Alright everyone, I'm finally back with something that's longer than a little poem or a drabble. :) I'm excited and a bit nervous at the same time, I haven't actually done a full story in quite some time and this will be my first published work in this fandom... So, as always; enjoy reading and if you feel like it, drop a line for me afterward if you feel that I did something wrong or if something could be improved on.
-High School, First year-
"Hey Saru, where's Misaki?" A young girl asked as she approached him, taking a seat beside him against the fencing that surrounded the rooftop of their middle school.
"Probably getting himself thrown into detention, again." Saruhiko drawled lazily, handing the girl one of the three bento's he'd snagged from the school cafeteria.
Her laughter rang in his ears as she accepted the lunch with a nod of thanks. "That sounds about right." She picked up her chopsticks and was about to dig in when she realized that Saruhiko wasn't even looking at his own lunch. "Are you really going to wait? He might not even make it up here before our next class begins." When Saruhiko merely shook his head again and continued staring lazily up at the cloudy sky above their heads, the girl heaved a small sigh and set her bento back down next to the others.
"You don't have to wait with me." Saruhiko yawned, laying down on the concrete and folding his hands behind his head.
"Then you eat too." Was the girl's stubborn reply.
"You know Sora, stubbornness like that is extremely unattractive." Saruhiko retorted with a grin, sitting up and moving out of range before she could hit him. "And so is a violent temper."
"Oh shut up." Sora glared at him but picked her bento back up regardless, digging into its contents so she wouldn't have to continue her conversation with the annoying monkey in front of her.
Sora was in the middle of stuffing another chunk of rice into her mouth when the access door to the roof slammed open, a pissed off looking Misaki stalking over to them. "Oi Saru, Sora-san." Misaki grumbled in greeting, sitting himself down between his two friends and taking the bento that Saruhiko offered him.
"How many days did you get this time?" Sora asked around a mouthful of rice and omelet, eyeing her hot-tempered friend curiously.
"A week." Misaki replied before starting on shoveling down his own lunch.
Now that everyone was there, Saruhiko picked up his own lunch and started to eat as well, after shoving all of the vegetables onto Misaki and Sora's dishes of course.
"Again Saru?" Misaki frowned but ate the offered vegetables anyway, no need to waste free food after all. "You're gonna stay scrawny like that forever you know?"
"And you're going to stay short forever." Saruhiko countered without missing a beat, picking up Misaki's untouched milk and downing half of its contents.
"I will not!" Misaki snapped back with an indignant huff.
"Alright you two, call a truce. I'm not taking anyone to the nurses office today…" Sora put her empty lunch container down and leaned back against the fencing and closed her eyes.
Misaki looked like he was about to turn and snap at her as well, but stopped short when he saw the amused grin tugging at the corners of her lips. "…che, fine dammit." The chestnut haired boy relented, gulping down the last of his lunch and setting the container on top of Sora's empty one.
Saruhiko was relieved to be able to finish the rest of his lunch in relative silence; Misaki had taken out his music player and pulled on his headphones and in his peripheral vision, he noticed Sora leaning back against the fencing with her face upturned toward the grey sky, quietly humming along with the song playing out of Misaki's headphones. He was about to stretch back out and welcome a small nap before class when his eye caught the discolouration along the underside of her jaw. Discretely, Saruhiko turned his head slightly so he could get a better look, his lips curling into a scowl as he counted the myriad of bruises that ran along her skin. The ages were different, varying shades of blacks, purples, yellows and greens that only stood out to him now that her head was tipped back, and Saruhiko's hand unconsciously clutched at the handle of one of his throwing knives that he'd stashed inside the sleeves of his uniform coat.
Feeling a pair of eyes on her, Sora lowered her head and turned to her friend, the questioning look on her face quickly melting into one of realization as she figured out just what her friend had been staring so intently at.
Before Saruhiko could ask, Sora simply shook her head, motioning down at their dozing friend.
Don't say anything, he's gotten into enough trouble today.
Saruhiko understood the wordless message instantly, the hard set of his features being reply enough.
You're going to tell me about it later then.
Sora put her hand over her mouth to partially quiet the small laugh that bubbled up from her throat, giving her friend a small, apologetic smile. "Don't worry about it." She assured him, speaking softly so Misaki didn't hear over his headphones. "Things will work out somehow."
The rest of the day was rather uneventful, and Sora went her separate way after school, claiming that she had some stuff back at her apartment to take care of. Misaki shrugged it off and waved at her as he walked away, dragging a slightly reluctant Saruhiko behind him.
The next day when the two boys arrived at school an hour and a half late, Sora was nowhere to be seen. Saruhiko had asked a couple of their classmates about it, but they all just said the same thing; Sora hadn't come to school that day. Saruhiko returned to Yata's side at lunch that day and told his friend what he'd found out.
"Yea, the guys in my class said the same thing." Misaki told him around a mouthful of food. "She probably just overslept and didn't feel like coming in, she's done that before."
Despite Misaki's assurances, Saruhiko couldn't let go of the nagging feeling in the back of his mind. He went along with things like normal though, but by the third day even Yata's seemingly-never ending optimism was beginning to fade. Saruhiko would now catch his friend staring out at the city from the rooftop at lunch as if searching the streets for her, and when he passed by his classroom Saruhiko would see him staring blankly out the window, obviously trying to think up a reason as to where she was.
The next day the two of them made a choice; they were going to see what the hell was going on with Sora. Instead of getting up and heading for school that day, the two boys headed toward her apartment. They arrived at the small, run-down building and went up to her door, Saruhiko reaching up and knocking on the splintering wood.
When no one answered, Misaki took it upon himself to bang on the door, nearly falling over himself as the door opened. The two of them entered the apartment slowly, taking in their almost completely destroyed surroundings. The few pieces of ratty furniture that Sora had were tipped over, some of them broken beyond all possible repair, and glass shards and other broken objects littered the floor around their feet. Saruhiko felt a hand suddenly gripping his arm and looked down, Misaki's hand was clenched tightly in the fabric of his uniform jacket, staring wide-eyed at the space around them with disbelief written all over his face.
"Sora…san…"
-Present day, Scepter4 Dormitories-
Saruhiko sat bolt upright on his bed, one trembling arm supporting himself while his other hand went to hold his head, tangling in sweat-dampened hair. Feeling the cold sweat running down his skin, Saruhiko stripped himself of his pajama shirt as quickly as he was capable of and wiped at his clammy skin, as if ridding himself of the sweat that clung to him could wipe his mind of the horrible memory. Throwing his blankets off and grabbing his glasses from the bedside table Saruhiko pulled himself up out of bed and went to turn on his bedroom light.
"…Only six…dammit…" Saruhiko heaved a frustrated sigh as he turned his attention away from the clock and to his disheveled bed. There'd be no more sleep for him today it seems. Saruhiko could never get himself back to sleep after re-living a memory of his past like that. The blue found himself idly wondering if his little Misaki was plagued with dreams like this, but he dismissed the thought almost as quickly as it came. Misaki barely paid HIM any attention anymore, why the hell would he give a damn about a girl he hasn't seen in years?
Saruhiko glanced out his bedroom window and frowned slightly when he noticed the grey, stormy skies stretching the expanse of the city. A gnawing ach settled deep in his stomach when the sight brought the image of her destroyed apartment back to the forefront of his consciousness again.
Today wasn't going to be a good day, Saruhiko knew it.
There you have it everyone, the introduction is done. Until next time~!