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misscorn · 1 year

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Day 5 - Free prompt/AU

Even though there are two more days for @sihjrweek I think this is going to be my last entry so I can focus on finals and such :) this one will be posted as a standalone story on my fanfiction.net account Sixty Teacups. It may or may not be continued

Onodera Ritsu normally would never dare to approach an older kid on the playground at school. At seven years old he didn’t even have the courage to approach kids his own age, being incredibly shy and perhaps a tad sensitive. The only reason he and An were friends was because their families had been close before the two of them had been born. The children had no choice but to get along, but it worked out in the end that the two of them did genuinely enjoy each other’s company.

Having An meant that Ritsu always had someone to talk to at lunch or play with at recess, so Ritsu never had to feel lonely or left out. An had other friends that she sometimes included in their conversations or games, but she preferred Ritsu’s company over theirs, declaring him her best friend rather clearly through her actions. However, their little buddy system wasn’t perfect. There were days like today, where An was absent from school, presumably because she was sick. This left Ritsu to his own devices for most of the day, but especially when the time came for lunch and recess.

Lunch was bearable. The tables were always crowded with kids, no one ever really sitting alone, though that didn’t necessarily mean Ritsu was sitting with people either. No one seemed to pay any attention to Ritsu as he quietly listened to all the excited prattling that surrounded him, but he almost preferred it that way. He was okay with enjoying his meal without having to worry about being polite and engaging and - most of all - not getting himself labeled as a weirdo. Being considered boring or shy was easy to undo, but being considered weird was harder to escape. Ritsu wasn’t entirely sure yet what the rules were; what got you side eyes and got you called names. So, he opted for just keeping to An until he could figure out what these unspoken rules were.

Once lunch was over, though, he could feel his palms start to sweat as something that he didn’t have a name for yet - something called ‘self-consciousness’ - started to overwhelm him. The children were ushered outside to play for a while and Ritsu stood paralyzed with options, all of which seemed like poor ones. There were several games going on, all of which Ritsu could ask to join, but what if the kids said no? What if they already had enough players? Or what if Ritsu ended up being no good at the game and embarrassed himself with how poorly he played? And then they made fun of him? Ritsu could go on some of the playground equipment, but the swings were naturally all already taken and he didn’t want to wait around the entire time for one to potentially free up. Going down the slide over and over again would be boring and the monkey bars always turned his hands red and made them hurt. Sometimes he and An would sit at a little picnic table and play hand games with one another - or even card games if one of them had brought cards with them that day - but Ritsu obviously couldn’t just sit at the table by himself. He’d definitely look strange if he did that.

At the thought of the picnic table, Ritsu’s gaze naturally wandered over to it, wondering if it was currently occupied. He wasn’t surprised that there was someone sitting there, but he was surprised to see that they were sitting there alone. It was a boy with dark hair and skin pale enough to make Ritsu momentarily concerned about whether or not he put on sunscreen (Ritsu’s mom made him put some on every morning). Ritsu had seen the boy on the playground before, but really hadn’t paid any attention to him in the past. Ritsu had no reason to know or care about him - he definitely wasn’t in Ritsu’s class - and they seemingly both lived in their own little worlds that a select few of people were allowed into.

It looks like he’s reading a book, Ritsu thought as he continued to watch from a distance. It almost made Ritsu want to smile, seeing another kid have a genuine interest in reading. Ritsu loved to read! An was not as enthusiastic about the activity, meaning that the two of them never talked about it. Why had Ritsu never thought about reading during recess before? It was the perfect activity to do on your own! No one would think he was weird for reading on his own, right? Reading was fun and it wasn’t an activity traditionally done with other people. I should have brought a book out here with me, Ritsu thought with just a twinge of disappointment. Maybe I can ask him about what he’s reading? Ritsu could feel his heart start to beat faster at the idea, but he slowly started to shuffle his way towards the table anyway. No, he couldn’t do that, he didn’t know this kid! And despite the boy sitting down, Ritsu could tell that he was taller. What if he was older? What if he was mean? Ritsu paused in his approach, closer now, but not nearly close enough to speak to the boy. I don’t want to be alone for all of recess, though…I’ll just say hi, I can do that, saying hi isn’t scary! Ritsu still felt terrified even as he tried to convince himself that he had nothing to fear.

