IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE:
Hello. I retconned the story slightly. In chapter 2, in Kuroko's diary, she says that she cannot believe what she can't see (referring to Josuke's stand). This has been changed recently. Nothing major has changed. Thank you.
**FLASHBACK**
**KUROKO'S POV**
"Alright, you can come in now!" The teacher, Ms. Suzuki, called out from the classroom. I slowly walked inside the room filled with students around 11 years old, the same age as me.
I faced the 25 students who were all staring at the short, long red-haired girl, me. "My name is Kuroko Izumi. I'm a transfer student from Hokkaido. I will be staying in your class this year." I could feel some of the students staring at my hair, no. I KNOW that they're staring at my red hair. It didn't help the fact that I came in a month after the school year officially started. By scanning the classroom, I could already make out that I wouldn't be able to connect with anyone this year.
"Ok Kuroko. You can sit over there next to Josuke." She said as she pointed to the empty desk next to the window. On the left sat a boy with a small black pompadour, and deep marine blue eyes. He looked at me, waved his hand, and smiled.
The class, mainly the girls, started to complain.
"Aww! Why does the new girl get to sit next to Josuke!"
"Why can't I sit next to him?"
"Ms. Suzuki, can I switch spots with her? I'm having trouble seeing the board."
"Now, now kids," Ms. Suzuki tried to calm the class down. "We can rotate seats next month."
As I sat down, I felt taping on my shoulder. I turned around to see the kid, whose name I've already forgotten. He waved at me once more. I ignored his waving and faced the board.
"Now, for today's lesson, we will continue to learn the English alphabet." The teacher said as she wrote letters on the chalkboard.
Whatever. This year will fly by and I'll move back to Hokkaido in no time.
Time passed as I stared out the window for most of the lesson, watching the cherry blossom fall from the tree.
"Alright, students!" Ms. Suzuki said as she clapped her hands. She then placed an English worksheet on our desks. "Please partner up with the person next to you. I'll give you until the end of class to finish it."
The class started chatting amongst themselves as I scanned the paper. There were about 20 questions on it with simple sentences in Japanese, requiring us to fill in the blanks in English. I quickly filled in the requested blanks as I read through the paper with ease.
The boy that the girls were fangirling over pushed his desk towards mine along with his chair. "Hi, um, Kuroko was it?"
"Yes?" I turned my head to face him, our eyes locked onto each other. Now that I'm looking at him, the way he styled his hair, his beautiful blue eyes, even the fact that he towered over most of the boys in the class. I could tell that he must've been one of the "pretty boys" in the school.
"Um, we're supposed to work on this together."
"Oh, sorry," I apologized. I handed him my paper, which was already a third done. "You can copy it if you want."
"That's not what I meant, I mean work together as a team." I rolled my eyes. He's that kind of kid. The kind of kid that tries to follow the teacher's directions to a tee. The kind of kid that doesn't have a care in the world. The kind of kid that everyone likes. "Besides, I wasn't really paying attention, so I don't really know what to do."
I rolled my eyes. "Ok, come here."
I showed him how to do each question, sounding out each syllable of the English word in the sentence in each question. My partner looked at me in surprise. "Kuro, how do you know English so well?"
"My name is Kuroko," I corrected. "My mom calls me Kuro. Besides, I learned it all from her."
"Really? That's really cool! I only really know English from the music I listen to. I don't really know what they're saying though."
"Is that so?" I said, barely paying attention. I wanted to end the conversation as soon as possible so I can finish the paper and be done with it.
"Yea," he went on. "My favorite artist right now is Prince. He's an American artist. His music is so groovy and- oh! How do I answer this question?" He immediately cut himself off and pointed to question 17 on the paper. "Write the primary colors in English."
"It's "red ","blue "", and "yellow"." I said, articulating each syllable.
"Red, blue, and yellow?"
"Yea. Red like my hair, blue like your eyes, yellow like the sun."
"Oh ok," he said as he wrote the answers down. "By the way, I think your red hair is pretty."
I stopped writing for a moment and looked at him. "You think…my hair is pretty?"
"Yea! It's cute!" He smiled.
I could feel my cheeks starting to heat up. I always felt like my hair made me stick out too much. Even back at home in Hokkaido, the students always made fun of my hair. "Thank you…um…"
"It's Josuke," he smiled as he put his hand forward. "Josuke Higashikata." I looked at his hand and shook it. Maybe this kid's not so bad after all.
Lunch came around sooner than I thought. Most of the students including Josuke went downstairs into the cafeteria to buy food while those who brought lunch stayed in the classroom. I picked up my school bag and took out a pink and white bento box with a note taped to it, reading "Love, Mom."
Opening it revealed mini octopus sausages, mini salmon rice balls, rolled egg omelet and an assortment of vegetables turned into a salad. I placed the bento box on the corner of my desk as I got my chopsticks from my bag until…
"OOPS!"
A girl with long brown hair sat on my desk, using her butt to knock over the lunch my mom prepared for me. "Oh wow I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that," she snickered. "Maybe next time don't put your lunch on the edge of your desk."
Oh, so even in this small town, these kinds of girls exist. The kind of girls that aggressively crave attention. The kind of girls who get jealous over the smallest of things. The kind of girls who despise those who are different.
I hate these kinds of girls.
I give her an irritated smile. "It's ok." The last thing I want to do is cause trouble on the first day.
The teacher then walked into the classroom and immediately saw the mess next to me. "Who made this mess?" She said as she put her hands on her hips.
"Kuroko did!" The girl who pushed my lunch over pointed at me.
"Kuroko, since it is your mess, please go into the janitor's closet and get the broom."
I just need to stay here for a year. Then I can leave and go to Italy.
"Yes ma'am" I said as I got up and left the classroom.
The janitor's closet was on the opposite side of the school, meaning that by the time I go there and back, lunch break will be over. It doesn't matter since I had nothing to eat anyways.
I entered the dark janitor's closet filled with brooms and chemicals, giving off a strong alcohol smell. The shelves were covered with white and blue spray bottles along with toilet paper and paper towels. Once I found the broom and dustpan I left.
"Hey! transfer student!" I heard a voice behind me as I grabbed the broom out of the closet. Behind me were five girls wearing the same school outfit as me. The same girl who knocked over my lunch stood in front of the group. She walked up close to me and pinned me against the hallway wall with her hand. "This is your one and only warning. Don't EVER talk to Josuke again."
