Light Reunion!

3: Going Home

    After his nose stops bleeding, Kaidou returns to class. Everyone's packing up the equipment, but Aren drops his stack of cones when he catches sight of Shun across the track. "You're feeling better?" Aren asks, Kaidou crouching with Saiki to scoop up the cones that Kuboyasu dumped.
    "Uhuh. My nose still sorta hurts though." He discreetly peels the sticker the nurse gave him off his gym shirt. He got it for "being brave" which in no way helped to dispell the young feelings within him. Saiki took the cones from Shun's hands, and stares at him blankly. He always had a way of making somebody feel like they'd done something wrong. Kaidou awkwardly smiles back, gesturing with a thumbs-up, before directing his attention back to Aren.
    "You've never got a good beating in the face before?" Kuboyasu tilts his head, and cracks his knuckles. Kaidou giggles, and they begin to follow the rest of the class inside.
   "I just wasn't expecting it, okay? If I hadn't been distracted, I totally would have caught it mid-air!" Kaidou argues, smirking. He silently hopes that Aren is finding this impressive - that Aren believes him and thinks he's cool.

   "What were you distracted by exactly?" Kuboyasu snorts. "It looked like you were just staring into the distance, daydreaming." Shun's face warms from embarrassment and he waves his hands about.
    "No, I was thinking about super important stuff - the darkness of our world, how to fix it. I was thinking about serious stuff!" He protests. The class filters into the changing room, and Kaidou sits down on a bench. Aren hovers over him, still attempting to continue the conversation whilst tugging his gym shirt off. Shun's eyes wander off, because looking at Kuboyasu in any state of undress overwhelms him with highly puzzling thoughts that he'd rather not process.
   "Serious stuff, eh?" Aren cocks his head, and folds his gym shirt neatly. "Okay, well I'm here if you want to divulge any of those important things…" He chuckles. Shun narrows his eyes for a moment, deciding whether or not the boy is joking, before smiling back awkwardly.

   Boys have always made Kaidou feel different without reasonable explanation. He could recall holding hands with other boys at school when his age was below the double digits - playing hopscotch, or sharing apple slices. Being young, and silly, is an experience Shun treasures.
    Aren sits beside him on the bench, putting on his school trousers, and tying his shoes. His thigh presses against Kaidou's creating the slightest friction. Shun picks up his gym clothes, and wanders off to put them back in his locker. Sitting so close to Aren makes him unfathomably hot. Shun leans against his locker for a moment, and takes a breath. Kuboyasu isn't the only guy that Kaidou feels an overwhelming desire to… Closely befriend? Despite less than stellar first impressions, Shun left his introduction to Kusuke - Saiki's brother - feeling an overwhelming wealth of emotions. His half covered face made him look so cool… And if Kaidou's really being honest with himself, he enjoyed the teasing just a little bit.

    When the day begins coming to an end, Kaidou feels nothing but relief. He grabs his bag, and peeks inside, happy to see Prickly staring back. Students file out into the hallway, and Shun follows, wiggling his fingers. Kuboyasu is up ahead, chatting with another student. He dips in and out of Shun's sight, the mass of students bobbing towards the entrance. Shun sighs. Seems like he won't be able to talk to Aren right now. Once he's outside, Kaidou swerves away from the others, and walks down the other end of the road - the complete opposite wsy he normally walks to get home. It takes a few minutes of quiet ambling, but soon enough, he's separated from any other students, and finds himself down an empty pathway. Pausing, he opens his bag, and retrieves Prickly, holding him to his chest.
    "Hi! Sorry that took forever…" He chuckles, tapping Prickly on his soft, black nose. "It's nice outside today." He says, continuing down the pathway, holding Prickly tight, and walking him along walls. "I know you like being outside." Shun smiles. He starts skipping, and spinning around. Being alone can be sad, but it can be happy too.

   Kaidou takes an extra ten minutes to get home. There's a certain type of excitement that comes with exploring the neighbourhood when you're a kid. Soon, his house appears down the end of the road, and Shun makes sure to stuff Prickly back into his bag, just in case mother is planning to assault him with questions. Lucky for him though, this doesn't happen, and he's able to return to his room without disturbance. Shun chucks his bag on the floor, rescuing Prickly and sitting the stuffed animal on his bed. He spends the next minute or so changing into comfy clothes. He chose his favourite bat pattern shirt and his blue shorts. And after dragging out one of his colouring books that he hides far underneath his bed, Shun puts on a YouTube video and starts colouring with his crayons. Colouring has always been one of his most beloved activities. Considering he never had many friends, as a kid, he'd often entertain himself with it considering how much of a solitary task it is.

   As he coloured, Shun fell further into littlespace. Age regression has been a constant throughout his life - Kaidou doesn't exactly understand his coping mechanism but it's comforting. Who doesn't want to disregard their responsibilities to be a kid for a while. Shun chews on the collar of his shirt like any other five year old might, and keeps Prickly close to his chest as he colours in a picture of a balloon. Vague memories of the day washed in and out - Aren, and the ball, and his countless worksheets - though none of it bothered him now. That stuff was for big Kaidou to worry about. He pats Prickly on the head, and hums to himself. The real world sucks anyway.

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