Haru Fujiwara

Chapter 10

It was Monday again and Rei left Kana at her family house. He wanted to sleep over again but he will do that next week instead. For this week, his goal is to gain allies. His first target was Haru Fujiwara. It was better to go for the easiest one to convert then work on the hard ones, that's why he chose him first.

It was early in the morning and Haru was still in school so Rei focused on getting his other task done aka getting a lawyer. He went inside a law firm nearby the prestigious school, walking with a confident stride, trying to find someone who will represent him from the already famous names in the country. Unfortunately for him, Ryouga had such a tight leash on a lot of lawyers that they ended up refusing him their services. He probably used his wife's connection as well to make it difficult to hire anyone with a high win rate. Rei let out a sigh, leaving the building, hands in his pockets at the other bust.

He crossed out another famous law firm name from his notebook, putting it on his pocket as he passed by Haru's school. There still two hours before school ended. He was supposed to be meeting the lawyer and discussing possibilities to pass time but now, he had to find other ways. He thought of having coffee nearby then picking up Haru in surprise so he can coerce him into helping his great cause. He will be doing a big favour to his family after all. Rei smirked, it will be easy to get Haru to his side so he should think of a plan to win over Kaito and Mayumi instead.

As he was moving away from the school gate, he saw a school bag being thrown on the ground, out of nowhere before a pack of boys jumped over the fence. At that moment, he caught the brunette, his bright emerald eyes and wide smile standing out among everyone. Hmm? Was that Haru? Haru was skipping class?

Rei rubbed his eyes to make sure it was really him? He chose to follow them to get an idea of what kind of life Haru led. The trip ended shortly when he found out where they were heading. It was an Internet cafe. Rei smirked. Of course, the strict family rules were making them secretly try to find entertainment somehow. Haru was, like all boys his age, norma- A loud smack returned Rei back to reality.

"Stop, please!" The boy pleaded, cornered to the wall. Haru's demeanour was cold, his bangs shadowed the cruelty behind as he slapped his classmate again on the cheeks.

"Come on, Kazu, it's just a little money." Haru tapped the shoulder of the cowering boy, squeezing his shoulders hard. "Don't be stingy. We are just trying to have fun."

What was that? Rei got closer, hiding behind the wall, listening in.

"B-But my mother told me-"

"Do you want me to make your life a living hell?" Haru grabbed him by the back of his hair, forcing him to stand as he slapped him on the cheeks over and over again until they turned red. "You know what happened to the last kid, right?"

The two other kids laughed, mocking the crying, shaking, victim. "No, please don't..."

Haru stepped on his foot, pulling his hair down, to face him eye to eye. "Then you will follow what I say."

It was a demand, leaving no room for negotiation. The boy nodded aggressively, his hands trembling as he got out his wallet. Haru grabbed it aggressively out of his hand then patted his head affectionately, some of the hair strands falling off, between the cracks of his fingers, from pulling too hard. "Should have done that from the start then none of this would have happened."

He let him go, throwing the wallet back, empty. He was no longer interested in his classmate. Haru couched down as he counted the money bill by bill, licking his finger to count better. "You can go now."

The other two boys huddled next to him as he divided it between the three, taking the bigger cut himself. Haru and his two friends then went into the cafe, ignoring the crying of the victim who hopelessly took his empty wallet back. The bullied kid stood up, running away. He and Rei made eye contact for a brief moment as he escaped.

The angel... Haru... the cute Haru who always greeted him happily. That was not the same person!

He got inside the internet cafe, trying to reconfirm what he witnessed. The three boys were on the computer, opening up a game to play. Rei sneaked behind him, watching them in silence, waiting to see more before he revealed himself. The amount of colourful curse words that he heard. He soon realised Haru was a toxic type of gamer. Suddenly, one of his school friends pulled out a cigarette, lightening it up and Haru fist slammed on the desk so loud it made him jump too. He gave a menacing glare to his classmate. "I told you...never to smoke around me."

The boy laughed nervously, pulling it out of his mouth. "Hahaha right, I forgot... you don't like the smell of the smoke."

