The sun adorned the sky like a couch adorned a living room. They complimented each other as they hung onto the infinite vacuum of space above them.

The heat of the sun and the coolness of the sky create perfect equilibrium. They created warmth too inviting to let go - a warm so precious that it's worth fighting for.

In a world were fated lovers meet through the opposing temperatures in their hands, the classes in Hope's Peak were they strangest thing to grace this planet.

It's almost impossible that there were so many in one place.

The phenomenon was solved in 1786 by a mathematician from the North, who spent days calculating the impossibly intricate temperatures, concluding that someone found their lover from the negative connotation of their temperature but always sustaining the temperature 40 degrees Celsius whilst holding hands.

There were some variables to this, Korekiyo Shinguji, ironically, had one of them.

His hands were woven into skin-thin bandages all of the time. No one knew the temperature of his hands if there was any type of material blocking it, thus, making it impossible to find his lover.

Korekiyo merely didn't care for the humanly instinct.

Watching people engage in the act was fascinating enough. Who would what to ruin that? Hand holding, kissing, making out and then turning it into something so feral, so animalistic?! God, Korekiyo would just drool if he saw that!

He chuckles at himself, is that his instinct? It's different for everyone; he knew that much. Humans are really unpredictable, aren't they?

The bell's ring bounced off of the walls in the hallways as 16 slightly reluctant high schoolers slipped out of their rooms and attended the auditorium on this dreaded Wednesday.

They had a choice between studying in their labs or getting breakfast. One of his friends, Rantaro Amami, always said that he looked like a stick and needed to eat more, so today, he would do just that.

The lunch room was packed with a mix of students with talents and the latter. The bacon, syrup, fruit etc. decorating the metal tills at the front looked so heavenly. What caught Korekiyo off guard is that Kaede was serving them.

He walked over accordingly, "Good morning Akamatsu. May I ask, where is Teruteru?"

She crossed her arms as an annoyed sigh slipped out of her mouth. Her sweet exterior was immediately broken, "Morning Kiyo. He got very sick and they chose me to replace him. It's not so bad. Cooking everything was stressful though."

He raised his eyebrow, "I'd expected worse from a pianist."

She smiled, "I've learned a few recipes here and there but that's not important. Waffles?"

He shrugged, "Sure. Thank you."

He walked away and sat down in one of the emptier tables in the back.

"Hey Kiyo-san! Never see you down here anymore!"

He guesses that he won't get his quiet time this morning.

Rantaro smiled as he walked over with Kokichi, who was wearing his signature grin. They were as close as two hots hand-eds could be. Even a few talent less students asked them if they're a couple.

Kokichi sat across from his brother's talking stick friend while Rantaro sat next to him. He was glad that it was just them. They were two opposing sides in society, as he'd like to think.

Or more accurately, two sides in the spectrum of normality.

Kokichi was someone you would find at the other end of the earth with only one specific coordinate. He was the human definition of a one in a million chance. You couldn't find someone like him anywhere.

That could be said about every human with a socially unacceptable personality though.

Rantaro was as basic as a human could get. He didn't have anything peculiar about him to Korekiyo's knowledge. He loved traveling and was very kind to everyone. Korekiyo's heart would sometimes clench when he says good morning to him.

He probably had that effect on everyone.

That's why he intrigued Korekiyo so much. He was so indifferent but there was something so... radiant about him that Korekiyo couldn't hope to find out.

His frigid connotation was probably an amazing person, just like him.

Kokichi took half of a waffle from Rantaro as he stole some of his fruit in return. Their ridiculous conversations made Korekiyo sometimes wonder how he was affiliated with them at all. They usually argue about the most pointless things and end up laughing about it later.

From observations, Korekiyo could only slightly understand why they did this. Apparently, it was an emotion at work. Korekiyo eyes lit up at the mention of emotion. Emotions were really at work all of the time!

He started eating his breakfast as the past revelation ran through his mind. How could he out something so fascinating so late?

"Guji-san, do you eat, like, at all?" Kokichi asked suddenly.

"He does eat, Kokichi. He just get too into his work that he forgets to eat." Rantaro said as he picked up his trash.

"Man, I wish I had that type of initiative! When I die of starvation, my army will carry my body to my grave on the mountains! How cool would that be?!" Kokichi exclaimed as he shoved his trash to Rantaro.

"He's not starving himself but whatever floats your boat." He smiled solemnly as he waited for Korekiyo to finish, throwing the trash out in the process. They had first period together and they'd always walked with each other as Rantaro asked questions. Rantaro always felt a certain coldness from his friend but not just in personality. He felt extremely lucky to even be able to talk to him normally, to Korekiyo's definition, and not be pushed out as if there was an invisible bubble around him.

He wonders what kind of aura he has to be able to be friends with the two most uniquely defined people in the school.

He waved Kokichi away on his departure to... where ever and held Korekiyo by his wrist to sift through the abundance of people he was too polite to push through.

"It's always a hassle to push through them. Don't you agree?" He sighed as they sped walked away before the flood of students gets to the hallways and stairs.

"Definitely." Korekiyo fixed his shirt and mask before following Rantaro.

