Cleo paid no attention to the snide remarks and snickers that echoed along the sidewalk outside of the International School's gates. As he walked, he couldn't help but notice the curious glances and messages sent his way from the open windows of luxurious cars. Perhaps it was because he was the only one from the International School who chose to walk, hinting at his more modest circumstances. Nevertheless, Cleo remained unfazed. He simply plugged in his earphones, turned on his trusty MP3 player, and let the music transport him to his own private oasis. The melodies drowned out the surrounding noise, allowing Cleo to find solace and escape from the judgment of others.
The MP3 player was a gift from his father and something that took Cleo a while to accept.
'Dad, I can't take this. My tuition is already taking up a lot of your money.' Cleo said when his father handed him the newly packaged box. He handed it back to his father who in turn shoved it back to him.
'Son, if you don't take this gift I'll take it as an insult. I want you to have it. Besides once you're in International School this music player will at least make you look a little better, I think.'
David's purpose was full of good intentions for his son. He added that nothing else could make him more proud or happy for Cleo. In turn, it made Cleo feel guilty enough to accept the gift Once Cleo got to International School the music player was hardly noticeable among the luxurious toys and gadgets the other students possessed. Cleo didn't give much of a damn anyway and treated his mp3 player with the utmost care.
Cleo headed down to his workplace, a shop a few blocks from school. He had this job before his acceptance to International School so even if the school's workload was large Cleo had no plans to quit his job and would balance both evenly. He figured he could also help pay for his tuition and repay his father and sisters that way.
He entered the shop and greeted the store manager who was happily fanning himself while lying on a fold-out chair nearby. Hello, Sir Martin."
"Ah, Cleo. Hello!" Martin returned the greeting. "How was school today?" He questioned and took a sip of tea from his cup.
"Same old, same old," Cleo answered and set his things down behind the counter. "Oh, but someone did get a red notice today."
Martin's eyebrows rose in interest and he set his teacup down on the side table next to him. "That's the second one this week! What did the poor guy do to receive such treatment?"
Cleo shrugged while he took a cloth and wiped down the counter. "More than likely he did something so insignificant that it was deemed worthy of a red notice by B4. I feel like my days are getting numbered there, Martin." Cleo added quite honestly. "I'm the only person there who doesn't own more than one house. Hell, I don't even own a house. I bet they love picking on poor people."
Martin chuckled, swinging his fan lightly. "You mustn't think like that, Cleo. Just do what you need to do and avoid trouble at all costs... that is unless you're forced into the situation."
The store's door opened and in came a tall and dark-skinned teenager. "Luke, Hello!" Martin greeted cheerily.
Luke Fuentabella entered the shop and gave a short greeting back to Martin. "Hello." He joined Cleo behind the counter, getting ready for work. "Hey, Cleo." He greeted monotonously.
Although a man of a few words, Luke was indeed a good listener. He and Cleo hung out with each other ever since grade school and it was only recently when Cleo went to International School did they parted ways to go to different schools. They were something like best friends and always had each other's back. Whether it was some kid ridiculing Cleo's hair or some smartass undermining Sado's ethnic heritage, they would defend each other no matter what.
Cleo told Luke that he wished Luke attended International School's with him but Luke remarked on how he was both too dumb and too poor to attend the school with snobby children. Cleo was a bit surprised at Luke's choice of words but laughed when he couldn't disagree.
Cleo worked the rest of the day until the shop's closing time at 8:30 PM. It had become his daily routine: get up in the early morning, go to school for six hours, go to work after school for about five hours, spend the rest of his time at home mostly doing homework, and sleep at 12 or 1 AM to start the next day at 6:30 AM again.
The only days he didn't have work were Fridays and the weekends. Martin had commented that these three days were crucial for young teenage boys like Cleo and Luke to enjoy their youth. Therefore Martin gladly gave them these three days off to do a "little mischief" as he worded it himself.
Yet at the rigorous pace, Cleo found himself with schoolwork, he hardly found time on the weekends to designate as "free time". His other friends Gabriel and Caleb who attended the same high school as Luke, would call his home during the weekends wondering if Cleo could go down to the local video game center.
They were given the same answer each time by Cleo. "Sorry guys, I won't be able to make it today. I've got an assignment to finish and some other work that needs to be done." It wasn't until the third school week that Caleb and Gabriel decided to stop calling him on the weekends since they figured the answer would be the same as previous weeks.
