The Venerable Empress of Your Universe

 

Making it to the top floor, the group of seven had barely got a quarter way down the dark communal walkway when one of the apartment doors opened and a man in his early thirties backed out. Fixing the hem of his shirt, he clocked the girl trying to sneak past him. She’d barely managed to open her apartment door and order her dog to go inside when the older man barked. “Oi, Isshiki, you little bitch. I keep telling you to pay up-”

“Hah?” The group of six groaned and grunted at the slur the female was called, Ryūguji’s brows furrowing in an attempt to push in front of his friend. “The fuck did you just call h-” Cut off by Isshiki holding her hand up to silence him, the tallest glared at the man from behind her.

Unable to avoid the unimpressed glowers directed at him by the teenage boys, the adult scoffed, “do you think I’m scared of your waster friends?”

“I never asked you to be intimidated by anyone I happen to have around me. I’ll pay you when I get paid - I told you that when we took the apartment.”

The man who was apparently the landlord stuck his hands in his pockets and leered forward, his eyes surrounded by dark circles locked on the girls. “Your mother had a special deal with me but she’s been avoiding me.” 

“I can’t see why. You’re a treasure to have around.”

“Huh, you mouthy bitch. Pick up her slack and-”

“-If you think I’m going to fuck you for this shitty, mould-ridden apartment, you’re dead wrong.”

His hand reached out for her and she tried to pull her shoulder away. However, he managed to get a grip on her due to being unable to back up thanks to her friend standing right behind her. “Don’t be a prude.”

Ryūguji’s eyes shot to the hand on Isshiki’s blouse. “She refused, so back off,” grabbing the landlord’s wrist, the taller boy constricted and the older man winced.

Glowering up at the boy who had a hold on him, the landlord bared his teeth, ragging his arm, and the girl in the process. “Fuck you, you lofty bastard.” Grabbing the girl tighter, the man snot and spat as he twisted in an attempt to pull himself free of Ryūguji's hold on him.

“I told you to let her go,” Ryūguji said again, the vein in his neck raising as he applied more pressure, looming over the girl stuck in the middle.

“I’ll have these bitches done over so good they don’t e-”

A boot flew through the air and landed on top of the half-hanging landlord. “What the fuck are you trying to get at?”

“Jesus Christ, wh-” nudged out of the way by the interference, the girl bumped her shoulder against the communal walkway barrier when the hallway muddied with testosterone.

“Say it again, I dare you.” Holding onto the man he was punching the life out of, Baji’s yelling caused the landlord to hold his arms up, his whines pitiful and bringing housewives, pensioners living alone and small kids out of their apartments to see what the hell was going on. 

“That’s enough from you, you moron!” Hooking her arms under Baji’s, Isshiki tried to yank the boy away from kicking the brains out of her landlord. Falling onto her rear when Hanemiya helped her drag his friend away, Isshiki fell onto her rear, Baji squirming on his back between her legs and Kazutora kneeing her in the head in the tumble.

Running his hand over his face, Ryūguji groaned at the escalation. He really couldn’t leave the girl to her own devices - she seemed to do nothing but magnetize trouble - but that idiot had made a bad situation even worse. What the fuck was he thinking attacking the guy who owned the place where she lived? Scratch that. Ryūguji was sure there was nothing but fluff between the fire-starter’s ears on a good day.

Crouching down in front of the sprawled man, Sano did nothing but stare at the older man for a good thirty seconds without a word, those lifeless slate orbs narrowing as if digging into his soul. Once the landlord managed to choke his sobs down, whimpering between his words, the short blond leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “If you pull any crap with her again, I’ll kill you.” Sano’s voice was low, almost too quiet for the others to catch, but the landlord certainly heard them by the horror construing his features. This pipsqueak barely making 5’1’’ was threatening to end his life and with the aura pulsing off of him, the landlord was absolutely positive that he’d make good on his promise. “Nod if you understand,” Sano said and the man did just that. Standing up straight, the small blond placed his arms behind his head and began walking towards the girl’s apartment as if he didn’t have a single care in the world. “Shiki-Ane, what are you going to make us?”

Glancing from Sano’s back, to her landlord and then to her childhood friend, Isshiki received a look from the tallest before he grabbed Baji’s collar and dragged him towards the apartment. “Best not keep him waiting. C’mon,” using his free hand, Ryūguji ushered the female ahead of him while Hayashida and Mitsuya followed close behind. 

Last in line, Hanemiya lurched at the landlord still sitting on the floor, causing him to flinch and smack his head off the walkway barrier. Hands in his pockets while hunching forward, the boy with a perm smirked, “scared now, asshole?” By the way the man clammed up and squeezed his eyes shut, the answer would be a very clear yes.

Flicking the lights on, Isshiki kicked her shoes off in the foyer before making her way into the main space. The boys behind her did the same, bowing their heads in politeness with a wave of, ‘sorry for the intrusion’.

Once the door was shut behind them, the girl turned around and smacked the back of Baji’s head, him jerking and balling his fist up out of pure reaction. His anger instantly fizzed out when his eyes met her scowl. “Why would you do that? I live here, you ass! Are you trying to make bother for me?”

“Like any of us would have just stood there and let one of our friends or family members be spoken to like that!”

“I can deal with my own problems, you little shit.”

“I think we should all calm down a little bit,” Mitsuya stood between the pair, his hands up in an attempt to waft away the tension charging the air.

Clicking her tongue off her teeth, Isshiki spun around, scooping up the strewn sequin mini dresses and flung high heels that had been flung on just about every surface. Waddling into one of what was presumably the bedrooms, she tossed the items inside and went back for another load. “Sorry about the mess, my Ma doesn’t know how to work clothes hangers. Make yourselves at home.”

“If one of you so much as looks at a pair of underwear, I’ll wring your neck.” Already filling the kettle in the open-plan space which housed both the kitchen and sitting room, Ryūguji called out to the girl without looking, “oi, Shiki, why didn’t you think to clean before inviting people in; you’re usually fussy about it being neat.”

