--

  V Sensei, you lie!

  It’s been over three months and you’re not even back yet, how do you call yourself a teacher?

  Hmm? Hmm? Hmmmmm?

  --

  Aaaaand, sent.

  Tch! Why does she always do things as she pleases? Uncle Tomo has been bugging me off to the point that it’s irritating. Can she just come back already? She’s on a different level of strictness with us but at least I don’t get picked on a lot.

  Then again.. gaarrggh, I’ve been doing nothing but complaining and anything related to that field lately.. let me just cool off.

  I made my way toward the swimming pool, took a good dip for an hour, showered, and headed back to my room at the dorm, before I noticed Sakura who stood by the window at Ren’s.

  Ha! Seems like Yamachin is free for now –although he will be in such a mood for a while—.. now that she has got a new place to sleep.

  All the best luck, Ren.

  **

  “Good morning Ren! Sleep well? Any particular mosquito in your room that keeps you up all night and makes you look like shit with that dark circle under your eyes? Am I wrong? Am I right? Am I in between?” Ryosuke chuckled.

  “Urgh, didn’t realise that you’re actually this annoying. Keep it down, Ryosuke. The headache is killing me.” Fixing himself a seat on a school’s bench, Ren pushed his head backwards, facing the gloomy cloud. “Seems like it’s about to rain..” He added.

  “Ehehehe, I’m always like this. And yes, seems like IT IS about to raaiiin! Ahahaha!”

  “What’s with you, dude?”

  “Nothing!” He grinned. “Why?”

  “Sakura slept over at my room last night.”

  “Ohh? Reaaally?”

  “By the gross face you’re making, I’m assuming she’s done this a lot.. to you too?"

  “Ahaha, never to me. I have a butler quarter in my room, she finds it weird.”

  “Dude, say what?” Ren widened his eyes, he was actually rather impressed than surprised. “Anyone would find it odd. Is it even allowed? We’re at the dormitory.”

  “I get hungry at midnight.. well, sometimes, not always. And I don’t fix the mess in my room, hate chores. Also, my family own this establishment above all, so I do what I want Ren darling..” Ryosuke switched his gaze toward Yamada who has just arrived at the meeting spot. “..ohh, good morning Yamachin. Sleep well, didn’t you?” He teased.

  Man. Rich kids sure are on a different level, huh? Ren thought as he yawns and greeted Yamada right after. “Yo!”

  “Did she sleep at your place last night?” Yamada retorted, being straight to the point.

  “Eh?” He knew? Ren was jumbled, but he got the hint.

  “Oh how fun!” Ryosuke jumped out in excitement. “We got THE new boyfriend..” He paused and started to giggle, “..and THE ex-boyfriend over here ahahaha!”

  Irritated, Yamada then slammed the pretty boy right on his face. “Full-fledged idiot!” He barked.

  “Nothing happened you know, she just came by for some snacks and we pulled an all-nighter, just talking.” Ren gulped. “I didn’t know that the two of you are.. an item.” He smiled with a cold sweat. “Heh.”

  “We’re NOT. Fuck boii over here..” Yamada launched another soft, playful kick on Ryosuke. “..got a mouth of a gossip girl.”

  “Oh?” Another confusion crossed Ren’s face.

  “She never sleeps in her own room.”

  “OH?”

  “She doesn’t fall asleep when she’s all alone, or, well, even if there are people around in her room she would still be on alert..

  ..she’s been sleeping at my place when she’s at school, and would sleep in her nanny’s room when she’s back to her clan’s estate.”

  “Nanny? I mean, never mind that.” Ren quickly shook his head. “Dare I ask why?”

  “I told you, didn’t I?” Yamada lit up a cigarette. “We’re the kids of the Big Four. Enemies, even from within our own clan, do exist. But with Sakura..” He puffed a cloud of smoke toward the gloomy sky. “She got kidnapped before..” As if his mind was struggling with something, he hesitated for a moment. “Back when she was four, something.. something dreadful happened, and it’s been haunting her from that moment on.” He pressed his lips together. “Childhood trauma lingers like a bitch. So, if she’s there at night crawling in your bed, let her be. Just don’t fucking touch her and all that bullshit, got it?” He glared at Ren.

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  Narrowing his eyes, Ren responded. “Oi oii, who the hell do you think I am?”

  “It was just an FYI, Ren.” Ryosuke pushed himself up, his face had switched from a high spirited drunk animal to one serious motherfucker. “But Yamachin meant every word of it.” There was a pause..

  “And my entire clan will crush the very soul of anyone who dares to touch her, ever, again.”

  Ryosuke’s dark eyes had never been darker.

  **

  Being born into the Minamotos would probably look like a jackpot in the eyes of the outsiders. And by the outsiders I meant the other families apart from the Big Four in Soshiki.

  I, on the other hand, do not give a single fuck about my lineage.

  I was born into the privilege of an elite clan, so what? I embraced it. But with that being said, even if I were to be born into a non-bigshot family, I would still be grateful. Sure, I’d have a different perspective on life, but fuck, life is what we make it.

  In my uncle’s appreciations however, it was rather a curse on his life.

  Grandfather said that he left home soon after my Father had passed away.

  I had no memory of my Father, neither of my Mother. Father had died in a mysterious way that no one in my family let alone the world would let me know why, and Mother died right after I was born.

  Grandfather dearest has been taking care of me since then.

  I have another uncle, Minamoto Toma his name was; Grandfather’s third and youngest son, whom I admired a lot when I was younger.

