Archive of Our Own

The sky outside Isagi's window had already begun to shift into a blend of oranges and purples. Inside his room, clothes were piling up on his bed and scattered all over the floor, where a nervous Isagi was pacing back and forth. He kept pausing in front of the mirror longer, adjusting the collar and smoothing out the fabric of his already ironed out shirt, before stepping back to get a better look. His outfit was simple enough. He didn't want it to look like he was trying too hard and agonizing over something as stupid as an outfit to wear. Just a sweater and a pair of pants but still he felt a little too conscious of it. 

His eyes shifted to his hair next. He leaned closer to the mirror, running his hand through it carefully, trying to decide if the way it fell across his forehead looked natural or just messy.

This was ridiculous, he scoffed to himself. It wasn't like it was their first date. They've gone out hundreds of times before but none of those time had made him feel this nervous. Admittedly, their relationship has been a bit… strained lately. Conversations and jokes didn't land the way they used to and even the smallest exchange would put him in a sour mood.  Every interaction had started to feel like it required careful routing 

“Our Spot.”

That was all it said. Two words, just a time and a place and still it managed to disrupt his entire nervous system because this was their normal. When things got too loud for Kaiser or if he justed wanted to be alone with Isagi for a while, Kaiser always called him out to meet him. Its been their primary date spot since Kaiser revealed that its where he feels the calmest.

When he got the text, Isagi had just stared at the screen for a long moment. If Kaiser was arranging something here, their “happy spot’, then surely it must mean that everything was finally going to go back to the way it was right? Maybe Kaiser too had had enough of the awkward tension between them.

His attention shifted to his desk, and he reached over into the drawer of his desk and carefully pulled out a small box. It was embarrassing having to show the clerk a picture of Kaiser with his shirt off and he would surely be teased about it later when Kaiser finds out he even has a picture like this of him saved, but the results definitely made it all worth it. Inside was a watch he bought by saving up all his allowance and birthday money. It wasn't anything too extravagant, just a plain white watch with a dark blue vine etched across the dial and he also paid a little extra money to get a rose engraved on the back, similar to the tattoo kaiser had on his neck.

Kaiser was the only one between them that actually had a job so he was always able to buy him all his favorite foods and clothes and although Isagi was grateful for it, and knew that kaiser liked buying him things, he always felt bad that he wasn't able to return the favor as often.

Isagi imagine the moment of giving it over,  the expression that might follow when handing over the gift played out repeatedly in his mind. Kaiser wasn't one to always show his feeling but maybe a small genuine smile would make its rare appearance on his face. Or maybe he might even start ugly crying on the spot. A thought so ridiculously impossible, he couldn't help but giggle to himself but still.. what if?

He closed the box gently, slipping it into his pocket, feeling really hopeful that things would straighten out.

He glanced toward the clock and the time made his eyes bulge.

He checked himself over one last time and grabbed his jacket in a hurry, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he ran passed his parents and out the door. 

He was nervous, but couldn't wait to see him.

                                                              ────────

Morning light filtered through the classroom windows in long pale strips, stretching across the rows of desk and highlighting the floating dust that drifted through the air. It was that peaceful time of the day where the classroom felt as if it belonged more to the students than the teachers. With students rushing in for the quick break before the day actually started, the classroom was unstructured. Buzzing with conversations overlapping from every corner.

Isagi sat surrounded by his friends and teammates at his desk, their voices blending together as they talked over each other. Isagi smiled along with them, but it didn't fully reach. The memory of yesterdays test loomed over him. It was an assessment test that was supposed to give them an idea of what would be on the upcoming midterms, the score wouldn't go toward his grade but if it did, he'd be looking at a big fat F. He remembered staring at the questions he thought he had a full grasp off completely confused, his confidence slipping a little each time he had to resort to just guessing. 

One of his classmates nudged him, “Be honest, you definitely tanked this test too right?”

This ignited a wave of laughter around him, in which Isagi let out an exhale that could have been a laugh if he tried hard enough, nodding slightly, “Yeah… probably," he admitted, scratching the back of his neck.

More laughter followed. The classmate that asked already going on starting bets on how many points they'd all lose collectively. But Isagi's attention had drifted for a moment, unbidden, towards the front of the classroom to where the teachers desk sat neatly organized. The test result would be back soon. While everyone sat around laughing, Isagi didn't feel the same ease. More than his grades being affected, those numbers were like keys a threshold, something that decided how far he could keep moving without everything being taken away.

He glanced back down toward his desk, fingers tapping lightly away against the surface without realizing it. Around him the conversation continues, pulling him in.

“... start saying goodbye to your GPA.” 

Isagi waved them off, still laughing even as a small knot of anxiety twisted somewhere behind the humor. “Maybe the teacher graded generously…,” he said.

“Or maybe,” Kunigami said dryly, “you could try studying.”

“I do study.”

Bachira tilted his head. “When?”

“All the time,” Isagi declared

“ Okay so name one time.”

Isagi opened his mouth, paused, and then pointed accusingly at him instead, “...Don’t interrogate me before first period”, he pouted

The talk around Isagi’s desk dragged on longer than it probably should have. He didn’t realize how much time had passed until a sharp sound cut through the noise of the classroom doors sliding open.

The teacher stepped inside carrying a thick stack of papers held neatly against her chest, the sight of them immediately triggering a chorus of groans from every corner of the room, a reflexive reaction that spread through the class like a wave.

“Well,” she said dryly, already walking toward the front desk, “that’s a very encouraging response.” Students scrambled back toward their seats, conversations dissolving mid-sentence as people returned to their desks with exaggerated reluctance. Chairs shifted loudly against the floor, bags dropped beside desks, and the chaotic energy that had filled the room moments ago began settling into something more structured.

Beside Isagi, Bachira gave his desk one last quick tap with his knuckles.

“I’ll see you at lunch,” he said with a grin. Then he darted off toward the door, weaving through the remaining students still finding their seats.

Isagi watched him go for a second before letting out a quiet breath and turning his attention forward. At the front of the room, the teacher had already placed the stack of papers down on her desk before picking up a clipboard. She adjusted her glasses slightly and scanned the room, waiting until the last few students settled before beginning.

“Alright,” she said, her voice firm but familiar, the practiced tone of someone who had done this routine a thousand times. “Take your seats, please.”

Groans and muttered comments followed as students shuffled back to their desks. 

The teacher glanced around the room once more to make sure everyone had stopped talking.

“Good morning, everyone–”

The teacher was cut off with the sound of the door sliding open once again. 

Michael Kaiser stepped inside.

This was the only period he had with him and he still hasn't adapted to seeing him everyday, first thing in the morning. He could never stop his head from turning in his direction every time he stepped in the class. Some habits were just harder to break.

He wore the same school uniform as everyone else, but somehow it looked different on him. The jacket hung neatly over his shoulders without a wrinkle in sight, the collar crisp against the white shirt beneath it, the rose tattoo peeking out when he turned his head. His tie was loose around neck and Isagi was reminded of the times he used to tie it for him.

Kaiser closed the door behind him and inclined his head slightly toward the teacher in acknowledgment.

“Sorry,” he said calmly, his tone detached.

The teacher looked up at the clock above the doors seeing that Kaiser was just in time so there was nothing there for her to berate him for. She waved a hand dismissively. “Just hurry and take your seat.”

Kaiser nodded once more.

Then he moved across the room. His steps were quiet and unhurried as he walked between the rows of desks. Unlike when Isagi walked into a class, nobody greeted him. He didn’t speak to or look at anyone, not even Isagi, as he walked to back of the classroom on the opposite side of the room.

Isagi kept his gaze firmly forward too. He forced himself to focus instead on the front of the classroom, on the teacher’s desk, on anything that wasn’t the quiet sound of footsteps crossing the floor behind him.

Its been a little over 5 months since their break up and Isagi has not been able to train his mind to not go into overdrive whenever kaiser was around. They haven't spoken at all since that day.

Kaiser reached the opposite side of the room and slid into his seat with the same calm efficiency he seemed to bring to everything else.

“Now,” she said, clasping her hands lightly in front of her desk, “before we begin today’s lesson, there are a few announcements...”

A few students immediately slumped in their chairs.

Isagi rested his elbow on the desk, propping his chin against his palm as the familiar rhythm of morning announcements began. 

“There will be a student council meeting tomorrow after school regarding preparations for the spring festival, if you liked to share some ideas for it, be sure to head to the club room,” the teacher continued, glancing briefly at a sheet of paper in front of  her, ‘anyone involved in organizing club booths should make sure a representative attends”

She droned on about the day's lunch, and announced the updates for the sports teams and clubs. When she got to the part about the midterms approaching, just three weeks away, Isagi felt his shoulders tense. 

The teacher paused after flipping through a few pages, stopping at one near the middle of the stack. She lifted it slightly, adjusting her glasses as she glanced down at the printed text.

“Alright lets move on” she said, setting the announcement paper aside and reaching for the stack of workpackets. “I reviewed the results from yesterday’s assessment quiz last night. Overall, the class did reasonably well, but there were a few questions that many of you struggled with.” 

“Before I return your papers back to you, I want to go over some of those questions and understand where the mistakes were made. Let’s start with one that a lot of people seemed to struggle with,” she said.

A few students groaned quietly.

She ignored them.

“This qestion was about the short story we read last week,” she continued, her tone shifting into a careful instructional cadence, “Specifically, the author’s intention in chapter six.”

She cleared her throat and read from the page, “‘Why does the protagonist hesitate before leaving the house in chapter six, and what does this moment reveal about their internal conflict?’”

The question hung in the air for a moment after she finished reading it, the silence stretching just long enough to make it uncomfortable. Isagi felt a slow, sinking realization settle in his chest. He knew this one. Or rather, he didnt recognize it so he was sure that this was just one of the many questions he had guessed on. 

The teacher lifted her head, scanning the room thoughtfully.

And then her gaze landed on him.

“Isagi,” she said.

His nme felt heavier than usual when it left her mouth.

“Why don’t you walk us through your thinking here?” 

His heartbeat jumped. For a second, he thought he might have misheard. Then every pair of eyes within earshot seemed to shift slightly in his direction. He straightened a little in his chair, buying himself a second as his brain scrambled for something, anything, that resembled an answer.

Right. Chapter six.

The protagonist was… hesitating? There had been something about leaving home he thinks.

… Or maybe it was about a letter.

He swallowed. “Well,” he began, trying to keep his voice steady despite the growing pressure pressing against his ribs, “I think… the reason they hesitated was because they weren’t sure if leaving was the right choice yet?”

That sounded vague and unsure so he felt compelled to keep going, only digging himself further.

“Like… maybe they were thinking about how things might change if they left, and they weren’t ready for that.” His words trailed off slightly at the end, the confidence draining out of them faster than he could recover it.

For a brief moment, the teacher simply stared at him, something in her expression made him want to crawl under his desk, making the back of his neck heat up immediately. The subtle disappointment she was trying very hard not to show, was definitely showing.

“Mm,” she hummed softly. Then she smiled, but it was that gentle, patient smile teachers used when they were about to correct someone. “Not quite.” The words landed softly. Isagi can tell she tried to make her words sound as soft as she could but for some reason that only made it worse. Overly sweetening her words to land lethal blows didn't help when her face told a different tale.

She stepped slightly away from her desk, holding the test loosely as she looked back at him.

“Do you remember what happens in chapter six with the letter from the protagonist’s brother?”

Isagi blinked. Brother!? He racked his brain quickly, trying to remember where the brother could've possibly shown up but how could he do that when he could barely remember the main character’s name?! 

“I think…um,” he started again, slower this time, “the letter made them realize they couldn’t just run away from the problem?”

Even as the words left his mouth, he felt that same uneasy certainty creeping back in.

The teacher tilted her head slightly, the corners of her mouth turning down, “Close,” she said carefully, “but not exactly.”

She walked a few steps closer to his row now, the movement, really the sound of her heels clacking on the floor, made Isagi suddenly become very aware of how quiet the room had gotten, of all the eyes focused on him now. What had started as a simple question now felt less like answering in class and more like being placed under a microscope.

“Let’s think about it together,” she continued, her tone encouraging. “When the protagonist reads the letter, what emotion does it trigger first?”

Isagi opened his mouth just to close it immediately.

He knew she was trying to help. He knew that. The way she was guiding him through the question step by step was practically a miniature tutoring session but the problem was that this wasn’t happening quietly after class, It was happening here, first thing in the morning, in the middle of class. In front of everyone. He could feel the attention pressing against him from all directions, the silent awareness of thirty something classmates listening while he stumbled through something that probably everyone else in the class understood. More heat crept up the back of his neck and he felt like he was sweating bullets through his uniform.

“Um…” he tried again, forcing himself to speak even though every instinct was telling him to shrink into his chair. “Maybe… guilt?”

The teacher hesitated. It was subtle but Isagi caught it immediately. She gave him that same gentle look again. The one that said I see where you’re going, but that’s not it. The teacher took a breath, clearly preparing to guide him through another hint, but before she could speak a voice cut through the quiet. 

Flat and unimpressed. If Isagi was clearheaded right now, he might've been able to register the underlining hints of annoyance in it. 

Not directed at him but the teacher.

“The hesiation happens because the letter forces the protagonist to confront the fact that leaving isn’t actually an escape.”

Isagi’s head lifted slightly before he could stop himself.

From the back of the classroom, Kaiser leaned back in his chair with a casual posture that suggested he hadn’t been particularly invested in the conversation until that moment. His gaze wasn’t on Isagi. It was directed toward the teacher instead, his expression somewhere between bored and mildly inconvenienced.

“The brother reminds him that the conflict isn’t external,” Kaiser continued in the same even tone. “It’s internal. If he runs away, he’ll still carry the same problem with him.”

He paused briefly, then added almost as an afterthought,

“That’s why the author emphasizes the pause at the door.”

The silence that followed was heavy. The teacher looked at him for a moment, clearly weighing the interruption before she sighed, almost like the teacher was actually upset that she wasn't able to get an answer out of Isagi. She nodded slowly, “Yes,” she said. “That’s exactly right.”

Isagi stared down at his desk again before anyone could see the expression crossing his face.

Because even though Kaiser didn't sound condescending in the slightest and his tone had sounded neutral, the answer had come so easily from him that it made Isagi’s failed attempts from moments ago feel even heavier than before. 

Another win for Kaiser added to his already long list that showed just how much better he was over Isagi.

What bothers Isagi most is that Kaiser does not even glance in his direction after speaking. There is no smug smile or mocking remark waiting to follow. Kaiser simply leans back in his chair as if the entire exchange had nothing to do with Isagi at all.

A aching, familiar tightness settles in Isagi’s chest as he grips his pencil more firmly than necessary.

Kaiser has always done this. Whenever Isagi struggled with something, Kaiser always ended up providing the correct answer. Sometimes it happens during lessons, like now. Other times it happens after school when the used to study together.

It was as if Kaiser could not help himself whenever he noticed something Isagi misunderstood. The moment an incorrect answer appeared, Kaiser instinctively stepped in to fix it. At first Isagi thought it was impressive that kaiser knew so many things. His memory was insane and he could remember even the smallest of details that occasionally even had his teachers stumped. There used to be something mesmerizing and attractive about the way Kaiser exuded confidence like that, now it just irks him to no end.

Isagi used to even brag about it to Bachira. But admiration slowly began to twist into something heavier. No matter how much effort Isagi put into his work, Kaiser always seemed to be several steps ahead. Isagi could reread a chapter three times and still feel uncertain about what the author was trying to say, while Kaiser finished once and understood the entire structure of the story.

He had always carried that feeling with him. The fear that he was always just a little slower than the people around him. An inferiority complex that he usually hid behind jokes and easy laughter. When he was with his friends, it was simple enough to brush those feelings aside. If he failed a test, he could laugh about it. If he misunderstood something in class, he could make a joke and move on.

But Kaiser was different. He wasn't just his friend. His relationship with him was much more intimate, making it even more easy for that ugly, anxious insecurity to appear. There had been many times if he wondered if Kaiser really liked him or he'd just been his personal clown. The thought settled heavily in the back of his mind, but it wasn't like he could ever share these thoughts with him. The more Kaiser corrected him, the harder it became to ignore that growing gap between them.

Eventually the tension started showing in small ways.

Little moments of irritation during study sessions. Conversations that ended more abruptly than they used to. An uncomfortable silence where there used to be easy laughter. Distance that slowly widened without either of them fully acknowledging it.

Isagi never knew how to explain what he was feeling. He did not know how to say that every helpful correction felt like another reminder that he was falling short. So he kept pretending.

He kept smiling and laughing whenever Kaiser explained something he had gotten wrong.

Becaus that was easier than admitting the truth. Admitting that sometimes being around Kaiser made him feel like he was not good enough. Even now, sitting in the classroom while Kaiser’s explanation echoed loudly in his ears, that same uncomfortable notion settles in his chest.

He is still the smartest person in the room. Still answering questions without hesitation. Still correcting Isagi without even realizing what it does to him. And Isagi hates that it still bothers him this much

                                                           ─────────

He sits near the sideline with one leg extended and the other bent inward, leaning forward into a stretch while pressing his palms against the floor beside his knee. His muscles feel tight from sitting in class all morning, but the familiar burn of stretching helps clear his head in a way nothing else really can.

Soccer has always done that for him. Thoughts that feel messy or overwhelming in a classroom suddenly line up clearly when he’s running plays in his mind. The field is something he understands instinctively. The angles, the openings, the way a defender shifts their weight a half-second too late.

“You look like you’re calculating rocket trajectories.”

The voice pulls him out of the play forming in his head.

Isagi glances up.

His coach stands a few steps away, arms folded loosely across his chest as he watches the team warming up. 

“Your homeroom teacher came by earlier.”

That single sentence is enough to make Isagi’s stomach tighten.

Ego continues casually, as if he’s commenting on the weather. “She wants to have a talk with both of us.” The words land like a stone dropping straight into Isagi’s chest.

That cannot be good.

Meetings between teachers and coaches rarely happen for pleasant reasons, especially when a student is involved. His mind immediately jumps to every possible scenario that could explain it, and none of them are encouraging. The quiet warnings he’s already received about keeping his grades up if he wants to keep playing. 

Ego pushes off from the wall, already turning toward the gym doors. “Conference room,” he says over his shoulder. “Don’t take too long.”

When he walks away, Isagi exhales slowly once Coach disappears into the hallway.

Great, he thinks. That definitely doesn’t sound ominous at all.

He rubs the back of his neck, staring down at the gym floor as if it might offer some kind of answer. The meeting already feels like it has a title in his head. There is absolutely no way this ends with good news. He pushes himself to his feet and jogs toward the locker room.

The hallway outside the gym feels strangely quiet compared to the noise inside. His footsteps echo faintly as he moves down the corridor, the fluorescent lights buzzing softly overhead.

Inside the locker room, a few other athletes are scattered around the benches, pulling gear from their bags or tying their shoes. No one pays him much attention as he moves quickly toward his locker.

He yanks it open and grabs his uniform pants. Normally he’d take his time changing, chatting with teammates in the showers or checking his phone for messages, but he doesn't have the luxury of doing that today. He pulls his gym shirt over his head, the heat and swaps it out for the practice gear in a matter of seconds.

Its obvious this is about his grades as they’ve been slipping for a while now. At first it had only been one or two assignments that he forgot to turn in. Then a few quizzes that didn’t go well. Now there’s the test from yesterday sitting somewhere on that teacher’s desk, waiting to confirm exactly how badly he’s falling behind.

He slams his locker shut. The sharp metal clang echoes through the room. Isagi exhales again, dragging a hand through his hair before heading back into the hallway.

Every step echoes in the quiet corridor while his brain runs through worst-case scenarios at full speed. Maybe they’re just going to warn him. Or maybe they’ll tell him he needs to improve before the next grading period.

Or maybe hes finally getting benched this time. The thought hits hard enough that he stops walking for half a second.

No.

He shakes his head and forces himself forward again. bThe conference room sits near the administrative offices, a small space usually reserved for meetings between teachers and staff. The door is already slightly open when he arrives, light spilling out into the hallway.

Isagi hesitates for only a second before knocking lightly on the door. Both the teacher and Ego look up as they walk in. Usually, it's hard to figure out  what Ego is thinking, but right now it is so easy to gauge that he's seriously annoyed.

“Ah, perfect timing.” the teacher says, gesturing toward the empty chair across from her desk. “Come on in, Isagi.”Her voice is polite, but there’s a firmness underneath it that makes Isagi’s stomach twist again.

