Chapter two: Little Genius

WARNING: LANGUAGE

I reached up and pulled down on my cap again. At this rate the wind was going to rip it straight from my head. I brushed my curls back behind my ears again. Could the wind just stop?

I pulled my jacket around me tighter and turned the corner. I hit something hard before my bottom made contact with the ground. "Ow." I was already annoyed this was doing nothing to help my mood. I've had to take ten different tests before the school had finally let me join. It was college and all you needed was your high school diploma right? Wrong. Even if I was valedictorian they weren't ready to just let a twelve year old go to their school.

I looked up with a tiny glare, I wouldn't take it out on them though. I mean it wasn't their fault that the school board is made up of a bunch dicks.

"Sorry, miss." He leaned down closer to me, his hand extended. I ignored that though, I was too busy gawking at his face to even notice it. He was handsome with the wind tossing his gray hair around his head, his gray green eyes seemed to be staring into my very soul. "Uh miss?"

I blinked suddenly realizing that I had been staring. I felt my ears burn in embarrassment, I quickly took his hand after averting my eyes. "Thanks." I kind of whispered and pulled my hand back to readjust my jacket. My cap took that opportunity to leap into the wind. I gasped and tried to grab it but the wind knocked my hair into my vision and the cap danced away from my reach, all the way over to the other side of the street.

I grabbed my shoulder length hair and forced it back and out of my face, "It doesn't look like you'll be getting that back any time soon." I frowned and looked back over at him. His hands were stuffed deep into his pockets of a traditional male yukata. A white haori was draped over his shoulders that billowed in the wind.

"Yeah, well, just watch me." I bit back, glaring again, no matter how handsome he was he was just like all the other guys I've met before. Rude, and arrogant.

I stalked forward readying myself to traipse through traffic, I looked left then right. I took a break for it but something grabbed my shoulders and pulled me back out of the street and onto my sore bottom again.

I looked up with a glare as he looked down at me with a weird face. I couldn't figure out if it was exasperation, worry, annoyance, or all of the above. My hair made a red halo around my vision in the wake of the wind. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" We shouted at each other at the same time. We both intensified our glares for a moment.

The already cloudy sky gave a roar before it split opened and let down the tears of the Gods. It was a torrent of water that wiped down at us, I was soaked with in a minute. "Well fuck." I stood up and pushed my sopping wet hair back and out of my face again.

"Took the words right out of my mouth." He muttered repeating the same motion with his own hair.

I looked over at him, "Just who the hell are you anyways?"

He looked at me with one eye, his hand was covering the other, "Well that was rather rude."

I rolled my eyes, "Well you put me on my ass twice already, I do believe that gives me the right to be rude." I placed a hand at my hip.

He glared at me, dropping his hand to the side, "Well excuse me from keeping you from becoming road kill."

"Who said I was going to be road kill?!" What was up with him? Why was he pushing my buttons so easily? I'm not one who easily slips into anger.

"There are a million and one cars out on that road right now. None of them would feel remorse running you over little girl." My eye twitched. He did not just go there.

"Well fuck you!" I clenched both my fists in front of my chest. "I could fucking kick your ass to kingdom-come and you'd be beaten by this so called little girl. You fucking Ass-hat!"

He snorted, then all out laughed into his hand his other cradled his ribs.

"What the hell." I deadpanned.

"You know your really funny." His laughter died down to a few loose chuckles, "The names Takehito Asama. Whats yours?"

I blinked stupidly for a moment. I lowered my fists and stood up out of my crouch. "Hine Waters."

"Well Hine-san, I'm sorry for running you over and for saving your life." He shrugged a bit.

I felt my shoulders raise for a second then took a deep breath and let it all out. My anger and irritation exited making me feel lighter. "I'm sorry for yelling. Normally I'm not such a bitch."

"Oh?" Takehito raised an eyebrow, "What was wrong?"

I looked at him from the corner of my eye as I faced the street, "I don't mean to sound rude but what makes you think I'd tell a complete stranger why my mood was at rock bottom?"

I saw him shrug, "Donno."

I sighed, was I really that lonely? "My apartments not too far from here, I don't really have clothes you can borrow but I do have a heater." I turned away and began walking in my original direction, my cap was lost. There was no chance I was getting it back any time soon. I wasn't going to wait for an answer, it would be obvious if he joined me or not.

"You won't tell a stranger whats wrong but you'll invite them into your home?" He caught up to my strides, it was rather easy seeing as I still didn't come up to his shoulder. He chuckled, "I have a feeling you'll just say something sassy."

I shrugged, "Is my character that easy to make out?"

He shot me a smile, the only reason I could even see it was because of the street lights. "Hine-san, how old are you?"

