Chapter 12: Caught in the Storm

A little girl of about 5 years old wearing a wide brimmed hat, dark blue dress with butterfly embroidery on the center and a pair of black boots, was seen sulking in one corner as she poked the mound of soil at her feet with a stick. She was feeling a bit dejected because as of now, she haven't seen any progress on the seedlings that she planted recently. It was the same brown lump of dirt just like yesterday.

Her father, noticing the child's disheartened mood, placed his gardening tools on the ground and approached her. The girl ignored him and continues with her moping.

Knowing his daughter's lack of patience, he softly patted her head and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Do you see that huge tree over there, Mizu-chan?"

The girl looked up at her father, and then turned her gaze to where he was pointing. Her mouth briefly dropped open in surprise, followed by a loud squeal of pure joy. She jumped excitedly, all woes forgotten, as she realized that her dad was talking about her favorite tree.

"Ah! It's my momiji tree!"

Kneeling down on the ground so that he was at eye level with her, he said, "Well, would you believe that thick limbed and leafy shade tree of yours used to be just a skinny sapling? And that it took many years for your tree to grow that tall?"

She looked at the tree with an awe struck expression. "Really?" She asked incredulously. All this time, she thought that her tree had just sprouted from the ground and grew that huge overnight.

"Your oka-san and I planted it on our 1st year anniversary as a couple."

Her father's revelation brought a wide, bright smile on her face. She enjoyed hearing stories that involved her mom and having discovered that it was her parents who were responsible for its existence had her running towards her beloved tree. It was like her mother knew she was soon leaving her little girl behind so she left a parting gift for her. She reached out and encircled the trunk as far as her short arms could reach and mumbled a silent thank you, with the wind carrying her utmost gratitude.

She turned her head to look back at her father, only to discover that he was no longer there. The smile on her face immediately vanished and panic swelled within her. She began running back to where she last saw him and repeatedly called for her father.

All of a sudden, there was a brilliant flash of lightning followed by a booming thunder. Terrified by the sound, she started running aimlessly and fell down when she tripped on a rock. She forced herself to stand up on her shaky legs and wipe the rain and tears from her face.

Another flash of lightning pierced the sky and she watched in horror as her momiji tree was struck with such force that it was split in half.

Her screams were muffled by the deafening clap of the thunder.

Mizuki woke with a start, her heart racing rapidly. 'It's just a dream.' She told herself. She shook her head in an attempt to block the vivid images in her head, but was considered ineffective when thunder rattled the entire room. She remained motionless on the floor and forced her mind to relax, staring into the blackness of the room. She had been lying on her back for quite some time when realization finally dawned on her. She sat bolt upright and squinted around the now deserted and darkened library. She must have fallen asleep while working on her math assignment. But, how long has she been sleeping? And why oh why did she let herself fall asleep? And why didn't that old hag wake her up? She thought as she rubbed her face in irritation.

Sighing deeply, Mizuki knew that she shouldn't put the blame on the poor librarian, and only she should be held accountable. After all, it was her idea to meet Rukawa in the library. She even picked the most secluded spot in the room so other students wouldn't notice. 'Not that I'm scheming on murdering him or anything.' She thought wryly.

She wondered if karma was getting back to her when she executed her plan on stealing Rukawa's bike so she could get to talk to him and perhaps convince (more like coerce) him on finally giving an interview. She had to admit that it wasn't really the brightest of idea, but desperate times calls for desperate measures.

The crackling sounds of thunder broke her reverie and made her recognized the fact that she's all alone in the library late at night, devoid of any light, during a raging storm, which she envisioned as a typical scene in a horror movie. Mizuki's wild imagination rapidly kicked in and starts to feed frightening images in her head. A shiver went down her spine as she recalled Hanamichi's story of the boy whose feet were in shackles with a huge steel ball, the heavy metal on his feet created clacking noises as he roamed the school's corridor when darkness fall. Blinded by the blackness of the room, she began to crawl on her knees, not trusting her shaky legs and clumsy self to do a hasty retreat. She tried to recall the outline of the room, but apparently, her terrified state prevents her brain from functioning, and ended up with her head bumping one of the table legs.

"Ouch!" She groaned, as she ran her fingers across her scalp, searching for a bump. Lucky for her, she found none. Taking a deep breath, Mizuki tried to rein in her scattered thoughts. Gripping the table leg for support, she stood up cautiously and propped her hands on the edge of the lengthy wooden table. She began walking forward slowly, using the furniture as a guide. Thunder rumbled again and its ear-splitting clap made her jump and a small squeak escaped her lips. She could feel her heart pounding so fast with fear. "There's nothing to be afraid of." She whispered, willing herself to calm down. "It's just thunder."

