Ogawa High School

My love, my flower to the end of the day

How reassuring I've lost my way.

To be with you amongst these thorns

As my sleeve is caught and suddenly torn.

Without knowing what path I'm on

To slip into the evergreen on your lawn.

Your beauty I have endowed from afar

A sweet kiss upon the wind's….

Amaya's hand stopped. She had no idea what would come after the part she wrote. The poem was beautiful, but lacking serious emotion in her eyes. She wondered if someone else happened upon it, if they would bother to change it, or accept it the way it was. She stared at the paper. The words had already molded with the paper and could not be changed. What was she trying to say exactly? She wasn't sure. Her eyes lifted to look out of the window behind her desk.

Amaya watched her neighbor walk outside with the trash. Her eyes fell onto the top of the other boy's head. His hair is almost as dark as mine. I wonder where he's from originally. The boy had moved in a month prior. Amaya hadn't bothered to introduce herself. She didn't believe in being too familiar with others. To her, it was pointless because the world changed so much. Why bother when things never stayed the same?

Amaya turned around to acknowledge her raven, as he started to make noises in his cage. "I don't care," she said unemotionally. "I won't go introduce myself. It's rather pointless to get to know someone who will change unexpectedly." The raven started to bite the bars with his long beak. "Complaining about it doesn't change my decision." Amaya watched her neighbor leave the house and wave to his mother. "I have class, anyway." She rose to retrieve her bag. Amaya chunked it over her shoulder. The poem would have to wait.

Amaya watched other high school kids walk in groups, or ride their bikes together. She was always walking alone with her hands in her pockets, her long black hair shielding her face. She didn't want to be in those kinds of groups. Most of the kids in those groups were happy and loud. Amaya was a quiet teenager who didn't pry. She supposed it was because nothing mattered to her. She kept her eyes focused on the sidewalk as she walked. A piece of paper blew towards her. She looked up to see her neighbor chasing it. Amaya snatched the paper before it went past her. The boy skidded on his feet and stopped to stare at her. She held out the paper for the boy.

Kiyoshi blinked at the black haired girl who caught his homework. He thought he recognized her as the girl who lived next door. Kiyoshi never saw her out of the house until now. He took his homework from the girl slowly, averting his eyes out of embarrassment. "Thank you," he said softly.

Amaya just stared at the boy. She walked past her neighbor keeping her eyes straight ahead. She didn't glance back at him. Amaya didn't want to question him why he was careless with his homework. She didn't particularly care.

Kiyoshi watched the girl walk away not. She didn't say anything. He wondered why she hadn't spoken. What was her problem exactly? Kiyoshi didn't know. He tucked his homework into his bag. He glanced at his watch. Class started in fifteen minutes. He started to run down the block. It wasn't wise to be late for Literature.

Kiyoshi stared out of the window as the teacher spoke about blossoms, trees, poetry – something he didn't understand. He watched a bird zoom through the courtyard. Kiyoshi's mind was on the previous morning. He hadn't suspected running into his neighbor. Everyone on the street had introduced themselves to him – it was customary. As he stared out of the window, the teacher tapped his desk. Kiyoshi looked up into the hard face of Mrs. Choshizen. She was giving him a look that made him think her body had been snatched by aliens, or ghosts.

"Mr. Takahashi, I am assuming there is something more interesting out of the window than my lecture about poetry in the seventeenth century? If it will be on your test Thursday, let me know," she said as she drifted away from him.

Kiyoshi froze. She didn't appear to be using her feet. He couldn't tell exactly because his teacher dressed in attire that was suitable for the century she was talking about in lecture. Kiyoshi found himself wishing she dressed in the twenty-first century, not the seventeenth. She glided across the room to tap her ruler on another desk to wake another student. The boy she had disturbed seemed a bit surprised as he fell out of his chair. That woman weirds me out. She's suitable for lecturing in a graveyard.

Sachiko turned around in her chair to look at Kiyoshi. "Hi, good morning, Kiyoshi," she said rather giggly. Her long brown hair flowed over her shoulders. She had decided to curl her hair today. "Mrs. Choshizen is wearing the proper dress that a Lord's wife from Britain would have worn almost three hundred years ago."

Kiyoshi raised a brow at Sachiko. Nothing was peculiar to that girl. "I wonder if her underwear is from three hundred years ago," he found himself saying.

