Chapter 2: Kurahashi Time
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Hinano Kurahashi was worried.
Ever since the start of the new class, things have already started showing some visible improvement. Yukimura-sensei was a really kind and caring teacher and the same went for their octopus teacher, which they nicknamed Korosensei. For the first few days, her classmates have already started showing a lot more energy and were giving off more positive vibes. Compared to how they were before, this was a definite improvement, but in those few days Hinano noticed one thing in particular.
Namely, that one student who sat at the back of the room by himself.
She would always see him there before classes begin and he would always stay behind and wait for all of them to leave before he did.
He just sat there quietly, it's like he was trying be invisible to not get close to any of them. Hinano wasn't exactly certain, but she felt like that's how all of them once looked like. Students who just wanted to stay invisible and keep their heads down because they were the lowest of the low in a school of geniuses.
Was that what he thought? Did he think that no matter what happened he would still be that same student?
That even with Yukimura-sensei and Korosensei's help or even if the whole class was starting to become more lively he could never change?
Hinano didn't want that to happen.
Those were the thoughts that ran through her mind as she made her way up the mountain to their classroom. She didn't really think about the boy much before, but now she was determined to help him. She could do it!
Once she made her way to the campus, Hinano managed to see the boy through the window. She could barely see his face, but that was to be expected, since he always wore the hood and face mask.
No matter how she looked at it, every fiber of his being practically said "Please don't look at me" or "Invisible"
She was making her way to the school building, when she suddenly felt a burst of air and dust scatter a few feet away from her. She looked to the left and smiled, when she saw Korosensei carrying Yukimura-sensei and Akari as he landed on the grassy field.
"Good Morning, Senseis! Akari-chan!" Cheered Hinano delightedly, her earlier thoughts temporarily stowed away.
"Oh, Good Morning, Kurahashi-chan. You're here early" commented Aguri cheerfully.
"hehehe, I just wanted to do something before class began, that's all" looking at Korosensei curiously, before gazing up at the sky to look at the white trail leading to the ground, she continued "Do you always fly to school at mach 20?"
"Of course, we do, I can't have my beloved girlfriend and precious sister-in-law commute when I can escort them myself, can I?" Announced Korosensei happily.
"Well, it's definitely faster than walking to school or taking the car, that's for sure" Akari said cheerfully.
"It takes about 5 seconds to get from our house to the school" Aguri said cheerily. Hinano simply giggled in return, before her previous thoughts caught up with her.
"Yukimura-sensei?" Hinano said, as she looked at the boy with concern.
"hm?" Aguri prompted curiously.
"Do you know who that boy is over there?" Hinano asked and Aguri simply followed her gaze.
"That's Minato Fuma, why do you ask?" Aguri asked curiously as a look of concerm crossed her features as well.
"Well, it's just that...he's been kind of a recluse since classes began and he always keeps to himself. I'm just a little concerned." Hinano spoke her mind in concerned tone.
"Now that you mention it, I haven't really seen him talk to anyone in class before...come to think of it, I don't think I ever noticed him until right now" Akari said as she looked at the boy as well.
"Yeah, he is a bit of a recluse...I wonder why that is?"
"I think it has something to do with this" they all turned their attention to Korosensei, who held up a newspaper in front of them.
On the headline it read "Fuma Compound goes up in Flames. In the ashes: One 12 year old heir" and written on the article was a retelling of a tragic incident of how a renowned noble family in a nearby provincial island suffered a fiery death when their compound mysteriously went up in flames. It went on to say that the 12 year old survivor was the only survivor and thus, the heir of the clan.
"It's highly likely that his reclusive behavior is a result of either his traumatizing experience or survivor guilt. Either way, it's been roughly two years since that incident and while it's not my place to judge, I can't say that this is healthy for him." Korosensei said seriously.
"That must've been painful for a 12 year old to deal with" said Aguri quietly. In a way, Aguri felt like he let her student down by only finding out about this now. She just assumed that his gloom was only because he was in the E class, so she didn't think anything special about it. She should've known this from the start.
"With that kind of back story its no wonder he looks so gloomy all the time" Akari said, while casting looks at the boy in question.
Hinano, for her part, simply stayed quiet as she fixed a concerned gaze at the boy. So now she knew that his behavior is likely because of the trauma he experienced and not because he believed that he was destined to be the low man on the totem pole and that he could never improve.
However, none of that changed the fact that she still wanted to help him, if anything this just enforced her desire to do so. She would not turn a blind eye on her classmate, especially one that experienced something so tragic.
