CHAPTER FOUR

At Odds.

Sunday, 21st October - Day Two

I spent the remainder of yesterday evening in my room. I couldn't face the guys after my outburst with Shiki. It irked me that I acted too emotionally. If it were anyone else to say something insulting to me, I would have stayed calm and made a covertly scathing comment in return. But Shiki… he just hurt my feelings. The look on his face, so cold, so very sincere, is what hurt the most. His face conveyed he meant every word, and it wasn't out of some stupid slip, or something to belittle me because I am a woman (a Western woman, to boot) in a man's world. No, Shiki knew where and how deep to wield the knife.

"Sarah?" I heard Meguru's voice from the corridor. "Are you awake? Can I come in?"

I sighed. I just wanted to shut myself away and not see anyone, but Meguru wasn't just anyone.

"Yes, I'm awake. Come in." I sat on the edge of my bed, twisting the ring Shiki gave me.

"Good morning. Are you alright?" Meguru tilted his head. "I was worried when you didn't come out of your room last night. "

"I'm fine, I guess I just need to adjust to the fact you're all demons, and not people." I scrunched my face, knowing I had probably just offended him. "Sorry. I don't mean you. You're the only nice one here."

"Thank you." Meguru smiled shyly. "But I do understand what you mean. The other guys are quite blunt and don't really know how to act in front of a lady," Meguru dropped his eyes to the floor.

"You really are sweet."

"Are you coming down to breakfast?"

"No, thank you. I think I'll hang out in my room today." I honestly couldn't face them.

"Well, is there anything you need? I can bring your breakfast up here, if you'd like, then I could change your sheets." Meguru said, ever the housewife.

"I would love some breakfast, if you don't mind. I just really don't want to be with those guys today. Oh, and is there a computer here?"

"A computer? Er… I think Shiki and Satoru have a laptop each. Perhaps you could borrow one of theirs?"

"Never mind then," I sulked. I didn't want to owe Satoru a favour - not his kind of favour - and I certainly didn't want to ask anything of Shiki. "I'll just wait until I'm at work tomorrow."

This was going to be one, long, boring day.

As I looked through a book I picked up shopping yesterday, I heard Meguru call out, asking me to open my bedroom door.

As I opened it, the warm, sweet smell of porridge wafted into my room.

"You really know what a girl needs, don't you!" I took the tray from his hands and he ran off. "Meguru?" I called after him, but he disappeared into one of the bedrooms. I set the tray down and took a sip of coffee.

"Here," Meguru peeped around my door before entering. "I borrowed it on your behalf," Meguru produced a laptop and a folding TV dinner table. "Are you researching today?"

"Thank you so much, Meguru. And yes, I am trying to track down my grandmother. I haven't found any records since she moved from Kyoto. I know she grew up in a generation without a digital footprint, but this is ridiculous. There is nothing at all of her life, her marriage, her birth… it's like she doesn't exist." I shook my head and took another sip of coffee.

"So if you think it is too difficult to track her down, then why ask for ten days? I mean, asking for that amount of time would suggest you were close to finding her," Meguru asked, his face puzzled.

"I have no idea really, it just sort of popped out, but on Thursday, I did manage to find something from Interpol about my mother's asylum in England. She had filled out an application form and listed that, previous to marrying my father, she had been widowed. My father never told me of this, so I assumed her former husband's name was her maiden name. I had been looking for my grandmother with that name, but now I have a new line of inquiry to focus on." I looked at Meguru, who sat unblinking. "Sorry, I tend to ramble on a bit."

"No, it's fascinating, really. Wow - Interpol!"

"Yeah, working in the inheritance claim field, I have access to records that aren't available to just anyone. That's why I chose to pursue a career in it."

"Well, I had better leave you to it. Good luck in your hunt," Meguru stood, and I thanked him for all his help.

After finishing my breakfast, I intended taking the dirty dish down to the kitchen to wash, but opening my door, I could hear the hustle and bustle of four demons talking and laughing with each other, so I closed the door and sighed.

"I should have asked Meguru for some cleaning stuff, this room is filthy and dull." I sighed again, then unrolled a poster I had bought yesterday at a store. "This may brighten it up a little," I hung a Claude Monet print on the wall opposite my bed, giving me something cheery to look at when I woke in a morning.