He steps inside and closes the door behind him.

The conference room suddenly feels very small. Ego is sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk with his arm folded, his expression unreadable as he watches the exchange. The teacher sits at the table with a folder open in front of her, several sheets of paper neatly stacked inside.

The teacher points to the chair next to Ego, “Go ahead and sit down.”

Isagi obeys. The chair legs scrape softly against the floor as he pulls it out and lowers himself into it. His hands settle awkwardly in his lap while he tries not to stare too obviously at the papers on the table.

The teacher folds her hands together.

“Isagi," she starts, “Im sure this doesn't come as a surprise, but we’re here to talk about your grades. We need to address where you currently stand academically.”

The words your grades seem to settle in the room like a weight. Isagi had expected it, of course. The moment Ego mentioned the meeting, he already knew what the conversation would be about. The teacher opens the folder in front of her and pulls out several sheets of paper.

Isagi nods slowly. He keeps his eyes on the table. The faint rustle of paper fills the room as she slides one of the sheets slightly forward, though not quite close enough for him to read the details clearly.

“You’re currently failing two classes,” she says. There’s no judgment in her voice, just simple fact. “Math and science.”

Isagi exhales quietly through his nose.

“And up until recently,” she continues, “your English grade was barely holding above a passing mark.” She verbalizes. Then she taps the top sheet lightly with her finger. “However, with the test you took yesterday…”

Her sentence trails off, but the implication is clear enough. Isagi feels his shoulders sink just slightly. “…your overall grade has now dropped below the passing threshold.”

The words echo in Isagi’s head with uncomfortable clarity. Below passing. He knew the test had gone badly. He had known that the moment he turned it in, the moment he walked out of the classroom and tried to laugh it off with his friends.

But hearing the actual result still hits differently.

The teacher folds her hands together again. “If you submit another assignment below a C,” she says carefully, “you will not meet the academic eligibility requirements to participate in school athletics.”

The words land hard. Isagi’s head snaps up.

“You mean–”

“You won’t be allowed to play in the next game and possibly for the rest of the year.,” she finishes gently.

The silence that follows feels suffocating.

For a moment Isagi just stares at her. Soccer has always been the one thing he could rely on. The idea of losing that, of being forced to sit on the sidelines while the team continues without him, makes his chest feel unbearably tight. The teacher must notice the panic flashing across his face, because her voice softens slightly.

Because for Isagi, school had never just been school.Soccer had always been the center of everything.

The hours he spent training after practice. The mornings he woke up early to run drills alone at the park. The games where he pushed himself until his lungs burned and his legs threatened to give out. Every goal he scored, every play he helped build, every victory that brought the team one step closer to nationals, it all felt like proof that the sacrifices had been worth it

His parents had always believed that too. They had never once complained about the early mornings or the late nights. They drove him to practices, came to games whenever they could, cheered from the stands with proud smiles that made warmth settle in his chest every time he looked up and saw them there. They talked about his future like it was bright and the path ahead of him was already leading somewhere incredible if he just kept running toward it.

And their passion for it helped Isagi believe in it too. He had pushed himself past every obstacle that appeared in front of him, past injuries and losses and moments where doubt crept in around the edges of his confidence. Soccer was the thing he was good at. The thing that made sense. The thing that felt like his entire world sometimes.

Which was exactly why the thought of losing it made a tight knot of anxiety twist in his chest. It felt ridiculous. All those hours on the field. All that work. And the thing that might stop him wasn’t an injury or a rival team. It was homework.

“This is not a punishment,” she says. “It’s school policy. Student athletes are expected to maintain passing grades.” Before Isagi can respond, another voice cuts in.

“No.”

Ego straightens slowly in his chair. “This is ridiculous.”

The teacher’s brows knit together faintly as she looks up from the folder in hornet of her, Ego interruptions catching her off guard.. “Excuse me?”

Ego gestures toward Isagi with a loose flick of his hand like he’s pointing out an obvious fact. “This kid is one of the best forwards we’ve got,” he says bluntly. “Pulling him from practice to sit with some tutor is a waste of time.”

Isagi blinks. He hadn’t expected his coach to argue on his behalf so quickly.

Ego continues, clearly unimpressed. “Practice already takes up most of the afternoon,” he says. “Add tutoring sessions on top of that and he loses valuable training time.” His eyes flick briefly toward Isagi. “And if he’s not training, he’s not improving.”

The teacher exhales slowly through her nose. “I understand the importance of athletics, Mr. Jinapchi” she spits, regaining her composure. “But academics come first..”

Ego scoffs lightly. “Tell that to the scouts who’ll be watching him this year.”

“This isn’t a negotiation,” Her voice sharpens slightly.

For a moment the two adults stare at each other across the table, the tension between them thick enough that Isagi feels like he should probably sink into his chair and disappear.

Finally the teacher turns back to him.

“Im very sorry Isagi, I've seen how well you play but the reality is simple,” she says. “If your grades don’t improve, you won’t be eligible to play.” She pauses. “And the most effective way to prevent that is tutoring.”

Ego mutters something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like “... a waste of time”, but he doesn’t outright interrupt again. The teacher straightens the papers neatly before continuing.

“Fortunately,” she says, “I’ve already thought about a solution.”

Isagi frowns slightly.

“A solution?”

She nods. “I’ve been monitoring student performance across several classes,” she explains. “And there happens to be someone who not only excels academically but has a schedule that aligns well with yours.”

Isagi feels a strange sense of unease creeping up his spine.

“And I already spoke with him earlier today,” she adds.“He’s agreed to tutor you after school a few days a week until your grades improve. We’ll see how things look after the midterms alright?”

Coach sighs heavily beside him. “Great,” Ego mutters. “So who’s the lucky volunteer?”

The teacher looks directly at Isagi.Then she smiles slightly, “I think you already know him. Your tutor will be Michael Kaiser. He’s the top student in your grade,” she says. “And he’s already familiar with the material you’re struggling with. He's been staying out of trouble as of late  so there's no need to worry about anything. And with him airways being in the team,  I'm sure you two are quite familiar, I really think you two will be a really great match.”

The name lands like a lightning strike. Isagi freezes. For a moment, he genuinely suspects that his ears have stopped working.

But the teacher continues speaking calmly about what they need to focus on and how she'll print out all the missing work Isagi needs, completely unaware of the way the world has just tilted sideways.

Isagi can barely hear the rest. This had to be a sick joke. Of all people it really had to be him? Was there seriously no one else that was smart in his grade?! It somehow had to be the one person he absolutely did not want to sit across from after school. No way. No fucking way. He would've preferred the teacher publicly humiliating him in class for the rest of life over this?

The words rise up instinctively, ready to protest, but before he could say a single thing, the teacher lifts her hand. The gesture is calm but firm and shuts down his argument before it even begins.“It’s already decided,” she exacted. Her tone leaves no room for discussion. “I’ve already asked someone to bring Kaiser down so the two of you can go over meeting times.” 

For a moment Isagi just stares at her.

Then the second part of that sentence actually registers.

Bring Kaiser down.

What now? Now?! His mind scrambles uselessly for some kind of preparation, some kind of excuse, anything that might help him survive the next few minutes without completely losing his composure and looking stupid. He had not even known this meeting was happening until ten minutes ago, and now suddenly Kaiser is apparently on his way here to what…calmly discuss tutoring sessions?

Somehow, he manages to force a smile. It takes all the effort, and his cheeks feel tight, but he pushes the expression onto his face anyway as he stands from his chair.

“Thank you,” he says quickly, reaching forward to shake the teacher’s hand before he can second-guess himself. “I really do appreciate you giving me another chance.”

The words must have come out smoothly enough because the teacher seems pleased with herself. 

“I’m glad you’re taking this seriously,” she replies. Beside her, Ego watches the interaction with a faintly skeptical look, as if he suspects Isagi is about to do something reckless but has decided to wait and see how it unfolds.

Isagi releases the handshake and takes a small step backward.

“I’ll just meet Kaiser in the hall,” he adds hurriedly, already edging toward the door. “We can head to the cafeteria together and figure out the schedule there.”

It sounds reasonable.  Exactly like something a student determined to fix his grades would say.

The teacher nods approvingly.

“That sounds fine–”

Isagi does not wait for the rest of the sentence. He turns and slips out the door with far more speed than dignity, pulling it shut behind him as he steps into the hallway.

From inside the room he hears the teacher call out faintly.

“Wait, Isagi–”

But he is already halfway down the corridor.

No way is he letting Kaiser tutor him. He will find someone else. Anyone else. There have to be other students in this school who are good at math and English and science who do not also happen to be his ex-boyfriend. He just needs to get out of here before Kaiser arrives. The hallway is mostly empty this time of day, the distant sound of classes continuing down other corridors echoing faintly through the building. Isagi moves quickly, his footsteps tapping against the polished floor as he heads toward the stairwell.

Maybe Bachira could help. Bachira might not be the most academically focused person in the world, but he knows a lot of people. Someone in his class might be good at tutoring. Someone normal. Someone who does not have a complicated history with Isagi that makes every conversation feel like walking into emotional quicksand.

Yes. Isagi pushes through the stairwell door and glances up at the clock mounted high on the wall above the landing. The second hand ticks steadily forward while he does the mental math.

There are still a few minutes before the next class period begins.

If he moves fast enough, he can probably catch Bachira before he heads to his next classroom.

Decision made, Isagi starts down the stairs at a near jog, his hand skimming the railing as he takes the steps two at a time.

Isagi turns the corner of the staircase and nearly collides with someone coming up the other way causing him to stumble backwards a few inches. He stops so abruptly that his sneakers squeak faintly against the concrete step.

The person in front of him pauses as well.

After Isagi regains his balance, he lifts his head up and his face pales. Standing one step below him on the staircase, looking mildly surprised by the near collision but otherwise completely composed, is the very same person he was just running to get away from. He hates himself for taking notice that even one step below his, Kaiser still has more height over him.

Kaiser rested one hand lightly on the stair railing, his posture relaxed as if he had been walking up at an unhurried pace before Isagi came barreling down the stairs like a human disaster.

His blue eyes settle on Isagi with quiet recognition.

And then, slowly, one eyebrow lifts.

“Oh,” Kaiser says calmly. The corner of his mouth curves into the faintest hint of a smirk. “I didn't expect you to be running away so soon.”

For a split second, Isagi genuinely considers turning around and sprinting back up the stairs. Because of all the people he could have run into in this stairwell, at this exact moment, it had to be him. The one person Isagi had spent the last year carefully avoiding in hallways, classrooms, and anywhere else their paths might cross. The one person who could still make his chest tighten just by being in the same space.

Michael Kaiser stands one step below him, perfectly composed but Isagi knows well enough that the small smirk on his face shows amusement. There is something unfair about how easily he occupies the space around him while Isagi feels small, his thoughts have scattered in every direction.

And the worst part is that Kaiser has literally caught him in the act of running away.The realization burns hot across Isagi’s face.

Without saying a word, Isagi ducks his head and shifts his weight to take a step sideways, clearly intending to maneuver around Kaiser and continue down the stairs. His entire focus narrows to a single objective: get past him, keep moving, and pretend this encounter never happened.

If he does not stop, if he does not engage, then maybe this can still be avoided. But the moment he moves, Kaiser speaks.

“Yoichi.”

The sound of his name freezes something deep in Isagi’s chest. It has been a long time since he heard Kaiser say it like that. Not his distant version used when addressing someone across a classroom.

This is the old tone. It is a sound he remembers far too well.

Low and smooth, carrying that faint trace of amusement that always made it feel like Kaiser could read his every thought. There is a warmth buried underneath the teasing lilt, a familiarity that slips under Isagi’s defenses before he can stop it.

Isagi keeps moving anyway.

He steps past Kaiser with stiff determination, focusing entirely on the next flight of stairs as if the simple act of walking away can erase the uncomfortable pull twisting in his chest.

He almost makes it when a hand closes around his arm.

The grip is strong but not rough, fingers curling just above his elbow as Kaiser pulls him back before he can reach the next step. The sudden contact sends a sharp jolt through Isagi’s nerves, his body reacting before his mind has time to process the sensation causing him to stop in his tracks.

Isagi stares straight ahead though, refusing to turn around. He can feel Kaiser behind him, close enough that the awareness of his presence presses against the back of Isagi’s thoughts. The warmth of his hand around Isagi’s arm is steady and unyielding, the kind of grip that clearly expects him to stay put.

For a moment neither of them speaks.

Then Kaiser exhales softly.

“Yoichi,” he breathes. His voice is lower this time, the teasing edge gone, replaced with firm, almost pleading emotion. “Come on.”

There is a brief pause. And then so soft, Isagi barely managed to catch what he says, “Stay with me for a bit. Let's talk”

The words settle in the space between them. And against his better judgment, Isagi hesitates.

Hearing Kaiser’s voice like this stirs him up inside. Memories rise uninvited, slipping through the cracks in his carefully maintained distance.

Late afternoons spent sitting together with textbooks spread across the table. Kaiser leaning over his shoulder to point out something he had misunderstood.

The quiet rhythm of studying side by side, punctuated by Isagi’s complaints and Kaiser’s patient corrections. For all the frustration that came with those moments, looking back at them now made him feel oddly wistful. Kaiser had been his study partner and if he is being honest with himself, his grades did Improve… It would be super easy to fall back into that pattern. 

For a brief moment, the temptation pulls at him. He misses him. Every fiber of his being fighting back the urge to plead him for help. That truth sits quietly in the back of Isagi’s mind, stubborn and undeniable, despite everything that happened, despite the way their relationship unraveled, there is still a part of him that remembers the good moments with painful clarity.

But Isagi doesn't allow that part of him to make this decision.

Not after everything. Not after the way Kaiser blindsided him with a break up.

And so Isagi reaches up and harshly pulls his arm free, leaving no room for Kaiser to persuade him s third time. The absence of that contact is immediately and to his irritation, unwelcomly noticeable, the sudden disappearance of warmth he had not realized he longed for.

He takes a step down the stairs, and with a voice quieter than he intends, Isagi mutters, “... I'll find someone else”

Before Kaiser can respond, he starts moving.

This time he does not hesitate. He runs down the stairs two steps at a time, his sneakers striking the squeaking against the tiles in hurried urgency as he descends toward the lower floor. The echo of his footsteps fills the stairwell while his thoughts spin wildly in his head.

He just needs to find Bachira. Bachira will help him figure something out. Sure, Bachira might spend half his time joking around or drawing strange creatures in the margins of his notebook, but he can be serious when it counts. 

Sometimes.

 Probably.

Well, it doesn't matter. Right now anyone is better than Kaiser.

By the time he reaches the bottom of the stairs, his heart is pounding so hard that he can feel it in his throat and his chest is tight with the effort of running and something else he absolutely  refuses to name.

                                                             ────────

Welp, the first tutoring attempt fails almost immediately. Isagi sits cross-legged on the floor of Bachira’s room with his notebook open in front of him, several wrinkled worksheets spread across the carpet like. The late afternoon sun filters through the window and spills across the pages, highlighting the red pen marks and circled mistakes that have started to haunt his life over the last few weeks.

Across from him, Bachira leans back on his bed with a pencil tucked behind one ear and a grin that makes it very clear he is enjoying himself far more than the situation probably deserves.

“Okay,” Bachira says brightly, tapping one of the questions on Isagi’s worksheet. “What if the narrator is actually a monster?” he suggests casually.

Isagi blinks.

“A monster?”

“Yeah!” Bachira says enthusiastically, already sketching an odd little creature beside the paragraph they are supposed to be analyzing. “Like maybe he’s lying because he’s secretly hiding something. Maybe he ate someone earlier in the story and doesn’t want the reader to find out.”

Isagi stares at the drawing. The creature now has horns and fangs. And for some reason it is wearing a tiny crown. It sort of looks likes Kaiser and Isagi doesn't know if Bachira did that one purpose or hes truly gone crazy and reached new lows.

“…Bachira.”

“Hmm?”

“This is an English assignment.”

“I know,” Bachira says cheerfully, shading in the monster’s tail. “But it’s more fun if you imagine the characters as monsters.”

Isagi presses his palms against his face.

After another twenty minutes of trying, twenty minutes that somehow includes three more monster drawings and an longgg conversation about what kind of creature the main character would be, Isagi finally finds his self respect and closes his notebook with a defeated sigh.

“Okay,” he says flatly.

“That was not helpful.”

Bachira tilts his head, completely unapologetic.

“You understood the monster metaphor though, right?”

Isagi groans.

The second attempt goes worse. Hes in the library this time. Everything quiet except for the rustle of pages and the occasional clacking of keyboards from students working at the computers near the back wall. Isagi sits across from a boy from the advanced literature class, someone several teachers had recommended as a “brilliant academic resource.”

Brilliant might actually be an understatement. Because the guy is currently explaining the symbolism in their reading assignment with the intensity of someone delivering a graduate lecture. The teacher's should seriously be learning from him instead.

“…which means the author is clearly referencing post-modern existential frameworks,” the boy continues, gesturing enthusiastically to a section of the book.

Isagi stares at him. None of that sounds like words anymore. It sounds like another language entirely.

“So when you apply that theoretical lens,” the boy continues, scribbling several complicated notes on a sheet of paper, “the entire narrative structure becomes a critique of societal determinism.”

Isagi’s brain slowly stops processing information somewhere around theoretical lens.

“…uh-huh,” he manages weakly.

The boy keeps talking. Words pile on top of each other faster than Isagi can keep up, turning the explanation into an avalanche of academic jargon that only makes the original question feel more confusing than before.

Eventually Isagi raises a hand slightly.

“Sorry,” he says. “Can you explain it… simpler?”

The boy pauses. Then he launches into another explanation that somehow sounds even more complicated.en

After ten minutes of struggling to follow along, Isagi finally closes his notebook again.

“I’m going to look for another book,” he says quickly, pushing back his chair before the lecture can continue.

The boy nods distractedly, already turning back to his notes. If anyone walked passed, they'd think that usagi was the tutoring him.. Isagi escapes into the maze of library shelves with a quiet sigh of relief.

The smart kid from the next class had been the opposite problem of bachira. The boy explained the formulas and themes so quickly and precisely, his pencil flying across the page as he filled it with steps and notes.  He nodded along, pretending he understood while the numbers blurred together in front of him. If Kaiser were here, Isagi caught himself thinking with growing frustration, he would’ve said something sarcastic about how obvious the solution was, then broken it down in that annoyingly simple way that made sense.

He wanders between the rows for a moment, pretending to scan the book spines while his brain tries to recover from the academic onslaught.

Then a voice speaks behind him.

“Hm, I take it that one wasn’t very helpful either.”

Isagi freezes. He doesn't need to turn around to know who it is.

Kaiser stands somewhere behind him in the narrow aisle between shelves. Isagi can't say he's surprised that he's here though. He's managed to avoid Kaiser after they broke up, but in this past week, Kaiser has been everywhere. Just… appearing. Whether it was in classrooms they didn't share because Kaiser was “looking for someone” or in the bathrooms that had Isagi hiding his stall well until Kaiser left.

Isagi forces his hand to keep moving along the bookshelf as if he is still searching for something.

“I’m fine,” he says stiffly.

Behind him, Kaiser sighs deeply, “No, You look confused.”

“Well, I’m not.”

“ Sure. The pout on your face is laughable. You looked less confused when we were studying together though.”

That comment lands harder than it should and he quickly removes the frown he didn't even realize he was wearing. Isagi angrily grabs a random book from the shelf without even reading the title.

“I said I’m fine.”

He does not wait for Kaiser’s response. He walks out of the aisle, hands his papers from the table (not the his tutor even noticed,  his head already in another book) and heads straight for the exit.

The third attempt should have been the easiest.

At least, that’s what Isagi had thought when he showed up at Nagi’s house that Saturday afternoon with his backpack full of worksheets and the slowly growing sense of dread that had followed him around for the past two weeks.

Because Nagi was smart. Ridiculously smart to point where he barely tried in class and  could sleep all day in school but still scored near the top of every exam. If anyone could explain math and science in a way that actually made sense, it should have been him.

But what Isagi had failed to consider was that being smart and being motivated were two completely different things. Nagi was sprawled across his bed like a cat that had melted into the mattress, one arm thrown over his eyes while a game controller rested loosely in his other hand. The TV glowed softly in front of him, paused mid-battle. Isagi sat at the small desk across the room, hunched over a worksheet that might as well have been written in another language. He had been staring at the same equation for five minutes.

