Chapter Text
His mom had already started crying when they were hurrying towards the platform.
"Mama," Ennoshita whined, "I told you not to cry until I was gone."
Or you're gonna make me cry. Ennoshita added in his head.
"I'm sorry, Chika," she sniffed, wiping her face, "I'm just going to miss you so much. What kinda school makes you ship off your ten-year-old?"
A magical school apparently, or at least that's what the "witch" with the pointy hat had told them. She appeared at their front door in the middle of summer vacation, wearing the most peculiar outfit and carrying a letter made of parchment, as though it was the 17th century or something. She spoke in weird metaphors and spoke of an even stranger world. It wasn't until she turned their toaster into parrot that Ennoshita was truly convinced. Suddenly he was whisked away into a world of cauldrons, spells, and bad fashion choices.
And that's what brought him here, to King's Cross on September first, just as his ticket reads and the old witch had sternly emphasized.
"The train leaves from platform 9 and 3/4 at exactly 9 o'clock," she had said sharply, pointing to his ticket, "Don't be late."
Ennoshita remembers laughing at that. There's no 9 and 3/4. It had to be a joke. The old witch just smiled and gave him instructions on how to get there.
Just run straight through the wall between 9 and 10 and there it is.
Ennoshita stared at the wall in front of him, still not entirely convinced that this was all real. What if it was an elaborate prank his "friends" at school were pulling on him? But then he remember all the strange events that have happened to him, things that he could simply not explain without the excuse of magic. No, it had to be real. Ennoshita had to belong somewhere.
With one last tearful goodbye from his mother, who smiled at him encouragingly, he ran at the brick wall, bracing himself for the impact. It never came. Instead Ennoshita just felt the cool sensation of water as he passed straight through the stone, ending up on the other side.
The sign about him read 'Platform 9 3/4' and the clock next to it 8:45. He made it.
There was no room for standing around though. The platform was busy. Full of people, no, witches and wizards of all ages. All hurriedly, either saying goodbye or rushing on to the train.
Watching all the parents say goodbye to their children made Ennoshita miss his mother already. He stared at the wall he had passed through. She was just on the other side, but in reality she was a world a way. Ennoshita was in a new world.
The thought both terrified him and excited him simultaneously. Ennoshita gave himself a little shake. He needed to get out of his head and get onto that train, but it was kinda hard when everything in this world was so mesmerizing. With a deep breath, Ennoshita pushed his trolley forward heading in the direction everyone else seemed to be going. He was scared of sticking out and doing something weird. He was very self conscious as he walked himself towards the train, but no one paid a slightest bit of attention to him, all too busy with their own selves.
As he walked, he spotted a group of boys that looked about his age. It was hard not to notice them, really, as they were just begging for attention with their loud laughter. They all were pushing and shoving each other, play fight like they were five years old, and not at all like the mature eleven year olds they should be. Ennoshita couldn't help but dislike them immediately, but then he remembered how his mother had told him he acted about ten years older than he was. It was part of the reason he never fit in at school.
Maybe this is how he's supposed to act. Ennoshita watched them play from where he stood, wondering if he should join. He had promised his mother he'd make friends and this was the easiest place to start. But then the loudest of them, a kid that had a shaved head with the brightest smile Ennoshita had ever seen, pulled out what looked to be a ball of water he was keeping together with just his bare hands. Ennoshita watched as he threw it up and then spiked it hard at the kid across from him. The kid ducked, though. The ball soared passed him and landed straight onto Ennoshita's freshly washed sweater.
Everyone in the group stopped and stared. Ennoshita was getting more angry by the second. Then the laughter started back up again, this time directed at him and all he felt was embarrassment. This is why he didn't hang out with kids his age. The bald kid who threw the water ball at him looked like he was trying to apologize, but Ennoshita just gave him his best death glare and stalked off, wishing he knew a spell that could make himself disappear.
He got onto the train, quickly found an empty compartment and shut himself inside. Once he put his trunks up, he sat comfortably in the seat next to the window, book in hand and ready to glare at anyone who tries to sit with him. He was really not in the mood to make friends anymore.
Nobody tried, anyway. Everyone already seemed to have their own friends to sit with, their own group to be with. Ennoshita suddenly felt very alone, as he stared out the train window. But it didn't matter, he was almost always alone back at home. It was silly to think it would be any different here.
Ennoshita let himself get lost in his book and before he knew it the scenery outside his window completely changed. The platform was long gone and now the train was speeding past rolling hills and grand lakes that sparkled in the dying sun. Everything about just felt so magical. He could almost forget about his loneliness.
Ennoshita didn't gain company until the journey was almost over, when the last light of the sun was peaking through. He had already changed into his robes as the food cart lady told him they were almost there. He sat there fingering the dark fabric, still in awe that this was all real. A knock at the compartment door startled him out of his thoughts.
It rattled opened and a figure hesitantly entered and tentatively asked, "Can I sit in here for a bit?"
It was the kid from earlier, the one that soaked his favorite sweater. Ennoshita was about to tell him to get out, when he noticed his eyes were red and fresh tear tracks ran down his face. Instead Ennoshita gave him a curious look and then nodded without a word.
