Chapter IV: Seclusion
Kaze quietly approached the table where the group is sat. He had known them for quite a while and considers them as friends. He mentally recalled the names he had been introduced to noting each one's presence. He knows everyone in this group.
Except one.
Is she 'one of them'? He should have been told or he would find out nevertheless.
"Kaze. Had your lunch yet? You can join us!" Hazel gladly invited.
"I'm fine. Thanks.", he answers in monotone.
His line of vision passes to the girl seated between Hazel and Colleen who seems to notice his presence but appears to pay no attention. He then looks at Hikaru who seems to be reading his mental inquiry but his expression is not one to fill his question. He only nodded at him in acknowledgement.
"I'll see you later.", he says referring to the meeting that Hikaru called for after their classes.
He subtly waves a hand and as he turns his back, he peers down at the blonde girl in his peripheral view. He pressed his lips in a firm line and lightly narrowed his eyes and momentarily waited.
There was nothing.
He begins to walk away hearing Colleen bidding him goodbye followed by her babbling in the background. His sharp hearing caught a bit of her chatters one in which she summons the attention of someone in the table she called 'Maiden'.
****A.X.****
"Maiden-'ne-sama!", Colleen gushes out as Kaze makes his leave. "Is it okay if I call you that?" she asks somewhat shyly.
Maiden was slightly taken aback and hesitated a bit at the address. Colleen giggled lightly and she finds herself not wanting to turn her down as her adorable charm somehow gets to her.
"As you like..." she says much to Colleen's cheery applause. She feels her cheek warming that she returned to her food. Her eyes darted to Hikaru who she can tell had been watching the exchange. She quickly averted her gaze before he catches her looking.
After their lunch, the group walked back to the classroom and Colleen parted with them in a pathway leading to the middle school department.
From his place behind a pillar between his and the group's classroom, Kaze was silently watching them approach. He'd been waiting for Hikaru to pass a reliable distance to silently pass a message.
Just then, the blonde girl that Colleen referred to as Maiden turned to a corner. Her lips read like she's heading to the comfort room telling the others to proceed to the classroom. As soon as she turns away, Reinjenna spots him and the bespectacled girl turned to Hazel and Traxor wallking them with her to the room. He gives her that—always quick in reading the atmosphere and for that, he is thankful. Hikaru, whose back is on him, stayed rooted in his place and he took this as the best time to approach and relay his message.
As soon as he takes a step, pushing himself off from the wall he'd been leaning to, Hikaru also takes his.
Away from where he stood and to the direction of the comfort room.
What?
****A.X.***
Hikaru is never someone who gets curious over something or someone to the point he will have to stalk after just to fill his uneasiness. He is not sure why but somehow, he thought of taking this chance to relieve him of his worry. But then again, he's never been the one who worries this much if it was not Colleen or a family. He just needed to make sure she is alright maybe because he partly takes the blame to yesterday's mishap and that one way or another; they will eventually be taking responsibility of all the matters related to the quest of gathering all the guardians.
Including collateral effects to those outside the group that is.
He stopped by and leaned against the wall near the exit of the men's room beside the one for the ladies and waited. Toilet flushes, running water from the tap and hand dryer turned on and off faintly resounds in the background. For every tapping sounds of footsteps on the floor, he would subtly turn his head or simply sight from the corner of his eye. A couple more of people passes by and he didn't miss the some of the girls would throw him glances here and there or whisper something under their breathes and giggle to themselves.
He is suddenly beginning to feel uneasy about waiting for Maiden along the corridors that he took out his phone to distract himself and to somehow pretend to be into something. He has been staring at the device for quite a while when he hears silent footsteps from the girls' room. His eyes are immediately on hers and she is looking at him with a confused expression.
He continued to look back at her with a gaze he didn't realize becoming impassive even until he speaks.
"Your arm." he says, tucking back his phone in his pocket.
Her expression turned apprehensive for a little while before she reverted to her nonchalance or so she seems to try.
"W-What?"
"You're hurt."
He approaches as if wanting to prove his point but she takes a step back.
