Work Text:
To say Nanami Kento is not an outdoor person is an understatement.
It’s not that he hates going outside per se, but it wasnʼt his fault that mother nature is such a bitch.
Oops.
Did he just cursed? Mother said an eleven year old is not supposed to say big bad words like that. But alas, Kento is a sixth grader and what is pre-middle school phase if not bad influences here and there and a little rebellious tendencies. To be fair, though, no other words could describe his annoyance at the moment.
Little Kento was currently sitting and sulking under the terrace roof of an old antique shop, sheltering from the harsh blow of early autumn rain. He blew his overgrown bangs in an act of exasperation as he once again cursed the grey sky. Honestly, the only, literally the one time Kento forgot to bring his umbrella, the universe thought it was the perfect time for a shower. Not to mention, this time of the year is the worst; with all the annoying winds and the oh so perfectly lined time with the beginning of school year as well as the leftover lethargy left from a long summer break.
It’s been a little over an hour since he's supposed to be home. And to add a cherry on top of Kento’s unfortunate after school misery, today was a Friday and the blond was really looking forward to opening the new set of light novels his father bought him the other day. He had waited for the weekend to arrive just so he could read all day and all night without worrying about waking up early for school. He huffed once again, bangs falling back to cover his forehead. So much for an ideal weekend.
Just as Kento was about to open his backpack to take out a book (yeah the boy really thought he could work on some homework at times like this), someone smacked him on the back, making him jump. Which was, well, very uncool. Also he did NOT just yelped, no.
Kento sputtered as he shoved his textbooks back inside his bag and zipped it close. He was ready to retort to whoever it was when the stranger swatted water droplets all over the place and over Kento’s own person. Ah ah, seems like audacity was on sale as of late.
“Wha—?” Kento’s words stopped in his throat as he looked up. There by his side, stood a boy that couldn’t be much older than him. His snow white hair was soaked, well— his entire body does, for that matter. Kento had not heard the boy's steps but that could've been justified by the intensity of the rain and the noise it made.
“Hello!” The boy smiled brightly despite the rain and his own… unconventional condition.
“Huh? Do I know you?” Kento frowned as he assessed the boy from head to toe. Nope, definitely not someone he knew. With the boy’s features, it would be hard to not remember him.
“No. And I don’t know you either!” The boy giggled and Kento’s frown deepened. “Hey what’s with the scowl? We’re both stuck here because of the rain, are we not? Might as well make small talk while we wait!” he added with a constant enthusiasm that Kento found hard to match.
“My mom said I should not talk to strangers,” Kento hugged his backpack closer to his chest as he scooted away from the weird boy.
The boy blinked then stared Kento for a few seconds before leaning closer, clearly having no regards whatsoever towards personal spaces. “Hurrah!” The boy suddenly exclaimed and Kento yelped for a second time (He’d swore he did not. Except he totally did yelp like a kicked puppy. Twice.)
“You should have seen your face!” The white haired weirdo is positively barking with laughter now. Though Kento didn’t sense any mockery in the tone, he still gets immensely embarrassed over his own stupidity to fall for that one.
“What’s your problem!?” Kento huffed, bangs windswept and fell back graciously over his still-scowling little forehead.
“Just trying to ease your tension! Did you think all strangers will just, I don’t know… kidnap you then sell your organs or something just because you talk to them?” Kento jutted out his lower lip because that was exactly how his granny back in Denmark used to phrase it, and now he looked silly in front of this even sillier weirdo. “Oh my god! You do, don’t you?!” The boy laughed again and scooted closer, crowding more of Kento’s space, their shoulders touching.
“Get away. You’re dripping wet!” Kento tried to wriggle away but he belatedly realized that he’s already on the edge of the bench.
“Come here, I’m trying to steal your body warmth, Blondie!”
Kento raised a brow at that. What kind of word is “...Blondie?” He voiced out his question out loud for the boy while shoving the boy’s lanky frame sideways to make some more room for Kento back on the bench, which the latter gladly did. The boy then immediately went to stick his body against Kento’s own, stealing warmth, he said. More like spreading cold, Kento thought.
“Yeah, you. Blondie. You have blond hair! That’s rare around here,” the boy nodded, as if he just presented Kento with a very widely known discovery of the century that only people who live under the rock would not know. And honestly, Kento would frown upon his logic because—isn’t white hair even rarer than blonds?? This boy is ridiculous—if not for the fact that Kento started to find this new guy amusing.
“Hey, Blondie. Do you go to school?” The white haired weirdo suddenly asked again and Kento regarded him with a very pointed look towards the school uniform he’s still so obviously wearing. The boy grins sheepishly, “Oh. Yeah. I see. Is it fun?”
“Huh? What do you mean by ‘is it fun’? Don’t you go to school?”
