[WBoon]

Sorry this took so long... not that any of you probably care anyway. :P But, yeah, I was giving a lot of thoughts to the future of this fan fiction. Seems like it would be diving into that dark aspect I was talking about in The Creative Writing Thread (All writers come all!) thread after all. Hmph. *giggles*

Yeah... this is going to become K-On-less very soon. If anything, I'm just borrowing elements of the characters and using their names.

Chapter Ten: Demons!

On the earliest hours of a fog-day morning, few items of the scenery in the backdrop could be made out by our naked eye. Like an oil painting, one needs to squint, carefully examining each and every aspect to cast out the fog from his vision and perceive the true beauty that lies behind. That is the power of a lack of visuality - it forces you to look. With obstruction comes speed. With pain comes growth.

And on that particular day, the fog had indeed forested the subject of our current chapter, whose home in the apartment building could just almost be seen - if one squints.

~~~~~~

"So bored…" remarked our other main attraction of the story, Mosugi 'Flare' Tenjiru, lying lazily across his black cushioned couch. "There's nothing to do at all…"

As to why he had woken up this early, barely upon the peak of the sun, Flare did not know. He then thought it would perhaps make for a good subject to ponder about.

That was, until the bell was hit.

The youngster sprang up like a bullet. 'This early in the morning, too?' he thought, sluggishly pulling himself from the comforts of pulpy cushion as he mumbled to himself the complaints of his life.

"Yeah, yeah, I'M COMING!" he furiously yelled upon another hit of his bell, so loudly his voice was that his father's pet arowana jerked itself out of the water. "Stupid fish…"

Opening the door, however, revealed no one being there. Not at his eye-level anyway.

Initially more infuriated than before, Flare gazed down while looking around, and saw a trembling girl in skimpy clothing, clutching her head in fear.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

~~~~~~

"I'm sorry, Mio… I didn't mean to yell." The boy wrapped his hands around the girl's palm, caressing it gently in attempt of calming his timid girlfriend down.

"No, it's alright…" Mio blushed shyly, fixating her vision on other objects of Flare's household. "I'm sorry to have visited so early…"

The doting boyfriend returned that blush, noticing how adorable his girl looked in her pink sleeveless tee with "K-On!" stitched across it, not to mention her white denim shorts. In fact, when he thought about it again, her cuteness was too much to be concerned about.

"Erm… why are you dressed like this…?"

Mio turned her head to look at him. Then at his pointing finger. Then at where he was pointing - her bulging chest.

"Gah! Don't look!" she squealed, wrapping up her body in shame.

Flare facepalmed. "Then why did you wear that in the first place…"

~~~~~~

After a brief explanation, Flare learned that his own girlfriend was just living a block down the road… little to his knowledge.

"So that's why you came in your briefs…" he pouted, still rather upset about not knowing that much about his flame. "But you know… it's not that troublesome to at least put on something decent."

"Erm, no… actually, there's something I wanted to tell you urgently before school… that's why I rushed over first thing in the morning…"

"Something?"

Yeah… it's about… about…"

From the extreme coloration of her cheeks, the bursting of droplets across her body, and that familiar stuttering of her voice, Flare had a guess about the subject Mio had wanted to share.

"…Erm, Nodoka came yesterday."

Her digress from the subject he was expecting slightly disappointed him.

"Oh, she did?"

"Yeah… She explained everything to me…"

"I see…"

Another stream of awkward silence. Mio sighed, disappointed in herself as well.

"I'm glad, Mio."

"Eh?"

"I'm glad that you recovered so quickly... from your fever, and your fears."

Another warm blush came to her face, painting it as bright a red as an evening sun.

"It's alright. You don't have to confront it now… But I'm glad you chose me. I'm really glad, Mio…"

She stretched her hand over to his and clutched it firmly. "Of course…" she said, fixing her eyes onto his. "After all, you had faith in me, too."

Flare breathed in deeply. It was time to tell her. She deserved that much from him.

"Actually, I have something to tell you, too…"

Mio tried her best not to jerk her hand away from the fear that it was going to be something hurtful again. No, she wanted to have faith.

"Go on."

"They probably started when I was just in Kindergarten, too… demons of my own."

Mio smiled, glad that it was not another overprotective speech, and that her wait for him to confide in her had finally ended. She wrapped around his arms, assuring him comfort as she began his fight with him.

~~~~~~

"I was never a really likable person. Hot-tempered. Ill-mannered. Full of insecurities… just like you. I didn't know how to social well, either. On the day when I first attended school, I remembered clutching to my mum, unwilling to leave the comforts she brought me…"

Flare recalled a little boy, barely able to dress properly in his uniform, holding ever so tightly onto two legs of a taller figure. Tears flowed from his eyes as the parent grudgingly parted her child's hands from her, aided by the teacher in charge of the facility.

