NOTE: Well here's the next one…hope you all like it. PLEASE review, I could really use a lot more feedback…
"My head…," groaned Kagomae, "it feels like I just split it in half…"
She looked around the nurse's office to find that she was alone and on the sick bed. Another strange occurrence, this room was usually full of students trying to get a day off, or just skip a class in which they had a test. Kagomae of course didn't know those types very well; their priorities were just too different. Thinking back and trying to get herself straight, Kagomae could not remember how she got to school. She, to some extent, did remember that her bike had been stolen…and she'd had to give away all her money to appease the man who sold vegetables just a few blocks away…but after that…
"Yokai," Kagomae thought for a moment but the thought was quickly dismissed, "my life isn't that exciting…" She laughed to herself a bit.
Looking over at the nightstand she saw a thermometer and decided to make some use of it, "if I'm not too sick, I'm pretty sure it'll be ok if I leave," she thought out loud.
Reaching down to the surface of the nightstand, Kagomae noticed her arm was bruised in the shape of a hand print, inspection of the other arm only produced the same results. "What the fuck?"
Perplexed and perhaps a bit more self conscious and scared, Kagomae ran out of the room immediately and thought that she was spending way too much time away from class. "I'll clear my head with some English class and think about this weird shit later," she thought to herself, "besides I can't get distracted so close to graduation, It will look bad if the recruiters thought I slacked off my last couple weeks."
As she opened the door to the classroom, she noticed something wasn't quite right. The students weren't working, very unusual for such an advanced class. The whole reason she had opted for this period was because she knew the student that took this period would be focused, she rolled her eyes.
"Kari," she addressed the closest classmate to her, "what is everyone doing? Where is sensai?"
"Oh Higurashi-san," the petite girl looked at her with glassy eyes, "haven't you heard? Mr. Tanuki sensai is gone, he's completely disappeared. I never thought it would happen here, to this class…" The girl drifted off and stared out the window, "he was so well liked here; everyone will miss him, so much."
Kagomae's palm made its way to her forehead and her other palm fell to her waist, "everything seems to turn against me these days." She took a seat near the back and put her head down, disappointed and terrible confused, everything seemed to be falling apart and no amount of studying could distract her from that. "Otou-san…father…what would you do, it was you who were here and I dug deep in the ground?"
Kagomae drifted into the depths of her mind, lost in a mixture of deep thought and grief. She looked for an answer and a way out of facing what lay ahead of her, but all she found was a cloud of dark smoke, a purple smoke the poisoned her and made her want to forget. "May I not be lost, to this darkness, to this miasma," she murmured, ironically quoting the literature she'd recently read.
Kouga looked up from his report, he too had been lost in thought, but his weren't such concerns as Kagomae's, his were the concerns were of a man who was at war with an enemy far greater than himself. He thought of that which he was fighting for and for what he was protecting, and in those thoughts, his eyes moved to Kagomae. Who'd obviously awoken and come back to class, he was eager to ask her how she was feeling but the pensive look in her eyes drew him away from questioning her.
The way she'd fallen onto her desk deeply concerned him, too, it was as if she'd been struck by something. A back thought perhaps that ate away at her vigilance and her will. It made him sad to see his Kagomae in such a state. How he desperately wanted to hold her in his arms and have her sleep in the safety of his protection.
"When did I start falling in love with you, sweet Kagomae? I've been watching you so long now… When will it be safe for you in this world?"
Kouga murmured this under his breath, but these were words he wished to shout from every rooftop in the city. How he longed for Kagomae to know her patient and ever present admirer.
"But what kind of a job am I doing, if I cannot even keep lowly yokai from attacking you on your way to school?"
He huffed for a moment, laughing partly because he was talking to himself (for never could he say these things to Kagomae) and partly because he sounded like he'd already lost to the enemy.
"I promise to be better… to be the best for you, my love."
Even if it means I must lose my life, I will protect you, Kagomae.
Although the day had proved to be a somber one, our heroine had proved they day itself wrong, she had pepped herself up with the though of a fun night on the town with her friends.
"We'll have to hit up, Yuki-chan's club first. You know since he's the one we've known the longest," Ayami reminded everyone in the mist of their planning.
Yumi chimed in with her famous gasp of excitement, "Well, well Ayami. Don't we seem eager to see Yuki-chan. You like him don't you?"
"Be quiet, Yumi. He's way too old for me, but there's no way I'm gonna refuse his hospitality if he extends his hand to me. Besides his club is THE best, the men there are too die for," explained Ayami.
