Chapter Text
Eijun's First Day
There is one surefire way to make a bad first impression.
And as Sawamura Eijun runs down the emptying corridors, he knows that’s exactly what’s going to happen.
“Aghhh! I am so late, the teacher is going to kill me!” He sobs and grabs at his hair in frustration.
He wills his legs to move faster, desperate to beat the bell that will ring at any moment. If he misses morning greeting, he’ll be a dead man, if being late hasn't already made him one.
He scans the signs above the doors, hope rising within him as his homeroom comes into view. His uwabaki rub against the tile floor as he runs, producing an obnoxious squeak that makes him wince with each step. He doesn’t care though; the bell hasn’t yet rung and he’s almost there-
-until the bell chimes the moment his fingers grasp the door handle.
Eijun’s heart skips a beat as he flings the door open, his breath coming in quick bursts as he bows a perfect ninety degrees.
“Please excuse me for being late! It will not happen again!” he shouts.
The entire room falls silent after the intrusion and he can feel his cheeks warming up the longer the silence lasts, though in reality, it probably only lasts for about ten seconds before someone clears their throat, breaking the tension.
“Please be sure that it doesn’t. Just take your seat.”
Eijun straightens from his bow, facing his new teacher as he speaks. “Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!”
He quickly scans the rows full of students, his eyes landing on an open desk next to an annoyed looking boy with blonde hair. He doesn’t look very friendly but at the moment Eijun doesn’t see any other option and he’s skating on thin ice as is, so he rushes to the seat, sitting quickly and waiting for the morning greeting to begin.
As soon as the greeting is over, the teacher quiets the room down, clearing his throat as he begins to speak. “We will go over the syllabus and discuss classroom expectations shortly, but for first years we approach things a little differently.
“As you’re all aware, the topic of soulmates is important to address. You’re all in a brand new environment, full of people you’ve never met and I’m sure you’re all eager to get to know one another. I do want to say this: please do not get discouraged if hearing your name spoken by someone else doesn’t trigger anything. It’s quite common for classrooms to not have soulmate pairs. We will start with each person standing and introducing themselves and then we’ll go from there.”
All around the room students begin to exchange nervous, excited glances. It’s in high school that people really start to get anxious about finding their soulmates and it is more common than not to do extensive introductions, especially in year one. People find their soulmates when their partner speaks the other person’s name, so schools often set aside the first hour or so of the day to rid the first years of their nerves. It is something most people look forward to, despite the fear that comes with it.
Eijun is no exception. Not only is he late to his first day of class, but he's probably left a bad impression on his teacher. And what if his soulmate is there as well? He dreads what that person must think of him.
“Alright, we’re going to go straight down the rows, front to back. Stand and bow, and then tell us your name. Since saying your own name won’t help you find your soulmate, we will recite everyone’s names after we’ve gone through the whole class.” The teacher pauses, waiting for everyone to quiet down once again. “I’ll start with myself, my name is Nakamura Teito and I will be your Japanese teacher. You can begin,” he says as he points to a shy looking boy with pink hair.
“Kominato Haruichi, pleased to meet you all,” he says shyly as he bows. He takes his seat, looking embarrassed as they continue down the row.
“Kanemaru Shinji, please to meet you all,” the blonde next to him says once they reach his row. At least now Eijun has a name to attach to the grumpy face.
Several more students introduce themselves, and then it’s finally his turn. His chair screeches as it slides against the floor and he bows quickly, raising his voice to speak. “Sawamura Eijun! Pleased to meet you all!”
He can hear grumpy face scoff and he’s tempted to turn to ask him what his problem his but stops himself. He’s already drawn enough unnecessary attention to himself for one day so he sits back down and remains quiet for the remainder of introductions.
“Alright.” Mr. Nakamura claps his hands together to get the students’ attention. “The way this will work is as follows: we will go row by row, person by person, starting with Kominato-kun. Each person he passes will say his name and he will say theirs and we will continue this until everyone has gone. It’s rare, but, if we do have a soulmate pair in here, you will both be excused for the remainder of the day to spend time together. Do be aware that the school is still responsible for you during school hours, so we ask that you to stay on campus unless given consent by both parents. Does everybody understand?”
Mr. Nakamura looks around the room, looking for any faces that seem confused before pressing on. “Perfect! Kominato-kun, you may begin.”
The boy stands slowly, the rosy hue on his cheeks giving away what eyes hidden behind a veil of hair cannot. As he approaches the person behind him, his anxiety is clear and Eijun finds himself feeling sorry for the boy. It must be difficult going first.
Eijun watches as Haruichi continues to walk down the aisles, pausing at each desk and waiting for his name to be said before he reciprocates. When nothing happens, he moves on and it isn’t until he’s right besides his desk that Eijun realizes he’s even gotten close to him at all.
