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Chapter Text

Midori Kakyoin, age 17. Because of a careless game of baseball, he was forced to go over to the next door school, where undoubtedly he'll be skinned and slaughtered.

Reason why was because next door, there was a school whose walls were vandalised with shitty graffiti, windows with holes in them, and the school equipment all broken and messy. Time to time a chair would fly out the building, or even a fist fight would end up denting the concrete wall with new permanent marks. Not even the authorities could deal with them. One could say that this was where God sent all of the next demon children. A school that housed monsters.

A school of delinquents.

Midori swallowed, and revised the state of his current situation. He belonged to a prestigious school next door, and when he played baseball during PE the other day and the ball just had to think it was a bird and fly all the way to its inevitable doom, on the school field of that wretched highschool. Forced by his peers and PE teacher, he was forced to get it back.

Midori was skilled at fighting, since he was used to taking down his opponents in one swift move, quietly, and efficiently. However, personality wise he was easily persuaded, thanks to the lack of human interaction since all he does during the holidays was just read and watch all sorts of dramas, anime and play video games like the shut in he was.

He finds his hands shaking, and his skin turn even colder than it already is. Clenching his fists, he decided to man up for once. All was good as long as he doesn't run into a whole group of them. It is just like in dramas, the girl getting kidnapped by a mafia gang, and it is up to the protagonist to save her using stealth. He internally agrees with himself, and makes one step inside enemy territory.

'This isn't so bad afterall-'

Bump

He falls back, but stood his ground, rubbing his now red nose. Midori felt like he had just crashed into a brick wall, and realised how blind he had been. How could he be such a nervous wreck to the point that he couldn't spot a brick wall at the entrance?

Wait…a brick wall...at the entrance?

He looks up, and sees the enormous giant before him. The man was built and extremely muscular, his highschool uniform not buttoned up, revealing the purple tank top underneath. His hair, or more accurately his mane, flowed around him, as if he was some sort of God or a princess in my little pony. His eyes were a mix of turquoise and violet, glimmering like a sea at sunset.

Clocking at 195cm at height, this was too big of an opponent to take down. Abort mission, officer Kakyoin! Abort mission!

"Do you have any business here?" The Greek God asks, bending down such that he was face to face with Midori, hands in his pockets. Now that he was closer, he could see his facial features more clearly without getting blinded by the sun. And sure enough, this is one handsome man.

The disadvantage for him being closer was that Midori was near to shitting his pants. This guy must definitely the ring leader!! Way to meet the main boss you idiot hero!

Midori turned around, and ran for his life, but the guy was quick to catch his prey. Midori knew he was doomed, tugging at his scarf(which was a habit to do when he was scared), he awaited his death, mentally writing down his will.

Thrown over the beast's shoulder like a sack of potatoes, he was carried towards the school. Thankfully, it was quite early for delinquents to show up, so why was this guy here?

They arrive somewhere, presumably the school garden, judging by the fresh greens, glistening tomatoes, bright colourful flowers and the lush green leaves. This was the most normal area of the whole school, in fact, this garden was of better quality than Midori's school.

The giant plops him onto a fairly clean brown bench. He then removes his school jacket, hanging it on the arm of the bench. Like the rest of his body, his arms were equally as muscular, and Midori shivers at the thought of him crushing a human skull with his bare hands. He focus on the greenery that was before him.

Midori was one to like quiet areas and corners. Usually he would seclude himself at the back corner of the classroom, or just stay in his house like a troll. Places like parks or forests are not his favourite spot, considering the creepy crawlies, sounds and smells of nature. He just wants to chill at a silent dark room away from human interaction, hot cup noodles in hand, ready to be devored.

This time however, the garden wasn't all that bad. There were no pesky insects, and the sunshine wasn't that hot under the cool shade from the leaves of the plants. There was occasionally a cool breeze that would blow by, and the garden was beautiful to look at. The person who was responsible fo all of this was a rough giant, currently watering the plants. Maybe…not all deliquents were scary and unreasonable. Midori finds himself staring, lost in the atmosphere of the makeshift forest.

"So, you haven't answered my question," The guy says, moving the hose in another direction. The sound of the water rippling on the leaves was somewhat calming. Surely a lover of plants like him can't be that big of a bully, right?

"Tell me your name first," Midori says confidently, despite losing his cool earlier.

The person sighs, scratching the back of his mane. After a pause he decides to introduce himself.

"Shirogane Kujo. My friends call me Shiro," Shiro says, putting down the hose. He makes his way to the source of the water, and turns it off with a squeak. "What's yours?" He asks, making his way to a bag of fertiliser next to the crops of sunflowers.

"I don't have to tell you." Midori says, drawing circles on the bench.

"Do you want me to call you grass then?"

Midori covers his hair with his hands. Sure, thanks to rebelious phase he dyed his hair green, but he was still weak to insults, since he gets self conscious easily.

"I'm...Midori Kakyoin." Well great. He told his name to a delinquent. What's next? Selling his life to a vampire?

Shiro hums knowingly, squatting as he gently places fertiliser into the dirt.

"Why did you cross over the boundary? Judging by your uniform, you must be from the good school next door." Shiro asks, wiping sweat from his brow with his wrist.

Should he be revealing the plan more? Or just evade? Midori feels that he shouldn't trust people so easily, flora enthusiast or not.

"Nothing. Just wanted to explore." Midori replies.

Shiro hums yet again, standing up he makes his way towards Midori, making him slightly tense. He slams the bench with his hand, making it jerk slightly. Midori felt like a cornered animal, the way his exit was blocked off by a wall of muscle. He chuckles, canines showing.

"Bullshit."

Shiro's deep voice reverberated in the teen's ear, sending a shiver down his spine. Midori swallows, being forced to look at the ferocious animal straight in the eye. Attempting not to show any weakness by looking away, though it took herculean power to fixate his eyes, he puts on his toughest face.

Midori ducks under Shiro's ridiculously large arms, and stood on the pebbled floor.

"I don't have to tell you," Midori says coldly, as he made his way towards the presumed direction of the field.

"Wait," Shiro commanded, as he reached out to grab Midori by his scarf, only to be greeted by sharp stabs in his palm, as if he had just been forced to hold small shards of glass.

The morning breeze blew by. The graceful clinking of metal on metal. Attached to strings green emerald like diamonds dangled from the ends of the scarf. As Midori's yellow animal like eyes glowed under the shade of trees, the rustling of leaves made him looks as if he was a snake in his territory, despite his delicate looks he was born to kill swiftly.

As his scarf flowed in the wind, Shiro was stunned on the spot, as his eyes met one of a killer.

His instincts told him that Midori wasn't one to be underestimated. Shiro crossed his arms as he watched Midori get out of the safe haven and into enemy territory.

~

Ishiyama high, a school filled with ruthless bastards that wouldn't hesitate to kill a kitten for fun.

Isesaki academy, a school filled with rich brats who can pay their way through anything.

The government treated Ishiyama as a stain in their "Holy land", tried to demolish them but there was no progress. They decided to put Isesaki next to Ishiyama, expecting that through good influence the stain would clean itself, but unfortunately, a barrier had formed between the two. The two viruses had just grew immune to one another, accepting the fact that they had been forced to live together by ignoring each other.

Until he came along.

The first thing shirogane thought as his eyes laid on the green haired teenager was…

"Cute…"

Unlike all the ugly weeds in this school, this is one beautiful flower. Shiro notices his uniform under his jacket which was white with green patches. He belonged to the school next door. What is he doing crossing the border? He must either be extremely stupid or confident.

Height 178. His hair is lime green, his skin fair and body figure slim but flexible. His scarf ws pure white, but under sunlight it glimmers green. He must be weak to the cold to wear two layers of clothing together with a scarf.

"Do you have any business here?" Shiro asks the short beauty, and he flinches. He turns around and starts to walk off, but Shiro knows that this could be the last time he's going to meet this rare specimen. He grabs him and wrings him over his shoulder. He needs to hide him from any vicious predators. In the corner of his eye he noticed him clutching on his scarf like kitten to a ball of yarn, and Shiro had to hold himself from commenting on the sheer adorableness.

