.Chapter Two.
She knew that he would still be there. A small part of her heart still couldn't accept it. He drew an invisible arrow and released it, but all she saw was air.
"Maede-san, is this really necessary?"
"I should be asking you that. Besides, I'm surprised you noticed me. You didn't Monday morning. Grown more acute, have you?" He turned around, his breathing haggard and labored. She could tell that every limb in his body was exhausted, but his sapphire eyes retained the same fierce intensity.
Before either of them knew what happened, her palm smacked across his left cheek—hard. The impact still rang in her ears. "What's wrong with you? Not even calling into the school to say you were going to be absent. Not bothering to make up work. Even abandoning your handicrafts club after school. Doesn't your family care? It's your decision whether you skip school or not, but have you considered how your attitude will make others feel? It seems like I've misjudged you, Ishida-kun. I suppose your future doesn't matter to you at all."
A lump formed in her throat, and now she was fighting back tears.
He stared icily, his eyes betraying a glint of guilt and irritation. "That's enough. You know nothing about me. Stop pretending that you do."
"Don't think that I'm that naïve! It's got something to do with the disappearance of Kuchiki Rukia, doesn't it?" When he appeared visibly alarmed, she knew she was right. "From the beginning, I never trusted her. She had no formal documents, no family references. I don't understand how she was accepted into the school. It's like she bewitched the teachers or something." She bit her lip, her gaze wavering. "You probably think I'm some lunatic, but she's definitely not human. There's... something special about you too."
"Not at all. You've got some amazing intuition," he said, his expression unreadable. "Maede-san, do you believe in spirits?"
"Spirits?" she repeated quizzically. A vein popped in her forehead. "I'm trying to be serious here! Stop trying to change the subject." To her surprise, he smiled.
"So you've just come here to lecture me?"
She ignored the hasty, irritated remark. "Have you had dinner yet?" She didn't wait for a response. Digging into her backpack, she threw him a lunchbox. He caught it easily, but he didn't look at it.
"I don't need your sympathy," he said bitterly.
"It's not my sympathy, it's my thanks. For Monday morning," Miwa corrected, grabbing one for herself. He glanced down at the prepared lunchbox, contemplating.
"I see. But I'm not hungry." His stomach rumbled noisily, enough to rival the roar of the waterfall, and he turned slightly pink.
Miwa was starting to lose her patience. There was a fine line between pride and insolence, and this guy was toying with it.
"Just eat it, please. For me." His gaze softened as she sat across from him, throwing him chopsticks. He sat down, opening it reluctantly. The food was a little smushed from the ride in her backpack, but it looked just as delectable.
"Itadakimasu!" She chanted, and chopped on the first bite. She was relieved when he greedily devoured his lunch, while she barely finished half of it. Seeing his ravenousness, she wondered when his last decent meal was.
"I'm sorry if the food's not the best. I tried, but... I've still got a lot to learn," she said, flustered.
"No, it's really good. I suppose I owe you, don't I?" She realized that he was staring at the bandage on her left hand, because she had almost cut off her hand the night before when she was chopping vegetables. Laughing nervously, she hid it behind her back.
"Not at all," she blushed. "Besides, as class president, I've really come to give you all the classwork and homework you missed. You're not going to be here next Monday either, will you?" He looked down and closed the lunchbox.
"No, and neither will Ichigo-san, Orihime-san and Yasutora-san," he answered. "I'm sorry that it's not the answer you wanted to hear."
"Humph, well, you better have it finished by the first day you come back, or I'll remove you from my class," she warned.
"You have that much control over the teachers, huh? Scary," he teased. "Well then, if that's all—"
"You're really eager to get rid of me, huh?" She sighed. "You really think I'll let you carry your homework with your hands in that condition?" She pointed to his bandages.
His eyebrows twitching, he started, "I'm perfectly capable—"
"Don't even think about it. I have my pride, you know," she smiled. "I trust you know your way home?"
"You're coming with me?" He blinked in surprise.
"Look, I know it's none of my business and all, but really—"
"You don't understand," he looked away. "I don't want to get you involved."
"If I were you, I would worry about yourself," she paused, surprised that he would actually show concern for her.
"It's a long walk from here," he interjected, still trying to dissuade her.
"Come on, you owe me, don't you? I'm coming with you and that's final." For a few seconds, they stared at each other, not backing down.
"...Very well," he relented. She smiled victoriously, but still a little guilty about her selfishness. She was surprised when he started to pick up her backpack, but she quickly snatched it.
"I'm not letting an injured man like you carry this," she fought defensively.
"I was just trying to put the lunchbox back in," he smiled.
"Oh," she flushed.
It was indeed a long walk, but Miwa enjoyed every second of it. Simply being close to his presence was... thrilling, somehow.
"I'm a little concerned, you know. Whatever you were training for... I hope you know what you're doing," she piped up, breaking the silence.
"Hm, am I getting Maede-san worried?" he teased, but his eyes remained dead serious.
"I bet you guys think that you're on some self-righteous epic quest for justice. Saving the world from some unknown horror, like they do in all those ridiculous manga, but you forget that you're really only fifteen years old."
