Chapter Text
Rain fell gently from the gray, solemn sky. The air was filled with a light coolness as raindrops hit the ground and bounced off the metal roofs above. A boy stared down at his bag. The flaps were all opened, the contents spilled out along the street’s gutter. A steady stream of water flowed down the slope. The calm bubbling of the stream echoed out of the storm drain below.
He crouched down and began to stuff the dripping notebooks and folders back into the soggy bag. Now his hands, too, were coated in black dirt. Peering into the gutter, some items had fallen down. An eraser bobbed up and down in the stream below before disappearing out of sight. He zipped up the bag and listened to the rain. It’s the most peaceful kind of weather. He was already soaked; he might as well enjoy it.
He started wiping his hands against the wet fabric of the bag as he noticed someone stopping next to him. He knew better than to look up during a moment like this.
“Oh, what happened? Stuck out in the rain?”
He glanced up to see Shuichi kneeling down slightly before him. He simply let out a sigh and grabbed his bag before standing up.
“Yeah. All my stuff got ruined… Again.” He wiped his cheeks and felt his hand through his hair. Completely soaked. He met Shuichi’s eyes for a moment and continued, “Sorry, don’t worry about it.”
“So, someone did this to you?” He asked. He peered down at Kokichi from underneath a small umbrella. Water quickly dropped from its edge onto Kokichi’s head, flowing down his purple hair and onto his face. It trickled down over his eyes.
Kokichi stepped away before responding. “Uh, you know. People from school.”
He stared for a moment. “You couldn’t stop them?”
“Um, I mean… No?” He took another step away. “Sorry, I—I kind of have to go.”
“Oh, bye,” Shuichi said, immediately stepping away at a swift pace. Kokichi watched him walk away for a minute before setting off to the train station. He didn’t bother rushing. His train probably already departed. Raindrops fell onto the roofs and bounced down onto his head. His clothes stuck to his skin and so did his hair. His shoes gushed with water. The laces of one dragged behind him as he walked, completely drenched. He kept walking. It would be bothersome to stop with all these people walking near him. They probably have trains to catch.
As he waited for the next train, he watched the shoes of those walking past him. He had dripped water all over the bench. Nobody sat near him. Maybe it was for the better. He sat and waited. Soon, he would get home and deal with the consequences of the day. But, for now, he could sit and enjoy the ambience. However, the screeching of a stopping train cut into his thoughts.
The next day, he ate a typical lunch in class. The room whirred with light chatter. A group of popular students talked at a nearby row of desks. He reached and felt his bag, just to check. Still damp. He just kept chewing the same mush. It was a bit painful. The bandages didn’t hide the condition of his face very well. At least it was cool enough for long sleeves to be in fashion.
Shuichi approached him from the other side of the room. He stopped close to his desk. His eyes stared piercingly into Kokichi’s.
“Kokichi, I bought this for you,” he said, holding a bag in his hands. It was the same gray color as Kokichi’s bag. It shared the same number of pockets. In fact, it was the same bag. The brand and design were identical. He continued, “There’s notebooks inside for each of your classes. Those got wet, right?”
Kokichi hesitated to answer. He swallowed the food he was chewing and stared at the bag held in front of him, slowly moving his hands toward it. “Really…? Are you sure? You—You bought this?”
He nodded in response. “Your bag is still wet. You should take it now.”
Kokichi took the bag and unzipped one of the layers to find shiny, color-coded notebooks inside. He looked through the rest to find new pencils and pens. “I’m—I mean, thank you. But I’m sorry, I don’t really understand why you bought me this.”
Shuichi seemed to have trouble coming up with an answer. After a few moments of silence, he answered, “I guess I just wanted to. I thought it’s to your liking?”
Kokichi shook his head in response. “Oh, it is! I should really just say thank you, it was really nice of you.” Another moment of silence fell upon the two. Thankfully, the bell eventually rang.
“Bye,” Shuichi said, heading back to his things before walking out of the room. Kokichi collected his things and rushed to his next class. He wore the new backpack and carried the old one by his side. He couldn’t help but smile slightly as he walked to his next class.
As the final bell rang, Kokichi collected his things before heading to the train station. He walked alongside many others down the same narrow sidewalk as always. The cloudy sky was a pleasant backdrop. It didn’t matter if his bag wouldn’t dry today, anyway.
He nearly dropped it as Shuichi called his name next to him, “Kokichi. Oh, sorry.” He watched as Kokichi recollected himself.
“Sorry, hi. You kind of startled me, haha…” He said, before continuing to walk with him. A recognizable black and white keychain jangled from the side of Shuichi’s bag.
“I was wondering if you lost any of your notes after your notebooks got wet.”
“Oh”, Kokichi responded, “Yeah, a couple of them got ruined. I couldn’t really read them… Thanks for the new ones.”
“Did your notes for biology get ruined?”
“Uh, yeah, I think so.”
“You can come to my place today or tomorrow and I could help you write your notes again for that, then,” he offered, neutrally.
“Uh… Really?” He watched Shuichi with wide eyes.
After a moment, he responded, “Do you want to do it somewhere else?”
“Oh, that doesn’t really matter to me. I was just a bit surprised. I think I can go tomorrow.”
“Sounds good,” he said, allowing the conversation to fall into silence. The two walked alongside each other for some time. Kokichi glanced a few times in Shuichi’s direction. He seemed unaffected. They entered the train station. As Kokichi walked up to his platform, he faintly heard Shuichi’s voice. “Bye,” he had said, already walking away.
“See you tomorrow, Shuichi! And… Thank you!” he said, attempting to speak across the distance and noise of the train station at its busiest hour. Shuichi walked somewhere else.
