Disclaimer: Nope, don't own!
If there's one thing the students of Raijin know about their school it's that the two dominant forces at constant battle are named Heiwajima Shizuo and Orihara Izaya. Not a day would pass without a rumble (or three) between the two, what with Orihara's snarky comebacks and Heiwajima's poor temper. Amongst the crowd of gray students and teachers they both stood out, so it was easy enough to avoid being the victim of Orihara's mind games or Heiwajima's monstrous strength (unless you were slow and didn't move), but that didn't mean no one took note of, well, them.
Even if Orihara's sneaky tendencies and Heiwajima's outraged screams frequently haunted the school, no one could exactly discredit the others amongst their strange little group. For that's all the students and teachers of Raijin could call them: a group.
Kishitani Shinra was plain weird. And creepy. He went on and on about a girl he apparently was planning to wed (seriously, wed? At his age? The guy was nuts!) to anyone who would give him the time of day, then would start rambling about some sort of experiment he would just love to put Heiwajima through.
Yep. Weird and creepy.
Then there was Kadota Kyohei. He was level-headed, polite and actually really normal. That in itself was enough to convince every sane person at Raijin that there was something off about the guy.
I mean, what sort of sane person would hang out with three weirdos, right?
Right.
But, as stated earlier, the students and teachers of Raijin couldn't just ignore the group, even if they did go out of their way to avoid each and every one of the boys. There was just something so fascinating about watching them interact in an almost friendly way. But that couldn't be it, could it? No way three misfits and Kadota (the students and teachers weren't so sure as to call him a misfit, but they did think he was weird) could actually be friends. Especially since Heiwajima and Orihara openly declared their hate of one another.
Yet, even with that firmly in mind, no one could deny the...the evidence, if you will, of slight care in that group.
When Orihara caught a cold yet insisted on staying in class, Heiwajima didn't so much as raise his voice at him and even (begrudgingly) carried the raven haired teen to the infirmary when he collapsed from fatigue.
When Heiwajima struggled with his work, frustration and anxiety scribbled all over his fearsomely twisted features, Kishitani would cheerfully materialize beside him and would tutor the taller boy until he understood (though there were a few calls for some ways to pay him back...under a scalpel and microscope).
When Kadota was teased lightly by those brave (or stupid) enough, Orihara would flash them a dangerous smile, a hint of a hidden blade flickering in the dull light of the classroom as he shifted his hand up to his mouth mischievously in a farce of a chuckle.
When Kishitani found himself in a pinch over class chores, Kadota had sighed, but had agreed to take over for him so the bespectacled teen could dash off for a "date" as he had called it.
Yes, there was...care. Not soft, meek and generally accepted care. It was rougher, the kind some may think typical of growing boys, but even then their care was so unnatural.
But that didn't make it any less real, did it? Even if it wasn't normal, the boys didn't ignore the usual esteems of friendship...
Even if structure and bodily damage had to be brought into the mix.
Author's Note: Early birthday present for my good friend ArAnCaR No. 6! Hope you don't mind the shortness and take away the Raijin "love". Also, believe it or not, but the title isn't random!