"Don't be such a scaredy-cat." Mizuki told herself and started moving again, eager to escape. As the heavy rain pounded on the roof, she thought she heard someone groaned, but quickly dismissed it, determined not to let her mind wander on anything spooky. Her ears must be playing tricks on her.

'Maybe the sound that I heard was coming from the boy, whose feet were bound in chains, crying softly because nobody seems to care or even tried to help him. Or maybe – Dang. I need to stop with these eerie thoughts.'

"Dog goes woof, cat goes meow, bird goes tweet…." Mizuki began to sing in order to distract herself from imagining headless ghosts and other creepy creatures.

She continued to sing in a shaky, slightly off-key voice. However, her attempt to divert her thoughts elsewhere didn't seem to be successful because she has this distinctive feeling that she's not exactly alone, that there was someone else in the room with her. She can just make out the sound of a person letting out a snort, and that someone was almost nearby. This discovery made the hairs on the back of her neck rise.

"B-but there's one s-sound that no one knows..." She sang again, louder this time, in an effort to suppress the sense of panic growing within her.

"What does the fox say – Aaahhhh!" Mizuki screamed when her palm touched what felt like somebody's arm. She quickly withdrew her hand and took several steps back, hitting the bookshelves in the process.

She swallowed audibly, and stood frozen to the spot as she listened to the screech of a chair being pushed back. She could hear movement in the dark, the shuffling of feet and the sound of knuckles cracking.

She was right all along. She wasn't alone in the library.

'But who could it be?'

Silence filled the room, except for the rain splattering hard against the windows, before Mizuki finally summoned the courage to speak.

"W-who's there?" She called out.

Instead of answering her question, a male voice in an obviously annoyed tone commented, "You're too noisy."

xxxxx

Rukawa was having a very nice dream. It was the final match for the Inter-high games and history was made as Shohoku was declared the overall champion. Rukawa obtained the highly coveted title of the Most Valuable Player, much to the displeasure of the red headed Dou Ahou. The latter's cries of protest were drowned out by the thundering roar of applause and cheers from the crowd.

But then something strange happened. There he was, standing in the middle of the large stadium, clutching the trophy to his chest and basking in his glory, when a horde of reporters and camera crews suddenly materialize out of nowhere. They swarmed around him like bees, buzzing loudly and started spouting all sorts of nonsense.

However, one voice stood out among the rest. He scanned the crowd, searching for the owner of the all-too-familiar voice. He spotted rooftop girl, currently being squashed amidst throngs of faceless reporters. She looks small and fragile, so unlike the spunky girl he encountered in school. For reasons unknown, he found himself walking towards her, pushing aside those who blocked his path. He stopped in front of her and was about to escort her to the door, when she began singing. Rukawa glanced at her and let out a small snort of disbelief. He had spent the past few weeks trying to get that awful song out of his mind, but now, there she was, singing her heart out, brutally reminding him of that atrocious song and driving him to the brink of insanity with her ceaseless caterwauling.

He fixed her with a murderous glare, but that only made her sing loudly.

"What does the fox say?"

Soon, others started joining her and the words 'What does the fox say?' reverberated around the arena. Rukawa tried to escape but found himself surrounded by the faceless reporters who had their microphones shoved into his face as they continued chanting.

"What does the fox say?"

"What does the fox say?"

Suddenly, there was a loud, piercing scream in the background, which put an end to his dream.

For a while, Rukawa remained unmoving, eyes still closed and his mind completely weirded out by the dream he just had.

'Now, that was one heck of a nightmare.' He thought while rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, only to be met by darkness. He sat up, feeling a bit disoriented and wondering where on earth he has fallen asleep this time. And based on the strain on his back, he must have dozed off for quite some time. He pushed his chair back so that he could stretch his legs and then shifted his shoulders to release the stiffness in his neck.

The pounding of heavy rain echoed through the pitch black room. Rukawa promptly stood up and run his fingers through his disheveled hair, mentally cursing himself as he finally remembered where he was.

He was about to leave when he sensed the presence of someone else nearby. There seems to be somebody there in the shadows with him. He didn't have to wait too long to know the identity of the person hidden underneath the cloak of darkness when he heard her voice.

"W-who's there?"

Of course. How could he forget?

She was the reason he was in this room in the first place. He couldn't think of any logical explanation as to why he would voluntarily go to such a forsaken place. Come to think of it, this was the first time he had ever set his foot inside the library, and to his utter surprise, he discovered the ambience suitable for sleeping. It was quiet and empty, save for a boy at one corner of the room and an old lady librarian, who didn't even spare him a glance.

He remembered following the detailed direction drawn in her letter from where he can locate her. And when he finally got there, he found rooftop girl sprawled on the floor, dead asleep. She was leaning against the windowed wall with her head resting on one of the bookshelves, her right hand still clutching a book.

