A/N: So, another chapter, the first in a two parter. Fun times. And drama, and stuff. Thanks for all the feedback, hopefully this story will keep your interest. I know I'm having fun writing it.
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Tuesday afternoon had rolled about in a timely manner, and yet the lovely weather had given way to a dull gray blanket of clouds that cast a shadow across the earth. The cooling breeze now cut a chill to the bone with it's grip, and all could sense the rain overhead that had yet to come.
It was into this atmosphere that the students of Mitakihara Middle School emerged, shivering in the cold and hurrying along to avoid the possible oncoming deluge. They clustered together in groups and spread apart from the main gates to head for their homes or hangout spots, racing the weather and their preferences therein to get to relative safety.
"See you guys tomorrow," Sayaka called over her shoulder with a wave as she broke away from Madoka and Hitomi to the side of the path out of the school.
"Bye, have fun," Madoka called back, with a wave of her own as the two walked on, leaving Sayaka to stand and wait by the gates of the school for Homura to show up.
As she did, she thought about where they could go this tie, and at the same time she prepared herself for the lesson ahead. There was that coffee shop she had wanted to check out for a few weeks now, or maybe they could go to that bookstore. Homura would probably like that, if she didn't miss her guess. Yeah, she could certainly think of a few places to take them, so now she just had to be ready for whatever her tutor threw at her.
Looking around complacently, she at last spotted Homura moving towards her a few minutes after she had set up her vigil. The raven haired girl's head was bowed as she hurried along to their meeting spot, eager to outrace the weather. She had no desire to get wet today.
"Hey Akemi," Sayaka called as her tutor arrived, giving off a small wave in the process.
"H-Hello Sayaka," Homura replied as she came to a stop and bowed. "Sorry I'm late. I had some things to do before I could leave." Straightening up, she reshouldered her bag and looked up to the blanket of clouds with a tinge of worry in her expression.
"Ah, it's fine." Sayaka gave a dismissive brush before following her gaze to the skies and frowning. "Looks like it's going to rain, eh? We should get going." Figuring they could walk and talk, she went to go then, ready to lead Homura to the place she had settled on as a study spot.
"A-Actually," Homura objected, staying where she was and glancing at Sayaka nervously as the blunette stopped to look at her. "I was thinking we could go to a place I had in mind this time. If it's okay with you anyway."
Sayaka mulled it over for a moment, before turning back to face Homura and nodding. "Eh, sure," she replied, wondering where it was that the shy girl wanted to take them for this session.
Letting out a small sigh of relief at her success, Homura took the lead, proceeding down the sidewalk in the opposite direction of where Sayaka had planned to go. Cars whizzed by as they walked along, but the blunette was easily able to keep up along the way, while Homura stepped along with her head bowed in quiet thought.
"So, how's school going for you," Sayaka asked as she walked alongside her tutor, hoping to break the silence that stretched between them.
Homura started, realizing that she had zoned out of the present reality, and gave the girl next to her a small, embarrassed smile. "Fine," she replied simply, not caring to elaborate on how her school life was going at the moment. She had the feeling that Sayaka was only humoring her, and didn't want to risk exposing herself to ridicule for being uninteresting, or overachieving, or something. It was an accomplishment already that she wasn't focusing on not tripping over her own two feet right now.
"Oh, alright." Sayaka fell silent as they moved along, glancing once more to the clouds above and hoping that they made it to their destination before the rain started. Of course, she'd forgotten her umbrella at home, so it wasn't a situation she was looking forward to.
So, to get her mind off that, she tried a different question. "You in any clubs? I mean, I haven't seen you around that much, outside of the classes we have together."
To Homura, that was obvious. Sayaka was a tomboy, an athlete, one of the cooler kids in school. She was...not. She was reclusive, a transfer student, and that was hardly conducive to mutual activities. "A few," she admitted. "Mostly academic stuff, like debate club."