Sachiko tilted her head thinking as she placed her finger by her mouth. "No, I don't think so," she said quite seriously. "They didn't wear underwear that far back."

Kiyoshi tensed. Sachiko had successfully created a horrible vision in his head about Mrs. Choshizen. He started to rub the palm of his hands against his forehead, trying to bore the image out of his mind.

Sachiko looked at the clock. "Oh, class is over." All of the students stood up and bowed low to the teacher. Sachiko walked out of the class as Kiyoshi followed her. He had a terrible look on his face. "Poetry isn't that hard, Kiyoshi. If you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything," she said smiling at him. "I'll see you later." She waved at him as she took down the hall.

Kiyoshi made his way to art class. He didn't mind art so much. It was poetry he didn't understand. Art was basically what you saw, or how you viewed certain things. He passed the other students as he went down the flight of stairs. As he stopped at the bottom of the stairs, he noticed the girl he had ran into earlier that morning. His new neighbor was looking out of one of the main windows down the corridor. Kiyoshi wondered what she was looking at. He watched as the girl kept scratching his head while looking down at a notepad. The dark haired girl put the pad away, glanced out of the window again, and then went on her way down the hall. Kiyoshi wondered about something for a moment. He sighed. It wasn't like him to be nosey. Kiyoshi started to follow her.

Amaya couldn't figure out the poem she had written that morning. It was driving her mad. The more she looked into the small notepad she kept in her pocket, the more discouraged she became. She felt she was losing the meaning of it. Sometimes writing came to a poet easily and sometimes it didn't. It was one of those things. She stopped. Slowly, she turned her head. She sensed someone following her. Amaya kept her eyes down the corridor for a moment before she turned the corner slowly. There was someone following her alright.

Kiyoshi walked down the corridor slowly looking around at the boards. He wondered where this particular one went. He had never been down here before. Kiyoshi was normally a good student who went straight to his classes and sat quietly. Why was he choosing to skip his art class to follow his neighbor? He had no idea really. It defiantly wasn't like him. As Kiyoshi turned the corner, he looked to the left and to the right. He didn't see the dark haired girl anywhere. There weren't any classes down here.

Kiyoshi noticed how dark the hallway was down here. He wondered why the lights weren't on. Then again, maybe this hall was where the janitor stored all of the extra desks and supplies. The further he walked, the more unease he felt. It was as if someone was watching him. He was nearing the corner that led down another hall when he stopped. Kiyoshi's eyes went wide. There was someone behind him. He tensed as his heart started to race.

"Why are you following me," Amaya asked as she looked at the boy in front of her. The boy whirled around to stare at her, his eyes wild. She had scared him. "It serves you right for stalking someone. What interest am I to you?"

Kiyochi almost snapped. He wanted to throw an eraser at her for scaring him half to death. "I was only curious! You didn't have to stand there like a vampire and watch me from the shadows!" He watched the girl step towards him. Eiji blushed. His neighbor was rather serious and held her voice low for the most part. She was unusual.

Amaya looked over the boy with a gaze that showed no threat and no real concern. "Is it a habit of yours to be this curious?" The boy wasn't answering her. Amaya raised her eyebrow at the boy. "Pervert," she said finalizing him.

Kiyochi's mouth dropped. "I am not a pervert! I didn't mean to stalk you. I only recognized you from earlier and was trying to figure out… who you were exactly," Kiyochi said as he looked away from the girl's dark eyes.

Amaya guessed there was no helping the matter. When she had seen Kiyochi, he was often alone. She could even see into his room quite easily. "Kobayashi Amaya." The boy looked up at her suddenly. "You said you were curious."

Kiyochi snapped to and bowed low. It was customary to give names first. He had forgotten his manners so easily. "Takahashi Kiyochi," he said as he raised his head. He looked down the dark hall. "What is down here anyway?"

Amaya stepped back. She glanced at the dark rooms. "Rooms that are no longer used. I am not sure what they were for. Maybe they used them years ago for classes. What is your interest regarding them?"

"Um, I was just asking," Kiyochi said. He watched Amaya walk past him towards the corner. "Don't you have class right now?"

"No," Amaya answered as she stopped. "I take care of the wounded birds in our sanctuary. That is what is at the end of the halls. Yet, I am surprised you are not in class."