He might be a 195 giant but he has a weak spot for plants and cute things.

~

Shiro patted himself on the back when he sees that he likes his garden.

After introducing themselves, Shiro wouldn't lie that he repeated the name Midori Kakyoin in his head a couple of times.

When Midori says that he was just here thanks to curiosity, Shiro knew that it was just a blatant lie. After cornering him on the bench Shiro could see Midori's facial features more clearly, and damn did he look feminine. His eyes were yellow and large, skin smooth and soft looking. His lips a cute light pink in colour. Most of the girls in Ishiyama needed to put on make up to achieve this level of beauty, and this guy was born with good looks.

Midori ducked under his arm, and Shiro notices that he was going to go to the field. Into Kanuie's territory. Ishiyama was like a jungle, territories determined by strength alone. Shiro was content with just the garden.

Kanuie led a large group of delinquents. He rules mostly thanks to numbers, since he had the strength of a normal human. His team was named the sewer rats, which was awfully fitting.

He reaches out, trying to warn Midori of the danger he was about to waltz into, but was repaid with sharp pains in his palm.

In those glowing yellow irises, he learnt that not all pretty flowers were just for show.

Some had thorns on their stems.

~

Midori walked up to the field, and it was relatively empty. Thank God he didn't spend too much time in the garden, though he really wanted to. His mission came first.

Midori searched through the the grassy field, and thanks to a miracle he spots the white baseball at the center of it. During his search he did find many other lost items, from Frisbees, to skipping ropes, to jellyfishing nets.

He holds the baseball triumphantly, eager as ever to get out of this wretched-

"Hey boss, there's someone trying to raid our turf."

Oh crud.

A large group of them, start to crowd around Midori, blocking all ways of escaping. He knew today couldn't go so well…

"He doesn't look like he's from our school. He's from the one with the shitty rich kids."

"All the more we kick his ass am I right?"

The deliquents start to laugh. And out of the crowd surfaced a man with a yellow pompadour.

"Well well well, looks like one sweet little bird fell out of the nest. Came here because of a dare? Or perhaps you wanted your ass kicked?" The guy stood there, back hunched and hands in his pockets, as he slowly made his way to Midori.

"Stunned by fear huh, not even bothering to respond when your seniors talk to you." Kanuie gets face to face with Midori, only to realise that he was shorter than him. Infuriated, he spits at Midori's face. "Disrespectful little shit," He growls.

"Hah! He's not saying anything! He is A masochist!"

"Don't even know how to treat his seniors!"

Midori does nothing, but only replied with glaring at him with cold eyes. Kanuie flinched slightly.

"Oooh…scary. I'm going to enjoy ruining your pretty little face!" Kanuie throws a punch, but Midori dodges effortlessly. Kanuie was unable to pull back, and Midori uses the opportunity to grab hold of his head and straight up knee him. Blood stained his pants as he hears and satisfying crunch, signalling that he was successful in breaking a few teeth and his nose.

Everyone stared in shock.

Taking out a handkerchief, he wipes off the spit.

"Hey you," Midori finally spoke up, breaking silence. He throws the handkerchief on the man squirming on the floor.

"I think you'll need this to clean the blood. You've already dirtier it with your spit, so I'll let you have it." He says in the most sarcastic tone.

"Y-you…how dare you…!" Kanuie says, his voice slightly altered thanks to his broken nose. "I'll make you pay for this! Men, beat him up!"

A huge horde of people charge at Midori, but he doesn't falter. He unravels his scarf, and like silk he uses it to effortlessly defeat them. The scarf glistened, and under the fibre held painful secrets. Like a spider's web, only a section of the scarf was safe to hold, and the others where laced with sharp crystals that cut the skin. Attempt to pull at it will just cause your fingers to be chopped off. At the ends of the scarf dangles emeralds, in which Midori could wedge between his fingers to form brass knuckles, breaking the jaw of anyone he punches.

Kanuie watched as Midori swiftly took down his men one by one, as if he was doing some dance. His eyes couldn't keep up as his men start to bleed from their necks, their eyes and hands, and scream in pain. A few had already given up, choosing to just look in horror as already whole army of people start to fall thanks to one man.

"W-we can't fight him! He's too strong!"

"It's as if his scarf was some sort of living snake!"

Kanuie gritted his teeth. He can't run away now thanks to some sissy boy next door. He decided that it was time to pull out the big guns.

Midori wishes that the fight was going to be over. There were just so many of them, which was manageable, but he still has school to tackle. Then, before him he sees two large men about 188cm in height. They overshadowed Midori, but he felt no such fear as when he encountered Shirogane.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Suddenly, one of them grabs Midori's scarf, and successfully pulls it out of his control.

'That lunatic!' Midori thought, as he turns and desperately reaches out for his scarf. It was more to him than a simple piece of fabric, or a weapon. However, getting distracted for that one second sealed his fate. The other aims a metal bat at Midori's head, eyes filled with intent to dent Midori's skull.

Unable to defend Midori braces himself for the impact, squinched his eyes as he felt himself hit the artificial grass.

*pang!*

Midori opens his eyes slowly. No stinging pain, no hot liquid trickling down his skull. Either by a miracle he missed, or he is currently in heaven.

He sees the horde of deliquents staring wide eyed at something behind him.

"Sh-Shirogane Kujo?!"

Shiro?!

Midori turns his head. Shiro had just stopped a metal bat with his bare hands. Judging by the noise that got to hurt, but Shiro's face showed no signs of pain.

His eyes shone with killing intent, and 188 idiot no.1 audibly whimpered, before dropping the weapon, his shoulders raising upwards in habit when fearful.

Shiro grabs the weapon, and with sheer strength alone he bends the bat in half, earning a shaky gasp from everyone.

it was rather humorous to watch. Shiro's mane flows in the air. He cracks his knuckles and smirks. In a gruff voice, he growls.

"Run."

And with that everyone does with their tail between their legs.

"W-wait! G-guys!" Kanuie stutters, struggling as he drags himself on the field away from Shiro. Unfortunately, Shiro manages to grab his head, lifting him up as if he weighed a feather.

"You,"

"Eek!"

Midori sits up on the small black beads of recycled tire, dusting his scarf then wrapping it around his neck.

"Mess with my friend again, and I'll kill you," Shiro emphasises kill, and Midori could spot a distinct wet spot appearing on his pants. He suppresses a laugh as Kanuie scurries away like the rat he is.

"Heads up," Shiro says, throwing the baseball at Midori. Stumbling as bit he manages to catch the ball, and realises Shiro's arm should be swelling really badly.

He makes his way to Shiro, grabbing onto his right arm. He turns Shiro's arm, checking if there is any bruise. Nothing serious, only a small patch of blue black on his skin. Shiro felt slightly shy from getting this much attention.

"It's really alright.." Shiro says scratching the back of his neck, and suddenly he sees that Midori's lips were awfully close to his wound.

Before he could question what Midori was planning to do, he plants them onto his bruise.

Shiro's eyes widened, and Midori also felt as confused as him. Quickly reeling his head back he rummaged in his mind for an excuse.

"My mother used to do that when I get injured, so I just did that out of instinct! Nothing…weird about it…." Midori says as he looks up at Shiro. They stare at each other in silence, before Midori moves away.

"I'll be off now…" Midori says, but Shiro grabs him and wrings him over his shoulder again.

Deja vu??

~

This time Shiro brings him deep into enemy territory. Many of the deliquents stares at Midori and Shiro in confusion, but we're too scared to question what the hell they were doing.

Midori buries his face in embarrassment as his ass was exposed to the world.

Shiro opens a door to the class, and roughly sits down on a table. He places Midori such that his back was against his chest, and Shiro easily wraps his arms around Midori.