  Sadly, he had also left the earth. And yes, in a goddamn secretive way that no one would dare to tell me how. He was only nineteen then. And I was only four.

  But as much as I respected him back then, nothing compared to the feeling when I first met my uncle Tomo. It was back when I was thirteen, in the library at our flat in Tokyo, while he was having a reconciliation with Grandfather. He had just arrived from Milan then, together with V Sensei.. whom I had also just met for the first time.

  And I have to admit it, back at that time, my eyes sparkled the moment I landed my eyes on the two of them..

  A tall gentleman, who looked exactly like the picture of my father and my uncle Toma, stood right before me. Though honestly, he looked rather more refined.

  He stands with an air of quiet sophistication, and I gawked like an idiot. His black tuxedo is impeccably tailored, hugging his broad shoulders. His posture is upright and confident, elegant and effortless.

  I WANT TO BE LIKE HIM WHEN I GROW UP, that was the thought in my mind back then.

  The lady next to him was not far in comparison either. She was as tall as he was with her high heels that had red soles contrasting her black dress and her long, raven hair. There was a rumour about a clan that has powerful tattoos on them, and I spotted one revolver tattoo on her left thigh –wrapped with a lace tattoo as its gun’s holder as well—, a hint of a blade and a head of a serpent were painted on her back, underneath the mini dress, even though her long black hair was hiding them, and a beast tattoo that covered her right arm. The lady would later be introduced as my uncle’s significant other, and my future teacher at the academy. She was a surviving Deveraux, the ONLY one.

  My jaw dropped when I saw her. I mean, she was pretty. Pretty Onee-san that is.

  Grandfather was always prim and proper in the way he dressed, crisp and sharp with his three-piece suit –which I assumed why uncle Tomo had always worn his tux as well, all formal and all that bullshit—. But at that moment alone, no other thought was in my mind but adoration towards my uncle and his woman. The two rather looked like some motherfucking villains whom I was destined to destroy.. and also my goal at the same time. I mean, in the mind of a thirteen-year-old, what else could I have thought of when I’d caught some shining creatures with such aura in my very own house? My excitement kicked in, and my hot blood rushed me to attack them with the Katana that Grandfather had given me on my birthday.

  Of course, they dodged my attack.

  I failed and fell on the wooden mahogany floor.

  But it was worth it.

  They laughed it all off.. all my stupidity and my stupid face.

  For the first time, and for the last time.. they laughed out loud. With all their hearts’ content. Never have I witnessed them offering their giggles to the world, let alone to me from that moment on.

  While uncle Toma was a playful yet gentle soul with his Soshiki Academy uniform that he would often wear back then, uncle Tomo was the exact opposite. Calculated, always in tux, serious, and way too proper of an adult, in other words, he was a cold jackass and a freezer incarnate.. with his cold face cold jokes cold attitude cold everything toward me.. and even so, even with all that, I still, then and now, fucking adored him.

  Why?

  Well.. he loved his nephew in his own fucking way and I’m a goddamn Soshiki Fighter now all thanks to that cold schmuck uncle of mine!

  *Ryosuke swung his Katana and sliced up two assassins at once.

  **

  The mission for the four kids was to escort a former Higher-up of the Ikari clan to the Ikari’s estate in Koka City, all the way from Narita Airport upon his arrival from abroad.

  The former Higher-up was no ordinary old man who had retired from his position, but he was rather forced to quit and banned from the country due to his past crime against the Soshiki. However, a committee was formed within the Ikari clan to discuss his future, because the former Higher-up was none other than Ikari Kentaro, the youngest sibling of Ikari Muji –Sakura’s father. And the four first-year students of Soshiki Academy were assigned to guard the old man.

  Unfortunately, they are attacked by a group of assassins amidst their journey.

  Eight more assassins from the unregulated clans of Soshiki struck the kids the moment Ryosuke counterattacked the previous two. “Ya’all here to play or something?” He smirked.

  “Funny. We don’t play with kids like you.” A man in his mid-twenties from a ninja clan then retorted. “We grind with you Soshiki kids!” He pulled off his pouch that seemed like a never ending supply of fiery Shuriken and jumped off to attack the group.

  Ryosuke then chunked the attack with his Katana before Yamada joined him and launched a fist toward the other man who was coming in their way. Ren and Sakura on the other hand, were tasked to guard the former Higher-up closely, while they’re fully ready at any given moment should the assassins grasp them.

  “Shit!” Yamada muttered.

  “Doing alright there?” Panting, Ryosuke asked, half yelling. “You already look like shit, Yamachin. They’re nothing!”

  “You underestimate them, bonehead. Look closely!” Yamada shouted as he elaborated more of his punches.

  “Oh crap!” Rolling his eyes, Ryosuke complained. Playfully though, “Haha! INTERESTING!”

  “What do you mean by InTeReStInG? FOCUS, DUMBASS!” Yamada barked, but Ryosuke kept on laughing like a maniac.

  Underneath the assassins’ arms and legs, there are tiny, almost invisible threads that aren’t easily spotted, and both Yamada and Ryosuke realised it the soonest they dotted them. “Work of an expert.” Yamada grinned. “We’re in trouble, Ryosuke.”

  “Nah, we can handle the Puppeteer. Some typical Ninja stuff, right Saku.. SAKURA?” Ryosuke’s eyes widened. “REN? SHIT YAMACHIN! THEY’RE GONE! THAT STINKY OLD MAN TOO!”