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If there was one constant in the universe, it was that Kuroba Kaito would always prank people during school.
Okay, now that Hakuba Saguru thought about it, there were definitely more constants, but this one was the priority right now, because guess what Kaito was doing? Right, pranking.
Pranking Saguru, to be exact, if the water dripping down his body said anything.
“Kuroba-kun,” Saguru said, trying not to reveal his anger. “Why did you slam a bucket of water on my head?”
Kaito was busy laughing away. “Oh, it was so funny! You didn’t see me coming!”
“Bakaito!” Aoko’s angry scream came from next to Saguru. Sighing, he watched as the girl stood up and faced her best friend with a glare. “You shouldn’t do that to Hakuba-kun during class! Or ever!” she hurriedly tacked on as she saw Kaito’s grin start to grow wider.
“Kuroba-kun, Nakamori-san,” a sigh came from the teacher. “Please, both of you, sit down. Hakuba-kun, go to the nurse. I think she can do something to help you.”
“Thank you, sensei,” Saguru said and got up. He looked at Kaito and narrowed his eyes at the boy’s grin, and - was that another bucket of water next to him?
“Is that another bucket of water next to you?” Aoko shrieked, apparently spotting it as well.
Kaito sighed. “Geez, Ahoko, no need to be a mother hen. I wasn’t going to use it on you, anyway.” He slowly turned toward Akako. The girl’s eyebrows twitched, obviously displeased.
And then all the boys in the classroom began rioting.
Saguru took that as his cue to leave.
On his way to the nurse’s office, he wished he had at least taken some cover out, because a soaking wet student making his way through the hall was certainly not a common sight.
Maybe the fact that he was in Kaito’s class answered some of their questions, though.
The next day, Kaito thankfully did not seem to have buckets of water, but Saguru was not letting his guard down again.
“Sensei, may I move to the back, please?” he asked. “Or, at least behind Kuroba-kun.”
The teacher seemed to recall the events of the previous day and nodded. “Yeah, of course.”
The teacher called another student up, and after a brief conversation with the student, nodded at Saguru, and the two had soon traded seats.
Kaito shot him a brief glare, but Saguru couldn’t find the effort to care about that. He was safe. For today.
That was what he thought, at least. Until lunchtime, when suddenly, something dropped on him.
“...eggs?”
Kaito was giggling like a maniac. “Ha! I knew you would ask the teacher to move you to the back, so I prepared this prank for every seat!”
The other kids in the back, looked up worriedly, only to get faces full of eggs as well.
Saguru sighed. At least the eggs only landed in his hair. It was going to be a mess he would have to fix, but oh well…
“Why do you keep pranking Hakuba-kun?”
Saguru stopped near the entrance of the classroom. He didn’t want to eavesdrop, but…
“Huh? Cause it’s fun! Do you really need to be asking that, Ahoko?”
Saguru sighed. Of course Kaito would respond in that manner. He was about to walk in, but Aoko spoke first.
“But you’ve been fixating on Hakuba-kun for a while now!” she protested. “It doesn’t make sense! You were indiscriminate before-”
“I dropped eggs on the faces of the entire back row!”
“Only because Hakuba-kun was there!” Aoko snapped. “It’s strange, okay?”
“Maybe I just hate Hakuba that much,” Kaito growled, and Saguru’s heart seemed to freeze. “Maybe I just want him out of my life.”
“Then why do you keep making him part of it?!”
“Hakuba-kun.” Saguru jolted as he was caught, and he turned around to see Akako gazing at him. “They’re talking about you, aren’t they?”
“They are,” Saguru confirmed, narrowing his eyes. “How do you know?”
Akako smiled mysteriously. “Kuroba-kun is always at least thinking about you,” she said. With that, she walked into the classroom, which quickly fell silent.
Saguru waited a bit longer before following her. He didn’t want Kaito and Aoko to know that he overheard their argument.
There were no pranks that day.
“Is Kuroba okay?”
Saguru turned to his classmate and frowned. “I think so. Why are you asking?”
The classmate made a face. “Well, you know him. Usually he’s…” he waved around his hands, as if that somehow explained what he was trying to say.
Saguru could take a few guesses. “A prankster?”
The classmate nodded. “Yeah! But he’s unusually mellow today.”
Kaito’s argument with Aoko flashed back into Saguru’s mind, and the detective sighed. “I think he’s fine. Let’s just be relieved that he took a break.”
He was anything but relieved.
Saguru managed to enter the classroom early the next day, even before Kaito arrived. When the magician did appear, he had supplies in his hands, which he quickly hid upon spotting Saguru. Smart, he thought, trying to set up a prank before anyone else is here. I suspected that was how he did it, but now I have confirmation.
“Kuroba-kun,” Saguru said. “Can we talk?”
Kaito grinned, casually hopping over in front of him. “Of course! What do you want to talk about, Hakuba?”
“Why you’ve been pranking only me,” Saguru responded, and felt mixed emotions as Kaito froze. Pleasure at the magician’s reaction, but also a sort of pain, one that he did not truly understand.
“Because I despise you. We’ve established this in the past, Hakuba.” It was clear Kaito was trying to sound bored, but utterly failing.
Saguru sighed. “Alright then,” he said. “Fine, I’ll believe that, then.”
Something flashed over Kaito’s face, but it disappeared almost instantly. However, that brief moment was enough for Saguru.
“Unless…” Saguru said slowly. “Unless you don’t hate me. Or maybe you do, but that’s not the only thing you feel about me.”
Kaito was frozen.
“Kuroba Kaito-kun,” Saguru said, making sure to use the other boy’s full name. “Do you like me?”
Immediately, Kaito shot up. “No, I do not!” he said quickly, red covering his face. “Now, I have to go set up this prank for, uh, Ahoko, so leave me alone!” He quickly conjured his supplies seemingly out of nowhere and disappeared.
Saguru watched him and sighed. A realization had come to him throughout this conversation, and despite the frustration that came with it, he readily accepted it. Maybe he likes me, he thought. Maybe he doesn’t. I hope he does, because otherwise this conversation would be… yeah.
I just know that I like him, despite all his annoying pranks.