Gentle Eyes
"Unbelievable!" she cried with so much frustration, stomping up and down the small stone path that snaked its way in between colourful flower-beds.
Kija blinked once, then twice, his face one of confusion as he tried to decipher what was disturbing his younger companion so much. She was blushing madly ever since they had met up the next day during lunch break; but it was not one of her deeply touched, innocent kind of reddenings. It was one made out of anger and embarrassment.
"Y-Yona-sama..." he followed her with his eyes, but Yona was unresponsive, mumbling to herself how ignorant and horrible some Hak was; how it disturbed her that she could not forget his name as easily as she had forgotten Yun's, whose company was so much more welcome than that of the 'nameless' stranger, "Yona...sama..."
His words were being drained out by her mutters; too much animosity tainted her usually serene facial expression. He had never witnessed the red-head so wrought up before. Should he maybe intercept her pathway in order to catch her attention, or leave her to boil within her own displeasure until she had cooled down sufficiently to respond halfway normally? Kija felt quite conflicted.
"He does not know me!" Yona now exclaimed with a wail, "How dare he underestimate me like that, and insult my name? What have I ever done to him!?"
Her eyes flew about wildly, as if she could find an answer to her rather rhetorical questions within the buds of fresh daisies. She felt ridiculous; maybe she even was, getting all pumped up like that, but it felt relieving to let all her frustration vent out.
"Yona-sama" Kija attempted anew, this time successful, for she gazed at him in surprise, as if she had only just recognized his presence there, under the same hazelnut tree they had lunched under before so many times, "I feel you have something to get off your chest?"
His smile made her cool down by several degrees. Kija was being endearing and caring as always, patient with her, despite her rather terrible mood that she should let out at anyone but dear, precious Kija. Yona suddenly felt horrible; he had seen her all riled up, it made her feel more embarrassed than she had felt yesterday, during her encounter with Soo-Won and that guy.
Alone thinking about the creasing of his eyebrows got her teeth to grind against each other; she had to stop. For Kija's sake and for her own, she had to simply push him out of her mind. Kouka Academy was huge; chances were that she would not notice him so quickly, that he would sink within the masses, ignoring her existence as much as she would ignore his, and live blissfully in mutual indifference for the rest of their equivalent lives.
Another nut tumbled down the tree's bark, bouncing on Yona's head and landing quite reflexively within the palm of her right hand; she had gotten so used to the dropping of seeds that catching them came near to naturally. It surprised even her. She stood and smiled at Kija, feeling her tenseness loosen, when the white-haired boy's expression suddenly changed to one of surprise.
Yona reflected his visage, trying to figure out what irked him so much, and as she glanced at her palm, believing that her catching this nut, which before had always caught her off-guard very quickly, was the cause for his change of expression, she was to see that this was not the case.
On her shoulder – and she could not tell the exact moment this had occurred, for she had felt nothing – a small, chestnut-coloured squirrel stood, claws slightly dug into the soft fabric of her blazer, nose twitching towards the object that still rested within her hand. The being seemed to be highly interested in it, carefully manoeuvring its way along her slightly outstretched arm, rasping against the shell of the hazelnut before it picked it up, sniffing it up closely.
Once it was done with inspecting, the being turned its grand, dark eyes towards Yona, blinking a few times, cheeks puffed ever so cutely, "P'kyuu!" it squeaked, twisting its minuscule head from left to right before, with a mad dash, it chased down her clothes, hopped onto the grass and skipped its way through the botanic garden, the nut in tow.
"What was that...?" Kija questioned, appearing absolutely flabbergasted.
Yona felt like laughing. It had been the most innocent and adorable scene all day; something you would see happening in a Facebook post of sorts, or in an anime.
"It must have been hungry." Yona tried to suppress her giggle, even though she did not understand why; laughing was the best remedy of all, so why not let it flow? But somehow, she felt like she had to hold herself together.
"I don't usually see squirrels here in the gardens..." Kija exclaimed with a quirked eyebrow, seemingly deep in thought as his eyes gazed into open space.
"Hmmm...let's see where it went," the red-haired Hiryuu suddenly decided, walking along the pathway that the rodent had taken.
