Moments Like These || Giyushino Highschool AU

Chapter One

The morning was young and the usually bustling metropolis was quiet, peaceful, and refreshing for a change. The skies were blue and cloudless and the absence of loud obnoxious honks of cars and nauseating odors of burning gasoline and smoke painted a pleasantly tranquil city scene. Only a few people dotted the streets, mostly adults carrying briefcases waiting at bus stops or subway stations.

A gentle breeze caressed Giyuu's hair as he strolled down the sidewalk with an earbud loosely dangling at his side while the other was lodged in his left ear. He was listening to his favorite anime opening with an almost imperceptible smile dancing across his features, as if the slightest provocation would cause it to immediately disappear.

Giyuu passed the local convenience store and remembered the pack of mints he had in his pocket was already more than half-way depleted and if he wanted to survive the school day, he would need to buy more. He entered with a bright ring of the bell connected to the door and relished the cool air conditioning that the store provided. His feet padded against the polished marble floor as he walked down the candy aisle and picked out the last two packs of his favorite lemon drop mints. The cashier, who was a well dressed lady in her late twenties, smiled at him as she scanned his items and asked if he needed a bag since Giyuu also grabbed some chips on his way to the check-out. He politely refused, paying the designated amount of money before pocketing the lemon drop mints in the back pocket of his school uniform trousers and placing the chips in his backpack for later snacking.

Giyuu left the convenience store in a brighter mood than he had been in a long time. He watched as the wind carried soft pink petals from the cherry blossom trees that lined the sidewalk across his path. He caught one in the palm of his hand before the petal was quickly swept away by the fast flowing breeze. He looked up to follow it with his eyes, losing it as it faded into the hundreds of others that looked exactly like it.

It was moments like these that made life worth living.

⊱ ────── ⋅ 🌊 ⋅ ───── ⊰

Giyuu was sitting in 4th period biology class the same day, trying to decipher the teacher's jumbled sentences about some discovery that he probably didn't need to know about. He gave up halfway, choosing to look out the window at a curious looking robin while his classmate beside him continued to scribble down notes on her already note covered page. Kochou Shinobu, the girl who sat next to him during fourth period. They weren't friends, at most acquaintances. All Giyuu knew was that she was the daughter of the CEO of a famous medical firm. He respected her well enough; after all, she was a member of Kimetsu High's student council, often called the Pillars.

Giyuu watched as the little robin hopped from branch to branch then take off into the afternoon air. He snapped out of his daydream as the teacher suddenly announced that they would be starting a long term research project on human behavior that would account for a large portion of their grade this semester.

A girl with pink and green braids raised her hand and asked if they were permitted to do it in pairs or groups. The teacher pondered for a moment before answering that they were allowed to do it in pairs, she then asked for final questions before dismissing class.

Giyuu sighed and started to pack up his text books, watching as everyone chartered with friends as they exited the classroom and hurried down the halls to their next period class. He resented these projects where people could participate in pairs, it meant that he would have to go partner hunting to be rejected every time. The thought made him feel bitter. He extracted the tin box containing the lemon drop mints from his back pocket, quickly ate one and tucked it back in, immediately feeling better now that sugar has entered his system.