Even to his friends? They were scared of him too? Who was this person? He swore it's not Haru!

"It's not that I don't like the smell." Haru calmed down, casually speaking as they played RPG games, killing random players. "I just can't let my family smell that off me."

Rei listened intently, taking note of how careful Haru was. He was trying to maintain his perfect boy image. It went on for ten minutes before Rei decided he had enough and tapped on his shoulder. The younger boy turned around, looking annoyed until he saw Rei. His eyes widened for a second.

"W-what are you doing here?" He suddenly smiled brightly, pulling a doe eye look, the halo seemingly appearing from nowhere. He sat up straighter, hands on his knees.

This fake bastard... now he understood why people hated him. Rei was as fake as him. Damn... why are they so similar in this aspect too?

"Ask your friends to leave." Rei went to the back, sitting on the opposite swivelling chair among the many rows of computers.

"Who is this?" his friends asked.

Haru smiled at his friends, politely asking "Can you please leave?"

His friends gave him a weird look, probably confused why he was acting friendly but they nodded and left.

Rei leaned on the chair, right leg on his left knees, elbow on the armrest, knuckles on his cheeks. "You can drop the act, I've seen everything."

Haru's fake smile was still plastered on his face, eyes closed. "What do you mean?"

He was being careful, caution. It was a good tactic not to overexpose yourself.

"I've seen you beat up your classmate," Rei said. The smile dropped immediately, his posture changed, legs spreading wide, arm going on his knees as his face twisted into a ugly scoff, he leaned forward, looking like a delinquent. "Ahh, you caught me now. You could have ignored this but I'm guessing you want something, huh? What is it?"

Rei was amused, finding this situation to actually be funny. Haru was more perceptive than he thought. He didn't dilly dally either. "I want you to ally with me against your dad."

Haru seemed to think, his brows high, a slight smirk on his face.

"The black sheep of the family thinks he can change the world, how funny." Haru laughed at him and Rei's amusement didn't cease. Who would have thought Haru was this dark?

Haru cocked his head to the side. "How about you stay in your lane?"

It was time for Rei to attack back and not be on the defensive. Rei matched his energy. "If you don't, I'll tell your dad you bully your classmates and skip class to break family rules."

Rei didn't hesitate to blackmail him. The kid was rude so why should he show courtesy? He has the upper cards so he will use them. He thought that would scare Haru but he should have known, Haru wasn't spitting venom because he was worried but rather because he was confident.

"Go ahead. Tell him," Haru challenged. He leaned back, pulling his legs inwards, crossed in an Indian style. "But... would he believe you?"

Rei blinked, surprised. Haru licked his lips, a grin on his face. "Let's be realistic. You can't do anything. You think father will believe you over me? When you are the one breaking rules left and right? While I was so obedient? Don't be naive."

Getting called naive by an eighteen year old didn't sit right with Rei. However, the kid was right. He saw though the disadvantage immediately. While Haru had a better reputation by being fake at home, Rei was just ruining his reputation and gaining the family's animosity. What a smart kid.

"Yes, but I can tell Kana. Kana will believe me." Rei used the weakest argument he had. Maybe Kana already knew? Did Haru even care if Kana knew? Rei was just grasping at straws to seem in control.

Surprisingly, Haru slowly sat straighter, hand on his calves. "Tch..."

Oh? Kana was a weakness for him? Haru glared at him, hatred filled. "Don't you dare drag my sister into this."

"Or else what?" Rei regained his confidence, taunting cockily.

"I'll send the internet to massive hate on you," Haru said.

What? What a childish way to deal with a problem. Rei laughed, it felt like he was finally talking to a child. Haru shook his head as he swivelled the chair, typing on the keyboard aggressively, the screen reflecting on his face. Rei pushed his feet on the floor, moving the chair closer to Haru as he used his hands to brake, using the desk to stop his movements.

Haru moved to the side, his palms open to gesture at the screen. Rei saw six different hate fanclubs with over fifty thousand of people signed up to hate on celebrities. He noticed the page owner had different usernames but they were all managed by Haru.

