Author's Note: The first week of school SUCKED! Well at least Fridays are short. Sorry for any mistakes grammatically/spelling-wise because my second beta tester has not gone over this but I wanted to go ahead and get it out. I will have her read over it and will update the chapter to a revised version later today. Shouldn't make your eyes bleed in the meantime though. :) Thanks amourdesoi (like the new username!) more reviews would be nice but I think I tend to make oddball stories that may not be interesting to some people. D; Well, at least I have fun with my own brand of crazy!
Chapter 03 ; Unhealthy Assumptions
"Eggs? You have to add eggs to this? I don't remember seeing that a moment ago..." And she can swear by it too, because she knows she studied the recipe before she even entered the kitchen to fix it. Not that it is really her kitchen. It is the home economics room that she has borrowed while the cooking club is gone. (It is a Thursday, after school, who wants to worry about club activities when it is almost the weekend?)
Well, one person would be Rin, who has nothing better to do than work on her lack of culinary skills. But she is not alone in the school, technically, because she sent over a dozen students to detention today. Suddenly it is not a mystery why some kids want her to leave. It's not that she is trying to be a nosy teacher but she does want to try to reform the delinquents and for good reason.
Not that she has time right now to think of the reasons because something sounds (smells) like it is exploding in the oven and she is pretty sure food is not meant to explode. "Oh no, no, no!" she wails as she fans the smoke away from her face. Grabbing the oven mitt and securing it over her hand, she reaches in and hastily pulls the burning pan out. That thing she is (was) baking – it is supposed to resemble a pie – looks like disfigured charcoal. She doesn't even know how charcoal can look disfigured.
Laying the pan against the table, she slumps her shoulders and sighs. Cooking is not something she is talented at and not something she particularly has the patience for. "Maybe it's edible," she says, trying to reassure herself.
She grabs a fork and pokes at the middle of the pie. (It's called the filling, isn't it? Frankly, she doesn't even know cooking terminology.) It is definitely seared to a crisp and no matter how many times she stabs at it, it feels hard as a brick. This pie could be a lethal weapon if thrown at someone.
"What time is it?" she wonders aloud as she glances at the clock on the wall. It's already beginning to get dark out. She can see the sun ducking behind the horizon. It is probably time for her to toss her failed creations and return home. Maybe she can grab a bite to eat on the way. Stopping by a store and grabbing a bag full of candy maybe... Or ramen – she especially loves ramen.
While drooling to the thought of delicious food, she finishes cleaning up the classroom and the utensils she has used before she leaves. The sound of her footsteps echoes down the empty corridors. Shadows play on the ground as she moves past windows and eventually through the front doors. Everything is quiet, perhaps eerily so, but since Rin has no fear of the dark or of deserted places, she doesn't pay it any mind.
The parking lot looks pretty empty as she approaches it. At least it does at first; once she gets closer she can make out a shadowy silhouette. The glare of the sun fading beyond the horizon is blinding enough that she can't really discern any specific features of the person, beyond the fact that they're tall and statuesque.
A thousand possibilities roll through her mind. Is someone vandalizing her car? Is it someone waiting to mug her? Oh how she hopes it isn't some kind of sick pervert that has a penchant for old, half-broken down vehicles or something. (Why can't Rin ever think optimistically? It's not impossible for it to be someone else, albeit highly unlikely.)
So while her mind frightens her with cruel assumptions, she puts on the mask she always wears when it comes to dealing with scary situations. She lifts her head an inch higher, rolls her shoulders back, and stomps over there like she's a bullfighter walking into the ring.
"Hey, you!" Rin bellows at the person standing there with her face scrunched up in what is supposed to be a menacing look that more or less makes her look awkward instead. She marches right up to him and now that she is close enough, she understands why the person seems so fixated on her car.
There are slash marks across the hood and the doors, one of the windows has been shattered, and upon closer observation she notices that her tires have also been slashed. Initially she suspects that this person loitering here in the parking lot has to be the culprit and she turns her steely gaze toward him.
