Warning: Still language for now.
Disclaimer: Minekura owns all that is EC/WA/Kubotoki. (sigh…)
Stay Here With
Across Platform C – part 3
He was saved by the bell, literally.
4th period- literature class- medieval poetry with Mr. Yamagata.
Or rather, the General, as Tokitoh soon figured out was his calling.
"Retired military," the boy in front of him whispered as the General stiffly walked into the class and up to the front board. "People say he was kicked out though."
"What for?" Tokitoh asked back.
"Cross-dressing." Kubota answered behind him.
Tokitoh started to laugh but the look Yamagata shot him made him cover his mouth. He tried faking a short cough, but the General just kept glaring back. Finally their teacher turned the glare to the rest of the class and with a voice as stiff as his walk, started to speak.
"Homework- on your desks- Now!"
Tokitoh looked around as the other students quickly slapped sheets of paper on their desks. With a look of grim approval, Yamagata started to walk through the class. Tokitoh could only watch as the General went seat-by-seat, asking questions from the homework. With each desk he stepped up to, the student there would have to stand and shout out the answer. "1243, sir!" "4th stanza, sir!" "The season in reference is spring, sir!" Tokitoh watched as some students were silently counting down the seats until their turn and then quickly looking down their paper, they tried to figure out which question would be theirs. Tokitoh stared at his desk. He had the reader open, but was completely clueless on the content. Medieval poetry? He hated this shit. He silently hoped that he'd get out of answering, at least for today, because he was new.
Tokitoh half-turned as Yamagata rounded the corner and started to come down his row from the rear of the class. Looking back, he caught Kubota's eye who just smiled and winked back at him. Tokitoh looked down to see Kubota's desk clear except for the reader which was closed. Leaning back in his chair, Kubota seemed completely unfazed as Yamagata got closer. When he finally got to Kubota's desk, he fired off the next question, and Kubota backed out of his chair and then slowly stood up. Tokitoh couldn't help but look up. Kubota was a good head taller then the General scowling next to him.
"The cat," Kubota's tone was light, "represents the lord's desire for companionship, but because it never stays with him, he remains lonely forever." After finishing his answer Kubota then sat back down. Yamagata remained where he stood and kept staring at him without either affirming or disagreeing with his response, as if waiting for something else.
"Ah, here we go again," the classmate in front of Tokitoh whispered to himself. "Why doesn't he just skip over him?"
Yamagata looked down at the paper he was holding, and instead of moving ahead to Tokitoh, he read Kubota the next question. "Why does the cat never stay with the lord?" A beat passed, and Kubota again pushed back his chair and then slowly stood up.
"Because," Kubota smiled back at Yamagata, "He never asked it to." He then sat back down.
Yamagata glanced down at his sheet and his eyes lit up for a moment but then quickly returned to their previous stern furrowed look. "Wrong, Kubota. The answer is that the cat is a wild animal and can not stay in civilization. That's points off from your daily assignment grade." This last part he said while clicking his tongue, as if he was very very disappointed. Yamagata started to step down the aisle, but Kubota pulled back his chair and then again slowly stood up. Yamagata turned and stared back at him. "Is there a problem, Kubota?" he asked gruffly.
"When does he ever ask the cat to stay?" Kubota asked.
"What?" Yamagata's eyes crossed. Tokitoh would come to know this was the General's danger-sign.
The rest of the class started to shift in their seats, but Kubota only continued. "The lord feeds the cat. He gives it a place to stay during the winter. He leaves the door open for it. But he never actually asks the cat to stay. He simply assumes it will. It is because he assumes instead of acts that he remains alone." Kubota kept standing this time. Yamagata first looked back from the paper and then to him.
"Kubota, you can't ask a cat to do something. The cat left because it was wild. THAT is the answer, plain and simple." Yamagata again turned towards Tokitoh. Kubota did not sit back down though. Instead, he continued.
