Chapter Text
Rantaro, along with the others, thought he was spooky. To say he was scary was an overstatement, but to say he was friendly didn’t feel quite right either. Shinguji, Korekiyo Shinguji, was an enigma. He was a mystery that no one had bothered trying to figure out, and for good reason if based upon sight alone.
Korekiyo was tall, practically lurching over his classmates. He was almost painfully thin, making him appear long and gangly, like a spider - or maybe a stick bug… Gonta would know. Rantaro wasn’t exactly sure how tall Korekiyo was. At first glance, he looked an intimidating 6’7”-ish, but he knew that couldn’t be right. Looking down at the tall boots Korekiyo wore, Rantaro noted their height. They had platforms on the bottom. That explained the almost unrealistic height.
The more Rantaro studied the way Korekiyo dressed, the more he noticed that his style of dressing seemed to give the illusion of being taller. The zippers on the front of his boots, the streamlined look of his dusty green uniform, the long hair that framed his stature. The only skin visible on his whole body was the strip of face that showed his eyes and eyebrows. Even his hands were wrapped in bandages. The lower half of his face was covered by a mask with a zipper that looked eerily like a grimace. His eyes were almost hypnotizing, as if they could glow in low lighting. Okay, maybe he was scary. At the very least, he looked scary.
This only piqued Rantaro’s curiosity more. He barely saw Korekiyo around school - no one really did. It was almost like he blended into the back of classrooms and vanished once class was over. Then he would reappear for the next class. It was strange, to say the least. They had a class or two together, but it wasn’t as if they interacted much. Their social circles were very different, in the fact that Rantaro was in the more popular circle of students, while Korekiyo wasn’t in a circle at all. He was as off-the-grid as a student could get.
Rantaro made up his mind: he was going to talk to Korekiyo. Everyone was curious about him, but no one had the courage to say hello. Rantaro vowed to be different.
Class was about to begin - history, Rantaro reminded himself - and he searched for a spot towards the back of the classroom, where he had noticed that that Korekiyo guy usually sat. He slipped into the seat next to Korekiyo and tapped his nails against his desk, hoping Korekiyo would look up from the journal he was writing in. He didn’t. Rantaro cleared his throat, watching for a reaction. Korekiyo tilted his head up and to the side just a little bit, and glanced vaguely in Rantaro’s direction before immediately returning to his journal. Rantaro decided that he would have to use a more direct approach.
“Hey, uh,” Rantaro half-whispered, looking over at Korekiyo.
“Yes?” He answered, not bothering to look up at Rantaro.
“You’re Shinguji, right? My name is Amami, but uh, you can call me Rantaro if you want to.”
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Amami.” Korekiyo replied, almost sounding annoyed, and still not looking up from his work.
Rantaro, although slightly put off, was willing to give this guy the benefit of the doubt and assume that that was his normal tone. He ruffled his hair and tried again.
“I don’t think we’ve met yet, well, outside of just now,” Rantaro squeezed his eyes shut, trying to figure out how to carry on a one-sided conversation. “Would you like to sit with me at lunch today? We could get to know each other better!"
Korekiyo finally looked up to meet Rantaro’s eyes. “I have some very important research to take care of at the moment, so please do not feel like you have to talk to me out of pity. I’m more than capable of keeping myself busy.”
Rantaro opened his mouth to say something back, but shut it quickly as Korekiyo continued.
“That being said, I will consider your offer. I cannot at this moment give you a definite yes or no, but please keep a seat for me at lunch in case circumstances permit me to join you.” The bell rang, and Korekiyo stretched his skeleton-like fingers before picking his pen up again. “Class is about to begin, so I will now return to my work. Good day, Amami.”
“Yeah, uh, see ya.” Rantaro scratched the back of his head. Never in his life had he understood a sentence so much, yet so little. Was that a yes? A most likely yes? A polite no? Hell if he knew. But he made a mental note to save a seat for that guy just in case he showed up. He opened his history textbook and promptly crossed his arms on it and laid his head down.
History was easily his least favorite subject. He passed the class, he understood the material, but he didn’t find it very intriguing. Why learn about people and places when you can go see those places and learn about those people in real life? His heart rested anywhere but the location he was at. He would rather be traveling and seeing the world. He supposed he was a hands-on learner. He’d rather learn about the past by living in the present, not reading about it in some heavy textbook.
