Yoichi's teacher had his feet propped up on the desk as usual, the boy taking his seat in the front row before class started and dug his notebook out of his backpack to get ready for the day.

He had walked in along with Yuichiro and Shinoa, the other two taking their respected seats on the other side of the room just as the tardy bell rang. They were loitering around the entrance of the classroom in the hall, talking about the movie Shinoa had gone to see that weekend before they were ushered inside by a passing teacher.

"All right," the man at the front of the room had lifted his legs and dropped them to the floor, standing from his seat to take his place in front of the blackboard, "I know it's Monday and you all want to kill yourselves as much as I do, but due to the syllabus I was forced to hand out at the beginning of the year, it's time to begin our long-awaited group projects."

There were collected groans throughout the room, the raven-haired man rolling his eyes at them. "Yes, I know, torture. I'm the one who has to grade your pieces of shit, after all." He cleared his throat and picked up the chalk stick before scribbling 'Groups' on the board behind him. "However, I am merciful enough to let you pick your own teams of three. You will all be responsible for your own part of the project or points will be deducted from your individual grade so don't think you can get out of being productive." He aimed his last words at the boy sitting in the back whose head was dropped in his hands and staring blankly at him.

"Whatever, Guren."

"Ichinose." He corrected, teeth grinding together and turning his attention back to his writing. He hated dealing with the second years so early in the morning, but this was his life and he wasn't about to let some sixteen-year-old ruin his day yet. "Now, I'll go down the front of your rows and that person gets to pick two people of their choice. If you don't like who you get, tough luck."

Guren began the selection by starting at the farthest row to the right until they worked their way down and closer to him with each passing minute. Yoichi was last, being the first one in the furthest left row and he could feel his palms sweating. He looked back and Shinoa and Yuu gave him hopeful looks, each of them smiling at him.

Mitsuba was next, her pigtails bouncing with the turn of her head. She was scanning the classroom and only five people were left to choose from, Shinoa and Yuu included. "I'll pick... Shiro and..." She idled, tapping her finger to her lips as she thought, finally making eye contact with the girl near the middle. "Shinoa."

Yoichi's smile faltered a bit when he heard her name, but she supposed it wasn't all bad. He still had Yuu and whoever was left to be in their group so it was okay.

Guren scratched the chalk and scribbled their names next to Mitsuba's, moving his hand below at the only blank space on the board. "And Yoichi's group will have Yuu and Kimizuki." He took a step back to look at his hard work, admiring the list before walking to his desk and pulling out a stack of papers.

Yoichi could hear Yuu slump in his desk, the boy turning around again and seeing his friend give him a lazy thumbs up, as if saying he was relieved they were together, but not so much with Kimizuki.

The tall student wasn't known to be a people-pleaser and his unfriendly demeanor often left the other kids with a bad impression of him, thus never bothering to strike up a conversation or sit with him during their breaks. Yoichi had never seen him interact with anyone longer than a few minutes, and even then, it was only about school work, so he hoped that'd be enough to get them through the project together without any incidents.

Said boy was sitting two seats behind him, his arms crossed and staring at him without a care. The girl between them was short enough so that his head towered over hers and he could get a full view of his expression when he offered him a quiet nod and grin. Kimizuki didn't answer back, he just kept staring at him until Guren's voice caught their attention.

"Your projects will be chosen at random based on whatever paper I decide to pass out to your group leaders." He let them pick their friends, he wasn't about to give them total freedom of choice. "You will have a full week to complete this assignment and will be presenting your work on Monday of next week, so I don't want to hear any excuses if it's late or incomplete."

The papers were shuffled in his hands and he moved down the rows, setting a sheet down at every front desk until Yoichi was the last, scanning the paper he'd received and blinking. His group was going to perform a historical skit in front of the whole class? It was odd, considering his teacher taught Chemistry, but he guessed everyone else's were as random as his was.

"You may now break up into your groups and discuss for the rest of the class period." Guren didn't even finish his sentence before the kids were already out of their seats and crowding around each other, the man scratching the back of his head and yawning. While they were distracted, he walked over to the classroom door and left, shutting it behind him as he made his way to the teacher's lounge for a refill of coffee. Maybe Shinya would be there to keep him company for a while until class was over.

Yuu raced over to Yoichi's side of the classroom and leaned over his desk, not bothering to pull up a seat to engage in a discussion properly. "Dude, what did we get?" He snatched the paper from Yoichi's hands and read the paper anyway, making his question kind of pointless. "What, we gotta put on a play?" His eyes narrowed before thinking, realizing the advantage. "At least we don't have to write a report or anything. Acting out something seems pretty easy."

