Loving Trees: Ganko and Kaoru's story

Sometimes she wondered what exactly was the use of school besides the cover of education and the rather more emphasized socializing. After all, after what happened that year she withdrew herself from the rest of teenage society, so the there went one of the objectives out of the window. And as for education, with so much free time on her hands she had already read and studied far beyond the standards of those of her age.

She twirled her pen in her hands as her history teacher droned on about something she already knew, and watched it as it slowed to a stop and fell out of her fingers. Sighing and feeling utterly bored, she considered reverting to her usual pastime of observing the behaviour of those of her peers and of course ridiculing them, but decided against it. She wasn't in the mood to see them worrying themselves silly over their nails and their hair and boys. Especially boys. She could not understand how they could not realise that nothing in the world lasts forever. Everything, all the love and the happiness would be snatched away, and in the end the only thing that you were left with was hurt. But she wouldn't think about that. Had not she promised herself that she would not think about him?

Suddenly feeling bitter, angry and irritated she pulled the cap off her pen and scribbled on her table in tiny, slightly slanted words. Just then, the bell rang and she cleared away her things, all the while hoping that her teacher would see it.

Mrs Forait did not, but someone else did.

_

He decided he liked this school. The people were friendly, the teachers were average, the classes laid-back, but best of all, nobody asked too many questions.

When he first arrived, he was slightly surprised by how quickly he was accepted. It was almost as if he had always been in the school; furthermore they liked him, or at least appeared to. He was quite flattered, even more so when he was immediately deemed part of the popular group. He was not a playboy like some of them, but he was popular enough among the girls, meaning that he had no problems getting a date if he wanted to. But there wasn't any girl he had met yet that he felt serious about. Perhaps it was just he, but he felt that the majority of the girls in Lyotte High were rather shallow, nice, but shallow.

He already knew most of the syllabus, having studied it long ago in the training facility when he was much younger, so he usually spent class staring at the teacher, or thinking about how to answer those awkward questions if they were ever asked. Thankfully, nobody did, but Kaoru felt that it was better safe than sorry.

It was that day, when he had gone through the lies that he would say in his head for the fourth consecutive time that lesson that he spotted the tiny writing on the side of the table.

There is nothing we can learn from the past except that only the pain and misery of memory lives on.

Curious. How strange it was that there was such a bitter person in this school. He was under the impression that Lyotte High was on the whole, a happy cheery shallow, wholesome, sunny, optimistic school. He was wrong it seemed and the sentence piqued his curiosity.

Slowly, he pushed the end of his pen and wrote below the angry sentence in his rather messy handwriting.

_

There were few things that could surprise her nowadays (her list was rather short, containing the only entry: Hearing the girls talk about something other than boys.), but the next day, she was.

She had expected a few possible things in History class that day, among them was Mrs Forait finding out about the little message she left as well as an imminent earthquake, but not to see a little line added underneath her own.

Sitting down in her seat quietly as usual, she peered at the corner of the table where the words were. Her eyes quickly scanned through the line she had written and went on to read the one below it.

So that's your take on life? Sounds rather sad.

She blinked, and then read through it again. Was that… could it be pity she read in those two short sentences? Suddenly, she felt a wave of indignation wash over her. If there was anything she could not stand, it was pity. For the first time in a long time she felt an emotion other than ennui, loneliness or bitterness. She felt anger. Anger at a stranger for thinking that he or she could think that she was pitiful. She pulled her pen out and viciously wrote underneath the two sentences.

She looked at what she wrote, re-read it, and felt a surge of satisfaction. That should teach the person stupid enough to anger her, that Ganko was not a person to pity.

The last person who pitied her had taken a pretty harsh tongue-lashing, she quietly mused to herself. Suddenly, she felt her anger dissipate and was replaced by emptiness. The old Ganko would have felt that way, be indignant about the pity. She thought that part of her had died. And in a way it was better wasn't it? At least now, she couldn't be hurt as easily as the old Ganko.

But just now… just now, that was so her. Her old self had resurfaced, even if only for a short while. She didn't know whether to be worried or happy.

_

Author's notes: How was that? Ganko seems rather pessimistic eh? Ah well…

Thanks to: Nigihayami Haruko (Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like my portrayal of Ganko)

KKRULZ ( Yes, sometimes I get annoyed by the way she's described as someone who is super beautiful so I decided to make her not. Hope this is enough Kaoru Ganko mush for you (for now). And I did enjoy my trip! Thanks for asking.)

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