Chapter Text
Bachira Meguru, despite often talking about God knows what, seemingly with an airhead of a personality, turns out to be the most aware person on this planet.
So apparently, as far as he’s aware, despite his so-called ‘talks’ about his monster, and his friends' constant accusations of being schizophrenic, unfortunately, he has realized they aren’t much better.
As a college student studying art, he never really takes his study seriously unless he finds great interest in the topic (which he doesn’t most of the time.) Usually, he’d sit in the back with a new black pen every few days because he seemed to always explode it, drawing scribbles that were the human embodiment of sleep paralysis demons.
He’d show it to Isagi after, claiming it was generated in the depths of his mind, creative and ripe with dedication as he would look with a great disappointment plastered upon his face, shaking his head. Bachira would then go on to show some of his other friends, namely Rin and Chigiri.
Oftentimes, Rin avoids Bachira at all costs, burying himself away in secluded corners of the college campus library just to avoid him. Somehow, after at most thirty minutes, Bachira would meticulously find his way to Rin, shoving his drawings in his face as he goes on about his creative skills. Rin would irritatingly push away the drawing and despite the rejection, Bachira would eagerly follow him around until he finally acknowledged his art.
Chigiri, on the other hand, would look with the type of disgusted face made when stepping on a dead bird. He majored in fashion, and Bachira would always run into him because all the classes that were more in the creative zone were put together. Chigiri was often seen holding armfuls of colorful fabrics, sketchbooks, and even sometimes mannequins. He’s never once shown up to class without his hair and outfit being perfectly stylish, something he has begun to pick up from Aryu.
Chigiri would narrow his eyes whenever Bachira flipped open his sketchbook to a page of mass, splotched, black scribbled ink that depicted something straight out of analog horror. He’s the one, by far, questioning the most if his friend needs to get checked out.
And then of course, he has to show his artistic masterpiece from hell to the campus’s number one couple, Nagi and Reo. Or…rather, everyone just assumed they were. Despite being asked over a dozen times of what’s really going on between them, they’ve always denied they were in a relationship.
Now Bachira thinks this is suspicious of course, but he’s never stuck his nose further in because so far, he’s had other problems to deal with.
Like how that cotton candy machine that spins mango and pineapple flowers was recently out of service, and to his dismay and frustration, still has not been fixed. He assumes the universe is just simply out to get him, against him even. Isagi says it’s a sign to stop eating such sugary things after classes, but a broken machine does not stop his consistent sugar intake.
Instead, he would go buy little cakes in the cafes nearby instead, and that is where he often bumps into the so-called “campus couple”. Cringe worthy, but Bachira quickly saw the fun in poking at them.
In some unknown way, he became friends with Reo first then Nagi. He still doesn’t know how to this day, but he knew that Reo would often bring Nagi into the little cutesy cafe to buy him lemon tea while studying.
At first, Bachira didn’t understand why everyone called them a couple, they didn’t do a couple things. They sat in the back, on fat, puffy orange chairs that resembled a coconut (according to Bachira) and would quietly go through their work. Before hearing about the rumors, when he visited the cafe, he had always thought they were very studious, and they probably were.
But he knew deep down they were both the most oblivious idiots in the world. One day, while laying on the floor of the campus park and doing nothing but staring at the clouds that seemed to form shapes of food and animals, he heard faint laughter coming from behind him.
Bachira’s monster instincts told him to sit up and investigate what was going and, and he obeyed, slinking back into a few shrubs of overgrown hydrangeas. That’s when he spotted a blob of purple hair pointing up at the sky.
It was Reo! But unfortunately, as soon as he was going to slip back out there, climb on the tree, and then jump him, he heard a second voice. It was slow, tired, nagging, and oddly familiar. Bachira peaked his head over a little more, and laying on Reo’s lap was…Nagi.
So now Bachira has come to understand the rumors. He decided against jumping them during their lovely moment of deciphering clouds, but he quickly took off to inform Chigiri and Isagi.
He found them both together, Isagi standing awkwardly with his hands out as Chigiri circled around him, taking measurements.
After telling them both like he had witnessed a crime, both Isagi and Chigiri shook their heads, exasperated. Chigiri’s hair had become a mess from the frantic scurrying to fix Isagi’s measurements and were barely holding on with a chinese hair pin. Isagi was stripped practically naked except for his boxers and for some reason, his socks.
They all stood there in the designer room, staring at each other with an awkward unspeakable expression. Except for Bachira, whose face twisted in confusion as Isagi tried explaining the history with Nagi and Reo. Bachira could not take it seriously; he agreed with the idea that clothes were a major inconvenience in expressing your true self, but he could not listen to Isagi talk when his socks had banana patterns on them.