"It's not like I planned to have people over and I was in a rush when I left earlier." Huffing after the strenuous shifting of clothing and cosmetics, she slid her mother’s bedroom door shut and immediately made for the kitchen, pointing to the remote on the table as she passed. “There’s no need for you all to sit with your heads down and your fists on your knees like you’re lined up to commit Seppuku. Watch T.V, or play cards or something; I have a couple of board games if you're up for it.” Stealthing out of the girl's line of sight, Ryūguji shook his head, swiping his thumb over his neck while sending his pals a telepathic warning not to indulge the latter option where the female was concerned.

Oblivious to the sell-out, Isshiki opened the fridge and scoured the bare shelves before slamming the door with a grunt. “That bint hasn’t done any grocery shopping again.”

Lowering his voice so the other’s couldn’t hear what could easily embarrass somebody, Ryūguji craned his head down a little to speak to the girl beside him. “Maybe she hasn’t been paid yet.”

“You know as well as I do that they all get paid on the 1st of each month. That was less than a week ago. Not to mention, I left her enough last night to pick up necessities until I could do the weekly shop.” Scouting the cupboards, all there was left was half a jar of coffee, remnants of a bag of dried pasta and two tins of onion soup. Isshiki fucking hated onions with a burning passion but her own mother still bought it just so she knew she’d always have something in to eat. “She took the money though; did you see her in there when you took Sumi-Nee’s purse?”

Huffing, Ryūguji itched the side of his head, his eyes avoiding the girl’s. “She might have been with someone.”

“Yeah, fuckin’ right. I bet she’s marinating in some John’s scabby apartment right about now. She’s on her nth warning for skipping work and if she loses her job, we’re gonna be screwed for real.” Placing a fresh bowl of water down for her pet, the girl scowled at the counter in front of them, their backs to the rest of the group. “I can’t wait until I’m able to get out of here, Ken. I can’t keep working this hard just for her to piss our money down the drain. I’m not going to be stuck around here forever just to turn into her.”

Lifting his lowered gaze, his eyes scanned her profile, his brows furrowed. “I never for a second thought you would. Like, the job’s a job, I don’t see any shame in it, but even when you used to look after me, you were always studying.” Nudging his elbow against her arm, he nodded upwards. “How’s your First Aid course going?”

“You just had to ask, didn’t you? They’ve moved the days, which are now conflicting with my A.P studies. On top of that, my boss’s asked me to work more with the ultimatum of giving my job to someone who can do the shifts if I can’t. This means I’m bunking school - now with a reason for it - in order to keep my job just to be able to afford this shit-hole. I get about five hours a day where I have time to myself, and most of that is running around after my mother like I’m her nanny, studying for the upcoming tests, doing laundry, and then maybe getting a couple of hours to nap.”

“You’re going to burn yourself out if you’re not careful. The last thing you need is to end up sick.”

“I was speaking with an estate agent earlier this week; he told me I might be able to get a place on my own if I can prove I’m self-sufficient but for that, I’m gonna need a secure job...” Placing the drinks her friend had made on a tray, she walked across the space and placed it on the low table the boys were sitting around in the living room. “If I can just keep this pace up until the end of this year, I think I’ll make it.”

Lounging around like it was his own home, Sano was laying on his side, resting his head on his up-propped hand. “You’ll make what, Shiki-Ane?”

“She’s planning to get her own place,” the tallest said as he wiped down the counter he’d been using.

Hayashida’s head perked up, his expression scrunching. “Ouh, wow, that’s ambitious. I have a mini-breakdown when my mother forgets to pick up my favourite chips with the grocery shopping,” he mumbled in thought at the horror. “I couldn’t imagine having to do shopping and pay bills - even when I’m twenty.”

“I do all of that stuff already, but with the responsibilities of having a child.”

Those who didn’t know the girl coughed their drinks back into their cups, their eyes wide as they glanced at each other. “Y-you have a kid?”

“No, I have a mother who acts like she’s my kid.”

“Oh, damn…”

“Which brings me to the disappointing part. I offered you food, and I have none, so I’m gonna go to the store down the street.”

“You don’t have to do that on our account.”

“It needs to be bought anyway. I might as well get it now while I have the motivation or else I’ll be living off dried pasta as if it’s cereal for the next three days until it runs out.” Gesturing around, she pointed down the narrow hallway, “the bathroom’s down there if you need it, I won’t be gone long.”

“You’re going right now, by yourself?”

“Sure, why not? If I sit down now, I will probably pass out with my eyes open.” Downing her coffee in one long chug, she halted the tallest from getting up, “I can carry my own bags, Ken.”

Mitsuya was also making his way onto his knees, ready to get up. “But you’re kinda getting it for us.”

Pausing tweaking the giant bat-ears of the dog with his head on his thigh, Baji shuffled up, “I’ll take you.”

“Really, just relax-”

“-You better be as good of a cook as Mikey said.” Already in the foyer and putting his shoes on, the boy with black hair grumbled. 

Hanemiya looked around the small apartment and then back to the girl. “You’re just going to leave us in your house even though you just met us?”

Isshiki glanced around with a shrug. “Mikey and Ken are here. Besides, it’s not like there’s anything to steal even if you wanted to...unless you're into dressing like a school girl or a hooker?”

Hanemiya sat like a toddler, rubbing his feet together while his line of sight drifted around the space. “I’ve never been in a girl’s house before, never mind been left in one.”

“Yeah, it is kinda odd,” Hayashida hummed in agreement.

“It’s not really any different from a guy’s house beside the fact there’s no crusty, screwed up tissues left lying around, but there is the occasional bra hung up to dry and sanitary products in the bathroom; it’s not like we have sex toys lined up next to the table seasonings.” Putting her own boots on, she glanced back to the group, “nobody’s allergic to anything, right?” When a unanimous ‘no’ followed, she waved her hand over her shoulder. “We’ll be back in around half an hour.” With that, the apartment door clicked shut and heavy breath fell from the majority of the group.

Hayashida slumped against the sofa from his spot on the floor, a long breath expelling from him with a mumble. “Huah, man, it’s difficult talking to girls when they’re mean to you. It’s even worse when they’re kind. I don’t know what to say to her when I’m used to replying ‘stuck-up bitch’.”

Grimacing, Mitsuya glanced to their round friend, “I really hope that isn’t your extent of conversation with females, Pah.”

Head jerking, the stout boy’s mouth hung ajar with wide eyes. “What else am I supposed to say when they sneer and move away from me?”

