"Well", Ema said sitting down heavily across the table from Ryu in the manager's room, "You certainly made an interesting first impression Ryu-kun".
He wrinkled his nose at the use of her familiar nickname, but she either didn't see, or just ignored him.
Some people might have spoken up at this point if they truly disliked something, but that was not Ryuuya's way. He was a patient and meticulous man for someone his age, something that had always served him well thus far and with any luck, would continue to do so in his self appointed quest.
He allowed his gaze to stray from the older woman, who was at once relieved not to be under the scrutiny of his oddly intense gaze, and nervous because of the profound silence that had descended after she'd cracked that small joke about his 'debut'.
She didn't notice when she began to play with the ribbons she still wove into her hair, more a matter of habit than intention these days, something she still did when unsure of how to proceed in a conversation.
Looking around the room with a practiced eye, Ryu began to catalogue a number of potential places his objective could be secreted away in.
There were obvious places, the closest, a suspicious looking gap behind a tall book shelf one of the mats in the far corner of the room also appeared to have been lifted up more recently than the others.
These were all place that he would have to investigate at some point or other. He would also have to make a point of discretely investigating as many of the other locations in the house as possible, as well as interrogating as many of the guests as possible.
"…So, Ryu-kun", Ema spoke up reluctantly removing a small box from under the table and rummaging through it, "Erm, hold on, I know it's in here somewhere, I…"
Ryu ignored her increasingly panicked sounds as she continued to look for whatever she had been about to present, resting back on his hands to project an air of casual disinterest as he continued his observations.
Looking up there was something that stood out painfully against the otherwise seemingly flawless construction of the ceiling. A large board covered a gap that had been made at some time or other between this floor and the one above.
Ryu raised an eyebrow. A secret room perhaps? Surely it couldn't be hidden in such an obvious place, but then again, he wouldn't have seen it had he not been sitting here in this room and happened to glance up, something humans rarely did.
"Found it", the manager of the Hinata Sou hugged the small document like a long lost child, sighing with relief before laying it out in front of him and smoothing out the crinkles.
He briefly scanned the paper. It was a standard tenant contract that informed him of all of his rights and responsibilities as a resident, as well as the economic impact of his stay.
He noticed that here and there a few words had been crossed out and replaced with the male equivalent.
"All you have to do is sign and stamp it and you're ready to go", she provided helpfully, perhaps thinking he was confused rather than reading. Too few people ever bothered to read the things they signed.
He couldn't find any obvious traps or other legal concerns imbedded within the rather straightforward nature of the contract, so taking the offered pen and removing his personal stamp from the small case he carried it in, he signed and stamped the document, sealing his place here at the Hinata house.
Ema made a show of mimicking his seriousness by scrutinising the hand writing and the seal before smiling brightly and folding it up again, replacing amongst the others in the small shoe box she had chosen to store such things in.
Ryu shook his head slightly as he watched her place the box behind the bookshelf rather than securing it in some form of safe. The likelihood of this woman knowing anything about the location of his objective seemed to be falling by the minute.
Still, it could all be a clever ruse…
He winced as she tripped over seemingly nothing on her way back to him, face-planting onto the table.
If it was all an act, it was a very good one.
"Owwwwww", she moaned rubbing her nose and blushing slightly at her own clumsiness.
"Are you ok?", he asked though his voice seemed void of any actual concern.
"Hmm? Oh yeah, don't worry, this happens a lot so I'm used to it"
Ryu blinked slowly. This sort of thing was a common occurrence? Then again, considering he'd seen a young woman crack stone, had his clothes stolen by another and been caught in some sort of high-tech net device by a girl barely into her teens, he didn't know why the idea of a grown woman who still acted somewhat like a child should be anything of note.
"I see", he offered tactfully as she stood again, rising with her.
"Ok, how about we take you on a little tour of the facilities and find you a room, get you all settled hmm?", she was already out the door before he could actually answer either way, leaving him no choice but to sling his duffle bag and carry case, recently returned by the Hinata Sou's 'mistress of pranks', over one shoulder and follow.
They started with the basics, the ground floor was to be covered first, working their way up as they went and ending the tour when he chose a room, upon which he would be allowed time to move in before getting summoned to his first meal at Hinata House.
