gureshin - the lavenders that grow on your porch

mito and norito

[guren's pov]

Class ended when I heard the bell ring. We were dismissed. Students filed out of the classroom and I was left alone. Someone had whacked the books onto my desk and onto the floor, and no one helped me pick it up. Not that that was unusual.

Finally I made my way out of the classroom, switching off the lights. Even the teacher left ages ago. Not that I didn't mind - I wasn't all for teachers smirking and jeering in their head every time I failed to pick up a piece of paper.

My locker opened with a creak. I stuffed my books out and took the ones I needed for the next period.

I closed it. It made a small rattle.

It was breaktime and no one was around in the corridor. I was alone. Typical.

"Guren-sama!" I heard from behind me. Sayuri. And Shigure. I could just sense Shigure's presence everywhere she went. It was kind of unsettling, to be honest.

"Hm?" I turned around. This time, however, I was surprised. Instead of just seeing Sayuri and Shigure's orange and black hair, I was greeted with two other kids - one with fiery red hair and the other being a dirty blonde.

I narrowed my eyes. The female was from the Jujo Clan - there was no doubting that. Their ancestors were cursed so that all the Jujo's would have bright scarlet hair forever, and there was only one Jujo enrolled in this school - Mito Jujo.

The male, the taller one, would be harder to figure out. He had dark blonde hair and a goatee. Who the hell has a goatee in high school? 

"Who are these people, Sayuri?" I asked. My violet eyes met her brown ones.

She blushed. Shigure snorted. "Apparently Sayuri made some friends. This is Norito Goshi and Mito Jujo." 

Ah. It was coming to me now. Norito was from the Goshi Clan, one of the close followers of the Hiragi's. Of course.

"Friends?" I sounded more skeptical than I wanted to. 

"Believe it or not," Shigure grumbled and Sayuri blushed again.  

Goshi flashed me a smile and thumbed something in his hands. I didn't notice until now - it was a small pipe, "Guren Ichinose, right? Heard a lot's about you."

I rolled my eyes and grumbled, "People love gossiping about me. I'm probably the most popular guy in school."

The corner of Mito's mouth quirked up in a small smile while Norito barked a laugh that echoed across the empty hallway. Compared to her tall companion, Mito seemed to have a wall built around her mind, not showing any emotion in her words and her expression. Not that she said anything so far. They were opposites, and opposites attract. 

Kinda like Shinya and I, some part of me thought, ...Wait, no not that way but... 

Shigure smirked and I realized I was probably redder than I should be. I could feel the blood rush up into my face. Darn.

"Cutting to the chase," I said, quickly changing the subject and hiding my embarrassment, "Why?"

"What do you mean?" Mito frowned, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you talking to us?" That came out harsher than I intended it to. I saw Mito's eyes harden and Norito frown, Sayuri flinch, and Shigure scowl. I continued onwards, "We're the losers in the school. We get beat up all the time. No one helps us, let alone want to be our friend. What's the real reason you guys are here?"

My mind went back to Shinya even though I willed it not to. Would you say that to Shinya? a part of me thought.

No, I thought back, Shinya is different. He's one of us.

Yet I still felt what I said was still quite harsh. Honestly, I wanted to take it back, but I hate being wrong. I kept my mouth shut to save my pride. It was still kinda crumbling, though.

Emotion showed through Mito's purple eyes. I think she was angry, "Not everyone who approaches you wants to get something out of you, Guren Ichinose. I see now that we should have stepped in every time we witnessed you getting beaten up, but the past is in the past and we cannot do anything to change that."

"Seriously dude," Norito laughed, pocketing the pipe, "we actually want to be your friends. Cross my heart an' hope to die."

"I swear on my family crest," Mito glared at Noritio, "we don't want anything else but to... 'hang out' with you guys."

Sayuri and Shigure looked at me, one with hope in her eyes and the other trying to calculate what I was going to say. I resisted the urge to look at them and request a few minutes to talk. This was an ideal situation - a member of the Jujo Clan and Goshi Clan being friends with the lowly Ichinose. I didn't know why I was hesitating. Probably because I hate being wrong. 

"Fine," I said at last, drawing the word from the back of my throat, "but don't say I didn't warn you."

Norito grinned and Mito's eyes softned once again. Norito shoulder bumped the redhead and she whacked him and glared.

I allowed myself a small smile.

a/n: sorry this chapter is so short i have no motivation help