rabenhorst (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rabenhorst) wrote2008-01-31 09:07 pm
rabenhorst) wrote2008-01-31 09:07 pm
(no subject)
Title: Bone of Contention; Chapter 4/4
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
seinen_no and fonulyn
Rating: NC17 overall
Pairing: DiexKaoru,
Disclaimer: We own no one, only our dirty imaginations.
Summary: Kaoru is a young teacher who works his first job as a substitute teacher in a school that doesn’t have the best of reputation. In his history class there’s a certain redheaded troublemaker and determinedly Kaoru sets out to show him that studying CAN pay off too instead of just being there to trouble everyone. Their relationship takes a drastic turn though…
Comments:
seinen_no: Hi girls! Gosh, it seems we're even slower with this one than ever before. I'm sorry. It's all my fault, but lately I don't feel much like answering comments and such. No offence meant! I just have this cold since the end of November and now it's stuck and I can't get rid of it. So I try to chill as much as possible, which so doesn't happen, because I'm redecorating my room and boy, do I have a lot of stuff x) But don't worry, we have so many fics in store still and go on writing that the only problem will be our slowness in answering your comments and posting the next chap. But be sure your comments are essential for me (us) x) *hugs you all*
fonulyn: Sorry for the long wait, but real life is being a bitch right now and there was so much things that came in between. This is legendary slow for us XD But I personally like the end of this one, and I hope you’ll enjoy it too! And thank you for sticking with us the whole time :)
And feel free to add our journal if you like the stories!
Plus, the archive.
Previously happened: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Bone of Contention
Chapter 4
Koji was taking his normal route to school, walking the rest of the way as his bus stopped a bit further away. Suddenly, someone tugged his sleeve and when he turned around he saw Mako, the class nerd, standing there. "Hey Koji. I thought we could walk to school together. I wanted to talk to you..."
"Sure." Koji shrugged, a bit suspicious because of the sudden interest while usually Mako didn't spare him a single glance even. For some time, they were walking along the street side by side until Koji finally couldn't bear his curiosity anymore. "What is it, you want to talk about?"
Mako smiled in a conspiratorial way. "You are friends with Die, aren't you?" The answer was a willing nod. "And don't you think it's odd that he has this thing going with Niikura?"
"What do you mean 'odd'?" Koji arched an eyebrow, not looking too pleased with the choice of word. "Hey, it's their business what they do behind closed doors." Sure Die had told him not to tell anyone, but this couldn't harm, could it, as Mako seemed to know it all already.
"Of course, of course." The other boy lifted his arms soothingly. "I just thought that it's a bit weird he's going for men now, that's all I wanted to say." There was a small smile tugging the corners of Mako's mouth, a content one.
"I suppose love doesn't look at the gender after all, does it?" Koji had already gotten used to the thought of his friend's relationship and now he only thought it was cool how long those two had managed to stay together already.
"Well, if you say so." One could see that the conversation made Mako nervous now and since he had gotten the confirmation of his suspicions, he just wanted to get away again. "Still, Niikura is our teacher. He shouldn't start anything with one of us. That's not right," he argued.
"Shut up. He's only what, a couple of years older than we are!" Koji instantly shook his head, looking somewhat frustrated. "Why are you getting all worked up over it anyways? It's not your business."
"Am not," the other boy defended himself. "I just happened to think that others might believe this is the reason why Die's grades in history class increased so drastically."
"Bullshit. He's been working for them. I can guarantee that!" Laughter followed the words. "He made ME study with him half of the time and I think I'm even getting a better grade now than ever." Mako didn't reply to that, only chuckled a bit and nodded. He had made up his mind about these things though and since he was a gossipmonger, he generously informed a few of his female classmates about the forbidden relationship between the redhead and the history-teacher and his theory why Die's grades had gotten so much better, as soon as they had entered the building.
The girls were the worst gossiping cases in the whole school and the word was instantly spread all over the place. By the time of the lunch break, the whole school knew about the assumed relationship, except for the teachers and they were slowly beginning to pick up tidbits of information from the students too. Die and Koji had been smoking a cigarette as usual when Die noticed that he was collecting weird glances from some other students. "Hey, you know what's up here?" He nudged his friend.
First, Koji shook his head, taking a few more drags from his cigarette. But then, it began to dawn him slowly and he bit his bottom lip, furrowing his brows. "Damnit. Die," he looked up at his friend, "I'm sorry, but I think I did something stupid." Then, he told the redhead what had happened earlier that morning and that he hadn't thought about confirming the relationship between his friend and the teacher to Mako, because he had known it anyways as it seemed. "I swear, I told nothing, I just kinda didn't deny it and just said that it wasn't any of his business."
"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault." Die patted his friend's shoulder encouragingly, trying to appear as casual as always. He had turned pale as chalk though, his eyes slightly widened and he had a bad feeling about this. Nervousness was welling up in the pit of his stomach, and he noticed he began to be truly tense every time anyone looked at him.
"I'll be back in a moment." He suddenly turned his head to look at his friend, before leaving him behind. He didn't know what to do about this but he knew that he had to tell Kaoru that it was now all in the open, or at least that everyone was suspecting it now. Maybe the older man would know what to do about all this.
Subconsciously Die quickened his steps, heading towards the part of the building where the teachers' lounge was. He didn't get far though as suddenly a bunch of older classmates were blocking his way. "Hey Andou! We heard you shag Niikura to increase your grades. Cheap! I always thought you don't give a damn about school and about those fuckers who only want to change us and make us a part of society. Weren't those YOUR words?"
"Shut up. I EARNED those grades, you wanna know how?" Die spun around to face the one who had addressed him. "It's called BRAINS, something you're not familiar with."
"You earned your grades on your knees, sucking cock!" One other boy shouted and suddenly they were closing in on the redhead, discussing, shouting insults until the first fist struck Die's chin.