So as sad as it sounds, the only friend Cleo kept in contact with was Luke when he was at work. Cleo truly did want to hang out with all of his old friends again but his conscience would fight back. It constantly told him that he couldn't let his education at International School go to waste. He was putting his family in enough strife. Therefore it would make him feel guilty if he didn't take his studies at International School seriously.
It was a Monday and Cleo had survived International School for almost a month. During that time he luckily never encountered the B4 even though red notices started to pop up every other day. During that time he found solace in reading over assignments and going through books for information he needed until his classmates shuffled themselves back in after the fiasco.
That day his homeroom teacher announced that there was a new student. Countless whispers around the class commenced as everyone, minus Cleo, was curious as to who it could be.
The teacher left the room for a moment to get the student. In an instant, every person in the class raised the volume of their voices to talk to each other. The girls behind Cleo were chatting about the student.
"I hope he's hot. I'm getting tired of seeing all the same faces." One girl said.
"Especially since I've already dated all of those faces." Another girl added.
Their talking as well as the other students' talks died down when the teacher re-entered the classroom. Following closely behind him was a rather short teenage boy who wore a timid expression on his face. The girls behind Cleo giggled and one of them said, "So not hot."
"Class, welcome your new classmate. Go ahead and introduce yourself." The teacher told the new student and slightly pushed him forward. As a result the new student almost fell over and took a while to balance himself upright. There was an uproar of laughter from the class and Cleo had to shake his head in embarrassment for the guy.
"Yet... Nice to meet you. My name is Inu Standford. I'm 15 years old and I just transferred here from Xavier Academy. Nice to meet you." Almost flustered from all eyes looking at him, he bent his upper body down at an almost 90-degree angle. He didn't get up until the teacher prodded him to.
"You may take your seat there, Inu ." The teacher pointed to the empty seat next to Cleo. "If you find trouble with anything Cleo will be able to help you."
Oh no, why me? Cleo thought. He wasn't planning on making friends but after he saw the funny looks his classmates gave to Hanatarou as he walked in between the desks, he decided he might as well be nice. Hanatarou bowed his head at Cleo for a split second before taking his seat next to him. Cleo returned the gesture before focusing his attention on the teacher's lecture.
Lunchtime came around and the students quickly left the class to dine on their expensive meals in the cafeteria. Cleo stayed behind to ask the teacher a few questions on the homework assignment. After he left the class to go eat his modest lunch, he heard someone call his name from behind.
"Cleo! Cleo!" Cleo turned around to see Inu running toward him, carrying a big paper bag with some fancy restaurant's name on it. He stopped in front of Cleo and took a moment to catch his breath.
"Inu, what's up?" Cleo asked.
Inu suddenly forgot why he called Cleo and he scratched his head uncertainly. It took a moment to register. "Oh, yeah!" It came back to him. "I wanted to know if we could eat lunch together. Ano... I have no friends and you're the nicest person I've met here so..."
Although he always told himself that he wasn't here to make friends, Cleo thought it wouldn't be so bad to have lunch with Hanatarou. He was a rich kid, sure, but Ichigo could relate with him since Hanatarou seemed to be made an outcast among the others.
"All right. Sure." Cleo answered and they both headed for the cafeteria.
Or rather, they headed toward the dining room as the word cafeteria in no way accurately described International School's eating area. The dining area went through many renovations during the summertime and returning students were always glad to find something completely different in where they ate.
Along with the new ivory-plated floors and deep wooden paneled walls, a new section was added to the area that school year. It was the second-story part of the dining room and was strictly designated for B4 and anyone they deemed worthy to join them at the top.
Cleo and Inu decided to sit at a table that was a safe distance from the B4's lair but was considerably close to the entrance of the dining area. Once they were seated with their book bags at their sides, Cleo took out his bento box with a meal that Yumi had prepared for him while Inu took his meal out from the paper bag he carried earlier.
Inu stared in surprise at the little bento box for a moment, his feast before him more like a dinner for a king compared to Ichigo's. "Cleo, you don't eat a lot do you?" He commented after a thorough look.
