...
...
Takahiro was frozen in shock.
She couldn't believe what was taking place ―a replica of her friend from another world asked her to marry him. So shocked she was that she couldn't even reply. Furthermore, because he was not the Yuri that she knew, she couldn't bring herself to use her magic and send him flying fifty metres away.
"How shameless can you be?!" Yukina screeched, brandishing a green coloured whip. Takahiro was snapped out of her thoughts at this moment. When she looked at her best friend, she looked as though she wanted to strangle Tachibana with her whip. "You've just met Taka and you're proposing?! You scoundrel!" Yukina continued.
"I'm not a scoundrel!" Tachibana shrieked in denial. "And I'm not shameless either!"
"Of course you are! Who proposes to a girl they've just met?!" Yukina pushed Takahiro away from Tachibana and onto Kohaku after which she grabbed him in his shirt.
"I may have just met her, but I was friends with Mocchi back home!" Tachibana made an attempt to grab her shirt as well, but restrained himself as he may end up grabbing her breasts. And…he didn't want to be the 'accidental pervert' in this story. "Now let me go! Do you want to rip my shirt?!"
"I want to rip you limb from limb, that's what!"
Tachibana smirked. "Hoh? Bring it!" the silverette raged.
Seeing how things may get nasty if he doesn't intervene, King Ayumu pulled Tachibana away from Yukina.
"Now, now children," he started. "Play nice."
But, only Kohaku and Mamoru noticed the smug look on the King's face. Turning, King Ayumu dragged Tachibana out of the gazebo and said, "You can't marry Takahiro for free."
Tachibana was stumped. "For free? What?" ⎾Is he marketing her or something?⏌
The King chuckled. "Let's say she agrees. Are you still going to go back to Earth?"
Tachibana shook his head slightly. "I never really meant what I said, it just slipped out. And before I could correct it, she attacked me." He said, referring to Yukina. His eyes then locked onto Takahiro's. "I'm sorry, I guess seeing my best friend as a female sort of made me…jumpy, I guess." He shrugged his shoulders. He returned to his seat and continued, "I had already resigned myself that I wouldn't be able to escape this, since I'd live for four hundred years like everyone else. And given that the Mocchi that I know is a female over here, I guess I just…" he trailed off, not wanting to complete it. But there was no need to.
"Well, that's a good thing because I'm not marrying you." Takahiro curtly said.
Tachibana whipped his head to her with a frown, "Why not? I'm not like that terror of a Prince!"
"I don't want to be called "Mocchi" for the rest of my life." She huffed. "Plus, I thought you said you never meant what you said?"
"I lied!" He quickly said. "Besides, what's 'Mocchi'? Where'd you hear that atrocity from?" Tachibana said while feigning ignorance. His face took on the most the innocent expression the young Japanese could muster making Takahiro twitch with anger at his shamelessness.
The King chuckled at their actions, relieved that things were off to a smooth start (for the most part). Seiya and Akira weren't hostile towards him, and now his son's closest friends seem like they'll tolerate this Yuri from Japan. Maybe it was because this Yuri was forcibly dragged here why they're so willing to accept him. Or, maybe it was because this Yuri was not a headache like his son; they see this situation as some sort of break ―relief from the terror that they usually experience.
"Well, children. I'll be off, you know where to find me if anything happens." King Ayumu started, turning on his heel to exit the gazebo. "Play nice."
"Wait, you're leaving me with her?!" Tachibana screeched in shock. 'Her' here, was referring to Yukina.
King Ayumu grinned at him before disappearing in yellow light.
"Unbelievable!" Tachibana screeched in horror. A sudden chill ran down his spine and when he turned to look behind him, he saw Yukina cracking her whips while grinning deviously at him. "Yo." He said casually to avoid any hostile reaction. After all, she already hated his guts plus, it seems like she hates the real prince too.
"That reminds me," he started up again, scooting closer to Takahiro. "Why do you hate the prince?"
"Because he's a little smart-ass shit." She answered with a shrug.
