The Line You Crossed

Hikaru and Teshii made their way to the safehouse, where the other Elements were waiting for them. Hikaru wore his yellow hoodie, hands tucked into his pockets, his face clearly annoyed.

And beside him…

Teshii wore his usual orange-red fleece, crimson sunglasses resting on his face. His hands were also in his pockets, his expression brimming with amusement.

They were walking through the middle of the forest, following their usual path to the safehouse.

It was completely silent as they walked. Only the natural sounds filled the air – birds chirping, leaves rustling, wind brushing through the trees, and…

Teshii whistling.

Whii-whuu…

Hikaru shot a glare at Teshii, who continued to whistle as if nothing was wrong. Clearly irritated, Hikaru turned his head toward him.

"You really know how to annoy me, don't you, Teshii."

Teshii glanced at Hikaru, smiling with a clueless tilt of his head.

"What do you mean, Sunshine?"

Hikaru stopped walking entirely, utterly baffled by Teshii's response.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'WHAT DO YOU MEAN'?! YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!"

Teshii shook his head, genuinely confused – or at least pretending to be.

"I really don't, Sunshine."

Hikaru stared at him in disbelief, then let out a long sigh.

"Fine! I'll explain. Listen! Before I met you, I was having a normal life. A life I was actually enjoying. Until – The masked man–"

"Which is me," Teshii interrupted.

"Yes! You, the masked man, attacked me and beat the sh*t out of me! Then I awakened the Element of Light – something I didn't even want. And now, I'm in the Order of the Elements, where I have to find nine Elementals. I should be studying for university. But nope. I'm here instead."

Hikaru pointed at Teshii, who still wore a blank expression.

"And you… ever since you moved in, you'd done nothing but cause chaos in the house. You constantly flirt with my sister. You flirt with my mother. You find new ways to annoy me and my father every day. And now – you're dating my sister."

Then – Hikaru threw his hands up and placed them on his in frustration.

"Also, I have to keep secrets from my mom and dad, which is making me feel incredibly guilty! I hate hiding things from them!"

Teshii just stared at him, still expressionless.

"What I'm trying to say here, Teshii, Is that I'm in this mess because of you. It is partly your fault that my life has become like this."

Silence…

Both Hikaru and Teshii just stood there, staring at each other. Birds continued chirping on the branches above, some fluttering away into the sky. The wind gently blew through the trees, rustling the leaves.

And then – Teshii spoke up.

"So… are you and Rich Girl official now?"

A flush of red bloomed across Hikaru's cheeks, clearly flustered by the sudden change in topic.

"W-What?! That has nothing to do with what I just said." Hikaru shot back. "Were you even listening to me?"

"If I'm being honest, Sunshine," Teshii said casually, "I stopped listening when I admitted I was the masked man."

Hikaru grit his teeth, absolutely fuming. Then – he let out a long sigh and stared at Teshii.

"You're still annoying, Teshii."

Teshii smirked.

"I try to be, Sunshine."

"That's probably why…" Hikaru muttered.

Teshii raised an eyebrow behind his crimson sunglasses.

"What do you mean, Sunshine?"

"Why you don't talk about your family," Hikaru said, half-joking. "They probably abandoned you because you were annoying."

Teshii's eyes widened slightly behind his shades.

"Your mother probably got tired of taking care of you because of how annoying you are."

Teshii clenched his fist.

"Let's face it," Hikaru added, smirking without thinkin, "your mother is probably worse tha–"

Then–

Teshii snapped.

He grabbed Hikaru by the hoodie and shoved him hard into the trunk of a tree.

CRASH!

The impact sent a cascade of leaves fluttering down from the branches above.

"T-Teshii?" Hikaru muttered, stunned.

Teshii's expression had completely darkened. The playful smile he often wore was gone. And his eyes?

They looked completely dead behind his crimson shades.

Then – he spoke:

"There are things people can say… and things people shouldn't." His voice was low, trembling with restrained fury. "But when it comes to family? YOU DON'T TALK BAD ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE'S FAMILY!"

Teshii gritted his teeth, and his grip tightened on Hikaru's hoodie, pulling it taut. Hikaru was completely startled by the sudden outburst. He had never seen this side of Teshii before.

"You humans have no sense of class. It seriously pissed me off," Teshii growled.

Suddenly–

Steam began to rise from his hands. Heat radiated from his palms.

"If you don't want me in the house anymore," Teshii continued, "then give me the word and I'll go. Satoshi and Reina want me back at the safehouse anyway."

Finally, Teshii let go of Hikaru's hoodie, shoving his hands back into the pockets of his fleece. Without another word, he turned and walked off, heading back down the forest trail toward the safehouse.

"Tch. Pathetic."

As Teshii walked away, his figure growing smaller in the distance, Hikaru remained rooted where he stood – back pressed against the tree, heart still racing.

He just stood there, stunned, watching him go.

W-What just happened?

Did… I go too far?

And then – he remembered what Teshii had said:

"You humans have no sense of class."

