The rumor mill was fierce at their school, and people were always keen to gossip. So, in a method that he felt would make Keiji proud, Haruto researched. Some of what he'd learned had discouraged him; if even a quarter of what people said about Keiji was true, it made it abundantly obvious that he wasn't the just, kind person that he'd gotten to know in childhood. But there were some kernels of interest that he followed like a trail. It was very clear that he'd been this way for the entirety of high school. And middle school. But, according to one of the only people who'd known him that long, he was generally sweet in elementary school, if a bit shy and hard on himself— it was a relief that Haruto hadn't been the only one he treated well. The shift apparently happened sometime in year four, when he suddenly chose to shun all of his friends and keep sequestered in the library.

Fourth year... the grade Keiji was in when they first met. It almost made Bisque worry that he himself was the cause. Or at least the trigger. But when he asked up front, Keiji denied this. He also, frustratingly, continued to deny that they knew each other at all.

Keiji's former classmate told him to give up and leave it be; nobody had successfully befriended him in several years.

But though Haruto thought himself far from clever, he knew there was one trait that he and Keiji had in common— he was tireless. When it came to the things that matter, he was relentless. So, in spite of everyone's advice (including his old friend himself's), Haruto continued to tag along with him. It got to the point that the gossip even grew to include him; people noticed Haruto's questions and that they often came as a pair now, and speculated as to why. It was especially interesting since they weren't even in any of the same classes. The most hilarious theory that Bisque had been told was that people thought he was in love with Keiji. When he heard that, he considered it for about two seconds before realizing that was completely ridiculous and laughing so hard he started wheezing. That put an end to that, but not to people's curiosity.

This curiosity bothered Keiji more than he could possibly explain. Just as much as Haruto tried to sway Keiji to give up the act, Keiji tried to sway Haruto into leaving him the fuck alone. He tried his usual tactics— clipped insults turned into outright verbal attacks, but the problem with him and his stupid sentimentality was that he always backed off when he felt that Haruto might start crying. The last time he'd felt bad about making someone cry was... that girl. The fuck was her name again? Whatever.

No matter how insistent Haruto was, Keiji still wouldn't give in and admit that of course he remembered him, how could he possibly forget what that woman did to him? It was just easier to pretend. Haruto wouldn't let it be easy, but easier? Yes. It would be better for both of them if the two were strangers. Things couldn't go back to the way they were before. But Haruto fucking refused to see it that way.

So, worn down, Keiji did what he did most naturally. He talked, and he talked, and he talked, and he taught, and he learned. Even if it was in one ear and out the other when it came to the specifics, and even if he frequently interrupted, Haruto did show an immense amount of enthusiasm for any sort of chatter Keiji shared. And, to his credit, he did have a firm background on pottery techniques and art history, to the point where he was even able to teach Keiji some facts he hadn't yet known. The insults didn't ever really fade, and they still stung, but Haruto was beginning to accept that as an unfortunate necessity. If he ever wanted to rekindle a friendship with Keiji, he had to be willing to deal with it. Internally, he knew that wasn't fair to himself and his poor heart. But sometimes, when Keiji was going off on an especially long tangent, Bisque could catch glimpses of the enthusiastic, gentle kid he once was.

Plus, he'd discovered a hack. Keiji was usually substantially less mean when nobody else was around to watch, so it was best to chat after school. Paying attention to Keiji was kind of fun! If he couldn't ever pay attention in class anyway, it felt more interesting to think about his old friend than to daydream about the same three video games ad nauseam.

"Hey," Bisque said one day, "You're my friend. You should use my nickname."

"Shut the fuck up. We're not friends. I don't have any friends. I just tolerate you because you insist on making yourself a tagalong."

"Oh, okay. I have konpeito. Do you want some?"

"First of all, is that your attempt at bribery? That's stupid. Second, I'm not as big on candy as a lot of people are."

"Oh! Do you not have a sweet tooth? Sorry about that. Now that I think about it, you usually have really simple lunches, huh? I've never seen you have a dessert in your box. What kinds of food do you like?"

"I don't really like eating."

"What?! Who even are you?! What kind of person doesn't like eating?!"

"I can't smell very well. I have hyposmia. Honestly, it borders on anosmia. It takes a LOT for me to smell anything. It's been that way since birth. And that alters my taste. The vast majority of foods and beverages are extraordinarily bland to me. So I guess... if I absolutely must pick, I like things with interesting textures, or flavors so strong they'd sucker punch someone like you in the mouth."

