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Karasu wasn’t new to people watching. In fact, he had done it for most of his life, discreetly observing as others went about their lives. Holding on to his grandmother’s hand as they rode the bus to go shopping, looking at the people who sat around them, trying to understand their life’s stories from the way they dressed or the conversations that they had. As a teenager in high school, studying at the coffee shop nearest to their school, filling the lulls between paragraphs with casual observations of those around him, from his fellow students to the businessmen in fancy suits and the frazzled mothers trying to wrangle their children. It was innocent, watching people out of the corner of his eyes and learning so many new things about the world around him. It was casual, never with an effort to gain something or use information against someone.
And most importantly, it was discrete, as he had said.
This was none of those things.
Breathing in deeply, Karasu pressed his lips together as he tried to ignore the feeling of someone staring blatantly right into the back of his head. They had been staring for a while, and he had quite the solid idea of who it was. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on the conversation that was being had between his tablemates, gathered together after a long day of training. But even so, he could not focus on Yukimiya’s calm, steady voice, or the over-excited comments made by Otoya.
No, he could really only focus on one thing.
Staring straight ahead at the wall with all of the doors that delivered their meals, Karasu tried to ignore the whistling sound he just heard. But the sound mocked him, calling to him again and again until he was over it, slamming down his fork beside his plate.
The other two at his table paused, looking at him with shock and concern.
“Dude, you good?”
“That was really out of character for you, Karasu. Is everything okay?”
“Everything is
fine
. I just have to go deal with a pest.”
Karasu stood, grabbing his tray with both hands before walking over to the table that housed the only person currently sitting by himself. The snarky little demon that had decided to be the bane of Karasu’s existence for the week, constantly badgering him and teasing him, ever since their first game of five on five.
Shidou’s face beamed as he approached, leaning back casually in his chair as he whistled again, laughing giddily as Karasu frowned.
“What the hell are you doing?” Karasu asked, sliding out the chair across from Shidou and placing his tray on the table. He crossed his arms and waited until Shidou stopped laughing, the gleeful smile never leaving his face once as he wiped a fake tear from his eye.
“Ah, just practicing my bird calls. Think I’ve gotten pretty good, eh?”
Karasu scowled, not liking that he played into Shidou’s hand by coming over after being whistled at, but knowing that they needed to have this conversation before he got even more aggravated with the other striker.
“No, you brat, I mean what are you doing? Why have you been messing with me all week?”
Shidou’s grin quickly turned into a pout, his lower lip sticking out pathetically as he cocked his head to the side, looking as if he had been personally offended by Karasu’s words.
“What? I just decided to take up a new hobby of bird watching…is that so bad?”
“I’m not a damn bird,” Karasu stated curtly, his frown deepening every moment he forced himself to interact with Shidou.
“Come on, Karasu-kun, don’t be like that. I just like birds.” Shidou shrugged, his pouty expression quickly turning into one of mischief as he leaned forward, dropping his voice a few notches so that only Karasu would hear him. “Actually, I really, really , like birds.”
The words, paired with Shidou’s tone and expression immediately turned Karasu into a flushed mess. Karasu pushed his chair back, standing from the table while glaring down at Shidou.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re just trying to get into someone’s head.”
“Yeah I am,” Shidou confirmed with a sly smile, leaning back until his chair tipped back onto its rear legs. “Yours, because I want you to think of me all the time, especially when you’re alone.”
Karasu felt his cheeks heat up another ten degrees, and turned on his heel, briskly walking over to the trash cans while Shidou and his friends stared at him. He wasn’t going to put up with him for another second….he didn’t want to deal with the embarrassment of blushing at every new thing that came out of Shidou Ryusei’s mouth.
Heading out of the dining hall, he heard that god awful whistle once again, and almost turned around. Karasu managed to control himself, his pace only being interrupted for a moment before he continued on, exiting the dining hall and getting him as far away from Shidou as possible.
Maybe though, he could explore Shidou’s interests in birds another day, when his entire future wasn’t on the line and he could afford to be distracted for a little while.