Oh. It's her again. I rolled my eyes. "Go away. I'm cleaning up the mess you made." I pushed her hand away from the wall and walked away.
Suddenly, she grabbed the back of my hair, pulling me towards her. "No. I don't think you understand. Josuke belongs to ALL of us. If you keep hanging out with him, you WILL regret it."
She tugged on the back of my hair again vigorously. "Ow! Stop that!"
"I heard that Josuke said your hair is pretty. It's color is pretty fugly, don't you guys think?"
"Yea!" One of the girls behind her agreed.
"How unnatural!"
"Did you dye it? You know it's against school rules to have dyed hair. Are you that desperate for attention?"
Day one of going to elementary school and I'm already getting bullied.
Great.
"Do you really think I care about your opinions?" I retorted. "I couldn't care less about Josuke Higashikata. We just happened to be partners. Girls like you are all the same; petty and arrogant."
The girl let go of my hair and scowled. "Remember, Ai Kobayashi let you go, for now."
Once I entered the classroom, the room was empty except for one student: Josuke Higashikata. He was in a white and red T-shirt with dark blue shorts. Our eyes met. "Oh hey Kuroko."
"Where is everyone Josuke?" I asked.
"Gym is always after lunch. The boys usually change in this classroom while the girls change in the classroom next door." He gave me a goofy smile. "Good thing you came in after I was done changing."
The more he smiles like that the more naive it feels. "Right…" I looked at my desk, and it was absent from the food Ai spilled. Instead, my bento box was on the desk, looking like it wasn't spilled at all. "How…wasn't this on the floor?" I said, picking up the box.
"Yea," Josuke said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I saw it on the floor and decided to fix it for you."
"Fix it? You mean, like put it back together? But how?" I inspected the bento box even more. It was almost as if the position of each octopus sausage was placed back in its exact spot before Ai knocked it on the floor.
"Can I tell you a secret?" He asked.
"Sure?"
"I have this ghost that follows me, and it can fix stuff that is broken." His face suddenly turned solem. "Most people don't believe me, even my mom. Do you?"
This boy was able to put back together my entire lunchbox, even the position of the octopus sausages and the place the box was sitting, without looking at it? I don't even think science can explain that. "Yeah, I do."
"Really?!" Stars appeared in his eyes as he smiled.
"I don't think it's even possible for you to put my lunch back together, especially since you didn't know what my lunch even looked like."
"Wow. No one has ever believed that Crazy Diamond existed."
"Crazy Diamond?"
"That's what I named him." He pointed his thumb behind himself, as if this "Crazy Diamond" person was behind him as he smirked.
His smile, his outdated haircut and this ghost that claims to fix whatever he chooses?
What a weirdo.
I looked at the clock on the wall, reading 12:30. "What time does gym period end?"
"1:30."
I heard a rumbling noise that appeared to be coming from Josuke. He held his stomach with his arms in. "Sorry, school lunch is never enough for me."
I looked back at my lunch box. "I don't have my gym clothes yet. So there isn't really a reason for me to go to gym class. Since you fixed my bento box, do you want to share it?" Josuke's eyes strayed from me as his cheeks started to go pink. "What's wrong? You don't have to sit with me if you don't want to. I'm pretty sure gym class is a lot of fun."
"No it's not that, it's just that usually girls don't ask me to eat with them like this. They usually fuss over who gets to sit next to me and try to grab on me."
"Well, I'm not like those types of girls. I respect your boundaries." I said as I sat down at my desk. "I don't have an extra pair of chopsticks. It's ok if we share, right?"
Josuke sat at his desk and turned his chair to face my desk. "Sure."
For the first minute, we sat there quietly as we took turns using the chopsticks to eat from the bento box.
Josuke decided to break the silence. "So, "You said you're from Hokkaido, right?"
"Yeah,"
"Isn't it super cold up there?"
"Compared to Morioh it is, but I'm used to the cold. You just have to bundle up when winter comes." I said as I popped a sausage into my mouth. I then gave him the chopsticks to do the same."What's Morioh like? I just moved here a week ago."
"I'm not too sure compared to other towns, but Morioh is pretty normal when it comes to the four seasons. Have you been to the shopping centers here?"
"Yeah, to get my school uniform and my book bag. Why?"
"A few blocks from there there's an arcade that only costs 10 yen per machine. Do you want to go there together after school?"
He's…inviting me to go somewhere? Even though we just met? "Yeah, but I don't know how to play video games."
He gawked at me as if I've seen a ghost. "You've never played video games? Like, ever?"
"I don't have a gaming console at my house."
"Well, I do! Maybe you should come over to my house and play on it first before we go to an arcade, to get you used to using a controller that is."
I'm being invited over to his house?
"Really? This is the first time someone has ever invited me to their house."
"Well, I'm glad to be your first." Josuke smiled.
"What are you two doing in here?" I hear a familiar voice coming from the doorway of the classroom. It was Ai with her arms and legs crossed. She ran up to the two of us and smiled as her hands slammed on my desk, taking Josuke and me aback. "Aren't you two supposed to be at the gym?"
"She doesn't have her gym clothes," Josuke said as he pointed to me. "And let's just say I'm here to keep her company."
"Is that so?" Ai got up in Josuke's face. "Do you like her, Josuke?"
"Like her?" Josuke's face started to turn red. "No! I mean, I thought it would be nice if she made a friend or two while she's in our class this year."
"You…you want to be my friend?" I asked. I started to twirl the ends of my red hair nervously. "I've…never had a friend before."
"Wait, really? Even back in Hokkaido too?"
"Yea. I was usually alone in school."
"Well, I'll be your first, ok?" He smiled.
Ai stared at the both of us and smiled. "Well, I only came in here to get a hair tie." She then dug through her book bag, pulled out a hair tie, and walked back to the classroom door as she waved at the both of us. "Bye Kuroko! Bye Josuke!" I could hear her sneakers clanking on the floor as she skipped down the hallway.
"Is she always like this?" I asked Josuke.
He looked at me, confused. "What do you mean?"
"…Nevermind."
The two of us continued eating together. I kept asking questions about what Morioh was like while Josuke kept asking me about Hokkaido.
It was nice.
"So, what does this Crazy Diamond guy look like?" I asked.
