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Kuroba took a breath in… and out… trying to calm their nerves. Sure, they had already started high school before, and were in their sophomore year, but this was different. They were on the surface.
They were… home.
For all the other monsters, they’d probably have problems with talking to and making human friends. Kuroba would have a different one: they would have to make it seem like they had that first problem. And they’d have to do it while trying to reconnect with their old friends.
(One step at a time, Kuroba. Just take it one step at a time. At the very least you won’t have to worry about two separate friend groups.)
The bell signaling to get to classes had already rung when Kuroba finally stepped inside. They looked down at their schedule.
(Ok. So your first class is… World Lit with… Mr. Green. Hmm… Where is that? You’ll probably have to ask for directions. Social interaction, yaaaaaaaay.)
Kuroba looked up to see if there was anyone they could ask. Preferably someone they knew. They scanned the lobby until their eyes landed on someone who fit the bill perfectly. One of their old friends.
(Oh, perfect, Ben. Ok, now you just gotta go up and ask him. Just… try not to let anything slip.)
“Um, excuse me?” Kuroba asked cautiously. “I, uh, need some help finding my class.”
“Hm?” He turned to Kuroba. “Oh! Sure. New here?” Ben joked.
(PFT. So he’s the same ol’ jokester.) “Oh man. I was trying to keep that a secret. What gave it away?” Kuroba bounced off.
“Kheh! You’d be surprised,” Ben replied before switching the subject. “What class you got first? Actually, can I just take a look at your schedule?” He grabbed the schedule out of Kuroba’s hands and scanned it for a bit. “Alright, we got our first class together, so I can take you with me. We’ll be in there with a friend of mine named Grace. They share second period with you, so they’ll take you there. For third, you’ll probably have to meet with Jayden. I can tell her to find you so that he can take you to the classroom. Then fourth period is right after lunch for you–by the way, third period is longer than the others since it’s also the lunch period. I can ask my brother, Penn, to take you. We can meet after school to help you with your classes for tomorrow.” Ben handed the schedule back. “You’re pretty lucky that you asked someone who has friends in all your classes.”
“Y-Yeah, guess I am,” Kuroba said. (Deadname coming in clutch from beyond the grave.)
“Aight, c’mon. We gotta get to class.”
Despite being in their first, and arguably most important, class of the year, Kuroba couldn’t focus. Their head was racing with thoughts about how their friends had changed.
(Ben’s pretty much the same, but it’s really interesting to know that Grace and Jayden have both transitioned. Granted you shouldn’t be too surprised.You always had a feeling about them. Enby-dar and all that. Hm… but what about Jake though… You got some vibes from him, but you don’t know if there was any change. You’ll see him after school if things go well, you’ll find out then. Same with Elle. It’s gonna be hard “meeting” them for the first time. Then again, you’re sure they’ve changed at least a bit, so it won’t really be like you already know them.)
The classes came and went, as did Kuroba’s brief interactions with their old friends, until it was eventually time for their lunch period. Being surprised once again, all their old friends had the same lunch period. (Damn. Deadname’s workin’ overtime.)
Without even needing to be asked, Jayden brought Kuroba over to all the others. It only made sense for Kuroba to sit with them with how much they were all helping them out, after all.
“Oh, hey,” Grace said. “Nice to see ya again.”
“Y-Yeah, same,” Kuroba replied. (Jeez, you’re a nervous wreck. Where’d all that confidence you gained growing up go?)
“So,” Jayden spoke up, “should we do introductions for the new kid?” (Technically you’re the only one who needs to, since you already know everyone else.)
“Oh, good idea,” Elle said. “Who wants to go first?”
“Ooo, ooo, me!” Jake said, raising his hand. “Hi, my name’s Leif and IIIII use he/they.” (Mm! Oh you might have some apologizing to do.) “Alright, who wants to go next?”
“I’ll go. Hi, I’m Grace. They/them.”
“Jayden, he/she.”
“Elle, she/her.”
“I’m Ben, this is my brother Penn, and we’re both he/him.”
“Really? Not letting me introduce myself, Ben? Jeez.”
“Oh, well soooooorry for wanting to introduce my brother to someone. My bad.”
(Ok, so pretty much aside from names and pronouns for some, they’re all about the same. You start to wonder if it’s the same for you…)
“And what about you?” Leif said, ignoring the sibling bickering. “What’s your name?”
“Oh, uh, my name’s Kuroba. They/them for me.”
“Kuroba, huh? Nice name,” Grace said.
“Ah, thanks. Picked it myself.”
Kuroba paused for a second and began to panic a bit inside. (Whhhyyyyyy did you say that?????? You literally did not need toooooo. God, you really are committed to making a fool out of yourself today, huh?)
Luckily for Kuroba, none of them seemed to bat an eye. They all assumed that Kuroba had chosen their name when they transitioned, not that they changed their name after they watched themself die. Granted that wasn’t exactly something that one would think about.
