Chapter 4

Usagi stood in the middle of a ruined street. Asphalt raised and distorted, buildings torn and ruined. Cars were littered haphazardly, void of colour, rusted and broken. Lamp posts bent, some hanging off electrical lines, some flickered, a small light in a world of grey clouds and red thunder. Broken columns of grey stoned marble jutted out of buildings. Bodies, dry husks, laid as they died, their mouths open in a perpetual scream. Cracked spears and crumbling arrows protruded from chests and back. Shattered swords and dented shields still clung to a few.

In front of her, Usagi stared at a monstrous body of a snake that laid motionless. Rows and rows of ribs laid exposed, its skin slowly melting away. A large clawed hand reached out for her, frozen; the black of its eyes staring back at her intently, empty. Beneath its body rested numerous deformed bodies. Once human but no longer. In the crook of the monsters back sat a dull ball of light that slowly trickled upwards. The dull light trickled from small pointed crystals with faintest grain of light within them.

Despite the quiet, the stillness Usagi dared not move, she was still just out of reach of the giant claw.

"Leave! Hide! It's too dangerous!" cried a voice behind her. A man's voice.

The thing was dead, there was a large gash split right between its blank eyes. What was there to hide from. Where would she leave? Where was the danger? Everything was dead.

In her right grip Usagi held a stone sword, the ground beneath the tip of the blade was cracked. The shatter line reached the monster, reached the dead, the buildings. All except her. Beneath Usagi's bare feet was soft shining grey sand.

Usagi's body jolted as the shoji doors clattered loudly. She grimaced as she winced from the pain, a dull ache across the back of her body. She carefully readjusted herself to turn her body towards the doors. It was best to stay in her bed till the bathrooms had less traffic. She rubbed her eyes between two fingers, her dreams, though faint in her memories were soon forgotten to the morning lull of sleepiness.

She had left the hospital two days ago. The incident three days ago.

During her stay in the hospital she had scans and physical test performed on her. Even the hospital child psychologists asked about Usagi's thought and feelings on what happened that day and she told the truth. An inquisitive brow rose on the psychologist's face, with a slow nod as she wrote onto her clipboard. That was before she found out that the officials have announced that a freak earthquake struck the Municipal city of Shinzo. Needless to say, this made Yamahato Keiko, the orphanage manager, upset when she was informed by the junior doctor on the day she was collected from the hospital. Usagi's overall injures were minimal. She suffered cuts and abrasions on her hands, face and scalp, widespread bruising on her back and that was all. She was told luck must have been on her side, her injuries compared to others that day...

Upon their return to the orphanage Yamahato took Usagi into her office. "How could you say that! A monster hurt and killed all those people!? A monster destroyed all those buildings?! You were the least hurt out of all those involved in this tragedy!" Yamahato screamed.

Usagi shook, her head down, attempting to bow to Yamahato but the strain was too much for her back. Such a small bow to her manager was insulting. She gasped back a cry in both pain and humiliation, but the tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

Yamahato's voice rose higher, "Dull! Dull stupid girl! You bring shame to me and those around you! You are to remain here for the remaining duration of the school holidays! Now get out!" She finished with a heaving breath, tossing a small box of pain medications into her drawers and removing a cigarette and lighter.

"I am sorry Yamahato-san." Usagi formally apologized.

Yamahato simple hand sweep gestured for her leave as she hastily dragged the cigarette in and breath out a puff of smoke. Usagi winced standing up straight before stiffly leaving the office. A group of four children stood at the hall entrance and once they saw who had the manager in an uproar they left back towards the playroom.

Since that day Usagi had only left her dorm only to relieve herself and eat, she avoided Yamahato at all cost. But what kept her in her room was the pain, she would lay in her bed for most hours of the day. Back at the hospital the nurses gave her medication for her pain and on discharge she was only to have them as required. But no one brought her medications, so Usagi thought it must mean she did not require them.

After using the bathroom, Usagi felt too nauseas to eat and returned to her cooling warm blankets. She fell asleep easily from exhaustion. The pain griped her back each night enduring sleepless hours at night.

She awoke just before lunch, and she carefully walked down the stairs, pausing before the final set of stairs for any lurking sounds of Yamahato. After a bowl of rice, miso soup and pickled vegetables Usagi trudged up the stairs back to her room.

Carefully, sitting down by her desk she pulled out one least used school notebooks, and with her black ball point pen she swept the lined paper with curve then down. A sharp curve around an angle. A sharp edge to end it. A torso, a pair of arms, a mouth too wide to be human, teeth too jagged and sharp to be natural. Black eyes gazing straight at her, a white ball on its back.

She knew what she had saw, what she remembered, she was sure...

When the last semester of school recommenced on the 8th of January the monsters in her notebooks were forgotten. The school started with an assembly, the principle reminding the 3rd years of their oncoming High School Entrance exams and of the 2nd years beginning to their 3rd year. He finished with presenting two new students. A boy who was in his 1st year, the other a tall brunette for the 2nd year, who easily towered over her new class captains of her class.

"Woah, she's huge!" spoke a boy in front of her.

"Why isn't she wearing our uniform?" whispered a girl.

The young boy came forward, "My name Ichima Yuki. Pleased to meet you." his voice pitched towards the end, earning a chuckle from the other students. He blushed and bowed.

The tall brunette came forward, she bowed elegantly, her wavy brown hair falling onto the side of her cheek. She lifted her head and with a warm voice she introduced herself "My name is Kino Makoto. I am pleased to meet you."

When they left the assembly, in two straight disciplined lines, two of the boys in her class stopped and gasp.