"Ah, cool," Sayaka replied with a nod. "Me, I mostly do sports. Track, baseball, I'm pretty good."
Of course she was, Homura thought to herself. They were just two different types of people, and the type of person Sayaka was was someone she could never be. She fell silent once more, and on they walked.
They headed into one of the older quarters of the city, that didn't share in the modernist architecture that constituted downtown and much of the main city. Instead there were apartments, small parks, mom and pop stores, cottages, remnants of a bygone time.
Through this atmosphere the duo walked, similar to anyone else on the streets at the moment, not sightseeing and more trying to beat the rain, and they eventually arrived at a small building on a street corner, a small porch in front with the building before them.
"Nice place," Sayaka commented as she looked over the structure. "What is it?" The place only had a street address and no sign to indicate what it was.
"It's my apartment," Homura replied weakly as she stepped forward, opening the glass door to the main lobby.
Suddenly, Sayaka was a lot more nervous about this. "Oh." Going to a public place was one thing, but her house was definitely another. People might assume a relationship that didn't exist, or other things. Admittedly, she wasn't one to care too much about what people thought of her, or those rumors, but it would doubtlessly cause a whole host of headaches later.
Of course, Homura wasn't too thrilled about this either. It was her home, her inner sanctum, a place where she could relax and be herself without having to hold up the appearance she presented to everyone else. It had taken a lot of hard thinking and rationalization to build up the courage to get to this point as it was. Sayaka was the first classmate from this school she'd have had at her apartment, and it was an unceasing source of worry now. What if she didn't like it, thought it was too tasteless, with no decorative sense? What if she thought she was a slob, or that it was too dirty? What if she thought it was too hot, or cold, or too bright?
In spite of those incessant worries though, she continued on. She had to do this. For Madoka. And it would be beneficial to be here, since they would be free from the distractions that being in a place such as a cafe would provide.
Uncertainty abounding, the two moved past the lobby, with a wave to the man working the front desk who recognized Homura, and into the interior corridors and hallways. It was a quick walk from that point to the front door of Homura's specific apartment. Stopped, Sayaka watched as the other girl went through her pockets, then her bag, expressing growing increasingly panicked every second.
"Oh no, where is it," Homura said to herself, hands scrabbling. "They have to be here somewhere. I know I had them this morning."
Folding her arms across her chest, the blunette waited (relatively) patiently, leaning against the wall as she watched her tutor, finger tapping idly on her shoulder with growing exasperation. Honestly, if they got locked out, then this was a terrific start to their lesson. Even if the guy up front probably had a spare key.
Fortunately they didn't have to go talk to the attendant, as Homura produced a keychain with a triumphant cry. She quickly took a hold of her house key and unlocked the door, opening it for the two of them and stepping inside with a gesture for the other girl to enter.
Standing by the coat rack, Homura removed her shoes and placed them off to the side before turning on the light, while Sayaka did the same. "Well, this is my house," she added, closing and locking the door behind them as her guest moved through the entrance hallway and into the living room, where she stopped dead.
It was...interesting, to say the least. The white of the walls was blinding in the overcast light, forcing her to blink rapidly to adjust to it. The room itself was surprisingly large and yet bare, the floorspace mainly taken up by expanding concentric rings of arranged futons. The airspace was more intriguing, with a swaying pendulum that looked like a misshapen, neutered grappling hook without the hooks on the prongs, and in the air were portraits, hovering away from the wall and displaying artwork on both sides.
"Wow," Sayaka commented, impressed, as Homura entered the room, moving past her to sit down at the middle ring of seats. Her gaze traveled upwards and settled on the floating pictures then "Eh, Akemi, they're floating."
Homura followed her gaze upwards and nodded. "Yes they are."
Sayaka stepped forward through the rings of futons for a closer look. "How do they do that?"
"Technology," Homura replied simply and infuriatingly, as she laid her bag to the side while waiting for Sayaka to sit down as well.