Mitsuya cocked his head, trying to fathom if the shorter boy was being serious or having him on. “Perhaps a ‘hello’, y’know, like a civilized human being?”

“I’m not going to be polite to girls who laugh at me or flinch when I look at them.” Closing his eyes, Hayashida held his nose in the air as if that was the end of that conversation. 

“That’s why you’ll never have a girlfriend, Pah,” Hanemiya hummed into his coffee, large golden eyes flickering in teasing.

“What the fuck would you know, actin’ like you’ve been with a girl.”

“I had a girl let me touch her boobs once.”

“Bullshit you did!”

Ignoring the petty conversation beside him, Mitsuya leaned forward a little in order to look at the VP who was still glowering at the back of the door. “Have you known her long, Draken?” 

Pulled back from whatever mental punishment he was exacting on the Captain of the Attack Unit, Ryūguji’s brain restarted when his line of sight locked on the lilac-haired boy. “Huh, what?”

“What’s the deal with your neighbour?”

“What do you mean?”

“You seem close.”

“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not like that.” Looking down into his cup, the tallest rolled his neck. “We’ve known each other since she moved in here; when I was around eight or so, I guess. She’s having a hard go of it and has nobody else around; I’m pretty much the only person she speaks to, besides Mikey when he’s with me.”

Hanemiya found a gap in the VP’s defence and leapt at it mercilessly. “So you’re picking up the slack? Is that why you don’t want to get a job - you’re playing with your neighb-”

“Stop talking like that.”

“Woah, okay.” Hanemiya gave a dead-stare while smiling. “I was only joking but that’s some aggression you’ve got on the subject, Vice Pres~.”

“I just said she was having a hard time; her father left with a younger woman and saddled them with a load of debt a couple of years ago…on Christmas Eve, no less. Her older brothers got sent down in February just gone after her older sister was raped working the trade; they beat the guys involved to death after she killed herself.”

“Ouh, no shit she’s having a rough time.” Hayashida’s riled mood was brought right down to the point he had found an indoor voice. “I think you gave us a slight understatement.”

“Don’t let her know that you know. She’s a hard-ass and will blow off if her family situation is brought up as an excuse for something she’s doing or has done.” Ryūguji rubbed his temple as he stared off out of the veranda doors, the sun only just beginning to sink past the high buildings of the busy area nestled in the heart of Shibuya.

Sano munched on one of the homemade candies he had been given by the older girl with his milk tea, his soles rubbing together as he led on his back, staring at the water damage on the ceiling. “She’s lonely, that’s why she treats the people she cares about so well. She’s just about lost everything. All she has is her mother and she’s always away.” Yawning, he patted his best friend on the middle of his back and wriggled onto his side to get comfortable, “you’re probably the only constant person in her life, so try not to be so harsh with her, ‘kay, Ken-Chin?” Sano rarely had nice things to say about anyone - mostly because he didn’t really talk about other people in general - but the way he spoke about their senior was verging on concerned.

“How did you get to know her, Draken?” Hanemiya asked, “it’s not like everyone makes friends with their neighbours.”

The addressed glanced up, recalling the time they had first met years ago. Even back then, she was a menace. “There was an incident where she had walked out into the alleyway between the shop and here,” he pointed out of the veranda which overlooked the other side of the alleyway they’d been in earlier, “just as her older brothers were dragging me to my door, all three of us bloody. They were scrappy too, and were known for fighting: her oldest brother, Hideyoshi was in the same year as Mikey’s older brother but he looked at least ten years older than he was even when I met him.” Ryūguji could only look back fondly on the memories he had of the men who had treated him like a younger brother. “She punched them both in the gut and really whaled on them - given, they were both taller than I am now and really built, and we were a little shorter than Mitsu at the time. I’d never seen anyone lose it like that before but her oldest brother just picked her up by the scruff of the neck like an angry kitten, heckles up and claws out, hissing obscenities at such a young age. He laughed right in her face as her other older brother, Yasuhiro, explained to the brothel mistress that they’d seen a couple of the local hoodlums from their generation beating me up and stepped in.”

Mitsuya rolled his eyes at the telling, a smile brightening his face from the prior story. “You can never do anything peacefully.”

The boy with a perm and perpetual stare puckered his lips, “her parents really wanted them to be picked on with names like that, didn’t they?”

“Shut up, Kazutora.”

“I’m more concerned over how and why someone would start a fight with someone like you,” Hayashida added, looking at his year-mate who was already almost six foot at fourteen.

“It’s not like I came out of the womb with a tattoo and a mean right-straight,” Ryūguji clicked his tongue off his teeth with a head wobble. “Not long after they moved in, the brothel mistress and her mother became friends and thought it was better if we stayed together while they were working so we could keep safe and stay out of the way..”

Pinching his lips to hold back the obvious grin, Hanemiya played. “So…she was your babysitter…?”

“That explains the thing about ‘reading’ something to you, earlier,” Mitsuya nodded, putting the pieces together.

“We’re only eleven months apart!”

“He’s splitting hairs over it; you’ve pissed him off,” Sano chuckled as he popped another cream candy into his mouth. It was rare to see his friend get irate over just about anything but it was almost guaranteed where the girl was concerned.

“She’s always been a busy person even as a kid, but she’s always had time for me and my family.” Kicking Hanemiya’s hip, the VP bared his teeth at the permed boy before catching his balance from the attack. “It’s becoming a growing occurrence that she has time for just about everyone but herself.”

Mitsuya swallowed the last mouthful of his drink and placed it on the tray along with the others that had been finished. He, too, had the responsibility of caring for other people and he knew full well the kind of strains it put on you, even if he never voiced them. “Although not at the expense of themselves, I’m glad there are still people out there who care about others for no other reason than their own kindness.”

“What time is it,” turning to see the clock which was on the wall by the balcony doors, Ryūguji noticed the glass was cracked. They must have been fighting again - it could explain the bruises on the side of Isshiki’s neck. That, or she’d got into it with that group of girls a year above her again…Damn, he was glad he was a guy where a fight meant punches, kicks and head-butting. Chicks with their hair-pulling and scratching were menacing, and their petty vendettas were scary as hell. He’d rather have Mikey kick him in the head than have to deal with the snide, round-about way girls did things when they were holding a grudge. He’d been on the receiving end of Isshiki only once and she had made his life a fucking nightmare for almost an entire month with her passive-aggressive behaviour, snide remarks and purposely passing along the wrong messages - if at all when she was giving him the silent treatment - and going out of her way to make bother for him. He didn’t even know what he had done wrong for three whole weeks before she blew up and threw a two-litre bottle of soda at his head in an eruption.

