Entry tags:

akame, au, multi-chaptered, pricele$$ love

PRICELE$$ love - Chapter 6
Title: PRICELE$$ love
Author: Aisu & Kuriimu
Rating: PG13 for now
Pairings: Akame
Disclaimer: We don't own Akame.
Summary: Jin's a crowd-pleaser; always adapting his personality to suit others, trying to uphold his family name by keeping up false pretenses. He's sick of people sucking up to him and pretending to be his friend when all they want is a connection to his social status.

Kazuya's a realist; he hates people who are 'fake', or rather, aren't true to themselves, and it makes him sick watching them live their day to day life as a constant lie.

When the two meet at a goukon for the first time, their personalities clash. While Kazuya's ready to leave in a heartbeat after the event, Jin can't help but linger behind lost in his thoughts. He had never met anyone like Kazuya before. Maybe he was just what he needed to help him escape his world of lies.

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5


Chapter 6

Kazuya sat motionless at a table in the corner of the family-style restaurant, his lunch untouched as he stared out into the busy streets of Tokyo through the window. Words from the article repeated themselves in his head. He now understood more or less why Jin acts the way he does. Seeing that Kazuya now knew about Jin’s social status, he knew of the reasons for other people constantly fawning over the older boy. From what he could gather, Kazuya himself was the only person, apart from Jin’s childhood friends, who treated him normally. The fact that Jin had not flat-out introduced himself to Kazuya as the future heir to Nishi Records showed that the boy wanted to be treated just like any other, like any other college boy who works part-time at a small café. Not someone with some special status from his high standing on the social ladder.

Kazuya glanced at his watch and realized that Kazen Café would be starting their evening service soon, so he went up to the counter to pay for his untouched lunch before walking out the door again. As Kazuya rounded the corner towards the café, he spied Jin and Pi goofing around the counter again as they began to set the tables. He looked at the rolled up magazine in his hand and debated over what he should do with it. Striding over to the nearest trash can, Kazuya tossed it in before opening the door to the café with a smile plastered on his face.

“Kame~!” Pi greeted his younger co-worker from his spot by the cashier.

“Yo~” Jin welcomed with a raise of his hand and a bright smile before resuming his job of wiping down the tables.

~*~
“Otsukare,” Kazuya stood outside of the café beside Jin as they waited for Pi to lock up. “See you tomorrow.”

Throughout the evening service, Kazuya had tried to keep his face neutral as he mulled things over in his head. He was wondering if he should let Jin know that he now knew about his status, if there was a need to treat the older boy differently now that he knew of his family name. By the time the last few customers trickled out, Kazuya had come to a conclusion. He hated fake people the most, so if he started acting differently around Jin, then he would become those that he despised. He also didn’t see any merits in groveling at the boy’s feet. The reason that Kazuya had decided on becoming Jin’s friend was because of his personality, not because of what status he holds or what benefits Jin may be able to bring him by being his friend.

~*~
Kazuya flung open the door to his dorm and groped the wall for the light switch before finally locating it, flooding his room with light. Sliding his slippers on, Kazuya shuffled through the mail that he had picked up on the way into his dormitory. He passed by all the flyers and advertisements and stopped at a letter from his university. Ripping open the envelope, Kazuya read over the contents before slouching down into his bed.

It was a letter from the university’s administration, reminding him of the tuition fees that he was supposed to pay for this term two weeks ago. Usually his parents took care of his tuition fees, however, with the frenzy of the divorce and all the legal issues, it had slipped their mind. Moreover, his parents were also busy settling the financial issues involved with the divorce settlements. Kazuya sighed; it really wasn’t a good time for him to contact his parents about such matters.

Tossing the letter aside, Kazuya flopped down onto the bed, staring at the ceiling above. He mentally calculated how much of his earnings from Kazen he had been able to save up, and how much more he would need to gather in order to pay for his tuition fees. Apart from just the school book fees, he also had to worry about paying for room and board. Even if he asked for a month’s advance in wages at Kazen, it still wouldn’t be enough to pay for this term’s tuition.

Kazuya flung his right arm across his eyes as he let out a shuddering breath. Just when he had began to get used to the idea of having a broken family, he had to deal with this. He was set on continuing university and didn’t want to have to take a leave from school. Tomorrow, he would set out to look for another part time job.

With this mind set, Kazuya rolled off the bed to switch off the lights before getting under the covers. He wanted to get a full nights rest before he embarked on his job hunt the next day.

~*~
“Kame, you ready? Let’s go to lunch.”

“Yeah, I’m here.” Kazuya walked out from the backroom, tugging his jacket on with one hand holding a rolled up newspaper.

“There’s this new restaurant that opened next block over, want to go check it out?” Yamapi turned around after locking the door to Kazen Café.

For some reason, Kazuya couldn't help but think that Pi felt that the new café posed as a sort of threat towards Kazen.

~*~
Since the weather was fairly nice, the trio decided to take advantage of the café's patio. Umbrellas protruded from the center of the tables, shielding them from the sun. The gentle outdoor breeze flowing in beneath the umbrella created a nice cool atmosphere.