"Yona-sama, it's a squirrel, finding such a being is not that-" Kija outstretched his right arm towards her, but she squealed with delight before he could complete his sentence.
"Kija, look!"
He came rushing towards her; she had only taken a turn, entering another part of the garden that had been sealed off merely by a perfectly trimmed hedge. There, on the other side, squeaking on a bench, was the small squirrel, patting its stomach merrily as it lay on a pile of cracked nutshells. Next to it, a precisely peeled nut lay; presumably the one it had grasped from Yona, resting against the clothed thigh of a boy.
Yona did not know why, but she recognized him immediately; despite not recalling his name, and never having talked to him, the boy with the short, sky-blue hair and the tainted glasses was not unknown to her. He was intelligent, she knew that much, and preferred to keep to himself; for he was sitting in isolation with merely a history book and a squirrel for companionship.
She talked before she was capable of biting onto her lips, "Hello."
The squirrel jumped to its rodent feet, p'kyuuing at her delightfully as the boy slowly raised his head to glance at her. Yona could barely see his oculars behind the obscurity of his shades, but his lips were a neat line of impassibility. At least, so she believed to be true.
"Who is it, Yona-sama?" Kija inquired, stepping next to the scarlet-haired youngster, looking her way and soon discovering the boy she was staring at so intently.
Something had just glistened behind his glasses...something mesmerizing; she felt fascinated. He was still looking at her, unmoving, when she uttered the first thought that entered her mind, "Your eyes..." Yona blinked with a blush, "they're beautiful."
As if spoken as a warning, or even a threat, the azure-haired student sprang to his feet, the history book clapped shut tightly beforehand, having the squirrel jolting up his arm – had they practised this before? - and before neither Yona nor her companion could utter a single syllable, he made a mad dash through the garden, disappearing behind some bushes and a tree.
She blinked once, blinked twice, with Kija just as much, if not even more confused than her. Yet Yona caught herself quite abruptly, shaking her head as to get out of her stupor. Her curiosity won over; and the fact that she did not want to think of other, more negative thoughts. He seemed intriguing; and was bound to be friendlier than what the first impression gave away. Hence, she took her legs into her hands and chased after him, a weak "w-wait!" leaving her lips in the hope of somehow attracting his attention through it.
Kija could not warn her fast enough; had been, up until now, incapable of teaching her about the vastness of the botanic garden, and that she was heading a pathway he had seldom taken himself (thus, so he explained to himself, the reason he must have never really encountered the young man) and that she was bound to quickly get lost. This area was a territory Lee-sensei would be more accustomed to, or the professional gardeners that, every now and then, decided to take a closer look at the most sensitive parts of the garden.
Yet gone she was, her feet fast as she stepped along stone and grass and skipped over patches of blooming colours, making sure to always have a small part of the boy within the peripherals of her eyes. She did not want to miss out on him; but he was eager to place as much distance between them as physically possible. He appeared panic-stricken, and she knew that there was no need for his fear; she wanted to pacify him.
"Wait!" Yona called with a voice much louder and clearer than before; the bushes were getting denser, the trees so much larger. She knew not where she was, would be helpless in her quest to find her way back, or generally out of the gardens, but it bothered her little as long as she had the slightest chance of catching her classmate.
Suddenly, Yona stumbled, her eyes momentarily facing the ground, which consequently caused her to lose sight of her target; as she righted herself, the intriguing boy with the shades was gone. She cursed underneath her breath, swirling around in a circle, trying to orientate herself, but had to defeatedly admit that she was utterly lost. Well, where had she come from? That tree! - oh, no, it looked very much the same as all the others, and the birds here within sounded as abstract as ever; not to be identified. No peculiar flowers to distinguish her way, nor any bushes – mind you, Yona had barely paid any attention to her surrounding, anyway, so focused had she been on the boy.
However, her situation began to frustrate her, for Kija seemed far away, out of ear-shot at least, for each time she called his name with vibrancy, her only response was the increased chatter of the birds. Maybe they were mocking her, for getting lost, and this was their way of telling her, but Yona could not let despair overtake her.
She went one way, trembling along stone and observing a few pansies to her right. 'Purple pansies', she thought, using it as a sort of anchor in case she started walking in circles, and continued on her pathway, but only to discover more pansies.
