Chapter 18: Arch nemesis

~Byakuya's POV~ I silently growled at the memory.

And, back then I was right; I never grew to like Leo AT ALL.

In fact, I grew to hate him.

More than June. Which definitely seems surprising (I know), but it's true.

Trust me, if you got to know him, you'd hate him just as much.

I hated him mainly because he was my competition for June.

He kept trying to steal her from me and it got on my nerves so much. Man, was I incredibly relieved when he moved back to Mexico.

Apparently, he must have moved back to Japan and now attends Hope's Peak rivaling school, Hashimoto Prep.

And he also was apparently one of the students picked for the Student Exchange Month.

Oh, LUCKY ME...

Having to deal with June is already a challenge of itself, but now I have to deal with LEO??? I mean, there's only so much a person can handle before completely just crashing.

And, let me tell you, I'm extremely close to the breaking point.

Leo always made it a point to prove he was better at everything I was or did; intelligence, manners, looks, wealth, athletic achievements, getting girls, EVERYTHING.

And, he always flaunted his family's wealth. Even more than I do.

He always went on and on about how his family business, Gonzalez Tech, were the inventors of some of the most advanced technology and computer software. Not only that, but his family also happens to own a large percentage of oil mills worldwide.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but his family might he richer than MINE.

It seems impossible, I know.

And, it also seemed he NEVER messed up or made mistakes; it was like he was Mr. Perfect or something.

I suddenly heard Leo start talking again. "Yes, Byakuya here is correct! I was his classmate back in middle school! What amazing times those were! Byakuya and I used to have the funniest arguments over the craziest things...!" he said before he laughed. Then, he nudged me in the shoulder. "Hey, Byakuya, remember that girl we used to fight over all the time? I remember how beautiful she was... and how so out of your league she was! It was a surprise that she didn't pick me... However, she didn't exactly pick you either from what I remember. In fact, I do recall that before I moved back to Mexico, you and her weren't exactly... simpatico with each other! I do think you were a fool for letting her go. But, hey, what else is new?"

I felt my eye twitch. It made me want to explode, him just mentioning June and I casually like that... I hated him more than ever right then.

Naegi must have sensed my anger, because he nudged me. "Uh, Byakuya...? You okay...? Just, calm down... WE'RE IN PUBLIC..." he whispered in my ear.

My eyes widened a bit before I looked around me.

I had forgotten the crowd of students was even still there.

I straightened my uniform tie awkwardly, then faced Leo. "Yes, Leo, I do somewhat remember that... However, you weren't exactly in her league either, WERE YOU?" I said calmly.

Leo's eyes narrowed at me slightly, the movement was so small I almost didn't notice it.

He cleared his throat before he shot me a fake smile, to anyone else it looked like a real one. "Ha! Oh, Byakuya...! You are such a laugh...! But, mi amigo, you are quite incorrect; I believe it was ME June was interested in... Yes, that's quite right!"

I'm surprised he even remembers June's name...

I rolled my eyes at him. "In your dreams. And, even if you two did get together, I know all you want from her is to get in her pants or something ludicrous like that. But, it won't work, June is smarter than that, no matter how much I might detest her. You're going to have to go be desperate somewhere else, because it's not going to work here." I retorted.

Complete silence.

Naegi's eyes widened. The whole crowd of students just watched. Leo's eyes narrowed more at me.

Oh, what a joy it is to piss him off; I missed that about him.

Naegi coughed awkwardly. "Ahem... Well, it's very nice to... um... meet you, Leo..." He shook Leo's hand.

Leo shook back. "Pleasure." he said while still glaring at me. I just smirked at him, which made him even more angry.

Suddenly, a voice rang out in the crowd. "Um, excuse us, but we've gotta get to class..."

We all turned to see none other then June, who had Hina by her side.

Leo's eyes widened before he took June in completely. "My goodness... June, is it really you? After all these years???" he said.

Hina leaned over to June. "Hey, June, who's the hot guy?" she whispered.

June shrugged. "I have no idea."

I smirked at this. June clearly doesn't remember Leo.

Leo cleared his throat. "June, don't you remember me? It's me! Leo Gonzalez!"

June looked deep in thought for a second before her eyes widened. "I do remember you! I went to middle school with you! Leo, I can't believe it's actually you!" she said before she went over and hugged Leo.

Leo hugged her back. Then he smirked at me.

I wanted to punch him in the face, but we were in public, plus a Togami does NOT lower himself to that level; that would only be playing into Leo's hands.

Finally, Leo released June. Then he smiled. "June! It's really you! You look great! You're even more beautiful than I remembered!" he said.

June blushed. "Thanks... You look great too."