"Its heart itself I could not tame, and thus in the wild it remained." Kubota's hand rested on the book, but his eyes were on Yamagata who was slowly turning back towards him with each word he spoke. "The lord never saw the cat as an equal companion. Every word he used to describe it is as an animal, a beast, a wild thing. If in fact he treated the cat as not something to tame but instead embraced the cat for what it is, the cat would have remained. But the lord didn't and so the cat left. The cat didn't leave because it couldn't live in civilization. It left because there was nothing to stay for. Thus for the lord, 'the winter continues even after spring has long thawed the ground where his tracks once were',"
The whole class was silent. Yamagata just scowled. "Are you finished, Kubota?"
Kubota only nodded. "Sir, yes, sir."
"Then sit down!" Yamagata turned.
Kubota only shrugged and sat down.
Yamagata's face had turned a red that Tokitoh didn't really like. Standing now at his desk, the General looked down at his sheet, but just as he started to speak, his voice was drowned out by the bell that resonated through the school. 4th period was over. Yamagata turned his scowl towards the clock on the wall and then headed for the front of the class. "Everyone, I want five pages on that last poem by tomorrow. And, YOU, Kubota, I want ten on your argument on my desk tomorrow morning. One page less and your class grade is in the crapper! Got it?" Tokitoh turned to see Kubota salute the General and then stand up to leave.
Tokitoh watched as the rest of his class started to get up and collect their books. He fished out his schedule and looked down at it. The next class was just labeled "Free". He looked up as Kubota walked past him.
"Hey, wait a sec!" he called out. Kubota turned and gave him a questioning look. "What's next?"
"Oh, it's lunch now." Kubota answered and then turned and headed for the door. Tokitoh quickly gathered his books and followed after him.
"So, uh, what do people do?" He caught up with Kubota in the hall.
"Well, most eat something-"
"Baka, I know that." Kubota stopped and looked down at him. Tokitoh felt his face heat up a little. "I mean, where do people go?"
"Depends." Kubota shrugged and started walking again. "If you bring your lunch, you can go sit in the classroom, or go off somewhere to eat, like the courtyard. If you need to buy it, there's the cafeteria, or the school store, or the 7-11 around the corner."
"Where's the cafeteria?" Tokitoh asked.
"First floor. Just go all the way down those stairs." Kubota thumbed towards the other end of the hall.
"Oh." Tokitoh stopped and turned. "Where are you going then?"
"Like I said," Kubota kept walking ahead. "Lunch."
"Isn't that the wrong way?"
Kubota turned his head and smiled as he started up a flight of steps. "I know. Catch you later." And then with a short wave, he was up and gone. Tokitoh now stood in the nearly empty hallway. His gaze followed where Kubota had gone, but finally he turned and started down the hall.
-----
Tokitoh grabbed the can of tea that had dropped down in the vending machine and headed outside, his arms full of rice balls and an egg sandwich that he had purchased from the school's cafeteria. Because of the warm early June day, most of the inside tables were empty. Outside students were spread out across the courtyard, sitting on either the benches that lined the sides or out on the grass. Tokitoh looked around and finally settled down under one of the trees near the corner of the yard that was still empty. A part of him thought that maybe he should just go sit down with one of the groups. He noticed a few kids from his class sitting off near the center, laughing and talking wildly, but at that moment all he wanted to do was just sit, and eat his lunch. So what if it was alone?
He unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite, and chewed it slowly. Another school, huh? This one didn't seem too bad though. The teachers were out there, but they always seemed that way to him. Takahata seemed pretty sharp though. The principal already knew about what had happened at the other schools. Tokitoh swallowed and then leaned against the tree's trunk, and looked up at the sky through the breaks in the leaves. It seemed every school he went to, he was carrying around a bigger and bigger hurdle to go over. With the teachers seeing the hurdle, it seemed even harder sometimes to get past it. His fist tightened around the sandwich's cellophane wrapper, and it crackled in his hands. He wasn't going to let any lame-ass hurdle screw with him here. Fuck the permanent record. Fuck the past too.
This last thought made him pause and he looked down at his feet. At least fuck what past he remembered. He grimaced to himself and went for one of the rice balls. This time will be different. He felt for sure. Already things had turned out differently from what he had expected. He had gotten away from the subway cop, thanks to that Kubota. He had gotten through the morning, thanks partially again to that…his hand holding the rice ball stopped inches from his mouth. He looked up and around the courtyard, his eyes scanning the students.
"I wonder where he went…" he asked absently.