He stood still for a moment, torn between waking her up so he can disturb her sleep or disturb her sleep so she can wake up. But staring down at her sleeping form, he realized how pale and tired she looked. Everything about her seemed fragile. He had already made a similar observation earlier today, when he noticed her dozing off a couple of times during class. Not that he's staring or anything. It's just that her designated sitting position was opposite of him and one seat ahead, hence the observation.

In the end, he decided not to disrupt her sleep, proving once again that despite his cold demeanor and stoic face, he can be "sympathetic" and "compassionate" from time to time.

Having come to such a prudent decision, Rukawa snagged one of the chairs, crossed his arms on the desk and laid his head down. Soon after, he was fast asleep and dreaming of conquering the national championship, from which he was jolted awake by the sound of screaming.

Rukawa managed to put two and two together. It turns out that both of them had fell asleep and lost track on time, except that she's totally clueless to this fact. He almost wanted to take advantage of the situation, to scare her a little bit, but he was suddenly reminded of her pale and fragile look. For some reason, the image unsettled him, and then wondered why the hell he should even care. Irked by his thoughts, he replied coldly. "You're too noisy."

xxxxx

Mizuki could not believe her ears when she heard the unmistakable voice of Kaede Rukawa. He rarely talks but somehow, she recognized all too well the deep, gruff tone in his voice whenever he's irritated. And that guy is always in a bad mood. Either that or he's looking bored to death.

She must have looked completely like an idiot with her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of the water. Much to her relief, she remembered that the room was dark and that he can't see her face at the moment.

After recovering from the initial shock of finding him here, she managed to find her voice. "Rukawa-kun…" She said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. "What are you doing here?"

As soon as the words escaped her mouth, she regretted having said them. She wanted to kick herself for being so stupid. Of course, he was here because she made this preposterous demand of meeting him in the library in exchange for the release of his bicycle.

But falling asleep was definitely not included in her agenda. This unforeseen incident put a dent in her plans, ruining her focus. The unflinching determination she had earlier rapidly dissipated into thin air.

"What I meant to say was, how long have you been here?" She said, trying to correct her earlier blunder.

There was no reply.

Mizuki peered into the darkness, and uncertainty began to creep in. Was hearing his voice just a figment of her imagination?

But then again, this is Kaede Rukawa. Talking to him is like talking to a brick wall. 'Maybe he ought to change his name to Kabe.' She thought wryly. (*Kabe is wall in Japanese.)

She heard him move further into the room, probably searching for an exit. Fearing he might leave her, she began to flail her arms frantically, reaching out blindly for him.

" H-hey!" She called after him, a trace of panic evident in her voice. "Wait up! Don't just leave me here!"

Relief washed over her when her hands found his shoulder. Without a second thought, she clutched the back of his shirt tightly, as if he was her lifeline. Truth be told, she was scared out of her wits. When she discovered she wasn't alone in the library, that it was not a ghost or any supernatural being that she encountered, she felt her fear slowly subside. Even though it seems like she's still unaccompanied, for engaging in a conversation with him is beyond the bounds of possibility, she can't help but be grateful. After all, beggars can't be choosers.

They began to walk in silence with Rukawa leading the way, who seems not the least bit perturbed by the absence of light. She briefly wondered if he had some sort of night vision, for he had no difficulty in finding his way through the darkness.

Rukawa stopped abruptly, causing Mizuki to bump into his back.

"Geez." She grumbled, taking a step back to put some distance between them without releasing her grip on his shirt. "A little warning next time would be nice."

As usual, he simply ignored her.

After a few minutes of struggling through the dark, he managed to locate the door handle. He tried to push the door open, only to find it locked. He turned the door handle again and pulled, but it wouldn't budge. Cursing under his breath, he ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

Immediately sensing that something was terribly wrong, Mizuki moved closer to him. "What?" She asked, clearly agitated. "Don't tell me it's locked."

Much to her chagrin, she heard him say, "It's locked."

His indifferent response instantly transformed her initial fear into irritation. "I told you not to tell me." She growled before pushing him away. She then searched for the door handle, trying to yank the door open by herself but to no avail. After a few tries, she got frustrated and started kicking the door. When that didn't work, she took a step back and then rammed her shoulder against the door. As she was about to shove the door again, she heard his voice behind her.

"Forget it. It's no use."

She complied, but not before giving the door one last kick. She then leaned her back against the door and tried to catch her breath. She can't believe she got herself locked up in the library. Any chance of escape seems hopeless, unless she wants to jump from the window, and end up with a broken bone.

