Chapter Text
Byakuya’s classmates were idiots. For a school as Hope’s Peak Academy, he had expected better. He had expected intelligent people, not the lowlifes he was forced to interact with.
Lowlifes that seemed to love nothing more than to annoy him, ask him for favours while giving practically nothing back in return. For this, Byakuya should’ve loathed them. He should’ve tried his best to stay away from them, make sure that he never had to even utter a single word to them.
But he hadn’t done that. Not because it was impossible to, but because he didn’t want to. For some reason Byakuya himself couldn’t even quite understand- ugh- talking to these lowlifes, these commoners weren’t as bad as it should’ve been. At some parts it was even enjoyable. It was a routine.
Kiyotaka making sure he attended the morning meetings, Makoto having a daily conversation with him, Mukuro bodyguarding for him, Junko being overly affectionate with him, Mondo grumbling a good morning to him.
Then there was Chihiro shadowing him so he could become more confident, Kyoko ‘challenging’ his intelligence, Leon trying to make him laugh with utterly idiotic jokes, Celeste trying to make him accept a bet that would surely lose him money, Yasuhiro’s attempts to con him into spending his earnings.
Or Aoi greeting him with a smile, Sayaka checking up on him every few days, Sakura urging him to work out with her, Toko’s desperate attempts to have a conversation with him and Hifumi blabbering on to him about how the library should have more manga.
All of these were annoying, at least that’s what they should’ve been. That was how Byakuya was supposed to feel at all of that. Yet he didn’t- he couldn’t. Because instead of utter annoyance, all he felt was a disgusting warmth in his stomach that wouldn’t go away no matter how much he tried. Though, it wasn’t as if he was trying hard.
It was a warmth that made him smile- not smirk, but smile. Something about these… commoners interacting with him made him feel amused, happy. It made him feel cared for.
“Mr. Togami! Can you believe it, Headmaster Kirigiri has ignored my request again!” Hifumi complained, sitting on a chair opposite of Byakuya.
“A-ah, Mas- B-Byakuya…” Toko stuttered as she watched him, her smile more normal looking than it had been before.
Sakura looked down at him, a gentle smile on her face. “It truly would do well for you to work out. The mind is only as strong as the body, Byakuya.”
“Byakuya!” Sayaka’s cheery voice came down the hall, a bright smile on her face. “How’ve you been? You mentioned having to attend a gala, right?”
“Come on, Toges! I promise ya this will be helpful!” Yasuhiro assured, voice confident. “Think about it, if you already know what stocks to invest in, you’ll always make money.”
Celeste’s red eyes were looking him over, her lips pulled into an all too fake smile. “Don’t say you are afraid, Byakuya. Don’t you want a little challenge?”
“Byakuya! Do you know why you can’t hear a pterodactyl going to the bathroom?” Leon asked with a stupidly wide grin. “Cause the ‘p’ is silent! Heh, you get it?”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Byakuya,” Kyoko said, her hands neatly clasped behind her back. “You might just be overlooking something.”
Chihiro was walking behind him, wide eyes looking up at Byakuya. “W-whoah! Did you really just say that to Headmaster Kirigiri? I could never…”
“Ugh… Good morning, dude…” Mondo greeted in a gruff voice as he walked past Byakuya into the dining hall.
“Kuya~!” Junko’s arms were wrapped around him before he had even time to react, as usual. “There’s my favourite rich kid!”
Mukuro’s hand pushed him backwards slightly. “Stay behind me, Byakuya,” She commanded in a soft voice as she grabbed her knife. “I think we’re not alone here.”
“Ah, Byakuya!” Makoto smiled softly up at him. “Did you have a fun day? Even with how hectic everything has been, heh…”
“Byakuya. You’re in the library again?” Kiyotaka’s voice came accompanied with a soft sigh. “While I commend your early waking time, we have these meetings for a reason!”
Yes. They were idiots, all of them were utter idiots. But they were idiots Byakuya didn’t mind, ones he even liked. He supposed they weren’t all that bad then in the end. Not bad at all.
And maybe, just maybe, the heir could even call these idiots his friends.