Chapter Two

The sun is setting and Nastume still had no sighting of her. He was getting exhausted from all the walking and was getting really, really hungry. He stopped by a vending machine and took out real money from a wallet he kept. That wallet had been his since the academy brought both him and Ruka from the village. It was his dad's, a leather wallet that has a hole on one end and the pockets for the cards were detaching from oldness. In the photo socket, there is a picture of his mom holding a child that was probably him. She was smiling with her eyes closed and written on the back of it there was a handwriting of his dad saying "My treasures."

Whenever he got out to missions, very long missions that had him away for weeks, he made sure to have time for a part-time job. It was all part of his plan. Where Mikan is a very big part of. Now, Mikan isn't anywhere but far away from him. Very far away.

Natsume punched in for a bottle of warm water after slipping a bill. The machine rattled and an audible thump was heard. He bent down to retrieve the water and twisted the cap as he straightened his back. All throughout the day, his stomach was in knots. The last time he felt this uneasy was when... Natsume refused to remember. He took a long, tentative sip and found that the warm water pouring down his throat didn't relax him a bit. It just added more.

The sound of shoes tapping on the floor was heard. The person was running. It ran and ran and it was getting louder and louder until it stopped nearby. At the corner of his eye, he saw Ruka. He wore his tightly fit high school uniform with his necktie loose around his neck. His chest was heaving up and down fast. Why Ruka is here, Natsume doesn't know. But if Ruka's here, then he was either sent to get him back or he sneaked out (which was highly impossible.)(For Ruka, at least.)

Ruka must've been sent to get him.

Natsume suddenly felt worse. He felt queasy and it wasn't a good feeling. His hold on the bottle was loose and the dew forming on the outside of the plastic made it slip through his fingers. Or maybe he was so worried and shocked that it fell to the ground.

"I sneaked out." Ruka said. He must've seen the worry in Natsume's eyes, despite the unemotional facade he wears. Ruka neared and stood beside the bench left to the vending machine. "I can do that too, you know."

"How did you get here?" Natsume picked up the bottle that was nearly empty. There was a pool of warm water on the pavement. It caught the color of sunset, red and orange and yellow, that reminded him of fire. Reminded him of the fire he can make. Once, he showed Sakuno a small ball of fire quivering in his hands- She was so amazed that she tried to make one herself with matches. Sakuno...

If she still had her alice, whatever it was, then the Academy surely had her within the walls. During the time the three of them (Sakuno, Natsume and Ruka) were together, she never showed any sign of having an alice. Since Natsume showed her his alice, maybe the academy thought that she had one. If so, then maybe it was best to let her be.

"The bus..., it doesn't matter. What matters, Natsume, is that we have to get out of here. They're starting to suspect." he answered.

"Don't they always?"

"Yes, well, they're suspecting you now. It's only a matter of time that they discover that you're not inside. That we're not inside."

Natsume didn't say anything. He still hadn't seen Sakuno. At the back of his mind, he wonders how she turned out. If she has her hair long like she said she wanted, and if she keeps it in braids or in one high ponytail, or if she cut it short. If she got fat or stayed slim and thin, or if she had to pack herself a lunch. If she already had her firsts... If he didn't have an alice, he would be together with her and she would pack him lunch, too. If Ruka didn't have an alice, then Sakuno would pack three lunches and she'd have two men walking her to and from her home.

But those are if's. He'd love to sit back and soak under the shade of a big oak tree and doze off, thinking all about what would have been if he lived another life. But this is the life he got; He doesn't have time to think about all that. And he has to get away from here to protect her. Because if not, Sakuno will get their attention.

"Natsume..."

Natsume inwardly sighed and started walking. "I know. I get it. Let's just go." He didn't hear any response. He just walked and walked. The weird, uneasy sensation on the pit of his stomach lingers and he thinks that maybe it's because of hunger. But Natsume doesn't feel hungry anymore.

Natsume reluctantly passed the heavy wrought iron gates of the campus with Ruka on tow. The students were staring at them in wide astonishment. Naturally, he wouldn't care about the stares. Natsume glanced behind him and saw Ruka shyly shifting his eyes from left to right while embracing his pet rabbit tightly around his wide chest.

When he returned his gaze ahead of him, there he saw a female student leaning on the metal railing. The first thing Natsume noticed is her hair; dark brown locks tied in one loose braid resting behind her. The long fringe of hair on her forehead was swept to her right and a couple of stray hairs framing her oval face. Her big brown eyes was widely opened, as if surprised to see him. Then again, all the students were surprised to see him.