Scared for his life Midori clutches tightly onto his scarf, though he felt strangely comfortable in this man's arms. Everyone in the classroom didn't bother asking, as if this was a normal occurrence for them. They continue their small talk.

"Shiro!" Midori hissed, embarrassed. He tries to struggle a little, but with Shiro's overly muscular arms pinning him down he isn't going anywhere. Meanwhile Midori's short hair tickles Shiro's nose, and it was tempting for him. He goes for the kill, pressing his nose on the nape of Midori's neck.

"You smell nice," He compliments, the vibrations on his throat travelling up Midori's neck, his hot breath fanning across his skin. Midori's brain screamed warning signals. He kept his facial expressions fixed, but his face heats up almost immediately. Sure, he is a man, but everyone can admit that a person from the same gender is sexy. And Shirogane was one of them. And it was really back that this hunk of a man does not know what personal space is.

As Midori helplessly squirmed, he could feel a smile from Shiro as he places his lips at the base of his neck. Midori keeps his head out of the clouds. His heart jumps like crazy, his legs kicking and begging for release. He thought he was about to faint when-

Slam !

The door swings open, alerting the deliquents in the room. Shiro doesn't move, only his eyes looked at the direction of the sound.

"I've come for Midori Kakyoin."

A man in sliver hair declared, throwing an unconscious, and beaten up body into the room, a sign to declare war. He pushes his black spectacles up the bridge of his nose, his uniform the exact same as Midori's. His left hand held what looks like a shinai(bamboo stick), and his right fixed on his hip.

Midori almost cried tears of joy as he saw his saviour burst through the door.

The man spots Midori in the arms of a hulk, and sighs.

"Hey you, what's with rich brats comin' into our territory today?" A deliquent walks over to the man, only to be struck across the face with his sword, and the deliquent tasted a mouth full of dust.

"My fight isn't with you small fries." The man says, brushing back one of his bangs behind his ear. He points his kendo stick at Shiro.

"My name is Argent pierre Polnareff, and I'm here to kick your ass!" Argent swipes his sword down, then brings it close to his chest like some sort of soldier.

Midori hears Shiro grunt impatiently. He looks away, ignoring the gallant man.

Argent scowls. "Such a spoil sport. Are you so afraid?"

Shiro refuses to acknowledge his existence, which pissed the guy off. Suddenly, something glints as it flies past Shiro's cheek. His eyes widened, as he looks at Argent, who had a smirk plastered on his face.

"Sh-Shiro!" Midori stutters, as a cut appears on Shiro's cheek, and blood trickles down. Everyone stares, stunned that someone in this world was able to make the Shirogane Kujo, bleed.

Shiro reaches up his cheek, wiping the blood with his fingers, then a smile formed on his lips. His eyes glimmer with excitement.

"You're strong,"

Argent gestures to Shiro with two fingers, tempting him into a fight. Everyone in the room scattered out, afraid for their lives. Without a signal, the fight was on. Shiro throws a firm right punch, but Argent easily dodges, and counters with a swing from his sword.

Many normal person would get him by the stick and fall unconscious thanks to the impact, but not Shiro.

He catches the stick with his hand, and crushes the material. Argent looks at Shiro with shock, and he replies with a smirk. Argent felt his instincts screaming to jump away, and he does. He stand, slightly breathless as he stared at the beast.

Shiro looks at the now broken kendo sword in his palm.

"You think bamboo can hurt me?" He says, throwing it down. Argent thought he was lucky at the sword was caught instead of his head. He could easily crush his skull.

Seeing that there's no other choice, Argent took out his prized possession, his rapier.

"Since you so politely asked, I'll give you a real sword." The metal blade shimmered under the sunlight, and as it moved it released an annoying "thwang" sound.

Shiro cracks his knuckles. "Bring it on."

He charges again, but this time he sensed no fighting intent from Argent. Confused Shiro stops his tracks. The silver haired man laughs obliviously.

"Looks like you found out, I'll applaud you for your awareness, but," Argent swipes his blade, so fast Shiro's eyes couldn't keep up. It was as if light had cut the air.

"It's already too late."

A creak of metal, and from above, the light bulbs and the ceiling holding it crashes onto Shiro, flattening him into the floor.

"Kakyoin! Make haste. It's almost time for recess." Argent says, taking out a cloth to clean his blade. He mumbles under his breath, complaining about missing lessons while frowning. Midori nods nervously, as he made his way out the room.

Argent followed behind, but heard slight movement on the ground, as he sees the giant still buried under debris.

Argent grits his teeth.

'I'm strong huh….'

He grabs onto his broken wrist, as he winced in pain.

'You're not bad yourself,'

He returns his rapier to where it belonged, turning and following Midori out the school.

~

'Oh damn damn damn I'm late! Shiro is going to kill me!' A dark skinned teen ran to Ishiyama high, two juice boxes in hand. His dark brown hair was braided back, and two rolls of hair was tied on his head. It made him look like a chicken but he paid it no mind.

His eyes set upon the school, determined that he was going to arrive just on time when-

Slam!

He topples backwards, and the person he had just crashed into fell back.

"I'm so sorry-"

"Watch where you're going you imbecile!"

Wow he heard of mean, but this was on a whole new level. He sits up, rubbing his forehead, as he slowly opens his eyes.

"Hey, it was just a-"

He realises that he was face to face with a silver haired man. His own eyes sparkles, and his heart raced in his chest.

This person was by far the most beautiful person he had ever met.

Stunned for a moment, he snaps out of his thoughts when he coughed, trying to gain his attention.

"Can you help me find my glasses? I can barely see anything without them." He leans in close, too close to his face, and he pulls his face back.

"Uh..Um...yeah! Sure," the dark skinned teen looks around, and sees black rimmed specs in an arm's reach. He grabs them and gives them to silver hair, and as they were propped back on his nose, the beauty was then ironically shielded by the glass lenses, and his face fell.

"Thank you, I'll be on my way," Silver hair says standing up, sweeping his uniform. The one still dumbly sitting on the floor stared up at sliver hair, and noticed a swell on his wrist.

Worried, he calls out. "Are you oka-"

"Argent! We should hurry. Weren't you the one complaining about being late?" A green haired shortie called from the distance.

Argent…the guys name plays out in his mind.

"Be quiet Kakyoin. I getting there," Sliver makes his way over to the next door school.

Something tells him that this isn't the last time he's going to see Argent, and that something was his heart.

~

The classroom door was wide open, and chicken hair was suprised to see that everyone was just on looking into the class. What the heck happened in here? Paying them no mind juice box guy makes his way into the classroom.

"Sorry Shiro! An old lady needed help carrying her groceries, so I.…"

The guy noticed Shiro just sitting on the floor, debris from the ceiling cluttered around him. Dust floated everywhere as he sat there bloody and beaten up, his head hung low as if dejected. Merciless purple eyes glowed beneath long black bangs. Shiro lets out a low growl.

Yikes.

"Akai, you're late," Shiro growls.

Akai is just a nickname. This transferee from Arabia is actually named Muhammad Abdelhamid, but what Japanese student can pronounce that in the first try? So he goes by Akai. He wears the top of his uniform like a cape, an orange shirt underneath.

Akai takes a seat beside Shiro, pressing his ordered drink, Strawberry milk, on his cheek.

"Finally found someone strong?" Akai says, as Shiro reached up and grabbed the drink. Akai patiently waits for an answer, piercing his black coffee carton with a straw.

Shiro tears a hole in the bottom of his drink, and as pink liquid spilled out Shiro drank every last bit, before crushing the carton and throwing it aside. Shiro doesn't answer, but he excitedly smiles.

Chapter Text

Midori released a huge sigh of relief when he finally reached his school. He was in safe territory, away from Shiro and away from delinquents.

He had never been so grateful to be back here.

Argent follows up behind him, barely breaking a sweat. Expected from the president of the Kendo club.

Argent swipes his Sliver bangs out of his face, eyebrows as usual in a fixed frown.

