Work Text:
Gakushuuu quietly works on his math homework, timing himself to train for the midterms, he refuses to lose to some obnoxious delinquent redhead more than twice.
Gakushuu is so engrossed in his work, he doesn't notice said redhead slipping through the door and looking at his mock test. Before he can react, the redhead is already saying something smug
“Oh? Shu-chan… you've only got this many pages done?” Karma emphasizes his point by taking Gakushu’s packet and looking through it, he has a disappointed look on his face (fake, obviously, Karma doesn't care enough to be disappointed in Gakushuu). “And you've been doing this for a whole 39 minutes?”
Gakushuu snatches his mock test back, gritting his teeth. “Don't call me Shu. We are not friends. Also, I'd love to see you do better.”
“Of course I’d do better! In 39 minutes, I was already done with both the graphing section AND the algebra.”
“Of course,” Gakushuu sighed as he tried to swat away Karma’s hand, his sigh only growing when the redhead successfully flipped to another page, and without looking, Karma points at a question.
“On top of horrible time, you got this question wrong,” Karma says it so matter-of-factly, Gakushuu is inclined to believe it… he doesn't at first, but then Karma (without any of his theatrics) points out a flaw in his flawless work…
Gakushuu hates to admit it, but Karma was right… Every point he stated was correct, and Gakushuu was wrong.
“Huuuuh, Shuu-chaaan, are you scared you're dumb? Stupid? Pathetic? A disgrace to your father?” Karma chirps, with the most innocent smile on his face.
“…”
“I guess that answers my question. Well, if you grovel—”
“PFFFFTT— HAH”
Asano starts laughing like a madman, bringing his arm to his mouth, trying to muffle the sound.
Karma looks at Asano like he's insane. Looking around as if he's looking for whatever’s so funny. Karma—after coming back dry, pats Asano on the back, saying half-hearted apologies without saying ‘sorry’. Gakushuu bats Karma’s hand away
“Why—why did you say it like that?”
“Excuse me, second-place?”
“Wha—? You don't hear it?” Asano looks at Karma, genuinely confused. Gakushuu doesn't miss the faint hue of red that invades Karma’s face.
“No. I don't, enlighten me.” Karma’s smile becomes strained
“Oh— You just did it again!”
“What?”
“The way you say enlighten and disgrace. It's kinda cute.”
“What? I say it normal.”
“No, you have that little accent. Enlighten me.” Gakushuu says the last part in a whisper, as if he's trying to conjure the ‘accent’ and taste the words
“Enlighten me,” Karma repeats
“You don't hear it? Enlighten me.” Gakushuu says slowly, almost like he’s teaching a toddler how to say a word
“Enlighten me,” Karma says with certainty. “I'm saying it correctly.” Gakushuu shakes his head no, pointing to his lips, exaggerating the lip motion.
“En-light-en me”
Karma makes a sharp ‘tch’ clicking his tongue. He glares at Gakushuu, “Enlighten me.”
“Heh.” Gakushuu simply chuckles and starts the time again, opening his mock exam. Karma tries to move the exam out of the way, which Gakushuu dodges, but he leaves his clock wide and open for Karma to reset… which is exactly what he did.
“Disgrace,” Karma says, resolutely.
“Disgrace” Gakushuu can't help the small smirk on his face. If Gakushuu were to be honest, he'd admit that Karma had no discernible accent, and he had flawless pronunciation.
“DISGRACE!”
Gakushuu shakes his head ‘no’ again
“What? Disgr— how am I saying it?”
“An-leet-en-ment, Deez-grace”
“What? No—? I'm not…” Karma looks confused and embarrassed.
“Yeah, you have a Russian accent AND an Indian accent.”
“… really…?”
Gakushuu looks around, looking a bit confused. “… really.”
“H-how’d you say it again…?” Karma looks everywhere but Gakushuu and covers the bottom half of his face
“Disgrace.”
“D… dis-grace?” to Gakushuu’s immense surprise, Karma had a small accent now
Gakushuu shakes his head once more. “Disgrace. Enlighten”
“Dis… deez… wait” Karma’s accent seeped into his other words “I— Disgrace, enlighten…. Wait, I do say it weird… IT'S ALL WEIRD!” Karma’s accent only got stronger as he started gaslighting himself into a deeper rabbit hole.
“DID THE WHOLE CLASS KNOW ABOUT THIS?? Why didn't anyone say anything?” Karma whips towards Gakushuu, frantic. “Does everyone know I'm foreign?”
“Uhh, no—”
“THEY DO DONT THEY!? Of course, they do listen to yourself, Karma, you sound anything but native.”
Gakushuu was starting to feel bad as Karma started pacing back and forth, frantically repeating ‘disgrace, enlighten’ like a mantra. He looks back at Gakushuu, a Gakushuu just a bit too concerned to continue studying.
“Say it again.”
“Maybe I shouldn't…”
“Say. It. Again.”
“Enlighten,” Gakushuu says in a small voice.
“Both. Say both.” Karma glares at Gakushuu. Gakushuu shrinks into his seat.
“E-enlighten…”
Karma motions as if to say ‘and…?’
“Disgrace…” Gakushuu says in a near whisper
“YEA, disgrace! That's what I must be if I still have this bad of an accent!”
“Karma…” Gakushuu must admit that Karma’s accent is getting out of hand. Gakushuu was so concerned and Karma was so upset that neither acknowledged the fact that Gakushuu called Karma by his first name aloud, “Maybe you sh—”
Karma turns and bolts out the door. Gakushuu looks at his mock exam and sighs. He closes the packet and sets it to the side before chasing after Karma, wholly ready to buy him a strawberry milkshake as an apology.
Thank god it's after school hours.