There were pansies everywhere, every colour, and soon there were new, abstract, diverse flowers, some even quite large, and the air thickened here and there, with trees growing taller and taller by the minute.
"Where am I?" she muttered, once more spinning in a circle, gazing upwards but only receiving the faintest rays of sunlight.
She tried for another path but it helped her not at all; everything looked the same, nothing indicated an exit, or appeared familiar enough to direct her back to the parts of the gardens that she was well acquainted with. It seemed quite hopeless; even walking in simply one direction frustrated her early enough, for on one hand, it seemed to never end, and on the other, Kija had explained to her that, at one of its edges, the botanic garden bordered near a valley, with a small cliff at one side, falling quite abruptly down into scrub and rock. It would be counterproductive were she to unknowingly walk in just that direction.
Yona sighed heavily. Her eyes began to itch; tears welled up at the bottom, threatening to fall and completely blur her vision, rendering her immobile and making her admit that she would not find her way back to safety, nor to the mysterious boy, and that it had been reckless and silly of her to simply wander off on her own, in a direction she had never gone towards before, without one single thought given.
Yona trudged backwards, trying aggravatingly to orientate herself, to take in deep breaths and convince herself that she could, and would, find her way back, but once more she had to stumble, this time with a pant leaving her lips, for it had taken her very much off guard. She fell backwards, her bum about to painfully land on small pebbles and grit, when a strong arm caught her, pulling Yona's fragile body back up.
She could not quite tell what had made her gasp so much; the sudden, unforeseen fall, or the fact that something stopped her; or rather, someone, for the blue-haired boy was standing by her side.
In that very moment, Yona was granted an intimate insight; the light from the sun, that filtered through the trees quite strenuously, made his glasses glow, and allowed her to see what was behind; the beautiful orbs she had merely glimpsed earlier. Amber and ochre, somewhat like a gem, with pupils as black as darkness, and a gloss about them that made them most vivid and unique. She was mesmerized; could not look away no matter how hard she willed herself to do so; out of politeness, of course. Had she ever seen such beautiful oculars? Such artistry? No, it really was a phenomena yet to be documented, and it did not want to settle with her that he decided to hide them daily from sight; why obscure such beauty? Would anyone tease him for them? And if, why, if not out of pathetic jealousy? She just could not fathom the possible reason.
"You are beautiful," she whispered as he held her, gradually pulling her back onto her feet, for which she was more than thankful and expressed such through a very genuine smile.
It must have caught him off-guard; both the compliment and her smile, for he blushed very quickly, cheeks becoming crimson, as the small squirrel from earlier stood expectantly on his shoulder.
"Thank you very much." She tried, once more, to see his eyes, for the light was fading and he was gazing towards the ground, once more hiding them behind tainted glasses. It made her heart clench a little.
He was, truthfully, very beautiful, with his close-cropped hair, shining like the sky, his somewhat tender nature that she felt vibrating through the air. If a squirrel was his friend, then he truthfully had to be a nice guy, right? She barely, if ever, had seen rodents in the botanic garden.
"No reason to hide; I'm only trying to be your friend." It was the truth; for friends she desired, and he seemed to be just as lonely as she was, if him hiding away all the time was any indication. The garden, being so quiet and a place to easily get lost in, was a perfect hiding spot, after all. Yet not wanting him to feel any more uncomfortable, she decided to refrain from staring at him too intently.
He shook his head, avoiding her stare, probably wanting to leave but knowing that she would be lost still. Thus, the mute boy took her hand very softly, tugging it in an indication that she was to follow, and trudged with her along the gardens without a single moment of hesitation or doubt. He obviously knew this place quite well; maybe even better than Kija did; Yona followed obediently, for whom was she to decline his companionship?
"Are you here often...?" the red-head whispered, scared that if she raised her voice, he would shy away.
As his head nodded in confirmation, it was as if ripples went through a sunny day's sky. Yona found herself staring after all, and immediately had to correct herself that it was not day, but rather the night he resembled, with his quietness and beauty. His extraordinary pale, almost white complexion, only added to that impression.
"What is your name?" By now, a smile was present on her lips, for she felt much more upbeat than before, now that she had not only found him, but also a way out of this rather confusing labyrinth.
