Past-Lovers | Amaguji

11: Shared Secret

[Third Person]
The next morning, everyone was sat at the cafeteria table, silent as ever. The only sound breaking said silence was the clashing of cutlery against plates and bowls. Tenko was the only one sitting and staring down at her bowl of cereal instead of eating it. Who could blame her?

Gonta nudged Tenko out of concern, but even after being touched by a 'degenerate male', she didn't budge or form a word.

'Is Tenko okay?' Gonta asked innocently, looking up at everyone else.

'It's okay, Gonta, she just misses...those who we lost.' Kaede, sitting next to him, smiled and gently patted his arm, 'you keep eating, Tenko just needs space.'

Gonta nodded and continued trying to figure out how to use a spoon without making a spillage.

Everytime Korekiyo finished eating one spoonful of his cereal, he would take a moment to stare at Rantaro from across the table, and ate quicker than everyone else just to continue staring in complete and utterly silence.

'What's up with him?' Maki, sitting on one side of Rantaro, whispered to him.

Rantaro then paused mid-way through eating his food and looked up at Korekiyo. But Korekiyo didn't break eye contact at all, barely blinking at this point. Rantaro swallowed down the cereal and finished his food swiftly.

He then stood up and walked over to Korekiyo.

'We'll be a moment.'

He pulled Korekiyo out of his chair and led him outside the room.

'Kiyo, what's wrong?'

Korekiyo hung his head low.

'Ah...nothing really...'

'Is it about...?'

Rantaro sighed and place his thumb under Korekiyo's chin, lifting his face so they would look at eachother directly.

'I won't tell anyone what you're hiding under your mask, don't worry.'

Korekiyo finally looked into his eyes.

'You promise?'

'I promise.'

With that, Korekiyo immediately pulled him into a hug, which Rantaro quickly reciprocated.

'I wouldn't have anyone to tell now, would I? There's no-one else here I'm nearly as close to as I am with you, Kiyo.'

Rantaro lightly pulled Korekiyo's mask down and gave him a peck on the lips.

'And I wouldn't have it any other way.'

Rantaro put Korekiyo's mask back in place, and then walked back inside the cafeteria. Korekiyo took a moment to process everything that just happened, his cheeks coated in a light dust of red, before following Rantaro's footsteps and going back into the cafeteria, sitting down in his original place, and it seemed as though Rantaro was already in another conversation.

'What the hell's going on with you and that femboy?!' Miu shouted, holding her spoon in an...odd way.

'Don't be jealous of him just 'cos you have nobody!' Kokichi retorted.

Wait, why was Kokichi defending Rantaro?

Miu shrunk back into her chair, her dominant voice faltering.

'I-I have somebody! I-I-I'm very popular with the g-guys!'

'Can I see proof of that?'

Silence. Miu admitted defeat and returned to quietly eating her cereal, not bothering anyone.