écriture fatale
by crisis rain

Disclaimer: Kaichou wa Maid-sama!/Maid-sama! belongs to Fujiwara Hiro. Fiction plot & originals belong to crisis rain. No infringement intended.

The sharp smell of a crisp, mid-December morning smelt faintly of frozen steel and asphalt soaked in rainwater. In the sleepy city, people are beginning to shuffle along their daily routine as they prepare for yet another busy day. However, a bundle of positive energy is radiating from a certain classroom at Oukashou High.

Oukashou High's health representative stood huddled over several desks grouped together along with two other female students. Endou and Shinohara had arrived at the classroom early as well, showing off the spoils they reaped the past three days. Endou ran a hand through the fabric of a lustrous, pink kimono sleeve with a loving stare. "I can't believe we're gonna be wearing this for the culture fes!"

Shinohara carefully adjusted the bridge of her spectacles with aa prudent finger. "Hmph, they're only third-rate fabric but it's the best we can afford with our limited budget. Thankfully the boys will only need cheap fabric for their gakuran jackets and school caps." Hisui smiled over the both of them as she unwrapped the pack of coat hangers from the bag of materials and items she had brought to school.

"We got the costumes finished on time; that's a great relief." Hisui commented happily as she carefully began to hang the costumes on a clothes rack by the back of the classroom. Endou laughed heartily. "Thank Shinohara's auntie! She was a great help in getting the outfits done so well and on time."

"We need to repay her and show our thanks sometime after the festival is over." Hisui replied, her hands smoothening over the creases of the kimono she was hanging. "Now all that's left is to prepare the food menu… and finish the decorations for the classroom." True enough, the class did not look 'historic' enough yet to pass off as a Taishou/Shouwa era themed café.

"We getting lace tablecloth for the tables… the chairs should be fine as it is; we don't have enough time to decorate them." She continued to remark aloud, pacing around the classroom as she observed her surroundings with a critical eye. "If we get the menu done today… we can start shopping for ingredients and begin preparations to serve them – oh!" Whipping out her notebook, she began to scribble down a few notes. "Be… sure to buy… paper plates… cups… and utensils…"

"I vote for home-style lunch bentous and dango!" Endou suggested enthusiastically, raising a hand in the air as if to emphasize her point. "Dango sounds good, simple to make and we can buy the dipping sauce from the grocery store. I'm not sure about a bentou though, it sounds pretty challenging just to make for one customer." Hisui responded warmly, but nonetheless continued to take down her notes.

"We should focus on snacks and appetizers." Shinohara thoughtfully replied. "Dango and other simple desserts like pudding or small cakes we can bake with ease would be the best."

Endou began to jump on the spot excitedly. "Yes, yes! Desserts! Like crepes and ice-cream and red bean jelly –"

"I think dango and mizuyokan would be more historically-accurate; not to mention the easiest to make." Shinohara interjected bluntly, but let out a small sigh when she spotted Endou's expression crumpling from her rejection. "…But I supposed adding a side of ice cream with the yokan wouldn't hurt."

"Dango and mizuyokan both sounds like good choices for the menu. I'll go out a little bit later to buy a recipe book. If you guys can think up of other recipes, please let me know." Hisui laughed. The morning sunlight glittered gently on the windowpane in the quiet classroom, and the busy students set themselves to work once more.

"Morning~!" Yamamoto and a handful of the other boys in the class came bursting in with cheerful looks on their faces. "Yo, Endou! I see you got the costumes done!"

"Yeah, that means you boys better get the decorations finished soon!" Endou replied with a discerning grin. "Pick up the pace already! Once Hisui-tan and I finish the menu with the rest of the girls you guys are gonna be the ones who're gonna help us buy the groceries!"

The class began to move into action. Yamamoto grabbed the few planks of wood they had stored at the back of the classroom and the toolkit. "Well we're going to work on the sign downstairs. Call us if you need something!"

"Oh, Yamamoto-kun;" Hisui glanced up from her notebook hastily, catching the taller boy by the sleeve. "I've written down the new measurements for the sign; once you've gotten it cut and painted, Shinohara will assist with the hand lettering." On cue, Shinohara nodded her head rather diligently with a stern nod. "I've won competitions in calligraphy writing. Leave it to me."

