"What?! You were expelled?!"
Yorusaki's voice rings out like a flashbang, his crimson eyes wide with glee and a hint of mischief. His messy snow white hair swaying from the breeze. Thomas, a tall, well built and lean blonde boy with a scar crossed on his left cheek, in his 2nd year of school was expelled for punching his classmate in the face, twice. "My rice cracker, he dipped it in mud." Is his only defence against the parents of their now hospitalised son.
"He deserved it." Thomas replied coldly, barely giving an eye.
"You've always told me to hold back." Yorusaki sings, following Thomas as he opens the door into his house. Thomas steps in and opens the lights, catching the backpack Yorusaki gracefully passed, before a note on the couch catches his eye. "What's that, Tommy?" Yorusaki asks through the sound of munching, on Thomas's rice crackers.
Dear Thomas,
Your father and I leave the house to you, Boy! Make sure Yoru doesn't burn it down while we're gone.
P.S. I heard you punched a guys face, good job! (Your dad says that you've been really violent recently)
"It's just a letter from my mom. Make sure to not burn the house down, it says." Thomas yells over his shoulders, catching the sandwich between his teeth. "Also, don't do that again." He adds, eating the sandwich.
"Say, what if we went to the same school? We're the same age after all~" Yorusaki suggests, spreading his jam onto his sandwich.
"We burnt down the last school when we were 12."
"That was different, we're 17 now. 17!" He raised his hands as to emphasise his point. "Your mom said so herself. We're matured, 17 year olds!"
"I guess we can try? But one guy picks a fight and we are both going back to Britain." Thomas warns, picking up his phone and dialling in a number. His mother, perhaps. "You're school is… Takamine High, right?"
"This is gonna be so good." Yorusaki laughs to himself.
***
The lively chatter slowly died down as Thomas stepped into the class. His bag hung limp over his right shoulder, ducking his head slightly as he walks through the door.
"My name is Thomas Virelith, but call me Tommy, that's fine too." He turns and locks eyes with the smiling white haired boy "My father is British and my mother is Japanese. Pleased to be in this class." The silence was tremendous, only filled with the rattling hum from the air conditioner. The teacher, an elderly man, nods and signals him to the back of the class, where a seat lays empty, just behind Yorusaki.
"Ah, it seems that you're sitting behind me." Yorusaki says cheerfully, clearly unaffected by the painful silence engulfing the room. "Hope we get along, Tommy." Thomas tried ignored the emphasis, but couldn't stiffle his amusement from Yoru's childishness.
"Pleased, Yoru." Thomas chuckled, taking his seat behind him.
Thomas felt half the class staring straight to his back, a few stealing cautious glances while others glare boldly.
Thomas occasionally gets a quick glance and smile from Yorusaki in front of him, crimson eyes burning with mischief. "Face front, Yoru." Thomas deadpanned, but internally struggling against a grin.
***
The sudden ring of the steel bell signals the end of class, the teacher paces out of the classroom as the students went to file around. Yorusaki stood up, his messy white hair swaying with the wind as he turns to face Thomas. "Wanna get something to eat?"
Juniors from other classes steal glances at the giant British foreigner walking next to a white haired second year who was practically vibrating, some parting ways as they reach the vending machine. "Do people usually avoid you, Yoru?" Thomas asked, genuinely concerned. "Is this why you act so childish at home? Do you have no friends?"
"They are avoiding you, British Boy."
"Poor you…" Thomas's voice sounds so genuine, Yorusaki swore he will punch him in the face if Thomas won't punch him back with cannonballs as hands.
But even Yorusaki could see why the juniors avoid them. Thomas's body seemed to be forged from marbles by ancient greek sculptors, his massive broad back stretched his uniform slightly, calloused knuckles and hands, and a scar going down his left cheek. Thomas's whole body would be screaming danger if it had a mouth.
Yoru himself isn't any better, he was already constantly known for picking fights, now he is walking around with someone built like a literal greek god statue.
"I guess this is our life now, huh?" Yorusaki chuckled, sliding a coin into the vending machine.
***
The days melted by, and soon the week was over. Other students and classmates already eased and diffused into the fact that there is a second hot, British classmate that looks like he eats rocks for breakfast. Friday rolled by, Thomas is now leaning over the railing of the rooftop.
"Yo! Tommy!" Yorusaki waltz out of the door of the rooftop entrance, "Nice to see you're fitting in just fine."
The railing creaked slightly. Sky bright blue from the evening sun. The wind picked up, Yoru's hair rustling from the breeze. "This school isn't bad. That's all." Thomas finally said, kicking off and walking back to the rooftop entrance. "Maybe we can really, like …really… work with this."
Yorusaki blinked. "What's gotten into you, Tommy?" He whistled, leaning back and creaking the railings.
***
The morning sun stretched over the horizon, Thomas is walking down the road to Takamin High. "I wonder why Yorusaki is in a hurry to school, must've forgotten his homework again…" he thought.
The doors to the halls opened as Thomas pushed it with his shoulder, leaning there for some first year girls to pass, before walking to his locker.
"Yo, Tommy!" Yorusaki's voice rang out. Apparently he did forget his homework, as Thomas could see him running from class to the teacher's facility, crinkled notebook in hand.
