And here's another chapter for you guys! I'm not giving you enough time to review, hahaha XD. But thanks for reading, and review if you get a chance to. It makes me happy :D
"The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is."
-Winston Churchill
Untenable
I felt terrible the next morning as well, somehow even more tired than I had been yesterday. Some part of me whispered that it was because Shuichi's friends were there, but it made no sense and I really didn't want to know what the implications of that were. So I did my best to ignore it, and went straight to school.
Just like yesterday, as soon as I walked into the room Shuichi lifted his hand in greeting; this time I nodded towards him and didn't make eye contact. I sped towards my desk and plopped down in front of Hikari, blowing out a sigh as my head throbbed. Great, so now I had a headache…?
I glanced down at my desk, and saw the pencil Shuichi had given back to me yesterday. Then I snorted once humorlessly, and shook my head.
"What?" Hikari prodded, leaning forward into my personal space. "Also, good morning!"
I turned with a smirk and an eye roll. "I just realized something."
"What?" Hikari asked, eyes lighting up with interest.
"That pencil Shuichi gave me… it isn't mine. It's his. I use mechanical, that one's wooden." I shrugged helplessly. "Not a bit deal, it just shows how out of it I've been lately…"
Her mouth popped open, and then a slow smile crept onto her features.
"I think he likes you…" she whispered with a devilish grin.
I gaped at her.
"You think he likes me because he gave me his pencil." I deadpanned, lifting an incredulous eyebrow in her direction.
She lifted her hands above her head. "I just think he used the pencil as an excuse to come over here and talk to you!" she explained, and though what she said was slightly more reasonable, she was still wearing an impish grin.
"I don't understand why he would seek me out specifically… he probably just dropped his own pencil and gave it back, thinking it was mine," I said, rolling my eyes. "No ulterior motives. I was just making an observation."
"He would seek you out specifically because he likes you, Reina," she stage whispered.
"Oh, hush," I said—not unkindly—with a small chuckle. "This is getting ridiculous."
At that moment our math teacher decided to walk in through the door, just as the bell rang. So, rolling my eyes at Hikari one last time, I turned and faced the front of the room, folding my arms on my desk.
A spark of static electricity made me jerk my hand back towards me, my eyes going wide.
That pencil…
I stared at it for a moment, then glanced around. Shuichi was busily taking notes at my right, two rows over, one seat up. I bit the inside of my lip and looked back down at the innocent Ticonderoga.
I lifted a finger, and poked it.
A visible jolt of electricity sparked as my finger made contact with the pencil, and I jerked my hand back, sticking my finger in my mouth. It didn't hurt really, it was just an unpleasant sensation.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shuichi's head swivel in my direction rather quickly.
I tried not to look at him, and surveyed the damage.
There was a black charred mark on the side of the pencil—it was smoking a bit. I wet my finger and pressed it to the mark in wonder. It made the tiniest hiss and stopped smoking. I wiped my finger off on the inside of my skirt and rolled the pencil over so the damage wasn't exposed.
Now it didn't feel weird. Huh. I poked it again for good measure. Nope, just a normal pencil now. Not that I was complaining, but… why…?
I puzzled over it for a smaller part of the hour, and then shook it off and paid attention to the tail end of the lecture.
The rest of the week passed with no consequence. Everyone went home with only a little homework and warnings that there was much more to come. I finished mine within an hour of getting home on Friday, and relaxed for the rest of the weekend. All I did was go to lunch with Hikari at the Yukimura's ramen shop on Saturday and go to the gym on Sunday with my mom.
And then week two of my high school education began.
Shuichi started yearbook that week, and was—as I had predicted—a copy editor, checking articles for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. And with all the clubs starting up, I was staying later every other day, taking pictures and giving then to the reporting department to collaborate.
One of Shuichi's jobs was to make sure the quota of pictures per page was met, and he came to bug me after school almost every day. So now his job was to annoy me, basically. Lovely.
"Reina, was it your turn to cover the Biology club Tuesday? The article I'm editing doesn't have any pictures…"
Stuff like that. And even more ridiculous:
"Reina, I'm not quite sure how I should word this sentence. Perhaps a fresh set of eyes…"
Really? Really? Godchild, top of his class, nothing but perfect scores Minamino for crying out loud! I could do nothing to correct his syntax errors, because they simply didn't exist.