Yamamoto nodded in response. "Gotcha! You can find us by the gym. We'll be working around that area."

Hisui let out a sigh, wiping her brow before turning back to her notebook. "All that's left…" She was briefly interrupted by a large hand clamping down on her shoulder. Jumping up in shock, she looked up to see the towering figure of Teranishi standing over her with a bright smile on his face. He was still bundled up in his winter scarf; his schoolbag slung over his shoulder lazily and the tip of his nose red from the cold.

"Good morning, inchou." He greeted warmly.

"G-Good morning… Teranishi…" Hisui managed to greet back, still surprised from his suddenly salutation. "Did you just arrive?"

"Sorry, I missed the early train. What do we have to get done today?" He asked, un-tying his scarf from his neck while keeping his eyes on the petite health rep. Hisui glanced back at her notebook and pencil scribbles thoughtfully. "We need to finish coming up with dishes for the menu today and then buy ingredients. If possible, we should grab a cook book or a recipe book and test out some sample dishes before we go ahead and buy everything else."

Teranishi cracked a knowing grin. "Sounds good. You're prepared as always, aren't you?"

Hisui scoffed lightly. "It's my job after all; anyhow, are you going to go help out with Yamamoto with the sign-making?" She asked him quickly, looking away as if to divert the subject of conversation away from herself. Teranishi pondered aloud for a moment, before turning back to her. "Well, what do you need help with the most?"

"The menu, truthfully… that would be the main core of our event, so we cannot afford to mess up the food." Hisui replied in a rather serious tone, gripping her pencil tightly. "I cannot make anything more decent than curry, so my skill in this matter is moot."

Teranishi let out a laugh. "In that case, I think you've found the perfect man for the job."

When he spotted his health representative staring back at him quizzically, he restrained the urge to let loose another laugh. "Let me help out with the menu. I've been cooking for quite a while, so if it's something simple I can make it – to varying degrees."

"Excellent. Endou, Shinohara and I were discussing about making the café more alike to a snack shop…" Hisui dug her nose back into her notebook, digging through her notes furiously. "…We thought perhaps dango and mizuyokan would be some of the traditional specials we can put on the menu and have it focus more on desserts and tea. What do you think?"

"Tea is easy; we can buy packs of green tea and brew individual cups for the customers." Teranishi plucked the notebook away from her hands, taking a brief look. "As for dango and mizuyokan, getting the ingredients would be slightly tricky but it's doable. Not to mention they would complement well with the theme."

Hisui stared back at him wordlessly for a moment, her fingers vaguely registering the feel of her notebook as he handed it back to her. "I… I-I had no idea you were this professional in the matter! I should have asked you sooner."

"Hahaha! I'm no professional; I'm just the one in the household who's in charge of the cooking, that's all." He replied reassuringly, before pulling a chair next to her. "So, how about that menu?"

"R-Right." Hisui quickly took a seat beside him, and began to discuss the details of the recipes with her subordinate.

"So we have dango, mizuyokan… ever thought about serving anpan with ice cream?" He suggested while documenting everything on paper. "Ah… that sounds perfect as a winter snack. The ice cream would go well with most of the desserts. Perhaps we can charge an extra cost for ice cream as an optional topping?" Hisui replied, quickly pulling out her calculator.

"That would be good. Also, I think I have a taiyaki waffle maker at home so I can bring that in and we could just put red bean paste with a cake mix for the taiyaki."

A look of pleasant surprise came over Hisui's face. "You're awfully good at this, Teranishi. I'm very impressed." Continuing to wear that strange smile, Hisui added to the list – 'Ice Cream Topping: add ¥200'. Perhaps it was Teranishi's turn to look surprised – it wasn't something he saw so often from the stiff-faced health representative he knew so well – but pretended he didn't see it, smiling as if it was a secret for himself.

The morning flew by quickly as it had arrived, and by the end of the day the classroom looked fundamentally different than it was this morning. The desks were neatly partitioned off into groups of four; some desks were grouped off into pairs for couples or single customers that would visit. The old-fashioned lacy tablecloth was spread on the tables, hiding the wooden surface and scratches on the student desks effectively.

