Chapter Text
They met in 8th grade.
Miu Iruma was a new student in Kaede’s class.
After knowing her for around 2 minutes, Kaede could already tell that she was obnoxious, loud and extremely inappropriate. She was also totally not Kaede’s type.
It should also be mentioned that Kaede was going through a major sexuality crisis at the time, her thoughts and feelings were all over the place and being around pretty (pretty?) girls did not help at all.
Her first contact with gay people ever had actually been in 6th grade where in the end of a music video she was watching, 2 girls shared a little kiss. Kaede was absolutely blown away by that.( She also rewatched that final scene a lot of times. For research purposes.).
Her second way of exposure with gay people (and first with a bisexual one ) ,came in 7th grade, in the form of her closest friend, Shuichi. Hands trembling and tears streaming down his face, he managed to spit out that he was attracted to the same sex. Though she was a little confused, Kaede was nothing short of supportive of her childhood best friend.
Only after these encounters ( and many, many more), Kaede started really questioning herself. Longing stares, extreme awareness of accidental but soft touches of hands, moments of profound embarrassment during sleepovers... She wasn't 100% sure of the way her affections worked, but there was something about the way she thought about girls that apparently wasn't as common as she thought.
Enter Miu Iruma. Oh... The definition of headache. Totally full of herself. She was top of her class, just right above Kaede, and modesty was not a word in her vocabulary. They were not friends.
She and Shuichi would often sit together at lunch, staring at the table where was Miu's friend group- Kokichi Ouma: class clown, pathological liar, unhinged beast that would torment the students of the school ( also Kaedes 17th contact with gay people - not that she was keeping count), and Keebo Idabashi: child of prominent inventor, would take everything way too literally, flustered easily, perfect victim for Ouma's pranks. The 3 of them had nothing in common besides their above average intellect hidden behind their extravagant personalities. Still, it was weird imagining them not being friends, them being inseparable just made sense.
Observing the reckless clique with someone like Shuichi was fun, he would point out little details about their confrontations or games, he just had an eye for things like that.
Miu and Kaede were not friends.
Until they were.
It took a while for their friend groups to merge, but it happened. Kaito Momota and Maki Harukawa, both close friends of her and Shuichi, didn't exactly get along with the other trio, but after a few (forced) group projects, lots of bantering, and a couple of pranks-gone-wrong the 7 of them would frequently sit together during lunchtime and hang out outside school. It was extremely chaotic and didn’t always go well, but Kaede carries good memories from those times.
Of course that being that close with Miu Iruma made 8th grader Kaede’s inner unresolved feelings burst out pretty quickly, and it wasnt too long after she came out as bisexual. She could not deny it, Miu was just really pretty.
The reason for Kaedes big crush on Miu wasn't entirely clear though. It wasn’t as if Kaede hadn’t seen other girls and thought they were cute. She just had never felt that intensely about one. Maybe it was Iruma’s motivation and self confidence that little middle schooler Kaede so desperately wanted, maybe it was because deep down she thought her loud, terrible, horrible inappropriate jokes were a little bit funny sometimes. Maybe it was because she would always find a way to help the group, even if genuine positive interactions and feedback seemed to make her all uncomfortable and flustered...
Or maybe it was just the way she once told some older dudes to fuck off when they tried to harass her.
Maybe it was the way she stayed right next to Kaede when her twin sister passed away, the 2 of them crying in eachothers arms in the stalls of the school bathroom, Miu comforting Kaede, petting and hugging her, while her mind was at its worst. Those were really hard times, but having her friends and Miu there for her, helped her move on at least a little bit.
Whatever it was, after a few months of getting along with Miu, Kaede was positive she was utterly and hopelessly infatuated with her.
Of course, middle school doesn’t last forever and all of Kaede’s friends were soon enrolling in the local High School.
When it came, everyone was separated, since students then would choose which major they would like to specialise in.
Kaede, being a piano player and enthusiast since she was a toddler, did not think twice before enrolling in the prestigious music major the school had to offer. Miu, along with Keebo, signed up for the engineering major, both with intentions of becoming masters in the robotics field.
The rest of the group followed through as well. Shuichi decided to take a general science major, so that he would have the skills to be a good detective, Kaito going with him ( he didn’t have any particular set of skills so he just followed his gut with that one). Maki signed up for languages and Kokichi for economics.
