Saito was many things. Most would call him a vigilante, a person who fought against criminal's while under the law's watch. Other would call him a narcissist, someone who only fought against injustice to feed his own ego. And then there are the rare people who called him a hero, an unsung savior who did good without any reward or recognition. He'd heard all three terms be used in order to refer to him at some point.
In truth, he wasn't any of these things.
He was just....Saito. Not a vigilante, not a narcissist, and certainly not a hero. Sure, he did the occasional thing here and there, but that had no bearing on who he was. If he had to use something to define himself, he would go with the term 'obsessed'. He didn't exactly think why he did these things or care for the consequences. It was probably the only time where he actually felt something other than indifference about life.
....Well, other than those moments with Yukari, anyway. He still felt odd around her ever since that little 'giving air' incident a few weeks ago. He didn't eve know why; isn't something like that unavoidable when the room is filling up with water? They weren't fish, so being able to breath underwater was a negative.
Well, back on topic. Saito didn't have many standards on the things he had to do. While his family may have been knight's in shining armor, he wasn't. He wasn't above playing dirty or using blackmail and manipulation to get results. Others might have balked at his methods, but the results were undeniable. Sometimes you needed to be hated and feared to get results.
But nothing - and I mean nothing - could make him do what was being asked of him now.
Right now he was at the classroom, sitting alone in his desk. His friends Kazehaya and Ken had left earlier; the former claiming he was going to get the new bread the store was advertising, the latter saying that he heard that the swim team was having early practice and he was going to watch them for 'academic purposes'
'Right, as if he made any effort to hide that camera of his....' Saito thought sarcastically. Well, at least he had some peace and quiet while those two were gone. Normally they'd be talking to him about who was the hottest girl in school or who's on top of 'the food chain' at the moment. He usually zoned out when it came to discussions like that. Honestly, who cares who's doing who? School was for studying, not gossiping. If he wanted action, he would have accepted a case or something.
"It's too bad I can't...." He muttered to himself, looking sadly at his injured hands, "Shinji's stupid torture technician had a field day with that scalpel of his....." He clicked his tongue in annoyance and tried to move his hands, which was met with a general lack of success.
Well, it wasn't all bad. Ever since he and Aria stopped that little trafficking ring, his mother had - miraculously - chosen to allow him to continue to do his little....side projects. There was a catch, of course: He had to tell them beforehand what he was doing, and he was forbidden from accepting any new cases while he was injured. A job came in not long after she said that, but was refused on account of 'not being able to use most of your upper body properly'. Honestly, what did it matter if his hands were practically unusable? He could still plan and make strategies, and that was all he needed.
"Here, Saito, ahhn~"
He was jogged back to reality by the sound of the unfamiliar voice. Feeling something being shoved into his mouth, he opened it on reflex and felt the familiar taste of egg envelop his taste buds.
Right, he remembered now. Obviously eating with chopsticks while he could barely hold in spasms was impractical, so his mother had assigned Yukari to help him with any needs he might have. He could've sworn that he saw a small nudge and wink at one point, but his memory wasn't too good considering all the pain meds he took so he could talk.
Having Yukari help him out during the breaks was.....disconcerting, to say the least. People frequently gave the two of them stares, though they didn't really ask questions. Normally they might have teased him about his needing of help, but the exposed bandages that stuck out on his palms and part of neck made them think otherwise. He wasn't know for faking injuries or sickness, so his classmates figured that whatever happened was serious.
But did she really have to follow him everywhere? Normally he didn't mind, but there was that one time incident in the bathroom where he couldn't pull down his pants.
Bad incident, something which shall be never spoken of again.
"Aria, don't talk like that...." He swallowed and winced at the slight pain he got from the small action. He really hoped the guy who tortured him enjoyed being shoved into hot coals. He was still alive, though Saito doubted he could bear any children any time soon. At least not without extensive surgery.
'Why? Isn't this normal~?" Aria gave him a cheeky grin, of which he gave a scowl in response, "Or is it because you want Yuka-chan to be here today and not me?" She gave a small laugh when she saw her brother blush slightly, but didn't say anything else.
Yukari was out for the day. Student council members were asked to go to an inter-school meeting, and she was required to go seeing as she was the treasurer. She'd tried to get out of it, but one word of complaint from Saito that she was missing too much because of him and that he would be fine straightened that out. He figured he could just skip lunch that day and just eat at home.
And that was when Aria came.
While the two of them were twins, both of them couldn't be any more different. While Saito was content to stay in obscurity with his two friend's, Aria was one of the school's better know figures and was pretty popular. They never really talked to each other much in school either, so their lives were essentially separated when not at home. Saito liked it just fine that way.
"Don't be ridiculous...." Saito gave her a small glare, "I was planning on skipping lunch today and just take a nap. And don't talk like that, you're gathering attention here...." He glanced nervously at the hallway, trying to ignore the glares some of his male compatriots were giving him. Aria was pretty popular with the opposite sex, something Saito and her didn't share.
Apparently she got it from Aunt Tatenashi.
