My interpretation of what could have possibly happened if the Juri-Shiori-And Boy love triangle
occurred simultaneously with Ruka around.
----------------------
Love is a Chain Gang
----------------------
"So, you think you're good with a sword?"
It was Juri's freshman year in Junior High. She wasn't a people person. In a perfect world, she
would have gone to a much smaller school, but Ohtori had the best fencing program in all of
Japan. And fencing, well, fencing was Juri's life. She had begun in kindergarten, top of her
class. Even that young, people had seen the talent in her. Her speed and agility matched her
cunning and ruthlessness. She was the best. And she knew it.
And some impudent blue-haired boy sure as hell wasn't going to tell her she wasn't.
They were in the fencing gym, a vast building built specifically for that purpose. The kendo club
was across the lawn, across from it. Being the first day, Juri had come early, the excitement
was hardly contained even as stoic as she was. She was able to see the High School team
practice and had been impressed with the strict regimen they worked through. She was all
ready better than some of the older kids she'd seen. In a couple of years, when her skill
improved (which it did, there never seemed to be any limits to it) she would be able to surpass
all of them.
The boy's indigo hair cascaded unto his long face, like a frozen waterfall, and yet didn't
completely mask the dark blue sapphires that were his eyes. His wide mouth formed a very
welcoming smile, crinkling up his eyes, which would have made him appear friendly, if it weren't
for the predatory look in his eyes, and the fact that he was towering over her. He was in the
fencing class with her, same group. Juri had been watching her sempai/teacher prepare for class
when the boy showed up and promptly noticed her drooling over the swords.
"Yes, I think I'm good with a sword. You?" Her golden curls flowed in front of her vision when
she turned to answer him. She purposely made her question a challenge.
"Oh, moderately." His smile became so wide it drew attention away from his eyes. Juri had
never met anyone so sure of himself.
"Are we all assembled?" Her sempai asked, facing Juri and the boy and the rest of the gathering
freshman behind them.
"Hai!" They all called out.
"Good. My name is Kira Sestuna. I will be your captain for the Junior High fencing team.
You're the freshman squad. All of you will be able to meet your older team members
tomorrow. All right. I'm going to hand out fencing uniforms and helmets. When I call your
name, please come forward. Sara Mudo!"
"Hai!"
"Kato Yue!"
"Hai!"
"Sakuya Mudo!"
"Hai!"
While the other freshmen were going up to get their uniforms, the blue-haired boy leaned in
toward her and whispered, "I call tell by you're build that you're going to be good at this. Want
to work together?" There was that smile again. Did he ever stop? She refrained from
answering.
"Tsuchiya Ruka!"
"Hai!" The boy called out. He came forward and claimed his uniform, smiling and bowing to
Kira-sempai, instantly loosing his haughty demeanor for a more polite and modest one. Juri
marked him as manipulative; she'd had experience with boys like him.
"Arisugawa Juri!"
"Hai!" Her voice rang out strong and clear. As she approached the teacher he smiled down at
her.
"I've heard good things about you."
Saying nothing, she gave him an extra bow and grabbed her uniform and went back into line.
"How cold!" Ruka scolded her. "The least you could've done was say thank you."
Her only reply was to straighten up, trying to appear as stiff as possible. Why was this annoying
boy talking to her?
"All right! Go to the locker rooms and change and come back here in five minutes." Kira
sempai pointed down the hall to the changing rooms.
As the fencers filed in the separate locker rooms, Juri noticed how the boys outnumbered the
girls. Twenty kids in all, 13 boys, 7 girls. Strangely enough, Juri appreciated that. Girls made
her uncomfortable. As the boys and the girls separated, Juri caught Ruka's eye and he winked
at her. That made her so mad she nearly ran over a girl trying to get away from his line of
eyesight. In the locker room, she carefully stayed away from the rest of the girls, avoiding eye
contact. They tittered about how cute Kira-sempai was and how well he filled out his uniform
(she scoffed at this). As Juri removed her school uniform, she silently complained to herself
how short the skirts were. The boys were lucky they got to wear pants. She swore to herself
that when she became an upperclassman, she'd get them to let her wear pants. When they had
all finished changing, Juri realized how many of the girls had matured faster than her, filling out
their uniforms in such a way that Kira-sempai would even appreciate. She blushed.
