A\N: So this just sort of hit me out of nowhere... and was like... 'HEY BRO. WRITE ME.' It's a speculative thing... something that was swimming around in my head... So, here ya go!
He hated it. Hated it with all of his heart.
He hated it when people discounted his genius. When they mocked him for it and pretended it was just an everyday skill. It drove him insane! He was a genius for goodness sake. He deserved better.
The girls at the gate fawned over his looks, and Kaname-sama only ever focused on his bad behavior. His own cousin was embarrassed by him, and no one else in the Night Class cared at all.
He hated the way no one ever told him anything. How he was always kept out of the loop, doing his own thing. It was as if he was the unpopular kid, but he was more famous than any of them! And he had worked for it. But no one respected that.
Kaname-sama would always be his hero, but honestly, as a dorm leader what did he do? Slap some nobles, look impressive, step through the gates near the front. Rima and Shiki… they were born beautiful, so being a model was the natural, easy option. Very unimpressive, if you asked him. Ichijo was the bubbliest, silliest vice president he had ever seen, and he certainly wasn't cut out for the job. Akatsuki and Ruka just… looked nice. That was really all they did. But he was a genius—and he wasn't born that way. In fact, he was born quite the opposite of that. That didn't matter to him, though, and he decided from a very young age that he wanted to be a genius. And so he struggled and fought and bled, and now… here he was. At a prestigious school, scientists kissing his feet, television specials every other night.
But the people that mattered most to him didn't care. Then again… maybe that was because they didn't know. He had never told any of them. How could he expect them to be impressed when they had no idea…
He had never been good at reading, and math had been an utter nightmare for him. But he didn't let that stop him. Sending letters to Kaname-sama was like a heart attack on a page because he was always worried he made a spelling error somewhere. Maybe they thought when he wrote his name over and over as he doodle on a page that he was conceited. Really, he was just happy he could spell it right. And perhaps they thought he did math at every opportunity to show off, but he was only relieved that he could still do it.
He was a genius now. He had earned his position. It wasn't natural vampire smarts, and it wasn't dumb luck. He got to where he was against all odds, despite the fact that no one supported him. Some days were harder than others, but for the most part, the battle was over. But there were still days he woke up and was terrified that he was back at square one. That something from the day before hadn't stuck in his mind right. It was a nerve-racking thing, because he didn't want anyone to know.
Because people are cruel. They are mean. They are nasty, and dirty, and low, and spiteful, and hate-filled, and just plain horrible.
And he could only imagine the ridicule if they knew…
Hanabusa Aido was dyslexic.
And no recognition was worth that.