Iris: Blinking in Reality

Echoes in a sweet tune passed through the room, the winds whistled through the window panes in an orchestra of high melodies and the remnants of the night before played in the minds of each figure calmly in the room. A head of golden hair rose from the shadows, the rising sun striking boldly to give a soft glow.

Megumi blinked, her hand cast over her face to shield herself from the hash glare until she was fully adjusted. Her gaze turned over the classroom and a sense of pride and accomplishment washed over her. The walls were cleaned of the graffiti, only specks of the paint were left as reminders of what had been. The desks had been exchanged with those unused in the classroom next door. The differences were barely noticeable.

Sasuke sat in Emiko's seat; the only sign of his apparent sleep was his closed eyes and apparent oblivion to the winds tousling his hair. A few minutes later Megumi found, with a small fit of giggles, Emiko sleeping at the front of the classroom facing the wall. A rag was still held in her hand as it passed the impression she had fallen asleep while trying to finish her work. Tresses of brown hair turned deep chestnut color in the sun's light although it did nothing to make the picture of the sleeping girl look any more elegant. Her hair was pulled into a loose bun at the base of her neck but after the night's antics most had fallen out and the winds had proceeded to tangle the hair into a bird's nest while she slept.

Looking between the two still sleeping Megumi remembered how the last night had gone. Despite Emiko's best attempts Sasuke had refused in his silent way to help clean although he did seem to have fun nudging Emiko along her way to frustration as he had pointed out various mistakes of hers, coupled with usual insults along the way.

Emiko had taken most in stride and as revenge she had managed to return every of Sasuke's comments with one of her own and every action with a smack of her rags which she had deemed 'Keiko' and 'Bob'.

A slight shiver of movement caught Megumi's attention and she noticed Emiko shake faintly as she slept. She couldn't blame her, Emiko had been sent to refill a water bucket and after she left Sasuke had cleverly managed a trap for her as his way to end the battle. Megumi assumed he was getting bored with it. Either that or annoyed. So Emiko had a rude reentry into the room and was forced to work the rest of the night in soaked clothes.

Another movement. Megumi turned to see Sasuke waking slowly and she gave a unrequited smile.

"Everything's finished." Megumi stated the apparent obvious which Sasuke took in silently. Onyx eyes traveled over the room, pausing a few times before they closed again. Megumi scratched her head for a moment in confusion, her eyebrows furrowed at the response before decided to shrug it off.

"Uh…" she struggled to think of something to say. Immediately her mind jumped to Emiko's water buffalo song but she realized quickly that it wasn't the appropriate time. "Why did you stay?" Seconds passed without an answer and for a second it seemed as though he had gone back to sleep.

"No ride." His voice was quiet as he spoke.

"Won't your parents wonder?"

"No."

"Why not?" The interviewer followed his lead as she lowered her voice yet it seemed that it was a question he wasn't willing to answer and she allowed it gradually to drop.

"So…are you going to be friends with Toya and Kyoko?"

Voices waved into Emiko's mind as she gradually woke up, her thoughts decided upon feigning sleep as she listened in upon the conversation. Sasuke once again didn't answer and after a few minutes Emiko decided to wake seeing that things weren't due to become interesting.

"Ohayo Emiko." Megumi greeted her sweetly and Emiko only gave a small nod to show she'd heard. "You should probably go and wash up." Emiko raised a brow at the suggestion but followed Megumi's hand motions as she felt her forehead. "Your hair's a mess and you had some blood on your forehead from last night." Megumi explained and Emiko's mouth soon formed an 'O'.

'That makes sense…I completely forgot to bandage my head.' Emiko let out a sigh of exasperation before she stood up and rubbed her hand through her hair, or at least tried to but found that her fingers were tangled amongst the locks.

"How much time do we have until school starts?" Emiko said as she uncoiled her fingers from her hair and looked at her two night time companions.

"An hour and 22 minutes." Sasuke responded as he double checked on his watch. With an exaggerated groan and a long stretch Emiko stood.

"Are you both going to stay here for the whole hour and 22 minutes?"

"21." Mismatched eyes rolled while a small grin traced her lips.

"Fine whole hour and 21 minutes." She corrected herself and cautiously sat upon a desk to watch the two with inquisitive eyes.

"I'm not sure what to do," Megumi confessed sheepishly. "I told my mother that I was spending the night at Kyoko's so I probably shouldn't go home."

Emiko nodded in understand as she struggling to run her fingers through her hair in hopes that it would comb out nicely. 'Stupid hair,' she thought to herself before reminding with a mental note to reply to Megumi.

"Both of you are welcome to come to my place for a while, wash up and stuff if you want. There isn't much but it beats being here for an hour and," she paused, mentally trying to calculate the guess of how many minutes should Sasuke choose to be a jerk and correct her over something so pointless. "Some minutes."

