Chapter 13

At that moment, Tomori's attention was fixated solely on one thing. Every facial feature of his all seemed like a blur of pure teenage beauty, scaling a certain "thing" on his right cheek into focus. An imposing red-ish scar marred his otherwise perfect and dreamy countenance, covering half of his cheek, just small enough to be concealed by his mask. Its recent origin was undeniable. She questioned whether it was self-inflicted or caused by someone else deserving of the most hellish punishment upon humanity.

Quickly, he reached for the mask buried in his chest pocket, put it on and opened the door to a still shocked Tomori.

"What do you want, Tomori-san?"

"I…I-I just thought you'd feel all lonely during lunch…"

"You're welcome to join me, just tell me beforehand."

"A-All right…"

She looked at the phone in her hand, and just then she realized that she could've asked him before rushing here. She quietly sat down against the wall, next to the now masked Haku. She noticed his half eaten melon bread in his hands. what thr fuvk is melon bread

"..."

"D-did you see it?"

"...Yeah."

"..."

"Even the scar?"

"...Yep."

"Will you tell anyone?"

"Nope."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

The conversation petered out and into a suffocating silence, which was soon broken by a loud sigh of relief from Haku. It was like he got something off his chest, a burden off his shoulders. He was afraid that keeping everything a secret will ruin his relationship with everyone, but he didn't want everyone to know of the embodiment of his own ego. He chuckled a bit, and kept staring at the empty space that was the sky in front of him.

"You know… I'm kind of glad you're the one to find out."

"Huh?"

"I've only known you for 2 weeks, but I feel like I could trust you with this face of mine. Doesn't mean I'll let you see it all the time though."

"I-I'm glad."

She was obviously more than just "glad". Inside she was throwing a party just to celebrate the trust he put in her.

"Uhm… If you don't mind me asking…"

"Go on. I'll answer the millions of questions you probably have in your head right now."

"What…happened?"

"Two years ago, I said something stupid, really stupid to a…former partner. I trampled on their feelings and belittled them. I made them feel like they were worthless, like everything they did up until then was for naught. A week later, they came to where I lived and, you know, splashed acid onto my face. I was lucky they didn't have a bigger dose, and even luckier that no one was told anything."

"Not even Kuroki?"

"Not even him."

"But… why?"

"The public is scary, Tomori-san. If word got out, not only will their life become hell, but mine will also be full of pity."

"Yeah…"

"Moving on, mind if I finish my lunch?"

"Sure! I-I'm the one that interrupted you anyway…"

She expected him to stand up and eat elsewhere, but instead, he just took off his mask yet again. She was both shocked and glad to see how much he trusted her. Haku did not realize this, but he was desperately trying to make up an excuse to keep her to himself, to keep talking to Tomori, afraid of losing her after she found out about what kind of person he was and that atrocious face of his. He started to take tiny bites out of his half eaten melon bread, hoping that this moment would last over.

"What? Still shocked?"

"No, no… I'm just incredibly happy right now. I wish I had brought my lunch here."

"Did you already eat yours?"

"Yup! It was a-"

"Lemme guess. A comically big rice ball."

"How- how did you know?!?"

"Because it'd be very you to mess up and make way too much, haha"

"It was an honest mistake ok???"

"Yeah, yeah."

It was at that moment that the sunshine lit up his first visible smile towards Tomori. His turquoise eyes shone with a mischievous glint, and his white hair framed his face perfectly. His smile was infectious . His lips curved upwards, revealing a set of pearly white teeth. His eyes crinkled at the corners, and his cheeks were slightly flushed, as if he was holding back a gentle chuckle. Tomori wanted to shield that smile for eternity from the harsh reality of this world. Instinctively, she pulled out her phone and tried to take a picture, but she was spotted. Haku was used to being photographed, so much so it became his sixth sense.

"If you want to take a pic, Tomori-san, you'll have to ask for my permission first."

He grinned as Tomori flustered and blushed. She looked down in shame, blaming herself for doing something so stupid and getting caught. 'Normally when I take a picture of him he never notices, that's how I have all my "Wall Of Haku" after all. Maybe I've been slacking off. I stopped taking photos of him after I met him.' When she got herself back together, she softly asked him:

"Uhm… Haku-kun, w-would you mind if I took a pic of you?"

"Will you keep it to yourself?"

"I promise."

"Then get in the frame!"

"What?"

"It's a selfish request of mine, but if you're taking pics of me, you have to be in it."

"A-All right."

He took her phone and aimed it down at them, capturing the bright blue sky behind them as background. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and held up the peace sign. Tomori, more flustered than ever, panicked and held up both of her hands and did the peace sign. The photo perfectly captured her reaction. It was a perfect mix of shock and happiness. She was blushing all over her face, and her mouth was still open from how surprised she was. Normally, she's the one teasing him, but now that the tables have turned, she doesn't know how to feel about it. Haku, too, had no idea what compelled him to do what he did. Maybe it was because they were in the heat of the moment, so he did something incredibly bold. Before they had the chance to say anything, the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch break.

"L-Lets head back to class, Tomori-san."

"Y-Yeah."

Haku put on his mask, and they both returned to class as if nothing happened.