Midori turned towards him nervously, trying to cough out a thank you from his socially inept voice box.

"Argent, um...thank-"

"Why did you get pushed to doing idiotic things again?!" Argent scolds, pointing accusingly at Midori.

Midori jumps, immediately feeling his stomach twisting from the commotion they were creating right at the front gate.

"Can we talk about this la-"

"It's always 'Midori do this', 'Midori do that'. Can't you stand up for yourself?" Argent sighs, left hand pressing his temples.

"As much as I am capable of dragging you out of these kinds of situations, you have to be independent sometimes!"

Midori winces, rubbing his arm. Argent really knew his way around words. He was about to try and apologise again, but Argent's swollen right hand cuts him from his thoughts.

"Argent, your hand...it's-"

"Fractured, yes I've noticed." He brushes his bags again. For someone with a swollen and fractured hand, he seemed unnaturally composed. Even looking at it was causing Midori's stomach to churn.

"We will continue this later. Right now, I'll go find the infirmary. You go to class," Argent huffed, leaving Midori standing there, head and shoulders hung with guilt.

Argent was his good friend. Well...only friend. If not for his justice seeking and straightforward personality, them being friends would be impossible.

Argent was a leader, an extrovert, a jack of all trades. His physical ability was phenomenal, his grades were exceptional. Everything about him glittered, just like his name.

Silver.

In contrast, Midori was small, insignificant and easily pushed around like a rag doll. Other than his moderate grades, ability to kickass at any game and fight like a viper, his social skills were shit, leading him into troublesome miscommunications. Often than not he would be seen as creepy or an incel.

They got to know each other since they were on the same class, and really got together during physical education lessons. Argent opted to partner up with Midori, which saved the green haired teen from partnering up with the teacher again.

Midori had thought that this was just out of pity, that this will be the last time they'll interact. Considering how many times they would just spend the entire break with silence, and rarely talked during class.

"I always thought you were just stuck up," Argent suddenly starts, twirling his cup of ice tea around. "But now that I know you better, you're just a socially awkward guy,"

Midori felt offended at him blatantly spouting the truth.

"If you don't like me...then just ignore me," Midori murmured. Argent started chuckling for the first time.

"You underestimate me, Midori. Something as shallow as that won't break a true friendship." Argent smiles, and Midori swore it wasn't just the sunlight streaming in and bouncing off his smooth well kempt sliver hair that was making him radiate.

"How about this. Let's officially be friends. In exchange, how about you trust me a little more?"

Midori felt his heart flutter.

Maybe this was why he had such a huge fan group.

Midori sighed, snapping back into reality. From those weird circumstances, they were now the closest of friends. He turns, determined to apologize to poor Argent, but his feels a hand clasp his shoulder, restricting his movement.

Midori swallowed. His eyes were strained in the floor, but he could feel the towering presence above him. Even the giant shadow that casted over him was intimidating by itself.

Slowly, Midori lifts his head, only to find two sharp to yellow eyes boring into him.

He had about the same height as Shiro, blonde hair short and standing up like a patch of mowed yellow grass. His beauty paralleled Shiro's, though he was more rigid and stern. He wore the same male student uniform as Midori, though he could clearly be mistaken for an adult.

The glint of a golden safety pin on his sleeve held down an eye catchy red sash. On it there was "Student council" written in big black bold letters.

Midori stood rooted to the ground, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"Midori Kakyoin." he starts, after a long period of staring. "You...went into Ishiyama high?"

Midori took a while to register his question. He was busy fighting bile from escaping his throat from the jmmmenrse amount of stress he was under.

He took a moment to sheepishly nod, and caught a glimpse of the blonde's bottom lid twitch in response. He could feel the anger starting to radiate off this otherwise emotionless man, and Midori wanted nothing more than to sink into the earth.

He bends down, to the point where his mouth was hovering right at Midori's ear.

"You. Follow me. Now." he commands, voice low and menacing. Midori felt his throat clamp down.

He stands up straight again, turning and sauntering off to the school building, Midori following suit, a safe three metres behind him.

~

Seiichi Brando. His father from England and mother from Japan, hence the mixed name.

He is a man of little emotion. No one has ever seen him smile, or blow his top. Maybe that's why he seems so terrifying.

He was the epitome of perfection, a machine with no flaws, no scratches, no inaccuracies. Even teachers bend over when they see him, students worship him like a God.

The president of the monstrous Student council, the entire school dancing at his fingertips, answering to his every beck and call.

Midori stood at the center of the large council room, legs squeezed tight, sweaty hands pawing at his white scarf feverishly. His eyes was glued to the floor, heart thumping wildly.

Seiichi sat on a cushioned seat, at the far end of the room behind a long wooden desk. There was a window right behind him, framed by two velvet curtains. The sunlight that streamed in gave Seiichi a shadowed glare.

Under Seiichi's gaze, even in the spacious, rug matted council room, he felt extremely claustrophobic, like a cornered animal.

"Kakyoin."

"Y-yes?"

Seiichi shifts, elbows resting on the desk.

"Do you know the consequences of entering such an Infamous school?"

Midori stays silent.

"If anything worse happened to you...it would've started an all out war." a ridiculous claim, but the icy cold glint Seiichi had in his eyes fortified it.

"Trespassing is a crime, even with such a run down school. For such a blind act you could be held in detention, or suspended."

Midori wanted to cry.

"But." Seiichi says, changing his gravely tone. "I have a better idea in mind."

Seiichi stood up gallantly, as if he had just doubted from a white horse, slowly waltz towards the currently scared frozen Midori.

"Being able to survive alone in such a violence infested place…there must be something special about you, Kakyoin." he held Midori's chin in hand, tilting his face upwards, Emerald eyes meeting gold.

"Join the student council,"

It's not like Midori had a choice.

And not that Seiichi even gave him the time to respond. He stands up straight again, starting to pace around in a small circle slowly.

"The Combination Project." Seiichi mumbles, just about loud enough for Midori to hear.

The timid teen sat nervously on a chair inside the student council's office. He had been dragged here against his own will, and is already getting a lecture from the head himself.

"T-the what? What does that have to do with me?" Midori asks, afraid.

Seiichi turns his head sharply at him, eyes glaring down on him as if Midori had asked an obvious question. Midori regrets opening his mouth.

"In time, our prestigious school will have to mix with the disgusting next door neighbour, Ishiyama." Seiichi says, feeling repulsed as he thought of the deliquents.

"It's an effort to try and train the deliquents to better fit society, and for us to learn compassion. Not to mention, Ishiyama has a gradual decreasing population, so that's a clear reason too. However, any five year old can see that it's a terrible idea."

At least now he knows the usually emotionless student council head is capable of being passionate about something.

Seiichi unneccesarily slams the table, startling Midori.

"I have devised a plan to fight against that." Seiichi points at Midori, eyes glinting with mischief. "And you, are the key to my success,"

Midori swallowed, pointing a shaky finger at himself. "M-me?"

"I need to build up hatred. Tension. Chaos." Seiichi says like a super villain.

"But doesn't Isekai already hate the deliquents? Can't we just go and complain to the head of education?" Midori questions.

Seiichi looked at him like he was a monkey at a zoo, and sighs. "Dearest Kakyoin. Words don't mean a thing to them. What we need is action." Seiichi says exaggeratedly.

"And do you really think the people here hate Ishiyama? Can't you smell the fear seeping through the cracks here? This hatred is just a thin mask to hide how scared they all are,"

Midori realises he's been looking in the floor this whole time, and looks up at Seiichi. "Then...what about you?"

Seiichi blinked, placing a hand on his chest. "Me? I genuinely despise them. They are cockroaches that should already be wiped out. The difference between them and me is that I have the balls to do something about it," He answers with a sneer.

Midori feels a shudder down his spine.

"I plan to kill off the strongest one in their school."

Midori felt his jaw drop, heart falling through the floor.

