Chapter 8

Natural

It was hard to pull my gaze away from her delicate face, still glistening with the residue of tears. The sight brought to mind the image of an angel, unable to reach heaven because of a broken wing.

She was the image of fragility; radiating joy when deep within, the shadow of fear and loneliness was painfully present.

Though I tried, my mind rejected any attempt to force thoughts of her away.

In spite of myself, I found myself being pulled to her; the indescribable need to protect her was overpowering and I couldn't fight against it.

It was driving me crazy!!! One moment, it's as if every action was familiar; there was no need for words as everything she intended to communicate was perfectly clear to me. Everything about her was so strangely familiar, as if memories from a past life re-emerged each moment I spent with her. But now, whatever connection we seemed to have was crumbling and I was left stranded in the dark, not knowing what to do.

There was something that was missing… And she appeared to know exactly what.

It made no sense at all!

"I must have misinterpreted you." I concluded hastily, unable to think clearly for some reason. It was wrong, completely wrong, for me to want to hold her and to want to know exactly what was going through her mind. The feel of her skin on my fingers was unforgettable, almost natural. "Touching you was inappropriate, forgive me-" I forced out in spite of the thoughts running through my head.

Shaking her head and raising her hand, she silenced me firmly.

I struggled to piece together a coherent sentence. "I want…" 'How could I possibly say this without sounding like an imbecile?!' "…to understand you better. I really do." I hesitated. It was uncharacteristic of me to be talking like this; it was as if she was changing me. "Sometimes… I think I can understand what you're mouthing or signing-"

I stopped abruptly.

No… I couldn't just continue that sentence anymore. How could I possibly say that "there are times when I can hear your voice in my head"?! It was absolute insanity! She would probably call someone to bring me to the nearest psychiatric ward.

A shift in movement caused me to look up. Her hand was searching for something in her pockets. My hand, on instinct, went to my own and took out the metallic pen from it- at the moment she pulled out a small tattered notebook from hers.

"Use this." She nodded.

I watched intently as her hand carefully as the words she could not form with her own voice emerged on the paper. "Thank you."

'For what?'

"I haven't really done anything… It's just a pen." My mind recalled any other time when gratitude was expressed on her end, eventually settling on the three senpais.

Her hand flew across the page urgently. "Please don't blame yourself for anything. You've done nothing wrong."

"Then why did you cry?"

There was no immediate reply but there was something in the way she looked at me that indubitably said that I was a factor. Inexplicably, the thought of me being the cause of her tears greatly aggravated me.

What have I done?

Reluctantly, she penned, "It's complicated."

The words slipped past my lips silently and unconsciously. Those were words I've heard my entire life; words ebbed into my very being.

I wanted to scream.

What isn't complicated in life?! My own existence was dangling on a fine balance of intertwined complications. My thoughts turned towards my family briefly before they were roughly pushed out of my mind.

After pausing for a minute to calm myself, I held out my hand inquiringly. The pen and notebook were placed on it.

My life was part of many different matters I did not even want to consider but I could tell that she was undoubtedly a part of it. Unexplainable but true.

"No matter what it is, you can depend on me. Trust me."

The words came out naturally, my hand taking a mind of its own as the words recreated themselves on the paper. The flicker of relief in her amber eyes caught me off guard. It dissipated all the traces of worry and a delicate expression rested on her face as she turned her attention on me, telling me everything and nothing at the same time.

All of a sudden, a rush of blurred images filled my mind.

I could barely distinguish a gazebo surrounded by ancient trees, a tall maple tree standing proudly against the clear blue sky, and the distinct crimson of blood scattered against a tiled floor through the flood of hazy pictures.

An acute pain shot through my head at blinding speed, forcing me to clutch my head with a grimace. The insistent throbbing threatened to split my skull. I barely managed to contain an agonized scream by forcefully clenching my jaws together. The more I tried to concentrate on the images, the dimmer they became, eventually settling into an endless darkness.

'What's wrong?'

I looked up; the twinkling voice in my mind pierced through the pain, the feathery touch against my cheek pulling me away from the shadows.

I welcomed the touch, sending the vanishing pictures and ache away, but her hand retreated from me, just as I had.

