Nanami had woken in distress, feeling no reason to comb her hair or eat.
Kotetsu and Onikiri noticed right away.
"Nanami-sama! What happened?"
Nanami rubbed her eyes with a shiver. "I'm fine, just a bad dream. Hard to sleep."
She glanced over at Tomoe nervously, seeing him eat listlessly.
That guy…. Does Tomoe know him?
She pushed her plate of food away, only to have the familiar push it back.
"Eat."
"I'm not hungry."
Tomoe raised an eyebrow, pressing a hand against her forehead. "You don't have a fever."
Nanami shook her head, pushing his hand away. She was still confused about him kissing her forehead, as she rubbed it absently with a small blush, and all the questions he asked.
She liked him. Definitely, and in that sense, too. But after the constant rejection, she saw no point in reinforcing the affection.
But just thinking of that made her stomach flip. Abruptly, she stood from the table, picking up her books.
Tomoe stood, pulling her from the hair. "What are you doing? Eat."
Nanami shook her head. "I said I'm not hungry," she repeated.
I'm not in the mood after that dream.
She stared at the sleeve of her shirt apprehensively. With a gulp, she walked out in a daze.
The dream left me oddly uneasy.
With droopy eyes, Nanami was walking down to the bus stop, keeping her head down.
Screech!
The sharp sound of tires making a halt caught her attention. In front of her was a stopped car, apparently waiting for her to walk past. However, a backseat window rolled down, revealing a dark-haired, blue eyed man.
"Ah, that uniform," he said plainly. "Ujigami High School?" He pointed lazily at her, raising an eyebrow.
Nanami nodded, backing up.
An orange haired girl leaned over the man, laughing in a vicious sounding matter. "My god, Akira, I don't wanna be stuck wearing that tacky ol' thing!" she protested, shaking her head.
"Hold your tongue, Arika. Stop being so rude."
The man looked unsettlingly familiar, but whatever memory Nanami was trying to access was failing.
Nanami it her lower lip, giving a short bow before passing by without a word. Something about that person's voice was familiar.
Behind her, the car honked.
Stopping slowly, Nanami whipped around to the two strangers.
The man waved once more, giving an apathetic look. "Hey~! If you're from that school, then you're a new classmate, right?" he asked, tilting his head.
Nanami nodded.
The girl leaned over again, giving a cheerful, bright smile as she waved energetically. "Let's be friends then, 'kay?" she called out with a laugh.
"Also, it's just the uniform that's tacky, not you," the man added.
Thanks for the assurance?
Nanami pulled at strands of her hair as she stared at the man's smile.
҉
In the midst of his compliment, Arika frowned deeply, yanking at Akira's hair. He glared slightly at her before returning to Nanami.
Arika pouted, tugging at his sleeve. "Hey… Akira…"
He raised a hand over Arika's mouth, silencing her.
"I should be going," Nanami commented, walking away from the car.
Akira smirked, raising an eyebrow. "We're going to the same place, so why don't we just drop you off?"
Arika scowled, leaning over the seat indignantly and pushing Akira back, panting in a slight panic as she glared at Nanami. "You're better off walking," she snapped.
Nanami shrunk back. "I didn't plan on taking the offer, no thank you."
"Good," Arika replied sharply, watching as she left. She looked over to the chauffeur, still keeping Akira away from the window. "H-hey, is anyone behind the car?"
The chauffeur nodded. "Seems like a young man attending school."
Arika sighed, sitting back and relaxing. "Good, let's go."
She could feel Akira's glare on her as she shifted uncomfortably.
"What exactly was that, Arika?"
Arika looked away, only to feel a harsh yanking on her hair.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Keeping her head low and tensing up instantly, Arika yelped.
"Well?"
"Nothing…" Arika muttered.
Akira released his grip, looking ehind the car with a laugh. "That damned fox really isn't letting her out of his sight, I'm impressed," he stated.
Arika twirled her hair calmly, trying to smile sweetly as possible. "Ah, Akira, so… you and that fox, what are you going to do when we get to that school?"
"Is everything set?"
Arika gave a thumbs up. "You bet."
҉
"Nanami!" Tomoe called.
The girl stopped, waiting for him to catch up. "Hmm?"
"What the hell are you…? Do not leave without me with you. We've established this," he snapped. "And who were you talking to?"
Nanami shook her head with a nervous smile. "Um, nothing and no one. Let's go."
Tomoe frowned, but followed without further questioning.
He was with her.
She was with him.
That was all he needed.