The other boy ducked his head in thanks and sat in the seat across from Ennoshita, refusing to make eye contact. Instead his gaze was fixed on the view outside the window, even though you could barely make out anything in the little light that was left. Tears were still streaming down his face. It made Ennoshita uncomfortable.
He didn't know what to do. He didn't even know the first thing about comforting people. But then he remembered his promise to his mom. How he'd try to make new friends. He had to at least try.
So he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Hey, are you alright?" He asked quietly.
At first Ennoshita thought that maybe he said it a bit too quietly and the other boy hadn't heard him at all, but then he gave a small shake of his head.
Ennoshita cleared his throat, it suddenly felt dry. "What's your name? Mine's Ennoshita Chikara."
"Tanaka Ryuunosuke," the boy responded stoically, still not looking at Ennoshita.
Tanaka Ryuunosuke. At least he was responding. This was going better than any other attempts Ennoshita had tried.
"So Tanaka what's wrong? Did something happen?" Ennoshita persisted.
Tanaka finally turned to look at him, eyes watery, cheeks red. "The other boys made fun of my robes," he cried.
Ennoshita drank in his appearance. He didn't really notice what the other boy had been wearing, as he had been too surprised that someone was actually talking to him. He looked at Tanaka's clothes. At first he just saw black robes, but then he realized they were worn out, a bit dusty, with rips and patches in them. They were definitely second hand.
Oh gosh, kids his age really were the worst.
He looked back at Tanaka's face. He was wearing a very familiar expression. It was the same expression Ennoshita had when he looked in the mirror, as he cleaned of his bruised knees in the bathroom, after someone pushed him in the playground. Whatever animosity Ennoshita still had about the water incident was gone. All he wanted to do was help the poor kid.
"C'mere," Ennoshita mumbled, averting his gaze down. Tanaka looked surprised at first, but quickly took his place next to Ennoshita.
Ennoshita began straightening out his robes, dusting off whatever dirt he could and fixing the collar. He then took out a handkerchief from his pocked and wiped away the tears from Tanaka's face, who was still sniffing as he cleaned him up.
"There," Ennoshita said, as he admired his handiwork, "Good as new!"
He gave Tanaka a smile, but the other boy still looked sad.
"They aren't new," he frowned, "that's why the other boys made fun of me."
Ennoshita hesitated, not knowing how to respond. But then he did something that surprised even him. He took Tanaka's hand into his own and said, "Well I like them!"
It came out a bit more harshly than he intended, but it had the desired affect. Tanaka stared at him, wide eyed, as though Ennoshita was the most amazing thing he had ever seen.
"You do?" He asked excitedly, gripping Ennoshita's hand tightly.
"Yeah," Ennoshita said, Tanaka's enthusiasm rubbing off on him, "They make you look tough and strong."
"You think I'm strong?" Tanaka was in awe.
Wow this kid sure liked to jump to conclusions. "Sure," Ennoshita agreed with him, not actually sure, "I think you're really strong."
The smile that it put on Tanaka's face made him sure, though. Ennoshita decided that he wanted to see that smile over and over again.
"Hey, my friends call me Ryuu! You should too!" Tanaka requested, eyes shining even with the bad lighting.
"Friends?" Ennoshita question, his gut suddenly clenching tightly.
"Yeah friends!" Tanaka reminded him of a hyper puppy and Ennoshita really liked dogs.
"Ok, Ryuu." He tested it out and then hesitated before adding, "My mama calls me Chika."
He blushed after saying it, immediately regretting it as Tanaka didn't respond.
"Chika?" Tanaka asked after awhile, still contemplating the nickname, "I like it. It suits you! I can call you that?"
Ennoshita nodded shyly, still a bit too embarrassed for words.
"Well Chika," Tanaka looked embarrassed too, " I'm sorry about the water ball. I didn't mean to throw it at you. I was gonna say sorry, but you looked really mad."
Ennoshita felt a bit guilty now, about not sticking around to hear Tanaka's apology. "It's ok," he assured, "I get nervous around a lot of people, so I kind of ran off. I guess that was kinda rude of me too."
"No of course not," Tanaka insisted, "You should've been mad. I'm kind of an idiot."
"Yeah you kinda are."
"Hey don't agree with me!" Tanaka yelled.
Ennoshita let out a giggle, so that Tanaka knew he was joking and soon he joined in, both laughing unti their stomachs ached a bit. It set a playful tone to the rest of their conversation, though Tanaka did most of the talking.
He rambled on for the rest of the trip, talking about what they were going to do when they got to school. How he was going to make sure they had a bunch of classes together and if not they were still going to do everything else together.
It was a bit overwhelming at first. Ennoshita never really had friends, let alone one so excited to be with him. So he just nodded along with whatever Tanaka said, no matter how ridiculous it was. Tanaka didn't seem to mind though, as he talked enough for the both of them. He was happy that someone wanted to do things with him, wanted to see him everyday.
As much as Tanaka talked though, the grip on Ennoshita's hand never loosened. The thought of their intertwined hands, tucked away like a secret, made a smile appear on Ennoshita's lips, one that was almost as bright as Tanaka's.
For the first time Ennoshita didn't feel an ounce of loneliness.