Naora had a bad feeling.

 

This feeling had been dogging her all day. From the moment she woke up it followed her. She'd been screwing up lately and she didn't know how to get around it. She only had so many excuses. She was expected to produce results. Results she wasn't making. She put the feeling out of her head and made a point of just getting through the day.

 

Kagi and Midori met her outside her house like they always did. Originally she didn't feel right about how they had their lives turned upside down, but they both were really enthusiastic about working with Naora. It took a month before they really opened up to her and let Naora know just how screwed they were. Getting to be Naora's personal bodyguards was actually a really good opportunity for them. It was a good for their families, who were minor nobodies not affiliated with any of the major crime families in Tokyo. Yes, there was a lot of risk involved, but if they did a good job, they would be brought into the Terauchi fold and that was what was important.

 

It didn't hurt that they were both so likable.

 

That's also what made her life so stressful. She liked them and, like it or not, these two had hitched their wagon to her. If she was a success, they were a success. If she failed, they and their families failed. It was a ton of pressure to be under. If she was the only one who paid for her fuck-ups, that'd be fine, but she wasn't alone. It didn't help that her con-artist of a mother acted like they had hit the lottery when they found out Naora was the only living, 'pure blood' Terauchi that was fertile.

 

Which isn't to say she was the only candidate. There was another, but she wasn't a Terauchi by blood, but by marriage. Terauchi Gen, the one who would be the new matriarch of the family if Naora doesn't make the cut. The two were technically in a contest. As much as the head of the family might be obsessed with purity of blood, there was no way she could just declare Naora the new head of the family. Naora had to be tested. So that's what Naora's life was all about.

 

She was a drug dealer.

 

She had to work her way up the family's various ranks. Gen had to as well. They both had to survive on their own with limited help and prove that they could handle the job. The only thing worse than having an impure leader, was a weak leader. So like it or not, Naora would have to take over the drug trade of her high school before graduation. Naora deliberately got held back a year to buy herself more time, as Hinako was a frickin' nightmare. Their family hated the Terauchi's with a passion and Hinako was a major pain in the ass. However, this worked to Naora's advantage. Gen was out performing her, no doubt, but she also had nothing in her way. She picked an easy school and had an easy time. It wasn't just about succeeding, but how you overcome obstacles.

 

Speaking of obstacles, Toshi was on her mind, as of late.

 

As the three of them walked to school, she thought about that silly boy. She didn't know why he was on her mind so much. She was practically a lesbian. She'd had three boyfriends. She had sex with all three. The sex was universally disappointing. The first time she chalked it up to, well, being the first time. Nobody enjoys their first time. The second time was with a boy who knew who she was and wanted to get in on the ground floor, but right after having sex he became so... greedy. Just because she was a Terauchi didn't mean she was rich. Besides, he just laid there and made her do all the work.

 

The third guy, she actually liked, but they got drunk and she pushed it. She was so stressed out that she needed to get her mind off of how fucked up her life was. A few shots and they tumbled into bed and... it didn't turn out well. Afterwords they were just awkward around each other and eventually he dumped her. After that she came to the inescapable conclusion that since having sex with boys was such a disappointment, she was most likely gay. Not that she actually wanted to have sex with other girls, she just assumed it. She figured she'd worry about it later, and sex no longer became an issue for her.

 

Then she ran into Toshi.

 

She stopped short of the crosswalk and waited while Kagi walked out to make sure the coast was clear. There were rules to be followed. Gen and Naora were in a contest. Yes, they needed to be ruthless, but the family wanted the best candidate to win, so they couldn't just kill each other. They would have to go to the head of the family, make a case that the other one was clearly proving to be losing, and then they would get one attempt. If the attempt failed, they wouldn't get another one. Instead, the one who was attacked would have the right to make a counter assassination. If if failed, then it would return to the status quo. If they didn't use that free counter assassination, no more assassination attempts would be allowed. If this rule is broken, even if you succeed, you would be killed. 

 

Naora hated Gen on a personal level. There was something just wrong with Gen. She was broken, which oddly enough might make her a better family leader. She certainly was ruthless and without a conscience. She also was arrogant, vain, and prone to irrational outbursts of rage when she didn't get her way. On one hand, she clearly would be the stronger family head, on the other hand, she wasn't respected. Naora had a cool head and a strong right hook. People admired that Naora didn't hide behind others and personally handled her problems. So while Naora was seen as the weaker candidate, she was seen as the 'safe' choice as well. Naora had her emotions under control and didn't go out on weekend long benders or waste money on pretty boys.

