Chapter Text
Giyuu POV
Giyuu wakes up to the blaring of his alarm. He blearily opens his eyes and glares at his ringing clock before hitting the off button and slumping back in bed. A hand comes up to rub his eyes aggressively and letting out a long sigh.
"Great," Giyuu thinks "time to go to a new school, I'm sure this won't blow up in my face as I completely embarrass myself. I don't know anyone here."
He swings his legs off his bed to get ready, albeit begrudgingly. Sophomore year is bad enough as it is, but of course he has to start at a new school after having his world completely rocked when he lost his best friend. He shakes his head to try and dispel the thoughts. Not now, later. Giyuu grabs an apple and heads back to his room to get ready. He pulled on some dark cargo parts, a blue tee shirt, and a matching flannel. He tied his hair into his normal low ponytail and quickly pull on some shoes. After eating the apple, he brushed his teeth, packed a lunch, and stuffed his bag with everything he thought would be needed for high school. Giyuu Tomioka stood at the door, breathes in as deep as he can, and heads to school. Here we go
---
At the school, Giyuu marvels at how many people go to this high school, the one that he went to where he used to live was in a much smaller town, so the school was bound to be smaller, but this is almost ridiculous.
"I can't decide if that's a good thing or not. More people means it's easier to hide, but it also means more noise and more chances of jerks." Giyuu grimaces but pushes forward to the front door
He heads straight to the office with his head down, trying not to draw attention to himself, not that it mattered much as everyone was buzzing around him. Greeting friends, comparing schedules, talking about their summers, there was hardly a person that glanced at Giyuu. He didn't mind, he would much rather be in the background. Once he reached the office, a kind lady greeted him.
"Good morning. How can I help you??" She smiled down at him with gentle eyes. Giyuu already felt some weight come off of his shoulders as he spoke up
"I just moved here, I was told I could get a schedule and a tour?" He said somewhat tentatively
"Ah yes, Tomioka Giyuu right?" Giyuu nodded "Perfect, I can call down the student that will show you around. Go ahead and take a seat."
Giyuu shuffled over to the chairs and slung his backpack off his shoulder and put it next to him. He took this moment to look around. Kids walking the halls, posters of clubs and activities plastered on walls, an awards case with many medals and trophies.
"Okay, this doesn't seem so bad," Giyuu muses to himself "I think I could get used to a place like this, even if it is a bit loud."
Giyuu was quickly startled out of his thoughts when the office door slammed open, a boy around his age with mid length hair that was dyed at the tips making it look almost like flames. His hair matched his bright eyes and a huge smile was on the boys face. He caught Giyuu's eyes and his smile grew before he walked over to him.
"Hello!! My name is Kyojuro Rengoku!! I am a sophmore here at Kimestu High!! What is your name?!"
Giyuu still reeling from being so caught off guard by this loud but kind boy, Kyojuro he said. Giyuu blinked and then realized he had been asked a question and quickly spat out a response
"Tomioka, Giyuu Tomioka." He paused trying to decide if he wanted to say anything else before adding "I'm a sophmore too."
"Fantastic!! I have your schedule right here so I'll show you where your classes are!! Follow me Giyuu!!" Kyojuro quickly turned on his heels and held the door open for Giyuu, still a bright smile on his face.
Giyuu grabbed his bag and followed after Kyojuro. Kyojuro started to ask questions and talk about himself while Giyuu gave short answers and listened, not minding the enthusiasm of the boy beside him. He talked about his younger brother, his friends, some fun clubs Giyuu could check out, and what the lunch was that day. Then what he said next caught Giyuu off guard, again.
"If you would like to eat lunch with my friends, I'm sure they won't mind!! They can be somewhat strange, but so are you, so I think you'll get along just fine."
Giyuu turned his head with eyes wide. He was a little shaken by the bluntness of Kyojuro calling him strange, but he could tell there was no ill feelings behind that comment so he moved past it. Kyojuro was already inviting him to eat with his friends. Why?? Giyuu hadn't done anything particularly friendly, but he supposed it was more likely that Kyojuro was just that kind. Giyuu then hummed
"That sounds... nice, thank you."
"Of course!! We also have a class or two together so if you need any help let me know!!"
Giyuu felt comfortable enough to ask a few questions of his own
"I don't mean to sound rude, but why do you always shout. Not that I mind, I just find it unusual."
Kyojuro looked a little bashful, but answered with the same volume and energy as he had all day. "Ah, that is due to a childhood injury when I burst my eardrums, so I am hard of hearing. Sorry if that bothers you." Kyojuro watches Giyuu out of the corner of his eye as Giyuu processed what he said
"Oh, its alright, I like your voice." Giyuu immediatly clamped his mouth shut and went bright red "Where the hell did that come from??" His inner voice chided
"Thank you!! I like yours too, even if it is somewhat difficult to hear! I think that's the end of our tour, do you need anything else from me?" Kyojuro asked
"I think I got it, thank you for showing me around Kyojuro. See you at lunch?" Giyuu didn't want to push if Kyojuro did not genuinely mean the invitation, but of course he did
"Yes!! I can pick you up at your class before lunch, best of luck Giyuu!!" Kyojuro waved and walked away. Giyuu couldn't help but smile. He turned and left for his first class.
---
Lunch came faster than Giyuu thought. Kyojuro showed up at the classroom door as promised along with two others behind him
"Giyuu! Hello again!! How were your classes this morning?" Kyojuro shouted as Giyuu walked over
"Surprisingly not too bad." Giyuu answered, sparing a glance at the other two. Kyojuro noticed this, and immedietly launched into introductions
"Giyuu, these are two of my friends I was telling you about. The one with pink and green hair is Mitsuri Kanroji and the one with silver hair is Tengen Uzui!! Mitsuri is on the women's wrestling and cheer team as well as being on student council. She also is very smart, namely in culinary and math!"