Sympathetic with the situation, the female civil servant comforted the crying child with a balloon, easing his tears.

Then he remembered that other boy who popped that balloon.

"That's horrible," commented Mio, proceeding to rest against Flare's arm that she was clasping.

"Heh… if you think about how kids work, it wasn't that surprising. But, of course. I was thrusted with the law of "survival of the fittest" ever since I was a toddler…"

Flare continued reminiscing. He remembered how his years in Kindergarten were not as unpleasant.

"In fact, I made a few close friends during that time, not that I was old enough to recognize the significance. Instead, it was Primary School that really made the difference in my life."

Flare remembered his first bestfriend in life, how he had talked to Flare when no one else would, how he would went on to become the other part of Flare… and how he crafted Flare's fiery chain of distrust towards mankind.

"His name was Konoe Karebu. Karebu was brought up under American influence due to his parents' travels, sharing the American ideas and views. Hence, he didn't interact well with his fellow Asian classmates that well. We were two wolves brought together on one fire-pit, simply forced to befriend someone who needed a friend. Someone else who would accept us, even."

"Though we had our obvious differences, we somehow ended up being loyal to each other, never backing down when the other needed help."

"However, Karebu always complained how I was whining about the people who bullied me. Instead of fending for myself, I had thought that heading for the teacher was the correct, proper action. Hence, he taught me how to hit back. Heh. Perhaps he was too good a teacher. I soon became more aggressive than he ever was, always resulting to violence whenever someone mistreated me. I became too violent for his liking."

"I got into lots of trouble ever since then, got separated into a more inferior class than him. Though we still meet up during break-time, he got sick and tired of me over time… like the true hypocrite he was."

"You're far from being what he was, Mio. You're kind, sweet, and generous. Karebu, however…"

"Being in that class of rotten apples left me just as rotten. Naturally, being the insecure bitch that I was, their teasing led to me being involved in frequent class fights. I was thrown into Hell alone. I needed help. Karebu, however, couldn't care less about his rotting friend. To him, I was already dead when I went into that class. He constantly digressed from our conversations when I talked about my life in there, how I was so alone and helpless. I hated him… so much."

If hatred was fuel, it was leaking out of Flare's head like molten lava. Mio got up from his body after feeling the vibrations pulsing from it. "Now, now, it's alright…" she gently rubbed his back, caressing Flare's fumes of rage down his body. "There's only me here now…"

Upon realizing how maddened he must have looked, he instantly lost all expressions of wrath from his visage. He looked at Mio with shame. "I'm sorry…"

"It's alright," she smiled compassionately. "It natural to get angry at something that displeases you. Just don't let the hate get to the good part of you."

Flare returned the smile, appreciative of everything Mio had brought to his life. "I just… wish that someone like you was there for me… to warm up those cold days for me."

"Live for the now, Flare…" she replied, leaning her head against his chest. "I am here now…"

Flare gave a tender nod. "You're right. Meeting you, Ritsu, Yui, Azusa, and Tsumugi was the best thing that ever happened to me."

However, his smile, unbeknownst to Mio, diminished suddenly, replaced with a snarl.

"But there are people out there, even now, who only live for themselves. Kindness for the stranger is not something many would live by. In fact, the quantity is simply decreasing rapidly."

Mio's smile was washed away as well, by his ireful words. "Why do you hate people so much…?"

"Because people keep on reminding me that they should be hated!" he answered sharply, without hesitation. "Especially those people who left you scarred and demoralized…"

Mio lurched away from Flare, retracting her limbs against her body. That familiar sense of insecurity was haunting her once again. "It's not like that…"

Flare waited patiently, a long awkward pause in the room. He could be angry at anyone in the world, but for Mio to confront her demons, he could wait forever… even if it meant that she would never grow.

When there was still no response from Mio, he exhaled a snuff of breath and got up. "It's alright, Mio," he said, smiling at her with tolerance.

As he walked away to grab some refreshments for both of them, however, he felt a tug on his hand. He turned around to find a pair of desperate eyes staring up at him.

"Wait…" she cried out.

Relieved that she was about to open her doors, Flare quickly sat down beside her. He wrapped his fingers around her hand, as if to remind her of his support if all Hell went down for her.

12 years ago, across the schoolgrounds of a kindergarten

"Haha! You have pretty hair!"

"Really? I don't think so."

That's right. It all began that day, with an innocent little remark that began the ignition.

"What are you saying, Yamaguchi?!" retorted the audacious little girl wearing a hairband. "Are you jealous?!"

"Jealous?! Hah!" the plump brute sneered, thrusting his body away from her brunette friend and her. "Who would be jealous of that weird-haired girl?"

Of course, there were others who had also sought to protect the innocent little girl, but failed to do so inevitably. Power is the rule of this land, and those without power falls to the dominance of those who wields it triumphantly.

