I Need A Hero (Nao)

[Miles Daugherty]

Although Miles had several classes one-on-one with a tutor, he still had one or two with the rest of the  Hammel students. And even after attending them for over a year, he still felt the worst part was getting to the classroom. There was just far too much going on in the hallways for him to handle. So usually he planned it out so that he was several minutes early to class. That way he could get there, find a seat, and avoid the rush and noise in the hallway. 

Still although he had great timing, not everyone else in the world did. Sometimes classes let out early or for whatever reason kids just gathered in groups in the hallways. Like today. Miles stuck tight to the wall, trying to stay out of the way, while sucking on his shirt sleeve. 

Seeing this an older kid pointed out Miles to a few of his friends. "Check out the baby." One of them said. Followed by another, "Ew gross, is he trying to eat his shirt?"

But Miles didn't mind all that. It wasn't until one of the kids approached him that he started to worry. "Dude, you that hungry ya gotta chew on your shirt?" he asked, reaching out to pull Miles's sleeve out his mouth.

And that's when Miles lost it. He screamed, shoved the kid away, and curled up in a ball against the wall rocking back and forth. He didn't care if people yelled, or called him a baby. But touching him was not okay. It didn't matter that the other kid hadn't meant to hurt him.

[Deleted]

Naozumi could understand the sentiment of not wanting to handle the crowded halls of Hammel. It was why he strived to either be the slowest one, to trail behind the line and move at his own pace, or to be the fastest and move ahead of them. Most of the time he did the former because he didn't like rushing, but sometimes he did the latter. But when he did he ended miss-stepping and tripping over his own feet. That was the reason why he had been able to see this particular confrontation in the hallway. Fate possibly. Had he been going any faster he'd have missed it. Had he decided to wait, then it might have gotten worse than it already was.

Nao slipped in between a herd of students that had been loitering about the halls, possibly let out early by their teacher. That's when he heard the scream and turned to face the commotion.

A couple of older kids were standing over another boy, probably no older than 12, who had become distressed to the point of cowering over. The screaming was puzzling, however, and enough to have some students back away, while others decided to crowd even more.

Nao approached himself, not liking the scenario he was looking at, and squeezed between a few of onlooking students until he was standing directly in front of the child. A second or two of assessment and Nao turned on the other students, speaking calmly but hopefully loud enough for them to head. "Please, can you move away? You're making him more distressed." He didn't know about the boy's particular disability, but it was in Nao's experience that nobody liked to be crowded and stared at in this kind of situation.

[Miles Daugherty]

At first Miles didn't notice the boy walking over to him. He was too busy focusing on rocking and moaning softly, trying to block out the crowded hallway and the older boy who'd grabbed his arm.

But finally he did register that the crowd around him had given him a bit more space, whether because of the boy's request or Miles reaction. So Miles quieted down and stilled himself, looking around to make sure the danger had pasted before slowly rising to his feet. Doing so, placed him behind Nao, who sheltered him from the rest of the crowd. Even though Nao was a bit close, Miles much preferred having one person close to him than a whole group.

Keeping his head down, he put the sleeve back in his mouth, waiting for the crowd to disperse further before picking up his book bag, which had fallen on the ground.

[Deleted]

The crowd, slowly but surely, started to disperse, even by the kids who were prodding at the screaming boy in the first place. He was glad that there seemed to be some reasonable people in these halls. To an unfortunate and confusing situation such as this, it was characteristic of people to gather and look on. But it was also easy to get others to listen to you in a time of urgency. Speaking firmly and moving like you knew what you were doing often did the trick, no matter how out of it Nao usually seemed otherwise.

However, there were still a few stragglers who continued to linger and stare. Nao just stared back until they decided to move on. The silent boy was almost unaware that the other boy had decided to figuratively latch himself onto Nao and drift behind him.

When the boy picked up his book-bag, Nao finally turned around to face him. The boy still hadn't said anything…which meant nothing because Nao was pretty quiet himself. But the boy was also sucking on his sleeve, which Nao found to be rather curious. He waited another moment before saying something. "Are you ok?" Nao tilted his head, waited another moment, then asked, "What's your name?"

[Miles Daugherty]

Miles was confused and still trying to calm down from his attack. Although some people might not see someone grabbing an arm as an attack, Miles was very particular about his personal space.

He stood with his bookbag, staring at a spot just to the left of his rescuer and wondered what one was supposed to do in this situation. In movies, people usually jumped into the arms of the person who saved them. Sometimes they even pressed their mouths up against each other. But neither of those options were something Miles would ever do. So he was trying his best to think of a good third option.

Perhaps talking would be a good third option. True this boy was a stranger. But he was also a very good stranger. So maybe that made it okay. Miles really hoped so.

"I'm...okay," he said very softly. "Miles. Miles is my name." He started chewing on his sleeve a bit. Talking to a stranger was still hard, even if it was a nice stranger.

"If I know your name too, then we won't be strangers." He added, mostly talking out loud to himself.

[Deleted]

Yeah, the boy looked like he was calming down. He was going to be just fine, Nao surmised. He didn't think to leave just yet though. Nao was thinking a bit of conversation to ensure his alright-ness and then hopefully guide the kid to his next class to make sure nothing else happened the second Naozumi was out of the picture. He'd known people like that, who's wait until Nao was gone before coming back in for another round. Though, the person who had upset the boy didn't seem like a chronic bully per se, like most of the others he'd seen, and also more unsure of what was going on in the first place.

"Miles," he repeated for confirmation. The boy was chewing on his sleeve. Nao blinked at this behavior but didn't say anything.

