Experiment 5308-O.K.

First School Day

When a siren blared through the school, Ouma almost leapt out of his chair as he slammed his hands over his ears. Everyone seemed accustomed to it and some laughed at him before collecting their belongings and leaving the classroom. Saihara chuckled and rubbed circles on Ouma's back, helping his racing heart calm. He took the notebook (that Saihara ended up giving Ouma since he didn't want to work and the latter did) and pen and placed them in his backpack.

Saihara took Ouma's hand and led him to stand, taking him out into the hallways amongst a crowd of students all in the same outfit. Half of the student body wore black blazers, white shirts and black slacks, decorated with blue ties with grey pinstripes. The other half wore a deep blue seifuku (the top and skirt matching) with white stripes along the hems and a white ribbon around the collar. Everyone had a small accessory personalising their uniforms, whether that was colourful socks, hairpins or jewellery.

"How was your first high school lesson?" Saihara asked.

Ouma huffed and felt a lump form in his throat at the memory. He wrote everything down but... "Hard... I don't know what anything means..."

"I'll help catch you up then, okay?"

Grinning widely, Ouma perked up and hugged Saihara's arm. "Thank you!"

The two reached a large room where most of the students convened with trays or textbooks. When the duo took a few steps inside, someone called out Ouma's name. Harukawa jumped atop a table (attracting many gasps of pure shock) and beckoned Ouma to approach. Waving back excitedly, Ouma leapt forward, only for Saihara to tug him back. "Sit with me," he demanded.

Ouma pouted and stared up at him, the man's frown as hard as stone. "I-I want to talk to Harukawa..."

Saihara raised an eyebrow. "You know her?" Ouma nodded as he assumed the man would let him go. He hadn't seen the woman in ten years, this was a miracle! Instead, Saihara's expression darkened. "You're going to leave me for her?"

He hurried to shake his head, hugging Saihara's arm in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. "I-I'm not leaving you! I just want to talk to her! She was my best friend before... the incident..."

Frowning down at the ravenette, Saihara eventually sighed and nodded. "I'm coming with you." Ouma had to resist cheering as Saihara dragged him toward the woman who took a seat like a normal human. He shoved a short, red-haired woman over and took her seat, yanking Ouma into the space between him and Harukawa. It hurt Ouma to see the red-haired woman cry, but Saihara wasn't a bad person!

"Ouma! Where've you been?!" Harukawa squealed as she pulled the man into a tight hug. "It's been so long!" He smiled awkwardly and glanced at the strangers staring at them. "Ah, just as shy as I remember!" Chuckling at the memories, Ouma returned Harukawa's hug. She pulled back and analysed him with a cheery smile. "You've barely grown at all! Do you have any cool stories?!"

The man's smile faltered and he stared at his lap. In a way, his story could be considered cool, but only in fiction and by people who enjoy others' suffering... "Stop with the questions, Harukawa," Saihara spat. Harukawa recoiled a little and nodded as if being scolded by an irate parent.

A strong hand gripped Ouma's shoulder, threatening to crush his bones. He looked up to see a man with spiky plum hair and enraged purple eyes. "The fuck are you doing?"

Saihara's eyes narrowed as he matched the man's stare. "You have no right to talk to him, Momota."

Momota ignored the bluenette and everyone around them seemed to tense. A few people stopped as they passed by the table to record the group. Perhaps Momota and Saihara had a less-than-savoury history. "You must have a death wish to be hitting on my girl, newbie."