Poor Suba

The scent of grease and grilled meat usually acted as a comfort to Subaru Kagami. It was the scent of Shohei Haizono’s food truck, "Highway to Home," and by extension, it was the scent of a friendship that had slowly, tentatively, blossomed into something deeper. Subaru, the disgraced heir of the Fujinoya kabuki guild, found a strange solace in Sho’s blunt honesty. Sho didn’t care about the rumors of abuse that had chased Subaru to Darkwick; he only cared if Subaru had eaten enough and if he’d taken care of his motorbike, Bonnie.

But lately, the smell of the food truck made Subaru’s stomach churn with a violent, nauseating dread.

Subaru sat on a stone bench in a secluded corner of the campus, his hands trembling in his lap. He wore his usual soft, friendly smile—the one he had practiced since he was a child on the kabuki stage—but it didn't reach his iris-purple eyes. His right hand instinctively went to the wisteria earring in his ear, twisting it.

"Subaru? You’re spacing out again. That’s the third time I’ve had to call your name."

Haku Kusanagi stood before him, his cat-like green eyes narrowed in suspicion. Beside him, the translucent form of Zenji Kotodama floated, his glasses perched precariously on his nose as he tilted his head.

"Ah, Haku-kun. I’m so sorry," Subaru apologized, his voice a melodic whisper. "I was just... thinking about a script."

"A script for a tragedy, perhaps?" Zenji chimed in, his voice airy. "Your aura is quite dampened today, Subaru-kun. Like a flower caught in an early frost. It lacks the usual luster of the Fujinoya name."

Subaru flinched. He hated when Zenji was perceptive. "It’s nothing. Truly."

"Is it Leo?" Haku asked, crossing his arms. The red ribbons in his hair swayed. "He’s been more of a nuisance than usual. I saw him whispering to some of the rougher upperclassmen near the training grounds. He looked... displeased when he saw you and Sho together yesterday."

Subaru’s heart hammered against his ribs. Leo Kurosagi’s jealousy was no secret. To Leo, Sho was his partner, his best friend, his anchor. Subaru was an interloper—a 'beautiful' distraction that was taking up too much of Sho’s time.

"Leo is just being Leo," Subaru lied, standing up quickly. "I should go. I promised Sho-kun I’d help him with the inventory."

As he walked away, he felt Haku’s gaze lingering on his back. He didn't tell them that a week ago, three men had cornered him in the old storage shed behind the gym. He didn't tell them that they had been sent by someone to "make him stay away from Vagastrom’s business." He didn't tell them that they had crossed a line that could never be uncrossed, turning his body into a map of shame.

They had used him. And then, they had told him that if he spoke a word, they would tell the world that the "abusive kabuki prince" was actually just a "whore" who enjoyed the attention.

Subaru reached the food truck, but he didn't go inside. He saw Sho through the window, flipping a burger with focused intensity. Sho looked up, his blue eyes softening for a fraction of a second when he saw Subaru. He waved him over.

Subaru forced a smile, waved back, and then turned and ran. He couldn't let Sho touch him. If Sho touched him, his stigma might flare. He might see the residual thoughts of the men who had hurt him, or worse, Sho might feel the rot that Subaru felt spreading through his own soul.

***

Two weeks later, the silence between Sho and Subaru had become a physical wall. Sho wasn't stupid. He knew Subaru was avoiding him. He knew the way Subaru flinched when their fingers brushed over a change of coins.

Sho leaned against Bonnie, his arms crossed over his chest. Leo was sitting nearby, scrolling through his phone, his thumb moving with a restless, jagged energy.

"You’ve been quiet, Leo," Sho said, his voice low and dangerous.

"Me? I'm always quiet when I'm working on my brand, Sho-chan," Leo replied without looking up. "The followers want content."

"I’m not talking about your phone. I’m talking about Subaru," Sho snapped. "He’s a ghost. He looks like he’s dying on his feet. And every time I try to talk to him, he looks at me like I’m going to hit him."

