A/N: Exams have finished me off. And they're in two weeks ;_;
Ansem: My chapters are always short! I lack the concentration capacity to make them long...
Midnight: Well, the teachers are fulfilling defence duty too.
Servious: Sorry about length.
Tzui: I'd be more worried about the eventual part .
Chapter Twenty One: Confrontation
A clock chimed somewhere, signaling the advent of a new hour. Mana noted the fact impassively, still standing still in the cool shadow of the tree, gazing dispassionately at the building opposite, specifically the a window on the third storey, two to the left of the central staircase. Luke's room.
Kaede had discovered that, having infiltrated the building and checked where Luke's mail was being delivered. From there it was almost too easy to track him. Boring too. Everyday he'd wake up at 7 am, like clockwork, before spending thirty minutes having breakfast and getting ready for the day ahead. Then he'd seemingly aimlessly wander around Mahora, with a faraway look on his face, until noon. Then he'd head back to his room and stay there until nightfall.
That's when he'd go for another walk around Mahora, until midnight, and then head home and sleep.
Utterly pointless, in Mana's mind. Three days of this and the monotony was beginning to test even her patience. Only her training as a sniper allowed her to avoid giving up on this pointless charade.
"Hmmm, you've been staring at that window intently for a while. Sure you got the right one?"
"Yes."
"Oh. Well then it must be tough to stand here all day just waiting."
"Yes."
"You know, you could have just talked to me."
"Ye-what?" the girl replied, leaping forwards and pivoting on her heel, drawing her pistols as she did so. There was a pair of clicks as the bullets were primed for firing, the gunslinger's fingers lightly squeezing the triggers. Two silenced blasts fused into a single discharge of air as the bullets were ejected from the gun muzzles.
Both bullets sliced though the air and embedded themselves in the wood behind her opponents head, sending splinters flying everywhere as he reflexively ducked and covered his head with his arms whilst yelping.
"Never dare to try to take me by surprise," said the shrine maiden softly, holstering her guns whilst looking down at the cowering blonde attempting to salvage whatever dignity he had left.
"S-sorry," he replied, standing back up shakily. "Forgot about the whole mercenary gunman thing you have going," the youth admitted with a nervous laugh before being silenced by a gun being poked under his chin. Exactly how Mana had managed to draw the firearm again without him noticing was an interesting point to consider, but not currently relevant.
"If you know so much about me, why bother trying to surprise me?" she asked dispassionately, removing the gun from the boy's chin now she had his attention. A twirl and the weapon vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
The blonde resumed breathing and laughed sheepishly. "Erm well...I wasn't trying to?" he replied honestly.
The sniper's eyes narrowed. "Really? Then how come you managed it?"
The blonde seemed to be at a loss for words before suddenly replying as inspiration struck him. "You were suffering from target vision!" he declared, before realizing the gun was back beneath his chin.
"What?" queried Mana softly.
Pushed against the tree, Luke gulped. "Ah well, I heard it's a common occurrence amongst those with military training. They focus on a single target so much they lose sense of everything else around them."
"Come on, let's do something already!" pleaded Sakurako. "We've been sitting here all day!"
"You've been sitting. We've been doing our homework," corrected Madoka, stretching out like a cat. Next to her Misa sighed and rolled her wrist, making sure to avoid cramping it. "Though taking a break does seem like a good idea."
"Yeah! It's a brilliant day outside and all!" cried Sakurako, throwing open the window to their dorm, allowing the wind to blow freely in. "We should go shopping!" she declared, diving for the cupboard and wrenching it open, plunging inside with enthusiasm as she sought out an outfit to wear. Her roommates shared a look and a sigh before plunging in after her to begin the long and fierce battle for the best outfit.
"Keep talking. Maybe eventually you'll say something to reverse all that stuff you said before," smirked Mana, tapping her pistol against Luke's Adams apple. The youth rapidly considered his options. He really should have let the girl be, but no, he had to show off and reveal he knew she was following him. And then had unwittingly insulted her by insinuating she was an inexperienced sniper, as only those ever really suffered from target vision.
He really should have stuck to the code of chivalry as his model of behavior. Things were so much simpler back then.
"OK, can we start over? Hello, I am Luke Mason."
"Mana Tatsumiya," replied the girl, her aim never wavering from the boy's throat. But it was a promising start. Smiling shakily, Luke decided to press on.
"Well, you've been tracking me for the past couple of days. Any particular reason for that?" he asked tenuously, slowly reaching up and lightly pushing against the barrel of the gun. It didn't budge, so Luke laughed sheepishly and let his hand drop back down to his side.
