14—Made
Now fully dressed in her archery uniform, a simple, white cotton gi with a dark pad slung across her chest, Sakura steps out from the changing room. A few more students arrive, walking past her. On the wall in the back is a rack with several bows, and she takes one, testing the string by drawing it back, making sure it's in working condition. Next to that are several quivers, each with a few arrows, and she takes one of these as well. Nocking an arrow, she draws it back fully.
The clock in the changing room said it's not even seven thirty yet. I should have enough time for a few shots.
"I see the brat learned his lesson and made himself scarce. That's good."
A chill runs up her spine, and she jumps, nearly loosing her test shot into the ceiling, as someone behind her speaks out in a low voice. Slowly, she relaxes the bow string and turns around, seeing her brother leering at her.
"Don't be bringing weird things into my archery range, be they people, feathers, or anything else."
Holding the bow between them, close to her chest, she nods lightly. "Yess, Nii-san. I'm sorry to have upset you."
He shows a smile that makes her skin crawl, despite it being as sincere as he's capable.
"Good girl. I'll be starting my warm-ups now. I seem to have built up some tension that I need to work out."
There's no one to greet her, or even to notice her as Tohsaka slides open the door to class 2-A and steps inside. It's just as well, as the clock on the wall shows the time left before class starts. A little less than a half an hour. It doesn't take her two minutes to find her seat and set her bag down, and she turns toward the door.
Again, her thoughts turn to Sakura.
I really hope everything is alright.
The sun warms his skin as Taiasu yawns and stretches, scratching his chest, to no effect beyond producing a few squeaks as leather rubs against leather. Looking down at his gloved hands, he frowns slightly, then grimaces and squirms, pinching his legs closed. With the whirlwind their morning has been, he's not noticed his body's subtle warnings, and has unconsciously put nature's call on hold.
And now she comes to collect her due, and will be delayed no longer.
Oh, come on, gods damn it! Now of all times?! I can't do this here like some wild animal! But where the hells am I supposed to go?!
Uncomfortably squirming, he darts out through the shade of the trees, trying desperately not to grip himself with his hands to hold back his sudden, intense need. Of course he draws a few stares and causes a few arched eyebrows from the students on their way to their clubs, but he can't worry about that now. His eyes fall to the largest of the buildings on campus, and he shows a large, relieved smile.
There has to be some place there, right?!
To his relief, the disconcerting sensation in his bladder subsides for the moment, content knowing that its urgent needs will soon be met, and Taiasu runs toward the building
But how am I gonna know where I can—? I guess I can just ask… Her! Perfect!
While worrying about how he's going to find a place where he can handle his business, the front door to the building swings outward, and out steps one of only a few faces familiar to him in this strange new world.
"Huh? Taruko-kun?"
"Fujimura-san!"
He shows her a large, relieved smile, which falls away quickly as his bladder makes its needs known, forcing his legs closed. Again, he squirms uncomfortably, quickly turning red. Fujimura tilts her head, then laughs.
"D-don't laugh! Where can I relieve myself?!"
Desperate, and with a distinct lack of politeness, he plaintively puts his inquiry to her, and she shows him a sympathetic smile, holding the door open.
"Come on, I'll show you."
The second he's darted through the door, she points him to the restroom.
"Th-thanks, Fujimura-san!"
The leather of his boots squeaks against the polished floor tiles as he sprints toward the bathroom, yelling his gratitude over his shoulder. She sighs, shaking her head, and lets the door swing closed. But something about their brief interaction sticks out in her mind.
'Relieve myself'? What a strange way to put it…
A wonder among modern marvels, indoor plumbing, and fortunately there had been another student whose actions he could observe and lead he could follow. Though taller than him, because everything is, the urinal provides sweet relief soon after having well served its function. After a deep sigh, he mimics the actions of the tall (of course) young man, with rough-cut, bright-blond hair. Actions which he saw as he observed respectfully from a distance.
Fortunately, beyond a curious glance and a dismissive shrug, the student had paid him little consideration after finishing his own business.
