Advanced Theory

[kyo]

It was a breezy day. It was the kind of day where you could just lie back on the grass and sleep for a few hours. Kyoushiro wished he could do so, but unfortunately, he was stuck in class listening to his teacher ramble about the Civil War. It wasn’t interesting at all and he wished he could sleep, but he knew he’d get in trouble if he did so. It wouldn’t bee the first time he got detention for sleeping either. However, he wasn’t the only one having trouble keeping awake. Most students had half opened eyes and heads that bobbed up and down as they tried to keep themselves from resting on the tabletop. That sounded good, though, lying his head down on the desk... Maybe the teacher wouldn’t notice if he was discrete about it.

He decided to risk it and rest his head for a second; unfortunately, it took less than a minute for the boy to be asleep. He dreamt of soccer balls and fields. He was running across the grass, kicking a ball along the way. His bare feet felt nice against the damp grass and the smile on his face widened. Suddenly there was a crowd chanting his name. He could almost hear it…wait… He actually did hear something. The boy’s eyes snapped open as he woke up only to come face to face with an unhappy woman. There was chanting alright, but it wasn’t from fans.

“Punishment! Punishment! Punishment!” They chanted eagerly, their drowsiness gone now that someone was getting into trouble.

“I was…only resting my eyes…?” Kyoushiro told the teacher weakly, offering a lame excuse for the fact he’d been asleep.

Kyoushiro knew what happened to those that slept in class. The teacher pointed to the red chair next to her desk and the teen picked up his bag as he was relocated. The Red Chair of Shame it was called. Anyone caught passing notes, sleeping, or simply didn’t do their homework found themselves there. The class snickered. It was usually Kyoushiro that ended up there. He wasn’t a bad student by any means and he did pass his classes, but he sometimes made choices that didn’t reflect that. Somehow, it had labeled him as a troublemaker. It wasn’t bad enough everyone thought he was a jerk, now they thought he was a stupid troublemaker too. The jerk label was wrong too, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

It was an unfortunately incident in which he’d called a weepy girl fat. Completely on accident, but instead of the “You look thinner in that outfit,” he’d accidentally let slip out, “You look less fat.” It was comments like that that made him a not-so-liked person. The boy stood and walked over to the chair, sighing as he took a seat. He stared at the ground knowing his face was probably turning an interesting shade of red. To him, he was blushing; to everyone else he looked to be going into a blind rage. He was seated there until the bell rang. Quickly, he made his way down the halls and outdoors.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” he muttered over and over. “This is not fair!”

He kicked the soccer ball that was in front of him with all the force he could. It hit a pole and bounced back, hitting him square in the face and knocking him over. His red hair covered most of his hair, blocking his face from view. His blue eyes were kept shut, his muscles hurting when he tried to open them. His skin turned reddish because of the blow and would probably soon turn black and blue. People ignored him as they walked past him, mostly because they were used to seeing him on the ground. He was a rather clumsy person and tended to cause accidents that caused harm, usually to himself. It became silent as the crowd of children thinned out, leaving him alone to lie on the concrete. His phone rang, but he didn’t answer it, too busy thinking about how much his face hurt at the moment. The clouds turned dark as the good weather faded, but the boy didn’t notice, too busy wallowing in his own misery.

[Seth Runihura]

Seth wasn't particularly happy about having to attend a new school, with new, and no doubt far more annoying people. He had swiftly rejected several offers to show him around the drab looking buildings, his eyes expressing blatant annoyance as they turned several shades darker. For the most part, people seemed to just avoid Seth or scoot around him because of the 'holier then thou' air about him as he looked around with disinterest.

To make matters that much worse, and far less amusing, it looked as though it was going to storm, and storms occasionally meant blackouts. Seth wrapped his ridiculously baggy jacket around his thin frame and dodged several giggling females, irritated with the general populace for having to foresight to bring umbrellas, or wear warm clothing.

It wasn't that Seth was malicious or anything, he just had a habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time to the wrong person. He was always blatantly honest, which some people aren't that appreciative of. For instance, if someone large were to ask him whether they thought they were overweight, without thinking, he would honestly reply, and, no doubt, get slapped/punched into the next galaxy.

