As promised, Shoyo had come to the foyer by the next day. He remained perched on a bench, fidgeting, the silent atmosphere somehow being manageable enough to make him squirm with discomfort. To distract himself, he chose to peer into the clock shown on his phone and noting the time every now and then.

"He's not here yet..." He mumbled underneath his breath, taking a moment to ponder on where Sugawara was since it is slightly unusual for him to be this late. He did consider on opting out of the part time job at some point, but after being reminded that he wanted repay the favors of his seniors, he chose to go against his initial thoughts.

Besides, he begins to nod as if it'd help to convince himself, he might need some extra moneyー not that the allowance permitted by his scholarship is not enough, but it may be more convenient for him.

Sighing, Shoyo decided to have some refreshments as he waited for his upperclassman. Taking out a box of bento from his bag, he placed it onto his lap and promptly opened the lid, a whiff of the aroma from the food taken in to which made his stomach grumble lowly. Luckily for him, no one was around to witness him in this state because he's pretty sure that it would have been embarrassing.

Or well, so did he think that no one was around.

"You."

Before he could dig in into his bento, he halted at the sound of the awfully familiar voice . Slowly but surely did he threw a glance to his side, eyes trailing from his meal to the intruder. Dark shoes, dark tracks, a dark coatー but the moment he registered the face of the intruder and recognized who it was, he felt a sense of deja vu washing over him.

"You can see me, can't you?" It was the being he had only come to know about. He stands there, proudly, with hands shoved into his pocket and his ever calculating gaze that seemed to be focusing and scrutinizing him. It had taken a bit while to figure out what was going on, and when he did, he was quick to turn his head away and tried to pretend that that boy was not there by tuning him out.

"Oi. Are you listening?"

But it was hard; it was difficult to ignore the loud ringings in his ear and especially when every fiber of his body, once again, was screaming for him to move. Yet he did not heed to his mind's instructions; he remained to be rooted to his spot, staying completely silent. No, Shoyo didn't dare to move even a single inch, he doesn't want to put himself at a risk, considering what happened the last time. In the end, he sits there on the bench, almost alike to a lifeless dummy as he mindlessly stared down at his lunch, his hunger forgotten and a familiar twist of gut taking its stead.

However, all common sense seemed to leave him when he sees one of his favorite treats being snatched away.

"Hey, what gives?! Don't just take other people's lunch as you'd like!" He shot up right onto the tip of his toes and bristled visibly at the other's face, the bento left to be forgotten.

"So, you can see me." The boy nonchalantly said, and it was this realization that made Shoyo stiffened. Crap, his lips pressed into a thin line and his eyes widenedー it was a set up and he's been caught. "Uh." He started, looking anywhere else but the other's gaze. "Who said that?"

"Stop joking around." The stranger merely scowled in response, and Shoyo was quick to comply as he forced himself to meet him in the eye.

He was thrown into a panic mode, that itself should be understandable given how he's trembling at the moment. Shoyo never was one to be capable of handling his anxiety well, therefore, it was only natural that during the times like this, he felt incredibly nauseous and there was this need arising for him to empty his stomach as the situation progressed. Yet at the same time, Shoyo was also boldー in a cowardly kind of way. After all, he never was the type of person who'd back down so easily.

"Whーwhat do y-you want?" He tried to act tough by puffing out his chest but miserably failed to do so when he reflexively moved back as the stranger had taken the initiative to near him.

"Don't tell meー!" He shouted out of nowhere, a hint of fear growing in the tone of his voice. "Pl-please don't eat me!"

"Who said anything about eating you, stupid?" The man replied harshly with a huff in annoyance.

"Whatー" Did he just call him stupid? Shoyo was about to retort but was interrupted when the next statement caught him off guard.

"I'm here to ask you."

"A-ask me?"

"See them?" The raven asked, but there was something different about this tone than earlierー it was softer, quieter, almost like he was trying to whisper. He blinked confusedly, but the brunet paid the redhead no mind when he nudged his head to a certain direction, and it spent him a few seconds to come to be aware of the fact that he was trying to get him look to his behind.