There was even a new page dedicated to hating on the Itomori Entertainment over the recent issues and he was fueling the public's hatred over it. This kid wasn't a menace in real life but also online? How much hatred did he have in his life?

Haru tilted his head downward then upward, as if to tell him "see". As someone who been in the entertainment industry, Haru was definitely their worst enemies. He was the type who dug up every mistake and fueled the flame of it. "I'm sure since you are the illegitimate son, you lack even more support from your family. I can make it worse."

What the?

"Aren't you in the same situation as me?" Rei raised a brow. Out of everyone, Haru should have been the most sympathetic to his position. Why was he even mentioning this?

"Because I am in the same spot that I don't like the fact you married my sister! You are dragging her into your internal affairs." Haru's gaze dulled and the disgust was clear in them.

"I'm not dragging your sister onto anything-"

"Liar. You think I don't know your family hates you? I'm keeping up with every dirt your family has. Besides, people like us get discriminated against in our families... that's why I'm trying my best to not burden my family... but Kana... she is different. She is kind, she treats me like her own brother." Haru's eyes glossed up but tears didn't fall, instead, anger filled them. "I don't want her to be alienated because of your family."

Rei remained silent. He felt the love Haru had for his sister. Although now he wondered what happened for this kid to have such screwed up vision. "Does Kaito mistreat you?"

"No, Kaito is kind too... but because there is a decade gap between us, he is constantly busy... I don't see him anymore. He used to play with me when I was kid...." Haru seemed to think, mumbling it quietly, as if he didn't intend to share this.

"Kana and Kaito seemed to treat you well so why are you so… guarded." Rei kept his voice soft since Haru seemed to talk more in depth about his feelings with him. He didn't think Yamamoto and Mayumi were mistreating him either.

"Are you stupid?" He looked ticked off with him. "Kana and Kaito didn't have a problem but Shuto did."

Rei remembered the tenth rule of the family.

Rule 10# We don't talk about Shuto.

"I mean, I understand him. I would be mad too if my dad cheated on my mom with a whore and had a kid." Haru laughed sarcastically. "He made sure I know my place. Everyday, I felt bad for Mayumi-san"

Rei caught the way he addressed his mother-in-law and the way he addressed his own biological mother... He didn't address either of them as his mother. Now that he thinks about it, he never once saw Haru and Mayumi interact during the entire four days he stayed with the Fujiwara family.

"I wonder how she felt knowing I was a constant reminder of her husband's infidelity? I would go insane too. She is such a kind woman.... I would have killed my father if I was her." There was a dark look on his gaze.

The way this kid was coping with his trauma had Rei feel sad. It was such an extreme emotion. He didn't really need to hear what Shuto did... he had Ryouga and Ren. Ren, who constantly mistreated him, while Ryouga... he was worse than Ren.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry-" Hands were pushing the white hair of Rei underwater, drowning him.

"You are not sorry enough." The older teenager kept his head under water as the boy struggled in his grip, trying to breathe. "Do you think you are part of our family just because you live under the same house?"

Bubbles popped out, as smaller hands tried to grab anything to hold on, to get out. When the hands started to lose strength, Ryouga pulled him out by the hair. "Dare treat me like your brother again and I'll burn you next time."

Rei definitely avoided Ryouga at all cost. Ren was a bully but Ryouga? He was a psychopath. That's why he always kept a low profile at home, never acting out.

"However, Kana and Kaito, always treated me like their younger brother but with me there, it was causing internal issues with Shuto. Because of me... I feel like I'm breaking everyone apart. Kana and Shuto would constantly fight over me...but... but... he is her biological brother, I'm not! Why was she doing this when we only shared half a blood?" The tears finally spilled from Haru but as usual, he looked angry rather than sad. Hateful, mostly of himself. He hated himself more than anything. It was like he was sharing his thoughts that he kept locked in his head.

"So if you tell Kana what I do, I'll kill you," he plainly said. "I don't want her to be sad anymore."