Every now and again during class, his eyelids would start to droop, and then snap open as he fought to stay awake. Every time his eyes opened, he found himself facing the boy sitting next to him. The boy’s face was obscured by a curtain of dark hair as he scribbled notes furiously in his notebook. It was as if he was trying to write the entire textbook into his notes, along with every word the teacher said. His bandaged fingers beared down tightly on his pen as he scratched words into the page. Rantaro wondered why this guy seemed so dedicated to these notes. Was he like this in all of his classes? Rantaro only had so many classes with him and never bothered to notice before now. Was he only like this in history class? Rantaro couldn’t tell. Hopefully he could draw some information out of him at lunch… if he actually showed up.
Eventually the bell rang, and history class was over. Rantaro grabbed his belongings and his textbook and dragged himself out of his chair - not that the chair was comfortable by any means, but at least it provided a place to sit down for a while. He was almost to the door when he thought to look back. He wondered if Korekiyo had already left or not.
He was gone.
Simply stated, he vanished.
Rantaro, for what seemed like the tenth time in the past hour, scratched his head in confusion. Where did he go? How did he get out so quickly, and without anyone noticing? Rantaro shrugged. He could always ask him at lunch. Hopefully.
Korekiyo was a curious person. Almost unreadable when approached, and not often approached because of it. He said very little. The most anyone would ever hear him talk was when he would ask the occasional question during history class. His voice was interesting. Low and steady, yet inquisitive. Rantaro wondered what he sounded like when he talked about his interests and things he liked. Did he even have interests? The more Rantaro thought about it, the more he realized that no one knew who Korekiyo was. No one knew the first thing about him, outside of his name, and not everyone knew that or even bothered to ask.
Rantaro wondered if Korekiyo was lonely.
Did he like the isolation?
Rantaro was determined to figure it out, even if it meant having mostly one-sided conversations every day for the rest of the school year. Something about Korekiyo fascinated him. Perhaps it was the fact that he knew nothing about him. Korekiyo, at that moment, could be any number of people that Rantaro imagined him to be. The possibilities were endless. His personality was left open to whatever Rantaro could conjure. Of course, all but one of these possibilities would be destroyed once Rantaro learned about Korekiyo’s true personality, but for the time being, it was entertaining to imagine all the different scenarios that could come with different people.
He slept all the way through his next class. Not a single word made it into his brain. He walked in, sat down, promptly nodded off, and woke up to the bell ringing. He cursed inwardly at himself, but quickly remembered that he could ask his classmate Kaede for the notes from today. Sweet as ever, Kaede held no grudges against Rantaro after their breakup, and they remained good friends. They could still count on one another to have each others’ backs in situations like these.
Standing up from his chair and stretching his back, he felt a poke at his shoulder as someone walked by. The smell of strawberries and cream followed closely in the breeze.
“Have a nice nap, Rantaro?”
“I did, actually, thanks for asking Kaede,” Rantaro laughed, rubbing his shoulder in feigned injury. “What did I miss?”
Kaede giggled, turning around to face him as other students filed out of the room. “Oh, not much, but if you’d still like the notes, I’d be more than happy to give you a copy of mine!”
“You’re a lifesaver, K,” Rantaro held out his fist, which Kaede bumped back with a smile.
“I know!” She smiled, polishing her nails on her vest and then looking at them in a sarcastically pompous way. “Oh, also, I’m having a little get together with some friends this Friday night after school if you’d like to come! We’re just gonna hang out in my dorm and eat food and stuff. Pretty laid back.”
Rantaro rolled his shoulders back and picked up the textbook that he didn’t use during class. “Sounds fun, I’ll see if I can clear a spot for it in my super busy schedule,” he mimicked the motions Kaede had just made with her nails towards him and he chuckled at her. “You know I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Awesome!” Kaeded clapped her hands together. “See you then!”
Kaede turned around and skipped away to catch up with Shuichi, who was waiting for her at the door. Rantaro could hear her giggle as she hooked her hand around Shuichi’s arm and bumped against him in a pseudo-hug. Rantaro shook his head and laughed as he watched Shuichi’s face turn bright red, his eyes never leaving Kaede’s bright smile.