Kaoru was dead nervous. He had noticed the odd glances he had received from the students until he had just stopped a girl and asked her straight out. Now he was standing in front of the principal's office, waiting to be let inside as the man had demanded to talk to him.
It took some moments, but finally he was invited in. The principal was sitting beside his table, his cheeks slightly flushed obviously from agitation although he tried to keep himself under control. He was a small, round man and when he stood up he wasn't even as tall as Kaoru. "Mr. Niikura." A pause followed after the words before the man nodded towards a free seat. "Sit down."
The history-teacher bowed lowly and followed the request, sitting down opposite to the principal. "Thank you Mr. Fukuda." He didn't dare to say anything further, had no idea if he should defend himself or just admit everything straight away. His thoughts were directed at Die anyways, hoping the redhead was okay.
"I heard some pretty upsetting things today, Niikura." The principal sat back in his chair as well, glaring at the young teacher. "It's not like me to take action based on mere rumours, I want to trust my teachers. But this time, the accusations I've heard are far too severe to ignore." He was obviously heading somewhere, his gaze locked straight at the other man. "You know what I'm talking about, or shall I enlighten you?"
"No sir, I think I know what you're talking about." Kaoru answered the gaze, trying to show strength and some dignity as that was all he would have left after this day. At least he was sure about that.
"So you're not denying it?" Principal Fukuda looked somewhat surprised, but still stern. "Is it true that you're having an affair with one of your students?"
Kaoru's mind was racing. Usually, it wasn't in him to deny something of this magnitude, but he would get Die into troubles as well if he just plainly admitted it. But then, it was out on the table already and they had talked about making it public once, even if under different circumstances. Finally, he nodded, his voice faint as he admitted it. "Yes, sir."
"Do you have any idea what an irresponsible deed that is!?" The man's voice rose instantly, until he was almost yelling. He noticed it though, and forced himself to calm down. "These kids were entrusted to your custody, you can't just go and take advantage of the situation. The purpose of a teacher is to guide these teenagers to the right path instead of plainly seducing them."
"I didn't seduce him," the young teacher defended himself, his voice calm and steady all of a sudden. "Ask him. He will confirm that. We-," he hesitated a moment, but then looked the man straight in the eyes. "We love each other and there's nothing wrong with that. He's almost an adult, not much harm done and he even studied harder since we're going out, so it did good to him too." He knew that those were the typical excuses somebody in his situation would give, but it was the truth, what else could he have said?
"He's studying hard, is that it? Or did you decide to increase his grades because he did some FAVORS to you personally?" Fukuda arched an eyebrow, leaning over his table. "Under these circumstances I'll have to make him repeat the year. THAT will do him good." He leaned back in his chair again, toying with his chubby fingers. "I gave you the files of these kids, you should've known that Andou is one of those easily led astray. God knows he was already halfway there himself."
"No sir, he is NOT one of these kids. Actually, he's quite clever and has firm principles. You can't make him repeat the year because I failed and did the mistake to start something with him while I still was his teacher. Please, sir," Kaoru became clearly more agitated and nervous than just a moment before, leaning over the table himself. "Let him repeat the tests. Allow him to prove that studying gets you somewhere. He has spent a lot of days with his friend just working hard for the tests to pass this year. If you take that away from him now, don't give him the credit for that, he loses every belief in school and will just drop out. Please, sir, I ask you as a teacher."
The principal gave the young man a long look, obviously still processing the content of this outburst. Finally, he nodded slowly, showing he agreed. "Fine. He'll take the tests for the whole year again in history and if he passes, he won't need to repeat the year." Apparently there still was some sense in the man, and he didn't let his annoyance cloud that. "But I will have to find a suitable punishment for him anyways. Although it's our policy that the teacher takes responsibility for this kind of situation, he can't be let off the hook this easy."
"Why not? He didn't do anything wrong." Kaoru shook his head. "It was me who took advantage of the situation, so if there's somebody to be punished, it's only me. Remember," he practically pierced Fukuda with his gaze, "he's the innocent child."
"Mr. Niikura." The principal's voice was clearly warning. "It's our job to teach those children the difference between right and wrong. Even children are punished for their mistakes."
"Please, sir," the young teacher's voice became softer, pleading. "Nobody will doubt that it was all my fault and that Daisuke's the victim." He pursed his lips a bit, before he went on in a lower voice. "He'll be punished enough already when this spreads all over town. He needs protection rather than punishment."
This was the first time when Fukuda's expression actually softened slightly and his voice didn't carry the sharp undertone as he spoke up. "This is a scandal, I don't deny that. But I wasn't intending on ruining your career completely before it even started. You do realize that if I'll comply with what you're asking from me, it'll mean just that?"
"I do realize that, sir." Kaoru knew that with a flaw like that in his résumé, it would be hard, maybe impossible even to ever teach again. Still, he knew about cases who had made it and since nothing had knocked him off his feet for long, he strongly believed that he would survive the shame and the hostility of people. After some time, nobody would remember this anymore. But Die had to study a year before he would maybe go to university, he would always have to deal with being the queer in this town. "I will take full responsibility for this."
"I see." The principal nodded, looking somewhat thoughtful for a while. Finally he raised his gaze again. "We'll have to hear Andou about this too though. Would you rather not be present? I will send for him, you can wait in the corridor while I'll talk to him if you wish."
Kaoru was chewing on his bottom lip. "I would rather stay," he said, his voice quiet, pleading. "I don't want him to think that…" He left the rest of the sentence unspoken, because the principal's secretary just entered the room and announced that she has already sent for Die.
The principal nodded and exchanged a few words with his secretary. The woman only spared Kaoru a short glance, showing her disapproval clearly already during that fleeting moment. It didn't take long anymore, only a few seconds and the secretary knocked on the door again, letting the redhead in.
