I'm not one to be messed with

Against the pastel sky, the boarding school fences stood imposing. Bars covered the building's windows, making it even harder for students to glimpse the outside world they so desperately wanted to see.

Natsuo gulped as he surveyed the massive tile facility where he had been sentenced to spend the rest of his high school years. He had been sent there as punishment for his inappropriate attitude and disrespect towards his superiors - and now, for the very first time, remorse was beating inside him.

Masahi slammed the car door shut as a person emerged from the heavy doors, waving in their direction. She was a middle-aged woman, wearing formal attire with a white shirt and black skirt, topped off by a blazer with a golden pin. Her dark hair was tied in a neat bun, completing her professional look.

"Dad, I..."

"Do not refer to me that way," Masashi grunted and adjusted his glasses as he stepped forward to greet the woman.

Natsuo swallowed his words, feeling sick to his stomach. The harsh look in his father's eyes made it clear that any attempt at conversation would be futile.

"Nakashima? I'm the headmistress. Welcome. Follow me, and we will get all the paperwork done," she said with a formal bow, not addressing their future student who looked choked up with sudden emotions.

So, his parents finally abandoned him. He had dreamed about walking away from them, but he hadn't known it would hurt that much. His chest was burning with something, feelings he couldn't quite articulate, but they were boiling and threatening to overflow.

Natsuo turned to the car, where his mother sat with her head down, bringing back a flood of memories he wished he could forget.

All those times when that woman, supposedly his mother, had neglected him while he had been on his knees, pleading for just a moment of her time. No matter how much he longed for her affection, it was always just out of reach. No matter how hard he had sobbed as he was beaten, she had never intervened.

"There was a reason you never became a real mother!" he screamed, his loud voice thundering on the otherwise silent property.

His father and the headmistress both looked up at him. A fearful look crossed his mother's face as she stared at him, finally facing him, but now looking completely foreign to him. Natsuo could feel his father's angry glare on him as he continued in a shaky voice.

"How could you watch him do that to me?!"

Masashi grabbed Natsuo's jacket, almost lifting him off the ground.

"That is enough! Don't you dare speak like that!"

His grip broke and was followed by a powerful shove that sent the teenager stumbling back a few steps, but he managed to regain his balance.

"I apologize for his behavior," the surgeon said and bowed his head with a sour expression.

The headmistress sympathetically nodded.

"And how can you be a doctor when you beat your own kid?"

She raised her brows when the boy kept speaking, but didn't dare intervene in the face of the family's obvious conflict. Masashi slowly turned back toward the boy, who looked at him unyieldingly, his jaw clenched and his fists trembling.

The father's stare toward his only child was unforgiving. Heavy tension hung between them, when resentment and disappointment expressed themselves without words.

Masashi sighed deeply before continuing, composing himself and glancing back at the headmistress.

"Please let me know where I can sign that paperwork," he said in a heavy tone.

(Later that day)

Natsuo sat on his futon mattress in his newly acquired room. He looked around the compact space, his eyes lingering on the only furniture - a small closet and a desk. The walls were bare, and at that time, the only light came from the fading sun that shone through the small, barred window.

He squeezed the timetable, the strict schedule printed with what seemed like a million regulations. Classes would start early in the morning and last until the late evening, with activities and chores filling up the rest of the time. He felt like he was in prison - a place where he had no freedom, no control over his own life, and no chance of escape.

His mind wandered to the little ghost, the one who had kindled the strange flames inside him. He gripped the paper even tighter as he thought of him, making his heart race faster. At least in the closed environment and forgotten by everyone, no one would ever discover his secret - the one hidden deep within him, the buried truth he had kept concealed for so long.

Someone knocked at the door. After being startled out of his thoughts, Natsuo forced himself to ignore the former classmate who had just crossed his mind. He got up from his bed and went to open the door. A figure stood in the hallway, wearing a sharp uniform with the school's emblem stitched onto the lapel.

"Good evening, Nakashima," the young man greeted with a small bow and continued.

"My name is Tanaka, and I'm your dormitory supervisor. Welcome to the school."

Natsuo merely nodded back and stepped aside, allowing the man to enter the room. He watched as Tanaka inspected the small space, most likely checking for any mistakes he had already committed by violating the school's precious standards.

"I will bring you another one - we don't want you getting into trouble with the rules now, do we?" Tana said as he glanced at the wrinkled schedule on the futon.

He smiled graciously and excused himself to leave, only to return carrying a tray of modest food - a bowl of rice, miso soup, and a few slices of rolled omelet. Natsuo's stomach grumbled as the smell of the food reached his nose and reminded him of how hungry he was.

"Thank you," he murmured as the supervisor left his plate on the desk, explaining that he would eat with the other students tomorrow, but tonight he was being treated differently.

"Enjoy your dinner," he wished before leaving.

Natsuo picked up the chopsticks and sat cross-legged on the floor, ready to start eating - only for the door to open again, making him think that Tanaka would give him another copy of those dreaded rules.

Three boys strolled into his room wearing the same uniform, but with their collars undone and their hair slightly messy, as if they had just come from a long and exhausting day. Their brown eyes glinted with mischief as they observed the unfamiliar person in front of them.

"So, you are the new kid, eh?" the largest of them said, showing that his front teeth were missing as he flashed a wide smile.

"Shit, is Tanaka still there?" he asked as he quickly closed the door.

The two of his sidekicks were more slender, with short hair and thick glasses covering their narrow eyes. Their similar features and matching movements made them look like almost identical twins, with only a slight height difference separating them.

"Everyone talks about rules and so on, but the most important rule is - " the boy without his teeth continued, taking one of the omelet slices in his chubby fingers.

" - that I, Kohaku, are the real ruler around here," he declared as he munched on the piece of food.

"Sorry for being rude, didn't you have enough to eat? I would be more than happy to share if you are still hungry," Natsuo asked, glancing at the other one's round waist and exposed belly button.

Both boys seemed a bit off guard by his response, but Kohaku chuckled as the new student challenged him with his arrogant voice.

"Let's see whether you can - "

Then, in one swift motion, Natsuo snatched the miso soup and splashed it on Kohaku's face, causing his two companions to jump back.

"Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed it," he said wryly, smiling slightly as he continued.

"Now, you might think you are some kind of king in your fantasy world, but I'm not one to be messed with."

Kohaku wiped his wet chin with his palm, before sweeping his hand over Natsuo's uniform.

"I guess we will see each other tomorrow. Get a good night's rest, new kid. You will need it," Kohaku smirked before all three of them walked away, leaving only their laughter behind.