That might take some time, as the blunette walked about, still working on the mystery presented to her and her true purpose forgotten. "Ha. Funny. Seriously though, how are they floating like that?"
Pulling out a binder, Homura began to leaf through scribbled on papers within it as she provided an explanation. "Optical illusion. They're moored by very thin wires that are hidden by the light, making it look like they float."
Frowning, Sayaka squinted, hoping to see what had been pointed out. And she gasped as they resolved into sight. "Cool," she said, breaking into a slight smile.
Homura fought back a light blush at the voiced approval, as Sayaka sat down across from her, her head bowed to hide that particular fact. "So, what subject would you like to do today," she asked, shuffling through her school papers.
Sayaka's frown returned as she thought, recalling recent school work she'd had trouble in, which was quite a bit, sadly. But she was able to settle on a topic easily enough. "Alright. How about chemistry and that electron stuff," she replied, recalling how the raven haired girl had known the answer when she hadn't.
Homura nodded an affirmation, removing the relevant notebook from her bag and placing it on her lap. "All of it?"
"Might as well." Sayaka shrugged dismissively, and Homura had to repress a sigh of resignation at that statement. Of course. At least she'd be able to better do this her way, in a proper setting, which would aid in learning. Or so she hoped.
She quickly began then, notebook flipped open to the most recent notes. "Okay. Now, all atoms have electrons, which orbit around a nucleus of protons and neutrons. These electrons are arranged in rings, and each ring can only hold a certain number of electrons. The first level holds two, the second holds eight, the third eighteen, and so on."
For the moment at least, her student seemed to be paying attention. "Wait, so how do you figure out how many can be in each ring?"
Homura glanced down to her papers before looking back to Sayaka,a scribbling on a blank piece of paper like she had the first time, as a copy of notes. "The formula is two tines n to the second power, with n being the ring in question."
"Ah." Sayaka nodded in understanding, glad that Homura was writing this down at the same time. Lord knew she was doing a better job than the teacher, but formulas had a special spot of evil in the blunette's heart, so having that written down would help. And at the same time, she could pride herself on actually paying attention thus far, not easy when it came to numbers.
Homura continued on. "Each inner ring needs to be filled before you can move on to the next ring. Well, most of the time. But we don't need to worry about the exceptions right now."
That earned a sigh of relief from her student, the blunette glad that it wouldn't be more complicated that necessary. She didn't need to make things more difficult for herself. "Okay. That doesn't seem too hard."
"Oh. And the outer shell also determines the chemical properties of the element, whether it be a Noble Gas, Alkalic, etc. But that also isn't strictly relevant for the moment. We just care about the placement of electrons." From that point on Homura went on, going into further detail and answering what questions she was presented with in the course of that.
Above them the pendulum swung, the only indicator of passing time available in the room. But in spite of that, Homura was aware of the passing seconds as they ticked by, and she spoke, and Sayaka listened. Still, she could see the interest waning, attention span dying and wandering about as the frequency of questions diminished, looking for something, anything, to fix to that was interesting.
Aware of that slippage, Homura did what she could to bring her back. "Excuse me Sayaka, are you still listening to me?"
The dull eyes expression the blunette had been wearing snapped away, and she nodded. "Yeah. You were saying that the electrons..."
Once more a repressed sigh. "That the electrons still have to equal the number of protons, because it still has to end up neutral. Please try and pay attention."
"Hey, I am trying," Sayaka replied sullenly. And so they went on. But these slips happened more and more, with increasing frequency. It was very frustrating to Homura, who was trying her best, and hated to see it not reciprocated.
"Leave it," she said, glaring at Sayaka as the other girl went for her bag after a buzzing emanated from it.
"But it's from..."
"Whoever it is, they can wait," Homura replied. "I'm sure they will understand." It seemed that all this was getting to her as well, though they went on still, but with both increasingly dissatisfied.