When Die noticed Kaoru sitting on the chair beside the table, he seemed to startle and instantly hung his head, trying to hide his face behind his hair. He had several bruises on his face which were already turning purple, and he was pretty certain his lip was broken too. He hadn't at least lost any teeth, that he was glad about. But he was somewhat ashamed, feeling like he had let Kaoru down as he had promised he would be able to take care of himself and had obviously failed.
The principal made a hand gesture towards a free chair and nodded. "Please sit down, Daisuke." He had seen the bruises despite the redhead's attempts to cover them but before he could say something, Kaoru did. "Die..." The teacher sounded shocked and put his hand under his lover's chin to make him look up. "Oh my God! What happened? Does it hurt badly?" He totally forgot where they were, touching the bruised lip carefully with his fingertips. "I-," he sighed. "I didn't want this."
"Don't worry," Die smiled softly, wincing a tiny bit as the movement hurt his lip. "It's not that bad." Although he hadn't wanted to make the other man worry, seeing that he really cared made this certain warmth spread inside of him and even the bruises didn't seem to hurt that much anymore at that moment.
The principal was watching them, frowning slightly but didn't say anything to interrupt. "I'm sorry," Kaoru whispered and then averted his gaze, hanging his head ashamed. That was when Mr. Fukuda cleared his throat. "That's exactly why you should have thought BEFORE getting involved with an innocent student of yours. You are supposed to know the consequences despite the fact that this is forbidden."
The words made Die throw an annoyed glance at the principal. He didn't have a chance to say anything though before Fukuda spoke up again. "That's exactly what I was trying to explain Mr. Niikura, the reason why you have to be punished one way or another."
Those words seemed to be the last drop though, and the redhead stepped forward, his eyes sparkling dangerously. "Shouldn't you rather punish the ones who did THIS!" He pointed at his bruised face, and his cheek had started to swell even like underlining his words. "It's not HE" Die gestured towards his lover, "who hurt me but those stupid narrow minded little shits who just try to get kicks out of beating up anyone who annoys them."
"Please sit down again, Daisuke," the principal replied calmly and when Die did so after a moment, he went on. "Of course they will be punished, but Mr. Niikura has to face the consequences for his doings. It's his fault that you are in trouble now, that you will have problems for the rest of this year and the next. It's your luck that he took full responsibility for his actions and convinced me to give you another chance and allow you to repeat every single test of this year to see if you really understood the topics and deserve to pass the class or if HE did you a favour."
"If it'll make you feel better, I'll repeat every fucking test I've done." Die rolled his eyes but only then, he realized the whole content of the principal's words, making him almost stand up again. "Full responsibility? What does that mean?" He had a bad feeling about this, and he didn't like that in the slightest.
It was Kaoru who gently took Die's hand and made him sit back down, his voice calm and soothing. "It's okay. I take responsibility and leave and you finish school as planned." He tried to make it sound as matter-of-factly and natural as possible, but didn't dare to look at the redhead. Of course it also meant that they could never see each other again, that he would pack his belongings right after this talk and leave this town and this school forever. Probably, the principal wouldn't mention anything in his report then and he could finish his studies and still become a teacher. At least he was hoping for that.
"Hell no!" Die yanked his hand away from the other man's grip, turning to look at him instead. "It's fucking wrong." He was feeling as if this wasn't even real, that it wasn't really happening and he rather was looking at himself from above somewhere. He turned to Fukuda again, trying to sound calmer than he actually was. "Can't you see that he's a friggin' awesome teacher? Hell, EVERYONE likes his lessons to no end. You can't just make him take responsibility for something like this and ruin that for him."
The principal looked firmly at the redhead for a long moment. "If your parents won't press charges against him and he leaves without causing troubles, I'm willing to let this topic rest and won't mention anything in my report," he finally said. The words elicited a relieved sigh from the young teacher, but he also felt a sting in his heart.
"I know he's a good teacher, but he violated the rules nevertheless and I can't allow that to happen at my school." He made a pause, gazing directly into Die's eyes. "I know you're almost an adult and thus you should know that this is the only way to handle things. If you want to fight for Mr. Niikura's future, then convince your parents to keep quiet and bear the shame."
The words made Die nod and a small sigh escaped his lips. He would be able to convince his mother, he was pretty sure of that, but he had no idea how his father would react. Well, that he would find out soon, he at least assumed his parents would arrive there soon. "I'll do that." He spoke silently. "And I'll repeat the tests. Anything else?"
"Of course you are not supposed to see each other again, but I assume that this won't happen anyways, because Mr. Niikura will leave today." The principal looked at the young teacher intensely. "Right?"
Kaoru still hung his head, but nodded. "Right!" Now he felt bad that he had never told Die about his true feelings; that he had fallen for him, but it was too late for that anyways. They would never see again and then it was better not to twist the knife in the wound by being more emotional than necessary.
Die was gritting his teeth harshly, his lips pressed into a thin line as he tried desperately not to cry. It was impossible to miss the glossy shimmer in his eyes, but he just averted his gaze to the side, not seeing a single thing though. So this was it then? It was so unfair... but there wasn't much he could do about it.
Neither of them spoke a word anymore until the door opened and Mrs Andou rushed inside. "So this is the man?" she shrieked, sounding as if she was ready to scratch out Kaoru's eyes. "You bastard!" Only then, she saw the bruises on her son's face and began to cry. "My poor baby!" She always was like that, overextended with everything. The next second, she yelled at her son. "How could you put this shame on us? Do you know how hard it was to find a babysitter at this time of the day?"
"Mom!" Die looked mostly annoyed, just trying to blink away the tears that had been gathering in his eyes. Somehow, his mother managed to break the moment, at least one good thing her arrival did as the redhead didn't feel like suffocating anymore, drowning in his own thoughts. "Calm down..." He didn't know what to say to his mother, but thankfully he didn't have to think about it any further as he happened to glance over her shoulder. Instantly his eyes widened a bit when he saw his father, and his heart seemed to stop beating because he was terrified of his reaction.
