Kaori Yamada-sensei, principal of Kenshin Academy, frowned beneath her hand at the stocky youth sitting from across her desk. It seems Shiro Hasegawa had been on another fight, but for the first time, he was on the losing end. Cradling his left arm that was encased in a cast, he sat sullenly beside his father, a short, impatient man with thinning gray hair wearing an expensive-looking business suit.

Congressman Hanzo Hasegawa was not a man anyone can refuse a meeting, even when it was late in the day-- especially when it involves his son. More importantly, he was one of the Academy's top financial benefactors. If not for that fact and the backing of the Board of Trustees, Shiro would have been kicked out of this school a long time ago.

But the man demanded he see this boy who had hurt his precious son, and bring his parents along for an accounting— or, in this case, his guardian.

Not that the other party was any less significant. In fact, this new student and his family was not one anyone should be crossing without first considering the consequences. 

The man sitting across to her right was quite young, which surprised her. The few times they had spoken on the phone about his ward's admission to this school, his authoritative voice had sounded older than his years. Mr. Evan Collins, the transfer student's guardian, sat confidently, dressed in an elegant black suit, gray shirt that matched his steel-gray eyes, and a black tie. He seemed not at all perturbed by the current situation. He bowed graciously as she made the introductions a few minutes ago, and even spoke in fluent Japanese!

Yamada-sensei had sent someone to fetch the other, errant boy discreetly, and when that failed (it seemed he was nowhere to be found!) had to resort to using the PA system.

Finally, a knock on the door interrupted the silence.

"Come in!" Principal Yamada said curtly.

A youth with striking silver-white hair entered. His bright blue eyes swept the room and its occupants, wincing slightly as his gaze settled on his guardian.

Yamada-sensei gestured to her right. "Have a seat, Taren-kun."

* * * * * * * *

Taren could feel Evan's eyes, like daggers, boring into him as he took the chair beside the older man.

':How in the world did you get into a fight on your first day of school?:' He heard Evan's incredulous voice in his mind.

The mind-link was so clear that Taren almost jumped from his seat, thinking that Evan had said it out loud. Ever since that day following the ritual of blood and Evan became his Guardian, their telepathic link had become so strong that he could no longer block him from his thoughts. Evan used it sparingly since he knew that Taren hated it, but this only goes to show how upset he was today.

':It wasn't my fault.:' Taren mind-spoke, looking elsewhere but Evan. ':You should know a bully when you see one... And get out of my head.:'

':It doesn't matter who started what. You can't let anyone find out who you truly are!:'

That reminder rankled on Taren and he fell silent. He was so tired of hearing the same thing over and over again.

"I am sure you already know each other, and why you're both here."  Yamada-sensei told the boys dryly, arms on her desk and tenting her fingers.

Taren glanced impassively at Shiro, and it was then he noticed the cast around the other boy's arm and his angry glare. 'Surely, I didn't hurt him that bad enough to break his arm,' he thought. 'Or did I? ... F-ck!' Sighing, he stared up at the ceiling.

"Now tell me what really happened. And mind you, I'll know if you're lying." The principal said sternly.

Shiro sat up and cleared his throat, "I was just admiring his coke-bottle glasses, never seen sh-t like that before--"

"Watch your mouth, Shiro-kun." Yamada-sensei rapped her hand on the table.

"--when I reached for it he suddenly grabbed my arm and well--here's the end result." Shiro finished, ignoring the principal's warning and raising his arm.

"You deserved it." Taren said softly, the menace in his voice making the other boy shrink back in his seat.

':Kid, just shut up and let me handle this.:'  Evan gave him an exasperated, mental nudge.

"This is preposterous!" Representative Hasegawa thundered.  "Fights happen between boys all the time, but causing my son serious injury is crossing the line. I demand this boy be expelled!"

The principal's eyebrows drew down. "No one demands anything in this room, even if it's you, Congressman Hasegawa-san. Now, settle down. Your son has been known to cause fights in this school with a number of students getting hurt, not seriously, but nonetheless you should see the amount of complaints I've received." She tapped on the sheaf of papers on her desk.  "And Mr. Collins, your ward just can't go around breaking other kid's arms when provoked. Since he's a new student here, I'll let this pass. But if I hear of another fight with either of you"—she glared at the boys—"you'll wish you had never attended this school in the first place. And, you will be expelled."

Evan held up a hand, "May I speak, Yamada-sensei?"  At her nod, he turned to the shorter man. "Congressman Hasegawa, clearly my charge has caused your son a grievous injury, and I assure you it won't happen again.  As the representative of the Leinier family, you may ask anything as compensation for your trouble, and we will, of course, take care of his medical expenses."

The politician's eyes widened, his face turning pale. "Wait-- did you say-- Leinier?"

"Yes, sir."  Evan replied stoically.

"Is this boy by any chance related to the shipping magnate, Alexander Leinier?"

"This kid is his nephew, yes." Evan nodded, pretending to be puzzled.

Taren rubbed his forehead to hide an eye-roll at his Guardian, mind-speaking, ':You knew about this guy all along? You sly bastard.:' 

"You buffoon!" Hanzo Hasegawa rounded on his son, "You just had to pick a fight with a scion of one of our country's top investors!"