"And he lacks manners and respect. He's extremely terrible and disgusting, you know?" Mamoru added with a chuckle. "I remember when he got two weeks suspension for calling his Lightning Magic teacher a dumb fuck."
"Man! You should've seen it!" Yukina guffawed. "Yuri grabbed our teacher in his throat and threatened to gut him out with his spears! It was a sight to behold!" She laughed until she fell off her seat. "Our principal was livid!"
"Excuse me? He called his teacher a what now?" Tachibana had to ask for confirmation. He knew what he heard, but he still needed to be sure.
"You heard me loud and clear, Yuri." Mamoru said. "He's lucky he only got off with a suspension. Normally, his ass would have gotten expelled."
"Then why didn't he?"
"Because despite his terrible behaviour, Prince Yuri is a brilliant boy who takes his schoolwork seriously. He's the number one student of his cohort, you know? He just gets out of hand when he believes he's right and things doesn't go his way." Kohaku joined. "That brat is a headache for us all."
"Heavens help the Kingdom when he comes back. Worse when he takes over as Commander."
"Right? Only Amaterasu herself would have to beat some senses into him." Takahiro agreed.
Tachibana's face lost all its colour. The young Japanese couldn't believe his ears. From the outset, he knew the prince's personality and his differed greatly, but to think it was to this extent. And now that Yuri was in Japan, Tachibana wasn't worried about his reputation anymore ―he was worried about his country. With someone like that loose, there's no end to chaos and destruction that he'll bring. What is more, there's no one to keep him in check.
"Japan is doomed." Tachibana gasped out.
xxxx
[Meanwhile in Japan…]
Ayumu had never felt so restless before in his life.
Currently, he was driving the Prince to school, something he had been against. Since Mochizuki didn't attend the same school as his son, Ayumu thought that until the transfer's approval, he'd stay home and away from people. But no, Prince Yuri should always get what he wants.
When Ayumu told the Prince, Yuri flew into a nasty fit of rage, his Lightning dancing dangerously around his body. So frightened the older male was that he nearly had a heart attack. He thought the destructive boy would have really snapped and razed the entire house ―the entire neighbourhood by exaggeration―to the ground. But luckily, Mochizuki knew what his leash was, and threatened that if he should act out, he'll never take him to Akihabara again. Of course, Ayumu was not pleased that the Prince had still insisted to head out without his permission, but thankfully, Mochizuki managed to calm the boy down.
Still, the Prince was miserable.
So, in order to make peace and live another day, both Ayumu and Azusa decided to let the boy have his way. It isn't like they could actually stop him if he should really act on his emotions; which is why, Ayumu was in this predicament.
He stole a glance to the Prince beside him.
Yuri bounced happily in his seat, his earphones plugged in, eyes turned out to the window. Right now, he looked so harmless, but he couldn't shake the feeling that the Prince was going to land himself into trouble solely out of ignorance.
"So, when are we reaching school? You've been driving for a while now." Yuri said with a frown on his face.
"In due time, Your Highness." Ayumu drawled. But in fact, Ayumu could have reached his son's school already. Instead, he decided to divert and drive even slower than he'd usually, just to delay what he thinks would be the Apocalypse.
"Hmm…" the Prince hummed, turning his face to look through the tinted glass. He was fascinated with Japan ―the fact that it was so similar yet at the same time, so different from his own country. The people looked the same; spoke the same, albeit there are a lot of differences. One of which being he was an only child here. Neither Seiya nor Akira existed, and it got the Prince wondering, why?
But, he never inquired about it. It wasn't like he could ask Ayumu and Azusa why his brothers from Sekai didn't have doppelgangers as well. Another thing that bothered him was the presence of Seirei. He hadn't asked Ayumu about it, but since this world has no Youma, he wondered if Seirei were present and mixing with 'humans' (as they call themselves). But that was very unlikely.
Seeing that this was getting him nowhere, he started to play a game on his cellphone, when Ayumu glanced briefly at the screen; he saw that it was chess.
"You play chess?"
"Sometimes." The Prince replied without taking his eyes off the screen. "Although Kei always wins."