Ritsu slowly started to walk over again until he was standing by the table, across from the boy. The boy didn’t notice Ritsu at all, not even glancing up from his book. Ritsu took a deep breath before smiling. “Hi.” He said. He waited a few seconds for a reaction of some kind before realizing that the boy must not have heard him or didn’t realize that Ritsu was talking to him - or worse, he was ignoring Ritsu. Ritsu decided to believe one of the first two, otherwise he would turn tail and hide somewhere on the playground for the rest of recess. “Hello.” He said, a little louder this time.

This time, the boy did look up, his expression blank as his eyes landed on Ritsu. “...Hi?” He said after he fully registered the fact that he was being spoken to, his eyebrows furrowing a little bit and a frown tugging at his lips.

That wasn’t a great sign, but Ritsu wouldn’t be discouraged. Yet. “What are you reading?” Ritsu asked. “I really love to read, but Anchan doesn’t - An is my friend - so I don’t ever get to talk about books with her.” He added, feeling as though he needed to explain himself, but he just felt more and more stupid as more words escaped him. “Oh - I didn’t even - um - I’m sorry,” The manners that his mother had instilled in him were suddenly coming back. He was doing this all backwards! He hoped that there was still a way for him to salvage this conversation. “My name is Onodera Ritsu. It’s nice to meet you. What’s your name?”

“...Saga Masamune.” The boy answered quietly, a little overwhelmed with the amount of energy he was suddenly on the receiving end of.

“What grade are you in? Are you one of the older kids? That book looks a little harder than what I usually read, is it interesting? Do you always read during recess? I really love to read, but I don’t ever read during recess cause I’m usually playing with Anchan, but she’s out sick today, so I don’t have anyone to play with, but you’re really smart for bringing a book out here, I’ll probably do that next time.” Ritsu knew he was rambling at this point, but for some reason he couldn’t get himself to stop.

“You already said that.” Was all Saga said in response.

“What?” Ritsu frowned, confused.

“You already said you really love to read.”

“...Oh.” Ritsu said, standing a little more rigidly.

“Why are you talking to me?” Saga asked bluntly, not intending on sounding cruel, but it still made Ritsu’s eyes burn with the desire to cry.

“I’m sorry.” Ritsu said, though he wasn’t sure what he was apologizing for. He felt as though he had made some kind of transgression from Saga’s reactions to him and he wanted to make it clear that he hadn’t meant to. He’d just wanted to be friendly.

“You’re sorry for talking to me?” Saga asked, tilting his head slightly.

“No - I’m - uh…”

“Why are you talking to me?” Saga repeated, not finding Ritsu’s apology a satisfactory response to his question.

“I-I just wanted to know about the book you were reading…” Ritsu said.

Saga hesitated for a moment before he put his bookmark between the pages and shut it, sliding it over on the table toward Ritsu’s side.

Ritsu stared in surprise at the silent offer before he decided to sit across from Saga, taking the book as invitation to do so. He picked it up, it being a book that was a part of a children’s series that Ritsu had not read as it was just slightly above his level, but maybe he should give it a try if Saga really liked it.

“I’ve never read it. What’s it about?” Ritsu asked as he held the book out back to Saga.

Saga took it. “A detective.” He answered vaguely, obviously not the biggest conversationalist. “But I think I already figured out the answer to this one.”

“Don’t tell me! If I read it I wanna see if I can figure it out too.” Ritsu said with a smile, some of his cheeriness starting to return.

“Okay.” Saga said. “This is the third one in the series. The school’s library has all of them.”

“I’ll have to check out the first one then.” Ritsu beamed. He was sure if he got stuck on any words that his mother would be more than happy to help him out.

