Huzzah! I'm back! And I finally finished chapter 8, though it's kinda short. Anyway! Whew, got 7 reviews for that last chapter :ish happy: seems like everyone wants to take a piece outta Kaiba, heh heh. In response to a couple--
Jon-- Yep, you got who did it to her but you didn't guess what they did ;) nice job, though.
Kristen-- Ergh :scratches head: I've no idea how long this will be, actually, but at least I know how it's going to resolve (I really didn't know how Pulled Into Colour was going to end up until I was about halfway through it :smacks self in the head:) and Seto wasn't really "hitting" on Kiseki so to speak, he was just using his ultimate sexiness to pressure her into telling him what he wanted =].
Alana-Star-- the only one to take a whack at what happened! Annnnd.... no, she wasn't raped, but that was a good guess anyway =]. You'll find out the full extent of the story behind the scar in either chapter 9 or 10, depending upon how each turns out as I write.
To everyone else-- Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! I love hearing from you all! :glomps everyone: Onwards!
Chapter 8: Tension Builds
Unishiwa sighed slightly and started packing away his bags as the students all around him picked up and cleaned the classroom. Kiseki had not shown up for school that day, and he was slightly worried about what the reason was. His mind kept reverting back to the smug look that he had seen on Seto's face the day before, and he had half a mind to find the boy again and question him further. Pausing, he thought about calling Kiseki's house to see that she was all right, but dismissed the idea just as quickly, telling himself she was probably just sick or something. He did, however, seriously consider calling the next day if she didn't show up.
As he walked outside and looked around at all the teenagers meeting up with friends and leaving, his mind once again went to Kiseki, thinking this time about how she had changed the subject when he had asked her why she didn't socialize. He wondered why she acted the way she did around other people depending on their age... what could have caused such a drastic difference between them? He had come to the conclusion that she didn't particularly like teenagers because he had watched her at mealtimes; the little bundle of trees under which she sat was near the window to the teacher's lounge.
His mind continued to dwell on her, and it decided to settle upon the first day he had seen her eating lunch. Kaiba had approached her. His hand clenched tightly at the memory of how her face looked when the boy was speaking to her. She had looked frightened, even right at the end of their conversation. Maybe Kaiba had done something to make her afraid of coming to school today, he thought worriedly.
He looked up suddenly, finding himself in front of his apartment already. It was only about a ten minute walk from the school, but he was surprised at how he had made his way to it without even thinking about it. Shaking his head, he took out his key and unlocked his door.
Sighing, Kiseki raised her paintbrush again, dabbing some red onto the pupils of the Kodoku Doragon now on her easel. She sat somewhat rigid in her chair, and had been for quite some time; her back hurt. She reached a hand behind her and gingerly jammed a fist into the small of her back, hoping to ease some of the tension there, but it didn't help. The sounds of birds and cars were somewhat stifled—she was too focused on the noises coming from the inside of her house, though she didn't want to be.
Her parents were talking in low voices inside. She knew it was about her because of how uncomfortable they sounded. Her father had come home some 30 minutes earlier, and her parents had been talking ever since. She had not gone in to say hello; ever since she had finally emerged from the bathroom the day before, she couldn't stand the mixed look on her mother's face. The two had had several small conversations the night before, coming to the conclusion that she should stay home just because of her mental state; she could barely get any words out and shook until she had gone to bed. After that, she had woken up several times in the middle of the night, sweating, as images of people surrounding her mixed with swirls of red, blue, and asphalt grey.
They were talking about her now... probably discussing whether they should let her stay home again. They loved their daughter very much, but were having an extremely difficult time talking about her, taking into account the circumstances surrounding her fear.
Kiseki did not want to go back to school. Not yet, anyway. Kaiba had frightened her greatly, and she worried that he might tell Shizuka about his findings. She wanted to stay at home for at least another day just to be safe, but also partially because she had made quite a lot of progress in her painting of the card, and knew that it would take her even more time to complete it.
She always took time with her paintings with the knowledge that she'd be seeing them for the rest of her life. Not once had she given up a painting to anyone; she considered them to be her memories. Painting was the only thing she did in her spare time, and however she felt was what the painting turned out to be. If boredom was her motivation, she'd paint the landscape around her house. There were the occasional random splotch paintings when she just needed some stress relief, but she kept those as well to remind herself to be grateful of when she was in a good mood.
The door to the patio slid open and she turned her head to see her father poke his head through. "Kiseki-kun... erm..." He glanced slightly at the floor before looking back up at her. "Are you feeling any better?" He bit his lip at seeing how tense she looked. "Because... if you want, you can stay home again for another day. Just in case the..." He paused slightly. "...news about you made it out."