It still takes him a deft hop to reach and pull down the lever he'd seen the young man pull, and he watches amazed as water pours from the upper part of the porcelain basin, swirling around the sides and carrying away his yellow leavings.
Wow… Folks in Garlemald must have it pretty nice with stuff like that. Maybe we should let them conquer the world.
All stupid jokes aside, he turns toward the sink now, sighing and shaking his head as he trots toward it.
This is gonna take forever.
It does not.
But it takes quite a few bounces for him to engage the flow of water, wet his hands, and get sufficient soap from the dispenser. He doesn't have to bounce while he rubs his hands, but once they are sufficiently white with the neutral-smelling lather, he resumes his pogo-routine. Three bounces are required to sufficiently rinse the suds from his skin, a fourth to shut the water off, and two more to get sufficient disposable towels to dry the damp from his hands.
And one final hop to dispose of the towels in the tall receptacle.
Sighing, he wipes some perspiration from his brow, then reaches into his side pack and recovers his gloves. Of course he'd removed them before answering the call of nature. That stuff can stain, and the unyielding smell can persist for an uncomfortably long time.
It takes only a few minutes after the club members arrive for Shinji to become sufficiently distracted, finding a new toy to chew on. For being so well acquainted with his torment, Sakura quickly grows numb to his provocations, giving few external reactions, and that takes some of the satisfaction out of it for him.
The target of his ridicule is now one student new to both the club and the bow with a slight overbite, wearing thick glasses and his dark hair in a bowl cut. With nothing to deter him, Shinji torments him relentlessly. Near the door, Sakura glances back as she sets her bow down beside it, waiting for her chance to slip out as her brother taunts and jeers.
"Come on, just hit the target! How hard could it possibly be? You can probably see into outer-space with those things!"
The bow slips in the student's trembling hands, and he sends the arrow he'd drawn back sailing through the air and glancing off the structure hanging over the target. It buries itself tip-first in the ground, sending Shinji into a fit of laughter. Like it's the funniest thing he's ever seen. Lightly tittering, the girls nearby fawning over him join in.
With her chance in sight, Sakura lets out a deep sigh as she props the bow up and slips outside.
Footsteps echo through the stairwell, her shoes clicking against each step as Tohsaka quickly descends the flight of stairs. As she turns the corner into the hall, she nearly bowls over an unexpecting Taiasu as he steps out of the bathroom. Somehow, she keeps from falling over as she slides forward, spinning on her leg, swinging the other deftly over his head.
Given the difference in their height, it's far less impressive than it sounds, her hardly having to lift her leg from the ground. Still, on reflex, he flinches, ducking and averting his gaze as her long skirt twirls around, threatening to reveal what it conceals.
Unconcerned with her unladylike display (there was no one around about whom she should have been concerned, after all. At least, as far as she knew.), Tohsaka quickly recovers her balance, firmly planting both feet on the floor, and turns toward the small man in red, who raises his head slowly, blinking at her eyes, which again threaten to cut his breath short.
It's an awkward moment of silence.
"Huh? You? You're…" She scratches her head. She knows who he is, but struggles to recall his name. "Ta… No, To…"
To break her eye's spell and recover his sense of self, he shakes his head. Then, bowing and smiling politely, he repeats his introduction from back in the archery range.
"Taiasu. Taiasu Taruko."
"Ah, right. Taruko-kun. Sakura's new friend. And you're here, and not with her because…?"
It's a thing everyone has to do, but not something people speak of at length, and all he can do is point to the room he's just left, hoping the answer is self-evident.
Tohsaka nods, folding her arms and looking at the clock in the hall.
Sakura and I should meet soon. I can just walk with her from the range, I guess. As long as I don't have to deal with Shinji.
Remembering their brief conversation makes her mouth wrinkle down in a disgusted frown, like she's just tasted something bitter. Then she looks down at Taiasu and sighs, shaking her head.
"Well, come on. I'd feel awful if you got lost wandering around." She makes her way toward the door outside, and Taiasu blinks at her wake, unsure of what's happening.