"Well, he's pink and blue and very muscular like those body builders you see on TV. He's also covered with heart shaped blue plates. Hold on, let me draw him for you." Josuke then grabbed his bookbag and dug through the contents to get out a box of crayons and a blank sheet of paper. He then picked out a light blue and pink crayon and went to work. A minute passed in full silence as I let him concentrate on his artwork. Once he was done he lifted up the paper in the air to show me. "Here!"
The picture showed exactly what he described, a pink muscular man with blue plates covering his chest and shoulder blades. It's kind of adorable. "It's…cute."
Josuke stared at me for a moment. "You think Crazy Diamond is cute?"
"Well, yeah. I like the hearts all over him."
Josuke's cheeks tinted pink at my comment. "Thanks. I'll tell him that."
After the last bell rang, all the students rushed out into the hallways and out onto the school's entrance. Many of them were already in their groups of friends, chatting amongst themselves. I, on the other hand, walked out with Josuke into the courtyard.
"Josuke!" I heard a high-pitched voice coming from behind the two of us. A girl that was with Ai earlier ran up to Josuke and grabbed his hand. "Can you walk me home? I'm really close by."
"No, he's going to walk me home!" Another girl ran up to him and held his other hand.
"Um, girls," Josuke started. "I'm actually going to walk with Kuroko today."
"Aww. You're going to walk with the transfer student? Why?" One of the girls whined.
"That's not fair!"
"I wanted to walk with you today."
These girls are so annoying. How could Josuke even bother with them?
I summoned the courage to speak. "Girls, let Josuke decide who he wants to walk with."
"Y-yeah!" He stuttered. "I'm walking with Kuroko today." He let go of both of the girls' hands and grabbed mine.
The two girls finally left us alone as they attached themselves to another boy in our class. Josuke turned to me. "Thanks. It's kind of hard for me to say "no" to girls like that."
"Why are the girls in school all over you anyways?"
"I don't know. It wasn't like this in kindergarten."
We walked down the neighborhoods of Morioh. Josuke mainly rambled about the video games he played and what we were going to play when we got to his house.
Once we got to Higashikata's residence, Josuke rang the doorbell. Around 15 seconds later, a woman with short black hair came out to greet us. "Welcome back Josuke! Oh! Who's this?"
I bowed my head. "My name is Kuroko Izumi. I am Josuke's classmate."
"Wow! You have such nice manners. I hope that can rub off on my son." Josuke rolled his eyes at the comment. "Come on in! Let me make some tea for you!"
As I walked into the house, multiple pictures of him, his mom, and a man in a police officer outfit were hung up on the lemon hue walls. It was relatively small compared to the house I was temporarily living in. I followed Josuke into his living room. Inside was a large tv with a NES plugged into it. Josuke sat on the floor and patted the spot next to him. "Sit here and I'll show you how to play!" I followed his orders. He then gave me a gray controller with red buttons. Josuke pressed the on button on the NES and inserted what appeared to be a car racing game. A pixelated screen came up on the TV showing a red car on an asphalt track. He then sat back next to me. "Just press the buttons to control the car and go as fast as you can. We can play single-player for now, but once you get the hang of it, we can play together."
"Um, ok."
The light above the car turned green, signifying for me to press one of the controls to move forward doing so jolted the car forward. A few minutes passed as I was zooming past multiple cars, the numbers changed on the corner of the TV, changing from five, to three, to two.
"This…is kind of fun." I said. A slight smile started to grow on my face.
"I know right? I can't believe you never played video games before."
The car passed the finish line, showing the number 2 on the screen. "I guess I got second place."
"That's great! Now let me show you how it's done." He said as he took the controller out of my hand.
The starting screen appeared once again, showing the red car at the starting line. As soon as the light turned green, the car zoomed past the other cars in the race. Every time the car swerved left or right, Josuke tilted in that direction as if he was in the car. Everything went smoothly until the number 4 popped up on the screen two minutes later. My friend's shoulders slacked in disappointment as I giggled to myself. "Are you sure that's how it's done?"
"Oh shut up," he joked, shoving my arm playfully. I grinned. So that's how it's going to be, huh?
I shoved him back slightly harder than he did. He shoved me even harder, smirking. I used all of my strength to push him on the floor. "Are you sure you want to challenge Josuke Higashikata?"
"What do you mean?"
"Crazy Diamond, go!" He yelled out, pointing at me. Suddenly, I could feel something on my waist tickling me.
I balled up into a fetal position rolling on the floor, laughing with tears coming from my eyes. "Hahahahaha! Stop it!"
"This is what you deserve!" He yelled. Suddenly I could feel his hands on my waist, tickling me while he grins.
"Josuke!" I heard a deep voice come out of the hallway as the front door opened and closed. "I'm home!" An older man wearing a dark blue police outfit walked into the living room. His eyes met mine, as Josuke's hands were on my waist as we laid on the floor. "Who's this girl? He asked.
"Oh, this is Kuroko Izumi." Josuke introduced me. "She's my friend. Kuroko, this is my grandfather."
"Oh, it's nice to meet you Mr. Higashikata."
Mr. Higashikata gave Josuke the evil eye. "Josuke, can I talk to you for a moment?" His grandfather asked with a smile that seemed slightly irritated."
"Sure?" Josuke complied as he stood up. The two of them walked into the hallway as their footsteps became lighter and lighter. The most I could hear was mumbling between the two of them. After a few minutes, both Josuke and his grandfather came out of the hallway and back into the living room. Josuke looked slightly flustered with a tint of pink on his cheeks. "I'm so sorry!" He said as he bowed his head. "I shouldn't have touched you there!"
"Wait…what?"
He held his arms as he looked away in embarrassment. "My grandfather said as a boy, I should be more gentle when it comes to playing with girls."
I pushed myself off the ground and sat with my legs crossed. I don't fully understand what he means. He was just tickling me. Is that unusual for guys to do to girls?
I got up and placed my hand on his shoulder. "Josuke I'm fine, but I appreciate your thoughtfulness." His marine blue eyes meet my golden ones. "Now let's get back to the game, shall we?"
He gave me his usual goofy smile. "Sure."
After his grandad left, we played for what felt like an hour. Josuke gave me a second controller to race against him. Each time my car placed ahead of him in the race, I got a funny feeling in my stomach as he tried to make up an excuse for his failure. "My hand fell asleep!", "The game is glitched!", "Oh, I just let you win this time!"