He sat at the closest bench. He only had a few minutes to wait, but he pulled out a notebook from his old bag and continued copying its contents over to one of the new notebooks. He’d already gotten through most of the legible ones. The words were a bit difficult to read, but he could tell what it was talking about. It was like studying. Maybe it was for the better, after all.
The next morning, the sun shone brightly upon the city. Of course, he had to walk east in the mornings, up a slight slope. His eyes were normally set toward the ground, anyway. He could see his shoes with each step he took. Still the same old shoes, and mostly dry now. Soon his school days could be the same as usual again.
Perhaps that was a poor choice of words. He lost his breath completely as his body slammed down to the ground. He yelped slightly. His shoulders hurt. A few people continued to walk past. Their steps seemed to quicken as they did so.
“Hey, where are you going?” he heard a familiar voice booming above him, “Maybe you should try looking where you’re going.”
He remained silent for a moment. “The—The sun,” he said, barely audible. He managed to pull in a small breath of air. A speck of dust scratched his throat.
“Huh? Sun? Are you talking about how you’re a fucking son of a bitch, maybe?” He laughed uproariously. He kicked at Kokichi’s raggedy shoes, spreading dirt all over the top of them. “And what are these things? Looks like shit. I wonder why.”
Kokichi continued to stare toward his feet. His hands shook slightly. He held them steady on the concrete. Next to him, an ant crawled along the crack in the sidewalk, carrying the mangled corpse of another. Then, Kaito’s shoe came crashing down there. Kokichi looked up with a jolt.
“What? You don’t know?” He asked, peering down with a slight grin. “It’s rude not to talk when spoken to, you know. I guess you really were raised by a bitch.” He waited for only a second before hitting Kokichi with his fist.
He managed to hold himself up on his elbows after recoiling from the punch. Now, his whole body was shaking slightly. “S-sorry…” He managed to say, holding his eyes shut. Someone’s foot kicked his shoe slightly as they passed by. Kaito chuckled under his breath.
“I think you need to learn some manners. And you’re not really sorry. You’re a liar.” He reached down to grab Kokichi’s arm. Someone began speaking from behind.
“Kokichi. Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something?” Shuichi’s voice appeared from behind him. Before he had a chance to speak, Kaito yelled back.
“And who the fuck are you?” he said, turning around, “Actually, I don’t want to know, you look like a creep. I didn’t know Kokichi had friends.” He laughed and clapped his hands. “How much is he offering? ‘Cause it can’t—”
Shuichi interrupted him, “I just wanted to talk to him about something.” He turned toward Kokichi. “Get up. You’re going to be late.”
Kokichi’s watery eyes met Shuichi’s. He blinked to clear the tears. He lifted himself up off the concrete and wiped his dusty pants. Kaito stared at both of them.
“Uh, where do you think you’re going?” He took a few steps toward them.
Shuichi turned to face him again. “Kaito Momota. Don’t you have to go to school?”
“What? You think I care about that fuckin’ place?”
“Well, I guess I do. Bye.” He began walking away and Kokichi hurried to walk alongside him. Kaito called out from behind them.
“Yeah, go fuck off!”
They walked in silence for the rest of the way to the school’s entrance. Kokichi rubbed his cheek as he walked. It’s not like another bruise will change anything. They walked to their respective classes without sharing another word.
That afternoon, as the final bell rang, Kokichi walked toward the entrance of the school. Shuichi hadn’t specified a location to meet. Regardless, he headed toward the entrance with a confident gait. He walked alongside many others as they rushed out of the school, speaking amongst each other. Murmurs of the new chapter released tonight. He slipped past as many people as he could. It’s rude to keep someone waiting.
As he walked out of the school, he looked around the area, trying to catch a glimpse of the hat that Shuichi always seemed to wear. By the overgrown bushes surrounding the school’s property, Shuichi stood, holding his phone in his hands. They made eye contact across the lawn. Kokichi raised his hand to wave and ran over to him.
Kokichi sighed as he approached Shuichi. “Hi, Shuichi. Sorry if you were waiting…” he said, peering up into Shuichi’s piercing eyes.
“Don’t worry about it. Let’s go. My train comes at the same time as yours,” he said, walking toward the train station. Out of the corner of his eye, Kokichi spotted a girl with long, blonde hair exiting the school. A large black and white pin sat in her hair. He stayed close by Shuichi’s side.
They walked in silence for a while. A thin layer of clouds covered some of the sun’s rays. Kokichi struggled to keep up with Shuichi’s pace. As they neared the train station, he began to speak.
“Thank you for this, by the way. I would’ve had to go back through the whole textbook again…” Shuichi looked at him for a few moments before responding.
“The platform’s over here. Just a few minutes to wait,” he said, guiding Kokichi toward the train platform. Kokichi walked over to an empty bench and sat. Shuichi stood next to him, watching the empty tracks.
“By the way, are your parents or anybody home?” he asked, shuffling his feet slightly.
“My parents? Oh… Uh, no. It’s just going to be us.”
“Oh, okay. That’s nice.”
“Yeah,” he said. He stared at the tracks in silence. Kokichi pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked his notifications. The top quarter of the screen looked like an oil spill. He swiped down to view the notifications in the functional part of the screen. There were none. He let out a deep breath and put his phone back before relaxing into the seat. The light echoing of conversations filled the room. Something beeped at a regular pace. Footsteps passed by occasionally. Kokichi watched the screen above them and waited as the numbers on it decreased.
Finally, the train arrived. Shuichi led him to an empty row of seats and Kokichi took the window seat. He set his bag down beside him on the worn seat as he slid over. Shuichi typed something on his phone, holding it just out of Kokichi’s view. Kokichi looked out of the window as the train screeched to a start and began rumbling down the tracks. He rested his head against the corner and watched. Rows of gray buildings passed by. Rows of trees passed by. A train whizzed past. His eyes fluttered closed.