"Well, I can't afford a meal like yours, Inu." Cleo answered nonchalantly and said a quick "take something humbly" before using his chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat.
"What? Why not?" Inu questioned. "I usually choose the cheapest meal from Shang Restaurant Fine Dining and that's only around 4,500 pesos."
"Exactly." Cleo simply put. "I can't afford it."
Inu's mouth gaped open. "That means... y-y-you're...."
"Poor. Yes." Cleo finished the sentence for him and continued his chewing.
"Wow..." Inu mouthed audibly. "How do you live every day?"
"Oh, I just find a new cardboard box every two weeks or when it gets too soaked from the rain," Cleo replied sarcastically and took another bite of the meat in his bento.
Inu didn't get the sarcasm and believed what Cleo said. "That's amazing. I could hardly live for a week when I went on a vacation with my family to the Caribbean. Too much water makes me nervous." He shuttered to himself.
Cleo couldn't help but laugh. "I was kidding, Inu. I don't live in a cardboard box."
Inu sighed with relief. "Thank goodness. I was about to ask you how you were able to install security measures in the box." Cleo laughed again and shook his head, amazed at Hanatarou's sheltered life.
For the next fifteen minutes, Cleo and Inu had a conversation on numerous topics, many of which Inu exclaimed in utter surprise at Cleo's lifestyle. "You wash your dishes? Don't your hands get all wrinkly?" Inu asked when Cleo said that he had no maid or dishwasher to clean his plates.
"Heh, well..." Cleo was going to explain to Inu further but was interrupted when a student came in and loudly announced that the B4 had arrived.
"Damn," Inu said to himself quietly. He moved his head sideways away from the entrance but he knew better than anyone that his hair would probably get the attention of B4. He wished either way that they weren't in the mood for bullying today.
Several students in the dining area got up to greet B4, foolishly trying to flatter them so that they would have a chance to join them on the second story. It never worked but people wanted to try anyway. Flattery toward the B4 never resulted in violence so there was no harm in trying.
"Cleo," Inu called Cleo when he saw him turn his head away. "What's wrong? This B4 sounds exciting. You don't want to see them?"
Cleo shook his head. "No, not today, Inu."
"Oh, but they're coming this way now," Inu said. Cleo's eyes widened when he heard this and he hoped that Inu didn't mean that B4 were walking toward them. He looked at Inu and saw his head lift and stop when someone stood before their table. Too late.
"Nice to meet you. You must be B4!" Inu happily greeted them and got up in his seat to bow to them. "I am Inu, 15 years old, and-"
"Cut the greetings, newbie." Cleo heard an authoritative female voice say. "You're the new kid so we wanted to personally come and see you for ourselves."
"Ano... Why's that?" Inu asked incredulously as if he couldn't figure out what was so special that they needed to see him themselves.
"Well normally when new students come in and it's not the beginning of the school year, they have to go through an... initiation process," Azumi explained and smiled, shining her pearly whites at Hanatarou.
"Oh... okay. I'll do my best!" Inu held a fist up triumphantly and nodded his head.
Azumi chuckled under her breath. "Do your best, eh?" Cleo quickly turned toward the scene when he heard a yelp from Inu. The poor boy was sprawled with his back on the floor, his face plastered with a dizzying expression.
"Ow." That was the only word that came out of Inu's mouth.
Cleo sat there almost helpless, contemplating whether he should get up and help Inu and risk B4 doing the same to him or wait until they left. It wasn't until Azumi placed her foot atop Inu's stomach and made a motion to stomp on him that Cleo got up from his seat and yelled at her.
"Stop!"
Azumi's foot stopped midway from Inu's stomach. The whole room turned silent and now each student was staring at Cleo. No one had ever defied the B4 and some held their breath for what was about to come. Azumi slowly turned her head to Cleo and cocked an eyebrow. "What did you just say?"
"I said to stop," Cleo repeated defiantly. He stood there with his fists clenched and his appearance seemingly calm. He hid the fact that his heart was racing in his chest, unsure of what the consequences would be.
Miraculously Azumi lifted her foot away from Inu. There were gasps heard around the room as she walked toward Cleo, her steps echoing throughout the room. She looked him over once and met his eyes as he bore into hers.
