2. Roof Encounter
Hojo looked longingly at a seat to his right. It was empty, so painfully empty. The student who should sit there was missing. He had not seen her since the day when he had seen her with the gang boy in that dark alley. Oh, how he missed the bright smile of hers, her dark eyes full of kindness and inner light, her soft voice. She was a lady - a real delicate flower. She deserved the best in life, nothing less.
Hojo sighed and looked back at the teacher. Then his gaze turned to Ayumi, who was sitting next to him, a book half-hidden under her notebook and a blush on her face when she was reading behind backs of other students. She noticed his gaze and winked.
After the first period Higurashi ran into the school, panting and apologizing. She couldn't quite hide a big grin appearing on her lips every time she was looking out the window to an old oak in the school yard, but no one asked her about that behavior. Hojo was just glad to see her feeling better. She was practically radiating energy and even during match her eyes were sparkling when she looked around the classroom and out to the oak. "Maybe it's her lingering dendrophilia?' Hojo wondered idly. He left this thought when she smiled at him and the rest of her friends.
She was probably as happy to see him as he was to see her.
He was about to approach her during the lunch break, but to his surprise she dodged him, their friends and everyone else to practcally run out of the room. Blinking in surprise he followed the girl of his dreams to the roof of the school.
"Oi!" he heard when he exited the door to the roof. He froze and then carefully peeked from behind the corner of the staircase building to a big open area of the roof where people could come and rest while watching the landscape or the yard below. The roof was usually empty because majority of the students wanted rather to eat inside during such a chilly day. He saw Kagome and the gang boy sitting beside each other (way too close to each other in Hojo's opinion), their backs against a small wall crowned with railing encircling the roof.
"You told you're going to come back home after school," the boy grumbled and stuffed a fistful of chips in his face. Higurashi had her lunch box in her lap and was eating in a way which would make every well-mannered person sigh in awe. She was taking tiny bits of food, carefully chewing them and swallowing before answering. Her ladylike behavior was even more visible because of the contrast with the ruffian talking with his mouth full and not caring about crumbles falling on his flashy and unfashionable outfit.
"I'm sorry, but I promised the girls to go out with them. It won't take long, just a trip to WacDonald..." she said in a pleading tone and gave the boy a smile Hojo saw for the first time in his life. It made his heart skip a beat.
Obviously her charm could reach even the rotten heart of a violent, barbaric person sitting next to her, because the boy awkwardly looked away. His fake ears lowered - it was a clever optic illusion because he tilted his head just the right way. Maybe he was - on top of being a shady person - a furry? Hojo trembled at that idea. A furry cosplayer. It was obvious Higurashi was spending time with him because she was way too nice to reject company of even such a crazy ruffian. Only Higurashi could find it in herself to overlook that person's bad sides. She was truly an angel.
"Uh... Keh, do whatever you want, wench! Just don't go sticking your nose in trouble like you always do!" the boy in red put his hands in his sleeves, still looking away. Higurashi giggled cutely and rubbed his shoulder.
"Oh, koinu, don't be so grumpy." she cooed. 'Koinu?' "I will be careful and won't go anywhere suspicious, promise.."
"Oi! Don't call me that, wench!" the boy demanded. Higurashi covered her mouth to smooth a fit of giggles. 'Such an adorable sound.' thought Hojo dreamily.
"Call you what, koinu?" asked Higurashi. The boy moved closer, kneeling on one knee and leaning over her petite body. "What are you going to do to stop me, huh?"
"I will..." he growled, lifting his hand. Hojo felt his insides freeze. Was he going to hit her? For calling him a puppy? That delinquent...! He had to save his angel! Hojo dropped his bag, the sound of it hitting the ground swallowed by the melodious laughter of the girl.
"No, no, no...!" the boy was... Tickling her? Hojo blinked - he hadn't seen the fast movement of the gang boy's hand which came to contact with Higurashi's side and elicited more laughter from the girl who futilely tried to escape his grasp. "Inu, don't...!"
"Consider this a warning, wench," the red-clad youth sat down again, letting Higurashi sit straight again and fix her blouse and lunch box before it could fall from her lap. "Next time I'll tickle you until you can't laugh anymore," he warned, his voice grumpy. but his lips curled in a smug smirk. Hojo glared at him. How could this rude boy touch this delicate cherry petal with his rough hands?
'Maybe he's a pervert? And he tried to touch Higurashi's...' Hojo's gaze drifted to a certain round parts of Kagome's anatomy. "...Bosom?"
At the same moment Kagome picked up her chopsticks the boy with fake dog ears flashed his obviously fake fangs and stuffed a rice cake stolen from her lunch box in his mouth. He swallowed almost without chewing, but the girl noticed the robbery and glared at him.
"Dog-boy..." she started, her voice stern. Hojo fisted his hand. 'Now she'll tell him to get lost, this gluttonous pervert, this bad, bad boy!'
"What?" the gang boy asked and smirked at her. "It's not like I'm going to go back to the shrine to have lunch and the chips are not a nu-trio-us meal. You're thin and short, you don't need so much food anyway."
To Hojo's surprise the girl didn't shout at the boy. She smiled.
"I'll consider it a roundabout compliment and not say 'it," she announced. The boy visibly relaxed.
"It's appreciated. The concrete tastes like shit."
Hojo could just stand there and stare at the couple sharing Higurashi's lunch, moving from bickering to making the other smile or blush. Couldn't that stupid boy realize she was sick? She should eat as much as possible to get stronger! And it seemed he was angering her on purpose, just to argue with her! He felt a pang of jealousy every time Higurashi laughed because of what the boy had said something.
It was only when the muffled sound of the bell rang somewhere under their feet Hojo realized he should leave - otherwise the gang boy would notice him and who knew what he'd do? After all Hojo was Higurashi's boyfriend, this gang member could get violent to show his dominance and ownership over this helpless, meek girl. Hojo wasn't a fighter, he was smart and he knew he wouldn't stand a chance against a street fighter. He had to use his cunning mind to save Higurashi. He couldn't confront the red-clad boy just yet.
The last thing he heard when he was closing the door was Higurashi reminding the boy she would be home an hour later and the boy grumbling that he would probably be roped in helping her grandfather again.
When Hojo was walking downstairs he realized how controlling the boy was - he was monitoring Higurashi's every move, she had to practically beg him to let her see her friends. 'How cand Higurashi stand that guy? He groped her and stole her food and then was bold enough to order her around!' She was probably too blind by her innocence to his badness. Or maybe she was too scared of him to deny him or defend herself. Hojo knew he needed to act fast, before his angelic, helpless girl could get hurt by that shady person. He would do anything to keep Higurashi safe.