The question was how. She already decided on befriending the boy today, but it wasn't out of pity. She wanted to help him because he was their classmate and she didn't like it when one of her classmates acted so distant, like they were all alone in the world.
That's when another one of her ideas popped up.
"I know, why don't we take him out to lunch to a country of his choice!" Cheered a suddenly upbeat Hinano. "I'll bet he'd love to soar through the air at Mach 20 and travel across the globe"
"Nurufufufufu, a grand idea, but make sure that he'll agree to it of his own free will, alright Kurahashi-chan?" Korosensei said cheerily.
"Mhm, I'll go tell him, right now" With that said, she started skipping towards the classroom happily and cheerfully.
This was going to work she was sure of it. All Minato needs to do is come out of his shell is a bit of quality time with their senseis and classmates.
"Do you really think its a good idea to carry around 4 people with you, while you soar at mach 20, Ryushi?" Aguri said with concern, when Hinano was out of hearing range.
"It should be no problem and besides Minato could use a little bit of sunshine and who better to give it to him than innocent little Kurahashi-chan." Said Korosensei fondly.
...
This was not good.
When Minato registered their presence and the fact that they were taking a while he read their lips to decipher the last part of their conversation.
He wasn't all that excited for the orangehead to carry out her plan. It may have just been his social anxiety and Dandere-ness acting out, but he really wasn't all that eager for social conversation or whatever that orangehead was planning. Nothing against his classmate though, he just...didn't do well with social encounters.
Even when he did interact with others, it mostly consisted of him trying to be invisible and trying to avoid having to say/do anything.
When he did say/do something, he usually stuttered, froze like a deer in the headlights, and panicked.
That's why he was currently clinging to the wall directly over the doorframe as if the floor had turned into lava. His eyes were half-panicked and half-determined as he shakily maintained his grip. This was a very good blindspot, since people rarely looked up. Also, they had only started with the basics when it comes to training, so she likely won't have the observational skills that would allow her to detect him.
He had full confidence in his hiding spot. That girl was not going to fin-
"Fuma-san!"
Minato almost yelped and lost his grip on the wall, when the cheery orangehead suddenly slammed the door open and called for him cheerily. He had no idea she could be so excitable and energetic.
"Eh? He was here a minute ago and I didn't see him leave...so where is he?" The girl mused to herself as she started wapking towards his chair.
He started sweating nervously at that. If she were to turn around then, she would see her and this little stunt of his will likely earn him more than a few questions, which he really didn't want.
Quietly and quickly, he started climbing down from his perch. He used the top of the door as a foothold, while the girl obliviously started searching his chair.
He grabbed onto the top of the door with his hands, before letting his body drop vertically. Once that was done he let go of his grip and landed quietly on the floor in a crouch.
He quietly went outside and-
"You're taking this reclusive behavior to a whole new level, I see"
Minato practically jumped out of his skin when the voice of a certain octopus-sensei suddenly sounded from behind him. He turned around in a whirl and found Korosensei gazing at him with his usual unreadable expression.
"It's a little rude to hide from a cute little girl like that, don't you think?" Asked Korosensei coyly and suggestively.
"I-I'm n-not h-hi-hiding" said a panicked Minato.
"Really now? Because I, and literally anyone else, would beg to differ" said Korosensei evenly.
"I-I d-don't d-do well wi-with t-talking...or w-words" explained Minato meekly. It wasn't the real reason he isolated himself, but it was the truth nonetheless.
"Be that as it may, don't you think it would be better for you to have people around you? Especially given what happened 2 years ago?" Minato froze at that. "I'm not forcing you into anything, I'm just saying that it might be good to have some friends and that Kurahashi-chan would be a good start with that, wouldn't you agree?"
"..." Minato stayed quiet as he let Korosensei's words sink in.
He never had a problem with being alone. For as long as he could remember he was always the loner in every school he went to, the only people who actually talked to him were his family. He had no problem with keeping other people at a distance, though. As a matter of fact, he preferred it that way.
However, he was alone not because other people thought he was a deliquent, crazy, evil or he was just a boy who wasn't worth talking to, on the contrary, more than a handful of people had approached him with a hand of friendship. He accepted some of them, if only because it was easier than politely refusing and thinking of and voicing out a reason, but the end result was still the same; he distanced himself, until he was left alone.
It was for the best, really. All those people, the main campus students, only saw the good in him, they only saw Minato, the poor innocent orphan, who had lost his family at a tender age. The defenseless little boy that needed protection and was looking for attention.
