"....I need something to eat..." Saito coughed to himself and suppressed another grimace from making it's way to his face, "...I shouldn't have done so much research last night....I forgot to cook something for today. .....Stupid."
The hallways of the school were always brightly lit, something that he usually found as a small blessing. Unfortunately, glaring bright lights mixed with hunger and headaches tended to equal to extreme annoyance; a fact that he all too aware of right now. He was glad that he had chosen to separate from his two friends for lunch time. He honestly would've smashed his head into the wall if he had to hear another one of Ken(taro)'s rants about Valentines and how unfair it was for 'people like him'.
"...What the heck does he even mean by that?" He thought back to his peculiar actions: The odd perfume (which smelled oddly like honey), the overtly fancy clothes that looked way too tight on him, and the constant staring at his cellphone every five minutes. It was like he was waiting for someone to give him a message or something. Maybe he was going to a funeral or a wedding? That would explain his odd actions.
Unfortunately, while his friend's rambling had disappeared for now, the stares and whispers from his schoolmates still hadn't ceased, '....I wish they'd stop staring at me...'He gripped the sleeves of his shirt tightly,'....I know I look unhealthy and all, but do they really have to look at me like I'm some kind of freakshow?'
What other reason was there for them to have red faces or look like they were trying to hold back their breaths? They were at least trying to be polite and not laugh at him. Granted that was an extremely small comfort given that they were blatantly staring at him, but it was a comfort all the same.
He knew he looked odd. Running around solving crimes that were beyond his natural ability naturally lead to his body taking the burnt of the effects. He wasn't ashamed to admit that he was kind of chubby a few months ago, but he would've preferred that to looking like a stick figure or someone who didn't eat for days on end. While he was still noticeably bigger in width compared to Aria or Yukari, the fact that he had to use girls as a reference for his stature made him somewhat insecure.
The fact that most of his hair got burnt off was also troubling for him. His hair was previously long and messy, something he found helpful in keeping attention off himself. Now he had to make due with a short cut and having his eyes exposed with his hair reaching only the back of his neck. He found out the hard way that long hair was extremely ineffective in a fight and made for easy grabbing.
Even his glasses were gone; smashed into the pavement just a few weeks ago. The glass nearly pierced him in the eye. He stopped wearing them after that.
"....Need to find Aria...." Lunch or no lunch, he still needed to ask Aria about all she knew about that idol. She was the next heir of the Sarashiki's, so meeting with someone of fame was no problem for her. While he ill liked having to rely on his sister for help, he had to admit that her connections made his activities a load easier.
It didn't take him long to reach the classroom where his sister attended. How could he forget? It was practically smacked in the front that it was for the honors students and those who were good in a specific field. Yet another sign of how different he and his sister were despite being twins.
...He really needed to stop dwelling on that.
"...Aria...?" He walked into the room silently, making sure to keep his head down lest he catch any more stares. She usually sat on the front row of the class, so he just had to follow his memory.
Unfortunately, his hope of going in unnoticed were dashed as soon as they started. One step into the room and most of the students immediately turned their attention to the 'invader'. Visits to the room were are, most of which stemmed from the intimidation other students felt for going to the 'elite class'. Even Saito wouldn't have gone here if he had a choice. Much to his chagrin, Aria was adamant that he go here if he wanted her help.
The honor student room wasn't that much different from the others. The most noticeable change he noticed were the chairs being a shinier silver and more holographic computers in exchange for less books. More futuristic, in a sense.
He found Aria chatting happily with her friends, their tables bunched together to form into a small circle. He recognized Aya, but the other three figures in the group were unfamiliar. Most likely her other friends or, as was more likely, her fangirls. Being as popular as her had its pros and cons. He honestly didn't know which part of the spectrum this came in.
Spotting Saito's standing figure, Aria immediately called out to him,"Ah, there you are!" She waved at him in with her usual energetic vigor, "I didn't think you'd actually come! I was going to send you the info after lunch anyway."