As for the classroom space itself, makeshift bamboo screens covered the classroom walls that used to be covered in printouts. On the chalkboard, the girls had decorated it with the menu dishes and prices in bright, colourful chalk. Small, cheap but neat-looking potted bamboo plants served as the table décor where various stalks of small bamboo were placed in glass vases on the dining tables.

"Well, it doesn't scream Taishou or Shouwa too much but we more or less got the feel for it." Shinohara commented tiredly, but looked proud at the results overall. The sun had long set, and outside the windows was the night's darkness and glittering city lights in the distance. Teranishi let out an exhausted sigh, still dressed in a kitchen's apron. "And the menu is more or less finished; we can finish buying the rest of the groceries morning."

With a curt nod, Hisui began to shrug on her coat as she prepared to leave. "I'll go ahead and buy half of the groceries on my way home. That way when I arrive to school tomorrow morning we have something to work with immediately."

"It's rather late… you really shouldn't, Hisui-tan." Endou stated worriedly. The short-haired girl sidled her stare over to the apron-clad Teranishi who looked equally anxious at the health rep's decision. A sly smile came on her face. "Oh, why not get Teranishi to do it? Better yet, get him to accompany you to the store and then have him walk you home."

Shinohara picked up quickly, realising what Endou was doing. "As a man, don't you think that's the right thing to do, Teranishi-kun?"

Hisui opened her mouth to protest but Teranishi was faster.

"W-What the hell, Endou? That's why I suggested we should do the groceries in the morning!"

"No matter how you look at it, Kogarashi-san seems to have set her mind on buying them tonight." Shinohara interjected bluntly, looking guileless and expressionless as she always did. "Would it be troublesome if you could go out of your way to accompany her to the store at this hour?" Endou smiled at her best friend, poking thumbs up while mouthing the words, "Nice one, Aya-chan!"

Hisui wondered briefly if it would be wise to say that she was expecting someone to pick her up. Glancing back at her bickering classmates, she smiled apologetically before bowing cordially.

"I… I actually have someone coming to pick me up very soon. So you don't have to feel obligated to come along, Teranishi. It's late; you should go back to your own home." Hisui picked up her schoolbag, unable to notice the stiff grip that Teranishi was holding onto his apron. Endou rushed up to the doctor's daughter, eyes wide. "'S-Somone', you say? Is this 'someone' a… a boyfriend?"

Hisui stared blankly back at Endou before letting out a small laugh. "No, no; it's nothing like that. It's just my neighbour; we've been good friends since preschool so we're like family."

Endou didn't seem to give up, nor convinced. "A guy?"

Hisui looked slightly uncomfortable at her questions. "Er, well, yes."

"Well, if Kogarashi's got someone picking her up, I guess the matter's settled then?" Teranishi laughed, untying the straps that held his apron in place. "So we can count on you on bringing some of the ingredients tomorrow?"

Hisui smiled and nodded. "You can count on me. I'll text you later tonight a list of things I have bought afterwards. Good night, everyone." And with a courteous bow, she bid them farewell.

He nodded, still smiling. "Good. See you tomorrow, inchou."

They watch her leave the classroom without another word. Endou sighed, leaning back against a chair. "So much for trying to get you two to go home together." An exasperated sigh escaped Teranishi's lips as he recalled Endou's not-so-subtle antics. "What was that earlier, Endou? And you too, Shinohara?" There was twinge of disbelief in his voice – and a little bit of betrayal. Endou laughed.

"Well, we couldn't help it considering how well you two have gotten along this semester." She lightly poked at him, giggling when an irritated Teranishi swatted her hand away. "It's nothing like that. We just happened to get tangled up and now we're in the same committee. It's easier to talk to someone in your class who's in the same club, right?"

"Those are sound justifications, Teranishi-kun. But we just couldn't sit back while you look like you've been restraining yourself." Shinohara smartly replied, packing the last of her things into her bag. "Are you sure it's fine with you how things are now?"

Teranishi stared blankly back at his studious classmate, his chin resting on his hand.

