Chapter Text
It was the first day of freshman year at Kamome Academy. Everyone had left long ago, but Mitsuba stood at the doorway, tugging his sleeve nervously. He hated walking home by himself. He lived a little over two miles from school and with all the things that could happen to someone like him -especially now that the sun was starting to set- terrified him. He knew that he was being overly paranoid but he could never shake this irrational fear.
"Are you waiting for someone?"
Mitsuba flinched at the sudden voice, whipping around to see who it came from. He locks eyes with a ginger boy, his bright blue eyes staring back at him curiously. Odd little fangs protruded from his lips in an almost endearing way. a traffic-safety earring dangled from his right ear.
"Everyone's left already," the boy continued.
"uhm well...i know..." Mitsuba responds, looking away nervously.
"Then why are you just standing there?"
Mitsuba frowned at how pushy this boy was being. There was no way in hell he was about to tell him about his stupid fear, who knows what he would do?
"Mind your business." he says coldly. seriously, what is this guys proble-
"Is it because you don't like walking alone?"
Mitsuba was taken aback by the sudden question and the fact that this random boy had somehow guessed exactly why he was still here. The boy notices his startled expression and laughs to himself, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck.
"I thought so," He says sheepishly, "I don't either."
Mitsuba stares at the ground, his pink sneakers becoming his new favorite thing as he tries to figure out what the boy was getting out of this interaction.
"You wanna walk together? Wouldn't wanna be stuck here all night, right?"
Mitsuba looks up from his shoes, once again startled by the proposition. He obviously doesn't want to just stand there and the sun was actively getting lower in the sky, the danger increasing by the minute. But at the same time, this guy looks like a pervert. Ugh what choice does he have though? It's not like his paranoia is gonna let him go home by himself anyways. Left without much of a choice, he reluctantly nods.
"Sure..." he mumbles. The boy lights up, not expecting him to agree. He walks up to where Mitsuba is standing.
"By the way, I'm Kou Minamoto!" The ginger puts his hand out, waiting for a response from Mitsuba.
"Sousuke Mitsuba." He says quietly, shaking Kous hand lightly before begining to walk. "Are you coming or are you just gonna stand there?" he calls over his shoulder. Kou runs up before falling into step with Mitsuba.
"Soooo where do you live?" Kou queries as they walk.
"Um, not far from here, just like 2 miles." Mitsuba replies, looking around nervously and picking at the hem of his sleeve.
Kou notices how uneasy Mistuba is and tries to lighten the mood, chatting about classes and earning a few giggles and eye-rolls from Mitsuba.
As they approach Mitsubas apartment, the aimless chatter slowly dies down.
"Do you want me to walk you in or are you good from here?" Kou asks as they walk to the gate.
Mitsuba snickers to himself. "I'll be fine. Besides, who knows what a pervert like you would do if you knew my address?"
Kou gasps. "I am NOT a pervert!" he shouts as Mitsuba opens the gate, a blush clearly visible on his face under the bright streetlights.
"Good night Mimamoto-kun." Mitsuba calls over his shoulder as he enters the building.
"Night..." Kou grumbles back, still flustered but making sure that Mitsuba makes it inside safely before walking back toward his own house. He didn't really mind walking by himself. He had only said that so Mitsuba felt safer.