"Okay! Arigato!" Megumi smiled brightly and hurried off to empty the classroom of the cleaning supplies. A small chuckle passed through the air as Emiko watched her and eventually moved to sit on the desk behind Sasuke. Sunshine streamed through, the heat was welcomed warmly as Emiko pulled her legs in and circled her arms around her legs, her chin rested on her knees as her eyes were tilted outward.

"Are you going to come?" Emiko finally chose to spoke and she turned her eyes in time to watch Sasuke shift in his seat.

"Iie." A small frown crossed her mouth and her eyes narrowed at his back. 'Totally putting you in a bunny suit when you're asleep.' She declared psychologically as she stared at his back. His jacket was dark blue with a foreign white symbol upon his back but she ignored it.

"Awww, why not?" Emiko decided to whine and changed positions to sit cross legged allowing her to lean forward. The figure before her moved slightly and she let out a small glower at his back before grabbing the back of his chair and turning it enough that she could see him. "You're supposed to look someone in the eye when they're talking to you." She pointed out with a joking smile upon her face. His eyes narrowed but she refused to release her grip on his chair as he tried to return to his former position.

"It won't kill you." She exclaimed and felt herself being forced to move forward an inch as he began to jerk his chair away. "If I fall off this desk and die I'm going to haunt you forever. Fooooooooooorrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrr." She threatened and with satisfaction she felt him stop moving. "Now you can come with me and Megumi." Before he could protest she jumped off the desk and grabbed his sleeve in an attempt to yank him from his chair.

After several seconds of exasperating pulling Emiko felt no change and opened her eyes to see Sasuke still sitting, staring at her as though she was an insane waste of his time.

With a mighty lurch she attempted to pull him out of the chair and with a loud yell of victory she crashed to the ground, his jacket crumpling over her face.

"Baka!" Emiko stood up abruptly and glowered at him, her sudden upset prompting her to throw his jacket at him which simply bypassed his tilted head.

"You should learn to aim." Sasuke advised smoothly and Emiko couldn't help but send an annoyed glare which gradually lessened as the moment of anger wafted away. Giggles rose and she broke into joyful laughter, one finger pointed at the Uchiha in a teasing manner which he attempted to ignore.

"What are you laughing at?" He remarked only to be answered with stifled chuckles.

"I'm not sure…" She finally admitted. His brow knit in puzzlement and Emiko jumped at her chance to get him. Literally. With a loud thud they both crashed to the ground and Emiko let out a mental sigh of relief as they had successfully evaded hitting any dangerously solid objects on their quick descent.

"You're annoying." Sasuke coughed out but Emiko wasted no time in fastening his jacket sleeve around his wrist in an attempt to make a leash. With a final heave she felt the satisfaction as both of them made it to their feet. As she began to walk she felt the leash tug and slack and turned to see it fall from his wrist and slid few inches along the floor.

"OH COME ON!" Emiko stated loudly before letting out an irritated groan. "Fine be that way!" She turned on her heel and grabbed her bag before meeting Megumi who had been standing by the door the entire time with a highly entertained look upon her face. Megumi waved quietly to Sasuke and followed the girl as she left, her anger quickly blowing itself out to be replaced with sudden lethargy.

Paces slowed and eventually reached a leisurely pace as the pair exited the school grounds along their path towards Emiko's place.

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"Otou-san!" Emiko called out as she opened the door to her humble home. No response. With a shrug of her shoulders she cautiously dropped her bag to the floor and reloaded it with her school requirements. Megumi stepped in shyly, hazel eyes wide as she took in the state of her place with hidden shock. Properly she cleared her throat and under Emiko's wondering gaze she smiled sweetly, if somewhere nervously.

"It's very nice-" Emiko let out a short laugh good naturedly before she waved the polite compliment away.

"Calm down Megumi, you don't have to congratulate me on my wonderful palace." Emiko gave surety to the girl who was clearly out of her comfort zone and Emiko was willing to bet her proper upbringing hadn't prepared her for such an encounter. "I'll be right back, you can sit on the bed or the chair they're both safe." She joked in an attempt to lighten the mood and Megumi readily accepted the cheered atmosphere as she quietly sat upon the bed.

Once Emiko had closed the bathroom door Megumi released a small breath that came out in a shallow and shuddering wisp of air. So this was what it was like…Emiko's bed squeaked in protest as she shifted anxiously, the abrupt sound causing the girl to stop in fear as though Emiko would rush out to scold her at any moment.

"So she lives here." The sudden voice commanded attention and Megumi turned her head faintly to see Sasuke standing in the doorway, hands shoved in pockets and his uniform of indifference in his stature.

"Sasuke-san, I thought you weren't coming." Megumi noted aloud. The observation went by without a reply as usual and Megumi sighed at the boy's evident anti-social-ness. Just then the door handle twisted and a refreshed looking Emiko stepped out. Her hair was now combed neatly and tied into two low ponytails with a few strands framing her face. Her green wife-beater had been replaced by a black one and her pajama pants had been interchanged for a pair of worn and baggy jeans.