"If it's what keeping our friendship intact, then I don't want to tangle things any further than they are already."

Pushing himself off a desk, he crumpled the apron into a messy ball in his hands. "Alright, enough gossip already! Let's get around to cleaning up the place! We've got a busy day tomorrow!"

It was alright. She had someone to lean on, after all.

She bid them farewell, and made her way to the entrance grounds. The corridors were still lit, and several students were still present and working on their booths for tomorrow's culture festival. Glad to see that there were still people around this time, she held on to that little bit of confidence and briskly walked to the front doors; a hand pushing in open and letting in a blast of icy, winter wind.

As her hair whipped back from the breeze, she instinctively gathered her body inwards to fend off the heinous chill that was creeping into her body. There was nothing but black air and the desolate lamp posts that dotted the pathways on the school campus. As she reached inside her pocket for her cellphone, a shadow flickered over her direction and she froze immediately.

Fresh memories of the assault from three days ago came screaming inside her brain and she immediate backed away from her right, eyes wildly glancing around for a glimpse of a person. A lone figure stood in front of her – but much to her surprise, she was not expecting to see him at this kind of place at all.

"Yo, Hisui-chan." Igarashi Tora greeted with a weak, toothy grin; his voice sounded slightly gravelly from his cold. He wasn't dressed in his school uniform, she had noticed – he looked like he just walked out of his house without putting a coat on and somehow found his way to her school. All the way from the Igarashi Manor.

"I-I-Igarashi?!" Hisui yelped aloud, looking thoroughly stupefied at his sudden presence before her. "W-What… what are you doing here?" She hissed, lowering her voice and looked around hastily for any signs of people nearby. It would be bad for the media to catch wind of the Igarashi heir out and about… and then there was Hanagata's warning…

Hanagata.

"Does Hanagata-san know you're here?" Hisui asked worriedly, noticing how pale he had looked even underneath the yellow lights overhead from the entrance roof. Tora scoffed at her, looking rather miffed at hearing his footman's name. "Obviously not; otherwise I wouldn't be freezing myself outside here like this." With his retort, his eyes sidled back to his main object of interest. Hisui stared back just as intently, but looked rather stern at his poor decision to jump out into the cold, winter night without proper clothing.

"Why are you doing this to yourself? You should be at home. In bed." With each impending word, she laid on the stress heavily in her voice. "Look at you; you're cold as ice–" In her worry, her hand reached out to touch his cheek; it felt like a block of ice in her palms. But soon quickly realising what she was doing, Hisui looked away – flustered, jerking her hand back. But his own cold one caught hers before it could retreat back to its owner, holding on to her tightly.

"What're you doing? Don't stop." He breathed, slowly clasping his hand over hers and brought it up to his still-frozen cheek. Hisui's face slowly reddened despite the cold temperature; it had been a long time since she had felt his touch. And thus she did not know how to react or what to say – what to feel – and she stood there, unmoving, just waiting for the silence and time to pass.

"Y-You're acting weird. This isn't like you." She managed to mutter out, hiding the bottom half of her face by burying it into the folds of her scarf. Tora only smiled, still pressing her hand against his cheek. "I got a real tongue-lashing from Hanagata the other day. So I came to see you because he wouldn't drive me." He responded simply. Hisui gaped back at him wordlessly at his excuse. Such a childish reason!

"A-At any rate you've got no coat on; you should drop by a convenience store to warm up before we call a taxi for you." Sense returned. Yes, she was logical. It was in her nature to be practical. That was something she was familiar with; and so to cope with this foreign feeling that was slowly invading her, she decided to creep back inside her shell she felt most comfortable wearing.

An arm hooked around her back in a rough angle, pulling her in. Hisui could barely peek over the peak of his shoulders, but she could hear her own blood pounding inside her ears. The drumming won't stop, and he would not let go. "Igarashi–" She started, but dared not to say anything more when his hold on her tightened. "You can stop with the formalities, you know." He chuckled softly; his voice sounding amused. "Just how long are you going to call me by my surname?"

