COLLISION, assassination classroom

CHAPTER #012. TIME TO SEE THE CHAIRMAN!

     Hajime walked up the mountain with Chiba accompanying him, the two maintaining a calm silence as they powered through the forest terrain. The black haired male had been periodically turning his head to face him, but said nothing. Hajime waited a few more minutes to see if his classmate would say what was on his mind. It was warm underneath his sweater and a bead of sweat dripped down the side of his temple, which the brown haired male wiped with the back of his hand. The trek up was tiresome compared to the trek down. Hajime was certain that he would never get used to it. At the feeling of eyes burning a hole on the side of his face, the student sighed.

"Is there something wrong, Chiba-san?" He questioned without looking at the male, leaning down to avoid a peaking tree branch. Chiba startled at being caught and coughed in his hand. Hajime side-glanced his companion as the male seemed to gather his words.

It took a while before the student said anything, but Hajime didn't mind. Birds chirped from above them, filling the silence. "Are you okay, Takano-san?" Chiba inquired, voice quiet and soft in tone, making the brown haired male turn and blink. The question was unexpected and out of the blue.

"I'm fine." Hajime responded without thinking, "What brought this on?"

Chiba seemed hesitant. "You seem. . . down." The statement had Hajime reaching up to touch his face in contemplation. His lips weren't particularly tense. He wasn't frowning, was he? The male thought he had been doing a decent job in managing his expressions. Hajime glanced at Chiba in interest, it appeared that his friend was quite observant.

"I guess." Hajime conceded. There was no point in denying it. The assembly and everything that happened before then had taken a toll on him. The brown haired male sighed, "I was fired, or forced to resign, more like."

Chiba remained silent at the admission. He didn't know if Hajime had a job outside of school, but if he didn't then there was only one thing the student could think of that fit the context. The black haired male couldn't imagine anyone else as the vice president of the student council. They weren't exactly the best when it came to helping the End Class, but back when he was in the main building they were active and responsible in their duties. Chiba frowned, he knew of Hajime and his proactiveness in his role as a student leader even in the previous years, so being removed from the position surely unsettled the male.

"Should I. . ." Chiba thought of the appropriate words to convey his feelings. He wanted to cheer up his friend, he could– "I'll buy you something at the konbini after class?'

Hajime blinked owlishly at the back haired male, then burst into laughter. What an odd attempt at consolation. He was reminded of a common scene in shoujo/josei romance comics that his sister forced him into reading (and a few that he picked up based purely on interest) where the main character would be in the midst of a setback of some sorts and the supportive best friend offered to buy drinks to soothe their worries. Hajime should be concerned that his first thought was related to alcohol, but then again, he's done much worse than underage drinking. He reached up and wiped a tear from his eye, failing to withhold the amusement that curled in his stomach. It had him stopping to lean on a nearby tree, wrapping an arm around his middle.

"Aha~ Buy me something like– like a drink, Chiba-san?" The image of Hajime sulking and intoxicated while Chiba sat and watched over him, a firm and silent pillar of support, had the brown haired male falling into another round of giggles.

Chiba titled his head in confusion at the strange reaction. "If that's what you want, Takano-san. I don't mind paying for it."

Hajime heaved and tried to regain his breath, cheeks hurting from the amount of laughter that escaped him. He stood and stretched, limbs weak with elation, his hand falling to grab hold of Chiba's shoulder. "Thanks for that, Chiba-san. I feel better now. If you really want to buy me something, I like anything banana flavored." Hajime winked at his friend and chuckled once more, shaking his head before making his way to the classroom. Chiba mentally took note of the preference and nodded his head. He'd make sure to buy the male some banana milk for tomorrow, Chiba decided determinedly.