And then, the worst:
"Reina, what are you doing this weekend?"
I paused in the middle of looking for my camera's connection cord, and slowly turned to look at him.
"Um," I said intelligently. "Er, why?"
He smiled a gorgeous smile, you had to give him that. "I was wondering if you wanted to walk around… waste time. With me." He held the smile and waited.
"I…" I looked around desperately, and spotted Hikari, who was within earshot. Her mouth was wide open in stunned awe. Well, crap. That's going to be an interesting conversation. "Maybe another time. My family…" I looked back at him. "Yeah. My family. Spending time with them." As a second thought, I added a smile that hopefully didn't look too forced.
"Ah," he replied, not looking too crestfallen. He fixed me with a wry smile. "I understand. Yes, a rain check will do." And then he walked off to his computer, and sat back down while I remained there, frozen.
In short, Hikari's interrogation was excruciating.
Firstly, she maledicted that Shuichi had "For sure!" asked me out, and I had to explain on several occasions that that was not the case. At all. Nada. Never.
...But it didn't dissuade her. In the slightest.
"He asked you if you were doing anything over the weekend." She said, rolling her eyes as if the topic was a simple concept that I surely should be able to grasp. "All the girls in the school would kill for him to ask them that, and he asks you," She threw me a disbelieving look, "over everyone else. You're totally ungrateful, and you'd better take him up on that rain check. I'll be mad if you don't"
"Am I supposed to be insulted, Hikari?" I asked amusedly. "I mean… last week, it was all "He's so stuck-up, he's a player," etc, and now you're telling me I should go out with him. On a not-date," I added.
"Maybe you can change him," she said with a wide gesture. "Change his ways. Make him a better man…"
"That's over your pay grade, dear," I teased, nudging her. "C'mon, drop it. I'll take him up on his offer next weekend if that makes you happy, as utterly excruciating as that sounds…"
"You have to enjoy yourself, Reina! Or it doesn't count."
"No promises."
The remainder of the most stressful week of my life (thus far) passed slowly... agonizingly... but passed.
On Friday, everyone left school joyously, running out of the building to go home, or to the movies and/or arcade. I grabbed my gym bag and headed to the gym.
There was a crowd of Friday afternoon traffic that I had to wade through, but it wasn't too bad. I hiked my backpack a little bit higher up on my back, and clutched my gym bag to my chest.
Suddenly, like an arrow to the heart, there was the fire again.
I balked and the crowd swept past me like a stream around a rock, and I surveyed my surroundings carefully.
Nothing.
I walked a little bit faster the rest of the way, and was a little short of breath when I got to the gym. I headed straight for the locker room and changed out of my uniform, hanging it up in my locker. I put on a leotard and, after a second, my light jacket as well—I felt cold. I pulled on my shorts as well when goosebumps traveled up my thighs.
I leaned against one of the sinks and stared at my reflection. Blue eyes in a pale, worried face stared back.
"You're okay," I told myself. I ran some warm water and splashed it over my face. Holy, I was freezing… "Just… go have a look. There's nothing there. Go. Do it."
I shoved my bag into my locker, put my key in my pocket, and strode purposefully out into the gym, past a class of twelve girls and two boys, and out the door, yanking my hair into a ponytail as I did so.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
I suddenly felt very tired, and sighed. I went back inside, got some money, and headed to the nearest convenience store.
I leaned against the facade of the store, finishing up my granola bar, and people watched.
Slowly, the fire ran up my arms and legs, and congealed in a knot in my chest. My hand automatically went up to my heart, and I looked more closely at the crowd.
Alright, getting out of here. I threw the remains of my granola bar into a nearby trashcan, and started walking—not to the gym, not home, nowhere in particular really. Just away from the strange burning sensation.
I glanced over my shoulder and my heart stopped.
Shuichi's friend was behind me, a little ways off. The big one.
And as he saw me spot him, a slow smile crept onto his features.
I turned away and quickened my pace.
Shuichi's POV
I was quite sure she had never come this way before. A week ago, when I had met her and she first had that strange reaction to my presence, I had followed her to a gym to see if she was any threat to my operation. She was going in the opposite direction now, and certainly not heading home; that was to the east.
