Tokyo Boys

Finally, this is where the story starts!



Please see chapter 1 for notes.

TOKYO BOYS
Chapter 9


The last days of spring vacation had passed by too quickly. Yuuto spent his days working on his art club project. They were setting up a gallery for the first week of school. They weren't the only students that frequented the school during the vacation. Other clubs had activities as well, like the sports clubs that practiced nearly every day all year long.

Daisuke hadn’t been seen near the school's grounds ever since spring vacation started. Instead, he spent the majority of his time gaming in the arcade and hanging out with his new buddies, and of course exploring the nightlife and the pleasures that Shinjuku 2-chome had to offer.

But that was soon to end.

“Ahh, I don’t want to go to school tomorrow…” Daisuke sighed.

He was lying naked, face down, on Tachibana’s bed. The white sheet barely covered his bottom.

Tachibana was leaning against the headboard, typing on his laptop frantically. “It isn’t that bad…”

Daisuke propped himself up to peek at what Tachibana was doing. “What’s that?”

“I’m working on my academic paper… I got school starting too, you know…” Tachibana said without raising his head from the monitor.

“Sounds like fun…” Daisuke dropped his head back over his hands.

“It is! University is much more fun than High school… you just need to choose what you would enjoy studying…” Tachibana reached out to ruffle Daisuke’s hair without averting his eyes.

“What do you study?” Daisuke looked up at him.

“Fashion design.”

Daisuke snickered. “Fashion design?! That’s… that just figures.”

Tachibana giggled. “Yes, yes. As a child I actually made clothes for my sister’s Barbie dolls…”

Daisuke snorted again, burying his face in the pillow.

“Shut up!” Tachibana smacked him.

“But it’s great…” Daisuke sighed. “You’re doing what you like… I have no idea what I want to study…”

“It will come, don’t worry…” Tachibana said. “Or you can just drop out now and become a construction worker.”

Before Daisuke could make a comeback, his phone started ringing. He propped himself up. “Looks like the party’s over for me,” he said, knowing there was only one person who would call him. His friends sent e-mails.

~*~

"Good morning." Daisuke’s mother woke him up harshly.

“Hnnn…” he groaned and turned to the other side, flipping his pillow over his head.

“Your party days are over, it’s time to go to school,” his mother said, taking joy in every word uttered.

In the end she had to yank the blanket away from him. He sighed, “I’m up, I’m up…” But he couldn’t move his body. He really wanted to sleep more. He’s gotten too used to going to bed in the early morning and waking up at noon.

When he finally made his way to the bathroom, he looked like a freshly created zombie.

“Your brother had already left, hurry up.” His mother urged him when he walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen. He sat down to eat his breakfast, stuffing his mouth with rice and eating quickly.

“Your bento,” his mother said and handed him a wrapped box that looked like a lot of love and effort was put into it. She only did that 2 days a year, on the first day of school after spring and summer vacations.

“Thank you.” He sat down on the genkan to change shoes. Then got up, brushed his pants and gave his mother a charming smile.

“Don’t forget your coat.” She handed it to him.

“Right…” He wanted to roll his eyes. Instead he grabbed the coat and opened the door. “I’m going~”

“Have a good day.” She waved at him.

Daisuke walked fast to his usual meeting point with Yuuto. He spotted him waiting under the streetlamp, holding his portfolio bag under his arm.

“You’re late. I almost left,” Yuuto said with a mock frown.

“Yuu-chan~” Daisuke hugged the boy’s neck, almost choking him. “It feels like it’s been ages since I’ve seen you…” He let go of the squirming boy and raised his hand over Yuuto’s head as if to measure the air above him. “Did you grow taller?”

“No.” Yuuto started walking.

Daisuke followed him, catching up quickly. “So, how was your vacation?”

Yuuto shrugged. “Nothing special. Just worked on my project with the art club.”

“You didn’t meet with Shinozawa again?”

Yuuto took a breath, ignoring Daisuke’s inability to remember a name correctly. “No… well, she called me again but I said I can’t go…”

“Why not? You like her, don’t you? You even talk to her.”

“But she was with her friends again and wanted you to come along…” Yuuto’s voice faded. Without Daisuke around, he would only sit with the girls at the table and shut up like a clam.