"Living area I'm sure you're basically familiar with", Ema said, seeming to enjoy her role as guide, even having produced a small hat and armband from somewhere when he wasn't looking, and smiling brightly, "We boast two comfy sofas, a chair and a widescreen TV, although no many people actually seem to use this room for some reason unless we're having a party of something…"
Ryuuya nodded to give the impression he was actually listening to what she said while he scouted the room for any signs of concealed rooms or hollow wall cavities.
There was something about the potted plant in one corner of the room that drew his attention but he quickly dismissed such a ridiculous notion.
"…In fact most of use just us Chii-chan's television when we want to watch something, it had much better reception", Ema had apparently not noticed his lack of attention and continued to ramble as she started to move through the living area and toward what turned out to be the dining and kitchen area.
Ryu found nothing out of place in either room, which made him bookmark it for closer inspection later.
If he couldn't find anything at a glance, it was more likely that there was something hidden in one of the two rooms than in the others he had seen which boasted highly visible 'secrets'.
He noted the communal feel of the dining area, a fairly small room, centred around a large western style table complete with chairs.
The markings on both the floor and the chairs indicated that this room was frequented a lot by the guests, which had him frowning.
On one hand it meant that this room had raised itself in as a candidate for further searching, as it was a long and valued tactic to hide things in 'plain sight'. However it also implied that meals here were eaten in a group, and even if this rule were not enforced, he would have to avoid the temptation to take his food and eat alone lest he draw more attention than he had already.
He didn't want to have to be constantly dodging the enquiries of curious females while attempting to covertly conduct his investigation.
A thought occurred to him and he broke through Ema's latest ramblings about the types of food they ate most often to voice his question.
"Maeda-san, am I the only male resident?", her brow knitted together a little at his use of formal address, but she answered readily enough.
"Yes, just you", she giggled a little, "You know a lot of boys would be quite envious of your position Ryu-kun".
His face clearly showed he didn't know what she was inferring which threatened to turn her stifled giggles into full on laughter.
Such a serious young man, she thought smiling as he disregarded her strange behaviour and began to wonder around the room, poking his head into the kitchen and even opening cupboards and draws seemingly at random.
"But it is sort of a tradition after all", she said, tapping her chin as she thought back on that statement, "We've almost always had only one man living here at any one time, although there was a brief period when there was two, but at the time Keitaro was away most of the time or so I'm told. I moved here after the other guy left to set up things back home for his wife….what was his name…".
Ryu had seemed vaguely interested for a second when she had mentioned Keitaro, but now he was ignoring her again.
"Oh yeah", she nodded to herself, "Koichi, Koichi Sagura".
Ema had to resist the urge to shrink back under Ryu's suddenly intense stare. His former glance when she had mentioned the former manager was nothing like this.
"So…he was here…", she thought that was what he muttered to himself, his gaze becoming far away for a moment.
"And you say he and Urashima were here together?", he asked seeming to come back to himself, once more focusing that only intense blue gaze upon her.
"Um, yes…only time two male residents have occupied the building at once in a long time…", he continued to look at her for a while before gradually looking away.
"I see…and all this happened before you arrived?"
"Yes"
He nodded, "Must have been…interesting, I'm sure Urashima told you many tales, perhaps you can relate them to me…let me know what I've signed myself up for".
"Sure", Ema agreed weakly, almost wilting when he stopped paying her any mind and resumed his wanderings.
It would only occur to her much later that she had never told him Keitaro's last name, but even when she thought about it she would just shrug it off.
It would also occur to her that Ryu had attempted something that coming from another human being would have been considered humour, but that also would be ignored, this time under the assumption she had fallen down one to many times that day.
Next she lead him down a number of empty corridors, pointing out as she went which rooms were currently used and in what capacity, and which rooms were unused, pausing each time so he could briefly glance inside each of them before moving on.
"This is of course-"
"The bathes, yes I'm familiar with this place", he deadpanned, cutting her off mid-sentence.
"I guess we'll have to set up a rotor again", she said, "I think I have the old one upstairs, it's either that or dig the old tub out of storage".
"Either is fine", he would have preferred being allowed to soak in the soothing waters of the hot spring, but whatever drew less attention he was happy with.
"Well we'll try the rotor system to start with. The tub is in the basement at the moment and I'd rather not go down there", she shivered a little for emphasis.
"Why?", he asked curious. If the no one usually went down there it would be another place to he would have to search, assuming he didn't end up doing so already.