Natsume couldn't care less. He looked away and wondered what Sakuno looked like. In his whole search, he only based on the vague recollection of her hair style. And he remembers the color of her eyes, and her pink supple lips. He remembers how small her body is compared to his. He remembers all the small things but he can't quite make up a face for her. Her file wasn't updated and it also doesn't have a picture. There was nothing to confirm that a certain girl really is the Sakuno he is searching for. Of course, he could ask, but Natsume never thought about talking to any of the students.

Certainly an odd way to conduct a search.

Somehow, Natsume wished that Sakuno would look like the brown-haired girl leaning on the railing. The urge to look at the girl again was so strong, Natsume allowed himself to surreptitiously peer his eyes towards her. This time, the girl had her lips had a gentle curve upwards and her eyes equally gentle.

It took him almost a second to realize that she was smiling at him. Suddenly, he wasn't feeling nauseous . Instead, he felt an odd warmth on the pit of his stomach.

It would be a great relief, Natsume thought, if that girl is Sakuno.

Natsume hurried down the sidewalk, unexpectedly eager to get back inside the academy.

.

Ryoma is taking his sweet time changing back to his school uniform. More students descended for the building. The clock on her phone read 4:55 pm. Sylvia's closes down at five. Sakuno could only hope that Mari from Sylvia's happened to close down a bit later than planned.

Sakuno decided to send Tomoka a mail to kill time. Ryoma won't be but a while, anyway. He may be running to her now, as far as she's concerned.

"I think I found the guy you were talking about," she typed with the relatively small keypad of her brand new phone. "Does he have black hair or blonde?" She added. She hit the send button and slumped on the metal railing. It didn't take a single minute for Tomoka to give her reply.

"Yes! Where is he? Yes, the black haired guy. Where did you get the idea of blonde hair being close to black?" it read.

"They already left. There was blonde guy with him." Sakuno replied.

"Oh." was all Tomoka replied with. Seconds later, Tomoka added, "Is he handsome too?"

Sakuno recalled the way the blonde haired guy petted the cotton white hare with his big, soft-looking calloused hands. The way his eyes are shifting uneasily from all the stares with a little frown on his handsome face. "Very. What were they doing here anyway?"

"By 'here' you mean school? Did you get me a quick shot?"

"Yeah, the school. And I didn't take one; there's a lot of people watching."

"I'm not sure but they may be looking for someone. Slight, slight chance that they're looking for me."

"The slightest. Haha, but really, they were searching for someone?"

"Yeah. Why are you so curious about that all of a sudden? Shouldn't you be asking, like, would velvet or dark red would go for Kikumaru-senpai's hair?"

"I'm still by the school. Ryoma's still changing. I'll just go tomorrow morning."

"Dang."

"Here's me hoping Mari will close a bit late for reasons."

There wasn't a reply for two minutes. Maybe she's busy babysitting her importunate brothers. Sakuno tapped her leather shoe absentmindedly. Seconds later, there was a ticklish buzz on the palm of her hands. Tomoka had mailed her.

"So?" it read.

"So, what?"

"Why are you curious about them? You never give any other guy a second thought."

Yes, Sakuno wondered, why was she asking these things? Maybe because she doesn't have anything to do aside from waiting. Maybe she merely wanted to 'check out other guys' like Tomoka seldom did. Sakuno knew that those weren't the reasons. She's just curious, that's all.

The black haired guy flashed in her mind. He had his broad shoulders slumped and his hair tousled. His chiseled face down but not entirely hid his glum eyes from her. He was a sad figure. When he looked at her directly, she saw more than sadness. Looking at him is heartbreaking.

The second time she saw his eyes on her, she took an effort to smile for him. There, she found his features soften but he didn't smile.

So he's searching for someone. From what she heard, he was here since lunch break. The guy had searched for that someone since then and probably failed, given by his expression. Sakuno wouldn't want to share this to Tomoka. It'll be her little lamentable secret.

Her phone vibrated again. Tomoka was asking why.

"Sakuno." She heard an all familiar voice. Ryoma was standing in front of her, though a couple of steps away. He had his had slung on his broad shoulder. He's helping himself with a can of cold grape Ponta. "Did you wait long?"

"No." she answered. She straightened herself and walked to his side. "Let's go home."

"What about the shop you were talking about?"

She shook her head. "I could arrange that for tomorrow."

He stared at her. "It's closed now, is it?"

Sakuno didn't answer. He grabbed her hand and started walking. "I'll go with you tomorrow." he said.

"No, it's fine. I can manage."

"I'll go with you tomorrow." he said again, as if weighing every single word. She nodded an okay. After a while, he said "The locker room was locked. I had to go around to get a duplicate."

It took Sakuno a second to realize that Ryoma was explaining to her. She smiled and savored the feel of his hands on hers, trying not to make him realize that he's still holding her hand. "Okay. " she just said.

Before Ryoma called her name, she sent Tomoka a reply. "Nothing." Sakuno typed, "I just hope he'll find the person he's looking for."