"I'm Naozumi," he offered. "My nickname is Nao." He blinked again as he pondered over the statement about them being strangers. Were they not strangers anymore? Was it that simple? Just sharing your name? Guess so, if this boy thought so, that was all Nao needed. "We're not strangers anymore," he said with a smile.

Time for another question, he supposed. "Where's your next class? I can walk with you."

[Miles Daugherty]

Miles was also worried the other kids would return. He would probably be avoiding them, and possibly this hallway, as much as possible for the next few weeks. Miles was very slow to forgive and having trouble understanding others' perspectives only made it harder. So in his mind the boy who had touched him was on his bad list and would stay there forever most likely.

When Nao said Miles's name, the young boy looked up and made brief eye contact with him. This was because the way Nao had said it, reminded him of the way his tutor or his mother said it when they wanted to be looked at. Miles had never understood why this was important, but he had learned over the years that when someone said his name like that it mean that he should. Still it made him uncomfortable, even with his new hero.

Now Miles was confused. He had learned about the concept of nicknames, but he found it odd. Some people only had nicknames with families. And some only had nicknames with friends. He had asked once if Batman was Bruce Wayne's nickname and been told that it was. So maybe Nao was Naozumi's superhero name too. Or maybe it was the other way around. He figured maybe he'd ask his mom or sister later. And for now just try to avoid saying the other boy's name. He didn't want to get it wrong. After all you weren't supposed to get saved by a hero and then call them the wrong name, right?

"Room 215." Miles said, turning to walk with the boy in that direction. Still he was trying to think of some way to thank his new hero. It was hard because words were hard. If only he had some popcorn to share or something, that would have been perfect.

"I like buttons." Miles said. "Do you like buttons?" Maybe showing Naozumi/Nao his collection would be good enough.

[Deleted]

Nao knew little about children like Miles, but he was a patient person and would probably give Miles all the time he needed to be comfortable and feel better enough to trust Nao and get back to whatever business he had before those students had scared him. He didn't know that saying Miles' name would make the boy uncomfortable. He was under the impression that saying it would give the other child the sense that they could be friends.

This was also why Nao provided his own name, so that Miles could have that sense of friendship, and also his nickname, as those were commonly used among friends. Had he known there was confusion, he would have explained his intent. For now, Naozumi just let it be.

Nao nodded when Miles gave the room number. He knew where that was, so Nao could help him to it easily enough. He walked beside the other boy at a slow, yet steady pace. Nao wasn't one who got uncomfortable with silences. He would probably have been okay had neither of them spoken until arriving at the room. But just the same, he also wasn't bothered when Miles spoke up.

Naozumi smiled and nodded. "Yes, I like buttons." He had no reason to not like them, therefore he could say he did.

[Miles Daugherty]

It wasn't that people knowing his name made Miles uncomfortable, he just didn't understand what was so important about actually looking at people in the eye. He never had understood, even though his teachers and parents were always trying to tell him it was important.

He decided that he would either call Nao by both names at the same time or just avoid using the older boy's name at all whenever he was talking to him. At least until he could figure out the correct way to address a hero.

He chewed on his sleeve as they walked and kept his eyes on Nao's shoes. He was also okay with the silences. It was easier to think without people asking his questions or trying to have a conversations with him.

"I collect them. If you want to be my friend I could show you sometime." Miles said, his sleeve still in his mouth a bit. Usually he wasn't so forward about his buttons, but he wanted to do something big for Nao. After all the older boy had just saved him. Hopefully that would be a good enough thank you.

[Deleted]

Naozumi was curious about the boy’s habit of chewing on his sleeve, but he supposed he shouldn’t ask and just leave it be. After all, wasn’t that what the other boys were making fun of him for? It was something like that. Maybe it was just a nervous habit, something to do to calm and comfort him. That was alright too.

It was curious how Miles phrased his offer. ‘If he wanted to be his friend’? Nao did want to be his friend, however, so Nao smiled and offered the boy a nod. “I would love to see your button collection sometime. Anytime you like, in fact.” Even now, once they had gotten to Miles’ room, he would be willing to give them a look. Nao didn’t collect anything so he didn’t completely understand the appeal. But he could at least admire the persistence and patience it took to take up such a hobby.

[Miles Daugherty]

Miles was glad that his new hero wasn’t asking a lot of questions. Of course a hero, at least the perfect hero in Miles’s mind, would known that some things were better left unasked. Especially during initial meetings.

Miles hesitated outside of the door to his classroom, staring at Nao’s shoes. He knew he needed to get to class but he would have rather showed his new friend his collection. And still he really wanted to go to class, not because he liked it but because it was next in his routine. And switching up his routine was not something that Miles did voluntary, even if it was for a good reason.

“I have to go to class,” Miles said, even though it was obvious. He shifted nervously not sure how he was supposed to end this conversation correctly. “I live in room 505. You can come see my buttons ten minutes after dinner.” That was one of the times Miles had designated as free time throughout the day. And with that Miles turned to go into his classroom.

((wrap for Miles))

[Deleted]

Nao gave him a nod. Miles seemed like a nice boy, if a little slow, then again, Naozumi wasn’t a stellar example of quick thinking either. It would probably mean a lot to the other boy, he decided, if Naozumi kept that time slot open for tonight and showed up when Miles said to. “Room 505,” he confirmed. “I’ll see you tonight, then.” Naozumi watched as Miles disappeared into his classroom.

The bell rang. Shoot! He was late! Naozumi stepped away, rushing to his own class as quickly as he could manage.