Hina nudged her. "So, June, is this the guy you told me that you had an insane crush on?" she whispered.

It didn't do any good, we all heard her.

It took me five seconds to realize what Hina said.

Wait, JUNE LIKED LEO???

The very thought of it made me want to slap Leo senseless.

After all these years, he's still winning! And we haven't seen each other since the seventh grade!

June blushed again. "Um... Uh--"

"Oooh! He totally is, isn't he??? I told you I'd find out one day!" Hina said.

June blushed harder. "H-Hina, that's--"

"Totally right! Right? I knew it!" Hina interrupted.

Before June could get another word out, Leo sent her a smirk. "Hey, June, I know we haven't seen each other in a long while, so maybe you could come eat lunch me! Invite some of your friends too!" he said.

June smiled like a giddy schoolgirl. "Sure! Er, I mean, whatever... if you want me to..."

I wanted to slap both Leo and June.

The question was: which would I rather slap harder?

"June and I would be delighted to sit with you! We'll, indeed, invite a small group of our friends." Hina said.

Leo nodded and sent June a dazzling smile, the kind of smile that could charm a cobra. "Great, see you at lunch. I'll be counting down the minutes until then." he said smoothly.

I grinded my teeth just to keep from lashing out and punching him.

June hugged her books against her chest. "Uh huh, see ya'..."

Leo smirked once more before he walked away, leaving every girl in the hallway swooning.

Just like he did when we were in middle school.

"I hate that guy SO MUCH." I said through gritted teeth.

"I don't see the problem, Byakuya; he seems like a nice guy." Naegi said.

"Oh, yeah! He seems nice now...! But wait until you get to know him! That guy can sweet talk a child out of eating candy!" I retorted.

Naegi rolled his eyes. "Uh huh, sure, Byakuya... he seems like a real vicious snake..." he said sarcastically.

I glared at him. "Fine. Don't believe me. Just don't come crying to me when he reveals himself as the true snake he is."

"Sure, Byakuya, I'll be sure to give you a call."

I wanted to slap Naegi too.