I'm actually having fun. Fun with a friend.
The sun started to set in Morioh as the sky's yellow hue was starting to dim and the street lights flickered on. Ms. Higashikata came into the living room holding her car keys. "Josuke! It's time for Kuroko to go home. I can drive her home."
"Oh, can I ride?" he asked.
"No. Help your grandfather finish up preparing dinner. I already cut up the vegetables and boiled the broth. All you guys have to do is prepare the soup."
"Ok mom."
"Come Kuro, let me take you home."
I got up from the floor and walked towards her. "Yes Ms. Higashikata." I turned around to look at Josuke, who looked somewhat disappointed. "Bye Josuke."
"Bye Kuroko. See you tomorrow at school, ok?"
I completely forgot about school and my homework. I was having so much fun, I even forgot to call my mom to tell her I was over a friend's house. I smiled at him. "I guess you too Josuke."
As I got into the leather-seated car, Ms. Higashikata turned on the engine and took off once I told her my address. The first two minutes we rode together in silence. It didn't help that I'm terrible at small talk. "So how was it Kuroko?" Ms. Higashikata started. "Your play date with my son."
"It was…nice." I responded.
"That's good," she smiled, still keeping her eyes on the road. "Josuke doesn't have a lot of friends either. His hot-headedness sometimes scares other kids away."
"His hotheadedness?"
"Yeah, I guess he gets that from me haha. He gets violent when other people make fun of his hair."
Kids would make fun of his hair? Now that I think about it, I've only seen that hairstyle in old movies from 20 years ago. He did say that he liked American music. Maybe he got it from that. Even so…
"I think his hair looks cute," I said. "I don't like it when people make fun of my hair either."
"Aww, that's really sweet of you. I'll tell him that when I get home. But even with his hotheadedness, he has a good heart, so I hope you stay friends with him."
The fact that Josuke wants to hang out with a cold transfer student like me proves her point. "Yea. I guess he does."
Once we got to my house, Ms. Higashikata rang the doorbell. A few moments passed before my mom opened the door. "Kuro!" She grasped my waist and held me close to her chest. "You're back! Do you know how worried I was about you? You didn't come home on your first day of school! I was about to call the police! I knew I should've picked you up!"
"Mom, I'm fine." I said while I tried to get out of her grasp.
She then looked at Ms. Higashikata. "Thank you for taking my daughter home."
"No, it's fine!" Josuke's mom said as she waved her hands. "She was over my house. She made friends with my son Josuke. I'm Tomoko Higashikata. You can just call me Tomoko."
"Well Tomoko, my name is Kaneko Izumi. I'm a doctor who's stationed here in Morioh for the time being. Hopefully, my daughter didn't cause you too much trouble."
"Not at all, she's more behaved than my own son."
My mom looked back at me with annoyed eyes. "Kuro, next time call me if you're staying at a friend's house so I won't be worried sick. Now go inside while I talk to Ms, Higashikata, alright?"
"Ok."
I followed my mom's directions and closed the front door. The smell of cherry-scented candles filled the air as I took my school shoes off at the front door. Brown cardboard boxes were scattered along the sides of the hallway. We just moved to Morioh a week ago but my mom wanted me to go back to school as soon as possible. Once I got to my room I plopped onto my bed and laid down, looking at the ceiling.
Even with Ai Kobayashi and her girls bullying me, I met a weird goofy boy who's been nice to me.
Josuke.
Maybe living here won't be so bad.
A few moments later I heard the front door closing and footsteps coming closer and closer to my room. My mom popped her head through my doorway. "Kuroko? I didn't have the time to make dinner. Is there something in particular you want to order for dinner?"
I paused for a moment. "I guess yakisoba?"
She clapped her hands together. "Alright. Yakisoba it is. Let me just grab the phone book and see what places deliver to our house."
For some reason, when we ate dinner together, the yakisoba tasted more delicious than normal. Was it because the place we ordered it from was well-known? Or was it because I just came home from hanging out with a friend? I'm not sure.
"So, what's Josuke's like?" My mom asked as she ate a bell pepper slice.
"Oh," I stopped poking at the soy sauce noodles on my plate. "I guess…he's weird?"
My mom giggled while covering her mouth. "Well, being weird is better than anything bad! I'm just glad you made a friend. Maybe he can come over to our house once in a while."
"Yea, that would be nice."
"How was the rest of your school day?"
"It was fine." I lied. It's best that my mom doesn't know that I'm already being bullied. I don't want her to stress about anything else since she's already stressed about moving and work.
"That's good. I've just been going to meetings after meeting at the hospital," she rolled her eyes. "It's just tiresome. I probably won't be home for a while."
"It's ok. I understand."
After a while of mostly my mom venting about work, we ate dinner together. I helped my mom unpack for a couple of hours, moving furniture, dishes, and work papers around the house. After that, I was finally able to shower and rest in my own room at around 10:30 pm as I stared at the pink ceiling.
I met a boy named Josuke who has a ghost that can fix things. He invited me to his house to play video games and we had fun.
Today was kind of nice.
When I walked to the classroom the next day, girls lined the hallways in groups, staring at me and whispering. Once our eyes met, the girls immediately turned their faces away from me. Once I got to the classroom, I could see why.
My desk had appeared to be violently thrown into the corner, sitting upside down. The students who were already in the room stared at me.
I already know who did this.
I silently walked to my desk and flipped it over to be greeted by the message Ai and her groupies sent me scribbled on the desk in marker.
"GO TO HELL!"
"RED HAIRED SLUT!"
"YOU DON'T BELONG HERE!"
"KILL YOURSELF!"
Ms. Suzuki came into the room with Ai walking next to her. Once our eyes met she gave me an angry look. "Kuroko, Ai was telling me that she saw you writing on your own desk."
"No! I," but before I could say anything, I was cut off by AI's friends.
"I saw her writing on her desk!"
"Me too! Ms. Suzuki, she's doing this for attention!"
Without even asking for my response, Ms. Suzuki cut the girls off. "That's enough! Kuroko, wipe your desk off and meet with me after class!"
She didn't even look at my desk. She just punished me. Is this what schools in Morioh are like?
"Yes ma'am" I annoyingly complied.
I followed her direction and wiped my desk off with the girls surrounding me smiling.
