Author's note – So, this is the first long story I'm actually following up on. W00t! Also, it should be noted that this chapter takes place a couple of days later, so Lee now knows everyone in his class.
READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE!!!
Daughter of ether – Thanks for reviewing!!! I hope you'll stick with my story, even though I will be the first to admit that I'm a novice at extended plots. I still need practice at setting things up.
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The sun was just peeking out from the horizon, casting dark red and purple shadows over the skies above Mahora campus. No one had a reason to be outside at this ungodly hour, not even the birds.
Yet, someone was.
A lone figure stood in the upper branches of the world tree, regarding the new day with a grim face. Leaping down, the figure landed silently as a cat. He walked around the trunk until he stood in its shadow. Placing a hand on the trunk, he frowned.
"Here too, huh? Well, there's no definite evidence yet…"
Taking his hand away, the figure turned and strolled briskly away.
ElsewhereZazie was having a nightmare.
It was a familiar dream, one she was used to, except a little more vivid than before. As usual, she dreamed she was a small child, running in darkness, searching, for what she couldn't tell.
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
Somehow, inexplicably, the darkness became even darker. It grew, and grew, and grew, until it filled her entire field of vision.
It was darkness so dark that it could suck up the light.
Looking at it filled her with a nameless fear. Tears welled up in her eyes, as she slowly backed away, even as the darkness grew closer.
Her breath was coming fast now, her tears flowing freely. She finally turned to run, a scream ripping form her thro-
"Zazie!"
Zazie opened her eyes to find Mana leaning over her, her hands on her shoulders. She looked very concerned. "Was it the same dream again?"
Zazie rubbed leftover tears from her eyes and looked away. "Yes. Except worse."
Mana's face fell a little. "Oh, Zazie…"
Getting out of bed, Zazie walked over and opened the window, allowing her bird to come down and land on her shoulder.
Somehow, in an intangible way, she shook herself free of the last of the memories of the nightmare. Turning to look at Mana with serene yellow eyes, she let a small smile grace her features as she rubbed a finger on her bird's head.
"I'm all right. It's ok."
Not entirely reassured, but willing to trust her friend's judgement, Mana went to go change to get ready for school.
Zazie turned back to look out the window for a moment. A cloud crossed the face of the sun for a moment, casting a shadow over her face. For a split second, her eyes looked slightly worried.
But as the cloud passed, so did the look. Closing the window, Zazie went to go take a shower.
Lee's POVAs Lee walked into the classroom, he sighed in relief that he wasn't late. Rubbing his eyes with the sleeve of his school uniform, he found his seat and sat down, dropping his bag beside his chair. Leaning back, he closed his eyes and relaxed. Idly he caught a few words of a conversation being held behind him.
"…I didn't sleep very good, because I was woken by a nightmare…"
"Really? I had one too…"
"Strange. Usually you guys sleep like the dead!"
Turning around, Lee saw Makie, Akira, and Ako laughing at Akira's comment. Trying to make it seem like passing interest, he approached them.
"A nightmare? What was it like?
Makie turned to look at him. "Oh, hi Lee!"
The other two turned to regard him as well. As if by some unknown signal, all three burst into giggles. Trying to school his patience, he asked again. "Makie, you mentioned you had a nightmare. What was it like?"
Still giggling, Makie said, "Well, now that you mention it," her eyes lost focus for a second, "I can't remember…"
Lee turned to Ako. "What about you? The same?"
"Yeah, I never remember my dreams."
Sigh. "Thanks very much, I'm sorry for disturbing you."
Negi walked in, commanding silence from the class. "Would everybody please take your seats and open up to page 131 in your textbooks."
Sighing, Lee went back to his seat and took out his books.
Looks like another long day…After School, Lee got on the train to get back to the dorms. Sitting down, he dropped his books by his seat and turned to look out the window. Idly he wondered about the strange behavior of his classmates over the past few days. It seemed like every time he walked past a group of girls, it was a rule for them to break out in giggles as they snuck glances at him. He just couldn't understand it.