"Well, we could at least turn on the lights." Mizuki said after a few minutes of contemplation. Just because he's totally comfortable brooding in the darkness doesn't mean she's okay with it.

Rukawa snorted in response. While she'd been busy taking out her frustration on the poor door, he had already found the light switch, but unfortunately, there seems to be an electrical outage due to the storm.

"Wait..." She paused as a sudden thought crossed her mind, "Don't tell me the power is out."

"The power is out." He replied coolly while leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Rukawa could just imagine the annoyed expression on her face. Too bad he couldn't see her at the moment.

Mizuki frowned at his answer. It was almost as if he was intentionally provoking her with his comments.

She took a deep breath and sank down to sit on the floor, knowing fully well that losing her temper now wasn't going to take her anywhere. Not having any idea on how long they're going to be locked up, and since he's being unusually "talkative" towards her, she decided to take advantage of the situation.

"So…" She paused before continuing, "You seem quite unruffled by the fact that you're currently stuck in the library."

Again, she didn't receive any reply.

Still, she tried to make small talk with him. Stretching her arms over her head to relieve the tension between her shoulder blades, she then asked, "What do you think the time is?"

She huffed, blowing her bangs off her forehead. "You know what, you're partly responsible for getting us locked up here. I mean, if you only agreed earlier to do the interview, we wouldn't be here in the first place. And by the way, when you got here, why didn't you wake me up?"

Snapping her fingers, she answered her own question. "Ah! I know why. You got envious and decided to also take a nap."

She went on, undeterred by his lack of response. "You know, you're the first person I've met who could sleep anywhere at any time of the day. Sleeping while riding his bike, sleeping during school hours, and even dozing off while walking to class. Now, that is indeed a rare talent." Mizuki said in a goading manner, trying to elicit some sort of response from him.

"You're too noisy." He said, sitting down a few feet away from her.

A smirk crept over her lips when he finally answered back.

"You're too noisy." She repeated, mimicking his deep voice.

A laugh bubbled from within her when she heard his annoyed grunt. Picturing the scowl on his face, she decided to tick him off even more. "Awww…I'm sorry. I forgot that it is way past your bedtime now. How inconsiderate of me to disturb your beauty sleep."

"You definitely needed one," was Rukawa's reply.

Mizuki gaped at him. "Excuse me?" She crossed her arms and pursed her lips. "I may not be a great beauty, but I do have my fair share of admirers back in my hometown."

He simply snorted in response to her earth-shattering revelation.

She stuck out her tongue at him like a petulant child. She certainly didn't like him talking now. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she then wrapped her arms around her legs and hid her face, fully intent on not speaking to him.

The thunder gradually died away but the rain continued to pour, although not as heavy unlike before.

Then amidst a dead silence, something totally unexpected occurred.

The unmistakable sound of a stomach growling erupted through the room, piercing the quietness.

At first, Mizuki was too shocked to react. But her initial surprise quickly turned into laughter. She tried to stifle her laugh by clamping a hand over her mouth, but it was a hopeless attempt. She burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, slapping her knee in apparent mirth.

"What was that? Was that your stomach growling or the rumbling of thunder?" She asked between chuckles. "Or was that an airplane passing by?"

Her cheeks hurt from laughing so much. 'Oh boy, how I wish I could see his reaction. The look on his face must have been priceless!' She thought amusingly. She wiped her eyes dry with the edge of her sleeve.

"Are you done laughing?" He asked her when she managed to subdue her hysterical fits.

After letting out a sigh of contentment, she nodded. "That felt good." Having a good laugh, at his expense, surely helped relieve her anxiety.

Taking pity on him, she fished something out of her pocket. "Here."

She blindly shoved the small item to him. When he refused to take whatever she's offering, she repeatedly taps him on the shoulder with it.

"Just take it, okay? Why are you being so difficult?"

Rukawa grunted in annoyance before grabbing the packet from her hands.

He tears it open and was just about to pop one into his mouth when she suddenly slaps him on the shoulder.

"Wait!" She blurted out. "Do you have any food allergies? Because if you are allergic to peanuts, I can't let you eat those chocolates. I don't want to be held responsible if anything happen to you. Your fans club will skin me alive when they discovered your pretty face got all bloated up because of me."

"No." He replied before scooping a handful of m&m's and popping them into his mouth. The sound of crunching resonated through the otherwise still library.

"Good." She said with a sigh. "You don't want to end up like Mito."

Mizuki then recounted to him the events that occurred at the clinic, while Rukawa busied himself eating. She didn't know what compelled her to tell him about the 'muffin' incident. Maybe because she had kept it all bottled up inside for days, and she just needed to spill them out to someone.