“Nagi,” Isagi said slowly, tapping his pencil against the page. “Can you explain this part again?”

Nagi didn’t move. For a moment Isagi wondered if he’d fallen asleep. Then Nagi let out a long sigh that sounded like the very idea of existing was exhausting.

“Hm…?” he murmured.

“This.” Isagi turned the worksheet around and pointed at the problem. “You said you subtract here and then divide but I don’t understand why.”

Nagi cracked one eye open, glancing lazily at the paper from across the room.

“You just… do,” he said.

“That doesn’t help.”

“It does.”

“No it doesn’t,” Isagi groaned.

Nagi shifted slightly on the bed, squinting at the equation like he was trying to remember something he’d learned years ago and immediately forgotten.

“Well,” he muttered eventually, “the teacher said that’s how it works.

“That’s not an explanation.”

Another sigh. Nagi rolled onto his side, finally sitting up just enough to reach for the worksheet when Isagi held it out. His eyes scanned the problem for all of three seconds.

“Oh,” he said. Isagi leaned forward hopefully.

“Actually, Youre supposed to multiply first.”

“What?” Isagi blinked.

“Yeah..”

“But you just told me to subtract.”

Nagi frowned at the paper like it had personally betrayed him.

“…Did I?”

“Yes!” Isagi said incredulous

“Huh.”

Nagi scratched the back of his head, completely unfazed by the growing frustration radiating off Isagi.

“Math is annoying,” he decided after a moment. “Too many steps.”

Isagi stared at him.

“That’s the entire point of tutoring!”

“Mm.” Nagi handed the worksheet back and immediately collapsed onto the bed again. “You’ll figure it out.”

“I am trying to figure it out,” Isagi snapped, running both hands through his hair. “That’s why I came here!”

No response. Isagi looked up. Nagi had already closed his eyes again.

“…Are you serious?”

A soft mumble came from the bed.

“Wake me up if you get stuck.”

“I’m already stuck!”

Nagi didn’t answer. Isagi sat there for another minute in stunned disbelief before letting out a defeated groan and shoving his books back into his backpack.

This was pointless. Completely, unbelievably pointless.

By the time he stepped outside the apartment building, the late afternoon sun was already dipping lower in the sky, warm light stretching across the pavement.

Isagi slung his bag over his shoulder and started down the street, irritation simmering under his skin.

Three tutors. Three complete disasters.

At this rate he was definitely going to fail. It had been nearly two weeks since that meeting in the conference room, two weeks since his teacher had calmly explained the consequences of his failing grades while his coach sat beside him in tight-lipped silence. Two weeks since the words you won’t be allowed to play had been spoken out loud, hanging heavy in the air like a sentence waiting to be carried out.

At first he had convinced himself it wouldn’t come to that.There had to be a way around it. A way to fix things before they got that bad. But the days had passed quickly, swallowed by classes and practices and the growing pressure of assignments. Every afternoon when he logged in to see his grades, hoping something might have improved, but nothing. 

                                                              ────────

Isagi let out a long breath as he walked through the school gates Monday morning, the sky still pale with early light. The familiar campus stretched out in front of him, students already trickling through the entrance while conversations and laughter echoed faintly across the courtyard.

He walked down the hallway toward his locker, the usual chaos of the morning rush surrounding him. Lockers slammed open and shut while groups of students clustered together to talk about weekend plans, unfinished homework, and whatever drama had spread through the school over the past few days.

Isagi barely heard any of it.

Because the same thought kept circling back again and again, stubborn and impossible to ignore.

There had been one tutor who actually worked. One person who had always been able to take a confusing concept and break it apart until the answer suddenly seemed obvious.One person who never struggled to explain things clearly.

Unfortunately that was Kaiser.

Just thinking the name made a pit open up in Isagi’s gut. He stopped at his locker and pulled it open, shoving his gym bag inside before resting his forehead briefly against the cool metal door. The hallway noise blurred around him while his mind replayed the last two weeks of failed attempts.

If Kaiser had been there when Bachira was trying to explain metaphors through doodles, the worksheet would have been finished in ten minutes. If Kaiser had been sitting across from him in the library with the overly intelligent student, he would have noticed immediately that Isagi was getting lost in the explanation and slowed things down.

If Kaiser had been there with Nagi…

Well. Kaiser would never have fallen asleep.

The truth of it was frustratingly simple. Kaiser had always been the one who made things make sense. Isagi hated that fact with a burning intensity. And If he wanted to keep playing soccer this season. If he wanted to protect everything he had worked toward all these years…

Then he needed to suck it up and find Kaiser.

Even if the idea made his chest feel tight. Even if the last thing he wanted to do was stand in front of him again and admit that he needed help. Isagi closed his locker with a quiet click and started walking toward his classroom.

Students filtered through the hallway around him, the noise and movement of the school day gradually building as the first bell crept closer.

He pushed open the classroom door and stepped inside, arriving earlier than most of the class. Only a few people were scattered around the room, quietly chatting while they waited for the teacher to arrive. Dropping into his seat near the window, Isagi pulled his notebook out of his bag and flipped it open to the page where he had tried to review his assignments the night before.

The notes looked messy and incomplete and he understood maybe half of them. Too busy trying to write them down before the teacher erased the board to actually internalize them.

It pained him to but, Kaiser was, unfortunately, the best option.

By the time free period arrived, Isagi had already spent the entire morning arguing with himself. And the worst part was that deep down, in a place he didn’t want to acknowledge, Isagi already knew what he needed to do next.

Every class blurred together in a haze of half-listened lectures and unfinished notes, his mind repeatedly drifting back to the same unavoidable thought. The situation he had been trying so hard to ignore was no longer something he could push aside with stubborn optimism. His grades were still slipping, the warning from his teacher still hung over him like a storm cloud, and the reality he had been refusing to face was becoming clearer with every passing day.

If things continued like this…

He hated it.

He stood from his desk and stepped into the hallway, slinging his bag over his shoulder as the usual rush of students flooded out of nearby classrooms. Isagi moved in the opposite direction toward the library. The frustrating part of it all was that he didn’t need to search for Kaiser.

Even after weeks of avoiding him, even after trying so hard to pretend their lives no longer overlapped, Isagi still knew Kaiser’s routine by heart. Kaiser was just a tad… pedantic. His schedule was strict. It was only when usagi literally dragged Kaiser anywhere, did he let go of the demanding agenda. It had been ingrained into his memory during the months they had spent together, little habits and schedules that had once felt comforting in their predictability. At this time of day Kaiser would be in the library.

Not at the tables near the entrance where students gathered to whisper loudly while pretending to study. Not near the computers where people clicked through assignments and social media at the same time.

No.

Kaiser always preferred the back. Isagi pushed open the library doors and stepped inside, immediately greeted by the familiar quiet atmosphere and the faint smell of old paper. The main area buzzed softly with students scattered across tables, their voices hushed but constant

He barely noticed them. His feet carried him deeper between the towering shelves of books, past rows of modern textbooks and neatly organized shelves until the lighting grew dimmer and the shelves grew older.

Dust clung to the spines of the books here. Most students never came this far back. The aisles narrowed, the overhead lights grew weaker, and the sounds from the rest of the library faded into a distant murmur.

Eventually Isagi reached the corner he remembered so clearly.

There was no table there. Just rows of old bookshelves packed tightly together near the back wall, leaving a narrow space between the last shelf and the wall itself. The lighting barely reached the floor in that spot, leaving it shadowed and quiet enough that it felt almost like a secret from the rest of the room.

They used to sit on the floor there during free period, leaning against the cool wall while Kaiser held a book in his hands. Kaiser had always looked strangely comfortable in that dim little space, one leg stretched out slightly while the other bent just enough to support the book resting against his knee. Isagi rarely lasted long before drifting off. He would start out trying to read something or half-heartedly reviewing notes, but the quiet atmosphere and the steady rhythm of Kaiser turning pages always made his eyelids grow heavy. 

Eventually his head would begin to nod forward until gravity won, his body tilting sideways just enough for his forehead to bump gently against Kaiser’s shoulder. Kaiser never seemed surprised when it happened. He would  just glance down at him with that small, soft smile he rarely showed anyone else, adjusting slightly so Isagi wouldn’t slide off before returning to his book as if nothing unusual had happened.

When Isagi eventually woke up, it was always the same.

Kaiser’s sweater draped loosely over his shoulders. The fabric would still carry the faint warmth of Kaiser’s body, and Isagi would blink groggily as he pushed himself upright, embarrassed at how easily he had fallen asleep again.

Kaiser never teased him too much about it. He would simply glance up from his book and say something mildly annoyed like “You drool when you sleep, you know,” even though Isagi was fairly certain that had never actually been true.

Isagi had not stepped foot back in that corner since the night everything fell apart. His steps slowed slightly as he approached the end of the aisle. When Isagi turned the final corner between the shelves, the sight waiting there made his breath catch just slightly.

Kaiser was exactly where he had always been. Sitting on the floor in that narrow space between the wall and the bookshelf, one knee raised while a thick book rested against it. His back leaned comfortably against the wall, pale hair catching the faint light that filtered down from the overhead fixtures.

He looked completely absorbed in whatever he was reading.

Isagi stopped a few steps away.

Walking to the library had been easy enough. The decision had felt firm while he was moving through the halls, each step bringing him closer to the solution he knew he needed. But standing here now, seeing Kaiser again in the exact place where so many memories lived, made that confidence falter.

Kaiser turned a page.

Then he looked up. There was no smug grin waiting for him. No sharp, taunting smile like the ones Kaiser used to wear whenever he corrected someone in class.

Instead Kaiser just watched him. His expression remained calm, almost neutral, though something in his eyes flickered with quiet recognition.

Like he had been expecting this. Kaiser didn’t ask why Isagi was there.

He simply waited making Usagi more tense as the second ticked by.

Isagi shifted his weight where he stood, fingers tightening slightly around the strap of his bag as the familiar knot of nerves settled in his stomach. He had walked all the way here knowing exactly what he needed to do, repeating the words in his head over and over like a script he planned to follow.

But actually saying them out loud suddenly felt harder than he expected. Kaiser finally closed the book resting against his knee with a soft thud.

“Are you planning on standing there all day,” he said lazily, tilting his head slightly, “or did you come here for something?”

The sound of his voice made something twist in Isagi’s chest. He frowned immediately.

Kaiser studied him for a moment, blue eyes steady and annoyingly perceptive.

“Then what are you doing, Yoichi?”

Hearing his name like that made Isagi hesitate. It had been a long time since Kaiser had said it out loud. The moment stretched between them before Isagi finally exhaled quietly.

“…I need your help.”

“Sorry it's so loud in here, could you repeat that?” Isagi glared at him. You could literally hear people blinking in here it was so quiet.

He gave a long inhale, trying not to get worked up, “Can you help me or not? You know i can always find someone else if you’re too busy”

Kaiser didn’t respond immediately.

He simply leaned back against the wall again, folding one arm loosely across his raised knee while he looked up at Usagi, acting like he was really pondering over his answer.

“Hmm” he said after a moment, “ Are you saying you need me again.”

Isagi crossed his arms and looked away, “Will you help?” 

Kaiser shifted slightly before pushing himself up from the floor in one smooth movement. He brushed a bit of dust from his pants and stretched his shoulders, towering slightly over Isagi now that he was standing.

“For now,” Kaiser said, grabbing the book he had been reading, “let’s meet tomorrow.”

Isagi blinked.

“Tomorrow?”

“There’s a cafe a few blocks from here. Quiet enough to work.” Then he added casually, “I still have your books at my house too.”

Right. Several textbooks Isagi had left behind months ago. He himself still had Kaisers watch and hoodies.

“…Fine,” Isagi said after a moment. Kaiser nodded once.

“After school.” And then he turned and walked away, disappearing between the tall rows of shelves without another word.

Isagi remained where he was.

For a few seconds he simply stared at the empty aisle Kaiser had disappeared down, his thoughts slowly catching up to the conversation that had just happened.

Meeting at a cafe.

Just the two of them.

                                                                 ────────

Isagi slows the moment the cafe comes into view.

It sits tucked between two older brick buildings along the street, its wide windows glowing with warm golden light that spills out onto the sidewalk despite the late afternoon sun still lingering in the sky. Normally he likes this place because it is quiet in a comforting way, the kind of cafe where people sit with laptops or books for hours without anyone rushing them, where the smell of fresh coffee and baked pastries hangs in the air and the soft murmur of conversation blends easily into the background.

Today, however, the sight of it only makes something in his stomach tighten.

He pauses just outside the door and adjusts the strap of his bag over his shoulder, staring through the glass for a moment longer than necessary while his thoughts spiral through the same worries that have been looping through his head all afternoon.

This is ridiculous. It is just a study session. Just Kaiser.

Just an hour or two spent reviewing math problems and going over the questions he missed on the last test so he does not fail the next one. Once that is finished he can go home, finish his homework, and go back to the version of his life that existed before all of this awkwardness started creeping in again.

He exhales slowly through his nose, trying to steady himself.

He has played entire football matches with Kaiser since their breakup, has shared the same field with him while teammates shouted around them and the pressure of the game demanded their full attention, and if he could survive that then sitting across from him at a café should not feel nearly as intimidating. Still, the thought of being alone with him outside of school for the first time since everything fell apart leaves a strange, restless tension in his chest.

Before he can give himself another excuse to stall, 

Isagi pushes the door open.

A small bell above the frame rings softly as he steps inside.

The warm scent of roasted coffee beans and fresh bread immediately wraps around him, and the low hum of conversation fills the space in a comfortable, easy rhythm that contrasts sharply with the tight nervousness sitting in his chest.

The cafe was already half full when Isagi pushed the door open, the warm air inside carrying the smell of roasted coffee beans and sugar that made his stomach tighten in a way he refused to acknowledge. He stepped inside with his bag slung over one shoulder and instinctively glanced toward the corner booths near the window, and sure enough Kaiser was already there, seated exactly where he had expected him to be.

His eyes sweep across the room.

And immediately land on Kaiser.

He is already seated at a table near the window, leaning back in his chair with one ankle resting casually over his opposite knee, his phone loosely balanced in one hand as though he has nothing more important to do than wait. The relaxed posture looks effortless in the way everything about Kaiser always seems to be effortless, from his grades to his performances on the field to the calm confidence that seems to follow him everywhere.

Kaiser glances up the moment Isagi steps inside.

Their eyes meet.

For a brief second something in Isagi’s chest stumbles awkwardly over itself, and he quickly looks away before the moment can stretch any longer than it already has.

He pulls his phone from his pocket as he walks over, checking the time almost instinctively.

3:50.

His brows draw together slightly. They agreed to meet at four. He is not late. In fact, he is early. Isagi glances down at the screen again just to make sure he read it correctly. Ten minutes early. He stops beside the table and looks at Kaiser with mild confusion.

“Have you been here long?”

Kaiser lifts one shoulder in a careless shrug, the faintest hint of amusement touching the corner of his mouth.

“Not particularly,” he replies.

Which, judging from the calm way he is already settled in, probably means he has been here for a while.

Isagi pulls out the chair across from him and sits down, placing his bag on the floor beside the table before unzipping it and pulling out his things with efficient, deliberate movements. If he treats this like nothing more than a study session, then maybe it will actually stay that way.

His textbook lands on the table first, followed by his notebook and the stack of worksheets he brought from class.

Let’s just start,” he said, flipping open to the page marked with sticky notes and messy scribbles. “I don’t have time to waste.”

Kaiser watched him for a second, his gaze moving lazily from Isagi’s determined frown to the pile of books now spread across the table, and then he lifted one eyebrow in faint amusement.

“That restless to get away from me?” he said mildly. “You haven't even been here for a minute and you're already rushing to leave?”

“I-No” Isagi stammered. “I just don't really have time to waste. If we start now we can finish earlier,” Isagi says while flipping open his notebook and spreading the papers across the table. “I brought the last test too so you can show me where I went wrong, because I really cannot afford to mess up the next one.”

He looks up, fully expecting Kaiser to open his own notebook or at least reach for the math problems. Instead, Kaiser lifts his hand and casually signals toward the counter. Before Isagi can ask what he is doing, a waitress approaches the table with a polite smile.

Kaiser does not even glance at a menu.

“I’ll take an iced vanilla latte and a strawberry crepe,” he says easily, then tilts his head slightly toward Isagi. “And he’ll have the caramel latte and the blueberry pastry.”

The words leave his mouth so naturally that for a moment Isagi does not even process them.

Then realization hits him. His head snaps up.

“Wait–”

But the waitress has already written it down.

“Got it,” she says cheerfully before turning to leave. Isagi stares after her in disbelief before whipping his attention back to Kaiser.

“You didn’t even ask me what I wanted,” he protests.

Kaiser looks entirely unbothered.

“I didn’t need to.”

“You absolutely did,” Isagi argues, leaning forward slightly across the table. “You can’t just order things for people like that.” nKaiser simply rests his chin in his hand, watching him with quiet amusement. “You were going to order the caramel latte anyway,” he says calmly. “You always do when you’re stressed.”

“That was months ago,” Isagi muttered, heat creeping up the back of his neck as he turned back to his notebook. “People change.”

Kaiser hummed softly, the sound suspiciously unconvinced, but he didn’t argue. Instead he leaned forward slightly, reaching across the table to pull Isagi’s math book closer.

“Oh really? So you won't be ordering seconds then?”

The realization only makes his irritation deepen, “That’s not the point,” he mutters

Kaiser’s expression softens into something faintly satisfied as he leans back in his chair again.

“Relax, Yoichi,” he says lightly. “I know you're hungry.  A peace treaty before i start torturing you with math.” Isagi sinks back into his chair with a frustrated sigh, staring down at the open textbook in front of him while trying very hard not to acknowledge how annoyingly familiar this entire interaction feels.

And somewhere in the back of his mind, an even more unsettling thought quietly surfaces.

This was supposed to be a study session. So why does sitting here across from Kaiser feel suspiciously close to a date?

Isagi tells himself not to think about it like that but the word date lingers in his head anyway, unwelcome and stubborn, hovering somewhere at the edge of his thoughts while he flips through the pages of his textbook with more force than necessary.

Acros the table, Kaiser watches him quietly.

He says nothing for a while, simply observing the way Isagi’s shoulders remain tense, the way his pencil taps restlessly against the paper as though his mind is somewhere else entirely. Kaiser has seen that look before, back when they used to study together almost every day after practice, when Isagi would start spiraling over a difficult problem and refuse to admit he was stuck.

Eventually Kaiser leans forward slightly.

“Show me where you’re struggling.”

Isagi hesitates. For a moment he almost says he can handle it himself, almost insists that Kaiser should just explain the homework and nothing more. Asking him for help still feels strangely vulnerable after everything that happened between them.

But he sighs and slides the test paper across the table.

Kaiser glances down at it.

The moment he sees the large red D written across the top, something in his expression shifts almost imperceptibly. The teasing amusement fades, replaced by a more focused seriousness as his eyes scan the page.

“You lost most of your points here,” Kaiser says after a moment, tapping the side of the paper with his finger. “Your process is wrong.”

Isagi leans forward, frowning, “What do you mean it’s wrong? I did exactly what the formula said.”

“Hmm.. Ah. You skipped the third step,” Kaiser says, tapping the middle line with the end of the pencil. 

Isagi stares at the page. He presses the tip of his pencil against the paper and tries to follow the explanation, but something about the way Kaiser is laying it out only makes the frustration inside him tighten further. The more Kaiser talks, the more the problem begins to feel like an impossible knot in his head.

“Okay,” Isagi mutters after a moment. “So… if I move this over here…”

He writes something down.

Kaiser immediately reaches over and taps the line again.

“No. That’s the same mistake you made before.”

Isagi’s jaw tightens. Kaiser turns the notebook slightly, pointing at the equation with that same calm certainty that somehow makes the correction feel worse. “You jumped straight from this line to the answer without isolating the variable properly. The process matters.”

“I got the answer,” Isagi argued.

“Well… no,” he's said carefully. “You got the wrong answer.”

Isagi’s jaw tightened and he looks down at the page again. The equation still isnt making sense to him. 

Kaiser sighs quietly. “Okay, Isagi. Look.”

He takes the pencil from Isagi’s hand before he can protest and begins rewriting the equation again from the beginning, his handwriting neat and precise as he started explaining the logic behind the equation. The explanation flowed easily from him, each step leading smoothly into the next as if the answer had always been obvious.