It’s not out of humor though, they were just distracting enough that Bachira zoned out in staring at his socks, completely filtering out what Chigiri and Isagi were telling him. He did catch a few phrases here and there, but otherwise, nothing else.
Something about Nagi and Reo being oblivious or whatever. Little did Bachira know, it was just the beginning of this stupidity.
A couple weeks later, after the crazy revelation of Nagi and Reo having a ‘breakup’ or whatever, they were back together again. Bachira wonders if it can actually be even considered a break up if they weren’t even dating in the first place.
Then another rumor pops up. This time, something about two transfer students from Germany having some crazy codependent relationship. Bachira doesn’t know who they are, nor has he seen them yet, but he assumes this was another type of obliviousness: the type where they do not fear social anxiety.
Bachira believes he’s quite on the scale for not fearing social anxiety, but after hearing about the rumors of how one of them got on their knees to bark for the other, he begins to wonder if he’s actually considered weird.
And then he has his own problems. Not that he isn’t aware, oh he’s very aware in fact. He quite literally, in quick, straightforward terms, is in love with his best friend. He doesn’t question it. Just one sunny afternoon, he’s thinking about Isagi and wanting to later go to an ice cream date with him. Kicking his feet in bed, he catches himself as his thoughts organize and spell out ‘I like Isagi Yoichi’.
And after a while of convincing himself, he is sure of it. But however, just like the idiots around him, Isagi has to be a bum and be fucking oblivious.
Bachira was never one to beat around the bush, he was quite straightforward, in metaphoric terms. He could directly tell Isagi that he loves him to his face, and Isagi would light up in joy and hug him, saying “You’re the most precious best friend I could ever have.”
It’s not because he’s afraid to confess, it’s the very opposite. But too many tasks are preventing him from committing to these acts.
One of those reasons is the always last minute work he has to send to his teacher, who is probably his worst enemy. He then gets mad and forces Bachira to stay after school to write reforming letters to never turn in work late again.
That in fact, did not work, and only increased Bachira’s missing assignments. He’s simply too busy and Isagi’s also often preoccupied in doing other tasks. Bachira realized he wouldn’t have time to sit down and have a nice little conversation with him.
Oblivion is radiating from this school. Sure, people often calm him ‘weird’ or ‘creepy’ for talking about his monster so much, but their awareness when it comes to emotions sucked so bad Bachira wants to take their head and ram it against the wall.
And now his friends have begun to be infected with this obliviousness, he has to play hero and find a cure.
—————
Bachira has made no moves to this day on confessing to Isagi. He probably should. It was almost that time of the school year where confessions ran wild and it was also nearing white day.
For white day, he has plans to go out with Isagi to the supermarket to buy a plate of salmon. That, in his opinion, was much better than receiving chocolates. Bachira vividly remembers walking Rin to his locker while talking about a new drawing he made. Just as he opened the locker, a rupture of colorful letters and boxes slipped out. Rin’s expression remained unchanged, then there was a slight twitch of annoyance in his brow.
It was quite the white day for some of his friends. Yukimiya came to class to find a large bouquet of flowers sitting neatly waiting for him at his desk with a couple of little gifts sitting beside it. Kunigami had gotten a lot of letters for some reason, most of them consisting of a soft colored envelope that was stamped shut with a cute sticker Bachira has always wanted to buy impulsively.
Then again, no one this year would go for him or Isagi…right?
And of course, after snoozing around for a few more days and procrastinating on his many art projects; it was white day.
Bachira opens his locker during the middle of the day to find stacks of stickers.
Here and there, notes were littered. Bachira, being the grateful person he is, took his time and honor and read every single letter later that night. Before that, he had successfully accomplished his mission of going shopping for salmon with Isagi.
For dinner, Isagi always cooks. That’s only because Bachira does not cook, and should NOT be cooking in the first place. Last time that happened, he had poured mayo into soy sauce mixed with sriracha to form what he called ‘the monster’s peppermint sauce’. Using this specialty he created, he mixed it in with the rice they were eating that night, and Isagi never showed up to school the next morning.
He has begun to appreciate Isagi more and more everyday. Maybe not completely like Reo and Nagi, who were deprived of social shamelessness that they go around holding hands and still deny relationship allegations.
He had a wonderful meal that night and slept with a big, round tummy. Maybe he had finally come to understand Nagi, maybe not to his degree, but it was still nice to be laid back a little bit.
He also slept peacefully that night, pushing all his unfinished works to the back of his mind.
Maybe he should really reconsider confessing to Isagi. But at the same time, he really wants to.
That thinking has overwhelmed and he passes out again after waking up the second time that night.
He wonders how Reo and Nagi’s ass are doing. Isagi had gone to bed early due to an exam, and Bachira had too…only he kept waking up every so many hours for some unknown circumstances.
Something was itching him at the moment, and his monster wanted to figure it out.