She faltered for a moment, seeing nothing but the fabric of his shirt. "I–"

Her phone began to vibrate violently in her coat pocket, and she immediately broke away from the heir, turning a burning cheek away. Hisui couldn't fathom why she was feeling so nervous or why she was losing her wits. She thought she was used to this. It seems like it's been too long since she had last seen him. Bringing up the phone to her ear and taking a few steps away from Tora, she cleared her throat nervously. "H-Hello?"

"Sui? Where are you? Are you still at school?" A familiar voice from the other line blurted aloud. Realising that it was Gouki, Hisui glanced around warily. "Y-Yes, I'm by the front entrance right now."

"I'm close by; I'm gonna come to you alright?" His voice was beginning to echo loudly, and Hisui curiously looked out towards the courtyard. "Don't move an inch or go outside, you hear me? Not until I've come to pick you up–" Before either of them could utter another word, they found themselves standing face to face, nearly walking into each other. Gouki looked surprised to see his childhood friend stray right in front of his path, but managed to stop before he could bowl over his childhood friend; and he promptly closed his cellphone shut. "Sui, I thought I told you not to go outside–" He stopped mid-sentence when he spotted the lean figure of a troublesome zaibatsu brat that had ounce chanced a visitation in his neighbourhood.

He could never forget that face.

Immediately before reason could play a part of his actions, he had seized the Igarashi heir by the collar and pulled him up, having a slightly taller height advantage over the older boy. "What the fuck is he doing here?" Growling at the heir who looked completely unfazed by the rough handling he was given, Gouki bristled up like an overprotective guard dog.

Tora wrenched his hand away from crushing his neck (which seemed rather likely if things continued at this rate), smiling slyly back at the younger boy. "Just dropping by to give my regards to Sui over here–"

A fist came pumping through the air, and Tora narrowly dodged it to the side the moment Gouki nearly pummeled the side of his face off. "Who said you could call her that?" He spat out venomously. There was no way he could speak cordially with this guy. The very presence of him makes him sick. He glanced back to Hisui to see where she was, but she immediately smacked him against the head with the side of her palm.

"Dammit! What was that for, Sui?" Angry at getting hit for protecting her, he clenched his teeth against the pain that was already beginning to dissipate. Hisui glowered back at him, and fixated her stern glare upon Tora as well. "Stop picking fights – and you," She turned back to Tora who merely smiled back serenely, looking rather pleased to see her angry. "Stop provoking him. It's hard enough to keep one of you on good behaviour, let alone both of you."

And thus the unlikely trio set foot on their journey to the nearest grocery market at Hisui's behest. As they walked down the street, each on either side of the irritated-looking mediator, the boys found it hard not to exchange the occasional cool, intercepting gaze or the heated glare that sparked now and then. Hisui barraged on, her light mood ruined by the background bickering that was happening behind her back.

"So, the zaibatsu heir decided it was a good idea to wander around outside without a coat on. Is that what you're telling me?" Gouki grumbled aloud to his childhood friend, stubbornly shuffling a step closer before throwing another sharp look over at Tora who looked rather amused. A sneer curled around his lips.

"I see why you decided to have him come pick you up now." Tora commented lightly, his expressions twisting into something more sinister. "He behaves exactly like a watchdog."

At that point Hisui was physically in-between the two taller males, pushing them away from one another before they could tear each other's throats out.

"What–" She panted, arms tiredly trying to push them away. "–did I say… about getting along…?" Gouki glared down at her, pointing an accusing finger.

"You're the one who decided to bring him along!"

"I can't just leave him back there!" Hisui protested, gesturing to the Igarashi heir who was currently looking slightly out of place in his surroundings – aside from the lack of winter coat, Hisui's scarf had been wrapped awkwardly around his neck, at her insistence.

"As you can see, I'm here for the ride." Tora smirked confidently back at the delinquent, who mashed his mandibles fiercely against each other. Unable to withstand their disputes and caterwauling any further, Hisui foraged onwards in a decided manner to ditch the both of them behind.

"S-Sui, don't go on ahead without me!" Gouki called after her, quickly catching up. Tora would not be the last one left behind, and he too promptly went after her. "Hisui, you're not going to leave your patient behind, are you?"