If those people caught a glimpse of Jack, the serial killer-like madman who hunts down and slashes up criminals, lowlifes, and scumbags, while leaving behind horrific and bloody crime scenes, then it was guaranteed that they would regard him with nothing but fear in their eyes and run for their lives, like he was some sort of monster.
In retrospect, it wasn't all that inaccurate.
That's why he kept to himself, because they would just leave him behind and abandon him, the moment he revealed his other side.
People reached out a hand to him because what he showed them was Minato, someone harmless and innocent. They only liked him because he showed them the side of him that they wanted to see.
The orange-haired girl with green eyes, who was currently searching for him was no exception.
Hinano Kurahashi was the very definition of innocent. If there was ever someone who would have the worst reaction towards Jack's...tendencies and if there was ever someone he would be better off not getting close to, then it would be her.
"In this class, she's the last person who should befriend me" he replied cryptically without his usual stutter as he pushed past him to find new hiding spots.
He had a feeling that she won't stop at this.
...
Okay, so her morning plan to wake up and make her way to the classroom didn't go as well as she thought it would, since the boy in question mysteriously vanished from his seat, which was really odd because she was certain that she saw him through the window before entering the classroom.
However, she wasn't going to allow one failed attempt to get her down or to make her give up.
She had spent the rest of the morning looking for Minato Fuma in the whole sattelite campus, the lab room, the home ec room, the faculty lounge, the classroom, and even the sports shed with no results whatsoever.
It was almost like she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, like she always narrowly missed him and that he was hiding right under her nose.
She even decided to check the woods, but still couldn't find any trace of him.
In the end, she just tired herself out and the thought that Minato might be trying to avoid her didn't even cross her mind.
Walking back to the classroom, she came across a very concerned-looking Aguri who eyed her with an inspecting gaze any caring mother would be proud of.
Aguri did seem to think of her class as her children in a way.
"Couldn't find him, huh, Kurahashi-chan?" Said Aguri sympathetically as she rubbed the girl's head. Kurahashi nodded at that.
"I feel like I just keep missing him by just a few seconds, though" replied Kurahashi weakly, which earned her an encouraging smile.
"Don't worry about it too much and besides, we could still catch him during lunch, can't we?" Aguri said cheerily, albeit with a conspirational tone.
Brightening up immediately and lighting up cheerily, Kurahashi beamed. "that's right, he won't be able to get away from us then"
Giggling happily, Aguri replied. "We should probably get to class first, though. We're already late for homeroom."
"Right!"
With that made their way to the classroom. Once they did, Kurahashi couldn't help, but pout as he eyed Minato Fuma, who looked and acted like he had always been in his seat and had not moved an inch, suspiciously. She took her seat as she continued to stare at the boy, which seemed to make him squirm.
He wasn't going to get away come lunch time.
Eying the two of them, Aguri giggled to herself quietly.
If Ryushi was here, he would've jotted down this little moment in his notebook and spun it around into the beginnings of his latest romance novel.
Maybe she would tell her beloved little octopus about this later, but right now she had a class to teach.
...
As soon as Aguri told them all that it was time for lunch, Kurahashi practically spun around in her seat to look at Minato Fuma.
Her shoulders slumped in disbelief and her jaw dropped to the floor, when she saw that the chair at back was devoid of any occupant and that the window was open with a rope hanging in view, which was slowly retracting.
That was almost impossibly quick.
Rushing to the window, Hinano jumped out and grabbed the rope, which went taut for a second, before the rest of the rope fell to the ground...
"AHHHH!"
...along with the boy she had been looking for, who looked rather dazed and dizzied.
"Fuma-san, are you okay?!" Asked a concerned Kurahashi as she knelt down beside the dazed boy. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pull you down like that. Are you hurt anywhere?" She clapped her hands together apologetically as she looked the boy over.
"Kurahashi-chan, what happened is he alright?" Asked a concerned Aguri as she looked out the window. At this point, the whole class had looked out the window to see what the commotion was all about.
"I think he is, he doesn't look like he's hurt, but I can't be sure" Hinano said uncertainly. "He looks pretty out of it"
"Not to worry, he's just in shock, he'll feel a bit disoriented for a while, but otherwise he's fine" Korosensei said reassuringly as he appeared in the classroom in a burst of wind. "He probably wasn't expecting for the rope to be pulled back"
Kurahashi felt a slight twinge of guilt at that, but before she could mull over that too much, Fuma suddenly jumped to his feet.