The ringing of his heartbeat pummels his ears. Cold sweat rolls off his forehead as he snapped into the teacher's lounge. "I DID MY HOMEWORK!" Yorusaki yelled as he leaps onto the teacher's desk.
"Shut up!" Yoru was tossed out.
PLANG!
***
"Hahaha… just in time…" Yorusaki said, leaning over his seat and speaking to Thomas. "You left early to copy someone else's work? Did you at least make things different?"
"Nope!"
"Expected." Thomas had no idea how Yorusaki still managed to score higher than himself in the exams.
Then, the shudder of opening doors attracted Thomas's attention from Yoru, who was now intently chewing a pencil and staring at the blackboard like it owed him money.
"Heard someone didn't do their homework. Was it you, firecracker?" A girl with jet-black hair and a black sweater strolled in, piercing blue eyes that reminded Thomas of Atlantis bore into Yoru's skull.
"Then again," a sly smirk crept up her black lips, "I suppose it's only natural for someone like you to treat brains like an optional subject."
Yet something isn't right, and Thomas could see it. The way this girl's eyes lingered too long, and how a blush too deep to be embarrassment brushes her cheeks when Yorusaki said-
"But I scored higher than you?"
"I—pt— sh-shutup!"
Yep… so that's how it is, huh?
***
"Honestly, Virelith, you make tripping over your arrogance look like a sport." The girl, Rachel Reines, scoffed. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone more narcissistic than yourself."
"But… I really got higher than you…?"
"That's not my point!"
Why is she even still here? Thomas thought to himself as Yorusaki whines. "You aren't even supposed to be in this class…"
"Yes I am! Did you not bother to remember your classmates?" Thomas could see it, the slightest flicker of disappointment, then longing, and quickly masked with irritation.
BRRRRRING!
"Darn it!" Then she went back to her table, and Thomas could see the moment where her eyes linger just slightly too long.
"Heh… I'm an asshole sometimes…" Yorusaki jokes, and Thomas sighs.
***
"So, there are 4 different campuses for Takamine High?"
"Exactly!" Yorusaki said, thrilled.
"And South Takamine — this school — is ranked the last in all 4 campuses?"
"Yup!"
"North Takamine is first place."
Yorusaki nods.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I just want you to know, that we are very low in the competition, and that we need to be more competitive."
"Yoru, we are not going to sneak into the teacher's lounge at night." Thomas said firmly.
"Awww…" Yorusaki leaned back, "Damn it."
Yorusaki is bored, he wants to go into the teacher's lounge and hang out in there in the middle of the night. He said it's adventurous and that it will help with real life practical skills. But he didn't think his argument through. In fact, Thomas is wondering why he even scored less in the exams than Yorusaki.
"You're so boring, Tommy." Yorusaki is now folding paper airplanes. "I swear, even Kurayami would be more fun to talk to."
"Kurayami? Who? The black haired guy?" Thomas tilted his head to the windowsill, "I don't like that guy, he's emo."
Perched on the windowsill, a wiry boy like the shadows. Messy black hair brushing his dark brown eyes, hiding whatever thought behind them. His hand tightened around the edge of his sketchbook as he felt their gaze upon him.
"Any idea what he thinks about? I mean, he looks emo, but his eyes are always so unnerving." Thomas saw the slight tilt if Yoru's head as he observes.
Finally, Yorusaki said, "whatever it is, I still think he will be more fun and go sneak into school at night with me."
"But come on, seriously, don't you ever wonder what wonders are in the sacred land known as the 'Teacher's Lounge'?" Yorusaki did the big quotation marks with his fingers, "Give it a try, Tommy, I'm sure it'll be fun."
Curiosity killed the cat.
"Fine."
***
The cold night air whips Yorusaki on the face, his heart thumping from adrenaline as he crossed the fence. Soft cracks and rustling of leaves indicate his brother — Thomas — isn't bailing anytime soon.
"Can't believe you managed to convince me to sneak into school…" Thomas grumbled, barely audible through the creaking of the entrance door.
"This is so fun, right?"
"I'll kill you." Thomas said bluntly.
The hallway is dark, quiet, save for the occasional tick-tock from the clock. "Remind me why you wanted to come here again?" Thomas asked.
"You were too boring, and I refuse to let you rot in boredom." Yorusaki was practically vibrating with mischief. "Besides, we need to be adventurous." He said as he slithered into the teacher's lounge.
The room is dark.
"Wow. This is… anticlimactic…?" Yorusaki walked over the table. "I risked suspension for this?! It looks like…" he mutters as he walked over the neatly positioned desks and clean floors. A coffee machine stand blandly next to the printer, and a door over the end of the long room.
"I was expecting a dungeon, not a… not a funeral where fun shrivelled up and died." Yorusaki walked over to the principal's seat, plopped down, and kicked his boots over the desk. "That's it, I'm the king now. Let's make this room fun."
"I don't like this…" Thomas could hear himself saying as Yorusaki spins around circles. "This chair is fun," he said as Thomas walked over to the lockers.
"Can we go home now? It's 2 am." Thomas said as he walked to the door, before Yorusaki's voice rang out. "Ooh, Tommy, look at thi-"
And stopped.
"…"
"… what…?" Thomas turned. "Yoru?" An opened door leading down. "Yorusak-" there was no stairs, just a ladder.
"Oh… that explains the dramatic cut off…"
Thomas fell.