He pushed his glasses up. "This again?"
"You think you're on some heroic path, overcoming obstacle and strengthening from it. Death and serious injury are as distant as the moon, and whenever you jump into the heart of danger without thinking twice, you forget about the people who love you back home, those who would never want to see you hurt," she lectured, her voice carrying hints of accusation and anger.
It was twilight now; the dim street lamps had begun to twinkle and light up, one by one. The streets were empty, and a strange sense of loneliness settled over her.
"Maede-san, who exactly are you?" She took a few steps, before she realized that he had stopped in his tracks. She turned around, and for the first time, was really able to see whom he was. His skin was pale and flawless in the eerily blue light, his white clothes seeming to glow from his dark surroundings. His eyes were full of a gravity behind his years, and he carried an indefinable air of achievement and pride with him. It reflected in every movement, every lift of his chin, and every glint in his eye.
"I'm exactly who you think I am," she answered softly and truthfully. "Recently, I've been having these premonitions of doom. There's this lingering air of dread that follows me, but it eases when I'm around you. You asked me once, about spirits. At the time it sounded completely ridiculous, but now... I feel like as if there's another hidden dimension out there, one that I've touched but been shielded from. I know you have your secrets, Ishida-kun, but be careful."
"No, you're the one who needs to be careful," he said urgently. "It's best that you stay away from me from now on. That world you yearn for doesn't exist. It'll only lead you into danger, and you're right, it may end up with a fatal, irreversible outcome."
"Quite the hypocrite, aren't you?" He was angry now, and she knew it. 'He's trying to protect me... but from what? And since when did he think I needed protection?'
"This is far enough. Thank you for accompanying me," he sharply brushed her off, and walked past her. Despite it all, she did not give up. She followed him, tracing his footsteps. "We're here," he said softly, stopping at the bottom of a cracked fleet of stairs.
"Don't be ridiculous, I told you from the beginning that I'm coming with you," she bit her lip, but her persistence did not waver. She knew that he was getting steadily frustrated with her, but she would risk it. Even if it meant that he hated her.
She climbed up the stairs with him, and they entered the small house. She was unused to the amount of dust in the air, and was alarmed by how dank and dark the atmosphere was. 'Someone needs to breathe life into this place.'
She settled the backpack on the table, her shoulders now aching, and took out the thick packet of papers. She took another box from her backpack and watched the bedroom light turn on. 'I wonder if he was training on Wednesday even when there was pouring rain. Probably.' The house carried a melancholic air because of how empty and dark it was. She briefly wondered where his parents were, and realized that there was so many things didn't know about him.
"Can I come in?" She asked softly.
"Yes," he replied stiffly, and when she opened the door, she realized that he had changed his ridiculous outfit into something more comfortable. She opened her first aid kit, revealing an array of bandages, pads, antiseptics, and medications. She grabbed a pair of rubber gloves.
"Can I see your left hand?" He reluctantly outreached it, and she scrutinized the bandages, which were crusted with dried blood. She carefully unwrapped them, and applied some anti-itch ointment.
"This might hurt," she warned, but he kept calm, although wincing as she finished. "It should prevent swelling and infection." She carefully wrapped his hand with clean bandages, and hoped that the relief would last for at least a few days. She removed her right glove and then touched his forehead. She grew bright pink from the bare touch, and she saw a bright tint on his cheeks as well.
"Well, at least you don't have a fever. But these pills should give you some effective pain relief when you need it," she held up a small bottle. "It's the school's first aid kit, and you should probably take it with you wherever you're going, because I have a feeling you'll need it." She stood still for a moment, the image of his bloody hands not leaving her vision even when she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry about my rudeness earlier. I-I really don't have the right to lecture you about anything."
When silence ensued, she thought that he still might be angry at her, but instead, his voice carried a tired but curious tone. "You know, you're destroying this image I had of you as a naïve foolish little girl," he mused.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you're well-liked and popular. I thought that all that attention had gotten to your head. You seemed like the type of person who took advantage of others to make yourself look better. You have a supportive family, you're smart, pretty—"
'No way did he just call me pretty.'
"And altogether what every other teenage girl wants to be. You seem so ordinary, and it always occurred to me that we are nothing alike." Her heart was pounding in her chest. 'I see. So he hated me before, because of all the things I deemed normal and took for granted.'
"But now I realize I was wrong. I'm glad at least someone cares that I've been missing. Thank you, Maede-san." He was smiling. It was sincere, and there was something in him that she hadn't noticed before—gratefulness? Then she understood. 'You've been lonely, haven't you?' "There's something you have to promise me."
"In that case, you have to promise me something too," she replied.
"Very well. You have to stay out of danger while I'm gone."
"As long as you promise me that you'll come back in one piece, as soon as you can," she challenged.
"At most two weeks. It's a done deal," he nodded.
"As class president, I'll never forgive you if you break the promise."
"I always keep my word, in the name of the last Quincy."
Fluff was never my forte... (headsmack) Oh well, thanks for everyone who supported this story. I feel a little guilty because I haven't been updating my other fics. Heh.