Saga just gave a short nod, glancing between Ritsu, the book, and their surroundings, not entirely sure what to do or say at this point. He really wanted to get back to reading, but he had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to focus with this kid sitting in front of him now. Does he want something from me? Did someone put him up to this or something? Saga didn’t understand how or why that would be a funny joke, but it made more sense to him than someone suddenly taking a genuine interest in him.

“Do you always read during recess?” Ritsu asked again since Saga hadn’t answered him earlier.

“Yeah.” Saga answered.

“You don’t ever play with your friends?” Ritsu continued.

“I don’t have friends.” Saga said plainly, seemingly unaffected by this fact.

Ritsu was a little stunned at that admission and hoped that it didn’t show too badly on his face. “Oh - well - th-that’s okay! Anchan is my only friend, so not having a lot of friends isn’t a bad thing.”

“I didn’t say it was.”

“Um…” Ritsu could feel himself panicking again. If all kids were this difficult to talk to then Ritsu had a feeling that he was going to have a very hard time making new friends. “W-Well, maybe next time you can play with me and Anchan. If you want to! And If she’s here tomorrow. She might still be sick.”

“I like just reading.”

Ritsu’s shoulders slumped a little as that seemed to be a rejection of his offer. “Okay. If you wanna keep reading, you can, I won’t talk anymore.”

Saga opened his book back up and Ritsu stood up from the table, feeling as though he hadn’t totally succeeded in his attempt to make a new friend, but he wasn’t going to give up yet.

He would just have to be more prepared for next time!

The way Ritsu prepared was speed reading through the first two detective stories that Saga had read. An was back at school, so Ritsu didn’t get much of a chance to read during recess, but he was determined to catch up to where Saga was so that maybe they could talk about the books! Saga hadn’t seemed to totally mind Ritsu’s presence the other day, even if he hadn’t seemed totally thrilled either, so Ritsu was sure he could manage to become friends with him.

Several days passed since Ritsu’s first attempt to befriend Saga and now Ritsu was acutely aware of his presence. Every recess his eyes were drawn toward him regardless of where Saga sat on the playground. Saga was always reading, the books changing every day, and Ritsu started to worry he’d never catch up as Saga seemed to read just as fast - if not faster - than him.

“I found you!” An exclaimed as she snuck up behind Ritsu and tapped him on the shoulder. He had been ‘hiding’ behind a tree in a game of hide and seek. In reality, Ritsu had picked this spot because he could easily peek at Saga from afar. Ritsu jumped at her words, turning around to face her quickly.

“Anchan, you scared me!”

“This isn’t a very good hiding spot, Richan.” An said. “And what were you looking at anyway? Are you spying on someone?” She asked, sounding scandalized.

“No! No, I’m not spying on anyone!” Ritsu denied immediately, but An was already looking around to see who Ritsu could’ve been watching.

“It’s that boy you’re always looking at! Were you looking at him again?”

“No, no I wasn’t, I wasn’t looking at anyone!” Ritsu slapped his hands over his face, partly to hide his shame and partly to try to distract An with the game. “It’s my turn to count, go hide!”

“No, tell me why you’re always spying on him!”

“I’m not spying!” Ritsu repeated before he loudly started to count to emphasize to An that he was starting the game regardless of whether or not she was ready.

An made a sound of distress before Ritsu heard her run off.

She ended up sprinting past Ritsu, trying to quickly come up with a hiding spot. Why hadn’t she thought of one while she was seeking? She ran up to the small picnic table that Saga was sitting at and spoke quickly. “Can I hide under the table?” She asked. She had a feeling that Ritsu wouldn’t come anywhere near Saga in his search for her and she’d win.

Saga frowned. “What?”

“My friend and I are playing hide and seek and I don’t think he’ll look over here if you’re sitting here!” She explained quickly, nervously looking over toward the tree that Ritsu was still standing by. “Just scoot over to the end!” She said before she got under the table.

Saga scowled a little and scooted over like she said. “I can go somewhere else.”