When it was finally lunch time, Rantaro was putting his textbooks back in his locker and grabbing the sandwich he had thrown together that morning. He fought his way through the crowded halls and found his way to the cafeteria, where a few of his friends were waiting for him. Kokichi stood up on his chair and waved at him. Rantaro waved back and flashed a grin at him. Sure, Kokichi could be annoying at times, but underneath his irritating personality, he really did care for his friends.
“It's about time, pimple-face,” Kokichi grinned a toothy, braces-covered smile at him as he slapped at the section of the table that accompanied the empty seat reserved for Rantaro.
“Don’t be an asshole, Kokichi!” Kaito said as he lightly punched him in the arm.
“Yeah, ouch!” Rantaro clutched at his chest dramatically and toppled down into his seat. “I thought you’d be grateful to see me, but no, I guess you just wanted to humiliate me!”
“Oh, you know I love you, Rantaro! Madly, in fact!” Kokichi fluttered his eyelashes and rested his face in his hands.
“Yeah, yeah, sure you do.” Rantaro rolled his eyes with a grin. “Anyway, I hope you don’t mind, but I invited someone to sit with us today.”
“Without asking the council first?? How dare you!” Kokichi teased.
“What ‘council’?” Rantaro played into Kokichi’s little act.
“The council of super cool and sexy people, of course!”
“Fine, what does the ‘council of super cool and sexy people’ think of inviting someone new to our table for today?” Rantaro laughed.
Kokichi tapped his chin with his finger. “Let’s take a vote. Everyone in favor of newcomers intruding upon our sacred meeting spot, raise your hand!”
Rantaro surveyed the group of people at the table, waiting for a verdict, making sure to act like it was the most important decision ever made, so as to appease Kokichi. Although the others hadn’t spoken up yet, he knew they would answer eventually. Maki rolled her eyes and continued eating despite Kaito nagging her for an answer. Kaede and Shuichi were in their own little world, not paying attention to anyone as they giggled and talked and fed each other their lunch. Still in their honeymoon phase, Rantaro chuckled internally. Kiibo sat quietly, knowing that whichever way he voted, Kokichi would endlessly make fun of him, so he waited for someone else to go first.
“Aye!” Kaito raised his hand, breaking the silence. Maki didn’t look up from her lunch but raised her hand to appease Kaito. Shuichi looked over, whispered to Kaede, and they both raised their hands despite not having the vaguest idea of what they were voting on. Kiibo followed suit, not wanting to be called out for being the only one with a different answer.
“Well,” Kokichi clapped his hands together, “the council has spoken! So, who did you invite?”
Rantaro fidgeted with his rings for a second before speaking. “I, uh, well,” his voice cracked. He cleared it awkwardly and continued. “I invited this guy from my history class, I think his name is Korekiyo.”
“You mean The Creep??” Kaito slammed his hands on the table dramatically. “Oh no, I take back my ‘aye’, that guy gives me the willies!”
“How do you know he’s a creep?” Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t ever talked to him, have you?”
“Well, no,” Kaito admitted sheepishly, “but he just gives off really bad vibes. I feel like I can’t trust him.”
“Maybe he feels the same way about you, you never know,” Rantaro shrugged his shoulders with a smirk, knowing that he had irked Kaito.
“Oh hell no, I’m the friendliest guy ever! Everyone loves me, even if they don’t know me!”
“I don’t love you!” Kokichi piped up, sticking out his tongue at Kaito.
“Uh huh, I definitely believe that,” Kaito rolled his eyes. “You literally called me your best friend like fifteen minutes ago.”
“How do you know I was telling the truth?”
“How do I know you’re not lying right now?”
Kokichi opened his mouth to say something, then snapped it shut. He turned red in the face. “I’ll come up with a witty reply once I’ve got some food in my stomach, just you wait, asshat.”
“So I assume it’s a yes that the Shinguji guy will be joining us today?” Kiibo stated plainly.
Rantaro put up his hands in mock defeat. “Hey, Kokichi said it himself, the council has decided. I just hope he shows up. He never gave me a definite yes.”
“Why don’t you ask him again?” Maki spoke up, seemingly looking past Rantaro instead of at him.
“Huh?” Rantaro cocked his head.
Maki pointed behind him and returned to her food.