But she never thought that person would turn out to be Rukawa. In a way, she felt relieved that it was him who got to listen to her incessant rambling. Somehow, she knew he wouldn't judge her for overreacting to her cousin's behavior. In fact, she realized that he was the most suitable person to tell secrets to; partly because she wasn't even sure if he was listening at all, but mostly because he seldom talks. Still, that didn't matter to her for she just wanted to talk it out.

She closed her eyes and rested her cheek on her knees. She wondered if the gang had already formed a search party for her. A smile formed on her lips. Imagine their surprise when they discovered where she was and who she was with. Hanamichi, without a doubt, will go berserk and will start throwing accusations at her for conniving with the enemy. Mito will surely get on the role of the overprotective cousin and will quickly transform into his gangster demeanor. The three remaining guys probably made bets against each other on whether she will acquire the momiji bug, and will start collecting their winnings to the losing party.

The smile faded from her face. She silently hoped that they're too busy to notice that she's currently missing. She wished that her aunt and uncle are not yet home so they wouldn't worry about her whereabouts.

Opening her eyes, her thoughts then shifted to Rukawa. His parents must be also looking for him. She couldn't help but feel a bit envious of this fact.

"I'm sure your parents are feeling extremely anxious right now." She says softly, her index finger idly tracing invisible doodles on the floor.

The crunching noise suddenly stopped. She thought he was going to say something, but after a moments silence, he resumed eating.

Mizuki's investigative reporter's instinct instantly kicked in. Something was up. She considers comprehending something immediately as one of her journalistic side's key traits, although Mito would likely to argue that it was just her nature to stick her nose into other people's business.

Before she could fully immerse herself into reporter mode, she heard whistling coming from the corridor.

"Did you hear that?" She asked, bolting upright in her seat. She pressed her ears against the door. Hope bloomed in her chest when she heard the sound more distinctly. Apparently, they were not alone in the school building.

Wasting no time, she quickly stood up and began pounding on the door.

"Help!" She shouted. "Please open the door for us!"

She stopped and pressed her ears against the door again to listen. There was no reply. Had she been hearing things?

She decided to try again and pounded on the door with all her might, yelling for help. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally heard a response.

"Who's there?" Inquired a croaky voice from the other side of the room.

A wave of relief flooded over Mizuki. "Oh, Thank God! Please, Mister, help us. We're trapped inside the library!"

The doorknob rattled as the man tried to open it. She heard the man muttered some profanity. It seems that he was having difficulty finding the right key.

"I'm having trouble with all these darn keys." The man grunted in disgust.

At long last, the door swung open and the beam from the man's flashlight pointed directly at Mizuki. The sudden glare blinded her and she raised a hand to cover her eyes.

The man scanned the room with his flashlight, taking notice of Rukawa's presence.

She could not see the man holding it, but Mizuki guessed he was the school's watchman. The older man stood silent for a moment, and looked keenly at the two students before asking, "What are you lads doing here?" He directed his question more at Rukawa.

Knowing the watchman wouldn't get any reply from Rukawa, Mizuki answered the former's query. "Well…You see, as incredulous as it may sound, we fell asleep and woke up to find ourselves locked up in the library."

Once again, the watchman shone his flashlight directly into her face, as if scrutinizing her.

"Uh-huh." He deadpanned. "You expect me to believe that?"

"That's the truth." She insisted.

The watchman gave a raspy laugh. "Look kid, I wasn't born yesterday. In those ten years that I've been assigned as watchman of this school, I've encountered students engaged in all sorts of mischief."

"Eh?!" Mizuki sputters, a blush staining her cheeks at his insinuation. "We just fell asleep. Nothing else happened."

"Are you sure there's no hanky-panky that occurred with this guy?" The watchman asked in a teasing tone, as he focuses the beam of the flashlight on the bored faced of Rukawa.

Mizuki gritted her teeth, annoyed and embarrassed at the same time.

"Thank you for helping us." She managed to say after her internal struggle to keep her temper in check. Upon expressing her thanks, she immediately exited the room. Unfortunately for her, the power was still out so she had no choice but to stick around with the old man and ignore her urge to escape.

She heard the jiggling of keys as the watchman locked the door of the library. Recognizing the tall silhouette of Rukawa in the pale light, she discreetly moved closer to him, wanting to be as far away from the creepy old man as much as possible. The three of them began to walk along the empty corridor. The watchman led the way with his flashlight illuminating their path.

"I must say I'm extremely relieved to have you lads here to keep me company." The watchman stated. "I thought that my poor ears were playing tricks on me when I heard someone shouting for help."

Mizuki copied Rukawa and refrained from talking. She wished that the man would walk faster and stop acting as if he was taking a stroll in the park.

"And let me tell you, this is not the first time that I heard someone screaming for help during my night patrolling of the school grounds. It was during my third day of working as a watchman that I encountered something…"

There was a long pause.

