burnouts & how to survive them || ritshou

01. burnouts are for idiots only

It was a mild surprise for (non-mattering-side-character number one,) Aoyagi Touya, to find a certain (clearly-one-of-the-main-characters) raven-haired boy hunched over one of the desks at the windows of Salt High School's library.

His books were spread all over the piece of furniture, loose sheets peered from between the pages. Touya's gaze wandered to the boy centered in the middle of this mess; his head was resting on his arms, and he was facing down. He facepalmed and let out a sigh, internally praying for the poor boy's sanity.

This was the third time this week where Kageyama Ritsu had fallen asleep right on top of his studies, and Touya, who had been in charge of library duty for a few days now, was starting to get worried. Regarding the weekday— it was Wednesday, to be exact— Ritsu's study times were getting out of hand.

Touya could not think of anyone else who could ever put that much effort in studying. He himself was a neat student; he took his studies seriously, got his homework done on time, was organized and disciplined enough to keep this lifestyle up even though he had other interests as well. He got neat grades; good, a bit about the average student's ones, and didn't think too much about it.

But he was aware enough of the differences between him and this sleeping boy, Ritsu, were too great to even give it a try and compare. If Touya thought of finishing homework on time, Ritsu would think of doing it thoroughly and correctly. If Touya read a class lecture and highlight something, Ritsu would explore the depths of the book, make research about its central topics, the origin as well as the author's biography. If Touya spent his free time with his band, Ritsu would either be locked in his room to make extra studies or go jogging to keep his body fit.

If Touya was smart, Ritsu was a genius.

But Touya didn't complain. He knew time was limited and precious and knew that he would never be able to reach Ritsu's level without making great sacrifices. And just in situations like these, as Touya stepped next to the raven-haired boy and regarded him closely, there was always some sort of thankfulness dwelling within him.

He shook his head to get rid of his thoughts and cleared his throat. "Kageyama-senpai," he said. "The library's closing. Please wake up."

Ritsu didn't move a millimeter and Touya carefully placed a hand on the sleeping boy's shoulder — bitter experience had taught him that Ritsu's senses were unusually sharp and he could act without thinking — and shook him, quickly pulling his hand back when Ritsu mumbled something and then abruptly drew back from the desk. He spun around to face the younger boy, and his confusion only settled when he recognized him.

"Aoyagi... kun?"

Touya cleared his throat again. He was a bit nervous, if he had to admit — after all, this was an honor student he had just woken up, and if he had heard him correctly, he didn't sound very happy about it.

He pushed these thoughts aside for first. "Kageyama-senpai," he repeated, "I'm sorry for waking you up. However, the library is closing now."

Ritsu grumbled something before looking back at the desk, seeming to notice only now that he had fallen asleep while studying.

"Again?"

A nod.

Ritsu really wasn't happy about that.

Touya watched as Ritsu hurriedly picked up his stuff and stored it in his schoolbag before accompanying him to the exit. The younger boy switched the lights off and locked the door before turning around to his kouhai.

"I apologize for the trouble," Ritsu spoke, shifting his weight uncomfortably. "I'll make sure to not let this happen again."

Touya opened his mouth but then closed it again, unsure whether he should speak up or not. Ritsu noticed it and nodded, giving him the permission to speak his mind.