Back in the main room, Kira-sempai ordered them to file into a single line and duel him one at a
time so he could see their level of skill. One by one each freshman advanced and was defeated.
Somehow, Ruka ended up behind Juri. "Ooh! Now I get to see how good you are." He
leaned in so close to her she could feel his breath tickle her ear. "Don't let me down, Juri."
Juri? They'd just met and he was all ready calling her Juri? She was going to turn around and
tell him off when the teacher called- "Arisugawa!" Flustered and angry, Juri made her way to
the sword rack and picked out a foil. Almost forgetting to put her helmet on, she made her way
out to the teacher. "Begin!" He called out, and before she was ready, he charged.
Juri parried easily, using the power of his own thrust to send him reeling away. Briefly, Juri
floundered on whether to go defensive or immediately offence, but the presence of Ruka near
her set her on offence. Launching herself at Kira-sempai, she put him under a flurry of attacks
so vicious he was backing up into the line of freshmen. The scattered, making room for the
fighting duo. Sempai constantly on defense, Juri analyzed his methods. Being a man, he was
more acquainted with offence, and his defense was sluggish, like a machine not recently oiled.
He was used to using power and not agility. She had the advantage. Her attacks, though not
strong, where quick and in various areas, she was testing him for any obvious weaknesses.
There! He didn't like to put weight on his left foot, often using an extra step to get his weight on
his right. If she forced him to do that one more... On the edge of her vision, she saw Ruka's
wide smile frozen on his face, watching her every move.
It was too late when she noticed she had given Kira-sempai enough time to rally for a strong
attack and to throw himself at her. Though it caught her by surprise, she managed to at least
touch upon his sword before it hit and landed on her chest. Not enough time and force to
deflect it.
"Wonderful!" He cried out, taking his helmet off. "Magnificent offence. Please remember,
however," he bent over and smiled at her. "To not give your opponent a chance to attack when
using that technique. Next!"
Ruka passed her as she went back into line. "Too bad." It took all her will not to jab the butt
of her sword into his groin.
Juri didn't intend to give Ruka the satisfaction of her watching him fight; she planned to stare out
the windows, until she heard the crowd gasp. Turning around just the second before Kira-
sempai did his little extra step to his right foot, she saw Ruka attack and claim victory. The
freshman cheered and the upperclassmen, which had gathered on the balcony to watch,
whooped. Filtering all the curse-words she knew through her head, she ground her teeth at
Ruka's smiling face. She didn't bother to listen to Kira-sempai congratulate Ruka. Instead, she
moved the back of the freshman and sulked.
"Pair up!" Kira-sempai hollered. "And duel for the rest of the period. You're going to be with
each other for a very long time, especially if you're good. Make new friends!" And with that,
he sat down and drank from his water bottle.
Juri glared at anyone who tried to pair up with her, many didn't even bother, but Ruka marched
right past a girl giggling at him and straight up to Juri.
"Good match, don't you think?"
She put her helmet back on and assumed the fighting stance. He mimicked. "You haven't said
a word to me except that one line." Other students began their own private matches around
them. His eyes regained the predator like gaze. "I want to hear that lovely voice again."
"Let's go." Juri made sure hatred wasn't seeping into her face.
"Mmm, I like you're voice."
"C'MON!"
She came toward him like a bullet, straight and fast. Ruka was prepared however, and
blocked. They were face to face, straining against each other, foils bending. "I was able to win
that match because of watching you, you know," Ruka said, right before he attacked.
Juri had gone beyond angry and back to cold and calculating, she let Ruka attack so she could
test his strength while she blocked and parried, never giving anything away. She could still see
the ever-present smile on his face even through the facemask. It grew wider until she thought it
would wrap around his face. He was enjoying this. However, Ruka was rather miffed that his
attacks weren't harrying her, why did she remain so calm? Fine, he'd just attack her more
powerfully still. He yelled as he gave her a final thrust, hoping to go through her defenses.
Instead, she stepped out of his path and let him blow past her. Just to be spiteful, she shoved
him as he ran past, making him fall to the floor.
Meanwhile, the whole class was done with their individual bouts, and stood and awe of the two
of them. Kira-sempai eyed the duo.
Before Ruka had a chance to recover, she flew at him, forcing him back up against one of the
walls of the building. With nowhere left to back up to, he was left deflecting her slashes at full
power. One of her thrusts was so strong that when he blocked it, it sent her sword veering into
the wood of the wall, showering splinters down. He tried to get his sword back up in time but
she was just too fast, and she stabbed him. Even through the uniform and with the practice
sword, it was going to leave a small bruise.