“No… not really, I guess. From where I came from, I always got tutors to come and teach me at home so I never knew,” the boy shrugged before adding, “they looked like fun from the comics I’ve read, though.”
Kento frowned but saw no harm in answering anyway. If he’s gonna be stuck with this chatterbox in the middle of a rain that showed no sign of stopping anytime soon, then might as well kill time by talking about something he actually enjoyed. “Well, I guess a lot of people don't like going to school… but that’s just because of the lessons and homeworks, you know..” Kento trailed, olive-green orbs staring back at the boy’s blue ones.
“I’ve got homeworks from my tutors too so there’s not much difference on that part, huh? How about you? Do you like going to school?”
Kento nodded. “I actually quite enjoy it. I like going to the library at my school. They let me use the computers during recess too sometimes,” he hummed. “Oh the curry-pan they sell at the canteen is also very delicious but they sell very fast.”
“Oh, curry-pan! I like those too. Man, your school sounds like fun,” the white haired boy pouted, little pink lips jutting out and trembled a bit. Whether it’s from the cold or the fleeting jealousy, no one knows.
“Why don’t you go to school then?”
The boy’s pout got impossibly sourer, his forehead and nose scrunching. “My old man doesn't like it when I leave our house. Safety reasons, he said. But I think after moving to this city I might be able to convince him to let me go to public school,” the boy then beamed at Kento, all traces of self pity wiped off his features. “Hey, do you think I would be able to convince him?!”
“Uhm. Sure? I mean, it’s just school? And you’ve left your house coming out here anyway?”
“Ugh. Yeah.. about that… I kinda ran away from my nanny?” The boy chuckled at Kento’s surprised face. “It’ll be fine! I’m really good at running!” The weirdo puffed his chest proudly before smiling softly at Kento. “Hey Blondie, tell me more about your school! I wanna know about all the things they do in comics. Do you guys have festivals too? How about… what is it.. ah, extracurricular activities? Did you join any clubs?!”
Kento and the weird boy ended up talking back and forth with mostly Kento answering the bombardment of questions coming from the boy. He learned that the boy doesn’t go out and meet people much—Kento was his first interaction with a kid his own age in a very very long time, or maybe ever that was not any part of his family, he said. The two of them then ended up talking about their likes and dislikes; “Natto is pretty tasty actually.” “Are you kidding me? That’s like, the worst food to ever exist! My nanny forced me to eat it all the time!” “I’m sure they meant well…” “Still! Ewww!”
They also found out that they’re following the same comic and cartoon series which leads to another conversation entirely. The boy bragged about his comic collections which had Kento buzzing with excitement—he always had to read them at school library or sneakily at the little corner bookstore since his parents would preferably buy him novels as well as encyclopedia books (not that he minded, he loved them too) and told him to save his own pocket money if he wanted to buy comics. The boy then promised Kento to show him his collections one day and Kento just nodded eagerly at the prospect of reading the missing volumes that his school doesn’t have or wasn’t opened yet at the bookstore.
Their exchange went on and on, increasing in the variety of topics as well as volume. They talked so much that neither of them noticed the old lady that owned the shop stood behind them with a broom, looking the farthest from being amused.
“You guys have been crowding the shop’s entrance for long enough, kiddos!” The lady huffed, her wrinkled face lines seemed to get deeper.
“But it’s still raining!” The white haired boy protested to which Kento quickly nodded in agreement, eyes frantically pleading at the lady at the possibility of getting kicked out. What a heartless woman!
“I don’t care! Go find another place to shelter. Or better yet, go straight home! Now shoo before I use my broom!”
“There’s no one going into the shop anyway!” The white haired boy retorted back and stuck his tongue out at the lady.
“What did you say, you brat!?” The lady was positively mad now. Kento whimpered under his breath and his little hand instinctively reached to tug at the white haired boy’s jumper. “Hey quit it,” Kento whispered but to no avail, atop of all that boisterousness, this boy is hella stubborn like that.
“You’re a fat, old lady with a grumpy wrinkly face! No wonder no one stops by your shop! I bet you scare all your customers away with that scary broom of yours!” The white haired boy shouted as he continued to mock the shop’s owner, much to Kento’s dread. The old lady looks ready to snap that Kento could practically see fumes rising from the lady’s head, veins popping on her wrinkly forehead.
“Come here you brat!”
“Run, Blondie!!” The white haired boy tugged at Kento’s hand and pulled him to run towards the hallowing rain. Kento yelped a third time and did his best to keep up before the imposing broomstick could swat him.
