A Different Kind of Hero

"Hey, Ken, what's going on? Why'd you run off like that?" Masahiro had caught up to Kensuke after the latter had run away. Ken had seemed excited that the two of them were going to be in the same class – Masahiro was somewhat happier since there was no one else he would really talk to if Ken were not there – but then had started to panic about something and ran away. Although Ken was definitely the type of guy to overreact about things and be a bit dramatic, there was something that told him he should make sure his friend was doing okay.

"Masa, it's stupid okay! Don't worry about it!" Ken's voice was obviously troubled; Masahiro knew of no other person who hid their emotions as poorly as Ken did. So he took a seat, glancing over at the head of brown-hair buried in arms. The guy's legs were rocking back-and-forth, the bundle of energy that was Kensuke Ooshiba having a hard time being restrained.

"Oh, okay then." He didn't need to say much; he was certain Ken would spill it naturally.

"Well, you see, I used to be friends with that Asaya guy. Before I even met you, actually. But I said something that was so stupid! Ah, I can't believe myself sometimes! What was I thinking!"

"Kids say things they don't mean, Ken. How bad could it have been, really?"

"I told him we weren't friends anymore."

"Well, that's weird from you."

"I KNOW RIGHT! It's just, well, we were such good friends and I was so mad whenever he said he was leaving! It felt like I was being abandoned!"

"I'm sure he had a reason, Ken." Inwardly, it bothered him that someone like Ken could imagine being abandoned. Someone who was so bright, so nice, someone who cared so much about all of his friends. It seemed unbelievable that they could ever be abandoned. Someone like that deserved to have someone who would always be alongside them, to help them through their hard times. It was simply wrong for them to ever feel alone when they had so much positivity in them.

"He said his parents made him. And I know he didn't have a choice! But, well, true friends are supposed to stick together, no matter what right?" The brown-eyed teen was looking at him, with a questioning look in his pleading eyes. Masahiro knew what Ken wanted to hear but it probably was not the best thing for him to say. He averted his eyes to the right, avoiding any eye contact.

"Listen, Ken, what if… what if we go to different Universities? Sometimes, things happen…"

"MASA, NO!" The other wailed, surprising him. "Please don't say things like that!" Ken had tear-filled eyes and had suddenly grabbed on to his arm, as if to keep him there. Masahiro looked at the smaller, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. "I promise I'll study extra hard and I won't skip class and I won't sleep during class and I won't ignore the teachers, just please tell me you didn't mean it!"

Masahiro sighed; how typical for Ken to completely overreact. He had only been speaking hypothetically and the guy took it straight to the heart. Of course, that was one of the best things about Ken. It was… nice… to be around somebody who was so open emotionally. It felt different. But in a good way.

"Come on, don't be dramatic. It was just a silly what-if," he said, hoping to calm Ken down a bit.

"I don't think it was silly. You're not a very silly guy, Masa." To Masahiro's ears it sounded somewhat like a pout.

"Some times, some things, they're out of people's control Ken." He really didn't know why he said that instead of just affirming what Ken wanted to hear. It'd be easier to lie but lying to Ken did not come naturally to him anymore. Sure, lying about anything gang-related was easy but that was never a topic with Ken. The guy had no idea and Masahiro preferred it that way. Still, part of him still worried that his old 'friends' would try to reunite with him. Maybe that's why he wanted a path open to not being around Ken that wouldn't have the other mad at him.

If Ken was every truly mad at him, well, he didn't know if he could handle something like that.

"I-I understand what you mean, Masa. But don't use yourself as an example! You'll make me worried sick!" For a split second his heartbeat picked up and he didn't know what to say. It just felt a little embarrassing to hear Ken talk like this, he guessed. So, Masahiro simply nodded to appease his best friend. After a second of calmness, the other's eyes went wide in panic and he grabbed his head. "BAH! But what about Asaya! What am I gonna do, Masa?"

"Just talk to him."

"WHAT? I can't do that! I can't pretend that everything's normal even if he can. Not after what I said! Gah, I'm so stupid! Stupid stupid stupid stupid!"

"Say, so, uh, this Asaya guy, you two must have been pretty close huh?" Masahiro didn't know exactly why he felt the need to ask that question or what had come over him. It just seemed odd that he had never heard about Asaya before today, given how much Ken talked about so many different things.