The whole building broke into applause. Kira-sempai was visibly impressed. The kendo club
had finished early, and had come in time to watch the duel. A red haired kendo student smiled
and said to his neighbor, "She's good."
"She's a girl." His green-haired friend replied.
Juri was left facing Ruka, refusing to remove her sword point from his chest. Both were
breathing hard, sweat glistening behind the masks. He removed his first, revealing his face for
the first time without that smile. "You're good. You're really good." But the smile was present
in his voice.
That was the only real fight in which Juri ever beat Ruka.
----------
After showering in the gym (still keeping far away from the other girls, though they all gushed
over her victory like squeezed tomatoes) Juri went to her other classes, following her program
across the large labyrinthine campus. She knew she would excel, she always did, it was
ingrained in her personality. The only interesting subject was philosophy, where the tiny
professor lectured on phallic symbols, causing the whole class to burst into giggles. When the
teacher discovered he actually had the attention of his students for the first time, it made him
loosen up, and spill some dirty school secrets to the class. Apparently, there was a running gag
among the faculty that the current Chairman's residence (a gigantic tower in the middle of
campus) was built only to compensate for the ailing man's certain defects. Juri was the only girl
in the girl in the class who actually got the joke.
Finally released from an extremely dull math class in the north side of the university, Juri made
her way back to the fencing building, traversing the many fountains that seemed to grow from
the school grounds, hoping to get a glimpse of the seniors at practice. It was already dusk. To
her disappointment, there was only a janitor cleaning up the floors in the gym. She leaned over
the railing of the balcony, resting her weight on it, and sighed. At least she got to defeat that
Ruka. All though, he didn't act defeated. He had said no more to her, only smiled at her
benignly from across the room. Very disturbing.
"Juri-san?" A very meek voice asked from behind her.
She turned to see a very small girl, with short brown hair, looking up adoringly at her, eyes
lighting up when Juri's met hers. "Shiori?"
"You remember!" She piped, jumping up and down, causing her hair to bounce. "I'm so glad.
It's been forever!"
"Yeah," she replied, trying hard not to let her emotions show. Shiori had been her best friend in
elementary school, the only person that she really enjoyed to be around.
"That's all I get? A 'yeah'? C'mon, you must be glad to see me!"
"I'm very glad to see you. I didn't know you were going here. When did that happen?"
"Remember when I left school to go to my Dad in Osaka? We thought that since he was now
in a wheel chair he would need help, so my mother sent me to live with him, but... he died just
before this term started, so I got to come back." Shiori was looking at her feet, he hands
against her chest, clasped together.
"I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay now. Because I at least get to be with Juri-san again!" She looked up, her eyes
glowing with happiness.
Juri contained the blush that was creeping into her face. "Would you like to come and see some
of my fencing matches?"
"Of course! I love to watch you duel! Do you think they would let me down onto the fencing
floor if I don't do anything and just watch."
"I'll make them let you."
"Thank you, Juri." Silence ensued for a moment, and the two girls looked at each other. The
bells tolled out from the Ohtori tower, beseeching the whole campus. "Ah! Freshman curfew
time! I'll come watch your class tomorrow. I promise."
"I'm glad."
"Me too. Bye bye!" Shiori waved as she left the building.
Juri slowly felt her hand respond, as if not of her own will. She quickly brought it down back to
her side. Shiori. She could be with Shiori again.
"Very cute and sweet." She could hear Ruka coming up behind her, pacing like a cat. She
didn't bother to turn around and look at him. "I don't believe anyone is that sweet. Maybe
she's faking it." He had come so close to her, she felt the heat emanating from him on her back.
"Shut up. You know nothing about her."
He sighed, ruffling her curls. "I suppose." Coming out from behind her, he glided into her field
of vision. She had to bend back her neck to get a good view of his face. "But we live in the
same dorm. We'll walk there together."
Juri couldn't think of a good excuse and complied. Even though he was jerk, his sword skill
was impressive. She wanted to duplicate and improve those techniques. Ruka walked with a
spring in his step, very slightly, but it still told the world he knew something it didn't. His strange
hairstyle bobbed up and down as they walked, as if pulled by some invisible string. Beginning
to whistle a melancholy tune, he slowed the pace.
