ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ

୨⎯ Watering a Bud Isn't So Fun ⎯୧

"Haruchiyo!! Where are you going?! Don't you dare leave this house!" Takeomi shouted as he stopped my brother from stepping outside the front door. He just looked at him in his eyes. With a black mask over his mouth, I couldn't tell if he was smiling at him or was nonchalant about this whole situation.

Takeomi then shifted his glare to my direction and spoke with a raised voice, "Hey, don't you care about your brother?! Are you not gonna stop him from leaving?"

"I do care... That's why I'm letting him make his own decisions. Haru-nii isn't a kid anymore. Why are you getting so heated up about this anyway? All you ever do in this house is verbally and mentally abuse us. When Haru-nii isn't going outside his room anymore, your hurtful words all went to me!" I said, slapping him with reality as if he was never shown the light of what our life had been for the past years.

By the time I finished my sentence and let him reflect, Haruchiyo was no longer by the doorstep. Takeomi slammed his hand on the drawer as he spoke in fury, "Ah, shit! That brat!" Haruchiyo successfully used me in getting away from the chains our dear brother had strapped us in. I wonder where he is headed to.

Why didn't you take me with you, Haru-nii?

A struck of lightning went through my mind. Something in me really hated this person completely. It really made me realize how bad of a person Takeomi is.

He was no longer our brother when our parents left us for good. It was only as if he was obligated to feed us. Other than that, he would do anything he wanted. Flame was engulfing my heart to the point that nothing could extinguish it. I was starting to hate this world too.

At some point though, I thought to myself, "He also lost his parents... Not just Haru-nii and I. He's only doing his best to be a big brother to the both of us. Knowing he currently doesn't have a stable job, feeding us and himself isn't so easy." but I'm sorry I couldn't be a soft-hearted person.

The damage has been done and he has shattered my heart to pieces, that's why I turned out to be this kind of person. A person full of hatred. A person who can never know how it is to be truly satisfied with life. Everything is temporary after all. Everybody will leave someday. Including me.

"I heard from Seishu you were beaten up to a pulp yesterday." Yuzuha said as she inspected my face carefully, cupping my cheeks into her palms. I replied with a not-so-convincing expression, "I-It's not that bad... Really." All of the pain in my body began to creep up on me.

Thanks for making me remember, Yuzuha.

Yuzuha exhaled a breath as she distanced her face from mine. She then crossed her arms and said with an attitude, "Will you stop associating yourself with those filthy gangs? It's only ruining you more and more. Physically." A drop of sweat glided down the side of my forehead with a forced smile flashed on my lips.

I didn't know what to say. Being a part of a gang, fighting, and watching battles are the only things keeping me entertained and distracted from what I've been shouldering.

I changed the topic, relocating her concerns to somewhere else until it had vanished. I asked with a bright expression on my face, "Yuzu, do we have a classmate named Haitani Rindou?"

She undid her arms as she now looked a bit surprised for me to ask such a question. Then, she snapped her fingers and said with a clueless thought, "I have never heard of that name before."

"You really had me there, Yuzu. I thought you had an idea." I responded. Yuzuha sat on top of my desk and continued the conversation with an interested look in her gaze, "You don't usually ask about other people. What is that person like?"

It made me think for a bit, swimming through the hanging pictures filled with recent memories. A flashback then rushed through my mind where that night came back running to me.

"...He's strong. Incredibly strong. Nothing like what I've seen in a fight." I spoke as my eyes were shining, remembering how he defeated that awful leader. Yuzuha then smirked the moment she heard my response, staring at me with her soft and gentle face. "Well, that's quite vague. Your type must be those who are strong, huh."

"Type?"

Yuzuha elaborated, joking at this hour, "Me, Seishu, and you've got a new person named Haitani? I see a pattern here, Y/n." I thought to myself in utter confusion, What is she saying? When she says "type"... Does she mean "taken to a liking"?

"Anyway, I've got some stuff to handle in the club. Wanna join for a bit?" Yuzuha said, reconnecting me back to the real world. I replied, standing up from my chair, "I'm not quite sure. I'll have to ask Sei-!"

I forgot. We don't belong in a gang anymore.

I cleared my throat for a second and continued, "I mean... Yeah, I'll join!" Yuzuha said her short thanks to me then we headed outside the classroom and into the club she was in.

Before I knew it, we both arrived at the ... "Gardening Club? And you're the... president?" I exclaimed to great shock. I never expected for her to be the type of person who's interested in raising plants and such.

With confidence, she entered the clubroom and placed her school bag on one of the vacant chairs. She then spoke to a club member which I completely didn't notice, "Oi, Kokonoi. What are you doing tampering with the newly bloomed flowers I planted?"

Yuzuha walked to his side with a raised eyebrow. All the boy could do was to look at my friend in a jeering expression. The boy named Kokonoi responded with a smug look, "Are you accusing me? What a president you are. I'm just contemplating some things. I just happened to stand in front of them."

"Oh, you're also a member of Yuzu's gardening club?" I butted in.

