[guren's pov]
My name is Guren, and I'm from the Ichinose clan.
There are a few things to know before I tell you this story. All of the clans (Ichinose, Goshi, Jujo, Sangu, Hakke, Shichikai, Rikudo, Shinjin, Nii, and Kuki clans, though the last two are now labeled as traitors) in the area (apart from the Hyakuya's, and don't get me started on them) serve under one big clan - the Hiragi's. The Ichinose clan used to serve as the top family under the Hiragi's, but one day, the two eldest sons from the Hiragi clan fell in love with the heir of the Ichinose's. A lot of things happened, and the Ichinose clan split away from the Hiragi's, and although the Hiragi's could have destroyed the Ichinose bloodline, they let the Ichinose's suffer in humiliation.
To this day, everyone still tries their best to humiliate, tease, and bully the Ichinose's, which literally means humiliating, teasing, and bullying me. Sure, a few smaller clans support us (Yukimi, Hanayori, Narumi, Iwasaki), but it doesn't do any good to me, anyway. And things start getting even more twisted when I tell you what happened to me in these past few months.
So let's get started.
-
There are lavenders growing on my front porch.
They were sprouts when I first moved in, and I tended to them every day. I still do. I water them when the days are hot and I shelter them when the days are harsh. I love them.
I always wonder, will I love a person the same way I love my lavenders?
"Mr. Ichinose," I heard a voice. Shortly after, there was a sharp pain on the top of my head. My eyes fluttered open, only to see dozens of eyes staring back at me. I immediately remembered where I was. I had fallen asleep in the middle of algebra, and the math teacher hates me.
I glanced around the room and I could hear snickers and whispers everywhere. All eyes were on me, and not in a good way.
Oh joy, I thought as I slowly let my violet eyes meet the teachers. Her ice-blue eyes burned into mine and it took all of me not to look away.
"Do not fall asleep in my class ever again," she snarled, her ruler threatening to whack me again. That ruler of hers was used to whack many children, I'm surprised that it's still intact.
"Yes ma'am," I lowered my eyes and dipped my head. My hand twitched, wanting to cover the bruise I felt forming on my forehead where the teacher had hit me.
"This is the second time this week, Mr. Ichinose," she snapped, "if I catch you sleeping again you know the consequences."
I nodded bleakly. The teacher glared at me one last time and went back to teaching the class. It didn't make the whispers and stares go away, though.
After an eternity, or maybe twenty minutes, the bell rang and I packed my things, leaving the classroom more confused about maths than ever. I could feel a bump on my head where the teacher had hit me and by the snickers and giggles I heard whenever I walked past people, I know it wasn't attractive.
"Guren-sama!" I heard a voice behind me. I knew who it was before I saw her.
Sayuri Hanayori and Shigure Yukimi jogged up to me and I stopped until they reached me. Sayuri was panting.
"We've been trying to find you," Shigure didn't even sound tired, "where were you?"
"I went to the toilet," I lied. Truthfully, I was actually getting beaten up by some of the kids from the Hakke clan. But they didn't know that.
Sayuri and Shigure are my assistants that were appointed by my dad. I don't know why he decided to choose two relatively short females to be, essentially, my bodyguards. Maybe it was to help hide the fact that they were pretty decent in martial arts, or maybe he thought it was somewhat amusing.
It definitely was amusing for the kids in the school, though. Even though I'm labeled the 'loser' in the whole school, Sayuri and Shigure get teased and harassed as much as I do, perhaps even more. Sometimes I wonder why my father didn't appoint the two kids from the Narumi and Iwasaki clan (Makoto and Shusaku or something along the lines of that). I bet if they were my assistants or whatever they wouldn't be harassed.
Shigure narrowed her eyes at me. I ignored her. Out of the two, Shigure would always know when I was lying. It was pretty unsettling, if I'm being honest. However, I knew quite a bit about both of them too. For starters, I knew that Sayuri had this big crush on me. It was kind of hard to miss.
"Guren-sama," Sayuri was blabbing, "how was maths? I know you really hate maths, I think that's why you always ask me to help do your homework. I'm not saying you're bad at it though! You're great at maths. I think you're even better at me when it comes to 3D shapes. Oh and-"
"Maths was fine," I interjected, cutting off her train of thought. Normally I would have let her continue talking and pretend to listen. Sure, I didn't like Sayuri the way she liked me, but I would always feel a little bad when her face would crumble momentarily when I interrupted.
But this time, I had to. The Hiragis were here.
You could have spotted them a mile away - they weren't exactly normal.
Mahiru Hiragi, the heir, though she was the second eldest, was a tall, beautiful girl. She had lavender hair and large amber eyes. I am sure all the boys and some of the girls in her class had a crush on her, and I understand why. She wasn't just pretty - I had heard that she was kind and humble and treated everyone equally. I'm not too sure about the last part, though - Mahiru hadn't even looked at me once when I was getting beaten up by everyone.
Kureto was the eldest. Much like Mahiru, he had the same amber eyes, though some would describe them as golden. He had short black hair and the stupidest eyebrows I had ever seen in my whole life. Kureto was in some of my classes and he was serious all the time. He never took part in the bullying but I'm sure he hated my guts.
Seishiro Hiragi was the jerk of the family. He had the weirdest black and grey mohawk and short but thick eyebrows and small, red eyes. Seishiro taunted and teased everyone from lower branch families (cough me cough) and he acts tough all the time, but I know he's actually a coward on the inside. There are always people like that.
Shinoa was the sibling I knew less about, probably because she attended a different campus as she was the youngest. Like Mahiru, she had purple hair, though her's was a little darker. She had big brown eyes and I find her quite annoying.
And then there's Shinya Hiragi. Shinya is a tall, feminine-looking boy with snow-white hair and beautiful blue eyes. He had the palest skin out of all of the Hiragi's. He stood out the most, and not just because of his startling appearance, but also because he was the only Hiragi who was bullied. This was probably because he was adopted.
I don't really know what to think about Shinya. I heard that he was funny and cheerful, though he probably gets beaten up as much as I do, which is a lot. Yet he enters every classroom with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. Even though he sometimes smiles apologetically at me when Seishiro taunts me, he never really stops the teasing, the bullying, the beatings. In my eyes, Shinya Hiragi is a coward. A selfish coward.
But that didn't stop him from smiling at me and looking at me when the Hiragi clan walked past and ignored me. His smiles always get burned into my mind and I can't stop thinking about them. I get butterflies in my stomach every time his bright blue eyes meet my dark violet ones.
And Shigure knows this.
She looks at me every time I see him. I can feel her dark green eyes on me. I pretend I don't know but she knows I'm pretending.
Damn it, Shigure.
I watch the Hiragi's pass. Shinya shoots me a smile again. Damn. I watch their backs disappear down the hallway, and I let out my breath I didn't even know I was holding.
"Come on, let's go," I tell Sayuri and Shigure, ignoring Sayuri's somewhat sad nod and Shigure's expectant stare.
We duck our heads down as we walk down the hallway to our next class. We receive taunts and jeers and snickers and stares. But it's okay because we're used to it.
My name is Guren Ichinose, and I am a loser.
a/n damn i have too much time.