Isagi tried to follow along, but the words started blurring together after the first few sentences, frustration tightening his grip around the edge of the table. By the time Kaiser finished writing the last step, Isagi’s head was spinning. “So the variable cancels out here,” Kaiser concluded, sliding the notebook back toward him.

Isagi exhales sharply and leans back in his chair. The sound is louder than he intends.

Kaiser pauses mid-sentence. “What?”

“...Nothing.” But the word comes out strained.

Kaiser watches him for a moment before finishing the equation anyway, sliding the notebook back toward him.

“Here, just try it again.”

Isagi stares down at the notebook as if the answer might rearrange itself if he looks at it long enough. Kaiser’s handwriting stretches across the page in neat, precise lines, every number placed with the same irritating confidence he seems to apply to everything else in his life. The equation sits there like a quiet accusation, waiting for him to do something with it.

The pencil in Isagi’s hand feels heavier than it should.

“Go ahead,” Kaiser says from across the table. His tone is neutral, almost patient, though that somehow makes Isagi feel even more on edge. Isagi presses the pencil to the page and begins working through the problem the way he thinks it should go. He tries to remember the explanation Kaiser gave only a few minutes earlier, tries to reconstruct the logic behind it, but the details slip away the moment he reaches for them. His mind fills instead with the lingering pressure of Kaiser watching him think.

He writes something down.

“…Okay,” Isagi mutters quietly, circling the final number. “That should be–”

“That’s wrong.” 

Isagi’s pencil freezes. He slowly looks up.

Kaiser hasn’t even leaned forward to inspect the work closely. He only glances at the page for a second before giving his verdict, as if the mistake had been obvious the moment the pencil touched the paper.

Isagiexhales through his nose, “…How.”

“You moved the wrong part of the equation. You weren’t listening.”

The words landed heavier than they should have. Something hot flared in Isagi’s chest as he pushed the notebook away from him.

Kaiser’s eyes flickered slightly. “.. what?”

Kaiser opened his mouth, but Isagi was already shaking his head.

“Nothing,” he muttered, dragging a hand through his hair.

The waitress returned then, setting down on the table between them. They ate in silence for a few minutes, the tension hanging between them like an unfinished sentence neither of them wanted to finish.

Eventually Kaiser reached for the notebook again signaling that he was back in work mode again. Isagi swallowed slowlyslowly and picked up his pencil, getting himself ready for whatever onslaught kayda was about to spew.

He worked through the equation step by step, the scratching of graphite against paper filling the quiet space between them. By the time he reached the final line he felt reasonably confident in his answer, and he slid the notebook toward Kaiser with a small flick of his wrist.

Isagi looks back down at his work, his brows pulling together. The numbers suddenly seem to shift around on the page, the logic behind them slipping further out of reach the longer he tries to stare them into submission.

“Okay so what do I do then,” he insists, tapping the paper with his pencil. 

Despite the noise in cafe, it feel very quiet in their little booth. And its not just because they're doing work together either and in focused mode or whatever.. Isagi is very aware that he’s being very unwelcoming and somewhat hostile, but he can help himself. For the first time since their break up, hes able to really look at Kaiser, get a clear look at his face while theyre alone and what does he see? Nothing. There's no emotion on his face anywhere besides that occasional annoying smirk that makes him want to punch his head off. 

With all “stop running away” nonsense that Kaiser was pulling the week prior, Isagi knows that he, nor the teacher are forcing Kaiser to be here. Kaiser could have simply turned it down or “ran” the same way Isagi did. Yet hes sitting across from him and he doesn't look upset or happy or… anything. So why bother with this at all?

Even now the memory of their conversation (or lack of conversation) of that night lingered like a bruise Isagi couldn’t quite press without wincing. Things had been tense before that, sure. They had argued more often, snapping at each other over stupid things that used to feel insignificant. Isagi had assumed it was temporary, just another bump in the road they would eventually smooth over the way they always did.

He had expected them to fight and make up. That had always been their rhythm.

Instead Kaiser had ended it. Like it had already been decided long before Isagi realized there was even a problem. Which was why this made no sense. Why was he here now, sitting across from him like nothing had happened? Why was he helping him?

Kaiser had taken off his jacket at some point and draped it over the back of the booth, leaving him in his school shirt with the sleeves rolled neatly to his elbows, showing off the crworn and vines on his forearm. His posture was relaxed, one arm resting against the table while the other loosely held a pen he kept absentmindedly spinning between his fingers.

The sight of it stirred an uncomfortable sense of familiarity. Isagi had seen that exact posture hundreds of times before.  Once upon a time they had never sat across from each other at all. Back then they would have been squeezed together on the same side of the booth without thinking twice about it, not caring whether they would bee seen as one of those corny pda couples, their shoulders brushing every few minutes while Isagi leaned over Kaiser’s notebook to copy whatever answer he had just written down. Sometimes Isagi would complain about how cramped it was, but he never actually moved away, and Kaiser never suggested that he should.

Now there was an entire table between them.

It was noteven like it was a large distance but still he noticed it when Kaiser reached forward to adjust the worksheet and their hands did not touch. Even the way they spoke to each other had changed, every sentence careful in a way that made the space between them feel deliberate.

Once, Isagi would have shoved his notebook directly under Kaiser’s nose and demanded an explanation the second he got stuck. 

Now he hesitated. He stared down at the problem for longer than necessary, chewing lightly on the edge of his pencil while his thoughts circled around the same frustrating feeling he always got when he studied.

“…Why are you helping me?”

Isagi didn’t look up, grabbing the napkin in front of him as a distraction, but he could feel the shift in the air across the table.

“Huh?” Kaiser said after a moment.

 “Why did you agree to this?”

Kaiser didn’t answer right away so the question sat between them, heavy and unavoidable. The silence stretched long enough that Isagi’s frustration began creeping back in. Of course he wasn’t going to answer. If he decided something wasn’t worth explaining, then that was the end of it. Isagi scoffed quietly under his breath and turned back to his notebook.

“Forget it,” he muttered, pressing the tip of his pencil against the page.

For a few seconds the only sound between them was the faint scratch of graphite.

Then Kaiser spoke.

“…Because, idk… because you asked” Isagi’s pencil paused. Slowly, he looked up. Kaiser wasn’t smiling. He wasn’t teasing or smirking the way he usually did when they argued.

“And because you never were good at asking for it.,” Kaiser added after a moment, his voice quieter now, “even if the teacher didn't ask me to do this, if you come on your own, I would've still came.”

He didn't expect Kaiser to say  that.. His chest tightened and he felt as if he had a lump in his throat as he stared at Kaiser across the table, unsure how to respond to something that sounded dangerously close to honesty.

Isagi didn't now what to say in response to that after that so they both seemed to quietly agree to move on. The conversation drifted back to the worksheet spread between them, though it no longer felt like a normal study session. Isagi kept his eyes on the paper, pencil moving across the page in slow, deliberate strokes while Kaiser sat across from him, occasionally leaning forward to glance at the work. The cafe hummed softly around them with the quiet sounds of dishes clinking and low conversations blending together in the background, but the booth they occupied felt strangely separate from everything else.

Isagi tried to focus on the problems in front of him, yet his thoughts kept slipping away from the numbers and wandering somewhere else.This was supposed to be simple. Study. Pass the next test. Stay on the team. That was all this was supposed to be. No ime to be thinking about how their knees keeping bumping under the table neither of them would move away. Not when his future is on the line.

                                                                ────────

The first session at the cafe turns into another the next afternoon, and then another two days later when a new assignment appears in Isagi’s inbox with a deadline that makes his stomach twist. Each time they meet in the same place near the window, the same table somehow always open when Isagi arrives as if Kaiser has claimed it for them without ever saying so.

They did not talk much outside of the work itself. Most of their conversations stay trapped inside the pages of textbooks and scribbled notes, hovering somewhere between explanations, small corrections, and the occasional sarcastic remark that slips out before either of them can stop it. Despite that, something about the routine settles quickly into a rhythm that feels strangely natural. Kaiser explains things in ways that Isagi can actually understand now, sometimes drawing comparisons to plays or formations that make the concepts click in his head, and Isagi finds himself getting fewer answers wrong with each passing day.

The tension that had filled the first meeting softens into something quieter.

Not gone, not completely, but dulled around the edges by the simple familiarity of sitting across from each other again.

They still do not talk in the hallways. At school they remain mostly separate, orbiting different groups and schedules like they always have since the breakup. Sometimes Isagi catches a glimpse of Kaiser across the field during practice or at the far end of a classroom before the bell rings, but neither of them makes any move to acknowledge the other.

A few days later though, Isagi is leaning back against the lockers in the hallway after school, laughing as Bachira dramatically reenacts the moment he nearly tripped over a stack of cones during practice.

“I swear the cone attacked me first,” Bachira insists, gesturing wildly with his hands as if the inanimate object had personally offended him.

“You literally ran into it,” Isagi says through his laughter.

“That’s because it was in my path!”

Isagi opens his mouth to reply, already grinning and absorbed in Bachira's antics , he didn't see that kaiser was behind him quickly catching up.

“Let’s go to your place today.” The words are calm and casual, delivered with the kind of quiet confidence that instantly pulls Isagi’s attention away from the conversation. Kaiser stands just behind him, one hand loosely in his pocket, his expression relaxed as if the request is the most normal thing in the world.

He turns. “…What?” Isagi blinks.

Kaiser tilts his head slightly.

“For studying.”

“I got that part.”

Isagi straightens a little, frowning in confusion.

“Why my place? The cafe is closer ”

Kaiser shrugs lightly. “I’m sick of the cafe food.” The answer is delivered with complete indifference.

Isagi stares at him, “And that’s your only reasoning?”

“Yup.”

Kaiser glances briefly at the clock down the hall.

“I’ll meet you outside..”

Before Isagi can respond, Kaiser simply turns and walks away, disappearing down the corridor without another word. The silence he leaves behind lasts exactly two seconds and then  Bachira is grabbing Isagi by the shoulders.

“Um.. WHAT?!”

Isagi winces, “Keep your voice down!”

“He just invited himself to your house!”

Isagi rubs his face with one hand, already feeling the beginnings of a headache. “He’s just sick of the café food.”

Bachira stares at him.

“…You believe that?”

“.. Of course not”, he sighs.

“You are studying together?”

“Yes.”

“Outside of school?”

“Yes.”

“Multiple times?”

“Yes.”

“And now he wants to go to your house.”

“…Yes?”

Bachira slowly crosses his arms. The grin spreading across his face looks dangerously knowing,“…So,” he says lightly, leaning closer, “are you two getting back together or something?”

Isagi nearly chokes, “What? No!”

“Then what is this?

“Its tutoring! You know.. so I can stay on the team and graduate?!?”

“Mhm. That’s a lot of tutoring.”

“Well duh. Im actually trying not to fail!”

Bachira studies him carefully for a moment. Unlike most of the team, Bachira knows everything. He had been there during the early days when Isagi and Kaiser first started spending time together, when their rivalry slowly softened into something closer, and he had also been there during the rough break up when everything fell apart.

Which means he also knows exactly how complicated this situation probably is.

“So…” Bachira says more thoughtfully now. “You’re not getting back together?”

Isagi hesitates. The pause lasts only a second.

“No. We are definitely not.” hes says firmly.

Bachira raises an eyebrow. “Hmm… okayyy”, he replies in a singsong voice.

Isagi feels the need to explain more “It’s just tutoring I swear. T-The teacher reques- no she basically forced this on me!”

Bachira watches him for another moment before humming quietly to himself.

“Uh-huh.

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing.”

“No, that definitely means something.”

Bachira simply pats him on the shoulder with a bright smile.

“Well,” he says cheerfully, already stepping backward toward his classroom, “tell your mom I said hi when Kaiser comes over.”

“Bachira…”

“See you tomorrow.

He disappears out the front door and Isagi stands in the hallway for a moment longer, staring after him with a deep sigh. Then he glances down the corridor in the direction Kaiser had walked earlier. He takes a deep breath before walking ou t the doors too to see Kaiser waiting right by the front gates. 

The walk home from school is quieter than Isagi expected.

Not tense, not exactly, but the kind of silence that settles when two people are still figuring out how to exist around each other again. Their footsteps fall into an easy rhythm along the sidewalk, bags slung over their shoulders, the late afternoon sun stretching long shadows across the pavement as the streets slowly fill with people heading home from work or school.

Isagi keeps glancing sideways at Kaiser. Not obviously, at least he hopes not, but often enough that he becomes painfully aware of the quiet presence walking beside him. Kaiser doesn’t seem bothered by the silence at all. His hands rest loosely in his pockets, posture relaxed, gaze occasionally drifting across the street or toward the passing houses as if the walk itself requires no conversation to fill it.

Isagi, unfortunately, does not possess that same level of cool.

“So,” he says after a while, trying to sound casual, “the café is still an option.”

Kaiser doesn’t look at him. “I’m aware.”

“And the library.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Or we could just… meet earlier tomorrow instead.”

Kaiser glances sideways at him now, on his eyebrow lifting slightly, “You’re very determined to avoid your house.”

“I’m not avoiding it.”

“Then why are you listing alternatives?”

Isagi exhales quietly, “I’m just saying there are other places.”

Kaiser hums in mild acknowledgment but continues walking without changing direction. Which unfortunately means they are still heading toward 

Isagi’s neighborhood.

“What,” he asks mildly, “are you afraid your mother will embarrass you again?”

The words hit with painful accuracy. Isagi groans under his breath. “You remember that?”

“Very clearly. You're Noa Noel phase was soo adorable. ”

Of course he does. The memory rushes back before Isagi can stop it. His mom was standing in the kitchen doorway with that bright smile she always wore whenever Kaiser came over, completely delighted by the “quiet, polite boy” her son had started bringing home after practice. Kaiser put on such a good act, shed actually shush Usagi when spoke of all the teasing and mean things kaiser would. His dad though, thought Kaiser was the funniest kid ever.  She had been endlessly curious about him, always asking questions, always fussing over whether he had eaten enough or if he needed more tea.

And she had absolutely no hesitation when it came to talking about Usagi, practically bursting at the seams to show off his baby pictures to someone new.

“Did you know Yoichi used to fall asleep with his soccer ball when he was little?” she had once said cheerfully while Kaiser sat at the table.

Isagi had nearly died.

Kaiser had nearly laughed.

“Mom–”

“Oh, and the time he cried because his team lost a middle school match—”

“MOM!”

Meanwhile Kaiser had just sat there with that smug, entertained look on his face, clearly enjoying every second of the betrayal. The memory makes Isagi rub his face now.

“She’s going to start talking again,” he mutters.

Kaiser’s mouth twitches slightly.

“That sounds entertaining.”

“For you."

They reach the front of Isagi’s house a few minutes later. Isagi pauses at the gate, turning toward Kaiser one last time with a final attempt.

“... We could still turn around.”

Kaiser simply gestures toward the door. “After you.”

Isagi sighs.

The moment the front door opens, the smell of dinner drifts out from the kitchen.

“Yoichi?” his mother calls from inside.

“Yeah, I’m home.”

There’s a brief pause. Then footsteps. His mom appears around the corner wiping her hands on a kitchen towel, her expression lighting up the moment she sees him.

“Welcome ba–”

Her eyes and widen and shift past Isagi, stopping her mid-sentence when she sees that he isn't alone, “Michael?”

Before Isagi can react, she hurries forward with obvious delight.

“Oh my goodness, it’s been so long!”

Kaiser barely has time to respond before she wraps him in a warm hug like she’s greeting a long-lost relative. “I was wondering where you’d disappeared to,” she continues cheerfully. “You used to come over all the time. You haven’t visited in months?”

She pulls back slightly, studying him with a fond smile.

“Where have you been?”

Isagi freezes. His mom has absolutely no idea what happened between them. To her, Kaiser is simply the polite boy who used to come over to study and eat dinner with them.

Meanwhile Kaiser, to his credit, accepts the hug with surprising ease. “Yea, It has been a while,” he says smoothly. And then he smirks.

Isagi knows that expression. It is the exact same expression Kaiser used to wear when he was about to say something extremely dangerous.

“Yes,” Kaiser continues calmly, glancing briefly at Isagi, “Yoichi and I ha–”

Isagi panics. He lunges forward and grabs Kaiser’s arm.

“Okay! That’s enough of that!”

His mom blinks in confusion as Isagi immediately begins dragging Kaiser toward the hallway.

“We have to study,” Isagi says quickly, already pulling him away from the kitchen. “Important assignments! Very urgent! No time for talking!”

“But I was just–”

“Bye Mom!”

“Wait, Michael hasn’t even–”

The door to Isagi’s room shuts with a soft but decisive click. Silence fills the space for a moment.

Isagi slowly releases Kaiser’s arm then turns to glare at him.

“What were you about to say.”

Kaiser leans casually against the wall, looking entirely too amused.

“Nothing important.”

“You were about to tell her.”

“I was just about to answer her question.”

Isagi groans and drags both hands down his face, “You cannot say things like that in front of my mom.”

Kaiser watches him for a moment, the faint smile still lingering at the edge of his expression.

“…Relax,” he says lightly. Then he glances around the room, “Hm.”

Isagi follows his gaze, “What?”

Kaiser gestures lazily toward his messy desk before landing on the box  with neatly folded clothes next to it. “I see you still have my hoodies ?”

Isagi Heats up in embarrassmentment. He forgot all about that stuff. 

“I just never had time to drop it off to you. Take it back if you want I dont care"

Kaiser walks over to sit at the desk, opening his bag to take his stuff out, Not even looking At box anymore, “Nah. Have em. They looked much better on you anyways..

“... I don't want them.”

 “Mhm.”

And just like that, the study session begins.

Kaiser sets the notebook back down with the same quiet composure he always seems to carry with him, though the faint curve of amusement still lingers at the corner of his mouth. Isagi watches him with narrowed eyes for a moment, trying to decide whether that comment had been meant as a joke or a genuine criticism.

Knowing Kaiser, it could easily be both.

“Alright,” Isagi mutters, dropping his bag beside the desk and pulling out the rest of his books. The room is small enough that they end up sitting far nearer to each other than they ever did in the café. Their elbows almost brush when Kaiser reaches for the math workbook, flipping through the pages with practiced familiarity.

Kaiser stops on a page and taps it lightly.

“This is the next assignment.”

Isagi leans forward to look and then his shoulders sink a little.

“Of course it is.” Isagi sighs

Kaiser glances at him. Kaiser ignores the complaint and slides the workbook slightly between them so they can both see it.

“Start with the first one.”

Isagi reluctantly picks up his pencil.

 Kaiser watches quietly as Isagi works through the first part of the problem, occasionally pointing something out or nudging the notebook closer when Isagi begins drifting too far from the right track.

Isagi leans over the notebook, shoulders hunched in concentration, one hand braced against the desk while the other holds his pencil loosely between his fingers. The eraser taps lightly against the paper every few seconds as he rereads the question for what feels like the tenth time.

The extra credit assignment sat in front of him. He had been so confident when the teacher announced it earlier that week. Extra credit, she had said, and Isagi had immediately jumped at the chance because right now he would take anything that might tip his grades back into safe territory. The problem, unfortunately, was that the assignment involved reading and analyzing a passage from Shakespeare’s works, and Isagi was beginning to suspect that Shakespeare had personally written it just to ruin his life.

The text in front of him might as well have been another language.He forced himself through one line slowly, lips moving faintly as he tried to keep track of the meaning.

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair…”

Okay. That part was fine. He moved to the next line.

“Hover through the fog and filthy air…”

He squinted at the words. By the time he reached the end of the sentence, he realized he had already forgotten what the first line had said. Hes reading the story without really grasping what the words are the saying back to him

Isagi groaned quietly and dropped his pencil against the desk.

“…What does that even mean?”

Across from him, Kaiser did not immediately respond. He had been reading something of his own, leaning back slightly in his chair, though his eyes had flicked up more than once to watch Isagi struggle. For the past several minutes he had listened to the soft sounds of erasing, sighing, and frustrated page flipping that had become increasingly frequent.

Now he closed his book with a quiet thump.

“Let me see.”

Isagi slid the paper toward him without hesitation, rubbing his forehead, “I swear I’m reading it,” he muttered. “But the second I get through one line I forget the one before it. It’s like my brain resets every five seconds.”

