The sun was shining brilliantly, and there wasn't a cloud in sight, no wisps of white on blue. In a park somewhere in Tokyo, two figures sat beneath a great tree, seeking shades from its overreaching greenery. The sounds of children screeching and shouting, in the play set a good distance off, barely reached the two who were lost in their own world. Yes, it's almost as if the universe set aside this moment just for her...

...to teach him the quadratic formula for the hundredth time since that morning.

"...I think I got it." His tone was grave, and seriousness radiated off his tense form.

"Are you sure?" Because this marks the eleventh time you said that.

He nodded, sunlight reflecting off his glasses with a glint, like in anime when the smart characters figured out the answer they've been looking for. Except you knew that wasn't the case here. So you handed him the practice problems you came up with, and curbed your sigh as you watched him prop the notebook on his lap.

When you had met up an hour or two ago, you had asked to see his notes to gauge how far along he was. And he had proudly handed it over, claiming he got most of it down. It hurted you to give it back and tell him he did got most of it... wrong, that is. He had sputtered in disbelief, unable to accept that he wasn't doing nearly as well as he thought. Only to concede to the fact after he stared at some practice problems for a good five minutes without solving a single one. You could already tell you were in for a long weekend at that time.

His hand raised hesitantly, as if this was a classroom setting; he was the student, and you, the teacher.

"...Yes?"

"Is it alright if we... go over the first question together?" This was mumbled almost inaudibly, just above a whisper and below normal talking volume.

"Of course."

Secretly, you were glad he asked that, rather than repeating the back and forth exchange of the bundled sheets of paper. You had explained the formula and its workings, he had taken the book, and without writing a single thing, he handed it back and the cycle repeats. For the past two hours. So yes, you were glad he actually sought your help, rather than continue trying to stubbornly mull through them alone. Working through the steps together was one of the best ways, in your opinion, to learn new materials.

You scooted over, closing the short distance between you two, as you peered at the question he was referring to.

"Let's see... x2 + 5x + 4. This should be a relatively easy one. We can even solve it just by factoring normally, but since we're practicing the quadratic formula, let's assume we can't."

"...mhm..."

You ignored how his reply was delayed by just a fraction of a second.

"You remembered the formula, right...?"

This time he didn't respond at all. You looked over to see his brows scrunched in concentration as he racked his brain for the answer. To no avail, it seems, since he hopelessly turned to you.

"Here, let me just write it on the top. You can reference for now but make sure to memorize it for the test."

You gestured for the book and the pencil, which he obediently handed over. Above the practice problems and to the right, you neatly printed the strings of equations and added a looping border for emphasis. He looked over intently, trying to ingrain the new pieces of information.

"What's 'a', 'b', and 'c'?" He asked.

...You're certain you've already explained this a good couple times. But you were a patient person, you reminded yourself. Patient, calm and in control. So you took a deep breath before explaining yet again.

"Most equations appear in the general form of y = ax2 + bx + c, where 'a', 'b' and 'c' are the coefficients that are attached to each part of the equation. Or you can just think of them as the numbers in front."

You pointed to the first problem, and jotted down three letters beneath, "Try finding the numbers for question 1."

He took the book from your hands, and stared at the equation intently.

"There's nothing in front of the x2, so 'a' is 0...?"

Oops, you should have clarified that earlier.

"If there's nothing in front, we assume there's an invisible 1."

It was a simple enough explanation, but he continued to look as confused as ever.

"Hah? That doesn't make sense!" He grumbled, a hand raising to mess up his own hair, before remembering he had tied it up and dropped his arm. It seems his patience finally fell short from trying to understand the math, and you can't blame him; knowing perfectly well the feeling of sitting here for the last two hours without getting anywhere.

You'd chuckle at the absurdity of the situation, but you wouldn't want to aggravate the boy and make him give up studying. Not after all the time you've already spent, precious hours down the drain. You were going to see to it that he passes his test if it's the last thing you do. And though you may be over exaggerating, you shrug it off. This was an anime, and there's no room for simplicity here.

"If you multiply something by 1, that's the same as not multiplying it by anything since you'd get the same amount. But if you have 0, then anything you pair it up with would just give you 0. If you look at the first question, multiplying x2 by 0 would give you zero. But since we don't have a zero there..." You purposely dropped off halfway through the explanation, waiting for him to fill in the second half.

"Then... 'a' is 1?"

"Yep!"

He eagerly scribbled the number down, looking beside himself with pride, "Heh, I feel smarter already!"

You chuckled at his newfound determination, "Great, now we just need to plug in the values you found."

"...How do you plug them in?"

"..."

.

.

.

"I did it!!"

"We did it..."

He closed the book shut with a loud snap before dropping onto his back, cushioned by the natural grassy carpeting. You followed suit, but with less than half the energy he still had after that never ending study session.

"I'm gonna fucking ace that test on Monday!" He shouted, as if declaring it for the whole world to hear.

He might as well have been glowing from the leftover adrenaline after a fight, just only in absolute joy from finally learning the topic. His smile and unrestrained laughter was far too bright for you to dampen, not that you would in the first place. If you did, no doubt it would have weighed on your guilty conscience for life. So you forced your lips into some semblance of a weary smile.