And Shoyo did, reluctantly turning around only to frown, mostly because he sees no one around here. He felt confused at this point, and so he can't help but to quirk an eyebrow as he shot the latter a questioning gaze.

"Behind me?" He asked, not completely certain if he had looked into the right direction.

"Yes. They're not too far from you." The other replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Once again, the redhead whipped his head back to the side only to see that there was still no one in plain sight. "But I see nothing?!"

"What do you mean you see nothing? They're just there! Look more closely, idiot."

"Who are you calling an idiot?!" He flared up in response. "The only people I see around here is us."

"... So, you can't see them?"

"Um... no?" He doesn't know what to say. So far, he just found himself dwelling deeper into a situation because this thing had decided to confront himー for what? He doesn't know either, he doesn't even understand him in the slightest.

Now that he was in a calmer state, although there still lingers a trace of anxiety swelling in his chest, he's finally able to look up at the other closely now they were at a near proximity.

As cheesy as it would sound, his eyes were definitely at the shade of an oceanー and in a way, it reminded him of the blooming mark that was imprinted on his collarbone. His face as defined as the last time he observed him cautiously, with the exemption that he was now able to trace a few bumps and curves that littered his skin along the way but that was a small flaw in comparison to the rest.

Oh, and he's tallー taller than him obviously by a good few inches and he feel both a little envious and mocked about his own height.

How the hell can someone who is not a human look this good? Yes, he does look good. If it wasn't for the constant constipated expression on his face.

"That's not possible." He heard the stranger muttered, effectively snapping him out of his trance, and he felt his face flushed at the actualization he actually thought that this boy was charming.

"What do you mean? I'm serious, there's no one else around!" He protested, almost sticking his face up close at the other.

"No, there is." Retorted the brunet, and if possible, his expression just turned more serious than ever. "You just can't see them which raises a big flag."

And Shoyo felt his face contorted at this.

"How is it that a measly human like you can't see them but you can see me?"

He wished that this was nothing but a prank, a joke, anything but reality. It was all so surreal, yet the moment he saw how scrunched up the other's face was, and how serious he had been, it contradicted to what he believed in.

"Um." For the umpteenth time by then, Shoyo found himself being at loss of words. He shifted to the side, fingers uncontrollably twitchingー a habit that was often done when he found himself in a rather unpleasant situationー and tried to rack up his brain for the sake of understanding the situation.

"Iー I don't know what you're talking about." He truthfully admitted because well, just what does he mean by that? That he can see him but not the others?

He watched as the brunet was about to open his mouth, probably to answer him, but when he heard his name being called out by another voice, none of which belongs to them, "Hinata?" He perked up and immediately turned to see his long-awaited senior standing not too far and staring at him with a frown.

"Sugawara-senpai!" He yelped in surprise, turning around to face him properly.

"Who were you talking to?" Sugawara tilted his head.

Shoyo felt his blood run cold at that. He threw a look behind him, the unknown being exchanging glances between them.

Okay, act natural, act natural.

"Ah? Oh, um, no one!" He perked up, a hand brushing through his unkempt hair as he released a shaky laughter.

"Is that so? But I thought I heard you talking to someone just now. And that laughter accounts for something." So much for trying to act natural. He felt the older male eyeing him some more, and Shoyo knew that he had to act fast before any further suspicions could occur. It was one of the things he'd rather not deal with, not at this kind of time.

"Um, t-that's because Iー I was mostly talking to myself!" He quickly replied, but maybe a little bit too loud and too fast since his upperclassman continued to stare at him for what seemed like an eternity.

"Hm, okay then." Sugawara shrugged before making his way towards him. Shoyo didn't even know how relieved he felt until he sensed a presence beside him.

"Are you ready?" He looked up to see the silver-haired smiling down at him and he did not falter to return the smile with a toothy grin of his.