"There are spooky things down there", she utter ominously, missing the way he rolled his eyes, "Besides... I might have, sort of…lost the key".
Ryu sweat-dropped. There was the real reason he suspected. That made things a little more difficult.
A small part of him was relieved regardless; he was no fan of small dark spaces.
"Anything else?", he enquired.
"No, I think that's it, anyway, on with the tour!", her pep seemed to be back again as she lead him back to the stairs and up to the second floor.
Starting from her room and moving right, she informed him of the positions of all of the housemates on that floor.
Almost immediately right of her room was Ayu's, the small shy girl had almost fainted when Ema had knocked on her door, her guest in tow, asking if the younger girl wanted to help show him around.
Ema had been left speechless when, after staring at Ryu for a few minutes, the blue haired girl had babbled something quickly about an assignment that was due and closed the door so fast Ema had had to jump back, which of course result in her falling flat on her backside.
"…Peculiar", Ryu commented as he helped Ema back to her feet, "What was that all about?".
The look the brown haired woman had given him was hard to interpret, and she offered no explanation before returning to her task.
A few doors down was Natsuki's room, the eldest of the residents still not home at that moment, and thus he was unable to meet her.
A little further on and on the opposite side of the corridor, was Mizuki's room. Again the sandy haired girl was absent but Ema informed her that she was probably upstairs on the third floor in Chii and Yui's room.
Ryu had expressed surprise to find that the two cousins shared a room when there were so many others free, but Ema had just shrugged and said it wasn't unusual for relatives in Molmol to live closely in large groups, so being the only two of their people here, and also being raised blood related, it made sense they would naturally gravitate toward one another.
Also, considering Mizuki was like Yui's lesser-tanned twin, it was understandable that the younger girl would spend almost as much time with Yui as the older blonde's cousin did.
"I'm sure Yui and Mizuki will stop by whatever room you pick at some point to give their own personal greeting", there was a degree of amusement in that statement Ryuuya didn't care for. It must have shown on his face because she immediately waved her hands in front of her.
"Hey, don't worry, it's nothing to be concerned about…I hope", she added under her breath, obviously thinking he couldn't hear her.
So much for an unobtrusive, stay he mused.
"Oh I almost forgot", she added, "Kanna is on the second floor as well".
She gulped as his expression darkened a little, "I take it that means you're not going to be taking a place on the second then Ryu-kun?".
"Why wouldn't I?"
Ema couldn't quite fight the smile that wanted to breakout across her face. It seemed despite everything, there was a teenage boy living in that icy shell somewhere, the unspoken tension between him and Kanna proving it.
"Still, I'd suggest giving Kanna a little breathing room for now Ryu-kun, she tends to be a bit…excitable around boys and whether you meant to or not you've gotten her quite worked up", she spoke softly to make sure he understood she wasn't reproaching him.
His blank expression could have meant anything, but she hoped he'd taken her advise on some level.
"I think I know which room I want", he announced as if that had been their topic all along, walking ahead on his longer legs and leaving her to trail behind.
He round the corner and threw aside the door to the first room he spotted. As far from the stairwell and the other guests on that floor as possible it was the perfect spot for him to inhabit unnoticed.
"This one Ryu-kun?", Ema questioned, surveying the dusty living space as Ryuuya deposited his belongings against one wall and carefully opened the shutters to allow the warming spring breeze into the room, "Isn't this sending a bit of an anti-social message to the girls?".
"On the contrary", he said without turning to face her, "This is as close to allowing them their privacy as I can physically achieve. Here I am out of the way and unobtrusive. As such should any of them wish to interact with me it must be a conscious decision on behalf of both parties, not something that is enforced by societal norms as a by-product of an accidental meeting".
Ema nodded along as if she agreed with what he was saying but couldn't help but feel his explanation wasn't the whole truth behind his choice of quarters.
She watched as he began to remove the mats from the floor, holding each one out of the window in turn and giving it a series of sharp taps to shake loose the majority of the dust and returning it to its place before repeating the process with the next.
When she offered to help he simple requested a wet rag to damp dust the furniture and a futon to sequester away in his closet until it was required.
She complied with his strangely efficient requests and it wasn't long before the room was clean and well on its way to being aired and habitable.
