The class ended, and Chihiro didn't waste a moment in packing her things to get the heck out of there and sign her name over to the alternative unit. She turned to Rin when they were in the hall outside the classroom, and the two girls spoke at once:

'He was so hot!'

'He was horrible!'

And they paused, looking wide eyed at each other exclaiming 'what?!' at the same time too, before they both laughed.

'No but seriously' Rin said, 'I didn't know such guys existed especially in a Bible College'

Chihiro sighed 'a shame that he does exist. He made me feel like a total criminal for just wanting to leave the class'

'I know why you wanted to leave' Rin said, as they made their way to the admin office. 'But surely if you get permission to stare at that guy for an hour every day and two hours every Wednesday without it being weird, does it really matter what he's saying?'

Chihiro laughed 'yes! It does matter, and I am about to sign off that class'

'Don't leave me alone!' Rin pleaded, but Chihiro was set. They reached the office, and old Tanaka was there as usual.

'How can I help, ladies?' He asked.

'I want to change from the Old Testament class to Philosophy please' Chihiro stated.

The old man opened up some files on the computer.

'I'm sorry, Ogino-san, but there are no slots left for the time you need in Philosophy. They are all taken.'

Chihiro looked at Rin, her heart sinking. Would she have to change around her entire schedule just to get out of it?

'C-can I please have a print off of the curriculum so I can change my timetable around?'

'Sure, just a minute' Tanaka clicked a few things and got up to retrieve the paper from the printer.

'Here you go'

'Thank you' Chihiro and Rin walked away to the lunch room. Most people sat there to eat but the two girls preferred to buy some packaged onigiri and go and eat it on the rock they frequented overlooking the ocean.

'Are you really going to change your entire schedule just because of this one unit Chi?'

'I'll try my hardest' Chihiro grimaced as they squeezed past many other students to get to the pre-packaged section of refrigerators.

'But you know you'll have to take this unit at some point to pass your entire course, right?'

Chihiro was hovering over the sushi.

'I know. But it's more imperative right now, because I cannot stand that guy' Chihiro picked up a bottle of water.

'Well I suggest you overcome your dislike and just complete the unit'

Both Rin and Chihiro looked behind them and up to meet the gaze of their new lecturer. He was even more beautiful up close, his long black hair was out and his bangs around his face, and yet the piercing pale green eyes seemed angry. Chihiro looked away at once, blushing.

'I - I didn't mean - '

'Oh it's okay, Ogino-san' the lecturer inclined his head to her 'we can't all like everyone.' Though his words seemed conciliatory, his tone belied such a motive; rather he sounded sarcastic.
'But I would put aside your dislike of me and focus on why you are here in the first place - to learn' the tall young man bowed slightly and moved away.

Chihiro looked with an angry dumb founded expression at the retreating back of her lecturer.
Why did he have to have been right behind her when she said those precise words, for God's sake? And why did she have to be almost half his height?

'Rin' Chihiro muttered through ground teeth to her friend as they picked food and moved off 'Please remind me of the first and foremost commandment, I am at great risk of completely forgetting it'

'He is so cool' was all Rin could say, and Chihiro scoffed.

She spent the entire break trying to desperately figure out a way to re arrange her entire time table, but to no avail.

'Curse that man!' Chihiro huffed, and Rin looked at her with a horrified expression.

'Chi-san, never say such things! All he did after all was make you read out Genesis!'

'Not just that' Chihiro defended 'he makes me feel like a stupid child every time he refers to me - and I've only been around him for an hour! What sort of mental damage will he wrought on me by the end of the term? Can you imagine?'

Rin laughed at her friends exaggerated distress.
'I'm sure things will settle down, you just need to get used to him! I think his strictness is good, too many of us think this place is all about a good time and relax too much, but really - what Nigihayami-sensei said is true - we are here to learn'

Chihiro's shoulders slumped as she finished her food.
'I know' she said in a small voice. 'I just don't want to go back in to the topic at all, and he just makes the experience worse. I don't know what it is, but he exacerbates something inside me. Plus, I agree; he is good looking, and I just can't be myself around those types.' She blushed at the admission.