 

Like Toshi.

 

Naora continued her trek to school, they took different routes each time. This route was giving Naora way more time then usual to think, and lately she either thought about how screwed she was, or Toshi. The first time they bumped into each other, Naora felt a spark. Quite literally. She felt an electrical shock when he walked into her. She hadn't seen him before, but he looked like he'd be fun to tease. She had taken up the enjoyable hobby of torturing the boys in the school. They were all such as waste of time.

 

That's another reason why she thought she might be gay. She found herself wishing she had been born a boy. To spend all day long worried about nothing else but looking good. To complain about the vapid concerns they had. To spend so much time worrying about the latest rumor or who was dating whom. Boys had no idea how good they had it. They were worried about going off to college when, if they were smart, all they had to do was find some rich girl and be a good husband. That would be the life. To sit around the house all day and take care of the kids your wife popped out, while she worked her ass off somewhere.

 

Well, I guess these days most families are two income, but if you were good looking enough as a boy, you could live your life doing nothing while being taken care of. Toshi certainly qualified for that sort of outcome. The first time they met she looked forward to making this little Pochi-kun squirm.

 

Yet, he didn't.

 

It turned out he was the brother of Hinako, and that was a pile of trouble that Naora didn't need. When her family killed Kimi, that's when they found out that Kimi was the daughter of the Kimoto Family, a well known, multi-generation family who all joined various law enforcement departments on every level of government. Even worse, they found out her father was an Oh. The Oh family were well known in high society. They were the beautiful people and as such were well connected. Kimi's father might have been a social outcast for lowering himself to marrying a 'commoner', but Kimi was an 'Oh', regardless.

 

The Oh family could not tolerate that sort of insult.

 

It wasn't just the entire police force coming down on the Terauchi family, but the Oh family bending it's considerable social influence against the Terauchi's. Suddenly organize crime became a grave national concern. The federal government got involved with 'tough on crime' funding. Fund raisers for the policeman's union were held. Newspaper articles and investigative reporters crawled out of the woodwork to expose the 'Evil' of the Terauchi family. At the time, it must have felt like the whole goddamn world was coming down on them. But the Oh family's attention was a fickle thing. With time, they felt they did enough and moved on. The point was to prove you don't fuck with the Oh family and the point was made. It wasn't like they actually cared about Kimi. This was just a matter of pride.

 

Toshi was certainly beautiful enough to be an Oh.

 

It wasn't until later that same week that she'd run into Toshi again. He came rushing to defense of Ruri, of all people. One of the ugliest and most unliked girls in the school. At first she didn't take Toshi seriously, but when he sucker punched her friends, she had no problem giving him a swift boot to the junk. She expected that to be the end of it.

 

Then Toshi broke her nose.

 

Naora had never been more pissed. This little bastard, this self-important prince syndrome suffering son of a bitch dared to head-butt her and bust her nose? Oh she was going to fuckin' murder him. But instead of running away, he just got angrier. He started coming at her.  Then the teacher walked in. She knew she was screwed. It didn't matter what happened, he was going to cry and moan and point at her and she was going to get blamed for everything.

 

Then Toshi kept his mouth shut.

 

Here was a boy who didn't hide, who didn't expect someone to come save him, who could take a shot to the balls and keep on coming. Someone who didn't, as he put it, 'go crying to mama'. He finished the shit he started. It was hard not to like the boy. Her friends didn't understand why she was letting them off the hook. It would hurt her reputation, but she made the excuse she wanted to get in his pants and it would humiliate his family if she fucked him.

 

Not that she was going to.

 

She had sworn off boys and Toshi was... well... He was like out of one of those manga you read. The wide-eyed innocent boy who was raised a commoner, who finds out he's a prince with the power to heal, then gets surrounded by a reverse harem of women who protect him. He was far too innocent for the real world. An idealistic fool and frankly, getting involved with him would be a nightmare on so many levels. As long as she SAID she had long term plans, she could act like she was being all deceptive and shit.

 

Then he found her on the rooftop.