The brunette swallows, looking up at the small boy as his heart hammers in his chest. For once he is speechless. It isn’t like he’s never been faced with this before; meeting new people isn’t uncommon. However, the weight of it is settling in - he’s in high school now and it’s more serious than before.
“U-uhm, excuse-”
Eijun shakes his head, Haruichi’s timid voice snapping him out of his thoughts. “Ah! I’m sorry!” he says loudly. “Pleased to meet you, Haruichi!”
“Y-you too, Eijun,” he mumbles as he absently plays with his fingers. Haruichi smiles softly at Eijun and even if he feels nothing when the loud boy says his name, he likes his sincerity and hopes they’ll get along.
By the time Shinji gets around to Eijun, neither boy can help but be relieved when nothing is felt. The last thing Eijun wants is some sour, stick-in-the-mud soulmate who doesn’t seem especially fond of him either.
When it’s finally Eijun’s turn, he stands quickly, bowing in front of each person and excitedly saying names. When he gets to the last person, he can’t help but feel slightly disappointed when they exchange names and nothing happens. He knows it’s much more common than not, but everyone holds out some sort of hope that just maybe it would be that easy.
After all, the sooner the better.. Because some people never do find their soulmates.
Eijun shakes those thoughts from his head, watching and listening and hoping that there will be a pair in their classroom.
But, as the last pair stands before each other, the excited buzz goes out like a flame, leaving the students disappointed and dejected.
~
“Hey Youichi?”
The second year sighs and closes his textbook, readying himself for whatever it is his roommate is going to say. “What is it, Eijun?”
If he’s being honest, he really doesn’t have any homework. The first day is usually easy-going, teachers going over classroom rules and expectations, maybe giving light homework that even a child could accomplish in ten minutes. An hour has passed since clubs let out and it’s more than enough time to finish the work he was assigned. At this point, he’s just skimming his textbook out of bored curiosity of the course material, so his annoyance at his roommate’s interruption is entirely unwarranted.. but can’t Eijun see he just wants to relax?
Although, with Sawamura Eijun as a roommate, he’s convinced he’ll be given anything but relaxation time.
“When do you think you’ll find your soulmate?” Eijun asks.
The two boys fall silent and Eijun considers the question he posed. What if he never finds his soulmate? If his soulmate isn’t in his class, then where does he start looking?
The bed above him rustles, distracting him, and when he looks up Youichi is easing himself down to the floor.
“What? Discouraged cuz your soulmate isn’t in your class? That it?”
“No!” Eijun protests. “I’m just curious!”
“You’re a liar, everyone feels that way after their first day. Well, most,” he adds with a shake of his head. “And I’ve already found my soulmate, idiot.”
Eijun pushes himself into a sitting position quickly, moving to the edge of his bed out of excitement. “Really?! Who??”
His roommate scowls and rolls his eyes. “What’s it matter to you? He’s a third year, makes no difference to you.”
“What’s he like? What’s it like? You know, the feeling??”
“You ask too many damn questions,” Youichi growls. “And I can’t explain it to you! You’ll just know. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to my friend’s dorm. I have to help him go over some notes. Try not to think too hard about this whole soulmate thing, alright, moron?”
“Yes, senpai!”
Youichi rolls his eyes, closing the door behind him with a loud thud.
~
Miyuki's First Day
Whenever Miyuki walks through the hallways on the way to class, he turns his hearing aids off. With all the conversation (and occasional shouting), all it does is confuse and annoy him. The hearing aids only amplify the sounds around him and with so many things happening at once it sounds like a muffled mess. He can already barely understand one person speaking to him in a quiet environment - he doesn’t stand a chance making out anything successfully in the crowded halls.
After all, it’s only advised that he has them in- no one said anything about them being turned on. And without them on the noise disappears, leaving him to blissful silence.
Miyuki quickly makes his way through the crowd of first years. He pushes passed all of the excited students talking to friends they haven’t seen since before break - words he can’t hear but knows like the back of his hand. He just wants to get to the second floor and into his new classroom, away from the congestion.
He knows his first hour teacher will probably assign seats, and that he’ll end up in the front- just like always. He sets his things down under his desk, sitting heavily in the seat to wait for class to begin.
..Or for Kuramochi to arrive.
The cocky second year strolls in carrying his bag over his shoulder, plopping it down on the seat next to Miyuki to free his hands.
«What’s up, Kazuya, ready for this year?» Kuramochi signs. Despite knowing the language well, his lips still move, indicating that he is still speaking out loud.
«You’re awfully cheery for the first day back,» Miyuki signs, eyeing his companion carefully.
«You know me, always up for learning.» He throws his head back in what Miyuki suspects to be a laugh.
«You’re just happy to see Kominato again.»
«Well maybe if you-»
Miyuki holds up his hand to stop his friend’s train of thought and shakes his head. «Don’t start with me, Kuramochi.»