Once seated, the three waved a server on over to order some drinks and food. After the server had left, Pi and Jin continued their mindless chatter while Kazuya flipped through a newspaper.

When their drinks arrived, Yamapi’s cell phone wet off, putting an abrupt end to his debate with Jin concerning which of them had caught the eye of the prettiest girl today; an ongoing competition for the two even though they have never been able to determine a winner since neither would admit to defeat.

“Hello,” Yamapi flipped open his phone with a flick of his wrist, “Ah, Manager-san.” Standing up, Pi walked away from the table to continue the phone call out of his company's hearing range.

Jin watched Pi strode off before directing his attention to the only other occupant of their table. The occupant who was still reading the newspaper.

“Ne, Kame, what’s so interesting in the newspaper?” Jin propped his head up with a hand, staring at the boy. “The only real interesting part is the entertainment or sports section, but these can be finished in minutes. You’ve been staring at the same page ever since we got here.” Jin leaned over to see what Kazuya was holding in his hands, “Eh, classifieds?”

“Yep, I’m looking for a job.” Kazuya uncapped his red marker and circled another job posting he was interested in.

“Another job?” Jin looked at the boy in surprise, “But you’re already working at Kazen on days when you don’t have classes and some other odd days too.”

“Yes, I am. That’s why I’m looking for another job, so I can work during the afternoon's and evening's on days where I do have classes.” Kazuya explained patiently, his eyes never leaving the page.

“But that would mean working full time when you’re still a student!”

“That’s what I'm hoping to do.”

“That’s crazy! There’s no way you’ll still have time for your studies if you work so much.” Jin blurted out.

“I’ll manage.”

“No, you won’t! You’ll just make yourself sick.” Jin retorted, getting slightly mad at Kazuya’s stubbornness. He already witnessed the boy in an ill state once already, and he didn't want to see it again any time soon. “And what do you need so much money for? The money you get from working at Kazen, along with the tips, should be enough for you to spend on yourself.”

Jin looked at Kazuya’s blank face. When Kazuya remained silent, Jin continued in his berating.

“…Did you go all out on your credit card on a shopping spree or something?” Jin asked with suspicious eyes.

“What? No!” Kazuya laughed a bit at Jin’s accusation. As if he could spend money so carelessly.

“No? Then what is it?”

“…I need the money to pay for my tuitions fees, plus room and board.”

“Tuition fees? Don’t your parents take care of that for you? I’ve never seen you having to bother about tuition fees before.”

“About that…” Kazuya's fingers combed through his strands of hair nervously, “You know how my parents are getting divorced, right? They’ve been pretty caught up with the legal stuff and everything, so they haven’t had time to deal with little things like school fees.” Kazuya paused a bit, looking to see what expression Jin wore before the latter gestured for him to continue. “And I don’t want to bother them with even more problems and add tension to the strained atmosphere. I don’t really want to go back home much anyways.” Kazuya said the last part softly, more to himself than Jin.

“Go back? Ah, you live in a dorm, I remember.” the man recalled the first time he stepped into Kazuya's dorm room, the boy sound asleep as he carried him on his back.

“Yeah, so that gets added to the tuition fees too; the cost of living in a dorm. I might move out of the school dormitories to find a place to rent. That way I could lessen the load. The rent would have to be cheaper than what I currently pay for room and board, but then there aren’t really many decent places for such low prices. Especially if I want somewhere remotely close to the university.”

“When’s it due? Your tuition.” Jin inquired after he understood the situation better.

“Latest is by the end of the month.” Kazuya informed the other, stress starting to settle in once again at the reality of everything going wrong.

“End of the month? That’s less than two weeks! You’ll never be able to earn enough money in such a short time-span.” Jin exclaimed. “I can lend you enough to deal with the tuition first.” Jin said slowly as he carefully thought it through. People helped others with their debts and the like everyday, so it's not like it'd be strange for him to make an offer to the boy. “...And then you pay me back with your earnings from Kazen in parts.”

It's not that the man wouldn't have minded just giving the money to Kazuya, but just handing over such a large sum of money isn't something your average person could do. Others had taken advantage of Jin countless times because of his perks, but he knew Kazuya wasn't the type to do something like that. It felt good to be able to have someone to accept him for who he truly was, to be able to see past the whole 'heir to Nishi Records' title, or in this case, to not see it at all.

“What? No, I can’t take your money!” Kazuya shook his head at the man's idea.

"You’re not taking my money; you’re going to pay me back eventually. I wouldn’t let you just run away with my money anyways." Jin chuckled, “Besides, how else can you pay for your tuition in time?"

“I was going to ask for an advance pay from my employer.” The younger boy explained.

“And how many employers would do that for someone who’s just started working for them?” Kazuya fell silent at Jin’s reply.

“Exactly. Now then, it's settled.” Jin decided when the other boy didn’t say anything back.

“You can’t just decide things for me.” Kazuya spluttered indignantly. "Why is he doing this? Why does he always feel compelled to help me? It's not like I can't take care of myself. I've always done so before I even met him, so why does he act like I'm some sort of kid?"