"I'm fine… It's just… anaemia." I lied easily regardless of the confusion that rose inside me. Her anxious expression went away but her eyes still held worry in them.

I had no idea what had happened or what triggered it… But the single gentle, almost insubstantial, stroke of her hand against my cheekbone had been comforting… pleasant… Our roles had suddenly reversed and I did not mind it at all.

It made me feel guilty.

I didn't deserve this. Any of it.

The sound of the opening door interrupted my thoughts and we were immediately greeted by a familiar energetic voice.

"Haine-chan~ Taka-chama~"

I stood up quickly and turned around to see the rest of the Student Council members clamber into the room; behind me, Otomiya rubbed her face hastily, making sure that any evidence of her tears was erased. Her expression swiftly changed into a cheerful one as she ran to welcome the others; from some forgotten corner, the demented fur ball ran to do the same.

"Sorry we were late!" Maora apologized, though not too sincerely, as she captured Otomiya in an embrace. "Baka Maguri was trying to ditch the meeting so Ushio-chan and I hunted him down." A playful grin was pasted on her face while Amamiya's facial expression remained emotionless at the mention of her name. Instead, she merely ignored it and proceeded to sign something to Otomiya, who signed back happily, still in Maora's embrace; a perfect façade.

"I was trying to find onii-san to give him- uh- a piece of my mind about yesterday's stunt." Maguri explained, exasperated but there was a faint smirk on his face.

My own lips twitched upward faintly. I could relate.

"It's quite alright." I said, dismissing the issue. "Otomiya-san has kindly helped me prepare for the meeting." Our eyes met for an instant. I hoped that the related event that had occurred in the hallway would remain a secret.

"That's great!" Maora stated, picking up Okorimakuri and settling it on her head like a hat. How she managed to do that, I had not the slightest idea. "I've brought some more snacks for our meeting too!" At her words, I registered the presence of a large box in her arms. Evidently, the food from this morning had been consumed after I had left.

"Let's proceed with the meeting then." I led the group to the meeting room, politely opening the door for them though it was not my job to do. Touya would have protested, uttering some random nonsense about servitude that I absolutely hated, if he knew but he was presently elsewhere, preparing his special tea for us.

As I had closed the door, I felt a mild touch brush the end of my sleeve; the uncertainty of the touch was obvious even through the fabric of my uniform. Without even looking, I knew who it was immediately.

I turned and briefly saw Otomiya push something into my hand before scurrying away to claim a seat beside Amamiya.

I settled into the seat at the head of the table before I nonchalantly glimpsed down at the hastily written words on the small piece of paper, which was obviously torn from her notebook, hidden in my hand under the table.

"Please call me Haine."

The request was simple and sincere.

I gave a barely noticeable nod; a short, private dialogue between us. The paper quickly disappeared into my pocket before Touya, returning with tea for everyone, had settled into the seat behind me, slightly to my right. I cleared my throat as I directed my gaze to the rest of the people at the table, trying to keep my eyes from lingering on Haine's smiling face.

Even the mention of her name was second-nature.

"If you would direct you attention to the books and folders in front of you," I started, indicating with my hand the stacks I had arranged earlier. I opened the folder in front of me and scanned down the page. I was about to skip the front page of the folder, where the Student Council members' names were noted, but stopped suddenly at the sight of Maora's.

Or rather, Yoshitaka's.

'Isn't that a male name?' I asked myself absentmindedly, though somewhat perplexed. Touya had added that section when I had finished the report inside so I did not expect to see this new piece of information. 'I knew I should have checked all their student records yesterday!' I rebuked myself, proceeding to turn the page as if there was nothing surprising at all.

I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised… It was obvious that he was an eccentric person.

I guess there are strange creatures in this world after all.

AN: Wow, this was a quicker update than normal. *pats myself on the back* But you have no idea how many times I had to revise this chapter! Even now, I'm not entirely content with it... =____= That's alright, I suppose. I'll rewrite it if I feel like it in the future. Surprisingly, I've grown accustomed to writing in first person; maybe I'll write a different fanfic in this POV again.

Anyway, since I have no idea when the next update will be, Happy holidays! (I hear reviews are great Christmas presents!)