 

That had been embarrassing. The funny thing was, she almost opened up to him. She almost actually started talking about how bad her life was, how much danger she was in, how she was constantly living in fear and she had to wear this facade all the time. She knew he'd be all sympathetic and understanding, then most likely give some simplistic, naive answer to her problems. He clearly was brain damaged. He was just too innocent to live in this world.

 

That's why she was so cruel to him.

 

When she figured out how his family was keeping him in the dark, she told him everything she knew that would shatter his world. She could see from his expression how much she was hurting him as she explained how his family was lying to him, but it was for the best. He would hate her from now on, but that was okay. They were never going to be friends. They were never going to get along. Their two families were going to hate each other for eternity and that was that. Best to break Toshi now. It was for his own good.

 

Naora finally got to school and learned that everyone was talking about the 'big thing'. Today was Toshi's birthday. She was boggled by how many people liked Toshi. He didn't do anything special. He was nice, sure, but that was it. He was kinda slow at times, kept getting things confused, but for some reason people liked him. She suspected it was because he did seem like a prince out of a fairy tale. It was hard not to like this beautiful boy with the happy smile, who seemed to want to help everyone. It didn't hurt that people heard he was an 'Oh'. On top of being cute, he was now 'of noble blood'. More than one girl thought Toshi was oh so fuckable, but to be related to the Oh family...

 

She wondered how Toshi felt to be looked at as good breeding stock.

 

She supposed that would be the downside to being male. The old saying goes, 'a man is a human being, but a woman is a human doing.' If she isn't doing something, what good is she? Which was better? To be thought only for the value of how good you are in bed, or to be measured by the value of your accomplishments? Being a man certainly was easier to start, but in the long run, she bet she'd value being a woman more.

 

Of course, nobody talked about the attack.

 

She thought back to two days prior. She'd asked to be kept up to date on Toshi news and someone stopped her as she was going home to mention that someone with a Nagasee High jacket was asking where she could find Toshi. In the back of her mind she knew something was wrong. So she went to go check on him and walked out of the stairwell to see the backs of two girls crowding the entrance to the boy's bathroom. She motioned to her friends to hold back and jogged ahead. She could be quite light on her feet when she wanted to be. As she got close she heard, "You can't rape a whore", and that's all she needed to know.

 

There weren't many pure things in this world. There was so little innocence. She would never know what it was like to have a normal childhood, or to live a normal life, or have a pair of loving parents, or her father's love, but Toshi...? He was the one pure thing in her world and these bitches were going to rape him?

 

They were so dead.

 

She had so much pent up rage and frustration from her fucked up life that she never felt so much joy at this opportunity for a completely one-sided and justified beat down.  Then Toshi stopped her. Then Toshi explained what happened. Toshi wasn't innocent. He was just as screwed up as everyone else, except he didn't remember. He was the fucked up, arrogant bastard who used everyone around him. This wasn't out of the blue, they were here for revenge. He just didn't remember doing any of it.

 

The Toshi in front of her was so innocent and so pure because he didn't know any better. She thought a lot about what happened for the past two days. What was innocence? Did life corrupt everyone? Was there any way to actually be a good person in this world? Maybe she didn't have to feel so bad about what she was destined to be. She had a real problem selling drugs, but maybe it was fine. Everyone is corrupt eventually, even the sweet and innocent Toshi.

 

This was what she was thinking about as she left the school.

 

As she walked along, that feeling of dread returned. She could feel it weighing down on her. It was crushing her from all sides now. She felt something bad was going to happen and there was nothing to do about it. A growing sense of helplessness pushed down on her forcing the air out of her lungs. She caught the car out of the corner of her eye. She had no time to dive for cover, but she could have grabbed one of her friends and used them as a body shield.

 

All she did was close her eyes and wait for the inevitable.

 

Instead of getting hit with bullets, she felt three people slam into her back and force her to the ground. She lay there, pinned under bodies, her mind unable to understand what was happening. She opened her eyes to see Toshi's face next to hers. He was lying on top of her, shielding her body with his. She heard multiple shots ring out. She heard Kagi scream, "I'm HIT!", but it didn't register. She was focused on the shooting. Two shots in particular. Two specific shots that synched up with Toshi's body jerking. Toshi was looking her dead in the eyes when he let out two grunts in time with those shots.

 

The grunts were followed by Toshi letting out a long breath as he closed his eyes.

 

 

 

 

Toshi stopped moving.