The day I met her, was the day I'll never forget.
I, Shizuka Ichinose (Shi-zoo-kah – Ee-chi-no-seh), am the most feared person on campus. I think at every school I was the most feared. Sometimes in the back of my head I think 'maybe I'll get an award or something'. That's unlikely to happen though. People get awards for being the prettiest, smartest, or the most athletic. I am a combination of smartest and most athletic, but it can be a problem. When a nerd wants to secretly surpass me in a subject exam, I always beat them by a score higher than they could ever achieve. Even in sports – there is always someone that wants me to play. The thing is with me, people have to be brave enough to pick me. I know they want to, since I can skin even a tough guy's ass.
Like any normal day of mine, it always starts with a good breakfast, a shower, dressing up and heading off to school. I think you are getting the idea that I'm in high school but that ain't the case. I am in the beginning of my sophomore year in college. I am 21 years old and currently hold a strong position in my job. Where I live, it's cozy enough to be happy. My apartment is on the 8th floor of a 10 story building to the side of the ocean. I know that living by the shore is extremely expensive but I'm renting and had to do every single fix in the home because my landlord is a douche and won't do anything. So I got it real cheap! I also got my vehicle real cheap too. If I wasn't in good terms with the junkyard guy/mechanic, I wouldn't have gotten my sweet ride! My school is only a few miles down the road and all that is in between those few miles is everything I need to live off of. There is a grocery store, a doctor's office, my work, and the junkyard.
I was walking that day with my backpack slung on my shoulder and my eyes to the ground. I was making my way through the courtyard to the parking lot because my classes were over. Not many people were outside, only club members and band. I was walking where a tall wall was beginning to connect to 'the stage'; a platform built of solid concrete standing 5 feet high for the drama department. The wall however was much taller. I walked like this every day because I know that if I looked up as I normally would – people would be frightened of me and because it was the quickest way out. I always wondered why though. Why couldn't people look at me in the eyes? What about me was so intimidating? Whenever I saw my reflection, I saw my figure. Sturdy, strong, midnight hair hung low to my well curved waist, blemish free pale skin, and right between my long bangs were my eyes. When I was born, the doctors didn't know what to think of me. I was born with snow white eyes. My parents always told me that I was special but you'd think I would actually believe it?
"Akima!" someone screamed.
Oh, and another thing. People are afraid of my reflexes.
I had trained long and hard in a dojo on the east side of town for years on end. I had graduated up to a black belt some time ago, maybe till my second year in high school. Or maybe third. Bah, whatever – the thing is that I was a black belt and my sensei sharpened up my senses real good and now I have this 6th sense that in many cases leave people stunned by my actions…and in this case, was the worst.
It took me a minute to gather up all the information about what had just happened because honestly, it went by so fast that my mind went skapoot. I began to realize that my neck was grappled tightly, I had skinned my knee, and was holding a girl in my arms bridal style. But it wasn't any girl. It was Akima Fujino, 2nd year. Her popularity, beauty and grades stung everyone in the heart on campus. Except me. People had already given her 'nicknames' because of her high status and ethnicity. They call her 'onee-san' and 'etoile-sama' because she is Japanese, but honestly I don't know what the hell that means anyway. My father was of Japanese 'descent' but that was a long line down before my family migrated to America and became white with a Japanese surname. The thing is - I don't look Japanese at all. My mother was Italian/German and simply wanted for me to be named after a famous Japanese princess. But I am not a princess. I'm…more like a knight – and for now, I rescued a princess.
Her emerald eyes stared directly into my icy gaze and I could tell she was a little nervous because she bit her lip slightly. We exchanged only glances of gratitude. But, there was something more. Something in her eyes that I did not understand. I fled before she could rise and left the scene without a word.
The thing is that I was terrified.
No one looked at me in the eyes. Nope, not one person. The beauty of her eyes however, made my body tremble. Maybe because it was the first time my eyes met someone else's? My skin burned when she touched my neck with her cold hands. I froze when a light blush crept onto her cheeks. It was really weird and surprisingly true how the rumors of us being opposites were. The only thing I heard from behind me was whispers and small gasps.
The day ended fast.
Since then, life has been the same. My classes, which I have six, are always fast for me. I guess my mind had gotten used to the schedules and they always go by so fast. It's like when I look at the clock and its 2:30 pm, and when I glance after a little note taking it has already been 20 minutes. It's either that I am dying faster or that I take forever to write my notes. I think I am going to die before I know it. Since the 'incident', which was probably a year ago already, I had begun to notice things a little more than normal. I began to notice that 'the princess' wasn't in her classes.
Fujino shared four classes with me. Most of the time she was punctual with her schedule; always arriving before the bell, talking with people in the class, doing makeup before the bell in the class, etc. But every time I came to class during the last month, her seat was vacant. It still seemed like she was there, like as if her spirit was there or something of the sort. Half-mindedly I always ace my assignments which are good for my sake. But, because of my curiosity, I had to ask. After my chemistry class (which was my last for the day), I went to my English teacher, who was down the hall to the left.
I asked him whether she was ok or not. Looking down to the stack of ungraded papers on his cluttered desk, he simply said no. I came back home with a troubled look on my face. Why? I thought. It wasn't like Fujino to be absent. She was the jewel in the crown of the school. It wasn't like her to set a bad example for the younger crowd. Shit, it wasn't like me to worry about someone so much.