𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕦𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 | 𝕜.𝕜𝕠𝕫𝕦𝕞𝕖

first day

"please don't leave me alone."

as they were walking to school, the saito siblings were bickering - as usual. now, katsuo would call it a loving debate, whereas hanako would call it plain annoying.

"-but you don't like strawberry milk. that's the problem. you have your chocolate milk, why did you drink mine? i needed the serotonin today." the brunette girl sighed, having to take faster steps to make up for having legs a foot shorter than her brothers.

"you gain your happiness by drinking strawberry milk? that's quite sad, hana." her brother chuckled, patting her on the head. frowning, she smoothed out her hair.

"yes. it's the only way i'm guaranteed a good day." she insisted, folding her arms across her chest as they neared the school.

"what, seeing my handsome face isn't enough?" he pouted, leaning his face closer to her as she scrunched her nose up and pushed him away.

"gross." katsuo laughed, their argument soon forgotten after they stepped into nekoma high school. "stay close to me." he mumbled, aware of her discomfort at all the stares they were getting.

school had started a month ago, but there was a huge mess with all the paperwork, causing the twins to miss out on a few weeks of their education. not that either of them minded too much, especially hanako, who wasn't mentally prepared to meet new people yet.

a group of boys ran past, laughing as they threw a ball at each other. seeing this, hanako's eyes widened, and she pressed herself against the wall, pulling her brother in front of her until they had passed.

letting out a sigh of relief, she peeled herself away from the safety of the shield known as katsuo saito. "it's okay." he promised, placing a hand on her shoulder as he steered her through the crowds of people.

when they found their class, hanako almost smiled. it was practically empty. the only issue was that it wasn't the start of the year. most likely, everyone already had assigned seats, and that meant she wouldn't be able to choose a seat by her brother.

the only other people in the classroom were two boys. one sat quietly, his thumbs furiously moving over his screen as his face remained passive. the other spoke to him, not seeming to mind how he didn't merit a response.

before hanako could stop him, katsuo walked over to the boys. she shrunk in on herself, turning away as anxiety filled her stomach. she never understood how easily her brother could just talk to people. hanako almost shuddered at the thought.

"excuse me?" her brother asked politely. "sorry to bother you, but do you know where the spare seats are?"

the boy with the black messy hair looked up, a wide, lazy grin on his face. "kenma." he nudged the guy next to him, causing him to die in game. "i'm not actually in this class, but my buddy here is."

the boy, kenma, glanced up. at first, he didn't notice hanako standing a few feet away, fisting the material of her skirt as she waited for their interaction to be over.

"there's one behind me and one at the front." he said, and the girl's head snapped up. her greatest fear of starting school had now become a reality. one at the back, one at the front. separately.

she almost cried right then and there. anyone else may have thought she was behaving dramatically, but in reality, the stress in her stomach wouldn't stop growing.

katsuo knew that, and briefly cast his sister a worried glance before turning back to the boys. "ah, thank you both." he said with a small bow.

kenma still hadn't returned to his game, watching as the new boy spoke lowly to the green-eyed girl. his head cocked to the side slightly as he examined their exchange.

her emerald eyes were trained on the ground, and the boy placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, bending his knees slightly so he could see her face. "must be nervous." his friend commented, following kenma's line of sight.

he didn't respond, knowing it must've been more than that. she almost hid behind the long, willowy curtain of her hair, and kenma knew that feeling all too well. after a few minutes, the bell rang signifying the beginning of class, and kuroo still hadn't left kenma. "don't you have class?" he asked.

"you're correct, oh great one." kuroo winked, ruffling kenma's hair before sliding off of his desk. "i'll see you at lunch!"

"bye." kenma responded, casting his eyes to his game after taking note of how the new students had sat. the boy had sat in the front, and the girl had sat behind him.

he couldn't help but feel self-conscious knowing she was there. he wasn't sure why - but she made him nervous. if she knew that, she would've laughed. she was about as intimidating as an ant, yet that also meant she was easily stepped on.

her old friends constantly told her to toughen up, to become brave instead of small. but all her life, she'd been accustomed to it. she couldn't change that now, especially with the anxiety-inducing shadows that loomed over her - threatening her into mindless submission.

after a few minutes, the class was full, and kenma heard the nervous tapping of a pen on the desk behind him. the corners of his lips twitched downwards, her unease triggering his own. he felt jittery.

the teacher came in, and immediately began a stereotypical 'treat the new kids well' speech. unfortunately for hanako, this drew more attention to her.

of course her brother had been the centre of attention as everyone came in, he was sat at the front after all, but people were only just noticing her now.

"katsuo, could you introduce yourself please?" the teacher asked, smiling as the boy stood. lot's of miniature conversations arose when his full height was on display. some boys were jealous of how tall he was, and many of the girls were already swooning.

"my name is katsuo saito. my sister and i transferred here from karasuno high school in miyagi." hanako let out a small sigh of relief. her brother had said the majority of the important stuff, all she needed to do was say her name.

"thank you very much, katsuo." the teacher nodded at him, and he sat. "sweetheart, could you introduce yourself?" she gestured for the timid girl to stand.

shuffling meekly on her feet, she spoke softly, "hanako saito. please, take care of me." with that, she sat down, and the whispers began again.

she couldn't deduce what they were saying, and it distressed her to the point she tasted the cool, metallic blood in her mouth as she bit the inside of her cheek too hard. wincing, she diverted her attention to the worksheet before her.

as long as she could get through today, she would be fine.

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