Center of the Sunlit Sea || Chisaki Kai/Overhaul x Shirabe Mariya(OC)

1. Old Friends, Changed Faces

- Beginning of the First Spring -
2160 words

He picked at the thin piece of medical tape holding the gauze against his wrist, staring off into empty space as he waited outside the principal's office. The plastic chair he sat in was creaky and uncomfortable, so sitting still and adjusting himself over and over were both bad options. Chisaki had been forced to sit through yet another lecture on why fighting was bad and violence was not welcome at their school and blah blah blah.

Why was he the only one getting scolded when the other boys had started the fight in the first place? He was just defending himself and his family, who the hell was the principal to tell him he was wrong for doing so? Irritation bubbled in his blood again the longer he thought about how unfair it all was. It wasn't his fault those idiots hadn't learned to keep their mouths shut after the first three times.

Just as he was about to tear his bandages off in anger, the secretary poked her pointed face into the hall and addressed him. "Chisaki-kun, go back to class and grab your things. The student council president has offered to take you home. Again." She looked down her long nose at him as she emphasized the last word. If he wasn't pissed before he sure was then, but even he knew there were limits to what he could get away with. Beating a staff member was out of the question, no matter how satisfying it would be to flatten her nose against her skull.

He chose to get up and head back to his classroom, not bowing or sparing her a second glance out of spite. The other students had long since gone home, which was a blessing as he was not in the mood to have others' stares on his back. His classroom had taken on an almost alien atmosphere from the hazy light coming through the wall of windows and all of the chairs pushed flush against the desks.

With his bag packed and slung over his shoulder, Chisaki made his way back through the quiet building. The outside air was muggy and filled his lungs like he was breathing in a cloud as he walked out the front entrance of the middle school. He kept his eyes trained on the ground, counting the gaps in the concrete slabs, until a pair of brown uniform loafers entered his view. He stopped walking when the tips of his sneakers were just a few centimeters away from touching them, slowly raising his head to meet the person's eyes. Shirabe looked back down at him, disappointment clear on her face.

She was only a couple centimeters taller, but she might as well have been twice his height with how heavily her gaze rested on him. Even under an overcast sky, her white hair caught the light like thinly spun silver, though the humidity caused it to frizz out. She didn't say anything for a while, only stepping back to start leading him to the Hassaikai compound. Having her walk him home was slightly better than Pops doing so, but not by much. He still felt like a scolded child, which was technically what he was, but he hated the feeling nonetheless.

They had made it a few blocks when she broke the silence. "Do their words get to you that much?" He had meant to just mumble a reply, but it came out like a scoff. She gave him a look out of the corner of her eye and readjusted the straps of her bookbag. "You and I are both yakuza kids, but I manage to keep myself from knocking out every guy that makes a snide comment about it."

"I'm sorry I'm not more like you," he muttered bitterly. He was being much meaner than he wanted to, but he was never good at suppressing his emotions. He was angry and his frustration was leaking out through his seams.

"Hey, don't give me an attitude, Little Mr. Delinquent. How about instead of forcefully silencing anyone who trash talks you, you work towards proving them wrong?" He lifted his head and shot her a questioning look. She spoke sternly to him, but she was smiling slightly. Chisaki felt bad then, because he knew no matter how much trouble he found himself in, Shirabe would always give him that sad little smile and try to pull him out of it. "You're smart, Kai, and I know how much you care about the family. So use your brain instead of your fists and come up with a good plan. Unless you're really just a knucklehead after all!"