To any outsider, the height difference was quite laughable. There was about a foot difference in height between them with Ichigo towering over Azumi. She had to lift her head quite high just to see his face and in turn, he had to arch his neck downward to look down at her. But no outsider would know that Azumi was just as strong as Cleo.
Azumi's eyes formed into small slits as she observed Cleo's face. "I've never seen you even though that hair of yours is hard to miss... who are you?"
Cleo didn't want to tell her. He didn't want to get into this mess more than he already was. But when he hesitated for a few seconds, someone from the crowd of students yelled out, "That guy's Cleo Montenegro, Azumi!" Azumi looked back and waved sweetly at whoever said it. The person was another one of those suck-ups who wished to hang with B4.
Great. There's always a snitch who is also a kiss-ass. Cleo thought. Azumi turned back to him with the same observant expression on her face.
She walked around him and he turned around to face her again. "Hmm... Cleo Montenegro. You're trying to be a hero, aren't you? You do know who you are talking to, right?"
"I can honestly say..." Cleo paused. "...I have no idea who you are."
More gasps filled the room from the students who were witnessing this. Azumi's face quickly turned into a frown. But in an instant, she masked her frustration once she pursed her lips together in a bitter smile.
"I guess it will do you good if I do something that you'll remember me by." She said. Looking at the table where Cleo sat, she scanned around until her eyes rested on his book bag. "What do we have here?" In one sweeping motion, she picked it up and opened the flap of the bag, looking through the contents inside.
"Hey, take your hands off my property!" Cleo yelled out.
"Calex," Azumi called out. Before Cleo could grab his book bag back, he felt himself held back in a restraining hold.
"Keep your cool," Calex said as he held a struggling Cleo from getting to Azumi.
Azumi threw Cleo's pencils and papers out haphazardly onto the floor. Once her eyes found something worthwhile, they glinted with trouble. She placed her hand inside and grabbed the object.
"Here's something worth more than that pathetic bento you have." Dangling by her fingers was Cleo's mp3 player.
Cleo's breathing stopped. Dad's gift.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Take your hands off of that!" Cleo yelled out, already at the point of being panic-stricken.
"Take my hands off it?" Azumi questioned, eyebrows raised in mock surprise. "If that's what you want, then... okay." She let go of the mp3 player and as it fell on the floor, the glass of the display broke and the whole thing split into two parts.
Azumi looked at Cleo's defeated face and laughed loudly. "Hah, don't you dare ever forget that it was Azumi Grace Wanton who destroyed your worthless crap?"
Azumi expected Cleo to grovel on the floor and ask for forgiveness. She expected like every other person that pissed her off, Cleo would break out in tears and apologize for making her reach her limit. But she stopped laughing once she noticed he wasn't doing either action.
Cleo, still in Calex's restraint, had his head faced toward the ground. Azumi couldn't see his eyes. Strands of his black hair covered them from her view.
"I'm not going to back down from you." Cleo finally spoke out loud. "What you did... that was the last straw." In a flash, he got a hold of Calex and threw him down on the ground. Calex was put through a state of sudden shock and the pain traveled up his back at the speed of light.
"What the hell did he just do?" Calex yelled out while Ashley and Lucas scrambled to help him back up. They were too slow to notice that Cleo had walked up to Rukia and was now facing her eye-to-eye at an uncomfortably close range.
Because of the proximity, Azumi was forced to arch her shoulders back a bit and remarkably kept her balance. She stared back into Cleo's eyes just as hard as he stared at her. "Who the hell do you think you are?" She asked him in an almost raspy voice.
Cleo smiled in a way that mirrored the falsely sweet smile that adorned Azumi's face earlier. "I am Cleo Montenegro. Whatever you throw at me, I'll just throw back at you ten times more powerfully. Give me your best shot. This is war." He simply ended it at that and stood straight back up.
The crowd's eyes followed him as he picked up his papers and the debris of his MP3 player and placed them in his bag. He proceeded to help Inu up while everyone stared in shock that neither Azumi nor anyone in B4 tried to stop him.
As they watched him leave the dining area, Calex went over to Azumi in utter astonishment. "Why didn't you stop him? I could have gotten a few punches in if you told me to."
Azumi shook her head, a smirk forming on her lips. "No," she said confidently, "he may be brave, but he'll soon get what's coming to him." Her smile grew wider, hinting at the excitement she felt about what was to come.