different | pregame saiouma

1

(always in shuichi's pov)

today was september 5th, the first day back to school. i got out of bed and made waffles for myself, as my mother had already gone to work.

after finishing my meal, i brushed my teeth and put on the uniform, and waited a few minutes before taking my bike to school.

i arrived and walked down the pavement. there were tons of new faces... i was a little scared, to be completely honest, but it would be okay, since i had friends already.

i spotted my friends from last year, keebo and kaede, from across the schoolyard and ran over to them eagerly.

'hi, shuichi!' kaede greeted. keebo waved, then messed with his hands. he was probably nervous. 'hello, kaede. keebo, are you okay?' i asked, worried.

'ehhh- i'm scared. what if people are robophobic again this year?' last school year, he had been made fun of because everyone was human, so his whole 'robophobe' thing seemed to no longer be a joke to everyone.

'we'll have them talk to us if they're ever rude to you.' kaede assured him. he smiled lightly. after a few minutes of talking, the bell rang.

we all said goodbye to each other, having to tell keebo he was gonna be fine 100 more times before heading to class.

i looked around the classroom and someone caught my attention- someone small with purple hair. he just looked kinda adorable. he had a notebook and some purple drink on the desk.

but a crush on the very first day of school before i even meet them? that was dumb! i decided i'd introduce myself to this person later if i could muster up the courage.

eventually, class ended, and everyone went into the hallways and outdoors to have a small break. i met up with my two friends in the schoolyard.

'shuichi, how was it?' kaede asked. i looked to the side. 'it was good.' she raised an eyebrow at me. 'hm.... did something happen?'

'well.. i saw someone i may like.' i admitted, still staring in the other direction. 'what? already? who?' keebo had entered the conversation.

'don't know his name. he has purple hair.' kaede and keebo looked at each other. 'kokichi ouma?' they both said at the same time.

huh. that sounded right; i think the teacher may have said his name once? 'i believe so?' i told them. 'i'm not so sure about him...' the robot boy made a concerned face.

what's up with kokichi? i asked myself in my head, and keebo answered. 'there's nothing.. wrong with him, he just seems depressed all the time. not good to be around people like that...'

kaede nodded in agreement. 'keebo, you're anxious all the time, but it's good to be around you, isn't it?' i gave a look of satisfaction, thinking i won.

'w-well, anxiousness and sadness are two different things. being around depressed people can make you depressed. sure, being around nervous people can do the same, but that's less severe.'

hm. well-played, but i was still going to try to at least be friends with kokichi. perhaps i could help with his depression.

hopefully i wouldn't come across as weird, though.... lots of people in this school think i'm a creep when i'm really not.

the next day during lunch, i looked for ouma at the canteen, but he wasn't there. maybe he liked eating somewhere else, and i was correct- i found the boy in a small classroom.

i entered and he looked up almost immediately, the same purple drink in hand as yesterday, just with less liquid in it.

i smiled and sat a few seats away from him, ready to say hello. 'what are you doing here?' he asked, taking a sip of the drink whilst staring at me.

shit. i hadn't thought of that- if the boy knew i had been purposefully looking for him, he'd probably be weirded out....

'i.. don't enjoy eating with all those people in the canteen, but don't like to be completely alone.' i reasoned, taking chopsticks to the sashimi in front of me.

kokichi simply nodded. i realised he didn't have any food. 'why aren't you eating anything?' he looked down at the desk. 'i just don't get hungry around this time.'

i noticed how skinny he was. he probably didn't eat very much at all.. that's bad. 'kokichi, i can get you some of this—' i pointed to the sashimi— 'if you want. it's really g-'

ouma cut me off. 'no thanks. also, how do you know my name?' 'the teacher said it yesterday, didn't she?' i was desperate for him to realise she did so that i, once again, wouldn't seem like a creep.

my wishes did not come true. 'no she didn't.' he simply answered, placing the purple bottle on the table. i sighed. 'my friends told me because i was asking about random people in my class. i wanted to make some friends.'

this time i had only lied a little, and it was believable. perfect. you wanted to know about me? but why?' the boy asked.

'i d-i don't know. just curious.' i stuttered, shoving a lot of the food in my mouth to avoid speaking for a while.

kokichi left it at this; he was satisfied. 'well, what's your name?' i was surprised he asked. 'shuichi saihara.' i smiled. ouma smiled back. i accidentally blushed- he was cute.

'your face is all red...' he noticed. 'i put hot sauce on the sashimi.' i was an expert at making up excuses today. the bell was supposed to ring soon.

upon realising this, i quickly ate the rest of what was on my plate and said goodbye to ouma before leaving, but right before i did, he stopped me.

'uh- saihara.' i turned around. 'can you come back tomorrow?' he asked, his hand touching sleeve. i nodded. we were making progress already!