orphan | komahina

10

i was surprised i even got any sleep that night. i thought i was going to be kept awake in the basement but hajime managed to save me from that. and even though it was probably only a one time thing, i was still eternally grateful.

he woke me up at half seven, half an hour before the caretakers were supposed to get up, so that they wouldn't suspect i'd left that prison cell at all during the night. so for an hour and a half i sat on the cold, hard floor, thinking about how downhill everything had gone since maki had left. well. almost everything.

after what felt like weeks of being trapped in there, i saw the door crack open and a booming voice echoed through.

"come on komaeda. get up." byakuya demanded. instantly i sped out of the room, glad to be out of there once more.

"you're not to go by the other kids. not a single one of them. you're to stay in the library alone for the rest of the week and if any of the caretakers catch you communicating with anyone you're going straight back in that basement." it took every bone in my body not to snap back at him or roll my eyes. instead i just nodded and swiftly walked away, remembering i needed to go to the bathroom to collect my night clothes. hopefully they're still there.

time skip

i'd been in the library for hours now, alone, just like byakuya demanded. it would stick like this for the rest of the week. i missed having company, even if it was just kokichi. i was even starting to miss watching the kids. besides, the deadly silence in here was beginning to drive me crazy.

i'd been staring at the first page of an open book for a while now. i had no intention of reading it. i couldn't when i was this down and stressed. why am i the one getting punished? mondo probably didn't suffer any consequences at all. everyone in this place hates me.

"hey." maybe not everyone.

i grinned widely when i realised who was greeting me.

"hi." i replied as hajime sat down in the chair adjacent to me.

"i heard about your punishment...sorry about that." i shrugged my shoulders, accepting it as my fate now. it would be over in a few days. that's all i had to remember.

"it's fine. just have to grin and bear it." he nodded, seeming a little melancholy. his smile seemed to fade much quicker than usual.

"why are they even doing this to you?" originally i didn't plan on telling him but he was so kind, i saw no harm in explaining some of the details.

"i keep having nightmares and waking up the other kids so they were already threatening to put me in the basement for that...and then this boy was being really horrible to me so i lost my temper and punched him. then i tried to escape and that's when byakuya caught me." hajime rolled his eyes and already he seemed incredibly irritated.

"it's not your fault you have nightmares. what the hell do they expect you to do about it? and if someone's being a bully then you have every right to stick up for yourself. with what i've seen over the past few days, it's no wonder you tried to get out of here." i smiled as he ranted. he seemed to really understand and get where i was coming from. it felt like nobody else in this place was capable of that.

"thank you for last night by the way. i really appreciate it." hajime finally smiled once more which was quite relaxing to see.

"it's no problem. i'm not staying here tonight though so i won't be able to help you out...sorry about that." i shook my head, still grateful that he even thought to help me out at all.

"it's okay, really. i'll cope." that was a lie but i didn't want him to feel bad.

"what are you reading?" he inquired, looking over at the page i had open.

"oh...i don't know. i just picked a random book off the shelf to make it look like i was being productive." he let out a chuckle and reached his hand out, closing the book briefly to check the front cover. as he did so our hands touched for only half a second, but it was enough to make me smile.

"never heard of it. looks kind of boring."

"i wouldn't know. i haven't read a single word of it yet. don't plan on it either." we laughed together for a short while before there was a small silence.

"do you wanna go pick a book and read it together?" he offered. i nodded immediately, already out of my seat and looking at the shelves to find something. hajime swiftly joined me, searching through the many books on the dusty shelves until finally, we both picked the exact same one. our hands collided as we pulled it out of the block, glancing over at each other and giggling like school girls.

"great minds think alike." hajime rejoiced. i nodded.

"yeah. they sure do."