Were they alone, he might have responded to that statement by flicking her on the forehead. Seeing as they weren't alone, however, he had to make due with giving her a small glare. One good thing about having no bangs anymore meant that he was at least free to give anyone the evil eye if he wanted.
"...So what's the point of making me go here then?" He pointedly ignored the other three girls whispering. It was none of his business, "...If you're just going to send me the info later, I think I should go back to my own class."
He also ignored the fact that she was, yet again, wearing a cosplay outfit, this time reminiscent of an elaborate black and red sailor uniform. Only she could wear something so odd and make it seem like the most natural thing in the world.
"Wait!" Aria grabbed him by the hand before he could finish and pulled him towards her, "You haven't eaten lunch yet, right?" He nodded slightly, "Let's eat together then! Yuka-chan packed me an extra bento and said I should give it to you when I see you. You were so busy doing your searching last night that you forgot to cook something, right?"
".....Yeah." Well, she was right about that. Still, he didn't relish the idea of spending time with people he didn't know while being stared at, "....I'll skip lunch for today. I'll also be busy after school, so tell Yukari later to not bother calling my phone. It'll be off all night."
"Geez, there you go again! Stop being such a killjoy!" She pulled on him harder and pushed him towards an empty chair that was next to her. With the reflexes of a trained soldier, she pushed the chair back into the group with one hand, while placing the bento on the table with another, "You need to socialize more! Staying with those two friends of yours all the time isn't good for you!"
"....I like my friends...." His answer came out as a whisper, so Aria most likely didn't hear it, ".....Aria, I don't feel comfortable staying in a table filled with people I don't know. I think it'll be better if- Mmmph!"
Whatever he was about to say was cut off with Aria shoving a piece of fried chicken into his mouth. She smiled at him cheekily as he gave her another glare. Right, she just smiles while nearly choking him on chicken. Next thing he knew he'd be going on a long boat trip stuffed into a cardboard box.
.....He'd been watching too much anime lately.
"A-Aria-sama!" One of the other people sitting there, a girl with her hair cut boyishly short, cut into their conversation with a glare, "Who is this person and why is he sitting with us? I don't remember you being acquainted with any male so intimately."
'....Sama?' He sighed internally. Great, now he dealing with a fanatic. He knew his sister was popular, but this? Well, it at least gave him reference to what he'd be dealing with later. Maybe he can learn some tips on how to act like a crazed fan with no life.
"Huh, what are you talking about? Mina-chan, don't you remember him?" Aria patted the irate Saito's head rapidly, "This here's my little brother. You've all met him before, haven't you? He's usually at home playing videogames when you all come over."
"....We're twins." He was, of course, once again ignored by her.
"Y-Your brother!?" The fanatic, as Saito had so 'affectionately' dubbed her, opened her eyes as wide as dinner plates, "B-But your brother looked like......." She trailed off, unable to answer. Or maybe it was more accurate to say she didn't want to say the answer out loud.
When she and her friends went to the Sarashiki household for a group study once, she caught a glimpse of Saito at one point. Scraggly hair, weak constitution, and a completely plain appearance and personality. Thus, he was deemed as no threat to the relationship between her and the President whatsoever.
But now.......now she wasn't so sure.
She had never seen Aria so affectionate to her brother before. She was under the assumption that the two of them kept their distance when it came to outside their home. She liked it just fine that way.
"Different? Yup, I know," Aria sighed overdramatically, "He lost his glasses a few weeks ago. Shame too, it was something I bought off of the latest convention as a present. He should've been more careful with them."
Conversation died down after that. Nobody really wanted to speak for fear of increasing the already awkward atmosphere. Saito cursed internally at how clueless his sister was to the awkwardness she'd caused.
"Sorry about all this," Saito turned to his right and saw Aya giving him a half begging gesture, "Aria-chan has a lot of friends who are overprotective of her. Being the student council president means she's really well known. Please don't take it personally."
He knew that already. It was one of the reasons why he tried to keep attention off himself. People asking him how to get closer to his sister happened on a daily basis a few months ago.