"Huh? Go with you? I was just gonna go meet up with Sakura again."
"I figured. I'm meeting with her too, so we may as well walk together so I can watch you for her."
"Taruko-kun?"
After sliding the door closed behind her, and with no one to see or hear, Sakura calls out quietly, looking around. No one replies, and she folds her arms, frowning for a moment before poking her head around corners, under bushes and in shadows, quietly calling out a few more times.
"Taruko-kun, where are you?"
"Sakura-chan?" From some distance away, Fujimura calls to her, noticing her looking around as she approaches.
"Everything okay?"
"Y-yes. I was just looking for—"
"Taruko-kun?" She shows a knowing smile, looking back to the main building. "Seems the little guy had an urgent matter to tend to in the bathroom."
Gradually, small beads of anxiety form on Sakura's forehead and run down the back of her neck. Him being out of her sight is one thing. When he was outside, at least she knew where he was. Now, hearing he's run off, she can feel her heart racing with dread and panic, and Fujimura's smile falters as she holds her hand up to Sakura's forehead, seeing some of the color draining from complexion.
"Sakura-chan? It's nothing to be that worried about." Satisfied that Sakura is just overly worried, and not about to collapse from anemia or something, Fujimura withdraws her hand and smiles. "He'll be fine. It's just a trip to the rest-room, after all."
"F-Fujimura-sensei, you don't—"
Sakura stops herself short. The facts are plain to her. That her teacher sees Taiasu only as a mature child. But Sakura knows the truth. That he's anything, probably EVERYTHING but. And it's this truth, or rather the chance of it getting out, which holds her on the razor's edge of worry. Granted, the edge of that razor has grown more and more dull, the more she's seen his social graces, and how well he's avoided anything that might expose himself, or that which has to be kept secret.
But the edge is still there, currently threatening to cut into her. For now, all she can do is settle herself with a slow, deep breath and hope her teacher, though misinformed, is correct.
And will continue to remain both.
"You're right. And thank you for telling me, Fujimura-sensei." She bows politely before her teacher. "Just the same, I'd like to go find him. We're meeting with Tohsaka-senpai, and I'm hoping to get her advice on the matter."
An enthusiastic smile spreads across her teacher's face as she nods. "That's good, you showing initiative like that and seeking advice from your peers." Though wanting to say more, she can only sigh wistfully as she looks toward the door. She forces her smile down in an exaggerated, unserious frown as she slides the door open. "Well, I've got to get inside. Order must be maintained!"
She slides the door open, then stops inside the doorway, realizing something.
But why would she go to Tohsaka-san for advice? I mean, I'm her teacher! Why wouldn't she come to me? I'm not that unreliable, am I?
Despondently, she lets out another sigh and steps inside, sliding the door closed behind her.
Now outside the school, Tohsaka directs her steps toward the archery range where she knows Sakura to be, while Taiasu trails along behind her, his boots clipping against the stone path of the paved school yard. Questions regarding the small person behind her, a strangely dressed child by all observations, pile up in her mind, until finally she's forced to seek and ask the most mundane, unobtrusive one she can.
But before she does…
"So can I ask your name?"
Taiasu asks one first. Tohsaka stops short, then turns and looks down, seeing him showing a relaxed smile.
"Ah… Sure. Tohsaka Rin."
As before, his smile broadens, and he lets his eyes drift closed as he soaks it in.
Tohsaka Rin.
"That's a good name. Strong, but delicate." He looks up, finding her blinking down at him, her mouth a perfectly straight line, trying to decipher what the hell he's just said.
"Like a well-polished gemstone. I like it."
"Wh-what the hell are you even talking about?"
"Huh? Just…" His smile weakens as he tilts his head. "Trying to commit it to memory. It just made me think of your eyes."
Forcefully, she blinks several more times, feeling her face turning red.
"What? What about my eyes?"
"Huh? I just thought they were pretty, you know? Like gemst—!"
