"Keisuke, you brat!"

A strong hit was delivered on said boy's head from a black haired woman. Ryoko Baji, Keisuke's mother.

"Ow!" The boy shouted while rubbing the stinging part of his head. He grumbled in pain as his mother glared at him.

"I told you to not let [Y/n] get dragged into fights and protect her if it ever happens!" Ryoko scolds her child while two people in their early teens watches.

"Waddya think I did?!" Keisuke remarked in a shouting voice. "Ow, mom! That hurts, damn it!" He whined while in the middle of avoiding his mother's smacking using his arm as a shield.

"Hey, you two!" Keisuke turned his head. "Are you just gonna stand there and watch?!" A boy with a tattoo on his neck yawned first before flashing a smile.

"Haha, hang in their Keisuke-kun." Ryusei Satou replied in a sweet voice which makes one to feel that there's a heart on the end of his words.

"Bastard!" Keisuke glared at his vice captain. "I was just joking!" Ryusei nervously laughed and before he could say or explain on behalf of his captain to save him from his mother's attacks and as well as scary glaring, [Y/n] beat him to it with but not before letting out a small laugh.

"Ryoko-san, Kei did protected me." The girl politely starts with a smile. "Moreover, I was the one who started the fight 'cuz some dumb kids were bullying a cute kitten."

She grinned from ear to ear. "I threw the first punch!" She told Ryoko, obviously proud of what she did. "Then before I knew it, I'm fighting with some kids..." her expression changed from a dead like one and she almost let out a sigh.

"So if Kei and Ryu hadn't passed by the playground, things would've ended pretty bad for me since those kids do got some hella strength in them." [Y/n] licked her injured lips which resulted in her tasting the metallic liquid.

The adult raven haired woman blinked her eyes then smiled. "That's my boy!" She laughed after hitting her son on his back. "Ow!"

Keisuke rubbed the back of shoulder with a little hiss. "Of course I'd go protect and save your ass." He scoffed. "Always will."

Ryoko let out a small, "Oh my." While another person goes, "Me, too." Ryusei chimed in, ruining the atmosphere that had turned serious but just as quick as it turned like that, it disappeared just as fast.

"I wish I could fight like them, too." [Y/n] states while getting the scratches on her face treated by Ryoko. "I mean, wouldn't I look cool and badass?"

"Yeah, but sweetheart." The adult woman smiled. "Didn't you said that it was a hassle to learn it?"

"Dumbass." Keisuke laughed beside his right hand man and instead of being offended, the girl looked at the two boys first before switching back to Ryoko with a blank expression.

"Ryoko-san, between us and Keisuke, who do you think fits the word dumbass more?" [Y/n] inquired with innocent eyes and Ryusei stifled a laugh, knowing how this would end.

"Kei, who can't even spell a simple word such as pretty at this age or–" said boy cuts his friend's words off by shouting, "HEY!" [Y/n] only showed a devilish smirk while he gets glared at his mother again.

❁

❁

"My poor babies..." Youko bawled out while being held by her husband, Hiroshi tightly.

"Hey, Taka-nii." Mana called to her brother. "What are [Y/n]-nee and Akio doing inside those big boxes?" She asked with pure innocent and curious eyes.

"Why are they sleeping in it? Isn't it uncomfortable for them?" With her questions, Takashi, who has been trying his hardest not to cry again, cried. His eyes were already red from crying too much during the early days of the girl's death.

Luna was the first to hug her big brother and Mana followed no matter how confused she was.

"I told..." A raven haired boy muttered with his head low. "I told her I'd always protect her.."he choked in his sobs. "And yet I..." Keisuke cried while his mother looked at him with teary eyes.

"I failed...."

The sight of his crying child broke her heart, especially when her boy was blaming himself even though he should know best that his friend, who's inside a casket and looking like she's only sleeping while looking so serene inside it in front of them, wouldn't like it.

"I was the one who got protected and now [Y/n] is...!" His voice cracked as more tears fell down his glossy eyes. "I..."

Keisuke lowered his head more and he covered his eyes using his sleeved arm as he was wearing a black suit just like the others in the funeral of [F/n] [L/n].

"I failed to protect my friend, mom..." he sobbed as his mother embraced him. "I failed to protect the girl I like." His mother joins in his cries after he spoke his final words.

"And all I can do is say sorry."

❁

❁

KAZUTORA!!"

Draken shouted and threw a strong punch on said boy out of immense anger. Tears were threatening to spill on his eyes while his friend...Kazutora was already crying from the start ever since he snapped out of it.

"You...!" Ken shouted again through clenched teeth as he glared at the boy and the same boy remained still on the ground.

He deserves that hit as he thinks so.

"You of all people..! How could you...to [Y/n]..."Draken pursed his lips and clenched his fist instead.