“Hmm, I have an extra room in my apartment that I use as storage. If I move my stuff out, you can use that.” Jin ignored Kazuya and continued voicing his thoughts. “Of course, I’m going to charge you rent, but it’d sure be a lot better than any crummy apartment you’d get with such low rent.”

“No, no, no!” Kazuya nearly yelled out in frustration. This definitely isn't the way he wanted things. He wanted to be able to take care of himself, but apparently he couldn't even do that. All Jin ever tried to do was help him, what had he ever done to help Jin? It felt like all he did was worry the other.

“Why not?” Jin pouted at Kazuya’s outburst and refusal to go along with his 'brilliant' plans. The boy was making it quite clear he didn't want his money, which partly made him happy since it just reassured Jin's view on the boy, but then it partly distressed him. He wanted to help Kazuya because he was so grateful for him, but Kazuya wanted nothing to do with it.

“I don’t want to be indebted to you, that’s why.” the boy explained.

“But that’s what friends are for." Jin stated what he thought to be the obvious. "If I have the money and am able to help, then I’m willing to lend a hand.”

“I'm not friends with you so you can help me with my financial problems,” Kazuya sighed. “That's definitely not the reason I befriended you.”

“And I know that. What’s wrong with helping out a friend in need? I don’t think you’re taking advantage of me or anything.”

“But it's going to seem like that! I don’t want people to think that I only became friends with you simply because you’re the heir to Nishi Records!” The younger boy stated exasperatedly.

“Well, if I’ve got such a status, it’s an unspoken rule that friends are allowed to make good use of it.” Jin replied simply, unaware that what he had been trying so hard to keep away from the boy had just been spoken out in the open. Of course, by friends, Jin meant actual friends. Not the suck-ups who tried to get on his good side purely for their benefit.

“There’s no way you’ll be able to fix this problem, so just be a good boy and let me deal with it, alright?”

“Still, I don’t really think-“

“Remember how I stayed with you that whole night when you were dealing with your parents' divorce?” Jin reminded the younger boy of the incident that had happened a few weeks prior, furrowing his eyebrows a little. “You owe it to me for pulling you through.”

“Yes, and I’m grateful,” Kazuya sighed and his cheeks held a tinge of color as he wondered how Jin doing him a favor became the reason to let him help with his problems yet again. “If there’s something you want in exchange for that, I could treat you to dinner or-“

“No.” Jin stated firmly, cutting the boy off once again. "Accept my help."

“Huh?”

"In exchange for my keeping you company that night, you’ll accept my help with no further protesting."

The boy remained silent as Jin waited patiently for his reply. When the server appeared with their orders, Kazuya focused on the food on his plate, seemingly deep in thought. When the server had left, Jin began to inquire the boy about what he thought about such an agreement, but was met with silence. Jin decided to just let the boy be and began to dig into his own meal as well as silence fell over the table once more.

“Hey, sorry, I’m going to have to run now. The manager’s waiting for me in front of Kazen right now.” Pi had walked back to their table and now stood behind Kazuya’s chair.

“But your food’s just arrived. Don’t you want to eat it first?” Jin gestured to the salad that Pi had requested for.

“No time. Why don’t you finish up and then ask them to wrap it up for me. I’ll eat it afterwards when you’ve come back.” Yamapi leaned over to grab his jacket from the back of the chair, preparing to leave.

“Wait, I’m almost done.” Kazuya finished his last sip from his drink, wiping the corners of his mouth with the napkin. “I’ll come with you.”

“Hm, you’re done? Sure.” Pi stood in his spot, waiting for Kazuya to gather his belongings. “I guess we’ll see you later at Kazen then, Jin”

“What, both of you are leaving?” Jin looked up from his drink, surprised that the youngest of them was leaving him as well. “But Kame, you haven’t answered me yet.”

By then, Yamapi had already walked out of earshot of their table, intent on getting to their manager soon to prevent her from waiting. Kazuya turned around to face Jin at his outburst, giving him a small smile as a reply before turning back and heading towards the direction that Pi had took off.

“He still didn’t answer me.” Jin muttered to himself, as he settled back down to finish the rest of his lunch. “Hey, those two left the bill for me!” he finally realized as yet another thought crossed his mind. "W...Wait a minute..." Jin stuttered as he recalled a particular part of the conversation he just held with the younger man. Apparently he was too caught up with trying to get Kazuya to agree to his request that he hadn't processed a key sentence.

"I don’t want people to think that I only became friends with you simply because you’re the heir to Nishi Records!"

"Nishi...? KAMEEEEEEEEE!"

>>Chapter 07

A/N (Aisu): Kurii wrote the majority of this one... she FINALLY finished it LOL XD Sorry it took a while~ Hopefully the next chapter will come out a bit faster... :X

We've actually gotten fanart for this fic and Meet Death... so I'll post the Priceless one here and then with the next Meet Death update I'll post the other~ xD

PRICELE$$ love <3 by skettlre