Rantaro looked over his shoulder to see Korekiyo looking back at him curiously, towering above him in a slightly intimidating manner, his arms crossed behind his back.
“My apologies for arriving late. Is there still room for me amongst your ‘council’?”
Rantaro shot up out of his seat and bowed slightly to Korekiyo, smiling nervously. “Oh, hey, uh, hey! Glad you could make it!” He stammered, embarrassed that he hadn’t noticed him sooner. Did he just appear three seconds ago? Or had he been standing there the whole time and overheard the entire conversation? Shit. He really hoped it was the former.
Korekiyo nodded his head in return, and eyed the empty seat next to Rantaro. “Would I be correct in assuming that this seat was reserved for me?”
“Yes! Of course!” Rantaro shook his head to tousle his hair and motioned towards the empty seat. “Welcome to the council of super cool and sexy people.”
The others waved hesitantly at him. Kiibo was formal as always and did his best to treat Korekiyo the same as he treated the others. Kaito merely lifted his hand and slapped it back on the table, not fully making eye contact with Korekiyo. Maki nodded to him and turned back to Kaito. Shuichi and Kaede weren’t really paying attention anyway, but they looked up at him just long enough to spurt out a mumbled “hey” before returning to their giggle-filled lunch.
“What’s up freak?” Kokichi waved, almost a little too enthusiastically, smiling so big that his eyes were squeezed shut and his braces flashed.
Kaito socked him in the arm again. “Shut the hell up, man! At least I’m trying to be polite.”
Kokichi clicked his tongue. “Oh and you’re doing a great job, just look at how welcomed Korekiyo feels!”
Kaito rolled his eyes and huffed.
“A- anyway,” Rantaro stumbled over his words, “feel free to sit down and join us! We just got here a few minutes ago.”
“Thank you,” Korekiyo said, sweeping his hair out the way and sitting down next to Rantaro. He smelled like incense and... hand sanitizer..? It was a perfect balance of earthy and sterile. Rantaro had never seen him in such close proximity until now. His eyelashes were long and dark, like a lace curtain over the shining sunlight of his bright yellow eyes. His eyebrows were perfect and neat and even, pencil thin at the tails and feathering inwards towards the persistent crease between them. His skin - or what Rantaro could see of it - was smooth and clear, yet dull and pale, resembling that of a corpse. He barely moved when he breathed. He looked… stagnant. His hair cascaded all the way down his back, completely smooth, as if he had just brushed it. Rantaro was absolutely fascinated at the sight of him. Perhaps it was because he hadn’t ever thought to notice before.
Everyone joked around, complained about homework, and talked about upcoming events for the remainder of lunch, but Korekiyo stayed silent. His eyes flickered from one person to another as they each spoke, observing their mannerisms carefully.
About halfway through lunch, Rantaro picked up on this habit. He wanted Korekiyo to feel welcomed as part of the group, not as an outsider.
“So, uh, Korekiyo,” Rantaro butted in to whatever conversation was currently going on to start his own, “what’s your ultimate?”
Korekiyo slowly turned his head towards rantaro and closed his eyes, as if he was lost in thought. “Anthropology. Or, alternatively, the study of human societies and the cultures housed within them.”
“Oh, that’s really neat!” Rantaro replied quickly, hoping to reassure Korekiyo that he was, in fact, interested in what he had to say. Then it clicked. “That’s why he’s so dedicated to his history homework,” he thought to himself. “So do you get to go out and do, like, fieldwork? Or do you learn most of your stuff from books and classes?”
“If the opportunity arises, I take trips to historically important locations, such as temples or villages, to study them in person, as I find that I learn much more that way as opposed to only reading about said subject in a textbook,” Korekiyo held up his hand as he spoke, fingers unfurling from his palm.
“So I take it you enjoy traveling?” Kiibo added.
“I do,” Korekiyo’s eyes fluttered shut as he spoke. “I find it invigorating to experience so many different cultures and traditions during my travels. While most of my time on my trips is spent studying, I try to plan for a bit of unoccupied time so I can simply explore without a schedule to bind me.”
“I like to travel too!” Rantaro said. “I don’t like staying in one place for too long, so I try to travel as often as I can.”
“Although the chances are slim, perhaps we will encounter each other one day whilst on our separate adventures,” Korekiyo said, and Rantaro could have sworn that he saw a slight smile creep up into Korekiyo’s cheeks as he spoke.
