_Chapter 29~ A Walk Home_

Where was he?

Keeping my eyes peeled, I scanned the flock of students making their way to the shoe lockers after class. Despite standing by his locker, I couldn't locate him no matter how long I looked. My hopes fell.

He still wasn't here yet? Why? Did he possibly stay home from school today?

Frowning to myself, I readjusted my grip on my bag.

"Sheep spotted!"

I jerked my head in the direction of the shout. It startled me to find Miyabi walking alongside Ryu from down the corridor. I straightened my posture and smiled once Ryu and I locked eyes. The boy in mentioned merely darted his gaze, stunning me. He came to an abrupt halt, whispered something to Miyabi before speeding back into the hallway they came from.

Puzzled, I watched dumbly as Miyabi approached me, grinning from ear to ear. "Hey, Sheep!"

"Where did Iwasaki go?" I demanded in return.

"Hmm..." He hummed, snatching my gaze. "The correct response would've been 'Hey, Miyabi! Long time no see. I missed you.'" He held his hand to his ear, beckoning me to talk. "You can say it, Sheep. I know you can. C'mon."

My expression shifted into the form of a scowl. Miyabi immediately lost his courage and cleared his throat to fill the silence.

"I-I see... It's okay. We can work on proper greetings another time." Smiling a bit, he shrugged. "Iwasaki didn't really say. I think he might've had something he needed to deal with."

I frowned. "Is he going to come back then?"

"Not sure," he replied. "I'd suggest you don't try to wait up for him if that's what you're planning."

So we weren't going home together today? I swallowed back the almost melancholic thought. Whatever. It was fine. I just got so used to going home with him since we live right beside each other, but I'd be find even without his company.

"Is this "thing" he has to do involved with his Class President duties?"

Miyabi made a face at the idea. "Nah. Iwasaki never looks that frantic when it comes to that stuff. He usually tries to ignore them, if anything. Luckily he has me by his side to force him to do it!"

He stood up taller, beaming proudly as if he'd worked extremely hard at that. Considering his personality, I wondered if he even knew how to work hard. Regardless, I forced a smile in return.

"About that," I drawled. "How do you and Iwasaki know each other?"

He sauntered towards the exit. "Ooh, you're curious?"

"Frankly, yes," I said, following him. "I've always wondered how considering you're so different."

"Well, we are pretty different. Before I first approached him, I seriously thought he was really mysterious, y'know. A bit of a misfit too. But now I know he's simply a confusing guy to understand. He can be really direct about stuff and mean, but he can also be pretty diligent. Plus he's super smart, and I've never once seen him paying attention in class. And I didn't even know he liked sweets until you told me that one day. Honestly, he just keeps surprising me."

Sympathizing with Miyabi entirely, I bobbed my head. "And on the other hand, you're as easy to understand as can be."

"Yup. As clear as the sky on a sunny day. I'm not complex to understand in the least," he boasted. "Plus, I'm smart, friendly, kind..."

"Idiotic?" I offered.

He counted that down along with the rest of his fingers. "Yeah, idi— wait." He lurched away from me. "Huh! That's so mean, Sheep! I'm not an idiot!"

"I'd say the world has already spoken."

Crocodile tears filled his eyes. "You're so mean, Sheep! I seriously consider you a friend too! You and Iwasaki are the same!"

"We are?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah!" he cried. "You both just love insulting me."

"It's not our fault you say stupid stuff on a daily basis," I defended. "We simply like pointing you in the right direction."

"Hey! That's not true!" Puffing his cheeks, he folded his arms. "This just isn't fair."

"What isn't?"

"Even though I'm right in front of you, all we're doing is talking about another guy. It's always "Iwasaki this, Iwasaki that" with you. Never me."

His childish declaration summoned heat to my cheeks. "I don't talk about him that much. Our conversations just unknowingly end up about him."

"Because you always bring him up."

My blush wasn't relenting. I glowered at him, hard. "What's wrong with wanting to learn more about him?"

"Nothing, but, you never want to learn anything about me—his best friend." He dramatically sniffled, wiping his eyelids. "Show me some love already. I'm lonely."

All at once, my shoulders sagged. He was always so lighthearted. How Ryu and him ever became "best friends" was still a mystery to me considering their contrasting personalities, but Miyabi wasn't a bad person at heart. No matter how much he bothered me, he didn't do it with cunning intentions.

He was an interesting character, that was for sure.

