ya'll ready for this? Because I am actually super duper excited for how I am going about things :D Enjoy!
This writing is for personal entertainment uses, and is not being used for monetary gain in any way, shape, or form.
Another Side
Chapter 47
It Speaks Your Name
The sheets were warm and forgiving – Igneous didn't want to get out of bed, not for anything at all. She snuggled down further into her sheets, completely ignoring the fact that her door had opened up and she could hear the sound of padding feet headed straight towards her.
"Igneous!" The blanket was yanked off of Igneous, making her yelp in surprise. "Time to get up, get to school!" At that, Igneous shot up, staring at her father in the face. He was grinning in amusement, black hair tied back as always and suit impeccable. There was only a slight white streak in his hair, barely noticeable if it weren't for the fact that he wore it in testament to… in testament to…
"Now, what's with that face?" He knocked her head a couple of times, chuckling. "I have to get to the office early, but I didn't want you to be late for school again! Just because you and your friends are in the top of your class doesn't mean you get to slack off." He then turned around and walked out, flicking the light on. "Up and at 'em! Breakfast is on the table and your lunch is ready to go."
Igneous could only be silent, shocked at the events before her. Once the door clicked closed behind him, she stood up quickly, vertigo a deterrent to anything else that Igneous was about to do. Once it passed, she looked around.
Her room was neat, her school clothes hanging on her closet door in preparation for the day. Books and notes were laid out on her desk, the computer turned dark like she turned it off before climbing into bed. Her phone was plugged into the wall next to her nightstand, buzzing now that it had her attention. She sighed, brushing a hand through her long hair.
Next to the phone was a photograph, a man and woman hugging each other close as a younger Igneous cheered in front of them. They were dressed in yukatas, fireworks going off in the background behind them. Igneous smiled fondly.
She missed her mother.
A pang of wrong and run hit her out of nowhere, causing her eyebrows to furrow. What was that about? Igneous didn't get them very often, and as far as she knew, she was safe here at home with her father… What was going on?
Her phone buzzed once again, the screen lighting up now. It was a call, the id saying 'Kou 3' on it. Igneous picked it up, getting dressed in the meanwhile.
"Morning?"
"Igneous! Babe, where are you? I'm outside your house!" Igneous laughed, the man on the other end sounding like he had a grin on his face. "Oh wait, I'm inside now!" She could hear a distant echo and the door opening downstairs, her father greeting Kou and welcoming him in.
"I'll be right down, Kou." Igneous ended the call and quickly got dressed, tossing her stuff together in her school bag and making sure the phone was visible. She hoped she didn't get another bruise from the swinging bag on her legs – the skirt showed enough skin to make Igneous nervous.
As she primped in front of the mirror, she frowned, looking herself over. Her hair was red and long, undone from the braid it was in. Her eyes still sparkled blue, dimming now that she was looking at herself more closely. The uniform hugged her curves, though the brown of it wasn't that much of a flattering color. The skirt wasn't too short, mid thigh-high, and her socks were pulled up to just below the knee, impeccable and perfect. Igneous adjusted the bow once again (Miaka, this is your only way home, don't burn it! I'll be okay.) and nodded at herself, rubbing her head softly.
"Igneous!" She could hear Kou calling to her, and there was a distant knock of a dream at her mind, something that said his voice was familiar, oh so familiar… "Come on, we gotta go!"
"Coming!" She turned away from the mirror, running quickly out of her room and down the stairs.
Seeing Kou, Igneous smiled warmly, that feeling of warmth invading her. Kou was standing there with both her breakfast and lunch in hand, bag slung over one shoulder and texting with his other hand. His bright orange hair shined in the light, matched only by the mischievousness shining in his eyes. He looked up, his grin showing off his slight fang.
