I could see where Nen was going with this and he was indeed right; many students who had been punished differently in the past for actions perhaps even milder than theirs,would complain thinking that these two were receiving special treatment.

"If they dare to say anything,they can come and see for themselves what I make you do" Kaoru replied and I wondered if he had been strict with them not only so that they would learn their lesson but also so that they wouldn't have exactly that problem. On the other hand, maybe they just needed to get those assignments done as well and he had asked them without any other thoughts behind it.That man was a mystery and I was beginning to want to prove that no one could be that pure.

"What's he saying?Are you guys going to keep wasting away while I work like a dog?" Fujita asked annoyed but the earlier tension seemed to have already been released with all the times he had made that trip.He probably wasn't that irritable as a character but reacting like that before due to the fact that he had just come from a fight.It was natural that he couldn't turn off the switch of negative emotions so easily especially if he felt wronged. Of those who had been involved in the fight,only he had been punished.I didn't know who was at fault and how he had been beaten up with almost all the members of the soccer team.No one other than those involved could know and that would probably be kept secret since the team was silent if it was his fault and Fujita didn't give details.

"Since we have you who is that strong,we don't have to work so hard" Kaoru was going against him a lot but he continued to not hide any malice or irony behind his words and it confused you when you heard them.I was surprised when he didn't make a sound and just picked up the next few boxes to take them out.

"Why are you only making me clean up?" asked Nen because he felt like he was getting special treatment between the two but the answer he got made him realize that that was not the only thing that was true. The club president seemed to have thought it all through in a strange way of his own; it made me believe even more that he wasn't showing his true self as he seemed so carefree when there were times when he wasn't.

"To reflect on your actions and put yourself in the position of the cleaning lady.She of course has much more to do to save the situation in the chemistry lab that your experimentation has ruined..." I paid no further attention to his flat voice but the soundproofing was so bad that I could hear Nen gulping before he apparently indulged himself with even more zeal in the job he had been assigned.Perhaps before he had wanted to complain about the punishment he had been given but now he was beginning to understand more things.

They didn't talk much afterwards because the dust made them breathless and they were two complete strangers who had found themselves in the same club by a series of random events.Only Fujita would throw in a quip sprinkled with complaints about what he had been forced to do and his fatigue but that was about it. It took listening to them saying goodbye to realize that I had spent the whole day with my ear glued to the wall spying on three of my classmates.I started to leave and bumped into two stacked desks because the sun had long since set and the room was plunged into total darkness. I wondered how many hours I had been in there and checked my phone to see that curfew was about to pass.If a police officer saw a student my age outside at that time,I would end up at home with an escort and that's all I didn't want.

I rushed out of the room and followed the opposite route from that of the boys sacrificing myself to protect my image. I preferred that they didn't know I had been eavesdropping on them all day even if I had to squeeze into the dark side of the school about which there had been countless stories; one step was enough to make the hairs on my back and neck stand up like bars as if I had been hit by an invisible wind.I got sober and kept running and kept going eventually to avoid paying attention to the sounds and images that seemed to be chasing me.

"It started... "I thought I heard what sounded like a girl's voice whispering but I wasn't even sure if that word was the right one; besides I didn't stop to see if I could hear it again while I tried to block out the sounds, getting louder and louder so my thoughts wouldn't reach me. I knew the building was empty and these were all things that either my imagination was creating out of nothing or it was taking things that were actually happening and twisting them.It was as if it liked to play with my mind and see my reactions.

I wasn't the most athletic of guys but I managed to run with great speed.This can be done to you by that cold fear that makes you feel as if death is approaching and you have to do everything you can to cling to life with your fangs and claws.It may seem like an exaggeration but in a dark building of this size you really have no idea what can jump through the shadows. The bad thing though was that I was so committed to getting out before I was suddenly attacked that after a while I started to feel a strange pain in my feet and I realized that I was feeling every pebble and stick in the street because I had gone out in indoor shoes.I bumped my forehead and knew that my parents shouldn't see me in them because they would have questions that I was too embarrassed to answer.

I looked back just as a thought but I knew there was no way I was going back there. I preferred to even walk barefoot if it meant not having to go back to school in the dark.But instead of feeling ashamed of what I had done or thinking that I had to do my homework and wouldn't try anything like that again,I felt adrenaline. It was as if I had done something different for a change and I felt alive.My lungs had gotten more oxygen than ever from running and my cheeks stung from the gentle lashing of the cool air.I had just filled my empty life with the lives of others and I was ready to do it again the next day as if it was one of my best ideas. Sure there was the matter of wanting to unmask Kaoru but it wasn't just about that.It was easier to fill the void with others and see them from a distance.I had found the solution to my problem and I wondered how hadn't I thought of it earlier.I didn't need to find things to do in my own life when the lives of others were so interesting.