"Okay, fine," I relented. "Let's talk about you."

"Finally!" He whooped, brown eyes glistening. "I know you don't see me past my optimism, but I'm super amazing, Sheep. Just last week—"

His ringtone blared, silencing him. He let out a sudden yelp, fumbling for the device.

"Oh no!" he yelled whilst shutting the alarm and stuffing it back into his pocket. "I completely forgot about visitation hours! I can't keep him waiting!"

"Visitation hours? Him?"

But Miyabi was too focused on the empty sidewalk before us to answer my questions. The moment he tried to take off, a sudden realization overcame him. Spinning around, he smiled and patted the top of my head.

"I'll tell you all about the "Amazing Miyabi" another day, Sheep. Be careful on your way home!"

I could only watch as the brunet full on sprinted down the road. Per usual, he was crazy fast. I was starting to believe a cheetah had nothing on his speed.

Either way, by visitation hours... was he referring to the hospital? Did he know someone admitted there?

The idea weighed on my chest a little.

He was always so energetic it was difficult to shoulder any concern for him. Least to my expectations, he might've carried countless other heavy things I had no clue about.

Ryu wasn't the only one shrouded in mystery. I knew close to nothing about Miyabi as well. Why did it take me this long to realize that?

I checked the time. It was getting late.

I tentatively peered back the school building.

I guess I'd have to leave without him.

* * *

Sticking close to the side of the road, I headed straight home from the station. The sun had nearly set, giving the sky the usual coral tinge it usually did, which I liked. I was always a fan of the colour.

Scanning my surroundings and familiar neighbourhood, I inhaled a whiff of fresh air, paying heed as it sifted through my hair.

"Huh, if it isn't Senpai!"

My neck whipped upwards at the shout. I twisted my head left and right to look for this 'Senpai' person, but I was the only one around. Returning my focus forward, I spotted Aki Mitsoyu approaching from the front.

He trekked towards me, snickering hysterically as he did. "Did you seriously just look around?" He bent over from laughing. "You're the one who insisted I call you 'Senpai' too!"

My guard had gone up the moment he appeared. What the heck! Where did Aki Mitsoyu come from? I didn't want to be with him! Ryu even insisted not to be.

Although the thought of running away crossed my mind, I knew it wouldn't end well for me if I did.

After wiping a final tear, Aki straightened his posture, slightly towering over me from his height. "Man, what a crazy coincidence. Do you live around here?"

I kept my mouth shut, gaze down-casted. Aki rose a brow at me. After I didn't respond, he sighed.

"I was only asking to make some small talk, but it seems you don't want to associate yourself with me much." He retrieved his phone from his pocket. "I already know where you live so it doesn't matter if you tell me yourself or not."

My body tensed. "You do?"

"Yup, because I'm Senpai's stalker." He winked. "I know everything about Senpai."

A small chill ran through me. Before I could dare stop myself, the question tumbled from my mouth: "Like what?"

Aki briefly looked at his phone, then me. "Well, I know you hate green onions. And that you're not a great fan of grapes, or raisins."

My eyebrows knitted together. What he said was true, but since I assumed that Aki, being the infamous information collector he was, would put together secrets that could potentially ruin me, he wouldn't whip out this kind of simple information that a friend could easily know. It'd be darker, or at least, that was what I assumed.

As if comprehending my thought process, Aki's smirk broadened. "Blood type O negative, born on September 3rd at 22:31, or 10:31 PM. Likes the colours orange and silver, hates the colour pink."

My eyeballs bulged as he only continued, raising a dismissive hand.

"Went to Rinko Kindergarten, Akagi Elementary and Rokuya Middle School. You spend more than an hour every morning fixing your hair. First, you consider straightening it but easily give up and stick to combing it, causing it to puff up like that. Other than that, you tend to walk right foot first, you're left-handed, your vision is better in your left eye just a little bit. The eye doctor actually once wrote for you to get glasses but you stopped wearing them and still have them idling in your front desk drawer along with the rest of your cookbooks and recipe related things." He continued counting off his fingers. "You help out in the school infirmary as a punishment from your father as he is the head nurse there, and participate in community service every day after school, and will continue to do so until the police state otherwise. Oh, and you have a habit of crying whenever you get really frustrated. Your three sizes are thirty—"

"St-stop!" I screeched, unable to even register how far my jaw had fallen. "What the... How the—"

"—Heck do I know this stuff?" He grinned. "Hmm, I wonder indeed."