A vein popped somewhere. Hisui turned around, looking formidably vexed by their endless arguing. "Then stop your fighting and stay quiet!" With a stomp of her foot, she turned back around and continued her fast walk towards the nearest grocery store.

Catching whiff of her anger, the two males wisely decided to steer clear from erupting the volcano altogether.

The welcome electronic tone rang automatically once she stepped foot into the brightly-lit store. "Welcome!" The front store clerk greeted automatically at the first sight of a customer. However, his smile quickly dissipated when two angry-looking males came stalking after the seemingly-innocent-looking high school girl; his voice vanishing almost instantly.

"C'mon, make this quick and let's just get back home." Gouki muttered, picking up a basket and handing it to Hisui. Tora looked at them with a slight puzzlement in his eyes, as if he was observing this sort of commoner's shopping lifestyle for the first time in his life. Hisui and Gouki turned around, looking at the Igarashi heir who had stopped to a halt, staring at his surroundings with an unnerving silence.

"I…Igarashi… are you alright?" Hisui called out hesitantly, and the blonde-haired tyrant flashed his usual, fake smile back at her. "I'm fine, just observing how commoners gather their food in their natural habitat."

The store clerk ducked beneath the counter once he caught sight of the taller boy lunging for the cheeky rich brat, just merely inches away from swinging at his face if not for Hisui holding him back in restraint.

"We're here to buy ingredients for the culture festival tomorrow. Got it? That means no side snacks; no other things you want to buy; nothing but the items on the list." Hisui sternly waved a small paper note as she lectured Gouki sternly, before handing him the list. "Teranishi made the mizuyoukan at school today already; all that's left is to buy what's leftover on the list."

Tora was perplexed. He couldn't fathom how one could simply navigate through such narrow and dense aisles that were brimming with food products and other packaged goods stacked on top of one another. It was messy and too colourful. Brands and logos and names grabbed and called out for his attention everywhere. Having nothing else to do, he followed after Hisui and Gouki in their shopping expedition.

"We'll get the ice cream last. That way it doesn't melt while we're looking for the other ingredients." In a matter-of-fact manner, Hisui glanced around sharply, eyes scouting out for the ingredients. "Rice flour… potato starch… glaze sauce…" With almost near-mechanical precision, Tora watched as while Gouki held the shopping basket, Hisui quickly snatched one item after another from the cluttered shelves.

She did not stop to take a rest, but moved on to the next aisle. There, she picked up cans of fruit mix, chocolate sauce, biscuit wafers, and other sweets and snacks that would go into the dishes prepared for tomorrow. Gouki sturdily held the basket as the load became increasingly heavier with each item she piled on.

"Alright. This is good. Let's check out." With a nod, Hisui marched right for the cashier, who nervously put on another smile once he saw them approach. Tora watched curiously in silence as the cashier processed, scanned, and calculated the total costs for her purchase in swift motions.

He was brought back to attention when a Styrofoam cup was handed in front of his face. Staring at it blankly, he looked at Hisui with a sour expression as if he couldn't possibly accept this disgustingly-plain cup. Hisui glared back at him, continuing to hold up the drink. "It's oden soup. If you're hungry I bought some oden skewers to go along with it."

Certainly, he was starting to feel a little hungry inside. And some hot soup after wandering outside for such a long time did seem like a good idea…

The cashier drummed his fingers nervously against the counter. Why weren't these kids leaving? Holy shit man they look so scary! He peeked at the three high school students, two of them rather a bit too tall for their age, enjoying the oden they had purchased from the front counter. They were sitting by the stools and propped up table by the side of the shop; a fast eating counter for customers slurping down a quickly-bought meal as they go. Gouki silently chewed on his skewers; Hisui took a careful sip from her own soup.

Tora looked back at the two, before taking a small, careful sip from his cup. While the broth was a little bit too salty for his own personal tastes, it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Instinctively, he took a second sip; his move being watched by Hisui at the corner of her eyes.

"It's better than you thought, isn't?" Her remark had come so suddenly, that he glanced up from his cup in surprise; the steam gently wafting from his soup. Putting the cup down, Tora cleared his throat. "Hmph, well it surpassed my expectations. I'm surprised you can purchase almost anything from these stores."