All of a sudden, the watchman turned around and faced them, holding the flashlight beneath his chin, illuminating his acne-scarred face as he uttered in a low, spine-chilling tone, "….paranormal." He grinned widely, showing a missing front tooth.

Mizuki let out a loud shriek that echoed through the hallway. She would have fallen to the ground, if Rukawa had not caught her in his arms.

She immediately composed herself and mumbled her thanks to Rukawa.

"Please, don't scare me like that." She pleaded, placing her palm over her rapidly beating heart. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

The watchman chuckled at her reaction and lowered his flashlight. "I haven't even told you the scary parts yet."

"I'm not really interested in hearing them."

"Oh, you should be. Because that one happened in the library."

A gust of wind came through one of the open windows, making her shiver. Goosebumps prickled her skin, and she rubbed her arms to warm them.

She drew a deep breath as she said. "Can we just get out of here and go home already?"

Again, the watchman let out a throaty laugh. "No worries, you'll be able to get home soon, once it stopped raining."

Mizuki was about to open her mouth to argue but the watchman cut her off. "So! Where were we?"

"Ah, yes, the library!" The old man announced with great enthusiasm. "I was walking along the corridor one night, when I heard someone crying. It sounded like a girl sobbing."

'La, la, la...' Mizuki began singing a tune in her head to distract herself. But as much as she tries, she couldn't block out the creepy sound of the watchman's voice.

"Frankly, it terrified the hell out of me. But I told myself to be brave-"

Mizuki shot a glance at Rukawa to check his reaction. And she wished she didn't bother.

The guy is freaking yawning.

What else is new?

Having no other options, she leaned in and whispered to her tight-lipped companion. "Can't you make him stop?"

Rukawa turned to look at her. He shrugged as if to say he doesn't care and quickly looks away.

His indifference set her temper flaring.

She stepped closer to him and gripped his forearm. His brows shot up in surprise at this unexpected and bold move on her part.

"I gave you food when you're stomach's growling like it's not fed for weeks." She reminded him. "You owe me, bigtime. And now it's your turn to return the favor."

Rukawa looked down at the tiny hand holding his arm, and back to her scowling face. He glared at her, silently asking her to remove her hands but rooftop girl didn't even flinch from his withering stare. Instead, she gripped his arm more tightly.

Running a hand through his jet black hair, Rukawa let out a sigh of defeat. He can't believe that this slip of a girl had managed to defeat his infamous death glare. He must be losing his touch.

"-I pushed the door open, and search for the light switch. When my hands finally located them, I almost peed on my pants when I felt somebody else's hand on the switch -" The watchman stopped his storytelling when Rukawa suddenly appeared beside him. "- yes, young man?"

Rukawa plainly pointed to the payphone nearby and held out his hand to take the flashlight from the old man.

The watchman could not help but feel intimidated by the student towering over him. He wordlessly handed the flashlight to him.

Not wanting to be left behind, Mizuki turned her head to the old man and announced that she too wanted to make a phone call.

"Ah, yes. Of course, go ahead." The watchman says, in spite of himself.

She hurriedly went after Rukawa, eager to get away, even for a short distance. Fortunately for her, the watchman didn't make any attempt to follow them. He remained standing in the middle of the corridor, jiggling the keys in his hand and whistling at the same time.

She stood a few steps from Rukawa, far enough to give him privacy. Also, she didn't want to be called out a coward by behaving like a little girl who's always clinging to her mother's skirt. She fixed her eyes on him, not daring to let her eyes wander around the darkened corridor, as her overly vivid imagination will likely get her into trouble.

'Wait…Was it her imagination or did something moved in the shadows?'

'Stop being paranoid. Stop. Stop.' Mizuki mentally chanted to herself.

Rukawa's low voice broke off her train of thoughts. She couldn't help but listen to him talk as the corridor was eerily quiet except for the watchman's nonstop whistling.

Oddly enough, she likes the sound of Rukawa's voice. She found her eyes straying of their own accord on his face, half illuminated by the flashlight. She definitely likes the way he looks. She stood there watching him, silently appreciating his fine features, when he suddenly turned to look at her. She quickly averted her gaze, and stared down at her shoes.

"Yeah. She's from my class." She heard him say on the phone.

"She's not." He continued in a slightly irritated tone after a short pause.

Mizuki glanced back up at him, her expression perplexed. 'Is he talking about her?'

A few seconds later, he hangs up the phone. She waited for him to give her the flashlight so she can make her phone call, but strangely, he remained standing near the payphone.

She was about to ask if he's going to make another call when the beam from his flashlight hit her squarely in the face.