I inched away in disbelief, keeping my cautions high. And he only knew more? How? Was he tailing me that well? Now it was definitely clear to me why people said not to get involved with him!

The corners of Aki's lips downturned once his phone went ding! Peering down at the message, he frowned. "What? No way! I've got places to be today! I can't do this!"

I curiously peeked over.

Aki's cell phone went off and almost instantly, he answered. Placing it to his ear, he exploded, "Raidon, what do you mean I have to? Why can't you?"

I was frozen stiff as Aki paused, waiting for a response from him. Raidon Tsuki?!

"What do you mean you have to hang out with Momoka? She's not as important as I am, right? Oh. I see. So she is more important." Aki's complexion paled once Raidon snapped something on the other side. "Okay, I'm sorry for speaking out of line. But still! Watching after Mafuyu—"

A loud beep echoed through his cell. Aki was left gaping at the screen.

"He did not just hang up on..." He inhaled a deep breath to calm himself down. "It's fine, me. You can visit her. You don't want to get on Raidon's bad side..."

Seeming to notice my wide-eyed stare, Aki swivelled to face me, raising a brow.

"Oh, Senpai. You look pretty frightened right now. Why?"

"R-R-Raidon Tsuki..."

He howled with laughter. "You're still that terrified of him? C'mon. It was just a phone call. What'll you do if you actually meet him in person?"

The idea summoned a shiver down my spine. I ducked behind the nearby lamppost.

"Die!" I easily replied. "He'd kill me in cold blood like the criminal he is!"

All amusement vanished from Aki's countenance. Setting a hand to his hip, he heaved loudly. "The student body sure has morbid ideas centred around Raidon... Do you really think I'd work under such a dangerous criminal?"

"You wouldn't?"

He frowned. "We may be delinquents, but that doesn't mean we're not human. That goes for Raidon, too. He's not as heartless as you might believe."

Quivering, I poked my head out from behind the lamppost. There wasn't an inch of fraudulence reflected on his face, but I still couldn't digest his words. "You're lying."

"It's the truth," he asserted, beaming wide. "He has this huge problem of being unable to abandon the weak. Earlier this year, he even accepted a girl to our gang because she'd been abandoned by her family and had nowhere else to go. Oh, and he's super soft when it comes to animals and kids."

Aki snickered as he elaborated, as if relishing in the hilariousness of his boss.

"He tries to act all tough and curses a lot, but he truly is the furthest thing from 'heartless'. Of course, Raidon can be super badass too. He recently broke every bone in our opponent's body. And Momoka, that newbie I mentioned, had the audacity to rebuke him. Can you imagine it? Someone, rebuking Raidon?"

I could not.

"It was hilarious! I really assumed she wouldn't live after that disrespect! But, for some reason—" His expression slipped into a look of solemnity. "—Raidon let her off the hook."

I was strung with countless more astonishment. "He... did?!"

"Raidon's typically always doing the opposite of what people expect," Aki explained. "There was about one situation where he put her in danger, but even that day he made sure she got taken care of. I feel he shows her super nice treatment too, for some reason."

I was gawking at the news. Raidon Tsuki... Nice? To someone? That rebuked him?

Was I hearing his right?

"'Oh my gosh, do you think he likes her then?'" Aki slapped his cheeks, gaping purposely, before holding out his hands in defeat. "The thought has crossed my mind, but who knows what goes on in Raidon's head to be honest. I'm good at putting together the subtle hints, but I can't read minds.

"Oh," he began again before I could speak, "and Mafuyu is Raidon's... little sister basically? I'm not sure, he's never really told me and Keisuke who she is, but he treasures her a lot. More than anything. And sadly, she's always in the hospital because of her cardiomyopathy, or weak heart." He dramatically sobbed. "She's such a sweet angel and yet she has to suffer. It hurts. It seriously does!"

Aki continued to fake sob, and I was stuck trying to piece together this information dump. Once it all somewhat clicked, I was left incredulous. Raidon wasn't the petrifying monster I believed he was? He actually had more to him? He had a softer side; a weakness his enemies could exploit.

"Are you sure... you should be telling me this stuff?" I inquired, looking up at him.

Aki hummed, tapping his chin. "No, probably not," he admitted. "Especially if you're a spy from a rivalling gang—which I highly doubt you are— but I think I can trust you." His smile shifted to a more eerie one. "Well, if I do find out you spread this information, you won't live to see the next day."