The first raindrop took him completely by surprise, so consumed by his thoughts he hadn't even realized he had made his way outside. A few more people rushed past him, unfolding umbrellas and chatting away quietly to each other as they navigated their way around the moody boy. Luckily, it appeared as though everything was fairly quiet and peaceful outside, despite the light pitter of rain which had only just started falling. Seth frowned, shook black locks out of his eyes and tucked his sketchpad safely into his backpack, making sure it wouldn't get wet or ruined.

As he trudged miserably, he caught something from the corner of his eye and spun around hastily. Walking closer to the immobile lump on the grass, he heard a phone ringing, and realized the mysterious lump was actually someone lying around on the field. He almost scoffed at the stupidity of this complete random, but settled for scoffing internally, wanting to avoid detection for a while longer.

Not quite knowing why he hadn't just turned around and left the poor fool out in the rain, he treaded closer quietly. Dark red hair instantly caught his attention and his lips twitched into a smirk, much to his disgust. Seth continued until he was standing directly over the boy, and noticed, to some disappointment, that his eyes were shut. He looked to be around the same age as Seth, but, to Seth's annoyance, most definitely taller.

Seth hovered over the slightly bruised looking boy for a moment, before clearing his throat loudly to announce his presence.

"Are you going to answer that? And, in case it escaped your notice, its raining," Seth considered the growing red mark on the guy's face for a second, "Also, you might want to put some ice on that nose, looks like its going to bruise."

[kyo]

“Let it ring,” he mumbled. “Ah! Home! I’m supposed to go home! What time is it?! I’ll be scolded if I’m late!”

He sat up suddenly and took a look around, feeling a bit dizzy. The ground had become muddy and the sky darker than before. Had he been lying here long?! How much time had passed? As he searched for his things, he noted the puddle his notebook was lying in. Great, now he had to rewrite all his notes! It seemed like everything was going to get worse today. Kyoushiro reached out to take his cell phone, though it was too late to answer the call. He shoved it into his pocket and stood. For a second he was sure he was going to fall over. His head hurt and he felt a little sick now. It was probably a combination of lying in the rain and getting smacked in the face that was making him ill. It would probably be best for him to head home and change out of his now wet clothes. That’s when he took notice of the person that seemed to be standing awfully close to him. He wasn’t someone he’d seen before, probably a new student or something. He squinted to get a better look at the other and tried to come up with a name. Nothing came to mind and he came to the conclusion that this person was indeed someone he had never seen before.

“Wow, you’re pale!” He exclaimed without thinking. “Erm, I mean you’re light skinned… It’s not a bad thing or anything! It’s, um, really nice! Though you’re kind of small… Um, short! No, I don’t mean to say that either. I mean, I’m just taller than you. I’m a giant! Or is that over six feet… A giant I mean… Forget I said anything, okay? Aw, geez. I’m not someone suspicious or anything. I-I didn’t mean to say anything mean either. If you know, you took something I said the wrong way. That’s just how my mouth goes, you know? I’m Kyoushiro by the way! So, um, don’t think badly of me or anything strange midget person. So…yeah…I go here too… To this school I mean. But um, I guess I should stop talking before you get really mad or something. See ya later Person I Don’t Know.”

His face reddened, as did his ears. It was his nature to ramble and apologize. He always said the wrong thing and never seemed to talk without something awkward slipping in. It made everyone think he was a jerk instead of a guy that couldn’t control his mouth. That boy probably already disliked him too, much like everyone else did at times. Strange, though, he’d rambled more than usual with that person, he’d even blushed. Usually he didn’t blush as much either. He was used to sounding foolish and it didn’t embarrass him as much anymore. Instead of making a bigger fool of himself, he walked away and chased after the missing pages from his notebook. A few were on the ground, but the rest were a lost cause. It wasn’t bad enough his notebook was soaked, now it had missing pages too. He held his notebook against his chest to keep the wind and water from damaging it further. His mother probably wouldn’t be happy with the mud on his shoes either. She’d probably make him leave them outside and he’d have to clean the mud off later. Dried mud was hard to get off too.

