Comfort Time

"Why would you want to chase us out?" Yoshida raised an eyebrow. "Ever since yesterday, we've never seen you here."

Hidoi rolled his eyes and answered with a 'duh' tone. "Likewise. Clearly, chasing you out isn't working, so we mine as we'll leave. Sorry, it was my idea to try and get rid of you."

"Get rid of us?" Teraseka scoffed and crossed his arms. "You'd have to try a lot harder then that. No prank can chase us out."

"Obviously. I'm not stupid."

Kiirono reached into his pocket and threw a small square gadget at each of his friends and started complaining. "Man, I was hoping I could be useful and help out Hidoi. But, I guess that'll have to wait for another day."

The five pushed a button on the square gadgets and dropped them. Almost as if they exploded, they popped open and turned into black skateboards. Kiirono's father never seems to fail his inventions.

"By the way," Kiirono stepped on his skateboard and pointed finger guns at Teraseka and his friends. "Your friend is still up in that lame school of yours. I may have messed up her clothes."

"We can pay for that." Miranai threw a couple bucks out and let them fall onto the ground.

"Hurry up," Emiyu started riding down the smooth path of the mountain with her board. "We're gonna leave you behind, then you'll have to take the blame for everything."

"Agh, you son of a bitches! I'm the one paying for that girl's clothes!"

That was probably the most confusing experience Teraseka and his friends have ever encounter, never mind Kori-Sensei, these kids were a whole other story. If they wanted to go someplace to hang out, why not just go to one of their house? Or a cafe? Or, literally any other place in Japan?

—————

"That was a little sudden wasn't it?" Miranai jumped over a rock, his skateboard slicing the air. "First you suggest pranking them, then you leave out of the blue. Pick something, man."

"Boo, I was having fun too." Emiyu spun on her board as they hit a turn. "Killjoy, we could've orally taken them!"

"Hidoi?" Kiirono leaned closer toward Hidoi as they rode down the slope.

"What?" Hidoi blinked a few times, then looked up, finally noticing the blond next to him. "Sorry, what were you talking about?"

Kiirono looked at Hidoi with concern. He let out a sigh and skated ahead, trying to avoid an argument or disagreement.

"Those idiots still don't have your meds, and here you are, suffering because they didn't think to restock beforehand." Taino huffed and crossed his arms.

Riding the down the smooth path of the mountain was going well, until they ran into the well know, red-headed troublemaker, Karma. His red hair was the first thing they noticed, then his sinister eyes, his black suit and so on.

"Oh, shit!" Miranai hit the brakes and slid to a stop on his board while the others did the same.

"Hey, Hidoi!" Emiyu reached out to grabbed Hidoi, only to miss. She caught a glimpse of his expression as he zipped by. His eyes were blank and his mount was slightly agape. Absence seizure.

Hidoi kept speeding up, still heading toward Karma. It was here, toward the end of the mountain, that the road started to get a little rocky, random stones on the ground.

"Hidoi!" Kiirono yelled Hidoi's name as he started to regain consciousness.

Unprepared, Hidoi's wheels did not become as reliable anymore and they started to give as he road over the stone and rocks.

Karma then noticed the blacked haired teenager flying at him, his skateboard off the ground along with him. Before he could even react, Hidoi crashed into Karma and made it obvious that the crash was painful. Luckily, Karma had Hidoi in his arms as they tumbled down the mountain, about 15 feet down the steep slope.

The kids picked up their board and ran to see if Hidoi was okay. Karma felt Hidoi shaking rapidly in his arms as he hugged the thin boy, protecting him as much as he could during the crash.

"What the hell?" Karma sat up to get a good view of what was happening with Hidoi.

"Hidoi!" Taino shoved Karma, panicked and worried. He threw his skateboard and grabbed Hidoi's face. "Hey, why are you having a Seizure now of all times?!"

"He doesn't have any leftover pills." Emiyu dug through Hidoi's bag. "And the hospital doesn't have any right now."

Hidoi started to cough and choke, his breathing being labored, it was as if it wasn't even there. He started foaming from his mouth, making it obvious that he need medical help.

Karma knew this was unnatural, so he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed 911, this was an emergency.