"Eh~ Little brother should just let big sister take care of him!" She shoved another piece of fried egg down his mouth when he looked to protest, "Besides, it's your fault you're like this right now. You should've followed my plan and everything would've been fine."
*cough* *cough* "First: Don't call me little brother. We're twins, so it's really weird that you're calling me that," He dodged another attempt at 'feeding', "Second: Your plan would've led to Shinji getting away, something that wasn't optimal. Attacking the warehouse with an IS is also rash and nonsensical, and we're lucky none of the people there died when you did it." Aria's smile twitched slightly at her plan being insulted, "Third: You're acting unnatural, even for you. You must need something from me if you're willing to go through all this trouble."
Aria gave him a long, hard stare. He prepared himself to get smacked (His dad told him to get ready to dodge when he saw a female giving him a stare), but all she gave was a small sigh.
"Is it really that obvious?" Saito gave her a raised eyebrow and nodded, "Well, I guess I should just come out and say it: I need a favor".
Ah, and the snake shows their true colors, "What is it you need?" Saito asked, "I don't really have much I can do in this state, unless you're willing to tell mom that I can do jobs while I'm injured. I don't have a problem with it, actually."
"No, it's not a job," Aria smiled and looked to the side, "More like a.....personal favor. Well, it's not for me, but for my friend."
"...Is your friend in trouble?" Saito leaned forward and looked at her, eyes narrowed, "There aren't many things that high school student's can get in trouble in, so the list of things she's involved in should be pretty narrow."
Aria gave a look that was a mix of hesitation and confusion before leaning and and whispering in his ear. The words that came out of her mouth were soft and only Saito could hear. Whatever it was, it made the boy's previously narrow eyes widen.
Outside the classroom, Kazehaya gave a breath of joy at the feeling of the golden egg pan in his hands. It had taken him 30 minutes of waiting in line, and quite a few bruises, but it was worth it. Slowly, he unwrapped the the small gift from God and brought it to his mouth, ready to savor the awesome flavor.
"Like hell!" The scream echoed from the classroom. Kazehaya felt himself jolt up in surprise and his fingers throw whatever was closest on hand at the source. In slow motion, he saw the golden bread fly through the air and hit the wall, splattering it's contents all over the white surface. With a small cry, he dropped to the ground and wept for his lost fortune.
Inside the classroom, Saito was standing up and glaring at his twin sister. Seeing the stares of his classmates, he wisely chose to sit down and lower his voice.
"Come on, it's not like it's going to kill you~!" She leaned forward and put both hands in a begging gesture, "All I'm asking is that you do these two things, and then I'll do whatever you want me to during those case things."
"No!" He was adamant on this, "I see no point in doing either things you're asking of me. If I need help on the cases, I'll just ask Yukari to help me. I don't need you to owe me anything..."
"Why are you you being so stubborn on this? It's not like this is going to kill you or anything!"
"You're asking me to go out with one of your friend's for a whole week and then working at a maid and butler cafe on the weekends!" Saito whispered harshly in response.
While Saito didn't have many standards, there were times when he refused to cross the line. This was one of those times.
"Ara-chan is really cute and she already has a crush on you!" She insisted, "Going out with her for a week to show her middle school friends should be easy!"
"And where does the cafe fit in?"
"Erm, well~" She whispered to the side and twiddled her fingers, "I kinda promised the owner there we'd help for free in exchange for a few DVD's and getting a couple of tickets to the doujinshi convention this month..."
A large tick sign emerged from Saito forehead and he leaned back on his seat, giving Aria a withering glance, "Why don't you ask another one of your male friend's to do this with you? It's not like you have a shortage on that...."
Aria looked away again and refused to meet his eye, "Well....Aya-chan said she doesn't like any of the other guys at the school...." She told him honestly, "And I was kinda hoping we'd go to the convention together once we get the tickets. We haven't been spending enough time lately....."
Saito's mouth dropped slightly at her incredulous statement. Had he heard her right? His sister, the one who had been yelling at him for hiding things not a few nights ago, was asking to spend time with him? The two siblings were close at home, but outside they were practically strangers. What was with the sudden mood shift?
".......Alright, I'll do it....." Aria looked back at him with surprised eyes, "It it's just pretending to be your friend's boyfriend for a week and then doing some work, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Just make sure nothing bad happens because of what's happening."
Aria wasn't listening. In her joy she'd stood up from her seat and gave her brother a hug, "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! Oh, she's gonna be really happy about this!"
Saito couldn't hear her. In fact, he couldn't hear much of anything. Since he was still sitting on his desk when she hugged him, his head was in the precarious position of being at her chest height. He could feel the glares his male (and some female, he noted with some concern) classmates were giving him, but he honestly couldn't care at the moment on account of being deprived of oxygen. While Aria wasn't busty like some of his friend's ecchi magazines, she did have a decent bust size all things considered.
"Aria....you're choking me....." She didn't hear him and continued to rattle on about doujinshi. It didn't take long for him to lose consciousness. The last thing he remembered was the sound of his friend's despairing voice from the hallway.