Initially everyone tried to keep in touch.
It was hard because there were too many of them and their school schedules were all different, but they managed. Went to the movies a couple times, one of them was a really scary one and Kaede definitely did not miss how Miu's hand seemed to search for hers during a particularly scary part. They grasped each other's hand, not letting go even after the jumpscares were long gone. (They never talked about this though). They also went to a fun fair a few months after school started. Kokichi managed to convince Kaito, Kiibo and Shuichi to make a bet with him that involved eating the maximum amount of cotton candy they could and it's needless to say that Kokichi won 50 bucks that day.
That was the last time the whole group hung out.
The first one to leave was Maki, she got into a heated fight with Kokichi and refused to meet up the following time they tried to make arrangements in the group chat. Then it was Kaito’s turn, the dude had a crush on Maki and after trying to make her rejoin them, ended up leaving himself. Kaede doesn't hold any grudges against them, she understood Kokichi could be a little extra and rude sometimes. Though, after knowing him for a while, she understood that his barrier of lies and rudeness was more of a defense mechanism than anything else.
Then it was Miu and Kiibos' turn to leave. These two didn't have any dramatic reason to, but after the previous drama, the group energy had died down, the schedule was hard to match, they just both kept gradually distancing themselves until all their interactions became the occasional awkward "Hi" in the hallways.
That left Kaede with Shuichi and Kokichi, the three of them against the world!
Well, now Kaede is just one week into senior year of high school and not much has changed since then. She has other friends, her warm and positive personality seems to attract people. Unfortunately, she doesn’t feel an actual connection to most, if someone asks her, they are friends, but it’s not like she ever confides in them her deeper secrets or anything like that. The only ones she actually trusts and frequently talks about her personal problems and issues are still Kokichi and Shuichi.
That also means that those two are the only people in the whole world that know about Kaede's sad, miserable crush on Miu, even though they have not had a proper actual conversation since 10th grade.
-Wow . Talk about being caught up in the past.- Kokichi teases her every day - You could have at least chosen a decent human being to have a FOUR year crush on, but NO you get caught up on the biggest whore we know!
-Geez fine I get it. But it's not like I chose to be in this situation you know? It's not my fault that every time I feel that I'm finally ready to move on, she gives me one of THOSE glances that make me wanna melt on the floor.- Kaede sighs.
- Yea, I'm sorry Kaede, but I'm with Kokichi on this one. Besides sharing one economics class that * you * signed up for because you knew *she* was gonna be in, you don't interact at all. Ever.
Kaede has to use all of her willpower to not expose those two right there. Being best friends with those assholes also meant that she knew how many crushes they have had throughout the years, and how a bunch of times those crushes had been on eachother. Kaede never got involved in that because she felt like it wasn’t her place and also because the crushes they got on each other every six months were never synchronized. Meaning she was stuck in a never ending loop of her two friends pinning on each other and getting over it, the object of their desire being always unrequired. At least they got the part of getting over a crush right ( even if they kept falling back in). They have both already dated other people, unlike Kaede.
It's not like she hasn’t tried, she went to her share of parties, made out with a couple of people here and there, but she never got in a serious relationship. She tried to blame it on how her partners were never the right ones for her, but the truth was that Kaede was really not in the right mentality to date anyone. Not when all her mind wanted was Miu Iruma.
Right, back to her friends bullying her.
-I think that what you need is a distraction!- Kokichi always comes up with the worst ideas.
Right… let's pretend I haven’t tried that yet.
-Hey, don’t give me *that* look. I know we tried to set you up with a bunch of randos, but maybe that was the problem! Those people had nothing to do with you! Well, do not fear! I, your bestest friend and wingman, will get you the perfect partner!
Kaede deadpans.
-Yea, I’m sorry, but I gotta get going, I don't wanna be late to class. See you!
-Woaa, I know you wanna avoid this, sure, but isn’t your class in like, 15 minutes? We can still hang. Make a brainstorming sesh, get a partner for you, for Shuichi and moi!
- Uh? Please don’t get me into this? Thanks.- Shuichi looks over.
- You are killjoys, that's what you are! Don’t any of you want to get any bitches? C’mon Shuichi, don’t you wanna prove you can do better after the failure your last relationship was?
