𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘺

01 | post meridian

"Who even is that?

It's hellishly hot outside when Kanao exclaims, hand pinching the collar of her shirt desperately trying to fan in some cool air.

It's bad enough the best friends had to work so late into the school day, better yet on a long awaited Friday. The humid and what feels like heatstroke inducing weather doesn't help in the slightest. Assigned by the student council to prepare for the upcoming school festival when there were so many underclassmen that could work on it, and being haunted by the known fact that all of their friends were out having the time of their lives at karaoke.

And when Aoi see's somebody sneaking into the storage room, the thin wire of sanity she had left snaps like a broken guitar string.

"Please go work on the booths in the gym," She breathes lowly, cracking her knuckles. "I'll handle this."

Kanao can recognize the devilish look on the girl's face, and she doesn't even think to argue before turning heel and heading to the gym. She doesn't think that she wants to witness what's about to happen, anyway.

Sweat beads on her forehead as the black haired girl stomps down the hall to her victim, fist clenched and white at the knuckle when she kicks the half-cracked door open with power that would even shock the leader of the karate club.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING?"

Her voice booms, high pitched but low with something deeper than frustration. The culprit, who's crouched in the corner stuffing his face full of assorted chips and snacks, let's out a deep scream that doesn't match the girly face he's wearing.

"HUH? Who do you think you are, girl? Do you know who your talking to?"

What? WHAT?

"YOUR class president, bastard!" She screams, stomping her foot. Her school shoe makes the floor make a blood curling crack against the ceramic flooring, and the boy can't help but flinch from the deadly glare she wears.

"The fuck? I DO'T TAKE ORDERS, PRESIDENT OR NOT!"

A vein pretrudes from her forehead, and with a fist balled so tightly it may as well be a block of steel is thrown at his face.

And damn, that girl can punch. Because he's blacked out with a single blow, bag of mixed snacks still in hand and half scattered across the cold floor. Pretzels crunch under her feet as she walks over to him, grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the room like it's nothing.

Several students think they've not only witnessed disposal of a body but also tapering with evidence as their asked to open doors for her, but she makes it to the empty and sun soaked nurse's office.

"Get up, idiot."

Those words dance faintly in his head, along with assorted colors and shapes as he lays half conscious in the nurse's supplied resting beds. He knows where he is, and is also aware of the girl who's smearing some kind of elixir onto his already bruised cheek. But he doesn't want to get up, not to face the class president who packed one hell of a punch to his face moments before or to slip out of the fuzzy and vibrant world he's floating in.

"I said, get up." The girl growls again, this time more demanding than the others.

"Nghh--" He groans. "Leave me alone, you evil woman."

"Then get up and go home."

The boy breathes out a long and hefty sigh before opening his eyes to see the smooth face of another, and a set of deep blue eyes looking down at him. He keeps a straight face as he gets up, hardly giving the girl time to move before he's sitting cross legged on the bed.

"I'm sorry for punching you so hard, but you kinda deserved it." She apologizes halfheartedly.

Her glares at her, green eyes narrowed and deep in a thought that she couldn't even begin to imagine. "Who the hell even are you?"

"Did I knock the sense out of you?" Aoi sneers, flicking his forehead with an annoyed expression. "I'm your class president, Aoi Kanazki. And I won't hesitate to knock your lights out if I catch you stealing snacks again."

He winces from the blow to his already sore forehead, and he can feel the more rabid side of him coming back out as he growls. "Humph! I was hungry."

"My name is Inosuke. But you must call me Lord Hashibara." Inosuke demands, arms now crossed in an angry manner.

"I already knew that, since you're in my class." She sighs, adjusting a butterfly clip that keeps her jet black hair in one of her pigtails before continuing, "And I won't be calling you that, Inosuke."

Something inside of him feels fuzzy when she says his first name, even in such a frustrated tone.

"Fine. You may have special permission, then."

Aoi narrows her gaze at him before getting up, placing one hands on her hip and another to scold him with. "You can't go around stealing from people, especially when it's for such an important event."

The afternoon sun soaks the room a pleasant orange color, and he can't help but notice how nicely it brings out her neatly parted hair and blue eyes so vivid he could drown in them.

What the hell am I thinking?

He gets up quickly, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance as he throws the light blanket that was laying over him. "Ack-- fine! I won't steal from the storage room anymore."

"--But don't get used to making orders, Aoi!"

Her skin pricks with annoyance as he stomps over to the door, exiting the room and slamming the door with a loud thump. The feeling in her gut makes her almost sick, like the drop of a steep roller coaster. Because the way he said her first name just then felt like lighting on a hot day in July, and she hated every second of it.

Mostly because it felt like it hadn't been the first time she'd heard it.

And certainly not the last.