The man was tall and slim and wore a grim expression on his sharp face. When Kaoru spotted him, his first intention was to jump up and run away, but that wouldn't have been very courageous, would it? So he took a deep breath, ready to take everything that might be thrown at him now. "See," Mrs Andou shouted at her son, "even dad came home earlier from work. Do you know how embarrassing it was for him to receive a call from school? And for me? Now all his colleagues think I don't have my son under control."
"Shut up, Myuki," Mr. Andou cut her off. "Everybody knows you have no control over our children, especially our ill-bred son." He was the kind of man who didn't allow any contradictions and only turned to bow at the principal. "I'm deeply sorry that my son caused so much trouble." Die had at first opened his mouth to protest but then simply turned his eyes down, embarrassment and agitation showing clearly in the blush on his cheeks.
Principal Fukuda got up from his seat and greeted Mr. Andou formally. "This is an unfortunate case. We're hoping we can minimize the troubles though, as well as the damage this will do." He took a glance at the two lovers who were the reason for all uproar. "Mr. Niikura will of course leave his position as a teacher and he will never set foot in this school again. But the open question now is whether you want to press charges against him or not?"
Mr. Andou's eye was twitching and one could see that he grit his teeth. While Die's mother burst out. "Of course we will press charges against this child molester." He shook his head instead. "I have no use for a process like that. It would do only harm to my reputation at the company."
The words caused Kaoru to sigh relieved inwardly, because he wouldn't have had the money for a decent lawyer in case of a trial and it would certainly mean the end of his career as a teacher. Seeing the need to say something, Kaoru got up from his chair, bowing in front of Die's father. "Mr. Andou, I'm deeply sorry for this-," but he was cut off by an annoyed hand gesture from the man. "I don't want to hear any of this. You are an ill-minded man with a disgusting lifestyle and I will have to see how to protect my son from being led further astray."
Hearing the words made Die already stand up and if his mother hadn't held him back, he would've protested fiercely. But the woman's hand on his arm made him somehow snap back to reality and he knew that causing a scene would only bring troubles for all of them. Sighing, he let go, falling silent again.
Mr. Fukuda nodded only at the exchanged words, before turning to look at Kaoru, addressing him. "You're dismissed. Get your belongings and tomorrow morning come to my office and sign the papers. Then I don't want to see you here again, understood? Son, be glad that you're left off the hook this easily."
Then he took a glance at Die, who was still standing silently beside his mother. "And you, young man, we have to discuss what to do with you with your parents now." It was obvious that everything wasn't solved yet, and it would become a long conversation. Inwardly, Die was screaming, wanted to just run and leave everything behind but still he only nodded, not saying a single word.
Instantly, Kaoru bowed before the principal. "I'm sorry." After repeating the gesture in front of Die's parents, he left the room, feeling somewhat shaky inside. Still, he did as he had been told, went straight to the bus-station to pack his few belongings in the apartment. None of the other students tried to harass him, but he heard some insults, whispered and shouted, follow him. The only thing that was going through his mind was that he was hoping Die would be alright, that he wouldn't do anything stupid and just grin and bear the situation and go on with his life afterwards.
As Die had predicted, it turned out to be a long conversation with accusations and yelling, his mother even crying every other minute. The only thought that got him through this was that he knew that the less troubles he caused, the easier it would be for Kaoru. And he definitely didn't want to cause more troubles anymore, not after all this. He wasn't that worried about himself, since he knew that it wasn't very likely the other students would attack him again. It had been an initial reaction of them hearing about his relationship with the teacher, and probably the worst he'd get would be mocking and insults after this. Words couldn't hurt you really, could they?
Even when the principal had ended the conversation and Die followed his parents home he had the feeling that the topic would be on the table for long still in their household. And he was right. Things were discussed over and over again, or more like he was accused and yelled at all the time. His father had taken a decision. Either Die would promise to never see Kaoru again, to never start anything with a man ever in his life and finish his last year in a different school, or he would have to leave the family.
Not even when Mrs Andou started crying again, begging her husband to rethink his decision, he took it back. The school he had decided for his son was a strict, military-orientated school where he was hoping Die would learn manners and the right way to lead a life.
A knock at his door startled Kaoru out of his state of laziness. It was raining heavily outside and he had decided to spend the whole Saturday on his couch, wrapped up in a blanket, only listening to some quiet music. Lately, he felt the need to be alone and just think more often and inwardly asked himself who would take the effort to come and visit him while outside the world seemed to come to an end.
Pushing his glasses up his nose, he opened the door a bit and peeked outside, gasping surprised when he spotted the tall redhead there. "Die..." was all he got out, but instinctively opened the door a bit further.
The redhead didn't make a move to come in though, standing in the pouring rain with his hair plastered over his face by the big raindrops. He was looking straight at Kaoru, his voice a bit choked as he spoke up. "You remember when I asked you what you believe in?" Without waiting for a reply he went on, wiping some red strands off his face with a quick gesture. "You said you believe in sex. What about love? Do you believe in love?"
"I didn't," the smaller man replied honestly. "A few months ago, all I believed in was that teaching is everything in my life and love only was something one could see in Hollywood movies." A small smile found its way to his lips and he couldn't believe that Die was really standing in front of him. Slowly, he raised his hand, wiping away a drop of water that ran down the redhead's temple.
"But then I met this stubborn boy who was willing to spend his life with me. Sadly, something got in between and we were separated, but yes, I do believe in love. I believe that I love this boy."
Die had been silent during the monologue, not reacting in any way, but now he was smiling. He had been hoping, almost praying for an answer like that since if Kaoru would've now turned him down, he wouldn't have had any place to go.