She had come from the gym I was assuming; she was wearing a sleeved leotard with a light workout jacket, and gym shorts. She didn't look as if she had stayed there long—it was as if she gone there to change her clothes, and leave.
The expression on her face was worrisome, and with good reason.
Reina strode swiftly, nervously, face stony and anxious at the same time. She was either trying to hide her fear from others, or denying that she was afraid, that there was nothing to be afraid of.
She should be afraid.
Gouki matched her frantic pace, twenty feet behind her.
I stepped out into the flow of the crowd, and trailed silently behind them.
Reina's POV
Now I knew.
This... thing... this acquaintance of Shuichi's, was definitely following me. I had taken turn after random turn, and he was still there.
Don't panic, I advised myself, yet again.
I wasn't exactly sure where I was going; the flames scorching through me and my fear were making my head spin in a dizzying and confusing way.
I was gradually walking into a secluded part of town. I walked for several minutes and saw no one. Only the peeling walls of abandoned buildings. Occasionally there was a parked car, but no one was outside.
No. No, no, no...
Then I turned a corner, and hesitated for a split second. No one was around. I was in a deserted alleyway. At the other end, a chain link fence. Crap.
There was a building on my left that looked like an apartment complex. There was a rusty fire escape clinging precariously to the side of the brick wall. Most of the ladder was pulled up, but if I jumped…
"You can't run, girl." A throaty growl called out to me.
I whirled around and watched in numb terror as he lumbered closer. I began backing away.
"S- stay back." I tried not to look behind me at the fire escape. I could grab the last rung and pull it down, then climb up. I would have to do it very quickly...
He laughed but didn't even hesitate. His eyes glinted in anticipation as he grew closer.
Anticipation for what...?! My mind thought, panicked. My throat was dry. There was a dull burning sensation building in my chest, growing stronger as he walked closer. And then he paused, and studied me.
Wildfire burned through my veins, taking my breath away.
This can't be real.
He paused ten or so feet away from me, then grinned menacingly.
"Fear." He rumbled, voice caressing the word. He eyed me hungrily. "A soul steeped in mouthwatering fear..."
I backed up further.
He was too close.
I whirled and ran.
In a few seconds I had reached the fire escape. I sprinted at the wall, leaping and planting my foot against the brick, three feet up, for leverage. It gave me just enough height to grab the last rung.
I swung from the ladder for one gut-wrenching second. Shit, it was rusted together. It wasn't coming down, I was wasting time—
I swung my legs out to gain some momentum, and started clawing up the ladder.
Too late.
Because I was wearing workout shorts, my calf and ankle were bare as his massive hand closed around my right leg.
It felt like everything from the knee down exploded into flames.
I screamed a wordless scream at first, and then cried for help—the man cursed and recoiled, dragging me off of the fire escape. I fell backwards, bouncing against his chest and rolling off. I stumbled halfway to my feet and made a desperate bid for freedom—
—His arm came out and swept my legs out from under me; my arms barely had enough time to come up and protect my face as I fell. I hit the ground hard and scrambled to get away from him.
"HELP!" I screamed. "SOMEBODY, HELP ME!" I felt his hand close around my shoe this time, obviously he hadn't liked the electric shock. "Shit, NO!" I jerked my foot out of my sneaker, and he cursed as I gathered the breath needed to scream again.
"Shut up, bitch," he snarled, and he flipped me over in one effortless motion.
His breath blew—hot and rancid—into my face, and his hands closed around my upper arms. He stood, holding me, and my feet kicked helplessly several feet in the air. I could only struggle hopelessly as he leered into my face. My sleeves protected me from his touch, but I felt like I was on a pyre.
"Pathetic," he growled with a horrible grin.
Wordlessly, I kicked him in his nether-regions. He let out a roar of pain and I slipped slightly from his grasp, but he tightened it before I could wriggle free.
"Gouki!" someone shouted. "Don't…!"
With one last outraged snarl, my attacker cast me aside effortlessly.
I felt myself hit the brick wall, and then everything went black.
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That's right. It's your first (and certainly not your last) cliffhanger. ;D