It was as he walked that his phone fell from his pocket. He stared for a second as he looked at the device. It was laying on the concrete floor now, a cracked screen visible even under the darkness of the storm. Kyoushiro blinked for a second before it registered in his mind that his phone was now broken. He dropped his notebook in shock and reached down to grab it, hoping that it would still work. Unfortunately, not only did it suffer from the force of gravity, but it’d also been harmed by the water on the ground. No matter what buttons he pressed, nothing happened. To add to this tragedy, the notebook he’d worked so hard to protect had become mush on the floor. The writing had blurred together and the pages had become one giant, soggy mess. He yelled out in frustration and kept walking, a pout on his face. He was very angry! He stomped as he walked, but kept moving forward, hoping something good was waiting for him at home. Otherwise, he would surely cry.

[Seth Runihura]

Seth stood staring in something of a cross between horror, anger and utter amusement at the back of the elusive student. He recalled the ridiculous blush that had practically burnt up his face and the corners of his lips twitched upwards against his will. However, the potential smile quickly faded as he realized just what the boy had implied in his rant. Small! Short? strange midget person!? He considered crash-tackling the boy from behind and proceeding to slowly but surely stomp his face into the ground, but he sure made a miserable sight. The boy...Kyoushiro, apparently, was desperately trying in vain to rescue his sodden notebook, and Seth had to stifle a laugh at the adorable pout that crossed his face when he gave up on both notebook and phone.

Seth wavered, indecisive, glancing wistfully at the shelter which was a mere two minutes for his home before inwardly sighing and studying the soaked Kyoushiro's back with something akin to pity. With another sigh, this one out loud, he began jogging toward the pouting redhead, wondering why he hadn't just skipped off home, laughing at the others misfortune.

On his way he snatched up several flyaway pieces of important looking paper that Kyoushiro had missed, tucking them in next to his sketchpad carefully. After a moment of thinking he shrugged off his baggy jacket and balled it in his hands, leaving him in a long sleeved white shirt. Geez, what was this guy? A steam engine? He had walked away fast enough, after completely stumbling over his own tongue and insulting everything about Seth unintentionally.

With a short bark of laughter, followed by pants of exhaustion, he finally caught up with Kyoushiro and flung his thick jacket over the boy's head.

"Geez Kyoushiro, it wasn't so mortifying that you had to flee. Anyway, might I suggest you put the damn jacket on before you freeze to death, and give your parents a ring from my phone to tell them you'll be a bit late?"

He cut in front of the boy, just in case it really was mortifying enough for him to try and make a run for it. If it was Seth, he probably would've either brushed it off completely or thrown himself face down in one of the puddles adorning the street.

"My name is Seth, not 'strange midget person', I'm pale because I spend a lot of time inside and I'm not short, everyone else is just tall. If your house is any further than the two minutes mine is, you can hang around there until the rain either slows or stops, because, as appealing pneumonia may sound, its really not that fun."

And that was probably the most Seth had said all day, apart from bitching that guy out this morning. He had offered to let the kid into his house!

[kyo]

“This isn’t fleeing, “mumbled Kyoushiro. “It’s running away! Ah, no, those are the same thing… It’s…walking away really fast from an awkward situation is what it is! Yes, that’s right. Ah, but you’re letting me use your phone? Thanks! You’re really nice New Guy!”

He hadn’t expected the other to go after him and once he’d heard his footsteps, he was sure the guy was coming for a punch. Everyone seemed to like punching him in the face. Why couldn’t they go for his knee, or perhaps his stomach? Just not the face anymore! But the guy was a nice person, even letting him call his mother so she wouldn’t worry. When a jacket was thrown over his head, he stared at it for a few seconds before picking it up. After deciding it was safe and didn’t have anything weird on it, he put it on. It was a tight fit and the arms were a bit short, but it was warm nonetheless. He smiled happily as he wore the coat. After rubbing his cheek against it, he noted how soft it was. Whoa, it was such a nice coat! He always ended up with used clothes form cousins and had never had something this soft. His mind drifted to fantasies about what he’d do with such a coat, a dreamy expression reaching his face. Why, he could go out in the worst of storms and still be warm if he had a coat such as this! Or he could sleep on it during class and it’d almost be a pillow! Ack, no, forget the last one. He’d get detention for that.