Leo’s thumb paused. "Maybe he finally realized he doesn't belong with us. He’s a delicate little actor, Sho. We’re Vagastrom. We’re dirt and grease. He was bound to get bored."

Sho grabbed Leo by the collar of his jacket, hauling him up. "Don't lie to me. I saw you talking to those guys from the engineering block. The ones who follow your feed like cultists. What did you tell them?"

Leo’s yellow eyes flickered with a rare flash of guilt, quickly masked by a sneer. "I just told them to scare him off! To tell him to leave you alone so we could focus on the House! I didn't think they’d—"

Sho pushed him back and took off toward the abandoned dorms near the edge of the campus. He had seen Subaru heading that way earlier, looking hollowed out.

He found them in the courtyard of the ruined building.

Subaru was on the ground, his back against a crumbling stone wall. Two men—students Sho recognized as Leo’s "fans"—were standing over him. One of them had a handful of Subaru's brown hair, forcing his head back.

"Come on, Fujinoya," the man sneered, pulling a wad of yen from his pocket and tossing it at Subaru’s face. "The rumors say you’re a pro. How much for a show in front of the fountain? People would pay a lot to see the fallen prince like this."

Subaru didn't fight. He didn't even cry. He just stared at the sky with those iris-colored eyes, looking utterly vacant.

"Get your hands off him," Sho’s voice rang out, cold enough to freeze the air.

The men turned, laughing. "Hey, Haizono! We’re just doing what Leo wanted. Keeping the trash away from you. Turns out the trash is pretty fun to play with."

Sho didn't use many words. He didn't need to. He moved like a blur of violence. His stigma, *Spurno*, flared to life. With a guttural "Spurno!", he exerted a localized force that sent the first man flying back into a pillar with a sickening crunch. He didn't stop there. He grabbed the second man by the throat, his blue eyes burning with a murderous light.

"If you ever touch him again," Sho hissed, "I won't just jam your stigma. I’ll jam your heart."

He threw the man aside like a piece of refuse. They scrambled away, terrified by the raw strength of the Vagastrom powerhouse.

Sho turned to Subaru, his breathing heavy. He reached out a hand. "Subaru... I’m sorry. I’m so damn sorry."

Subaru shivered violently, pulling his knees to his chest. "Don't... don't look at me, Sho-kun. It’s gross. I’m gross."

Sho knelt in the dirt, ignoring the filth on his uniform. He didn't force a touch. "You’re not gross. They are. And Leo... I’m going to kill him."

"No," Subaru whispered, finally looking at him. His beauty mark was traced by a tear. "Leo just wanted his friend back. He didn't know... he didn't know they were people I knew from before. From the theater."

Sho froze. "What?"

"One of them... he was a fan," Subaru said, his voice cracking. "He used to send me letters. He said I belonged to the public. He said if I wasn't on stage, I should be... everyone's."

The realization hit Sho like a physical blow. This wasn't just a random attack; it was a targeted haunting. Subaru’s past was literally consuming him.

***

The confrontation in the Vagastrom common room was brief but explosive. Alan Mido stood in the center of the room, his presence a heavy weight that demanded silence. Leo stood to the side, looking smaller than he ever had, his headphones around his neck like a noose.

"You let your petty jealousy invite predators into this school, Leo," Alan said, his voice a low rumble. "You used your influence to break a fellow student. Someone Sho cares about. Someone who is under our protection."

"I didn't know they’d do that!" Leo shouted, his voice cracking. "I just wanted him to go away! He was changing everything, Sho! You were always with him!"

Sho took a step forward, his fist clenched. "He was the first person who treated me like a person, not just a cook or a thug. And you handed him to monsters."

Alan put a gloved hand on Sho’s shoulder. "Enough. Leo, you will be under house arrest in the dorms for the next month. You will hand over your devices. If I hear of you contacting anyone outside this House for anything other than official business, I will personally see to it that you are expelled."