“No, that defeats the whole point! If you’re sitting here, he won’t think I’m under here! Just keep reading your book.” She said.

Saga huffed. “I don’t really care if your friend finds you or not.”

“You don’t have to be rude about it.” An said. “I’m not bothering you, I’m just sitting here.”

“You’re in my space.” Saga complained. “Now I have to make sure I don’t accidentally kick you or something.”

“I’m not in your space.” An disagreed, holding out her arm to hover just by Saga, almost poking his leg. “Still not in your space, not touching you.”

Saga frowned. “Go away, you’re annoying.”

“But I’m not doing anything.” An reiterated, not affected by the insult, still just barely not touching him. “By the way, do you know Richan?” She asked, withdrawing her arm to sit it in her lap.

“Richan?” Saga echoed.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, Ritsu, Onodera Ritsu, he’s my best friend, he’s the one who’s looking for me.” An said. “But he keeps looking at you during recess, so I was wondering if you knew him.”

Saga had noticed Ritsu watching him since the day that they talked, but he had elected to just ignore it since the kid hadn’t attempted to approach him again. He had no idea what Ritsu’s deal was and decided to chalk it up to him just being weird. Instead of answering An’s question, Saga scanned the playground for Ritsu, standing up once he spotted him and taking a deep breath.

“RITSU! YOUR FRIEND IS HIDING OVER HERE!” He shouted to get his attention.

“HEY!” An shouted in protest. “Why would you do that?!” She asked, scrambling to get out from under the table as Ritsu started to approach.

“Because you’re annoying.” Saga repeated, sitting back down.

“IT DOESN’T COUNT IF YOU CAN’T CATCH ME!” An shouted, running away as Ritsu got closer to her. Ritsu stopped in front of Saga’s table instead of giving chase right away.

“D-Do you wanna play with us?” Ritsu hesitantly asked.

“No.” Saga answered.

“Oh, okay…I read the first two books from that detective series! I really like it so far.” Ritsu said, swallowing hard as he hadn’t expected to be speaking to Saga today, but he may as well take the opportunity now that he had it.

“Shouldn’t you be looking for your friend?” Saga said, in a bad mood from An teasing him.

Ritsu deflated a bit at that. “Yeah, I should. Um…thanks for telling me where to find her! I’lltalktoyoulaterbye.” He quickly ran off in the direction he had seen An go.

They’re both weird, Saga thought with a sigh as he went back to his book. Hopefully they’ll leave me alone, he added silently before engrossing himself back in his story.

“Can I sit with you?”

Saga looked up from his book, spotting Ritsu standing nervously in front of him. Ritsu was holding his own book, Saga recognizing it as the fourth in the series he was currently reading.

“I won’t talk! I just-I wanted to read too. An is playing with her other friends and I didn’t feel like playing with them.” Ritsu explained. An and her girlfriends had decided to play fairies today and Ritsu wasn’t particularly interested (mostly because An’s friends always seemed to change the rules of what was and wasn’t allowed).

“Sure, I guess.” Saga said and Ritsu beamed so brightly you would have thought Saga had offered him a star. Why is he smiling at me like that? He’s so strange…it’s not like I own this table, he can sit wherever he wants.

Ritsu sat down across from Saga and opened his mouth as if to speak before he remembered his promise not to talk. He opted for a shy smile instead before he opened up his book.

Saga watched him for a couple seconds, as if he didn’t believe that Ritsu was just going to sit and read quietly with him.

I guess this isn’t so bad, Saga thought as he continued to watch Ritsu. He got pretty far into the series in a small amount of time, I wonder what he thinks of it so far…he wouldn’t mind if I asked him, right?

Why is he staring at me? Ritsu wondered at the same time, feeling his face starting to heat up. Does he actually not want me to sit here? Why would he say it’s okay then?

Ritsu stared down at his book, hoping that Saga would eventually stop.

“Do you like the book?”

Ritsu was startled by the question and looked up, meeting Saga’s gaze. “Y-Yeah, I do! I’ve enjoyed all of them so far!” He said, his bright smile returning.