Faced with that seeming inevitability that she could no longer hold Sayaka's attention, Homura ceded and stopped with her lesson to try a different tactic, smoothly jotting down some problems with elements, some with the number of electrons directly stated, some with just the number on the periodic table (though that shouldn't matter much), and handed it across to her pupil.
"Here, try these," she instructed, sitting back to watch once she had done so.
"Sure," Sayaka replied, pulling out a pencil and taking the paper, placing it on her lap, with her binder used as a pad as she turned to the problems presented to her.
Then there was silence, the only sounds being the whoosh of the pendulum as it swung overhead the scratch of a pencil, and breathing. Sayaka bit her lower lip as she mulled over each question, writing, then pausing to consider what she had written, then erasing it and writing something else.
To be honest, this was close to agonizing torture as she could come up with. She had no indication of the passage of time, and could feel Homura watching her. There was only this silence, and it furthered her sense of isolation and grated on her nerves, since she only had her work to focus on, making it all the more frustrating when she couldn't figure out an answer and had to think about it. Not very good for the sanity of a rational person.
Still, Homura watched like a hawk. Any attempt to doodle instead of actually work on the answer was quickly dismissed with a cough or pointed gesture, her not putting up with it. It certainly made things difficult, but Sayaka put up with it for the moment, even if she did grit her teeth in frustration.
"Here," she said at last, passing the paper back to Homura with a small huff, folding her arms as she relaxed a bit, gaze shifting to the pendulum while the other girl went over her work. A groan escaped her lips, earning a glance that verged on a glare from the tutor in the process.
With what was either quick timing or an eternity, depending on your perspective, Homura was done, and she handed it back to the blunette, who quickly snatched it to look it over. There were a few nods, before a frown. "Oh come on, really," she muttered aloud.
"You need to be more aware of details," Homura advised as she watched. "Sometimes you get problems wrong via small mistakes."
"You're telling me." Sayaka winced a bit, and soon laid the paper to the side. "So, you done trying to bore me to death," she asked, attitude having been given a negative adjustment by the exercise and it's results.
"I had hoped that an environment free from distractions would help you focus better. Obviously I was wrong. So no, I am not done," Homura replied calmly, even though she had gotten a bad feeling about this.
As she was, Sayaka was quick to protest that statement. "Hey, I can't help it if stuff is just boring and I'm never gonna use it. And besides, being forced to spend hours on it without a break is asking a lot." There were a lot of better things she could be using this time for, even if she had to be here. And at least she was trying, right?
Still, Homura didn't seem dissuaded from her mission. "Ms. Miki, I know you're a smart person. It's just that you don't make an effort to apply the knowledge you have. I assumed that removing other alternatives to your attention would help you put that intelligence to use."
Anger surged, and Sayaka straightened up, fighting her impulses, and merely spitting out a reply instead. "Thanks, but I can handle my own study habits. I don't need you to do it for me. I chose you, remember? I can just as easily pick someone else." Honestly, it was her problem, she would deal with it herself. She just needed Homura to act as a conduit between the teacher and her, and say what she needed to know in language she could understand.
Homura shrank back a bit, her previous confidence flagging in the face of her anger. How was she supposed to pay back Madoka if she got fired? This wasn't something she'd planned for, and since she hadn't, she wasn't as sure of herself as she had been previously. "I-I'm just trying to help."
"I know, but I gotta work this stuff out. I mean, I know me best, right?" She was starting to calm down now, which was a good thing, and she nodded to Homura.
"I guess..." Homura would admit that that was true, and it wasn't like she didn't do the exact same thing. She didn't know Sayaka very well, which was something she would have to rectify in the immediate future if she was to continue on in this position. "Still, I think it's better to tutor you in a place like this. I know it helps me when I study."
Sayaka glanced about for a general overview of the living room before looking back to the girl across from her. "Yeah, for you. But I think I may go crazy in here. I mean, would it kill you to get a clock? All there is in here is silence, that pendulum, and those pictures. It gets to you after a while."