"You play it with your AI?"
"Yeah, who else am I supposed to play it with?" He laughed lightly. "Akki and Sei don't like it, Daddy is mostly busy during the time I'm in the mood, Mom is hardly home these days, and there's no way in hell I'm playing this with either of my cousins."
"Your cousins? Eisen's children right?" Ayumu asked. Since he found out that the Prince's brothers didn't exist, he had to inquire if his brother existed as well.
"Yeah. And I can't stand any of them." Yuri grumbled. "Especially that bastard Isami."
"What did he ever do to you?" Ayumu asked, relieved that his nephew existed as well.
"He's an asshole. He's always bitching about being the rightful heir to the throne just because Eisen is your big brother." The Prince rolled his eyes with disgust. "And Eisen doesn't even mind that you're King since you've got more pressure on your head than him. As a matter of fact, he loves to watch you suffer and rub it in your face."
Ayumu blanched. ⎾Some things never change, huh?⏌"I've always wondered about that. Eisen is older than me, so why isn't he the King?"
"Ask Grandpa Ryoutarou." Yuri shrugged. "He's the one who decided who got what."
"So that's how the successor is determined? By the current ruler?"
"Nope," Yuri shook his head. "There's a standard ―the first child gets to be the King, the second gets to be the Prime Minister and the Third is the Commander of the entire Self-Defence force. Mind you, this is irrespective if the children born are females or are born to different wives." He explained. "If the current Monarch has more than that, then there's gonna be a nasty family feud."
"Really?"
"Yeah, so if the Queen birthed the third child and a concubine birthed the first, then the first is going to be King. No bitching can change that. But how the Monarch will solve the power distribution if he has more than three children is beyond me."
"Oh. But you said nothing could change the power distribution between the children. Are you sure about that?"
Yuri shook his head lightly. "The only two things that I know of are if the children formally inform the King that they don't want their positions. The second one ―the King sees where a child's potential lies in another post than he's ordained to, then there will be a change. That's what happened to Daddy and Eisen."
"So…Isami is upset that his father got to be second best when he should've gotten better." Ayumu said, getting back to the original conversation topic.
"Yeah. But he's the only one who's bitching about it."
"I see…" Ayumu nodded. He didn't prolong the discussion, because he wouldn't want it to turn into something else that'll leave him confused. After all, he doesn't know the inner workings of a royal family, much less, one from another world.
Some more minutes later and they had finally reached school ―Kanagawa Sohgoh High. Reaching the gates, Ayumu let off Yuri at the entrance and watched the boy until he could see him no more. He had a terrible feeling in the pits of his stomach, and for the first time in his life, Ayumu couldn't wait until school was over.
…
…
Yuri reached his classroom and following what Ayumu said, he found his seat. But what he didn't like was when he sat, a flock of students appeared at his desk.
"Yo, Tachibana! How was your weekend?" A male classmate smiled. "I saw you in Akiba on Saturday with a blue eyed dude."
"Yeah, we went out, so what of it?" Yuri said with a shrug.
"What of it? Why were you handcuffed to him then?!" The classmate roared with laughter. "Like, it was almost as though he didn't want to lose you because you tagging behind him like a lost puppy."
"And what does it matter?" He quipped. He wanted to ask what a "puppy" was, but he decided against it. He didn't want to look like an idiot.
"Wow, someone's crabby this morning." Another said from behind. He walked up to Yuri and sat comfortably on the Prince's desk like he owned it. That said, Yuri looked at him with disdain.
⎾Get your filthy ass off of my desk you peasant!⏌ The Prince thought angrily.
"But anyway, I hear you were going to join the volleyball club? Is that true?" The same boy asked again.
"Yeah, is there a problem?"
"I didn't you know you could play a sport. I thought you never liked anything that's not Martial Arts related."
"Well you thought wrong." Yuri said as calmly as possible. He wanted to read his manga but the classmates kept talking to him. And since they had addressed him so friendly, he figured that they were Tachibana's friends. So, as much as he would have loved to tell them to 'leave him alone' or 'go die in a ditch' or something nasty, he couldn't. And it was pretty hard because anyone he didn't like, he always got them to leave him the hell alone.