This wouldn't be the last time something like this happened.
The next day, Josuke came up to me with a school lunch in his hands. "You want to eat lunch together?"
"Sure," I said. I dug through my bookbag only feeling my books, folders, notebooks, and pencils.
That's strange, I know I put my lunch in here. I must have forgotten it on the table.
"I forgot my lunch but we can still eat together."
"Oh! You can have some of mine."
"Is…that really ok?"
"Of course! I guess it's just like the day we first met." He smiled.
Later that day, when I got up to throw my papers away, I realized that my lunch was in the trash can.
Everything's fine.
If Josuke learns that I'm being bullied because I'm with him, he won't want to be my friend anymore.
I just need to get through the school year.
Every day of the week, Ai and her groupies did something else to ruin my day.
On Monday I found nails in my gym shoes inside my locker.
On Tuesday after gym, when I went to change, my school uniform was missing. I had to wear my gym clothes the entire day. When Josuke asked about it, I lied and said that I spilled something on my uniform.
On Wednesday, I overheard a group of students saying that I moved to this school because I was expelled and I was a slut.
Each day became harder and harder to deal with. The rumors became so apparent that when I would walk in the hallways, my classmates would stare at me with disgusted looks.
Everyone hated me.
Everyone except,
Josuke Higashikata.
Two weeks passed of this nonsense and it became the status quo. I would empty my shoes to make sure there weren't any nails or spiders in them. I would always carry lunch money if somehow my lunch was ruined. I also hid an extra school uniform in an unused classroom in the back of the building.
In the meantime, Josuke and I still hung out during recess and after school as I would go over his house occasionally to play video games.
This is bearable.
Everything is ok.
One day, I opened my locker, expecting the usual nails and trash in my shoes but instead, I got something different. A folded piece of paper lay on top of my white school shoes. I took it out and opened it.
"Meet me on the rooftop after school
Josuke"
Why would Josuke want to meet me on the rooftop after school?
I need to find out.
I decided to follow the letter's directions. At 2:30 after the bell rang, I walked through the crowded hallways of students rushing to get home. I didn't even know students were allowed on the rooftop. Once I got to the top, it was empty. Josuke was nowhere to be seen in the spring breeze.
Maybe he forgot.
I leaned over the rooftop, seeing all the students walk around on the sidewalks home. There he was, Josuke, sitting on the bench outside of the school.
How could he have forgotten?
"Hey Jos-mph!" I tried to call out his name, only for it to be muffled by someone's hand. I turned my head around to see two male students in middle school uniform. One of them grabbed my waist and pulled me backwards. I struggled to get out of his grip but my efforts were fruitless. Behind us was Ai and her groupies wearing massive smirks. One of the upperclassmen lifted their hand off my mouth. "What the hell do you want?"
"I told you to stop talking to Josuke. Even after all this time, you're just so persistent." She then pulled out an orange box cutter and held it to my face. "I hate repeating myself, so I won't. All the things we did to you over the last two weeks were just a taste as-to what will come next. Brother! Girls! Hold her down!"
All five girls started to grab my shirt, shoulders, and ankles while one of the boys held my waist and the other one put me in a choke-hold. "Let me go! Let me go!" I screamed.
But it didn't matter.
It's not like there's anyone that could help me up here.
"Hold still," Ai warned. "You don't want me to accidentally cut your eye out, do you?" I could feel one of the girls pulling on my hair. "Now let's chop off that fugly hair of yours!"
"Let me go -hmph!" One of the upperclassmen covered my mouth once again, muting me. I could feel one of the bullies grip on my hair loosen as I saw my long strands of hair fall to the ground.
I need to keep moving. Maybe, just maybe I can get out of their grip and run.
"You're actually kind of cute," one of the boys teased. I could feel cold hands moving up my school blouse. Tears started to come out of my eyes.
No…please stop…please…someone…anyone..help me!
"Brother, I'm done!" Ai chimed. The hand that was up my shirt stopped. One of the girls handed Ai a handheld pink pocket mirror and showed me my chopped-up hair. Almost all of it was on the school's rooftop. "I did the best I could do. Hopefully Josuke is happy with it!" Her grin turned into a scowl immediately as she then pointed the box cutter at my neck once more. "Listen to me carefully. I know that every day after school, Josuke and you hang out together. That stops today. When you go down to the entrance, you WILL break up with him. And we will all be watching. Understood?"
The boys finally loosened their grip on me as my knees gave in and I fell to the ground sobbing. "Y…yes."
"Good! I guess I'll see you with your new haircut tomorrow!"
The bullies walked down the stairs chatting as if nothing happened.
As if they didn't assault me.
Bastards.
I left the rooftop and went down the stairs with the other students staring at my head, whispering.
"Why is her hair chopped off"
"Did she do this to herself?"
"Isn't that the slut that clings onto Josuke all the time?"
"I wouldn't talk to her if I were you. "
Please. Stop saying that. I don't think I can take this anymore.
Once I got outside, I slowly walked to Josuke Higashikata. Once our eyes met, his eyes widened as he got up and ran towards me. "Kuroko! What happened to your hair?! Why are your eyes so puffy?"
"Josuke…I…I…" I struggled to speak. "I don't want to talk to you anymore."
"Wait…why?"
"I…I hate you. I hate everything about you. I don't even want to look at you. Never talk to me ever again!"
Josuke placed his hand on my shoulder. "Kuroko, I,"
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" He backed away and took his hand off me. Some of the students outside started staring at us.
I don't want to be hurt anymore. So please…please leave me alone.
"I…I…I HATE YOU JOSUKE HIGASHIKATA!"
I turned around and ran.
Ran as fast as I could.
I just need to get away.
Get away from school.
Get away from Josuke.
Get away from everyone.
I sprinted through the streets of Morioh, passing kids, other students, even adults that were minding their own business.
My feet stopped once I got to one of Morioh's small playgrounds empty of any children playing. Inside were two swings, a slide and a single seesaw. I dragged my feet to the middle and my knees bent down into to the mulch. Even more tears dripped from my eyes as I sat there on the ground crying.
Then…
Out of nowhere, a sharp pain was felt from my back as if I was being stabbed. I fell onto my chest screaming in pain and rolled to my side. The pain from my back then spread to my shoulders, to my chest, then, to my limbs. I managed to turn around to see a boy with tall blonde hair holding what appeared to be a bow.