“Its not your brain. Its Shakespeare. It’ll do that to ya”

“Yeah, no kidding.”

Kaiser hummed softly, though there was no real judgment in it. Isagi watched as his eyes moved across the page quickly, scanning the passage.

“Hold on.”

Isagi watched with mild confusion as Kaiser unzipped the bag and began digging through it. Finally Kaiser pulled something thicker from the bottom of the bag and set it on the desk between them.

Isagi blinked.

It was a copy of Macbeth .But not just any copy. The thing looked like it had survived a war. Sticky notes stuck out from nearly every edge of the book, small colorful tabs marking dozens of different pages. Some were layered on top of each other, others folded over the margins like flags. The cover itself was slightly worn, the spine creased from being opened so often.

Isagi stared at it.

“…What is this?”

Kaiser slid the book toward him.

“My copy. I should've given it to you earlier but I knew you would've been too stubborn to accept it unless you tried on your own first.”

Isagi flipped it open.

The inside pages were covered in neat handwriting. Notes ran along the margins, arrows pointing to specific lines, brief explanations scribbled beside certain phrases. Some sections had short summaries written in the corners, while others had quick translations of Shakespeare’s wording into something much easier to understand.

Isagi turned another page, eyes widening slightly.

“…You annotated the entire thing?”

Kaiser shrugged like that was completely normal. Isagi looked back down at the book, slowly flipping through another few pages.

Sounding faintly stunned, he said, “These notes… You basically rewrote the whole thing.”

“They’re reminders for themes. Symbolism and stuff whatever,” Kaiser shrugged. “They helped me when i was struggling so i figured well, It should help you too.”

Isagi stared at him.

This time when he read the passage, the words did not feel quite so foreign.  The explanation written beside the line translated the older language into something that actually made sense. 

Slowly, the fog began to lift.

“Oh,” Isagi murmured quietly after a minute.

Kaiser glanced at him.

“Is it helping?”

“…Yeah.” Isagi looked up shyly, “Thank you”

Kaiser nodded once. “Of course”

“Exactly.”

Isagi read the line again. A small spark of excitement and relief flickered in his chest, it feels good to finally have puzzles fall into place

Across the desk, Kaiser watched the realization unfold with quiet satisfaction. Without realizing it, Isagi lifts the pencil to his mouth and presses it lightly against his lower lip, biting the end of it as he thinks. His eyes move back and forth across the page, trying to piece together the explanation Kaiser had given him only a minute earlier.

The habit is the same as it always was. Kaiser remembers it clearly, many evenings spent like this where Isagi would end up chewing absentmindedly on whatever pen or pencil he happened to be holding while he tried to think through something that didn’t come naturally to him.

The sight pulls something quiet and familiar through Kaiser’s chest. He pulled his eyes away from the sight of eyes lips around his pencil analyzing the rest of his features.

The small crease between his brows when he’s focused. The way his shoulders lean forward slightly, completely absorbed in what he’s doing. The soft movement of his lips around the pencil as he thinks.

Kaiser glances down for a moment,and simply watches him . His expression is tender and with the cozy atmosphere, it feels like no time has passed at all.now. Kaiser reaches out without thinking. His hand brushes lightly against Isagi’s wrist as he gently pulls the pencil away from his mouth.

“You’re going to ruin it,” Kaiser says quietly, scolding with a little smile.

Isagi blinks in surprise, finally looking up. Their faces are closer than he expected

Much closer.

Isagi can feel Kaiser’s fingers still loosely around his wrist, the contact light The warmth of it sends a strange jolt through his chest, so familiar and he hopes, prays, that his face is not as red as thinks it is

If Kaiser does notice, he doesn't make it obvious. His eyes flickered to every part of his face as if trying to internalize it in full detail. So entranced by Isagi, he doesn't even seem to register that his hand that isn't holding onto to idagi is slowly lifting up to touch his face.

Isagi’s breath catches slightly. For a second he forgets about the notebook entirely. Forgets about the assignment and all he can focus on is how close they are. He wants to do something, make a joke or glance back at his notes, anything to break them out of whatever spell has come over them but he cant seem to make himself move.  It's disarming to be looked at as clearly as he is right now. It makes him want to pull away and lean into Kaiser all at the time. The moment stretches just a little longer than it should.

Then a knock sounds against the door, Isagi jumping back like he just got caught red handed and yanks his hands away while Kaiser just leans back slowly.

The door opens before either of them can respond.

“Yoichi, I–” His mom stops mid-sentence when she sees them sitting together at the desk. Her expression brightens immediately.

“Oh good, you’re still studying!”

Isagi feels the embarrassment rise instantly.

“I brought snacks,” she says happily, stepping into the room with a small plate. “Michael always liked these.”

She sets the plate down between them.

Kaiser drags his eyes away from Isagi and looks at his mom, “Thank you” he says.

“You’re welcome, dear.” She looks between the two of them for a moment, her smile warm and nostalgic, “It’s nice seeing you two together again.”

Isagi nearly drops his pencil.

“We’re not—”

But she’s already heading back toward the door.

“Don’t stay up too late,” she calls lightly. “And tell me if you're staying for dinner Michael!”

The door closes.

Silence fills the room again.

Isagi slowly lowers his face into his hands groans, drags a hand down his face again, “This is exactly why I wanted to work somewhere else.”

Refusing to look at him anymore as he turns back toward the worksheet spread open on the desk works hard on the paper to distract hismeld. By the time he reaches the end, Isagi exhales sharply and leans back in his chair, rolling his shoulders like he’s physically shaking off the effort.

“…Done,” he says, a little breathless but satisfied. Across from him, Kaiser looks up from where he had been quietly observing.

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah,” Isagi replies immediately, too confident to hesitate. He taps the stack of papers in front of him like proof. “I got them all right. No mistakes.”

Kaiser hums softly.

Not impressed. Not dismissive. Just… assessing. That alone makes Isagi narrow his eyes slightly.

“What?” he asks. “You don’t believe me?”

Kaiser doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he reaches into his bag and pulls out a pair of thin-framed glasses, pushing them up the bridge of his nose before leaning forward to analyze the papers. The glasses soften Kaisers faces, making him less like a smug know-it-all like he usually does and just well… like someone who was blessed with unfairly good looks who just happens to be smart. From this close, Isagi cant help thinking that Kaiser looks really good. Like he just came back from modeling to tutoring people as a side gig.

The only light in Isagi’s rooms came from the small desk lamp beside the, its warm glow spilling across the surface of the desk and leaving the rest of the room in soft shadows. The light catches along the edges of his glasses and traces the sharp lines of his face. His hair falls loosely around his eyes,, soft strands framing them s he scan the pages.

The school uniform button up uniform hes wearing pulls slightly across his shoulder when he shifts, the fabric tightening around his biceps when he braces one arm against the desk. 

“Okay, Einstein,” he says, flipping to the first page, “let’s see how confident you are.

Isagi scoffs, leaning back in his chair. Heat creeping up his neck as he looked down at the table, pretending he wasn't just checking Kaiser.

“I don’t need you to check it. I told you I got it right.”

“Mm.”

Kaiser’s eyes move steadily over the work, scanning line by line with quiet focus. The sound of pages turning fills the small space between them, along with the faint scratch of pen whenever he marks something down.

Isagi watches him instead of the papers now because again, its another sight he forgot how much he loved to see. All these tutoring sessions brought up old, maybe not so old feelings in him again. Well Except before, Isagi would have been sitting closer, shoulder pressed against his shoulder and playing in his hair or tracing his tattoo's.

Kaiser turns another page. “…Not bad,” he says eventually.

Isagi blinks. “Not bad?”

Kaiser glances up briefly over the edge of his glasses.

“You improved. Your wording is a bit off on some questions. Not as thorough which we can work on another time, but otherwise, everything looks right so far.

Something light flickers in Isagi’s chest at the praise before he can stop it. “Obviously,” he says, trying to sound casual as he leans back. “I told you I got it.”

Kaiser hums again, quieter this time, and then he leans back in his chair, adjusting his glasses slightly as he starts to say, almost absentmindedly, “Slow down, I didn't even finish checking over everything yet. Okay then Yoichi, if you get them all right, you can– ah…”

He stops. Just like that. Mid-sentence. Kaiser’s mouth closes again as if he’s reconsidering whatever was about to come out.

But it’s too late. Isagi has already heard it. Or rather his brain has already filled in the missing words. If you get them all right, you can get a kiss, id what kaiser was about to say. His grip tightens slightly on the edge of the desk.

Tat exact line, isn’t new. An underhanded flirty wager Kaiser used to make, knowing Isagi didn't get all the answers right, knowing Isagi would get pouty, and knowing that he'd kiss him anyways. Isagi’s face goes warm before he can stop it. He looks down quickly at his papers, suddenly very interested in the corner of a page he definitely doesn’t need to reread. 

He just sits there and the unfinished sentence hangs between them like it never left

“Next time,” he mutters instead, flipping to another sheet, head never once rurning in Isagi's dirction “try not to rush your introduction paragraphs. They're the most important part of an essay. Still its very good.”

Now that Kaiser is no longer looking at him, no longer saying anything, Isagi is left alone with his thoughts in a way that feels far too loud.

Fragments of what it had been like when they were still together, when things had been close enough to feel easy but never quite easy enough to feel safe.

On the field, it was obvious. Kaiser was the kind of player who made everything look effortless and Isagi looked up too him in beginning. To this day, he still would consider Kaiser one the best players on th team. Isagi would push himself harder just to keep up and create the same openings, only to realize Kaiser had already moved past them before he even noticed they existed.

Isagi wasn't exactly fine with the athletic gap between them but he figured hed get to his level one day right? And it helped that Kaiser also considered him a worthy rival right back. Isagi liked the challenge he got when competing with Kaiser, it was when he had the most fun. 

But last year, during the final game, a bunch of scouts had came looking for new recruits which Isagi got very excited about. Ego, his parents, his teammates, and most importantly kaiser, had praised his skills and boasted about how many scouts would come looking specifically for him after the game. But when it was over, nobody was interested. He waited on the emptying bleachers, watching scout after scout walk up to Kaiser and hand him pamphlets for their school or program or team.  

Kaiser would occasionally look back to him and Usagi would smile and throw a thumbs up to show how happy he was for his boyfriend, but…

That must've been where it first started. But he was fine with it all. Being the underdog and surprising pople with his drive was nothing new to him. He told himself everyday after that, Your time will come, just hang in there. It wasn’t just out on the field tho, but it was in school too. Kaiser would understand concepts on the first try while Isagi was still trying to untangle the instructions. He’d sit there, bored expression like this was all so elementary tapping his pen like the material wasn’t even worth his attention, while Isagi fought to keep his own frustration from showing.

It made something ugly grow in Isagi’s chest over time, not hatred for Kaiser himself, but quieter and more exhausting

Insecurity.

Noo matter how hard he tried, there was always that gap. Always that small reminder that Kaiser was better at everything Isagi was trying so desperately to become good at.

And worse than that, Kaiser had noticed his stress and aggravation. He always corrected him and wanted to be around him. It was overwhelming, always pointing out mistakes both on and off the field. So Isagi started reacting too. He would start arguments here and there but they usually just ended with them making out and laughing towards the end, the bitter feeling was never able to leave him completely though

 But no matter how often Isagi snapped, Kaiser just took it all. Still there and showing up even when all he needed was space. Looking back now, Isagi thinks that he definitely should have communicated his feelings better instead of convincing himself that Kaiser wanted to make him feel inferior.

Sitting here now, in the calm after it all, that version of things doesn’t fit quite right anymore. Kaiser, annoying as he is, hasn’t acted at all like he remembered once since they started this again.

He corrected him, yes. He teased him, absolutely. But he also explained things differently when Isagi didn’t understand. He slowed down when he noticed him struggling. He brought notes. Actual organized notes, tailored to him, not just expecting Isagi to magically catch up

Isagi glances up slightly. For the first time, Isagi starts to wonder if maybe he had been reading into everything wrong back then.

If maybe Kaiser wasn’t trying to push him away.

…Mayb he had been the one pulling away first. Three lump in his throat is the only thing stopping him from crying at the thought.

Shit. 

Kaiser turns a page.

“Ah. you got this one wrong ,” he says casually, tapping a line on the sheet before sliding it back.

Isagi blinks. “Oh.”  Isagi sits there all processing what he doesn’t fully know what to do with yet. That the version of Kaiser he remembers… and the one sitting in front of him now… aren’t the same in the way he thought they were.

The last sheet of the extra credit assignment lies neatly on the desk, its edges aligned in a way that feels oddly satisfying after the frustration that had come before. Only an hour earlier Isagi had been hunched over the same desk ready to pluck his eyelashes out one by one.

Now the pages are covered with answers, and an entire essay had had come together surprisingly smoothly once Kaiser’s notes had entered the equation. 

“But you got the rest right. Good job,” he says, and Isagi is actually listening this time. Kaiser doesn't sound bored at all, in fact he sounds proud of him. 

“See?” he says, leaning back slightly and folding his arms in a false display of smug satisfaction. “Told you.”

Kaiser raises one eyebrow.

Then he adjusts his glasses slightly and murmurs, almost lazily but there was a hint of laughter underneath, “Don’t start celebrating yet. We still have the midterms to get through..”

Isagi scoffs at that, but the corners of his mouth still curl upward despite himself.

For a moment, the air between them settles into something that almost resembles the rhythm they used to have together. The teasing. The back-and-forth. The quiet comfort of working toward something side by side.

Then reality slips back in.

The session is finished. There is nothing else to work on tonight. Kaiser closes the book and slips his glasses off, folding them neatly before sliding them into the pocket of his bag. The soft sound of the zipper closing signals the end of the evening more clearly than anything else could.

“Well,” he says, standing up and stretching his shoulders slightly, “looks like you survived.”

Isagi exhales quietly, gathering the papers together before slipping them carefully into his folder.

“Barely.”

He stands up from his chair, suddenly aware that the night has reached its natural end.

“I’ll walk you out,” he says.

They leave the room together, stepping out into the hallway where the softer sounds of the house drift toward them from downstairs. The quiet murmur of conversation, the faint clinking of dishes, and the comfortable domestic warmth of the evening wrap around them as they descend the stairs.

They reach the bottom of the stairs and step into the dining area where Isagi’s parents are still seated at the table. His mother looks up first, her face brightening immediately when she sees Kaiser again.

“Oh, Kaiser, you're leaving," she says warmly, pushing her chair back slightly. “Did you two finish already?”

Kaiser nods politely, slipping easily into the kind of polite demeanor that adults seem to adore.

“Yes, ma’am. We just wrapped up.” Isagi wants to roll his eyes at how quickly he switches up sometimes. He can play nice to everyone but him.

“That’s wonderful,” she replies, smiling proudly in Isagi’s direction. “See? I'm happy you invited Kaisere over again. We'll be seeing more of him right?.”

Isagi feels heat creep up his neck at that comment and quickly moves toward the door before the conversation can stretch any longer.

“Um…Yeah, suree,” he mutters, grabbing the knob.

His father offers Kaiser a small approving nod from the table.

“Thank you for helping him.”

Kaiser inclines his head slightly. “It’s never any trouble.”

 Isagi pushes the front door open, and the cool night air rushes in immediately, carrying the scent of grass and distant streetlights.

They step outside together. The porch light hums softly overhead, casting a warm glow across the steps while the quiet street stretches calmly in front of them.

IHe offered to walk him out but now Isagi doesn't know what to say, he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, suddenly unsure how to end the night now that they are standing here without textbooks or assignments to hide behind, especially after the crushing realization he just… realized.

“Thanks,” he gathers eventually, glancing toward Kaiser.

Kaiser tilts his head slightly, “For what?”

Isagi shifts his weight, staring down at the porch boards for a moment before answering.  Standing there under the dim porch light, Isagi hair looks slightly messy from hours of studying, cheeks faint with pink.. He looks softer than Kaiser is used to seeing him these days

“For helping me with the assignment,” he says. “And… everything else tonight.”

Kaiser studies him quietly, an expression that says “Thats all?” etched on his face. The silence stretches just long enough to make Isagi wonder if he should have left the words unsaid.

Then Isagi exhales and adds, more quietly this time, “And… sorry.” That word lingers between them like something fragile.

Kaiser’s expression changes slightly.

“Sorry?” he repeats.

Isagi nods slowly, still struggling to find the right way to explain something that feels far too complicated for a simple sentence.

“Yeah,” he says, his voice softer now. “Just… for everything.”

The words are vague, but they carry far more weight than their simplicity suggests. They contain weeks of awkward distance, months of misunderstandings, and the lingering guilt Isagi has never fully managed to untangle.

“You really think you’re the only one who messed things up?” Kaiser asks quietly.

The question catches Isagi completely off guard.

“Well…I didn’t say that.”

“Nothing is your fault you know..” The calm certainty in Kaiser’s voice makes something tighten inside Isagi’s chest. Hes definitely to blame for how things went down but here Kaiser is, still reassuring him.

Kaiser exhales softly and glances toward the street before looking back at him.

“Youre always too hard on yourself,” he says, taking a step closer “ I see that still hasn’t changed.”

Isagi swallows slightly, unsure how to respond. The quiet between them deepens. Then Kaiser takes another step closer, the movement so slow that Isagi notices it immediately. The space between them shrinks until they are standing far closer than two people casually saying goodbye probably should. Isagi’s heartbeat begins to pick up again, though he tries to ignore it. Kaiser studies his face for a moment, his expression softer now than it had been all evening.

Kaiser stops right in front of him, hes tall enough that when Isagi faces him, the top of his heads just barely makes it past Kaisers chin Isagi has to tilt his head back slightly just to meet his eyes now. His gaze drops briefly to the top of Isagi's head before steeling down back to his eyes, and the his lips. He stand there just for second, giving Isagi plenty of time to understand exactly what is happening.

His back straightens a little and his chin tips up instinctively when Kaiser leans down slowly, still giving Isagi enough time to push back.. Hes close enough now that Isagi can see how long his eyelashes are. 

He doesnt step back, doesn’t exactly step forward either. He simply stands there, frozen in place, watching Kaiser draw closer as the distance between them fades away inch by inch. His eyes start to flutter shut and he can feel Kaiser breathe on him now…

But the front door swings open behind them.

“Yoichi, I forgot to– ”

Isagi jerks back, pushes Kaiser down the step too when his his mother steps outside mid-sentence. The timing is so perfectly unfortunate that Isagi feels his entire brain short-circuit. His mother pauses, clearly noticing how close they had been standing.

Kaiser straightens immediately.

“Oh,” she says brightly, recovering with suspicious speed. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were still talking.”

Isagi clears his throat quickly, trying to sound normal. “Yeah, we were just finishing up.”

Kaiser nods smoothly beside him. “Just saying goodbye.

His mother smiles knowingly, though she thankfully does not comment further.

“Well, don’t stay out too long, its getting late,” she says before stepping back inside.

The door closes again. Leaving the two of them standing on the porch once more. But now the moment that had been building between them lingers awkwardly in the air, interrupted but not entirely erased.The tension between them dissolves immediately and Isagi comes back to his senses.

Isagi rubs the back of his neck, still feeling the ghost of what almost happened, “…See you tomorrow,” he says eventually.

Kaiser watches him for a moment before nodding, “Yeah.”

Isagi opens the door and steps back inside, the warmth of the house wrapping around him again. The moment the door closes behind him, the quiet inside the house seems to stretch outward in every direction, thick and suffocating in a way that feels entirely different from the warm noise that had filled it only minutes before. Isagi remains where he is for a moment, his hand still resting against the door as though some part of him expects it to open again. 

Slowly, almost reluctantly, he lets his hand slide off the door and turns toward the hallway, his thoughts already beginning to replay the scene with painful clarity.

He climbs the stairs in a haze each step feels automatic, his legs moving without him having to think about it while his mind remains hopelessly trapped in the memory of Kaiser standing so close in the dim porch light. When he reaches his bedroom he closes the door behind him and leans against it for a moment, pressing his back to it as though it might ground him somehow, before eventually pushing himself forward and walking the few steps to his desk.

The chair creaks softly as he sinks into it.His elbows rest on the desk, and he drags a hand through his hair before letting his head fall forward slightly, his gaze settling on the scattered papers and textbooks they had been working through earlier. 

They almost kissed.

The thought rises slowly at first, before settling firmly in the center of his mind where it refuses to be ignored. He exhales slowly, leaning back in his chair as his eyes move toward the ceiling. The memory returns again, sharper this time, replaying itself with an unbearable level of detail. 

