!Highschool Omake!

Maybe

Warning:
Mention of possible self-harming and physical abuse

"Are you sure you saw blood on that boy's sleeves?" Miyasha asked him again, her frown deepening as he nodded.

"It was near his arms." Rengoku explained, noticing how his other male colleagues had quietened down to let him continue, "When I asked him if he was hurt, he just squeaked and ran off to the men's washroom."

Miyasha hummed as she leaned on her chair, her lunch forgotten on her desk as she mulled over his words.

"Senpai, how does Takami-kun perform in class?" She asked randomly as her eyes shifted on all the three males in front of her, "And how does he usually behave in class if you don't mind me asking?"

"He's very meek and quiet." Uzui admitted as Rengoku added, "He is a good student! He doesn't like to participate in class activities much but he never scores badly in history!"

Giyuu shook his head and frowned as he racked his brain for any information on the mentioned boy, "He comes early to school— sometimes even before the gates are open."

Miyasha nodded and thanked them softly as she scribbled down in her register, her frown deepening by each passing minute as she sat up straight on her seat.

"Do you think he is self-harming?" Uzui asked bluntly, making the only female in the room jump as the rest of the teachers blinked at him in surprise, "I mean, that's what it sounds like, doesn't it?"

"Maybe." Miyasha admitted as she sighed deeply, "Although, it can also be physical abuse... I mean, I'm not sure. I might have to call him in for a session before I assume anything."

"That sounds really bad," Rengoku started soberly as he slowly pushed a pork bun he brought towards her, "But it would also explain his behaviour."

"Can you please elaborate, Ren-senpai?"

"Ah, he always seems so withdrawn during the class activities I conduct." Rengoku explained as Miyasha finally took the pork bun from his hand while he bit into his own, "He doesn't like touching others and almost always avoids sitting with others in lunch too."

"Yeah, he prefers individual art projects more than group ones too, now that I think about it." Uzui added as he took a bite of his own lunch.

"And for how," Miyasha bit into her pork bun as she gestured others to eat from her lunch too, "Long has it being going on for, exactly?"

"A few years..." Giyuu answered surprisingly, "Since he started studying here."

Miyasha stiffened at his reply, "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Then I might have to call him for the session today only. This sounds way more serious than it initially did." Miyasha commented as she hastily tried to finish her bun.

"What are you gonna do then?" Uzui asked as he noticed her finishing the bun and proceeding to rub her hands clean with a napkin, "I mean, after the session?"

"That'll solely depend on how the child responds to the session." She admitted as she took her notepad out of her drawer, "I'll make a slip for the rest of the classes he has today— can you please give it to his teachers and retrieve him for me, Tomioka-senpai?"

Giyuu nodded as he noticed her writing, his eyes wandering over to her strangely messy but big handwriting.

"Can we help in any way?" Rengoku asked as he heard the school bell ring, signalling the lunch period to be over.

"Not now." Miyasha smiled as she handed the slip to her blue-eyed senpai, "I will let you know if anything comes up— You already did help a lot, so rest assure, okay?"

Miyasha sighed as she locked her office, her head aching like anything as she exited the school.

The counselling session with Takami had been troubling, to say the least— the boy was meek and quiet, and deathly afraid of her calling his parents once she manages to somehow coax him into folding his sleeves up.

And oh Lord, his arms... those were a mess— fresh slanting cuts on the already scarred skin with the odd smell of some cream she didn't recognize. Miyasha was stunned, to say the least.

She couldn't help but heave another sigh as she recalled her meeting with the principal right after the session.

Oyakata-sama had almost the same reaction as her when she relayed the facts to him; instantly demanding her to inform the authorities before she suggested otherwise.

"What do you suggest then, Miyasha?" He had asked calmly, making her gulp as she explained her plan.

"Takami-kun doesn't want his parents to know about his session today, and I would rather like to respect his wishes." She informed hesitantly under his sharp 'gaze', "However, I was planning to tip off the child services I am in contact with about this— they have handled such issues before and would approach them with the required evidence."

"Are you certain about this?" He finally asked, "I don't wish any harm to come to the child, Miyasha."

"I know, Oyakata-sama and I assure you I'm certain of this. I've seen them work; in fact, I will take full responsibility if anything goes South."

"I hope it doesn't go South then." He said as he dismissed her.