-You know what, I think I should go to class earlier today as well.- Shuichi gets up and walks down the corridor without another word.
-Ugh, fine do what you want, I’ll be by the vending machines if you change your mind.- Kokichi walks away in the opposite direction Shuichi went.
Well, let’s go to class then.
Oh yes, Economy B, Kaede’s new favorite subject. Not because she is particularly interested in the classes, Kaede is not good at math at all, and the subject definitely stands out between all of her other music related lessons she attends. Also capitalism is not something that spikes Kaede’s curiosity, hell, she has no idea how Miu Iruma, along with a lot of people she gets along (or at least used to) signed up for it. In the previous session, she recognized Maki, Kaito, Keebo and Miu from middle school. A few other students she got along with that attended it were Angie ( this was a surprise, especially considering she was worse at math than her and never showed interest in anything economy related), and Kirumi - an elegant girl that had taken piano classes with her at some point. Kokichi also takes economy classes, but he was in a more advanced one.
The first class was the usual deal. The teacher introduced himself and talked a bit about the subject. Also, he told them to read up to page 25 of their schoolbook and do a diagnostic exercise, which Kaede did not do. That's why she is planning to get to class early. So that she can smooth-talk one of her peers into giving her a summary of the pages and letting her copy their homework.
Kaede arrives at the classroom and as expected most of the tables are still empty. On a corner Maki is quietly humming to herself, with her earphones on and reading a book. Wait, is that Twilight? Welp. It's probably not the best idea to bother her right now, even if Kaede wants to use the opportunity to rebond with her old friend. Maybe another time.
On the other side of the classroom are a group of people Kaede hasn't talked with before, along with Miu and Keebo. Kaede's heart skips a beat. They seem to be talking about the homework.
It's now or never, Kaede. It's not like there's a good way of asking a bunch of strangers if you can copy their homework because your math skills are under 0.
- Hi everyone! - there are a couple of hums and looks of acknowledgement in her direction- are you talking about the task Mr. Gary sent us?
- Yea - Miu snickers .
God. Of course it's Miu fucking Iruma the one to answer.
- We were just laughing about how fucking easy the homework was! Even a newborn with NO math skills could do it! HAHAHHAH!
Kaede wants to die.
-Hahaha.. trueee… hahaha. Welp. I'm gonna be going back to my seat. You know the drill…
-WOAA wait there Kaediot! We haven't talked in so long! Sit your bitchy ass down here and uhhh.. I dunno.. Tell me about life! How are the other bitchlings?
How the *fuck* did i get a four year crush on this. She didn't grow up a little bit..
-You know what. I would love to, but I really should be going back to my seat. I have important stuff to do.
The important stuff being the homework I was planning on copying from you. Ugh.
Kaede turns back despite Miu's antics and opens the workbook, sighing as she looks down at a bunch of stats and numbers and weird words she never heard off before. Her brain feels like mush.
God, I'm gonna make the worst impression possible in a class i dont give a shit about, that I signed up because of a girl that I haven't talked to in two years and that is probably not worth it in the tiniest bit. Great. Just great work Kaede.
-Uh, hi Kaede, we didn't have a chance to talk back there but it's nice to see you aga- Ohhh, is that the task we had to d- Keebo shows up behind her and nearly gives her a heart attack.
-Geez!! You scared me, Keebs.
-Mhmn, I see why u looked so distressed back there, don't worry about Miu, she was just using her big mouth back there. A couple of other kids also struggled with the exercise.- Keebo looks down at his nerdy robotic watch- I could try to explain it to you in detail, but Mr. Gary must be almost arriving, so…uh- He takes out a big notebook from his heavy backpack - Here, just copy mine.
-Ohhh, Keebo! You're a lifesaver! Thank you so much! - Kaede accepts the notebook and starts quickly copying a bunch of formulas and numbers and words she doesn't have the slightest idea what they mean.
-Haha, no problem. By the way, I've been meaning to ask you- why are you here really? Aaa, please don't see this question in a snobbish way. I don't mean it like that. It's just that this class is pretty much just a mix between geography and math- both subjects you hated in middle school- I'm just curious to see how you ended up h- Keebo rambles, probably scared he might have said something offensive.
Kaede doesn't answer immediately, she glances over the place she knows Miu is seated, talking to the group of people that meanwhile has increased.
