Solitary Mask
Chibi Tsuki
A/N: I'm back from my holidays and here's another chapter for you all!
Chapter 7
Restored Energy
Something was still wrong and Kurama knew that very well, but decided against mentioning this to Mikazuki. She didn't seem to be there at all; well not spiritually. The girl was once again asleep, leaning heavily against the tree, while Kurama glanced at her with hidden anxiety. He nudged her before she fell into a deep sleep and muttered, "Perhaps you should go home. I'll go and ring your home, and see if someone can pick you up."
"No one's going to be at home," the girl responded softly as she tried to seat herself in a more comfortable position, but she lost her sense of balance and fell to one side. Quickly reaching out for her, Kurama grabbed her by the arm and hauled her back towards him. A scarlet blush raced across Mikazuki's face as she noticed the short distance between them, luckily her mask hid her face as she thanked him almost wordlessly. The kitsune in human form was also blushing and immediately let go of her. Shouts broke the silence, alerting the couple that there were other classes to attend.
"Come on, let's get going," Kurama suggested for Mikazuki's sake. They jumped out of the tree, taking caution towards Mikazuki's rather frail body.
"I need a drink," the light colour-haired girl murmured just before they entered the building. "You better go to your next class or you'll be late because of me." At first he didn't seem to believe that she was capable of going by herself but her voice seemed stronger, or perhaps she was just acting. Either way he headed to his next class, a worry held in his heart. I don't exactly understand why it didn't fully work on her. There's something suspicious.
~*~*~*~
Mikazuki stumbled towards the bubbler, her hand constantly reaching out for something to hold. It had been foolish of her to use up so much of her strength and let Kurama become so suspicious. She would've done better to stay at home and search for water at night. Not even having reached the bubbler, her legs piled under her only to be steadied by a pair of strong steeled hands. She nodded her head in thanks, being unable to speak with her parched throat. Turning to look at the one who had so kindly helped her, she stumbled again and this time her consciousness failed her, much alike her body.
~*~*~*~
He walked stiffly into the pale-walled classroom with windows as wide as a sofa and as tall as a wardrobe. Pale cream-coloured curtains were drawn aside allowing light to enter the dull room. The desks were made of wood, worn away from the frequent graffiti and etching on them. Kurama selected an empty seat and settled there. An absurd tugging in his mind distracted him when his friends tried to talk to him; just chatting away as if there was no tomorrow. A slam alerted them of their teacher's presence and they immediately sat down at their own desks and dug their hands into their bags, searching for class notes most probably in the bottom of their bags. Collecting his own notes Kurama laid his presentable sheets of elegant, cursive handwriting on his desk. Beside the notes lay his most-often used ballpoint pen with words printed in gold still intact because of his careful treatment towards his own belongings. As the teacher spoke about ancient Greece and their cultural beliefs in a grumbling tone, Kurama leafed through pages of his textbook, unable to concentrate. But a sudden padding of hurried footsteps in the corridor aroused the entire class as they all turned to cast a glance out of the room. A tall dark-haired figure was carrying a limp body in one hand, running tirelessly down the hall. The person darted so fast that they couldn't see much more than the blur of silvery white. Being different, Kurama could clearly see the two people, one dark-haired male holding Mikazuki in his arms, a blank expression on his face.
Resisting the urge to run out of class, Kurama turned around and closed his eyes. She'll be fine. … "Sensei, I'm not feeling well. May I be allowed to go to the infirmary?" he asked with the usual politeness in his voice. The teacher nodded as a gesture of dismissing him and resumed his class. Once he closed the door behind him Kurama broke into a dash down the corridor, his shoes barely skimming the ground. He manoeuvred expertly around two female students who happened to walk out of their classroom that second. They only saw him as a blur when he swept pass them.
A sweet flowery scent filled his nostrils when he stepped into the infirmary and from there, he felt a peculiar feeling of peacefulness. It was unusually calming too. He opened his eyes and released his subconsciously held breath. The room was empty of people but there was a desk standing next to the door, its heavy weight supported by four solid wooden legs. A monitor sat on the tabletop, surrounded by scattered sheets, most likely documents. Two large filling cabinets were settled facing the desk on an angle, following the shape of the room. He sat down on one of the chairs, staring at the closed door straight ahead of him, listening to the muffled voices inside. He could only make out several words since his human ears restricted him. The first to appear inside the infirmary was a nurse who seemed to be no older than thirty at the most. She smiled pleasantly at him, her blond hair; a swirling mass of curls.
"Are you feeling unwell?" she enquired, automatically placing a small hand on his forehead. "Your temperature is normal."
He shook his head gently and replied, "I…" Should I just lie? Should I? "I feel as if I'm going to faint because of the heat."
"Why don't you take a nap, and when you wake up you'll feel better," she suggested and led him into the connecting room. His eyes darted around to where Mikazuki laid peacefully, her scar seemed less obvious against her light creamy skin; another fact he hadn't noticed until then. The breeze blew gently at her, raising strands of hair. It was then did he realise that her mask was off and that there was someone beside her, sitting on the bed, gazing at the mask he held in his hand.
