What the Heart Wants [Mature]

Sei Iori was no stranger to bullies. At fourteen years old and being a 'scrawny runt' his whole life, he'd been the target of a lot of ridicule growing up. It only got worse once the bullies realized that his mother was not only a 'MILF', but also that she was a solid 7'1", making Sei's 5'2" look even smaller and younger in comparison. At that point, the mockery about his status as a runt was only made worse, but now he had to endure lewd comments about his mother. Of course, his was of 'enduring' was to take as much of it as he could before finally snapping, attacking them, and getting beaten into the ground by the much bigger and stronger boys.

He really didn't get it. As tall, and rather strong, as his mother was, and his father hadn't been short either, he didn't understand why he was so small and weak. Still, it was something he'd have to live with, it seemed. More importantly, he'd developed a bit of a smart mouth. A way to get back at the bullies in his life, where his fists couldn't. Of course, it usually resulted in him getting hit again, but he still considered it a victory. He had to hide any bruises from his mother though, until they healed. Thankfully, he healed faster than was normal, and at least seemed more durable than normal as well. That was something, he supposed.

Of course, this led to the current situation. In which he was running as fast as he could from a member of a nearby highschool's soccer team, Toudou. The team in general had a bad reputation, and getting caught by their goalie, Toudou, was not a fun prospect. Toudou's younger brother was one of his regular bullies, and sometimes that meant running into the guy outside of school. Today, Toudou and his brother decided to comment on what they would like to do to Sei's mother. Sei did the best he could to keep his mouth shut and his temper in check. Then Toudou said something about paying her a visit in her sleep and he'd had enough.

After commenting that Toudou should stop plowing his own mother before going after someone elses, and hot chocolate dumped in his lap for good measure, Sei got the hell out of there. He knew he shouldn't have done that, but he couldn't help it. He was sick of the comments about his mother. She deserved more respect than that. Still, he really shouldn't have done that. Toudou looked angrier than usual. He made it out of the chocolate shop, and halfway through the park back to his mother's cafe (they didn't dare mess with him there, his mother was scary when angry), before Toudou caught him. He was yanked back by his jacket, spun around, and the punch to the face very nearly knocked him out. He wasn't sure if he fell, or if Toudou was holding him up; he just knew that Toudou had begun pounding on him relentlessly, and everything hurt now.

His only real regret at the moment was that he would have to come up with a believable story to tell his mother about why his nose was bleeding. And possibly a black eye. It would be humiliating, though admittedly hilarious, if she decided to deal with his bullies herself.

"Haaaaaah..... Dammit." Kanji gave a heavy sigh as he entered the park. He dragged the heels of his feet with each step and hung his head low. He was tired, he was agitated, and he was poor. Rent wouldn't be a problem this month, but it sure would be nice to find something and not have to deal with all the suspicious looks he got for simply walking into a store. What the hell would they leave a 'Help Wanted' sign up for if they were gonna be picky about it?!

Kanji Morioka. A high school senior with little direction for the future. That was becoming a constant complaint from his teachers as of late, and a constant hindrance on his job search. It didn't help that there were few places with job openings in the first place. It also didn't help that he used to be a gang member. Fortunately, no one recognized him as such in this part of the country (it had been a few years, after all). Unfortunately, he still looked the part and his mannerisms reflected that. A six-foot, platinum blond male with hardened eyes usually screamed 'miscreant' during first impressions in those parts. All of these factors swirled around to combine and take form of the aggravating headache Kanji was facing.

"What's a guy gotta do to catch a break..." Kanji mumbled to himself and took out a cigarette box from his jacket. A quick smoke should take the edge off. Then it's back to the hunt. A faint sound caught his ear and distracted Kanji from his pat-down search for a lighter. It sounded like a fight. A quick look-around for the sound's origin yielded a familiar sight. There were two people involved; both of whom he recognized. The short one on the ass-end of an ass-kicking was that Iori kid. Kanji had seen (and helped) him a few times before in jams like this one. He was a good kid; smart and well-meaning. He could be a bit mouthy, but damn if that spunk didn't make him interesting. And it wasn't like he was a smart-ass to just anyone, only to douchebags. Which brings us to the one winning the fight. Is that...? Toudou. Fucking. Toudou. He's on the soccer team at Kanji's school. Those guys were total meatheads, but this guy was a special breed of annoying. Kanji was just looking for an excuse to put some of those idiots in their place. Oh, this was going to be wonderful. Kanji donned a sinister smile and pocketed his cigarette. "Ask and ye shall receive. Heh!"

