“Ren is coming with us, right?” 

a voice heard from the outside of the toilet stall. Kaito takes a long drag from his cigarette before puffing it out, very slowly from the corner of his mouth, therefore the vapour won’t be too noticeable. He usually can refrain from this particular habit until he went home, and endured it by sucking a lollipop, alas today he forgets to bring one and a lot of things happened at once, he needs to calm down.

He was lucky he didn’t do this before Nakamura sensei entered the class. The homeroom teacher of his has one hell of a nose, he can sniff a tobacco scent from the tip of his fingers in a radius of 50 metres. Kaito shudders, recalling when he should wipe clean every window in the school because of that. He prefers doing one thousand push-ups rather than that.

“Yeah, he said he will come,” the other voice replies. 

Kaito exhales, blowing the sweet smoke above his head, where the exhaust fan is located. 

Two guys outside the stall are clearly talking about Ren. /Are they his friends? I don’t remember any guys in class with those voices/ 

“Thank god, damn the girls are so picky! They didn’t want to come if there was no hot guy among us. I already sent Ren’s photo to them; it’ll be troublesome if he can’t go with us” The guy even has the audacity to chuckle lightly. Satisfied with himself as if he just achieved a big achievement in his life.

/Ah so that’s what this is about/ Kaito starts to grasp the context, they must be talking about the mixer Ren will attend.

“Right, that goody-two-shoes won’t ever reject us anyway,” The other guy concurs. Kaito doesn't need to see his face to know he is smiling smugly. 

“That’s why I sent his photo instead. First, he will definitely come with us. And second, He’s the only popular guy who is still single”

“That’s what I’m saying! It’s hella weird”

“No way he actually swayed that way right?”

“That would be the greatest anime plot twist in history,” The two of them exchange a hearty guffaw and Kaito has his fingers crawl from their cringe sense of humour.

When the laughter dies down, Kaito can see from the gap under the door two pairs of feet standing in front of his stall.

“Anyway, who’s the bastard inside the stall?” One of them asks the other in a quiet voice which is stupid when he is literally talking in front of the door, Kaito still clearly hear them. “It’s been 30 minutes. The hell he is doing inside? Did he think this is his private bathroom?”

“Isn’t this bathroom on the first floor usually used by freshmen?”

“Exactly! Which little retard dares make his seniors wait! Is he asking for a beating?”

"Oy! Who's inside? Get the hell out right now!"

Kaito kicks the door open with a loud bang; the two guys before him jolted in surprise and almost bumps their foreheads together like fools. Blood draining from their faces, pathetically flapping his mouth like fish being pulled from the water. “Sa-sato…”

Kaito’s scary face is even more intimidating when others - who are generally shorter than him, have to look up to meet his gaze, while Kaito will look down at them while squinting his eyes as if they are just a speck of insignificant dust he can easily blow away.

“Did I make you wait?” Kaito’s voice is deep and husky, it has low tones that are scraped like nails on a blackboard and a hiss on the letter S.

“N- No!” The guy Kaito remembers as someone asking Ren to join the mixer - Yami, frantically waving his hands with a smile that doesn’t match his cold sweat. “I mean- I was..but we don’t expect you to be inside…I thought a junior inside, but I’m sure you had disciplined them, right? You have good eyes for choosing a strategic base camp! You made the right decision to give the juniors a good beating and claim this place!”

Honestly, Kaito can’t even grasp every word Yami spews since he’s too immersed in Yami’s eccentric hairstyle; A mullet combined with a high mound on the front like an extreme version of Elvis Presley. Yami might want to appear gallant like a stallion but he’s more similar to a peacock in mating season instead.

/What on earth is this peacock blabbing about? Beating the juniors?? Using the bathroom for base camp?? What did he take me for??? I never beat anyone! I use this toilet because here is the quietest!/

However, Kaito is too lazy to correct him so he just plays along with Yami's fantasy.

“I heard what you said before…” Kaito glares down at Yami and his friend who looks about to piss his pants off. 

Yami gulps when he sees Kaito’s muscle arm flexing when he puts cologne on his neck. “Ahaha..” laughing awkwardly, Yami subconsciously positioned his arms on his front, putting his guard up. “You- you misunderstood! We were not talking about Ren! Right, Goro?” He nudges his friend for backup. “We are talking about- about-”

“Can I come?” Kaito cuts him coldly, he can’t endure more secondhand embarrassment. “The mixer, do you mind if I come?”

Yami’s monolid eyes grow bigger and exchange a bewildered gaze with his anchovy-like friend before both of them grins at each other at the same time, as if they can read one another’s mind. 

“Of- Of course! The more the merrier!”

‘Miyawaki, I’m sorry I can’t help you today, gotta go to mixer’

Kaito tilts his head and decides to hold his thumb on the delete button. She’s going to be noisy if she knows about the mixer.

Make a mess with his own hair, Kaito sighs. He asks himself where the idea to tag along with Yami to the mixer came from. He blames himself for acting impulsively just because he found out Yami uses Ren to bait girls. 

Keep knowing something he shouldn’t, could be his accumulating karma for acting indifferent for so long. Kaito wonders why bad luck is always following him around and putting him in awkward situations involving Ren. Kaito is considering visiting the fortuneteller, asking the reason behind all of these weird circumstances. 

/But, seriously, how can Ren be so bad at choosing friends? Why does he hang out with the likes of Yami? He’s even as far as doing him a favour for something he is not comfortable with. Is he that dumb or what?/

The way Yami talked about girls in the toilet sounds like a pervert to Kaito. He can’t fathom what those high-drive hormones boys could possibly do to Ren. Just because Ren can not say no, they likely would use him to their advantage; such as luring girls. 

Those types of people are what Kaito most hates.

‘Miyawaki, I’m sorry I can’t help you today. I have something to do. let’s talk about it later’

Kaito pushes the send button and puts his phone back into his trouser pocket. 

Things already turned out this way, though he was never a big fan of social gatherings, he might as well be trying to enjoy this blind date.

Snatches his bag he walks to approach Ren who’s getting ready to leave. Some people apparently still surround his desk, asking about today's homework.

/Once in a while is fine but if they keep pestering him while it’s time for him to go home…./ it eminently pisses Kaito off. However, a soft-hearted guy who lets others take his kindness for granted is what drives Kaito crazy the most. The more he watches this silly play between the shameless fools and the magnanimous prince charming frustrates him beyond belief.

“Not that fake smile again,” Kaito grumbles to himself as looking at Ren’s face. He's clearly trying to politely excuse himself when some of the girls keep clutching onto his sleeves. Inviting him to hang out after this.

Kaito stands beside Ren’s desk with a bag already perched on his shoulder. Blocking the sunlight with his broad shoulders.

“Hasegawa, let’s go.” Kaito says in a chic manner.

/Dumbass, I'm saving your ass you better be grateful.../

Sensing a dark shadow suddenly looming over them, everyone's eyes are shifted to Kaito’s tall figure. The lonesome Kaito who seldom interacts with the class president now suddenly asks him to go home together.

The world must be near the end.