"Well, we commoners don't have a cushy lifestyle like you do." Gouki reciprocated, biting the end of his finished bamboo skewer stick.

Before any of them could utter another word, various loud voices gathered from outside. The mousy-looking clerk looked terrified as if he knew what was going to happen. Hisui turned her head to the source of the commotion, wondering what was happening. "What's going on? It's awfully loud out there."

As if on cue, a crowd of familiar-looking thugs came trooping through the store entrance. The clerk squeaked out an incomprehensible, "W-Welcome!" before cowering behind the cash register. Gouki stopped chewing on his bamboo skewer, eyes sharpening when he realised it was the same attackers that were after Hisui earlier this week. "Sui…" His tone was low; a warning. Hisui glanced back at him, before recognizing the battered but unmistaken face of Nakata.

Immediately she grabbed Gouki's arm. The memories of that night came back like fresh spasms that seared across her mind, replaying scenes she wanted to forget and bury. But they came back like hot embers – cigarette burns – and the more her mind dwelt on the past, the more she began to panic. Breathing; escalating. Vision, blurring. Mind – tearing apart –

"…Hisui." Tora spoke firmly yet quietly, placing a hand over hers. "Hisui, calm down. What's gotten into…?" He stopped when the health representative's face had turned ashen white from the mere sight of the rowdy delinquents that had made their way into the once-peaceful shop. Glancing coldly over to Gouki, he could see that the younger boy looked just as strained about the situation.

"Hey, you." Tora called out to Gouki, who snapped his head around irritatingly back. "What's going on? Did something happen that I wasn't aware of?"

Gouki's jaw clenched, and then loosened as he began to talk. "It's Nakata; that third-year senior who dropped out ever since the drug incident. He's been out to get Sui ever since." Tora's expression hardened. His eyes darted back to Nakata and his gang. Six… no, seven in total…

He got up from his seat, tugging away the scarf around his neck before wrapping it back messily around Hisui's head. "Hold on this for me. I'll take care of this."

With hands folded neatly in his designer jeans pocket, Igarashi Tora walked up to the throng of unruly commoners as if he was Perseus himself. Egotistical and vain – but having been disciplined in the art of judo for twelve years and having the honors of a fifth-rank black belt, his skillset was more than enough to take care of the garbage heap that was in front of him.

"Oy." He greeted casually, smirkly slightly as he anticipated what sort of facial expression Nakata would give him. "You trash are being annoyances. Get out of here."

"Ngahhhh? What did you say to us, you fucker?" Nakata turned around angrily, but stopped to a fearful halt when he saw who it was. "Y-You… you're that rich bastard that got us during that time…!"

"That's right." Tora smiled deeply, his golden eyes shining with a predatory gleam as he faced his prey. "So I hear you've been giving a hard time to my pet, eh?" There was an flame beginning to be lit, somewhere inside of him. "I don't recall ever sharing her with you. Why don't I make this perfectly clear to you?" He placed a firm hand on Nakata's shoulder, before grappling him from beneath and throwing him out of the front entranceway in one, fell swoop.

"Keep your dirty hands off her."

Seeing their leader getting a face of asphalt (again), his motley crew jumped into action; simultaneously they all lunged for the bleach-haired heir in vengeance. Sidestepping out of the way and into the parking lot outside, Tora seamlessly walked out of their clumsy path; the look in his eyes lighting up with amusement now that he's settled in his hunt for the night.

"He… he can't be serious… he's doing it again…!" As soon as she saw Nakata getting hurled out of the shop entrance, she got out of her seat, racing for the front. "Sui!" Gouki yelled after her, before he too, began to give chase. He cursed aloud to himself at Hisui's surprisingly impractical thinking in this particular situation. Ironic for the delinquent who would often let his fists do the talking first before anything else.

Tora was busily kicking down his opponents into a senseless daze, his hands having returned to their tucked position inside his pockets as he aimlessly barraged through one thug after another. Nakata was still hunched over on the concrete, coughing out his last meal after being thrown up and about in such a manner. Noticing Hisui rushing out from the entrance, his expression changed slightly from one of blank apathy to anger.