She hoped her inquiry would not scare him away; that she had not been too direct. It was not direct, asking simply for a name, but he seemed a special case, did he not? She knew that, with him, she had to be extraordinarily careful, for he was so very different, so very special, and needed attention of a particular kind. Scared that she had gone too far, Yona shied back a little, her steps becoming slower.
"Shin-Ah."
His sudden response surprised her nonetheless; her heart jolted dangerously; not only because, indeed, he had responded, but because the soothing calmness of his voice had something so comforting, she felt like crying out of joy. She wanted to tell him how she felt right then and there; show him that he was good companionship, but knew that it would merely overwhelm him.
"Shin-Ah..." she whispered, tasting the name on her tongue, smiling as she felt it just perfect, "And...your little friend?" she pointed towards the rodent despite him not seeing, for she was walking behind him, after all, but he seemed to fully understand what she wanted.
"Ao..."
"Ao," Yona reiterated, then hesitated for a few seconds, letting the sounds of the forest overtake their conversation. Only when she truthfully could not contain herself anymore, did Yona laugh quite heartily, with further tears rolling lazily down her cheeks, "What an unsuitable name for him!"
He appeared to blush, suddenly stopping in his tracks. Yona feared she had finally gone too far, that this made him feel most unhappy and unwanted, but instead, he uttered a "I know" with a somewhat amused tone of voice, ultimately continuing their march through the garden. After several seconds of further quietude, he added, "She's a girl."
"Huh?" Yona had not expected him to say anything else.
"The squirrel...Ao. She is a female." His voice, deep and consoling, gurgled like a rivulet through her ears, making her smile even more, her cheeks nearly burning from the action.
"Oh, then the name is even more unsuitable than I thought!" She giggled, her free hand holding her lips as her other remained within the warmth of his hands.
Only then did she decide to closely inspect the intertwining of their fingers; his strong, rather pretty limb, holding her ever so protectively, felt comforting, relieving, as if she had to fear nothing on earth anymore. A storm might come, a monster jump out of the bushes, she would be safe as long as Shin-Ah was by her side, his radiating presence being one of deeply hidden love; for she knew he had a lot of love to give, the family kind of love every being desired, but had yet to find the right people to share it with.
Yona hoped, no, was sure that he would make a great addition to her small friendship group of herself and Kija, and that their company would be a blessing to him as much as it would be to her, for already now she felt so attached to him that the prospect of him leaving her afterwards, and not speaking to her ever again (or rather, interacting, for he was not really the talkative type) saddened her immensely.
"Say, Shin-Ah, do you have any friends? Besides Ao, that is." Was she really being this bold?
He halted once more, not even abruptly, but slowly, and turned to look at her through dyed glasses, before he lackadaisically shook his head.
"Well..." she felt too shy to speak the following words, and had to bring up all the courage she could muster "why don't you hang around with Kija and me more often? You and Ao would be more than welcome to sit by us – and don't worry! You don't have to speak, if that's what you fear." She blushed, "It's just...you seem like a wonderfully kind person, and I want to get to know you better." The red-head averted her eyes at this.
He stared; for an extended amount of time, that is, and it took Yona quite a while to realise that he had gone scarlet, probably in a good kind of way, before ever so reluctantly (but more out of shyness than anything else) nodding at her offer.
His response made Yona smile all the more, which secretly caused him to blush even harder, for she was more than elated to have made yet another friend.
"I'm glad I met you today, Shin-Ah."
A/N: Hey guys! Finally a new update, even though it is a bit short - we are not dead, just super busy with our private lives, which involves a lot of work and little free time. We are very sorry! RuskaSky and I finally have some free time these next weeks and thus want to focus on this story more, for we have more than just 4 chapters written already, but they are all still in a raw state and need quite some revision before we can present them to you all, so please bear with us!
Thank you for all the continued support - we are more than amazed at how popular this fanfiction has become, it makes us very happy. And do not fret; we will not give up on our fanfiction, we will keep working on it, even if it takes some time - expect some updates in the next weeks.
Please also do tell us how you feel about this chapter and its developments! We love hearing from you all!
Until the next bite~
NagareboshiStar from FantasyMuffins
