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He could hear his pain through the stall wall. Haru may not have had the instincts of an animal, but he could tell when someone was suffering. Notice when their legs twitched a little too much, hear their faint grunts of agony while he could only assume he was gripping at his freshly pleated pants.
Hesitant, he broke the silence. “…Hey, you okay?”
The boy in the stall was startled, letting out a small gasp before clearing his throat. “Yes…thank you for asking.”
A feeling of uncertainty hung in the air. Haru recognized that soft voice; it was Subaru Kagami, the captain of Hotarubi. It was clear Subaru was in fact not okay, and Haru wasn’t going to let him lie out of humility…or embarrassment.
“You don’t need to hide it from me, mate. If you’ve got a problem, you can bend my ear!” He shuffled in his seat to face the boy he couldn’t see.
Subaru’s breath was faint and shaky. “You…want to hear about my gastrointestinal issues…?” It seemed out of the ordinary.
“If you’re willing to talk,” Haru beamed.
“Well…” Subaru began, “It all started on Monday. The usual food truck I go to was all out of my regular order. The owner was advertising this special new dish he made that was only available for a limited time…I really couldn’t turn down his offer.” He touched his knees together, “The problem is…my order wasn’t being sold the entire week. I guess he was adamant on selling this new dish, so I bought it every day of the week. I never thought it would have led to…this.”
The silence was louder than life.
Until Haru scratched his ass.
“Listen, mate…it sounds to me like you were only trying to help support his business.”
Subaru straightened his back.
Haru continued, “You didn’t know what was going to happen to ya. Captain to captain, it’s our job to make sure our fellow classmates are supported in everything they do.” Underneath the stall wall, he touched the tip of his toe with Subaru’s. “I’d say you lived out that expectation pretty well.”
The actor hummed quietly, taking a few deep breaths before responding: “Thank you, Sagara.”
The latter touched his palms to the wall, almost as if he could see Subaru through it, like glass. “Now take that energy and channel it into your system. Crap like ya mean it!”
Though Haru couldn’t see it, Subaru clutched his tie, a confident look on his face. “…Okay. You’ll talk me through it?”
“Of course.”
And even though it took all of 27 minutes, he pulled through. Victory washed over him as he celebrated with Haru, truly an unforgettable moment between the two. When all was said and done, they were both stood at the sink, awkwardly shuffling their feet.
“This was a very unique learning experience for me. Thank you again…for teaching me the importance of supporting others.”
“Any time!”
Though…
They silently, but mutually, hoped that another time would never come.