They passed one of the many fountains. There was just enough of a breeze to send a little of the
water and moisture into their direction. Water droplets gathered on his hair, like crystals from
one of her mother's necklaces. A single drop dislodged itself to land on is cheek and make its
way down his cheek, to drop off his chin and spatter on the pavement. Flipping his hair, he
showered her with more little droplets, causing her curls to grow heavy and droop. Her
attention was drawn to his breathing. Just barely uneven, and when he breathed in deep, there
was rasp that should not have been there.
"You're not well, are you?" She asked, looking him directly in the face.
He turned to smile at her. "You can tell. I'm impressed. Most people don't notice." The
whistling ensued.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Do you know why I like you?" He turned toward her, the smile slightly faded, making him
seem a little more serious.
"Don't dodge the subject."
"I could tell from the way you stood that you were a great fencer. It's written all over you like
scribbles. You leak it like some people leak sin." She didn't reply. "However, I was
disappointed when we fought. I expected more from you. You haven't reached you're full
potential yet."
They'd reached the dorms. "Look-" she began.
"I want to help you reach that full potential." He brought his face down to hers so his hair
brushed her face, the smile gone. His breath smelled of strawberries. The pale color of his skin
contrasted with his dark eyes, making him seem suddenly monstrous and alien, adding to the
intensity of his expression. It seemed he didn't belong here, in the real world, like he was
something too fragile to exist in it.
If I touch you, would you disappear?
He brought his lips to her ear, gently nudging the curls away with his nose, the strawberry
scented breath warm and tingling on her skin. "I always wanted to find some one stronger than
me." The heat from his mouth lay against her skin, a covering.
Drawing back, the smile resurfaced. "Good night." Ruka turned on his heel and went into the
separate dorm building for boys. Juri was left on the porch of her new sleeping place alone.
She went in and discovered her new residence on the second floor. Apparently, they assigned
new roommates. Juri's was a very quiet girl named Naomi, who wanted the lower bunk.
Brushing her golden hair and her teeth before slipping into a pair of white pajamas, she found
her bed soft and welcoming. She put her hand to her cheek where Ruka had brought his lips.
It was still warm, and now she smelled liked strawberries.
~Until next time~
occurred simultaneously with Ruka around.
----------------------
Love is a Chain Gang
----------------------
"So, you think you're good with a sword?"
It was Juri's freshman year in Junior High. She wasn't a people person. In a perfect world, she
would have gone to a much smaller school, but Ohtori had the best fencing program in all of
Japan. And fencing, well, fencing was Juri's life. She had begun in kindergarten, top of her
class. Even that young, people had seen the talent in her. Her speed and agility matched her
cunning and ruthlessness. She was the best. And she knew it.
And some impudent blue-haired boy sure as hell wasn't going to tell her she wasn't.
They were in the fencing gym, a vast building built specifically for that purpose. The kendo club
was across the lawn, across from it. Being the first day, Juri had come early, the excitement
was hardly contained even as stoic as she was. She was able to see the High School team
practice and had been impressed with the strict regimen they worked through. She was all
ready better than some of the older kids she'd seen. In a couple of years, when her skill
improved (which it did, there never seemed to be any limits to it) she would be able to surpass
all of them.
The boy's indigo hair cascaded unto his long face, like a frozen waterfall, and yet didn't
completely mask the dark blue sapphires that were his eyes. His wide mouth formed a very
welcoming smile, crinkling up his eyes, which would have made him appear friendly, if it weren't
for the predatory look in his eyes, and the fact that he was towering over her. He was in the
fencing class with her, same group. Juri had been watching her sempai/teacher prepare for class
when the boy showed up and promptly noticed her drooling over the swords.
"Yes, I think I'm good with a sword. You?" Her golden curls flowed in front of her vision when
she turned to answer him. She purposely made her question a challenge.
"Oh, moderately." His smile became so wide it drew attention away from his eyes. Juri had
never met anyone so sure of himself.
"Are we all assembled?" Her sempai asked, facing Juri and the boy and the rest of the gathering
freshman behind them.
"Hai!" They all called out.
"Good. My name is Kira Sestuna. I will be your captain for the Junior High fencing team.
You're the freshman squad. All of you will be able to meet your older team members
tomorrow. All right. I'm going to hand out fencing uniforms and helmets. When I call your
name, please come forward. Sara Mudo!"