They ran and ran and ran until the shop was out of sight and Kento’s shoes felt hella gross with his wet socks and all. But the only thing Kento cared about was the survivability of his books inside the bag he’s half carrying half dragging with him through that impromptu escape. He struggled to hug it against his chest and shelter it as much as he could with one of his hands still being gripped tightly by the white haired boy which—well, proven to be very good at running, indeed.
“Hey! Slow down!” Kento tried to tug back at the boy but his plea fell on deaf ears as the boy ran further, his grip on Kento’s sleeve not relenting one bit. Kento stepped on a particularly big puddle and got even more worried that his bag might get drenched this way and he mustered all his strength to tug back as the pair passed a nearby playground. “I said wait!” Kento pulled the boy to stop which thankfully obliged this time. “My bag! It will get wet! My books are here!” Kento yelled at the boy through the noisy shower of the rain, now both of them soaked from head to toe all the while Kento still desperately trying to pull out his bag’s mantle. “Let me cover it first,” he added a bit more calmly this time.
“Oh. Oh! Sorry! Let’s stop here, then,” the boy turned to the park and Kento followed after successfully covering his bag. The sides are soaked but he’s positive that his books will survive, at the very least.
After some coaxing from the white haired boy, Kento found himself chasing the said boy in an intense game of tags under the pouring rain, his backpack placed securely under a miniature house’s roof that were too small for the two of them to fit together. So they opted to play out under the pouring rain.
“Can’t catch me, Blondie!”
“Arrggh wait up!” Kento squealed as he ducked in between the swings and tried to swat at the boy. The latter moved sideways and stepped around the pole to avoid Kento.
“You need to be faster than that!” The white haired boy hollered with laughter as he jumped over a pile of wet leaves that Kento so unfortunately missed. The blond slipped and fell right on his face. “Oh no! Blondie!” The white haired boy stopped and went back to help Kento up.
The boy reached a hand to Kento which he gladly accepted…
His palm felt cold under the still showering rainfall, the water droplet made the contact against their skin slippery but Kento’s grasp was firm and the boy tightened his own grip as well. Kento got up to his knee with the help of the boy.
…before tugging his hand hard and pulling the boy to fall forward as well.
“Tag! You’re it!” Kento laughed as the boy fell for his impromptu prank. Satisfied that he got his little revenge at last, Kento giggled and sat cross legged on the pile of leaves, no more caring about the decency of his appearance. They both are soaked and covered in mud at this point anyway.
“Ah! You got me!” The boy chuckled and sat up beside Kento, grinning up at him which Kento returned in kind. “Hey Blondie! Your tooth!” Panic flashes on the boy’s blue eyes as he eyed Kento’s features, the latter blinking at the sudden rise.
The blond frowned and started licking his front tooth to check if he had any leaf stuck or something—only to feel, or more like, did not feel, his front tooth in place. He covered his mouth with both hands in a mix of shock and embarrassment. “They’ve been like that since last week. Seems like the fall finally did the trick,” Kento’s muffled voice had said.
The white haired boy then grasped both of Kento’s hands, strange admiration glimmers in his eyes as he kept on insistently staring at the blond. “Let me see! Let me see!”
“No!” Kento shook his head, hands still firmly in place.
“My nanny said that if you lost your last front tooth, it means you’re finally a big boy!” He said. “Look, mine is about to fall too!” The boy opened his mouth and nudged at his front tooth with his tongue. Kento watched it with skeptical eyes before letting his hands down, smiling tight lipped at the boy. He felt a lot better now, relieved that he won’t be laughed at because of his missing front tooth. “See, it’s okay,” the boy smiled.
“Kento!!”
“Young Master!!”
Two voices suddenly cut through the pleasant silence both boys shared with the last remaining drizzle of the afternoon autumn rain. They both looked up with mutual surprise at the two approaching adults with equally bewildered expressions.
“Young Master! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” Said the black haired lady dressed in a neat uniform—the boy’s nanny, it seems. The boy kickstarted to a stand and ready to flee again only to be caught by the hood of his jumper. “No more running around! The master will be home in a bit and you’re all covered in mud!”
“Let me go!!” The boy wailed, his long limbs flailing in the nanny’s grip that looked so done and used to his antics, the lady easily contained the boy while keeping the huge umbrella on top of their heads steady with one hand. “I wanna play some more!”
“I’m sorry, Young Master. The boy’s mom has been looking around for him with me together and it looks like it’s his time to go home, too,” the nanny explained patiently and the white haired boy’s eyes trailed to Kento’s messy figure who’s currently presenting his missing tooth to his mother. They had collected the blond’s bag and looked ready to go home as well. The boy pouted.
“Let’s go back and get you cleaned for dinner, Young Master.”