"Oi! Look, there's a black cat on the school grounds!" the two and several more followed went after the cat until Hurana-sensei, their homeroom teacher, reprimanded them.

As the class lounge comfortably till their maths teacher arrived Usagi spotted the black cat, walking along the school compound wall. It was concentrating up and away from her sight.

"REI!" bolting upright and bowing to their teacher the first lesson of semester began. Thankfully her back no longer hurt.

The day was still clear during lunch hour, a horde of students exited the school building to bask in the warm winter sun. The sun shone through the branches of her favourite bush as she sat down on a small boulder beside the school wall. She bit into her rice ball and observed the gathering of students several metres away from her. Usagi spotted the tall brunette sitting among the group of girls from her new class laughing and smiling.

It was towards the end of lunchtime that Usagi came to realise the full height of the brunette, when they both exited the toilet cubicle before the bells rang. Usagi's blue eyes gasped when she met with broad shoulders, eyes travelling up, but needed to crane her neck up as well, to meet with soft green eyes, curtained with brown wavy hair. She smiled at Usagi and proceeded to wash her hands. Usagi took a step away from the tall girl, turning towards the sink to do the same. Their hands met at the hand dryer. They both withdrew at the same time, ignoring the rush of hot air.

"It's alright. You go first." The brunette told her gently.

Usagi violently shook her head without lifting to meet her eyes and wiped her hands on her uniform instead as she rushed out. She nearly crashed into a group of girls that stood just outside the female toilets and managed with ease to dash around them towards the ascending stairs.

"Hey! Wait! I'm sorry!" she heard the girl cry out.

"What? Are you apologising to her?"

"I-I…"

In Japanese Usagi could feel at ease. The lesson differed to others in that their teacher was old and did not enjoy writing on the blackboards anymore. Totoro-sensei sat in front of them instead of behind the teacher's counter. His back slightly hunched as he sat. A pair of circular glassed sat on the crook of his nose while he dictated his lesson. Totoro-sensei did not mind if you wrote in your notebook or not, he did not mind if you lounged yourself along your desk. He did not mind when his youthful students burst out laughing at his lessons or interrupted to discuss his chosen topics of the day. Though he was more relaxed than his younger counterparts his punishments were no less severe. But rarely anyone did misbehave in his class, why would you when all the elderly gentleman wanted was just a touch of that fountain of youth.

Umino Gurio dictated Jakuren, a twelfth century Buddhist priest and poet, but after two lines of the poet's verse Totoro-sensei halted him. "You sound like Mister Roboto-chan, Umino-san." The class laughed. Umino chuckled awkwardly as he sat back down, "Once we reach modern poetry Umino-san next year I guarantee you will be my first choice to read the verses." Another chuckle echoed the first.

"Now then." Totoro-sensei began craning his to look through the class, his brown eyes stopped at Usagi. "Tsukino-san would you do the honour of continuing." The room was quiet as Usagi stood, trembling as she held the book, she eyed her old teachers withered finger tracing down the page before he looked up with a genteel smile.

Taking a deep breath and averting her eyes down towards words she began. Usagi's voice was soft and timid, she did not stutter, holding her tone gentle and peaceful.

"Together tonight;

tomorrow the mountain path,

will come between us,

and I shall reside alone,

in my hermitage again,

throughout the night,

we kept the bushwood burning,

in my lowly hut,

and the words that we exchange,

I never shall forget,

deep in this mountain,

I keep the winter indoors:

who would care to call,

on so aged a body,

were it not for you?"

This was strange, should Totoro-sensei not choose another to continue? Despite that Usagi did not falter in her tone as she softly spoke out each word, she failed to notice her fellow students shuffle in their chairs to face her.

"in the twilight mist,

distant villages,

are enshrouded;

I tread the road to my hut,

in the cedar grove."

"Thank you Tsukino-san." Totoro-sensei spoke before she reached the next verse. Usagi lifted her gaze and saw her teacher dab his eyes with his handkerchief. "It is truly sad when so many find an unpolished gem and think it is just a rock."

She felt her cheeks warm and stood there for a moment before sitting down. Her teacher lifted his gaze again towards the class again, "Suuichi-san if you could continue from Tsukino-san."

"Yes sir. On every blade of grass..."

On her way out of the school gates she spotted the tall girl kneeling by a black cat, standing beside them a girl with short blue hair.

"So, this is your cat? Wow! She came straight up to me." She heard the brunette say.

"Yes, but not to everyone." Spoke the blue haired girl. "You're new around here are you not? Would you like me to show you around? I can show you the Crown Arcade."

She agreed as the black cat's head mauled the brunette hand.

"Hi Usagi-san!" Usagi stopped in her tracks and looked over to her right. The tall girl spoke to her. Usagi watched as she stood up and walked over to her, leaving the cat and the girl behind.

"My name is Kino Makoto. I'm sorry if I scared you in the toilets. I'm really sorry." The tall girl, Makoto, bowed slightly before her and then lifted her right hand towards her. "I hope we can start over?" Unsure on what to do Usagi grasped her briefcase in both arms and gazed down at the concrete.

Makoto gave an awkward laugh before dropping her hand. "Say would you like to come the Crowded Arcade with Ami-san and me?"

Usagi frowned, was she being asked to come along?

"Aah! I don't think Usagi-san likes arcades! Err...right?" Usagi lifted her gaze towards Ami, the short blue haired girl. She looked stressed and displeased, even the black cat did as well.

"I am sorry!" Usagi bowed deeply before the brunette before rushing past the school gates.

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