“It’s almost five, why? Will her Mother be back from work soon?”

Ryūguji shook his head, “nah, she probably won’t be back until the day after tomorrow.”

“She’s just going to leave Isshiki San by herself?”

“I’m not going to bad-mouth someone’s parent, especially when neither of them is here to defend themselves.” Finishing what was left of his drink, Ryūguji collected the tray. “Shiki's self-sufficient and is able to look after herself just fine.” Taking the tray to the kitchen, he rinsed them and boiled the kettle again. “I’m more bothered about what’s taking them so long. The store is only ten minutes away on foot.”

“Maybe there’s a queue; it is a Friday evening - it’s probably busy.”

Hayashida eyed Hanemiya and a pair of dark grins stretched as if they were reading each others minds. “Maybe they’re canoodling~”

The VP’s head snapped around, his brow quirked and his teeth bared with a hack, “hargh?!”

Mitsuya joined in on the teasing, although he held onto his caution more than the two gadflies Hell-bent on winding up their Vice President, lest he gets on the wrong end of the aforementioned 'mean right-straight'. “It might do Baji some good. He might not light cars on fire when he gets peckish, ya'know, focusing his pent-up - well, whatever is pent up in him - on something else.”

“If there’s anyone to be at the bottom of the list I want to get close, it’s those two.”

“I smell jealousy~” Hanemiya sang.

Ryūguji wafted his hand by his face aggressively, “I smell arson, theft, disturbing the peace, and arrests.”

“C’mon, it’s not like they’re going to start a riot while they’re out to get snacks,” Mitsuya glanced to the tallest who was clearly way too touchy about the subject.

Sano inched up onto his elbows and looked at his best friend. “Should we go and check on them…?” The look on his face was not one of usual disinterest, which was the most disconcerting thing of all.

“W-what? Nah, there’s no way. How much trouble could two teens get into in thirty minutes.”

“We’re now at forty,” Hayashida told the fact of the matter.

Hanemiya rolled his neck, his eyes up and twinkling while his lips puckered, “maybe they’re getting to First Base.”

“They just met! Are you saying she’s easy?”

“Why are you getting angry, ‘lil bro’?”

“Screw you-” 

The back end of Ryūguji’s snap was cut off by the front door opening to reveal the talk of the moment. Bags hanging off their fingers, the pair staggered into the foyer. “Ouah, I’m never going grocery shopping with her a-a-again-” Baji fell into the wall panting as he kicked his shoes off. “We must have gone down every aisle. Twice!”

“Is that why you have lipstick on your cheek?” Mitsuya asked - there was no such thing - he just wanted to tease the easily irate boy.

“If I did, it was off the granny eyeing us like we were a married couple. Goddamn pinching at my cheeks and cooing in my face.” Dropping the bags on the slightly raised foyer step, the brunet hissed and bit at the air, “biddies need to keep their crone knuckles to themselves.”

Flopping forward onto the island counter with the bags still attached to her wrists, Isshiki heaved out her life-force while looking like she was on a torture rack. “I totally forgot it was Friday. I would have definitely skipped out on going at this time if I recalled the day; the place was rammed with oldies, housewives with their screeching spawn, and obnoxious college students.”

Hayashida grumbled as he took in the states of the pair who had just arrived, almost bowled over by the dog running to meet its master. “Damn, they really do sound like a married couple just back from one of their rare shopping trips together.”

Missing the remark, Isshiki croaked, “Ken, can you start up the grill on the balcony?”

“Hah, grill? What are you planning to make?”

“It's summer - we'gotta use the grill. I got some squid and beef on sale, and a twelve-pack of beer.”

Those who had only met the girl that day raised their brows in surprise, “you were served for beer?”

“I’m sent there often to get booze for my Ma - the owner knows her so he probably suspected it was for her,” on the verge of wheezing, Isshiki forced herself upright.

“She really almost threw hands at a middle-aged woman for that beef.” Tying his hair off his face streaming with sweat, the length barely caught in a tie given to him by Isshiki, Baji began unpacking the bags onto the counter by the fridge, his limbs trembling from the stress.

“That looks like a lot more than what you said.” Walking over to the counter, Mitsuya washed his hands under the sink tap. “I can’t just sit around and watch you do all of the work after you’ve paid for it. Point me in the direction of a task, Senpai.”

“The drinks need pouring. I wasn’t sure if everyone liked beer, so I got some barley tea and soda too.” Washing her own hands, Isshiki dashed between the boys crowding around the island counter in their noseying of what goodies had been purchased. “There’s salad that can be washed, and the throw-away plates and cutlery can be unpacked.” Lighting a cigarette as she turned the radio atop the fridge on, the girl felt the grip on her frame ease when she took real notice of what was going on.

It had been such a long time since her living space had been filled with people sharing jokes and laughter who weren’t people who were her mother’s end to an income. She much preferred this. Hell, who wouldn’t? Those boys she had just met were taking up tasks, even if they were menial, and weren’t ordering her around like she was their slave as she was used to. There wasn’t a single ‘grab me a beer, sweetheart’, or ‘go out and give us a few hours alone’ to be heard.

“Oi, I got the grill going,” Ryūguji came through the patio doors with his eyes down on his hands mucky with charcoal, “do you want me to take some stuff ou-Tsuru! Your pan is on fire!”

Glancing back, completely missing what he had called her, the girl threw a wet dishcloth over a sautee pan not even on the hob without so much as a blink. 

Hanemiya yacked, coughing and spluttering when he took an assault to his lungs. “W-w-heugh-what? What’s a Tsu-uru?”

Oops. Oh no. Ryūguji had his guts gripped and his throat was instantly dry - and it wasn’t the toxic air that had done it. Choking on thick black smoke, the founding six members were split into three very distinct groups: those who ran for fresh air on the balcony, and those who tried to waft the smoke away from the smoke alarm before it could start bleeping. And then Kazutora who just stared at the pan he’d miraculously combusted while the girl continued to slot the beef and veg onto skewers as if she wasn’t going to die from an array of hazards.