"Shhh." The boy said. He then covered my mouth with his hand. "Stop screaming or the police will come over!" The pain grew ever more precise as I felt something pull out of me. A few moments later I saw the item that was stabbed into my back
A golden arrow.
The boy looked at me then ran out of the park as I laid on the ground. When I tried to push my body off the ground, a pool of blood was beneath me. My vision started to go blurry.
Am I going to die here? After all of this? After being assaulted, losing my friend, and now this? Why? What did I do to deserve this?
My body collapsed to the ground as everything went dark.
…
"Kuro! Kuro! Wake up you dummy!"
My eyes opened once more, as if I was waking up from a bad dream. My pompadour friend was above. "Why are you on the ground? Don't tell me Ai and her friends did this too."
"Josuke," I pushed myself up to a sitting position. The skin around one of his eyes was puffy and dark blue. He was covered in scratches on his arm and the side of his uniform was torn. "What happened to you?"
His eyes strayed away from mine solemnly. "After you told me to get lost, I saw Ai and her friends snickering and laughing around the corner. I got in a fight with her brother and his friend. They told me everything." He then placed his hand on my cheek. "Why didn't it work? Let me try again."
Then, I saw something. No, someone. A pink and blue humanoid figure appeared behind Josuke and touched the top of my head.
Is that…Crazy Diamond?
Josuke let go of my cheek as the pink and blue ghost disappeared and sighed. "My power has a short range. I don't think I can fix your hair."
This boy went through the trouble of beating up AI's brother, chased me down and fixed me. But why?
The two of us got up from the ground and sat on the swings quietly until Josuke broke the silence. "Why didn't you tell me that you were getting bullied."
I rubbed my puffy eyes. "I didn't want you to worry. I didn't want anyone to worry."
Josuke pushed his swing closer to mine and rubbed my head with the palm of his hand. "Your hair. It looked so nice. I'm sorry I can't fix it for you."
"It's fine. I never liked it that much anyways. Maybe it's better that I don't have it."
Josuke looked at me, shocked. "No! You're wrong! I think your hair made you look really pret-" Before he could finish, he cupped his mouth with his hands and blushed.
" …You…you think I'm pretty?"
"Well…I…"
Josuke, this kid who I've known for only two weeks is doing all of this just to make me feel better.
But why?
It doesn't matter.
He's trying.
And that's all that matters.
I stood up from the swing, walked to him, and pushed his head into my chest, hugging his head as tight as I could. "Thank you, Josuke." Once I let go of his head, his face was beet red. "Are you ok?"
"Yes I'm fine!" He immediately stood up from the swing and rubbed the back of his neck. "Actually, let's head back to my house! When I was younger, my mom used to cut my hair. Maybe she can even yours out."
I finally smiled. "Yeah, that sounds nice."
When we got to the Higashikata household, Josuke rang the doorbell. We waited patiently for his mom to get the door. Once she did, her eyes went directly to me.
"Kuroko! What happened to your hair?! Why are your eyes so puffy?!" She grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into her chest. Her eyes darted towards her son. "Josuke, why do you have a black eye? Don't tell me you got into another fight!"
"I'm…I'm ok." I said as I pulled myself away from her chest. "Josuke protected me. Please don't punish him. It's my fault."
Ms. Higashikata welcomed us in. Josuke told her everything in their kitchen as I sat in their living room quietly on the couch. I then heard Josuke's mom on the phone with my mom, explaining what's been going on with me at school. That was the last thing my mom needed to know with the amount of stress shes already in. She also called the school to make sure the bullies were punished. Once they were done, Ms. Higashikata came into the living room with a smile. "Kuroko, come into the bathroom with me so I can style your hair."
"Ok." I said as I got up. I followed her into the bathroom. She then grabbed a chair from the kitchen and hair styling scissors.
"I used to cut Josuke's hair when he was little, so don't worry, I know what I'm doing." She smiled as I sat on the chair. "Now close your eyes, I want it to be a surprise." I agreed to her orders. Around 15 minutes passed and I could feel her hand brush my neck every few minutes as she snipped whatever was left of my red hair. "Aaaand done! You can open your eyes now. What appeared in the bathroom mirror was a girl with finger-length red hair that was slightly curled at the ends. "I tried to cut as little as possible and I moved some of the hair to cover any bald spots. I think I did a really good job."
It…actually looks kind of cute.
"It…looks nice. Thank you Ms. Higashikata."
The two of us walked out into the hallway to see Josuke waiting to see my new haircut. "Your hair looks nice Kuroko!" He smiled.
"Th… thank you Josuke."
Josuke's mom rubbed my shoulders. "Kuroko, why don't you stay for the night? I'll let your mom know. You can sleep in the guest room."
I've never stayed over at a friend's house. "Is that ok?"
"Sure. You can wear some of Josuke's old clothes."
Josuke's mom was making omurice for us while Josuke and I hung out in the living room watching TV. Whenever Josuke tried to make small talk with me, I would just agree with him and nod. I didn't mean to dismiss him, but after all that has happened, I didn't know what to say to him.
"It's ok Kuroko," Josuke said, breaking the silence. "We don't have to talk for every second we're together. Sometimes it's just nice being around someone." Josuke placed his hand on my shoulder. "So, don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."
He's so nice. His spirit is so nice, just like his mom said.
I rested my head on to his shoulder. "Thank you, Josuke."
"Josuke! Kuroko!" Ms. Higashikata called out from the kitchen. "Dinner's ready!"
The two of us got up and walked to the kitchen, Josuke moving faster than me. The table was already set with three plates of omurice, stir-fried vegetables, miso soup, cups, and a carton of soy milk. We seated ourselves at the table, thanked Ms. Higashikata for the food and I took a bite. The rice was seasoned perfectly while the combination of the fluffy yellow omelet made it taste even better. "It's…good," I complimented.
"Thank you! This is one of the best dishes I make. I want you to feel at home, Kuroko."
Every day, Josuke's family surprises me. By how welcoming they are, by how nice they are.
By how genuine they all are.
"But..why?" I asked.
"Because you're my son's friend Kuroko." Josuke's mom rubbed my friend's head as he looked slightly annoyed at her. "There's no other reason."
"Is that what friends do?" I asked.