Surprisingly Miu is already looking her way, and they make eye contact for a few moments, until Miu looks away and starts her obnoxious chatter again.
Kaede can feel her cheeks heating up a bit, until she stops herself.
Right, Keebo.
-Oh! You know. This is my last year of school, and well. And besides English, I've only been having music related classes these last 2 years. So… I see this more as an opportunity to learn new things before going to college!- Kaede spits out.
The real reason is way too embarrassing anyways. I was probably convincing enough. God I've been spending way too much time with Kokichi.
Keebo seems satisfied with her answer.
-That's great Kaede!- he smiles- Me and Miu have this as a mandatory class actually, most of the people here have. But seeing people like you, signing up for it because of a genuine desire to learn new things, you are so inspiring!
Geez, the way he talks about it makes it seem like I'm spending time outside class to be here. I only switched it with Music History. Anyways this was a terrible idea. I'd rather be hearing about Bach's biography for the thousandth time.
Suddenly, Mr. Gary arrives and Keebo says goodbye to go sit in his place next to Miu again.
Mr. Gary- he never told them his last name- is the most stereotypical economy teacher you could have. He is in his mid 40s, has well kept white hair and uses glasses with lenses that make his eyes look 3 times bigger. He is always wearing a yellow shirt with a black tie and a pen tucked in his chest pocket. This combo makes him look like a Breaking Bad character.
Appropriate.
Oh. Also he is a crypto bro. Yikes.
Mr. Gary comes in with a big smile on his little face, sits down at his desk and immediately asks for someone to go to the board to solve the homework.
No volunteers.
I was expecting Miu to go, since she is so sure her answer is right. She likes the attention too.
- It seems… no one is interested in showing the class how the exercise is done…What a shame. - Mr. Gary keeps showing his white set of teeth.
-In cases like this i will need to ask a random student from the list to solve it for us.- He takes out from his desk a paper with the names of his students in alphabetical order- Number 13, who is our 13th student? Kae- Kaedëy Akämatsú? Please come to the front.
Geez it's no wonder, the number 13 is known as the unluckiest number. He can't even pronounce my name right! God I hope I copied Keebs work right .
Kaede stands up and she can feel all her classmate's eyes on her. She slowly walks to the board and sees Keebo giving her two thumbs up from her peripheral sight. She sighs. Then, starts neatly copying her work from her notebook.
It's the second time I copied the same thing in a span of 10 minutes and I am still completely ignorant of what its meaning is.
She makes sure she copied every single number just right, and then looks expectantly at her teacher.
The teacher looks expectantly back at her.
…
-Miss Akimatsuri ( Now it's Akimatsuri??) … tsk tsk tsk. It seems like the exercise is correct.
Kaede sighs in relief.
-Now, do you mind asking the rest of the class, if they have any doubts that you might be able to clarify?
Fuck.
Kaede sends the most strained smile she can give to the teacher.
Then she looks at the class. Fortunately none of them seem interested in making any questions, or interested in the exercise at all.
Well. All except one.
Miu sends a devilish look in Kaede's direction, and their eyes lock again. A chill goes down Kaedes back.
She wouldn't do it. Right?
Oh, but it seems Miu would do it indeed. Without unlocking her eyes from Kaede's, she slowly starts raising her hand, until it proudly stands up in the air.
I fucking hate you Miu Iruma. You are a despicable person.
Mr. Gary sees Miu's hand raised up.
-Go ahead Miss Irürmah ( At least it's not only my name he messes up ) I'm sure Miss Akumatsu ( It's a little closer this time, I'll give him that) will be able to help you.
Miu sends Kaede an innocent look.
Kaede prepares for the worst.
-Thank you Sir! It's just a small thing reallyyy- Miu says sweetly. Uh, it looks like she knows how to be polite now, just not everyone seems to be worthy of it - Well… Kaëdey….is that symbol on the top left corner… No, not *that* one, the one next to it, *yes*. Is it a "5" or a "s" ?
…
Really? Is she just messing with me?
-Uh, it's a five.- Kaede wants to add "obviously", but that would most likely lead to an argument over fives and esses , and all she wants is to get out of there as quickly as possible.
Mr. Gary looks at Miu - Was that all?