That stung, even if it wasn't intended as an insult, and Homura frowned, head bowed as she fought to keep her emotions contained. She'd messed up, again. Obviously she shouldn't have made assumptions like that, and now she was at risk of ruining everything. Even if interior decoration wasn't something she'd specifically tailor to another person. "I'm sorry."
"Well, now you know for the future. If there is a future." Sayaka rose from her seat then, stretching a bit in the process. "I guess we should call it a day then," she commented, eager to get out and figuring they weren't going to get much else done here.
Homura's composure reasserted itself with the shift in topic, and she nodded. "Alright," she agreed.
Reaching down, the blunette packed up her school materials, taking the proffered sheet of notes from the outstretched arm and slipping it into her bag as well. This was done in relative silence as Homura let her stuff lie. She didn't need to pack up since she was in her house after all, and she could just move it later.
"Are you sure you don't want me to pay you for this," Sayaka asked as she reached for her wallet, still uncomfortable with this seeming charity.
This earned a confident nod from Homura. "Yes, I'm sure. I don't spend that much anyway, so I have more than enough money as it is. Keep it." Hopefully the blunette would better accept the 'I don't need money' excuse better than the 'I'm doing this as a favor' excuse.
It seemed she did as Sayaka shrugged. "Alright." She let the wallet sit where it was and picked up her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder as she moved to the door, with Homura rising to follow her.
At the door, the two girls put their shoes back on before Sayaka opened the door, looking back to Homura and flashing her a grateful smile. "Thanks."
A light dusting of red graced the raven haired girls cheeks under the statement of appreciation, and she had to avert her gaze another time. "I-It's nothing," she replied as they stepped out the front door.
The two of them made their way back through the halls they had trekked through once before, quiet all the way besides the sound of the door closing behind them. Sounds made it through from the outside, a light pattering that worried the blunette, since it meant that it was most likely raining, not good for her return trip. But if it was just a light rain then she supposed she wouldn't worry too much about it. It was just water after all.
A minute or so later, they arrived in the lobby, and that opinion of hers was quickly dashed. The 'light rain' was actually a torrential downpour, the air gray and thick with moisture. Wind lashed at all it could reach, trees swaying harshly in it's grip, and the streets looked like rivers with the amount of water flowing down them.
Sayaka gulped audibly as her eyes found themselves riveted to the storm, following a metal trash can as it bounced along in the wind. That wasn't exactly a promising sign. Even an umbrella wouldn't help with that kind of rain, thought that was just a hunch. "Oh. Wow," she commented as she stood looking out the glass doors. "That's not good. No way am I going out in that."
The rain was enough to intimidate Homura as well, and she nodded her fervent approval of that opinion. It was good to see that Sayaka wasn't as crazy as she thought she might be. "I have a phone in my apartment, if you want to call your parents," she offered, raising her voice slightly to be heard over the weather.
"Nah, I'm good," Sayaka replied, pulling out and showing Homua her cell phone. Flipping it open, she stepped off to the side to read what she had missed, and almost immediately wished she hadn't. "Damn it Kyoko," she muttered, quickly deleting that text.
That done, she dialed her parents, connecting on the second ring. "Hey mom, I'm at Homura's place, and it's kinda raining...Homura Akemi. She's that tutor I got...Yes, I'm fine...Alright...Don't worry. I won't do anything stupid, promise...Okay...Okay. Thanks mom. I'll call you back later."
Conversation finished, she closed the phone and put it away in her backpack, walking over to Homura, who had been waiting patiently for the duration of the exchange, at the same tie. "Hey, do you mind if I hang out around here for a bit, until the rain dies down? I can't walk home, and my parents don't want to be driving in this weather."
Well, she certainly didn't have much choice in the matter, especially when looking out the window and considering the possibilities. "It's fine," Homura agreed.
"Thanks." Together, the two left the lobby and headed back to Homura's apartment, and whatever awaited them there. It was certainly going to be an interesting night.