Eventually, the crowd of students cleared and everyone went back to their normal schedule: going to class.

~~~~~~~~~~~

~Third Person POV~ "... and that's the story about the time I went to Fiji and skydived. Quite an interesting tale, huh?" Leo said as he finished up a story.

It was lunchtime and Leo stuck to his proposal; June and some of her friends sat along with Leo at one of the lunch tables chatting happily and getting to know him.

Ibuki's eyes sparkled when Leo finished. "Woah, that's so cool! You got to go skydiving?!" she said, in awe.

Leo nodded. "Yes, I have. My family has a lot of money to spare, so we get to go on trips such as that one. That trip, however, was pretty low-key for me." he explained.

Ishimaru's eyes widened. "Low-key? LOW-KEY??? Skydiving is incredibly dangerous and life threatening, and you say it's low-key?! Fellow classmate, you are either really brave or really stupid." he pointed out.

Leo laughed. "Oh, please! That's not the most extreme adventure I've been on! Plus, you know what they say, you only live once! So, you should enjoy life and live it to the fullest!"

"Woah, that is so wise..." Sayaka said.

"Indeed." Kyouko said.

"Nice one, June, he's a keeper." Erin said before she ate one of her fries.

June blushed. "Hehe... Uh, thanks..." she muttered, embarrassed.

Leo just smiled. "I'm glad she thinks of me that way, because I'd never want to leave her, ever. She would never be able to get rid of me anyhow."

"Awww~! How sweet...!" Hina sighed.

June blushed even harder.

Byakuya rolled his eyes at them from across the lunchroom. "I can't believe June is falling for all that bull. I mean, the others weren't surprising... But, June? I actually thought she was smarter than that." he grumbled.

Makoto just looked at him. "Byakuya, what's your problem with Leo anyway? He seems like a nice guy."

"He is most definitely not a 'nice guy'! That's all just an act! Can't you tell? Trust me, Naegi, I went to school with the tool, he's a definite asshole." Byakuya said.

"So... he's like your arch nemesis or something...?" Makoto said.

"Something like that." Byakuya said.

"But, why do you hate him that much?" Makoto asked.

Byakuya sighed. "When I still liked June, Leo was my competition. He liked her too. And he made that point abundantly clear..."

"Okay, everyone! It's time to choose who you're going to work with on the project! Now, I'm giving you all the privilege of choosing yourselves, but if I catch you doing anything BUT working, I will not hesitate to separate you. Now, choose your partners and get to work!" the teacher said.

Byakuya and June immediately paired up.

Leo walked up to them. "Hello, June! I was wondering if we could possibly be partners?" he said.

June sighed. "I'm sorry, Leo, but no. I'm already partnered up with Byakuya. Sorry...!"

Leo gritted his teeth. "Oh, that's fine... Just fine..." he grumbled.

Byakuya sent him a smirk.

Leo returned it with a glare. Then, he let out a sigh.

"I have no one else to work with... Everyone else already has their partners... There must be an odd number of students in the class..." he mumbled sadly.

June gave him a look of sympathy. "Oh my gosh, you're right! Well, I can't just let you work all by yourself...!" she said. Then she turned to Byakuya. "Maybe he could work with us and we could have a group instead of a pair...?"

Byakuya's eyes widened. He obviously DIDN'T want Leo working with them.

But, he didn't want June to think of him as a jerk...

Byakuya sighed. "Sure, whatever."

June smiled then turned back to Leo. "Leo, welcome to the group!" she said, smiling.

Leo smiled back. "Gracias, June! That's very nice of you."

"You're welcome!" June said.

Byakuya rolled his eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Byakuya gulped nervously. School had just ended for the day and it was time for him to do something he has been planning for awhile now.

Byakuya took a beep breath and let it out before he approached June, who was packing up her things.

"H-Hey, June...!" Byakuya said.

June smiled and faced him. "Hey, Byakuya! I've got good news, the project should be finished soon." she said.

Byakuya smiled. "That's great!" he said. Then, he clenched and un-clenched his fists nervously. "Before you go... I was wondering if... uh..."

"Hm?" June asked.

Byakuya suddenly noticed that Leo was standing right behind June.

Oh great, like it wasn't enough that he had to ask June out and try not to break under the pressure, but now he has to do it in front of LEO.

Nevertheless, he was going to do it.

"You were wondering...?" June said.

"Uh, I was wondering if, maybe, you'd consider... uh, possibly going to see a movie with me on Saturday night!" Byakuya spit it all out at once.

June just stood there, blinking for a couple of seconds before she smiled. "Of course I would." she said.

Byakuya's eyes widened. "R-Really???"

"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I? Plus, we could also bring Erin and Jesse with us! It sounds like fun, great idea, Byakuya!" June said.

Byakuya froze and stared straight ahead. Leo just smirked at this.

"Wait, invite ERIN and JESSE...?" Byakuya mumbled.

"Yeah, to hang at the movies with us... That IS what you meant by going to the movies, right?" June said.

Byakuya looked down at his feet. "Uh, yeah, of course that's what I meant...! What else could I have possibly meant??? Inviting Erin and Jesse won't be a problem at all! The more the merrier!" he spouted.

June smiled. "Right you are."

Leo appeared next to June. "Hey, I overheard you're going to the movies on Saturday! That's cool. I hope you enjoy the movie and have a good time, June." he said.

Byakuya glared at him.

"Actually, maybe you'd want to join us? It'll be fun! I mean, the more the merrier, right, Byakuya?" June said with a smile.

Byakuya fake-smiled through gritted teeth. "SURE." he said.

June smiled again. "Great!" Then she turned to Leo. "Well, it looks like you'll be joining us! I can't wait! See you both on Saturday, bye!" she said before she collected her things and left.

Leo followed her out, not before he put his hand to his forehead and made the L shape with his fingers. "Loser!" he mouthed at Byakuya. Byakuya just flipped him off in return.

That was the start of the fight for June's attention.

"He even ruined my proposal to ask her out to the movies on a date... He ruins everything." Byakuya said with an irritated sigh.

"I'm sorry, Byakuya, but maybe he's changed... People do change." Makoto said.

Byakuya snorted. "Uh huh, I'm sure they do... Just NOT people like him." he said, glaring at Leo across the room.

Leo was smiling and laughing like he was having the time of his life.

And Byakuya hated him even more for it.

Makoto put one hand on Byakuya's shoulder. "Calm down. Everything will he fine! Besides, it's just for the Student Exchange Month anyway; he won't be here for more than a month." he said reassuringly.

Byakuya sighed. "Thank God for that... Unfortunately, however, I'm not sure I can stand Leo for that long..."

"You can. Trust me. Once he leaves to go back to Hashimoto Prep, it'll feel like he wasn't even here. Plus, what could possibly happen to change ANYTHING in a MONTH? Nothing. Exactly." Makoto said.

Byakuya considered this for a second before he nodded. "You're right, Naegi, after a month none of this will matter; it'll be like nothing happened. I just need to get over the past and ignore Leo completely... That shouldn't be too hard..." he finally said.

Makoto nodded. "See? Exactly right, Byakuya. Just do that and everything will be just fine and nothing will have changed. Nothing at all."