Disclaimer: I do not own the Kagerou Project. That is Jin's department not mine. This is a work of fanfiction. FANfiction.
This is a terrible day. I couldn't sleep the night before, so now I am extremely exhausted. I have to walk to school, and the fact I have to go to school in general is terrible. I moved schools so I know where nothing is. And coupled with the rain makes it even worse. Luckily I did grab my umbrella today. There is no way today could possibly be any worse. Of course I probably jinxed myself by thinking that now it's definitely going to get worse. Five minutes later I take a step onto the school grounds.
"Takane, wait up!" a voice calls. I don't turn, but a second later I hear a 'move' and I am pushed aside. I end up falling flat on my face into a mud puddle. I hold tightly onto the umbrella. Now I am more than a little ticked off.
"Takane…" the same voice calls out sadly. I sit up with a glare wiping my face off with a sneer.
I am not happy with this Takane person. "I'm so sorry for her." I look up to the male emotionlessly. He has black hair the same shade as mine, and coffee colored eyes. I take his hand and he pulls me up. "I'm Haruka." the boy smiles. He holds tight to my hand as I try to take it back. I finally relent with a sigh.
"I'm Shintaro." I reply begrudgingly. He gives my hand a shake then lets go of it happily. Then he looks to the school and at the sky.
"Shintaro we should get to the school before we get soaked more than we already are." he grabs my wrist and drags me along to the school after him. I follow, but really it's not like I have much of a choice regardless. We get to the steps of the steps of the school and he lets go of my wrist. I shake my umbrella off and fold it up. I look inside and walk into my new school. Haruka follows after me.
"Which way is the office?" I ask. He looks at me like he is just realizing that this is my first day here.
"Here I'll show you." he smiles twice as bright as before. He grabs my wrist again and leads me to a window. Then smiles at the lady behind the counter.
"Hello Haruka what can I do for you?" the lady asks kindly with a smile back.
"Hello Miss Laine," Haruka greets. "We have a new student."
"So we do." she turns her attention to me. "Hello there dear. Now who are you?" she inquires.
"Shintaro Kisaragi." I tell her. Her eyes light up.
"Oh, you're the new exchange student I've heard about. The one that is a young genius, correct?" she muses. I nod.
"Yes, that's me." I tell her boredly.
"Perfect. We have your schedule, and seeing as how you and Haruka are already friends he can show you around." she tells me as she moves things around searching for the paper with my classes on it. A second later she holds it up triumphantly and hands it to me. I take it from her and look it over. It was nearly perfect.
"Miss, there must be a problem. I didn't sign up for this class." I point to the physical education class with a calm tone.
"We were looking at your records and to graduate you need a half credit more of a physical education class, so we took out one of your elective classes and put that in there instead." she explains.
"There is no way that I can get out of it." I state rather than ask.
"That is correct." she nods. This couldn't be better.
"How about I show you around now?" Haruka chimes in.
"Might as well." I frown. The physical Education thing is just one more thing to add to the list I'm keeping.
"Have a nice day Miss Laine." Haruka gave the lady a smile, and grabbed my wrist for the third time this day. I swear he either likes physical contact or he's just odd. Maybe a combination of both.
"You too." Miss Laine smiles back with a wave.
"Where to first?" Haruka turns to me and asks. I hand him my schedule.
"You chose." I state impassively.
"Oh hey the councilors scheduled our P.E. class at the same time." Haruka notes.
"Great." I speak sarcastically. I hate things that involve physical movement.
"What's that voice for?" Haruka inquires phrasing the question wrong.
"What voice it's just how I talk." I shrug.
"You always have sarcasm in your voice then?" he looks at me questioningly. I give a small nod.
"Near to it." I confirm.
"That's good to know." he smiles at me.
"What about you. Do you always sound so sickeningly happy?" I shoot back passively. I let my curiosity take over there.
"Almost always." he tells me. I shake my head. Go figure. "Well let's give you an introductory tour of the school and your classes now." he leads me through the school and about one hour and a half later he finishes the tour.
"That's all there is to it." he tells me. I look at him with overwhelmed eyes.
"Did I go to fast?" he asks. I quickly regain my composure.
"No, but it's a pretty big school…" I frown.
"Don't worry, I'll be there to help. And I'm pretty sure you and Takane will get along so she could help." he reassures me.