Leo looked at Sho, pleadingly, but Sho turned his back.

***

A week later, the campus felt different. The air was colder, the shadows longer. Subaru sat in the Hotarubi music room, the biwa sitting untouched beside him.

"You look better, Subaru-kun," Zenji said, floating near the ceiling. "The frost is melting."

"I'm trying, Zenji-san," Subaru replied. He looked at his hand. He had used his stigma earlier that morning on a flower Sho had left for him. He hadn't passed out. He had only felt... warmth.

The door opened, and Haku walked in, looking uncharacteristically serious. "Subaru. You have a visitor. Outside the gates."

Subaru frowned. "I didn't think anyone was allowed—"

"It’s not a friend," Haku said, his cat-eyes sharp. "It’s a crowd. They’re holding signs, Subaru. They’re calling for the 'Fujinoya Whore' to come out."

Subaru’s blood ran cold. The men Sho had beaten hadn't stayed quiet. They had gone to the tabloids. They had leaked Subaru’s location to the most obsessive, parasocial elements of his old fanbase.

Subaru stood up, his legs shaking. "I have to go. I have to tell them to leave."

"You're not going alone," a voice barked from the doorway.

Sho stood there, his bandana tied tight, his blue eyes fierce. Behind him stood Alan, looking like a wall of granite.

"They think they can buy you?" Sho said, stepping into the room. "They think you're a joke?"

They walked to the main gates of Darkwick. A group of about a dozen people were gathered there, cameras flashing. One man, dressed in an expensive suit, stepped forward as Subaru approached the iron bars.

"Subaru! There you are!" the man laughed, waving a thick envelope of cash. "We heard the news! If you're giving it away to thugs for free, surely you’ll take a million yen for a night with your real fans? Come on, get in the car. Give us a smile, prince!"

Subaru felt the "grossness" rising in his throat. He looked at the faces—the hungry, distorted faces of people who thought they owned his soul because they had bought a ticket to his play.

"Humans," Subaru whispered, his friendly mask finally shattering. "You really are nastier than any anomaly."

He stepped toward the gate, his hand gripping the cold iron. "Talnandio," he whispered.

He didn't need to touch the man. He touched the gate, reading the residual thoughts of every hateful person who had touched the bars today. The wave of malice was overwhelming, but he didn't pass out. He channeled it. He let the "grossness" flow through him and out into his voice.

"You see me as an object," Subaru said, his voice echoing with a strange, supernatural resonance. "But an object can break you."

Sho stepped up beside him, his hand resting on the small of Subaru’s back—a firm, grounding presence. "The Highway to Home is closed to people like you," Sho said to the crowd. "And the road out of here is very, very rough."

Alan stepped forward, his eyes glowing slightly. "Leave. Now. Or I will consider this a breach of Darkwick security."

The crowd hesitated. They saw the 'beautiful' young man, but they also saw the two predators standing guard over him. They saw the raw, unbridled strength of Vagastrom.

As the crowd began to disperse, muttering and cursing, Subaru leaned his head against the cool metal of the gate. He felt exhausted, his stigma draining the very life from his limbs.

Before he could fall, Sho caught him.

"I've got you," Sho muttered, pulling Subaru’s head into the crook of his neck. "I've got you, Subaru."

"I'm so tired of being a star, Sho-kun," Subaru whispered into his jacket.

"Then don't be," Sho replied, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "Just be the guy who likes my burgers and drives my bike. That’s more than enough for me."

In the distance, Zenji watched them from a balcony, a sad, poetic smile on his face. "The play has ended," he murmured to the wind. "But the life... the life is just beginning."

Haku stood beside him, watching Leo watch them from a distant window. Leo looked lonely, his yellow eyes filled with a regret he didn't know how to voice.

"It’s a long road back for all of them," Haku said, adjusting his earrings.

"Indeed," Zenji agreed. "But at least they’re finally walking it together."