"Looks like you have everything in hand Ryu-kun", she said once they were finished, unable to believe they were done after only a few hours. It had taken them the better part of a week, between them, to get Mizuki moved in completely.
He didn't answer, just looked at her in a way that seemed to say "Unless there is something else…".
"Anyway, I guess I'll leave you to unpack unless you want any help?"
"I can manage", he said simply, waiting for her to leave.
With an strained farewell, she left him to his own devices, only relieved to finally get away from the young man who had become the latest of her wards.
At least he doesn't seem likely to cause any trouble, she thought, reflecting on the arrival of a certain energetic blond with a sparkle in her vibrant green eyes.
Yes, it might be interesting to have a boy living here again, it would certainly shake the girls out of some of their bad habits. No more wondering around in their night clothes…well, actually that probably wouldn't stop Yui. It might even encourage her depending upon his reaction.
Ema made a mental note to warn her about that sort of behaviour, not that it would affect anything but it would make her feel better to know she tried.
She sighed heavily. Yes, things were about to get interesting.
Ryuuya stood back and appraised his handiwork.
The room was arranged in a precise, almost severe, military-esk fashion,. Everything meticulously organised and arranged to give the impression of perfect neatness and rigidity within the occupant.
His empty duffle bag was the only thing that remained in hand, all of his clothes having been filed away in the appropriate spaces for later, and soon even that had been packed away inside his closet next to the guitar carry case he had brought with him.
He had already checked that it was unopened and undamaged, so he could put it out of mind for a moment.
Letting out a long slow breath, he sat gracefully next to the small table each of the rooms seemed to have been provided with, and allowed himself a moment to relax.
After a rocky start he was here, he had moved in, and he had some time alone to plan his next course of action.
His first step would be to map out the layout of the building, starting from the top and working his way down. He already had several pieces of paper and a pencil on hand before him, so he could in theory start whenever he wished.
Yes, first he would map everything out, marking places of interest for later study as he went, then he would backtrack to such places and check them more thoroughly, making time of course to interview the guests and covertly if possible scout their rooms also.
Just because none of them had been here at the time the sword had vanished, didn't mean one of their rooms hadn't been used to hide it, or indeed that they had no knowledge of it.
The sword…that was where it all began, and that's where it would all end as soon as he got his hands on it.
Koichi Sagura's legacy…
Ryu gripped the tables edge white knuckled for a moment.
Ryu could almost feel the ancient weapon's presence permeating the walls, calling to him…somewhere.
He had to find it.
Knock knockHis thoughts were interrupted by the gentle sound of flesh against paper, as his solitude was broken.
"Yes?", he called, opening eyes he didn't remember closing and trying to discern the identity of the person knocking from their shadow.
"Ano…um, dinner is waiting downstairs Kisame-san…", he had to strain to hear the voice, and wondered why she didn't just open the door.
Standing he walked over, sliding the door aside to acknowledge that he had heard her, but found the corridor deserted.
That was…unusual…, he thought, stepping out and closing the door to his room behind him.
He began walking; he assumed that by 'downstairs' his mystery guest had been referring to the dining area, and a minute or so later his assumption was confirmed as he stepped into a minor maelstrom of activity.
There seemed to be lightly gossiping females wherever the eye rested, all of them talking and moving as they passed things from the kitchen to the table, now adorned with a plain tablecloth and various pieces of cutlery.
He coughed softly and Yui looked up from where she was miming something with two bread rolls that had Kanna glaring dangers at her while Mizuki clapped and giggled.
Ema seemed to be struggling to direct everything while another girl, older in appearance than any save the manager, with a figure that seemed to defy reality and light brown hair that seemed to curl naturally, a slightly vacant expression on her pretty face, sat at her place occasionally laughing behind her hand at Yui and Kanna's antics.
This must have been the other girl they had mentioned earlier, Natsuki.
She spotted him and smiled openly, head slightly to one side enquiringly. It was certainly the friendliest greeting he had received so far, so he offered a small bow and walked over, still unnoticed by the other women.
"Natsuki I presume", he said, taking the empty seat next to her and eying the rabble as he had mentally addressed them, "I take it this is not uncommon?".
"Ara, did I tell you my name already?", she asked, frowning slightly as if worried she had made a mistake.
"No", he said, shaking his head softly, "Maeda-san told me about you when I arrived".