"What the - hey!" She yelled, shielding her eyes from the glare. "Stop shining that thing in my face!"

When he ignored her protests, she stormed towards him. "Cut it out, will you?!" She demanded as she lunged forward, trying to grab the flashlight from him. But he anticipated her move and lifted the object high above his head, knowing fully well she couldn't reach it.

She stomped her foot angrily, the glare from the flashlight still aimed at her scowling face. "You are so immature!" She complained. "Can you move, please? I need to make a phone call."

He moved a little away from her, and shifted the light towards the payphone keypad. She stood still, unsure of what to do. Honestly, she didn't expect this kind of behavior from him.

She huffed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. Having no energy left to argue with him, she reached into her purse to take some coins and then insert them into the slot.

Standing so close to him, she began to feel utterly self-conscious. She hoped she didn't dial the wrong phone number, because if she did, she would die of humiliation.

A woman's voice answered on the second ring."Hello?Yohei Residence."

"Auntie, it's me." Mizuki whispered softly.

Silence, then all hell breaks loose.

Mizuki pulled the receiver away from her ear and winced at her aunt's screaming. She didn't dare look at Rukawa to see his reaction. And she was quite sure that even the watchman could hear her aunt's loud tirade.

She now wished she had dialed the wrong number. This is so much more embarrassing. 'Let the ground open and swallow me now, please.'

Her aunt managed to finally calm down when she told her that she's at school, deliberately deleting the part where she got locked up inside the library. With a boy.

After convincing her aunt that there's absolutely nothing to worry about, they bid their goodbyes.

Mizuki exhaled a deep sigh of relief, glad that the conversation was over. But her relief was only momentary.

She lifted her head to look at Rukawa warily, meeting his gaze. His face remained stoic but his eyes held a glint of amusement. She narrowed her eyes at him and pointed a threatening finger at him. "Not a word."

He briefly shone the flashlight to her face and then began to walk away, knowing she would follow.

Rukawa handed back the flashlight to the watchman, much to Mizuki's dismay.

"Her guardian was quite a dragon lady." The watchman declared, clearly amused. "Goodluck with that, boy!" He laughed boisterously and smacks Rukawa's shoulder.

She scowled at him but chose to remain silent.

After a long torturous walk; to which she was forced to listen to the horrifying fate of the girl who was locked up in the library, they finally reached the student's lockers.

She hastily retrieved her stuff and went directly to the exit. A burst of cool wind and sprinkle of rain greeted her as she pushed the door open.

She came to a halt at the edge of the covered area, chastising herself for forgetting her umbrella at home. She mentally calculated the distance from the building to the bus stop, and deliberated whether she should break into a run through the pouring rain.

"Getting soaked by the rain? Not the brightest of ideas." The watchman's raspy voice interrupted her musings. "I'm sure your aunt would get very mad if you come home looking like a drowned rat." He let out a loud tsk of disapproval.

"I wouldn't get soaked if you'd just let me borrow your umbrella."

He contemplated for a moment, before replying, "Maybe later."

Noticing the frustrated look on her face, the watchman gives his explanation. "The next bus will arrive at 9:30, and it's only" – he glanced at his watch to check the time - "9:05. Why not wait here for a few more minutes and have a chat with the poor old man?"

Mizuki was shocked to discover just how late it was. She couldn't believe she had slept that long.

"Shall I tell you a story again? You know, just to pass time as -"

"I'm sorry but I think I'd rather wait in the bus stop." She cut him off brusquely, ignoring propriety.

"I see." A trace of disappointment crossed the watchman's face, but he quickly recovered. Then, he pointed to Rukawa, who was leaning comfortably against the wall and staring into space, with his duffel bag hanging off his shoulder. "What about your boyfriend?"

The watchman guffawed at her bug-eyed expression, before slyly adding, "Sharing an umbrella? How romantic."

She made frantic movements with her arms as she explained to him the reason why they're in the library in the first place and repeatedly declared that he's not her boyfriend.

But the watchman ignored her and continues tormenting her. "I understand. After all, being alone in the bus stop at this hour is quite risky and" – he said in a low, scary voice, - "terrifying."

Mizuki rubbed her face roughly, struggling to contain her exasperation.

Does she have a freaking 'Please annoy me' signboard strapped on her back? Everybody seems hell bent on ruining her day.

"They say that this scary creature lurks in the bus stop. They say the woman was waiting in the bus stop when she was suddenly -"

The sound of an approaching car halted his storytelling and Mizuki silently thank her lucky stars for the interference.

Squinting, she raised her hand to block the headlights. The car stopped in front of them, and the watchman let out a low whistle of appreciation as he eyed the sleek, black Mercedes-Benz.

