Solitary Mask
Chibi Tsuki
A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! I really loved reading them ^.^ *goes teary in the eyes* By the way, I'm so sorry about the last chapter, there were quite a few mistakes. I didn't know what type of demon she should be and I had to relate it to the beginning scene of the story so yeah… I'm sorry, but it's not a kitsune, although I don't mind but it'll make the story really boring. By the way, I continued to use the Japanese way of addressing someone with their full name; the surname first and then their given name. The next chapter will also be out slightly late.
Chapter 3
Rumours Awake
The girl woke up with a jolt, panting while sweat trickling down her face. Her T-shirt, serving as a pyjama top was thoroughly soaked. She padded to the bathroom and grabbed a wet face cloth to wipe her face, slowly she lifting her head to look into the mirror, a mere reflection of her self, but was it her true self? It didn't seem so. A sigh was released and she entered her room once again, changing into a clean T-shirt, the saturated one dumped unceremoniously on the bedroom floor. Again, she fell back into her soft comfy bed but a part of her mind told her that she wanted to go somewhere, away from the city, to be with nature instead. There was an eerie glow and a form of a wolf appeared, faint grey and white colours swirling through its mane, with gentle streaks of silvery white in its coat. It donned a strange silver chest-plate, with delicate carvings, and the end of the metal armour, reaching the shoulder blades, were split pieces of metal. However you looked at this wolf, even without its armour, one would realise that it was definitely anything but ordinary since it had pointy ears, longer than normal and eyes of a mystical blue. This wasn't a real wolf, born like those canines in the wild; it was a B-class demon from Makai, nothing really strong compared to the higher ranked youkai in the world, but it wasn't harmless either.
The wolf leapt out of the open window, picking its track carefully to avoid stepping on smaller insects and plants. It would've released a howl if it wasn't within a suburban area. Rough paw pads scraped against the rocky track as it made its way out of the city, running swiftly with its vivid scent waffling subtly around the atmosphere, alerting other territorial canines. Nevertheless, it continued onwards until it reached the cliff edge, looking down at a watery grave below, the wind bellowing like a dying cow. As round and full as it can be, the moon shone brightly, illuminating the cliff's jagged edge. This was the place to be for a wolf, any type of wolf, above the water with the moon emitting beautiful rays, waiting for a howl to set its scene.
Brushing his teeth lazily, the younger teenager of sixteen yawned, toothpaste splattering onto the mirror. He continued to spit out the toothpaste and rinse his mouth while trying to rub the mirror with his sleeve. Without success, he decided to give up and just give in to some needed sleep, especially since school was rather tedious for him although he had only attended class twice this week; a habit he could not dismiss. The boy settled quickly into his futon and yawned again. Abruptly, he could sense a flash of unfamiliar youki, but because of its relatively low force, he could not bring himself to chase after it especially since it had disappeared so fast. Perhaps he would mention it when he saw Kuwabara or Kurama the next time.
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Hurriedly darting along the school corridors, Mikazuki hugged onto her bag, avoiding people so that she would not bang into anyong. Her mask hung on tightly to her skin while she ran, clinging like glue. A sudden slip and she went crashing into another student. Papers and books flew in different directions, a curse following the scene. "Watch where you're going!" the victim growled, picking himself up while others behind him sniggered, laughing at their mate's unlucky fall. Slowly, the girl lifted her bowed head up and cast them a glare, not knowing that a tiny fraction of her mask had peeled off, due to the moisture and sweat on her face. They gaped and walked off quietly. With no further delay, she managed to find her classroom and settle calmly in the barriers of her isolation. She laid her head against her fist and closed her eyes, wanting to drift off into sleep since no one would realise whether she was awake or not under her mask. The truth was that she had spent an entire night and morning, watching the moon and sitting in the presence of the moonlight and water and so she slept, making it feel like a short period of time before the bell rang to announce the end of the first class in the morning. Mikazuki ran her fingers through her bangs sub-consciously, something she often did when she had just been woken up. Her hand fell on her bag and books and she reluctantly left the room, following far behind the crowd.
"What do you mean you saw Tsukishiro Mikazuki's face?" a boy from a gathered crowd demanded curiously but softly in a quiet whisper.