"Hai!"
"Kato Yue!"
"Hai!"
"Sakuya Mudo!"
"Hai!"
While the other freshmen were going up to get their uniforms, the blue-haired boy leaned in
toward her and whispered, "I call tell by you're build that you're going to be good at this. Want
to work together?" There was that smile again. Did he ever stop? She refrained from
answering.
"Tsuchiya Ruka!"
"Hai!" The boy called out. He came forward and claimed his uniform, smiling and bowing to
Kira-sempai, instantly loosing his haughty demeanor for a more polite and modest one. Juri
marked him as manipulative; she'd had experience with boys like him.
"Arisugawa Juri!"
"Hai!" Her voice rang out strong and clear. As she approached the teacher he smiled down at
her.
"I've heard good things about you."
Saying nothing, she gave him an extra bow and grabbed her uniform and went back into line.
"How cold!" Ruka scolded her. "The least you could've done was say thank you."
Her only reply was to straighten up, trying to appear as stiff as possible. Why was this annoying
boy talking to her?
"All right! Go to the locker rooms and change and come back here in five minutes." Kira
sempai pointed down the hall to the changing rooms.
As the fencers filed in the separate locker rooms, Juri noticed how the boys outnumbered the
girls. Twenty kids in all, 13 boys, 7 girls. Strangely enough, Juri appreciated that. Girls made
her uncomfortable. As the boys and the girls separated, Juri caught Ruka's eye and he winked
at her. That made her so mad she nearly ran over a girl trying to get away from his line of
eyesight. In the locker room, she carefully stayed away from the rest of the girls, avoiding eye
contact. They tittered about how cute Kira-sempai was and how well he filled out his uniform
(she scoffed at this). As Juri removed her school uniform, she silently complained to herself
how short the skirts were. The boys were lucky they got to wear pants. She swore to herself
that when she became an upperclassman, she'd get them to let her wear pants. When they had
all finished changing, Juri realized how many of the girls had matured faster than her, filling out
their uniforms in such a way that Kira-sempai would even appreciate. She blushed.
Back in the main room, Kira-sempai ordered them to file into a single line and duel him one at a
time so he could see their level of skill. One by one each freshman advanced and was defeated.
Somehow, Ruka ended up behind Juri. "Ooh! Now I get to see how good you are." He
leaned in so close to her she could feel his breath tickle her ear. "Don't let me down, Juri."
Juri? They'd just met and he was all ready calling her Juri? She was going to turn around and
tell him off when the teacher called- "Arisugawa!" Flustered and angry, Juri made her way to
the sword rack and picked out a foil. Almost forgetting to put her helmet on, she made her way
out to the teacher. "Begin!" He called out, and before she was ready, he charged.
Juri parried easily, using the power of his own thrust to send him reeling away. Briefly, Juri
floundered on whether to go defensive or immediately offence, but the presence of Ruka near
her set her on offence. Launching herself at Kira-sempai, she put him under a flurry of attacks
so vicious he was backing up into the line of freshmen. The scattered, making room for the
fighting duo. Sempai constantly on defense, Juri analyzed his methods. Being a man, he was
more acquainted with offence, and his defense was sluggish, like a machine not recently oiled.
He was used to using power and not agility. She had the advantage. Her attacks, though not
strong, where quick and in various areas, she was testing him for any obvious weaknesses.
There! He didn't like to put weight on his left foot, often using an extra step to get his weight on
his right. If she forced him to do that one more... On the edge of her vision, she saw Ruka's
wide smile frozen on his face, watching her every move.
It was too late when she noticed she had given Kira-sempai enough time to rally for a strong
attack and to throw himself at her. Though it caught her by surprise, she managed to at least
touch upon his sword before it hit and landed on her chest. Not enough time and force to
deflect it.
"Wonderful!" He cried out, taking his helmet off. "Magnificent offence. Please remember,
however," he bent over and smiled at her. "To not give your opponent a chance to attack when
using that technique. Next!"
Ruka passed her as she went back into line. "Too bad." It took all her will not to jab the butt
of her sword into his groin.
Juri didn't intend to give Ruka the satisfaction of her watching him fight; she planned to stare out
the windows, until she heard the crowd gasp. Turning around just the second before Kira-
sempai did his little extra step to his right foot, she saw Ruka attack and claim victory. The
freshman cheered and the upperclassmen, which had gathered on the balcony to watch,
whooped. Filtering all the curse-words she knew through her head, she ground her teeth at
Ruka's smiling face. She didn't bother to listen to Kira-sempai congratulate Ruka. Instead, she
moved the back of the freshman and sulked.
