BEEP!

BEEP!

BEEP!

Suddenly your eyes snapped open once your alarm clock breached your ears with continuous ear piercing screeches until you decided to slap your hand over it and turn it off. You groaned, clearly you didn't feel like throwing yourself out of bed.. but you really had no choice.

It was around 6 am. You wanted to wake up early so you could make yourself some packed lunch for you and your classmate.

Did you forget?

You agreed to make Shiro his lunches willingly.

With that said, getting your packed lunches done was the first and biggest priority. So you put on your apron and went to cooking before beginning your morning. Afterwards you took a shower, got dressed, and officially began the start to your school day when you tied your shoes and opened the door- insinuating your thorough routine, or habits, were ready to be repeated tomorrow.

Turning around momentarily, you locked your door using your house key--then placed it in a secure place in your school bag. And during this, you heard a door that was one door away cracking open before it opened completely. Out first stepped the oldest twin, and behind him had been Shiro who also decided to lock the door.

You stood there, instinctively about to wish the both of them a good morning -- that is, until they happened to notice you first. There was no ignoring you. "Lookie here, it's [L/N]." Seiichiro, like always, looked pretty happy to see you; but Shiro on the other hand, seemed to tense up every time. "Good morning." Seiichiro spoke clearly, to which his brother was inclined to speak afterwards.

"...Good morning." Shiro locked his red eyes onto you, leaving you with no choice than to respond a little hesitantly, "Good morning to the two of you!" You cleared your throat, looking to the side to promptly avoid a certain person's fixation on you. "Eh.. how about we all walk to school together? It beats the awkward silence, yeah?"

You gestured with your hand and the two went sauntering up to you in no time, neither declining the invitation or leaving you hanging. Now joining you on your right was Shiro, whilst his brother followed suit on the opposite wing. Considering your interaction with the red-eyed youngest has been stale thus far; you wouldn't dare admit that you could genuinely get used to his distant, calm personality. The silence that surrounds him felt comforting, in a sense. It's a total contrast to Seiichiro and his.. somewhat exhausting extroversion.

"..." The three of you were heading to school, simply listening to the sounds of life and each other's footsteps as it tapped against the cemented sidewalks. It was only until you caught Shiro sneaking a glance at you did someone finally break the unmindful silence.

"What are you thinking about over there, huh Shiro? I can tell that you're itching to talk." Seiichiro crossed his arms and directly addressed what you couldn't notice at all. I mean it definitely wasn't that surprising since these were twins who knew everything about each other -- but it was almost a skill to be able to pick apart Shiro's emotions with such precision.

So you poked your eyes into his direction, noticing that he just stared at his older brother in discontent. "I'm just thinking about your girlfriend. You should put a tight leash on her." Shiro brought his eyes back forward and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "She might cause [L/N] some more trouble today."

You perked up from the mention. Thinking about that girl's toxic personality utterly infuriated you--but Shiro might just be right to administer caution. "Oh, right- what's the deal with that girl anyway? Yesterday she just exploded like a crazy firecracker! We never really had the chance to talk about why she blew up in the first place."

Seiichiro immediately grunted due to the audacity of that redhead. Talking about her brought him displeasure. "Ugh, it's a long story.." He pursed his lips quite suddenly before proceeding, "...Kirigiri has some dirt on me, so she's using it as leverage to keep me tied to her by the hip. But... it was all my fault, which is why .. I didn't want to run from my mistakes. So, I decided to put up with her.. till' yesterday."

You saw that Seiichiro didn't wear a smile. For the first time, you saw the regret in his lonely, golden irises. "Chances are she's gonna be off her hinges the moment she sees me, so try to avoid her until she gets her head straight."

"And Shiro," He abruptly directed his attention onto his younger brother. "I'm sorry I never mentioned her sooner. It must've been confusing for you to see that I had a girlfriend out of the blue." Watching him apologize was admirable, to say the least. That's not easy for anyone who hates to see their pride sink. "I'll be more thoughtful towards you from here on out, little brother!"

Seiichiro snaked around you and went to wrap his arm around his brother's neck energetically, pulling him down using the heavy pressure of his arm so he could pull him in for a brief moment of intimacy. He ruffled his white head of hair and carried out a laugh of mischief before he had to let him go. Of course, Shiro could only growl after the stage of contact; one of which was nonconsensual -- Seiichiro's playful antics were childish and friendly.. further adding contrasts to the more reclusive, unfriendly Shiro.