⎾This is the worst,⏌ the Prince thought with a sigh.
…
…
The school day progressed rather smoothly, the Prince avoiding the teachers' eyes thanks to his placement. He didn't need to pay attention in these classes since he's done them all before. In math, what they were learning, he had already learned this in his previous school. English was a piece of cake because he's fluent in every aspect of the language. Geography class was where Yuri put down his manga and looked through his atlas.
And he was shocked to see that Earth's World Map was the exact replica of that of Sekai. There were glaring differences like the names of some countries, and the sizes of the landmasses, but that aside, he felt he was looking at Sekai's map.
⎾That would explain why this world has duplicates of the people from mine.⏌ He thought.
But, the Prince's incident-free streak would end here.
It was now lunchtime, and as the students filed out of their classrooms to the cafeteria or anywhere else, Yuri followed the crowd in hopes of finding the cafeteria. He had his obento in his spatial ring, so he had planned to eat there. Back in Saishi, he'd usually eat in his clubroom with his friends but since he wasn't in a club and had no friends, he thought that it was customary to eat in the cafeteria.
Scanning the crowded area for any empty seats, the Prince's eyes finally fell on a table, way around the back, nestled by the window.
He smiled.
He liked window seats, so quickly, he made his way there before someone else could sit and make things awkward. Finally sitting and taking out his obento from the ring, Yuri was ready dig in ―only to feel something grab into his hair and pushed his face down onto the table.
"Oi," the coarse voice started. "Don't you know this our table, you maggot?"
"Release me." Yuri said in the calmest voice he could muster. Despite his attitude, Yuri was trying his best to not cause any trouble for Ayumu. He's seen Tachibana's report cards and found that his counterpart was a pretty good student; he didn't want to tarnish the boy's reputation on his first day.
"Hoh? Little maggot is telling me what to do? Ha! What a joke!" The bully leaned down to Yuri's level and said, "I'll let you go if you lick my boots."
That was it. Yuri had reached his limit (well, he doesn't have a limit given how short-tempered he is). He promptly stood, forcing the bully to retract his hand due to the sudden movement. Yuri turned to face him, his eyes burning with rage.
"Why should I lick your boots? Who do you take me for, your bitch?"
The bully and his minions' face twisted in shock. Never before has anyone spoken to them or their leader like this, and it left them absolutely surprised. Their eyes looked to the leader to see what he would have done, or ordered them to do when they saw him clench his fists by his sides.
"You asshole!" The bully roared, swinging a punch which landed on the prince's left cheek.
Yuri took a step back as he'd lost his balance from the sudden attack. He braced on the table to prevent himself from falling, but he noticed that the punch was rather weak ―it was nothing like Akira's, or any Ningen for that matter.
"You insolent cur!" Yuri snapped, his red eyes gleaming with rage. His spatial ring dimmed a little just before a long staff appeared in the Prince's left hand. In one swift movement, Yuri swung his staff in a grand arc, hitting the bully directly in the head. A 'crack' sound was heard as the delinquent student fell to the floor, unconscious.
His underlings gaped in horror at the scene, so as the rest of the cafeteria.
Yuri's red eyes then swept across to the bully's minions. His eyes locked onto them in a petrifying gaze, freezing them on the spot.
"You're next." The Prince snarled. No one was going to escape him unscathed. In his mind, anyone connected to the bully has to go down.
In a split second, Yuri grabbed another one of the minions by the neck and slammed his body into the floor, forming a mini-crater. The spectators screamed in fright, but no one dared to go towards the raging Prince. But what was even more frightening was the fact that Yuri had moved so fast that no one could react.
Yuri was relentless in his beating, he broke a pair's necks but not so much that they'd die from it, he broke their feet, ribs and other places. He was tempted to pummel them into the ground but he didn't want to blood on his clothes. Ayumu would kill him if he saw it.
"O―oi, Ta—Ta—Tachibana," one brave student stammered out in hopes of getting Yuri's attention.