"Pair up!" Kira-sempai hollered. "And duel for the rest of the period. You're going to be with
each other for a very long time, especially if you're good. Make new friends!" And with that,
he sat down and drank from his water bottle.
Juri glared at anyone who tried to pair up with her, many didn't even bother, but Ruka marched
right past a girl giggling at him and straight up to Juri.
"Good match, don't you think?"
She put her helmet back on and assumed the fighting stance. He mimicked. "You haven't said
a word to me except that one line." Other students began their own private matches around
them. His eyes regained the predator like gaze. "I want to hear that lovely voice again."
"Let's go." Juri made sure hatred wasn't seeping into her face.
"Mmm, I like you're voice."
"C'MON!"
She came toward him like a bullet, straight and fast. Ruka was prepared however, and
blocked. They were face to face, straining against each other, foils bending. "I was able to win
that match because of watching you, you know," Ruka said, right before he attacked.
Juri had gone beyond angry and back to cold and calculating, she let Ruka attack so she could
test his strength while she blocked and parried, never giving anything away. She could still see
the ever-present smile on his face even through the facemask. It grew wider until she thought it
would wrap around his face. He was enjoying this. However, Ruka was rather miffed that his
attacks weren't harrying her, why did she remain so calm? Fine, he'd just attack her more
powerfully still. He yelled as he gave her a final thrust, hoping to go through her defenses.
Instead, she stepped out of his path and let him blow past her. Just to be spiteful, she shoved
him as he ran past, making him fall to the floor.
Meanwhile, the whole class was done with their individual bouts, and stood and awe of the two
of them. Kira-sempai eyed the duo.
Before Ruka had a chance to recover, she flew at him, forcing him back up against one of the
walls of the building. With nowhere left to back up to, he was left deflecting her slashes at full
power. One of her thrusts was so strong that when he blocked it, it sent her sword veering into
the wood of the wall, showering splinters down. He tried to get his sword back up in time but
she was just too fast, and she stabbed him. Even through the uniform and with the practice
sword, it was going to leave a small bruise.
The whole building broke into applause. Kira-sempai was visibly impressed. The kendo club
had finished early, and had come in time to watch the duel. A red haired kendo student smiled
and said to his neighbor, "She's good."
"She's a girl." His green-haired friend replied.
Juri was left facing Ruka, refusing to remove her sword point from his chest. Both were
breathing hard, sweat glistening behind the masks. He removed his first, revealing his face for
the first time without that smile. "You're good. You're really good." But the smile was present
in his voice.
That was the only real fight in which Juri ever beat Ruka.
----------
After showering in the gym (still keeping far away from the other girls, though they all gushed
over her victory like squeezed tomatoes) Juri went to her other classes, following her program
across the large labyrinthine campus. She knew she would excel, she always did, it was
ingrained in her personality. The only interesting subject was philosophy, where the tiny
professor lectured on phallic symbols, causing the whole class to burst into giggles. When the
teacher discovered he actually had the attention of his students for the first time, it made him
loosen up, and spill some dirty school secrets to the class. Apparently, there was a running gag
among the faculty that the current Chairman's residence (a gigantic tower in the middle of
campus) was built only to compensate for the ailing man's certain defects. Juri was the only girl
in the girl in the class who actually got the joke.
Finally released from an extremely dull math class in the north side of the university, Juri made
her way back to the fencing building, traversing the many fountains that seemed to grow from
the school grounds, hoping to get a glimpse of the seniors at practice. It was already dusk. To
her disappointment, there was only a janitor cleaning up the floors in the gym. She leaned over
the railing of the balcony, resting her weight on it, and sighed. At least she got to defeat that
Ruka. All though, he didn't act defeated. He had said no more to her, only smiled at her
benignly from across the room. Very disturbing.
"Juri-san?" A very meek voice asked from behind her.
She turned to see a very small girl, with short brown hair, looking up adoringly at her, eyes
lighting up when Juri's met hers. "Shiori?"
"You remember!" She piped, jumping up and down, causing her hair to bounce. "I'm so glad.
It's been forever!"
