ONESHOT REQUEST: Hikari and Eisuke, Distractionshipping

For Setanika, COLLEGE AU: In which Eisuke is a premed student just trying to study for his finals but Hikari takes an interest in him and won't leave him alone.

(I was working on a Shikamaru/Hikari Zombie AU, but this wouldn't leave my mind, so.)

-O-O-O-O-

Eisuke fisted his fingers in his hair as he scanned the page of one of the textbooks he'd pulled from the library shelves, desperately cramming as much information into his brain as he could. This anatomy final will kill me, he thought, brows furrowing at the explanation the textbook gave for how the deltoid connected with the pectoralis major. I will die and flunk out of college and become homeless and die unhappy if I don't pass the final. Underneath the table, he shook his leg, ridding himself of the pins and needles.

He flipped the page and began the process again.

It was that time of year, the time in which college students flocked to the library, lived off of coffee, and rarely showered. It was the time in which students cried, laughed, or broke their belongings from sadness, hysteria, and anger.

It was finals week.

Oshiro Eisuke had thought that he could handle it, after having attended Konoha University for three years. Now in his fourth and final year as a premed major, he discovered that no, he couldn't really handle it when the classes that he'd taken this year were all major classes, not electives.

But it was his own fault. So he was going to slog through it, no matter what it took.

He doggedly continued to study, taking five minute breaks to rest his eyes every hour or so. Slowly, the library emptied out until only a handful of the most determined, desperate students remained. When the clock hit two (as in, two in the morning), Eisuke reached into his backpack without taking his eyes off of the page and withdrew a blanket and an energy drink. He had come armed. Ready for the battle.

He was so going to lose.

But time passed and he studied, occasionally glaring at nothing over the fact that his twin, Daisuke, didn't have to suffer like this because he hadn't declared a premed major, oh no, he'd been smart and declared a theater major instead. Then again, Daisuke would probably "accidentally" kill off patients that he found annoying.

As Eisuke flipped yet another page, bemoaning the way his life had turned out and allowing himself to feel selfish for once instead of mothering others, he heard soft footsteps approach his table. He pushed his stack of textbooks to the edge and said, "Take whichever one you need."

The footsteps paused, then continued. "That's not why I'm here," a decidedly feminine voice said. He glanced up, then had a double take, because wow, this girl in front of him was really pretty.

Blue eyes that were too bright for three in the morning, smooth skin, and crimson hair that was bound in a single braid on the side of her head. Then, she said, "I studied too much and lost my grip on reality and I think I saw a ghost. Did you see it too?" He decided that while this girl was really pretty, she was also really annoying, considering the circumstances.

"Ghosts aren't real," he said in a clipped voice, turning back to his textbook in clear dismissal. He didn't need to deal with this right now. Right now, he needed to memorize his anatomy textbook.

"Eh, okay." With that, the girl flopped into the chair in front of him. Eisuke looked up from his book again, irritated.

"You're still here? Don't you need to study or something?"

"I told you already," she piped in a clear voice, "I studied too much. So I'm taking a much-needed break."

"Does it have to be at my table? I'm studying, you know. You're bothering me."

She smiled at him, and he felt his iron will waver slightly. "I'll be quiet, I promise!"

He didn't say anything (and he definitely did not blush, no sir he did not) and returned to his textbook because he'd already spent too much time talking with this girl, and not because she had a really nice smile.

(Of course, all interactions occurred at a library-level volume.)

Several minutes passed, until he couldn't take it anymore. He slammed his textbook closed (at a library-level volume), noted the page number, and stared at her straight in the eye. "Stop staring at me."

She smiled again (thump thump went his heart). "Oops, you caught me."

"What do you want?" he demanded. "Why are you here? You can go bother that guy over there." He pointed to where a dark haired kid sat, glaring holes into his textbook.

The girl snickered. "Sasuke would never forgive me if I interrupted him," she said. "Plus, I'm not interested in him."

Her blatant admission took him by surprise, and he found himself blushing, the blood in his body rushing to paint his cheeks bright red. "Oh. Well. Um. I still need to study."

She glanced over his textbook. "Anatomy? I took that class last year. Do you need help?"

"No. Really. It's fine. Please leave."

She continued on as if he hadn't just implored her to leave him alone. "I made up a little song to help with all the muscle stuff. Here, let me sing it for you." Then, she rattled of a little ditty about muscles and their names and their interactions and movements (at a library-level volume).

"That was nice. Can you go now? I really need to study this," Eisuke pleaded. He could feel the points slipping through his fingers with each minute that he wasted.

"Alright, alright," the girl conceded. "I'll just leave you my number." She took his pen and scribbled something down on a corner of his notebook's page and left. He glanced at it.

Namikaze Hikari

XXX-XXX-XXXX

-O-O-O-O-

The next day, Eisuke entered the library with a slightly begrudging mood. He sat at his usual table and was entirely unsurprised when the girl, Hikari, slid into the seat across from him.

"Okay," he said, starting the conversation and surprising her. "Your song worked. I aced it."