The Prince stopped, letting his victim's body fall to the floor. "What is it?"
"Don't you —don't you think you could…" the student swallowed the lump in his throat before continuing. "Don't you think you could stop now? They look dead…"
Yuri smiled proudly as he looked at his handy-work. "Well…now that you've mentioned it…" The Prince bent to their level and took one glance at the bully and his underlings lying on the floor. They weren't dead, given that there were moans and groans of anguish escaping their lips. "I really think you're right."
The student sighed in relief, seeing that he managed to stop his schoolmate from becoming a murderer.
"Now, time to finally eat in peace." The Prince said, dusting off his clothes. He kicked aside one of the underlings like a piece of trash before sitting down. But, Yuri noticed something odd about the cafeteria. Prior, it was busy and filled with raucous chatter; now, there was deafening silence. Turning around, he saw horrified eyes were now staring back at him; there were even a few students who tended to the bullies on the floor.
However, Yuri was totally unperturbed. With a mouth full of food, he sassed, "Why are you looking at me? Never seen someone get mad before?" He rolled his eyes with disgust at the crowd, before turning back around to focus on his lunch.
By the time he took his chopstick up, he heard someone calling his name in a stern manner. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw a student standing by the door with a teacher beside her.
"Fuck," he said as he rolled his eyes. The teacher sauntered towards him with a mad look on his face but Yuri could care less. He ate his lunch, not stopping to please anyone.
"Tachibana Yuri, you need to come with me for a while." The teacher said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Now."
Yuri looked up at him, "Wait."
"Excuse me? I told you to get up now."
"Can't you see that I'm eating lunch? Those bullies disrupted me, so you'll have to wait."
The teacher twitched in irritation. "Young man, come with me, now. Don't make me say it again."
"Fuck, fine." Yuri mumbled beneath his breath. He covered his bento and placed it in his storage ring before he followed the teacher out of the cafeteria. He was lucky that no one saw him use his spatial ring too.
Silently, the two walked towards the Principal's office, with each step they took, Yuri was miserable. He wanted to eat lunch and read his manga, but now he's off to get his head chewed off.
"Here we are." The teacher said, his face has been angry and disappointed throughout the entire walk.
The Prince pushed the door and entered, meeting the gaze of an aged man who sat behind a mahogany desk. He was dressed in a grey suit, the colour of his suit matching the hairs on his head and beard.
"Tachibana. Do you know why you're here right now?"
Yuri was a little slow in replying. Back in his Kingdom, he was used to being addressed by his given name, or his fake surname whichever the people around him chose. "No I don't. I haven't done anything wrong."
"You have severely beaten a couple students in cafeteria, how is that not doing anything wrong?"
"With all due respect, they provoked me. I wouldn't have had to lay my eyes on the filth if they had left me alone."
The Principal sighed. "You're a very good student, what happened this time? Why did you snap? Do you need to see the Guidance Counsellor? Is everything alright at home? Are you stressed with the tournament coming up?" he asked with worry. Tachibana was one of his best students in regards to Martial Arts competitions, so he was naturally concerned.
Yuri twitched in annoyance at the mention of a Guidance Counsellor. He's hated counsellors for as long as he could remember, and being told that he needed to see one was pissing him off. "I don't need one."
"But Tachibana, this behaviour isn't like you. Are you sure you don't need a ―"
Yuri folded his arms and looked at the Principal darkly. It took every ounce of willpower to not get up, plunge his hand in the man's mouth and rip out his tongue. "I told you, didn't I?"
⎾This isn't like him at all⏌ the Principal thought as he watched the boy's actions. With a distressed sigh, he pulled out his top drawer and gave Yuri a sealed envelope. "Here, give this to your parents when you get home. You ―" he broke off when he saw the Prince opening it. "You're not supposed to read that!"
"But it's something to do with me. I'll still find out anyway, so what's the big deal if I read it now?" The Prince said without taking his eyes off the letter. His eyes scanned the letter quickly and with a horrified gasp, he then asked, "You're suspending me!? For what?!"