"Heiwajima?" she squeaks out in surprise upon noticing the bleached blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes.
He slowly cranes his neck to look back at her. There is a line of perspiration above his brow as though he's a little bit nervous. His lips twitch as though there is something he wants to say. Maybe he is about to explain the situation or deny any implications in it, but he never actually speaks. In the seconds that fly by his silence seems to make an assumption of guilt imminent.
Rin breathes a throaty sigh. "Did you just get out of detention?"
Shizuo averts his eyes, "Yeah..."
"Did you get a look at who did this?" she asks as she looks up at him. Those green eyes of hers, gentle as they may be, look fierce when they are narrowed. It probably sounds like a trick question to him.
But the blonde-haired man doesn't bother trying to figure which answer would be the right one to say at this point. He probably acknowledges that he looks like the guilty party. "No," he mumbles back after little more than millisecond to debate his response. His hands are shoved into the depths of his pockets.
The expression on Rin's face softens as she gives a small nod. "I knew this was going to be a crappy day from the moment I got up. You don't happen to have any chocolate or sweets, do you, Heiwajima?"
At first he seems a little taken aback by her question. His brows furrow as he slowly shakes his head. "No, I don't."
Those answers of his are always short, concise and straight to the point. It is this kind of honesty that comes directly from the heart that she likes the most, not like the people who must contemplate every word that passes through their lips. She smiles to herself. "Are you hungry?"
Right as he begins to open his mouth, his stomach begins rumbling and answers the question for him. The sound is so loud, in fact, that it seems to echo through the empty parking lot. Shizuo's cheeks flush slightly as he gives a jerky nod, "Yeah..."
She lets out a hearty chuckle as she turns away from the car. "Me too, I'm absolutely famished. Let's go get something to eat."
His brows furrow in confusion as he watches her start to walk off. "Takemori-sensei," he calls after her, causing her to stop suddenly. When she gazes over her shoulder questioningly back at him, he continues. "You're not mad?"
The question makes her pause. Is she mad? "Not at you," she tells him, "But I am absolutely, one-hundred percent livid with the person who did that to my car." Then, for added effect, she shakes her fist in the air. "So if I find them I'm definitely going to give them the lecture of their life!"
"You don't think it's me," he surmises.
Sheepishly, she grins at him. "Sorry to say this, Heiwajima, but if it was you, then my car wouldn't even be in the parking lot anymore. Considering how strong you are, you could pick it up and run off with it if you wanted to."
Shizuo isn't entirely sure about that because, while he has chucked appliances at people before, he has never tried carrying a car around. But Rin still has a good point and he can see how she could logically rule him out. He still seems a bit mystified that, despite the compromising position he was in, she didn't accuse him of being involved. (Granted, most teachers avoid accusations with him but only because they're afraid of him.)
"Are you coming?"
When he looks up at her, she's standing there looking at him expectantly. He hesitates for a moment. This teacher that he is constantly getting in trouble with is now inviting him out to eat with her? Somehow this seems like a bad idea and his first thought is to refuse and go home, but there is this nagging voice in the back of his head telling him that it isn't like she is going to bite him if he tags along. So before he can even say yes or no, his legs are moving and suddenly he's walking right beside her.
While the two walk together down the sidewalk, he finds his gaze wandering over toward her. With every movement, loose flyaway strands that have come loose from the bun on the back of her head seem to bounce around her face. There is a ghost of a smile on her lips and those eyes of hers – green as the blades of grass on a warm sunny day – seem so intently focused forward.
There are questions swirling in his head as they walk together. One of them: what is he even doing here? His normal routine is to go home, encountering several fights along the way that he ultimately wins, to drink a few glasses of milk and then go to bed. In the morning the whole routine starts over. This whole hanging out with a teacher thing seems a little strange but he also feels a little bad for her that someone destroyed her car.
"Don't give me that pitiful look," her voice cuts in through his thoughts.