The walk was definitely strange today. Rantaro stays silent and looked distant, emotionless almost. His heart froze for a second in worry, Rantaro was NEVER, NEVER upset at anything before. The look of worry almost went unseen if Rantaro didn't look around to check if he was even still there.

"Sorry, sorry. I was actually thinking about something but it's probably unimportant." He smiled again limply, still in thought.

"You plan to break our ritual so far into the school year? I don't find that happening anytime soon. Ask me anything, Amami-san."

"I know that this might be just luck but do you figure why we didn't find our connotations?" He blushed shortly after, "Well, It's not like I am looking for a relationship, but, but-!." He stuttered.

Korekiyo got his point, "Sometimes in life, nothing works the way you want to. I am not looking for a relationship either but it is good to question your unluckiness on why you would want to look for one in the first place. Is it jealousy? Is it the desire to be like everyone else? Or maybe it's neither and you're looking the wrong places. Your connotation maybe closer than you think."

"So, you might be my boyfriend, is what you're saying." He laughed.

"Yes, exactly. That is a possibility, is it not?"

He blushed as he laughed under his breath, "Glad it is honestly."

Korekiyo played with the bandages under his sleeve as he tried to ignore the compliment, overlapping a strip with the other, feeling the intense cold emitting from his hand after 3 to 5 years. He absolutely could not live with the -90 degrees Celsius temperature his hands emitted.

Rantaro suddenly clenched his hands as a mysterious warmth came about them. 130 degrees was definitely not warm to most people and him building a resistance to the intense heat, it was REALLY weird to feel something so cold to him.

"What was that?" He said, slightly scared.

"Hm?" Korekiyo promptly stopped playing with his bandages and looked around confused.

"My hands are colder than usual, what's happening?" He clenched his hands as he looked around frantically. He would comment on how ironic this was but this was so sudden. Where were they? They were currently on a flight on stairs no one uses for privacy, which made him even more panicked.

"No one is around us. What are the chances that someone would take these stairs today?" Korekiyo ran his fingers through the rows of bandages as he talked. He felt two rows overlapping each other and promptly fixed it, Rantaro's panic immediately dying down.

"It's gone. I guess I missed my chance, ha," He laughed, embarrassed.

Korekiyo nodded absentmindedly as the realization hit him like a bus.

He was his connotation.

He felt like a prophet, predicting the highly ironic scenario only a few minutes before. What would he do, no, what COULD he do? His friend joked about them being a great couple a few times before but now it's factual?

It was probably better not to think about it.

They sped up their walking, already 10 minutes behind for the long walk from the 1st to the 6th floor, only just arriving on the 3rd floor. This was the most prestigious high school/college in Japan and it takes months for the repair of a single elevator.

There were more important matters to think about than just a broken elevator for Rantaro though. Why were his hands so cold all of a sudden? Building up a strong immunity to his own heat, anything colder would freeze him on the spot. It was strangely nice to feel something different after the heat first developed. He was 5-7 years old then he was scorching everything in his room.

He sighed in contempt. Fun times.

The day went as boringly as every day before that. Korekiyo left his last class in a hurry to finally get some rest, walking through the other two classes dorm setups before arriving to his class' own. He located his room number and awaited the warm breeze from his humidifier before deciding to take a long bath today.

Today was one of the only days he could finally relax from the 2 projects he'd gotten a week ago.

He momentarily forgets his responsibilities in his craving for relaxation. He brings his shampoos, soaps, and a new roll of bandages then fills his bathtub with water. He lays all of his stuff down before getting a new change of clothes, ripping his bandages off beforehand.

His hands immediately decreased the temperature of the room.

He'd always forget about that.

He placed his old clothes in the washing machine, grabbed a hanger of similar looking clothes, and laid them on the couch.

The bathroom was filled with smoke only for a split second after he came into the bathroom. He slowly descended himself into the boiling hot water, not being able to fully relax due to keeping his hands above the water.

The noise from the running water lulled him to lay his back against the cold wall. Nothing seemed so bad anymore. He cupped some water still running down from the faucet and watched it immediately freeze in his hands. The curves and droplets that were still afloat from the impact froze on the spot as soon as they came only a few centimeters from his hands.

The mushroom shaped figure won't melt in the vicinity, luckily; he wouldn't be able to capture something like this a second time. Korekiyo placed the figure on the sink before the freezer burn made the patterns opaque.

He cherished art just as much as any art critic. Every stroke on a canvas or any molding on a smooth piece of clay could only be made once, any attempt to recreate it again would be just a pathetic rendition. It caused the artist to only aim for objective perfection in everyone's eyes.

That's why some artists die before their piece was finished.

There was no such thing as objective perfection. The word in itself was already flawed by the time of creation. Humans are supposed to be flawed and having no perfect quality about themselves. Are the students with talents a subject in this? He sat up straight and grabbed his lavender soap, lathering it over his face and the rest of his upper body, rinsing it off by dipping his face into the warm pool under him.

These were one of the moments he wasn't afraid to truly think about his race's worth. He'll share his thoughts with Rantaro tomorrow, when he wasn't half asleep. Something in the back of his mind was irking him to do something, like get out and cover up in some way, but forgetfulness was unavoidable in such relaxation.