"Well, I kind of skipped it, I guess," Kiyochi said as he watched Amaya glance at him. He straightened his posture. The girl before him was quite formal.

"I wouldn't let that be a habit of yours," Amaya stated. "They might forgive you once, but tardiness is something they don't take too lightly here. I've known a few who ended up scrubbing all of the windows on a Saturday." She watched Kiyochi just stare at her for a moment. "Well, are you coming, or not?"

Kiyochi felt funny. He stepped a few feet towards Amaya. "You want me to follow you?"

"You might as well. If you're caught sneaking around while students are in class, it won't look very good for your record," she said as she started to turn the corner. Kiyochi was behind her, walking cautiously. The hall they walked was old. It wasn't used anymore. Amaya only took this path because she could avoid most from the main path to the bird sanctuary.

"Isn't it unusual for a school to have a bird sanctuary," Kiyochi said as he started to hear the familiar sounds of birds making light noises through two thick doors.

"Yes, but our school isn't exactly normal," Amaya said. "The sanctuary was added by the late principal Mr. Yoshida. He adored birds. There was a school festival that earned money to build it. The birds were taken in from the zoo that used to be in our town. Since the economy went bad, they lost all funding and could no longer care for them. So every year, we raise money to help them."

Kiyochi shut his eyes as Amaya opened one of the doors. He was blinded by light instantly. He walked in with the girl admiring all of the vegetation. "Well, that would explain why I never noticed this place before," he said as he looked up into the ceiling. The bird sanctuary was completely covered with vines. "How long ago did the principal build this place?"

Amaya reached her hand up as a small green lovebird landed on her finger. "I'm sorry. You must have assumed I meant it had been built recently. The sanctuary has been here for forty years. It would take that much time for the vines to grow around it. No one comes here but me and the janitor. It's his job to clean up after them and mine to feed them."

"Oh, I see," Kiyochi said as he heard a few rainbow parrots make their noises off into the distance. As he walked with Amaya, he focused on all sorts of birds that were flying about. The girl was checking the birdseed in rectangular tins that were nailed to certain posts along the path. Kiyochi supposed the birds were fed from these. He heard water falling. "There's a waterfall in here?"

"Just a small one. It falls into the pond that's in the center of the sanctuary," Amaya said as they walked towards it. She moved her hand to gesture towards it. "It's the main water source for the birds. We try to keep all impurities out of it."

Kiyochi looked over the side of it. "I thought you said you were the only who came in here," he said looking at Amaya. A small girl with blond hair was swimming in the water happily. She appeared to be bathing in the water. "Ah! That can't be good for the birds," Kiyochi said as he averted his eyes quickly.

Amaya decided to look over the rail to see exactly what Kiyochi was panicking about. Her eye twitched. "Mae, get out of the water! That's for the birds," she said seriously annoyed. "Are you using soap? That'll make them sick!"

Mae looked up to see Amaya standing on the ledge. She was standing with some boy she had never seen before. She waved happily. "Hi, Amaya! The water's nice and cold. Do you want to get in with me?" She watched the older girl turn her head disgusted. "Oh, don't be like that. I had to take a bath somewhere. This was the nicest place I could think of."

"Why did she choose to do it in a place such as this," Kiyochi said. He watched Amaya walk off to open a gate that led down to the water. Kiyochi followed her. They walked down a bunch of steps made of rock. Kiyochi noticed the steps led off to the left and went into a cave under the waterfall. "Where are we?"

"It's a secret hideaway that was added to the sanctuary. It was supposed to be used to stock cargo, but we've found other uses for it," Amaya said as she passed a sleeping bag. It appeared Mae had made the cave her home for the time being. She looked at the girl as she waded at the edge of the water. "Are you going to stay in the water, or are you going to come out?"

Mae tilted her head. Her green eyes looked to the brown haired boy that was with Amaya. "Who is your friend? Is he one of us? No? It's not like you to associate with anyone that's normal." She smiled and laughed.

"Mae, stop saying useless things and come out of the water. Who told you it was alright to stay here?" Amaya watched the girl exit the water with a towel. She shook herself off like a dog, laughing.

"I thought it would be okay. You're the only one that's here during the day. That old man doesn't come until night. I don't let him see me. It's okay isn't it," Mae asked as she grabbed another towel to dry her hair.