Slightly surprised by the remark, his head jerks. Apparently she has noticed that he's been staring at her. Shizuo swallows and turns his gaze elsewhere. They are walking down the street together, a moderate distance between them, and it takes some effort on his part to match her pace. Since he knows that her legs are shorter and he doesn't want to force her to jog to keep up with him, he has to walk almost awkwardly slow.
They look like an odd pair together, but in the streets of Ikebukuro the only one earning a few derisive glares is Shizuo. Although not particularly well-known through the town, he is acquainted with quite a few people. (Mostly those that have been around to see him chucking appliances at his fellow schoolmates.)
"People sure do pick fights with you a lot."
He chances a glance over at her. She still isn't look over at him. "Yeah..."
Suddenly the sound of her footsteps cuts off and Shizuo screeches to a halt just a short distance in front of her. When he peers back to see what it is that Rin has stopped for, he notices that she's staring into the storefront of a bakery.
"Donuts," she gasps out with both palms spread across the glass and her face planted against it. A little bit of drool is seeping out the side of her mouth as she eyes the baked good with the expression of a starved animal.
Shizuo scratches the back of his head. "Get them if you want them."
Rin looks at him incredulously. "What?" she snarls out, as though she's about to bite his head off for that statement.
Not understanding how what he's said has managed to offend her, Shizuo gives a small shrug. "If you want the donuts then you should get them." It's simple logic and while he doesn't have a great deal of common sense, this seems pretty easy to figure out.
She lets out a wistful sigh as she backs away from the delicious displays sitting behind the glass storefront. "You wouldn't understand, Heiwajima, but it isn't that simple. Sometimes there are things you want but you just can't have them."
It might surprise her to know that, actually, he does understand. He wants to be left alone by his peers at school and yet they pick fights with him anyway. Not that he has ever really tried to explain this people. People don't ask.
But then Rin does. "You don't actually like fighting... Do you, Heiwajima?" She looks at him inquisitively with her brows raised as she waits for his answer.
It feels a little weird to be having a conversation with her. Shizuo wonders why she is asking him this question, the one that no one else bothers to. It is almost as though she is curious about him. She certainly isn't the first if that's the case, but most of the time he finds any incessant questions that people see fit to ask annoying. "I hate violence." That statement alone, he figures, is enough.
"Then we have something in common." Rin tilts her head back and seems pensive as she starts walking again. Shizuo follows after her hesitantly, resuming the sluggish pace he is forced to use to stay beside her.
They don't seem to be talking much and he wonders where it is that they are heading. She said they were going out to eat, didn't she? But it's starting to get dark out and it more or less seems like they are just wandering aimlessly. At least until they arrive at a ramen stand. It is unsurprisingly filled up and there are only two seats remaining, one of which Rin jumps to occupy. She quickly motions for Shizuo to follow after her.
By now he has given up questioning himself about what he is doing and hastily plops himself down on the stool. Eventually he manages to place his order, still wondering whether or not she is going to be paying for it or if he is. At the thought Shizuo tucks his hand into his pocket and produces two one-hundred yen coins and a fifty-yen one.
Rin must notice him eyeing the small amount of money in his palm because she bumps his arm with her elbow. When he peers over at her she offers him a smile. "I was the one who asked you to come eat with me, so if you are worried about paying for it then don't be."
"Why are you..." he starts to ask but is cut off.
"Because I have no friends, because I'm lonely, because I'm depressed that my car was vandalized, because I feel guilty for sending you to detention all the time, because I feel bad about the other day-"
"I get it," Shizuo interrupts, silently annoyed at her rambling nature.
Rin lets out a guttural laugh. "That was an honest confession actually. It must be pretty awkward to see a teacher like this. Adults are supposed to be respectable, right? Sometimes I feel a little pathetic." Suddenly she looks a little downcast as she stares down at her lap.