Wordlessly, he swung his arms around the older man's neck, not minding that he was soaked and the action would definitely result in both of them being almost equally wet. And when he felt Kaoru's arms around himself, squeezing tight, he knew he had taken the right decision.
Author:
seinen_no and fonulynRating: NC17 overall
Pairing: DiexKaoru,
Disclaimer: We own no one, only our dirty imaginations.
Summary: Kaoru is a young teacher who works his first job as a substitute teacher in a school that doesn’t have the best of reputation. In his history class there’s a certain redheaded troublemaker and determinedly Kaoru sets out to show him that studying CAN pay off too instead of just being there to trouble everyone. Their relationship takes a drastic turn though…
Comments:
seinen_no: Hi girls! Gosh, it seems we're even slower with this one than ever before. I'm sorry. It's all my fault, but lately I don't feel much like answering comments and such. No offence meant! I just have this cold since the end of November and now it's stuck and I can't get rid of it. So I try to chill as much as possible, which so doesn't happen, because I'm redecorating my room and boy, do I have a lot of stuff x) But don't worry, we have so many fics in store still and go on writing that the only problem will be our slowness in answering your comments and posting the next chap. But be sure your comments are essential for me (us) x) *hugs you all*fonulyn: Sorry for the long wait, but real life is being a bitch right now and there was so much things that came in between. This is legendary slow for us XD But I personally like the end of this one, and I hope you’ll enjoy it too! And thank you for sticking with us the whole time :)And feel free to add our journal if you like the stories!
Plus, the archive.
Previously happened: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Chapter 4
Koji was taking his normal route to school, walking the rest of the way as his bus stopped a bit further away. Suddenly, someone tugged his sleeve and when he turned around he saw Mako, the class nerd, standing there. "Hey Koji. I thought we could walk to school together. I wanted to talk to you..."
"Sure." Koji shrugged, a bit suspicious because of the sudden interest while usually Mako didn't spare him a single glance even. For some time, they were walking along the street side by side until Koji finally couldn't bear his curiosity anymore. "What is it, you want to talk about?"
Mako smiled in a conspiratorial way. "You are friends with Die, aren't you?" The answer was a willing nod. "And don't you think it's odd that he has this thing going with Niikura?"
"What do you mean 'odd'?" Koji arched an eyebrow, not looking too pleased with the choice of word. "Hey, it's their business what they do behind closed doors." Sure Die had told him not to tell anyone, but this couldn't harm, could it, as Mako seemed to know it all already.
"Of course, of course." The other boy lifted his arms soothingly. "I just thought that it's a bit weird he's going for men now, that's all I wanted to say." There was a small smile tugging the corners of Mako's mouth, a content one.
"I suppose love doesn't look at the gender after all, does it?" Koji had already gotten used to the thought of his friend's relationship and now he only thought it was cool how long those two had managed to stay together already.
"Well, if you say so." One could see that the conversation made Mako nervous now and since he had gotten the confirmation of his suspicions, he just wanted to get away again. "Still, Niikura is our teacher. He shouldn't start anything with one of us. That's not right," he argued.
"Shut up. He's only what, a couple of years older than we are!" Koji instantly shook his head, looking somewhat frustrated. "Why are you getting all worked up over it anyways? It's not your business."
"Am not," the other boy defended himself. "I just happened to think that others might believe this is the reason why Die's grades in history class increased so drastically."
"Bullshit. He's been working for them. I can guarantee that!" Laughter followed the words. "He made ME study with him half of the time and I think I'm even getting a better grade now than ever." Mako didn't reply to that, only chuckled a bit and nodded. He had made up his mind about these things though and since he was a gossipmonger, he generously informed a few of his female classmates about the forbidden relationship between the redhead and the history-teacher and his theory why Die's grades had gotten so much better, as soon as they had entered the building.
The girls were the worst gossiping cases in the whole school and the word was instantly spread all over the place. By the time of the lunch break, the whole school knew about the assumed relationship, except for the teachers and they were slowly beginning to pick up tidbits of information from the students too. Die and Koji had been smoking a cigarette as usual when Die noticed that he was collecting weird glances from some other students. "Hey, you know what's up here?" He nudged his friend.
First, Koji shook his head, taking a few more drags from his cigarette. But then, it began to dawn him slowly and he bit his bottom lip, furrowing his brows. "Damnit. Die," he looked up at his friend, "I'm sorry, but I think I did something stupid." Then, he told the redhead what had happened earlier that morning and that he hadn't thought about confirming the relationship between his friend and the teacher to Mako, because he had known it anyways as it seemed. "I swear, I told nothing, I just kinda didn't deny it and just said that it wasn't any of his business."
"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault." Die patted his friend's shoulder encouragingly, trying to appear as casual as always. He had turned pale as chalk though, his eyes slightly widened and he had a bad feeling about this. Nervousness was welling up in the pit of his stomach, and he noticed he began to be truly tense every time anyone looked at him.
"I'll be back in a moment." He suddenly turned his head to look at his friend, before leaving him behind. He didn't know what to do about this but he knew that he had to tell Kaoru that it was now all in the open, or at least that everyone was suspecting it now. Maybe the older man would know what to do about all this.
Subconsciously Die quickened his steps, heading towards the part of the building where the teachers' lounge was. He didn't get far though as suddenly a bunch of older classmates were blocking his way. "Hey Andou! We heard you shag Niikura to increase your grades. Cheap! I always thought you don't give a damn about school and about those fuckers who only want to change us and make us a part of society. Weren't those YOUR words?"
"Shut up. I EARNED those grades, you wanna know how?" Die spun around to face the one who had addressed him. "It's called BRAINS, something you're not familiar with."
"You earned your grades on your knees, sucking cock!" One other boy shouted and suddenly they were closing in on the redhead, discussing, shouting insults until the first fist struck Die's chin.
Kaoru was dead nervous. He had noticed the odd glances he had received from the students until he had just stopped a girl and asked her straight out. Now he was standing in front of the principal's office, waiting to be let inside as the man had demanded to talk to him.