"Oh! You must be Ryu-kun", he struggled not to frown, that ridiculous nickname was spreading, "The girls have told me all about you".
"Have they indeed", he responded dryly, his eyes darting over to Kanna for a second. He could already imagine just what the short fused young woman might have said about him.
He slowly scanned the crowd; there was something amiss that he couldn't quite seem to place.
"Ayu-chan seems quite happy to have a new friend", Natsuki commented, filling in the blank in his mind.
That was who was missing from this picture; the shy young girl he had met during the chase wasn't present, but there was someone else missing as well.
"Hungry", to his credit he didn't jump as high as others had in the same situation as Chii made her presence in the seat next to him known.
The young Molmolian was slumped slightly in her chair as if she hadn't eaten for days, and he had to wonder how someone so apparently devoid of energy had managed to slide into the chair next to him without him noticing.
Chii's single utterance seemed to call her cousin's attention even though he wouldn't have credited it with being loud enough for her to hear.
"Don't worry, Ayu-chan will be done soon, I…Ryu? When did you get here?", he subtly rolled his eyes which set Natsuki giggling.
Yui looked back and forth between him and the older woman before smiling and resting the backs of her hands on her hips, "Stealthy and a charmer of older women huh? You better keep a close eye on him Kanna-chan".
Kanna, who up until now had been glaring at him gave her friend a swift kick to the shin under the table.
"Touchy much?", Yui teased, taking a seat across from Ryuuya, Natsuki and Chii, placing Mizuki between herself and Kanna as a protective barrier.
"Yui", Ema said in a pleading voice, she wanted them all to at least try to make a good impression on the new resident.
"Fine, fine, I'll be good", she promised, crossing her fingers behind her back.
"Lies", Kanna nodded along with Chii's statement while the accused feigned a look of betrayal that would have had any Shakespearian actor feeling abashed.
Further dialogue was mercifully interrupted when the swing door to the kitchen area opened and Ayu stepped through holding two plates of a carefully arranged curry dish.
The presence of food brought an almost scary look to the younger of the Su's eyes, and Ryu was left with the feeling that standing between this girl and sustenance would be a one way ticket to his doom.
These thoughts were added to when she practically tore into the meal placed before her with an abandon he wouldn't have thought she possessed.
No else seemed to pay it any mind though so he chose to gloss over the horror movie-esk feeding frenzy and concentrate on his own plate.
The curry stared back innocently enough, and Ayu seemed to be waiting for him to take a bite before sitting down herself, so he took up his spoon and scooped up a small portion.
He was peripherally aware that everyone seemed to be looking at him with the exception of Kanna, who was making a point of doing the exact opposite.
Raising it up to his lips he experienced a brief bout of paranoia regarding the contents of the food, but when trying to combine the thought of Ayu with devious intent, he found them strangely incompatible.
Everyone save Kanna leaned a little closer as he place the spoon in his mouth.
He chewed thoughtfully for a few moments and swallowed.
Aware they were awaiting some sort of response he chose to address the cook rather than the 'audience'.
"Very pleasant", he said, turning back before he could see the change in colour Ayu's face went through, and the way she began playing with the front of her dress.
Yui sat back thoughtfully, observing both the blushing blue haired girl, and Kanna at the same time.
There was no visible reaction from the dark haired girl but something drew Yui's attention that she couldn't quite place.
Ayu all but collapsed into her seat and the rest of the meal went relatively well considering two of the guests were trying to out do each other's attempts to ignore the other.
Ryu seemed to be chatting quietly to Natsuki who would attract Kanna's attention for a second every time she laughed, though if you looked closely you could tell that Ryu wasn't sure what it was he had said she found entertaining.
Yui shrugged to herself and returned to her own meal, whatever happened next could happen without her prodding it for now.
Ryu excused himself as soon as he had finished, announcing that he planned to retire for the evening to accommodate to his new surroundings.
Everyone bid him goodnight, even Ayu after a little encouragement, though there were icebergs warmer than Kanna's voice.
He didn't waste any time once he was upstairs.
Quickly removing the paper and pencil from where he had stashed them before coming down to dinner, he padded back out into the hallway, threading his silent way up the stairs and onto the second floor.
Reasoning that it would be best to start in the uninhabited areas, seen as how he only had a small amount of time at best before the others returned to their rooms, ruling out the possibility of an effect search, he began at the outer corridor, marking out carefully the number of rooms and their positions along one edge of the paper before entering each one in turn.