"Hidoi!" His friends worried over him and kept shouting his name in concern and panic. "Wake up, Hidoi! Hidoi!"

~~~~~

In the hospital was Hidoi's friends, his parents, Karma, and of course, me. I had arrived last since I was the last one called. They knew school was the last place he was before going to the mountain and having the seizure.

I looked over at Karma. He was leaning against a wall, his arms crossed and obviously showing slight worry. Of course, even he is aware of something so serious.

Then I looked at his friends. Emiyu sat on a chair, nibbling her nails nervously as Miranai patted her back, trying to comfort her. Kiirono stood near a wall, his forehead against it, one fist looked as if he punched the wall while the other was red and bruised. He had to have been punching the wall. Taino sat on the ground held his chest with one hand, as if his heart would explode from the worry and concern he had over friend.

And then his parents. Honestly, his father looked like he couldn't give a flying fudgesicle over his son. And his mother was staring at her phone, tapping the screen and texting someone. They were both wearing nice suits, so they were probably called off of work to come here. Their expressions said that they didn't want to be here, even if their son had been hospitalized.

"Hey, guys." I rubbed the back of my head and tried giving a comforting smile, but I was as worried as his friends were.

"Shiota-Sensei!" Miranai and Emiyu smiled and jumped out of their seats.

"I heard the news. Is he okay?"

"The doctors haven't come out yet." Kiirono said, standing in the same spot. "It's been over half an hour. When are they going to come out and talk to us? How long does it take to get a single person out here?"

I looked Kiirono up and down. Droplets of water made gentle splashing sounds, just like a sad rainfall. His voice was holding pain and self blame.

"Are you holding yourself responsible, Kiirono?" I walked up to him and held his wrist gently. "It's not your fault Kiirono. This kind of thing will happen at the most random times. Don't hold yourself accountable for his seizure."

"I knew." Kiirono clenched his fist and sounded as if he would cry again. "I knew something bad would happen. It doesn't matter what it would be. I knew something would happen and I- I let it go. He wanted to prank them and I agreed, even though I shouldn't have. But, I didn't want to say no because he could die at any second and I want him to be happy before he dies."

I knew that Kiirono and Hidoi had grown up together, and they were pretty close. But I had no idea Kiirono cared so much for Hidoi that he would go as far as saying something like this.

"Kiirono, relax." I turned him around and hugged him. "He'll be alright. He won't die any time soon. It'll be okay. I don't want you to blame yourself for this. Nobody saw this coming, even Hidoi."

Kiirono cried quietly into my shoulder. I felt his tears soak into my shirt as he continued crying. He had basically cried himself to sleep. He was holding so much that he fell asleep standing.

"Poor kid," Karma mumbled. "He's such a responsible teen."

The doctor came out about ten minutes later. A nurse held a clipboard and th doctor took his glasses off as he approached us.

"He's alright, and well I might add," the doctor gave us a wave of relief when he said that. "During the crash, he sprained his right wrist. It'll be a two week recovery. As for the seizure, I suggest he stays here, hospitalized and under the nurses watch, just for a couple days, three at minimum. This way, we can send him off with both his ADHD and seizure medication."

Hidoi's friends almost broke down in tears as they heard this. Emiyu smiled and got down on her knees, all dramatic like. She lifted hers arms up into the air and started crying.

"Thank god! He's fucking alive and well! And he feels pain!"

"Are we allowed to go see him?" Taino asked.

"Of course," the doctor smiled. "Go ahead, he may or may not be in a state of daze. Be mindful of his injury."

The three awake children smiled and ran into the room. Karma looked at me and nudged his head toward the door. I nodded and put Kiirono down on one of the chairs. He was sound asleep after crying and blaming himself. After setting Kiirono down, I followed after my students to Hidoi's room.

"Hidoi!" Emiyu opened the door, the boys right behind her and peeking into the room.

Hidoi looked up and saw his friends. He smiled and raised his sprained wrist, waving at us with it. He had a band aid on his cheek and a few on his uninjured arm as well. The doctor was right, he looked dazed. His expression was almost blank and his eyes were dull, no shine at all.

"Oh my god, you're okay!" Miranai ran to Hidoi's side and held his uninjured hand. "Please tell me you've been given your medication."

Hidoi blinked a few times before answering, his voice sounding flat. "No, not yet. They're going to send me off with it."

"Oh, shit." Taino squatted down and covered his head. "We're gonna have to wait three days? What happens if you have another seizure? And Kiiro is gonna keep blaming himself until he sees that your okay."

"He'll be okay." I said. "He'll be fine, he's with the doctors. Kiirono is going to be okay as well. He has you three, his family and me. If he ever needs help, let him know that you're all there for him."

Emiyu frowned as she sat down at the foot of Hidoi's bed. "He's just going to keep blaming himself. It's just how he is. He's so mature that he holds responsibility for everything that happens to people he cares about. It won't matter who's there for him or who's not."

