Chapter Text
The week before Kusuo Saiki left that elementary school, was the last time Touma would ever feel at ease.
He never liked to go in depth about what happened after that, his grades had fallen, his usually talkative personality dimmed down into the quiet kid.
And the day Kusuo Saiki left? Touma stared at his empty seat. Purple eyes full of fear of what was going to happen. Kusuo.. Just left him? After protecting him? The pain quickly shot to his heart, but he paid no mind. Nothing was making sense..
The teacher's lesson began, but Touma sat in Kusuo's seat, thanking whatever God was out there the teacher didn't notice. The little boy was trapped in his mind, was he just.. Not worth staying for? Did Kusuo think he was so pathetic for needing help?
Well, just you wait, Kusuo! Touma Asumi would prove he was stronger than anyone thought, he would prove that no matter what, even if Kusuo was a psychic, he would be stronger than him.
As soon as that bell rung, Touma sat up and immediately left, he knew the bullies wouldn't be there.. But it was second nature to do that. It didn't take but thirty minutes to get back home. The house was pretty far from the usual house complexes.. His father had said it was for more privacy, but the man was never home anyways.
Touma opened the door, the smell of wood, lemon, and lavender filling his senses as he covered his mouth with his elbow. He hated those scents, he'd much rather have the smell of strawberries. He quickly slipped off his shoes and went to his room.
...Oh.
Of course that picture was still there.
One of Kusuo and Touma.
That was a starch reminder for his current life. The anger he felt was something that could rival a boar's own. His hands clenched at his sides, one reaching up and holding it, his thumb was on the glass, and he pushed down. It was weak glass..
Shatter. Shatter. The sound of glass shattering filled the room, blood slightly tinting the glass.. Touma just frowned, wiping off the blood on his clothing before throwing the photo away, landing in the small trashcan. He turned away, slamming his body on his bed.
"Hey, Kusuo! Did you know that humans need touch to not go insane? I always found that silly. But it's weird, right? I mean, have you ever seen someone so desperate for human touch? Strange. I actually dislike touch if it's not from my family! Otherwise it makes me feel weird and unhappy, kinda like a caterpillar in its cocoon! Trapped in a small space- But I like small spaces.. Maybe it's the warmth! I get warm too easily, so I don't really like hugs... What about you, Kusuo?"
Did he talk too much, was that the problem? Was that why Kusuo left him to be alone? He'd shut up.
Wait...
But that wasn't him. Touma was a chatterbox, and he didn't want to change.
People need to adapt to him- He realized, he wasn't the problem, sometimes, sure, he could be.. But...
And now Touma saw it correctly, he was the world's boy. The world's soil, worms, animal, and nature boy. Nature's son.
He slowly stood up, peeling off his uniform and slipping into more comfortable clothing, his hair messy, his hands instinctively going to fix it, before he realized..
He didn't have too.
He could be Touma without shame. He was himself, nature's son! The perfect stranger to everyone around.
He slowly got used to this routine. Wake up, brush his teeth, get dressed in more mismatched outfit items, and go explore the town.
Only one day stuck out to him.
A short, skinny blue haired boy... He seemed shy, hiding behind the trees Touma got used to seeing each day.
The mysterious boy must want to play hide-n-seek! That's the only answer Touma could come up with. Slowly, Touma stalked closer. Before jumping in front of the boy, who gasped and fell.
"Wait! Don't hurt me, I'm sorry!"
The little boy cried out, much to Touma's confusion.
"Hurt you? Why would I do that? We're playing hide-n-seek! Do you not know what that is? Okay! So basically, it originated in ancient Greece! The writer Julius Pollux mentioned it- But here's how you play! You hide, and I count to.. Let's say 60! That's one minute! I'm sure you can find somewhere to hide in that amount of time, the forest is kind of big.. And there are bears! But don't worry, their just black bears. Much less intimidating. Did you ever hear the rhyme? 'If it's brown, lay down, if it's black, fight back, if its white, goodnight!', Personally, I find it very helpful for-"
"..Are you done..?"
The boy, slightly less intimidated, asked, now getting up.
"I'm.. Shun Kaidou. What's your name..?"
Kaidou asked, fidgeting with his sleeve.
"Well I technically have two names! My parents are divorced, aha! Well.. Three. Touma Asumi, Touma Akechi, and Earthboy, haha! Whatever you want to call me, I'm okay with it! Names are meant to be worn like clothes, right?"
Touma answered, his hands on his own waist and nodding.
"..Uh.. Earthboy? What?"
Kaidou questions, looking at Touma like he was stupid.
"Plus.. My mom says it's disrespectful to not use the one you were given at birth."
He adds, looking away.
Touma huffs, shaking his head.
"Well, she's wrong! C'mon, we can have codenames! I'm Earthboy and you're..?"
He states, then happily claps his hands together, leaning closer to Kaidou.
Touma seemed.. Happy. Happy to have a new friend who was confused, but still spoke to him!
"..Kaidou."
"That's so boring! Y'know.. There's a comic book character who you look *just* like! Blue hair and all, he's a hero who fights against the darkness of the world, called Dark Reunion! He always wins and ends up having a whole bunch of friends in the end. I think the author died... Not many people know about it! So it can be like your own personal secret name! Jet Black Wings? How's that?"
Touma exclaimed, grabbing Kaidou's hands in between his own.
"..Uhm.. Sure. I guess.. Maybe I am a superhero, aha.."
Kaidou smiled, a bit confused, but happier... Just by a small bit.
"Of course you are! As the saying goes, not all heroes wear capes. It's a nice metaphorical sentence, but in media, all heroes do wear capes! Superman, Batman, Thor, Wonderwoman... A lot of them do! And it's the main thing their outfit is about. But then there's Spiderman, Hulk, or even Deadpool! Who don't! But it's nice to see diversity, don't you think?"
Touma ranted, before letting go and smiling.
"Did you know penguins mate for life? They give rocks as the penguin-equivalent to a marriage ring! I think it's super cute, because penguins are smarter than people think- Their coat color is also for camouflage beneath the water, also, they sneeze to get the water out when their done eating. But back onto the rocks, sometimes they can reject it. I bet that hurts the other penguins feelings! So sad... But if they accept, they make it in their nest!"
Touma doesn't say how he gave Kusuo a pretty rock after telling him that fact, and promising the two would be together forever, that Kusuo would be his...Bestfriend, of course!
"Huh? No.. I didn't know that."
Kaidou answers, honestly a bit shocked. He carefully followed Touma.. The first boy to ever be nice to him.. Wow...
The two were a weird duo, a chronic talker and fact giver, with a weird kid who only ever spoke unless spoken too, even with his eccentric appearance.
Whatever..
It could be nice for awhile.