"You tell me. My associate certainly believes there's good enough reason to keep an eyes on you, at least for a little while," she answered, cocking an eyebrow and smirking at him.
"Associate? Oh, Miss Nagase? Hang on, am I that suspicious?!" Luke demanded, looking at the girl, slightly taken aback. Mana took the time to obviously look the youth over, Osean uniform with cape and all. Luke picked up on the hint and looked down at himself. "Oh come on, this is far from the most suspicious thing on display in this place!"
"Hmm, a valid point, but it's a start," admitted the girl, her arm lowering, but the gun still unmistakably pointing at the blonde. "Your behavior is another factor," she offered.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Structured, regimented. Almost military like. Every day is spent exactly the same way, with a dedicated time set aside for wandering chaotically. In a teenager, it is most unusual," Mana explained.
"As opposed to a shrine maiden working as a mercenary bounty hunter in a high school? Hey, I don't question you're lifestyle choices, can't I be given the same form of consideration?" countered Luke, hissing suddenly in annoyance.
Taken aback by his sudden vehemence, the girl's aim faltered slightly but immediately corrected itself as her training took over. "A good response," she said, her voice losing some more warmth.
"Oh enough of this. If you were going to shoot me, you'd have done so already," sighed the blonde in irritation, pushing the gun aside with his hand. "Look, if you insist on talking, we might as well do it somewhere more comfortable than under a tree."
Mana was silent for a moment before holstering her firearm. "Very well. We'll head over to the temple in that case."
"Feel the need for a home advantage do we?" smirked Luke despite himself, his humor evaporating as the girl glared at him. "Alright, alright, let's go then," he said, before sullenly marching off with the sniper.
Now decked out in their finery, the cheerleaders were set to hit the town!
Sakurako twirled in childish glee, looking down at her dress, Madoka and Misa inspeting their own clothing.
"Well, this'll do," conceded Madoka, Misa nodding in agreement with her.
"Enough of this! Let's go!" cried Sakurako, punching the air in victory before grabbing her friends and dragging them from their dorm. They made it four steps down the hallway before literally running into the Narutaki twins.
"Ouch! Hey, watch it!" cried Fuka, standing up, glaring balefully at the cheerleaders as her twin also got up form the floor where they had fallen.
"Ah sorry Fuka, Fumika," nodded Madoka, whilst Sakurako leaned down to the smaller girl's eye level.
"Hey, what are you two doing now anyway?" she asked curiously.
The twins shared a glance and a shrug before turning their attention back to the cheerleader.
"Nothing really. With Kaede gone it's boring around here," explained Fuka.
"Yeah, so we were heading out," added Fumika. "We haven't been in town in ages, so we thought we might as well. Right Fuka?"
"That's right Fumika," affirmed her twin, and the two little girls high-fived. "How about you three?" asked Fuka suddenly, spinning to face the trio once more.
Sakurako grinned. "We're just heading off to town ourselves. We've been studying too long and its a nice day, right?"
"We? When did you do any studying?" queried Madoka with a raised eyebrow, and smirking slightly as Sakurako turned around to shoot her black look before continuing on as if she hadn't been interrupted.
"Anyway, since we're all heading to the same place, why don't we go together huh? It'll be more fun that way!" offered the pigtailed girl with a grin, whilst her roommates shook their heads and sighed in unison.
The Tatsumiya shrine was much like he remembered, at least from seeing it from afar. Up close...it was impressive he supposed, and made sure to act like it. Though how a mere building impress him after seeing the sinking of an aircraft carrier or a squadron of jets fly through an underground tunnel at high speed was beyond him.
Still, Luke tried his best to be taken aback by the sheer size of the place. "Tatsumiya shrine huh? It's certainly a lot bigger up close," he said, glancing sideways at his traveling companion. The sniper said nothing, but motioned for him to go inside. "Guess you must be used to it..." he mumbled as he obeyed, walking over the threshhold into the darkened interior of the building.
There were few decorations. A scroll or two decorated the walls, and some sliding doors led to other sections of the temple, but the youth was struck by the serenity of the place. A feeling he would almost certainly not associate with Mana Tatsumiya. Then again, she was unlikely to have anyhting betraying her true identity on show for a casual observer. Shrugging mentally, Luke turned to his host as she closed the door behind them. "Well then, what do you want to talk about?"
"Who are you?" demanded the girl, turning to face him, her impassionate face staring at him.
The youth cocked an eyebrow. "You already know that."
"All I know are lies and fabrications. Who are you, really?" demanded the girl again.