Rin looked curiously at her friend.
'Well at least your eye sight is in good condition. I'm sure its a universal fact that he is a pretty boy, if you didn't notice all the eyes turned his way in the cafeteria when he spoke to you'

'No, I was too busy feeling mortified' Chihiro mumbled.

Rin giggled, as she looked through her diary.

'Oh, Chi!'

'Mm?'

'We have an outdoor session tomorrow - an excursion to study the shrines and temples around Okinawa!'

'What class?' Chihiro asked.

'Old Testament' Rin glanced at her friend and saw Chihiro cover her eyes with her hand.

'Two hours, with him, talking about gods. Wonderful'

That night, Chihiro was utterly exhausted, which was strange as she hadn't done too much that day.
Yet her mind felt very heavy, and her heart even more so. She could not account for it, and when she lay down in her dorm bed, she couldn't wait for sleep to take her. However, even long after Rin fell asleep underneath her on their bunk bed, rest evaded her.
She was still staring out of the window at the milky rays of the moon light illuminating the trees and shadows outside when the clock struck 1; then 3, then 4.
Why was she so restless, and why did tears stream down her face? Nothing came to her but anxious flitting thoughts of home and family, the old days when she was a younger going through school.
She even wondered unbidden again where her purple hair band had gone, but any answers to her depression and longing did not come.
Finding sleep utterly useless, she climbed out of bed very quietly so she didn't disturb her friend.

The cool breeze of the night blew through the window, disturbing the curtains. She parted them and leaned out, taking a deep breath of the cooler air. It was a lovely relief to the humidity of the day time.
She put on a jacket over her pyjamas, and slipped on some shoes, taking care to close the creaky door very softly behind her.

Nothing but gazing at the ocean would calm her now. Making her way down the hall, she exited the dormitory and stepped on to the crisp green grass of the lawn bordering their housing.

Already she felt a little better, and she softly passed the court yard area, past the deserted main hall and down the track to the rock.
It was eerily changed at this hour, when the darkness blanketed the gorgeous tropical forest around her, and the sounds of night birds filled the air as well as many loud insects.
Yet Okinawa was not a top tourist destination for no reason; as the almost full moon illuminated an alabaster path across the ocean from the horizon to the shore, the dark shapes of other islands in between. Thankfully the moon shed enough light for her to watch her immediate footing.

Chihiro sat down and didn't care that the rock was slightly wet from sea spray.
She could taste it in her mouth, and to her it was the flavour of freedom and mystery. What lay beneath those ocean depths intrigued her, and she could stare at the ever changing face of the sea forever, imagining the nature of things that might creep beneath.
The wind was surprisingly chilly, and she was glad her jacket kept her a bit warm.
Chihiro could feel the heaviness of sleep behind her eyes, yet she knew she wouldn't fall asleep even with such exhaustion. She had a sudden wish to see her father, and feel his arms around her. Despite their differences, he was a gentle man, and Chihiro did love him deeply. He had a way about him that comforted her when he gave her a hug.
More tears fell from her eyes, and she wiped irritably at them with her jacket sleeve. Why could she not stop crying? It wasn't her time of the month, because that had already come and gone a few days ago. Maybe it was the oncoming of the full moon that made her so emotional.

Suddenly, the vision of green eyes slanting her way shocked within her mind. What on earth was that? The eyes of that new lecturer - for what reason? She felt heat in her cheeks, and softly slapped them to try and get rid of the emotion that came with the blush.

She did not like the way he made her feel in so short a time - it was dangerous, and the last thing she wanted was to feel attracted to such an ambiguous man. She hadn't dated in school, as she didn't feel any attraction to anyone. Not that anyone would've asked her out, anyway, she thought ironically. But Chihiro knew she could not like this man - something seemed very 'off' about him, and his very presence disturbed her.

She thought she heard a slight movement in the nearby bushes, but dismissed it as the wind. The sky was beginning to lighten to a deep navy hue, and the sound of the waves lulled her. It was strange, yet comforting, that no matter what turmoil she felt within her, the wind and waves would always stay the same.
The sky would always be blue, and the trees would always be green. Green, just like the eyes that now gazed down at her - what?