I yelped, ducking my head, my arms readying themselves in defence.

"Ha ha! You always get so scared." He wiped away a tear, chirping, "I'm just kidding, Senpai. There's no way I'd ever hurt you. I'm a very adorable and sweet fifteen-year-old."

I inwardly shivered. He seriously was odd.

"Senpai, let me see your phone."

I blinked. "Huh? Why?"

He simply smiled, beckoning out his arm. Knowing that meant not to ask questions and just do, I reluctantly reached into my pocket and handed it to him. He grinned, pressing the home button.

"Aww, how cute," he cooed at the sight of my wallpaper—a myriad of flowers. Much to my horror, despite not giving him my passcode, he easily unlocked it and tapped around a bit.

I anxiously watched, my heart rate pulsating.

"Oh." His eyebrows lifted. "You don't even have him as a contact."

My eyelids shot up. "What are you doing?"

I tried venturing around to check (and potentially snatch it) but he quickly dodged my hands.

"And... there!" Grinning, Aki held out my cell for me, and I stumbled back a bit.

I carefully took my phone from him, checking it over for what he'd done.

"I just added myself to your contacts," he informed me with a simple smile. He slipped out his phone and after tapping for a small time frame, dangled it before my eyes. "And you to mine."

Carefully, I stared down at the new contact information I'd obtained. "'My Favourite Underclassman'," I recited slowly.

Aki placed his hands under his chin to showcase his innocence. Pursing my lips, I edited it and put 'The Death Of Me' instead.

"Why do you want me to have you as a contact?" I tentatively asked.

"Why not?" he responded. "I'm actually glad I know your number. Aren't you? Now you can text and call me whenever you want."

"Yeah, but, why would I want to do that?"

Aki opened his mouth to speak, then clasped it shut again. "You're quite blunt, Senpai." He pouted. "I don't give out my number to just anyone, especially with the dangerous stuff I do. People having my number to trace me down—it could end in a huge mess. So be glad I trust you enough to give you my number."

"I see," I murmured, still not buying it.

"Besides, I'm extremely happy I know your number before him." Aki smiled from ear to ear yet again. He glanced around. "Oh, it's getting pretty dark. C'mon, I'll be nice and walk you home."

Though reluctant towards the end, my interests piqued. "Him?" I asked.

"Iwasaki," he replied easily, leading me off down the street. "I was thinking you two were pretty close, but I guess not. It's nice to know that I have the upper hand."

There it was again... "How do you and Iwasaki know each other?" I forced myself to ask. "You two don't seem very close, but it's almost like you've known each for a long time. But that makes no sense because Iwasaki kept telling me he's not a delinquent! So why would he know you...?"

Aki didn't really crack much of an expression. "Iwasaki isn't a delinquent." He snorted wryly. "Raidon, Keisuke and me... Those guys that follow you around. They're delinquents. It's a pretty obvious distinction. It's like me asking if you're a delinquent, Senpai."

"A-are you kidding me?" I demanded. "Who would ever assume that?"

He chuckled. "But you do get involved with a whole lot of us. Then it's the same with Iwasaki. You should stop doubting him so much."

"I wasn't doubting him," I defended. "I just... want to understand him better."

"If that's what you want, then you should do your best on that, with him and not through other people." He came to a halt in front of my house, folding his hands behind his back. "Though, I hope you won't be disappointed."

I faced him with a cocked brow. "Why would I ever be disappointed in Iwasaki?"

"Good question," he mused. He shrugged. "Anyway, I have to go. Mafuyu needs me to keep her company." Before he could turn off, he held up a finger. "By the way, is there any chance you know what kind of books seven-year-olds like?"

"I don't know, fairy tales maybe?" I suggested.

"Ooh, good idea!" With a lot more energy, Aki spun around. "Thanks, Senpai! Oh... and I wanted to tell you that I really like how your hair's all fluffy. It reminds me of a sheep!"

My hands immediately snapped over the top of my hair. My cheeks burned. "Th-that's not true!"

He merely laughed, waving and jogging off.

I quickly patted down my hair, much to no success. Aki, too?

I frowned.

My hair couldn't be that fluffy, right?

_____________________

Two updates in a row? I know, I'm quite proud of this myself xD

Hopefully you all enjoyed them! Oh, and tell me what you guys think of Aki!

I'm halfway done the next chapter so I'm hoping I'll finish it soon. As always, thank you so much for reading!

-Misty