They arrived at the school a little late. Students were already heading towards the gym for the opening ceremony. After changing their shoes, Daisuke and Yuuto made their way against the flow of people, to the bulletin board, to check on their classes.

“I’m in 2-5,” Yuuto said after spotting his name.

Daisuke looked for his own name and Yuuto held his breath. He has known Daisuke for 8 years and they were in separated classes only 3 times. Unlike him, Daisuke had no problems adjusting to a new class and new friends, so surely those 3 years weren’t as hard on him as they were on Yuuto. Yuuto definitely didn’t want to experience it again in the last 2 years he had left.

“Me too!” Daisuke smiled. “Class 2-5!”

“Hasabe!” A lanky boy called out as he approached them with big steps.

They turned around when they heard Daisuke’s name called. Although it was a third year student, Yuuto recognized him immediately as the new captain of the popular basketball club and probably one of the few students in school who were taller than Daisuke.

“Cheers, senpai,” Daisuke greeted him with a slight bow.

“Is it true you’ve quit the track team?” The upperclassman asked.

“Yeah.”

News hit that Daisuke wasn’t rejoining the track team in the spring. He had already gotten dozens of emails requesting him to join other sports clubs and he ignored them all. It seemed like the hint was not clear enough.

“I have no plans to join a club this year.”

“Why not?” The older boy asked in disappointment. “I’ve seen you play basketball, you’re great!”

Daisuke shrugged. “I’m good at any sport. Can’t join all the clubs can I?”

“But…” the boy made a face. “Everyone’s in a club…”

“Ah, that’s right, senpai…” Daisuke decided to change tactic. “I’m starting up a club of my own…”

“Really?” The boy eyed him. “What club?”

Yuuto raised his eyes to Daisuke. He already knew it was going to be something dumb.

“The going home early club!” Daisuke sneered. “It’s going to keep me busy…”

“You’re not serious…” the boy sighed.

“You can spread the word around so the other captains won’t show up, okay, senpai?”

“You’re such a wasted talent, do you know that?”

“My mom tells me that all the time.” Daisuke smirked.

His attitude finally driven the older boy to where he came from and Yuuto sighed, feeling sorry for him. Sometimes Daisuke was impossible.

“Why do you need to go home early? It’s not like you’re going to study…” Yuuto started saying and slowly realized. “You’re going to go back to that place?”

“Yeah…” Daisuke hummed. “You don’t understand how good it feels to be free to do whatever you want. I can’t wait to go there again.”

“You know it’s a fake freedom…” Yuuto said quietly. “Everyone who goes there… do you think their lives are better than yours?”

Daisuke felt irritated. “What would you know? You’re just travelling from your house to school and back every day.”

“Ah, that’s right, I don’t know!” Yuuto was also getting angry. “I don’t know what it’s like to be popular and have all the girls wrapped around your little finger and all the boys want to be your friends and… and… and COURT you to join their club! Your life really suck, who would want to be you?” Yuuto felt a lump in his throat as tears welled up in his eyes. Why was he crying when he was supposed to be mad, that’s so… girly.

Daisuke clenched his jaw in anger. Even Yuu-chan didn’t understand. Couldn’t understand. How could Yuuto be jealous of his life when it felt so suffocating? Did he know how many times he reached a point where he was jealous that Yuu-chan had no father? Yeah, he wished his father’s death several times, he would never admit it to anyone. His life wasn’t the perfect picture other people viewed it as. But he never thought Yuu-chan was one of them, because Yuu-chan was always there for him when it got bad.

“Yuu-chan…” he said quietly. “Being in some sports club, being popular with the girls… it doesn’t help me when I don’t even know what I want to be when I grow up… and that’s what? In 2 years? No, I have to make up my mind by next year… At least you know where you want to go, and you’re smart so you’ll definitely get your scholarship… and where am I going to be? In some shitty office?”

Yuuto opened his mouth to speak up, but decided against it. He tightened his hold of his portfolio bag. You’re just running away… he wanted to say.

“Um, Hasabe-kun?” One girl who passed by made the boys remember their time and place. “The ceremony is about to start… aren’t you coming?”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.” He nodded and gave her a light smile.