Puffing away on the cigarette drooping from her lips, the girl flopped her hand over her shoulder at Ryūguji and Mitsuya trying to waft the alarm with a mumbled, “we took the batteries out ages ago, so you don’t have to try to stop it from going off.” Reaching behind her, she jutted her thumb to the desk fan on the top of the fridge by the radio, “just turn that on - it blows the smoke out of the veranda doors.”

“H-heh?”

Tea-towel tied around his lower face, the lilac haired boy choked, “are you looking to die in a house fire? There’s a reason there’s an alarm, ya’know?”

“How the fuck do you set fire to a vegetable that is mostly water?”Barking a cough, Hayashida smacked Hanemiya straight down over his crown while his other arm protected his nose from the pungent char lingering in the air. 

Hanemiya seemed completely and utterly unfazed by what he had done and answered the shorter boy with a blunt, “how would I know how to cook? I didn’t go to cooking school. Senpai just reached back and told me to warm up what was next to the pan.”

“I said, ‘in’ the pan,” snorting at the exchange between the two boys bickering on the other side of the island counter, Isshiki jutted her head to the right. “Do you think you can move the table a little closer to the balcony? I’ll finish the rest.”

“The drinks are done and the plates are ready; I got a bag out for the rubbish, too,” Mitsuya told. Standing beside the woman draining off the washed salad leaves, he pointed to the remaining vegetables. “I’ll prep and fry these off so you can take a break.”

Watching the boy do as he said he would, Isshiki emptied three packets of instant ramen into a copper pot on the hob beside her. “Do you have to cook often? You’re efficient.”

“Ehh~ Senpai, calling a guy efficient is probably one of the worst 'compliments' you could give,” the lilac-haired boy a little shorter than her crooned, his lips pursed in a faux-pout.

“I guess that’s why my relationships never very last long.” Laughing when the lilac-haired boy looked up to meet her line of sight, she waved the long chopsticks she was using to stir like a wand. “I find efficiency a top-tier skill - I guess guys don’t see it that way, after all.”

Hunching over the mini grill which could be easily misconstrued as a portable device, Ryūguji was using a pair of metal tongs to remove what had been cooked and placed them on a long plate. “Oi, we’re starving here. Stop gabbing.”

Flinging a couple of bags of tempura seaweed over her shoulder, the girl wobbled her head in a mocking nag. “Did you lose your legs while I was gone? Come and get the condiments.” Picking up the large pan, she and Mitsuya headed to where the others were sat around the shifted low table just before the open balcony.

Carrying the seasonings and sauces over on the tray that had been used to carry the drinks earlier, Ryūguji grimaced at the selection, “eurgh, okonomiyaki sauce with ramen? You really are the worst kind of delinquent.” 

“I’ve seen you eat ice cream sandwiches with ‘super mild’ curry powder on them more than once, so you can shut the fuck up. What kinda weak-ass little bitch eats anything less than hot curry?” Putting the copper pot down on a heat-proof rack in the middle of the table, she held her palm out to the food, “help yourselves. I’m going to use the bathroom.”

“Now you decide to go? We’re perishing here.”

Shooting a glare, Isshiki gnashed her teeth at her childhood friend. “Maybe I should have just pissed in your barley tea instead, you little baby-boy who can’t stomach coffee.”

“Uegh, so crude.”

Watching the girl disappear down the tiny corridor at the far end of the apartment, the boys looked over the spread of food. “It’s been a long time since I saw this much food at once.”

“Me, too.”

Hayashida finished drying his hands after washing them, sitting down in the free space between Ryūguji who was the empty spot at the head of the table, and Sano who was directly down from it. “My parents make a decent amount, but they’d never have a dinner like this.” 

Looking to their VP who was diagonally across from him, Mitsuya frowned while eying the spread, “I hope we’re not driving her into financial ruin; this is a lot of food.”

“She made me walk away before the cashier told her the cost.” Baji looked to the boys who knew their host, his space to the left at the top of the table. “Is she trying to prove something after not having anything in earlier? It’s not like any of us don’t get to the end of the month and have to live off instant ramen, rice and veggie sides...”

“She’s always been like this. She’s as poor as I am, but she will always share what she has.” Making sure everyone had a drink, the tallest waited with his hands over either thigh. “That’s part of the reason why she dropped off food at the shop earlier; she knows we’re all as bad off as each other. She gives them free food and later down the line, she’ll get her ink done, or a friend of a friend will give her dog its annual injections at discount.” Looking up, he told his friends the way their home situation worked for the first time. “It’s not waiting on a favour - it’s taking care of people who can’t do it at that specific time, and then receiving a little good karma later down the line.”

Head jerking, Hanemiya leaned forward past Hayashida to see the tallest’s face, “sorry, that was touching and all, but ‘getting her ink done’?”

Staring at the plates waiting to be filled with the steaming food ready to be engulfed, even the intrepid VP was on the verge of salivating. “Her second brother was a tattooist and she was obsessed with it growing up. He started the one at the top of her back, but then…well, you know.”

Baji scowled, his head snapping back and forth while he glanced at the others, “no, I don’t know.”

Hayashida dipped his middle finger in his drink and flicked it at the brunet from across the table, “that’s because you were necking in a car lot, blaming a granny for being late!”

“It was a granny!”

Hanemiya laughed and nudged his friend under the table with his foot, causing the slightly taller boy to jolt, “you were sucking-face with a biddy?”

“Fuck you, right in the ass, you prick.”

For the first time in a while, Sano prodded his bare plate with his wooden chopsticks, “you’ve spent quite a lot of time around her today. Are you telling me you didn’t see any of her tattoos?”

“Why are you saying it like I stripped her down? She's always clinging to the cuffs of her jacket, even when she pays for something.” The black-haired boy scrunched his face up, his nails scratching his finger-pads under the table. “She gripped her sleeves harder than she held onto me when I raced you guys earlier.”

