▃▃▃▃▃ "I-I can sleep on the floor!"

kita was already in bed, on the futon beside the other one, which was for etsuko.

     "you've been working the whole day. why not come sleep too? it's already very late", kita stated as he sat up straight, staring at the girl as he didn't budge the slightest.

     'but...I haven't even showered yet....'

     "I-I...I'll come to bed later. I'm almost done with the hakama", etsuko lied as she watched kita hesitantly lay down.

     fixing the width of the waistband on her hakama, the girl waited until it was nearly midnight before she had set her project down, making sure that no needles were just lying around.

     tiptoeing towards the wooden block that was up against the wall, kita was already fast asleep, much to etsuko's pleasure.

     the girl looked over the pale boy, who was gently snoring as his chest heaved up and down in a rhythmic manner.

snatching some clothes from her bag, that she had made herself previous years ago, etsuko slowly slid open the door as she made her way to the showering room.

thankfully the girl didn't grow much, as her clothes from two years ago still fit.

hurrying to soap and rinse her body, etsuko sneaked back into her and kita's shared room as she crawled onto the wooden platform, on top of her futon.

it wasn't often that there was a warm bed waiting for her at night, but now she was extremely grateful for it.

laying down beside kita, etsuko's head turned to the left of her, getting a great view of the boy's soft yet strong jawline.

the girl noticed that kita had dull brown eyes and thin eyebrows. his nose was also quite small, comparable to kenma's.

'shit! go to sleep, go to sleep! look at the wall! the wall's attractive too!', etsuko scolded herself as she turned her body to the right, facing the blank wall.

etsuko silently sighed as she finally closed her eyes, resting for the night as she tried staying as far away from kita as possible.

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after another day's of working, the first day of school finally arrived.

     kita woke up an hour early like always as his body seemed like there was an internal clock built inside it.

     sitting up on his futon, he glanced to his left to see that etsuko was still asleep.

     he knew that the girl stayed up extra late to finish her school uniform, which was now perfectly folded on the tea table in the center of their room.

     getting ready first, kita started changing as he was nearly done tying his nagagi, fixing the top since it exposed his chest quite a bit, before etsuko yawned.

     the girl sat up as she rubbed her eyes; her hair sticking up in all different directions.

     as etsuko slid off bed, the girl's eyes then immediately widened as she crawled back onto her futon, smashing her face against her pillow.

     "W-WHY ARE YOU CHANGING IN HERE?!"

     "good morning to you too", kita stoically replied as he tightened his nagagi, dressing in his hakama and he draped the haori over his shoulders.

     "and isn't this our room? why can I change here?", the boy asked, to which etsuko internally screamed.

     "are...are you done yet?", the girl asked, to which the boy had hummed in response.

     hesitantly looking back up, etsuko was glad that kita was now fully dressed, to which she suddenly realized that she needed to change too.

     unlike yesterday, kita had already left to which etsuko had assumed that he went with the miya twins and suna.

     but now that they'll be getting ready for school together, it was going to be a hassle.

     "u-umm....k-kita-san...can you go out and wait for me please? I-I need to change", etsuko bashfully muttered, making the boy raise a brow.

     "we're both boys. can you not change with me here?", kita questioned as he started combing his hair, even though it already looked beyond perfect.

     "I...I HAVE A CONDITION!", etsuko blurted out, cussing herself out mentally.

     "condition? do you need a medic? I can go get the school doct—"

     "NO! I-I mean...when I change in front of people, I-I go crazy...because when I was a kid, I got bullied a lot, so I can't change in front of people", etsuko lied, feeling horrible for doing so.

     kita hesitated, wondering if he should believe her or not.

     "please trust me kita-san. I...it's a real condition, and it's been a problem since I was twelve", etsuko said, slightly pouting as she anticipated the male's reaction.

     sighing, kita just nodded.

     "alright then. just let me know when you're finished", kita said as he stood up to go outside, closing the door behind him.

     etsuko sighed a breath of relief as she knew the windows were somewhat see through, considering it was filled in with a single sheet of paper, shōji.

     hiding behind a screen that was set up in the left corner, etsuko quickly changed as she smiled at how perfectly the fabric had fit around her tiny figure.

"sweet!"

letting kita back in, the girl thanked him for inconveniencing him as they both headed towards the washroom.

there laid plenty of wooden buckets that had holes in the bottom so that the water would sink into the ground. meanwhile there was another bucket of freshwater, filled up by the well that was just right beside the room itself.

scooping some fresh water with a half cut dried up gourd—that everyone was to share—etsuko swirled the water around in her mouth as she spat it in one of the empty buckets.

using a toothpick that was made from branches with antibacterial qualities, etsuko carefully picked at her teeth as she observed the others do so since this was her first time using one.

"HEY HEY HEY! GOOD MORNING HARU!"

immediately, etsuko knew that it was bokuto. only he would be so energized so early in the morning.

"good morning bokuto-san, akaashi-san", etsuko smiled as she decided to wait for them, since kita had already left.

     with kuroo and kozume later joining, the five entered the cafeteria together, buying their breakfast as everyone had already settled down in groups at certain tables.

     as the four boys left to go find a seat with their breakfast in hand, etsuko sighed as she only payed for an onigiri.

     "haru-chan~ over here!", kuroo called out as the girl squinted her eyes, finding the four sitting at the center of the cafeteria.

     glad that she had friends to sit with, the girl happily unwrapped her onigiri as she skipped towards the table, only to be tripped by a certain snake, making etsuko drop her breakfast.

     "shit!"

     "p-pft! I didn't think someone could get even more pathetic. honestly haru, you'd look better scrubbing the floors rather than attending school", daishō laughed, to which a few others joined in.

     immediately standing up, etsuko huffed, glaring at the boy as she suddenly gasped.

     bowing, the girl immediately said, "good morning takeda-sensei!!"

     all the students turned towards where the girl was bowing as etsuko hastily snatched the onigiri off of daishō's tray, reaching the table where kuroo and the rest were sitting.

     daishō slammed his hands on the table as he stood up, fuming.

     "oi, haru! even if you're poor, you can't just steal from me!!", daishō shouted, to which the girl just grinned.

     "it's not called stealing snake boy. you purposely tripped me, making me drop my breakfast. I just took what you owed me. you're welcome, daishō-san~".

     "you—"

     "daishō, first period is about to start. we need to start eating", a blonde male warned, to which snake boy had begrudgingly sat down as he glared at etsuko the entire time.

     the girl chuckled as she started eating, to which kuroo and bokuto had encouraged the girl's behavior.

     "I'd be more careful haru-san. daishō-san isn't someone you should mess with. his father might not be too high up on the hierarchy, but it's enough for him to make your life a living hell", akaashi warned.

     etsuko only huffed, eating more aggressively.

     "I'm not scared!"

     "plus, haru-chan's got us to protect him. isn't that right kozume?"

     the pudding-head only nodded, poking at his food before he offered some to etsuko, much to her pleasure.

     "anyways, we should head to class. it's the first day and we really shouldn't be late", akaashi said as everyone got up to put their trays away.

     before etsuko could leave with the rest, kuroo stopped her.

     tutting, kuroo let out a snort. "why do you eat like a pig?", the boy teased as he wiped the rice grains from the corner of the girl's mouth.

     etsuko harshly gulped as she just nodded, hastily running off as kuroo stood there confused.

     "what's he embarrassed about?"

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セレンディピティ
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