"Well, we do have to write our script down on paper." Yoichi glanced over when Kimizuki sat in the seat behind him, the desk belonging to the other girl now empty and free to be taken. "And we do have to research historical figures if we're going to do anything remotely accurate."

"We should do the Incident at Honnoji."

"Yuu, everyone knows about that event, it won't be interesting."

"It'll be easy."

"You just want to swing a sword around."

Yuu grinned and struck a pose, an imaginary sword in his hand as he swung his arm back and nearly hit an unsuspecting kid in the back of the head. "C'mon, I can be the legendary Mitsuhide and battle Nobunaga to the death!" He pointed at Kimizuki and used his other arm to extend the invisible sword near his throat. "You can be him and I get to gut you open."

"That's not..." Yoichi sighed and slumped in his chair, taking the paper back from him that was now crumpled in his fist from playing around and smoothed it out on his desk. "Besides, there's three of us. What role am I going to play?" He didn't want to reenact Nobunaga's death and just stand there without a character and force Kimizuki to die for the sake of Yuu's heroics.

"You can be Hideyoshi Hashiba and slay me afterwards."

"We're not doing this, Yuu."

"Then what do you suggest? Do you have a better idea?"

Yoichi looked down and shrugged, not sure if he did or not. There weren't enough events in Japanese history that they could summarize in just a handle of minutes and with only three people. Maybe Yuu had the best idea.

The student turned in his seat to address Kimizuki, who had remained silent through the debate and wondered what his input was on the topic. "Kimizuki, do you have anything in mind?"

He adjusted his glasses and glanced down at the paper for their group, humming in thought. "I don't mind whatever we pick, but that skit would actually be the easiest since we don't have to do too much research to explain. For timely convenience, I'd probably go with his idea."

Well. Yoichi would have thought he'd put up more of an argument, since Yuu's ideas didn't exactly equal brilliance in most cases, but maybe Kimizuki was more understanding than he originally anticipated. It was probably his constant frown that made him hard to approach.

"See? The telephone pole likes my idea." Yuu shot his fist up in the air and Kimizuki clicked his tongue.

"Don't call me a telephone pole, dumbass." He leaned back into his seat and crossed his arms, his glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose just slightly with the movement. He didn't bother fixing it.

Yuu rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to say something probably not witty back when his phone vibrated in his pocket and he took it out to read the text. He crackled a smile and Yoichi immediately knew who it was.

"You probably shouldn't ditch school so early in the morning." He tried to be the voice of reason but he knew Yuu was only going to shrug him off and do whatever he wanted anyway. He'd tried to stop him too many times in the past so this wasn't anything surprising.

"Dude, Mika just invited me over to play this new game he got. Am I just supposed to ignore him?"

"Yes, because some of us actually have responsibilities." Yoichi knew Mika was home schooled and Yuu would often skip part of school to sneak over to his house while the rest of them were slaving away in their textbooks. Guren knew about his escapades more often than not, but his guardian usually just scolded him after he returned and would leave it at that.

"Hey, it's not like I don't do my work. I just do it later than everyone else." Yuu tapped on the screen and replied to the text, pocketing it again. "How's this? I'll work on our script while I'm over there and you guys can make the props after school."

Yoichi didn't have time to argue about it when Yuu dashed across the room to grab his bag and notes, stuffing them inside and slinging the bag over his shoulder. The other had expected him to walk out the door but Yuu had turned around and moved towards the window of their classroom, opening it and swinging his leg over the sill before crossing the other side and waving at Yoichi.

The change wouldn't affect anything, it only meant that he'd have to take the longer route to jump over the school gate. He supposed it was the better choice, considering the chance that Guren or another teacher was out in the halls to catch him, but Yoichi wouldn't stop worrying about him regardless.

At least they were on the first floor.

"Now that he's left," Kimizuki spoke up after they had watched him leave, the student looking a bit more relaxed, "what are we supposed to do?"

They only had about twenty minutes left of class before their next teacher came in, so he was going to have to rely on Yuu to start their dialogue on his own. They had all week to work on it, but he had a feeling Guren wasn't going to give them time in class to work after today. He was just one of those teachers. "I guess we'll just work on the props, like he said. We'll have to have swords if we're going to do battle."

"Make them out of what, paper?" Kimizumi motioned to their desks. "We don't have much to work with."