"How the f-" Shiro stuttered, his face red. "How should I know?"

The short man stood abruptly, bowing to the other party. "No compensation is needed, Mr. Collins, and I apologize for calling you here at short notice, and imposing on your busy schedule. Please give my regards to Alexander Leinier-sama." 

Hasegawa angrily turned to his son, "Shiro, where are your manners?"

Shiro got up and sullenly nodded his head, earning a glare from his father.

Evan stood as well and bowed to the other man. "Don't mention it, Congressman Hasegawa. The offer still stands should you change your mind."

Taren marveled at his smoothness.

"Yamada-sensei."  The politician inclined his head at the principal, before walking out of the room with Shiro in tow.

"Well, that settles it then."  Principal Yamada smiled in satisfaction, "Quite the tour de force, Mr. Collins," nodding with approval at the young man.

* * * * * * * *

"Listen, Evan—" 

"I don't want to hear it."  Evan's long strides ate up the hallway leading to the school's exit doors. He had to skip an important business meeting, for this!

Taren walked alongside him as the bell for dismissal chimed, and like clockwork, students started filing out of the classrooms.

"I'm sorry I screwed up." 

Evan sighed, slowing down to a normal pace, ignoring the curious stares of the students gathering in the now loud hallway.

"How can I protect you if you don't tell me a thing?"  He spoke under his breath. "I'm supposed to be your damn Guardian."

"I'm telling you now." There was a desperate tone in the kid's voice that caught his attention. "I lost control, again, as in... today."

Evan's grey eyes flicked at Taren. "Not here.  In the car."

The mind-link was convenient and useful in certain situations, but neither he nor Taren felt comfortable using it, even after all these years.

* * * * * * * *

Kari gathered up her books as the bell rang, ending another interminable day at school.  She was looking forward to meeting up with Rima by the exit doors, for today was "Ramen Monday"! The girls had planned to eat at their favorite ramen shop after school.  Too bad Mark had cram school and couldn't come, and she had meant to ask Taren at the gym, but then he got called to the principal's office just before last period.

She hoped nothing serious had happened.  Well, it wasn't unusual for boys to get called to Yamada-sensei's office, even more so when Shiro-san was involved.

As she neared the school's glass double doors, Kari caught sight of a head of silver hair, which no one would miss in a crowd. With a smile, she cupped her hand to call out his name.

"Ta--!" She stopped, seeing a taller man walk out alongside the boy. The man in the black suit seemed young—mid-twenties? Could he be his older brother?

"Kari-chan!"

Kari turned to see Rima walking up to her.

"Ready?" Rima asked and Kari nodded. "Where's Taren-kun?"

"I think it's just us two today."

"Good. I have news you wouldn't want to miss!" Rima linked an arm around Kari's as they headed towards the exit.

Soon the girls were sitting at one of the few tables in the shop across the street, enjoying their bowls of steaming ramen.

Stirring the noodles with her chopsticks, Kari asked her friend, "So? What's the scoop you were going to tell me about?"

"Remember how I thought last week that Taren's name seemed familiar?" At Kari's nod, Rima leaned forward excitedly.

"He's a Leinier.  I mean, the Leinier." Rima said, as if that explained everything.

Kari raised an eyebrow, not understanding.

With a sigh, her friend continued. "His family owns a good chunk of the world's shipping economy, and his parents were famous connoisseurs in the art world—you know, they held exclusive auctions that only the insanely wealthy can afford. And he's continued their legacy. In short, your Taren is a socialite, my dear!"

Ignoring the "your Taren" pun, Kari paused with her chopsticks and a bunch of noodles in mid-air. "Wait a minute, did you say 'were famous'?"

"Yes, well, his parents died in an unfortunate accident when he was quite young, leaving him the heir to a multi-billion dollar fortune. He's lived with his uncle, the shipping magnate Alexander Leinier, ever since."

"That— must have been very difficult for him."  Kari's eyes revealed a hint of sadness, thinking, "At least, I still have my dad. I can't even imagine losing both parents so young!"

"Does his name ring a bell now?" Rima grimaced at her neglected ramen bowl, the noodles now swollen to twice its normal size.

Kari laughed forcefully. "You know I hardly ever read or watch the news, Rima. I have you for that!"

"What I meant to say was, what do you think?"

"Hmm, — I don't know. He doesn't seem like he's one of those rich kids that always have their noses up in the air.  And we have a good number of those in our school.  He seems to be just, well, just like Mark."

Kari reddened. She knew Rima was well aware of her cluelessness on anything related to boys.

"Mark?" Rima seemed surprised. Kari noticed a hint of a blush on her cheeks as she knitted her brows and waved her hand dismissively. "No, Taren's far more than that guy. Mark only thinks about kendo and nothing else."

Her best friend cleared her throat. "What I'm saying is, Taren Leinier's world is very different from yours or mine. My gut feeling tells me not to get too close to him." Rima's eyes softened. "But you always have your own mind. I just want you to be careful, that's all."