This is the part where he should say some comforting words, he thinks, because that's probably what a normal person would do. Unfortunately Shizuo doesn't have much experience in that arena, so he isn't sure what to say. Not that it matters – he misses the opportunity the moment the filled, steaming bowls of ramen are set down in front of them.
The aroma dances around his nose and his rumbling stomach can't be held off any longer. He reaches for the chopsticks and starts digging in. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices that Rin is doing the same. Except... in a much less dignifying way than he would expect for a woman. There is juice flying across the counter as she slurps, briefly chews, and then struggles to swallow as she literally inhales the ramen. Now, to be fair, he has never actually eaten with a woman before, so he can't be positive, but he is pretty sure that this is not how most women eat.
She must notice him staring because she pauses in the middle of her noodle-devouring endeavor and turns to him. There is juice dripping down her chin but Rin doesn't seem to notice. "Is something wrong?" Apparently she also doesn't notice her poor table manners.
Shizuo isn't one to complain. So he just shakes his head and turns to his own food and slows starts eating. Before he is even halfway finished, Rin is already ordering another bowl. The other customers that were sitting nearby have already left. The two of them eat in utter silence, but it is a comfortable quiet and not at all awkward. It feels natural to sit side-by-side with the air unburdened by words. He has only experienced this same sort of atmosphere and relationship with his younger brother.
Once they finish, Rin lets loose a small burp and belatedly notices Shizuo giving her an odd look. "Oh, right! Excuse me..." Her cheeks are rosy and he isn't sure if it's from the cold or if she is embarrassed. It takes her a moment to recover but soon enough she has that subtle smile on her face again. "It's about time for the two of us to head home, probably past time. It's almost pitch dark out now."
After she pays the man behind the counter, the two of them slip off their chairs and wander back to the sidewalk where she pauses to turn to Shizuo. "I hope you don't live too far away," she says worriedly, "I would have driven you home but... Well, you know the state of my car. It kind of isn't possible."
"I'll be fine."
Rin doesn't seem to be convinced. "I could call a taxi."
"You should do that for yourself." Not that he is particularly trying to be kind, but he already feels bad enough for letting her treat him to a meal.
Once again she is looking at him incredulously. "Call a taxi for myself?" She quickly raises both arms in an x-mark. "Not a chance! I pride myself on my frugality, Heiwajima. There is no way I'm going to waste money when my legs are perfectly good enough for walking." Although, she reminds herself, walking home will take an hour.
It feels a little odd to leave things like this and just leave, but Shizuo isn't really sure what else he can do. He doesn't have the money to pay for taxi fare for her and has no idea how far away she lives. So he naturally takes her word for it and gives a backward wave as he starts to walk off. "See you tomorrow, Takemori-sensei."
"Make sure you get yourself home safe, Heiwajima," she calls back to him. Rin watches his receding figure for a little while before she begins the trek home herself. (Which proves to be long, tiresome, and once she does eventually get home she collapses on her bed and doesn't move again until morning. At which point she decides that, frugal or not, walking is never a good idea.)
So when it is time to head back to school for her last day before the weekend is over, Rin decides that a taxi doesn't look so bad after all. It doesn't smell like puke, there is no clunking noise as it barrels down the roads at top speed (because she is telling the driver to step on it, she is late after all) and while it doesn't have awesome music that she can jam to, she thinks she can live with it.
The price isn't outrageous although as she runs out of the vehicle, book bag in hand, she hears the driver yelling after her that the tip isn't enough. For that she feels a little guilty, but she needs to put food on the table too, mister!
As she runs through the courtyard up to the front entrance, Rin is mildly surprised that while there are still students lingering out here and taking their sweet time to make it to their classrooms before the bell, there are no fights. This makes her smile to herself, though she can't help but wonder what Shizuo must be up to if he isn't kicking the crap out of someone.
Her first thought is that he must be sick, but then she tries to correct herself; it is too pessimistic to think that the only reason Shizuo Heiwajima isn't in a fight is because he is down with the flu. Better to hope that he has reformed his ways. (Okay, now she is positively delusional and she knows it.)
