omoikiri // harumaki

three

Harua stuffed his school jersey into his backpack before zipping it up and standing up from his desk. He bit his lips together nervously before tapping Maki's shoulder. "Maki-chan—"

"Don't call me that."

"— I noticed that we walk in the same direction home," Harua began, holding his bag straps, "so why don't we walk together?"

"I'm busy."

Maki walked off, but Harua walked after him quickly. "Just for today! I won't ask again after this, I swear. I know you like your personal space."

"Exactly. So let me have my space," Maki said, turning to face the other. "Walk home with your best friend. I'm sure Asakura-san wouldn't mind."

Harua paused for a moment. Jo would be busy after school as well — he was worried Haruto would somehow catch him after school. "Jo-chan will be busy too..."

It seemed that Maki concluded that Harua would be walking home alone without him. He sighed softly to himself before turning around. "Keep up with me."

Harua smiled brightly as he walked after Maki quickly, managing to walk closely by his side. "You're much nicer than you think."

"I don't try to be mean," Maki answered flatly. "I don't try to make friends."

"Why did you suddenly transfer?" Harua asked, causing Maki to look at him. "It's almost summer, yet you suddenly showed up. Euijoo-kun I can understand, but you..."

"Forced transfer due to violence."

Harua stopped talking, knowing that his firm statement meant that he shouldn't pry any further. He glanced away, pressing his lips together rather nervously. A tense silence fell over them, making Harua nervous. "Why do you prefer Maki?"

Maki was quiet for a bit before letting out a small smile. "You're quite inquisitive. I'm the same."

He had dimples.

"Maki is just a nickname — the teacher said there are two other Rikis in the class, so calling me by my nickname would be better with friends," Maki replied. "It doesn't matter, though — everyone calls me Hirota, anyway."

"Can I call you Maki-chan?"

"No. Call me something normal."

"Macchan?"

"Wh—? No."

"You can call me Harua-chan."

"... I'd rather not."

•

"Don't you think Maki is handsome?"

Jo paused, staring at his phone for a moment before humming. "I suppose. A little bit. Why?"

"I don't know, there's just... something about him. I'm curious about him. I'm just wondering what's going through his mind all the time. He looks so interesting."

Jo couldn't help but frown at his phone. Harua wasn't looking at the camera either, eyes peering down at the book on his desk. "I don't particularly feel anything about him. He's just a normal student."

"I don't think he would like me back, but I wouldn't want to make him uncomfortable."

Jo wanted to end the video call. "I wonder why Fuma didn't tell us what activity we're doing for the festival."

"The bake sale won the vote, but apparently, the approval meeting was delayed," Harua answered. "I wanted to do the horror house, but I guess I'm okay with baking. Should we do something together?"

"The pikachu cupcakes last time failed, so should we try again?" Jo suggested. "They'll sell like hotcakes if we succeed."

Harua suddenly gasped excitedly. "Do you think Maki could help us?"

Jo bit his lips together with a soft sigh. "Can you stop talking about Hirota-kun, please? It's making me tired."

Harua fell silent. "Sorry..."

Jo closed his notebook suddenly. "Thanks for the help. I figured everything out."

"You're going to hang up now?"

"I mean, I just needed help with the physics homework — I'm all done, so I'm going to shower now."

"Oh, okay. I'll see you tomorrow morning, then. Bye-bye."

"Mhm. Bye." Harua waved his hand at the camera before hanging up. Jo slumped in his seat with a heavy sigh, turning around and tossing his phone onto his bed. "Ah, it's all so tiring. Why do I have a crush on my best friend...?!"

•

"Ah — Hirota-kun."

Maki turned around at the mention of his name and bowed at the approaching class leader. "Murata-san."

"Sorry for the delay," Fuma laughed as he stopped just in front of the other. "I've been meaning to check up on you. Settling in well?"

"As well as I can, I suppose," Maki answered with a small smile.

Fuma gave a positive nod before holding forward a clear sleeve with various prints in it. "Some catch-up for history, language, and chemistry. Just some summarised notes from the last two chapters of each subject. Just look over them using your preferred method of study and and you'll be good to go."

Maki nodded as he bowed his head. "No problem. Thank you."

"It's not a problem," Fuma smiled. "Please let me know if you have any issues — I'd be happy to help you with anything. Make some friends, okay? You're always on your own."

"Well, I'm sure they told you why I transferred," Maki said with a soft chuckle. Fuma's smile grew smaller, looking down as he nodded. "It's okay. I figured that they'd tell you. They told you to keep a close eye on me too, huh?"

Fuma kept silent, immediately affirming Maki's suspicions. He cleared his throat  suddenly, his smile spreading once more. "I want to know your side, though. We can talk about it over lunch tomorrow, okay? I'll finish up my duties earlier, and then we can talk, okay? I feel like this transfer was... unfair."

Fuma could see the unreadable look in Maki's eyes and offered a softer gaze. Maki ended up agreeing, nodding ever so slightly. "Lunch tomorrow is fine."

"This could be a chance to start afresh — leave that past behind," Fuma told him. "Besides, I noticed that Shigeta-chan is quite interested in you. He's a good friend — but his heart is... somehow fragile. He's soft, but he doesn't like to think that he's soft. Protect him... okay?"

Maki knew how soft Harua could be.

Fuma patted Maki's arm before bowing his head ever so slightly. "See you in class."