Somehow, they both can almost hear the non-existent snapping sound as his eyes expand in an instant to their fullest size possible, and they both can definitely hear his teeth hitting each other as his mouth slams shut in a second.
AH, GODS DAMN IT! I KNEW I WAS GONNA SAY SOMETHING STUPID AGAIN!
Tohsaka's face reddens further. Many are the ill-suited suitors she's been forced to fend off, but few had spoken words of this nature that were not poorly concealing some obvious ulterior motives. In her case, overt flattery will fail every time, but she finds none of that here. No, the only thing she can pick out from his words is that they are his genuine thoughts.
And that they are being spoken by (what to her appears to be) a child makes it troublesome, and incredibly awkward. She blinks a few more times, then shakes her head and turns her face away.
Wh-what the hell? Who the hell talks like that? Let alone a… damn child!
"Y-you should save that kind of talk for when you're taller, shorty!" she huffs indignantly.
"No, I was just saying what I thought! I didn't mean anything by it!"
Somehow, his words, which confirm what her intuition has already told her, don't help, and she can feel her face trying to turn red all over again.
Damn this stupid kid! Most guys are just trying to get me to accept a date! And here he is, just spouting this cheesy crap, but he's actually being sincere about it! And he's just a kid, damn it! Is he trying to give me a complex?!
"F-fine, whatever! Just shut up about it!" She stomps her foot against the stone pavement, trying to force down her embarrassment. "So do you know what it is Sakura wants to ask me about?"
Forcefully, she changes the subject as she resumes walking stiffly toward the archery range. Taiasu shrugs, shaking his head, remaining in her shadow. He heard their discussion, but was unsure of it himself. She hasn't told him. She hadn't even thought about asking Tohsaka anything until the moment she saw her in the archery range.
"You mean in that guild house, right? I don't know. She didn't say anything to me before that."
As she processes his response, her pace slows. Particularly, at one word he uses, which strikes her as peculiar.
'Guild house?'
As he goes on, he slows his pace as well to keep a comfortable distance between them.
"But until I figure out how to get home, she's agreed to help me find my way around here."
"Figure out how to get home?" Tohsaka looks back over her shoulder, and down toward him, arching her brow. "What's the problem? Just book a flight or something, right?"
"Huh? Flight? They have airships in your world—!"
The instant after blundering with his words, he claps his hands over his mouth.
Too late.
Of course, Airships in this world are not referred to as such. Airplanes are the most common form of air travel, and the only thing in this world that could pass for an 'Airship' in his world would be a Zeppelin. Neither are called airships. And it's the second time he's used an unusual or unfamiliar word, causing her stomach to twist in an uncomfortable knot. She also rethinks bringing him back to Sakura.
At least until she figures out more about what's actually happening. But right now, she thinks back over their brief discussion, and the strange words he's been using.
'Guild house'…? 'Airship'? Wait… What else did he say?
But as she slowly turns her head, looking back down at him, narrowing her eyes, it's neither of those words which cause the knot in her stomach to tighten.
"Come again?"
It's not even the other word, the most innocuous of the three. It's the context.
'World?'
After all, it's the most normal word he said in the entire collection of words he'd strung together to form that landmine of a sentence. She stops completely now and turns toward him fully, staring down at him, scrutinizing everything about him. His odd ears, his bright green eyes, and, of course, his strange attire. Before, these were just the peculiarities of a child. When combined with his strange manner of speech and choice of words, they've become something more.
But what that is, she can't yet say.
Behind his clasped hands, Taiasu's mouth goes bone dry as his eyes again grow massively. Furiously, he works his brain, trying to think of some way to backpedal the conversation.
"C-Country! Yeah, they have airships in this country?!" He throws his hands down as he blurts out his weak and unconvincing correction.
But whatever he's trying to sell, he can tell by the look on Tohsaka's face—her eyes narrowing, one brow arched fully, the other pressed sharply downward, the corners of her mouth turned down in a thinly pressed frown, even the way she strokes her chin—that she's not buying it.
