Please, Don't Be Afraid of Me

In a world filled with monsters and supers, there lived a boy who was different from the norm. His name was Kaito Shikichi. He had hair as white as snow and eyes as red as blood. Girls considered him to be "scary" looking despite having the appearance of an average boy, just with a different hair and eye color. They avoided him like the plague, spreading the rumor, "If you touch him, you'll get leprosy." Throughout his whole life, Kaito became accustomed to being avoided. That's why once his closest friend, Daisuke Kageyama, actually talked to him and touched him like he were a normal person, the two became inseparable. 

 "Good morning," Daisuke greeted Kaito with a slap on his back. Kaito flinched from the strength of his friend. 

"Ah, good morning," Kaito also greeted Daisuke, but lowered his head. 

"I hope there aren't any pop quizzes today. I totally can't deal with something like that today. I already had to pull an all-nighter last night in order to finish this paper due today." Daisuke sighed before glancing over at Kaito. "What about you, Kaito? Did you have to pull an all-nighter?" 

Shaking his head, that was enough of an answer for Daisuke. Although Kaito was a man of little words, he was smart in comparison to Daisuke. Daisuke was what you would call a jock while Kaito was the nerd. Despite how opposite the two were, they were inseparable. 

"Good morning!" The soothing voice of Kaito's crush hit him like a wrecking ball to a building. Sakura Uchiyama was known as the cutest girl at Tokyo High, and there was no one in the school who was able to take that place from her. She had raven black hair that contrasted her pale skin, making her look like a princess. It was a pity that her parents didn't name her "Hime" instead, but "Sakura" was just as beautiful. "Daisuke-kun." She wrapped her arms around Daisuke's. Daisuke, the chill guy he was, just ignored her before looking at Kaito. 

"I bet Sakura is going to fail today's quiz." Daisuke teased. 

"You're so mean! Geez!" Sakura slapped Daisuke's arm, making him laugh harder than he already was. 

"...I don't think she'll fail." Kaito added. Although he answered in a low tone, Sakura took the initiative to pick up on his words. 

"See, Daisuke?" Sakura pouted. "At least Kaito thinks I'm going to pass."

"Well, even though you have a large head, your brain is about this big." Daisuke pinched his fingers, only letting an inch of space between his index and thumb be seen. "It's probably bouncing around in your head." He laughed again. 

Kaito looked over at Sakura who was blushing despite the mean comments Daisuke was making. She seemed to have enjoyed his teasing, and that hurt Kaito. But Daisuke was strong and had a nice body. Kaito was weak and looked feminine in comparison. Girls didn't like the "feminine" type of guys like Kaito, and he knew that. 

Kaito quickly started walking into the school without Sakura and Daisuke. He heard Daisuke's voice in the background calling his name, but Kaito didn't stop. He hated seeing the two of them flirting in front of him. He liked Sakura after all. 

Once walking into the classroom, Haruto watched as everyone, not just the gossiping girls, turn their heads, avoiding him. They couldn't have been more obvious. He always wondered if he actually looked that weird or if it was because they were scared of him. Whatever it was, they were all jerks. 

"Kaito! Kaito!" Daisuke ran into the classroom, panting. He had run away from Sakura to find Kaito at his desk. "You scared me back there, man. Why did you suddenly leave me with Sakura?" 

Kaito looked at the sweating Daisuke who could get any girl he wanted. Kaito frowned before replying, "Because the mood was good." 

"What? What are you saying?" Daisuke stood up straight. "What do you mean the mood was good?" 

"It's obvious that Sakura likes you, Daisuke. Not only are you good looking, you're great with people. I'm sure Sakura would love you more than me, anyway. The me who is ugly." Kaito looked down, wallowing in his sorrow. His hair fell before Daisuke sighed angrily. 

"Stop it, Kaito." Daisuke furrowed his eyebrows. "Just...stop." 

Kaito raised his eyes, looking up at Daisuke. "What do you mean stop?" 

"I'm not any better than you, okay? We're both humans, and we are both friends. Stop putting me on a pedestal. Just because Sakura likes me and you say that I'm great with people, it doesn't mean that I like Sakura back or that I don't get nervous talking to people. I had to learn how to talk to others without having panic attack. Don't pretend that you're the only one who's suffering. You aren't." Daisuke sat down in his seat after saying his final words. 

Kaito stared at Daisuke for a bit before looking down at his own desk. He screwed up his relationship with Daisuke. What is wrong with me? He thought to himself.