I walked at a fairly brisk pace to get home on time and also because my feet wouldn't last much longer with all the garbage scraping against them. But when I got outside the house,I hesitated to knock on the door because it was the first time I had been so late getting back and surely they would have a long lecture ready before the thorough interrogation.I resented the thought but I knew that the longer I was late,the more I was aggravating my position.

I unlocked and entered the anteroom with somewhat slow steps.I didn't have time to take off my shoes or delay "I'm back!" so I could be prepared because the little one poked her head out of the living room door and looked at me before shouting and running towards me.

"Onii-chan's back!"There goes my chance to choose my moment and she didn't even let me hide the dirty cloth shoes because she wrapped herself around my feet and rubbed her head against them. She may have broken my escape but I couldn't resist her when she did that and I took her in my arms.

"You got heavier"I teased her and acted as if she was slipping out of my hands and she was making startled noises that always made me laugh.As soon as I stopped though she puffed out her cheeks,crossed her arms and turned around scrunching her little eyebrows.

"Mom said Echi is growing up to be a big girl like Chizu!" she said sulkily and got off my hands.I followed her with a sweet smile on my lips and was faced with the short round table laid and all the food covered to keep bugs out.They were waiting for me.It was the first time I was late and therefore it was the first time I felt this.

"Welcome "Chizu said with an almost bored expression without looking up from the magazine she was reading. She had just entered high school but at the same time puberty had hit so she was trying to look more casual and looking for things that girls her age liked.The truth was that I think I would miss that tomboy who played and fought with boys but I wanted to see how her character would be formed.I had no experience with girls except for my two sisters and mom but I wasn't sure if they could be counted.

I went to sit at the table hoping that with this natural movement we would move on to the meal, bypassing the part where I had to explain where I had been for so many hours without prior warning. But my dad's voice made me freeze halfway up I bent my legs and I turned towards him like a wet cat but he patted me hard on the back.I was about to explain myself because I thought he had done it because he was upset with me but I managed to see his face before I did something stupid. He had a silly grin from ear to ear.I looked at him confused.

"Say...did you find a girlfriend?"He asked me so suddenly and my face rose sharply in temperature before it reached the warming point that made me feel like smoke was coming out of my ears.I started waving my hands convulsively in front of my face to show him that he was wrong ignoring the muffled laugh Chizu gave as if to say that this was never going to happen.

"I didn't... "I didn't have time to explain because Echi clutched around my arm in an almost possessive way and looked at me with those big eyes that whenever she had that look she knew I could bring the whole world to her feet.

"Onii-chan doesn't love Echi anymore?" she asked me with a jealous expression and that confused things even more.

"Who's the unlucky one?"Chizu extended it, once again stealing my chance to stop this rumor. She looked like she was indifferent but in reality her ears were focused on the conversation.

"I told you,dear, that he might have been with friends."I turned to mom as if she was my savior because she said exactly what I was trying to say but I was startled when I saw the look in her eyes and the kitchen knife she was holding. "If something like that had happened,the child would have told me. Right Ryo?"

A feeling ran through me as if my life was in danger and I hurried to stand up after Dad's blow had knocked me down.I gestured with my hands to stop them from talking and drew attention to me.

"I was with friends. "I said a little louder to cover the voices of the others and I knew I now had their undivided attention.

"How did you meet them? "Chizu's question came quickly like a stone thrown by a slinger; she was trying to catch me off guard so she could see if I was telling the truth or not.

"At the club I joined "I answered and perhaps I was startled by how effortlessly the lie had slipped off my tongue if I hadn't prepared myself for the next question.

"What club?"

"Cheerleading."

"What's their name?"

"Nen,Kaoru and Fujita. Two are sophomores while one is a junior. "I crossed my arms because I could see her obvious surprise and that she was out of questions.My expression was abruptly wiped away though because I heard my parents blowing their noses and I turned to see them excited.

"Our boy..."

"I told you he wasn't worthless and would make it someday" Dad and Mom said in succession and I looked at them with half-closed eyes.I may not have had that many friends but I had been in groups in the past and now I was only at the beginning of my sophomore year of high school. They seemed overwhelmed but what could I do with them being like that?

We finally sat down to eat and Echi wouldn't let go of me even though she was relieved that I hadn't found a girlfriend after all.Chizu was looking at me once in disbelief and once as if she was making fun of me that our parents thought I was worthless until that moment. I ignored her completely and ate my food calmly and thinking excitedly about what those three might do tomorrow.It was one of the few times I wanted to go to school so badly. It was as if I had a personal show just for my own eyes and I couldn't guess what might happen in the next episode.