Shigure walked to school, his bag in tow. It was his last year in elementary, so he insisted to his parents that he walk to school by himself. He didn't have any friends to walk with, but not because he was anti-social. No, it was because there weren't many children the same age as him at the school. Most of the student body was filled with kids who were younger than him by at least 1-2 years. He was seen as the "cool" senpai, so people were nervous in approaching him.

When he got to school, all the students were piling into the building. Some were still kissing their parents goodbye, and others weren't there yet. Probably overslept or something.

He made his way to the classroom. There wasn't a lot of people in his class - only 10 kids. He never bothered to make friends with the few people in his class because they were already divided into their own groups. There was no room for him, so he wouldn't feel comfortable anyways.

The young boy walked over to a desk and sat down. They could sit wherever they wanted to, since they didn't have assigned seats.

He unloaded his things and watched the teacher write down math problems for students to solve. He took his notebook and solved the equations extra quickly, so he would't have homework for the night. There was still some time left when he finished, so he took out his other notebook and started doodling. The doodles were manga drawings. The boy always did have an affinity for drawing manga; it was too bad he couldn't share this talent with anyone else.

The bell rang for recess after the double period of math, and everyone handed their notebooks in to be checked by the teacher. Shigure sat and drew for a bit longer, but when he noticed everyone had already left he got his things and head out.

Children littered the school hallways, all scrambling towards the exit to play outside. They couldn't stay inside to play, so Shigure had no choice but to follow everyone. The white-haired boy got his pencils and manga drawing with him to go outside.

Kids were swinging on the swings and sliding down the slides, and all of them seemed to be having a good time with their playmates. This wasn't what Shigure did however - he would rather just sit on the bench and sketch.

He never just drew manga. He would draw other things too, like real people and scenery. The event before him seemed pleasant enough to sketch out, so that's what he did.

"Haha! Loser!"

His head shot up in surprise, looking for the source of the noise. It was rare for bullying to happen at this school. The boy's eyes caught some children not too far away, kicking at a young girl with pink hair, eyes and clothes. They all seemed about two years younger than him.

"Ow! P-please, stop!" The girl tried to defend herself, failing miserably as the group of kids continued relentlessly kicking her. The poor child had tears in her eyes, holding her arms above her head to try and protect herself.

Shigure couldn't watch any longer. Bullying wasn't nice.

"Hey! Stop this nonsense!"

The bullies looked over to the boy who just yelled at them to stop, ready to retaliate back.

"No way! She ruined our sand castle!" One of the kids yelled.

"I-it was an accident!" The victim desperately claimed, only to be shut up by another kick.

Shigure put on a confident look. "Then I'll make you stop!"

He ran over to the group, standing over them. Since he was two years older, he was considerably taller than all of them. He put on the scariest and most intimidating face he could possibly muster, trying to drive them away.

One of the boys stepped back, clearly terrified by the older boy who towered over them. "R-run!"

All of them stopped kicking the girl and ran as quickly as they could; some were screaming for their mommies and others were crying.

Shigure glared at the bullies backs, then sighed. That was finally over. He looked down at the pink-themed girl, who was currently sniffing and rubbing the injuries she had gotten from the kicks.

He walked over to the girl. "Are you okay? That must've hurt." His eyes were filled with concern.

"M-mhm. I'm okay. Thank you for saving me." She thanked him, rubbing her tears away.

He breathed a sigh of relief, smiling at the girl. "That's good. But just to make sure, we should tell a teacher." He paused for a moment, contemplating whether he wanted to ask the question he had on his mind or not. "And, um, do you want to be friends?"

She smiled back at him. "Sure! My name is Ichinomiya Eruna."

"Ninomiya Shigure." He reached out his arm for her to grab on to so she could stand back up. "Let's go now."

"Mhm!" Eruna smiled even wider, walking behind and following him.

Maybe, Shigure thought, I do have a friend now.

Author's Note

My fourth story, and first story in this archive! The story itself isn't all that great but oh well. xD

Please tell me what you thought of the story!