"Isn't that the name of the girl that pushed me aside? What did you do to her anyway?" I question.
"Oh that. You see she told me that she had feelings for me and I told her I only see her as a sister. Then she tried to run, and that's when she pushed you aside." he retold.
I couldn't help it, a quiet short laugh burst from my throat. My hands went to my mouth to stifle anymore unwanted noises. It's been awhile since I laughed. Not since Ayano moved away. That girl was pretty funny. Then we moved away a while later. I met his eyes again after I replaced the emotion. He was frowning at me.
"Sorry. I couldn't help myself. Girl confesses to guy and guy 'family' zones her. I find it a little humorous." I explain myself.
"It's not funny though. It hurt her." he replies sadly.
"She'll get over it." I insist. For her to be too hurt over it sounded stupid to me. Then again if it's love then it's not stupid to the person. A ringing reached my ears. Again Haruka grabs my wrist and drags me through the crowded hallway.
"I will be here after class to help you to your next one." he promises me and leaves. I watch him go and walk into the classroom. I take a seat. One away from the window in the back row. It was my favorite spot. A year ago Ayano sat in the chair closest to the window. That was before her family had to move because of money problems.
People start filing in. They all seem more irritated than I would expect from normal students. I don't know why they'd have reason to be, nor do I want to. I just stay sitting with my head setting on my hand. Class hasn't even started and yet I am already bored. Slowly the class passes. At the last few minutes I think my torture is over, but I get called on. I answer correctly, because this stuff is pretty easy.
I am overjoyed when the bell that signals class is over rings. I pack away my things and walk to the door slinging my backpack over my shoulder. I am greeted with a bright smile. Haruka is standing there like he promised he would be.
"Now to gym." Haruka drags me off again. We get to the gym and Haruka drags me over to the teacher. It feels like he's assessing every part of me.
"How fast can you run?" he asks. The way he says it is different from how people speak, so he has to be foreign.
"Not very fast." I tell the truth. I'm not the healthiest person around…
"Better not be being humble." he grumbles.
"It's the truth." I confirm.
"We'll see about that." the couch mumbles. I frown, and before I can get another word in Haruka drags me off.
"Do you have clothes?" he asks. I raise an eyebrow and gesture to the clothes I am wearing. "Gym clothes I mean." he corrects. I shake my head.
"Nope. Just what I have." I shrug.
"Well you're in luck that I keep an extra pair in my locker." he smiles.
"Oh joy." the sarcasm drips from my voice.
"What's wrong?" he questions. I set a 'really' type of look on my face.
"I hate physical activity." I state.
"You still have to take it." he smiles opening his locker and handing me a change of clothes. I hold the clothes up to my body.
"I think they're gonna be too big." I point out. They would end up draping over my body.
"They will work though?" he asks. I think it over for a second. I shrug my shoulders.
"They will." I reluctantly.
"Great! Let's get changed." Haruka suggests. I take off my shirt to replace it with the other shirt. I didn't have to worry about my stomach showing. It went safely to the middle of my thighs. Next go the pants which I place next to the shirt. I put on the sweat pants and pull the ropes as tight as they go and tie it off. I have to roll up the legs so they don't get in the way.
I turn to look at him. His face is pinker than I remember. "Have a fever or something?" I ask grabbing my shoe and slamming it on my foot and tying it. I repeat with the other shoe before he answers.
"...No…" he mumbles. I walk over to him, and place the back of my hand over his forehead.
"You're warm though. Are you sure you don't have a fever." I could tell that there was a crack of concern into my voice.
"I don't have a fever." he insists. I open my mouth to argue that, but he grabs my wrist and pulls me into a hug. "Thank you for your concern though." he whispers into my ear. My face turns a pink shade. He pulls back to smile at me. I stare at his eyes trying to figure out the meaning for doing this. A minute later he is pulling my out of the locker room and into the gym. It's a co-ed class and the girls are gossiping some with guys and hanging off of them. Haruka draws my attention to a girl with twin black pigtails that's glaring.
"Takane!" he yells drawing attention from almost everyone. The girl turns her glare towards him.
"Haruka." her tone is cold and even. He lets go of my wrist to give her a hug. Or attempt because she pushes him away crossing her arms. "Go die." she glares. I see tears well up in his eyes.
"Hey you idiot apologize to him right now." I tell her with ice in my voice.
"And why the hell should I." she growls.