"You should know her brothers taught her how to ride a motor before she could keep steady on a peddle bike. Hell, the time before I saw her on the bicycle prior to this morning, she fell off a bicycle eight times in the space fifty yards." The following remark was not one any of the boys anticipated, least likely from their leader. “Were you expecting her to tremble and grab onto you with a meek whinge of ‘please slow down, Baji Sama?'” Sano cut in with a very terrible impression of a girl’s voice.

“E-Eh, no. She didn’t say my na-wait…” There was a dead pause from the Attack Unit Captain as all eyes shot to him, his own eyes growing exponentially wider by the second before he flung his hands up with a yell. “She doesn’t even know my name!” 

A rash of howls and cackling erupted around the long-haired brunet. Choking on his spit, even Hanemiya sniggered with his face turned from his friend. “That’s so sad, Keisuke.”

Hearing the laughter all the way from the bathroom, Isshiki scooted past the backs which made it difficult to get to the veranda. Plonking her rear on an old canvas fishing stool, the girl picked up a packet of beef and began laying it on the charcoal-powered grill. “I hope you lot aren’t making too much fun of me.” 

“Not at all, Senp-Ane-Uh…” Hayashida lingered on his choice of address. “How do we call you?”

“The Venerable Empress of your Universe,” Isshiki hummed without taking her eyes off her task.

“E-eh…?”

“She’s screwing with you,” Ryūguji rolled his eyes at the same-old spiel. “She does this every time someone asks what you just did.”

“Anything concerning my surname Isshiki is pretty much acceptable; Senpai or what Ken and Mikey call me are fine, too.”

“What’s your given name?”

Ryūguji glanced at Hanemiya, a grunt in the back of his throat, “I'm sure I've already told you that it's none of your concern because you couldn’t use it anyway.”

Mitsuya recalled the issue which has brought about the initial attack to their VP, “do you not want people to know your given name because you’re in trouble?”

“I don’t tell people because it’s none of their fuckin’ business; it has nothing to do with my safety. It’s too old fashioned sounding, I don’t like it, I - that should be enough of an explanation.”

“I don’t need anything else,” Mitsuya held his hands together in front of his chest, as if in prayer.

“Do we finally get to start eating?” Sano asked.

“What, you didn’t start already?” Isshiki craned her neck around the veranda door and looked over the boys with brand new plates still unmarred. “I told you to help yourselves.”

“We’re delinquents, Shiki-Ane, not savages.” Sano finally sat upright for the first time since entering the female’s apartment. “You worked so hard for us to be able to sit down and eat together like this, it’s not like we’d start without you.”

Coughing away the sting at the back of her nose when those lined down either side of her table gave similar nods and words of thanks, she turned her face with a tight jaw. “Fuck all of you with that shit.” Holding onto the sniffle tickling her sinuses, she grunted, “I haven’t been part of a family dinner in a very long time, and I’m not religious aside from holding a candle for that bitch named Karma, but I am thankful for this.” Taking the meat which had been grilling on the metal rack, she tossed it on a plate and handed it to the boy closest to her, gesturing to put it on the table. “Even if you’re only here for free food, you’ve made my night so much better than you could comprehend.”

As if reactive, Ryūguji slopped his palm atop of her head, “you know all too well what crying in front of guys does; it makes us soft-hearted idiots. You know all guys want to save a girl when they start crying - what are you trying to do to my friends?”

Smacking the warm gesture away, Isshiki sniffled her nose sharply and threatened him with hot barbecue tongs. “Who the fuck said I was crying, you!”

“Oh, yeah, you’re definitely getting a little sniffly,” Ryūguji played but it only earned him a kick to the shoulder.

“It’s my summer allergies and you know it.” Shifting as she sat down at the head of the table, she gave a very unladylike snort while biting a piece of meat off the skewer. 

Blowing cold air on the slips of meat while twisted at the odd angle, Hayashida watched the girl do the same to the chunk of meat she’d pulled from the skewer, her eyes on the pooch led flat behind her back, its head on her thigh in the Indian-style crossed legs. Narrowed eyes watched carefully, his brain over-clocking, “you are really not going to give that to your dog-”

And she did. They were out there, most of them skating a life of poverty, and this girl who apparently worked herself half-dead every day to buy food was giving beef to her fucking dog. 

Leaning a little to the side, Baji was utterly enthralled by the tricks her pet had learnt when it got up to balance on its back legs to give the correct paw it was asked for before getting the treat. “Does he not snatch?” Bronze orbs glistened under thick dark lashes when the woman made a hand gesture and hummed a blunt ‘down - kiss’.”

Baji's shoulder twitched a fraction towards the girl at his right. For a second, the brunet thought she was talking to him.

The German Shepherd side-eyed the teen as if to say 'who the fuck do you think you are; that's my treat'. Satsu gave his paw to the female, sat, and prodded its wet snout against hers as he was trained to do instead of slobbering over her face and waited patiently for a second piece of meat. Placing the chunk of beef between her teeth, she put her face close to the dog’s. Saliva dripped from jowls out of natural bodily reaction but the dog as tall as the pair it was sat between didn’t budge a fraction until she hummed again. Inching forward, the beast nipped the two centimetres of cow that was sticking out of Isshiki's mouth slowly and stood up when she gave a single gesture over her shoulder, moving across the room to sit in the fleece dog bed filled with hard rubber toys and a tatty blanket.

“It’s a killing machine with the sense of a circus animal and a mommy complex.” Ryūguji still wasn’t convinced of the animal’s manners. The first day Isshiki had brought the pooch home, it had latched onto his ponytail and ragged his head about like it was dead-set on giving him whiplash when the VP was stretched out on her bed. Satsu had chewed his school shoes - he wasn’t sure if it had pissed in them before or after it ruined them, but the ball of floof with razors for teeth definitely had it out for him. He had pointed at it in anger, yelling about the incident, and the fuzzball had jumped four feet in the air and ‘bit’ him. “She’s probably already taught it all of your scents by now - I'd watch your backs and balls if I were you.” Ryūguji said it had bit him and brought it up every opportunity he got, but Isshiki was there when it had happened. The six-week old pup had nipped him, tiny baby teeth getting stuck on the front of the boy's shirt while he spun around screaming bloody murder, knocking her books and trinkets off her bedroom unit in his flid. It was an accident the giant teen had blown way out of proportion. Anyone would think the giant Ryūguji Ken was not infamous amongst even the most dangerous delinquents and did not get into full-blown brawls on the daily. To think it was a puppy that was his kryptonite was utterly ridiculous.