Even sticking to only a brief survey, lifting loose mats, checking dusty and disused closets and draws and looking for anything else that stood out and marking it accordingly, it took longer than he would have liked to map out the unused areas.
He began to move down the corridor that held Yui's room, eyes and ears alert for any signs that someone might be inside or approaching as he checked the other rooms around it, finding only a loose floorboard he didn't have the luxury of checking at the time.
Eyes darting, he spotted something dangling from the ceiling of the corridor above his head, a small cord with a plastic ball on the end.
Backtracking it to its source revealed a hatch like indentation in the ceiling, possibly the entrance to the attic of the old building he reasoned.
Ryu debated for a moment. He could mark it off and investigate later, or he could do it now while everyone thought him resting in his room.
If Yui or Chii returned he would be out of sight and could probably slip back to his room when he was sure they were asleep, and the possibility of anyone going into the attic while he was up there was fairly low.
Folding the map he had made carefully, he placed it in the back pocket of his jeans along with the pencil, eyes never leaving the cord as he stepped around into the right position to open the hatch without striking himself in the process.
"Waiting for someone?", a voice all but purred in his ear.
Chii Su was not the only member of the royal family renowned for her wraith like qualities, someone had to teach her after all, and stealth is essential to any good prankster.
He glanced back, mind whirring for a credible explanation for his position as he felt two tanned arms wrap loosely around his neck from behind, several long blond strands of hair tickling his neck in the process.
"I was just taking my time to explore, it never hurts to learn about your environment", that explanation was plausible, if a tad lame, and he had delivered it without stuttering, something many other young men in this position had found impossible.
"If you were curious you should have just asked me", Yui whispered, "Just leave it all to me, Onee-chan will take good care of you, I promise".
For some reason he was having a hard time replying.
"Now what would this be?", he barely registered her question before she had snagged the map out of his back pocket and was examining it curiously.
He whirled quickly, snagging it back and stepping back out of easy range before dropping the map back into his pocket.
"Nothing of concern", he offered as smoothly as possible.
"Really?", she said with a playful smile, "Looked awfully like a map to me".
He grimaced, wondering what she would do and cursing himself for being caught already.
"Don't panic, I'm not going to tell the other girls you're an organised pervert, where's the fun in that?".
Ryu didn't like the idea of leaving her with that impression, but if it got him out of this situation without further conversation…
"Besides, you marked my room first, and that shows good taste", she winked coltishly, leaving him with a surreal feeling to the whole encounter.
"Not that you aren't cute when you sweat and all", she broke into his thought train, "but you might want to get going before Kanna finds you up here, you're already in her bad books…that is, unless you want to stick around for a while?".
He was not sure if she was serious or not, but even as a small part of him began screaming death threats, he declined and edged past her, something which seemed to amuse her greatly.
"Oh and you owe me, just so you know", she called out just before he was out of ear shot, offering another wink as she disappeared into her room before he could reply.
He wasn't sure he liked the sound of that, but there wasn't much he could do about it right then and there, and if Yui was accurate, the others would be returning soon.
He picked up the pace a little, accelerating to a light jog. As he neared the stairs he felt something coming loose in his back pocket, the map having not been a securely replaced as he had first thought was in danger of falling out.
Glancing back to secure it, he didn't realise what was about to happen until he heard a voice cry out.
"Watch where you're-"
Was all Kanna managed to say before they collided, his head wiping around just in time to collide with hers before they were both unceremoniously dumped on the ground by the impact.
Kanna groaned as they both sat upright, "Stupid jerk!".
She winced as her head throbbed where they had collided, feeling a small bump rising already.
"You see what you did!", she hissed, touching it tentively while trying to glare at him at the same time.
Ryu shook his head to clear it, eventually focusing on the person he had run into.
"You should have moved", he said, standing without missing a beat and offering his hand to assist her.
"You were the one running around without paying attention to where he was going!", she spat back, ignoring his hand and standing on her own.
"…Correct…I apologise".
"Damn right you- huh?", she replayed what he had just said, her mounting anger momentarily forgotten.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention", he repeated, wondering if he had really hit her that hard, "I'm sorry if I hurt you".
