Chapter 2

The Small Hand's first day.

The teacher introduced herself as Homura-sensei. She seemed rather kind at first, but soon revealed a dark side when a group of male students started acting up- making loud profane noises- She forced them at ruler point to teach the lesson themselves, prodding them sharply in the back when they made a mistake. When lunch period came along, she forced them to stay inside the room to either eat there or be hungry.

Ushio turned to look at where the girl had been sitting, noticing that she was in fact there. She stood, approaching the girl. The little silver-haired girl didn't seem ready to go anywhere, as she had not budged from her position. She was just sitting there, eyes half closed with her face in between her folded arms, resting on the desk. For such a small girl, she looked very serious, seeming to be deep in some thought. Her eyes seemed slightly moist, but no tears fell.

Ushio took the seat next to her, causing the girl to look at her through her peripheral. Ushio waved slightly.

"Do you have lunch? Or do you buy from the cafeteria usually?" Ushio asked.

The slight youth shook her head, not really looking at Ushio.

"So you don't have anything to eat?" Ushio continued.

The girl shook her head again.

"Oh, here!" She said, digging into her bag. She handed the girl a small package. Inside was a piece of anpan. "Go ahead!"

The girl looked at it, lifting her head from between her arms slightly. She looked at the anpan, then at Ushio, then back at the bread.

"Are you…?" The girl asked. Her voice sounded uncertain and small, like she hadn't spoken in some time. Come to think of it, Ushio hadn't heard her say anything in the lesson, either.

"Yeah!" Ushio said, "It's alright, my grandparents run a bakery. I've got plenty of food to eat." She smiled.

The girl took the package, unraveling the plastic wrap from around it.

"Um… Thank you." She said, and took a bite.

Ushio laughed, "It's no big deal, I'd feel really bad if I were to just eat in front of you like that. Do you want something to drink? I've got some tea my mom made that I can split between the two of us."

The girl looked at her, uncertain, "Um… Why are you being so nice to me?"

Ushio tilted her head, "I just saw you sitting over here on your own. Hey, could you tell me your name by any chance? I'm Okazaki Ushio, but you can call me Ushio-chan."

The girl looked down at the bread that she'd only taken small bites out of, "Kitamura Yuki." She said.

Ushio smiled, "That's a beautiful name, Yuki." She said.

Yuki said nothing, continuing to stare down at her bread. Ushio smiled, grabbing Yuki's arm and lifting her from the chair, "C'mon, I know a much better place to eat lunch!" She shouted.

"Hey, I-" Yuki exclaimed.

Ushio started sprinting through the school, pulling the reluctant girl along.

"U-Ushio! I'm certain you have other friends you'd rather…" Yuki trailed off, realizing that Ushio hadn't registered her words.

Yuki gulped, "USHIO-CHAN!"

Ushio turned to look at her, "Yes, Yuki-chan?"

"AAAH!" Someone shouted, and Yuki felt herself crash into another person. The world went black, but Yuki still registered the sounds of the school. She realized she was still in control of herself, and lifted up her head. She found herself staring into a pair of blue eyes. She looked down, discovering that her chin was resting on the chest of another first year student. Ushio tilted her head, recognizing the one Yuki had crashed into as the boy that had been speaking to the one she'd waved at in class.

Yuki's face turned a deep red, and she screamed, instinctively thrusting her fist forward and upper cutting the boy, hitting him square in the jaw.

"Auph!" The boy grunted, and Yuki felt herself being lifted up as Ushio pulled her away. The boy was pulled up by the green-eyed one that Ushio had seen earlier.

"Are you alright, Haruki?" The boy asked.

Haruki laughed, "Yeah, I'm good. But wow, that was one heck of a hit! Are you in the boxing club or something?"

Yuki didn't reply, trying her hardest to avoid looking at him.

The boy with green eyes looked at Ushio, "Hey! You're Okazaki Ushio, right?"

Ushio nodded, "Yes, why?"

He smiled, "I used to be in the same class as you, back in kindergarten! Fujibayashi-sensei, remember?"

Ushio gasped, "Oh, I'd thought I'd seen you before! Now I remember!"

The boy nodded, "Yeah, it's me, your old friend Kats-"

"It's been such a long time, Kenta!" Ushio said.

"Huh?" The boy said.

Haruki smiled, "Oh boy, this is going to be fun!"

Yuki tilted her head, "What?"

Haruki laughed, "That's my friend, Makimori Katsuo. People like to say that he's easily forgotten. He keeps running into people from kindergarten, and they've always lost all memory of him. Every single time. He has the funniest reaction."

Yuki looked back up, "Really?"

Katsuo was still talking to Ushio.

"But Kenta moved away halfway through the year!" Katsuo shouted. Yuki noticed other students beginning to stare and whisper.

"I know; it made me so sad!" Ushio whimpered.

"Graah!" Katsuo shouted, turning to the wall. He started viciously slamming his head into it.

"Why-don't-you-remember-why-don't-you-remember-why- don't-you-REMEMBER!" Katsuo exclaimed.

Haruki laughed heartily. For some reason, Yuki's heart skipped a beat when she heard it.

"Oh, wait! Now I remember who you are!" Ushio shouted.

Katsuo turned; face lighting up, "You do?"

Ushio smiled, "I missed you, Kotaro!"

He turned to the wall again, slamming his head into it at a much faster rate this time.

"WhywhywhywhyWHY!" Katsuo shouted.

The bell suddenly rang. It was time to go back to class.

"Uuuuugh…" Ushio groaned.

Yuki tilted her head, "What's wrong, Ushio?"

Ushio said nothing in reply, instead swaying back and forth.

"Hunf… What's wrong, Ushio-chan." Yuki asked.

"I'm so hungry!" Ushio whimpered, and her belly rumbled.

Yuki sighed, "Maybe you should have eaten rather than rushing me across the school, then."

Ushio toppled over, not replying.

"Um… Help?" Yuki said.