"What?" I asked, curtly, as someone knocked on my door.

"I'm coming in," a voice I didn't want to hear announced. With that, Shiki stepped into my room and immediately looked at all the pieces of paper and notes scattered on the floor. "I thought Satoru's room was bad. You live like a pig."

"What do you want, Shiki?" I didn't even look at him. "I'm busy and I really don't want to talk to you," I was past caring about others' feelings when it came to him.

"I don't wanna talk to you either." Shiki stood, pouting, like a berated child.

"Then why the hell are you in my room? Honestly, Shiki, you are the weirdest man… whatever…I have ever come across." I closed the lid on the laptop and waited patiently for him to explain his odd behaviour.

"Just bored. You amuse me," Shiki said, not looking in my direction.

"So you thought you would come in here to insult me some more? Well, sorry to break it to you, but I'm not here for your entertainment. Go buy a box of Crackle Jacks and play with your toys like a good boy," I looked back to the laptop and tried to ignore Shiki the best I could, but I could feel him looking at me. "What?!" I yelled. "What do you want?"

"I wanted dinner." Shiki quietly said.

"Well go get some dinner and leave me alone." I was one more word away from unleashing a torrent of swear words. How does this jerk manage to make me so angry?

"I wanted…" Shiki began to say, before being interrupted.

"Winters What are you yelling at? Oh, Shiki what are you doing here?" Kakeru poked his head around my door and looked from me to Shiki and back again.

"I was just seeing what it was up to."

"It?" Kakeru asked, but I knew what he was referring to - me.

Shiki tipped his head in my direction. "It,"

"You mean to say 'her'. I know you don't talk much, but your English isn't that bad." Kakeru came fully into my room and did the same thing Shiki did - scanned the floor. "Pigsty,"

"I just don't think of it as a woman." Shiki said, as nonchalant as you'd like.

"Right, both of you get out NOW." I stood up and started pushing both of them towards the doorway.

"You can't move me unless I allow it, Winters." Kakeru grinned, before I shoved him with all of my might and felt him almost topple over. "Woah, I guess you aren't as pathetic as you look." Kakeru chuckled.

"Just get out," I said, trying to hold back the angry tears.

"All right, I'm going. Maguru wanted me to tell you dinner is ready." Kakeru left, his heavy footsteps echoing through the corridor.

"See, dinner is ready, so now you can go eat," I pushed Shiki to get him to leave my room, but his arm felt so cold. "My god, Shiki, you're freezing, are you ill?" I asked, none of my anger remaining. I placed the palm of my hand on his cold forehead, and felt him jolt.

"I'm always cold. It's a demon thing." Shiki finally looked to my face, his eyes sad and glistening. "You feel warm," his cheeks blushed.

I just didn't get it. One minute he's horrible, then the next, he's like a little boy lost.

"Shiki, I honestly don't understand you," I shook my head, hoping to shake free some answer to this enigma. The only thing I could really be sure of, is how adorable he looks when he blushes. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm not ill. Just hungry."

"Well, Meguru has made dinner, so you can go eat now." I said, a bit too maternally.

"Don't wanna." With that Shiki left my room and went into his.

"What the f...?" I shook my head again and closed my bedroom door. My stomach grumbling at the delicious smells coming from downstairs.

Turning my attention back to the laptop, I returned to the search for my mother's maiden name.

"When did it get to eleven?" I looked with shock at my alarm clock. The sun had long set, and the moon claimed the sky. My neck and shoulders ached from being hunched over laptop all day and night, and my stomach began to think my throat had been cut.

I left my room, the house was in total darkness, aside from one dim light from under Shiki's bedroom door. "Shit," I whispered to myself as I crept past his room and went downstairs to the kitchen for a snack.

Opening the fridge, I was met with a plate wrapped in cling film with a note:

'Sarah,

I thought you may be hungry, but I didn't

want to disturb you. Reheat for 2 minutes,

Meguru."

'Aw, bless him.' I reheated the stuffed peppers, and sat to eat in the dark. I could hear footsteps back and forth upstairs, but it didn't last for long.