He had a point. Paper weapons weren't very easy to make and he wasn't sure how they were going to build swords using notebook scraps. "We can use paper towel rolls and tape them together or something. Use cardboard for the armor, stuff like that."

Kimizuki squinted at him before he sighed, looking down at his lap in thought. "I have volleyball practice today after school, but I know my mom has a lot of empty boxes somewhere in the house we can use." He was hesitant on the next part, speaking slower this time. "We can hang out there and work on the project."

Yoichi hadn't expected the offer, only thinking that he'd have to scavenge through his garbage for empty paper rolls before he'd heard him speak. "Whoa, are you sure? I mean, I don't want to impose if you're busy with practice." If anything, Yoichi's house was the best bet for group projects. His home was big enough and Yuu had always said the atmosphere was rather welcoming.

"It's fine, as long as you're okay with my schedule." Kimizuki looked out of his element right then, Yoichi watching as pink dusted his cheeks and he was barely looking at him. "Or, if you have strict parents or something. If you're not comfortable, we can-"

"No, your house is fine." He smiled and waved him off, hoping that his words would calm him a bit. "I don't mind waiting for your practice to finish, I usually stay after school in the library before going home. We can walk together and I'll just let my family know I'm staying over for a while." He actually liked a change of scenery every now and then, and working together was a sure-fire way to finish their project early.

He only nodded, clearing his throat and sitting up in his seat again.

Yuu was still absent for the rest of their classes, his seat in the back vacant and their last instructor had finally wrapped up the lesson before the bell rang for dismissal. Yoichi stole one more glance to his friend's seat before accompanying Shinoa to the library to study. He and Kimizuki hadn't spoken much after the assignment was given from their Chemistry teacher, and the taller student had left without a word towards the gym.

"What project did you get?" Yoichi was starting conversation, fidgeting with the strap of his bookbag as they walked together and pushed open the glass door, searching for seats near the non-fiction section.

"Guren gave us a science experiment for the week. The paper literally said, 'Just involve something with fire for an A on the project.'"

"You're lying."

Shinoa pulled out her phone and showed him the picture she took of their group paper, handing it to Yoichi to see for himself.

"You're not lying."

"Mitsuba said she'll gather the ingredients from her mom's work tomorrow so we can make it in the lab or something. What were you stuck with?"

Yoichi sighed and slumped into the cushioned seat, tossing his bag on the table. The library was technically closed after school, but they never locked the doors so the kids who stayed after could still get access to books until the campus was off limits for the evening. "We have to do some historical skit. Yuu wants to do the Incident at Honnoji."

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "A grade schooler could do that."

"That's what I said. Kinda, anyway." He plucked a random book from the shelf and flipped to a page, not even reading the text. He didn't have anything to study for, only waiting for Kimizuki to be finished with practice. "No one is really against it, though. It does seem the easiest compared to other options and we pretty much have the majority of our props planned out already."

Shinoa pressed her foot against the leg of the table and pushed, rocking on the back of her chair slightly. "Is that Kimizuki kid going to be any help or is he just going to be all standoffish? He doesn't seem like the type to put up with people like Yuu."

Yoichi rested his chin in his hand and tapped his finger against his cheek, looking over at her with widened eyes. "Actually, Kimizuki seems pretty nice. He doesn't look like it, but I'm pretty sure he's just shy or something. He offered to help me make our swords today at his house." He recalled the blush on his cheeks but didn't dwell on it much. He most likely wasn't used to inviting someone over, he guessed.

"Ohh," Shinoa grinned and her expression was something Yoichi knew all too well as a teasing one, "Kimizuki likes a little 'sword play' at his house."

"Shinoa, no."

"Shinoa, yes."

"Nice kill, Kimizuki!"

Yoichi had bid farewell to Shinoa after an hour of sitting in a room full of old books and he figured his classmate would have finished practice by now. Walking to the gym so late in the day was a weird feeling for him, but he went on like it was normal and took a peek through the open doors to find one of the taller students praising the pink-haired boy from across the court.

Kimizuki nodded and stood back to the net, his body crouched down and his arms ready to snatch whatever was heading towards him at the moment. Yoichi snapped his head to the right at the sound of a player slamming a volleyball towards the other side of the net, a shorter boy reaching to the ball and passing it to another teammate of his.

The gym was louder with the sounds of shoes on the court and shouting from various places, some from the students and others from the coach by the benches. No one seemed to notice his presence by the doorway until they had called for a break and he had caught the attention of a third year. "Are you waiting for someone?"