"There ya are! Come on, the others are waiting for us!" Igneous grinned, rushing forward and quickly taking the breakfast, waving goodbye to her father and out the door. Down by the sidewalk stood her other friends, XingXiu and Cho flirting while Ri stood nearby talking to Myo and Shoka. "Hey guys, we're good to go!"
"Sorry, slept in..." Igneous said quietly, munching on her toast.
"You're fine, no da! Tomo went on ahead, said something about having to be early for practice. That, and I think he's trying to catch sight of Miaka again..." Igneous snorted at that. She knew that Miaka and Tomo had a huge crush on each other, though neither of them knew it. All of their friends teased the two of them about it, but Tomo hadn't put together enough courage to ask her out yet.
Kou slung an arm over Igneous, grinning down at her. "Welp, at least it didn't start like we did."
She grinned right back at him. "Remind me, how did that happen again?"
Cho laughed, flouncing in front of them. He and XingXiu had matching bags, both of them carried over their shoulders and their hair up in buns. She was still surprised that the school hadn't forced them to cut it yet… Then again, they haven't done anything about her hair or Kou's, so she assumed it was a blessing in disguise. "Oh, what was it again? Igneous whooped your butt in Kendo!"
While everyone laughed, another pang of danger and run and get out of there hit Igneous, causing her to stumble just a bit.
"Woah, you alright there?" Kou looked her over frantically, as if she was truly injured, simply tripping over a small crack in the pavement.
"I'm fine!" Igneous laughed, accepting the help. "It's not like I was bit by a zombie or anything." Her arm throbbed angrily at that, a sharp pain traveling up and down her body at her words. She didn't show it, because the day so far was kind of really weird.
And that dream Igneous had… It was so strange, but now that she was turning her attention to it, the dream was fading away, only the wisps of feelings and voices staying with Igneous. Why did it feel like this was all so… strange, so different?
"Ah, well, this is where we part ways anyways." Igneous looked up, the gates of the school looming before them. She could see Miaka and Yui waving at her from a distance, some of their other friends chatting amiably around them. A kiss was laid on her cheek, shocking Igneous into blushing. "See ya later, babe!" Kou ran off with his friends, all of them teasing and ribbing each other over something or other. Igneous could see another one join up, a cheer of 'Tomo!' going up around them.
"Igneous! Class is about to start, let's go!" Igneous ran to catch up with her two friends, linking arms with Miaka and Yui as they laughed and went on to class. Her arm still throbbed, but now something in her burned when she started touching Yui. Her throat tightened, and she could only imagine a thin line of red traveling down her neck and staining her clothes.
Igneous shook her head, feeling more and more ill the longer she stayed there.
Something was wrong.
"Igneous! Let's go!" Igneous ran to catch up into class, sliding into her seat just as the bell rang. As always, the first teacher was at least a few minutes, which allowed Igneous a chance to look around her classroom.
Windows let in bright sunlight, illuminating the desks and students that amicably sat and talked with each other. Some of the seats were empty, but it was only the first class of the day. Students will filter in and out as the day will go on, and then they had their Exam Preparation Class after school let out.
Igneous sighed and slumped, feeling completely uncomfortable with just a skirt and some socks covering her legs. Looking down at them, she tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. Her legs had smooth and supple skin, pale but not too pale.
Something was… missing, wasn't there?
Igneous blinked, seeing pale white scars criss-crossing her legs, the shadow of past bruises haunting her eyes. There were some newer scars that seemed to fester and then widen the longer she looked at it, bleeding crimson red and staining her socks a slight pink.
She blinked again.
Smooth skin.
No blemishes.
No scars.
"Miss Kouruhachi!" Igneous startled, seeing one of the senseis glaring at her from the front of the class. She could hear Yui and Miaka laughing just a little bit at her blunder in class. "I expect you to pay attention in class, no matter your marks! Now, pay attention, class..."
Groaning, Igneous sat back down and opened her textbook.
Her dreams and the weird scars-not-scars on her legs could wait.