"That's a bit mean don't you think? Leaching off an older man cause he likes you," Lectured Yumi.
"It's ok, Ayami. You can admit you like Yuki-san in front of us, we won't tease you. Besides you too are so cute together," sang Hitomi, " and he knows you so well, he's really perfect for you if you think about it."
"You think so Hitomi?" She smiled broadly and bobbed her head.
"So what are you now Hitomi the man expert?" Yumi laughed a lot and Hitomi turned pink and scratched the back of her head nervously, "alright matchmaker, what kind of guy is meant for me?"
Hitomi paused for a moment as they all entered their favorite coffee shop, the blue day. The quartet used to hang around WacDonald's after school, but as soon their pant sizes began expanding to broader horizons (it's those wac macs you know..) they all opted for a healthier hangout.
The coffee shop they now called home was famous for their house salads and cute vegan boys. The place was a welcomed shelter from the violent world that had become Tokyo… in this place they forgot that their neighborhoods were now slums and that their friends and family were slowly disappearing. In this place they were teenage girls again.
"Well Yumi, I think you need a quiet guy. A guy that knows when and where to step in and a guy that isn't afraid to stand up to you so much,' Hitomi laughed.
"hey that's not fair I'm not bossy…hey quit your laugh everyone. My love life will not become a joke at my own expense," Yumi whine as a chorus of her friends laughed their brains out," besides, shy guys are boring. I want a guy with an edge…"
"Yumi, please. A guy with an edge would cut you real easy, you're way too gullible," Kagomae said. But rather than having the spotlight kept on her, Yumi turned the tables on Kagomae.
"Hey Hitomi, what about Kagomae, I want your professional opinion? What's the recipe for her perfect man?"
With her finger to the corner of her lips, Hitomi thought for a bit. The girl's teased her by drum rolling with their utensils and tapping their chai cups, Hitomi ignored it and kept her head straight as she came to a conclusion.
"You need a tough guy, a bad boy," concluded Hitomi.
"Why does she get the sexy guy?" Yumi and Ayami whispered to each other.
"Why would I want that? I don't want a guy that gets me or anyone I love into trouble. Besides I don't see a bad boy being sincere with his feelings," Kagomae said with her nosed raised.
"You under estimate yourself, you would turn his heart towards a good place, No matter how bad he is… And when you do that he'd have that strong and exciting sprit to both keep you interested in him and keep you safe. Cause it may not look like it but that's what you really need, Kagomae, a strong pair of arms to keep you safe and love you at the same time," Hitomi had placed her own hand on Kagomae and she could have swore as if those word were sometime other than a friends honest advice. Those words hit Kagomae heart, but her brains would not allow them to stick.
"Oh really now, Hitomi… Your just telling Kagomae that because that's what you want a bit strong man to sweep you off your feet, a body builder prince charming," sneered Ayami playfully as she ruffled Hitomi's hair.
"Oh prince charming, thank you for saving me…I knew I was right for saving myself for you…oh, oh, oh," mimicked Yumi, making a bit of a fool of herself, not even paying attention to the crowd that was now staring at her.
Hitomi turned into a tomato (partly because of the strangers staring at all of them) and sank into her seat while she pursed her lips, "I'm never playing matchmaker for any of you again, and you all are so touchy. Just get over yourselves already," she said defensively (but quietly), you could never tell whether Hitomi was kidding or not of course.
"Oh Hitomi, you know we were kidding," Cooed her friends towards Hitomi," yeah you know we all love you and all of your women's intuition. Heck, you could even call it psychic ability!"
"Oh no, it is not gonna be that easy this time," pouted the girl, "I demand some special treatment here..."
Kagomae drifted away from the conversation again, a bit struck by Hitomi's words, I really must be so vulnerable if Hitomi thinks so, she's always right about these things, she thought.
Why must I be so weak in a world where I can't even afford to be that?
From outside the coffee house, Kouga was watching her again. But his plan wasn't to watch for long. He had plans to study with her that evening (before she hit the town of course, school always come first, kids ), and he was almost ready to head into the shop to pick her up. He was just trying to fix his cloaking watch (which had some how gotten broken during the day...damned magical technology…-.-').
Kouga knew all too well how it would ruin everything if she knew he was really yokai. And he really had no idea how she would react to his appearance after her bout with those yokai from this morning. All he knew is that he didn't want to take the chance of being found out just yet.
Man, I really got to hurry. If this takes much longer, she'll think I stood her up!
NOTE: Wow…I've become the short chapter author…damn it! Please forgive me everyone and review.