Motivated to be lazy

SS Leadership

Matsuo Eiichiro SS - Leadership

I was annoyed. Forget that I'm pissed. I had it in my head that when Kiyotaka said that he wasn't coming to class for the next three days, he would be able to tell that I was mad and that he'd scrap whatever plans he had to laze about in his room. Then the next day he didn't come to class.

I sent him what felt like a hundred messages only to not get a reply. At lunch I called only for his phone to be switched off. I was so excited to find out that Kiyotaka and I would be going to school together, it would be us hanging out, working in class together and next year hopefully Tsubasa would be here and it'd be the three of us all over again only this time we wouldn't be separated during the day time.

I know that Kiyotaka is brilliant and I was beyond excited to finally see what he could do up close in front of my eyes. His lessons and sessions were always during the day on school days so I never got to see any of it. We would play and have fun when I came over but I was always told by my father who worked for them about how amazing Kiyotaka was.

Now two days into our first school year and I already want to punch him in the face. It's not like he wouldn't be able to dodge or take the punch so it wouldn't do anything except for maybe my ass getting beaten instead but I doubt Kiyotaka would hit me, no matter the circumstances.

Still I was mad but more than anything I was terrified. My dad is everything to me, he's an old man and my mum is already dead. I saw my admission to this school as the greatest of blessings, I wanted to make him proud. I wanted to provide for him once he could no longer work so that he could live the rest of his life without a worry. Now my best friend who I thought would make things easier is turning out to be my biggest anchor.

Maybe I'm exaggerating. He said that I was panicking and he was probably right but I'd never been in a situation like this. I had no idea what to do and usually my fate was in my own hands but the prospect that my future was in the hands of a collective filled me with anxiety.

I was supposed to meet Kiyotaka at 7:00pm but I was anxious. Rather than wait to 7:00 I knocked on his door at 5:00pm only to be greeted a few minutes later.

For a moment I wondered if it really was Kiyotaka who opened the door. His eyes were completely cold and dead as though he was looking straight through me completely unfocused. His face was completely apathetic, none of the joy that was usually there was present and his entire body was tense like a tiger ready to attack his prey. It was the first time I ever felt like I was in danger in his presence and the hair on the back of my neck stood up.

"You're early," Kiyotaka said in a completely monotonous voice. His voice was normally a bit of a boring drawl save for when we were doing something fun or when he was with Arisu, never like this.

"I-I was worried. You haven't replied to any of my texts or calls so I wanted to check on you."

He stared at me for about ten seconds but it felt like hours. His gaze was still unfocused but it was though he was staring straight into my soul.

"I see," He said simply, not moving or continuing.

"C-... Can I come in?" Why the hell was I stammering and afraid of my best friend?

He moved out of the doorway and let me in. When the door closed, even though it was quiet it felt as though it closed with a resounding boom and I could hear my thudding heartbeat pounding in my ears.

"Take a seat on the bed and give me a minute."

I sat down and watched as he took a seat at his dining table. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths for roughly a minute before he opened them and he looked at me smiling with a completely different demeanor. Seconds later he clutched at his head groaning before cold sweats appeared on his forehead.