~Tokyo, Japan; 4:20 PM GMT+9
Kuroi Hana Station.
Akira felt dread as he spotted the familiar faces of some of the people he least wanted to see hanging around the south entrance of the school's private monorail.
"Oh, isn't that Lucien-san?!" Mamoru exclaimed, spotting Lucien leaning against a pillar as he waited for Akira.
"Oh yeah," Hikaru chimes, tracing Mamoru's gaze to were Lucien's figure stood. "It is Mr. Lucien... with... huh? Isn't that your cousin Lily? What was his name again?"
Akira's mood soured even further as he gazed at the five that loitered the entrance, pretending to be completely unaware of the stares they were attracting. He knew they would be meeting up today, but he didn't expect them to be waiting for him at the station. He'd thought they would be meeting later at the shop, so seeing Jin, Lucien, Katri, Lesley, and Satoma waiting there didn't put him at ease. He knew it was another one of Lucien's whims, and the thought already made him exhausted.
"Lily," Lucien smiled, waving the three boys in uniform over as soon as he spotted them from beyond the crowd of passerby stopping to stare at them.
"Lucien-san! Jin-san!" Mamoru and Hikaru greeted excitedly.
"Were you waiting for Lily?" Mamoru asked, placing his hand playfully on Akira's shoulder. "Sorry, if I'd known, I wouldn't have kept him so late."
"Haha," Lucien chortled slightly, watching Akira's displeased expression. "That's okay. We just got here. Were you guys busy with school work?"
"No," Mamoru started, pulling out an extra flyer he kept in his bag. "We were just preparing for sports day. I had Lily and Hikaru watch in on the kendo club's practice today since they'll be representing our class year in the martial arts categories."
"Heeh~" Jin sang, gazing down at the flyer containing the information about the event, in Lucien's hands. "So A... uh... Lily is really participating on sports day huh?"
"That's pretty surprising," Katri muses, glancing at the flyer as well.
"I thought he would've quit by now," Lesley commented, adjusting the cap that sat firmly on his head.
"Haha," Mamoru chortled, scratching the tip of his nose. "Even if he told me he wanted to quit, I wouldn't let him."
"Whatever," Akira started, before the conversation took any longer than it needed too. "We should get going now shouldn't we?"
"Oh, yeah," Jin agreed.
"We still have to pick Luck up from school," Katri stated, gazing at his watch that read 4:31.
"Oh right!" Hikaru exclaimed, gaining the attention of the group. "I've been meaning to ask. I know Luck goes to Chidoriyama all boys high school, but do Jin-san and Blonde-san not go to school at all?"
With that question, the group fell silent, creating a slightly tense air, as Akira's brows knitted into a straight frown as he tried not to sigh out loud.
"Oi! Hikaru!" Mamoru whispered a little under his breath, hitting Hikaru's side with his elbow. He was getting tired of always being pulled into awkward situations because of Hikaru's overly blunt and straight forward attitude. "You can't just ask that out of nowhere. That's rude."
"It's okay," Jin said, stifling a laugh. "I may look this young with a baby face, but I've actually graduated High school."
"Huh?!" Hikaru and Mamoru exclaimed in surprise.
"So Jin-san was older than us?!" Hikaru started. "I had been addressing you formally because I was trying to be polite and I didn't know your last name, but to think you were actually older than us..."
"Me too," Mamoru added. "He seemed so mature that I just unconsciously started using formal speech with him."
"Ah, so is that the case for Blonde-san too?" Hikaru asked, turning to Lesley, who met him with a hard glare.
"Who are you calling blondie?" Lesley asked with annoyance in his voice and a frown on his face.
"Uh, sorry, I don't think I ever got your name," Hikaru said, unaffected by Lesley's glare.
"Hmph!" Lesley scoffed, clicking his tongue and turning away from the conversation.
"Haha! That unfriendly guy is Lesley," Katri replied. "Don't take it personally. He's like that to everyone."
"I see," Hikaru mumbled, watching as Lesley's distance from the group grew.
On queue, Katri's phone chimed with an incoming message that gleamed on the device screen.
"Oh, it's Luck," Katri started as he read off the message. "He says he'll be ready in a few minutes. We should really get going."
"Right," Lucien nonchalantly agreed, as he glanced down at his watch, thinking about the appointment Oliver set up. "Okay then boys, catch you later."
"Yes. See you later Lily," Hikaru and Mamoru responded, waving goodbye.
"It's about a 25 minute walk from here to Luck's school," Katri stated, gazing down at the GPS loaded on his device screen. "I'm not really up for walking that long, so do you guys want to call a taxi?"
"Too expensive," Jin remarked, not wanting to spend that much money on a taxi, while also not wishing to take the trek there. "I'm saving up for a new video game since boss won't increase my pay."
"Take up more shifts and we'll talk," Lucien retorted, walking nonchalantly beside them, with his hands deep in his pockets.
"It won't be that much if we split it six ways though," Katri sighed, almost physically repulsed from Jin's over-the-top spending habits. "This is what happens when you don't know your limits."
"Yeah, yeah Mr. stiff," Jin mocked, tired of always getting lectured by him when it came to what he chose to spend his money on.
"Um, Pakani-san," Satoma called his attention softly. "I don't have any money, so..."
"Don't worry about that Satoma-kun," Katri replied gently with a warm smile. "Mr. Lucien will be picking up your tabs from now on since he insists on not hiring you in the shop."
"Katri, your mouth is smiling but your eyes are doing the exact opposite," Jin remarked, familiar with Katri's misleading smile, as he has found himself on the other end of it quite often.
"I already told you," Lucien started, averting his eyes from Katri's killer gaze. "I don't hire minors for my bar."
"And yet you have Akira, Luck, Lesley, Jin, and I work at the bar at night and during the weekends," Katri added, his death gaze growing more effective.
"Haha, yes," Lucien hummed, continuously averting Katri's gaze. "But you and Jin are already eighteen, and Akira, Lesley, and Luck'll be eighteen soon. Satoma's just fifteen. An extra minor."
"Okay firstly," Katri starts with an exasperated sigh. "The three of them won't turn eighteen until next year, so they're still very much minors. And second, the legal age in Japan is twenty! This isn't Switzerland or Italy."
"Ah... for real?" Lucien queried, in a monotone nonchalant voice.
"Yes," Katri sighed once more, already tired of the conversation.
"I guess I'm doing something bad?" Lucien said again in an unapologetic monotone voice.
"Yes!" Katri exclaimed, nearly fuming.
'Haha! Okay, okay," Lucien broke out in laughter, unable to hide his amusement at Katri's irritation. "We'll get a taxi, my treat."
"You're the adult here, that should've been a given," Jin secretly mumbled under his breath, but still caught by Lucien.
"In over thirty countries, you're considered an adult young man," Lucien stated, grabbing Jin tightly between his arms, and ruffling his hair. "Perhaps you should treat us sometime hm?"
"Ah no, I'm good," Jin retorted, struggling out of his grip.
"Akira," Lucien called, finally noticed the sulking pale boy that walked beside them. "You've been quiet. Are you that excited about the tests?"
At the question, everyone fell silent, knowing absolutely none of them were excited to go, especially not Akira.
"Just kidding," Lucien sang, and continued walking, drawing exasperated sighs out of everyone.
Sometimes, they really couldn't tell what he was thinking.