Rei understood him somehow but he wasn't going to concede. "If you don't want me to tell her then just side with me."

"Did you hear anything I said? I don't like you… I hate you. I never want to work with you." Haru summarised his point. "Don't drag Kana into this fight."

"I don't care. Side with me." Rei hid the sympathy he had and only brought out his manipulative side. "Keep acting like the perfect little boy and take my side. I-"

He placed a head on his hair, looking down at him from his tall position. "I don't play to lose, I play to win and I'll keep your little secret safe with me, got it?"

He almost demanded him, threatening him and he can see Haru looked at him indignantly. He slapped his hand away from his head, glaring at him. Rei didn't waver, instead, he pulled his phone out, dialling Kana's number.

"Hey!" He grabbed his phone and closed it immediately.

"It's no use. Don't forget I'm married to her so I can still tell her. I don't care what you think goes on in my house but I can mistreat her too if I want to." Rei pulled out an even bigger manipulative move, poking at Haru's weakness. "What do you think? Should I push her around since you aren't there to protect her?"

"You are a piece of shit, aren't you?"

"And I'll remain being the piece of shit that I am." Rei grinned, eyes crescent in amusement.

Haru gritted his teeth, the death stare there. He grumbled. "Fine. I'll side with you."

That's what he thought. Rei ruffled his hair but got slapped again. Such a tough kid. "Although if you care about Kana then you shouldn't bully your friends."

"I never bullied anyone," Haru dismissed his warning as if he really didn't think he did, going back to playing games.

This kid... Rei crossed his arms. Time to test it out. "Let's do a short Q and A. When I say three, you answer."

"What?"

"What do we do if we want money? One, two, three."

"Borrow," Rei responded.

"Steal," Haru responded.

Rei and Haru blinked at each other. A karate chop hit Haru's head as Haru rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Why don't you just leave already? You got what you wanted?"

Rei ignored him, continuing on.

"What do we do if we want something from a friend? One, two, three."

"Talk to th-"

"Beat them up."

Was his youngest brother-in-law alright in the head? Another karate chop on his head, making Haru hold his head as he glared at him.

"What do we do when we hurt a friend? One, two, three."

"Apologies-"

"Break their other arm."

Was he talking to a criminal? What the actual hell were these answers. He stood up, grabbing Haru by the ear. The boy stood up with him and immediately gripped Rei's other hand. The grip on his wrist twisted his hand to the point it was painful. This kid was definitely a bully but he didn't whine, it was almost as if he was fighting him back.

"If you don't want Kana to be disappointed in you, you better apologise to that boy you harmed and give him back the money. If you ever need money, you can just ask me next time." Rei let go of his ear and Haru reluctantly let him go too. Rei pulled out his wallet, slamming a twenty thousand yen bill on the desk.

"If you were going to behave this way, why didn't you just take the money I offered last time." Rei placed a hand on his hip, chiding the boy. It will take a long time to reform him.

Haru didn't make an attempt to take the money, he was strangely prideful for a bully who forcibly take money from others. "Don't be an idiot. You know father knows you gave me money so even if I had it, he would be curious what I spent it on... it's better to give it back than to deal with interrogation later on. It makes any doubt in his mind go and it's easier to be the perfect son."

So all that grateful act was fake? Rei held his forehead, stressed out from dealing with this kid. Although he realised, he was careful and calculative. Now he was curious what other lies he hid? But for now, he was going to leave it at this. "I'll visit you again another day... I better not find you were bullying other kids or else I'll expose you to everyone."

"Whatever. You said you will pay so I expect weekly allowance from you now." Haru just rolled his eyes, taking a seat as he returned back to playing games as if he wasn't exploiting Rei into giving him money. "Can you get lost already?"

Rei just stared for a moment before turning away, shaking his head at what just happened.

What did he sign up for? At least he gained his first ally. Now he needed Kaito and Mayumi on his side.

Too bad, Rei didn't know what he just did. This was just the beginning of a even bigger mess.