"Where who went?" Tokitoh's head turned and looked up. A tall boy was ambling towards him, his hands in his pockets. The boy reached him in a few strides and then without asking, sat down right next to him. Tokitoh's eyes widened a bit and he slid back a little, at least as far as the tree he was against would allow. The boy gave him an easy smile. What sun light that filtered though the leaves shown on his blond hair that just touched his shoulders. Tokitoh peered at him cautiously. Even though the boy was smiling, it didn't seem to reach his eyes, and that weirded him out a little.
The boy turned to look around the yard. "You waiting for someone?"
Tokitoh just shook his head. "Nah."
"Ah, so you're by yourself here?" The boy asked.
Tokitoh wanted to say "Duh? Does it look like I'm with anyone?" But instead he just took a large bite of the rice ball and started chewing. This guy was definitely weirding him out. The way he kept looking around and then that smile…
"So, you're new, right?" The kid asked. Tokitoh just nodded and took another bite.
"What's your name?"
Tokitoh swallowed and looked back at him for a second. "Who wants to know?"
"Oooooh." The kid lifted his hands in the air. "Chill chill. I'm just being friendly. I know how hard it is to be the new kid, is all. Not knowing anyone. Having to sit alone. Stuff like that."
Tokitoh just kept looking back at him. He had met guys like this before. The ultra-nice on the first day guys who either were trying to get you into the bathroom to take your money or…Tokitoh took another big bite. He had flushed the head of the last just-being-friendly kid who had tried being just-a-little-too-friendly with him at his last school. Him not responding back seemed to jar the kid a little. His smile faltered for a second, but then it was back.
"Like I said. I know what it's like, is all." The kid repeated. "When I saw you this morning, I thought, there's a kid who's going through the same thing. I better go talk to him. First day and all."
Tokitoh stopped eating and turned his head. Who was this kid? "What do you mean this morning?"
"I'm in your class, 2B. That was funny, with Yonekura and all. He's a pain in the ass sometimes. It's cool when someone can get him to loosen up, if you know what I mean."
No, he didn't know what he meant. Tokitoh scowled back, but the kid continued.
"Classes here are tough and all, and some of the other kids are even tougher." The kid pulled a box of cigarettes from his pocket, and waved the box towards Tokitoh who just shook his head. The kid shrugged, and taking one out, lit it up. He took a few puffs before speaking again. "That's why it's good to get to know people. Makes things less tough and all. You know what I mean?"
Damn, a fucking five-year old could know what you mean, dumb-ass. Tokitoh bit back his tongue. He had to try to not start a fight with every guy he met that day. Instead he went back to his lunch. "What's your point?"
"Hey, no point. Just introducing myself, is all." The kid smiled back at him. "My name's Hiragi. Hiragi Yo. I'm one of the representatives for our class."
Swellsville. Look for votes somewhere else, kid. We're all full up here. Tokitoh took a bite of the rice ball and kept chewing. The Hiragi kid kept smiling and sitting there, as if waiting for something else.
Tokitoh not offering his name back left an awkward space for the other kid. He bobbed his head up and down a few times and then started again. "Like I said. I know how hard it is. You think everyone wants to just trip you up and then laugh it off, but you know," and with this said he scooched over and laid his arm around Tokitoh's shoulder, "Not everyone's out to get you," he spoke softly. "New school, new people, it seems strange right now, right?" Tokitoh stopped chewing as Hiragi's hand slid down his arm. "I'm just saying it doesn't have to be, is all." His hand squeezed his arm. "What are friends for, right? And it's okay, you know-" And this was right by his ear. "To start off slow and all."
The next second found Tokitoh's elbow in Hiragi's stomach. "Start it yourself, asshole!" Hiragi fell back on the ground, his hand to his middle. Tokitoh scooped up the rest of his lunch and stood up. He noticed then the kids sitting in that area were now looking at them. He felt his face get warm, and he quickly turned to go, when suddenly his arm was grabbed from behind. "What the-"
Hiragi's face lowered on his and they were only a few inches a part. When he spoke next, Tokitoh could feel his breath on his cheeks, warm, with a smoky smell. "It's Tokitoh, right? Isn't that your name?"