And even though his tone was casual and calm, Miyasha knew better; he was as worried as her and his questioning made her feel that he still doubted her course of action despite allowing it.

'If he's waiting for the results, then I'll give him those.' Miyasha thought determinedly as she started walking down the footpath, the setting Sun painting her surroundings in varying shades of orange and red, 'All I have to do is call Yamagata-san and relay all the information I have to him. Maybe I should do it tonight only? I mean, the sooner the better, right?'

Miyasha nodded to herself as she planned out the whole conversation, her attention completely focused on her mental preparation as she failed to notice the incoming car honking at her or her name being called.

Giyuu honked twice at Miyasha, trying to get her to notice him as he drove slowly by the empty road— he even tried calling her name, but she didn't seem to respond to him, which he supposed was natural as she was walking quite a bit away.

Shaking his head, Giyuu finally decided to just park the car and approach her— which he had to do fast since she was speed-walking at this point.

He called her name a few times again as he got off; jogging up to approach her as she had her head in the clouds.

"Miya—" His breath hitched as she turned around and stumbled onto his chest, his hands automatically catching her by her shoulders as she cried in surprise.

"To-Tomioka-senpai?!" Miyasha called out in surprise as she straightened herself, her face warming up when she noticed how close his face was to her, "U-Um, wh-what happened?"

"It's late." He replied as he gently tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"E-Eh...?"

Giyuu gave her a small smile and side-stepped, "Want me to drop you home?" He tilted his head towards his parked car, making Miyasha blush again as she thanked him.

"You really didn't have to do it, senpai..." she softly murmured as Giyuu closed the door of the car behind her, the small smile still playing on his lips as he slipped through the driver's seat.

"It's late." He repeated once he started driving again, "And you were walking home alone, which isn't safe."

"Thank you, senpai." She replied awkwardly, feeling very shy as she noticed him still smiling at her while she mumbled out her address.

'He looks so beautiful when he smiles...'

"How did the session go?" Giyuu asked softly once silence fell, his eyes still on the road as he adjusted his position on his seat, "How did he behave?"

He noticed how Miyasha's face darkened as he questioned, causing him to frown as she answered him.

"It... went well?" She replied unsurely, the conflicted and heavy feeling returning from earlier, "Um, Takami-kun took it well, I suppose. He was very... um, terrified, to say the least, but did talk with me about his condition a bit."

Giyuu nodded as they stopped at a red light, his frown still present on his face as Miyasha continued, "He... doesn't has the best conditions at home, as I initially deduced, and was deathly afraid of word getting out."

"And his wound?"

"Not self-inflicted, if that's what you are asking about." Miyasha clarified as she looked out at the darkening sky from the window, "I tried asking him who inflicted that on him as I patched him up, but he refused to explain beyond his father being very... 'angry' in nature."

"Did you tell Oyakata-sama about it?"

Miyasha felt herself sigh again as the heavy feeling overcame her, "I did, and he wanted to inform the authorities but... but I stopped him." She felt his blue eyes staring at the side of her skull as she continued, "I suggested to tip off the childcare services instead, and that it would be better if they handle it than the school trying to interfere as it may not end well for the child. Not to mention, it would be better if it's anonymous, or else the parents might pull him off the academy, giving us no chance to even keep an eye on him."

"Are you alright?" Miyasha blinked at his unexpected question, making her sit upright as she stared at him questionably.

"E-Eh?"

"Are you alright?" He repeated himself, his eyes finally shifting from the road to focus on her, "You seem... down."

"Oh," she felt herself at a lack of words, not realizing Giyuu actually did notice her mood changes more often than she thought he did, "I'm sorry. I mean, I just, I don't know?"

Miyasha sighed as she rubbed her still aching head, "It's just, I want to help him so much. Takami-kun deserves so much better and those wounds... they just... they break my heart, y'know? I felt so helpless and useless, looking at his injuries." She gulped quietly, trying to calm herself before she started crying, "He sounded so terrified and was even shaking when he thought I might call his dad. And when I cleaned his wounds... He didn't even flinch."

Miyasha took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves as she continued, "He didn't even flinch, senpai. He... He said he couldn't feel the pain anymore— that he was... that he was used to it, and I..." Her breath hitched as she felt a hand caress her head gently.

