Although I sat in the middle of the room, my once comfortable spot became a place that caused me great aggrivation. Prodigy sat somewhere behind me and the only thing that kept me sane was the thought that he was smart enough not to start anything while in the school, amongst more than three thousand students.
The seconds ticked by all too quickly on the clock at the front of the class as I watched. It was safe to say I was terrified of the moment when the bell rang. Showing around the Prodigy? An enemy who had caused me mass amounts of pain and grief? Ok, so it was mostly his teammates, but how could he be any different? They were all the same to me.
That seconds hand had to be moving at least twice the speed it was supposed to be, I frowned. Too soon, the bell would ring. Far too soon. We never did anything in homeroom, it was just to collect things and something automatic every Friday, so there was nothing to distract my thoughts from Prodigy.
Nervously I cast a look over my shoulder to the well lit corner he was sitting in. He was sitting eerily still, almost as if he was tense as well. His whole body looked rigid. He was staring out the window, not in my direction at all, which made me feel a little better.
Suddenly a loud drone came from the speakers four times, signaling that class had ended and that I would need to be within arms reach of Prodigy. His dark eyes turned to me then and for a moment there was connection, a mutual feeling of dread that reverberated through us both.
I was still holding my bag from the beginning of class, so I stood now hesitantly approaching the younger and unquestionably more dangerous teen. One small, pale hand reached down to grab the dark blue and black bag that he was carrying before standing quietly.
With a sigh, I finally broke the tense silence between us. "What class do you have, in what room?"
He blinked at me, just once, then lowered his gaze to the paper in his other hand. "Science in room one one o' four."
I frowned thoughtfully at that, then nodded. "Well... Follow me then."
Not even waiting to see if he was following, I turned to the door. We had the same science class, too. I could have sworn he was younger than me, yet our classes were virtually in synch. How had that been arranged?
I heard the soft tapping of the soles of his shoes behind me, even over the talk around me in the hall. I had become adept at distinguishing sounds like that, filtering out what I didn't want to hear. Suddenly I stopped, causing Prodigy to bump into me-The hall was crowded, after all and if he didn't want to get lost, he needed to be close.
Was it possible that Schwarz had something planned? Maybe they had sent Prodigy here as a way to gain information about Weiß, or it could just be that they thought it would be the most efficient way to eliminate us. Get rid of me somewhere that my ability to defend myself was lower than usual, then slowly pick the others off one by one!
With a short glare in no particular direction, I grabbed Prodigy's wrist and hauled him to the nearest bathroom, then shoved him into a stall, locking it behind me.
"So, what's the plan, Prodigy? Who thought of this clever little scheme?" I bit out, glaring at the smaller boy.
Blinking back, he shook his head slowly. "If this is some sort of mission, Bombay, I don't know about it. Schwarz just decided it was time that I get some social interaction."
His eyes remained steadily on me and even an idiot could have seen the honesty that lay there in the depths of his eyes. "So help me, Prodigy, if this is a trick..." I muttered, leaving the threat open to consideration.
"I have no reason to want to get rid of you, Bombay," he reasoned softly. "I only obey orders I'm given and I haven't recieved any to do with Weiß."
Softly, I sighed and nodded. "...Lets go then."
We made our way back to the hallway, then entered the science class. As I continued to my usual seat, a stool and work table near the back of the class, I noticed that Prodigy continued to stand by the door to the class. A thought struck me, then. Keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer.
"Prodigy," I called to him. His head turned and his eyes met mine. "You might as well sit here," I offered, gesturing to the stool beside myself. This was a little beyond my range of open-heartedness and even I knew it, but I figured that at least if he was beside me I wouldn't have to worry about an attack from behind or anything.
He nodded shortly and took the seat beside me, though a little hesitantly. So my offer was a little transparent... At least he agreed to it.
"My name isn't 'Prodigy' you know," he mumbled a little as he leaned the bag against the side of the stool. "People will get curious if you continue to call me that."
I had to admit, he had a point. "Naoe-san, then."
"Better," he nodded pulling out a small blue binder.
"...And I'm-"
"Tsukiyono-san, I know your name," he informed me, looking up. "You're not the only one who studies their oppone-"
"Don't. Look, if we're going to call one another by something that isn't a codename, we might as well try and treat one another like a classmate instead of an adversary, don't you think?" I paused after I said that, noticing even Prodigy blinked. That was the most ridiculous notion that had come out of my mouth since the first time I thought Aya-kun might've liked Sakura-chan.
We were both quiet for a moment, just blinking thoughtfully at one another. "...As long as you aren't suggesting we be... friends or something."
"...Look, even I don't forgive and forget that quickly," I mumbled, opening my own binder, and pulling out my textbook. Friends? With Prodigy? Uh huh... Right. Because that's so going to happen.