Chattering filled the classroom as always, and it's nothing unfamiliar to Baji, even on days of tests and big exams. There would always be those couple students banding up to cheat together, or hatching whatever conniving schemes to get them that A+. And you best believe him when he says it's more than just a couple of students. Baji himself doesn't have much of a track record for good grades, so it wasn't as if he got admitted into a school with studious kids and the next generation of geniuses.

But he wasn't going to stoop down to their levels. In the past, it would have been a tempting idea; anything to get that 100 on his record and his mom off his back, but at the current moment... who needs some dirty little tricks when he's got the ultimate training and notes? And from who else but the friend he made over the weekend, and diligently spent her free time tutoring him on all the know-how.

He was absolutely confident he had gotten them down this time, and in a different way from the confidence he had shown when she first read over his notes. But confidence doesn't exactly mean he's free of all anxieties and pre-test paranoia. His hands felt clammy, and the pages of his notebook were crinkled from how tightly he gripped them. Even amongst all the noise that filled the world around him, he could still hear the pounding of his heart. So loud, he doesn't know how no one else in the room hasn't heard it yet. And he swallowed, a sound to momentarily displace the pitter patter of his heart, and also to soothe that dry ache in the back of his throat.

He flipped through the pages, over and over, back and forth. In truth, he knew he had read all the points over at least a good four times, but that little worry budding within asked him, 'What if you missed just one tiny detail?' And that worry drowned out his own voice of reasoning.

'Good luck!'

He paused, eyes locked onto those two little words scribbled among his notes. It seems that you had written it somehow without him noticing, a wish of luck and fortune for him, the anxiety ridden test taker. It felt rather out of place, surrounded by his math notes, and etched so small on the page that it was no wonder how he missed it before.

But it's done its job, soothing his frazzled mind by just that tiny bit.

CLATTER

The door opened and their teacher had walked in, stack of paper in hand. The whispering around him rose to a buzz, before dying out as their test administrator cleared his throat.

"Clear your desks!"

Baji took a deep breath, giving his notes a last glance before closing his book.

He was ready.

____

Chifuyu stared unashamedly at the clock hung at the corner of the classroom, counting down the seconds till lunchtime. He was well aware of how the teacher up front could, and probably already did, see him being not the most attentive of students, but he could honestly care less. If the teachers wanted him to listen diligently to their lectures, they'll have to prove themselves worthwhile beyond hiding behind their titles as "professionals". After all, as admirable as Baji may be, there was no need for him to follow even in his determination to study and actually work towards good grades. Well... not all the time at least.

DING DONG BING BONG

And there was the bell he's been waiting for. Baji should be here any minute now, aggravated by another failing test, he reckoned. Of course he knew about the test, and would have offered to help him study if not for the bet the two made just last week. A bet that Chifuyu was sure to win since Baji betted on passing the test. God forbid that happens, lest pigs grow wings and learn to fly.

BANG

"CHIFUYU!!!"

And speak of the devil. Baji ran in and rushed right over to his desk, grabbing him in a near suffocating hold. The other students averted their eyes, used to when the black haired boy would occasionally visit the blonde's classroom, rather than the other way around.

"B-Baji-san." He choked out, gulping in oxygen as soon as the older boy pulled back.

That was... unexpected. According to his calculations, the ravenette should have been in a foul mood from a failing grade. And Chifuyu would have offered to get peyoung yakisoba together, knowing it'd be the only thing to bring him up from his low. That and cats. But the Baji in front of him was smiling so brightly, it's almost as if he could outshine the light fixtures overhead.

"Look!"

So he looked at the paper shoved in his face, a big bold "100" written and circled at the upper corner of the page. He must be seeing things, or Baji might have stolen someone else's test paper in a desperate attempt to win the bet. But try as he might, he can't deny that he recognizes the messy handwriting and the name printed in heavy strokes on top.

Chifuyu turned his gaze to the windows and looked outside, half expecting to be met with flying pigs. There weren't any. So there was only one other explanation.

"Baji-san... I know there must have been a lot of pressure so you'd feel like cheating..." He gave the proud looking boy a sympathetic smile of understanding.

"What-?"

"...But you really shouldn't go that far as to cheat on every question on the test." A pat on the shoulders.

"I didn't-"

"If you tell the teachers now, they might be nice enough to let you retake the exam." And another reassuring smile for good measure.

Baji exploded.

"I DIDN'T CHEAT!"

____

You let your body sway with the rhythm of the swing, back and forth in fractions of a circular arc, almost like a pendulum. Swinging forward, you leaned against the chains that suspended you midair, trying to get just that little bit higher. Just that much closer to the sky, ever out of your reach. And at the height of the motion, you held a hand out to the blue expanse, a precarious position where only one hand was clenched around metal links, keeping you secure.

And for what reason? It wasn't as if you can propel yourself out of this world and back into your own, acting like nothing happened. If you could...

But the universe chose for you, helpless to the pull of gravity as with all other forces of nature. But if nature was that powerful, shouldn't it have grounded you to your own world? You being here was something that denied logic itself.

You shook your head of the depressive thoughts, it wasn't your intention to think like a philosophy facing midlife crisis. And the reason you came to the park today wasn't to have a deep internal monologue like some main character of a story. You were waiting in hopeful anticipation for the boy you've been meeting the last few days. Hopeful, because you haven't made another appointment to see him again after the studying session yesterday. And anticipation, because you had a gut feeling that your waiting wouldn't be in vain.