When she didn't respond his brow furrowed, surely something like that wasn't enough to concuss a person.
He gently moved her hand away from her head, examining the swelling for a moment.
"Ice"
"What?", she asked quietly, the first time he could recall in their short acquaintance hearing her voice at normal volume, it suited her.
"We need to put some ice on that to reduce the swelling, I assume there is some on the kitchen?", she nodded wordlessly and allowed him to lead her downstairs.
"OW!", she whined as he pressed the ice filled towel to her head, "Watch what you're doing jerk!".
"There has to be a certain amount of pressure", he responded evenly, ignoring her mutter curses and insults and focusing on his task.
"This is all you're fault", she groused from where she was perched on the counter, forcing him to adjust his own position as she turned to face slightly away from him.
"Yes I think we established that", he used his free hand to guide her head back into a position from which he could easily reach, not noticing the faint dusting of pink that arose when he cupped her cheek to do so.
As long as she cooperated this wouldn't take any longer than it had to.
A thought struck him, as long as she was quiet, now might be a good time to clear the air between them, thus removing one of the potential obstacles in his path.
"I'm sorry, about earlier"
"Hmmm?", she murmured as if coming out of a trance, frowning slightly and slapping his hand away and taking the compress out of his grasp, holding it in place herself.
"The…incident", he said, hoping to avoid actually mentioning the day's earlier events out loud.
She crossed her arms, her pose becoming as confrontational as it could, sitting on the kitchen counter with a bag of ice held against her forehead that is.
"Hentai", she looked away from him again, pouting slightly.
It was almost…
Cute?, a helpful voice inside his head provided which he poignantly ignored.
"I think we may have to agree to disagree on that", he conceded, realising if she ever chose to accept fact, it would not be today.
"Whatever", she shrugged, still not quite looking at him.
He nodded curtly; he'd done as much as he could, now was the time to take his leave.
"Hope I'm not interrupting anything", he turned slowly. Yui was standing in the doorway, hands clasped behind her back, and a disarming smile on her face.
"Don't be ridiculous", facing Yui, he couldn't see Kanna's momentary blush as she spoke.
"I just came to get Chii-chan a snack, no need to get all defensive", she held up her hands in a placating gesture as she opened the fridge, selecting a few things she knew her cousin liked and piling them onto a handy plate.
"Oh, and remember", she said just as she was about to leave, as if it had just occurred to her, "You still owe me for earlier".
She winked suggestively and waved a hand over her shoulder as she left.
Ryu felt an odd, prickling sensation between his shoulder blades.
"What…The…Hell?", that was a tone of voice he was becoming all to familiar with.
Kanna sat at her desk moodily staring out of the window at the beautiful spring morning she was missing while trapped in school.
Truth be told, she wasn't really all that upset about missing out on the sunny day, although it was disappointing.
She had a number of her favourite lessons tabled for that day, and her best friend had finally recovered from her bout of flu and returned to school.
No, what she was still mad about was a certain pervert she was now forced to share lodging with.
"Yellow haired jerk", she muttered under her breath, "Trying to trick me into thinking he's not so bad".
Well at least she had some sanctuary to retreat to, even if it involved classes, it was rapidly becoming a blissful release to her mind.
She almost missed her name in roll call; something Ryuuya took the blame for along with her current mood.
As soon as both the teacher and the class were no longer paying attention to her, she went back to brooding, only coming back to reality when her teacher, a balding man in his late thirties with a cheap suit that had seen better days, declared he had an announcement to make.
"Class, we have something very special happening today", she sat up and tried to focus on his words, this could be important.
"We have new student joining our ranks", she felt something fall in the bottom of her stomach but couldn't place why, "You can come in now".
Resting her chin on one hand, she felt her grip slip as the new guy walked in. Staring incredulously, she barely heard the excited whispers of the students around her as a boy with spiky blond hair and cold blue eyes walked in with measured steps, stopping at the front of the class. Immaculate in his white school shirt and black trousers, a guitar case over one shoulder and a school bag resting casually in one hand.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce your new classmate; Ryuuya Kisame".
---Authors Notes---
Oh the fun is just beginning let me assure you. What will the younger girls make of Ryuuya joining their ranks? What will Kanna do? Will Ryu make it through highschool alive, and why is he there in the first place?
The answers to all this and more in Chapter Three: Highschool Heart-throb