Though, for the green haired boy, laying awake in his room, the opposite could be said.

The slightest decrease in temperature in his hands was enough to raise alarm. Where were they? If he had the ability to know where his fated one by the decrease of temperature in his hands, why does it seem so useless in practice?

His eyelids forbade him to go and investigate; his undying curiosity giving way. He didn't like this new feeling coursing through his skin, evident by him keeping his hands under his pillow and placing his head over it in a desperate attempt to revert the temperature back.

After another 20 or 30 minutes, the decrease of approximately 10° went away again, just like that. Twice this happened now and twice he's missed his chance. At this point, he might as well ask his friend when they worked on their project tomorrow. Rantaro settled on not figuring things out by himself anymore when he literally has the encyclopedia of humanity in a form of a friend.

He snuggled into his bed, comfortable with his resolution; comfortable couldn't be said when he woke up the next morning. Being a more laid-back figure allowed him to save energy for more important things like homework and projects but in the mornings he felt absolutely drained, much like today.

Today, he settled on going to his lab, luckily, all he does is plan his trips for his talent exams. He requested this half halfheartedly and when it actually got accepted, he chose to stay in his lab for a month. Half of the fun in traveling is actually choosing where he goes; he could go somewhere popular like France or somewhere obscure like an island near the Bermuda Triangle.

That's the beauty of Hope's Peak.

He planned to go to Burkina Faso in West Africa for his exam next month. He's heard of it on his last trip to West Africa but forgot to look it up; he'll keep it a surprise when he gets there.

His classes went by fast and the evening stars were sparkling in the sky; a knock on his door averted his eyes. Korekiyo greeted him and walked inside.

"I'll fix us some drinks. Prepare everything whilst I'm gone," He said as he walked into his kitchen.

The bandages Korekiyo wrapped around his hands were sloppy as he hasn't done it in years but he didn't mind. He thought about the purpose of the deadly temperature his hands encompassed and decided to use it.

He made some peppermint tea with extra sugar and slightly cold water then filled a medium sized bowl with water halfway. He then uncovered the tip of his finger and slightly hovered it over the water; the frost immediately covering the top of the water.

In a second or two, the water was completely frozen, and tough enough to not melt for a solid 6 hours. He put their drinks inside of the bowl and sat it on the table next to them.

"That's pretty cool, no pun intended, " Rantaro said as he took his drink.

"Hm-mh, -90 degrees is actually somewhat useful in some cases, but I'm not an advocate for such... drastic temperatures." He sat down next to Rantaro who curled his fingers in visible discomfort. Korekiyo ignored it before he did it again and again and again.

"Is something wrong? There is some obvious fidgeting that needs to be attended to beforehand." His voice was stern, but in a caring way. Like an unearthing hatred that was disrupting them from continuing.

"Ah, it's the cold hands again. It's not worth looking for right now. We have stuff to do anyways." He waved it off, embarrassed.

Korekiyo nodded suspiciously and worked along with it anyways. The bandages didn't have glue on it's underside, so it was easy for the cheap rags to slip off of his fingers.

"You need some help with those?" He pointed to the bandages with his pencil.

"No, no. I am quite alright." The male in question scurried to get the tangled strips together but stopped when the concerned male held the underside of his hands; offering to help his distraught friend anyways.

"Trust me. I've done it on myself and other's when there was an avalanche on one of the mountains we were climbing. I can help you."

Korekiyo let his arms go limp in defeat. They had better stuff to do rather than tend to his needs.

Rantaro untangles the dangling bandages from around his slender fingers, starting from the fingers down. He grazed against the soft surface of Korekiyo's palm once or twice and he hasn't felt anything colder in his life.

It was like putting his hand against the ground of Alaska every time he slightly grazes his skin against his palm but it felt warm somehow.

He wrapped the last strand around his wrist and twisted it around carefully, seeing if he left gaps in between each strand. Korekiyo observed his invasive eyes and his curious hands; not wanting to interject.

Something in his mind told him to grip his hands but leaving the reason why just out of his memory's reach.

Until he actually did it.

The memory of him figuring it out crashed back to him like a bus; the present moment overshadowed it. An very much welcomed warmth stopped both of their movements in an instant. Rantaro exhaled a breath that he didn't even know he had and unknowingly held on.

"I kind of called it a few days ago, lucky me." Rantaro grinned and removed his own, feeling the warmth slowly coming back to his hands rather than an instant change back to his own.

"You are always indifferent to things like this. Such calmness could only come from you Rantaro." Korekiyo resided his hands onto his lap and peered over to the forgotten homework.

"Do you like that about it me?" Rantaro grinned wider and turns his chair towards the table infront of them.

"Fate requires that I say yes," Korekiyo chuckled lowly, "Truthfully, I do. Others would scream and yelp but you smile and embrace the moment. How admirable." Korekiyo picked up his pencil again and continued working, Rantaro following suit.

"You always make something so beautiful with the simplest of things."

Korekiyo looked over, "Is that what you like about me?"

He nodded, "Yeah." Rantaro said confidently.