"Yeah," she replied, trying hard not to let her emotions show. Shiori had been her best friend in
elementary school, the only person that she really enjoyed to be around.
"That's all I get? A 'yeah'? C'mon, you must be glad to see me!"
"I'm very glad to see you. I didn't know you were going here. When did that happen?"
"Remember when I left school to go to my Dad in Osaka? We thought that since he was now
in a wheel chair he would need help, so my mother sent me to live with him, but... he died just
before this term started, so I got to come back." Shiori was looking at her feet, he hands
against her chest, clasped together.
"I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay now. Because I at least get to be with Juri-san again!" She looked up, her eyes
glowing with happiness.
Juri contained the blush that was creeping into her face. "Would you like to come and see some
of my fencing matches?"
"Of course! I love to watch you duel! Do you think they would let me down onto the fencing
floor if I don't do anything and just watch."
"I'll make them let you."
"Thank you, Juri." Silence ensued for a moment, and the two girls looked at each other. The
bells tolled out from the Ohtori tower, beseeching the whole campus. "Ah! Freshman curfew
time! I'll come watch your class tomorrow. I promise."
"I'm glad."
"Me too. Bye bye!" Shiori waved as she left the building.
Juri slowly felt her hand respond, as if not of her own will. She quickly brought it down back to
her side. Shiori. She could be with Shiori again.
"Very cute and sweet." She could hear Ruka coming up behind her, pacing like a cat. She
didn't bother to turn around and look at him. "I don't believe anyone is that sweet. Maybe
she's faking it." He had come so close to her, she felt the heat emanating from him on her back.
"Shut up. You know nothing about her."
He sighed, ruffling her curls. "I suppose." Coming out from behind her, he glided into her field
of vision. She had to bend back her neck to get a good view of his face. "But we live in the
same dorm. We'll walk there together."
Juri couldn't think of a good excuse and complied. Even though he was jerk, his sword skill
was impressive. She wanted to duplicate and improve those techniques. Ruka walked with a
spring in his step, very slightly, but it still told the world he knew something it didn't. His strange
hairstyle bobbed up and down as they walked, as if pulled by some invisible string. Beginning
to whistle a melancholy tune, he slowed the pace.
They passed one of the many fountains. There was just enough of a breeze to send a little of the
water and moisture into their direction. Water droplets gathered on his hair, like crystals from
one of her mother's necklaces. A single drop dislodged itself to land on is cheek and make its
way down his cheek, to drop off his chin and spatter on the pavement. Flipping his hair, he
showered her with more little droplets, causing her curls to grow heavy and droop. Her
attention was drawn to his breathing. Just barely uneven, and when he breathed in deep, there
was rasp that should not have been there.
"You're not well, are you?" She asked, looking him directly in the face.
He turned to smile at her. "You can tell. I'm impressed. Most people don't notice." The
whistling ensued.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Do you know why I like you?" He turned toward her, the smile slightly faded, making him
seem a little more serious.
"Don't dodge the subject."
"I could tell from the way you stood that you were a great fencer. It's written all over you like
scribbles. You leak it like some people leak sin." She didn't reply. "However, I was
disappointed when we fought. I expected more from you. You haven't reached you're full
potential yet."
They'd reached the dorms. "Look-" she began.
"I want to help you reach that full potential." He brought his face down to hers so his hair
brushed her face, the smile gone. His breath smelled of strawberries. The pale color of his skin
contrasted with his dark eyes, making him seem suddenly monstrous and alien, adding to the
intensity of his expression. It seemed he didn't belong here, in the real world, like he was
something too fragile to exist in it.
If I touch you, would you disappear?
He brought his lips to her ear, gently nudging the curls away with his nose, the strawberry
scented breath warm and tingling on her skin. "I always wanted to find some one stronger than
me." The heat from his mouth lay against her skin, a covering.
Drawing back, the smile resurfaced. "Good night." Ruka turned on his heel and went into the
separate dorm building for boys. Juri was left on the porch of her new sleeping place alone.
She went in and discovered her new residence on the second floor. Apparently, they assigned
new roommates. Juri's was a very quiet girl named Naomi, who wanted the lower bunk.
Brushing her golden hair and her teeth before slipping into a pair of white pajamas, she found
her bed soft and welcoming. She put her hand to her cheek where Ruka had brought his lips.
It was still warm, and now she smelled liked strawberries.
~Until next time~