"I told you to stay out of sight when you visited. Note I said, visited. Not, stay, Mae. If you are found here, they'll ask questions. I don't need to be interrogated," Amaya said. She watched Mae bounce happily towards Kiyochi. "Oh, no." She put her hand to her forehead. "I feel head tension."

Mae looked up at the tall boy. "You are quite normal, aren't you?" She smiled big. "I'm Yoshida Mae. Who are you?" She started to walk around the boy inspecting his clothes and posture.

Kiyochi tensed. He felt vulnerable with the younger girl watching him like that. "I'm Takahashi Kiyochi. Why are you looking at me like that?" He watched as the girl bounced up at him smiling.

"To make sure you're who you say you are," Mae said with her arms out.

"Why would I be anyone else," Kiyochi said as he watched Amaya grab Mae by the shoulders. She dragged the young girl away from Kiyochi. "You two are being awfully peculiar."

"Kiyochi, you should get back to class. The period is almost over. If you're found out of the building, they will send someone to look for you," Amaya warned. She made Mae sit. "Say 'goodbye' to Kiyochi. It's not fitting for him to associate with you while he is in class."

"Aw, Amaya, I don't want him to go. No one ever talks to me," Mae complained. "I'm tired of playing with toys." Mae started to whisper. "Can't you make a double ganger of him so he could play with me?"

"No, not this time. I'm not doing you any favors since you swam in the birds' water. Now I have to clean it. I hate cleaning water. It's time consuming," Amaya said. She turned her gaze to Kiyochi who was watching them blankly. "You need to go. Do you remember where the back doors are?"

"Yes, it's not that difficult to find," Kiyochi said scratching his head. "Well, I'm sure you're going to scold her or something. I'll be on my way. I'll just tell them I was sick or something," Kiyochi said as he waved to Mae. "Nice meeting you." He walked out of the cave with Amaya and Mae talking. Kiyochi wondered what the big secrecy was to this place. He went up the stone steps. Once he neared the top, he took one last look at the water. There were soap bubbles flowing to the sides. Kiyochi headed towards the double doors.

"What have you told him, Amaya," Mae asked. "I'm surprised you haven't befriended him sooner. Isn't he the boy that lives next door to you now?"

"I really don't like how you read someone's mind without asking," Amaya said. She looked out at the water. She raised her hand and held it parallel over the surface. "I don't befriend anyone. I'm really not allowed to," she said as a flash of light swept over the pond. The soap bubbles started to deteriorate. She sent another wave of light over it to get rid of the impurities. "How much of the bubble bath did you use?"

"The whole bottle," Mae said smiling as Amaya rolled her eyes. She watched the older boy use his magic to get rid of the impurities. It was going to take a while alright. "Don't be angry with me, Amaya. I can do you a favor in return for cleaning up the mess."

Amaya threw her notepad at the small girl. "Get started. I'm stuck on the last part. There is nothing that comes to mind for what I want to say."

Mae looked at the notepad. He read it aloud, "My love, my flower to the end of the day. How reassuring I've lost my way. To be with you amongst these thorns, as my sleeve is caught and suddenly torn. Without knowing what path I'm on, to slip into the evergreen on your lawn. Your beauty I have endowed from afar-A sweet kiss upon the wind's…. Oh, I see. You simply lost your train of thought. You were looking at Kiyochi at this point. I feel it on the paper," she said smiling. Amaya gave her a serious look. "Okay, I'll try to put something in." She had to think for a moment. "Why don't we change the last word? How's this? Your beauty I have endowed from a way – a sweet kiss upon the wind's sunshine rays. Does that suite you?"

Amaya lowered her hand. "The water's clean. Don't put bubbles in it again unless you want to clean it yourself. It will take you a lot longer. Your skills aren't as advanced as mine."

"Aw, you're being cruel," Mae said as she stuck her bottom lip out. "I fixed your poem, too." She handed the pad back to Amaya. She watched her friend stand still looking out at the other end of the cave entrance. "Are you going to go back to class? It's not like they can teach you anything you don't already know."

"I am not sure," Amaya said. "What kind of reading did you get from him," she asked watching Mae blink her eyes. She was aware that's what the little girl was doing when she was moving around Kiyochi earlier.