"What are we talking about?" Kiirono walked into the room, rubbing his eyes as he just woke up. He looked over at Hidoi and saw his vacant expression.

"Are you okay?" Kiirono asked.

Hidoi rubbed his cast and gave a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just dazed."

I saw Kiirono clench his fist, frustration clearly welling up inside him like a big balloon. He held his sleeve and squeezed it, bunching it up in anger.

"Kiiro," Emiyu stood up took a few steps toward him. "Stop blaming yourself. It's not your fault."

As Emiyu tried to comfort Kiirono, he completely switched attitudes. He turned his frown into and smile. I could tell it was fake, at least, it wasn't real.

"Yeah, you're right." He said with his smile. "I'll try not to be too hard on myself. I have to go. My parents are probably wondering where I am."

He rushed out of the room, leaving his friends behind. If there I know anything, it's that Kiirono would rather be anywhere else then his with his parents.

"I'll be back," I rubbed my head and smiled. "He probably needs some sort of comfort."

Hidoi stared at me with his dull black eyes. Behind his daze, he looked upset, frustrated. I had no idea until just yesterday that Hidoi had symptoms like ADHD, let alone absence seizures and worse. I knew that look of his, because I used to give that same look.

"Hidoi," Hidoi flinched and locked eyes with me. "Try not to stress too much. I know it's hard, just know that there are people here for you."

With that, I left the room and ran after Kiirono. Not much was explained to me. The doctors just said he had a got into an accident and had a seizure. His friends won't say much about him and Hidoi himself won't speak up.

Never mind, what matters right now is Kiirono.

I ran after Kiirono, down the white hallways of the hospital. I saw a couple of nurses who had fallen on the ground. It must've been Kiirono who may have pushed them out of the way.

"Excuse me," I helped the nurses up. "Have you seen a blond teenager run through here? He was wearing a soiled Kunugigaoka uniform."

"Yes," one of the nurses nodded. "He ran past here. He's heading to the main entrance, I assume."

I ran to the main entrance of the hospital, hoping to find Kiirono there. As I got closer to the main entrance, I started to smile. I saw Kiirono's blond hair, right as I saw the 6 foot Karma.

I skid to a stop and saw that they were both on the ground, as if Kiirono had crashed into Karma. This is the second time Karma has been caught in a crash.

I hid behind the corner and watched them. From my point of view, it seemed as if Karma was hugging Kiirono.

"You're that prankster kid, right?" Karma asked, as not to get silent treatment. "Pretty sure you're Kiirono. Nagisa's student?"

Kiirono simply stared, his head resting on Karma's shoulder.

"Hey, Kiirono?" Karma repeated his name.

"Oh, sorry." Kiirono lifted his head up. "I didn't mean to invade personal space. This the second time you've crashed into one of us."

Again, Kiirono's frown turned to a smile again. He stood up and dusted himself off, then put a hand out to help Karma up. Karma took him up on that offer and held Kiirono's hand to stand up.

"Thank you," Karma said. "Now wipe that fake ass smile off your face."

"What?" Kiirono flinched after hearing that straightforward statement. "What are you talking about? I was just worried about my friend, so I'm just a little disoriented."

"Shut up," Karma rolled his eyes and shoved a hand into his pocket. "I know a fake when I see one. It's not that hard to see."

Kiirono looked down at ground, his soiled uniform, then Karma. He looked so uncivilized. He was a mess. One could wonder why the first thing Karma noticed was the fake smile.

"Who are you calling a fake, you slime." Kiirono gripped his sleeve. "What do you know? You can't just say that I'm fake."

"Did you just call me a slime?" Karma cocked an eyebrow. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. You need to calm down. I overheard that you're blaming yourself for everything that happened with your friend. I'm telling you right now, that it's not healthy."

Listening to Kiirono talk like that, it made me feel like I was so ignorant to my students.

"Quit it with that face," Karma said while holding Kiirono's wrist and pinching his cheek. "You look ugly like that."

"Wow, felt no need to sugarcoat it?" Kiirono shoved the hand away. "Whatever. You're a complete stranger. There's no need for you to sugarcoat anything."

Clearly, he doesn't know what kind words at when it comes to strangers. Karma thought to himself as he studied Kiirono.

Kiirono took his skateboard gadget out of his pocket and started riding out of the hospital, looking upset. Karma watched as he rolled out, his head down and looking at the ground.

"And there he goes," Karma shook his head. "C'mon, Nagisa. I know you were eavesdropping."

"Ah," I exclaimed and walked out from behind the corner. "Sorry, I just thought maybe you talking to him might click something. I guess it doesn't really work."

"Oh well, may as well just let him do his own thinking. Frankly, I think he's being told too many things at once."

Karma sure has a perceptive eye. This is the first time he's ever met Kiirono, and he could tell by his attitude and behavior that Kiirono had a lot on his mind.

"I'll go after him…again." I sighed, walking out of the hospital.

"Nagisa," Karma said to me as I walked out. "You better take care of him, student or not."