"Damn it!" He was afraid of what he might do or say to his already hurt friend, so he closed his eyes instead and let the tears to finally spill and trail down to his chin.

"[Y/n]? [Y/n]!" Haruchiyo called over and over with a shaky breath and eyes, but despite that, he forced a smile and laugh. "Haha, come on."

He kneeled down to the girl's side and gently lifted her up to embrace her. "You can't do this." He said, his voice going soft and quiet as his hug tightened.

"Kakucho..." Izana called the name of his friend so quietly when he was about to rush towards the girl to check on her. He – both of them still doesn't believe what happened...just like the others.

"We..We shouldn't had brought her here."

Hearing the next words that came out of Izana's mouth, Kakucho who tried to stop the tears from falling since the start as he continued to refuse the fact that a friend of theirs died, his tears finally came out when he saw his friend, his crying too but with an emotionless face.

But despite having no expression, Kaku could still tell how his friend felt. The eyes do no lie after all.

"Brother..."

The younger Haitani called to his older brother who also hasn't said anything for a while now.

"That's not [Y/n]....right?" He asked while pointing at a certain direction. "That's a different girl..." Rin didn't even finished his sentence when he saw the dead and cold look his older brother showed.

His breath hitched and he felt his heart drop in the pit of his stomach. It churned and it made him feel nauseous.

The boy sprinted towards Kazutora and grabbed him by the collar of shirt. Rin said in a dangerously low tone as his grip tightened that his knuckles started to become white.

"I'm gonna fucking break every damn..." he stopped when he met Kazutora's eyes. It was filled with immense regret, guilt, sadness and grief.

Rindou knows the boy didn't mean it. He knows that attack wasn't even meant for [Y/n]. Heck, no one even knew that the girl would even be present in the fight.

He knows that and yet...he just can't stop the burning he's feeling.

He has never felt such anger before and even if the day does come all he knows was that it would only be on behalf of his older brother because that's how it has always been.

But when [Y/n] came into their lives – barged in even and telling them, "I'm a huge fan!" that's when everything changed.

He and his brother found her cute and fun to be around with. Then something unexpected happened, he fell for her. Rindou Haitani fell in love with a girl named [Y/n].

And that same girl was

And All he wants to do was the guy in front of him. He doesn't care if it was an accident or the culprit was regretting or guilty whatsoever about what he did.

Rindou's objective has ben set.

He's sure that his older brother wouldn't mind. No one would, everyone who's present right now would understand it, right?

As a matter of fact, it doesn't matter if they do mind it or not.

...The boy snapped out of it when he heard someone spoke in a low and deep voice.

Sanzu muttered while glaring at Kazutora who was still being held by the collar by Rindou, and just like how most of the people there, he, too was crying.

The boy's earring let out a soft ring when he lightly turned his head. His eyes met many people's and they all held hatred and malice in them while some were busy looking down at the ground or somewhere else.

That's when he finally understood what he had done. He took a friend...not just any friend's life away from many people at the same time.

A precious, admired and lovely girl who was known by many. A lot may only know her by her name, from those many, some may only be acquainted to her, some are her friends, and who held special feelings for her.

Kazutora knows he was one of the people who have special feelings for said girl but then again reality has come crashing down as he was the reason why she was gone.

He did not only took away a precious person from just many people, but also from himself.

"Yeah...go ahead." Kazutora said with a smile as heavy tears also falls from his eyes. "I deserve it...."

The boy closed his eyes and the only thing he thought was [Y/n]'s form. 'I may not end up to where you are...' He closed his eyes and continued to smile.

'Of course. I don't deserve to be by your side.'

"No one's killing anyone." Mikey finally spoke after being quiet for so long as he approached the dead girl's body and kneeled beside her.

Before anyone could even protest to what he said, Mikey told them something that made them back down instantly.

"[Y/n]...She wouldn't like it."

His lips curled up into a smile. Looking at her made him think that she was only sleeping that's why he still managed to smile and it only turned wide when he turned his head to where Kazutora stood.

"And I'm sure [Y/n] would like you to continue living." Mikey caressed her face. It felt cold. He already felt like his tears would finally show itself just by that.

"I'd like it too."

But he didn't let it happen as he smiled instead. No matter how sad, painful, sorrowful he's feeling...he won't let his tears be shown by others.

But there would always be an exception, right?

Though...that person is no longer alive.

"She did just say that we should live a happy life, right?"

Hanma Shuji. He's been standing in the same spot while watching the so called drama before him.

"What a waste." He blurts out which was only loud enough for him to hear. "You lost the bet, [Y/n]."

He slightly tilted his head to the side. "Just when it was about to get fun..." He let out a small hum as he thought about something with boredom written all over his face.

"How dull."