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"Nanase, good morning!" Tachibana exclaimed as he navigated between pairs and small groups of students making their way to their respective school buildings. Nanase turned his head to the side in acknowledgement and when Tachibana reached him, he continued to walk staring straight ahead.
"Morning," he murmured.
"Did you have breakfast yet?" Tachibana asked, always a dutiful friend.
"Not yet," Nanase replied, the corners of his lips going up in a small smile. "Should I assume you brought something?"
"Of course, Nanase! A sportsman is supposed to take care of his body, you know?" Tachibana replied in turn. They passed a group of girls and they all aw'ed and oh'ed.
"Good morning, Tachibana-senpai!" The group called in a unison of female voices. Tachibana bowed his head to them with a gentle grin.
"Good morning girls," he replied before the girls broke into a cacophony of giggles and inane commentary. When he turned to look at Nanase the smile was gone.
"It's too late to have breakfast now, but if we-"
"Doesn't it bother you?" Nanase said, interrumpting Tachibana mid-speech. Tachibana frowned and stopped walking.
"What do you mean?" Nanase stopped, but didn't turn around. Tachibana stood staring at Nanase's back for a moment. He caught up with him in two strides and stood in front of him. Nanase didn't look up at him, but quietly stared at Tachibana's chest. "What do you mean?" Tachibana repeated, a worried tone settling on his voice.
"Nothing," Nanase said. Tachibana looked a bit unsure, but didn't press further. Nanase sighed, and shook his head. "Seriously... let's go."
Tachibana moved aside but waited until Nanase started walking to match his pace. As they got closer to the building where their classroom was more and more people greeted Tachibana, but he was less effusive in greeting back now. Nanase huffed when they finally reached the lobby.
"You know so many people Tachibana," Nanase said, his voice monotone. Tachibana didn't know what to make of this comment.
"You could, too, if you wanted to... you know?" he replied cautiously. "What about calling me sempai? Show your elders some respect!" he added on a more cheerful note.
"Yeah, yeah," Nanase said, in a tone that reflected the attitude of someone that has heard the same story over and over again. "Thank you for your care, Tachibana-sempai!"
Tachibana shook his head with a grin and gave Nanase a bento. He turned towards the stairs and then looked back and waved to Nanase as he blindly made his way towards the general direction of his classroom.
"See you on the break, you have to eat something," He said as he left.
"Alright," Nanase said, impatiently. He placed the bento on his shoebox and stared at it until Tachibana was definitely gone.
"Who says I want to know more people, idiot. You are enough," he finally confessed to the silence before he closed the door to his shoebox and turned to leave.