He was really tall and muscular and Yoichi had a mini panic attack when his booming voice pierced through the gym and echoed against the walls. He could only manage a nod, his own voice meek and lost while his hands gripped his bag straps out of fear.

The older student cracked a smile Yoichi didn't expect and he patted him on the shoulder a little too hard. "We're just about done with practice here. You can sit on the benches until we clean up, we don't mind."

Yoichi wanted to tell him it was okay, and he'd rather not, but he was already taking off his shoes and putting them in the cubby before entering the gym in only his socks. The coach didn't look quite as terrifying so Yoichi took a seat by the edge and watched as the break was over and they were back to their mock game.

It didn't take very long, Kimizuki's team winning by two points and it was the end of the set. Preparing to sit through the cleanup and wait for the other boy, he was surprised to find Kimizuki excluded from the work and talking to the same third year from earlier. His eyes met his from across the gym before turning back to his senior and nodding. He was walking over to him now, sweaty jersey and all.

"I'm ready when you are."

Yoichi stared at him, noticing his faint labored breathing and how his frames shone under the bright lights of the gym. "Aren't you going to change?"

Kimizuki shook his head and started walking towards the doors, clearly ready to head out. "No need, I'll just do it when I get home. No point in getting my school uniform dirty."

Yoichi stood up from the bench and followed him outside, retrieving his shoes and slipping them back on before they left. The sidewalk was rather empty now that school was over and there weren't students loitering or crowding around each other on their way home. That was another reason why Yoichi would stay after, so he wouldn't get trampled by the rush.

"My house isn't far from here, just a few blocks." They were in the middle of a nice neighborhood, houses lined up and fences surrounding them. He never walked this way from school before, his house located in the opposite direction and farther away than Kimizuki's home, apparently.

He had texted his parents earlier so they wouldn't pick him up, alerting that he would be staying at a friend's place for his school work. He just hoped they wouldn't ask if it was Yuu's house or not.

Yoichi vaguely wondered what Kimizuki's family was like.

"Sorry if the captain scared you."

The brunette blinked, his shorter legs pausing in trying to keep up with the other's pace. He couldn't see Kimizuki's face too well but it was obvious he was trying to avoid looking at him.

"He said you looked like a deer in headlights when you came in and he actually wanted to apologize."

They were both quite for a moment before Yoichi laughed, genuinely relieved at the confession. "He just surprised me earlier, running up to me like that." He didn't think his fear was obvious up until now. "He seems nice though. Not a lot of captains let other students interrupt practice, or steal their teammates for projects." Yoichi didn't miss the faint sputter Kimizuki tried to cover up at the comment.

Kimizuki put his hands in his pockets and chose to remain silent for the rest of the walk, only nodding for Yoichi to come inside his yard before he opened the gate. Not wanting to be rude, he had to jog up and beat him to the front door, too, before letting him in and closing the door behind them.

"My parents aren't home yet, so we can go up to my room to start on the project. I'll see what I can find in the garage for the swords." Kimizuki took off his shoes next to Yoichi, changing into the slippers provided and tossing him an extra pair by the doorway. "Just... make yourself at home."

Yoichi watched as he turned the corner and slipped into, what he guessed was, the garage. Without any further instructions, Yoichi eyed the stairway and started ascending, feeling as though he was imposing on Kimizuki's personal life despite given permission to go into his room.

He only began panicking when he reached the second floor and noticed the number of doors that were lined in the hall, all of them identical. Which was his room? He couldn't tell, nothing indicating that any of the doors led to a bedroom that belonged to a high schooler.

He took a step forward and guessed at random, choosing the second door on his right and slowly cracking it open. He was expecting a messier room, perhaps sports posters or other stereotypical teenage room decor. Instead, he was caught off guard by pristine walls, a large bookshelf, and a sudden heavy weight against his midsection.

"Welcome home!"

Yoichi staggered from the doorway and nearly tripped, his arm shooting up to pull the burden off him before looking down and seeing a head of pink hair. A tiny Kimizuki? The question never had time to linger when he was met with big eyes that looked just like his classmate's.

Those eyes widened and the smile the child had only faltered before it grew back and Yoichi could feel those small arms circling even tighter around his sides. "Brother brought a friend over!"

Whatever initial embarrassment the younger girl had about hugging the wrong person was clearly non-existent at this point, Yoichi afraid that her shouting was going to attract said brother over to witness the odd and mistaken reunion.

The footsteps coming from the stairs already gave him his answer.