𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒕'𝒔 𝑻𝒖𝒕𝒐𝒓 | Kazutora Hanemiya x Reader

Chapter 2

On Wednesday morning, before class started, the students of 2-D were gathered in small groups, chatting away.

"Y/N, what are you doing after school today?" Erina asked her best friend.

"Hmm, I think I have committee stuff, oh and club things too—shoot, I also have to run some errands at the grocery..." she trailed off.

"You're always so busy! If we weren't classmates, I'd probably never get to see you at all," Erina laughed. It was true—Y/N was always busy. She smiled as her friends talked and made plans, yet she couldn't help but think of all the things she had to do that day, creating an imaginary list for her to tick off in her head.

In all honesty, Y/N was exhausted. She was raised by a single mom who also happened to be one of the city's top lawyers. And since her mom had such an important job, she had to learn how to take care of herself from an early age. She didn't want to bother her mom with trivial things like cooking and cleaning, and she certainly did not want to be seen as a failure by her, so on top of taking care of household chores and maintenance, she studied hard, joined clubs, made a ton of friends, and kept up her posh appearance. Before she knew it, she was not only feeling crushed by the weight of her mother's expectations but those of her teachers and peers as well.

Y/N was so distracted with her thoughts that she almost didn't notice how her classmates suddenly fell silent. She followed their gaze to the boy standing at the classroom doorway. He had black hair with yellow streaks, his bangs covering one eye. The one that was visible was a golden honey color, and he had a small beauty mark just under it. A tiger tattoo adorned his neck and, if you listened carefully, you could hear his tiny bell earring ring as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"He's...early?" Erina whispered.

Kazutora could feel all his classmates' stares on him. "G-good morning," Kazutora said to no one and everyone, and he made his way to his desk. While it's normal for students to be at school, he felt absolutely ridiculous being there. This blows, he thought. And I think they're all scared of me. He put his head in his arms and closed his eyes. He knew that the only reason he showed up to class was to see Y/N again, and it utterly embarrassed him.

She probably doesn't even remember, he thought. What am I even doing here? I don't even really know her, and it's not like I was planning to go up to her anyway. He rested the side of his face on his arms and looked for her with his gaze. When he found her, he was surprised to see her staring back at him. She stuck her tongue out and then gave him a cheeky grin. Kazutora could feel the warmth creeping up to his face. He buried his head in his arms once more, trying to calm his pounding heart.

"Hanemiya," Ms. Fujimoto said, "Please meet me after class today. There's something I'd like to speak with you about."

His classmates' stares burned holes in him. If he had been anyone else, they would have jeered and taunted him, telling him he'd be in trouble. But not only was he a member of Tokyo's most prolific delinquent gang, he was also one of its captains, so they dared not get on his bad side.

He stood up, uttered a quick "yes, sensei," and sat back down. It had been a couple of weeks since he started regularly attending class again, but he hadn't done anything that would get him into trouble, had he? No, in fact, he had been laying low—he was simply there to observe his classmate Y/N, and here were some of the things he noticed: She didn't talk to any of the boys in their class too much. A lot of them would stare at her, much like he did, and she would purposefully refuse to make eye contact, even though it was clear that she could feel them looking. She never brought packed lunches; she always bought bread at the cafeteria, and it seems her favorite was anpan. When she wasn't talking to her friends, she was jotting things down in her little planner. He passed by her desk once and saw that it was open to a page completely filled with writing; he could make only make out a few test dates and things she needed to buy at the grocery. She gets good grades a lot, but whenever the teachers would return the tests, she would simply glance at her score and put the paper away—she never looked pleased nor disappointed, her poker face was impenetrable.