Like her clothes from before they were all worn and the jeans had rips and frays. On the shirt there was a white patch in an inorganic shape, the stitching holding the piece in place was irregular and Megumi realized that it was a home done patch job.

"That looks like trash." Sasuke's comment earned him a heated glare from the girl as she pulled on her jacket and scarf.

"When did you get here? I thought you were too good to come." Any resentment for the statement that Megumi had expected was missing, her voice was genuine inquisitiveness as she glanced sideways at him.

His usual response was of course expected but Emiko continued to watch him until he resigned and tossed a black object her way which she frantically caught. In her hands was her camera and she began to mental berating upon herself as she realized how idiotic she'd been to leave it behind. 'I can't believe I forgot it,' she mentally growled at her own stupidity.

"Arigato." She thanked him sincerely and Megumi smiled as she began to notice the genuine personality of her new friend.

"Just don't forget it again." Was Sasuke's response and Emiko nodded before safely tucking it away in her bag for later use.

"Did you wash your hair Emiko?" Upon hearing the question Emiko glanced up and then quickly peeked at her hair which was, after a few minutes of inspection Megumi concluded, still damp.

"Hai." Emiko answered calmly before she stood, her bag upon her shoulder. "You can use the bathroom if you need to clean up. I can make some breakfast too." She offered like the perfect hostess and Megumi smiled shyly.

"I don't want to be any trouble though…" Her sentence was cut short as Emiko waved it away with a flourish of her hand.

"Nonsense." Her voice was manipulated to sound like a rich woman from a television show and Megumi couldn't help but giggle as Emiko made the role complete as she turned her nose up, narrowed her eyes and placed her hand on her hip. Once she properly thanked the brunette Megumi entered the bathroom to hopefully clean up before she would return to school.

Before the door had even snapped shut fully Sasuke made another plain statement. "You look like an idiot." The act was dropped immediately and Emiko turned to give the young man a dark and blank look which he ignored.

"Then I guess I must be imitating you." She said sarcastically. Upon hearing the water begin to run Emiko jolted into quick action and appeared before the Uchiha who hid the faint surprise at her sudden speed.

"Come Uchiha," Without a moment to escape Emiko grabbed his wrist and attempted to drag him towards the mini stove and mini fridge. "We shall make breakfast."

"Iie." Loud groaning could be heard from the brunette as she slowly turned on her heel to face the ever stubborn Sasuke. 'Why out of all the personalities he could have had! Why stubborn! …Jerk.' The thoughts were loud and annoyed but she brushed them aside.

"Onegaisimasu?" She pleaded, trying to activate her puppy eyes. Truthfully Emiko was a decent cook but she found that it was more enjoyable with someone fun. And if she couldn't have someone like that then she would settle for someone to annoy.

"You shouldn't beg." Her hope perked when she heard the hint of a submission in his voice. 'Come on…it'll be fun,' she tried to psychically coax him. For a moment her thoughts halted, she was actually enjoying being around Uniforms? 'What is wrong with the world...? IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD!' Easily enough her joking thought was dismissed along with the others before she continued to usher him towards the stove.

So they began to make breakfast, Sasuke was assigned the duty to watch the ramen while Emiko washed dishes. Faintly smiling Emiko stole a glance at the boy as he leaned against the wall beside the mini-stove before she turned back and finished drying the dishes.

"How's breaky-fast coming?" Emiko stepped away and peered into the pot. "UCHIHA! You're supposed to keep it from being overdone!" She reprimanded as she took the pot from the stove in an attempt to save the noodles within. Sasuke shrugged carelessly earning him a blank stare from Emiko. "No breakfast for you then." Once again he shrugged off Emiko's attempt to punish him. She allowed a small scowl before she returned to the dishes and began to pour out three bowls of ramen.

"I thought I didn't get any." Sasuke mentioned and Emiko turned to see he was standing beside the wall. A grin brightened her face and she raised an eyebrow curiously as she held his black stare.

"Well I can always save this for later if you don't want it." She held out a bowl tantalizingly, grinning as the steam rose into the air. After a few seconds of no response Emiko shrugged and returned to the collection of dishes to find some clean chopsticks. A small rustling caused Emiko to jolt and she turned to see Sasuke sitting in a chair, a bowl of ramen in his hand with chopsticks in the other. Seeing the sight Emiko couldn't help but laugh and roll her eyes.

'He's such a trip,' she thought to herself before Megumi stepped out of the bathroom looking happy and refreshed. The smell wafted towards her and she closed her eyes as she smelt the ramen before her stomach grumbled, prompting her to giggle nervously.

"Here Megumi." Emiko handed her the more filled of the two along with the cleaner pair of chopsticks that Megumi gratefully took as she sat on Emiko's bed. As a comfortable silence began to fill Megumi relaxed, enjoying the quick silence.

"It's overdone."

"Shut up Uchiha you were the one who was supposed to be watching the ramen!" Megumi sighed, a small twinkle of amusement in her eyes as she listened to Sasuke and Emiko exchange choice words.