My Hero // Baji Keisuke

~2~

The next day...

You were getting ready in the bathroom. You saw the cut on your cheek and a bruise. There was dry blood on your cheek and you just washed it off. You got some foundation that your mom had left in the drawer and applied it to your bruise. The color didn't exactly match, it was a shade darker. You grabbed a face mask and left for school.

You've arrived at school and started heading to your classroom. As your were heading down the hallway, a boy bumped into you.

He looked at you with an annoyed face. "Watch where you're going!"

"S-sorry." You said as you tried walking away.

"Hey!" He said as he stopped you. "Don't think I'm gonna let you go."

You were scared. You didn't know what the boy was going to do to you.

"Take that damn mask off so I can see who you are." He said as he yanked your mask off.

Panicked, you quickly turned away and covered your face not wanting anyone to see your cut.

"Hmm. Why are your covering yourself, huh? I just wanna know who you are. Don't be shy." He said as he grabbed your wrist trying to get your hands off your face.

His friends were just laughing as other students just walked by ignoring you guys. You were struggling to keep your hands to your face when you felt him let go.

"What the hell?! Who are you?!" You heard the boy say.

You then heard a thud on the floor.

"W-what's wrong with you?!"

"Leave if you don't want me to beat your ass up."

The voice sounded familiar. You peeked through your fingers and saw the black haired boy. He came up to you and handed you your mask back.

"Here."

You quickly grabbed it with one hand while the other covered your cut. You turned around and put it on. You then turned back to look at him.

"T-thank you."

"Yeah, no problem."

You have been bullied before and not once had anyone came to help you. The students and teachers would turn a blind eye. You never expected anyone to actually help you when you were getting bullied, so you were surprised this boy helped you.

"I-I have to get t-to class." You said as you grabbed your stuff and left.

During class, you were wondering who the boy was. You have seen him three times now and got curious. You did get to look at his shoes and noticed he was two years ahead of you.

It was now time for lunch. As you went up to the rooftop and opened the door, you saw the black haired boy. He was sitting down looking up at the sky. He heard the door open and looked at your direction.

"Ah, it's you."

You looked away not knowing what to do. You decided to head somewhere else since you wanted to be alone and not bother the boy. As you were about to head back in, the boy yelled out to you.

"Wait! You don't have to leave, you can stay here if you want."

You were contemplating on whether you should stay or not. Not knowing anywhere else you can go, you just decided to stay since you were already there. You stayed a good distance away from him and sat down. You then heard footsteps coming towards you.

"Can I sit here?"

Sit here?! With me? Why?

You didn't answer him and he decided to sit next to you. He was taking his bento box out.

"Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"How'd you get that cut on your cheek?"

You panicked. Oh no, did he see it? But how? You didn't want to tell him the truth.

"If someone's bullying you, then you can tell me and I'll beat them up." He said with a smile.

He'll help me? But why? He doesn't know me, so why does he care about me? No one else cared, so why would he.

"I-I tripped and hit m-my face on the door." Stupid! He'll know I'm lying!

"Hmm. So you're clumsy."

You looked at him shocked. He believed me?! You didn't know if he was being serious or not. He hasn't said anything else and just ate his food, so you thought he believed you.

It was now quiet since he hasn't said anything after that. You were still nervous having him near you. You were a shy girl who stayed away from people. Every time someone would talk to you, you'd look away avoiding eye contact and would always stutter when talking to anyone that's not your parents.

Just then, the bell had rung. Lunch was now over. You didn't have any food, so you didn't eat anything. You got up and was about to start walking back inside.

"Hey, you wanna ditch school with me?"

You were a bit surprised at what he said. "What?"

"Come on. Let's just leave school."

Not expecting anyone to want to hang out with you, you were surprised. You didn't like being around people, but for some reason, a small part of you wanted to get to know this boy.

"B-but what if w-we get in trouble?"

"Don't worry, we won't get in trouble. I've done this a few times already, so we'll be fine."

"B-but -"

"Do you really wanna stay here? I mean don't you get bored sitting in class all day?"

"I-I don't want t-to get in trouble."

"Let's just enjoy our childhood and have fun!"

You had thought about it. Never before did you have any friends to play with. Maybe this was your chance to finally have a friend. As you were in your thoughts, you felt a hand grab your wrist.

"Stop thinking about it and let's go!"

He led you all the way to the exit. He just told you to follow his lead and you did just that. You guys made it out without anyone seeing you.

As you guys were walking, you were still processing what just happened. You didn't agree to go with him, he just dragged you out of school. In all honestly, a small part of you was excited about hanging out with someone. You guys arrived at a convenience store and went in.

"I noticed you didn't eat, so you can get anything you want. I'll pay."

"I-I'm fine, I-I'm not hungry."

"But you didn't eat, so you must be hungry. Just get something."

"I-I can't."

"Why not?"

"I-I don't have m-money."

"I said I'll pay. Just get something to eat."

Why is he doing this?

Seeing how he kept on insisting you get something, you grabbed a sandwich and a drink. The boy got himself some snacks and paid. After that, he led you to a nearby park. You guys then found a spot to sit at.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask. What's your name?"

"Y-Yoshida Y/N."

"I'm Baji Keisuke." He said with a smile.

You both sat in silence while eating. Since Baji sat on your left side, he saw your cut more clearly. You had forgotten about your cut as you had your mask down. He was now wondering if what you told him was a lie, but he didn't want to ask since you might not want to talk about it.

"So, what do you like to do for fun?" 

"I-I just stay h-home."

"Boring. Why don't I take you somewhere where you can have some fun?"

You stayed quiet not knowing what to say.

"Let's just go." He said as he got up and grabbed your wrist and led the way.