I walked inside, then removed my shoes. It was dark inside; Ray was still asleep. Figures. I turned on a few lights, then headed over to her door. I knocked on the door, and waited. No reply. I sighed then grabbed some clothes from my room. along with my shampoo. I took a quick shower and changed into my normal clothes. I put away my karate clothes. I walked over to Ray's room. I was beyond caring now. I opened the door and walked inside. Ray was asleep in bed, so I opened the curtains. She rolled over muttering. I decided not to push my luck and walked over to the door. Then I shouted. "Come on, school starts in like thirty minutes and you're not even up yet!" She rolled over and said,"Shut up and leave me alone. I'm not coming to school."
"But-" She repeated her trick, turning my name into a threat. "Luke."
Anything more was futile. I turned and walked out. I grabbed my shoes, slipping then on as I went. I slammed the door behind me then headed for school.
It was a normal day at school. I kept glancing over where Ray should have been. Why hadn't she come? Blue Hair and Tsuchimikado walked over to me when class ended.
"Is Touma out of the hospital yet?" Tsuchimikado asked as I stood up. I nodded, as Blue Hair asked,"Where's the cute girl from yesterday?" "Ray?" I asked wearily. "Yeah, her!" "She stayed home. Lets go visit our friend who just left the hospital." The two nodded and voiced their agreements. We left the school as a group when the sun began setting.
I noticed a stall selling bentos, so I stopped our group and went over to purchase one. I smiled slightly as I imagined Index's face when she saw this bento. I handed him the amount for one large bento, then turned with my parcel towards the others. Then it happened. A teen, around my age and size except thinner, smacked into my bento, spilling the contents on the ground. The white haired kid continued walking, so I grabbed for his shoulder. A sudden chill ran through my body; this guy was 'strong'! I yanked my hand back and he walked away. That guy was definitely level 5. The man selling bentos offered me another to replace the spilled one, and I graciously accepted his offer. I took the new bento and walked over to the two. "That guy was a total prick!" Blue Hair exclaimed angrily. I nodded, then said, "Lets go, shall we?"
We arrived at the apartments without any further problems. We passed my apartment on the way, but the lights were off. We walked up to Touma's door, but the other two refused to knock. So I obliged, rapping loudly on the frame. A black haired beauty opened the door, causing Blue Hair to faint outright. "Hello, this is Touma's place. Are you his friends?" The woman asked with a slight smile. Touma arrived seconds after that saying,"Kanzaki, don't answer the door! Oh, it's you guys." Index pushed past both of them, exclaiming,"Luke, did you bring me something?" I handed her the bag with the bento, and she carried it back inside. "Touma, wanna eat somewhere to celebrate leaving the hospital?" He started to accept, but glanced back at the young sister eating. Kanzaki smiled and said,"I'll watch her for you, Touma." He smiled and replied,"Thanks, Kanzaki." He came outside and closed the door behind him. "Have any place in mind?" I nodded and said,"There's a nice place I frequent downtown, no more than thirty minutes here." Touma glanced around. "Where are the other two?" "Ray is gone, and your stepping on the pervert." He hopped off of Blue Hair, who was mumbling, "Touma gets...all the girls..."
When we had gone around two blocks, a sudden flash lit the sky. Only for a split second, but it was blinding. I would've sworn it was Ray's ability, but she was at home. Blue Hair cursed his luck as he tripped down the stairs leading to the subway station. Unlucky fool.
We were joking and talking like a group of old friends, when I noticed Ray. We had gotten a couple of miles away from the dorms and seeing her was a shock. So it might have been her flash earlier... She tried to walk past, but bumped into Touma. Tsuchimikado spoke first.
"Hey best friend chick, didn't see you at school today." Thanks for stating the obvious, idiot. I could tell Ray was on edge. Touma spoke next.
"You didn't go to school, Ray? Why?" Ray turned her gaze on me, so I raised my hands in innocence. Not my problem. She spoke slightly flustered, which surprised me. "I wasn't feeling well. I just came out for a walk." I almost slapped myself in shame. What a pathetic lie! Touma was the first to comment. "But we're miles from the dorms..." Let sleeping dogs lie, dammit! Ray looked agitated, and her fake smile was trembling.
"I sort of...got lost." ...no comment on that lame excuse. We were quiet, until Tsuchimikado broke the silence. "Did you see that large bright blast?" Good work, Tsuchimikado, changing the topic. Ray nodded and said," Yea, I just came from over there." She paused then, to my astonishment, asked,"So...what are you guys up to?"
Blue Hair chose that moment to stop ogling Ray and speak. "We're treating Touma to some food to wash that hospital garbage taste out of his mouth." I watched Ray's reaction, then asked,"Want to come with us, Ray?"
She shook her head, spouting some excuse about the dorm being messy. She turned and walked away, so we waved at her departing figure. Then we headed to the restaurant.
We parted ways after our meal, the other two heading separate ways while Touma and I took the same route. We talked some about Ray, then he dropped a bomb. "Do you like Ray?" I doubled over laughing, struggling to catch my breath. "Me...like...ha...Ray? We're like siblings, Touma!" He watched me then said. "Such an exaggerated reaction. It might cause someone to get the wrong idea." I stopped laughing, then glanced at him. "That's not funny, dude." "Hmmm...I wanna have a meal with Ray sometime, since we are friends..." I didn't have the guts to tell him he was wrong. I nodded as we reached the dorms. "When?" "Tomorrow, around this time." He headed for his room, leaving me alone. How would Ray take that news? No use worrying. I walked inside, ready to fall asleep...but first, was training. I walked inside and found Ray drying her hair. She was sitting on the kitchen counter.
"Why are you sitting on the kitchen counter?" I had to ask.
"Because the bathroom one was too small." Figures. I set my shoes down and walked inside. "By the way, Touma was asking a lot of questions about you, so I told him what I knew." That got her attention. She flicked off the hair dryer and looked at me with a glare. "Not about you being level 5, just little things like your favorite food and hobbies." She looked at me closely. "What is my favorite food and hobbies?"
"As far as Touma is concerned, you love painting water colors and love eating udon."
"You are cruel."
"Would you prefer I told him the truth?"
"And what would that be? That I have no preference? Whatever, sooner or later he'll figure out I'm not chummy with you guys and he'll lay off. There's a month till school starts back up, so one month without seeing me and he'll get over me." She looked away and started to go back to drying her hair. I knew my next statement wasn't going to go over well.
"Well, you see... Touma feels bad since you weren't invited out with us today, so he wants to take you out tomorrow." The hair dryer fell out of her hands and crashed to the ground. Definitely not good.
"Touma, a guy who I've spoke to not even ten minutes of my life, wants to take me on a date?" Her tone didn't sound happy; it sounded incredulous. Damn.
"You're reading it all wrong, he just wants to treat you to food because he thinks he ignored you as a friend. Nothing like a date!" Talk about smith. Ray narrowed her eyes.
"Are you saying I'm not dating material?" Plenty of replies to that, but none were safe. So I kept my mouth shut. "Whatever, just tell him to stop by here at six tomorrow." She headed for the bathroom, signaling the end of our conversation. Touma, I feel for you. Tomorrow might be hell. I went to bedroom, pausing to remove my glasses and train. I finished in an instant, then gathered my clothes and soap to take a shower. I paused by Ray's door. She was talking to someone quietly, though she seemed quite peeved. I tried to listen, but she stopped talking. They had probably hung up. I sighed then headed for the shower.