"Oh yeah! We were best friends! We'd do all kinds of crazy things together, especially exploring in the woods. I remember one time we got stuck out in the rain; I was pretty scared but Asaya helped keep me calm until it stopped raining. But before that even happened, my brother arrived. He gave us a pretty good lecture, that know it all!" Ken had the happiest look on his face remembering his time with Asaya, before it turned into a pout talking about Kousuke Oshiida, Ken's brother. Kou was a great guy, the only person Masahiro ever thought of as a hero. Kou had saved him from the life of gangs and had apparently saved Ken from being lost in the woods as well.

"I… see. I bet you want to be friends with him again, huh?"

"Of course I do!" There was something in the assertive, hopeful way Ken said it that felt like a knife being twisted in Masahiro's chest. He felt his head lower, staring down at the ground and refusing to look over at Ken.

"I understand; your best friend's back so of course you..."

"Stop it right now, Masa!" The smaller teen looked up at Masahiro, his brown eyes conveying a slight sense of anger that threw Masahiro off a little bit. He couldn't understand why Ken would be upset. It only seemed natural that, since he was just Asaya's replacement, that if Asaya was back Ken wouldn't need him anymore. "You never give yourself any value, you know that! You're a great friend, my best friend in the whole world. Just because I met you after Asaya and now he's back doesn't change a thing between us, you big idiot!"

Masahiro felt a small smile growing on his face from the words. It did feel so nice to be wanted, even a little bit. Whenever he went home, away from Ken and back to his barely-ever-there mother, that was when he felt so very alone in the world. Even when he talked to his mom she only wanted to discuss her clients and her latest escapades, usually omitting anything overly revealing but she had on occasion slipped a detail too many while drunk. And, of course, there were the times when she brought work home…

"I'm… sorry. Hey, I have an idea. How about I walk home with you today?"

Ken's eyes lit up like a fireworks display. "Oh wow, that'd be great! And I'll get my mom to drive us by your place later so you can pick up a change of clothes and you can stay the night! Oh yeah, it's gonna be AWESOME!" It was rare for the two of them to walk home together; after all, they did not live particularly close by. Sure, they weren't very far either, but the paths diverged almost immediately after leaving the school. Normally Masahiro would just go by his place first, though he didn't know why, then would visit Ken's. It felt like a decent way to make it up to Ken after being so selfish in the conversation.

"Hey you, Oshiiba, you're friends with that Asaya kid huh? He's getting some supplies and needs some help. Get to it. And remember, no loitering in these halls!" The gym coach casually ordered as he walked by, before immediately walking away.

"HUH? Oh NO, I can't do that! I'm not ready! After the stupid things I said I'll never be!" It was like Ken had already reverted to his frame of mind at the start of the conversation

"I'll go with you." The words had escaped him before Masahiro had even thought of them. Such a stupid idea, what was he thinking! It was clearly going to be a pretty personal conversation so he didn't need to be there at all.

"Oh, thank you thank you thank you thank you!" The brown-haired teen wrapped his arms in a hug around him, making Masahiro freeze and go completely stiff. Even though they had been friends for a while now, physical contact like this was strange. Sure, there had been times where Ken was clowning around or something, but this felt a little different. It felt good, in a weird way. He didn't know how to describe it, but he liked it.

An instant later, the embrace was over and Ken was on his feet. Masahiro quickly followed suit, not even realizing that he had the slightest shade of red on his cheeks, merely thinking it was a little warm in the school today. The two of them got on their way to meeting Asaya.

A/N: I know, this is a small fandom, so people would probably really like to see some more stories about the canon pairings. But I was really overtaken by this idea, of getting Masahiro and Kensuke together, so I came up with a little bit of a plot. Apparently, in perusing this site and others, I'm just about the only one to do so. I'm not sure how long it will be [obviously with two people like Masa and Ken it can't just happen in an instant], or if this will even get any interest, but it's fun to write. The chapters will typically be about this length because I think it just sorta fits with the show. I have no timeline for finishing it. If anyone's here to ask me about my other story: I will finish it, just hit a snag.

Thanks for reading.