"You are the only one that escaped Ishiyama without a single scratch on your skin,"

Midori had cold sweat beading in his forehead. "...so what if I am the only one who escaped unharmed? There's no possible way I can help you murder-"

"A weakness." Seiichi cuts him off. "I need you to find the strongest one there, and find his weakness,"

Midori's mind flew into a panic. "W-w-what?! You want me to go back there?! What if I die first?!"

Seiichi shot him a petrifying look. Midori could be guess the answer.

"Report to me everyday about his behaviour, habits, fighting style. Once I cause an all out battle between the schools, his head will pop off first,"

"And how are you going to avoid getting a death sentence?" Midori asks, sceptical.

"It'll be seen as manslaughter. The possibility of him dying in a riot is high after all," Seiichi says.

Midori tugged at his scarf. What is he going to do now? He is pretty damn sure that if he got found out as a spy, he's getting a one way trip to his grave. Not to mention, isn't Shiro unnaturally attracted to him? What if he kidnaps him for good this time?

The answer was clear in his mind. Argent's voice reverberated in his mind.

"Can't you stand up for yourself?!"

It doesn't matter how scary Seiichi Brando was. Going back there is an absolute N O. He musters up all his courage, furrows his brows and glares at Seiichi.

But he was only met with sharp yellow feline-like eyes, harnessing much more coldness than the Antarctic itself.

Of course Midori's lips pursed so fast it was as if he had just sucked on a lemon, head nodding quickly.

Seiichi's features softened a little.

"Good. I'm looking forward to working with you,"

Chapter Text

Midori was sure that he is going to the hospital tomorrow. This was the first time he's getting this much stress, and it's all accumulating in his stomach, twisting and folding and tearing his insides apart.

With shaky hands, Midori kneads his scarf over and over again, his train of thought racing all throughout his mind. His scarf would hike up all the way to his neck, then he would pull it down, only to tighten it again.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he mentally apologised to Argent.

He was standing outside the infamous school everyone avoided like the plague, Ishiyama High.

Midori glanced towards the street in front of him, and immediately notices students from his own school staring at him as they walked by, whispering amongst one another.

Midori quickly looked down, already feeling the pain in his stomach increasing tenfold. 

Personally waiting for the strongest deliquent Shirogane Kujo outside of this school was obviously going to attract all sorts of attention.

He never wanted to go home so badly until now. He did contemplate just running away, telling that asshole Seiichi that Shiro had skipped school or something.

However…

Midori looked back at Isekai, and sure enough, right at the top level of the school was a big window, which gave a certain someone a clear bird's eye view of him.

Midori sighs. If he dies, Argent would probably be the only one at his funeral, and he'd still be lecturing his dead corpse.

He pulled both ends of his scarf, tightening it around his mouth and neck. All he can do now is wait.

~

Akai wasn't one to come to school early, but thanks to a certain best friend of his, he has to to deliver Shiro's strawberry milk. 

"Payback for last time you were late," Shiro had said, disgruntled.

So with a small carton of strawberry milk in one hand and iced coffee in the other, he trotted his way to school. 

Be made his way over, half mumbling curses at Shirogane and half yawning, he notices someone vaguely familiar at the school entrance.

Short and stupid looking green hair, that weird scarf even when it's super hot and that really cowardly face he always has.

Wasn't he with that really pretty silver haired boy? 

Being the huge busy body he was, he approaches him.

~

"Hey!!! You're Midori right?!" 

A shout breaks him from his thoughts. 

Midori snaps his head up, as he notices a dark skinned male waving at him. It was not every day you saw someone of his race in Japan, so it was quite shocking. Midori thought Argent would be the only foreigner he'd ever meet. Additionally, he had a peculiar hairstyle and damn was he tall. 

He doesn't recognise him one bit, but judging by the way he was wearing his uniform around his shoulders with a tacky t-shirt underneath, he must be a deliquent.

He stops right in front of the other teen, smiling happily.

"I'm Akai! Shirogane's friend!" He points to himself. 

Midori felt his enthusiasm grate on his nerves.

"Your name is red?" He finds himself asking. 

Akai lifted a brow. "Isn't your name green?"

A red flush rushes up Midori's cheeks. "Well…that's-!" 

Akai smirks, punching Midori's side playfully. "I'm just pulling your leg! My real name is really difficult to say, so I just made this nickname to make it easier. So Midori, whatcha' doing here? Are you waiting for someone?" Akai inquires.

Midori notices how chatty Akai is. His fingers went up to weave into his scarf. "I was waiting for Shiro,"

Akai raises finger guns at him. "Hey, same! I got shit to deliver to him. Wanna follow me inside?" Akai chirps, already jogging into dangerous perimeters.

Midori feels his hairs stand to an end. With one last look at his own school, he nods, tagging along.

~

Shiro was busy harvesting and planting tomatoes. His mother, Rose, wanted salads for a side dish, so what better way to save up on costs than to eat the fully grown vegetables he had planted?

While he was in his full gardening mode, he hears loud hollers coming from outside. It could only signify one person. 

"Shiro! Someone's here to see you!" Akai shouts, waving his drink filled hands frantically.

"Is it another challenger? Didn't I tell you to chase them away?" Shiro says, irritated. His eyes doesn't leave the plot of dirt he was working on. He really didn't want anyone ruining his happy mood and thoughts about his favourite mom in the world, Rose.

"Nah, this one's different! He's Midori! From last time?" Akai confirms, finally coming into view. 

Instantly upon hearing that name, Shiro looks up, eyes catching onto that familiar white uniform. True to his word, there was a timid teen hiding behind Akai, with his trademark green hair and deadly scarf.

Immediately he brightens up, smiling excitedly.

He places down his basket of tomatoes and rushes over to Midori. 

The latter squeaks at his sudden movements, immediately scrambling to hide behind Akai for protection.

Akai puts his hands up, pushing back Shiro. Even though he's been friends with him for a long time now, he still gets intimidated from the sheer size of him. 

"Woa woa woa! Calm down! Let's all take a seat and talk, okay?" Akai says. 

Shiro glances at Akai, then at Midori who quickly ducked from his gaze. Then he nods, stepping back and making his way to the brown bench.

Akai released a sigh of relief, then turned to Midori. 

"Well then, coincidentally, I've got a few questions for you,"

~

The trio sat on the bench with Akai on the middle. As much as Shiro glared at Akai with jealousy, Midori insisted he sat there in order to protect his personal space.

Akai quickly broke he ice. "So Midori! I've been meaning to ask, who's that silver haired guy that came to rescue you the other day?"

Midori looked a little surprised that Akai knew about Argent. "He's Argent. A friend. You've met him before?"

Akai beamed, feeling extremely pumped. "Yeah! He bumped into me. Does he have a girlfriend?" 

Now Midori felt even more confused. He was also a little thrown off by his bluntness.

"U-um I don't think so? But-"

Akai jumped on his feet. "Oh my god! Really?! Can I have his phone number?" 

Midori chokes. Sure, he is a pushover, but anything concerning his only friend gave him a boost in self esteem.

He quickly shook his head. "N-no! I don't think he's interested in men, and he has a huge female fan base already!"

Akai pouts, grabbing Midori's hands and kneeling on the dirt floor. "Please? I won't tell him I got his number from you. I still have a chance!"

"Did you even hear what I said?!" Midori exclaims exasperatedly. 

Shiro slaps Akai's hands away, borderline baring his teeth. "Stop it. You're making him uncomfortable," 

Akai grasped his aching hands, frowning at Shiro. "I could say the same to you, asshole," 

As if Akai didn't exist, Shiro shifted next to Midori, leaning down until his face was inches away from the other. Midori clutched the bench, pursing his lips and held his breath.

"Are you okay?" Shiro asks, eyes staring into him. 

Midori felt his heart race. Stunned for words, he could only grip onto wood for dear life and stare back. To think that he had forgotten how mesmerising Shiro's eyes were, how his immense size radiated warmth that drew you in.