Giyuu felt Miyasha's eyes on him as he gently patted her, his own chest feeling strangely constricted as he heard her wavering voice quieten down.

This wasn't the first case of abuse he had seen in his life— but the way she reacted and tried to help, it made him feel so... proud. Happy. Was it weird? Maybe. But he couldn't help but feel proud and yet, sad for her as he continued patting her for a few more seconds before moving his hand away.

Well, trying to move his hand away because she grabbed it before he actually could.

Giyuu's surprised expression greeted her as she caught his warm hand with both of hers, her face lighting up in a blush as she realized what she had done.

Blushing furiously, she slowly brought his hand back on her head and tugged at his fingers— she couldn't help but notice how big and warm his hands were, and that made her blush even more.

Giyuu wordlessly patted her again; his hands moving even more gently as he smoothed out her bangs.

"Thank you... senpai." Miyasha found herself leaning into his touch even more, "Thank you so much for being here with me. This means a lot to me, senpai."

"You're welcome." His quiet voice vibrated near her ear as she felt her eyes droop, his head pats aiding in making her feel even more sleepy.

Giyuu felt his heart skip as Miyasha's head ended up on his shoulder; his eyes focusing on her sleeping figure as he slowed the car.

After parking his car to the side, he carefully repositioned Miyasha in her seat, making sure her sleeping posture was comfortable enough— he didn't want her to feel any ache in her neck or back due to leaning on him. And while he did that, he couldn't help but caress her cheeks and softly brush away the bangs framing her face.

His heart skipped another beat as she mumbled out his name, apologizing for something he couldn't hear properly.

"Why are you sorry?" He softly asked once he realized she was sleep talking, his curiosity sparking over her mumbled words.

"Cause you ha' to go through it too," she mumbled out sleepily with a strange slur in her voice that made her seem very endearing to him.

"Go through what?"

"Abuse." Giyuu felt himself stiffen as she continued mumbling, "Mm sorry fo' 'at. Shouldn't ha' said al' tha' to you without askin' you."

Giyuu felt his heart stutter as he evaluated what just happened while staring silently at the sleeping girl in his car. After a while, he felt a chuckle build through his chest as he watched her mumble a bit more about a call and turn around in her seat while she said so.

"You're too kind, Miyasha." He softly murmured out the phrase he heard her convey so many times before, his heartwarming up as she leaned into his touch when he repositioned her again.

A soft smile stretched on his lips as he started the car again— they had almost reached his own house and as far as Miyasha's address went, hers was a few minutes away too.

He wondered absent-mindedly if he should pick her up in the morning too— would she mind if he asked her about it? Or would it be too bold of him to do so?

Well, Giyuu really didn't know.
To be honest, he almost never knew when it came to things related to Miyasha— even when it was his own self.

Although it wasn't because of his lack of trying— he did try to talk to his sister last week about this weird skipping of heart and warmness he started feeling ever since Miyasha arrived, but all his sister could tell him was that he might have 'feelings' for Miyasha; and even that between her continuous squeals and hugs as she announced how cute he was.

Shaking his head at his sister's antics, he truly wondered what kind of feelings were she talking about as he parked his car near what he assumed was Miyasha's house. She couldn't have been meaning... love, right?

It wasn't like Giyuu was not familiar with loves and crushes— well, he technically wasn't on a personal level, but he did watch some romantic films and many people around him acting or describing love. And he knew he didn't feel like that.

But, then again, it was still better than the alternative that the internet suggested— and it was apparently heart and/or digestive problems that he was sure he didn't have.

Giyuu gave out a silent huff as he turned to wake Miyasha up, the warm feeling in his chest returning as he gazed at her sleeping figure. However, before he could wake her up, her phone rang— making both of them jump as Miyasha fumbled to find her phone in the bag she was carrying.

"H-Hello?" Miyasha breathily replied, her still sleepy eyes scanning her surroundings before landing onto his as she blushed again, "Oh, good evening! And yeah, I, uh, just reached home, yeah."

Giyuu found his lips twitching as he noticed her straighten up and quickly trying to leave the car. He patted her shoulder lightly, making her look at him as he shook his head.

"U-Um?" She gave him a questioning stare as he signed her to take some time before leaving as she was still half-asleep.

Miyasha smiled gratefully at him before sheepishly replying to the person on the other side, "O-Oh, I'm sorry, can you please repeat that for me, Ren-senpai? I, uh, just woke up."