"Ah, wait!" He rushed to the side to gather up his things and pack them back into his bag. "Yeah, I'm all ready!"

They headed their way out after that, Sugawara leading the path. But of course, he didn't forget about the conversation he just had with the controversial inhuman being whom stayed silent the whole time his silver-haired friend was there. The question kept replaying in his mind, however, even as he shot a look to his back, it lingered. He was not at all surprised to see those eyes staring back at him.

"Why are you still following me?!" Shoyo fumed in anger, but given how he was being stalked for the past few days, it was an understatement that he'd be displeased. He attempted to muster the deadliest glare that he could shoot at the other entity, but it proved to be a failure for it made no impact on the male.

"Can't I?" He simply grunted, and Shoyo almost groaned in frustration for what was like the hundredth time that same week.

"Of course, you can't! You've been following me around for days!"

As peculiar it may sound, it was no dramatic statement, but rather, he had said the truth; ever since that day where a confrontation had been carried out, the shorter male would find the other tailing him everywhere he goes ( to the library, the toilet even, and for a few times, he had to pretend that he isn't uncomfortable and that no one was watching him as he worked in his class. He might or might not have silently hoped that someone could point him out, then everyone actually could see him and then have their tutor escort him out of the class.

Unfortunately, this wasn't always the case. Yamaguchi didn't notice him neither did Tsukishima, and not even Yachi whom was one of the most creative people in his class.

No one saw him. )

No doubt, it would rub him off in a wrong way like any other ordinary person. Who wouldn't be put off if they were being stalked by some stranger, let alone a non-human? Fortunately, it would appear that the stalking was only applicable whenever he was in the university campus. The only time the male no longer tread on his heels would be when he exits the area and heads to a place elsewhere. To put it in a more simple way, he only followed him around within the university but never outside of the campus. It piqued his curiosity, intriguing him but nonetheless, Shoyo felt relieved by the fact that at the very least, he wasn't followed all the way home.

That didn't make the situation any better though.

"Like seriously? You were already being a creep when youー!" His voice got louder, ready to scold the taller male even further but whatever words he wanted to spew died out and got caught up in his throat once he takes note of a female passerby briskly walking past him. He managed to capture the horrified look on her face when she saw him, and that itself was enough to make him know that, yes, she just witnessed the scene, and he couldn't but sheepishly rub at the back of his head and awkwardly smile at the retreating form of the girl.

He waited until she was gone, and after a few seconds of making sure no one else was around in the seemingly isolated hallway, he returned to glare at the taller male to which was gladly returned.

"Right. I forgot." Shoyo grimly said, "No one else can see you."

"No need to state the obvious, dumbass." The male snorted.

It wasn't long after that when Shoyo led them to a more secluded area where it was rarely used by any other people: the rooftop. The place was said to be haunted, and honestly although the idea of being in one terrified him, he's sure now that there was nothing else in the world that could ever beat the experience of meeting an actual entity from another world, whatmore that one time he was practically being stared down into the ground by one and turned him into dustー Shoyo shivered upon remembering it.

"Okay! Now that we're alone," Shoyo then turned, tapping his foot impatiently in expectation for answers. "Why were you stalking me?"

"Because I find it weirdー"

"You're the one being weird!"

"Shut up, let me finishー I mean it's strange that you can see me but not them."

Them.

Shoyo narrowed his eyes. If he could recall it correctly, he had also mentioned this a few days back then during their confrontation. His forehead crinkled, the creases being evident of that he was trying to think, trying to take a grasp of the scene. "You keep on saying them but I don't even know who you're talking about." The redhead hastily replied, "Just who do you mean by them?"

The kind of answer that soon fell out of the other's mouth was not expected at all. "The beings of what you call the other world. Spirits, monsters, demons, angels."

The other world, his face slightly paled at that one particular phrase.

"O-oh?" He shuffled, not at all trying to sound fazed. "And you're not one of them?" It was a silly question, meticulous even, but he figured there was a possibility that the being might tell him what he actually was. Was he an anotherworld being like the book had said?

