This is a Seraph of the End fan fiction. This is an A.U. where the characters are in a regular high school setting. I did try to make it on character as possible, but since it's an A.U., they will probably be a bit OOC.
Yuichiro Hyakuya was not a social person. Not since what happened to his family four years ago. After the orphanage was burned down via a fire and he was the only survivor. Everyone claimed the fire was an accident, but he had never quite believed that such a large scale fire could be so fatal. Due to his belief, he hated people who attacked others without cause. He had skirmishes with bullies every now and then because off it. Since the fire, he had been taken in by a man the name of Guren Ichinose.
The second year held his chin in his hand as he stared out the window and sighed. He really hated school, really. But he tried to get at least decent grades because when he didn't Guren would go on about how much of much of a pain he was. And he did have a sense of gratitude to the man who has taken him in, though he wouldn't admit it.
Gazing from the window to the front of the class, he noticed two unfamiliar faces. One was a short girl with lavender hair braided back with a bow and a small brunet boy. The teacher introduced them as Shinoa Hiragi and Yoichi Saotome. Yu only paid half attention until his heard that he was in charge of showing them around.
"What?! Why me?" Yu protested.
The sensei responded calmly that since group projects were coming up and he didn't have anyone, and they didn't as well, it made sense for them to be shown around by him as well. And, the only empty seats in the classroom also happened to be to his direct left and behind him. The two new students strolled up to him. Yoichi bowed politely.
"My name is Yoichi Saotome, nice to meet you, Hyakuya." Yoichi smiled. Maybe this won't be so bad. Yu thought.
"And I'm Shinoa Hiragi!" The girl added smirking playfully. I take that back. Yu frowned.
"Why are we even introducing ourselves? We already know each other's names." He pointed out.
"Yeah, but it felt like the polite thing to do..." Yoichi remarked sheepishly, before the sensei encouraged them to take their seats. Yoichi was next to him, while Shinoa was behind him. Yu knew that she was going to be annoying the second she opened her mouth. His beliefs were founded when she began to poke at back of his seat, and ask questions. He was already annoyed. Ugh. She was enjoying irritating him too.
"Hey Yu~ where's the gym?"
"Do you know when the next field trip is?"
"How many second years are in this school anyway?"
Finally, he has enough of her questions. "Yoichi, would you help me out here?" He spoke in a hiss.
"Umm... Maybe it would be better to ask questions after class?" Yoichi urged, laughing nervously. Even though they were in the back of the classroom, they could still get in trouble for talking. Once seeing the two of them teamed up against her, she pouted a bit and gave up.
Class ended a bit later, and Yu turned around to face his two partners. "Tour time!" Shinoa smiled.
Lazily, Yu stood upright. "Alright, well, keep up with me." As the trio made their way around the school, the black haired boy realized he was becoming more comfortable with the brunet than he had been with anyone for a while. It was strange to him. Why was he feeling this way? He had only known him for a few hours... Maybe it was because he was kind, gentle and easy to get along with?
They took a break when they reached the science lab, as Shinoa claimed a bathroom break. As the duo set down their schoolbags, Yoichi was making conversation, when he accidentally bumped into a vial and it spilled into a burner used for experiments. The substance in the flask was flammable and a flame briefly shot up before dying swiftly. The brunet's eyes widened in horror and he fell backwards with a yelp.
"Some idiot forgot to turn off the burner." Yu shook his head bitterly, clicking it off. Stupid idiots like them are the reason fires happen. He kneeled down to see Yoichi's face was as white as a sheet. "You didn't get burned did you?"
"N-no..." He gulped and tried to regain his composure. Why is he freaking out this much? Unless...
"...Have you been in a fire before?"
His companion nodded grimly, tears filling his eyes and beginning to spill out onto his face. "When I was a bit younger, my sister and I were alone when it happened... A-and she didn't make it out."
"Oh." Yu mumbled. Is that why he felt so connected to him? It seemed Yoichi felt the same. After all, you wouldn't usually reveal something so personal to someone you just met. "The same thing happened to me." What the heck!? Why did I just tell him something that personal? He was usually a closed off person. Maybe it was the opportunity for someone to truly understand what he went through? Sure, Guren tried to help but there was only so much an outsider, who had never been in a fire, could understand.
From the sparkle in his eyes (or perhaps it was just tears) he thought Yoichi was thinking the same thing. "R-really?"
"Erm, yeah, but don't go around saying that."
"H-hyakuya..." Yoichi sniffled, before he sobbed and wrapped his arms around his waist, sobbing into his shoulder. Usually, he would push him off, but he didn't have the heart. Stiffening, Yu was not expecting this at all and uncomfortably reached for a tissue box. Just then, Shinoa returned and she mused. "Oh, what did I miss while I was gone?"
"None of your business." Yu snapped, handing the tissue box to Yoichi as he detached from him.
Shinoa grinned. "You didn't make the poor boy cry did you?"
"I-I didn't!" He insisted. "Listen. Let's just finish the tour alright?"
"Is Yoichi up for that?" Shinoa frowned, glancing at him with a more serious expression. As he calmed himself, the trembling of his body lessened.
"I-I'm fine..." Yoichi managed a weak smile. "Thank you, Hyakuya."
"You don't have to be so formal. First name is fine."
"Uh, okay, Yuichiro."
It didn't take long for the three teens to finish the tour and they went their separate ways. As they were walking, they realized all of them lived the same direction.
"Why don't we walk home together?" Shinoa suggested.
"Why?" Yu frowned, wanting to be alone for a bit.
"Because we're friends, silly."
"I don't remember agreeing to that."
"What? Y-you don't want to be friends, Yuichiro?" Yoichi's eyes drooped and he bit his lip, his gaze drifting to the floor. Oh crap, I don't want him to start crying again.
"That's not what I said! And I wasn't talking to you, Yoichi." Then in a gentler voice he added, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "...I wouldn't mind being friends with you."
The brunet smiled vibrantly while Shinoa placed a hand on her chest dramatically. "Straight to the heart!"
Rolling his eyes, Yu gave in. "...Fine, fine. We can walk home together." Well, at least Guren would be happy that he finally made a friend, he couldn't remember the last time he'd had one, or desired one. It didn't take long before he approached his dwelling, with a smile on his face. The idea of having someone who truly understood what he was going through was enough to make him smile.
Grinning, he entered and tossed his school bag on the floor. "You're in an awfully good mood."
Lost in his own world, the teen jumped and whirled around to see his guardian. "Geez Guren! Don't sneak up on me like that."
"I didn't. You spaced out." Guren defended. "Why are you grinning like an idiot?"
"I am not!" Yu snapped but his pleasant mood returned swiftly and he grinned. "I made a friend."
If Guren was drinking something, he would have spit it out because of that shocking statement. But he quickly regained his composure. "Took you long enough. So, who has the pleasure of dealing with you?"
"His name's Yoichi Saotome. I connected with him right away; it was weird, in a good way."
"Maybe it's because you're both weird." Guren shrugged, leaving him, though he was obviously pleased with the new development. He had told him several times that he needed someone his own age to hang out with, instead of just bugging him.