"Hey, leave her alone, Haruo!"

"Why? You gonna make me?"

Along with a group of other boys, Yamaguchi Haruo wielded dominance over this place. His background was not one belonging to the rich and powerful, but simply powerful without control.

And unlucky little Mio just happened to amuse Haruo this time around. If not for Tainaka Ritsu's watchful eye over her, her fate would had probably been of a worser state than what was to come.

One innocent morning amongst the many others, Tainaka and Akiyama had just finished class and were about to depart for home. However, a simple reckless act of leaving her bag in the class parted the two close friends for just that short period of time. Despite her cowardice in the present day, little Mio was once a normal little girl full of energy and spirit, more than capable of handling the retrieval of a backpack without company.

"Do you need me to go with you?"

"Nah. I'll be quick, Rit-chan."

Upon her return into the classroom, Akiyama had sealed her fate behind the purgatory gates. The beast had been awaiting her arrival after noticing her item of retrieval in the room just moments ago. As soon as he saw the chance, Yamaguchi spread his dark wings over little Akiyama, with his followers blocking all means of exit around her.

"Wha… what do you want, Haruo?"

"I have been waiting for you, Akiyama. Seems like, you and Tainaka don't know your place around here. We'll have to change that."

And with the enunciation of his intentions, the hulking animals closed in on their prey, cornering her squirming body to one side of the room.

"No, stop it, please! Get away from me!"

"Hey! What do you think you guys are-"

What seemed that an utter defeat became brightened with hope upon Tainaka's entrance. Nevertheless, her ingress had only granted her visions to the ruination of her friend's future - or the next eight to ten years, at least.

In a human response to defend herself, the child stretched out her hands against Haruo's hovering face, and one of her fingers stabbed him in the eye, causing him to pull back immediately out of instinct. Being the weighty figure as he was, one could simply imagine a little to predict the occurrence that took place next. Falling back onto the floor on his beefy bottom would not had been a problem. Having that bottom landing on a petite chair, pivoting his skull against the hard floor, however, was something of entirely different consequences.

In addition to the spillage of that red liquid from his head, residue caught from the piercing of his eye was also caught on Akiyama's finger. The sight of their leader whom they had followed loyally lying unconsciously across the floor with blood flowing from his head was enough to cause a wild uproar from any child, let alone toddlers.

"Mur… murder…"

Mio glanced at that red puddle that had formed around her bully, then at the blot of the same coloring across the tip of her index finger.

"No… no, I didn't…"

"Help! Someone help!"

"No! I didn't mean to push him!"

"Don't you run away, Akiyama! Someone, come hurry!"

Seeing how the situation had suddenly turned for the worse for the friend she had left behind, Tainaka rushed past the fleeting boys, pushing her way to reach by the side of Akiyama.

"I didn't… I didn't do it… I didn't see anything… I didn't hear anything…"

"It's alright, Mio. It's his fault! Let's just get away now, okay?"

Upon the pronunciation of her last syllable, the two individuals were robbed of their voices. One of them was stupefied by the level of hardship that, not only made the mockery of his classmates seemed like an innocent joke, but also perturbed him as to how an innocent girl could be dealt the cruel title of 'murderer' as a child. The other, was simply worried that the title, the revelation of her sins, would finally finish the job, depriving her of all she loved.

But she needed to finish what she came here for in the first place.

"After that, my schoolyears were Hell. My classmates physically abused me. Parents and teachers were either too terrified of me, or hated me so much that they wished I would die… Naturally, I hated them as well. But, do you know, Flare? As I grow up, with Ritsu always taking care of me… always loving me as a friend, I didn't care anymore about my hatred. I just wanted to live happily with my bestfriend, with the ones I love."

"In other words," Flare spoke up suddenly, "you're saying that it's pointless to hate… am I right?"

"Mhm." Mio gave a slight nod.

Flare had been listening attentively to every word she had spat out. He could not agree with her declaration.

"Not having hate in your life is like not wanting change in the world. I grew as a person because I hate."

"I grew because I love," snapped Mio suddenly, pivoting her head towards Flare. "I wanted to grow up because there are people around me that deserves courage from me. And Responsibility. And Hope. You grew up, too, because you love me… didn't you?"

Flare remained silent for a while, pondering carefully his next few words.

"Yeah… to some extent. But having me completely leaving my hatred behind… that's something I couldn't do, no matter how much I love you, Mio."

A countenance of disappointment rose in Mio's face that swiveled away from Flare.

"But, for your sake… I'll fight it."

Immediately, that countenance was washed away by a smile.

"It's still a part of me, so I'd need time."

She gave an understanding nod, and proceeded to hug him from behind. "It's alright. I'll be there fighting with you, too."

At that moment, the rays of sunlight that crept in from a nearby window seemed to promise a clear sky. At least for the rest of the day.