((Disclaimer: Ix-nay on the own-ay))
My hands in my pockets, I walked away from Shinobu. Something about her tone jabbed at my side. A few days ago, I'd actually thought that she loved me. Now she was giving me the cold shoulder. I saved her life, so what's with that?
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Why would she ever do that? It really made me confused.
"Jeez, Zero, rude much?" someone snapped from behind me. I spun around to face Yuuki. She was glaring at me.
"Um, sorry?" I tried.
"I called your name, like, 5 times! What's up with you?" she scolded.
I shrugged and fell into step besides Yuuki.
"Did you notice if Shinobu was acting… different?" I questioned. Yuuki turned and said sharply,
"Different? Well, duh. She just found out she has Panic Disorder! Give her a break!" With that, she huffed away.
For a moment, I was a little dumbfounded, but then it hit me. Shinobu wasn't acting the way to me personally; she was acting that way generally. The realization made me feel better. Not that I should care. Others treat me worse. Why should Shinobu be any different? I didn't have time to ponder this. I had to get to my next class.
The day after started with no occurring events. I was sure that I wouldn't have to speak to Shinobu. I was wrong. She was constantly asking for my attention. I know now that the first attack had merely been a coincidence. As much as she was talking to me, you'd have thought she was my number one fan. She might be.
"Kiryuu-san, I saw that you made a low score on the test. I was ju—"
I knew it was Shinobu. After most of the day I'd actually memorized her voice.
"You shouldn't read other peoples' scores like that," I said dully.
"Well, your face gave it away. Anyway, would you like me to tutor you?"
When I spared her a glance I could see she was very hopeful. Her eyes shone brightly, making them a whole new kind of green. It was then that I looked at her, I mean really looked at her. I never really noticed her before. But now, everything about her popped out. I'll just say that my eyes weren't sore.
"Sure," I heard myself say.
Now she gave off pure joy.
"Ok! Ok! Thank…I mean, see you later!"
She bounced away. I sighed.
"What have I got myself into?"
That night, as I was patrolling around the school, I bumped into Yuuki, which isn't all that surprising, but she looked frantic.
"Zero! There you are! Where do you go… Never mind! I just spotted Aidou and Kain!"
This also wasn't very startling. They usually went through classes at this time.
"I mean, out of class! With two day class students!" she added, reading my mind.
That got my attention. I managed to rush to the scene behind her. What I found could've been solved easily, had Shinobu not been caught in it. You could tell she didn't mean to be there; she wasn't equipped with her camera or autograph book. Instead, she seemed to hold a day planner.
It suddenly occurred to me that she wanted to plan our study group thing. Angry at both my stupidity and her carelessness, I stepped in.
Shinobu was in front of her peers, with Aidou standing dangerously close to her. She looked like she was about to die of a heart attack.
Which, I remembered, was actually probable.
I stepped between them, pushing Aidou back.
"Excuse me," was all I said.
"We weren't doing anything wrong, were we?" Aidou asked snidely.
"You should get back to class," I replied coolly.
Yuuki was talking to the day class students behind me. Shinobu was still behind me. I could feel her there, peeking around me.
"Let's go, Aidou, we're missing my favorite subject," said Kain.
Aidou chuckled, but began to turn away.
"Oh right," He turned back. "Excuse me, I'd like to say something to the lady,"
I blinked, but let him see Shinobu.
He winked at her. "I'll be seeing you later, Shinobu-chan."
The back of my neck turned hot with anger. I knew my eyes flashed as I hissed,
"Leave," so only a vampire could hear. Aidou grinned, and he and Kain left.
When I turned to Shinobu her blush was still there. This made me even madder.
"What the hell are you doing out here?!" I snapped at her.
All she did was flinch.
"You know the rules! Day class students are to stay in their dorms in the evening! Why would you break them?"
"I wanted… to plan the tutoring," she said feebly, holding up her planner.
"That couldn't have waited until morning?"
She had an answer, but she wasn't giving it up.
"Well, you can forget the tutor thing,"
She gasped.
"It's just that," I began. I heard her gasp again.
"You can't break the rules for something so small," More gasps as I ranted.
I glanced around as I took a moment to breathe. Yuuki had taken the other ones back. Shinobu and I were alone in the courtyard.
"Anyway, you shouldn't have…"
It was then, as she gasped again, that I realized what was happening.
She was having a panic attack.
((AN: Ooh, cliffhanger! Don't worry, though. It won't take me but a bit to have the next chapter up. ))