"...It's fine...." Saito picked up his chopsticks and shoved some rice into his mouth, "I'm just glad there's at least one other person here that I know," He gave her a sidewards glance, "......I needed some time away from Kazehaya and Ken anyway. Ken was.....yelling about Valentines day so much that I was getting a headache....."
"Ah-Ah, speaking of which....." Aya suddenly started twiddling her fingers together, "D-Did you get any chocolates from anyone? I-I was just wondering since everyone seems to be getting chocolates nowadays."
"....Just by mistake. A girl gave them to me most likely because she was too shy to give it to Kazehaya. ....She even lied and said they were for me," Saito let out a small smile, "I wasn't fooled. ....It already happened before in middle school....so I'm used to it."
"Speaking of which," Aria suddenly cut in, "I remember giving you some chocolate earlier. How was it? Did it taste good?"
Ah, and here was the moral conundrum. Should he lie to his sister and say they were good, or tell the truth that he gave them to Ken and possibly end up making her mad. Hmm, decisions-
"...Yeah, they were really nice!" He forced enthusiasm into his voice, "You must've worked hard on it, huh?" Off to the side, he would see fanatic crushing her chopsticks at the word chocolate. Maybe she didn't like chocolate?
"Ehehehe, thanks!" Aria gave a wide grin, "I was working on that all morning with Yuka-chan. I hope it tasted really good!"
...Crap, now he felt like an ass. Still, it was a necessary evil for now. He'd tell her the truth after he solved the case later.
Right next to the siblings, Aya was giving herself an internal pep talk as she rummaged through her schoolbag.
"S-Speaking of which! I-I-I have something I want to give as well!" Saito gave Aya a confused glance as she held out a red heart shaped box towards him, "I-I made these yesterday, a-and I hope you like them!" She bowed and refused to show her red dyed face.
"....Thanks?" He accepted the box hesitantly, "....I keep getting getting obligation chocolate today. ....I wonder what it'd be like to get a serious one." He wondered aloud.
Next to him, Aria facepalmed as she struggled to hide her laughter. Her little brother could be so clueless at times.
"Th-They're not obligation!" She stood up on reflex, leaning closer to the bewildered bluenette, "T-Those are H-Honmei chocolates, a-a-and I hope you'll answer me by White day!"
For one of the few times in his life, Saito found himself genuinely speechless. He could feel a large blush making its way to his cheeks, something he tried (and failed) to suppress.
Due to how close she was leaning, the two of them were practically inches apart from one another. He could see every detail of her face. From her pearl white eyes and hair, to the large blush that adorned her cheeks, and even every breath she took. The same went for her.
".....I-I see...."
The two of them just stared at one another, neither willing to move forward or back. The others in the classroom were staring at them, but neither of them cared at the moment. Saito sincerely wished someone would say something. Anything to alleviate the awkward tension.
"SAIIIITTTOOOOOOO!"
...Ask, and you shall receive.
Ken came bounding into the classroom, his dress shirt unbuttoned and his pants askew. Most, if not all, of the occupants in the room shrieked or looked away from him, but Saito was glad to see his friend.
"Ken, what's the matter?"
"You tell me!" He grabbed Saito off his seat and pulled him towards him, "That chocolate you gave me is causing me to see things! The wall's melting, I can hear screams from outside the window. It's creepy! You gave me that chocolate, now fix it!"
Okay, so he was wrong about Aria getting better in cooking. Seems she finally upgraded from physical damage to mental damage. Some kind of fear toxin.
"....Saito, what does he mean by chocolates you gave him?" Uh-oh, Aria was giving him a glare. She rarely used those unless she was, to quote another friend of his, 'Royally freaking pissed!'.
"G-gave him chocolate? D-Does that mean you..." He didn't know why, but he had a feeling Aya had gotten the wrong idea somewhere.
That was his cue to run.
"Well it was nice having lunch with you, but I have to take my friend to the infirmary. Bye!"
He grabbed Ken by the shoulder and ran as fast as he could to the exit. Career criminals and psychotic idols he could deal with. A mad sister? Not so much.