Experiment 5308-O.K.

Blooming Affection

Ouma clutched Saihara's arm like a lifeline as they walked into class. A gloomy atmosphere prepared to dampen everyone's mood. The man didn't care, he just happily clung to his only friend. He didn't need anyone else, only Saihara would keep him happy and safe. Today, he sat beside Saihara, in the seat where he belonged.

He glanced around the room where classmates talked in hushed tones, no one as energetic or lively as normal. Ouma's eyes landed on Harukawa's old desk, only to find a clear, blue vase filled with white flowers. The man didn't know anything about flowers, but they looked pretty! Pointing to the vase, he nudged Saihara and frowned. "What does that mean?" Saihara followed his finger and groaned.

"If the person is dead, it's a shitty memorial from people who pretend they cared." Saihara sneered at the vase before focusing on pulling textbooks from his bag and handing Ouma a new, unused notebook. He grinned and took the book, happy to have something that he could say he owned.

A shadow loomed over him and he noticed Tojo grinning whilst holding a vase of white flowers. She placed it on his desk and he smiled, happily smelling the beautiful flowers before realising that they matches Harukawa's memorial. "I'm... not dead," he muttered with a confused frown.

Ouma slowly turned to face Saihara and almost jumped out of his skin at the malicious glare in his friend's eyes. He looked prepared to use nothing but his teeth as he ripped out a person's intestines. "It means they wish you dead."

Saihara slowly stood but Ouma grabbed his arm and yanked him back into his seat. Well, he tried to but didn't succeed. "P-Please don't get in another fight..."

"They threatened you." Ouma tried not to tremble in fear as steam puffed from his friend's ears.

"It's okay. I don't want you to get in trouble over this, Saihara. Please?" His wide, innocent eyes begged the man, wobbling as tears threatened to form. Saihara stared at him and sighed before sitting again.

"You're lucky you're so cute," he muttered. Ouma released the boy's arm to cover his flushed face. He almost missed when Saihara grabbed his vase and chucked it toward Tojo. It hit the ground with a deafening shatter. Water, glass and flowers spread everywhere, beginning to soak into people's bookbags before they hurried to save them.

Ouma yelped at the sudden noise and covered his ears, eyes squeezed shut to ignore everyone glaring at Saihara. The other man also ignored his classmates in favour of comforting the scared boy.

"Why would you comfort a murderer?!" Ouma recognised the shouting woman as the same olive-haired one that Saihara knocked unconscious during the fight.

"Chabashira, you didn't even like Harukawa," Saihara snapped.

"She didn't deserve to explode!" Chabashira scoffed and crossed her arms. Ouma sniffled and tried not to cry as he remembered his late friend. "God, all you men are the same! You're all so stupid!"

"Ouma killed her!" Tojo shouted in support of the woman. "He deserves to die too!"

"I killed her..." Ouma repeated in a whisper. He choked on a sob and buried his face in Saihara's chest, repeating the statement. Saihara contradicted him, ignoring the angry class as he comforted the crying man.

When the teacher entered, everyone stopped their idle chatter and pretended to be good students, taking their seats and listening attentively. That would only last half an hour at most. Ouma sniffled and wiped his tears. Saihara dragged his desk a little closer to him and grabbed his hand to hold it beneath the table.

Saihara leaned in close. Whether the teacher noticed them talking or not, they didn't make an effort to care. They seemed quite disinterested in teaching and Ouma wondered why they continued to do it for a career. "Meet me in the east garden at lunch." Ouma smiled and nodded. He wouldn't want to spend his free time with anyone else anyway.