Chapter Text
There had been one person to whom Todo hadn't posed his opening question "What kind of woman is your type?".
The unusual occurrence had stemmed from a series of coincidences, actually starting two weeks prior, when that very question had led him to send two classmates to the care of a pesky nurse. When questioned by the principal, Todo had claimed that the fault lay with their overly dull responses, and the old man had responded by suspending him from all training for a week. They had forced a glove with a seal on him to prevent him from using his powers! For an entire week! Not wanting to repeat the experience, once he returned, Todo decided to ignore the boring, (incredibly boring) boy who had appeared from nowhere while he was away.
«Hana Inumaki, nice to meet you», the boy had introduced himself, with a polite bow.
Hana was slender, so much so that the uniform seemed too large on him. He couldn't have had more muscles in his whole body than were in Todo's pinkie finger; even his face was delicate, framed by white hair, which barely reached below his ear, and which, because of their color, made his skin seem even paler. Hana eyes were purple and they appeared too large because of the glasses he was wearing at the moment, and which he must have used to read the book in his hand.
Todo had snorted, passing him as if he hadn't even heard him.
«Todo, be nice to him. He comes from the Inumaki family», Kamo's calm voice had immediately made itself heard.
«Trust me, he doesn’t want my attention», Todo laughed, a menacing laugh as he cracked his knuckles. «And don't try to give me orders».
He had felt, at the time, Hana's furious gaze on the back of his neck, but once again, he had paid him no attention. That little thing was neither a danger nor a challenge, and surely if he had asked him the question "What kind of woman is your type?" he would have given him an answer as boring as he was.
No, Todo hadn't wanted to risk another wasted week of his life. Not for... what did he say his name was? Well, not for him, anyway.
………………………….
After their first encounter, Todo had ignored Hana for the entire following month, with the occasional exception of laughing when the boy, during training, ended up being bested by practically any other student in their school.
«Mmh, young Hana… you'll have to learn to defend yourself better than that», Todo once heard teacher Utahime comment.
Honestly, Todo couldn't understand the usefulness of the kid in battle. And why should he only learn to defend himself and not to attack?
Hovewer, he had put aside the questions, his interest had been too minimal to pursue them.
………………………….
Todo was brooding a bit on their brief past, and he was doing so because at the moment Hana was annoyingly following him.
«We're just going in the same direction, Todo», Hana pointed out annoyed when Todo told him to cut it out. «I have to reach the teachers' lounge just like you».
It must be said, Todo thought, that at least the kid doesn't lack the courage to answer me back.
A very misplaced courage, though, since Todo could have broken him in two whenever and however he wanted. Thinking about Hana's substanceless audacity, Todo’s mood darkened even more.
«Hey there, Todo! I see you're growing nicely, you've put on even more muscle since last time»,
Yuki's voice, trilling cheerfully through the corridors, immediately brought a big smile to Todo's face. He immediately turned to his mentor, the bad mood flying away as if it had never existed.
«Tsukumo! Ah, you honor us with another visit, mh?!» Todo yelled, almost running towards her. «Don't think you can escape from a challenge this time», he grinned, cracking his knuckles. He could already feel the adrenaline pleasantly tingling in his veins at the prospect.
«Ahahah, always so full of vigor…» but Yuki seemed distracted by something.
When Todo noticed that her gaze had shifted, at first he didn't even understand why. He only remembered his classmate’s presence when Yuki's mouth opened into her usual smile, and his equally usual question came out: «What kind of woman is your type?»
Todo rolled his eyes. It wasn't even worth asking with that one.
«I like elegant, responsible, and well-put-together men», came Hana's answer, clear and without hesitation.
Yuki's surprised expression was echoed in Todo's even more surprised one as he turned towards his classmate, his eyes wide with surprise.
Hana wasn't paying Todo the slightest attention, his pale cheeks were now tinted with a blush but there was no trace of hesitation in his violet eyes as he met Yuki's gaze. If it weren't for a certain stiffness in his posture, Todo would have thought that confession hadn't cost him any effort – nevertheless, he had made it.
«Well, well», a smile spread across Yuki's lips as she approached Hana, leaning over him (the boy was a whole head shorter than her). «Not everyone declares their preferences so clearly. What an interesting boy!» the woman laughed, giving him a little tap on the nose, to which Hana responded with an annoyed grimace.
Although Yuki then resumed talking, Todo realized he wasn't really paying attention to her words. He kept staring at Hana as if his classmate had suddenly popped a second head. Damn, Todo had never even thought… he knew that was a possibility, but he had never met anyone who…
How did it work, exactly?
Todo stopped staring at him when an irritated Hana turned towards him, shooting him a glance that seemed to say "Are you done yet?!". The glare also served to rouse Todo from his state of confused astonishment, dispersing the thoughts that had been swirling in his head until a moment ago.
Todo huffed. Okay, he hadn't expected that. Okay, maybe not everyone admitted to liking the same sex with such nonchalance. It was still a boring answer.
And Hana was still a boring boy.
………………………….
After their intense training session that day, Todo craved a sip of something cold. Hana seemed to be of the same mind, so the two of them headed together to the drink vending machine.
It wasn't the first time it had happened: lately, Todo had grown accustomed to Hana's presence around him and had even started to find it okay to chat with him occasionally.
«So... what's so interesting about elegant, responsible, well-put-together men?» Todo asked after taking a generous gulp of cola.
Hana paused midway through his sip of water, and Todo saw him raise an eyebrow. «You remember my words very precisely», he remarked.