The girl with thick braids blushed deeply and held her face in her hands as she squeals
"Kyojuro you are so kind! Nice to meet you Giyuu!!"
"Tengen is a musician and is very talented in fashion and design. Don't let his artistic side fool you though, he is also a trained martial artist!!" Kyojuro continues on
"A little modest of a description, but I'll take it. Pleased to meet you Giyuu. The others will start getting antsy if we don't head over." Tengen turned to Kyojuro and Mitsturi when he said the last part. They both nodded and started walking
Giyuu walks in somewhat of a trance as the other three chat away, but he feels an arm go over his shoulders, and looks over to see Kyojuro still talking to the others but now linked to Giyuu. Giyuu felt his face go warm but he decided not to say anything, staying close to Rengoku's side.
When they reached the table, Giyuu was surprised by how many people where there. He never had more than 2 friends at a time, but there were at least 5 already at the table.
"Hello friends!! You remember me mentioning Giyuu Tomioka?? I was hoping he could join us for lunch!" Those at the table nodded or smiled at Giyuu and that was enough for Kyojuro to lead him to the table
"I don't mean to bombard you with introductions, but I don't want anyone to feel left out. First off, the one on Mitsuri's left is Obanai Iguro. He is very skilled in most school subjects and often volunteers at the local animal shelters, namely the reptile wing. The snake on his shoulders is his emotional support animal named Kaburamaru. We grew up together so I see him as a brother." Kyojuro finished off
Obanai lifted his chin in acknowledgement. Mitsuri quickly cut in "He may seem a little scary, but he really is a big softie." She smiled brightly at him as Obanai went red, trying to hide his face behind his sleeve.
"Next, Shinobu Kocho is on the other side of Mitsuri. She is very good with all sciences as well as technology and can absolutely wreck you if you cross her, so I'd stay on her good side." Kyojuro smiled as he said this
Shinobu had a sweet smile on her face, but Giyuu had no doubt that she would be able to take him down despite how much shorter she was than anyone else at the table
"Sanemi Shinazugawa is the angry looking one over there. He is on the men's wrestling team and is quite good at rugby. He also excels at math and debate!"
Sanemi scoffs and disregards Giyuu, but he guesses that is a typical reaction, so Giyuu continues to listen to Kyojuro
"The really tall guy is Gyomei Himejima! He is incredibly smart in all subjects and volunteers at an orphanage in his free time! Gyomei is a year above us. He is a very spiritual person and he is also blind so do not be alarmed."
Gyomei nodded in his direction and said "Nice to meet you Mr. Tomioka."
"And last but certainly not least is young Muichiro Tokito!! He's freshman age but was moved up to our year due to his academic accomplishments, specifically in language arts! He is also very talented at origami and paper airplanes!!"
Giyuu could tell Muichiro was a little quieter, which he appreciated. He looked around the table at all of these incredibly talented people and suddenly felt very out of place. What did he do to deserve to spend time with these people?? Almost as if Kyojuro could read his mind, he put a hand on Giyuu's shoulder and smiled at him
The rest of lunch was pretty uneventful, but he did like to hear the others talk among themselves, and some even tried to include Giyuu by asking him questions. He was slightly overwhelmed, but not in a bad way. When there was a lull in conversation, Giyuu smiled down at his lap. He's doing it, he's making friends.
---
After the day was done, he waved to his new friends, but Shinobu ran up next to him and spoke "You live close to me so we can walk together, but I have to go pick up my sister at the junior high. Would you like to join me?"
Giyuu hesitated but nodded as he followed next to Kocho. He was listening to her talk about an annoying kid in her class, sounding much meaner than she looked while still keeping a smile on her face. She paused and looked over at Giyuu before quickly saying "Why did you move here?"
Giyu stopped walking as his eyes widened. "Uh, needed a new start I guess." Not technically a lie, but he was NOT close enough to Kocho to answer fully. Giyuu could tell she didn't buy it, but dropped it for now. Giyuu spoke up again after a couple moments of silence. "Kyojuro talked about you guys a lot, but not really himself. I feel bad not asking him, but could you tell me about him?"
Shinobu looks up thoughtfully "It doesn't really surprise me he didn't introduce or talk about himself, he's a very selfless person. He is a talented athlete in basketball and rock climbing as well as sword fighting. However, he is also pretty smart, in honors classes and has good grades. He is friends with everyone, always knowing how to make people feel good. He's a great friend, and I'm grateful I get to call him friend." She turns back to look at Giyuu
While Giyuu isn't surprised that Kyojuro is so amazing, he is blindsighted by how incredible he truly is. "Wow, that's... " Giyuu trails off as Shinobu's smile quirks at bit, reading him like a book
She hums "and he's single." She keeps walking as Giyuu stumbles and turns a deep shade of red. She giggles before turning around and walking backwards "sorry sorry, I couldn't resist, you made it so obvious."
Giyuu playfully glares at her. They make it to the middle school and pick up the younger Kocho sister before walking home with pleasant conversation.
---
Sometime during lunch, Mitsuri asked for Giyuu's number and added him to the lunch group chat. He got a couple of texts welcoming him to the friend group and some clarifying whose numbers were who's when he made it home. He smiled at his phone and quickly sent a thank you text before getting finishing some easy homework due to it being the first day and getting ready for bed. He flipped the lights off and looked up at his ceiling with a content and happy feeling in his chest. He feel asleep thinking about his new friends