Tokitoh wasn't interested in how the guy knew, just in getting him off of him. "Leggo of my arm, or I'm taking yours with me." He tried to shake him off, but Hiragi's grip tightened.
"Like I said. It's okay if it starts slow." Hiragi smiled down at him. "Doesn't even have to be today. Just want to let you know, is all. That if you ever need a friend." There was another squeeze on his arm. "You know where to find me." With that said, Hiragi let go of him and with a wave, ambled off down the yard. Tokitoh glared after him, massaging his arm.
"Is being a dickhead part of the entrance requirement here, or is he just a fucking bonus?" He muttered to himself. Tokitoh looked down at the remaining rice balls in his arms. He suddenly didn't feel so hungry. He looked around at the other kids still eating, or talking, or at least looking like they were having fun. Tokitoh puffed out his cheeks. Along with his appetite, he suddenly lost his want to be around anyone else. He walked back towards the school. He had about 20 minutes left until the next class. Maybe he could find some spot in the school that was dickhead free.
-----
Kubota stared from off the roof and lit up his fifth cigarette. He let the smoke slowly out in a thin stream. Even though the sun was up, the wind made the roof a little cooler. He liked it that way. The coolness, the space, and the quiet. Somehow people figured out that the roof was his during this period because he never saw anyone ever come up here even though the door was never locked. Not even Matsumoto, on one of his council missions, would follow him up here. Instead he'd wait until after lunch, and after Kubota made his way through his pack of cigarettes.
Kubota walked over to the other side of the roof and looked down onto the courtyard. He spotted Murota and Matsubara eating lunch on the grass. Ainoura wasn't around, he noted, but probably he's in the computer lab, doing whatever Ainoura does. His eyes scanned across the students eating their lunch. Matsumoto always ate in the council office. Tachibana may even be there now with him. His term was starting instantly it sounded like. Kubota's eyes kept moving across the yard. The volleyball team was bouncing a ball over a line they had strung between some trees. He smiled as he caught Sato, the school newspaper's editor, sliding through the bushes on the far side.
"I hope he's looking for a story and not just too lazy to head inside for the bathroom." Kubota chuckled to himself and turned his gaze down to the far corner of the yard. His eyes suddenly rested on a figure walking down by one of the trees. The figure stopped for a second, looked around, and then finally sat down on the grass and started to pick through what was most likely his lunch. Kubota rested his arms on the roof's edge while he watched. It was that new kid, Tokitoh.
"He just called me an idiot." He couldn't help but smile as he watched the kid start to eat. Kubota chewed on his cigarette for a moment. Out of all the kids he had seen at Araiso, this one definitely seemed…seemed…his mind blanked on the word. Kubota shook his head. Maybe missing that extra hour of sleep muddled him more than he had thought. He was going to have to tell Matsumoto to can the early meetings. "On the other hand," he thought aloud. "If he hadn't, I would've missed meeting-" Kubota stopped, his eyes narrowing. Another figure came up to the new kid and sat down. Kubota pushed his glasses back and leaned over the edge a little.
"Hiragi, isn't it? My, my, my, what are you planning, young man?"
He couldn't easily tell what was going on between the two. Hiragi was talking. The new kid wasn't really responding, not that he could see anyway. Then Hiragi put his arm around him.
"Wanna see my doll collection…" Kubota started to make up the dialogue between the two. "It's on display at my home. I like to change their clothes after school." The new kid pushed Hiragi off of him and then stood up, looking pissed. "Not a doll fan, huh?" The new kid started to leave then but Hiragi got up quickly and took his arm. Kubota watched silently now as Hiragi leaned in, but a few moments later it was over, and Hiragi was walking away. The new kid just stood there for a second looking after him, and then started in the opposite direction, towards the school.
Kubota thought back to what Matsumoto had said earlier. "So what your little birds say about Hiragi is none to pleasant, hm? Gosh, I can't imagine why." He tapped his cigarette, letting the ashes fall over the edge. He didn't believe for a second that Matsumoto's intentions were as pure as he came off, but this thing with Hiragi here…This could have some merit outside of petty politics. He had never really paid any attention to either of the class representatives. Not even Tachibana, who with his delicate good looks and quiet manner, was quickly earning the most "wanna-screw" label in the school from the other students. He watched as Hiragi flitted from group to group down in the yard, putting his arm around one guy, tousling the hair of another. Kubota leaned further over the edge, watching Hiragi as he moved about.