"You better."

For one reason or another, that prompted a laugh from him. The mid July wind passes by, warm like the sun high above, as it brought with it the sounds of children playing gleefully. Whether they were the same kids from earlier or new ones that came to enjoy the nice weather; you couldn't tell them apart by the similar laughters of childhood innocence. The sky was a pure blue, and the sun hang like a lone lightbulb with lifetimes upon lifetimes left in battery. It really was the perfect weather to spend a day in the park and get some fresh air.

The two of you lapsed into a comfortable silence. No exchange of words was necessary to keep the awkwardness at bay. If anything, it stepped aside as you fell into the labyrinth that is your mind, fueled by unfiltered curiosity. And you wonder about his glasses, so utterly uncharacteristic for his brawn over brains persona. Or maybe that was just an excuse for trying to picture how he'd look without them.

"These glasses are so uncomfortable..." He grumbled, and you contemplate whether or not he somehow heard your inner thoughts.

"It's a shame you have to wear them." You sympathized.

"And they're not even working!"

"They're not...?"

You were confused, but your confusion was justified. Since when could glasses "not work"? Maybe the prescription wasn't attuned properly to match his far or nearsightedness? That could certainly happen, but he didn't seem to have had any problems while wearing them. None that you could recall at least, unless the inability to understand math questions can be attributed to glasses wearing.

"I'm not getting any smarter and it's already been a year already."

"...Aren't you wearing them to help your eyesight?" You asked, voicing your thoughts.

"Why would I need that for? I got perfect vision!"

"So... let me get this straight." You paused, not even certain, yourself, of the conclusion you came to. "You're wearing them to make you 'smarter'...?"

That can't be it.

"Why else would I need them?"

But it was. How should you go about breaking the news to him, telling him all he knew up to this point had been a lie? But perhaps it would be more considerate to let him find out now, than later on in life when it might prove to be far more embarrassing. And consideration is your middle name, all modesty aside.

"Sorry you had to find out this way but..."

"Huh?"

"...Glasses don't actually make you smarter."

____

Baji's meager brain power processed those words in multiple steps, much like those math problems he finished a while ago. Initial confusion upon first taking in what you had said, followed by the shock of realization. And that's where the similarities ended, with him sitting up with an abrupt start, staring at you bug eyed.

Glasses don't make him smarter? But Mikey told him... Draken never mentioned it... Mitsuya didn't say anything... And the others...!

...Oh.

Then, as if by some miracle, realization struck yet again and parted the fog in his mind. Embarrassment at his own gullible self flooded his cheeks, burning a bright pink that can almost be mistaken for a result of the sunny weather. He had been duped, big time, and for what? An entire year?

A cut off giggle caught his ears, and the humiliation only doubled at the sight of you curled up and quivering on the ground. A hand covering your mouth was the only thing suppressing the chuckles fighting to be let out. You can thank your fortune that he was taught and raised to never hurt a lady; he swears you wouldn't have gotten away without at least some roughhousing if you were a dude. But you weren't, so all he could manage were some tough words.

"S-shut up!!" He barked, but it didn't do anything to help the matter of the blood rushing to his cheeks. He probably looks beetroot red by now and, if the extra giggles slipping out from you was anything to go off, he must be.

"S-sorry... pft!" You barely managed to get out an apology before falling into a peel of silent laughter again.

He huffed, and averted his eyes, grumbling all the while "You don't mean that..."

From the corner of his eyes, he could see you trying to fall back from the high of hilarity, sitting up as he had.

"Well..." You chuckled, "You must admit it is somewhat funny."

Funny? His utter humiliation could be called funny? The boneheaded Baji with a bruised ego would have snapped back that this was no laughing matter for him, the so-called victim of the mischief. ...But if he takes it from another perspective where he wasn't the butt of the joke, he can see himself laughing with the rest of Toman at the reveal, all in friendly fire of course. Yet it's his reputation as the first division leader at stake, he wasn't going to take this lying down.

But you weren't amongst the ranks of people he should be bearing a grudge against, and you weren't mocking him. At least he doesn't think so.

"...Heh, I guess it's a bit funny."

You smiled, an open invitation to him, and he accepted, the two of you laughing away at something funny. But that something didn't have to be him. The sound of two kids laughing together filled your own little corner of the park, away from any prying eyes.

But even as he was getting a good laugh out of his own situation, a small part at the back of his mind was scheming away on what to do about the glasses.

Chifuyu was bound to be curious why he would suddenly stop wearing glasses, and it'd be the death of his dignity if he ever found out. So no, he couldn't directly confront the others and beat the shit out of them for the not so little prank they pulled on him. But they would be none the wiser if, say, a couple of their stuff suddenly vanished. Now, Baji wasn't smart, he knew it himself. But it doesn't take a smart brain to come up with a plan for revenge. Just a petty one.

And you can bet your ass that Mikey's precious dorayaki snacks are first on his list.

____________________

꒳

In a world so unfamiliar, I found you.