At that moment, Tomori's attention was fixated solely on one thing. Every facial feature of his all seemed like a blur of pure teenage beauty, scaling a certain "thing" on his right cheek into focus. An imposing red-ish scar marred his otherwise perfect and dreamy countenance, covering half of his cheek, just small enough to be concealed by his mask. Its recent origin was undeniable. She questioned whether it was self-inflicted or caused by someone else deserving of the most hellish punishment upon humanity.

Quickly, he reached for the mask buried in his chest pocket, put it on and opened the door to a still shocked Tomori.

"What do you want, Tomori-san?"

"I…I-I just thought you'd feel all lonely during lunch…"

"You're welcome to join me, just tell me beforehand."

"A-All right…"

She looked at the phone in her hand, and just then she realized that she could've asked him before rushing here. She quietly sat down against the wall, next to the now masked Haku. She noticed his half eaten melon bread in his hands. what thr fuvk is melon bread

"..."

"D-did you see it?"

"...Yeah."

"..."

"Even the scar?"

"...Yep."

"Will you tell anyone?"

"Nope."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

The conversation petered out and into a suffocating silence, which was soon broken by a loud sigh of relief from Haku. It was like he got something off his chest, a burden off his shoulders. He was afraid that keeping everything a secret will ruin his relationship with everyone, but he didn't want everyone to know of the embodiment of his own ego. He chuckled a bit, and kept staring at the empty space that was the sky in front of him.

"You know… I'm kind of glad you're the one to find out."

"Huh?"

"I've only known you for 2 weeks, but I feel like I could trust you with this face of mine. Doesn't mean I'll let you see it all the time though."

"I-I'm glad."

She was obviously more than just "glad". Inside she was throwing a party just to celebrate the trust he put in her.

"Uhm… If you don't mind me asking…"

"Go on. I'll answer the millions of questions you probably have in your head right now."

"What…happened?"

"Two years ago, I said something stupid, really stupid to a…former partner. I trampled on their feelings and belittled them. I made them feel like they were worthless, like everything they did up until then was for naught. A week later, they came to where I lived and, you know, splashed acid onto my face. I was lucky they didn't have a bigger dose, and even luckier that no one was told anything."

"Not even Kuroki?"

"Not even him."

"But… why?"

"The public is scary, Tomori-san. If word got out, not only will their life become hell, but mine will also be full of pity."

"Yeah…"

"Moving on, mind if I finish my lunch?"

"Sure! I-I'm the one that interrupted you anyway…"

She expected him to stand up and eat elsewhere, but instead, he just took off his mask yet again. She was both shocked and glad to see how much he trusted her. Haku did not realize this, but he was desperately trying to make up an excuse to keep her to himself, to keep talking to Tomori, afraid of losing her after she found out about what kind of person he was and that atrocious face of his. He started to take tiny bites out of his half eaten melon bread, hoping that this moment would last over.

"What? Still shocked?"

"No, no… I'm just incredibly happy right now. I wish I had brought my lunch here."

"Did you already eat yours?"

"Yup! It was a-"

"Lemme guess. A comically big rice ball."

"How- how did you know?!?"

"Because it'd be very you to mess up and make way too much, haha"

"It was an honest mistake ok???"

"Yeah, yeah."

It was at that moment that the sunshine lit up his first visible smile towards Tomori. His turquoise eyes shone with a mischievous glint, and his white hair framed his face perfectly. His smile was infectious . His lips curved upwards, revealing a set of pearly white teeth. His eyes crinkled at the corners, and his cheeks were slightly flushed, as if he was holding back a gentle chuckle. Tomori wanted to shield that smile for eternity from the harsh reality of this world. Instinctively, she pulled out her phone and tried to take a picture, but she was spotted. Haku was used to being photographed, so much so it became his sixth sense.

"If you want to take a pic, Tomori-san, you'll have to ask for my permission first."

He grinned as Tomori flustered and blushed. She looked down in shame, blaming herself for doing something so stupid and getting caught. 'Normally when I take a picture of him he never notices, that's how I have all my "Wall Of Haku" after all. Maybe I've been slacking off. I stopped taking photos of him after I met him.' When she got herself back together, she softly asked him:

"Uhm… Haku-kun, w-would you mind if I took a pic of you?"

"Will you keep it to yourself?"

"I promise."

"Then get in the frame!"

"What?"

"It's a selfish request of mine, but if you're taking pics of me, you have to be in it."

"A-All right."

He took her phone and aimed it down at them, capturing the bright blue sky behind them as background. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and held up the peace sign. Tomori, more flustered than ever, panicked and held up both of her hands and did the peace sign. The photo perfectly captured her reaction. It was a perfect mix of shock and happiness. She was blushing all over her face, and her mouth was still open from how surprised she was. Normally, she's the one teasing him, but now that the tables have turned, she doesn't know how to feel about it. Haku, too, had no idea what compelled him to do what he did. Maybe it was because they were in the heat of the moment, so he did something incredibly bold. Before they had the chance to say anything, the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch break.

"L-Lets head back to class, Tomori-san."

"Y-Yeah."

Haku put on his mask, and they both returned to class as if nothing happened.