It took some moments, but finally he was invited in. The principal was sitting beside his table, his cheeks slightly flushed obviously from agitation although he tried to keep himself under control. He was a small, round man and when he stood up he wasn't even as tall as Kaoru. "Mr. Niikura." A pause followed after the words before the man nodded towards a free seat. "Sit down."
The history-teacher bowed lowly and followed the request, sitting down opposite to the principal. "Thank you Mr. Fukuda." He didn't dare to say anything further, had no idea if he should defend himself or just admit everything straight away. His thoughts were directed at Die anyways, hoping the redhead was okay.
"I heard some pretty upsetting things today, Niikura." The principal sat back in his chair as well, glaring at the young teacher. "It's not like me to take action based on mere rumours, I want to trust my teachers. But this time, the accusations I've heard are far too severe to ignore." He was obviously heading somewhere, his gaze locked straight at the other man. "You know what I'm talking about, or shall I enlighten you?"
"No sir, I think I know what you're talking about." Kaoru answered the gaze, trying to show strength and some dignity as that was all he would have left after this day. At least he was sure about that.
"So you're not denying it?" Principal Fukuda looked somewhat surprised, but still stern. "Is it true that you're having an affair with one of your students?"
Kaoru's mind was racing. Usually, it wasn't in him to deny something of this magnitude, but he would get Die into troubles as well if he just plainly admitted it. But then, it was out on the table already and they had talked about making it public once, even if under different circumstances. Finally, he nodded, his voice faint as he admitted it. "Yes, sir."
"Do you have any idea what an irresponsible deed that is!?" The man's voice rose instantly, until he was almost yelling. He noticed it though, and forced himself to calm down. "These kids were entrusted to your custody, you can't just go and take advantage of the situation. The purpose of a teacher is to guide these teenagers to the right path instead of plainly seducing them."
"I didn't seduce him," the young teacher defended himself, his voice calm and steady all of a sudden. "Ask him. He will confirm that. We-," he hesitated a moment, but then looked the man straight in the eyes. "We love each other and there's nothing wrong with that. He's almost an adult, not much harm done and he even studied harder since we're going out, so it did good to him too." He knew that those were the typical excuses somebody in his situation would give, but it was the truth, what else could he have said?
"He's studying hard, is that it? Or did you decide to increase his grades because he did some FAVORS to you personally?" Fukuda arched an eyebrow, leaning over his table. "Under these circumstances I'll have to make him repeat the year. THAT will do him good." He leaned back in his chair again, toying with his chubby fingers. "I gave you the files of these kids, you should've known that Andou is one of those easily led astray. God knows he was already halfway there himself."
"No sir, he is NOT one of these kids. Actually, he's quite clever and has firm principles. You can't make him repeat the year because I failed and did the mistake to start something with him while I still was his teacher. Please, sir," Kaoru became clearly more agitated and nervous than just a moment before, leaning over the table himself. "Let him repeat the tests. Allow him to prove that studying gets you somewhere. He has spent a lot of days with his friend just working hard for the tests to pass this year. If you take that away from him now, don't give him the credit for that, he loses every belief in school and will just drop out. Please, sir, I ask you as a teacher."
The principal gave the young man a long look, obviously still processing the content of this outburst. Finally, he nodded slowly, showing he agreed. "Fine. He'll take the tests for the whole year again in history and if he passes, he won't need to repeat the year." Apparently there still was some sense in the man, and he didn't let his annoyance cloud that. "But I will have to find a suitable punishment for him anyways. Although it's our policy that the teacher takes responsibility for this kind of situation, he can't be let off the hook this easy."
"Why not? He didn't do anything wrong." Kaoru shook his head. "It was me who took advantage of the situation, so if there's somebody to be punished, it's only me. Remember," he practically pierced Fukuda with his gaze, "he's the innocent child."
"Mr. Niikura." The principal's voice was clearly warning. "It's our job to teach those children the difference between right and wrong. Even children are punished for their mistakes."
"Please, sir," the young teacher's voice became softer, pleading. "Nobody will doubt that it was all my fault and that Daisuke's the victim." He pursed his lips a bit, before he went on in a lower voice. "He'll be punished enough already when this spreads all over town. He needs protection rather than punishment."
This was the first time when Fukuda's expression actually softened slightly and his voice didn't carry the sharp undertone as he spoke up. "This is a scandal, I don't deny that. But I wasn't intending on ruining your career completely before it even started. You do realize that if I'll comply with what you're asking from me, it'll mean just that?"
"I do realize that, sir." Kaoru knew that with a flaw like that in his résumé, it would be hard, maybe impossible even to ever teach again. Still, he knew about cases who had made it and since nothing had knocked him off his feet for long, he strongly believed that he would survive the shame and the hostility of people. After some time, nobody would remember this anymore. But Die had to study a year before he would maybe go to university, he would always have to deal with being the queer in this town. "I will take full responsibility for this."
"I see." The principal nodded, looking somewhat thoughtful for a while. Finally he raised his gaze again. "We'll have to hear Andou about this too though. Would you rather not be present? I will send for him, you can wait in the corridor while I'll talk to him if you wish."
Kaoru was chewing on his bottom lip. "I would rather stay," he said, his voice quiet, pleading. "I don't want him to think that…" He left the rest of the sentence unspoken, because the principal's secretary just entered the room and announced that she has already sent for Die.
The principal nodded and exchanged a few words with his secretary. The woman only spared Kaoru a short glance, showing her disapproval clearly already during that fleeting moment. It didn't take long anymore, only a few seconds and the secretary knocked on the door again, letting the redhead in.