Akai quickly steps in, miraculously pushing Shiro back to his original seat. "Hey hey hey, no P.D.A with me around, okay?"

Before Shiro could retort, Akai turned to Midori again. "Okay so, if you aren't going to give me his phone number, could you at least ask him to go out with me?" 

Midori vehemently shook his head again. "No! I'm okay with anything else, but you can't mess with my friend,"

Akai furrowed his brow, groaning under his breath. After a moment of pondering, Akai smirks, then he cups Midori's ear to his mouth. 

"If you don't, I'll let Shiro attack you~" he whispers.

"Okay I'll do it!" Midori says as quick as lightning. 

Akai hissed a soft 'yesss', then went to shake Midori's hand. "Good! One more thing,"

He reaches to pat down Midori's garments, ignoring the heat from green flames envy burning from Shiro, before fishing out a phone. 

Before Midori could protest, Akai had dodged Midori's attempt to grab his phone back and dialed his own number on the device. He tosses it back with a grin.

"That's my number. Call me when you set the date. I'm looking forward to it!" Akai says, winking.

Midori sighs, looking down on his phone. Akai had saved his number as <Red🔥>. Only God knows how he was able to find the fire emoji that fast.

Amidst their conversation, Midori had noticed a distinct image change of Shiro.

Instead of him having his long wavy locks rest on his shoulders like a lion, he had the unruly black curls tucked away into a messy bun. It exposed a large extent of his neck along with his strong jawline. 

It wasn't that significant of a change, but it made Midori's stomach bubble in a way he didn't understand.

It must be fear.

Suddenly, someone slaps him on the shoulders, jolting him back to reality.

"Midori! Are you listening?" Akai asks, looking a little frustrated. 

Midori smiled awkwardly. "No?"

Akai sighs. "I was saying, you haven't answered why you came back here. I thought you would never come back, but luckily you did!" 

Midori's mind flashed to Seiichi and his menacing demeanour. 

"Uh…well…I wanted to…" Midori glanced around the garden, looking for anything, anything to help his case.

Soon, his eyes stops at a certain teenager behind Akai, and the longer he stared at him, the more he could see Shiro's imaginary dog tail wagging.

Akai traces his gaze to Shiro, immediately letting out an "Ooooo," of acknowledgment. He smirks, immediately wringing an arm around Midori. 

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Akai says. He leans towards Midori, his voice low. "He's been distracted all day. Probably thinking of you. If you confess to him, he'll definitely take you!"

Midori felt his ears burn at Akai's words, gibberish spilling out of his lips. He looks at Shiro again, noticing how the light seeping through the canopy of leaves bounces off his sharp features, his thick brows, sharp jawline, and those enchanting eyes...

"Ah um..I..u-uh," Midori stutters. He quickly pulls himself together, then pushes Akai away. 

"T-that's not why I'm here for!" He denies, hissing angrily. Though he doesn't really put up a good facade with the red tint on his cheeks. Akai quirked a brow, clearly suspicious. 

He chalks it up to Midori being too shy to admit it, then slaps him on the back. "Oh Midori. If course not. You definitely don't want a piece of Shiro's ass," he jabs an elbow into Midori's side, then wriggles his eyebrows at him.

Taking that as the last straw, Midori stood up, huffing madly. "I-I-I h-have remedial lessons I need to attend, so I'll be off now!" He exclaims, turning around robotically. 

"Hey wait-!" Akai shouts behind him.

Midori thought that he would be able to escape just like that, but Shiro was quicker. In two large strides Shiro was able to catch up and grab him by the wrist.

Startled, Midori whipped around, head and body moving as far away as possible from Shiro. He looked absolutely terrified, especially since Shiro's hand looked exceptionally large on his wrist. 

"Midori…do you want to maybe…" Shiro starts, staring straight at Midori without looking away. Midori was shaking under the intense gaze.

Oh god, is he going to kidnap him again? Or maybe break his bones? Maybe he should've listened to Argent after all and said no to-

"…come over? My mom is holding a salad party, and I want you to come,"

"Okay," Midori responds without thinking. He was near tears, his legs trembling.

Shiro gleamed, smiling widely. "Cool! So…meet me here when your school ends. We'll walk there together," 

Midori nodded, whimpering slightly. 

When Shiro lets go, he was dragging his feet to the gate, dreading what's to come.

Chapter Text

When Midori enters into safe territory, his school campus, he heaved a sigh of relief.

He braced himself against the nearest wall, trying to calm his shaking knees and heart.

His head had been beating nonstop the entire time he was there, and his cheeks burned red hot whenever he looked at Shiro.

Truly he was a force to be reckoned with.

Not only that, he now has the phone number of a delinquent on his phone, and said delinquent wants to court his one and only friend. As much as he refuses to give him any opportunities, he was being threatened by how Akai was his only line of defense against Shiro.

He had also agreed to go to his goddamn house. If going to his school wasn't dangerous enough, going to his house at god knows where, when he could get kidnapped or killed is an even more wonderful prospect.

His head was spinning with all sorts of dilemmas and problems, stomach ready to burst from all the stress. If anyone else were to-

"Kakyoin,"

Midori squeaked, turning around to face the person who called him.

It was Seiichi.

He looked down at Midori, lifting a brow at his unusual pose. He wanted to comment on it, but stopped himself.

"Do you have any intel?" Seiichi demands, voice as cold as ever.

Midori remembers the reason why he went back there in the first place, and desperately racked his brain for any bullshit he could say. He hastily stands up, brushing the dust off his pants.

"Um...there's a delinquent named Shirogane Kujo,"

Seiichi nods.

"And he has a friend. I don't know what his real name is, but he goes by Akai,"

Seiichi nods again.

"And...that's it?" Midori nervously adverts his gaze.

Seiichi frowns. "What is his size? His fighting method? Where does he go often? What does he drink?"

Midori could only stand there in silence, head drooping in shame.

Seiichi sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Forget it. You can gather more information tomorrow. I'll conjure up a list of things that I need you to find out," Seiichi pulls out his phone, then makes a move to pass it to Midori.

Midori stared at it, as if he had never seen such technology before.

Seiichi clicked his tongue. "Your number,"

Midori let out an "Oh," of acknowledgment, grabbing his phone and dialing his number in it.

Seiichi takes back his phone and checks the contact, afterwards he shoved it back into his pocket.

"I'll text it to you tonight. Come up with a plan to find out all of these, so I can kill him off as soon as possible," Seiichi crosses his arms. "Don't worry. I have lawyers that can cover that fact that you're my accomplice. See you tomorrow, Kakyoin,"

With that, he struts back into the school building, leaving Midori all alone at the front of the school gate.

~

Shiro was humming his favourite tune.

He was running his fingers in his hair for the umpteenth time, trying and failing to tame his wild locks. He had changed out of his dirty gardening gear and boots and washed up his face. The only thing he took out of his garden were fresh tomatoes ready to be eaten for dinner.

He was bringing someone new over to his home, and the only other person that has been there is Akai. His mother had always been pestering him about bringing over new people, and now he finally will.

He just hoped this wouldn't be a one time thing.

In the distance, he saw a distinct dot of green, and in his excitement, he waves him over enthusiastically.

Midori walked over, looking rather nervous.

Shiro felt a little down. He's only ever seen him in a disheartened expression. What was wrong? Did he not like his company? Was Shiro too overbearing?

He quickly shook those thoughts away. No, Midori was a strong opponent, and he would stop at nothing to make him his friend.

"My house is only a few blocks away," he says, walking off. Midori followed closely behind, his lips sealed into a thin line.

Shiro took shorter steps than usual for his sake. He also tries to curb his excitement by pursing his lips.

~

For the entire trip there, Midori was in mental turmoil. His eyes darted everywhere, trying to remember every landmarks and turn, just in case he needed to run.

Midori tries to imagine Shiro's household as well. Did he have any siblings? What were they like? Would his house look as gangster and unruly as him? Is everyone in his family massive?