“Hey, Kuroba,” Jayden said. “What was it like?”
“Huh?” Kuroba said, getting snapped out of their little mini-panic. “W-What was what like?”
“That, uh…” Jayden started snapping his fingers trying to think of the name. “Underground place.”
“The Underground?”
“Yeah, tha—Is that really what it’s called?”
“Yeah… The Royal Family kinda sucked at naming places. Area as a whole is called ‘The Underground', the old capital was simply called ‘Home’, and the new capital is called, and you’ll never believe this, ‘New Home’.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah. I heard that they even named the prince as a mashup of the king and queen’s names. We’re getting off-topic, the place that I lived was nice. It was called the Dunes. Lotsa sand everywhere. Thankfully the grains didn’t get in-between my fur. Would’ve sucked soooo much if it did.”
“You lived in a desert?” Ben asked, getting back to the conversation.
“Yeah. Though specifically in an oasis. Heck, the name of the town was literally Oasis Valley. Actually now that I think about it, maybe monsters in general suck at naming places. Home fell to ruins and became called the Ruins, we got a snowy place called Snowdin, a wet place just called Waterfall, a desert called the Dunes, and a place with tons of lava called Hotland. It’s genuinely just Snowdin that’s kinda clever because it sounds like snowed-in. Sorry, got off-topic again.”
“Nah, it’s fine,” Ben reassured. “It’s really interesting to learn about monster society. Is there anything you would like to know about us?”
“Oh, um…” Kuroba took a moment to try and think of something to ask. “’s probably not what you mean, but who’s that blonde girl over there?” Most of the table turned to look over at where Kuroba was pointing. “I, uh, saw her earlier when I asked Ben for help.”
“Oh, that’s Rachel,” Leif said, turning back to Kuroba. “The undisputed ‘popular girl.’ Mostly because she has a rich family. The guy next to her is Beck, her right-hand-man.” (Oh, he transitioned. Good for him. You’re finding out a lot about your old classmates.) “Why d’ya ask? Got a crush on her or something?”
“W-What! N-No!”
“Mmmmmmhm, so why’re you blushing?”
“H-Have you heard of being flustered?! I just wanted to learn more about someone else and you assume I have a crush on them?! No way in hell is my aro-ace butt gonna have a crush on anyone!”
“O-Oh. Sorry, didn’t know…”
Kuroba sighed. “It’s fine, you didn’t know. Just… please don’t do it again, alright?”
“I won’t, I promise,” Leif said.
“Hey…” Elle finally spoke up after staring intently at Kuroba for a while. “Have I seen you before?”
“H-Have you?” Kuroba asked, very nervously. They regained their composure. “Well… I guess I do have rather notable, er, features. So I suppose you could’ve seen me at some point. Do you know where?”
“Hmm…” Elle thought for a moment. “Do you live in an apartment with a big blue bird and a sandy-colored fox with orange hair?”
“Yeah, those are my parents. Do we live in the same complex?”
“Yup, we do. Same floor, too. I’m just down the hall from yours.”
“Oh.” (You wonder if Elle moved or if she always lived there. You never did get to visit her place, or anyone’s.) “Would you mind if I came over some time?”
“Not at all. As long as I get to come to your place”
“Of course. I’m sure that Ma and Ka-san would be thrilled if I brought a friend over.”
Everyone turned to look at Kuroba.
“‘Ka-san’?” Jayden asked.
“Oh, y-yeah,” Kuroba said, feeling rather embarrassed. “I’m, er, t-technically Japanese (in case you couldn’t tell by my name), so… I, I call one of my moms Ka-san since she’s… a kitsune.”
Never before had Kuroba been so self-conscious. They could feel everyone staring at them.
“You’re Japanese?” Leif asked.
(You literally just said you were.) “I mean… technically? One of my parents is a kitsune and I can read and write kanji and kana, as well as speak Japanese. So I guess?”
All six of them exchanged glances with each other, seemingly having the same idea.
“Can we ask a favor of you?” Elle said first.
“U-Uh… sure?” Kuroba answered cautiously.
“Alright, so… There’s this manga that an old friend of ours introduced us to…” (Oh?) “And we were wondering if you could read it in Japanese and compare the translation to us.”
“Oh, sure. What’s it called?” (You already have a feeling you know.)
“It’s ca—”
The bell rung.
“Ah, damn,” Elle said. “Oh well, you can come over to my place later today. I can give you a physical copy I have to let you know. See ya, Kuroba.”
“Yeah, see you later,” Kuroba said, getting up and ready to follow Penn to their next class.
(Man, it’s been a while since you’ve thought about it. You used to love reading it, even if the English names were kinda silly at times. You wonder just how many chapters you’ve missed out on. Oh well, all the more reason to head over to Elle’s place for the first time. You should probably stop by home first to tell Ma and Ka-san about where you’ll be.)
(God, it feels great to be back with your friends.)