After washing the plate, my hunger satiated, I went up the stairs to my bedroom, where I undressed and wrapped a towel around me. A long, hot bath would be just the thing for my sore shoulders.

As quietly as I could, so as not to wake anyone, I opened the bathroom door, a faint light danced around the room, an orange glow reflected in the tiles.

"What?!" Shiki's voice screamed.

"Ah!" I screamed back. There was Shiki, laid out in the bath, water dripping from his black hair, and down his bare chest. "Er… Oh, I'm so sorry," I left as fast as my trembling legs would carry me.

I shut my bedroom door and rested my back against it. "Jesus!" I exclaimed, my heart racing. 'But why is my heart racing?' I pondered. 'No, it's just the shock, that's all, just the shock,' I kept telling myself, in the hopes I may believe it any second now. But that second never came. I closed my eyes and all I could see was a dripping wet, face-flushed Shiki. "Oh my god," I said, as a shiver ran down the length of my body.

"It's free now. You can go in," Shiki said quietly through my door. I opened it, and he was stood, still blushing, with his white t-shirt on, and his hair dripping wet.

"I'm so sorry, I really didn't know you were in there. I am really sorry," I apologised, but Shiki just shrugged his shoulders.

"Whatever." His eyes lingered on my bare shoulders, and he shrugged again. "You can go in now, I'm going to sleep," Shiki announced, but still stood in the hallway.

"You're going to sleep right now?" I asked, and was met with a nod. "But you can't go to bed with your hair all wet like that. You should dry it off first."

"Hassle," Shiki sighed, "too tired."

"Come in, Shiki," I opened the door further, so he could enter my room.

"Why?" He asked, but went to sit on my bed anyway.

"I'll dry your hair for you." I opened the wardrobe and reached down a towel from the top shelf and sat next to Shiki. My bare arm brushed against him, his cold forearm pulled away for a second, but then he returned it next to mine. I rubbed his head with the towel, and combed it through with my fingers. "You have nice hair, Shiki, it's so soft."

"Hm…"

"I think you're all dry now," I said, but didn't want to stop being this close to him. 'What am I thinking? Why does this feel so… intimate?'

Shiki turned his head and looked at me, his face so close. "Feels better," He blushed.

I got lost in his eyes for the briefest of moments, but it was enough time to forget myself. "You're really very handsome," I said, then came to my senses. "Oh, I mean, for a demon. I didn't mean…that I'm…" 'Attracted to you,' I stopped speaking just in time to stop my mouth from making things worse.

All Shiki did was look at me, his violet eyes scanning my face, his cheeks redder than I had ever seen before.

"You don't have to say that," Shiki finally murmured, a sad look on his face.

'Oh, does he lack confidence?' I smiled sympathetically at him, he looked so defeated by his self-esteem. "I'm not just saying it, Shiki. I bet if you talked more, girls would be lining up." I nudged him with my shoulder.

"Not possible," Shiki sighed, "no one would like me."

Even with his sparing words, he broke my heart. "I… I like you Shiki," my words were innocent enough, but I couldn't shake the weight behind them. I actually do like him.

"I don't get it," Shiki said, his eyes full of wonder. "I'm not likable."

"I just think you're nice. Despite all the horrible things you say to me, I truly believe you can be adorable. The way you blush, the way your eyes sparkled when you found the Captain D prize, the way…"

"Captain Z," Shiki corrected, his face, and even his ears, were flushed. "Prizes make me…" but he never finished his words, almost as if the word 'happy' caused him some distress.

"Why can't you say it? Why can't you feel it?" I asked, my hand reached up to cup his cheek, but I pulled back.

"Because," Shiki sighed heavily, his eyes scrunched and his body tensed, "I'm not allowed."

"Not allowed? Has someone told you that you can't be happy?" I asked, my concern for him growing greater with every second.

With a grunt, Shiki stood up, his face back to its usual stony self. "Doesn't matter. Go get your bath." With that, Shiki left my room.

I lay on my bed, not even bothering to put my nightshirt on, and hugged my pillow tightly, 'Poor Shiki, what in the world happened to him?' Tears poured from my eyes, and my strength left my body.