Hikaru narrowed his eyes.

What did he mean by that?

Why was he talking like he wasn't even human?

Letting out a slow, uneasy sigh, Hikaru stepped forward, deciding to catch up.

I'll apologize to him later… when he calms down.

He began walking, trailing behind.

Up ahead, Teshii continued down the path, his hands buried deep in his fleece pockets, his shoulders slightly hunched.

And softly, under his breath, barely a whisper–

"Mama…"

15 Minutes Later…

Inside the safehouse, the other Elements – Haruto, Moriya, Ikazuchi, Reito, and the newly-recruit Daichi – lounged around the living room, waiting for Hikaru and Teshii to arrive.

Haruto sat on the couch, flipping through the pages of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo. Nearby, Moriya and Reito were in deep conversation, exchanging stories about tribal customs and Shaolin traditions. Daichi sat quietly, legs crossed, waiting patiently.

And Ikazuchi?

…Was losing his patience.

"Seriously?! Where are those two?" he snapped, gritting his teeth.

Click – swsh.

Everyone turned toward the front door.

Teshii stepped inside first.

And behind him… was Hikaru.

Haruto smirked.

"Great timing, hot head."

"Shut up, water boy!" Ikazuchi shot back.

Teshii scanned the room and quickly locked eyes with the newest member of the team.

"Well, well, well. You must be Terra," he said.

Daichi raised an eyebrow.

"Terra?"

"Teshii has a tendency to give people nicknames," Moriya explained.

"I see."

"You're the guy who got cheated on and ran off to live in the sand dunes, right?" Teshii added bluntly.

Daichi simply shrugged. "Pretty much."

Teshii looked stunned by the honest. "W-Wait! You're not even going to deny it?"

"Nope."

"I see… so you're the honest type, huh?"

"Yep." Daichi smirked. "And you're exactly how Hikaru described you."

Teshii raised an eyebrow, glancing sideways at Hikaru with a slight glare.

"Oh really?"

Hikaru turned away, still feeling guilty over what he said earlier.

Teshii looked back at Daichi, placed both hands on his shoulders, and whistled. "Damn! You're f*cking massive!" he said, admiring Daichi's solid, muscular build as if Teshii wasn't muscular himself. "It's perfect."

Daichi narrowed his eyes.

"Perfect for what?"

Teshii grinned.

"With that perfect muscular build of your, it'll be easier for me to help you fix that broken heart of yours."

Daichi frowned.

"What?"

"I know a bunch of girls who might be interested in you," Teshii said with a mischievous grin. "They'll help fill in the cracks."

Daichi crossed his arms.

"I don't need a new girl."

Teshii ignored him completely.

"You need a rebound."

"No, I don't," Daichi said flatly.

"Yes, you do!" Teshii declared, grabbing Daichi by the shoulder and dragging him away. "Let's go! Operation: Finding New Love is a go!"

Daichi was completely caught off guard as Teshii dragged him with ease.

What's with this strength?

As the Elements watched Teshii dragging Daichi away to find him a new girlfriend, Hikaru walked over to the couch, took a seat, and let out a deep sigh.

The sigh was so heavy that everyone turned to look at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Hikaru?" Ikazuchi asked.

"You look like you made fun of someone, and they immediately replied back, saying something even nastier than what you said," Reito added.

Hikaru twitched, clearly taking that dig to the chest.

Moriya placed a hand on Hikaru's shoulder.

"C'mon, Hikaru. Tell us."

Hikaru glanced at Moriya, then at the others, who all nodded in encouragement. He let out another sigh and spoke up:

"Reito was kinda correct."

Reito raised an eyebrow.

"I was?"

Hikaru nodded.

"I said something awful to Teshii."

Ikazuchi chuckled.

"Teshii? Really? I wonder what his reply was."

"I told him…" Hikaru said, "…that his mother probably abandoned him because of how annoying he was."

Ikazuchi's eyes widened. He stood up and grabbed Hikaru by the hoodie, in anger.

"Why would you say that to him, Hikaru?"

"Ikazuchi?" Hikaru muttered confused.

"His mother was murdered when he was a child," Ikazuchi said.

Hikaru's eyes widened.

"What?"

Haruto turned his head toward Ikazuchi.

"How do you know this, Ikazuchi?"

"Teshii told me…" Ikazuchi said, letting go of Hikaru's hoodie and crossed his arms, "…when I stormed out of my house after arguing with my old man."

Hikaru leaned into his knees, placing his hands on his head.

"Sh*t…" he muttered. "I probably hurt Teshii just by saying that.

"Yes. Yes, you did," Ikazuchi said flatly.

"He's probably not going to forgive me for saying that," Hikaru added, still leaning forward.

Meanwhile…

At Hikaru's university, a grey-haired figure with red and blue hoodie and black jeans stood alone on the campus.

He looked up at the large clock mounted on the university wall.

It read: 09:37 A.M.

The figure grinned.

Only 3 Hours and 23 Minutes left.

TO BE CONTINUED!!!