Still in her archery uniform, Sakura sprints across the school grounds. Having not had the time, or the presence of mind, to slip on her shoes, she can feel through her feet the hard ground press back with every step she takes, and even some pebbles on the ground which cut into her, causing her to wince. Still, she doesn't slow her pace. Her teacher's observations would be valid under any other circumstances. These circumstances are far from normal. Though she tries to hide her worry from showing on her face, she can't stop the twisting sensation in her chest that something terrible will happen if she doesn't find her crimson-clad charge.
The door glides effortlessly aside as she slides it open, running into the school building and stopping just before she runs into the men's restroom.
Right, whatever's going on, I can't just… Okay, calm down. How much trouble could he cause in just a few minutes?
Immediately, she wishes she'd never asked herself the question, and forcefully shakes her head, trying to free herself from every critical situation she can imagine before they take form in her mind.
She cups her hands around her mouth to better project.
"Taruko-kun? Are you in there?"
The few seconds of thick silence pass like an eternity. No one answers. Straining her ears, she can't pick up even the slightest sound coming from the room. No running water, or any of the other noises which would signal anyone is even in there. The twisting in her chest intensifies as she turns around, nearly slamming into another young woman with shoulder-length brown hair, matching-colored eyes, and almost her exact height.
"Ah! I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"
Sakura looks the girl over as she helps her remain steady on her feet, and the girl nods.
"Y-yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry as well. Are you okay?"
For a moment, it feels as if she's looking in a mirror that reflects a different person for how the girl opposite her acts, reserved and demure. But time is at a premium, and she shakes off the thought, nodding her head.
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for someone. About this tall—" She holds her hand at her waist. "—and dressed in red. Have you seen someone like that?"
Desperately, she asks her question, expecting it to bear no useful information.
So when the girl's eyes widen, and she nods twice, Sakura's eyes expand fully in response.
"Y-you have? Can you tell me where he went?"
"Yes. He left that way. With Tohsaka-san. They left through the side door."
If the moment before she heard the girl's answer had brought any relief, the answer itself quickly quashes and replaces it with a new feeling of dread. Mostly for what Tohsaka's reaction will be if she discovers what Taiasu is. Unknown to the small man, handling things like him in this town, and the next, falls squarely on her hyper-competent shoulders.
"Thank you very much!"
Sakura gives a quick, shallow bow, spins on her feet, and sprints in the direction the girl is still pointing as she stands, stunned and blinking in her wake.
Tohsaka-senpai! Taruko-kun didn't react when Nii-san attacked him, but Tohsaka-senpai won't hold back if she—he might not have a choice!
Still scrutinizing Taiasu, especially his reaction to his own words, combined with his attempt at correcting himself, Tohsaka shakes her head.
Something's odd about this child. He doesn't talk like a child. And what's he been saying? Guild house, sure. Airship… maybe. But 'world'? And what's with how he reacted? To what he just said? No… That wasn't some mere slip of the tongue.
Taiasu mirrors her head-shake, taking a half-step back, getting ready to bolt.
Th-this is bad! If she finds out I'm not from this world because of that stupid thing I said, it'll be bad for her, right?!
Tohsaka takes a full step forward and reaches her hand out.
And he just shows up out of nowhere, and he's following Sakura around? There's more to this than anyone is saying, and I don't like it.
A few small stones scatter around his boots as he takes another half step back.
"Ah… I… can find my own way from here, thanks for—!"
He spins around, preparing to dart away, but Tohsaka grips him by the shoulder, holding him forcefully in place. It would be a simple thing to break her grip and flee. But for being so addled, he can only think doing so would somehow make things even worse.
"Not so fast. I have some questions I need to ask you."
He swallows hard, the frigid tone in her voice making his blood run cold as he slowly turns back toward her, turning his gaze hesitantly upward, meeting her icy glare which makes his hair stand on end as it sends a chill down his spine.
Not since Saint Shiva has anyone made him want so much for the warmth of a comfortable fire.
All he can offer is a stuttered, single-word response.
"Q-Questions—?"