Gracing the Ungraceful {Alive AU}

The Salmon Haired Boy

It was Kou's first day at his new school. He trekked behind his elder brother- Teruhashi Minamoto- with his hands in his pockets. Kou kept his head down, a frown plastered onto his face. Teruhashi, with his keen ability to read the room, (and the concern of an eldest sibling), slowed his pace until he was walking side by side with his brother.  "Kou?", he spoke softly, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Are you alright? You've been looking down lately."

Kou raised his head. "I'm okay, Teru-nii! Just... nervous," Kou said, choosing his words carefully. He knew his big brother was excellent at looking past a person's words and dissecting them until he had the truth... And!-

Kou was a horrible  liar.

Teruhashi gazed into Kou's eyes before sighing. "If you say so...", he spoke with disappointment laced in his voice. The two continued walking in silence. Suddenly, Teruhashi stopped right in his tracks. "That's right! ", he spoke with surprise. "I had forgotten to tell you, there is a gang hidden in this school among the students." Teruhashi turned to Kou once more, hatred gleaming in his eyes. "I want you to stay away from them. I cannot afford you getting into anymore fights," Teruhashi spoke. 

Kou groaned. "That was one time Teru-nii!" Teruhashi smiled. "One time to many," Teru teased. Both boys grinned. They walked until they reached the staff room where Kou was handed a paper with his schedule. Teruhashi got his at the same time. The brothers bid each other farewell and left, walking in separate directions. As the staff room was in the high school building, Kou was left to navigate and retrace his steps in order to reach the middle school building. 

On the way, he walked by a long stretch of hallway. He glanced away from his paper to see a stairwell leading up to a door. On that door read a sign labeled, "Roof". Kou lifted his wrist and stared at his watch.  7:34... School starts at 8:00. I'm sure it'll be okay if I'm not there immediately...  He thought.

Kou climbed the stairwell, opened the door, and stepped into the sunlight. He breathed in the fresh air deeply and walked briskly over to the rail lining the roof. Kou gazed at the school's grounds and released a shaky breath. His lips formed into a thin line as he tried not to cry. The boy could feel his chest tighten. Kou quickly wiped his eyes- although no liquid poured out yet- and he swallowed the lump in his throat. 

He wanted to go home. 

It's not fair! Teru-nii just chose this shitty school for the both of us, packed our bags, and dropped me here! I... I want to go back... I want-  

He was suddenly torn from his thoughts by the sound of a door slamming. Kou turned around to see a boy dressed in the same uniform as him struggling to keep the door closed. He had a pale, pink sweater wrapped around his waist. 

"Goddamit- I SAID I WAS SORRY!", He screamed at the door. Kou could hear banging on the other side and a voice yelling at the mysterious boy to... Come back to class? The boy grunted and pried at the tie that hung on his collar until it came loose. With this tie, he fastened the door shut. "Thank GOD!", he yelled with relief when the banging ceased. 

Before Kou could stop himself, he snickered- then promptly covered his mouth. The boy whipped his head around at stared at Kou in bewilderment. The face the mysterious person was a mix of anger, surprise, and pure embarrassment. Kou's snicker turned into a full blown laugh as he stared at the pink haired boy. 

Wait- Pink?  

He glanced up at the figure to see that their face completely red. Kou swiftly smiled. "'Come back to class', hm?", he teased. 

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Hello, dear readers! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter! Just so you know, I will be switching between POV's. One chapter will be Mitsuba, the next will be Kou, and so on. 

Have a wonderful day! 

-Violet Sunrise

(690 Words)