Kokonoi now looked in my direction with a questioning look on his face as he only saw me as an interruption to their preheated argument.

After a while of examining who I was, that smug face appeared once more as he spoke, "That's right. You must be Akashi Y/n. I take it you're close with the club president here."

I had the urge to return his attitude so I mirrored his expression and said, "And I take it that my friend clearly hates you."

""Hmm." Kokonoi hummed with an intrigued tone in his voice. He walked up to me, closing the distance, and flashed a mischievous grin. He said, "Akashi Y/n. You are quite the person. I see why Shiba is your friend."

Yuzuha pulled him back with a bit of force by his shoulder as she said with an annoyed expression, "Get away from her, will you? You're being too close. I don't want you influencing Y/n with your immoral behaviors."

"But I think Y/n here already has that on her." Kokonoi commented, shrugging his arms. "Besides, I'm just enthralled by the way she dared to copy my movements. I don't go all chummy with various people, Shiba. Of all the people I have crossed paths with, you know that the most."

Suddenly, a person slid the clubroom door open with much force. The student was panting, catching his breath, before he spoke in a loud voice, "Y/n! I got your message. What's the emergency?"

"Inupi?"

"Koko?" Seishu uttered with a slight confusion to his tone.

Yuzuha's chuckle was heard by Kokonoi which made him look in her direction. "What!" He said to my friend with an exploding expression. Yuzuha continued to laugh loudly as she answered, "What's with that nickname? And you mentioned you don't get all chummy with people!"

I let them have their own moment while I walked to Seishu, clearing up his misinterpretation of the message I just sent him before Yuzuha and I arrived at the clubroom. I said, "There's no emergency. I just wanna let you know that I'll be leaving... going somewhere... which is here together with Yuzu."

"Oh, that's what you meant." Seishu replied with an exhausted tone. I patted his back as I laughed it off to make him feel better. Well, he's always been the type to get easily concerned for people, especially when he knows that person is going through something. In this case, Seishu's keeping an eye on me. It's not like I'm going anywhere though.

"Anyways, I'll be taking my leave. I just want some peace and quiet. I don't want to be disturbed at the moment." Kokonoi said with an irritated tone in his voice. Sliding the door open, he relayed his final message to the club president, "Excuse me for a while, club president, but I currently need to run some errands." And just like that, his presence was gone as if he was never there.

I striked a curious question once Kokonoi left, "What's up with him? You know him right, Seishu?" He took the school bag resting on my shoulder and replied, "Koko has always been like this. He usually wants to be left alone and do his own thing."

"I see. Well, Yuzu, what's with all these plants you're working on? I never thought you would open a gardening club."

"I gotta find something to do one way or another. It's one of the hobbies I have written down on my list. I never would have expected it's relaxing to have all these flowers next to me." Yuzuha smiled as she gazed at her hard work.

Hobby, huh. I get it she wanna forget her dark history with gangs and stuff. Hmm, I might need to take note of this.

"Thanks for coming today. I'll be staying here for a little longer, so you can go ahead of me." Yuzuha said, sending me off as the clock hit 4:30 PM. I waved my goodbye to her before I slid back the door. With Seishu following me to where I live, I suggested we stop by the convenience store. "It's my turn to treat you, Inui Seishu."

He chuckled, saying, "What's with the full name? You don't have to, really." I then insisted as I further elaborated, "You've been nothing but kind to me, Seishu. You were always that one person who took great care of me, especially yesterday. Well, I guess I'm just taking responsibility for dragging you into that foolish gang. Let me be, will you?"

"Alright then. If that's where you will be happy." Seishu smiled so gently at me. One that I have never witnessed before. This moment won't be so bad to remember. It wasn't related to fighting or anything about gangs but I seemed to have fun today.

As we were approaching the counter, Seishu and I noticed a familiar look. Of course, how could I forget that sly face? "Yo, Inupi... and Akashi." he flashed a grin at us before I knew it. Seishu placed all of the stuff we were gonna purchase on the counter and began talking to him like they were friends from the past.

"I see you're working hard as always, Koko. But do you really need to do this?" Seishu asked with a calm, friendly expression on his face. His friend's facial expression slowly changed. "Tch. I'm doing this for myself, not for- Nevermind."

There must have been a conflict that occurred that only the two of them knew. Both Seishu and Kokonoi had a different expression than before. It contained a hint of sadness to it. Well, I have no place to wonder about it. It's better to stay behind the line.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up. That's not what I meant to-"

"Drop it. I don't care about that matter anymore, Inupi."

Kokonoi continued his job and told me the total price of what I should pay. After that, Seishu and I sat on the high seats by the window to enjoy the food we chose. We were pretty much talking about what we should do now that we no longer belong to a gang. We were basically freed from the chains tying us down.

"Welcome, customer." Kokonoi greeted the customer who was on the phone with the slightest interest in his manner.

"Rin-rin, I'm at the convenience store right now. Do you want anything? Look, it's almost dinner."

♥ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴄᴏɴᴛɪɴᴜᴇᴅ...