When Die noticed Kaoru sitting on the chair beside the table, he seemed to startle and instantly hung his head, trying to hide his face behind his hair. He had several bruises on his face which were already turning purple, and he was pretty certain his lip was broken too. He hadn't at least lost any teeth, that he was glad about. But he was somewhat ashamed, feeling like he had let Kaoru down as he had promised he would be able to take care of himself and had obviously failed.
The principal made a hand gesture towards a free chair and nodded. "Please sit down, Daisuke." He had seen the bruises despite the redhead's attempts to cover them but before he could say something, Kaoru did. "Die..." The teacher sounded shocked and put his hand under his lover's chin to make him look up. "Oh my God! What happened? Does it hurt badly?" He totally forgot where they were, touching the bruised lip carefully with his fingertips. "I-," he sighed. "I didn't want this."
"Don't worry," Die smiled softly, wincing a tiny bit as the movement hurt his lip. "It's not that bad." Although he hadn't wanted to make the other man worry, seeing that he really cared made this certain warmth spread inside of him and even the bruises didn't seem to hurt that much anymore at that moment.
The principal was watching them, frowning slightly but didn't say anything to interrupt. "I'm sorry," Kaoru whispered and then averted his gaze, hanging his head ashamed. That was when Mr. Fukuda cleared his throat. "That's exactly why you should have thought BEFORE getting involved with an innocent student of yours. You are supposed to know the consequences despite the fact that this is forbidden."
The words made Die throw an annoyed glance at the principal. He didn't have a chance to say anything though before Fukuda spoke up again. "That's exactly what I was trying to explain Mr. Niikura, the reason why you have to be punished one way or another."
Those words seemed to be the last drop though, and the redhead stepped forward, his eyes sparkling dangerously. "Shouldn't you rather punish the ones who did THIS!" He pointed at his bruised face, and his cheek had started to swell even like underlining his words. "It's not HE" Die gestured towards his lover, "who hurt me but those stupid narrow minded little shits who just try to get kicks out of beating up anyone who annoys them."
"Please sit down again, Daisuke," the principal replied calmly and when Die did so after a moment, he went on. "Of course they will be punished, but Mr. Niikura has to face the consequences for his doings. It's his fault that you are in trouble now, that you will have problems for the rest of this year and the next. It's your luck that he took full responsibility for his actions and convinced me to give you another chance and allow you to repeat every single test of this year to see if you really understood the topics and deserve to pass the class or if HE did you a favour."
"If it'll make you feel better, I'll repeat every fucking test I've done." Die rolled his eyes but only then, he realized the whole content of the principal's words, making him almost stand up again. "Full responsibility? What does that mean?" He had a bad feeling about this, and he didn't like that in the slightest.
It was Kaoru who gently took Die's hand and made him sit back down, his voice calm and soothing. "It's okay. I take responsibility and leave and you finish school as planned." He tried to make it sound as matter-of-factly and natural as possible, but didn't dare to look at the redhead. Of course it also meant that they could never see each other again, that he would pack his belongings right after this talk and leave this town and this school forever. Probably, the principal wouldn't mention anything in his report then and he could finish his studies and still become a teacher. At least he was hoping for that.
"Hell no!" Die yanked his hand away from the other man's grip, turning to look at him instead. "It's fucking wrong." He was feeling as if this wasn't even real, that it wasn't really happening and he rather was looking at himself from above somewhere. He turned to Fukuda again, trying to sound calmer than he actually was. "Can't you see that he's a friggin' awesome teacher? Hell, EVERYONE likes his lessons to no end. You can't just make him take responsibility for something like this and ruin that for him."
The principal looked firmly at the redhead for a long moment. "If your parents won't press charges against him and he leaves without causing troubles, I'm willing to let this topic rest and won't mention anything in my report," he finally said. The words elicited a relieved sigh from the young teacher, but he also felt a sting in his heart.
"I know he's a good teacher, but he violated the rules nevertheless and I can't allow that to happen at my school." He made a pause, gazing directly into Die's eyes. "I know you're almost an adult and thus you should know that this is the only way to handle things. If you want to fight for Mr. Niikura's future, then convince your parents to keep quiet and bear the shame."
The words made Die nod and a small sigh escaped his lips. He would be able to convince his mother, he was pretty sure of that, but he had no idea how his father would react. Well, that he would find out soon, he at least assumed his parents would arrive there soon. "I'll do that." He spoke silently. "And I'll repeat the tests. Anything else?"
"Of course you are not supposed to see each other again, but I assume that this won't happen anyways, because Mr. Niikura will leave today." The principal looked at the young teacher intensely. "Right?"
Kaoru still hung his head, but nodded. "Right!" Now he felt bad that he had never told Die about his true feelings; that he had fallen for him, but it was too late for that anyways. They would never see again and then it was better not to twist the knife in the wound by being more emotional than necessary.
Die was gritting his teeth harshly, his lips pressed into a thin line as he tried desperately not to cry. It was impossible to miss the glossy shimmer in his eyes, but he just averted his gaze to the side, not seeing a single thing though. So this was it then? It was so unfair... but there wasn't much he could do about it.
Neither of them spoke a word anymore until the door opened and Mrs Andou rushed inside. "So this is the man?" she shrieked, sounding as if she was ready to scratch out Kaoru's eyes. "You bastard!" Only then, she saw the bruises on her son's face and began to cry. "My poor baby!" She always was like that, overextended with everything. The next second, she yelled at her son. "How could you put this shame on us? Do you know how hard it was to find a babysitter at this time of the day?"
"Mom!" Die looked mostly annoyed, just trying to blink away the tears that had been gathering in his eyes. Somehow, his mother managed to break the moment, at least one good thing her arrival did as the redhead didn't feel like suffocating anymore, drowning in his own thoughts. "Calm down..." He didn't know what to say to his mother, but thankfully he didn't have to think about it any further as he happened to glance over her shoulder. Instantly his eyes widened a bit when he saw his father, and his heart seemed to stop beating because he was terrified of his reaction.
