Chapter Text
It's like Wataru's breath is taken away every time the other sings. That one powerful, deep voice stands out during AKATSUKI’s songs, which Wataru is thankful for as he turns up the music in his earbuds. It was just a typical, average day, as hard as it was for one to believe for the great and mighty Wataru Hibiki, staring off with the quiet walk to school. As loud as he was, even he could appreciate the silence.
… If the silence was considered his classmate’s voice. Wataru believed he would silence the world if it meant he got to listen to that voice for the rest of his time. Every single time the redhead came to mind, the actor could feel his heart thumping, and entertaining the sweet thoughts his mind provided caused what Wataru could only describe as a feeling of stage fright come over himself. The clammy hands, the shortness of breath… Hell, even just looking at the person in question made him react like this some days. It was strange, it was new, and…
Wataru wasn't sure if he liked it or not.
For someone like Wataru Hibiki to be surprised and caught off guard was a rare instance indeed. He was a genius, a brilliant person, and possibly not even human. So how was it now that an overly average delinquent, one that was rougher and much more gruff then he, caught his attention so? This feeling… Ah, it was something that he would often go off on dramatic monologues about, and it was something that he understood on the very surface. Actors were just like that, understanding something to the best of their ability and presenting it in story form to the masses. That never meant that the actor had personally understood the feeling itself. No, he drew off of everything he knew… Everything he ever knew.
But thinking of Kiryu, thinking of those beautiful green eyes, the way he laughed gently at Nazuna’s jokes, the way he delicately took the needle in those large fingers and worked on the outfits, the way he talked, smiled, looked around, existed… Dear lord, his heart was thumping so fast now. It was almost overwhelming. It was just so Amazing, really, but also, dear lord, it was terrifying.
It was these thoughts that completely took him over, flooding his brain and hijacking any remote thought of actual human function. Thankfully, time seemed to of passed quickly, since he was greeted with the sight of Rei Sakuma, waving his hand in front of him as he walked alongside him.
“Hibiki-kun? You seem to be dazed… You walked past the school as well. Are you feeling alright, my friend?”
“Eh?” Wataru blinked a few times, coming to a stop and looking around. Sure enough, the gates of the school were behind him, thankfully not too much so. He let out a little laugh, shaking his head and giving a large smile. “Oh, well, that’s nothing to be worried about! I was simply thinking about the play that I have soon! Let us return to the school, hmm?” He turned on a heel, walking a little faster than before. He didn’t want Rei to see the blush that was growing on his face, now feeling… Embarrassed that his friend had to snag him out of his… What was it? He wasn’t sure what to call it, or rather, the great and wonderful Wataru Hibiki did not want to admit it to himself.
Before long, he was approaching the door to his class. 3B. It was a problematic class full of bothersome, weird, and smart people, which he was friends with most all of them. This meant that even if he stared at Kuro too long, or said something strange... He could use that as his cover. It was just another strange thing the strange Wataru Hibiki said or did strangely, after all.
He took a deep breath, and he walked through the doorway.
~
It was the trademark Amazing and the sound of flapping wings that told him, no, you don't need to look up to tell who came through the door. However, emerald eyes peered up nonetheless, eager to see what surprise the man in question would pull out of his sleeve next.
Hibiki’s bird took its perch on Nito's desk, making the small third year sputter and slur over his words in surprise. That made a little smile go over Kuro's face, but he didn't dare reach a hand out to the bird. Hibiki would surely appear at his side if he indulged his desires of petting the small creature, after all, and Kuro didn't much like being the center of attention, especially from someone who made his heartbeat kick up when he came close. He drummed his fingers restlessly against his desk instead, watching Nito interact with the little bird.
Kuro wasn’t sure how in the world Hibiki was able to get his birds into the school building, nor how they were so well behaved as not to crap all over the desks. At the very least, they were nice, tame birds and they had never hurt anyone from what he had seen. So maybe that was why the teacher simply rubbed his forehead in annoyance, telling Hibiki to ‘just sit down’ and mumbling something about those ‘damn birds.’
Kuro couldn’t help but feel bad for their teacher. He had the three Oddballs, on top of Tsukinaga, on top of three other kids who were just trying their hardest. Nito, Aoba, and himself all together were nowhere near a proper force to tame the other four, and oftentimes they found themselves wrapped up in whatever nonsense the others conjured up.
Except Hibiki’s nonsense never seemed to touch Kuro nowadays. No, it seemed to be directed anywhere but him, and while there was no rule that nonsense was to be equally distributed, it was certainly bothersome in his head. He always found himself running a checklist in his head, asking himself what it could be.
One: I’m scary. That’s a proven and natural fact of life. Two: He thinks I’m gonna punch him or some shit. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone dissolve into physical violence with him, nor has he seen me unless it was club related… Which isn’t too violent. Has Tetsu been making me out to be a bad man without realizing it? Damnit Tetsu. Choice three…
Three was a scary option auto-filled by his brain when he couldn’t find his own logical choice. One of self loathing and degradation, one that said He knows you like him and he wants to avoid you. The scariest part about this option was that it was completely plausible, since Hibiki was… Superhuman, as he liked to brag. He was a clown, a fool, and always could take people from surprise. Maybe that was it. That would be a logical explanation, his logical brain even agreed! Hibiki somehow knew, that just made sense. Just like how he knew exactly how to scare Nito, how to make Sakuma chuckle, and how in the goddamned world to communicate with Shinkai.
Amazing, Kiryu. Absolutely Amazing.
He found his face turning red as that word was plugged into his mental dialogue, and he stared down at his book now, realizing he should have been reading instead of lamenting over his dead romance. It didn’t matter if there wasn’t even an attempt, it was dead and trying to make it happen would provide nothing but pain and misery on both ends. Shoving his nose in a book was a much better use of time at this point, not sketching in his sketchbook, and definitely not drawing models similar to Hibiki for new garments he wanted to make.
Definitely not that last part.