"We're here,"

Midori suddenly snaps out of his daze. He looked up, and was met with a tall black gate with walls of bush attached to it.

He peered inbetween black bars, thinking he would find a simple apartment…

However Shirogane Kujo lived in a fucking Japanese mansion.

The building wasn't two stories high, but there was a literal gravel walkway leading up to the house, a cherry blossom on the side along with a sand filled zen garden. He had only seen those in pictures.

His jaw dropped. The Kujo family was stacked! Midori's in Isekai Academy, a much more decent school than Shiro's but he's living in a rented apartment!

Shiro inputs a code into a keypad on the side of the gate. Ghere was a long beep, followed by the gates automatically swinging open.

"Come in," Shiro says, getting inside first.

Midori couldn't stop looking around. He had to *turn his head* to see the Kujo property in its entirety.

"Y-you live here?!" Midori exclaimed in disbelief.

Shiro nods. "Something wrong?"

Midori shook his head. "O-oh uh nothing! Just asking,"

When they finally get to the entrance of the house, Shiro slides open the door, revealing a relatively quiet house with polished wooden flooring.

"Ma! I'm home!" Shiro shouts, walking in. He makes a move to pull off his shoes and stack them in a shoe shelf.

Midori peeked at the shelf, and sure enough, there were only a minimal amount of shoes, enough for at least two people.

For a large mansion like this, it was way too quiet and peaceful. Midori sort of expected two rows of delinquents to welcome Shiro home with a bow.

"Sorry for intruding…" Midori says, taking off his shoes. This was one of the times where he actually meant it. Going into such a luxurious house such as this seemed like a dream.

He places his shoes neatly together, then stepped onto the wooden with sock adorned feet. They felt cold.

Shiro continues to walk down the hallway, and Midori hurried to his side, in fear of getting lost in this Japanese den.

"Do you live alone?" Midori asks.

Shiro grunts. "No. Me and my mom,"

Midori hums. So his parents are divorced. He better not bring anything regarding his dad up then. He might kick Midori out or get offended.

"My dad is away. Busy with a Jazz tour or something," Shiro adds, as if he read Midori's mind.

"Oh, okay," Midori responds. So not divorced. He peers up at Shiro's face, and notices a rather sour look on him.

Midori quickly stares back onto the floor again. Okay, now the dad topic became a landmine again.

After passing a garden with those bamboo lever things in them, and a large koi pond, Shiro suddenly stops and Midori almost bumps into him.

Shiro opens a traditional paper sliding door, revealing a tatami floor and various japanese looking relics placed around.

Midori was starting to sense a theme.

"You can wait inside, I'll get something for you to drink," Shiro says.

Midori nods sheepishly.

Shiro places his bag against a nearby wall, then closed the door.

Midori sat on his calves, hugging his bag on his thighs. He looked around, observing his surroundings in greater detail.

There was a large pot in the corner, long strips of calligraphy hanging over it. In front of him was a rather old fashioned television, the type that looked like a box. Behind him were two sets of sheathed katanas placed on holders.

Midori could see little bits of writing on the wooden beam beside them.

Midori stood up, leaving his bag on the floor. He walked towards said wooden beam. Upon closer inspection, they looked like horizontal carvings with words and numbers above them. He traced one line that was just slightly under eye level.

"Shi-chan, age 14,"

Jesus, 14 year old Shiro was almost the same height as 17 year old Midori.

It looks like that was the last one. The recorded heights only went down from there.

Midori grinned. He doesn't recall ever doing this with his own parents, but the thought was pretty wholesome. It was kinda funny how a giant delinquent like him did something like this.

There were some black writing next to the 10 year mark. Kakyoin bent over a little to read it.

"Almost taller than mama!" It read.

Midori stifled a laugh.

Shiro's mom must really dote on him. How must she look like? Midori imagined a short black haired woman in her 30s. She could be petite, or maybe a gentle giant. Either way Midori thought of the calm, soothing vibes she must give off as a mother. Maybe she was a housewife? But an office lady wouldn't be so bad either…

Suddenly, the door slams open, and Midori snaps out of his thoughts. His whole body turned so fast he almost trips.

He expected to see a tall maned teenager named Shiro, but instead there was a woman with long greyish pink hair staring at him. She had a particularly long bang that she swept to the side and the rest were tied up in a messy pony tail. She was in a typical office outfit, a cardigan with a dress shirt underneath,  and…

Oh wait.

She's wearing grey sweatpants.

Her arms were outstretched from slamming the door open and her eyes were wide with shock.

Midori thought she might still be a little bit petite, until he saw the cigarette between her lips.

"You're Midori Kakyoin?" She asks, miraculously speaking with a smoke in her mouth

Midori nods, feeling confused. This outrageous woman, she couldn't be…

She beamed, lips stretching into a rather familiar looking smile.

"Haha! You're Shiro's new friend?" She spoke, taking a draw from her cigarette. She started walking towards Midori.

"U-um, not exactly, he just brought me over for um..." Midori stammered, backing up against a wall.

She got a little too close, eyeing Midori up and down. Her eyes were hazel and slightly dull from age. She hummed in thought. Midori swallowed nervously.

"I'm Rose, Shiro's mom. You can call me Hana if you want. My coworkers call me that," Rose grinned, extending a hand.

Okay, so she's the foreign blood in Shiro. Midori also now knows where Shiro got his overbearing and optimistic personality from. He takes Rose's hand and she shook it roughly.

"Take a seat! Shiro will be coming shortly with the food," Rose chirps, rushing towards the coffee table. She pulls a cushion from under the table and places it beside Midori's. She sat down, her legs crossed. She smacks the pillow next to her, signalling Midori to sit beside her.

Midori steps over, getting into his previous polite sitting position.

"So Kakyoin, how did you two meet?" Rose asks, simultaneously grabbing a nearby ash tray. She puts out her half done cigarette into it.

"I uh…was told by my teacher to get back something from his school. We just happened to meet," Midori answers, staring at the lines in the wooden table.

Rose hums, hand going towards her cardigan pocket. She pulls out a fresh cigarette and lit it. She looks Midori up and down, especially staring at the crest on his cardigan.

"You're from…Isekai? The school next door?" Rose asks, before breathing in her nicotine.

Midori resisted the urge to show discomfort from the putrid smell. "Y-yes,"

"Hey! That's a pretty good school! You probably shouldn't hang out with Shiro then," Rose smirks. She half cups her lips with one hand. "He's kind of stupid," she whispers.

"Mom, you're making him uncomfortable," Shiro's voice cuts into the conversation. He was standing at the doorway, plates of food stacked onto his shoulders and forearms. In his hands, there were three sets of utensils and three bowls.

He places down the bowls and utensils first, before sliding the plates onto the table. There was a whole fish, scrambled eggs with vegetables, steamed chicken, long beans and fried tofu dipped in gravy. There was one bowl of bright red and chopped tomatoes mixed with cabbages in the corner.

Rose claps excitedly, passing around the sets of utensils and bowls.

Shiro then walks back out of the room and takes in a rice cooker and a pot of vegetable soup.

"Shiro! Two scoops please!" Rose ordered, holding up her bowl.

Shiro frowns. "Put out your smoke first. It smells,"

Rose pouts. "But I just lighted it!"

Shiro frowns. "You weren't supposed to smoke indoors in the first place,"

Rose groans, but obliged, putting out her smoke. Only then does Shiro take her bowl and give her two scoops.

Shiro looks at Midori. "How many?"

"Um, two as well," he murmurs.

Shiro takes his bowl and scoops two spoonfuls of rice.

"Sorry about mom. She's addicted to that shit," Shiro grunts, passing Midori his bowl.

"Hey! I can't help it okay," Rose complains, wiggling her chopsticks at Shiro. "I'm thirsty. Shiro! Get me a beer!"

Shiro sighs. "It's only three in the afternoon,"

"Aren't you supposed to be a gangster? What's with this 'no fun' attitude?" Rose criticised, eating a mouthful of rice.