Kento got away easily from his mother’s wrath (for now) as soon as he showed her the newly missing tooth. Turning the lecture about wandering late after school and not coming back home immediately especially under the current weather into an amazed gasp and soft reprimands about being careful while playing. “We should go home and get it cleaned properly, Kento. Did it hurt?” His mother asked to which the little blond replied with an easy shake of his head, “Nope! Not one bit!”
“Mommy’s son is a big boy now, hm? Should we make something together for dinner later?” She smiled and offered Kento his bag back and closed the umbrella she carried—the rain had stopped just right on time for the sunset, painting the evening sky a pretty sepia color with traces of thin clouds. “Come on, now. The weather is about to get a lot colder.”
Kento was about to step behind his mom before he remembered that he hasn’t said his goodbye yet to his new friend. He didn’t even know his name! And they’ve spent a lot of time together! Some kid, Kento was. He then turned his back to yell at the retreating form of the white haired boy and his nanny.
“Hey! My name is Nanami Kento! What’s yours!?” He yelled on top of his lungs, hoping the boy would catch it. But it seems like they’ve walked too far away to the opposite direction of his own house that they didn’t hear it. That, or Kento’s voice was too small. Dang it!
“He seemed like the son of an important someone. Maybe they didn’t want him to play with people that aren’t from their equal standing,” his mother stood beside him and stroked his wet blond hair, untangling the golden strands gently as Kento tried to bite back a sob. “He looked like a nice kid, though. Maybe with some luck you can meet him around again,” his mother added and Kento nodded sadly, still watching the boy and his nanny until they became dots along the horizon of the yellowing sky.
Seems like he’s never gonna get to see that promised comic collection, in the end.
-----
Monday rolled around, and after spending the weekend with mild fever due to the rain, Kento was still deemed healthy enough to attend school. Not that he minded, though. Monday’s periods are not as harsh as the Wednesdays and he got to spend the weekend reading his novels anyway. All in all, Kento’s weekend went pretty much as planned save for the unexpected encounter with the white haired weirdo.
“Alright, students! I need your attention, please!” The booming voice of their homeroom teacher, Mr. Yaga, came as soon as the bell rang, and Kento took out his pencil case, getting ready for whatever worksheet the man is going to hand out today.
“Today is a bit special, you see. We have a new transfer student!” The man announced, and Kento’s ears perked, interest instantly piqued. Could it be!?
“This boy has been homeschooled his whole life and this is his first time transferring to a public school so I want you all to be nice to him and show him around, alright?” Mr. Yaga finished and the students of Kento’s class answered with a various level of interest implied in their yes’s.
Satisfied enough, Mr. Yaga went back to open the door to let the boy in. “Alright, you may come in and introduce yourself,” he said as a familiar mop of white hair stepped inside, now looking a lot more decent compared to the first time Kento had laid his eyes on him, even complete with his very own school uniform. Kento could feel the corners of his lips tugging at the beginning of a smile.
The new boy beamed to everyone in class from his position upfront after he stepped in front of the teacher’s desk, but Kento felt like that particular gesture was meant for him. He could not help the surprised gasp as the white-haired boy showed a toothy smile, almost blinding if not for the missing front tooth that mirrored Kento’s own. He heard the girls that sat behind him start giggling at the newcomer’s antics and Kento felt his face flush. Now they match!
“Hello! My name is Gojo Satoru. Looking forward to befriending you all!” The new boy energetically introduced himself after writing his own name on the board, much to their homeroom teacher’s relief before he gestured to the newcomer to sit down so he could begin the morning session. Tension clearly fell off Mr. Yaga’s broad shoulder as the old man turned his back to erase the board, obviously assured that the newcomer would not have a hard time fitting in. Of course he wouldn’t, Kento himself will make sure of it even if he isn’t the most sociable person nor the most pleasant to get along with—but they had no problem doing so already, anyhow.
Kento then let his lips slowly morph into a thin smile at the realization that the only empty chair left is by the window beside his own. They had decided their weekly seat rotation earlier that day and Kento was originally pretty bummed for getting the chair near the windows (yes, he hates the breeze. Don’t judge him for trying to avoid it) and having to sit alone since one of his classmates moved to another city a month prior—but now he might even think the universe has a grand plan for him in store.
He started to giggle a little when the boy—now with a name attached to his person, Satoru, walked over to his desk. Satoru grinned once again as he stopped in front of Kento’s desk and stretched his hand in a form of greeting, proudly presenting his missing tooth that Kento gladly returned in kind; memory of last Friday prompted Kento to look into the boy’s cerulean blue eyes with mutual mischief.
They shook hands and Satoru’s palm felt warm this time around; no more wet droplets between them as their skin made contact with one another.
“So, it seems like we’re going to spend a lot of time together, Blondie.”
“So it seems indeed, Sa-to-ru.”
Well, it looks like Kento’s dream to see those comic collections will come true after all.