"What are you doing? I thought I said I'd take care of this." He turned his eyes to her; there was a certain dissatisfaction of having his hunt being interrupted by someone as distracting as her. "You need to learn not to go overboard!" Hisui retorted angrily, looking aghast at the crumpled, moaning delinquents that littered the parking lot floor. "You… you can't dirty your hands with these kind of… these people…" She mumbled out, but it was too late; her cries went on unheard as Gouki jumped into the fray. His arm swung back before rebounding back forwards to punch the living daylights out of a resisting crony; the thug fell back, out cold for sure this time.

Nakata struggled to get up, wiping a bloody trail from the corner of his lip he had bitten. "Ah… I see you've brought… reinforcements… eh, Kogarashi?" His toothless grin returns, and Hisui flinched away, unable to look at him in the face. Nakata let loose a raspy laugh at her frightened reaction. "What? Too scared of me now? You didn't seem to have a problem with my mug until a few days ago, eh?!"

"Get back into the store, Sui!" Gouki yelled, but she was rooted to the spot; her fear having paralyzed her. Hisui knew it was better to go back and tell the cashier to call for the authorities; to finally put an end to all of this; but the courage was sapped away from her the moment the memories came back.

Hands defiling.

Rank breath stinking.

The mere thought that she could have been, and was almost, violated –

Saying nothing, Tora advanced forwards, kicking down on Nakata's chest and pinning him back down on the ground. "Let me ask you again a bit more clearly this time," There was nothing but a fatality in his voice now, for the zaibatsu heir absolutely loathed having anyone touch what was his. And what was his was exclusively only for him – Igarashi Tora. "I don't think you've told me yet, but I'm extremely interested to know the particulars of what you did to my pet to make her behave this way."

Nakata's chest rumbled with internal laughter; the addict wheezed in and out as he tried to contain his spiteful glee and joy for having made his enemy upset. "Ya wanna know huh, you rich motherfucker? Me 'n my boys tried ta jump your girl just the other day…" Tora's eyes narrowed as he watched Nakata licked his dry, chafed lips voraciously. "You shulda heard her cry out when I sampled a little taste of her–"

Deciding that he had heard enough, Tora's foot that had the senior pinned down exerted an immense amount of pressure as if the heir was stamping down hard on a bug he happened to perchance by. There was a slight crack – and Nakata howled out in pain, for one of his ribs was broken where his ribcage had been so forcefully stepped upon.

"You better listen carefully, alright?" Tora leaned down in a malicious whisper; a voice only audible enough for the both of them to hear. "You even lay another stinking finger on her again; I can guarantee your complete erasure from this society."

At that moment, the screech of tires broke the cold silence. A black Sedan came roaring into the parking lot, before screeching to a halt beside the commotion. Clambering out of the driver's seat was Hanagata, who looked like he had seen better nights; sweat lining his brow.

"Young Master!" He called out in a sigh of relief. "Young Master, how could you run off like that…?" Tora sighed at the appearance of his footman, before giving Nakata one, final kick in the abdomen for good measure before sulking towards his car. "You're late, Hanagata. And this is what happens when you refuse my order." Turning back around, he spotted Gouki rushing back out from the store with the groceries, and Hisui's schoolbag. She gave him a timid frown, before nodding a courteous acknowledgement to Hanagata before turning her back away, following Gouki down the streets; back to where they belonged.

"Let's go home, Young Master." Hanagata tried to ease the Igarashi heir into the back seat of the car. "Come on, you've been wandering around outside sick in the cold without a coat. Let's get you back to the manor as soon as possible."

As the door was closed shut after him, Tora sat in the comfortable leather seat of his footman's car, looking strangely dissatisfied. His mouth still tasted of that salty oden soup; and he could still smell the scent of her shampoo from the scarf she had lent him. They were traces of her – traces of their time together.

They were fading away too quickly for comfort.

A/n: And with finals out of the way (finally!) and Christmas fast approaching… tis the season for another chapter update! I know we've strayed from most of the drama that's been going on so far in the story but hohohoho, let us celebrate the return of the almighty Tora. Happy holidays, everyone!