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Little by Little We

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It is in those random, almost nonsensical moments, where he will notice Furuichi's position, in relation with his life. And then he won't care that he noticed, because it's not like it matters, and Furuichi will always be there. Oga/Furuichi

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The whole thing starts in middle school - one of those years, at least. The high schoolers keep on attempting to take him down, so he naturally, has to retaliate. It doesn't matter what they want or why they're targeting him, the bottom line is that he needs to get to school everyday and these people are constantly in his way.

And so - he pushes them out of the way.

(And maybe shoves a couple heads through ceilings, breaks a couple of their bones, and makes a good twenty or so people kneel down before him and beg for forgiveness. It hardly matters in the big picture, right?)

Sooner or later, people come over, in an attempt to fight with him. He says his name is 'Oga Tatsumi' but apparently you can't fight using your real name (it's so simple like that, why wouldn't the whole world just use it - he doesn't quite understand), so the need for a nickname arose. He's never been particularly creative (except when it came to fighting styles, of course) and so he turned to Furuichi.

They weren't friends, per say, but Oga was a hell of a lot closer to Furuichi than anyone else, so fair enough.

"A name?" Furuichi had said, "But you already have one."

"Yes, I know, idiot Furuichi," Oga had replied, "But the people that I'm fighting think that a normal name isn't good enough."

"Well then," Furuichi rolled his eyes, "If I'm 'Idiot Furuichi' then you can be 'Mad Dog Oga'." The name is meant to be some sort of biting insult of another, but Oga doesn't catch it and doesn't care.

"Mad Dog Oga," he repeats, and then shrugs, "Good enough, I'll tell them that the next time they try to stop me from going to school."

And so he does, because he said he would.

The name, he realizes only after the fiftieth person has uttered it (right before he socks them square across the face, and into the ground, of course), does not sound as good coming from anyone other than Furuichi. And then he shrugs, because this is a pretty stupid realization, and that's just why Idiot Furuichi will always be Idiot Furuichi.

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Flash forward a couple days, weeks, months - maybe even a whole year. It just flies by, various people, all of which are looking to bring him down. He takes them all down, with more or less ease, and school continues as per normal. Furuichi (idiot he might be), still manages to rank in the top five for tests, and Oga doesn't even think about asking the other for help.

He shapes his own life, builds his own grades - has never lived any other way.

Other people, of course, can't possibly think like that (all the more reason to beat them and beat them and beat them in fighting, he thinks), because they often pester Furuichi for help with homework. With their hulking figures and slow-witted speech, it's a wonder Furuichi doesn't just punch them, but then again, the other boy has never been much of a physical fighter.

Oga doesn't think to step in, mainly because Furuichi doesn't say anything. And Furuichi, like Oga, shapes his own life and makes his own grades.

And then one day, Furuichi comes to school with a black eye and a torn uniform.

"This is what I get for hanging out with you!" he complains on the rooftop, and Oga doesn't even steal half of the boy's sandwich in retaliation. He would ask 'who did it?' or 'who do you want me to beat up?' but the fact of the matter is, Furuichi wouldn't say. They both believe it after all; that you make yourself, and you make only yourself.

But he must be pragmatic, because while he is a man, and men must keep to their words, it's even worse to not stay loyal.

Bruises heal and clothes mend, and the next time someone goes up to Furuichi, asking for help, Oga calmly, grabs the eighth-grader by the shoulder, and calmly flips him across the room and into the window. He falls a good deal, but he's got enough muscle and fat to survive; it's only the second story, after all.

"Talk about violent, Mad Dog Oga," Furuichi scoffs.

Sure, it takes about three more windows and four more idiots, but eventually, the rest of the middle-schoolers in the district understand that Oga will not just sit by and twiddle his thumbs while Furuichi is being roughed around. It's a positive, uplifting message, if will say so himself - while shoving a couple more morons heads into the dirt, that is.

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After those various incidents, it becomes a whole new game. First, because he's a little bored. He's heard that in high school, there would be stronger people to fight against, and then perhaps he would actually face a challenge, but so far, the only people he's seen have been the losers who would only try to put a stake through his head in his sleep.

In other words: boring.

So, as a way to pass time, he starts this little half-hearted uncaring 'game' with himself. How close could he get without Idiot Furuichi taking notice? It was sort of like one of those science experiments (the kind that Furuichi excelled in describing, and failed in actually accomplishing), except on a more human level.

It was a way to pass the time, at very least.

Oga learned that he could stand as close as he wanted - three feet, two feet, one feet. Furuichi would be unfazed if he wanted to lie in the same vicinity as him, and oftentimes refused to move off the bed, if Oga wanted to watch TV on it (which was absolutely ridiculous, as Furuichi and him were friends and didn't friends share things, namely homes?).

"What are you doing?" Furuichi had grumbled, rolling his eyes when Oga had purposely moved his cheek towards Furuichi while the two of them were playing a video game.

"You smell," Oga had said, and then went back to his own space.

Furuichi had flushed, and then muttered something about 'well, that's what a dog would say' before stopping the game altogether. And then, it was Oga's turn to roll his eyes, when Furuichi went to take a shower. He hadn't even said it was a bad smell, for crying out loud!

But outside of his face, Idiot Furuichi was relatively lenient when it came to space. He allowed Oga to use his shoulders as a footrest and even grab his elbow (or ankle) if a particular place was worth dragging Furuichi to. He didn't complain if Oga leaned against him, or if he happened to be resting his chin atop his head.

He doesn't quite understand the problems Furuichi has about people getting near his face, but then shrugs it off (seeing as he hardly has the same restrictions) as another one of the quirks that make Furuichi an Idiot.

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In the second month of freshman year (in high school, of course), the whole of their relationship changes. Not in that life-altering way, in which they no longer talk to one another, but simply in those small things. Some days, they'll share a music player, or go to the movies, and Oga will even bike Furuichi back home - the little things.

"What the hell is your problem?" Furuichi asks the first time they kiss. His face is a little red, and his shirt is hitched up a bit. Oga's hands are still feeling around under the other boy's blazer.

"Idiot Furuichi," he says, as a way of explanation, before leaning in and tasting today's lunch all over again.

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