"It's nothing I can't manage."
"It's nothing you should manage."
He had caught her off guard and she tries to guise that by glaring at him not sure what to say.
He sighs. She sure is quite stubborn.
"I'll take you to the clinic. You need some cold press or something."
"N-No need.", she replies weakly as she starts walking away from him. She's growing anxious by the minute.
"Maiden."
At the sound of her name said in a soft plea, she stopped in her tracks.
He takes a step around her and lightly grabbed her good arm beckoning her to walk with him.
"...!" her sounds of protest hitched in her throat. She tries to pull her arm from his grip as they are approaching the corner going to the main hall where most students are.
"Hikaru...let go. You don't need to drag me there, okay?"
He stopped walking so did she and he looked at her with an expression she couldn't fathom. His lips are pressed in a firm line and his sharp eyes borders between impatience and something she couldn't put her finger on.
He did as he was told still not breaking eye contact. He also held his arm out gesturing to the hallway to the direction of the clinic.
She rolled her eyes and walked ahead of him.
"You don't have to follow me too.", she says looking over her shoulder narrowing her eyes.
His expression stays impassive eyes trained on her. He half suspects she's been plotting an escape to this.
Who knows?
He read her lips' silent huff of annoyance as she turns back to the path
heading to the clinic.
"We're going to be late, you know...?", she continued looking ahead of her hoping to buy herself out of it.
"I know.", he pauses waiting for her reaction. And even with her back on him, he could see how annoyed and restless she is. He's not sure whether it's a good idea to engage her to this. Part of him no longer wanted to if not only because that part of him, a seemingly selfish part of him, who wanted to keep her close to himself if only for as little as thirty minutes or of what's left until their next teacher arrives. But then he knows the teacher will not yet arrive so that the other part of him, the one who's playing the class president role, can have duties to accomplish.
"The next period teacher will be arriving late. It should be fine.", he answers offhandedly relieved that he is, at least, telling a truth. He takes bigger stride to catch up and walk alongside with her.
"Did the teacher tell you so? When?", she admonished.
"Phone.", he bit out peering down at her subtle pouting and annoyance.
So adorable. His mind says before he could even stop himself.
They walked in silence until they turned to a corner and found the school clinic. It was one of the quietest places in school as it is when they arrived and it's more relieving that there is hardly anyone around who could see them.
Hikaru knocks twice and turned the knob. He then turned to look at Maiden who only furrowed her brows marginally but gave in nonetheless and walked on in to the door he held open for her.
"Oh, hi there!"
Two pairs of eyes turned at the direction of the voice of the nurse whose head peeks from behind a drape concealing their view of a patient at her attendance.
They hear her mutter instructions to whoever is currently in her care as she stands up to meet them.
She is an averaged height young woman with black hair tied in a neat pony tail wearing light blue scrubs. Her grayish eyes are framed with long lashes slight reduces to slits as she smiles at them.
"You were the students from yesterday.", she says looking at both of them. "What brings you here?", her eyes rested on Maiden who in turn looked at her with apprehensive eyes.
"Please have her arm checked.", was Hikaru's straightforward answer.
" Alright...?", the nurse beamed at Maiden as she approached her. "May I see? Can I take off your coat?", she says.
Maiden felt a little embarrased about the idea with Hikaru on the watch.
"Wha- here?", a blush crept on her cheek and she looked away.
"Come on it's fine.", she comes closer and murmured something to Maiden's ear. "You don't need to be shy in front of your boyfriend."
Maiden's eyes widened at her words.
"No...!"
There was a moment of silence as Hikaru watches them with eyebrows raised in confusion.
"I...it's not like that!", Maiden continues in her panicked state thankful that Hikaru didn't hear what the nurse have said.
The nurse only smiled as she continued to work to unbutton the sleeves of her coat. The next thing she knew is that the material is already being pushed off shoulders.
Out of the corner of her eye, he saw Hikaru abruptly turned away. For that, she is thankful.
He only looked back at them again as the nurse spoke once more.