"Noー well, yes... No. Not exactly." Even then, he seemed quite unsure of himself. Shoyo had to stifle in incoherent noises that threatened to fall out of his lips. "Some of them can't see me which in return usually means that humans are not supposed to see me." Creep-headー Shoyo decided to call him that for nowー proceeded to say, and the redhead vaguely remembered the same thing being stated in the book. "So, it's unusual for you."

Shoyo almost rolled his eyes. How ironic, if anything, he's the one being unusual around here.

"Even so, that doesn't mean you should follow me, you creep!" Hinata blurted out the last part in the midst of his small outburst. He yelped, backing away immediately when he noticed the other's aura had darkened.

"W-what? You want to fight?" He puts up his fist at him.

"Dumbass."

"Stop calling me a dumbass!" He glared at him, his initial fear slowly waning away. "I have a name and it's Hinata Shoyo!"

"Hn." Hn? He just told him his name, and that was all he had to say?

Tilting his head to the side, Shoyo now wondered if thisー well, if the creep-head happened to have a name as well. He trudged closer to him, earning himself another glare from the other but Shoyo pretended to not notice it even if he felt another rack of chills rocking his frame.

"Hey, hey, do you have a name?" He looked up at him curiously.

Creep-head simply grunted, "Why do you even want to know?"

"Unless you want me to start calling you a creep for following me around." Shoyo bluntly said, in hopes of coaxing him to tell.

Except, well, it didn't work much like he'd thought. The said boy had only begun to lean against the wall, grunting some more in response, and Shoyo pouted when naught but silence had been the only thing he receivedー like what? Was he actually content with being called a creep instead?

The redhead copied his movements by then, promptly taking a seat next to the latter as he slid down against the wall behind him. He lightly drums his fingers against his lap, a tune hummed under his breath all the while. Honestly, Shoyo isn't too sure of what else to do at the moment. At one second, that happened, and the next, something else entirely of another matter.

It was all happening a little too fast for him, and to be alone with something he thinks that he was terrified of, he wondered if this actually was the right decision for him to do. Albeit, he had to admit. For some reason, he does feel some sense of ease when he's next to this otherworldly being despite the heavy tension that lingered in the air between them.

Finally, after a long moment of silence and some time squirming in his seat, the peaceful ambiance was shattered by an awfully delayed answer. "Kageyama." He heard the other mumbled, but it had been loud enough to be heard clearly, and he snapped his head immediately to peer up at the taller male.

"Kageyamaー?" He repeated, though it sounded more of a question, waiting for him to continue. "That's all?"

"I don't remember my full name." Kageyama bluntly said in return, and Shoyo could only look at him aghast because he had just said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Shoyo's lips pressed firmly, and though he was about question him on what exactly he meant by thatー wow, how crazy is it that someone doesn't remember their own name?ー alas, he decided to hold his tongue and refrained from saying anything. Maybe he'll ask some another time.

"So... What are you actually? You said that you're notー well, one of them."

"I'm not."

"Then what makes you different?" Shoyo continued to stare at him.

"I just am." Kageyama shrugged, and as expected, the answer did nothing to satisfy the little one's curiosity even in the slightest.

The silence prolonged with the awkward atmosphere returned once again, but the tension between them seemed to have lessen and knowing this brought him some comfort. Shoyo settled to fix his gaze on the concrete pavement before him, and although he was no longer shifting around like a worm, his hands remained to fidget.

"You don't seem scared anymore." Kageyama's voice piped up all of the sudden, catching his attention.

Shoyo scrunched his eyebrows. "Hah?"

"I mean," Kageyama repeated once more, "You always look like you've seen a ghost when you're with me, but now, you don't look like that anymore."

Oh, who would have known?