Before she could let out a sigh of relief she statted coughing when the area in front of her was suddenly covered in a thick cloud of smoke.
A smoke bomb.
By the time, the smoke was blown away by Korosensei, Minato was already gone, which would've been really cool, badass, and mysterious...if it weren't for the white footprints that led straight to the forest.
Everyone sweatdropped, before Hinano stood up and ran to follow the trail leading to the forest.
...
Hiding in the thick foliage of the forest near the school, Minato sobbed in disbelief and shame at the sight of the white footprints that he left behind for anyone to follow.
If his Mom and Dad were still here they'd probably sweatdrop at the prints and chuckle awkwardly.
He didn't always fail at running and hiding, but when he did, it always seemed pathetic.
"Fuma-san?!"
Hearing his name being called out by the telltale voice of his orange-haired classmates, Minato froze on the spot and prayed to every God, saint, and supernatural forces he knew, that the girl didn't find him.
Because if she did, then she'll interrogate him about his little stunts.
Something he preferred to avoid.
As if to mock his silent plea, his stomach suddenly growled and grumbled loudly, which prompted Kurahashi to lool at his general direction.
To Minato, it looked like her eyes were staring right at his though, which made him more than a little anxious.
Finally, after a few more tense moments, Kurahashi shrugged slightly before she turned away and started walking to a different direction.
Minato let out a sigh of relief, before his stomach grumbled again.
Putting his hands on it sheepishly and embarassedly, he closed his eyes for a second to wait for the sound to stop, before he grabbed his bag and started jumping from tree to tree expertly.
His family did teach him parkouring and this wasn't much different, the movement just came to him so naturally, that it was slightly peculiar, but he didn't waste much time on that, he had bigger fish to fry...or at least stomach to feed.
Once he arrived in a secluded clearing in the forest, he nodded before he jumped down to the ground and sat on the grass. This area was deep in the forest and his classmates probably won't venture this part of the forest.
He was safe now. No one will likely disturb him now.
Reaching into his bag he took out his bento and started eating his cooking, while listening to the serene sounds of nature. His bento was half-finished, when a familiar squawking sound made him look up.
He let out a small smile when a crow, descended from the sky and perched itself on his right shoulder. Minato scracthed the black bird's head fondly.
"What are you doing here, Quoth?" Asked Minato in a meekly, albeit fondly.
In response, the black bird simply squawked at him, before it started pecking on the lid of his bento box.
"I see, so you're hungry too, huh?" He mused, before reaching into his school bag. He then pulled out a baggie full of bread crusts. "Sorry, I'm fresh out of carrion today, will this do?"
Quoth simply squawked again, before she started pecking at the crusts inside the baggie.
"You're not a very picky eater when you're hungry, huh?" Minato mused quietly, before going back to his own lunch.
It was times like these that Minato could really relax. He felt like he was trapped in his own little world, which he didn't mind one bit. He prefered things to be this way, in all honesty. Being alone was, ironically, a path to freedom for him.
He didn't have to worry about keeping his secret from anyone, saying the wrong thing to the wrong person, or the looks of horror people would give him. He was free. He felt like he could let loose in this place and not have to worry about a thing.
He was like a crow in the night. Practically Invisible, while he carries out his own agenda.
At least, that's what he wanted.
...
Somewhere hidden in the trees, Hinano Kurahashi smiled brightly as he saw Minato with a crow perched on his shoulder and with a smile on his face...not that she could see or anything, but his eyes gave the impression that he was smiling.
Watching him for a few more moments, Hinano wondered if she should still approach the little recluse with the offer of having lunch with them.
A hand lightly touched her shoulder, making her jump slightly, before she turned around in whirl.
Aguri Yukimura was smiling at her fondly. "Let's give Minato-kun a bit more time. It's clear that immediate company is not something that he wants at the moment, so let's take this one step at a time."
Hinano smiled back at her homeroom teacher. "You're probably right, Sensei"
With that, both girls headed back towards the classroom.
Looking back at the small clearing and at the boy that got smaller and smaller as they got closer to the classroom, Hinano couldn't help but think:
Looks to me like someone enjoys being in nature.
And if that were really the case, she could tell that they were going to get along fine.
Now, only if she could just draw him out of his shell long enough to show him that.
The year was still young though, she had all the time she could possibly need.
...
Fun little Trivia: Crows are actually associated with death and the afterlife. In some cultures, they're also believed to be the go-betweens from the worlds of the living and the dead, like messengers or couriers.
Any thoughts on this chapter?