Isshiki rolled her eyes, her fingers twiddling an unlit cigarette, “not quite; I need to have something with a skin-scent while pointing at the person for a full attack.”

Hayashida glanced around, his imagination getting over-worked by their VP’s utterly biased opinion. “Where the fuck are my shoes?”

“Thank you for stepping up to the plate, Keisuke,” the boy’s best friend laughed as he lightly kicked his pal under the table. “Let’s test it.”

Looking left and right, Baji wasn’t quite sure what was going on. “I didn’t-I don't kno-”

“-You would be the optimal person to show that he can tell the difference between people he just met: we have each other’s sweat on each other from riding on your bike together, and I gestured to you when we first met,” Isshiki told while wiping her mouth and hands on a napkin. “Though, playing ‘Manhunt’ around the apartment block is a very bad idea after you introduced the sole of your boot to my landlord’s face when he’s been trying to have me get rid of me and my baby since I got him.”

“Your baby?”

“My baby,” Isshiki repeated, blindly tossing a raw tomato over her shoulder, the fruit landing in the dog bed. 

More taken by the spectacular throw than the words, Hayashida and Hanemiya quirked their brows at the stellar shot they had watched land from straight ahead in their positions. “What the Hell are you, a damned Ringleader?”

Ryūguji scoffed at the lax words and swat the pair beside him with a clean napkin. “Don’t forget your fucking manners.”

---

A couple of hours later, the six boys were rolling around on their backs, groaning about being too full to move when Isshiki came back from taking her pet out to go to the bathroom, Baji once again refusing to let their host leave the apartment alone once it had gotten dark; they weren't in the best area during the daytime and he really wanted to play with the clever animal - the dog, not the female. The sun had fully set and the sounds of that part of the city had grown exponentially. Expensive motors whizzed down the main road a couple of dozen yards away from the apartment block; nightclub music had picked up to an unignorable degree, thumping the foundations; and the sweet coos of night-workers lulling clients with siren-songs could be heard emanating past the flashing neon sign lights on the streets below, the height of inner-city life pilfering in through the open balcony doors. 

Ryūguji called out as he glanced to Mitsuya helping Isshiki clear away what was left of the mess around the table, him washing the cups they had used. “C’mon guys, cough up,” the blond wagged his fingers at his friends doing small jobs. 

“Don’t do that,” Isshiki scowled at her neighbour holding his hand out like it was a church collection tray.

“What, we drank your tea and coffee, and you not only bought food, you cooked it for us too,” Hayashida pulled his wallet out, his eyes scanning the interior of the premium leather article he’d been gifted for his birthday not even two months ago.

Mitsuya let go of the bin-liner he was holding and walked to his bag on the other side of the room. “He’s right, Isshiki Senpai. I don’t have much on me, but we can at least chip in for the drinks.”

“This is nothing but insulting; honestly, you're all making me angry behaving like this.” The girl stood in the centre of the living space, her faced scrunching up bitterly as she looked at each of the boys coppering-up. “I don’t want your money.”

“Tough shit,” Baji slapped the two slips of paper cash he’d been given by his mother for his lunch down on the counter before crouching to play with the long-haired dog, him asking it to do tricks for the umpteenth time and it happily complying now matter how many times he asked. “Draken bought our lunch with some prick’s money, so you can have this.”

Hayashida matched Baji’s amount on the counter while Hanemiya dipped both hands into his trouser pockets and dropped fistfuls of coins atop of the paper cash. “S'all I got. Sorry, Senpai.”

When he called out for his friends to pay up, Ryūguji wasn’t expecting them to hand over so much. Damn. Now he looked like a dick with the scraps he had left from lunch. Looking to the woman with a small smile and the sheepish rub of his bald temple, he held his hands up in apology. “I’ll do your ironing for the next three days?”

Sano rolled around on his side, his eyes sleepy fluttering in the food-coma and his voice trailing off, “’got noth’in - I’ll fix your landlord for ya, though…” A yawn punctuated his words as he snuggled his face into the sofa cushion. 

Mitsuya’s jaw clenched when he checked his funds. Isshiki knew that look from his profile and hitching shoulders alone way too well. Walking up behind him, she smacked him between the shoulder blades with a grin before he could think up an excuse that wouldn’t leave him embarrassed. “I never asked for anything. I didn’t feed you to get anything back - if you really wanna help, you can run the vacuum over the floor; I hate doing that shit the most.”

Ryūguji took the device from the cupboard and Mitsuya very nearly tackled the much taller man to take it from him, “I’ll do it.” Jesus fucking Christ - 'boy really was efficient - he had already plugged the appliance in before the VP could blink.

Hayashida flopped down onto the floor, just finished wiping down the kitchen counter. “Damn, it’s getting late. My mother’s gonna kill me if she thinks I’m hanging around on the streets all night.”

Smoking a cigarette on the balcony, Isshiki hummed as she blew smoke rings out into the night air. “There’s more than enough room here. It’d only be the floor with some bedding, but you’re welcome to stay.” 

Ryūguji’s head almost untwisted, his eyes wide and teeth on show. “Like Hell they’re staying here!”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re a girl.”

“Thanks for finally noticing, but it’s not like I was offering a gang-bang.” Throwing the last of the empty plates into the trash bag, Isshiki leaned against the railing on the balcony with her back to the boy’s bedroom window an alleyway over. “I just got told Yamamoto’s gang are raging through town looking for someone, so I’d like it if none of you tried to drive through town.”

The tallest gave a disapproving stare. Although, it was verging on being ignored when the girl avoided his line of sight. “How do you know that?”

“I know everything.”

“If such a thing came out as the truth, it really wouldn’t surprise me.” Nose in the air, Ryūguji leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms over his chest. “They really can’t stay here.”

Quirking her left brow, the girl cooed with a smirk, “why not? Do you not trust your friends, Ken?”

“Oh, I trust them…kinda. It’s you that’s the issue.”

“Rude. And mean.” Huffing smoke into his face through twisted lips on the verge of a pout, she went back to looking over the alleyway four floors below, a small gaggle of drunken businessmen being led off by three night-workers in skimpy dresses and clomping heels. “It’s not like they can drive out there while they’re on the war-path, and I doubt you can house a bunch of teen boys in a brothel.”

