A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting. My internet died and was just fixed today.
Skittles
006. No time
The library had become a new refuge. Magazines did nothing for her and so she turned away from them. The next day she had stared blankly at the fiction section, which she only ever visited when she needed to complete a book report before she unintentionally heard someone complaining about the upcoming math test and pulled out a text from the non-fiction section to hopefully assist her.
Her soul was notably relieved by the distraction; the lesson made as much sense as it had the day it had been taught and so she found herself anxious and studying hard. Unfortunately, such habits did not bear fruit overnight, but she had been focusing so entirely on it she didn't note the company until addressed.
'Do you need some help with that?'
She looked up and blinked. Kouichi's face swarmed into view, but he wasn't looking at her. Rather, his eyes were skimming the explanation she had been trying to understand.
There was a soft snort thereafter: a female one. Izumi.
Chiaki was undeniably relieved. They were perhaps the two people in class 1-D who wouldn't ask questions she didn't want to answer.
'I –' Her voice wavered, and she wondered for a moment if it was someone else talking instead of her. The pitch was lower, and the superficial confidence was undeniably absent. 'I'd like that,' she managed finally, turning her gaze back to her book. 'I need a miracle though; the test is next period.'
'You may be surprised,' Kouichi said, taking a seat. 'People tend to forget what's right in front of them when they're stressed.'
007. Trouble lurking
Kouichi patiently explained the lesson, but Chiaki struggled to pay attention. What had started out as a simple math test had evolved into the Holy Grail; she didn't quite understand why, but it almost felt like "do or die". Or "sink or swim" perhaps.
And she was sinking. Fast.
Now that she was aware of company, she found herself constantly looking around, eyes flitting past huddled forms and shadowy corners. Few were even looking her way, however the sensation of a thousand eyes descended the moment she averted her own gaze.
They looked at her. Judged her. Wanted –
'Shimizu-chan?'
She lifted her eyes. Shaky brown met a concerned blue. Blue, like the deep ocean, hiding something dangerous. An outwardly warm appearance, shielding an interior cold where the sun could not penetrate past.
She jerked back and screamed. The echo of pain and terror swelling up within her. A loud shrill scream that turned everyone's gaze towards her.
008. Foreign
Fear, the scape of control – they were all foreign to her but of a few days ago. Before that, she had been admired from a distance but untouchable, however that night had shaken it all to the very core.
She had been lucky, the policeman had said. His disinterest was obvious. Tokyo's crime rates were some of the highest in the world and someone would rape a girl in a corner of a street and most people would walk right past.
The thing was though, you always thought you were safe until it happened to you…or almost happened to you.
The light concussion had seemed like a relief at first, but the shadow memories now did more harm than good. The clawing sensation when someone got too close, the flaring bruises when she was jolted by crowds, and the eyes staring at her: some plainly leering but another pair blue and made of ice.
But as her thudding heart calmed, she realised they weren't the same blue. Or at least, she didn't think they could be. It might have been her brain was playing tricks on her – or hear heart – because she recalled a glint, a steely edge, that wasn't there, but a second of staring at those eyes had sent her soul quaking to her shoes and her mind the same in fear. Stronger than the prickling eyes that followed her everywhere.
But it couldn't be. Or else she didn't want to believe that was so close to her still. So easily another chance, another possibility –
Sitting atop the toilet seat and safely locked in the stall, she jumped violently as the outer door opened with a forced creak.
009. Midday
Everything suddenly seemed unnaturally bright. Fear was catching, and Chiaki's reaction was so sudden yet profound that it brought the attention of every occupant in the library upon them –
Except Chiaki was gone with a parting shriek he could barely grasp, and everybody else was whispering and staring at him. Some blaming, condescending, as if he had done something…except he couldn't imagine what, and he wasn't missing a small chunk of his memories – except that he could have been, because everything had been so sudden.
But the way she had looked at him, and the way everyone was looking at him now, and somebody was reaching for him –
He jerked back. What were they going to do? Drag him somewhere? Hit him? Or –
Her shuttered something and bolted through an opening.
Behind him, the whispers turned into shouts, echoing along a dark corridor.
010. Valium
Izumi bemusedly wondered if the Doctor had filled out the wrong prescription for her and given her a hallucinogenic instead of a contraceptive to help stabilise her monthly (or what was supposed to be her monthly) cycle. She'd known Chiaki since elementary school and never would the girl scream and embarrass herself like that in front of a crowd for no reason. If somebody threw paint all over her (namely Izumi), then that would be a different story, but Kouichi had done absolutely nothing except offer to help her study.
What was even weirder was that Kouichi pulled away from her as if she was coming at him with a mallet. Or a heavy book, like she sometimes did with her boyfriend. However, Takuya had a thick skull, and the frustrated whacks would normally hit his shoulder or bag anyway.
And while Izumi knew they weren't like best friends or anything – there was a wall both of them had erected and neither attempted to break down – she knew the other well enough to know such uncomposed behaviour was rather odd from him. Not as long as Chiaki; she'd met him in junior high school but never really got to know him better than school. They did often wind up paired together though, as Izumi found herself unable to work with most partners but Kouichi was the sort of person who could get along with anybody…except Teruo for some reason. But that led to them studying together occasionally as well, particularly since Izumi's own friends were at different senior high schools (except Tomoki who was in junior high still).
Actually, now that she thought about it, Teruo was the one person who could always make the other's composure slip, and she spent a precious minute scanning all the faces looking for him before finding he was nowhere to be found. Another oddity, as he normally spent his breaks in the library.
She couldn't though help but feel a little hurt that Kouichi had left her like that. She saw a bunch of dominos tumbling without cause, starting with the Prima Donna known as Chiaki – and she could understand the staring, and the need for whispers, but…
Then she caught some of the whispers, and hissed angrily before raising her voice to shut the other up. A moment later – before the librarian saw it fit to throw her out – she stormed away herself, intending to get to the bottom of the little mess her arch rival had caused and wondering what new angle she was going for, dressing the part of the weak victim.