"As you can see, it's for what you did in the cafeteria. It was totally unnecessary. You should've used restraint."
"Motherfucker, are you insane? They provoked me! And you're punishing ME?!"
The Principal drew back at this sudden outburst. This boy before him was definitely not the Tachibana Yuri he knew. The same quiet, well-mannered and calm Tachibana Yuri was now flying up in his face and cursing. This cannot be real, but, he was witnessing it before his own two eyes.
"This is an outrage!" The Prince continued to shriek, slamming his palms down onto the desk, nearly breaking it. "How could you do this me!? They should be the ones getting punished!"
"Be quiet!" The aged man roared at the Prince, tired of his misbehaviour. "How dare you bark at your own principal like that? Have you no manners?" he said in a stern voice this time. If the two of them were shouting, it wouldn't end well.
Yuri looked at the man up and down before rolling his eyes in disgust. "So what if you're the principal? I don't give a fuck. What you're doing is unfair." He said before walking to the door. "Now if you don't mind, I have a class to get to and a manga to read."
And without waiting for the man to reply, Yuri slammed the door shut behind him.
Down the hallway he went, mumbling curses and swears indignantly. Back in his Kingdom, things would have different. Whenever fights broke out, one party would have always gotten the punishment as the belief was "it takes two to fight but one to initiate it".
"I can't believe this." Yuri mumbled to himself, he still clutched the suspension in his hands, even though it was crushed within his hands. Reaching his classroom, the moment he opened the door, all eyes looked to him. There were looks of fright and horror, but there were some of admiration. But Yuri could care less. He sauntered to his seat where he took out his manga and started to read until the teacher came.
…
…
Ayumu had a bad feeling. Ever since he dropped off the Prince at school, there was a sinking feeling and he didn't know what to think of it. To ease his mind, he looked out the window gazing at the busy city below. But suddenly, his office phone rang.
Picking it up immediately, his face lost all its colour. The person on the other end of the line was none other than the Principal of Kanagawa Sohgoh high. And what he said left the older Tachibana shaken to his core.
What happened today was nothing short of a nightmare, but he needed to know Yuri's side of the story. Even though the boy had his ways, he knew the Prince wouldn't assault someone without a reason.
Within thirty minutes of speed driving and taking shortcuts, Ayumu finally arrived at his son's school and noticed the rather peaceful atmosphere. He made a chuckle, knowing full well that there might not be any "peace" within those walls.
After being greeted by the secretary and led to the Principal's office, what Ayumu heard next nearly left him with cardiac arrest.
"You can take your expulsion and shove it up your fucking ass you dumb shit!" That was none other than Yuri's voice. Ayumu dashed to the door in hopes that the boy really wasn't talking to the principal like that. But deep down, he knew it was.
"Yuri!" He shouted as he swung open the door. "What the hell are you ―" He cut himself off as he took in the office. Papers and documents were scattered all over the floor, the principal's desk was broken in two and lodged in the far corner and there was Yuri who was facing the window. The mad Prince gripped the aged man in his throat, hurling insults and curses like rapid fire.
"Young man, what are you doing?!" the secretary screeched in shock as she made her way to the prince and the principal.
"Get away you bitch! This is between me and ―"
"Yuri, let him go."
The Prince immediately stopped and the principal fell to the ground in a loud thud. Hearing his father's voice immediately stirred the fear within him. There was one thing ingrained into him from he was a young boy ―never make Ayumu Tachibana angry. In addition to that, he didn't know what this Ayumu was capable of. Sure he knew that Humans are incapable of using magic, but what other scary method of subduing others do they have? Frankly, he wouldn't want to find out for himself.
"Daddy…" Yuri said in a soft voice, surprised to see his new father here. He was frozen on the spot, not knowing what to say.
Ayumu on the other hand, didn't know what to think of this situation. His real son would have never gotten himself in such a mess. This was something irreparable; no amount of apologizing could get the Prince out of this.
But quickly getting into his 'fatherly mode', he sternly said to the prince, "What are you doing?"