“Letting a group of teen boys stay in a teen girls apartment while she’s alone is even worse!” Mimicking the girl’s pose against the balcony barrier, Ryūguji snipped. “I’m not letting them stay here, and that’s the end of it.”

“Then I’ll stay at yours and you lot can stay here.”

“N-no!”

“Are you scared I’ll find your porn stash?”

“That’s not it-”

“-Because I already know where it is.” Waving off the expression of astonishment, Isshiki sneaked a sly sidewards glance, her jesting barely held back by dimpled cheeks. “I was surprised by how vanilla it was, actually.”

“Why the fuck were you looking for my porn?”

“I needed some new inspiration, but I was sadly disappointed.”

“W-what? Wait - why mine?”

“Friends share.”

“No.”

“Why are you getting flustered? You live in a damn brothel.”

“Girls shouldn’t look at porn!”

“Shut the fuck up, you prick.”

“And even if girls do, they shouldn’t tell their friends about it.”

“Heughhhh~ you said it.”

“Said what?”

“That I’m your friend.”

“F’fuck’s sake.” Gripping his head, the tallest glanced around the space. Their leader was already passed out on his side and obnoxiously snoring away like a baby in a plush cot while Hanemiya’s head kept dipping in the offset of unconsciousness before springing up every time Mitsuya called the round of cards they were playing. Hayashida and Baji were half-heartedly playing along while awing over a photograph album of their hostess’ brother’s work. 

“It’s dark now, and half of you have drunk beer. There’s plenty of bedding, so you lot can just stay in here.” Stubbing her vice out in the ashtray, the girl rolled her neck, her vertebrae crunching under the force she exerted in the bad habit. “I wouldn’t recommend driving around when there’s trouble going on. Get them to call their parents to let them know they're staying out and you all can stay here.”

Mitsuya paused a few paces from the veranda, holding his hand up in apology for disturbing the conversation, “I have to get back to look after my sisters; my mother leaves for work early in the morning and they can't be left alone.” 

“Get a taxi; your bike will be safe here,” Isshiki said but quickly recalled the shorter boy’s lack of funds. Before she could offer any help, Hayashida tugged the end of Mitsuya’s shirt, holding up a few paper slips of money. 

“It’s a loan,” the stout boy say, his eyes on the photo album. Although anyone could have confused it as being cold and demanding, that was the opposite of Hayashida’s intention; he’d known Mitsuya for years and knew the other boy wouldn’t accept charity. However, there was no way he'd let his friend be put in harms way in order to get home, especially when he knew what Mitsuya's homelife entailed.

Attention returning to the girl, Ryūguji’s brows furrowed when his memory picked up where it had left off. “Why exactly do you know Yamamoto is riding around in a mood?”

“I already told you, I know everything.”

“Don’t mess with me, Tsuru.” Expression darkening, Ryūguji loomed over the girl, his grip on the railing tightening when he recalled an incident from a few months back, “you better not be seeing that asshole, Ito again.”

Head level with his chest, celadon irises stared up from under pale lashes, “even if I was, it’s nothing to do with you.”

“Do I have to break his other arm for at least one of you to get the point?”

Rolling her eyes at the same-old behaviour, the girl huffed, “you’re not my father, nor one of my brothers - you don’t own me, nor pay for me to survive; watch the way you speak to me, Ken.”

Keeping the hunched over position and his voice low, the tension in the back of his throat was evident. But not almost as much as his growing anger. “No, I’m just the guy who had to carry you to the hospital the last time you messed with an older guy. It’s a good job your brothers aren’t here-” Ryūguji halted himself as soon as the words left his lips, his head reeling in when he was smacked by the flash of something dangerous taking over his friend's eyes.

“You better stop that kinda shit right now.”

“I didn’t mean it like tha-”

Ignored when she turned her back on him, pushing past and her shoulder knocking into his, she went into her room and slid the door shut behind her while Ryūguji ran a hand over his face and clicked his tongue off his teeth. Mitsuya, Hayashida and Baji dared to look at their VP, clear expressions of concern and curiosity veiling their features. However, the tallest didn’t humour the trio with an explanation to the offset of a dispute.

Shuffling from the closed bedroom soon followed and the girl quickly returned with enough bedding to block out her frame. Shoving it into her neighbour’s arms, she clicked her fingers at the pair between the sitting room and the patio doors. “Call your parents to let them know you’ll be staying out.” Hayashida and Baji scrambled to their knees to face the girl not even looking at them, the pair inclining their heads as if taking orders from a military commander. “And make sure you close that photo album and put it away safely before you go to sleep. I’ll kill you both if you don’t.”

“Yeah, of course, Shiki-Ane.”
 
“Thanks for feeding us and letting us stay.”

“Hm, sure. It’s no problem.” Collecting her purse off the floor, she shuffled back towards her room. Pausing before getting there, she glanced at her neighbour. His line of sight was down on the floor, his shoulders hunched when she made a point that she was staring at him with a knock to the inside of his foot with the outside of hers. “Make sure the front door is locked and leave the key in the back; if she turns up she can sleep on the fuckin' communal walkway - or better yet, she can see that bastard Kojima and work off some of the rent like she promised.” Getting nothing but a nod from Ryūguji, Isshiki held her hand up past her shoulder for those who were still awake, “you’re free to help yourselves to drinks or a shower if you want one,” glancing to Mitsuya putting his shoes on my the front door, she held her hand up in farewell, “text Ken once you get home; I want to know you made it back safely.”

Bowing in half in the foyer, the lilac haired boy told her he would while the remaining three watched the girl enter her bedroom. “ When I’ve changed, I’m leaving this door open a little so Satsu can come and go. G’night.”

Returning the farewell, the boys were left in their frozen positions. All but Ryūguji had tensed up, their balled fists by their hips: they were really going to spend the night in a girl’s home. And to wind them up further, she was getting naked only a paper-thin wall away. The VP noticed the dumbard looks on his friends' faces and his forehead vein instantly rose to the surface of his skin, his anger fizzling out in a hiss through grit teeth, “get that shit out of your heads, right now.”

 

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Updated: 5th November 2021 - 22:52

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