As Toudou reared back for another punch, he'd suddenly feel his arm caught in place. Kanji stood behind him with an eerily happy grin on his face. "Heeeeey, Toudou-kun! 'Sup?!" Kanji was sure to punctuate his question with a swift punch to Toudou's face. There was enough power behind it to send him to the ground, reeling. Kanji wanted him awake for the next few parts. "You got NOOOOO idea how happy I am to find ya in a public place, beating the crap outta one of my pals!" He picked Toudou up by his shirt collar and punched him square in the gut. He raised his fist above Toudou's face. "So until you apologize..." *punch* "I'm gonna keep showin' ya..." *punch* "just how happy I am!" *punch*

This was leagues better than any kind of actual therapy.

Sei groaned, pushing himself slowly to his hands and knees. Why did it always hurt so much? At least it stopped earlier than usual... ah, that was why. He could hear a familiar voice. Kanji... he wasn't sure what to make of that guy. The guy scared him, to be sure, but he kept protecting him... he always thanked him and left it at that, but....

He was barely listening as Toudou finally squeaked out an apology, and was eventually released. He jsut sat there on the ground, checking himself for noticeable injuries. He glanced up at Kanji. "...How bad is it? Is my mother going to notice?"

True to his word, Kanji released Toudou after he apologized; he was sure to warn him not to mess with Sei again. After he was out of sight, he crouched down to check out Sei's injuries. He gave a sympathetic whistle. "Not a chance. Guess ya really pissed him off. I'm almost sorry I missed it." The bruises were minor, but that bloody nose... Kanji stood and helped Sei to his feet. He then offered Sei a tissue from his coat pocket. "Here. At least clean up a bit before headin' back."

Sei nodded, sighing a bit, and accepted the tissue, dabbing at his nose. "Toudou and his brother were messing with me again.. you know. And Toudou made a comment about coming into our house and doing things to my mother in her sleep... I'm used to their crap, but that was... really unsettling.. I might have suggested he stop plowing his own mother before going after someone else's... and maybe threw hot chocolate in his lap..."

"Hahahahaa!! Ya got balls, I'll give you that! Hahaha!!" Kanji couldn't help but laugh at that. "But, seriously. If you're gonna piss off someone bigger than you, ya might wanna make sure you can run faster than them. Nice try with the hot chocolate handicap, though!" Thinking about it made him snicker again. Gods, he hated Toudou. "Anyway, you feelin' alright enough to make it home? I got a lot more footwork to get through..."

Sei paused, confused. "A lot more footwork? What do you mean?" Something about that sounded odd. And while Kanji definitely intimidated him, he wanted to... reach out, in some way. He'd saved his ass multiple times, and he kind of wanted to repay the favor somehow. He just... didn't know how.

Kanji slipped one hand into his pocket and scratched his head with the other. "It's aah... job search. No luck yet, but there's plenty of daylight left. All of the paper ads didn't pan out, so I've gotta look for help signs. You'd think it wouldn't be so damn hard..." He chuckled to himself. "Heh. Unloading on my juniors now... Sorry 'bout that." Kanji gave Sei a sort of farewell nod. "Walk home safe, Kid."

Sei just watched Kanji as he turned to go, wondering if there was anything he could do, when it hit him and, without thinking, he blurted out, "W-wait, I think my mom might be hiring at our cafe!" Kanji had never met Sei's mother, nor seen her. He would have heard plenty of people saying lewd things about her, but that was about it. And Sei was suddenly wondering if he should have said that. What if Kanji started saying things too? Then again... Kanji didn't seem the type.

Kanji stopped in his tracks. It sounded like yet another break had fallen into his lap. "That's... You sure that's a good idea? Bringin' in someone like me? She'll probably think I'm one'a the guys poundin' on ya." His first impressions weren't going well that day. They usually didn't, anyway. His mom was probably nice, though. Sei seemed pretty alright.

Sei shook his head. "No, she won't. She knows I wouldn't bring someone to her if they were messing with me. I'd be too scared of what would happen... no, I... you've helped me out... a lot. I want to show you how thankful I am for that... though... I also do want to get to know you better, as like a... friend, or something. Instead of just the 'kinda scary guy who saves my ass all the time'... you know? And my mom isn't a judgmental person... just... as a favor... don't do anything gross or anything, okay? You don't seem like the kind of guy who would do it, but... I'm sick of guys hovering around trying to get a peek at something when around my mom..."

Kanji wore a surprised expression. That was probably... that was definitely the first time anything like that had happened. He scratched his head again, this time in embarrassment. "Y-you don't.. gotta go that far or nothin'... I mean, I was just..." It was pretty hard to turn him down when he was being so sincere. Kanji patted Sei on the shoulder with a sigh. "What the hell. Fine, I'll give it a shot. And I promise: no funny business." It definitely wasn't Kanji's style to womanize. He'd heard rumors, but he was sure some of them were embellished... What did he mean by 'gross'?