Josuke's mom gave me a weird look. "You've never had any friends, have you Kuroko?"
I lowered my head sadly. "No."
"Well, I'm glad that you met my son. He doesn't have that many friends either, so you two are perfect for each other."
Josuke pouted in embarrassment. It's surprising considering the fact that he's so popular with the girls at school. But he's here for me. And that's all that matters.
I smiled back at her. "Me too."
After we ate dinner, it was already getting late. Ms Higashikata showed me to the guest room and gave me some of Josuke's old clothes and new toiletries. I got ready for bed and already went into my room around 9:00 pm, but for hours and hours, I stared at the white fan on the ceiling, unable to sleep.
Maybe it's because of all the stress from today.
I tossed and turned on the soft bed, trying different sleeping positions, counting sheep, anything that will help me go to sleep.
Nothing.
I wonder if Josuke's up.
I got up from my bed and lightly tiptoed to Josuke's room and opened Josuke's bedroom door. The cream-white walls were covered with Prince and video game posters. On the wooden floor was a small pile of dirty laundry that his mom probably nagged him to do. I guess this is a typical boy's room. He was curled up in a ball on his bed under a long blue and white striped blanket. "Josuke," I whispered. "Are you awake?"
"No," he whispered back under the sheets.
I let out a small chuckle. "You liar."
I welcomed myself in and sat on the floor next to the bed. "I can't sleep."
"Me neither." He then got out of the bed and sat right next to me. "I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?"
"Because…I couldn't fix your hair." He then moved his hand and rubbed my head with his palm. "If someone did that to me…I don't even want to think about what I'd do to them."
"But why? It's just hair."
Josuke stopped petting my head for a moment. "Do you really want to know?"
I remembered what his mom said about how he gets mad when people make fun of his hair. "I mean, neither of us can sleep. We might as well stay up for a little while longer."
"Ok. So, when I was four, I got sick. Like, REALLY sick. My mom thought that I was going to die, so she drove me to a hospital. On the way there, the car got stuck in a snowstorm. Then, a man with a pompadour helped push the car out of the snow. Without him doing that I would've died in the car. That man saved my life. So out of respect, I copied his hairstyle."
Josuke Higashikata, the kid that can save the lives of others, had his life saved by another man with the same hairstyle, so he copied his look.
How admirable.
"That's…really cool of you." He gave me his usual goofy smile.
The two of us sat there quietly for a moment. "I think I saw Crazy Diamond at the park."
Josuke gawked at me. "Wait, you can see Crazy Diamond?" Josuke's ghost hovered above him and looked at me.
"Well, now I do."
"Since when?!"
"I guesssince he tried to fix me."
He then gave me a sour look. "I need proof. Proof that you're able to see him."
An idea popped into my head. "Sure." I scooted my body to face him and pushed myself up on my knees. My fingers went directly to the pink and blue ghost that hovered above him. Josuke immediately started to giggle. His giggling turned into laughing, then rolling on the floor.
"HAHAHA! Ok! I get it! You can stop! I believe you!"
"This is payback from the day that we met!" I giggled. I showed him mercy and stopped. Our eyes connected. We both started laughing. Laughing at the situation. Laughing at each other.
Josuke stopped laughing for a moment as his eyes widened. "Kuro! Look!"
"What is it?"
"Behind you!"
I turned around to see "it".
A black humanoid knight with white armor. Its head was covered with a white helmet and the shoulder blades had short ivory spikes. Those spikes also trailed down the back of its spine. "What…what the hell is that?" I pointed at it.
"It's…it's just like my Crazy Diamond." Josuke got up and touched the humanoid knight's chest plate. "Can you feel this?"
At the same time, I could feel Josuke's touch on my chest."Y-yeah."
"That's…SO COOL!" Josuke yelled as he grabbed my waist and pulled me in for a sudden hug. "There's someone out there that's just like me! I'm not alone anymore! Wait, can your ghost do anything cool?"
"Hold on a moment!" I pushed Josuke out of the hug. "This is all so new to me. Just let me think for a moment."
How did this even happen? Since when did I get this ghostly power? Unless…
It has to be the arrow that hit me in the park. That has to be it. But how could an arrow even give me these powers? Who was that kid? Why does hanging around Josuke always involve some kind of drama?
"What do you mean cool?" I asked.
"Well, Crazy Diamond is able to fix things. Can your ghost do anything like that?"
"I don't know," I said. I tried to touch my own "ghost" in front of me, but my hand phased right through it. "How does Crazy Diamond even fix things?"
"I'm not too sure. Whenever I want to fix something, it just does it." He said as he summoned Crazy Diamond once more. A lavender hue covered Josuke's bed as he used Crazy Diamond's ability to "fix" the bed, making up the top blanket and tucking its sides under the mattress. "What do you want your ghost to do?"
What do I want it to do?
I know.
"I…I want the ability to protect you Josuke. You got a black eye all because of me. And I don't want you to ever get hurt because of me."
Then, the floating black and white spirit transformed into a hexagonal floating black sheet. Josuke reached his hand out and tried to touch it, only for his hand to be blocked, acting as a shield. "That's your power, a shield. I think it suits you." He smiled. "What's its name?"
"A name?"
"Yea. You know, Crazy Diamond? What will you call it?"
A name? Does it need a name?
I looked closely at the shield, which turned back into its humanoid form. "Iron Maiden?"
"Iron Maiden?. Like the torture device?" Josuke winced.
"No, like the band. My mom really likes their music. She used to blast it around the house when I was younger. Iron Maiden's a torture device?"
"Yea. I remember reading about it in a medieval play. It's like a tomb with spikes on the inside of the door, and when you close it, the person gets stabbed."
I winced at the thought of the idea of a device like that existing. "Maybe I should name it something else."
"I mean, I think it's a great name!" I could tell he was just saying that to make me feel better. "The device is usually made out of black metal and it has spikes on it! You can think of it as some kind of shield from the outside!"
"That's a bit of a stretch but sure." The way Josuke tries to make me feel better is cute sometimes.
My eyes glanced at the clock, which already read 2:45 am. "We should probably go to bed."
He nodded his head. "Yea. Wanna sleep in here?"
"Eh?"
He got up, opened his closet, which was also messy with balled-up clothes on the floor and pulled out a black blanket. He then handed the blanket to me. "You can sleep on my bed."