"Class representative Hiragi Yo, what's your story, I wonder?" He asked aloud.
"Whatever it is, it's probably as fucked up as he is." A voice piped up from his left. The suddenness of it surprised him enough that his mouth fell open, and he watched as his cigarette turned round and round as it made its way down. He lost sight of it before it hit the ground. Kubota turned his head to find the new kid now standing next to him, peeking over the edge.
"Oh, your cigarette just fell." He pointed out. He kept looking over the edge. "Ah, man, it fell in that kid's lunch. Wait-wait, I don't think he noticed. Still doesn't see it- still doesn't it." Tokitoh was hanging halfway off the roof now. "Ah, that's so gross. Can you see?" Kubota tried to follow where the kid was now pointing at, but his vision must be better than his. All he could see was the back of one student's head sitting down on a bench right below them.
"Still doesn't see it- going in with the chopsticks, oh man, don't do it- don't do it." Kubota turned to see one of Tokitoh's feet leave the ground as he leaned further down. The boy then let go of the edge and cupped his hands around his mouth. "HEY, YOU! LOOK AT YOUR LUNCH! DON'T EAT THAT!" He was silent for a second but then waved his arms about. "Yes! He sees it! He tosses it away! He's- hey, he's looking up! Wave down at him! HEEEEEEY! DON'T BE PISSED! IT WAS AN ACCIDE- agh!" His shout out was cut off as Kubota grabbed the back of his jacket and pulled him off the edge. Tokitoh looked back at him confused. "What's up?"
"You were." Kubota leaned his back against the side. "You were so up, you were about to be down."
Tokitoh waved him off. "I was fine." He peeked over the edge again, this time more cautiously, Kubota noted. "Hey, he's gone."
"Probably scared of strange kids dropping things and yelling at him." Kubota followed to where he was looking. The bench was now empty.
"Hey, I was just trying to warn him. He should thank me." Tokitoh scoffed and turned around. "So whacha doing up here?"
Kubota turned and took out another cigarette. "Trying to be alone," he said as he clicked open his lighter. It took him a few times to light it, but finally the tip glowed orange and he slipped the lighter back into his pocket. He looked up to find Tokitoh scowling back at him. "What?"
"Whatever." Tokitoh muttered and walked off to the other side of the roof. Kubota watched as he reached the other edge. Plopping down, he pulled out some things from his pockets. Without looking back at Kubota, he started to unwrap one of the rice balls.
Kubota turned and rested his arms back on the edge. A thread of smoke slipped out through his teeth. He stood there for a few minutes looking down, the scattering of figures walking about below just seemed to blur together. He turned halfway to see the new kid's head bowed, still eating the rice ball. Kubota let out a long breath and started to walk over towards him. As he neared him, Tokitoh didn't look up.
Kubota stood for a second next to him, and then finally settled on the ground, stretching his legs out. "So what are you doing up here?"
Tokitoh took another big bite. "Trahing tobe awone, thaz all."
Kubota nodded, trying not to laugh as Tokitoh's full mouth made his sentence all garbled. "Why here?"
Tokitoh swallowed a sip from his can of tea and then spoke. "'Cause at my old school the only place where it was quiet was either the roof or the old bathroom in the basement. Since only losers hang out in bathrooms, I was always on the roof."
"Where it's loser-free, of course." Kubota added.
"Hell yeah." Tokitoh looked over at him. "Where's your lunch?"
Kubota just held up his pack of cigarettes.
Tokitoh gave him an appalled look. "You're shitting me. That's your lunch?"
"I shit you not. It is indeed."
"Don't you get like, hungry?"
"Nicotine suppresses your appetite, didn't you know?"
"What are you, on a fucking diet or something?" Tokitoh face was all screwed up with something that was most likely disgust.
"Nope. Just like to smoke. Plain and simple."
"What a weirdo." Tokitoh said with another mouthful.
Kubota only smiled back. "That's me."