"Because if you don't then I'll be forced into drastic measures." I spoke in a tone full of confidence, but not overly so. Honestly I know it was a bluff I couldn't do anything.
"Why should I? He's the one in the wrong." she crosses her arms.
"From what I've heard, he told you how he feels. You're the one acting like a child." I reasoned. She turned a fierce glare on me.
"Why are you taking his side. You don't even know him." she argues.
"True, but it's logical to take the innocent parties side instead of the guilty's." I reply. That was the only thing I could think of to reply. I grabbed Haruka's wrist, dang he's rubbing off on me, and pulled him to the other side of the room. I let out a breath, and took a look at Haruka. His smile is wider than I've seen it this far. He hugs me tight.
"Shintaro, you're so nice." he tells me.
"No I'm not." I argue.
"You stood up for me without even knowing me very well." he hugs tighter. I am about to reply when the first name is called. He pulls away and listens for his name. The coach has us do running after attendance. First it's a nice easy jog. Haruka stays with me even though I know he could go faster. Then the coach calls out sprint. I try to push myself into a sprint seeing as how Haruka is already way ahead of me.
The pant leg got in the way of me running and I fell onto my face, because of said evil pant leg. I slowly stood up, and my hands went to my pockets. I nonchalantly walked to the wall where everyone else was. It was quiet for a while even the teacher didn't dare say anything. That quiet was broke by laughter that happened. Everyone was laughing except Haruka, who was busy tending to the small mark on my cheek. I let them do as they pleased without saying or doing anything.
Then came dodge ball where Takane hit me in the face on purpose. Class was soon about to end so he had us go change. I redressed into my clothes and folded Haruka's clothes that he lent me. Then I handed them back to him. I ate lunch with Haruka and suffered through the rest of my classes. Finally the last bell rang.
I have a small tilt to my lips. I wipe it away as I gather my stuff to go home. I step to the door, and look around. I see no Haruka and my mouth deepens to a frown. He must have reached a decision that I could find my way out safe enough. I shook my head with a shrug and I began the short walk home. Not a minute into my walk and my phone is already vibrating in my pocket. I reach in to pull it out and do so easily. I tap in my pass code to look at the message from Haruka.
'Shintaro it's Haruka. Could we hand out this weekend?' I read My fingers type out a sure then I put it away. What the hell was going on today. Ever since I met that guy I've been conscious about trying to be cool. Is he affecting me that much? I let out a sigh. Either that or the heat was getting to me again. I like that idea. Deep down I know it's not the reason why.
I'm pretty sure I've fallen at least a little for the guy. It's not impossible. He didn't let me out of his sight, and he managed to fluster me. He is a nice guy. Added to all that he's not too bad looking either. I should probably tell him at some point so I don't make things too awkward between us. I look up from the ground and my musings to see my front door.
I open the door calling out a simple I'm home. I sigh when no one answers and get a soda from the fridge. I full smile forms at the sight of my favorite beverage. I take it and walk to my room. I head to my computer to finish up the amateur music pieces I have. I work on them until dinner, and some more after dinner until I'm exhausted.
I repeated this routine with small changes until Friday came around. Takane has been hanging around with us even if she does dislike me. The last bell rang releasing all of us overworked students. I packed up my stuff in the normal fashion. Oddly enough Haruka isn't standing there when I walk out of the room. I walk a bit farther into the hall.
"Shintaro!" that's all the warning I get before I'm enveloped in a hug that almost knocks me off balance.
"You need to give me more of a warning." I scold for the upteenth time this week. He laughs at that.
"Sorry." he smiles not sounding sorry in the least. How did I fall in love with him? Maybe because he's handsome, kind, cheerful, quite affectionate, and an all around great person. Great now I sound like a lovesick little girl… I need to stop letting Momo convince me to watch those TV soap operas with her…
"Shin-tar-o." Haruka punctuates each sound with waving his hand in front of my face.
"What?" I ask a little embarrassed to be caught with my guard down.
"You were daydreaming." he says it cheerfully.
"Sorry." I look away with a frown.
"Don't worry I do it all the time." he chimes in.
"Here how about we just go to my house now." I replied leading the way. He walks beside me making small talk until we get there. He is looking at my house with a smile. I motion him inside after going there myself. He walks in and follows me to the kitchen.
