Ayanokoji woke up before his 8:00 am alarm. He got out of bed, almost mechanically, and started getting ready for school. It was Monday, which some considered to be the dreariest day of the week. The sky was filled with dark, angry-looking clouds, a sure sign it was going to rain. How fitting.
Not that it mattered to Ayanokoji. He was feeling pretty calm today because he had some regression time yesterday. It was just him and his singular stuffed bear, Chocolate. Kei had given it to him and named it.
After putting on his uniform, brushing his teeth, fixing his hair, and prepping his bag, Ayanokoji moved to fix his bed. He had fallen asleep with Chocolate last night, and his friend must’ve gotten tangled in the sheets. However, as Ayanokoji fixed the bed, there was no sign of Chocolate anywhere.
He frowned. Okay… Chocolate must be somewhere else then. He proceeded to search around the rest of his bedroom and the closet. A part of his mind kept nagging at him that something so trivial as a stuffed bear wasn’t worth being upset over. But ever since he started regressing, he started to become more emotional. It was frustrating to his adult side, but emotions were what made him feel more in touch with his child side. He could finally experience the childhood of a regular kid. No White Room. So, even though a stuffed bear seemed trivial, it was important to him.
Even after searching the entire room, Chocolate was still nowhere to be found. Ayanokoji crossed his arms, an upset expression on his face. He turned to look at the clock and bit the inside of his cheek. He had to get going, otherwise he would be late to homeroom. Although being late to class was not a particularly interesting event (people were late all the time), he was never late, so him being late for the first time would certainly not go unnoticed. Ayanokoji didn’t really want to deal with the aftermath of that—the nagging of his classmates—so he grabbed his school bag and left.
His heart felt heavy as he headed to class. The little voice in his brain was screaming at him that he had to find Chocolate right away! He couldn’t go to class!
But Ayanokoji shrugged those thoughts off. It was fine, he would just come back immediately after school and resume his search.
It was nothing worth crying about.
.
.
.
.
.
Something was off with Ayanokoji today.
Well, there was always something off with Ayanokoji. He had a naturally mysterious presence and an aloof yet cunning demeanor that couldn’t help but draw Horikita in. However, today he seemed… off. Any other person would think that he was paying attention, as he had an alert posture and was looking straight at the whiteboard, but Horikita could see that his eyes were unfocused. Something was clearly bothering him, but Horikita didn’t want to pry. Ayanokoji didn’t appreciate it when she got nosy, especially about his personal life. It also didn’t concern her, anyways, so she should just leave it alone.
A part of her mind that sounded oddly like Ayanokoji chastised her, saying that it was her duty to help her friends if they were in need. She needed to have allies and maintain them if she wanted to get to Class A, and her most valuable ally was Ayanokoji.
She was so engrossed in her internal debate that she was startled when the bell rang, signaling it was the end of the school day. Everyone got up to talk to their friends so they could head out together, but Ayanokoji quickly snatched his bag and speed-walked out of the room, alone. Horikita narrowed her eyes as she watched him leave and then turned her gaze to the rest of the class. It seemed like Ayanokoji’s behavior went unnoticed by everyone else. Not surprising.
Horikita shrugged on her bag and headed to her dorm. However, just as she arrived and was sifting through her bag to get her keycard, her phone pinged.