'Don't move!' Her lecturer hissed at Chihiro under his breath.

Chihiro's heart begun racing uncomfortably quickly, so that it was almost painful. What - why was he here? But she had hardly time to think for she followed his gaze, and saw a dark form slithering towards her with its head raised.
Hell, it was a snake, and she feared snakes more than spiders.
Chihiro couldn't help but to let out a shocked scream and scramble to her feet to run; but she ran in to the tall figure beside her as he caught her in his hands. In a flash, Chihiro could not believe what she was seeing with her eyes, but the snake was flung backwards with no apparent force applied, so that it dropped off the side of the rock and down.
She saw Nigihayami's hand drop to his side.

'What are you doing out here at this time?' He asked, grasping her shoulders with his long fingers, staring down in to her eyes, his brows drawn together angrily.

Chihiro went wide eyed with fear and utter shock, which overrode her exhausted mind. How had this happened, all so quickly? She had been sitting alone and peacefully just two seconds ago, and now she was facing those cold, ice green eyes. Yet her heart pounded in her chest, and all she wanted to do was cry, or run; perhaps both.

'I - I couldn't sleep' was all she could say, her usual spirit bereft of any retort. Her brown eyes held a deer in the head lights expression, like a caught rabbit.

'It is dangerous to be out here alone' he still held her shoulders, and Chihiro winced.

'P-please, sir - '

Her lecturer released her with a sudden movement, but still stared at her as she clung her jacket closer around her, and pushed her hair our of her eyes. The wind blew his long dark hair against her face. He smelt of something, strangely familiar - like sweet mountain water - .

'H-how did you move that s-snake?' She was shivering, not from cold, but from fright and fatigue.

He didn't answer her, but said:

'Go back to your room. You need to be awake again in two hours.'

'O-h, yes - don't worry, I can catch up on my morning class if I sleep through it' Chihiro knew she had to leave, she did not want to talk to him. It was the tiredness that was loosening her tongue to this very enigmatic and unpredictable stranger.

'That attitude will ensure your failure' he remarked with a taciturn tone 'why are you studying the Word of God if you seem so contemptuous of it'

Chihiro had enough spirit left in her to retaliate to this.

'Attitude? You were the one who broke in on my solitude here - and how dare you say I treat the Word with contempt! How dare you - ! Sir, I don't care that you are my teacher, when you are standing out here with me at 5 in the morning and no one else around - lecturing me, still! Why are you here? Why are you awake? And you still didn't answer how you even moved that cursed snake! I can ask all the same questions of you!'

Chihiro's large dark eyes sparked with passion, her chest rising and falling quickly, and she did not hold back from meeting his forbidding snake like gaze.
There seemed to be a shadow of emotion that crossed his fine featured face, illuminated by the moon, but she did not care what it was. She could've sworn he was actually glowing slightly.

'I do not sleep' he answered shortly, his eyes seeming to change to a slate grey like the ocean under the lightening sky.
She noticed he was wearing a dark hoodie.

Chihiro openly scoffed. 'Everyone needs to sleep to survive'

She saw that he moved forward slightly, and looked as though he was going to say something.
Instead, he raised a hand, and tipped her chin with his forefinger and thumb, seeming to look very deeply in to her eyes with a powerful expression. This was the last thing Chihiro was expecting, and she gasped as her face blazed up, staring wide eyed for a moment in to his penetrating gaze. It was as though he was searching for something, or looking for an answer to an unspoken question, but his expression was too much for her to meet.

Chihiro had no will or fortitude left for this, and again this man's entire aura greatly disturbed her, and made her heart race excruciatingly.
Now he was touching her face so gently and looking so deeply in her eyes, a sudden burning lump formed in her throat, and she felt as though her mind was being stripped bare; great tears welled in the small girl's wide dark gaze, and she slapped away his hand, turning, and running as fast from him as possible.

The wind whipped up suddenly and the teacher looked after Chihiro till she disappeared, his hand still held up. Slowly, he brought his finger tips to his lips, and gently kissed them, a paroxysm of pain passing across his pale face.