An elderly man who was in his late 50's or early 60's stepped out from the driver's seat, holding a black umbrella over his head and a spare one in his left hand. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Rukawa move forward and halted a few paces from her.

The elderly man, wearing knitted sweater under a checkered tweed jacket, approached them and bowed in greeting, to which they politely returned.

Mizuki wondered who he was.

To her surprise, the gray haired man gives him a kind smile, and motions towards the car.

"Eh?!" was Mizuki's intelligent reply.

What bewildered her even more was when Rukawa passed her by and muttered, "Get in." He didn't bother waiting for her reply. After giving a polite bow to the watchman, he walked the short distance to the car under the pouring rain, ignoring the elderly man's request for him to take the extra umbrella. Mizuki's eyes widened when he heard him call Rukawa 'young master'.

The elderly man threw Rukawa a reproachful glance before turning his attention to Mizuki and giving her an apologetic smile.

"Shall we go?" He said, holding his umbrella over her head.

She looked up at him, dumbfounded. "Er - go where? Sorry, but I'm not sure what's goin - "

"For pete's sake!" The watchman abruptly exclaimed, slapping his forehead. "How dense can you be? The guy has offered to take you home."

Mizuki turned to look at the watchman and then back at the elderly man.

Comprehension dawned on her, followed by embarrassment. "Oh!" She said, feeling the warmth of blush rise in her cheeks. "You don't have to do that. Really. I can just take the bus, thank – "

Once again, the watchman rudely cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Nonsense! Just get in the car. It's disrespectful to turn down such a generous offer."

"Go on; don't keep your boyfriend waiting." Mizuki frowned at him, but the watchman grinned even wider, showing his missing tooth.

The elderly man stepped out into the porch and patiently waited for her to join him beneath the umbrella.

She sighed in resignation and then tentatively walked towards the kindly old man.

Giving the watchman a curt bow, she then went inside the car.

The ride back to her home was silent, except for the occasional polite inquiries made by the elderly man.

Mizuki glanced sideways at Rukawa, expecting him to be dozing off right now. But to her immense shock, she found him awake and gazing out the passenger window.

This made things more awkward for her. She started fidgeting on her seat, racking her brain for something to say. It would be more comfortable for her if he would just remain sleeping the entire duration of the ride. That way, she wouldn't feel obligated to speak.

But she knew she had to say something.

"Listen, regarding your bike," She hesitated, twisting her fingers in her lap. "Sorry about that…I promise to return it to your designated parking slot first thing in the morning."

Relief flooded her as she saw him nod in assent from her peripheral vision. At least he wasn't that angry at her for stealing his bike.

But now, she realized her chances of getting an interview with him were slim to none.

She gazed quietly at the window as they drove down the familiar streets.

"Should I turn left or right, little Miss?" The elderly man asked.

"Left, please."

By the time they reached the five-story apartment building, the rain had turned into a light drizzle. The car pulled into the covered driveway and stopped.

Mizuki bowed her head in gratitude. "Thank you very much for the ride home, kind sir."

"You're very much welcome, little Miss."

She then turned to Rukawa. "Thank you for today, Rukawa- kun." She says softly, her head still bowed.

As she reached for the door handle, she heard him mutter something.

She paused to look back at him. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that. What did you say?"

Rukawa cleared his throat, looking very uncomfortable. "Friday after practice."

She stared at him like he's some creature from outer space. Her brow furrowed deeply as if she was trying to decipher some secret code.

"The interview." He said gruffly, running a hand through his ebony hair,

He watched as her face morphed from confusion to disbelief to one of extreme happiness. A bright smile lit up her face, leaving him momentarily dazed.

"Do you really mean that?" She was bouncing on her seat, unable to contain her excitement. "Oh, thank you, thank you, Rukawa-kun."

"I promise to give my very best on this article." She said, smiling so hard her cheeks hurt. "Oh, and I promise to be nicer to you, you know, not call you stoneface, iceman behind your ba -" She faltered under his glare.

"Um, okay. Shutting up now."

The elderly man's laugh broke the tension between them.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow then." She said, suddenly shy.

"Yeah." His voice was low and oddly gentle.

She hastily climbed out of the car, before he could see the blush that she was sure was spreading like fire across her face.

She keeps her head bowed as she waited for the car to leave. She only managed to look up when the sound of the car slowly faded into the distance.

She remained standing in the pavement, even as the car disappeared from her sight. She stood there, lost in her thoughts with her heart fluttering wildly.

Raising her hand to her chest, she whispered to herself. "Be still, my heart."


A/N: Whew! That was quite a long chapter! So, what do you guys think? Love it? Hate it? Or it's too mushy for you. (FYI, I'm certainly the hopeless romantic type =P) Kindly leave a review! Until next time! (=^_^=)