"Well, he seems to be very genuine. He has a good soul. He is quite lonely. I got that off of him. He pushes it far back into his mind. Kiyochi comes from a decent family. His father was laid off at his last job. That's why they moved here. His mother is working to clean houses for some small company in town. They are comfortable, but find it hard to settle some debt that they have to manage. I was trying to find that out, but you interrupted me, Amaya," she whined.

"That's enough information on him. I don't want to know too much about him. As long as he's normal, we're fine," Amaya said as she took a key out of her pocket. She stuck it into the cave wall. A strange door appeared with designs all over it. "If you want, I can bring you some nice things to eat. But only as long as you keep out of trouble."

Mae smiled happily. "I promise I won't leave the cave!" She watched Amaya walk into the closet she had unlocked. Mae sat on the cave floor. She took out one of her vintage toys and started to move the puppet around. "Sanshi, I think Amaya doesn't want to get close to Kiyochi because she's afraid she's going to be attached to him. Do you think so, too?" Mae made the puppet dance and nod his head. "I agree. It's been almost sixty years since Amaya has had a friend. Ever since Tanuka died, she hasn't been the same. It was a very long time ago and she's had enough time to get over it. Let's hope Kiyochi will become great friends with her!" The puppet danced in Mae's lap enthusiastically.

Kiyochi returned home once school was over. He walked down the sidewalk with his hands in his pockets, his mind on the previous day. He had to admit that when he skipped art class, it had been more interesting than just drawing a still life. As he put his hand on the gate to his house, he looked up at the house next door. It was dark inside. Amaya wasn't home. He wondered if the girl checked on the birds in the sanctuary twice a day. He didn't know for sure.

Kiyochi could see straight into the upstairs bedroom. It was almost right across from his. He averted his eyes as he pushed the gate open. Kiyochi went inside. He took his shoes off and proceeded to go to the kitchen. He was putting off his assignment. Kiyochi didn't understand poems. As he drank out of the orange juice carton he turned his head to see a piece of paper on the counter. He lowered the carton and picked up the paper. "What's this?" It was a poem of some sort. Kiyochi walked up the stairs with the poem in his hand. He went to his room. As he sat on his bed, he took off his jacket, unbuttoning it. His eyes were focused entirely on the delicate handwriting.

My love, my flower to the end of the day

How reassuring I've lost my way.

To be with you amongst these thorns

As my sleeve is caught and suddenly torn.

Without knowing what path I'm on

To slip into the evergreen on your lawn.

Your beauty I have endowed from a way

A sweet kiss upon the wind's sunshine rays.

Never has a smile, nor faithful glance

Caught me still in this trance

For I have sought and never found

A heart such as yours that I whilst to be bound.

The day has caught me in its trap

My gaze constantly in a wrap

Of your tender, calm embrace

That I wish to know by face.

For chosen am I to be

As a boat rocking on the seas

But with you there is that hope

That frees me from my ensnared ropes.

So as the day presses to dawn

My love is fleeting – growing on

How my chances cannot be so

For you are me, and I am a repose.

Kiyochi read the poem again, slower. He looked at it. It wasn't just writing to him. Whoever who had written this, was very charismatic with poetry. He tried to decipher the handwriting. He didn't know whose it was. His parents weren't writers. "I wonder where this came from. It's absolutely beautiful. And I actually understand it," he said holding the paper up to the light through the window as if it could unlock its own code.

Kiyochi bit his lip, thinking. "Stealing it wouldn't be fair. I have to make one in my own words. But maybe I can use this to give me suggestions." He took out his notepad and pen from his back pack. "Alright, whoever wrote this is talent. I'll give him that. I need to be just as talented." Kiyochi didn't know what to write about. He thought back to the morning. "Poets write about whatever is on their minds…" Kiyochi's mind was constantly going back to the bird sanctuary he had found about that morning. He started to write.

Mae looked up at Amaya as they stood in the dark of the bedroom. Mae wanted to speak but the older girl was keeping her hand over her mouth. She wondered why the poem was given to Kiyochi. Finally, her hand came off, and Mae could breathe easier. "Amaya, why'd you give the poem you worked on to Kiyochi?"

Amaya watched Kiyochi start to write in his room. The other boy was constantly scratching his head and looking back at his poem. "He needed it to help him. That's why I gave it to him."