She nodded quietly, and he bowed his head. "Alright, then. Dinner will be ready in about a half hour, Mom just started making it." When she gave another confirming nod, he smiled slightly and closed the patio door again.
"Ye gods that'll be awkward," she muttered, putting her paint brush down and sitting back heavily.
Lunchtime arrived again, and Unishiwa sat in the teachers' lounge, staring out the window at the empty space in which Kiseki usually sat. He was definitely concerned about her now, and after a short time spent thinking about where she was, he decided to find out. Taking out his wallet, he pulled out a piece of paper and stood up from the table and walked out.
As he crossed the grounds through the mass of students and made his way towards the gate, he heard someone behind him and turned around to find himself face to face with Kaiba. "What do you want?" he almost growled out.
Kaiba stopped in front of him, a smirk forming as he folded his arms. "I want to know where you are off to in such a hurry," he replied.
"That is not your concern, now go back to lunch."
"She is not your concern either, Kabau," the student said, fixing him with a piercing stare.The professor blinked at him. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes you do; anyone smart enough to walk could easily tell that she is the person on your mind."
"Who the hell are you talking about?" he snarled back, clutching the piece of paper he had in his hand a little tighter. It crinkled, and Seto's eyes fell upon it.
"The new little kohai in your class," Seto said, refocusing his eyes on Unishiwa. "You have been watching her through your window in the school at lunch; you were just looking at the spot in which she usually sits and suddenly stood up and decided to go for a little walk, and that little piece of paper seems to be important to the trip. What's on it?"
"That's none of your concern! Go back to lunch!" Unishiwa pointed a finger at the crowd of students still eating behind them.
Seto merely snickered. "Could it be, by any chance, her address?"
Unishiwa froze. "It is not her address, Kaiba," he said sternly. "Teachers cannot have any more information about their students than their phone numbers."
"Then you certainly don't need to keep whatever it is in your hand as you leave, right?"
Unishiwa scowled at him and stuffed the piece of paper into his pocket, then turning to walk out the gates in a huff. Seto watched him with an eyebrow raised and turned back to make his way through the students.
When he was about a block away, Unishiwa glanced back, pulled out the paper again, and smoothed it out as he continued to walk. Frowning slightly, he put it away again and sped up his pace—he knew that where he was going was a bit far. Once he reached his destination, he knocked on the door politely and waited.
Takai opened up the door and looked up at him, a slightly puzzled expression on her face. "Yes? May I help you?"
"Pardon my intrusion, Akai-sama," he said, bowing to her. "But I am one of Kiseki's teachers and I haven't seen her in class or received any news as to why, and I came to check to see what was wrong."
Kiseki, still outside on the porch, paused in her painting to listen. The voices were somewhat muffled through the door, but she could hear that it was a male voice at the door talking to her mother. As their conversation went on, she got up quietly from her chair and pressed an ear hesitantly to the door. Her eyes went wide as she heard her mother explaining.
"If you must know, she's been terrified about coming to school," Takai said after being prompted several times. "Someone found out about... something that she doesn't want others to know about her, considering what happened the last time it leaked out."
"Oh? What? I-if you don't mind me asking?" he said courteously.
"Well..." She lowered her voice, and Kiseki backed away from the door, knowing what she was about to tell whoever it was. After a short time, she heard the door close and she immediately threw open the patio door to walk up to her mother.
"What did you tell him?" she yelled.Takai jumped at her sudden outburst.
"Kiseki-kun, what—"
"What did you tell him?" she demanded again.
"Sweetie, I just explained why you weren't at school, will you lower your voice?" her mother replied, coming forward slightly.
"You told him didn't you?" Kiseki shouted, ignoring her mother's request.
"Yes, I did! Please calm down!" Takai said, her voice starting to rise as well.
"No! I won't! You just told another person about—about what got me hurt last time!"
"But Kiseki, it wasn't a st—"
"Why did you tell him?"
"Because he was concerned about you!"
"That's what everyone else said the last time!"
"Kiseki, he was trying to help!"
"So were the other people who hurt me before!" Kiseki yelled. "You're so incompetent! You're making the exact same mistakes all over again! Maybe this time they'll kill me and then I won't have to suffer because of your—"
SMACK.
A quiet, dread-filled silence settled upon the room as time seemed to slow down, neither of the figures moving. Kiseki's face was still slightly turned, her cheek stinging greatly as it turned a reddish hue. She turned her shocked face to her mother, who looked terrified, her hand drawn back to her chest. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before Kiseki drew her mouth in a straight line, picked up her bag, and went through the door, slamming it behind her.