I call out my usual I'm home. This time I know I won't get a response. Momo's out on a date with her girlfriend and Mom's getting groceries. "Want something to drink? We have soda, water, milk, coffee, and tea." I offer.
"Water." he returns. I head to the sink and grab a glass for him. I fill it up after that I hand it to him. I go to the fridge to grab myself a soda.
"Thank you Shintaro." he thanks taking a big drink.
"No problem you are the guest after all." I dismiss it opening my soda. It makes a welcome hiss, and I take a drink of it. After my drink I look to Haruka and see his glass is empty.
"Would you like some more?" I point to his empty glass. He shakes his head.
"No thank you." he sets the glass down. "Hey Shin what do you do in your spare time?" he asks sounding genuinely curious.
"I mess around on the internet and or compose my own music." I truthfully reply.
"Can I hear your compositions?' he asks hopefully.
"I guess, but they're not that good." I sigh.
"I bet they're wonderful." he insists. I just shrug. He will see soon enough. I lead the way to my room and motion for him to sit on the chair.
"Don't get your hopes up." I warn as I hand him the headphones. I wiggle the mouse and click my music stuff. I play him the most recent one I have. Normally I wouldn't care what people thought about my stuff but I am a little more self conscious around Haruka. I don't even look at his reaction while the song is playing. I wait until the song is over to look back at him. He sets the headphones back on my desk and looks at me.
"Shintaro." he starts with a flawless poker face not giving away anything. "You were being too hard on yourself." the second he finishes his sentence he smiles brightly.
I blink, "What?" I ask dumbfounded.
"It was absolutely amazing." he states. I shake my head.
"No it wasn't." I argue. He pouts for a second, then grabs my face.
"It was amazing." he repeats close to my face now. He was too close, much too close for normal standards. I felt my cheeks get a faint dusting of pink on them. I wanted him to lean just a little bit closer, but I must be extremely stupid to think he would do that.
"Do you believe me now Shintaro?" he asks softly. I can feel his warm breath fanning out over my face.
"I… guess…" I reply. He releases my face happily. 'Stupid Haruka.' I think to myself.
"Good." he says it just as happily.
"What about you Haruka, what do you do in your spare time?" I ask a bit curious at what he does.
"Here I can show you." he takes a sketchbook out of his bag. "Okay sit down." he tells me. I take a seat on my bed. I patiently wait for him to flip to the right page. After a few pages he holds it out to me. On the page is a perfectly realistic sketch of a video game character.
"That's pretty cool." I try to too let too much amazement slip into my voice. Seriously I have to seem cool.
"Thank you." he smiles.
"What else do you have in there?" I ask. He flips through it again, repeating the same process as last time. I stare in wide-eyed amazement. This picture was of me dozing off during gym.
"I've also drawn pictures of Takane and her video game character." he explains. I compose myself while he flips through it a third time. He peers at the paper for a second and nods once. "Shintaro you can't look until I tell you." he states.
"Okay." I shrug. I close my eyes so he knows I won't look. He sets the sketchbook in my hands slowly.
"You can look at it now." he tells me. His face is oddly serious like he's expecting the worst out of this. I look down to the sketchbook. "I had problems getting the angle right, the shading is a bit off, and I couldn't get the facial expression or the hair style just right." he explains quickly.
I stare for a few seconds not exactly processing it. The second I do my eyes go wide and I get red in the face. This sketch had to be my favorite. Haruka used his perfect style to draw him and me kissing. I looked back up to him.
The serious expression faded and he cupped my face. "Sorry it's a little creepy right?" he seems a bit embarrassed.
"Only if it's a little creepy that I really like you." I mumble looking away.
"Really?" he asks hopeful.
"Really." I confirm.
"Then, may I?" he whispers. My face goes a bit redder at the thought.
"I guess." I state. He leans forward until our lips are touching. My eyes slowly fall shut as I kiss him back. It's not romantic in the sense movies make it seem to be. It's inexperienced and clumsy, but to me it's absolute heaven. I finally got to kiss the one my heart wanted, and that made it all the better. He pulls back a second later.
"We'll get better." he tells me optimistically. "I love you Shin." he smiles.
"I love you Haruka." I reply with a small smile of my own. Damn see what he's doing to me. I'm going to get all mushy gushy... I guess it won't bother me too much as long as it's with him. He leans in again and our lips meet a second time. It's still inexperienced, but I would have to agree with Haruka we will have plenty of time to get better.