He wanted it. He had simply stood there, his heart pounding so loudly that he had been certain Kaiser could hear it.

The truth of that settles over him slowly but unmistakably, and once it takes root there is no pushing it aside anymore. He had spent months convincing himself that the breakup had closed that chapter of his life, that whatever had existed between them had burned out in the endless cycle of arguments and misunderstandings that had slowly driven them apart. He had told himself that what he felt now was nothing more than lingering irritation, that the ache in his chest whenever Kaiser’s name came up during practice or class was just the frustration of unfinished business.

But tonight had shattered that illusion so easily that it almost feels ridiculous in hindsight. The truth is far more embarrassing, far more complicated.

His feelings for Kaiser never disappeared.

They had simply been buried beneath layers of pride, resentment, and the stubborn determination to prove that he could move on without looking back. Yet the moment Kaiser leaned closer tonight, the moment their eyes met outside his house, everything Isagi had been trying to suppress came rushing back with overwhelming clarity. The comfortability ofKaiser’s presence had reminded him of something he had been trying very hard not to remember.

He loved being around Kaiser.

Even now, after everything. He still loves him

Isagi shifts in his chair, pressing his fingers against his forehead as he lets out a long, unsteady breath. Admitting that to himself feels strangely vulnerable, as though he has opened a door that he is not entirely prepared to walk through. The problem is not just the feelings themselves, but the uncertainty that comes with them.

Wanting Kaiser is one thing. Knowing whether Kaiser wants him back is something else entirely.

His thoughts circle back to the moment on the porch again, but this time the memory feels more uncertain.  Kaiser had leaned closer, yes, but had he actually intended to kiss him? Or had Isagi simply misread the moment.. Maybe Kaiser just got lost in the mood? Maybe the silence between them had simply stretched long enough to create an illusion of intimacy that had never been real in the first place.

The more he overthinks about it, the more the uncertainty begins to creep in, gnawing at the fragile excitement that had been building inside him earlier.

What if Kaiser regrets it?

The thought dulled some of the warmth that had been creeping up in his heart. Maybe tonight had meant nothing more than a brief lapse in judgment, a moment that Kaiser would wake up tomorrow wishing had never happened.

Isagi sares down at the desk again, his eyes tracing the edge of Kaiser’s notes as if they might offer some kind of answer. Eventually he leans forward and rests his head against his folded arms, letting out a quiet sigh that muffles slightly against the wood.

He does not want to know.

Not yet.

The fragile peace that has begun to grow between them over the past few days feels too precious to risk shattering with questions he may not be ready to hear the answers to. For now it is enough to simply study together again, to sit across from Kaiser and pretend that the tension between them is nothing more than the  awkwardness of two people who used to know each other all too well.

Eventually exhaustion begins to creep in, the emotional weight of the evening settlingfinally over him.

Well, whatever. That s problem for tomorrow, he fi ally thinks before drifting off to sleep

                                                             ────────

The next morning arrives far sooner than Isagi would have liked. Perhaps he should've thought more last night because now he doesn't know how he should react around Kaiser

From the moment he steps onto the school grounds there is tension sitting in his chest, a restless awareness that refuses to settle no matter how many times he tells himself to relax. Normally the familiar, rowdy crowd of his teammates in the hallway and the constant chatter around him pulled his focus in a dozen different directions.

Today, however, there is only one thing occupying his thoughts.

Kaiser. God, it feels like it's his first time having a crush all over again.

Every hallway suddenly feels like a potential collision point. Every turn around a corner makes his shoulders stiffen slightly as though he is bracing himself for the possibility of seeing that familiar blond hair and sharp blue eyes waiting somewhere ahead.

Part of him wants to see Kaiser immediately, if not to just stare at his face, he wants to confirm that last night had not been some strange dream created by his overactive imagination. Another part of him is overly terrified of that exact possibility, because if Kaiser acts like nothing happened, Isagi is not entirely sure how he will react.

By the time he reaches his classroom, the nervous energy has settled into a constant, quiet pressure behind his ribs.

He slides into his seat and pulls his notebook out onto the desk, trying to put his focus ontothe mundane routine of preparing for class while the room gradually fills with the familiar sounds of his classmates arriving. Conversations overlap in every corner of the room, laughter echoing across the desks as people trade stories about homework and upcoming games. For a brief moment Isagi manages to forget about Kaiser entirely.

Then the classroom door opens.

His gaze lifts automatically, almost instinctively, but the person walking through the door is just another student from a different class dropping something off for the teacher. The tension leaves his shoulders slowly, though the strange nervous energy does not disappear completely.

The bell rings a few minutes later, cutting through the noise as the teacher steps to the front of the room and begins organizing a stack of papers on her desk.

“Alright everyone,” she says, clapping her hands lightly to get their attention. “Before we begin today’s lesson, I’d like to remind everyone that we will be having a midterm exam in exactly one weeks.”

A collective groan ripples through the classroom. The teacher continues speaking, seemingly unfazed by the reaction. “This exam will cover everything we’ve worked on since the beginning of the term, so I strongly suggest that anyone who has been struggling with assignments begin reviewing the material now.” Her gaze sweeps across the room briefly, and for a moment Isagi has the uncomfortable feeling that it lingers on him slightly longer than the others.

One week… Theres another football game that will be in happening the week after. Meaning that if he doesn't pass this, he wont get to play. If he fails the midterm, if his grades slip any further, the warning she gave him earlier will no longer be hypothetical. Isagi straightens slightly in his seat, his mind already racing through the implications. 

All the hours of training, the sacrifices his parents made to support him, the endless determination that carried him this far, it could all come to a halt because of a single exam. The fragile hope that had begun to grow after last night feels far more out of reach than it did before.

Lunch arrived faster than Isagi would have liked.

The hallway outside his classroom buzzed with the usual midday chaos Normally, Isagi liked this time of day. Lunch meant a break from thinking, a chance to talk with friends, laugh about something stupid, forget about assignments and soccer drills and expectations. But today his chest felt tight the entire walk to the cafeteria and he still hasnt seen Kaiser. The more he thought about of running into him, the more his stomach twisted with nervous energy.

The cafeteria smelled faintly of fries and warm bread, the sound of chatter filling the space around him. His mind kept wandering. Isagi pushed a piece of rice around his container with his chopsticks, appetite fading

Then suddenly a familiar, bright voice snapped him out of his thoughts. A second later, and heres Bachira loterally jumping into the seat across from him, slamming his tray down with far too much enthusiasm.

“Isagiii!”

And right behind him followed Hiori Yo, who slid calmly into the chair beside Bachira, a small drink carton in his hand.

Isagi blinked, startled, “Bachira? Hiori?”

“So! We were thinking!” he announced, Bachira leaned forward across the table, eyes already grinning like he had discovered something brilliant.

“Midterms are coming up, right? And everyone’s gonna be super stressed and miserable and probably cry over math problems..”

Hiori sipped his drink quietly. “Mostly Bachira,” he added dryly. 

“Hey!” But Bachira didn’t slow down.

“So we decided we should do a study group!” he continued brightly, pointing dramatically between the three of them. “Us! The ultimate brain squad!”

Isagi opened his mouth, “Well, actually–”

“We can meet at that one place after school? The one with the arcade in the back?” Bachira kept going, already planning everything aloud. “Oh, or my house yea! My mom is never home anyways.”

“Bachira,” Isagi tried again but Bachira was already turning to Hiori.

“Great! It’s settled then!” Bachira clapped his hands together triumphantly.

Isagi blinked.

“Bachira you know i cant..” But his words must've come out too quiet or maybe Bachira was just that loud because he tilted his head and replied with “Huh?”

Before Isagi could respond a shadow fell over the him and a deep voice spoke from behind 

“Sorry. He’s actually with me.” The words dropped into the conversation so smoothly, he almost thought hiori was the one who responded, but that voice that spoke was way deeper. And the second they settled in his ears, Isagi froze instantly and his heart thumped violently in his chest.

Every muscle in his body tensed before he even turned around. Standing beside the table with effortless composure was none other than Kaiser. His posture was relaxed, one hand resting casually in his pocket, but his sharp blue eyes were focused directly on Bachira and Hiori.

Hiori raised an eyebrow and aksed “With you?” at the same time bachira asked, “Still?” Hiori turned to Bachira confused and waited for clarification but Kaiser had already started speaking again. Bachira looked between them slowly. Hiori’s eyes sharpened slightly with quiet interest. 

“We just have tutoring,” he said quickly answering Hiori’s question and ignoring Bachira dissecting staree, waving his hands a little too fast. “The teacher is already making us work together."

Bachira leaned back in his chair, grinning mischievously, “Well,” he said slowly, dragging the word out. “If it’s tutoring, then we could all–”

“No.”

Kaiser’s response came instantly, firm and uncompromising. Narrowed eyes became soft when Kaisers gaze shifted slightly to Isagi. “He needs one on one help,” Kaiser said evenly. “Too many people will distract him.”

Isagi’s heart jumped again. 

Bachira squinted suspiciously, “ Hmm okay …You dont have to glare at us though.”

Hiori hummed thoughtfully. But Isagi could barely think his thoughts were spinning too fast. Is he just doing his tutoring job? Or… Does he really not want me studying with them?

The uncertainty made his chest ache. Because if Kaiser was only doing this out of obligation… Then Isagi had been pointlessly overthinking everything. But on the off chance that he wasn't, if  there was even a small chance Kaiser had interrupted because he didn’t like the idea of Isagi spending time with someone else… Isagi wasn’t sure his heart could handle the possibility of that being real right now. And somehow that made him want to know even more.

Kaiser didn’t wait for Bachira or Hiori to respond. He simply tipped his head slightly toward the cafeteria doors in a silent gesture for Isagi to follow. Just a small motion subtle and confident, like he already knew Isagi would get up and come with him. And, annoyingly enough, Isagi did. He rose from his chair not even a second later, slinging his bag over one shoulder as he turned back toward Bachira and Hiori with an apologetic expression that he hoped looked more convincing than it felt.

“Sorry,” he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Teacher’s orders.” Bachira leaned forward over the table dramatically, resting his chin in his hands.

“Ooooh,” he sang under his breath, eyes gleaming with mischief. “‘Teacher’s orders’ okayyy.”

Hiori didn’t say anything, but the small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth suggested he was just as entertained. 

Isagi hurried after Kaiser, weaving through the crowded cafeteria while trying very hard to ignore the uncomfortable tightness sitting in his chest. Walking beside Kaiser again felt… strange. Yesterday’s almost-kiss hovered quietly between them like an invisible thread. Kaiser looked completely unfazed though. His posture was relaxed, hands tucked casually in his pockets as he walked through the hallway. 

The normalcy of it made left a bitter curl on his tongue. Maybe it really didn’t mean anything to him, he thought uncomfortably as they walked. The possibility left him feeling stupid stupid. 

Isagi trailed half a step behind Kaiser the entire time, staring down at the floor tiles as students passed by on either sides of them.

So he walked quietly behind Kaiser, sulking just enough that his shoulders drooped slightly without him realizing it. He didn’t even notice where they were going. Not until the hallway noise disappeared entirely. The heavy wooden doors of the library opened with a soft creak as Kaiser pushed them aside, stepping in without hesitation.

 A few students sat scattered at tables throughout the room, hunched over notebooks or secretly eating lunch in here to escape the overcrowded cafeteria. He was still lost in his own thoughts still trying to convince himself not to care so much. He walked past the first set of tables. Then another. Then the quiet study corner near the windows. Then deeper into the shelves. It wasn’t until they reached the very back of the library that Isagi’s brain finally caught up.

His step faltered slightly. Because Kaiser hadn’t stopped at any of the study tables. He hadn’t even looked at them. Instead he continued all the way to the narrow space tucked between two tall shelves near the back wall.

Their study spot. Isagi didn't even think that coming back here was an option. 

Kaiser sat down first. Without ceremony, he lowered himself to the floor and leaned his back against the wall between the shelves, stretching one leg out casually while the other bent slightly. He looked completely at home there, like he had every intention of continuing exactly where they had left off months ago. Then he glanced up at Isagi, who was still standing awkwardly in the aisle.

“Well,” Kaiser said lazily, adjusting his glasses as he tilted his head slightly. “Don’t just stand there.”

 Isagi stared at him for a second. Despite himself, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He sank down onto the floor across from Kaiser, setting his bag beside him as he leaned back against the opposite shelf.

The quiet between the shelves felt familiar. Isagi glanced down at his bag as he pulled out his notebook, trying to keep his expression neutral. It felt like stepping backward in time. Like the months of distance between them had never happened. And Isagi knew he shouldn’t let himself enjoy that feeling too much. Because this arrangement had an expiration date.

The tutoring would only last until midterms. Once his grades came back if the teacher decided he didn’t need help anymore. He understood it clearly. But as he opened his notebook and glanced up at Kaiser who was already flipping through the pages of his textbook with calm focus Isagi felt happy again.

And this time, he didn’t try quite as hard to push it away. Because if this really was temporary… If everything would return to normal once midterms were over he should allow himself to enjoy it while it lasted. 

The quiet of the library wrapped around their little corner like a protective barrier. They began with physics and it was, without question, Isagi’s worst subject.

His brow furrowed slightly as he read through the instructions, occasionally glancing at the diagrams printed on the page before writing something down and pausing again to think. Across from him, Kaiser leaned comfortably against the opposite shelf. His posture was relaxed, one arm rested loosely over his raised knee while the other held his pen, jotting things down in the margins of Isagi’s notes when he noticed a mistake or an easier method.

The rhythm of it settled naturally between them

From Kaiser’s side of the aisle, however, something else was impossible to miss. Isagi did not look as calm as he felt. Completely stiff. It was obvious in the way his shoulders sat slightly too high, and in the way he held his pencil, gripping it just a little tighter than necessary as he wrote. Even the way he sat against the shelf looked strangely rigid, his posture uncomfortably straight.  

Kaiser noticed it almost immediately when he sat down. Isagi was nervous, hyper-aware of him. 

Kaiser watched quietly as Isagi worked through the next question, pretending to read over the notes in his own book while his gaze occasionally flickered upward. It was honestly a little ridiculous.  And yet at the same time something about the scene in front of him felt very nostalgic. This reminded him of when they first started dating.

Kaiser shifted slightly against the shelf, letting his head rest back against the cool wood as he continued to observe him. Kaiser’s lips curved faintly. For the first time in a long while, the silence between them didn’t feel heavy.

It felt, was, peaceful. The quiet between the shelves lingered for a while longer as Isagi continued working through the physics problems, his pencil moving slowly but steadily across the page. Every now and then he paused to reread something or erase a small section, his brows knitting together in concentration before he tried again. The steady rhythm of writing, stopping, thinking, and writing again filled the narrow space between them.

 Kaiser lowered his gaze back to the notebook in his lap, the faintest trace of a smile lingering on his lips as the calm continued to settle around them.

Then a mischievous idea crept into his mind.

He had always loved teasing Isagi, his reactions to everything made it hard not too. And right now, with Isagi already this wound up, the temptation was almost irresistible.

Kaiser stretched his arms lazily above his head as if shaking off the stiffness from sitting too long, letting out a soft, exaggerated yawn that echoed quietly through the narrow aisle.

Isagi didn’t look up, still staring down at the problem in front of him, his pencil hovering just above the paper while he reread the question for the third time.

Kaiser shifted closer in slow intervals until he was seated right next to him. By some miracle, Isagi still hadn't notice. his shoulder brushed lightly against Isagi’s arm as he leaned forward again. Then, with another loud yawn that sounded far too dramatic to be real, Kaiser tilted sideways and rested his head directly on Isagi’s shoulder.

The reaction was immediate. Isagi’s entire body went rigid. His breath caught so sharply that Kaiser felt the sudden hitch through the contact between them. The pencil slipped slightly in his fingers, leaving a crooked mark across the paper as his brain seemed to short-circuit all at once. Within seconds the red had spread from the tips of his ears all the way across his cheeks, blooming so brightly that Kaiser could practically feel it through the side of his head where it rested against Isagi’s shoulder.

“H-hey!” The word came out far less steady than he probably intended. Kaiser had to fight the laugh that threatened to escape right then and there. Instead he closed his eyes as if completely unbothered by the situation he had just created, letting his weight settle comfortably against Isagi while he spoke in a calm, almost lazy voice.

“Ah im just soo tired.” Kaiser faked yawned.

Isagi, unfortunately, knew him very well. “That doesn’t mean you can just–!” Kaiser shifted slightly, settling in even more comfortably against his shoulder as if he hadn’t heard a word of protest.

“I’ll just rest here for a moment.”

Isagi’s brain nearly melted. His face had already been red, but now the color deepened even further, the heat spreading down the back of his neck as his entire body struggled to process what was happening. Isagi could feel the slow rhythm of his breathing, the faint brush of his hair against his neck, the quiet shift of his weight every time he settled more comfortably against him.

“You–” he started again, his voice slightly strangled, “Get off bend I hit you, seriously. You can’t just fall asleep on people!”

No response and Kaiser remained exactly where he was, completely relaxed. 

His heart did an embarrassing little flip when he realized Kaiser had actually closed his eyes, looking completely comfortable where he rested against him.

There was no way he was actually asleep.

Absolutely no way,“…Kaiser.”

Nothing.

 “Kaiser!”

Still nothing. If anything, Kaiser only shifted slightly closer. Isagi’s brain was in full panic mode now. His heart was beating far too fast, his face still burning, and the worst part of all was the way his body refused to move. Some stubborn instinct kept him frozen in place, like he couldn’t decide whether pushing Kaiser away would make things more awkward or less.

 “You’re doing this on purpose.”Isagi could feel the small vibrations as Kaiser's body shook with quiet laughter.

So instead he tried fighting back the only way he could. “You’re heavy,” Isagi muttered, attempting to sound annoyed despite the way his voice betrayed him.

Very slowly, Isagi’s shoulders sagged in defeat. He never knew how to win against Kaiser

“Then… Just for a minute,” he muttered under his breath.

Kaiser, who was very much awake, had to fight incredibly hard not to smile. He remained perfectly still against Isagi’s shoulder for several quiet moments, his breathing slow and even in a way that would have convinced almost anyone that he had actually fallen asleep. From the outside it looked convincing enough; his posture had gone loose and relaxed, the faint weight of his head settled comfortably against Isagi like someone who had simply given in to exhaustion after a long day. 

But Kaiser was not asleep. Not even close. His attention was fixed on the subtle shifts in Isagi’s breathing, the faint scratch of pencil against paper as he continued working through the assignment. He listened to the steady rhythm of it, the quiet pauses between movements as Isagi read something over again before writing more.

Slowly, carefully, Kaiser lifted his head just enough to glance downward. Isagi had gone completely still beside him, his pencil hovering above the notebook like he had forgotten what to do with it. His brows were drawn together in that familiar look of concentration that always appeared when something stopped making sense in his head, his eyes locked on the page as though staring harder might somehow force the answer to appear.

Kaiser watched him for a moment, quiet amusement flickering behind his gaze. Even after all this time, Isagi still made the exact same face whenever he got stuck. The stubborn crease between his eyebrows.

The way his mouth pressed into a small frustrated line. The slight tilt of his head like he was trying to physically angle the solution into existence. It was strangely endearing. Kaiser shifted slightly, lifting his head just a little higher so he could actually see the notebook resting on Isagi’s lap. From this angle the writing was easy enough to read, though the moment his eyes landed on the page he immediately spotted the problem.

Kaiser let out the quietest sigh before finally moving. His hand reached out, fingers brushing lightly against the edge of the notebook as he pulled it closer to look at it properly. The sudden movement made Isagi jolt beside him, clearly startled by the fact that Kaiser was no longer “asleep”.

“Wha–” Before Isagi could finish whatever he had been about to say, Kaiser tilted the notebook slightly and tapped the page with his finger.

Kaiser shifted closer without even seeming to notice he was doing it, angling the notebook between them so both of them could see it. In the process their shoulders pressed together more firmly, the small gap that had existed between them disappearing entirely.

Isagi froze. Kaiser leaned in more, the entire side of his body touching Isagis’s, as he began explaining, his voice low and calm as he pointed to a few lines on the page and guided Isagi’s attention through the problem in a way that was much easier to follow. He didn’t rush through it or overwhelm him with too much information, instead breaking the explanation down slowly until the confusion on Isagi’s face began to ease.