Something in his heart twinged as he heard her nickname for Rengoku, his smile dropping as she continued talking with their fellow teacher on the other end.

"Yeah, it went well." She replied as she leaned back onto the seat, the evening air cooling her down a bit as she absent-mindedly nodded to herself, "Yeah, I, um, I am sorry, but I hope you don't mind if I... keep the details confidential? I mean, it's not my thing to share and— yeah, yeah, thank you for understanding, senpai. Yeah. He's a good kid. Mmhm."

Miyasha turned to Giyuu as she nodded again, "Yeah, I'm still working on it, and don't worry, I will tell you if I ever need your help. Thank you, senpai! Goodnight to you, too!"

His eyes followed her hands as she removed her mobile from her ear, a sheepish smile instantly stretching on her lips as she faced him.

"Um, I'm sorry for falling asleep on you, senpai..."

Giyuu simply shook his head as he helped her with the seat belt in the dark, both getting out of the car together as Miyasha stuttered how she could get to her doorstep by herself.

"I am doing this because I want to." Giyuu simply stated as he stepped beside her, the height difference even more apparent as she barely reached his chin.

"But it's getting late and you need to go home too..." She weakly protested as they walked up to her doorstep.

"I live only a few minutes away." Giyuu admitted, making her blink at him in surprise as he tilted his head and questioned, "Would you like me to pick you up in the morning?"

"Well, uh," Miyasha found herself at a loss of words due to the sudden information, "I don't know? I mean, I walk to the school most of the time since it's good exercise and all..."

Giyuu hummed as both of them stopped and turned to each other, his blue eyes glimmering in the dim light coming from her house as he stared down at her, "Do you want to walk with me, then?"

Miyasha felt her heart speed up as he held her gaze; his intense blue eyes making her stomach feel light as she blushed and simply nodded.

She didn't have the heart to decline him after he looked at her like that.

"Thank you, senpai." She shyly thanked him, "For, um, everything. It means a lot to me, what you did today. Thank you so much." She hastily turned around, trying to enter into her house— trying, being the keyword here since she was suddenly stopped by a hand grabbing her shoulder, making her lose her balance and fall back.

And for the second time that day, Miyasha found herself in the arms of her blue-eyed senpai as her back collided with his broad chest.

Giyuu couldn't help but reach out to Miyasha when she turned away— something in him acting in a strange way, making him feel like he was... like this was the last time he was going to see her or something.

However, he hadn't anticipated her falling back to his chest; or her visibly gasping as he wrapped his arm around her to stabilize her.

And while she stood there in shock, he found it quite pleasing to have her in his arms again— even going as far as patting her head again as he noticed her ears turn red from his position.

"Are you okay?" Giyuu asked innocently as he leaned down a bit, making Miyasha suppress down a shiver as she felt his breath on her neck.

"Yes, I'm, uh, sorry for falling back like that!" Miyasha was proud of how casual she sounded as she moved away from that compromising position, the blush still very much evident on her face as she faced him completely, "Um, did you need anything, senpai?"

Now, it was Giyuu's turn to avert his gaze as he didn't know what to reply— he had reached out to her on a strange instinct and now he didn't know what to do.

Oh, wait, maybe he could ask about their morning routines!

"When should I pick you up?" He asked bluntly, feeling a strange sort of relief come over him as Miyasha tilted her head.

"Pick me up? Why— oh, you mean in the mornings? Well um, at quarter past six, maybe? Would that be fine? I mean, you do need to go early, after all."

Giyuu nodded mutely as Miyasha did her farewells; ending it with a bow as she apologized for her clumsiness and finally entered her home.

Although, she couldn't help but make one last eye contact as she closed the door behind her— his intense blue staring right back at her more violet ones as she closed the door behind her and leaned her head on it.

What the hell did just happen today?

Meanwhile, Giyuu leaned his head on the steering wheel after strapping in his seat belt in his car; he could still feel his heart beat loudly in his ears as he replayed his interaction with Miyasha just now.

She had blushed for him. In fact, she had even shared her problems with him, not Rengoku— and that oddly made him feel so accomplished that he couldn't help but smile to himself.

Maybe... just maybe, his sister might be right.

Maybe he was growing some feelings for her— and, for the life of him, he couldn't help but feel good about it.