Saga had to fight back the urge to squint at the sight of it. Was Ritsu always so shiny? He wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to handle that.

“I haven’t been able to figure out any of the mysteries on my own yet.” Ritsu’s beam was replaced with a pout. “I’m gonna keep trying, though!” He added quickly, not wanting to seem like he was giving up. He was determined to put together the pieces himself with at least one of these stories and when he put his mind to something he followed through.

“That’s the book with the missing dog, right?” Saga asked.

Ritsu nodded enthusiastically. “Yup!”

“Do you have a guess about who took the dog yet?”

“Well, at first I thought it might be the older brother, but now I’m starting to think that maybe it’s actually the dog owner’s best friend.” Ritsu said. “But don’t tell me if I’m right or wrong!” He added quickly.

I thought it was the brother too, Saga thought. He’d been extremely annoyed when he realized he had been wrong, but at least Ritsu had gotten off that red herring. “Which one’s been your favorite so far?” Saga asked.

“The second one. I think the amusement park setting is cool.” Ritsu smiled.

“I like the second one too.” Saga admitted, having enjoyed it for the same reason. “There are ten in the series, at least so far. Are you gonna read them all?”

“I plan to!” Ritsu said.

“What are some of your favorite books?” Saga asked. If Ritsu liked these books, then maybe Saga would like some of the books that Ritsu had read.

Naturally, Ritsu launched into a long talk about several books that he had read and believed wholeheartedly that others should read as well.

It’s kind of funny to watch him get so excited, Saga thought, listening attentively. I guess talking to him isn’t all that bad.

Saga essentially forgot about his own book, becoming swept away in Ritsu’s enthusiasm. He still didn’t speak much, letting Ritsu do almost all the talking, but he found that he didn’t mind listening so much.

“C-Can I sit with you again tomorrow?” Ritsu shyly asked when the teachers started to call the kids back in.

Saga considered the question for a few moments before shrugging noncommittally. It wasn’t outright rejection so Ritsu interpreted the gesture as an okay.

“I’ll probably finish this book by tomorrow, so I’ll bring a different one with me. Maybe I can bring one from home that I like for you to borrow? But only if you promise to take super good care of it, my mom would get really mad if one of my books got dirty or torn.” Ritsu said as he stood up, kids all around them abandoning their fun and games to get back inside.

“I promise.” Saga said.

Ritsu’s sunshine-smile came back and Saga felt weird at the sight of it, it making him want to rescind his words, but he supposed there was no taking it back now.

Maybe spending recess with someone else would be a nice change.

Saga still wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about Ritsu, even after spending several recesses together in a row. Sometimes Saga really enjoyed their conversation (they talked about books most often, which Saga liked, but sometimes they dove into other fun topics like the animals they liked, their favorite superheroes, what they wanted for Christmas this year, a variety of kid-typical topics), other times he wanted Ritsu to stop talking because the sight of Ritsu’s smile made him feel weird again, and most recently they hadn’t talked at all. Instead, Ritsu had shyly offered to sit side by side and read a book he had brought from home together.

Weird, this is weird, Saga had thought, their shoulders pressed together as they both poured over the book, I should scoot away, right? He had thought, but hadn’t done it. In the end he decided not to mention it at all and the two of them continued reading until recess was over. That had been the day before the weekend, so Saga spent the weekend away from Ritsu as neither of them had dared to broach the topic of potentially spending time together outside of school yet. Ritsu didn’t know where he stood with Saga well enough and Saga hadn’t even thought of it as an option.

Come recess on Monday, Saga had finished the book that Ritsu had lent him over the weekend and he was actually looking forward to seeing Ritsu. Which was weird. Definitely weird. Ritsu was making Saga weird. The thought of that made Saga huff a little bit, but he waited for Ritsu to come over and sit with him anyway.

“Hi!”

Saga looked up from the book he had already read, having decided to just reread the first couple pages while he was waiting so he didn’t get bored. Ritsu stood there, smiling kindly like always.