"He's expelling me! And I'm not the one wrong here! I was provoked!"
Ayumu's jaws nearly dropped through the floor. Expulsion? "Excuse me ―?"
"Your son is a monster!" The Principal shouted as he got up onto his feet. His dark eyes were ablaze with anger and fear. Plus, Ayumu couldn't miss the way his legs shook with each step he took away from the Prince. "I want him out of my school now!"
Ayumu couldn't even argue with that. The Principal had every right to throw out the prince, but at the same time, he wondered what would have triggered Yuri to react this way?
"Please, tell me what happened ―"
"You don't need to know what happened! Take your son out of my school immediately! And don't come back!"
"Fuck you. It's not like I need to be here anyway. I'm smarter than everyone combined in this school." Yuri spat as he headed to the door. "Let's go Daddy."
Ayumu felt like crying. He didn't know what to do at this point. Telling Yuri to apologize will be a waste because the Prince wasn't going to do it, or even if he did, it would lack sincerity. And he couldn't beg the principal to let him stay because of his nasty attitude. Come on, who tells their principal these things anyway?
But, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. With Yuri expelled, that meant he can finally stay home and away from people. Then again, what's going to happen when he gets bored? It isn't like he could hire a 'baby-sitter' for a sixteen year old boy. Ayumu was just glad that the documents for the transfer had already been sent to the receiving school. If it hadn't, then heavens help him.
"I'm terribly ―"
"Get out!" the Principal shrieked. "I don't want an apology; I just want that monster out of here!"
Ayumu simply nodded and excused himself out of the office.
Yuri was already out in the hallway waiting, gazing through the window with a strangely peaceful look on his face. Seeing him like this, Ayumu couldn't believe that the terror he saw earlier came from this boy. Still, that didn't deter him from being mad.
"Yuri." He started, his face darkened to the point where it seemed to be the coalescence of numerous storm clouds. The Prince yelped in fright, knowing full well what was coming next. Contrary to popular belief, whenever he or his brothers misbehaved, they were liable to harsh punishments from both their parents. And with an expression like that, Yuri knew that Ayumu was beyond mad.
"What were you thinking?! Do you have any idea of the mess you're in right now?!"
"As I said, it's not my fault! I was provoked! If this was Saishi, I wouldn't have gotten a suspension let alone expelled!"
"That is your problem! This isn't your Kingdom! This is Japan! Get used to that!" Ayumu barked. "The things that you could've gotten away with back home don't apply here! You don't bark and threaten your school principal like that! If you get a suspension, you suck it up and get your ass home!"
"Ku…" Yuri turned his face away from Ayumu. He didn't want to argue with the man but he knew he there was reason in what he was saying.
"I'll deal with you later when we get home." The older Tachibana continued, making the Prince heave a sigh of relief. "But really, what happened? Do you know that the students are in the hospital in bad shape?"
"That's not my problem." Yuri shrugged. "They caused it on themselves. They reaped what they sowed." He looked at Ayumu with the most venomous eyes the older man had ever seen. "If it were my Kingdom I would've ripped them limb from limb and dumped their pieces in the Tokyo bay by now."
Ayumu didn't reply. Instead he held the boy in his collar and pulled him along. This was something in which he'd need his wife's input as well; he just didn't know what to do with the Prince until she leaves work. Furthermore, he was sure as hell not bringing him back to work. From this, Ayumu realized that Yuri was nothing but a walking time-bomb that could go off at any point and reset for another day.
"I just hope that the boys' parents don't plan to sue." He muttered to himself. But at this point, Ayumu desperately wanted his son back home. If this continues, the Prince was going to make him die either of stress, headaches or heart attacks. "And here I thought I'd die of old age."
"Huh? What was that Daddy?" The Prince innocently asked.
Ayumu twitched. "Nothing at all, Yuri. Nothing at all."
"Well, if that's case, can you take me to a restaurant? I'm hungry."
⎾I rather let you starve to death⏌ Ayumu thought with an eye roll. But he relented and asked, "Where do you want to go?"