She had exams to study for, after all, and Igneous had a promise to fulfill with her two absolute best friends. She couldn't fail in that now.
Igneous couldn't help but laugh with Yui at Miaka. "Miaka, what have we told you about falling asleep in class?" Yui bumped shoulders with Miaka, grinning at her. "And what was that weird dream about anyways? Something about 'your guy' right?"
Miaka shook her head, a blush painting her cheeks. "Yeah, well… I don't know, the dream is fading away..." Igneous tilted her head, observing Miaka more closely. Did she look more, mature, maybe? Her cheeks were thinner, and Miaka seemed to be standing taller than normal…
"Anyways, what did Sensei want?"
"Ah, he was telling me off for falling asleep in class again, even though we all have top marks." Miaka grinned, skipping ahead and looking back at them. "Jonan High School is certainly within reach!"
Something about that didn't seem… right to Igneous. Her head pounded, something in her screeching at the wrongness of the situation. What was up with her today?! First that dream she couldn't remember (there were wisps of it whispering in her ear, some of it in Yui's voice which was drenched in poison and hatred and something that Igneous didn't want to relive again) and then there was that entire episode this morning and now this!
Igneous thought about begging off of any further evening activities and going home to recuperate and then a flare of pain hit her in the head, causing Igneous to stumble into the wall.
There were flashes going past her eyes, of campfires and sunsets over mountains and a roguish grin capturing her heart and then she heard Miaka crying.
Igneous watched as Tomo ran up, apologizing profusely to Miaka. The other boys came up behind him, all of them jeering at Tomo and teasing him for hitting the poor girl. Both Miaka and Tomo blushed, the former helping Miaka to the nurse's office to check out that bump on her head. As they passed by, Tomo and Igneous made eye contact.
RUN
DANGER
GET AWAY
RUN RUN RUN
GET HER AWAY FROM HIM
"Igneous?" She turned to Kou, looking like she was on the verge of tears. "Babe, are you okay?"
Her head continued to screech at her, that voice of fire continuing to repeat itself over and over. "My head hurts. I want to go home."
She didn't hear anything else, the screeching becoming a ringing that made it hard to discern words from the background noise that was her life. She could feel hands gently take hold of her book bag, someone else lifting her up into their arms… Igneous laid her head against the person's chest, trying to focus on their heartbeat instead of the noise in her head.
"Don't worry, Igneous, we'll take care of you." When she was expecting Kou, Igneous was surprised to hear Cho talking to her instead, cradling her close as if she was something precious, something made of glass, not a whipping post.
You're not good enough
not good enough
remember your place
Don't you remember, my fire fox?
A ball, hovering over a corpse still bleeding red onto snow
You will share everything, your life and his intertwined
Groaning, Igneous hunkered down, trying to not pay attention. Everything was hazing out, hazing out so fast.
The pounding of footsteps synced with her heartbeat…
"Nuriko..." She muttered to the man holding her, not noticing that he looked down at her in surprise. "Please… I'm sorry…. Don't die..."
"It's okay, Igneous, it's just the fever, you'll be okay!" Another hand covered her forehead, alleviating the heat that was building in her just a little bit.
"Don' worry babe, you'll be fixed up in no time."
That was his voice… That was…
"Tasuki." Igneous opened her eyes, connecting with those of the bandit she loved, and something reached through her to him, and then, "help me."
hope you all enjoyed that chapter! CAUSE NEXT CHAPTER SHIT IS GOING DOWN AND IT'S GOING TO BE GREAT :D I am also a little bit stuck with the next chapter, so it might be a bit before it comes out, so I do ask for your patience on that!
Thank you to Dragonmaster789 and nowitsagummybear for your reviews last chapter! Glad to see ya'll again :D It's a slow crawl to original, but here we are :D
Let me know what you guys think! And I also do have a poll on my profile that I would appreciate if you took it and gave me your opinions.
Until next time!
Tiryn