-Umnn. Let me think… umnmmmm. Yes I think it is!
-Sure, great, if there are no more questions, you may return to your seat, Miss Akamatsu ( He got it right!), so we may proceed with class.
Kaede nearly runs to her seat after hearing that, almost tripping over Kaito Momota's lego ( Lego?) set he had next to his seat for some reason. Fortunately she didn't break anything and sent Kaito an apologetic smile, receiving a smile in return.
The moment she sat down, she exhaled deeply. Then she looked at Miu's back.
Weird that someone like her is sitting in the front row. She must have changed a lot. Or maybe not. I don't really know much about her anymore. Actually interacting with her like this is good. I feel like I'm finally getting some closure from the past.
The rest of the period passes quickly, Kaede spent her time doodling little Kaedes playing piano and little Mius with that stupid smile of hers. And then little Mr. Garys but with his head really tiny and one thing lead to another and then she was drawing breaking bad characters too, because she was NOT over how Mr. Gary looked like one of them. Then she drew her other friends. Little Keebos, little Shuichis, little Kokichis, little Kaitos, little Makis, until the two pages in front of her were filled with funny little people.
Heh. It looked kinda funny. The funniest part was that Kaede ended up not taking any notes, and now she doesn't even know what the homework is, because the class ended and she didn't even feel the time pass.
She would have asked Keebo for the class notes, but he ran away the moment the bell rang, like he was late for something.
Meaning: Kaede has a few options. She can either ask one of her ex friends for the notes, ask one of her other classmates she knows already, or, (this is her favorite) leave class like nothing happened and stress out next week again.
Kaede ends up not having any options at all because of course Miu Iruma shows up.
-Hey sour-tits! So, you want help with your schoolwork again?
-Uh, what? How do yo-
-Keebs told me he let ya copy his. Humph. You could have said it back there y'know. That you're a Kaediot that can't even do 3rd grader math exercises. HAHAHAH.
God. Was she really always like this? Why does she even care, ugh.
-Fine, whatever, I don't care. If you're gonna be like this, I'm gonna take my leave.- Kaede wasn't gonna take this anymore- See you next week.
She started turning back, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
-Heeee, hey don't leave me like this!!! I was just going to offer to tutor you! For free, even!!! - Miu gets all weak and wimpy.
This part of her hasn't changed too much either. She doesn't like it when people don't give her attention.
-I'm listening.
- Hahaha! No one can take an offer from the gorgeous girl genius down!!- Miu gets excited again. - Well, if you're still the Akamatsu I used to hang, I know how much you suck at this shit. Well… Worry not! You can get tutoring from me!
This is extremely suspicious
-You just said you would do it for free… What do you get from it?
- Eeee?! Is not wanting to spend time and help my friend Kaede enough reason for you?
No.
Kaede gives her a look.
…
-Ugh. Finee. I need extra credit for college since the robotics club was banned, and the headmaster said I could give tutoring classes to students as an after-school club of sorts.
That's more realistic. Can't help but feel a little sad that she doesn't actually want to spend time with me though.
-Sure. In that case, as long as it matches my schedule, I don't mind.
-Pssst! Don't act like you're doing me a favor bitch! I'm the one who's gonna make sure you pass this class!
-Right. So… Is anyone else gonna attend this club of yours?
-Hell yea! You were the last member we needed to make it official! We got Kazuichi and Ibuki: I don't think you know them, Kaito and Keebs from our class: Keebs is smart as fuck but hes helping me out in this, then that twink you're always with, Kokichi, and now you!
-Kokichi? What?
How is *he* in this and didn't tell me anything…what??
-HAHAHA, it's no surprise he didn't tell you, he's probably ashamed or something. He also needs that extra credit 'cause he has his mind set up in this *one* college and no one can take his mind off it. I don't even know what the little shit wants to do in life, we haven't talked in years!
I talk to him everyday and also don't know what he wants to do. Yikes.
-Haha, well. Anyways, the next club sesh is this Wednesday: two days from now, in room 436, at 4:30. Be sure to be there!- Miu sings, and starts stepping back- Well I gotta go talk to Kirumi about a group project I have with her, bye now!
- Uh. Bye?.
…
I need to have a conversation with Kokichi.
Kaede steps out of the classroom, and goes to the vending machines she knows Kokichi hangs by every break.