Once he got back to the dorms, he changed into his street clothes and went to go take a walk. He made his way to the world tree, a place that for some reason comforted him. Placing a hand on the trunk, he wondered how long the monolithic thing had stood there. Then, looking around for anyone watching, he leaped straight up into the lower branches of the tree. Settling himself into a niche in the tree, well hidden, he settled down and closed his eyes, letting his mind wander.
He thought about his classes, which weren't too hard, just boring sometimes. He thought about the new friends he was making at school, like Asuna, Konoka and Setsuna. His mind eventually wandered back to the incident a week before, where he had made such a fool out himself in front of Zazie. He hadn't spoken to her or her friend since. Heck, he barely even looked at her anymore. She probably thought he was an idiot anyway…
His mind wandered to the realm of slumber and Lee drifted off into an impromptu nap.
Zazie's POV
After class, Zazie went back to the dorms and dropped off her books. Then, grabbing some change, she went to go to the store to buy some birdseed.
The manager of the store let a huge smile spread across his face when he saw her coming. "Good Afternoon, Zazie-chan! How may I help you today?"
Zazie smiled a small smile, for the manager always said that exact same thing everytime she came. She approached the counter and laid some coins on the table. "Just some birdseed, please."
"Again, Zazie-chan? You go through the stuff almost as fast as I can stock it!" Retreating to the back of his shop, he clattered about for a minute and came back with a 2-pound bag of seed and another half-pound bag of seed. "The usual, I suppose?"
"Yes, thank you." Grabbing the seed, Zazie took her change and left the store.
The manager watched her go for a second, a smile on his face as he watched the diminutive figure walk off. Then he turned his attention to his next customer. "Ah, yes, how may I help you?"
Zazie walked away from the store towards the world tree plaza. Slipping the half-pound bag into her jacket pocket, she opened up the two-pound bag upon reaching the tree and sat down on a bench nearby. Then she looked up and waited expectantly.
Not long after she got there, birds of all sizes began to alight on her shoulders, her head, or the ground around her. Smiling a little, she took some birdseed and threw it out to the birds, and let some eat from her hand as well. The birds flocked all over her, getting at the seed any way they could. Zazie giggled at some of their antics. Soon enough though, the seed was all gone.
Speaking softly, Zazie whispered, "Sorry, I don't have any more. I'll come again tomorrow." The birds strutted around for a while longer, and then one by one they took flight. Zazie watched them fly away until the only remaining bird was the one that habitually sat on her shoulder. Sighing, she turned away when something caught her eye.
Turning around, she saw a rustling in the lower branches of the world tree. (Given, of course, that this is a huge tree so even the lower branches are 20-30 feet off the ground). Moving closer, she looked harder. The closer she got, the more the branches rustled until suddenly, a short yelp sounded from the branches, followed by a form plummeting from the lower branches to crash into a heap at her feet.
Lee's POV
The sound of footsteps woke Lee from his nap. He cursed himself for falling asleep, and then turned to see who made the sound. Looking through a gap in the branches, he saw Zazie, with a bag in her arms. Looking harder, he saw tons of birds suddenly swarm her.
Becoming alarmed, he almost went down to help her until he saw she was smiling. He watched quietly as she started passing birdseed around, until all the birds had had some and the bag was empty. Sitting there, watching Zazie watch the birds, he got that queer feeling in his chest again.
Man is she cute…and such a nice person…
She started walking off when Lee's foot slipped.
Crap!
Trying to regain his balance, he noticed her turn her head his direction and start walking towards the tree.
Oh, please, no, go away, nothing here…
But his struggle was in vain. His other foot slipped off as well, and he couldn't react fast enough to grab another branch. With a sharp yell, he plummeted down to crash at her feet.
Dazed, he shook his head and managed to focus long enough to see her emotionless eyes looking at him. After a long pause, and without saying a word, she turned and walked off.
Damn.
Regaining his balance, he shakily walked back towards the dorms.
Man, is there some kind of jinx on me around her?
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Second chapter in record time!!! I put some more romance set-up stuff without meaning to, I meant to take more time to develop, but I couldn't help it. . Oh well.
Review, please!!!