"But, that's your bed. You should sleep on it! I'll just sleep on the floor."
"No! You're our guest! It's the least I could do!"
"No really, I'll sleep on the floor. I don't mind."
"But your back will hurt in the morning!"
"No, it won't!"
"Yes, it will!"
"Josuke!" I heard an annoyed tone coming from outside the room. "Get the futon out of the basement and GO TO BED YOU TWO!"
I guess we were being a bit too loud at almost three in the morning.
Josuke followed her orders and brought out a green and white futon rolled up into a ball. I helped him set it up so I could sleep in his room. I snuggled in between the blanket layers as Josuke got into his bed. "Goodnight Josuke."
"Night, Kuro. Wait, I'm sorry I forgot you don't like being called-"
"It's ok Josuke," I interrupted. "You call me whatever you want at this point. I don't care."
He gave me a goofy grin. "Goodnight Kuro."
All I could remember of that night was him loudly snoring once a few minutes passed.
After that day, we've continued to be friends. The group of bullies were suspended and they stopped bothering me at school. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months as Josuke and I hung out together, played video games together, I even celebrated his birthday over at his house. Everything was great until the day came for me to leave. My mom had to finish some work for her job in Italy so we had to leave for two years.
The last day I was in Morioh, Ms. Higashikata and Josuke helped my mom and I load the moving truck with boxes of clothes, dishes, and other miscellaneous items. It took hours and hours of packing until the entire house was empty. I then packed my suitcase with my clothes and walked out the place I called home for a year around 7:00 at night. Josuke and Ms. Higashikata were already outside, waiting for me to come and say goodbye.
"I guess this is it, huh?" Josuke said. "You'll move back here in two years, right?"
"Yea. Don't worry. I'll be back. My mom bought this house. So we're not going anywhere after that."
Josuke rubbed the back of his neck until his eyes widened. "Oh! I almost forgot! Close your eyes."
"Wait, why?"
"I have a surprise for you. Just close your eyes and hold both of your hands out."
"Um, ok."
I followed his directions. I then felt my hands being weighed down. "Ok. Open your eyes." In my hands was a marine blue digital camera. "I wanted to get you this as a going away present."
"Josuke…thank you, but I don't have a gift for you."
"It's ok!" He said as he placed his hand on my shoulder. "I just want you to have something to remember me by."
I looked at the expensive camera in my hand. "Do you want to take a picture together now?"
"Sure."
I got close to him, held the camera up and lightly pressed my finger on the button. "Ok. On the count of three, smile." I counted down to three and a bright light flashed between the two of us. I looked at the picture realizing that I didn't smile on time, making myself look goofy.
Josuke looked at the camera as well. "Aww man. Do you want to retake it?"
"No…it's fine. I want to save this memory." The more I stared at the picture the more it felt like something was going to erupt. Something that I needed to say.
"Kuro, is everything ok?" Josuke asked. "You're shaking."
Without a moment to waste, I wrapped my arms around his chest and pushed my face into his chest, hugging him and sobbing. I didn't care that his mom was right next to us. I just didn't want him to leave me. "I…I don't want to leave Morioh! I want to stay! Stay here with you!"
Josuke wrapped one of his arms around my waist and used his other hand to pat my head. "I'll…I'll miss you too." His voice started to sound shaky. I then felt something wet dripping down my forehead. I looked up, seeing tears going down his eyes as well. "I don't want you to go either."
We stood there for a moment in each other's arms, comforting each other until my mom broke the silence. She was walking out of the house dragging her suitcase behind her. "Kuro! We're going to miss our plane if you don't come now!"
Josuke finally let me go and smiled with his puffy eyes. "See you in two years, Kuroko."
"You too," I sniffed. My mom walked over to us and gave Ms. Higashikata a hug. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter, and thank you, Josuke."
"She's welcomed back to our house at any time when you two come back." Josuke's mom said.
After the four of us said our goodbyes, I hopped into the car and my mom drove off. We almost missed our fight but once we got on, I looked out the window as the plane took off, seeing Morioh getting smaller and smaller.
I'll be back, Josuke Higashikata.
Two years slowly passed in Italy as my mom finished the work for her job. Each day I struggled to get around Naples since I didn't speak Italian, and although I knew basic English words, I could barely hold a conversation. I mainly kept to myself, making me feel lonely most of the time. But every once in a while, I would take out my camera and look at the picture of Josuke and me the day we left Morioh and feel better.
Once we got back to Morioh, my mom wanted me to go to school on the first day of middle school. Right before leaving the house, I tightened the bow on my uniform and combed my hair down to my back.
Ok. I'm ready to go.
As I walked down the neighborhood streets, nothing has changed. The paint on the houses where the same colors and the stores were the same size.
Then, across the street, I saw a boy across the street in front of the middle school wearing a black button-up uniform. His black pompadour made him stick out like a sore thumb.
There he is.
"Josuke!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.
He turned his head to me and our eyes met. A massive smile spread across his face. "Kuro!"
I dashed towards him. Once I got close to him he grabbed my waist and pulled me in close, too close. "Josuke, you're hurting me."
"Oh, sorry," he said as he let me go. "I just missed you, that's all."
I gave him a soft smile. "I missed you too." I inspected my friend even more. "You've grown. A lot!"
"Well yeah, it's been two years after all. You've grown a bit as well."
"Not as much as you."
He then wrapped his fingers around my hair, twirling the ends. "Your hair grew back."
"Well yeah, it's been two years after all." I chuckled. I looked off into the distance with the cherry blossom petals dancing in the wind. "Nothing has changed here in this little town, has it? Not even you, well, that's not true."
"What do you mean?"
"I think you look cuter than the last time I saw you!" I smiled.
Josuke paused for a moment. I could tell from his face that his brain stopped working. A few moments later his face was washed over with the color of the cherry blossoms that were falling onto the ground. He covered his face with both of his hands with his blue eyes peeking out between his fingers. "Thank you. I…I think you look cuter too."
"Thanks!" I looked at the post clock that was next to the stop sign reading 7:50. "We better hurry. We don't want to be late for the entrance ceremony."
"Y-yeah."
The two of us made our way to the Budogaoka middleschool building along with the other students wearing similar uniforms.
Everything is back to the way it should be. Being with someone I like. Being with someone I care about.
Being with my best friend;
Josuke Higashikata.