"Yes, but you snuck into his house. How do you know they don't have home security or something?"

"You were the one that told me his family was taking care of a debt. Which means, they couldn't afford something like that," Amaya said. "And if they do have home security and I got caught, you're in the same amount of trouble because you followed me."

"You really can't take a joke very well," Mae said in her sweet voice. She smiled. "So you were trying to help Kiyochi with his homework. Is that your official answer in denial?" Amaya looked down at her with the same blank gaze she gave everyone. "So that's a 'yes'."

Amaya waved her hand in front of her body. The curtains closed themselves so Kiyochi couldn't see in. She snapped her fingers. The raven started to make his normal bird sounds again. She looked back at the curtain as if she could see Kiyochi writing as he sat on his bed.

Mae went to look at the raven in his cage. She tilted her head. "Why don't you get a real bird? Dosu's been dead for almost twenty years. There are other pets you could have." She put her finger through the cage. It went straight through the bird.

"I like Dosu," Amaya said. She went to rummage through her clothes. "If you want something to sleep in, you need to get over here so I can fit you." She took out a few shirts for Mae to borrow. "When are you going home?"

Mae crossed her arms as Amaya snatched her shirt off. Before she knew it, she had on an old faded t-shirt. "I'm not ever going home. Father wants me to be in the Kiyoi Guard. I don't want to be a guard. There's not any excitement in it. I'd rather be with you," she said happily.

"If Lord Sumato catches you with me, it'll be both of our heads, Mae. I do not wish to see you punished for it," Amaya said. "I've kept hidden from his sight for sixty years. I do not wish to have his daughter in my presence if I'm caught. It would mean treason on your part."

Mae sat on the floor watching Amaya stand in front of her. The older girl put her fingertip to her nose, and then turned around with her hand out in front; index finger raised and thumb out. She was checking the magical barriers she had placed on the house. It took quite a lot of magic to be able to seal her location. Mae had been searching for Amaya for a very long time. She wasn't able to get in the house without her friend due to the strong magic upon it.

Amaya sighed. "We're still safe. If he finds us, or basically me, we're all in a world of trouble." She reached into her pocket for a few pebbles. Amaya blew on them. They changed from their gray color to match the outside of the house. She threw them at each wall, the floor and the ceiling. The pebbles sunk into the foundation. They appeared on the outside as round carvings with eyes and flat mouths.

"That's the real reason you parted earlier! You went to get Ogoe alarms for the house!" Mae knew about those kinds of alarms. They sounded off whenever someone with high magical abilities came within 50 km of the thing they were guarding. "Amaya, is this why you don't go out? Those types of alarms take a lot of magic."

"I don't go out at night because I can never spot an enemy too easily. It's was always one of my drawbacks as a Kiyoi Guard. It'd hard to see figures in the night sky or in dark places when there isn't the right amount of light." She sat in her chair at the desk. Carefully, she moved the curtain way to check on Kiyochi. The boy was throwing paper around annoyed at his own writing.

"Is there a reason you have stayed in this spot for so long? It's not that secluded out here, "Mae said watching her friend let the curtain fall back into place. "It's easier to get lost in a huge city than a small town. Even you know that."

Amaya looked down at her paper on the desk. "I haven't felt like moving. Something has always told me to stay here. It's like my feet were rooted here before I knew where this place was. I don't know why I feel like that. It's not normal."

Mae smiled. "You've found somewhere to belong. Kind of odd that it was in the normal mortal world though. This place is interesting and different from ours, but they can't use magic, Amaya. Everything takes more effort here."

"Perhaps that's why I like it, you silly girl," Amaya said. "In our world, we study a lot of spells and read books to gain knowledge. Here, you have to be out in the world to experience it. Everything changes every seconds of the day in the mortal world. It may not be spectacular, but it's not predictable like ours. It's also less formal."

"I guess so," Mae said as she crawled into Amaya's bed. "Are you going to class tomorrow, or are you only checking on the birds?" She crawled under the sheets.

"I'm only going to check on the birds. It's the weekend here. They don't attend school constantly like we do. I promise not to be too loud." She flicked on the lamp at her desk. "Get some sleep, Mae. Maybe I'll take you to the fair tomorrow."