"HEYY!!"

"Woah-!"

You had to dig your heels into the ground to screech into a halt, just barely avoiding swinging into the figure that had appeared in front of you. Out of nowhere, you might add. Your heart was still racing from the collision you avoided by a hair's breadth, when a piece of paper slapped your face not so gently; blown by a passing breeze.

THWACK

"Ack-"

And with that, the paper retreated back an arm's length away, but still taking up most of your field of vision. And the first thing you took notice of... was the oh so familiar chicken scratch handwriting. Then the illegible name written in pencil lead, which reminded you that you still don't know what to call him yet. Some red check marks next to the evenly spaced math problems, and finally, the 100 plastered on top.

You could hardly believe your eyes. Sure, you spent the better half of your weekend tutoring him and was confident enough to say he would at least pass, but getting a full score was the last thing you expected. It might as well have been a Christmas miracle come early... in July, the peak month of summer.

"Wow... you must have-"

"I didn't cheat!"

You blinked, unsure where he got that idea from. You should know better than anyone else that he wouldn't resort to such a thing given how hard he worked over the past two days. And you're certain you can testify for his determination, if nothing else.

"I was going to say that you must have studied hard."

You gave a light shake of your head, moving to cover your bemused smile. The paper pulled back, now flittering by his side as you catch a glimpse of his embarrassed expression.

"Oh..."

And just as quickly as it has appeared, it was gone; replaced by a grin that could outshine the sun.

"Of course I did!"

"Good job."

Beaming at the praise, he moved over, no longer standing where he could be mowed down by an unsuspecting you. And your swing. He set his bag down by the poles that held up the set; metal chains, seats, and all, and slid the precious sheet of paper between. Closing his bag with a snap, he plopped himself down in the swing adjacent yours. There was nothing to be said, and so began an unspoken competition on who could swing the highest.

On a patch of ground nearby, a small flock of pigeons pecked at crumbs of bread, left by an irresponsible passerby.

You swung high, not to be outmatched by your performance earlier when you were drowning in melodrama alone. And you had to squint your eyes, the sunlight blinding. As you fell back, once again thwarted by gravity, you see the darkened silhouette of the boy as he swung ahead. A shadow blotted by the sun, as if he was going somewhere far far away. Someday but not now. And he too fell back, helpless to gravity as you are. You pulled ahead.

In a sandpit beyond the reach of the swings, two kids played together until they didn't, torn apart by small acts of thievery and little fists making no impact at all. And the parents soon came, to hush their screeching and soothe their sobbing.

You fell into the simple rhythm, swinging higher and higher yet till you couldn't anymore. You would slow down, then slowly climb back again. Once, twice, and more times than you can count on your occupied fingers, wrapped around the jangling chains. You were surpassed yet again, but you closed your eyes and opened your ears.

You hear the pigeons from earlier, cooing as they pecked away at the bread they recognize as food. Then came the calming of the children's cries, as they forget why they were even upset in the first place. And amidst the lulling cacophony, normal as it can be, joined in the bird songs reminiscent of beautiful mornings and light coming through the windows.

And then you opened your eyes, brought back to reality by setting suns and kids long gone. You let your feet drag along the ground each time you swing back to the center, losing height, losing speed. With one final longing gaze at the beyond, you stopped.

TAP

You hear the creaking of metal worn by time and rain, as your companion follows you down.

This was it, wasn't it? There's no more reason for you to continue meeting up now that his test was done and over. He had helped you, to which you felt indebted, and you had helped him, paying back your gratitude. You were even but you so wanted another excuse to get to know him more.

"So..." You stopped, unsure of what to say.

It was nice knowing you? Have a good life? Good luck on your future exams?

None of those felt quite right.

"...when are you free again?" He took over for you.

"...huh?"

You turned to meet his inquisitive gaze.

"So we can actually hang out instead of studying." He elaborated.

"But why...?" You found yourself asking, but maybe you didn't need to.

"What do you mean 'why'?" He furrowed a brow, and looked at you as if you just asked the dumbest question known to mankind, "Don't friends hang out with each other?"

Oh. All this time when you thought you've been repaying a debt to someone, he had viewed it entirely differently. You took the complex path, riddled with maybes and what if's, while he took it clear, simple and to the point. Friends. You like the sound of that. In fact, it was what you had been hoping for since meeting him.

He was waiting for a response, you realized. So you gave him one, in the form of a tinkering laugh and a question, "Well... what's your name, friend?"

He showed his trademark grin, sharp canines and eyes you can't see behind his glasses.

"It's Baji Keisuke!!"

"...Pardon?"

"I didn't know you were hard of hearing," He laughed, "My name's Baji Keisuke. You?"

But you had already stopped actively listening to him. Your mind was running a mile a minute, loading and reloading that piece of information, unable to fully comprehend it. The supposedly irrelevant NPC you befriended was actually an important character that'll play a significant role in one of the story arcs later? But that doesn't make sense- Oh, but it does. And you should have seen all the hints glaring in your peripheral earlier on. From the glasses and slicked back hair, to the fighting skills and that smirk. Not to mention the peyoung yakisoba and the failing grades. The clues were all there right from the start.

But you blame it on the universe, and it's easier to do so, and its scheming ways. Lulling you into that false sense of trust, thinking it might just cut you some slack and allow you to distance yourself from the plot. It seems you just can't have anything good in this world.

____________________

In a world so unfamiliar, I found you.