"It was... Sei, right? Morioka Kanji."

Sei smiled a bit. "Iori Sei. Iori Cafe is just on the other side of the park, come on..." He turned to go, smiling a bit more. It was nice, being able to help someone who'd been helping him so much before.

'Damn. And he was so close to keepin' his face intact...' Kanji resisted saying that out loud; it would've only thrown salt in the wound anyway. "So a cafe, huh? You know what kinda help she's lookin' for?" He was pretty sure he could handle most of the positions a cafe usually offered.

Sei shrugged a bit. "Um, a cashier, maybe some cleaning, helping with drinks, that sort of thing. She cooks any food orders herself... I'm usually the one serving food and drinks when I'm not at school, but business is pretty light until after school hours anyway..."

"After school, huh? Cashier, waiter... Sounds alright." Those hours would be perfect for him. The job itself shouldn't be a problem. Assuming the interview goes well...

Sei smiled a bit more, and hurried to the cafe. However, once actually at the door, he paused. "...Hey... don't... laugh, okay? My mom can fuss over me sometimes, and when she see's me like this..."

Kanji failed to suppress a smirk. "First rule of bein' friends? Ya get to laugh at each other." He teased him. Couldn't help it. "Relax. I'm not gonna tease ya."

Sei seemed to hesitate, then sighed, and opened the door. The cafe interior was, in a word, comfortable. It was designed to make customers feel at home, and it accomplished that. It seemed more like a lounge, if not for the tables, and the counter at the back. It was currently unmanned, but someone was moving about in the kitchen area. "Um... Mom, I'm back..." The person in the back jumped slightly, then hurried to finish whatever she was doing. Soon, she came into view, smiling, only to pause as she noted Sei's face. Her brow furrowed, and she marched over... looming over Sei AND Kanji, until she knelt down and started checking Sei over.

"Sei, who did this to you?"

"Mom, it's not-"

"No, I want to know who."

"You don't need to-"

"Who, Sei. Tell me who did this, now." Her voice was firm, and Sei sighed, before explaining what happened. The woman was clearly unhappy, but pushed it aside to stand up again, and smiled at Kanji. "Kanji, was it? Thank you for helping my son, I really appreciate it. Come in, sit. You can have anything you like, on the house! Oh, where are my manners? Iori Rinko, it's a pleasure to meet you." She curstied, smiling brightly now. Sei looked a little green; he knew that his mother was going to do something regarding Toudou. He just wasn't sure what...

Kanji watched the woman as she came from the kitchen. Well, now, she was definitely living up to the rum--WOW she's tall. She is very tall. '...Whoa.' Kanji was taken aback for a moment. He'd met very few people who were taller than himself; all of them were men. He was a little glad her attention was focused on Sei for the time being.


"...Heh." Kanji held back a chuckle as Sei's mother prodded him for information. It sounded like she meant business. When she finally regarded him, she tripped him up. She switched gears pretty quickly. "Huh?? Uh, M-Morioka Kanji. You don't gotta do all that, r-really. It was no problem." Caught off guard by her curtsy, he bowed. Although he was pretty hungry, he politely declined. "I, uh, actually came to ask if ya had any job openings." Kanji tried to shake off the unfamiliarity of such a neighborly welcome.

Rinko blinked, clearly surprised. "Job openings? I hadn't thought about it... but that would actually be rather helpful... ah, but first, sit, sit! I'm serious about having what you like on the house, and I won't take no for an answer. So please, sit, relax, okay?"

Kanji scratched his head. ''Hadn't thought about it'? Guess the Kid did say he thought she was hiring...' That wasn't really an issue since she seemed to consider it. It didn't seem like he was getting out of this, though. "...Alright. I guess I could go for a sandwich or somethin'." He took a seat at one of the closer tables. He felt a bit uncomfortable having never eaten out at places like this.

Rinko clapped her hands together, smiling. "Splendid! I'll go get that started then! Sei, could you tell him about where we need help around here?" She hurried off back into the kitchen, and Sei glanced at Kanji.

"Um... well... already kinda did..."

"Yeah, I think I got it... She's energetic." Kanji observed. He then patted Sei on the back. "See? You were worried over nothin'." She didn't seem to freak out on her son that badly; she just cared for him was all. "She usually get mad when ya come back with scrapes?"

Sei chuckled weakly. "Yeah... not at me though... Toudou is screwed... Mom is half Rynat... I'm quarter, and apparently a runt, but Mom... she's really strong..."