Yuuto turned to walk after her, but Daisuke didn’t move. “I’ll see you later in class,” he said.

“You’re skipping?!” Yuuto asked, raising his voice.

Daisuke gestured at him to be quiet about it and made his way to the roof access staircase.

~*~

Everyone was already inside the gym when Yuuto entered, and the headmaster was already speaking. Yuuto sneaked into the back row and was relieved there were a couple more tardy students with him.

The assembly was boring as it was every year. Long tiring speeches carried by the staff, with little change from the previous year’s speeches. The students had to sit, get up, bow, sit, get up, and bow again, several times for every teacher on the podium. By the end of it, it felt exhausting as if they were doing it for an entire day.

The new teacher that came in stead of Matsura-sensei was also introduced. Yuuto couldn’t see him well from the back row, but he looked young. Finally they were told to head back to their classrooms.

“Kaname-kun!” He suddenly heard Midori’s voice.

He turned around. He realized he had completely forgotten to check what class she was in.

“It looks like the three of us are in the same class again this year,” she said with a bright smile.

He looked at her, again. The three of us? Did she count Daisuke and him, and herself, in the same unit?

“I hope we will have a great year, this year.” She looked behind him. “Hasabe-kun is not with you?”

“Uh…” Yuuto wrinkled his nose. “He had to go to the restrooms…”

They walked together to class, with Midori attempting a casual conversation. Yuuto was a little more used to talk to her, but still felt awkward.

Daisuke still hasn’t arrived in class when they got there. Was he going to be late on his first class of the year? Yuuto sighed inwardly and looked for his seat. He glanced over to Daisuke’s empty seat.

~*~

The new teacher walked into the class. Yuuto looked at him, rather surprised. He thought the teacher looked younger than the other male teachers in school, but he seemed to be really young.

And very handsome. He had a pitch black short and messy hair, longer than what was normally accepted among teachers, and he was wearing thin-framed glasses. His choice of clothes was light gray dress pants, white shirt and a blue tie with a silver pattern. Yuuto could already hear the girls in class whispering in excitement. That teacher was surely going to rival Daisuke for love confessions from the school girls. And with Daisuke’s current attitude, the teacher would probably win. Yuuto turned his head to look at Midori’s reaction. She also seemed to be taken by the new teacher.

The teacher greeted them with good morning to which they replied obediently and he proceeded to introduce himself, writing his name on the blackboard.

Moriyama Shouji.

Yuuto leaned on his elbow. There was something fascinating about this man, despite the normal name.

Their new homeroom teacher decided to start, as expected, with introductions.

“I know you’re second year students, and even though some of you were in different classes last year, you probably know each other by name at least, but I’d like to get to know you too, is that okay?”

The girls of course were too eager to oblige to his request. There were even a few hands volunteering to be the first.

The door opened and Daisuke stepped inside. The teacher turned to look at him, and then checked his watch. “You’re late.”

Daisuke stared, almost in awe, at the man in front of him. A strange tickling sensation crossed his body and his stomach gave a little excited quiver. He’s been sleeping around with men for two weeks, but he had never felt such a strong attraction to any of them. This feeling was more intoxicating than alcohol. Daisuke stared at the man in front of him and knew he had to have him, at any cost.

But this was class and not 2-chome. And this man was his homeroom teacher out of all things. From all possible scenarios, this was probably the worst.

“I…” Daisuke started saying, but his voice broke. He cleared his throat. “Sorry.”

“I’ll forgive you since it’s the first day,” the teacher said in a strict voice, leaning back on the table. “Don’t be late again.” He looked at Daisuke’s messy clothes. “Is that the dress code of the school?”

Everyone in class gasped. It was the first time a teacher scolded Daisuke seriously. Instead of some witty retort, as he would have done with other teachers, Daisuke apologized once more and started buttoning his gakuran, without removing his eyes from the teacher.

“I’ll pay attention next time,” he uttered.

“Go find a seat.” The teacher gestured with his head.

Daisuke slumped down on the first available chair he saw and threw his bag on the desk. He continued staring, mesmerized, at the new teacher. Then looked at the blackboard for his name.

Moriyama Shouji…

“We’ll start with the tardy one,” the teacher said, looking at Daisuke. “Please introduce yourself to class.”

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