She beamed at him. "Really? You're welcome!"

"Yeah. Thanks." Then, he cleared his throat. "I'm Oshiro Eisuke. I'm a senior. Premed."

Hikari grinned. "Namikaze Hikari, although you should know by now. I'm a freshman in animation." Then, she lowered her eyelashes, peeking up at him through them. "Are you done with your finals? Because if you are, do you want to go out on a date with me later today?"

Again thrown off by her bluntness, Eisuke flushed. "U-um, er, sure…?"

"Great!" she chirped. "Call me or text me. I have to go take my cinematography final, which should take about twenty minutes, give or take. Meet me at the entrance to Lotus Hall!" And she strode out of the library.

He sat there, feeling dazed and as if he had spent too much time in the sun. Slow, warm, sluggish.

He groaned and covered his face with his hands.

Damn it, I'm in love.

-O-O-O-O-

Eisuke found himself standing at the entrance to Lotus Hall approximately twenty minutes later, wondering what he was doing with his life if he was fancy to every single one of Hikari's whims. Hikari bounded out a moment later, surrounded by classmates. When she caught sight of him, her eyes lit up (a fact that didn't make him happy, of course it didn't make him feel happy, what are you talking about) and she bid farewell to her friends.

"Ready to go?" she sang, linking arms with him. She pulled him towards one of the university's entrances, clearly intent on leaving campus. "There's this really good ramen place that my twin brother introduced me to."

He blinked. "You have a twin? I have a twin too."

"Hey, we're twinning!" she exclaimed, laughing at her own joke. He smiled slightly.

"But yeah, because my brother and I go there so much, we get discounts from the owner," she continued.

"Ramen? But every college student has ramen as a staple. Why go there for a date?" he couldn't help but ask. She halted, bringing him to a stop as well.

"Eisuke," she said, staring into his eyes with the upmost seriousness, "I don't think you understand. The ramen at this place is heavenly. Come on." She tugged at their joined arms, prompting him to walk again. "You won't get it until you try."

And holy mother of Kami, she was right, the ramen was heavenly. It tasted even better because of the discount that they received, which resulted in him losing only two dollars.

"You were right," he said. "The ramen was amazing." They were in the process of walking back to the university, because while finals were over for them, there was still packing to do for the vacation.

"Right?" she replied. They walked on in silence, until he noticed her shivering slightly.

"Are you cold?" he asked. She looked up, surprised.

"What? No," she said, laughing it off. But he could feel her slight tremors because of their linked arms.

This time, he was the one who stopped them where they stood. Taking the scarf from his neck, he wound it around hers. "Don't lie," he chided firmly, pulling the scarf tightly. "It wouldn't be good if you caught a cold." She accepted the scarf, watching his hands as they secured it so that it was warm.

Then, he had a thought. "Hikari?" She glanced up at him. "Why are you interested in me?"

He was curious. Someone like her, someone vivacious and bubbly and inherently extroverted, would surely match better with someone like his brother. So why him?

Then, Eisuke saw something that he never thought he'd ever see.

He saw Hikari blush.

"Do you remember about three weeks ago, when you helped that boy pick up his textbooks in the hallway?" He affirmed that yes, he did remember, although he didn't know what that had to do with his question. It was just something that he did.

"Well," she continued. "I noticed you then. Because everyone else was laughing at the poor kid, who was obviously so embarrassed, and you were the only one who helped him. You did it so naturally too. And I knew you were kind."

Eisuke felt the beginnings of a blush on his face.

Hikari cleared her throat. "So I kept watching you—sorry, that sounds creepy, I know—and I kept noticing things about you. You work hard. You like helping others. You're gentle. And when you concentrate, you get the cutest little wrinkle between your eyebrows."

He stared at her. She averted her eyes, mumbling something into the scarf around her neck—his scarf—that sounded suspiciously like "don't look at me like that".

Then, he knew. "Hikari," he said, grabbing her by her shoulders and gaining her attention. "I think I like you."

She stared, then beamed. "I like you too!"

Eisuke returned her smile easily.

"Hey," he said, "we're twinning."

-O-O-O-O-

A/N: Hehehe.

But wait, you might say. Isn't Eisuke supposed to be all mother hen and worried and easily flustered?

Yes, but that was mainly because his brother was evil as a shinobi. In this AU, Daisuke is merely evil as a college student. Thus, less of an extreme personality. Eisuke still behaves like a mother, making sure that Hikari is warm and such, but is the kind of person that suffers from everyone jostling him around and makes you go "I feel for you man". And he's still easily flustered.

And Hikari lied about having taken anatomy the year before, because she wouldn't have been in college the year before. But Eisuke didn't catch that, and Hikari luckily knew the song from an upperclassman (cough Itachi cough can you just imagine him singing a nerdy song about science stuff).

So…

IN OTHER NEWS: I started a Kuroko no Basuke story, if you guys want to check that out. And my Haikyuu! story has been updated with many chapters.

See you next time!