They sat there silent for a few moments. Kubota smoked and Tokitoh chewed.
The other boy stopped eating and looked over at him. "Why do you come up here? I mean, you really wanna be alone?"
Kubota turned, and for a second didn't respond. "It's quiet, and peaceful."
"And you can watch people." Tokitoh added.
"And I can watch people." Kubota nodded along. "That too."
"And drop shit on them."
"No, that's a new development. Can't call that a habit yet."
"Not like smoking or something." Tokitoh took the last rice ball on the ground and began tossing it up in the air and then catching it.
"No, not like that." Kubota's eyes absently followed the ball as it went up and down.
"So, you always come up here?" Tokitoh asked.
"Yeah, most of the time." Up and down. Up and down.
"So that's another habit, huh?"
"You could say that."
They were quiet for another moment. Tokitoh just kept tossing and catching the rice ball. He opened his mouth to say something, but then suddenly they both heard a high pitched ringing sound. It was the bell for the next class. Lunch was now over.
Tokitoh looked over at the door to downstairs and then up at the sky. Then sighing, he stood up. "Guess it's back down, huh?"
"Yep." Kubota didn't make a move to stand though.
Tokitoh threw the rice ball up one more time, caught it and then turned and lightly tossed it towards Kubota. Kubota caught it, but couldn't hide his look of surprise.
"Here's a new habit then." Tokitoh started towards the door. "Only losers skip lunch, and losers can't be on the roof, right?" With that said, he opened the door and was gone.
Kubota stared after him and then turned to the rice ball in his hand. "Right…" He slowly opened the wrapping around the ball and took a few bites. His mouth puckered when he got to the middle. He had to give me the pickled plum one? He stood up slowly, and still munching the rice ball, headed towards the stairs and to class.
----
Even though he had left before Kubota, Tokitoh arrived to class later then him. Kubota looked up from the table where he was working with Murota to see the door to the lab fly open and Tokitoh fall inside. He was out of breath and wide-eyed as he looked around. The entire class looked back at him. Mr. Oda turned from the board where he was transcribing the directions for that day's experiment and stared at the new student.
Tokitoh let out a long breath. "I was…waiting in the upstairs class." Some of the students snickered. No one had thought to say that 6th period chemistry was not held in the section B room but in the lab on the first floor. Tokitoh's face turned red and he glowered at those laughing.
Murota nudged Kubota in the side. "That new kid gets mad easy."
Kubota nodded as he glanced up from the test tube he was filling. "It's kind of cute." He then looked over his shoulder to see Murota giving him a funny look. "What?"
Murota just shook his head and looked back to the front. Oda was talking with Tokitoh and it looked like they were sorting out where he was to sit. Most everyone was already partnered up for that day. A hand shot up from the front of the class.
"There's an extra seat here, Mr. Oda." Hiragi waved over to the seat near him. Kubota noted that Tokitoh's glower darkened even more with Hiragi's offer.
"True, true, you could-you could sit over there-there, with Hiragi-kun." Oda bobbed his little bald head up and down like a bird. "Why don't you grab a book-book and-"
Tokitoh didn't let the teacher finish though. Instead he walked down to the back of the class where Ainoura was sitting with his laptop.
"You got a partner?" Tokitoh asked.
Ainoura looked up a little confused. Most people left him alone since he always did his work on the computer. "Uh….no."
Tokitoh dropped his bag, pulled a chair over to the table, and sat down. "Now you do." He didn't leave any room for Ainoura to object. Oda finally just shrugged and went back to writing on the board.
As the class progressed, Kubota would look over at the far table where Tokitoh and Ainoura were sitting. At first Tokitoh was peering and pointing over Ainoura's shoulder at the computer, but later he stood up and began following the experiment's directions as Ainoura typed up the report.
"Oi, Kubota." Murota tapped him on the shoulder. "We have to mix them now." Kubota turned to see Murota pointing at the vial he was still holding.
"Ah, sorry." He moved to pour the vial into the beaker, but Murota caught his hand.
"The directions say slow," he whispered hoarsely. Kubota gave him an understanding nod and then slowly began to pour the contents of the vial out.
"Hey!" A shout from the side caused him to jump, and a second later, their table was covered in purple fizz.