While Kaiser talked, his fingers moved across the notebook to indicate different sections.

And when Isagi reached out to turn the page their fingertips brushed. Barely more than a light overlap.

Kaiser paused for half a second before continuing like nothing had happened, though his hand didn’t pull away right away. Instead his fingers lingered there, resting lightly against the notebook as though the moment hadn’t registered at all. Kaiser leaned closer to point something out on the page his voice came from so near that Isagi could feel the faint warmth of his breath.

But focusing on the lesson had suddenly become incredibly difficult.

“See?” Kaiser murmured after a moment, his tone almost thoughtful. 

Isagi swallowed. He wasn’t paying attention at all. All Isagi could focus on was the warmth of Kaiser sitting beside him, the familiar closeness that had once been second nature but now felt dangerously easy to fall back into.

Isagi did not realize how long they had been working until the faint rumble in his stomach reminded him.

He blinked down at the notebook in front of him, the pencil still resting loosely between his fingers as the realization slowly settled in that lunch period was still technically ongoing. His shoulders shifted slightly, stiff from sitting in the same position for so long, and when he glanced toward his bag resting against the shelf he hesitated for a moment before reaching for it.

The movement caught Kaiser’s attention immediately.

He moved back to let Isagi reach into his bag and continued leaning against the wall. When Isagi unzipped his bag and pulled out a small lunch box, Kaiser raised an eyebrow. 

He pulled a lunch box and the container slowly, inside were neatly packed portions of food that were obviously homemade,precisely arranged in ways that only someone’s parent would bother with. Rice shaped neatly beside small pieces of grilled chicken, vegetables cut into even portions, and a few slices of fruit tucked into one corner.

For a few seconds Isagi just stared down at it. Then, almost reluctantly, he nudged the lunch box slightly in Kaiser’s direction. He did it without looking at him, turning faintly red.

A quiet smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.

“Well,” Kaiser said lightly, shifting closer so he could look into the container properly, “don’t mind if I do.” Kaiser reached over without hesitation, picking up a piece of chicken with the small pair of chopsticks resting in the box and bringing it to his mouth. The moment he tasted it, something in his expression softened in a way that Isagi had not seen in a long time.

He chewed slowly, almost thoughtfully. Then he leaned his head back lightly against the wall behind him, letting out a quiet breath of contentment.

“I missed this,” he said. 

Isagi glanced  up at him, confused

Kaiser gestured vaguely toward the lunch box. “Your mom’s cooking,” he clarified, reaching for another bite without any hesitation. “I almost forgot how amazing it is.”

Isagi huffed quietly under his breath, though the reaction lacked any real bite, “You used to eat half of it before I even got a chance,” he muttered.

Kaiser chuckled softly. “Yea, these muscles have to come from somewhere.”

“Well maybe I wanted some muscles too. You deprived me of my nutrients!.” Kaiser only hummed in response, clearly not bothered by the accusation as he continued helping himself to the food. If anything, he looked oddly comfortable sitting there with the lunch box resting between them, like this small moment had slipped easily back into place without either of them needing to acknowledge how familiar it felt.

For a while they ate quietly. Isagi took small bites while Kaiser, unsurprisingly, worked through the food with the same enthusiasm he had always shown whenever Isagi brought lunch from home. Every so often Kaiser would pause to glance at the container like he was appreciating it properly before going back for another bite.

“You know,” Kaiser said after a moment, his tone thoughtful as he picked up a slice of fruit, “I used to look forward to this.”

Isagi blinked. “To lunch? Im sure you did” 

Kaiser shook his head slightly, “... No idiot. To you showing up with this little box.” 

Isagi’s hand paused halfway to his mouth. Kaiser continued speaking before he could respond.

“At first it was just because the food was good,” he admitted easily, though there was a softness in his voice now that had not been there earlier. “But after a while… i don't know. It became something else i guess.”

Isagi stared down at the lunch box again. Kaiser leaned his head back against the wall, his gaze drifting somewhere toward the shelves above them as though he was watching a distant memory far away instead of being present in the narrow space they were sitting in.

“It was the only time during the day when you weren’t rushing around or worrying about something,” he said quietly. “You’d sit down, start talking about practice or some new play you wanted to try, or like that one time you rambled on about that Venom movie and suddenly an hour would pass before either of us noticed.” His lips curved faintly. “You talk a lot when you’re excited.”

Isagi’s face warmed slightly. “I do not.”

“Oh, you absolutely do.” The quiet tease lingered for a moment before Kaiser’s expression softened again.

“But I liked it,” he said. This time the words came slower, “I liked hearing you talk like that.”

Isagi did not know what to say. Something about Kaiser’s tone had shifted again, the usual teasing edge gone completely as his gaze lowered slightly toward the floor between them.

“You always looked happiest when you were talking about football,” Kaiser continued after a moment, “Even when everything else was stressing you out.”

Isagi felt his chest tighten slightly. Kaiser reached for the chopsticks again but did not take anything this time, simply turning them slowly between his fingers as he spoke.

“I think that’s why I started helping you with studying in the first place.”

Isagi looked up. Kaiser finally glanced toward him. His expression was calm, though there was something deeper beneath it that made Isagi’s heart beat a little faster.

“You were always trying so hard to keep everything together,” Kaiser said quietly. “Practice, games, school… all of it. And every time something started slipping, you looked like you were carrying the entire world on your shoulders.” 

He let out a small breath. “I didn’t like seeing you like that.”

Isagi’s fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the lunch box. Kaiser looked away again after saying it, his gaze settling somewhere along the dusty spines of the old books lining the shelves.

“I figured if I could at least make one part of it easier for you,” he added softly, “then maybe you’d stop looking so exhausted all the time.”

Isagi felt a painful tug in his chest, the lunch box sat forgotten between them now, the quiet space of the library pressing gently around the words Kaiser had just spoken.

“You always looked happiest when you were talking about football,” Kaiser repeated.

Isagi focuses on the rice in front of him, though he realizes after a moment that he has not taken a bite in several seconds. 

“But you know,” he says slowly, “it didn't always stay like that.”

Isagi looks up slightly. Kaiser’s expression is thoughtful, but not distant. If anything, he looks like someone carefully sorting through old memories while debating on which ones are safe to speak aloud.

“You used to talk constantly yea. Half the time you would forget I was even holding a book because you were too busy explaining something…” he continues. Isagi feels warmth rise faintly in his face.

“But then,” he adds quietly, “things started changing.” The words are not accusatory ,they sound almost puzzled.

“It was small at first,” Kaiser says. “You were still talking, just… less. I guess you started getting stressed about the scouts that day,” he explains. “But no matter how hard i tried to cheer you up, nothing worked. When buying you food everyday hadn't worked, I knew something was seriously wrong. 

“You’d sit next to me while we studied, but instead of rambling about something you were excited about, you would just stare at the page. When I asked if something was wrong, you always said you were fine.” He pauses briefly. “But you so obviously weren’t.”

He exhales softly through his nose. “At first I thought you were just… exhausted from training or something i dont know. But then, you started looking at me differently.”

Isagi stills his heart sinks to his stomach and throat felt tight like he was on the verge of crying. 

Kaiser…

“There was this moment,” Kaiser continued carefully, “when you looked up at me after getting something wrong, I think it was math and when I offered to help, you would just stare at me. Like I had done something wrong.” The words are not harsh. 

They were simply honest. Kaiser was opening up and finally expressing his side of things and Isagi could do nothing but listen. 

“So, you know, I figured maybe you were overwhelmed,” he says. “And if that was the case, then the best thing I could do was take some of that pressure off you. I checked your work more carefully and I stayed longer after practice to go through assignments. Sometimes,” He let out a humorless laugh, “I would even finish reading ahead just so I could explain things faster. I thought if I made it easier, you’d relax. But somehow that only made you more irritated.”

The admission lingers gently between them.

“ You started snapping at me when I corrected something. Or you’d say you already understood when I tried to explain. After a while I realized that every time I tried to help, it just made you look more irked.”

“So… I figured maybe the problem wasn’t the work,” Kaiser says quietly. “Maybe the problem… was me.”

The words echoed loudly in his mind. The sadness of Kaiser's voice is unmistakable. Kaiser’s words lingered in the quiet space between them long after he finished speaking. Isagi stared down at the page in front of him, but he wasn’t reading anymore.

You started looking at me differently.  

These words in particular caught his attention. He hadn’t realized Kaiser had noticed. 

 …But, well of course he did. It was Kaiser after all, he noticed everything.

That had always been part of what made him so… hard to be around. Kaiser was annoyingly observant and could pick apart mistakes faster than anyone else. Great skill for a captain, but used to make Isagi feel like he was constantly under a microscope.

Kaiser had been paying closer attention than he thought.

Back then, things had started changing slowly. He felt like he was lacking in every single department, and he wanted so badly to catch up with Kaiser, who seemingly was first place in everything. He trained and practiced everything and then before he realized it, his school assignments started piling up too.. Every day felt like a race against time, and no matter how hard he pushed he always felt like he was falling behind somewhere. He was overwhelmed and stressed out  but he shouldn't have taken it out on Kaiser and looked at him as though he was the villain

If they had just communicated properly… If he’d said something instead of letting everything build up inside him…

Tears threatened to come up and his apology rose instinctively. “Kaiser, I–”

Kaiser moved before the sentence could even finish. His hand dipped casually into the lunchbox sitting between them, grabbing one of the rice balls and then he shoved the entire thing straight into Isagi’s mouth.

“Mm–?!” The semi cold food filled his mouth before his brain could even process what had just happened. The sudden taste completely cut off whatever he’d been about to say. His moms cooking really was th best 

Kaiser leaned back slightly as if nothing unusual had occurred, brushing crumbs from his fingers with casual indifference.

“Stop.” Kaiser said while wiping some rice off Isagi's lip.

Isagi blinked at him, cheeks slightly puffed from the bite he hadn’t expected, “But–?!” He hurriedly chewed the food, still staring at Kaiser in complete disbelief 

“I told you, you don't need to say sorry. I understand” he said as he popped a smaller piece into his own mouth. “Putting all the blame on yourself at this point isn't going to change or fix anything”

“What’s wrong with me apologizing?” Isagi exclaimed, "Everything was my fault after all. ”

Kaiser slowly turned his head toward him,“Yoichi.” The way he said his name, flat, and slightly amused, made Isagi’s protest falter immediately. “Honestly i may have overheard you and Bachira talking one day. And then I realized we, well you, just needed a break. It probably would've been better to talk things out but whats done is done. 

“…You were trying to make things easier for me,” Isagi murmured. Kaiser shrugged again.

“Something like that. If it weren't for that break, I don't even know if wed be able to sit here right now and actually talk without getting mad at each other. I wasn't exactly good at talking about my feelings either"

‘Your talking about them perfectly fine right now though” 

“I think im only able to do that now because we arent together. When we were, your opinion mattered the most to me. Maybe you didn't notice but whew, I hung onto every word like crazy. You could tell me to jump and id spend the whole day figuring out how to make it to the moon just to keep your attention"

Isagi blushed, “So are you saying you don't care about my opinion now that we aren't?" he teased.

“Thats exactly what im saying,” Kaiser said back with that smirk Isagi missed so much..

They went back to work after and the quiet that followed their was not the heavy kind that came from unresolved arguments or things left unsaid, but something steadier that settled naturally into the narrow space. Kaiser remained beside him, one shoulder resting against the shelf, long legs stretched out across the floor.

Isagi found that concentrating came easier now than it had earlier in the day. Perhaps it was because the tension that had been building in his chest sinxe last had softened, or maybe it was simply the strange comfort of sitting beside Kaiser again like this. 

Occasionally Kaiser leaned forward to glance at Isagi’s page, the motion so casual that it barely registered as deliberate, though the brief brush of their sleeves sent a quiet ripple of awareness through Isagi every time. 

He did not look up when Kaiser shifted closer to reach for the notebook, nor when their fingertips overlapped briefly as Kaiser adjusted the page to a better angle. The contact lasted only a second before Kaiser drew his hand back again, but the warmth lingered stubbornly in Isagi’s awareness as he returned to his work.

Time slipped by almost unnoticed after that. The afternoon light filtered through the tall library windows, casting long golden rectangles across the carpet and the rows of books that towered around them like quiet witnesses to their study session. 

By the time the bell rang signaling the end of the lunch period, Isagi realized with quiet surprise that he had finished far more work than he had expected. The pages of his notebook were filled with neatly written answers, corrections scribbled in the margins, and small notes Kaiser had added along the side in his sharp, slanted handwriting. 

They packed up slowly, slipping books back into their bags and brushing the crumbs from lunch off the floor before standing. Their shoulders brushed again as they stepped out from between the shelves, both of them moving in the same direction toward the exit, and for a brief moment 

They simply walked back into the hallway together, returning to the ordinary noise of school life as if nothing unusual had happened at all.

Over the next several days the library became a quiet routine neither of them needed to discuss out loud. When lunch arrived, Isagi found himself rushing toward the back of the building almost automatically, his steps carrying him through the familiar rows of shelves until he reached the narrow corner where they had first sat together earlier that week. 

Usually Kaiser was the one to summon him, appearing beside his desk or outside the classroom door with a brief nod of his head that meant “follow me”, now Isagi simply went to the library on his own, slipping into their corner with his backpack and his notes, quietly waiting until Kaiser appeared a few minutes later with that same easy confidence in his stride. Kaiser never questioned it, though sometimes the faintest hint of a smirk crossed his face when he noticed Isagi already sitting there, books open and pencil poised as if he had been preparing for the session long before Kaiser arrived.

Around school they acknowledged each other more now as well. A brief nod in the hallway or a small glance exchanged across the classroom when the teacher wrote something complicated on the board. Once or twice Kaiser even stopped beside Isagi’s desk to point out a correction in his notes before continuing on his way, the interaction so casual that it barely drew attention from the other students.

Each of those moments carried the quiet reassurance that whatever had broken between them before was no longer as sharp as it had been.

By the time the end of the week approached, the looming presence of midterms hung over the entire campus like a thick cloud of anticipation. Students filled the library and hallways with last-minute review sessions, whispering anxiously about formulas and essays and chapters they still did not understand.

For Isagi, however, the pressure felt strangely balanced by something steadier. He still studied hard, harder than he had all semester honestly, but the dread that once accompanied every assignment had softened into determination instead. This time he was not facing it alone.

The evening before the exams, He found the football field completely empt.Most of the students had already gone home for the day, leaving the school grounds unusually still. The sky above glowed with the warm orange hues of early evening, and the tall stadium lights cast long shadows across the grass as the last traces of daylight slipped slowly toward the horizon.

Isagi stood near the center of the field with the ball at his feet, breathing lightly as he tapped it forward with the inside of his shoe before sending it rolling ahead again. There was no one else around to pass to, no teammates calling for the ball or shouting instructions across the field, but that did not matter. The quiet solitude felt freeing after a long week of studying and anticipation, and the familiar rhythm of movement allowed his thoughts to settle in a way nothing else could.

He dribbled across the grass, weaving between imaginary defenders as he carried the ball toward the goal. The cool evening air brushed against his face, carrying the faint scent of freshly cut grass, and the simple act of running loosened the tight knot that had been sitting in his chest all day.

For a few moments he forgot about exams entirely. There was only him and the ball, and the joy that had always drawn him to the sport in the first place.

He kicked the ball forward and chased after it, laughter escaping his breath as he sent it spinning toward the goal before jogging after it to retrieve it again. The net rustled softly as the ball struck the corner, bouncing back across the grass while the last light of sunset glimmered faintly against the metal goalposts. He ran after it and when he turned around to get back into position, he saw Kaiser approaching slowly, hands tucked loosely into the pockets of his jacket as he watched Isagi run through the drills alone. The faint glow of the setting sun caught the edges of his blond hair, casting a pale halo of light around his silhouette as he crossed the grass.

Kaiser suddenly ran fast, straight toward Isagi and kixked the ball out of his hold., the curve of his mouth suggesting faint amusement as he took in the sight of Isagi darting across the field with that same bright energy he had always carried whenever he played.

And just like that, the empty field became a game.

The ball rolled between them almost playfully after Kaiser nudged it away, the small motion less of a challenge and more of an invitation, and Isagi reacted on instinct rather than thought, darting forward to reclaim it before Kaiser could steal it properly. The grass bent beneath their steps as they moved across the field, the ball sliding back and forth in quick bursts of possession, neither of them fully committing to winning so much as enjoying the moment itself. 

Kaiser’s movements were smooth and controlled as always, but there was a looseness to the way he played now, the kind that came from not needing to prove anything. Isagi matched him with the same eager energy, chasing after the ball whenever Kaiser flicked it away, cutting in front of him when the opportunity appeared, both of them laughing breathlessly when one of them managed to steal it back at the last second.

For the first time in what felt like months, Isagi did not feel the weight of comparison pressing against his chest while playing beside Kaiser. There was no measuring of skill, no quiet voice in the back of his mind reminding him that Kaiser was faster, sharper, naturally better at almost everything. Instead there was only the shared excitement of the game itself, the familiar rush that came from quick passes and sudden turns, the way Kaiser’s grin flashed bright and unrestrained when Isagi managed to slip past him with the ball. 

At one point Isagi sent the ball sailing toward the goal with a dramatic kick that barely missed the post, and Kaiser laughed openly, the sound echoing across the empty field as he jogged over to retrieve it. There was no mockery in the laugh, only amusement and something warmer beneath it, something that made Isagi’s chest feel strangely full as he watched Kaiser approach with the ball tucked beneath his arm.

Isagi realized then, somewhere between catching his breath and pushing damp strands of hair away from his forehead, that he had missed this more than he had allowed himself to admit.

They stayed on the field until the sky deepened into shades of purple and the evening air grew cool enough to send a faint chill through their sweat-damp shirts. By the time they finally headed back toward the school gates, both of them were breathing hard, their steps slower now as exhaustion settled comfortably into their limbs. When they got part were the had to head in different directions, they did not say more than a bye to each other. And when Usagi crossed to street at the corner, Kaiser watched him go. The smile lingered on Kaiser’s face long after he had disappeared down the opposite street.

He wished he could stay in that moment but the next morning 

Isagi stood outside the school building with his bag lung over one shoulder and his mind was working a mile a minute .

Did he study enough?

What if the questions were harder than the practice tests?

What if he forgot something important the moment he saw the paper?

The worries looped endlessly through his mind, each one piling on top of the last until his stomach twisted with nerves. He tightened his grip on the strap of his bag and forced himself to breathe slowly, but the anxious energy still buzzed beneath his skin as he finally pushed open the door and stepped inside.

The hallway felt strangely narrow this morning, filled with the restless movement of students heading toward their classrooms. Isagi walked through it almost automatically, his feet carrying him along the familiar route while his mind continued spinning through every possible outcome of the exam ahead. 

By the time he reached his classroom, the door stood partially open, the muffled sound of chairs scraping across the floor drifting out into the hallway.

He stopped just short of the entrance.

For a moment he simply stood there, staring at the doorway as if it were some invisible barrier he had to gather the courage to cross. His fingers tightened around the strap of his bag again, heart thudding uncomfortably in his chest while the last scraps of doubt tried to convince him to turn around and walk away.

Then someone stepped up beside him.

Kaiser did not say anything at first. His presence alone was enough to break through the swirl of Isagi’s thoughts, the faint scent of his rose cologne and the quiet confidence in the way he stood grounding Isagi in the present moment again.

Before Isagi could even glance fully in his direction, Kaiser reached out and caught his hand.

The motion was quick, almost casual, but the contact itself carried a surprising warmth that stilled Isagi’s racing thoughts instantly. Kaiser’s fingers slid lightly against his palm, firm enough to anchor him but gentle enough that the gesture felt more reassuring than anyone.Their hands fit together naturally, the warmth of Kaiser’s touch spreading through Isagi’s tense fingers as if easing the nervous energy that had been building inside him all morning.

Isagi’s breath caught. He looked down at their hands together, Kaiser's much larger hand nearly enveloping his almost entirely. They stood in front of the door together just like that, hand in hand, not caring about anyone else.

Kaiser’s thumb brushed faintly against the back of his hand. The touch was simple and the closeness grounded him in a way words never quite could. Then Kaiser gave his hand a small, encouraging squeeze before letting go. The absence of that warmth left though the comfort of it remained.

“You ready?”

Kaiser’s voice was calm, almost amused, as if he had already decided that Isagi was going to do just fine whether he believed it himself or not.