We stopped at the stop lights. I hit a button for the walk signal before turning to face Takehito. "I'm twelve."

He didn't really react, his face just kind of stayed smiling. I turned back towards the street signals. "You really are a little girl." He mused out loud.

I didn't react, after all he could have been twice my age for all I knew.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk to strangers?"

I didn't answer for a while, yes my real 'mother' back in my old life would tell me stupid things like that. Warn me about all the dangers in the outside world but then she would go out and bring those dangers home with her. The mother that birthed this body never got the chance to warn me of much of anything. Our life together was cut much too short.

The walking signal lit up on our side. I started to cross it silently. I wonder what would have actually happened to Takara had I not been born in Hine's body? She would have lived past that train station killing. Would she have died another horrific way anyways? I didn't know for sure.

Takehito placed his hand on my shoulder, I snapped my head up to look at his face. He was wearing that weird expression again, "My mother died when I was three."

"Ah." He lifted his hand off my shoulder, "I'm sorry."

I shrugged, "It's been awhile since then."

I took a right, then another and up a flight of stairs. Daitoshi stood next to the doors as always, decked out in black lined with gold and a cap. "Ohayo, Hine-kun." He greeted from underneath the awning of my apartment building.

I waved with a small smile, "Ohayo Daitoshi-san." I stepped out of the rain and under the red awning.

"Enjoying the rain?" He asked with a kind smile as I wrung out my hair, the curls were going to be impossible when they finally dried.

I smiled back, "I'd enjoy it much more if it wasn't freezing."

He reached out with a laugh and gently patted the top of my head, "See to it you go get warm, wouldn't want our resident Genius getting sick now would we?"

I laughed and swatted his hand from my hair, "I'm not a Genius."

He simply raised an eyebrow at me, his eyes flickered behind me for a moment then came back to rest on me. He gave a low whistle, "And who is this?"

I rolled my eyes and made a grand motion with my hands towards Takehito, "This is Takehito Asama."

"Genius huh?" I looked up from fingering the rim of my white clay cup. It was cheap and I could afford it.

"Depends how you define it." I shrugged and brought the cup to my lips.

"Oh and how do you define it?" He leaned forward resting a cheek on his palm.

"I define it as some one who can see each and every single angle something could be taken and then determine the out come before it happens all while in the middle of the moment." I set my cup back down on the table, "People here define it as graduating before the normal age, accomplishing things like playing an instrument 'like a pro' or the ability to solve complex math equations, writing a really well written book series, making the seeming impossible things possible. Those kinds of things are what bothers me. Every person has a special gift and talent, some just know it earlier than others."

Takehito looked interested, "That's quite a thorough definition."

I looked back down at my mug, "Yeah." I may have been a labeled a genius at school or math or whatever but no one said I was a genius at socializing.

He chuckled and lifted his cup off the table, he got halfway to his mouth before he paused, "How long have you been living by yourself?"

I ran my finger around the rim of my mug clockwise, "About a month or two." I shrugged and looked up at him pausing my circling, "I was living at the dorms at my old school until graduation."

He hummed in response and took a sip, "What was your rank?"

I smiled a bit, "One."

Takehito to his credit didn't gape like a fish but his eyes widened a fraction of an inch. "That's impressive."

I tilted my head a little, "See that's why they call me the 'little genius,' frankly it's annoying and incorrectly labeling my skills."

He laughed a bit, placing both of his arms on the table top. "What would you label yourself instead?"

I paused at that one, I never actually thought about that. "I don't think I would label it as anything, maybe a hard worker if I had to choose."

We relapsed into silence, it wasn't uncomfortable silence more of like a thoughtful silence. The pitter patter of the rain hitting the roof and windows filled the lull in our conversation.

"Well now that we've gotten to know each other, will you tell me what was wrong?" Takehito leaned back in his seat, his fingers held the edge of the table.

I propped my head up with my palm as I leaned forward slightly over the table. "Eh, it was just a whole bunch of school drama. The school board at my college didn't really want to accept me with out making me fill out a million and one paper work, take about a hundred different tests, and then show how I was going to afford going to school."

He blinked, "Seriously?" His eyebrow rose and he pulled himself back to sitting up straight.

I nodded, "Mmhmm. Even when I showed them that I was the top ranked student at my high school."

"Well what a bunch assholes."

"I completely agree."

I've been trying to add on this chapter for about two weeks but nothing was working out that tied in with it. Word count: 2,113-not my best I'll try harder for the next chapter.

I'm sorry I promised a few days and I was putting it off simply because I wanted to get the word count up higher I'm sorry. I won't promise anything else because I'll just break it later anyways.

Again I'm sorry, please tell me what you think-also if there is another fan willing to be my idea bouncer I'd be ecstatic!