“Hi.” Saga replied, closing the book and holding it out toward Ritsu. “I finished it.”

“Oh!” Ritsu took it back, but Saga noted that Ritsu didn’t sit down. “Thank you - did you like it?” He asked, getting excited before shaking his head. “Wait, no, let’s wait to talk about it tomorrow. If we start talking about it now, I won’t want to stop.” Ritsu said with a soft laugh.

Saga frowned a bit and furrowed his eyebrows. “Why can’t we talk about it now?”

“I’ve been spending a lot of time with you, so Anchan made me promise that I’d spend this recess with her.” Ritsu explained, looking back over to where An was currently jumping rope while she waited for Ritsu. “I came over here to let you know I’d be playing with her today. But you can play with us too, if you want!”

Saga looked over at An, unable to help the scowl that came to his face, not having quite mastered keeping his face as still as stone yet. Why did Ritsu have to play with her? She was annoying and Ritsu had told him that she didn’t even like to read, so she couldn’t have interesting conversations about books like Saga could, and it wasn’t fair that An had made Ritsu promise! Shouldn’t it have been Ritsu’s choice? If Ritsu could choose, he’d definitely choose to spend recess with Saga. Right? Right? Saga was more fun than An, right? He couldn’t recognize the feeling beginning to curl inside him, all he knew was that it was ugly and didn’t feel good and he wanted it to stop.

“No, I don’t want to play with An, she’s annoying.” Saga snipped.

Ritsu frowned at that. “H-Hey, that’s not nice, you shouldn’t talk about her that way.”

That ugly feeling just grew worse as Ritsu defended An. “Well, she is! And I don’t care that you want to hang out with her, you’re a weirdo anyway, so leave me alone.”

Ritsu flinched, looking as though Saga had just struck him across the face. Weird, Saga thought he was weird. Why? Hadn't they been getting along? What had suddenly changed between them to make Saga say these things? He sniffled, not having the courage to ask Saga why he was suddenly being mean to him, so he turned tail and went over to An quickly while he tried not to cry.

An paused in her rope skipping, holding the jump rope in her hands. “Hey, Richan. Is he gonna play with - hey, what’s wrong?” She frowned when realizing her friend was on the verge of tears.

Naturally, being asked what the issue was made Ritsu unable to hold his tears back anymore. “I-I don’t know, h-he just started being m-mean all of a sudden and c-called me a weirdo a-and told m-me to leave him a-alone.” He said through his tears, his breath catching every few words as he harshly rubbed his eyes to try to get them to stop crying, too upset to clarify who ‘he’ was, but An was smart enough to make the connection.

An frowned, her grip tightening on her jump rope. “I’m gonna go talk to him.”

“N-No, wait, Anchan-” Ritsu tried to stop her, trailing after her as she approached where Saga sat.

Saga frowned at both of them. “What?” He asked with a huff, just wanting to be left alone.

An let one of the handles of her rope shoot out like a whip and hit Saga in the arm.

“OW!” He complained, standing up and taking a few steps away from her. “What is wrong with you?!”

“What’s wrong with you?! Why are you being mean to Richan?!” She demanded, holding the rope as if she were prepared to hit Saga with it again.

“I wasn’t being mean, I just told him that I don’t care if he hangs out with you!” Saga said.

“Before or after you called him a mean name?” An asked, starting to gear up her weapon of choice.

“Anchan, don’t hit him again, you’re gonna get in trouble!” Ritsu said, his cheeks still a bit tear stained.

“It’s not my fault he’s a weirdo crybaby.” Saga said defensively.

SMACK

“OW, KNOCK IT OFF!”

“Then say you’re sorry!” An ordered him.

“Why should I do that?” Saga asked indignantly.

“Because you don’t call your friend mean names!” An said. “Duh, do you not even know that much, idiot?”

“You just called me an idiot!” Saga pointed out.

“We’re not friends!” An shouted at him, raising her jump rope to emphasize her point. “Now say you’re sorry to Richan or you’re banned from talking to him ever again!”