Shiro didn't look up from his bowl, which was currently a giant mountain of rice.

"I'm not a gangster. Ishiyama just happens to be the only school I can get admitted in," he clarifies, eating a scoop of rice with tofu and gravy.

Midori quietly ate a bit of meat with his rice.

"Hey Kakyoin, you're in Isekai right? You must be really smart then," Rose notes

Midori swallowed. "Um…I'm average. I barely made it in,"

Rose grins. "Hey! I've got a great idea. Why not I hire you as a tutor for my son?"

Midori almost spat out his food. "Excuse me?"

He looked towards Shiro for some back up, but judging by his expression of anticipation, he was more than happy for that ordeal to happen.

"Shiro is really picky with his home tutors you see. They say such nasty things and don't know how to handle such a large and thick headed teen like him," Rose sighed, placing a hand on her cheek. "But, if it's a smart friend like you, he's bound to be okay with it,"

"I don't mind," Shiro quickly says. As cool as he's trying to make himself sound, Midori could see his imaginary tail wagging profusely.

"I mean…I don't think…" Midori starts, but quickly shuts himself up.

Seiichi's floating head appears in his mind.

'Do it…find more information on him,' He whispered. 'Do that, and everything would be over. You can resume to your boring life,'

Suddenly, Argent's head popped in as well.

'Say noooooo,'

Okay. Simple enough.

Midori looked at Shiro's excited face, then at Rose's.

If Seiichi won't mess with him again, the first option might be he best.

Or maybe he should get a therapist. 

Midori exhaled, filled with determination.

"I'll do it. When do I start?" 

Chapter Text

The meal was delicious. Midori found out that Shiro was actually a pretty good cook. For a man his size, handling delicate things seem to his speciality. 

Unfortunately, much to Shiro's dismay, Rose had gotten into the wine cabinet and drank a couple too many drinks. Shiro's biggest gripe was that she hadn't showered before she came home, so she'll be stinking up the entire place the next morning. 

Currently, he was washing the cooking utensils and cutlery. Midori enters the kitchen with the last of the plates. He places them on the side.

"Thanks Midori," Shiro says, taking the plates into the sink. "And I don't mean for just the cleaning up,"

Midori's ears perked in interest.

Shiro inhaled, then exhaled.

"I…actually…I want to become an animal biologist, but because I did some stupid shit, I ended up in Ishiyama. My mom tried to get me home tutored, but the cost is ridiculous," Shiro explains. He looked a little unsure in sharing such a vulnerable side to him.

He looks up from his dishes, meeting Midori's gaze with an earnest one. 

"Maybe with you I'd get somewhere," he says.

"Oh," Midori responds, feeling a little flattered. He never really thought about his own future, only going by the typical 'graduate then once you're in university figure it out' route.

"Cool, I guess," Midori responds awkwardly. He looks around quickly to find another topic of conversation, then noticed the dripping wet bowls on the countertop.

"Would you like me to help? With drying," Midori asks, pointing towards them.

Shiro looked pleasantly surprised, smiling a little after. "The towel is hanging on the oven handle," 

Midori turned to face the pair of hanging towels. He grabs one and starts drying a bowl. 

Amidst the drying, Shiro inched over, arm touching Midori's. Midori was a little startled by the sudden warm contact, but he doesn't make a move to shift away. 

Hm.

He might be getting used to the idea that Shiro was a naturally touchy person.

Shiro doesn't move either, making the touch linger inbetween them. 

Then, after a short moment of peaceful silence drowned out by running water, Shiro suddenly moves. However, instead of away, he was pressing incessantly on Midori.

Almost pushing him over.

Midori stumbles, undertaking this silent challenge and trying to push back.

He was clenching his teeth, eyes squeezed shut, legs tense from pushing against the ground. Meanwhile, Shiro was trying to hold back his laugh, his stance a simple standing position. His eyes were glued to the dishes before him.

Unfortunately, Shiro doesn't budge an inch.

It felt like he was trying to push against a concrete wall. 

Then, Shiro pushed a little bit more and Midori was toes away from falling over.

"Woah, I'll seriously end up breaking your bowls if you keep doing that…!" Midori hastily remarked. 

Shiro chuckled, letting go of his soapy plate. He opts to instead do the exact opposite, pushing until Midori had no choice but to jump away. 

"Shiro!" Midori scolds, though the malicious intent from it is eradicated from his smile. 

Shiro turns around, a smirk plastered on his face. "Shortie," he comments, rather endearingly. 

"You're just abnormally tall," Midori grumbles with a pout. 

They stare at each other for a bit, until they break out onto smiles.

"What the hell," Midori comments, in awe of the ridiculousness of the situation. He goes back to his work station, finishing off the last couple of items.

Shiro was washing off the bubbles from his hands. 

"Done," Midori says, making a move to hang the towel back. However, before he could, Shiro bumped his hip into him, causing him to jump forwards.

Midori sighs. "What now?" He asks, turning around and facing him.

Shiro raises his dripping hands towards him. 

Midori looks at them, then up at Shiro. "Are you serious?"

Shiro jerks his hands up again, ushering Midori to dry them.

The smaller rolled his eyes, but complied, drying the left then right. It took a little but of time, considering the sheer size of Shiro's hands. 

Once he seemed them dry enough, he turns to hang them on the oven handle.

Midori's pocket started to vibrate.

He fishes out his phone, and immediately he turned pale.

It was Argent. 

He was supposed to meet with him after school!

Midori picks up the call, lips presses into a thin line.

"…hello?" He says.

"Midori," a stern voice growled from the other side. "Where the hell are you?"

Midori looked at Shiro, who was busy cleaning up the rest of the kitchen. "I…might be in Shirogane's house?" He answers, voice ascending into a squeak.

"WHAT?!" Argent exclaims, causing Midori to recoil from his device.

"What are you--Did someone--What the actual hell?!" Argent stammers, at a lost of words.

Midori cups the receiver of his phone. "I'll text you all about it later! Please don't get mad," he whispers.

There was a loud groan, before it all went silent. Midori could almost imagine Argent sitting still, breathing to calm himself.

"Alright. But if anything happens, call me immediately," Argent says. Midori smiles.

"Thanks. Bye bye," 

"Bye," 

Midori hangs up, heaving a sigh of relief. He should probably return home ASAP and text him. Midori knew that even though Argent sounded collected just now, there was no doubt that in a few minutes or so he'd somehow figure out Shiro's address.

"Shiro?" Midori calls. 

Shiro turns, an inquisitive look on his face. 

"I'm going back home," He says. 

"Oh. Okay," Shiro says, making his way out. "You can get your bag and I'll bring you out," 

Midori jogs over, and they walk in silence to the living room.

~

When they reach the exit, Midori had his bag slung on his back, and his shoes on his feet.

He stands up, and faces Shiro. "I um…had a nice time here. Thanks for having me over," 

Shiro smiles widely. "No problem," 

Midori bowed his head, but quickly remembers something. 

"About the tuition thing, I'm free tomorrow, so we can start then. Maybe discuss other dates as well," 

Shiro looked excited. 

"Midori?" He calls, causing the teen to turn again. 

Before he could say anything, Shiro had stepped forward and hugged him, arms long enough to wrap around Midori's lithe body. He was bending over slightly, head resting on Midori's shoulder.

Now Midori was sure he was used to the sudden showers of affection. His blood didn't run cold, nor did his heart start racing from fear since he trusted Shiro wouldn't try and crush him at any moment. 

It felt more…comfortable. 

But just because Midori was getting warmer with him doesn't mean he has the confidence to reciprocate the hug. Not like he could anyway, his arms were stuck under Shiro's. 

"Thanks," he mumbled. 

"Um...You're welcome?" Midori squeaks. 

Shiro pulls away, a broad grin on his face. "See you tomorrow then," he says. 

Midori averted his gaze. "Yeah. Sure," he replies rather half heartedly, scratching the back of his neck.  He proceeds to go outside, closing the door behind him.