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.
"Rise!"
The scuffling noise of chairs being pushed back and rubber-soled feet squeaking against the floor filled the classroom. Streams of bountiful daylight shone upon the average scenery as the young students rose from their seats to face their educator in the front.
"Bow!"
A momentary gesture of respect; habitual, even.
"Sit down!"
Back upon their stations they go, and the lesson begins.
"Now, as we have learned from the previous lesson, today we shall learn about supplementing basic sentences in English with the adverbs you have memorized for your vocabulary homework..."
A young girl seated by the far side of the classroom with her desk situated directly beside the shining window paused for a moment, quickly taking note of her teacher's words as her pencil scrawled notes in a nearly-arranged notebook. Sounds of chalk stroking up the blackboard filled the silence that perpetuated in-between segments of the lecture, and time lazily droned on.
The sunlight twinkled and scattered sunbeams across the girl's notebook. Glancing up in mild interest, she turned her head to face the window, where a figure outside caught her attention.
A tall, lean male with an attractive face and boyishly-styled hair was walking outside, a sports bag casually slung over his shoulder. A male friend flanked his side, and they both seemed to be chatting and laughing over conversation.
And at that moment, he happened to glance up, and their eyes met.
He glanced up when he saw the familiar pair of polished loafers enter his domain of vision.
When he did, the image that flooded his sight was a most pleasant one. She stood still, a nervous air around her, but she was smiling widely with a slight flush in her cheeks. Neat, shoulder-length hair that was combed back shone a warm hue underneath the late spring sunlight. Her usual focused, silver-grey eyes that were so often seen downcast reading a book was now focused on him, and it gladdened him.
"I'm sorry... were you waiting long?" She gently questioned, a small worry clouding her features. He waved a hand in dismissal, his smile widening to a grin.
"Not at all." Clearing his throat, he pried his gaze away from her; and hers from him. They stood helplessly in nervous silence for a short moment before he cracked another smile and took the initiative to clasp her hand in his.
This elicited a small gasp of surprise from her, but she wasn't displeased; she smiled in return, embarrassment marking her face once more. And she let him lead the way, as the couple began their return trip home from school.
"...and coach said that if I keep at it, I might be able to get into a school where they would have a good basketball track." He chattered mindlessly, occasionally throwing glances back at her as if to gauge her expression. Was he being too noisy? Was she interested in what he had to say? A pleasant, calm look seemed to have settled upon her face, and she smiled happily in return whenever he made a point of excitement in his conversation.
"That's wonderful, sempai." She courteously responded, but despite her formal wording she seemed to be genuinely happy. "If you work hard enough this year, then your top choice will be forced to accept you!"
He let out a chuckle at her words. "Hisui, we've been together for some time now. Won't you just call me by my name?"
At his words, she halted in her tracked, face burning red.
"M... Mukai-kun."
He peered in closer to her flaming face, where strands of her hair was beginning to curtain her visage.
"Hisui." He gently replied, placing a reassuring hand on top of her head. "If it's too soon, it's okay. You don't have to say it."
"M... Masayoshi...kun." She stubbornly let out, and it was his turn for his face to turn bright red.
Often times he would find himself missing her throughout the day when his time was occupied by classes – and sometimes, even during practice. When he first realised this, he honestly thought to himself that he was seriously in love. His eyes would always be searching for her familiar frame to enter his field of view, and his heart will leap in joy when she appears.
And when she was with him, she seldom left his side. Many afternoons were spent with her quietly reading books by his side while he would lie on her lap and sing shakily while clumsily playing his guitar.
Yet, those afternoons weren't always spent in such peaceful calm. He had taken her to many places that he could think of - the amusement park, out shopping, her first trip to a game arcade, the movies – the list went on. He loved gloating to his friends about what a wonderful gal he had, but he was fiercely jealous when she would even merely set eyes upon another man.
And yet while they spent such time together, she had never once initiated a touch, or reached for his hand. Her quiet, steadfast presence was what continued to hold them together, and he loved that part about her. He knew she was shy – she just needed some time, just a little bit more to ease herself out of her shell.
Thus it greatly shocked him one day while they were walking home, in the midst of their route, that she gazed at him in a most serious fashion and spoke to him, her voice as plain as day.
"Mukai-kun. Would you like to come over my place?"
He froze, feeling cold sweat build up in his hands that were holding hers.
It was the first time she had taken initiative, so to speak. And he was flustered, by all things, she had requested.
"Are you sure?" Was his response.
She glanced away, her expression unfettering. "Hm. My parents won't be home tonight."
His heart thudded loudly in response.
"Um... sure."
