Chapter Text
Ms Fujita was sitting at her desk with polite, squinting eyes. She had that colourful, obscure fashion sense that only belonged to drama teachers and lesbians. She waved Kiyotaka over to a desk.
“I would like to formally apologise for my behaviour this morning, Miss. I should never have endangered my school life experience in such a manner for such a petty reason.” He placed the note Tsumiki gave him on his desk, which Kirigiri took and handed to their teacher. She was standing between them like some kind of cout couture bodyguard. Ms Fujita read it and sighed, crumpling the thin paper between her fingers.
“This is what i’ve been meaning to talk to you about Ishimaru. I have for a while, in fact; it feels like everytime I see you you’re focused solely on the sake of the school and not yourself. You don’t talk to anybody, you eat by yourself at lunch, you have no extracurricular activities outside of your public morals commitee. Of course, I can’t imagine what kind of stress you must be under with all of your work, but we’re worried you’re not taking care of yourself.”
“‘We’re’” Kiyotaka repeated, sending a glance over to Kirigiri. She turned her attention to the wall behind him. Some poker face, for a detective.
Ms Fujita sighed.
“Mr Naegi came to talk to me a few days ago, apparently you and him had had some kind of discussion where you admitted to not doing anything outside of schoolwork.”
The classroom went very, very cold all of a sudden. Kiyotaka’s hand clenched by his side, his veins nearly bursting out of his skin. The pain was grounding.
He shouldn’t have said anything. He’d nearly made a friend and then he went and ruined it again; he must have annoyed poor Naegi so much going on and on about his stupid childhood and family drama. No wonder the other boy felt compelled to talk to their teacher-if only to get the pressure off his back at least.
“I-i’m-i’m not,” he drew in a breath, sorting his spinning thoughts into a sentence, “I never meant to worry Naegi, I must have gotten carried away and exaggerated my circumstances. I’m perfectly healthy, thank you though-“
“No you’re not.” Kirigiri interrupted. His eye twitched.
“Sorry?”
“You’re not healthy. You had to go to the nurses today, but you also have quickly been losing your vision; I see you squinting at the board daily. Also you never eat with anyone because you don’t eat at all; the same small bowl of rice three times a day adds up to one meal in size. Plus the bags under your eyes suggest you aren’t sleeping although-“
“Thank you miss Kirigiri,” Ms Fujita interrupted, strumming her fingers nervously on the desk. The multitude of clunky rings on her fingers clinked like acid rain against Kiyotaka’s steadily growing headache. He cleared his throat.
“I hate to seem disrespectful miss, but may I go? I have my next class to get to before lunch.”
“That’s actually what I came to talk to you about,” she said, tap tap tapping faster and faster.
“I run a club after school for students who are rather… inept with social graces, and me and the headmaster decided it would be in your best interest to join.”
Kiyotaka bit back a ‘Headmaster and I’, and instead stood up, offering a shaky salute.
“Ah-thank you but I need that time for studying-“
“It isn’t optional.” Kirigiri, picking at a gemstone on her glove, licked her teeth. He bit down the urge to scold her for interrupting.
“What do you mean?”
“It wasn’t optional for the rest of us, it won’t be for you. Either you join or you get into trouble. As is.”
She sniffed and carried herself out of the room, not sparring either of them a glance. Kiyotaka watched her go then twisted his neck from the door to Ms Fujita to the door and back again.
“Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-“
“Don’t think of it as a punishment, it’s more like group therapy. A fun chance to bond with your peers and work together to improve your individual weaknesses, as a group!”
They just stared at each other. Her tapping slowed.
“It’s every Sunday from three pm to five pm, and we’ve made it so it doesn’t clash with anyone’s schedules. Plus that’s enough time so that you can still study. Isn’t that good?”
Kiyotaka blinked at her. A familiar stinging started in the back of his eyes, and he quickly swallowed down the bile building in his throat.
“Wh-when you say trouble…”
“Nothing like that dear, Kirigiri was just trying to intimidate you. We’ve been working on that with her but it’s a slow process. It would be preferable if you came, and if not we’ll mark you as absent, unless you have a good enough reason to not show up.”
His perfect attendance. His resume. His future, all battered because of some stupid club he never asked to join in the first place? To waste his time, not studying to solidify his family name and bring them out of poverty, but to sing kumbaya with some students who don’t even like him?!
His hands shook and he quickly placed them behind his back. His face wouldn’t smile, no matter how badly he willed it to. He had to be polite, he had to get along with his superiors. Or else he… he…
He ddn’t even know anymore. It felt like an entire day’s worth of fatigue fell on his shoulders, and he sighed.
“I’m glad we’ve come to an agreement,” Ms Fujita clapped her hands, and rose from her desk, leading him from the room, “i’m sure you come around when you see the fun we all have at the club. Remember; three pm, music room, Social Limbo Club. Okay bub bye!”
The door shut in his face