“That would be super weird,” Kokichi commented, making a grossed out face.
“But not in a bad way!” Rantaro quickly corrected him, holding up both his hands defensively, bracelets clattering against each other as he did so. “That would be crazy if we saw each other just out and about somewhere halfway across the globe!”
“Indeed,” Korekiyo agreed.
The bell rang, and the cafeteria bustled about as students headed to their classes. Korekiyo rose up out of his seat like a phantom, hair swishing as he moved. Kokichi threw a balled up napkin at Shuichi’s head and dashed out of the cafeteria before Shuichi could even stand. The others said goodbye to Rantaro as they left one by one or two by two, leaving only Rantaro and Korekiyo standing at the table. The cafeteria had cleared out fairly quickly, all things considered.
“Thank you for inviting me to sit with you today,” Korekiyo nodded his head down, revealing the emblem on the top of his hat as he did so. “Although, if you invite me again, I believe I will consider the offer a little more cautiously. I don’t think your ‘council’ likes me very much.”
“Ah, they’re just messing around. They have good hearts,” Rantaro shrugged. “They’ll like you once they get to know you better. We all will.”
“Hmm, yes, I suppose that might be true. Perhaps next time we could sit outside, weather permitting.”
Rantaro raised an eyebrow. “Outside? The council too?”
“Preferably not,” Korekiyo breathed heavily, “they don’t pique my interest at the time being. You, on the other hand, could be quite fascinating. I think I would like to get to know you better, if you don’t mind talking to the ‘creep’.”
“Of- of course not!” Rantaro smiled, “I’m flattered that you want to have lunch with me again! Oh, I just noticed. Did you eat anything today?”
Korekiyo shuffled his boot against the linoleum tiles of the cafeteria, a squeaking sound echoing throughout the mostly empty room. “I did not. Admittedly, I wasn’t very hungry, but I didn’t want to seem impolite by turning down your offer.”
“Well, make sure you bring something to eat next time, or you’ll be forced to share with me,” Rantaro joked, prodding Korekiyo in the arm. He shied away, and Rantaro wondered why.
“Tomorrow?”
“Oh, uh, sure!” Rantaro replied, surprised that Korekiyo was willing to interact again so soon. He peered out the window for a moment before returning to the conversation. “How about that table, right there?” He pointed out the window at a table halfway under the shade of a tree.
“Yes, that will do.” Korekiyo said. “Until next time.” He waved, then exited the cafeteria, boots stomping against the floor as he did.
Rantaro followed him with his eyes until he was out of sight with a swish of his hair. The sound of his boots bounced around in Rantaro’s head. Korekiyo didn’t seem so scary anymore. Still a little spooky, but maybe that would change. Rantaro found himself intrigued by him, wanting to know more. He was an unsolved mystery, and Rantaro was going to be the person to solve it. Even if it took him all of high school to do it.
Korekiyo sorted through the books in his locker, filing through loose papers and handouts. Rantaro was friendly. Perhaps a little too much..? Korekiyo assumed he was trying too hard to make friends with him because he didn’t want him to feel left out. Korekiyo, of course, had no problem with being left out. He had more time to himself that way. No one to bother him while he studied, Except for that day. No one to occupy his thoughts during lunch. Except for that day. No one to make unnecessary plans with that took up all of his time. Except for that day.
Why the sudden change?
Why the sudden attention?
Was Rantaro planning on humiliating him after gaining his trust?
No, that would be ridiculous. That sort of thing only happens in fiction, Korekiyo scolded himself. Perhaps it was a genuine attempt at beginning a friendship. But of all people to approach him, why Rantaro?
Rantaro was popular, considered cool, even. Everyone loved Rantaro. They practically fought for his attention. Girls crowded around him, but he never seemed bothered or annoyed by it, he simply treated them the same as he treated everyone else: like an old acquaintance with whom he reconnected.
“So why would he talk to me?”
It was like a tangled up ball of yarn in his head that Korekiyo was determined to unravel and set straight. Perhaps he would entertain the idea of starting a friendship, if only to observe the human nature behind it.
Rantaro seemed like a nice person.
Perhaps he would continue this pursuit of friendship with Rantaro.
Why not?