For some reason, that statement made Todo feel as if fiery ants were crawling up his neck, but before he could respond, Hana continued, «I like to have someone reliable by my side.»
Todo snorted. «That's because you can't handle things on your own. That's why your tastes are so boring.»
Hana's cheeks flushed red, probably out of anger. «And tell me then, Mr. Fun, what are your tastes?»
«Tall women with big butts!» Todo immediately replied, eliciting an eye roll from Hana.
«But of course», Hana muttered, but Todo ignored him in favor of pulling out his smartphone.
«Look, I'll now show to your unworthy eyes the most beautiful girl you've ever seen. She is a goddess among mortals», Todo selected a picture of his stunning, perfect Takada-chan and almost thrust the screen in Hana's face. «This is Takada-chan!»
«Um... is she an idol?» Hana leaned back a bit from the screen, which was too close for him to see much.
«Of course she's an idol.»
«Mm-hmm...» Hana observed the photo for a moment, tilting his head as if studying it. «She does seem tall, I like tall people. And she's very pretty.»
«Ah! See, even you can recognize Takada-chan's beauty.»
«The fact that I like men doesn't make me blind», Hana resumed drinking, while Todo pulled his phone back, lost in admiration of his precious Takada.
To his surprise, it was Hana who broke the silence again, after a few minutes.
«And anyway, you only like physical features, while I at least base my attraction on someone's personality», he said.
«Hey Hana, are you looking for a fight?» Todo effortlessly crushed the empty can. «And anyway, who said anything about love? I just asked what type you like.»
«If you only wanted to know that, you should have specified! And besides, not everyone has physical preferences; someone can also be attracted to someone's mind or personality... And anyway», he added, sitting up straighter, his tone growing annoyed, «it's really shortsighted and rude not to consider that not all guys might like girls!»
«You're giving me a damn headache, Hana!» Todo slammed the cola can to the ground. He'd gladly do the same with Hana, he hoped he realized that, but the boy continued to stare at him with a annoyed grimace on his face.
«Would it bother you to be a little more sensitive towards others?» Hana retorted.
«And would it bother you to not be so boring?!» Todo stood up, his eyes narrowed. He menacingly approached Hana, towering over him, who was still seated - but not for long, feeling the threat in the air Hana stood up, so Todo planted his hands on the wall behind him, on both sides of his face, thus closing him between his arms. Todo smirked: their height difference remained totally in his own favor. «You know what I do to boring people, Hana?»
Finally, he had the satisfaction of seeing a flicker of alarm pass through Hana's eyes. Yet, stubbornly, the boy refused to budge. Todo saw Hana's mouth open and caught a glimpse of the Inumaki clan symbol on his tongue. Was Hana trying to use the cursed technique on him? Todo had never experienced it before; the boy seemed reluctant to use it, and this sent a shiver of anticipation through his body. The challenge crackled in the air, and Todo loved challenges.
«Go on», Todo prodded, grinning. «Show me what you can do with that mouth of yours.»
The words Todo had just uttered didn't quite have the desired effect. Hana froze, his eyes slightly widened. If Todo wasn't mistaken, his classmate's cheeks had taken on a redder hue.
After an unexpectedly long pause, Todo raised an eyebrow, and Hana closed his mouth, looking annoyed.
«I can't waste the cursed words like this», Hana said, sounding regretful.
«And what exactly are you good for, then?» Todo withdrew from him, crossing his arms.
Hana's lips tightened into a thin, pale line, his violet eyes bore into Todo as if to pierce him. Todo could almost sense his resentment for a moment, but he was too disappointed by the lack of a fight to care.
«I certainly didn't come here to entertain you», Hana finally said.
«Good, because there's no chance you'd entertain me. At the moment, you're merely tolerable. Bah, at least you've learned to defend yourself a bit these past few weeks... But there are several things you should improve. First of all, even if you fight from a distance, you should consider the possibility of ending up with an opponent in close quarters. Even Kamo, for example, fights from a distance, but he had the sense to bulk up a bit... which you seem to have neglected entirely.»
«I can use the cursed energy to enhance my physical defenses», Hana retorted.
«It might work in an emergency, but you need to learn to take a hit. You're quite agile, though», Todo said thoughtfully, assessing the other boy's physique. «Learn to dodge well, better than you do now, and you'll have fewer hits to endure.»
Hana was watching Todo warily, but there was also a hint of confusion in his gaze.
«It almost seems like you want to help me, Todo», Hana said.
«Perhaps I don't want you to be a hindrance during our first assigned mission», Todo said, then continued with a smirk. «Not that I haven't done missions before, but it'll be your first, won't it?»
Hana grumbled an agreement.
«Well…» Todo approached Hana again, his smile widening. «Learn to take at least one of my light punches, and maybe you'll stand a chance.» Without giving him a chance to reply, Todo punched him in the stomach.
Hana's mouth opened as the air left his lungs, and the bottle he was holding fell to the ground with a dull thud. The boy slumped unconscious over Todo's arm, who promptly caught him.
«And to think that was one of my weakest punches», Todo said aloud, though his companion couldn't hear him. Todo sighed, then hoisted him up to carry him to the infirmary. As he settled him on his shoulder, like a sack of potatoes, Hana's shirt lifted slightly, enough for Todo to find himself touching his side.
Such soft skin, Todo thought vaguely, squeezing absentmindedly. His companion seemed to have a rather slender waist, unlike his thighs, which seemed much more...
Todo quickly averted his gaze from where it was heading, but didn't remove his hand from Hana's side, as he didn't want to risk dropping him. Frowning, he finally headed towards the infirmary.