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"You know you don't have to walk me to my class, right?" Hirano bluntly asked his kouhai in a flat tone.
It didn't bother him one bit, in all honesty, but he wasn't going to say that out loud.
Not that he needed to – Kagiura already knew – which was why he was pushing his luck and currently walking beside Hirano; bound to be late to his own class.
Kagiura smiled, nodding his head. "Yeah, but I don't mind doing it!"
Hirano abruptly stopped moving forward, causing the younger to stop as well.
They were on the left side of the hall, just a few feet away from Hirano's classroom.
The blonde turned toward Kagiura, reaching out, his hand landing gently on top of Kagiura's head.
Ruffling his hair affectionately, Hirano said, "Thanks for not minding, then."
Kagiura leaned into the touch, happier than anyone else in that building.
When Hirano pulled away, Kagiura peaked in the room, looking around from the doorway.
"Where do you sit, Hirano-san?" The brunette asked, somehow unaware of all the stares he was receiving from the third years.
The other tugged him out of view. "By the window, in the front," he replied, voice low as the halls became clearer and quieter.
Kagiura wrinkled his nose in a child-like manner. "In the front? Why?"
"To take naps and slack off." Hirano deadpanned, amused by the brunette's distain.
Before Kagiura could reply, Hanzawa Masato stepped out of the room, smiling as always.
Hirano said, "Oh, Hanzawa. You need something?" While Kagiura fidgeted uneasily; his usual behavior when Hanzawa was nearby.
Picking up on Kagiura's nervousness, he shook his head. "No, but..." He paused dramatically, an electric blue eye peering at the underclassman, "It seems as though somebody is going to be late to class if they don't move along."
Deciding to egg the younger on more, Hanzawa added, "And they'll end up writing an apology letter."
Eyes widening, Kagiura stammered out, "S-See you later, Hirano-san and Hanzawa-senpai," then took off (speedwalking) to his class across the school.
Hirano sighed. "Really, Hanzawa? That was uncalled for."
His friend burst into laughter, ushering him inside the room and to their designated seats. "Aww, it was just harmless teasing, Hirano! Nothing serious."
With a roll of his eyes, the blonde sat at his desk; in front of Sasaki and diagonal from Ogasawara.
Both of them were flipping through magazines.
"Do neither of you care that you're reading those openly in front of two Disciplinary Committee members?" Hirano asked dryly, taking out a notebook and pencil from his bag.
"Not really, no," Sasaki responded absentmindedly, resulting in him earning an aggressive wack on the arm from Hirano.
Ogasawara paid no mind to Sasaki's demise. "There's a bodybuilding section giving tips and tutorials," he said, turning it around to show Hirano. "Didn't you say that you were trying to work out with your roommate?"
Sasaki raised an eyebrow. "With Roommate-kun? How interes-OW!" Hirano hit him again – in no mood for his bullshit.
"Yeah, I brought that up some time ago. Can I borrow this whenever you're finished with it?"
After Ogasawara nodded, Hirano overheard a conversation on the other side of the room.
"Do you know that second year that looked in here?" A kid named Shirou Noriaki asked.
Another kid, Ryo Akito, said, "Mhm; he's on the basketball team. Pretty good, too."
Hirano smiled in pride – even if they weren't talking about him.
"I'm sure he's gonna get a scholarship based off his skills on the court."
"I wouldn't be surprised."
A new voice cut in, someone named Kenzou Hidemi. "Isn't he an okama?"
The blonde tensed, smile disappearing faster than lightning.
"Okamas aren't normal, ya know. So why should he get to do normal things like play basketball?"
"Uhm..."
When Hirano stood up instantaneously, his friends looked at him with confused expressions.
One of them tried to get his attention – Hanzawa, maybe? - but it was like the voice was a mile away.
He could only hear the sound of his heartbeat, and the blood rushing in his ears.
In three apt steps, Hirano made his way to the dude that was talking shit about his kouhai.
"What do you want?" The guy asked, turning his nose up conceitedly.
There was a silence that lasted probably ten seconds.
Clenching his fist, the blonde didn't utter a single word.
POW!
"Oh my fucking..." Sasaki couldn't even finish his sentence before letting out a baffled chuckle.
Hanzawa immediately stood up, ready to interfere, but then turned around to hand his phone to Ogasawara, who asked, "Why are you giving this to me?"
Without hesitation, Hanzawa shot back: "How many times do you think you're ever going to see Hirano get into a fight?"
The noise of approaching footsteps coming down the hall made Hirano's head hurt an astronomical amount.
All he could hope for was that it wasn't the principal coming back for another half-hearted lecture, even if he was completely in the right.
On the side of his head, he could feel something wet sticking to his hair.
Bringing a hand to the spot, Hirano quickly came to the realization that it was blood.
'Damn,' he thought warily, grimacing at the exact moment someone opened the infirmary door.
"H-Hirano-san!" Exclaimed Kagiura, rushing over to Hirano's cot. "What happened? Hanzawa-senpai told me you got into a fight!"
The last thing the older wanted was to let the younger see him like this.
“Well, that I did,” he admitted, recalling how not even two hours ago he was absolutely annihilating that piece of crap in his class. Subconsciously, Hirano inspected his hand; the one that had his own blood on it, as well as the stains of the other guy’s.
Kagiura looked too, then gasped. “Your hand…” he trailed off, going pale at first, but shook his head in order to focus. “Where’s the bleeding coming from?”
Hirano pointed at the right side of his head, causing Kagiura to walk around the cot.
"Does it hurt?" the brunette inquired softly, going over to the nurse's station and finding gauze, alcohol wipes, and bandages.
The other took a second to answer. "Somewhat," he murmured, feeling every ounce of adrenaline leave his body at the small confession.
All parts of him hurt like hell; it was either stinging, throbbing, or both.
Normally, he'd be thrilled about winning a fight like that.
But all he felt was shame.
Kagiura sat on a stool, wearing gloves he had found in a drawer, preparing to patch up Hirano's injury. "Ready?"
Hirano nodded, wincing as he did so. "Yeah."
As Kagiura took care of his senpai, Hirano asked, "How do you know how to do this?"
"My mom taught me. She's a nurse," the younger explained, shrugging a shoulder as he finished wiping the wound.
Smirking slightly, the blonde questioned, "Then why were you about to faint when you saw me?"
Kagiura stopped, looking Hirano straight in the eye. "I never want to see someone I care about hurt," he replied, voice gentle, "It's more painful than any injury I could get."
It wasn't unusual to hear Kagiura express the emotions he felt towards Hirano - it was quite normal - but this time it felt different in a way Hirano couldn't explain.
He closed his eyes, unable to keep staring into those green eyes that were so full of concern and kindness.
The silence this time around was much more comfortable, only getting momentarily interrupted by the sound of band aids being opened and placed wherever the bloody gashes were.
"Okay, I'm all done." Kagiura said, taking the gloves off with a snap.
Hirano realized that his kouhai had yet to ask him why he got into a fight.
Perhaps he already knew.
Or maybe he was just being his usual sweet self, not wanting to push any buttons.
Finally opening his eyes, Hirano said, "Thanks," before inspecting his now-covered knuckles and patting the side of his head.
Kagiura hummed in response, disposing of all the used wipes and bandage wrappers.
Watching the younger effortlessly take care of him made feelings he was unaware of surface.
Hirano wondered if his heart was picking the right person to trust itself with.