"Can I just sit at the sofa instead?" Kurama asked when he was ushered into a bed. With the school nurse's approval he headed to the worn down sofa and settled comfortably. He closed his eyes pretending to sleep while she whispered several words to the teenager who had carried Mikazuki here and left the room. Opening his eyes again, he saw him leaning down towards Mikazuki's face until he was breathing on her cheek. When Mikazuki started shifting uncontrollably he placed a palm against her right shoulder and muttered something into her ear. Immediately her entire body became limp again, back into the slumbering form. A smile spread across his strikingly handsome face, and for a second his deep blue eyes sent Kurama a strange wave of melancholy, but that had disappeared as fast as he felt it.
~*~*~*~
"I know that you're awake, stop pretending," he uttered, directing the question towards Kurama without looking at him. It shocked Kurama that he could sense his consciousness but nonetheless he did not evoke his current emotions through his physical features. The nameless one stood up, his straight blue hair swaying with his body. It revealed a plain golden earring hanging on his right ear. Slowly he strode towards Kurama and halted two metres in front of him. His face was blank, like a book cover. "I advise you to leave her alone," he said in a cool and expressionless voice. "She doesn't need friends, not now and not ever, especially you in particular." Without waiting for another word from Kurama, he walked back to Mikazuki's bedside and placed the mask on the windowsill. His fingers brushed against Mikazuki's cheek and wordlessly left the room.
Who are you to judge whether Mikazuki can have friend or not? Leaving his belongings on the soda, he stood up and walked over to the Mikazuki, questions filling his mind. He placed a hand on her forehead and instead of finding it hot, he found it cool; much cooler than it the normal body temperature. Suddenly she tried to draw a large mouthful of air through her unconscious state. What's happening? His eyebrows knotted and placed two fingers on her pulse to feel the rise and fall of it. It had slowed down only by a little but it wasn't safe to assume that she was alright. "Water," she murmured desperately, her hand clutched his wrist with a deathly grip that could possibly break a normal human's wrist joint. Kurama tried to make her release him without waking her up but it didn't seem possible. But perhaps if he was able to give her what she seemed to lack, she would let go. The only problem now was that he couldn't reach the other side of the room, but the youkai, an extremely intelligent one as well, never ceased to think of solutions. He glanced around the room and spotted a pot plant on the second window sill and summoned it from its three year old home. The plant gently lengthened while it roots loosened in the soil. The stem reached out for his bag, sliding inside through the main opening and started searching for his water bottle.
Gulp after gulp, she kept calling for more, draining Kurama's water bottle of its contents until there was no more than a small mouthful left. Her whimpers ceased and her grip on his wrist had loosened. For now she seemed satisfied and even her body temperature seemed to warm up a bit luckily. Smiling Kurama settled back onto the couch and during his waiting for Mikazuki to wake up, he had dozed off.
~*~*~*~
Hour had past and finally the unconscious student woke. A pain numbed her body while her throat was hoarse and dry, and her head pounding heavily. She dragged herself out of the bed and stared out of the open window, a soothing breeze caressing her skin. Rain. There was moisture in the air and she could feel it just by its light smell and an instinct that never failed her when it came to weather. Thick blankets of grey clouds appeared, hiding a sun behind them without the slightly hesitation. A placid smile crept across her face as she started to head out of the room. She didn't even ask herself of her current location and walked out of the infirmary. If the nurse had been there, maybe she would've woken from her trance, but she wasn't and so Mikazuki followed the moisture out into the opening, an unsheltered area not far from her favourite tree. Soon the cloud burst from the heavy weight. Delicate drops of water finally fell, much to her delight. Her hands were held out, her palm facing upwards to intercept the water as they plunged to the ground. The drops of rain began to fall with a much stronger force, forming puddles on the cement surface. Others came in contact with Mikazuki, embracing her until they were absorbed into her body like a sponge.
Water meant energy for her and energy meant a lot to her, and everything alive. It had relieved her of her headache and sore throat, and within several minutes she felt much stronger already. Escaped chuckles of laughter displayed her happiness as she danced under the rain. Her youki had already increased to half of her regular strength when the rain had stopped. That was when it occurred to her that she was still in school and that she had come from the infirmary after being carried there by a familiar face she couldn't quite put her finger on. There was also another problem at the current moment, and that was her forgotten mask, placed on the window sill.
The remaining layer of water that clung to her was instantly absorbed, leaving no trace of her 'unusual' behaviour. She glanced up at the school buildings and smiled. It had been a good day, for the rain had come at last after an entire week of nothing but burning heat. But to her horror she noticed a pair of eyes staring at her in utter confusion and most probably glued to her face. Ducking her head she darted to the building, using only two seconds for that purpose. What was I doing, running under the rain like that, and in public!
What she hadn't noticed was a pair of dark-coloured eyes staring at her from afar, following her figure during the entire time without the least bit of difficulty.
A/N: How's the story coming along? I know it's really slow but we're hopefully getting somewhere. Thanks for your patience!