"I think you sprained your elbow too.", she says furrowing her brows as she finished folding the long sleeves of her shirt. She then beckoned her to look to the mirror to their side as to give her a thorough look of her bad arm.
Maiden realized it wasn't just some bruise.
Hikaru approached them to see her injury and his brows furrowed as he did.
"Wait here. I'll get my supplies.", says the nurse as she disappears behind a partition to get some ice compress and her medical kit.
"Why you didn't tell about this yesterday?", he asks her as soon as the nurse is away.
Maiden could only look away from him at his display of worry. Her eyes fell back to the reflection of her arm in the mirror and to them both. She suddenly realizes they are standing so closely together that she promptly steps back to regain her personal space.
"It wasn't hurting that much yesterday."
"...But it is... earlier..."
"I thought...it'll just go away.", she answers back looking at him finally.
Hikaru sighs. He has never met someone this stubborn and she never seems to want to depend on others. He was used to people who do what he says, accepts his offer of help and agrees on what he may advice. She probably has a high tolerance for pain but that's beside the point.
The nurse came back with her medical kit ready in time for two knocks in the door and a few people entered the clinic. A young boy, a first year student, judging by the color of his tie, came to view sporting a gash in his left arm.
"Oh...", she gasps but was suddenly reminded of Hikaru and Maiden's prescence that she turned to them apologetic.
Realizing the inconvenience, Maiden sees this as an opening to get away with them and the situation.
"Actually, I'm fi-"
She was cut off when Hikaru spoke.
"It's fine. I'll do it. ", he says calmly taking the medical kit.
"I'm so sorry... You two sit here.", the nurse says pointing to the infirmary bed. She then pulled the drape hanging in the rods above the bed to at least separate them from rest of the people in the clinic.
She rushed off to the students walked them towards the sink in the opposite direction of the room.
As soon as the nurse left them, Hikaru turns to Maiden who in turn looked away from him to the bed with crisp off-white sheets.
"Sit there.", she hears him say followed by the sound of a stool seat being pulled.
She did as she was told as he sat himself to a chair across her fully aware of her discomfort but never lets his facade give him away.
Because deep down, he is also fighting his nerves he mentally heaved a determined sigh.
He brought out the cold compress and beckoned her to stretch her bad arm out.
She did, wordlessly, albeit reluctantly but his movements are assuring and he surprises her with his measured skill in handling the medical kit. He seems pretty knowledgeable with use of everything in the nurse's medical supply pack. Her eyes went back and forth between him and her arm. The palm of his hand lightly brushed the underside of her elbow as he reaches for a packet of wet wipes. She stiffened a little more her eyebrow raised as if casting an unspoken query.
"Does it hurt?", he asks immediately taking her reaction as flinching.
"N-No.",she responds hating herself from her obvious stammering.
It was now his turn to cast him a questioning look and he did but his expression slowly softens.
"No. It's okay.", she dismissed.
Maiden couldn't fathom what kinds of chores he does that makes his palm and fingers a little rough and calloused. He doesn't strike her as someone who needs to work himself hard- at least not often, for him to bear such flaws. But then, she couldn't bring herself to ask.
He just continued working wiping the area around her elbow with the wet material and pat drying it ever carefully not wanting to illicit another pained reaction from her. He lets her arm lax for a while as he picks up a bottle of ointment and a spatula. He latters her elbow with the minty gel-like substance spread evenly in the swelling skin.
He again lets her relax her arm as he retrieves a roll of bandage. This time, she extended her arm willingly and he took that as a cue that she's more than eager to get this over and done as quickly as possible.
After securing the bandage around her arm, he finally lets her arm rest lingering in it quite longer.
"I hope it isn't too tight.", he says, eyes meeting hers.
"It's not.", she replies quickly still feeling awkward at his display of concern as well as his proximity.
"Good then.", he smiles a little as he gathers the remains of the bandages and all the other medical supplies he used and placing them neatly back inside the box.