“You can’t do that!” Saga scowled.

“Yes I can! My mommy and his mommy are best friends, so I’ll tell them about you being mean to him and then Ritsu won’t be allowed to talk to you anymore.” An said confidently. “So say you’re sorry.” She narrowed her eyes, her jump rope at the ready to strike a third time.

Saga glared at her before looking at Ritsu, who was standing there uncomfortably and avoiding looking at Saga.

I really didn’t mean to make him cry, Saga thought. The sight of Ritsu standing there looking so dejected made a heavy pit form in Saga’s stomach. It was even worse than that ugly feeling he’d felt earlier.

“Ritsu?” Saga mumbled, trying to pretend like the threat of the jump rope wasn’t still looming over him.

Ritsu sniffled a couple times, trying to make himself as small as possible, not wanting anyone to look at him. “What?”

“I’m sorry…” Saga apologized. “I shouldn’t have called you mean names.”

“Did I do something?” Ritsu asked anxiously. Was this his fault, somehow?

“Of course you didn’t, Richan. He was just being mean.” An huffed before Saga could even answer.

“But why?” Ritsu insisted.

Saga sighed and crossed his arms, looking down. “I was mad that you’d be playing with An today.” He admitted reluctantly.

“But I said you could play with us!” Ritsu said, even more confused.

“I don’t want to play with An.” Saga huffed, rubbing his arm where a bruise was undoubtedly starting to form from being smacked with her jump rope. “I just want to talk to you…” He admitted.

“Well, I’m Richan’s best friend.” An said. “Which means we play together all the time and if you wanna be Richan’s friend then you just have to deal with it.”

Saga scowled again, that ugly feeling coming back. “Well, maybe I’ll just be Ritsu’s best friend instead.” He declared.

An stared at him, her jaw dropping in shock. “No! You’ll never be his best friend, I’m his best friend!” She exclaimed.

“For now.” Saga sneered.

An’s delicate features contorted into a harsh glower. “Shut up!”

Ritsu gasped at her words. “Anchan, that’s not nice!” He said, glancing around in a panic to make sure no teachers were paying attention to them.

“Make me.” Saga challenged and regretted as he remembered her jump rope and her eagerness to use it against him.

She raised her jump rope to do just that, but Ritsu quickly stood in front of Saga.

“Stop it!” Ritsu said. “This is-this is stupid.” He said, starting to feel overwhelmed. “He already said he was sorry so can we please go play?”

An took a deep breath and lowered her rope. “Fine. But if he makes you cry again, I’ll make him regret it!” She warned, turning around and stomping off.

Ritsu relaxed a little as she went off the war path and went to follow her, but Saga grabbed him quickly by the wrist before he could.

Ritsu looked back toward him. “Um, y-yes?” He asked.

“I really am sorry, Ritsu…” Saga said. “Will you still spend recess with me tomorrow?”

Ritsu hesitated for just a moment before slowly nodding. “If you want me to.”

“I do.” Saga said quickly. “Promise you’ll spend recess with me?” He asked, not wanting to risk An cutting in on their time together. If An could make Ritsu promise then so could Saga!

Ritsu nodded again. “I promise.”

“RICHAN! Come ON!” An called out after she realized that Ritsu wasn’t right behind her.

Saga reluctantly let go of Ritsu’s wrist. “Okay. I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.”

Ritsu gave a soft, shy, unsure smile and Saga hoped he’d get a brighter one tomorrow.

“What did he say to you?” An asked as Ritsu came over to her.

“He just said he was sorry again and that he wanted to spend recess together tomorrow.”

“What? You’re not really gonna play with him tomorrow, are you Ritsu?”

“Um, I promised…”

“That is so not fair!” An complained. “Promise you’ll play with me the day after tomorrow, promise, promise!”

“Okay, okay, I promise.” Ritsu assured.

“Good.” An said, determined to keep her title as best friend.

Saga was just as determined to yank it away from her