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The word plagues you the moment it falls from his lips.
“As long as a person is compassionate , then I don’t need anything else.”
What did he mean by that?
You glance sideways at Kugisaki and Maki who are too engrossed in conversation to pay you much mind. Good. You slip your phone, which managed to escape unscathed following your encounter with Maki’s rather unpleasant twin, out of your pocket and unlock it. It’s not as if you’re unfamiliar with the word, but you type it into the search engine anyways to look up its exact definition.
A definition pops up instantly after you press enter. "Compassionate: feeling or showing sympathy and concern for others.” Your brows unconsciously pinch together as you read the definition a second time. You gnaw on your lower lip, hissing when your teeth accidentally come in contact with a cut. You bring your hand up to your lip, tenderly pressing your forefinger against the thin cut, and then pulling it away to look at it. The cut still stings but at least it’s not bleeding anymore.
Your mind wanders back to Fushiguro’s words, and you can’t help but feel unsettled by them. It’s too… simple. How is it that the only quality that Fushiguro desires in a romantic partner is compassion?
It’s simple, but at the same time, it’s not. Compassion is intangible. It’s not a physical quality that you could simply check off if you had it or not. It’s a feeling that one possesses, and can only be seen through the actions that one takes. You kind of wish Fushiguro had said something shallow instead. Even if you didn’t fit his type at least there wouldn’t be any room to overthink it at all. You would be able to wallow in self-pity for a while that your crush on him would go unreciprocated and then move on afterwards.
But, that’s not who Fushiguro is.
“What’s the face for?” You lift your head up to look at Maki and Kugisaki. You answer Maki’s expectant gaze with a shrug of your shoulders while slipping your phone back into your pocket.
“Nothing. I was just thinking about the Exchange Event.” You slightly shrink under Maki’s unrelenting stare before she turns to look forward once more as Kugisaki launches all three of you into a discussion about the upcoming event. You’re thankful that Maki didn’t press you for more information when you both know that you were lying straight through your teeth. She’ll drop the issue for now and wait until you eventually come to her about it.
You mainly listen to the two converse, popping in here and there to add your own comment, but Fushiguro’s words continue to weigh heavily on your mind. You’re lost in thought once more when you hear Kugisaki gasp from beside you. Looking up to see what caused such a reaction from your friend, you release a gasp of your own as you take in Fushiguro’s bloodied state.
He’s holding a piece of cloth, soaked through with red, to the side of his head. His clothes are soiled and blood is smeared across the entirety of the upper area of his face. He looks like shit, but he’s standing up with the help of Panda and Inumaki, who each have an arm hooked under his shoulder.
“Fushiguro?” He raises his head at the sound of your voice. You rush over to Fushiguro’s side, replacing Inumaki, who slips out of your way with no complaint, and slide an arm around his torso to help support his weight. “What happened to you?”
“Tōdō,” he mutters, wincing when Panda jostles him a bit too roughly. You grimace upon hearing the name. You didn’t realize that Tōdō would have roughed up Fushiguro to this extent, but you weren’t too surprised. Tōdō was a fearsome opponent. The mere thought of facing him in battle was enough to send a shiver up your spine.
“I’ll help Panda bring Fushiguro to see Ieiri,” you inform Maki and Kugisaki. Inumaki joins them, standing off to the side of the duo.
Maki waves you off with a knowing glance. You dislike how it feels like she’s peering right into the depths of your heart as if she knows the secrets it holds. You inwardly groan to yourself. She most likely does have an idea and you positively dread the talk you’ll be having once this is all over. You’re unsure if you’ll be able to handle the inevitable teasing that will ensue.
“Do what you like, just don’t be late for our training session tomorrow morning.”
You nod and watch the trio walk off as you readjust your grip on Fushiguro. You remain quiet, lost in your thoughts, all of which center around the male whose weight you’re currently supporting, and listen to Panda happily discuss the Exchange Event that seems to be the topic on everyone’s minds. It’s not long until you find yourself at Ieiri’s door. The room you’ve visited a fair share of times for your own injuries in the past lies empty at the moment. As soon as Fushiguro’s eased into a sitting position, Panda disappears with a hearty goodbye, leaving you and Fushiguro alone as the two of you wait for Ieiri’s arrival.
“Let me get something to clean the blood off,” you mutter when the quiet gets to be too much for you. Fushiguro just grunts in reply as you flounder around the room, searching for the faucet and a clean towel.
You grimace and take the bloodied rag from Fushiguro’s dirtied hand and toss it aside before replacing it with the clean dampened towel you prepared.
“Close your eyes,” you murmur. Fushiguro’s eyes flutter shut in response to your quiet demand. You’re confident that the walls around your heart would have crumbled all too easily if Fushiguro kept his eyes open and trained on you. You swallow down your nerves and ignore the hammering of your heart as you gently swipe the rag over his eyes.
He scrunches his face up and clenches his eyes shut automatically at the cool sensation before relaxing again. The action is much too endearing and you remind yourself that this is no time to be admiring Fushiguro’s profile when he’s injured. Your hands are gentle as you drag the rag over his bloodied face, doing your best to not cause him any more discomfort than he’s already experiencing in his injured state.
“That’s the best I can do right now.” Fushiguro slowly opens his eyes once more as you lift the red-stained towel away from his face. You quickly turn around to place the rag in the sink, unable to face Fushiguro while you’re in such a flustered state. You hadn’t realized how close you were to his face until after you were nearly finished wiping off all the blood and dirt that coated his skin. “I’ll leave the rest for Ieiri to take care of.”
Your heart lurches when Fushiguro reaches out and loosely circles your wrist with his hand. He draws his arm back quickly as if he’s surprised as well with his sudden action when you turn around to face him.
“Thank you.”
The words come out stilted and awkward, and you think you may be more seriously injured than you originally thought because a stark redness paints itself across Fushiguro’s pale cheeks and you are sure that you cleaned all the blood from his face. It takes a moment for you to realize that this isn’t a figment of your imagination or a daydream. That sitting less than a few feet away from you, Fushiguro is blushing. His eyes are averted away from your form, but he does nothing to hide the scarlet hue of his cheeks. Oh. Your heart really cannot take this.
“It’s no problem.” Your voice cracks, and you internally scream because at this rate you’re going to make a bumbling fool out of yourself in front of the boy you like. “I’ll see you later, Fushiguro.” You rush out of the room as quick as you can, hoping that the way your face has warmed up goes unnoticed by him.
You don’t allow yourself to relax until you collapse on a bench far away from Ieiri’s room, all the way on the other side of campus. Your frame sags and your pulse races as the mental image of Fushiguro blushing flashes to the forefront of your mind once more. This is really not good for your heart. At this rate, Fushiguro is going to give you a heart attack whether he means to or not.
“So you and Fushiguro, huh?”
You visibly startle at the teasing tone, scrambling to sit upright and twisting your head to face the owner of the voice. An arched brow and a grin that promises nothing good greets you as you look up at Maki. You swallow in an attempt to dislodge the lump in your throat.
There’s no way you’re getting out of this unscathed.