31_days | [April 18] [Gokusen] The Touch

Title: The Touch
Day/Theme: "to perpetuate the myth of"
Character/Pairing: Ooshima Kyoutarou, Sawada Shin
Series: Gokusen
Rating: PG

:::

“You have got to tell them to stop.”

Kyou looked up and smiled slowly, looking at lazy lion. “Ah, welcome home, Red.”

Shin stood in the doorway. He stared hard at Kyou. “I'm serious. They have to stop.”

Kyou sighed long and loud. He rolled his head and added a groan to the theatrics. “Sit down. Relax. You must have had along day at school. You must be hungry. Tetsu can fix you something nice and tasty.”

Shin narrowed his eyes. “Just keep being an ass. Watch what happens.”

“Alright, fine,” Kyou said, and scratched his chin; “I can't do nothing about your problem.”

“Bullshit,” Shin said immediately. “One words, that's all they need.”

“Now, see,” Kyou began. He got up from the couch with a low groan. He twisted a little, until his back gave a satisfying crack. He sighed and walked over to Shin. He grabbed Shin by the shoulder; “I'm flattered that you think I have that kind of sway—”

“You do,” Shin insisted.

“—but in this case...” Kyou shrugged. “You're shit out of luck.”

Shin growled. “You have to do something. Someone has to do something about them.” Shin moved around Kyou and dropped down heavily on the couch. He tilted his head back to rest it on the back of the couch. He glared up at the ceiling.

Kyou watched him, taking in the annoyance showing on Shin's face. It was uncharacteristic to see much of an emotion on the kid. This was seriously bothering Shin. Kyou sighed and joined Shin on the couch. “Alright, what did those shits do now.”

Apparently, Shin needed little prompting to spill all of his grievances. “One of them ambushed me at school.”

Kyou felt his eyebrows shoot up his forehead. “The hell...”

Shin sat up and turned in his seat to face Kyou. “Exactly! He was waiting for me by my car! I don't know how he knew I was at school, or how he managed to pick my car out of hundreds in that parking lot. I don't even want to think about it, because that would just piss me off.”

Shin got up and, unexpectedly, began to pace. Kyou watched him, his mouth slowly dropping open as Shin continued ranting.

“It was fortunate that none of my classmates were with me then. I don't how I would have explained away having a yakuza waiting for me by my car and bowing to me and calling me Young Master Red Lion.” Shin spun around and pointed at Kyou. “Which is another thing, I thought they weren't supposed to call me that? They should quit doing that, too.”

Kyou raised his hands. “Can't do shit about that, too.”

Shin growled at him. “Then what you can do? Seriously, these people think that I have some...some kind of magic that makes me good at gambling.”

“Is that what he wanted?”

“Yes!” Shin ran a hand roughly through his hair. “He asked me to take him as his apprentice and teach him the Red Lion way and why are you laughing?”

“Is that what this is about!” Kyou asked, incredulous. “Well shit, Red, if you're going to be telling other people your secret in winning all the time, then you tell me first. I could do with some of your special brand of luck.”

Kyou could practically see the tick starting on Shin's brow. “There is no trick or secret about it. I'm good, yeah, but there is nothing special about what I do. I just win.”

Kyou tapped out a cigarette and lit it up. “And that is the problem. You keep winning, and people begin to wonder what you do to keep up the streak. People talk and watch, and when that doesn't satisfy, you get people like that guy. You have to know you got a lot of admirers.”

Shin rolled his eyes. “I don't mind the admirers. What I mind is those same admirers laying in wait and harassing me like that. I wasn't expecting it and it just got me.”

Kyou smirked. “So, are you gonna do it?”

Shin raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Take that guy as an apprentice.” Kyou laughed when Shin shot him an annoyed look.

“Are you kidding me! I don't want any followers.” Shin turned to walk out of the room.

“I think it's too late. You got the boys at Tanukibara half in love with you,” Kyou said at Shin's retreating back. “I think I heard something about building a gambling den just for Young Master Red Lion.”

He laughed at Shin's exclamation of disgust.