When the boy suddenly appeared in front of him, Kyoushiro fell to the ground. He smiled sheepishly at his own clumsiness. This time it wasn’t his fault, though! He’d been startled. For such a small guy, Seth moved pretty fast. The rain continued to pour and the water soaked his pants. It felt rather cold now. He stood and gave the other a big grin, his way of telling him he was A-okay. It wasn’t just that he was clumsy; it was that he had bad luck too. It seemed like he never really had a good day without something happening to spoil it. He brushed back his hair with his fingers and tried to smooth out his clothes. He hated the feeling of having his hair stick to his face, but even worse was wet clothes. His shoes felt soggy too and he stomped his foot on the ground, hoping to get the water out. Unfortunately, on the third stomp, he hit a puddle, splashing water on himself as well as the boy that had offered to help him. He froze and stared at the other before laughing nervously.

“Aaah, so you’re inviting me to your house? That’s great. We should go right now Seth! Let’s go. You’re right; we wouldn’t want pneumonia, now would we? Have to keep warm and all that. Did you get a haircut? Boy it looks nice. Not that I knew what it looked like before… But, um, it’s nice! Have you grown taller? Seems like you’ve grown taller since the last time I saw you. Ah! I wasn’t saying you were short either! Or anything like that… Just saying you seem bigger! Ah, not fat either! Bigger as in taller, but you’re not short! I take back what I said about pale too! It’s obvious I’m the tan one, so you just look pale…ish. Not pale.”

He grabbed the other’s arm and started walking forward with him, rambling to keep the other from thinking about how he had just wet his clothes. He panted a little after having ranted for so long. It was probably a good idea to breathe in-between sentences, but he always ended up forgetting and saying everything in one breath. He was going to get an angry punch from the boy for sure. He was too young to die! Even though he was bigger than many other people, Kyoushiro wasn’t a good fighter, nor did he like violence. The most violent he ever got was on the soccer field and that was only because the game involved kicking. He tried to put on the friendliest expression he could. He hoped the other would realize he was only a nice guy that made mistakes and wouldn’t beat him up.

[Seth Runihura]

Seth stared in something similar to awe at the clumsiness of this guy, before, very much against his will, stopping and doubling over laughing, clutching his stomach.

"H...Holy...How're..."

He took a deep breath to compose himself and pulled Kyoushiro to a stop, the boy still having an absent minded grip on Seth's arm.

"Don't apologise every time you say something on accident, I won't be insulted. I mean, I didn't even punch you when you called me...height deficient. Thats practically like worshiping you for me, yeah? Yes, I am pale, yes, my height is lacking, and yes, my hair is ridiculously shaggy. No, I'm not a nice person, no, I have no idea why I'm helping you, but, as I am currently doing the aforementioned things for god only knows what reason, its highly unlikely that I'll get angry at you."

He considered the lengthy rant he had just spouted out and tossed his dripping hair out of his eyes, "And yes, that is the most I've said all week, which is both creepy and disturbing."

He used Kyoushiro's grip on his arm to pull him around a corner he was sure the other would have missed, and ducked under the porch outside of his house dropping his backpack on the floor with a wet squelch. He fished around for his keys in his pocket, tongue poking out in concentration, and fitted them into the lock.

Seth grabbed Kyoushiro's arm and pulled him through the door, scooped up his bag and skipped through the shutting door nimbly, just avoiding getting clipped.

"Oh. I..uh. Hope you aren't allergic to cat fur. Not that I have a cat, just a lot of fur...Sorry about the mess."

He almost cursed himself because of the awkward introduction to his house, and the way he practically point out the lack of cat. It wasn't his fault that whenever he used his feline shape he shed everywhere. It was highly unlikely Kyoushiro would catch on anyway, but if he did, Seth could always make up some story about looking after Mrs. Next Door's cat. Something in him felt a twinge of regret for even contemplated lying to the redhead, but he brushed it aside quickly and looked around his ridiculously large house.

It really was a big mess, easels, canvas' and paintbrushes lay haphazardly around the room, half finished paintings and drawings propped up against the walls and erasers lying on every horizontal surface. Seth liked having everything strewn about for easy access, but he sincerely hoped Kyoushiro didn't fall over and break his neck or something.

He glanced at Kyoushiro to see whether he had heard anything Seth had just said, but took one look at the dripping boy, buried in his slightly undersized jacket and smirked, flicking his own dripping hair out of his eyes again.

Seth began walking towards one of the rooms leading out of the living room and called directions over his shoulder to Kyoushiro.

"Bathroom is the second door on the right, kitchen is the third on the left, phone is next to the oil paints, make yourself at home while I try and find something big enough to fit you, because, as you so diligently pointed out, you are a lot taller than me."