The boy who had previously bumped into Mikazuki raised his eyebrows cheekily and grinned, "She crashed into me and then I yelled at her. I noticed that her mask had been peeled off quite a bit." His exaggeration made the entire situation seem more 'exciting'.
"Was she pretty?" another asked, leaning over his friends to be part of the group.
"Pretty? If she were pretty, then pigs will fly and so will cows!" Of course, this rumour continued to spread like a locust plague; a game of Chinese whispers.
Jobi whistled surprisedly with raised eyebrows at the information he had just gathered and made his way towards his small group of friends, smiling triumphantly. "Guess what I heard just then." The group turned their attention on him, knowing that he had just found something interesting out by the smug look on his face. Realising that he had caught their attention, the short black-haired teen spoke on. "Apparently Muiro Teki saw Tsukishiro's appearance." Kurama listened intently and waited for his friend to continue. "She was running to class and ran smack bang into him. The girl fell and he cursed at her and that was when he saw her face; her mask had basically been peeled off altogether."
Raku interrupted him excitedly, "What did he say she looked like?"
"Absolutely hideous! No wonder she can't walk around without a mask and to think we thought that she was some I-want-to-be-mysterious person." Something about what Jobi had said made Kurama feel that it wasn't right and that was not the reason as to why she wore a mask. Instead, he felt that there was a much deeper meaning to the mask, one that hid her real feelings. He smacked himself mentally. Since when did I become a psychiatrist? "The others in Muiro's group saw her too. They said that she had a burn across her face-"
"Go to class!" the teacher behind them boomed, hurrying the gossiping teens along, obviously irritated since this was not the second or third group he had to yell at. Laughing, the students scurried off, disappearing into classrooms. For the rest of the lessons up until lunch, everyone was staring and looking at her, whispering like always. Mikazuki didn't mind nor did she care; let them think what they want to think.
The teacher had left the classroom in a hurry for lunch, the students left behind to file out of the classroom. Tired and sick of all her classmate's constant blabbering, Mikazuki picked up her speed and left the room of students in hope of finding peace a preferably silence, if that was possible. Actually, it was impossible not that anyone would care. The weather was again hot and moist, not to mention sticky, but this time she could easily withstand the heat. Not needing to rely on tap water, now that she had rested enough to regain some strength. "Hey Mikazuki," Kurama greeted while ascending swiftly from one tree branch to another. Merely glancing at him in response, she turned away again, resting against the thick wall of bark. He shifted himself so that he was slightly closer to her, but a respectable distance away. "I was thinking over it last night, what do you mean by 'humans are prejudice'?"
She relaxed slightly now that she knew his purpose for approaching her and replied in her cold smooth voice, "They look at each other's difference and judge themselves, although they don't even know any part of the real truth."
"The real truth?" Kurama repeated, his curiosity deepening. Without showing his eagerness of wanting to know more, he encouraged the girl to expand in her words by waiting patiently, his gentle, soothing eyes catching hers.
But instead she dismissed the topic by speaking about the rumour. "Why are you still talking to me even though you've heard what they have said about me? I suppose it is true, I'm no elegant and dazzling lady. Nor does my scar represent beauty." Her voice had lowered to a barely audible whisper.
"Beauty does not matter. I don't mind your appearance, even if you are as they say, besides it was only a rumour. I don't know what you look like until I see for myself but I trust that you are as beautiful as a butterfly." For once she giggled and looked up at him with something that seemed to be a genuine smile.
"You really are a charmer Minamino Shuuichi, no wonder the girls are all trying to get your attention but instead you talk to someone as unimportant and rejected as me."
"Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?" he grinned cheerily, unable to stop smiling.
"To tell you the truth, the only thing about you that I can say positively about is that you're a true friend. The rest of it, I'm still unsure. Now leave me in peace," she instantly turned away, afraid of displaying her current emotions to him; something which she had dreaded.
"Does that mean that we're friends?" He waited for her nod and happily left, knowing that he had been able to make a new friend and help this girl overcome her isolation.
~*~*~*~
A/N: I hope you liked this chapter, I didn't want to drag the beginning too much. I'm wondering whether I should give Mikazuki a form like Kurama's Youko form. But I don't really know because it seems a bit too… (I don't know how to describe it but I hope you get what I mean ^.^;;)
Disclaimer: Dun own nefink, not even the only copy of YYH manga I bought…