Murota made a grab for their lab report. "Oi, Kubota!" But Kubota had turned his head to where the shout had come from. Tokitoh was standing at the window by his and Ainoura's table and pointing outside.
"Hey! Some kids are fighting out there!" He turned his head to Ainoura. "Look at that. It's four against one! What the fuck?"
Ainoura peered over Tokitoh's shoulder and out the window. "Where are you- oh…oh, that Yutaka and his gang. They're always at it with somebody."
"Shouldn't we do something?" Tokitoh looked back and forth between Ainoura and the window. "That kid's about to get the shit kicked out of him."
Ainoura turned to Kubota and Murota's table. "Hey! Who's on duty now?"
Murota looked up from where he was mopping up the fizz. "Doesn't Suzuki do 6th period?"
"Ah…" Ainoura shook his head and turned to Tokitoh. "Sorry, but that kid won't be helped anytime soon. Suzuki's probably sleeping or worse."
"What do you mean?" Tokitoh gave him a questioning look.
Ainoura turned back to his computer. "The EC, the Executive Committee usually tries to break up fights, but we can't do it all the time because we have classes too. Suzuki, EC's head, is free this period, but he's not always dependable…" Ainoura trailed off.
"What do you mean 'we'?" Tokitoh asked as he continued to look out the window.
"I mean me, Murota and Kubota over there." Ainoura pointed towards their table. "We're a part of it. There are some other members too, but they're in different classes."
"So, you're saying that because we're in class," Tokitoh pointed at the lab table, "that kid out there gets the shit beaten out of him?"
Ainoura sighed and shrugged. "We can't skip class. If Suzuki doesn't show up, we'll just have to talk to him later. Until then, I hope that kid out there knows how to block."
Kubota watched as Tokitoh continued to fidget and stare out the window. A minute passed and a whole mix of emotions went across his face- anger, impatience, a second of what looked like unhappy acceptance, then back to anger, and finally something that could only be called determination. Kubota guessed what was going to happen before Tokitoh even lifted the latch, opened the window, and then without a backward glance, jumped down to the ground outside.
Ainoura called out after him. "Hey, what are you doing?"
"Blocking!" Tokitoh shouted as he started to run across the yard towards where the fight was. Ainoura only stood by the window with his mouth open.
Kubota walked up and peered over him. After a moment he turned his head back to his table. "Hey, Murota. Study break."
Murota looked up and at first didn't say anything. But then nodding, tossed the wadded up paper towels in the trash and headed for the door.
"No, no, no, shortcut." Kubota called out and a moment later he was out the window. Murota shrugged and followed suit. Kubota stopped outside and turned around, looking up at the other classrooms above. "Where's Matsubara right now?"
Murota paused for a second. "…6th period…." He pointed straight up. "Third floor art room."
Kubota cupped his hands around his mouth. "MATSUBARA!"
Seconds passed and finally a familiar red head poked out of one of the third story windows. "Kubota? What is it? Don't you know it's class now?"
Kubota only waved him down. "STUDY BREAK!" He then pointed to across the yard where Tokitoh had run to.
Matsubara looked out and then back down. "I'll get my equipment!" With that he ducked his head back into the classroom and was gone. Kubota turned towards Ainoura who was still standing inside the lab. The rest of the class had gathered around him, all staring outside the window. The only one who hadn't noticed the migration was Oda, who was still writing on the blackboard.
Kubota looked towards Ainoura. "You know what to do?"
Ainoura nodded. "Go get Suzuki off his butt and then meet up with you guys."
Kubota flashed him a thumbs up and then started heading across the yard. Murota followed him. As Ainoura was turning, he caught another order from Kubota.
"And if you pass the health clinic, tell the doctor he'll need to free up some beds!" With that said, Kubota sped up his pace. From here he could now see what Tokitoh had seen from the class. Four against one indeed. No, wait, now it's two. Kubota couldn't help but laugh.
"What's so funny?" Murota asked next to him.
"Nothing." Kubota smiled as they closed the distance between them and a rising dust cloud where he knew a growingly familiar figure was probably doing more than just blocking. "Just- a new habit, I guess."
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^^ tbc-