The man was tall and slim and wore a grim expression on his sharp face. When Kaoru spotted him, his first intention was to jump up and run away, but that wouldn't have been very courageous, would it? So he took a deep breath, ready to take everything that might be thrown at him now. "See," Mrs Andou shouted at her son, "even dad came home earlier from work. Do you know how embarrassing it was for him to receive a call from school? And for me? Now all his colleagues think I don't have my son under control."
"Shut up, Myuki," Mr. Andou cut her off. "Everybody knows you have no control over our children, especially our ill-bred son." He was the kind of man who didn't allow any contradictions and only turned to bow at the principal. "I'm deeply sorry that my son caused so much trouble." Die had at first opened his mouth to protest but then simply turned his eyes down, embarrassment and agitation showing clearly in the blush on his cheeks.
Principal Fukuda got up from his seat and greeted Mr. Andou formally. "This is an unfortunate case. We're hoping we can minimize the troubles though, as well as the damage this will do." He took a glance at the two lovers who were the reason for all uproar. "Mr. Niikura will of course leave his position as a teacher and he will never set foot in this school again. But the open question now is whether you want to press charges against him or not?"
Mr. Andou's eye was twitching and one could see that he grit his teeth. While Die's mother burst out. "Of course we will press charges against this child molester." He shook his head instead. "I have no use for a process like that. It would do only harm to my reputation at the company."
The words caused Kaoru to sigh relieved inwardly, because he wouldn't have had the money for a decent lawyer in case of a trial and it would certainly mean the end of his career as a teacher. Seeing the need to say something, Kaoru got up from his chair, bowing in front of Die's father. "Mr. Andou, I'm deeply sorry for this-," but he was cut off by an annoyed hand gesture from the man. "I don't want to hear any of this. You are an ill-minded man with a disgusting lifestyle and I will have to see how to protect my son from being led further astray."
Hearing the words made Die already stand up and if his mother hadn't held him back, he would've protested fiercely. But the woman's hand on his arm made him somehow snap back to reality and he knew that causing a scene would only bring troubles for all of them. Sighing, he let go, falling silent again.
Mr. Fukuda nodded only at the exchanged words, before turning to look at Kaoru, addressing him. "You're dismissed. Get your belongings and tomorrow morning come to my office and sign the papers. Then I don't want to see you here again, understood? Son, be glad that you're left off the hook this easily."
Then he took a glance at Die, who was still standing silently beside his mother. "And you, young man, we have to discuss what to do with you with your parents now." It was obvious that everything wasn't solved yet, and it would become a long conversation. Inwardly, Die was screaming, wanted to just run and leave everything behind but still he only nodded, not saying a single word.
Instantly, Kaoru bowed before the principal. "I'm sorry." After repeating the gesture in front of Die's parents, he left the room, feeling somewhat shaky inside. Still, he did as he had been told, went straight to the bus-station to pack his few belongings in the apartment. None of the other students tried to harass him, but he heard some insults, whispered and shouted, follow him. The only thing that was going through his mind was that he was hoping Die would be alright, that he wouldn't do anything stupid and just grin and bear the situation and go on with his life afterwards.
As Die had predicted, it turned out to be a long conversation with accusations and yelling, his mother even crying every other minute. The only thought that got him through this was that he knew that the less troubles he caused, the easier it would be for Kaoru. And he definitely didn't want to cause more troubles anymore, not after all this. He wasn't that worried about himself, since he knew that it wasn't very likely the other students would attack him again. It had been an initial reaction of them hearing about his relationship with the teacher, and probably the worst he'd get would be mocking and insults after this. Words couldn't hurt you really, could they?
Even when the principal had ended the conversation and Die followed his parents home he had the feeling that the topic would be on the table for long still in their household. And he was right. Things were discussed over and over again, or more like he was accused and yelled at all the time. His father had taken a decision. Either Die would promise to never see Kaoru again, to never start anything with a man ever in his life and finish his last year in a different school, or he would have to leave the family.
Not even when Mrs Andou started crying again, begging her husband to rethink his decision, he took it back. The school he had decided for his son was a strict, military-orientated school where he was hoping Die would learn manners and the right way to lead a life.
A knock at his door startled Kaoru out of his state of laziness. It was raining heavily outside and he had decided to spend the whole Saturday on his couch, wrapped up in a blanket, only listening to some quiet music. Lately, he felt the need to be alone and just think more often and inwardly asked himself who would take the effort to come and visit him while outside the world seemed to come to an end.
Pushing his glasses up his nose, he opened the door a bit and peeked outside, gasping surprised when he spotted the tall redhead there. "Die..." was all he got out, but instinctively opened the door a bit further.
The redhead didn't make a move to come in though, standing in the pouring rain with his hair plastered over his face by the big raindrops. He was looking straight at Kaoru, his voice a bit choked as he spoke up. "You remember when I asked you what you believe in?" Without waiting for a reply he went on, wiping some red strands off his face with a quick gesture. "You said you believe in sex. What about love? Do you believe in love?"
"I didn't," the smaller man replied honestly. "A few months ago, all I believed in was that teaching is everything in my life and love only was something one could see in Hollywood movies." A small smile found its way to his lips and he couldn't believe that Die was really standing in front of him. Slowly, he raised his hand, wiping away a drop of water that ran down the redhead's temple.
"But then I met this stubborn boy who was willing to spend his life with me. Sadly, something got in between and we were separated, but yes, I do believe in love. I believe that I love this boy."
Die had been silent during the monologue, not reacting in any way, but now he was smiling. He had been hoping, almost praying for an answer like that since if Kaoru would've now turned him down, he wouldn't have had any place to go.
Wordlessly, he swung his arms around the older man's neck, not minding that he was soaked and the action would definitely result in both of them being almost equally wet. And when he felt Kaoru's arms around himself, squeezing tight, he knew he had taken the right decision.
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