Chapter Text
Kaji
“I’ve changed my mind.”
Kaji glanced up from his phone to look at Hiragi, who was standing in the doorway with his hands in his pockets.
“About what? You gotta tell us more than that, man,” Matsumoto said from the table in the middle of the room.
Hiragi raked his fingers through his hair, pausing before saying, “I’m going to Furin.”
Furin? Surely he heard that wrong. Hiragi was more than smart enough to go to another high school. Kaji quickly pulled his headphones down so they hung around his neck, pausing his music with his other hand.
“You’re kidding, right?” Yanagida scoffed. “Don’t tell me you’re serious.”
Hiragi didn’t reply, opting to give his friend a look that communicated everything.
“Why’re you going to Furin?” Kaji asked. “Are you aiming to be the top or something?” That was the only reasonable explanation. Why else would anyone with plenty of other options choose to go there?
Hiragi shook his head. “No, I’m not going to be at the top. Someone else is. It’s… complicated.” He looked away, busying himself by pouring a glass of water. “I’ll tell you guys more when I figure some things out.”
Yanagida frowned. “This sudden change of heart isn’t because of that white-haired kid, is it? I still can’t believe you agreed to meet up with him today after school. He’s always giving you stomach pains.”
“Yeah, it is Umemiya. He’s annoying, but he has a vision, you know? He wants to unite Furin and Makochi so they work together to get rid of the crime. I’m supposed to ‘beat him back onto the right path’ or somethin’.”
“Oh, yeah, he’s definitely crazy,” Matsumoto laughed. “Gosh, I wonder how many people go to Furin with dreams like that.”
Kaji took his lollipop out of his mouth. “So, you’re really going to Furin?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“C’mon, you can’t!” Matsumoto cut in. “Are you really going to follow a madman into a building full of more madmen?”
“It’s worth a try. He has a plan and everything, too. He also mentioned something about some other place that did the same thing. The people inside the town united themselves and fought together to kick out those causing trouble. Something like that. He was talking too fast for me to catch everything.” Hiragi made some vague hand motions, which only made what he was saying even more confusing than before.
“Are you really su—”
“Then I’m going to Furin, too,” Kaji said abruptly, cutting Yanagida off.
Three pairs of eyes whipped toward him.
Silence ensued.
“Kaji, I don’t think that’s the best ide—”
“If you’re going, then I’ll follow. I’m going wherever you go. There’s nothing you can say to change my mind.”
Hiragi let out a deep sigh. “Well, I can’t stop you. Just don’t let your grades drop into the gutter, okay?”
Kaji blinked and replied without thinking. “Yeah, of course.” He leaned back, placed the lollipop back in his mouth, pulled his headphones back on, and turned his music back on to block out the bickering that ensued between the three friends.
He couldn’t wait to tell Sako.
“So, Furin, huh,” Sako said between a bite of melonpan. “Wow. I wouldn’t expect that from someone like Hiragi-san.”
“Me neither. He’ll be fine, though. He’ll beat everyone easily.”
Sako laughed. “Definitely. We’re the ones that need to train harder. Can’t go around letting him down, can we?”
Kaji let out a hmm, which was his substitute for agreeing with something.
“I wonder what the building looks like. I’ve never been there before, but I’ve heard that it’s covered in graffiti.”
Kaji continued to quietly listen to Sako ramble on about random and trivial things, occasionally commenting or offering his own opinion. They were almost to Hiragi’s house when Sako suddenly said, “What university do you think Hiragi-san’ll go to?”
Kaji thought for a moment before responding. “I think he mentioned wanting to visit Tokyo sometime.”
“Tokyo?” Sako’s eyes widened. “Do you think he wants to go to Todai?”
Kaji rolled his eyes. Sako was a great friend, but he tended to misinterpret things and jump to conclusions much too quickly. “Well, he definitely isn’t going to Geidai. He hates art.”
“True, true. But hey, c—”
“Whatever you’re about to say, can’t you just ask Hiragi-san himself? We’re literally less than five minutes from his house.”
“Oh.” Sako laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, I guess. This whole Furin thing just got me really pumped up. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. We’re all going there together, so we’ll find out eventually.”
“Yeah.”
Sako didn’t say another word until they reached Hiragi’s front door.
“Look, Kaji, I mean no offense or anything, but I was thinking that if Hiragi-san decided to go to a prestigious university, would you be able to get in?” Sako held his hands up placatingly. “I’m not calling you stupid or anything, but your grades aren’t the greatest.”
Kaji’s fist stopped less than two centimeters away from the door. Slowly, he lowered his hand and took the lollipop out of his mouth. “I didn’t even think about that.”
“I mean, I’m sure it’s fine and everything, you can always catch up and there’s the tutoring center nearby and it’s not like you have any extracurriculars to go to anyway and—”
“What’re you boys doing, standing outside this whole time?” The door opened, revealing Hiragi with a frown on his face. “Come in already.”
“Yeah, sorry, we were just talking.” Sako quickly dashed inside the house, hiding behind senpai.
“You okay?” Hiragi waved a hand in front of Kaji’s face, who was still standing where he was before, motionless. “Hellooo?”
Kaji’s mind snapped back to reality. “Y-yeah, I’m fine. Just… had a realization. I-I’ll figure it out.”
Hiragi gave him a look that showed he didn’t buy that lie at all, but thankfully didn’t push him further. He could solve his own problems and would talk to Hiragi-san if he needed to.