Our Invincible Protagonist (5)

Writing him off as a delinquent from first appearances, refusing to give him the benefit of a doubt; he had been acting just like his old schoolmates without even noticing it.

What did he know about Onimaru? He knew that he had come to help him when no one else had before, that he was the first person in a long time to treat him like a friend, and Kotaka also knew that Onimaru had a point.

As screwed up as it sounded, Kotaka knew all along that he would never really be able to live an ordinary average high school life; society wouldn't let him. His classmates would look at him with judging eyes, his teachers would treat him like he wasn't there and as much as he wanted his plan to work, he would have to go through a lot of confrontations like the one this morning first. But what else could he do? Give up and continue getting beaten and bruised every day? Even if Onimaru was right, he had to at least try. It was the only way.

Right?

"Hey You!" a shout from behind pulled Kotaka out of his thoughts. He turned around to see a pair of spiky-haired guys wearing his school's uniform. Upon closer inspection Kotaka recognized one of them as the blond that had led the delinquents that morning.

"You idiots again?" Kotaka scowled, "What, one beating wasn't not enough for you today?"

"Whoa man…we're not looking for trouble." One of them cried, raising his hands in defense "Our boss wants to have a word with you."

Oh crap, Kotaka thought, a lump forming in his throat, this was definitely NOT good. "He does, does he?" he replied, struggling to stay composed, "And what if I say no?"

"Then you can count on a repeat of this morning," the blond spoke, "only with three times as many guys."

Kotaka frowned, quietly considering his options. He was far from being in the mood to deal with this right now, but he knew he didn't have a choice. He couldn't count on Onimaru being there to protect him again and honestly, he was somewhat curious about who was really in charge of these goons.

"Hmph." Kotaka sneered, "Fine, but this better be worth my time."

SSS

Kotaka followed the two to a nearby park, which seemed oddly deserted for that time of day. Scattered about were slim, well-built guys with the same kind of spiky hair that the two guiding him did. Some were in uniform, some were not, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that these were all members of the same gang.

He was taken to a fountain in the centre of the park. There were next to no other gang members there, only a single young man was sitting on the edge of the fountain.

He was wearing the same uniform that Kotaka was wearing, only neatly buttoned and in pristine condition. He had flaming red hair that was slicked back and flipped up at the end like a peacock's feathers. He smiled warmly as Kotaka approached, the kind of smile that would make girls swoon and guys boil with envy Was this smug-looking jerk their boss?

"Shuyaku Kotaka…" the young man laughed, "You look every bit as fearsome as I pictured."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Kotaka retorted, yeah he was definitely the leader, "You the leader of this outfit?"

"That I am." the man replied, lowering his head, "Suzaku of Nakaba's Shiseiju. Leader of the Firebirds, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Shiseiju? Really?" Kotaka thought to himself, careful not to let his guard down, "That supposed to mean you're someone important?" he scoffed.

"I suppose so." Suzaku chuckled, "Though it probably doesn't mean much to a newcomer like yourself."

"No, it doesn't. Just tell me what you want."

"Sure thing," Suzaku grinned, "But let's make this discussion a little more private. Leave us."

Suzaku's two underlings nodded and took off, leaving the two alone in the middle of the park.

"So." Kotaka snarled, "What the hell do you want?"

"Me? I just want to talk,"Suzaku laughed, before his dazzling smile turned into an irritated scowl, "Though it would help greatly if you dropped the act."

A chill ran down Kotaka's spine as he withered under the sharp glare Suzaku was now giving him. Struggling to maintain his composure, he opened his mouth to speak.

"What?" Kotaka shouted, balling his fists, "What are you getting at?!"

"Oh please." Suzaku yawned, "You think I haven't met your kind before? The kind that thinks they can get by via intimidation and hiding their weakness behind a façade of strength?"

Kotaka bit his lip, sweat trickling down his neck. This guy was on a completely different level from the goons he had faced before, and it was quickly becoming apparent that no amount of talking tough was going to get him out of this mess.

"Come on, I even had the courtesy to send my men away…" Suzaku pleaded, once again flashing that annoying smile. Seeing that Kotaka didn't respond, he dropped the smile and waved his hand, "Well keep up the act if you want, just know that tricks like that may work on my underlings, but not me or that Oni who's playing around with you."

"Oni?" Kotaka paused, did he mean Onimaru? "What are you talking about?"

"The Oni of Sugita. That helmet guy pretending to be your subordinate." Suzaku grinned, "That guy isn't your run-of-the-mill weirdo. He attended Sugita Middle, a notorious school where 95% of its students are delinquents." the delinquent boss snorted derisively, "It's where they send the worst of the worst of this city's youth, the kind of kids with no prospects aside from dying in a ditch from a fight or a drug overdose." he chuckled, shaking his head, "It's a dog eat dog sort of place, and I should know, a few of my best subordinates are Sugita Alumni."

"He's a complete monster you know?" Suzaku laughed, "He tore through every single person that crossed him. Cracked ribs, broken limbs, you name it! I hear he crippled a guy just for cutting in front of him on the way to school."

"A guy like that…" Suzaku's smile grew even wider, "I wonder what he could be planning for a shrimp like you?"

Kotaka clenched his teeth. Kotaka already had his doubts about Onimaru, but Suzaku was making him seem much more dangerous than he initially thought. Then again, Suzaku hadn't really given Kotaka a reason to trust anything he was saying either. Either way, he realized there wasn't any point in carrying out his charade around this guy.

"Ok" Kotaka sighed, dropping his defiant tone, "What do you want?"

"Glad you've decided to cooperate," said Suzaku, pulling out his cell phone.

"As the leader of the Firebirds I hold a significant amount of influence," saying this Suzaku scrolled through a few numbers, as if for effect, "If I should say, put the word out that a particular student from my school is not to be troubled in any way it would most likely stick."

"Regardless of the credibility of the rumors, " Suzaku shrugged his shoulders, "The Oni's exploits are fairly well known around these parts, and defeating him would most certainly go a long way in further cementing my dominance among the other gangs."

"Now I don't really know what your relationship is with him," Suzaku eyed Kotaka suspiciously, "but he trusts you right?"

"I don't know…" Kotaka mumbled nervously, "Maybe?"

Suzaku sighed, putting away his cell phone, "The deal is simple.The Oni of Sugita in exchange for your peaceful high school life."

"If you are interested," He continued, glancing at the clock. "Bring the Oni to this park before midnight tonight."

His attention returned to Kotaka, glaring at him like a hawk eyeing its prey, "But I think you can figure out the outcome should you refuse."

Suzaku snapped his fingers, and the two underlings from before appeared.

"Guide our guest back to the street, and if he doesn't return by midnight…" Suzaku's eyes narrowed, "you know what do to."

As Kotaka was led out of the park he was deep in thought. Kotaka didn't believe for a nanosecond that Suzaku would honour his end of the agreement even if he did bring Onimaru to him. Not to mention he still wasn't sure what the latter was planning. He had to come up with a plan to get out of this situation…

Slowly but surely as he was escorted out of the park and back into the hustle and bustle of the city, a plan started to take shape in Kotaka's mind. Within the next few minutes he was dashing in the direction of the batting centre, praying that Onimaru was still there.

SSS