By the time they had arrived and she was fetching the house keys from her school bag, he stood beside her in the entrance way with a peckish expression. Glancing up and down, he had never wandered this close into her home before. While he was glancing at the fence that separated her house from her neighbours next door, he spotted a boy a few years younger than him in the neighbour's front yard. The familiar-looking boy merely stared at him with an empty expression, locks of bleached hair combed back with an unruly headband.
Masayoshi merely stared back. The boy disappeared shortly afterwards after he entered into the confines of his own private home.
"Ah... sorry for the wait." Her voice pulled him back to his situation, and as the front door swung open, it revealed a tidy hallway that showed signs of a small family with simple comforts living in its home. Framed photographs of relatives while various but not many, hung upon the walls beside the main entrance. A sturdy wood cabinet that seemed to store shoes; a metal rack for umbrellas; and pairs of slippers neatly arranged upon the wooden step.
"Pardon me for intruding..." He murmured aloud as he stepped inside the house. As the door swung shut behind him, he gingerly stepped out of his sports shoes, and placed them beside her loafers at neatly as he could.
She was already climbing the steps upstairs, startling him. With no choice but to follow, he quietly traced her steps even though he knew they were alone.
"This is my room." She opened a door with a name plaque of her name. 'Hisui's Bedroom', it read. As he peered inside, it contained rather normal furnishings for a middle school girl.
She sat down. He sat down beside her.
"Er..."
He was alerted when she began to pry her uniform blazer off her shoulders. Huffing a little, she shed her outermost article of clothing, sweat slightly gleaming from her brow.
"Sorry, it's a little hot today..."
A bead of sweat rolled down his own neck.
"Hisui..." He started but could not finish his sentence, as his hands were already resting on her shoulders as he leaned in and kissed her.
She moaned in surprise, but did not push him away. Instead, her lips became firm in response and she welcomed his mouth, kissing him back. When he found that she did not shy away like how she often does, he eagerly kissed her harder, his mind blanking in that moment of blissful euphoria. Blood rushing away from his head, he instinctively felt that he wanted more.
His mouth began to wander down her neckline, gently at first. But her scent drove him crazy, and he pressed his lips harder, then sucking, drunk on the silky smoothness of her flesh and the soft moans that rung in his ears. She had always been so quiet – until now, when reacting to his gestures of love, he loved her even more.
Fingers curled around the neckline of her shirt, roughly undoing the buttons that kept it concealed. He grunted a little, straddling her on his lap while resting her against the side of the bed, peppering her chest with kisses while his tongue flicked out occasionally for taste. Arms wrapping around her waist, his hands began to move up her shirt and fingers pinching the clasp that held the last piece of garment that was obstructing her chest.
It wasn't until he placed his lips upon her chest, he noticed that she was trembling uncontrollably.
Stopping from his love-drunken stupor, he gazed wide-eyed back at his girlfriend who laid on his lap, arms crossed over her face in embarrassed fear.
"Hisui...?"
Her voice came out barely audible above a whisper. "We can't."
A stunned look washed over his face. They've came so far... they can't?
"We can't." She repeated, voice shaking.
"Hisui, I..." He stammered, trying to push her arms away from guarding her face. "...but I love you."
"We're not protected." She whispered back.
"Isn't it a safe day for you today?"
"That's not the point...!"
Quickly she clutched her shirt back together, tucking herself in away from him. "I thought you just wanted a kiss, nothing more..."
Nothing more? Then what did she meant when she invited him over?
"Hisui, I really... really want to... with you..."
In a last act of desperation, he tried to console her with a kiss on her neck, but her hand came swiftly afterwards, striking his cheek away.
In a moment of stunned silence, he stared back at her while she, having realized what she had done, fearfully stared back.
Without a word, he picked up his things and left. He left, and didn't look back.
He jumped across that one meter distance as soon as he saw him leaving.
Never mind the fact that if he missed that jump he would've fallen down from the second-floor balcony, but gods be damned. He couldn't sit still after witnessing that.
He had tried to convince himself that she wasn't worth the torture he felt when he would watch her come home everyday with that basketball-playing upperclassman. Or the fact at how brightly she smiled, and it was only for him. Never for himself – he was simply just the neighbour's kid.
A younger brother.
All that hatred he felt for her was constantly at odds with the overwhelming feelings he cherished for her at the same time. And at that moment, those cherished feelings won over his spiteful hate.
He had never seen her cry until today.
Barely making the jump and almost slipping on the wooden floor in the process, he slammed open the sliding glass door and darted to her side. Throwing the covers off her bed, he snatched a thin blanket and wrapped it around her. She was trembling, and so was he, on the verge of crying himself.
"Sui... Sui I'm so sorry... Sui..."
He could only repeat in a gravelly voice as he tried not to show tears, but they fell anyway. She barely made a noise, only the silent tears that were slipping down her face as she buried herself into his arms, blanket and all.
And then she cried hard, for a long, long time.