"You never mentioned that to me before. Why did you hide it?"

"Kid, it's like I said. I don't remember anything from our supposed past together. If I kept my hyposmia a secret, I have no idea why." It was because I didn't want to be rude to your parents, so I lied and said the food they brought over was really good.

"That sounds kinda handy, though! You're probably not picky at all, huh? You can eat super healthy and not find it disgusting!"

"Erm, sure. That is an upside. But it's not the easiest thing to live with, either. If there was a gas leak, I'd struggle to notice. One time, when I was camping, the sole of my shoe nearly started to melt from being too close to the fire, and I couldn't even smell the rubber. It can be hazardous to me. And I'm also at more risk of accidentally eating something bad."

"I can be your nose! Y'know, like how some blind people have seeing eye dogs and some Deaf people have service dogs, too?"

"Terribly unneeded. Don't give yourself another reason to stick around me."

"I like you!"

"WHY?!"

This emphatic question only made Haruto laugh. Suddenly, though, it transformed into a gasp. "Oh my gosh, I totally forgot! I'm supposed to go on a run with one of my middle school track teammates! I gotta go, but I'll super totally see you tomorrow and if you try to avoid me I'll find you anyway!" he rushed off, yelling that farewell all the while.

Keiji sighed once he was out of earshot. "Whether I like it or not, I know that's true."

...

"How's THIS for a bribe?"

"99 per– huh, I learned something new. I didn't even realize they made chocolate this dark."

"Mouth-punchable enough?"

"Almost certainly." He opened and bit into it. A satisfied grin crossed his lips before he could stifle it.

And of course, Haruto had to be excessively annoying about it. He gasped inappropriately loudly and went, "Wow! I haven't seen you smile like that in ages!"

His expression hardened the second after, much to Bisque's disappointment. "Keep that shit up, and you'll never see it again." After an uncomfortably long silence, Keiji filled it. "The chocolate's almost as bitter as I am."

That elicited a bark of laughter. Haruto's open-mouthed smile was incredulous. He managed not to say this thought aloud, but couldn't help noting that this may have been the first time he'd heard Keiji crack a joke, too. The chocolate was more effective than he'd expected!

Bisque's phone buzzed, and he opened it to check the texts. It was one of his classmates.

Are you ready for the math test tomorrow?

Haruto's whole body stiffened up and his face was like the blue screen of death. Keiji could swear he heard the Windows XP Critical Stop sound.

Am I ever ready? he texted back. A nervous grin was plastered on his face and he gave an airy chuckle.

Me neither. I'm a little worried about it. But hey, we'll be okay!

"What's that about?"

"This girl in my class asked about a test we have tomorrow."

"And you forgot you had one." How could he tell?! Haruto could've been uncomfortable for a bunch of other reasons!

"Y-Yeah. I did." He knocked against his own head with a fist softly, as if to say, "Oopsie!" "Well, it's not like I would've passed anyway."

Keiji gave him the side-eye. A lot of contradictory thoughts popped up in his head regarding natural talent, defeatist attitudes, and potential, so he chose not to address them. Not that he could even follow any of them to their completion anyway, what with that noise. "You're a complete moron. What sort of systems do you have in place for organization? They're clearly not working for you. Hurry up and find something better."

"Planner. And yep, you're right. I always just wind up forgetting to check it. Ooh, y'know what? Maybe I can start using reminders on my phone. Those will pop up whether I remember or not!"

"Can you stop drumming your nails on the damn lockers? I can't think straight!"

"Ah! Um, sorry. I'm really sorry. I try not to be disruptive, it's just—"

Oh, that wasn't good. It was too familiar and made Keiji feel a little guilty. "Agh, don't make that face. Fine, whatever. You have to mask during class and whatnot. I can deal."

Haruto's eyes opened wide and his hopes raised. "Th-Thanks! I know I can be a lot to deal with, so, I'm sorry."

"No need for that. I don't do sappy bullshit, and if you're gonna apologize for yourself constantly, you may as well leave me the hell alone." Bisque shuffled. His dark eyes looked a little downtrodden.

Apologizing was off the table. It was always off the table. But Keiji made sure to lock eyes with Haruto before taking another hearty bite of the ridiculously bitter chocolate bar. He peered around the hallway to check and make sure nobody around was looking at them, then gave Haruto an awkward pat on the shoulder. "Alright. I've got shit to do, so I'm going home."

"See you tomorrow, Keij."

Nickname??? "Yeah, yeah."