Who would have known that no matter how attractive a person looked, they could also be stupid? Yes, he might be bad when it comes to doing mathematics or memorizing stuffs, but at the very least, he has some common sense when a situation called for it, and for goodness' sake, even he knows that it was completely out of topic to stalk someone without any apparent reason unless it was for an intention of having the police called on them. Unluckily for him, calling the police wouldn't work in his case.

"Obviously, Bakageyama?!" He nearly screeched, his tone a mixture of disbelief and stupefied, "I thought youー well, you're like a ghost! No one else can see you! Heck, these things don't normally happen to people, you know?!" Shoyo exclaimed, flaunting his arms about in order to prove his point even further. "And it's all just like ueggghhhhh and huahhh, like come on, why wouldn't I be scared when Iー"

"Are you still scared?"

Cut off in the mid of his sentence, the redhead blinked. In fact, it's more like that he was very much taken aback by a question, one that he had least anticipated.

Is he still scared? He bit his lip at the thought.

Well, the first few times especially after the discovery being made, then of course, he obviously was scared. But that was sometime ago, and the question was whether he was still scared at this very moment or not. It could be argued that he was, given that it's... well, a spirit-like creature, but on the other hand, after his early confrontation, he actually found that Kageyama wasn't exactly as scary as he thought. Well, okayー maybe he is still scary but so far, he hasn't done anything much to terrify him.

"Uh, no?" He hesitantly answered, "I... I don't know. But I have this tiny bit of feeling that I can trust you."

Yes, he just said. He had this feeling that he could trust Kageyama even if he doesn't know him all too well. It was crazy, but there was something tugging at him, pulling him with a little whisper that tells him to have some little faith in the other. There was no reply from the brunet after his proclamation. That is, until he heard a shuffle from his side.

"Kageyama?" Shoyo blinked when he sees the latter straightening into an up-right position. However, Kageyama said nothing but proceeded to stand in front of the redhead. Right in front of him. Shoyo felt a tightening in his chest, a familiar sense of anxiety overcoming him when he sees the other starting to lower himself, and lower, and lower-

"See. You're still scared."

And then he snapped his eyes open, which was weird because he didn't remember he had his eyes closed nor did he remember tightly clutching onto the hem of his cloth. He propped his chin up, enamored by the view that stood close before him and he finds himself staring into those blue eyes again. Then all of the sudden, he feels warmth prickling at his skin underneath his scarf.

"You're still scared." Kageyama repeated, and he sees the way how he slightly knit his brows, noticed how his eyes had slightly dimmed and how his head droop a little lower than before. "Of me, on top of that. What did you think I was about to do to you? How can you trust me when you barely know who I am or what I am?"

There was a little fire ignited in the redhead's expression at the last statement. "I-it's not like I want to!" He clenched his fist, sticking his face up almost close to the other's as Kageyama backed away, surprise written all over his face. They both got up; one analyzing him with caution, and another staring back at him with a defying gaze. "I don't know why, but I just have this gut feeling that I could trust you and besides," He pouted, "You're leaving me with no other choice!"

"I'm leaving you no other choice?" Kageyama scoffed. "Don't be an idiot."

"I mean, sure, you act like a total jerk and a creep for following me around, and also, you're not a human. But..." Shoyo allowed himself to take in a deep breath, his astonished state from before slowly being replaced by one of determination, "I'm giving you a chance, all right? That's my decision."

"... That was a terrible decision." Kageyama looked away, avoiding his gaze.

"Well," Shoyo smiled faintly. "Let's hope that it isn't."

As if on cue, they both heard a bell rang from the school building, signalling for the next period to begin.

"Ah! My class is starting!" Shoyo frantically gushed about, taking off in an instant and headed for the door. However, he paused the moment he remembered something. He threw a glance over his shoulder, a questioning gaze given to the brunet whom merely raised a brow at him back, "... Are you going to follow me again?"

Although Kageyama never did respond to his question, Shoyo gets his answer when he trailed after him to his class not so long after that.

forgive me for making this short, I just wanted to update this story as soon as I can! like SMH, college is making me real busy so, expect an update in another month or two? It all depends on my mood tbh.