"Get off of me.. it's too early to be clingy." He said after applying some distance between he and the other young male. Shiro, like always, had cut things short and brief between them. He had to. It wasn't the time to hold hands and goof around when he had a lot more alarming matters to think about.

Like his game.

"Mm, he's so shy." Replied a humored Seiichiro, nudging your elbow. This guy's wit always earned your giggle. "Anyways, I know we've just started walking, but I really feel like I need to walk a step ahead or two." He waved his hand and jogged forward, leaving both of you behind. "I don't want to see [L/N] dead in some alleyway if Kirigiri spots us walking together!"

You immediately went to extend your hand a bit, uttering a "Wh-" However he just kept going, not even sparing you a glance. 'Seiichiro! Don't go!!' You thought in a simple whine. I mean who else would be able to keep the conversation going?!! 'Ah.. it's just me and Shiro now...'

Just as always, whenever the oldest left the scene you had to nurture the silence as it grows. Shiro kept his eyes up front, and when you looked at him you saw that ever-so-content expression.. finding him to be the most mysterious person you've ever encountered.

Without long, you two arrived at school no later than Seiichiro did. Given that you spotted the talkative male already conversing with other classmates just near the shoe lockers, you and Shiro didn't part ways just yet; in fact, Shiro was next to you. He hovered beside you protectively, silent like a wolf keeping a keen ear out for stragglers. Maybe he was acting like this because of yesterday's.. conflict?

While you appreciated that he cares for you, it was a little unnecessary. And embarrassing..! "Erm- Shiro?" He turned his head towards you within a heartbeat. As you could see, his attention was now wholeheartedly focused solely on you. "Yes?"

You flinched as you stared into his deep red eyes. If this keeps up, the other students will start gossiping about your history together! "You don't have to be my bodyguard, I'm completely capable on my own y'know." Confronting him directly was already a bitter pull to swallow--seeing how he reacts to it was different, however. Maybe then you'd catch a glimpse of his hidden emotions.

"Oh," His hand nonchalantly grasped for the strap of his school bag around his shoulder. "I didn't know you saw it that way. Yeah, I admit I was thinking about the pervert from the other day.." Shiro stopped, seemingly reluctantly.

"But I just wanted to walk with you."

Before you could even process, you felt your cheeks become devoured in red. And for the first time in ages, you were pretty touched by a kind person's words. Quickly you avoided his eyes and went to change your shoes as you pushed his sentence towards the back of your mind. Unfortunately this meant abandoning Shiro so you could escape the fact that it .. made your heart pound.

Obviously you left him feeling confused, though he was sure to understand sooner or later. "[L/N]?.." Shiro watched as you scampered away in a provoked manner; ever so keen in examining your behavior. Your face was growing red... Were you feeling embarrassed?

If so, then it was cute.

And he desperately wanted more.

"Yuuki Shiro?" Having been so caught up in his nonsensical focus on you, the young man didn't see another person approaching. When he turned his head -- there was a faculty member, presumably a teacher; a brune man in a white lab coat. He was about middle aged- and definitely reeked of discipline.

"Wow, the rumors are true. You're truly the spitting image of your brother." He laughed, "Seiichiro must be more well behaved, huh?" The man started up a lighthearted, casual conversation--but for Shiro.. every vowel uttered went right out the other ear. He narrowed his eyes and openly appeared disinterested.

That's all he was good for.
Being compared to Seiichiro.
Discreetly he clenched his fist, going by unnoticed by the teacher continuing to spout aimless thoughts and opinions before he finally decided to get back on track. "Anyways," The faculty member, who was just as tall as Shiro, reached to pat his shoulder. "You're responsible for beating up a third year, aren't you? I hope you don't believe that kind of aggravated assault would go by unpunished."

Finally, a worthy detail worth listening to. Shiro genuinely looked intrigued- and an empty smile threatened to reveal itself. What happened to him? Did he break his jaw bone? Or maybe cause some brain damage to accommodate how he was already brainless to begin with? "Ah.. That's just terrible. What I did to him." His words weren't at all empathetic, and the teacher could see right through that.

"Since it's so terrible, you'll be taking on cleanup duty today. That includes cleaning your homeroom classroom after school, and cleaning the male bathrooms during break time." Shortly thereafter he had left after giving him a stern look-- clearly he was being spiteful.. but frankly, Shiro didn't care.

A little cleaning later.. what could go wrong?

[Chapter END]