She just watched him and when he left to return the supplies to the nurse while she carefully unfold the sleeves of her blouse. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices her blazer hanging at the back of the chair near the little ward she's enclosed in. She stood up to walk towards it and pick it up when someone else's hand snatched the clothing quickly.
She looked up and quickly, Hikaru walked around her holding her coat by the neckline and shoulders.
"No need..I can-"
He suddenly slipped the coat to the injured arm first quickly but carefully and this caught her off guard once more that her good arm laxed to her side has also slipped into the armhole.
He drew up the piece of clothing to her shoulders all the while careful not to make any skin contact and swiftly walked past her. He made a half turn to look back at her with an impassive look in his face.
Her brows drew together sending him a sharp glare as her hands ball into a fist.
"Would you please stop prying too much?!", she uttered but as soon as she did, she regretted saying so.
It was now Hikaru's turn to get caught off guard though his surprised look slowly turns soft and back to being impassive at her display of annoyance. She seems alright about receiving help earlier but then he realized he probably shouldn't have become too concern to overdo his gestures.
"It's my job as the president to take care of my classmates.", he said offhandedly still confused of her mood change but tries to hide it.
He turns to the direction of the exit door and as the nurse meets him halfway, he nodded and smiled.
"Thank you.", he says.
He again turned to look at Maiden.
"We're going to be late."
With heavy feet, Maiden followed. She bowed lightly at the beaming nurse in passing and walked outside the clinic.
She maintained a good two-meter distance scowling behind him as he walks ahead. But then, deep inside, she feels a knawing guilt for the way she reacted.
He was nothing but kind and caring.
Only, she's not used to a stranger's act of kindness. No one besides her family and Forg, her childhood and only close friend has ever looked after her.
Or her annoyance of him from their yesterday's encounters is still rubbing onto her.
Or she gets too restless at his presence to the point that she's blowing off her normal demeanor everytime.
But why...?
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and half-turned to her. Puzzled at his stance she mouthed a muffled inquiry but he beat her to it.
"I kind of felt this has happened before.", he says with an expression of someone telling a fond memory and as if she hadn't been unkind to him earlier.
He realized late he shouldn't be mouthing cryptic remarks to anyone but he couldn't help himself. She will forget about this conversation later on anyway.
She will forget about him too.
"You're weird.", she huffed guising her release of breath she realized she's holding in anticipation of his comeback at her off behavior. She has no qualms of saying so even if she'd been plagued with guilt earlier because it is her and she says blunt things that put people off. But then, Hikaru never seems to get affected by any of it, if that is not weird enough.
She crossed her arms and walked past him. The air seems to get a little heavy with him around, she felt the need to get away and not talk to him for the rest of the day.
Talk about awkwardness.
"Yeah, maybe ...", he replies, his voice a faint sound behind her. She fought an urge to turn back to him but something in the way he sounded caught her off guard.
De ja vû. They call it. That familiar sensation he was talking about and she could not believe she's feeling it too. Not that she would admit it.
"We're going to be late!", she snapped to him not realizing she has echoed his off handed dialogue earlier.
Keiko approached pillar where the dark-haired young man stood waiting patiently.
"Hikaru will be here in a while." Keiko informed and she halted and leaned her weight by the window overlooking the schoolgrounds.
"Hn.", he simply grunted.
"Something is bothering you.", it's a statement rather than a question but Kaze agreed internally.
"That girl with Hikaru earlier."
"Huh? Who?", she pondered on and quickly realized his message. She knew what the members are up to all the time and who they get in touch with during the day. She suddenly remembers a particular blonde who Hikaru accompanied to the clinic after the lunch time.
"Ahh..Maiden!", she beamed. "What about her?"
Kaze looked ahead to the red-orange sun retreating in the afternoon sky. He watches a group of birds flying altogether a in 'V' formation turning to an invisible curve. One of the birds slightly detached from the tailing end as they move about it seems to dwindle and fall off the formation.
"She is nothing like anyone in this world." Kaze firmly responded. He saw Keiko's eyes visibly widened. He slowly faces her as he speaks. "Moreover, she is nothing like anyone in all the other worlds."
***end of Chapter 4***