Isagi looked at him, the tension in his chest loosening slightly as he remembered every late afternoon in the library, every quiet correction Kaiser had made in his notes, every patient explanation that had slowly turned confusion into understanding.

And somehow, standing there beside him now, the doorway to the classroom did not seem nearly as intimidating as it had a moment ago.

Kaiser was already stepping toward the classroom door. He did not look back immediately, but there was a certain patience in the way he slowed just slightly, as if expecting Isagi to follow.

Isagi inhaled slowly, the breath filling his lungs with more steadiness than he had felt all morning, and then he pushed himself forward. His shoulder brushed lightly against Kaiser’s as they crossed the doorway together, the brief contact sending another small jolt through his chest that he stubbornly tried to ignore.

The classroom was already half full with desks arranged in neat rows. The soft scratch of pencils against paper echoed faintly from the students who had already begun reviewing their notes, while the teacher moved quietly around the room placing thick stacks of test packets at the front of each row.

Isagi’s seat was near the middle.

Kaiser’s was near the window, only a few desks up ahead.

He placed his bag down beside his desk and slowly pulled out his pencil.  His thoughts tried to wander again toward worst-case scenarios, but each time they started spiraling he forced himself to focus on the simple, steady rhythm of breathing in and out.

Relax, you studied. You did the work… And you had Kaiser, he reminded himself.

Across the room Kaiser leaned back slightly in his chair, arms loosely crossed as if he were simply waiting for a mildly inconvenient appointment rather than a major exam. The morning sunlight streamed through the window beside him, catching the pale strands of his hair and making them glow faintly against the dim classroom lighting. His expression was relaxed, almost bored, though thanks to that talk in the library last week, Isagi had learned that Kaiser rarely showed nerves even when he felt them.

At one point Kaiser glanced across the room. Kaiser lifted his hand slightly and tapped his fingers against the desk twice. The small gesture mirrored the one he had done in the hallway earlier, You’ll be fine, Kaiser was saying.

Isagi looked away quickly before the teacher could notice them staring and accuse them of cheating, but the corner of his mouth lifted just slightly as he adjusted the papers on his desk.

When the packet landed in front of him, nerves wracked through Isagi’s veins again, but this time it did not feel  as overwhelming. He flipped open the first page carefully, scanning the questions with cautious attention, and to his quiet surprise the words did not blur together the way they once might have.

His pencil moved slowly at first, writing careful answers as he worked through each section, each problem felt like something he had seen before in some shape or form. As he read through the questions, he could almost hear Kaiser’s voice in the back of his mind pointing out the important parts. Time passed almost without him noticing. Isagi worked steadily, pausing only occasionally to reread a question before continuing.

Isagi would never call an exam easy, but for the most part the test was manageable.

There was one problem though that made him short-circuit. He stared at it for a moment, reading it once, then again, and then a third time just to make sure he hadn’t misunderstood something obvious. But the meaning refused to settle.

Isagi forced himself to breathe slowly and reread the question again, this time tracing the sentence with the tip of his pencil to physically guide his focus, the same way Kaiser's does.

But still, no hope. Without really meaning to, he lifted his head to find Kaiser. He watched Kaiser back as he sat hunched over the desk to read something before continuing again without the slightest hint of hesitation. There was an ease to the way he worked that had always irritated Isagi in the past but this time around, it calmed his nerves. He lowered his head back to the page where the question waited silently where he had left it. This time, instead of letting his thoughts spiral into panic, he forced himself to slow down.

Read it like Kaiser would. Carefully.

The tension in his shoulders eased just a little. Because now the question looked… different. Not easier exactly, but clearer. A small spark of understanding flickered somewhere in the back of his mind.

He glanced back again, almost unconsciously to seek out Kaiser, who had just finished writing and was leaning back in his chair now, spinning his pencil slowly between his fingers while staring toward the front of the room. Isagi looked back down at his paper, his grip tightening slightly around his pencil as the answer finally began forming clearly in his mind. The pressure that had been building in his chest loosened with a quiet exhale. Then, slowly and carefully, he began writing again.

Time slipped forward in gradual increments. Eventually the atmosphere in the room shifted as the first few students finished their exams. Papers shuffled together, chairs scraped softly, footsteps crossed the floor toward the teacher’s desk. The rigid tension that had dominated the classroom began loosening, replaced with cautious relief.

Isagi had been working steadily, shoulders slightly hunched over his exam sheet as he tried to keep his thoughts organized. 

In front of him, aKaisers chair scraped across the floor.  He gathered his test papers together, glancing briefly over the pages. Isagi watched as Kaiser walked to the teacher’s desk, the sunlight catching the edges of his blue dyed tips, giving the strands a soft glow that made the blue appear even brighter. The teacher accepted the exam with a small nod before adding it to the growing stack beside her.

Kaiser turned toward the door soon after, one hand already slipping into the pocket of his uniform pants as he pushed the classroom door open and stepped out into the hallway.

The quiet closed in again almost immediately afterward.

Isagi forced his attention back to the test in front of him. The problem he had been working through earlier suddenly felt more complicated than before, his thoughts momentarily scattered by the awareness that Kaiser had already finished. Isagi couldn’t stop the sigh from slipping past his lips as he lowered his head again, pencil returning to the paper. 

One student finished and stood up, then another not long afterward. The room gradually emptied making him one of the last people left in the room. Only a small number of students remained scattered around the room, 6, maybe 7, people at most.

Isagi worked carefully through the remaining questions, rereading each one until he felt confident enough to commit his answer to the page. When he finished the final question, he made sure to review each question one last time, eyes scanning every line, every number, every explanation he had written down. 

He placed the pencil down slowly. Gathering the exam papers together, Usagi rose from his chair. When he reached the teacher’s desk and handed over the test, she accepted it and gave s small Im proud of you smile that made Usagi cringe, and added his work to the pile. Isagi murmured a polite thank you before turning toward the hallway.

The moment he stepped out into the hallway, a wave of relief washed through him.  A few distant voices echoed from farther down the hall where other students had already gathered, their conversations carrying the mix of relief and lingering anxiety that followed any difficult test. He assumed Kaiser had already left, getting ready to find him or either Bachira but, of course when he turned his head, there Kaiser was leaning casually against the wall just a few feet from the classroom door on his phone.

He really should get used to this by now. Now he knows for sure that Kaiser was deliberately avoiding him just as much as he was during their break. Fondness bloomed spread through Isagi’s chest before he could stop it as the realization that Kaiser waited for him settled. A big smile tugging naturally at the corners of his mouth as he stepped closer. 

Kaisers own lips curved upward in response

The smile lingering on Isagi’s face remained even as he stepped closer, the quiet relief from finishing the exam slowly giving way to something warmer, something softer that settled somewhere beneath his ribs. Kaiser straightened slightly from the wall as he approached, uncrossing his arms in an unhurried motion, though he didn’t move away from his spot. The hallway had grown quieter now that most of the students had already drifted off toward their friends or outside into the courtyard, leaving the long corridor washed in sunlight and lingering silence.

Kaiser tilted his head just slightly, studying Isagi with the same steady attention that always made him feel exposed, as though every thought and feeling might somehow be visible if Kaiser looked closely enough. 

“Well?” Kaiser finally asked, his voice low but light, the corner of his mouth lifting just slightly. “How do you think you did?”

“I… think I did okay,” he said at last, the words cautious but honest. “Better than I expected, honestly.”

Kaiser watched him for another second, as though measuring the sincerity behind the answer. Then something in his expression softened even further, the teasing glint in his eyes fading into something steadier.

“I’m sure you did more than okay.” The certainty in Kaiser’s voice caught Isagi off guard and he was knocked back by the affection in his tone. Kaiser continued, pushing himself fully away from the wall now. “You studied every damn day this week,”. His gaze dropped briefly toward the classroom door behind Isagi before returning to him again.

Isagi felt warmth climb slowly up his neck, “That’s usually how it works but you're giving way too much credit,” Isagi muttered quietly, though the big smile on his face hadn’t disappeared.

Kaiser shook his head once. “No, you worked hard for it” he replied simply, stepping closer.

Kaiser studied him for another second before speaking again, the faint smirk returning to his lips. “Besides,” he added, “if you completely bombed it, It would mean that I was a terrible teacher and we both know that's not true.”

Isagi huffed out a quiet laugh.

“Is there nothing you won't pat yourself on the back for?.”

“Nope. ” Kaiser said popping the p, “Its not my fault I excel in everything.”

The light ribbing eases the rest of the leftover stew still clinging to Isagi’s shoulders away. He shifted slightly where he stood, glancing down the hallway for a moment before looking back at Kaiser again.

“They said it’ll take a few days before we get the results back,” he said.

“Mhm.” Kaiser nodded, as though that detail had never worried him in the first place.

“Ugh I don't want to wait. Its all Ill think about for the rest of the week now.” He complained.

Kaiser’s expression had settled into something calm, the sharp arrogance that usually framed his features softened by something warmer. The sunlight spilling through the hallway windows caught against the side of his face, highlighting the faint curve of that almost-smile he seemed to reserve for quieter moments like this.

“So…,” Kaiser said, tilting his head slightly. “What do you want to do now?”

“Now?”

“Yeah.” Kaiser shrugged lightly. “We finished the exam. Theres nothing else to worry about today.” He glanced briefly toward the windows, where the sunlight outside had begun to soften into the warm colors of early evening.

“We could go home, or…,” he added. That smirk returned, “We could waste some time somewhere.”

 Isagi stared at him for a second before laughing softly.

The nervous tension that had followed him all morning, had slowly faded without him even noticing.For the first time since the exams had been announced, Isagi felt completely at ease.

“Okay then, let’s waste some time,” he said.

                                                                ────────

They leave the school grounds slowly, neither of them rushing even though the last exam of the day has already emptied most of the building behind them. Isagi walks beside Kaiser with his bag slung over one shoulder, just letting Later lead the way. Kaiser walks  and Isagi simply matches his pace beside him, occasionally glancing over when Kaiser says something teasing about how long it took him to finish the exam. But after a few minutes, the streets begin to look more familiar and that makes Isagi’s steps slow slightly, recognition creeping into his mind before he fully realizes why.

They pass the small convenience store on the corner where the two of them once bought drinks after practice. They cross the intersection where the road begins to slope gently upward toward the quieter residential part of town. And when Kaiser turns onto the narrow path that leads toward the small wooded hill overlooking the city, Isagi’s chest tightens.

The hill rises just beyond the edge of the neighborhood, its base hidden behind a thin stretch of trees that separates it from the road. From a distance it doesn’t look like much justpatch of greenery where the land slopes upward sharply enough that the top disappears behind the canopy of branches but Isagi remembers it clearly. Its actually a really beautiful spot. The first time Kaiser brought him here had been months ago, back when their relationship was still new.

Another trip down memory lane.

At the top of the hill sits a single wooden bench. Old, weathered, and half broken in places where the wood has splintered from years of rain and wind. It leans slightly to one side where the ground beneath it has shifted, and the paint that once coated the boards has long since peeled away, leaving the surface rough and faded.

But from that bench, the view stretches across the entire city.

The rooftops below spread out in uneven layers, streets weaving between buildings like silver threads while the skyline glows faintly in the distance. At sunset the whole place turns gold, the light catching the windows and rooftops until everything shines.

It was another one of their spots. And it had also been the very place where Kaiser ended things.

The memory arrives in Isagi’s mind with such startling clarity that for a moment it almost feels like he is standing in two different time periods at once, layered over the other. His feet don't want to move.

He remembers standing here months ago when the whether was still cold. The weight of Kaiser’s words booming heavily in his chest while the wind moved through the branches above them.  Walking down the hill afterward with his thoughts spinning so wildly that he barely noticed the path beneath his feet.

The night ithappened had been cold, Isagi remembered pulling the sleeves of his sweater down multiple times over his hands while he climbed the rocky path toward the top of the hill. The sky had already darkened by the time he arrived, the city below glowing with scattered lights that flickered through the darkness like distant stars. The wind had been stronger then, slipping through the trees with a sharp whistle that made the leaves fall and sway overhead.

Isagi had been excited. He remembers that part most clearly of all. The small box with the watch had sat inside his jacket pocket the entire walk there, and he must have checked it at least five times along the way just to make sure it hadn’t somehow disappeared. But the moment he saw Kaiser standing by the bench, something had already felt wrong. Kaiser had been facing the city instead toward the path to watch for Isahis arrival. The faint glow of the moon above painted soft shadows across his face, but even from a distance Isagi could tell something about his posture was different.

When Kaiser finally turned around at the sound of Isagi’s footsteps, his expression had been completely blank. Kaiser couldn’t seem to look directly at him. Isagi remembered approaching slowly, the excitement in his chest beginning to crumplet into confusion as Kaiser’s eyes kept drifting elsewhere: to the trees, to the skyline, to anything except Isagi himself.

Today, thankfully was completely different. 

When they reach the base of the hill, the ground changes from smooth pavement to a narrow dirt trail scattered with loose rocks and uneven patches of earth. The path curves upward immediately, steep enough that climbing it requires careful footing, especially where tree roots twist across the ground like natural steps.

Isagi pauses for just a second at the bottom, his eyes lifting toward the top where the bench waits somewhere beyond the trees.

Without saying anything, Kaiser turns slightly toward him, the corner of his mouth lifting in that that always seems to appear whenever he catches Isagi thinking too hard about something. Then Kaiser reaches out and takes his hand. Their fingers touch for the second time today, Isagi feels the heat of Kaiser’s hand close around his own. His breath catches almost instantly, the sudden contact sending a sharp flutter through his chest that he cannot quite hide.

He tightens his grip slightly and begins leading him up the path. The climb so long, but the rocky ground makes it so that each step has to be careful and slow as they move upward through the trees. Kaiser walks ahead just enough that he can guide Isagi past the rougher patches, occasionally stepping around loose stones before gently tugging him forward. The branches above them sway softly in the breeze, patches of sunlight breaking through the leaves and scattering across the trail like shifting pieces of gold.

Isagi barely notices the scenery.

Isagi tries not to think too hard about it as they continue upward, but the warmth of Kaiser’s hand lingers like a quiet promise that makes his heart beat faster with every step.

By the time they reach the top, the trees thin just enough to reveal the small clearing where the bench waits.

The old wooden seat sits exactly as he remembered, crookedly at the edge of the hill, its worn surface facing outward toward the city below. Grass grows unevenly around its legs where the ground slopes downward, and the surrounding trees frame the view like a natural border of dark green leaves.

The late afternoon sunlight washes across the rooftops in soft amber tones, the distant skyline glowing faintly against the horizon while cars move along the streets far below like tiny flickers of light.

Spring has begun creeping into the air, soft warmth replacing the biting chill that once lingered here, and the trees surrounding the clearing sway lightly with new leaves instead of the bare branches that had scratched against the night sky months ago. The city below gleams beneath the afternoon sun, rooftops glowing in soft gold rather than distant scattered lights.

And as Isagi stands there at the top of the hill, the memory of that cold night slowly fades beneath the warmth of the present moment, replaced by the quiet realization that maybe this place no longer belongs only to the past.

Hed never thought hed be able to come back here with Kaiser, let alone by himself. But here is, with kaiser still by his side, still holding his hand. He gives Kaisers hand a squeeze when he feels his eyes start to tear up. When Isagi finally looks over at him, Kaiser is already watching him. 

A long while passed between them before either of them had spoke, then Kaiser started moving his freehand into his pocket, Isagi attention

Kaiser turned his body so that he was now fully facing  him, and when he pulled his hand out Isagi couldn't believe what he was seeing. A small box rested in the palm a Kaisers hand.

A very familiar box, square and dark blue. The very same box that Isagi had hidden away in the in the plastic bin full of Kaisers hoodies that was beside his desk. It held the watch that he had meant to give kaiser but after everything fell apart he never got the chance to. So how..

“...What?” His voice came out quiet and meek. He never even told Kaiser about the watch.

Kaiser glanced sideways at him, the faintest hint of a smile and a look that said forgive me in it.

“What?” isagi repeated, blinking at the box because he still couldn't fully understand what kaiser was doing with it, “How did you get this?’

Kaiser turned the box over once in his fingers, studying it a second before answering, “When we were at your house the other day, you went to the bathroom,” he started. “I sorta got curious on what hoodies of mine you still kept in the bin and then I found this at the bottom of it all.”

“You looked through it.?’ 

Well yea, I really missed some of those hoodies. Good thing I was nosy." The casualness of it was so completely Kaiser that it made Isagi laugh out of sheer disbelief.

The kaiser extended the box toward him.

“Go on," Kaiser said quietly, sounding so soft it made Isagi’s heart squeeze, “Put it on me”

Isagi stared for a moment before slowly releasing their joined hands so he could take the box. The warmth of Kaiser's hand replaced by the smooth cold leather on the outside of the of the box. The hinge gave a click as he opened it, revealing the watch that rested neatly inside against the velvet lining. The watch felt heavy when he lifted it out, the metal band loose as it hung between his fingers. 

Kaiser raised his wrist without being asked, extending his arm toward Isagi with quiet patience.

Isagi stepped closer. His fingers brushed lightly against Kaiser's non tattooed wrist as he guided the band around it, his wrist was much warmer compared to the cold watch , it made Kaiser shiver.

The clasp was small and Isagi had to focus to fasten it properly, but when he did, he didn't pull back right away. He admired the watch that he spent so much time, and money, into. The sliver band contrasted beautifully against Kaiser's skin  and the blue vines on the watch matched  perfectly with his hair. Kaiser kept his arm extended, still and relaxed as Isagi adjusted the watch slightly so that it sat comfortably on him, allowing Isagi to fuss with it as much as he wanted. 

Isagi stepped back and his fingers loosened their hold around his arm but before his arm landed back to his side, Kaisers pulled him back in holding him firmly by his wrist, his thumbs resting lighting against the inside of Isagi's pulse points. Isagi lifted his gaze up from the watch to kaisers face to see those clear blue eyes looking back down at him, making it impossible to think straight. 

Then Kaiser leaned in and just like last time, Isagi stayed exactly where he was, letting Kaiser be the one to close the distance until he could feel the faint warmth of his breath, until the already small space  between them disappeared entirely.

Kaiser tilted his head slightly as his lips met Isagi’s, the contact barely more than a brush, as if testing whether it was real and to see if they both still wanted it to happen. His hands remained around Isagi’s wrists, holding him there without force, grounding him in place as the moment unfolded between them.

Isagi’s eyes squeezed closed and his brain stopped functioning the second he felt the warmth of Kaiser’s lips against, sending a full body shiver to run through him. It wasn’t intense or desperate, instead filled with unspoken words and emotions that Usagi just ate right up.

When Kaiser pulled back, the distance between them was only a few inches, Kaiser

Isagi blinked, his face already flushed. His heart was beating so loudly he was sure Kaiser could hear it.

“So does this mean we're dating again?” Isagi whispered, face only inches away from Kaisers. The question slipped out before he could stop it, quiet and a little breathless, hung awkwardly in the space between them.

For a split second Kaiser just looked at him and Usagi almost recoiled back thinking that he made a fool of himself but when he peeked up at Kaiser, he saw pupils blown wide. Filled with so much passion, like he'd never seen anyone more mesmerizing in his life. Then the corner of his mouth lifted. He didn’t answer with words. Instead, Kaiser released one of Isagi’s wrists and used that hand to pull him closer by the waist, the movement smooth and confident as he leaned down again, smiling into the kiss

Isagi's brain feels like it sizzled up and died, he barely had time to inhale before Kaiser’s lips were on his again, more certain, stealing his breath away. The sudden pull forward made Isagi stumble slightly into him, and without thinking he rose onto his toes, his arms lifting instinctively to wrap around the back of Kaiser’s neck.

His fingers reached up grabby at the collar of Kaiser uniform gripping hard as he pulled Kaiser down toward him.

Kaiser’s hand rested firmly against his waist now, holding him steady while Isagi balanced on his tiptoes, their bodies fitting together in that familiar way that made Isagi’s chest feel almost painfully full Warm sunlight filtered through the branches above them, the quiet hilltop stretching out behind the small wooden bench, the city visible in the distance far below.

But neither of them paid attention to any of it. Isagi only knew the feeling of Kaiser’s arms around him, the steady warmth of him as he kissed him again and again and again, and the quiet certainty settling somewhere deep in his chest that this time let him know that neither one of them were letting go.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”