After she ascends a flight of stairs and ambles down a few hallways, she finally arrives at her classroom, mildly surprised to see someone waiting there for her. It is none other than the bleach blonde-haired delinquent himself. She is also trying to mentally correct herself from calling him a delinquent but so far it isn't working.
"Heiwajima," she greets with a friendly wave and smile as she trudges up to him. Since she had to walk all the way home, her muscles are just a wee bit stiff and so she walks – or more waddles – a little bit like a duck.
He glances over at her leisurely, his chocolate brown eyes half-lidded. It doesn't look like he has had much sleep, for whatever reason. "About yesterday," he starts, seeming to have something on his mind.
Rin tilts her head to the side with a look of concern. "What about yesterday?"
Suddenly he stops to rub the back of his neck. "Shinra said I should have walked you home. Since you are a girl and it's dangerous."
For a moment she stares at him, and she knows it's inappropriate because he's absolutely dead serious – but she can't help it when she busts out into laughter. "Ahaha!" Habitually she slaps her leg, which puts an abrupt end to the mirthful expression on her face because the pain shooting through her thigh is enough to make a grown man cry.
"You're laughing at me," he observes with an annoyed look.
Well it isn't as though she can deny that. "You are unexpectedly cute, that's all, Heiwajima."
This time he is looking at her like a deer in the headlights. "Cute?" he gasps out in disbelief as though he can't even fathom the word. His eyes are wide as saucers as he stares at her and eventually manages to clench his trembling jaw. He's probably thinking that she's a little weird – especially for a teacher.
"By the way, I didn't ask yesterday, but why did you go to detention? Every single time before you have skipped out." And she knows because she has gone to check before.
While she expects a concrete answer, one supported by some sense of logic, all Rin gets is a halfhearted shrug from Shizuo. But eventually he does come up with some explanation, "You knew." Alright, not much of an explanation but an improvement nonetheless.
"I knew what?"
"That I wasn't the one who started it."
"I've known every time," she responds with a grin. "You just assumed I didn't and thought I was some ordinary, condescending, uppity teacher just trying to jump down your throat for no reason. Is that about right?"
The guilt shows on Shizuo's face but he remains as honest as ever, giving her a small nod.
His response isn't entirely unexpected and while Rin breathes a small sigh, she can't feel frustrated at all. This is the kind of stereotype she is used to dealing with from other delinquents. "You know, Heiwajima, everyone has a reason for their actions. That is what I believe. So even the coldest, cruelest, most calculative things that people do may have solid logic behind them – or feelings, often times emotions drive people. That's why, even if you don't understand why someone is doing something, you can't judge them – you shouldn't judge them. Not until you can put your very best effort forward to try to understand."
This positively baffles him because he has probably never heard something so strange that has actually made so much sense before. It is a belief he rarely ever sees in practice and yet it is wisdom even beyond Rin's years. The edges of Shizuo's lips tug upward, and he supposes that he likes her way of thinking.
"Anyways, I've done enough rambling. You should head back to class, Heiwajima." She makes a dismissive motion as she edges around him and opens the door to her classroom. A few students are already in their seats but there is still a little time before the second bell and so Rin takes the opportunity to organize herself before the lesson starts.
While she is rummaging through her desk doors – trying to sort out some papers – she hears footsteps approaching from behind. Slowly she glances back to see a student waiting to speak with her. Abandoning her cleaning activities for a moment, she straights herself and offers the boy a smile.
"That was Shizuo Heiwajima... wasn't it, Sensei?"
"Correct, Orihara."
Those slanted brown eyes of his, not the color of chocolate like Shizuo's but more like the soil from a graveyard – dark, dreary and unsettling – are staring back at her. "Actually, Sensei, I had a question for you. There is something I don't understand, so maybe you can explain it to me..." The grin on his lips seems to widen. "It's about you, Sensei~"