The brunette shrugs his shoulders, looking unfazed. «I’m just saying-»
Kuramochi drops his hands, head cocked as if listening for something. When he meets Miyuki’s eyes again, he must sense his confusion and frowns. «Turn your ears on, the bell just rang,» he signs as he takes his seat beside him.
Miyuki rolls his eyes and reaches toward his ears, his lips pressing together as the devices come to life. His eyebrows knit as the sounds swirl around him, low murmuring from students who haven’t yet gotten the cue that it’s time to stop talking. The sounds become slightly sharper as he waits for his ears to adjust, though he’s still unable to make out what’s being said. He’s used to that- the devices only serve to aid him in lip reading, helping him understand what teachers are saying at the front of the room.
As he adjusts the volume, the murmuring stops and for a moment he thinks he accidentally turns them off until he sees the teacher walk in. Miyuki turns his attention to Kuramochi, mimicking his movements as they go through the morning greeting. He rises to his feet, and bows and sits on cue. He’s never able to hear the commands, but he can hear when something is said and he’s been doing morning greeting for so long that he knows what’s going on. He simply watches Kuramochi to be certain the routine is starting and from there he can easily fill in the blanks.
[“Hello, class. My name is Kataoka Tesshin and I-”] Miyuki frowns as the man turns away from him, his muted voice drowning out into incomprehensible noise. [“-troductions.”]
Miyuki turns to look at Kuramochi, the confusion clear on his face as he lifts his hands to tell the other teen he didn’t understand what was said. Before he can even begin to sign, Kuramochi nods, understanding the problem immediately.
He watches as his friend raises his hand, unable to see what Kuramochi is saying from the side. Kataoka nods his head slowly, realizing his mistake as he turns toward Miyuki and bows apologetically. Miyuki accepts, knowing it’s difficult for teachers to adjust and honestly just glad he doesn’t seem annoyed or inconvenienced.
[“I’m going to be your history teacher, Kataoka Tesshin. Since the majority of you already know each other, we won’t do introductions like the first years do. You’ll just introduce yourselves row by row,” he repeats patiently.
Miyuki nods in understanding, raising his hands to sign as he speaks. “Thank you.”
With a bored expression, he watches as each student stands one by one and says their name aloud. He doesn’t pay very close attention; he recognizes the majority of his classmates already, with only a few new faces mixed in. There are a few names he misses, the angle at which he’s sitting unfavourable to lip reading.
Miyuki stands once it’s his turn, continuing to sign as he speaks. “I’m Miyuki Kazuya, pleased to meet you all,” he says before bowing. He knows most of the students in the class know the basics of JSL, having been in the same class with him the year before. Though, to be honest, since he prefers signing over the spoken word he would probably continue to sign anyway.
He sighs, knowing his introduction isn’t yet over as Kataoka eyes him expectantly. Typical, he always has to do this. “For those who don’t know me, I’m deaf and my hearing aids only help to a certain extent. Please face me when you talk to me or I won’t be able to understand you. Uh.. That’s all.” He turns back to the teacher, waiting for the approval that his PSA has been good enough before taking a seat to wait out the remainder of intros.
The rest of the day proceeds as usual - teachers come and introduce themselves, overview what they’ll be teaching, classroom expectations and assign homework. Miyuki is tired of the questions regarding his hearing, so he makes sure to sneak away before anyone can approach him.
He doesn’t hesitate to turn his hearings aids off once they’re dismissed, and he’s gone from the classroom before even Kuramochi can get his attention. However, as he feels the weight of someone’s arm drape over his shoulder, he knows his companion has caught up with him. Damn that kid is fast.
«I see you’ve already turned them off since you didn’t hear what I just said.. Directly in your ear,» he signs, his facial expression indicating annoyance.
Miyuki grins. «Maybe I didn’t want to hear your voice,» he signs with a laugh.
[“Basta-”]
Kuramochi is cut off mid-sentence as his attention is pulled away from their banter ad to something beside him. Miyuki leans forward as he walks, rolling his eyes when he sees the familiar pink haired third year walking alongside Kuramochi.
[“Fighting already, hm?”] Kominato asks with an innocent smile.
«Me? No, never,» Miyuki signs, feigning hurt but unable to hide the tugging at the corners of his lips.
[“Anyway, bastard, I was asking if you’re going to the club today,”] Kuramochi says, one of his hands too preoccupied to sign.
“Yeah, that’s where I was headed to before you so rudely interrupted me. I’ll tell them you’ll catch up. Nice seeing you, Kominato,” Miyuki says as he walks away.
Before he disappears down the staircase, he turns around, looking Kuramochi directly in the eye. «Have fun,» he signs with a wink. He grins as he watches his friend’s face flush with embarrassment.