The sun was at its peak, bearing over her at the noon hour. Its rays were unrelentingly piercing upon her skin, and she could feel her internal temperature rising to dangerous levels. The air was dry, scorching its way into the lungs of whatever pitiful creatures like her that depended on its presence was foolish enough to wander outdoors. The slight breeze that wafted through the air was of no relief. What alleviation it could have brought was ruined by the heat it carried with it.
Days like these made Shizuku glad she wore the white uniform of the student council, rather than the heat collecting death trap that the rest of the students were subjected to. It wasn't, she knew, a consideration when the color was chosen, but she was grateful for it nonetheless. Even if white was notoriously difficult to keep clean, and its brightness attracted more attention than she was naturally comfortable with (which was the main reason it was chosen).
At the moment, however, she only cared that it kept her slightly cooler than she would have been otherwise as she made her trek across the outer edge of the campus, running a quick round on the lookout for wayward students. She was already starting to sweat though, and after a few minutes, she stopped for a quick break in the shadow of one of the training halls. Double checking to ensure no students were around to witness her lapse, she let out a huff and leaned against the wall.
None of the students would think much of her taking a break. It was more than understandable in this heat. Appearances, however, had to be maintained. She may not have been overly comfortable being in the spotlight, but she had grown well accustomed to it. She was, after all, the partner to the one in charge of the school (the lord, master, ruler, queen, or general, depending on what said leader's mood was when asked). The students needed someone to look to when her partner pulled one of her usual stunts after all.
Tatewaki was naturally too busy with her other duties to interact with the students much. Personally, she believed that Tatewaki had no interest in listening to students complain about Hitsugi-san, so she let Shizuku deal with it instead. Making nice with the student populace wouldn't bring her closer to her idol, and so didn't require her attention.
Sighing with a mix of resignation and exasperation, she stared out into the distance. The forest dominated most of her view, with the mountains in the background hazy from distance. Though she could only see trees, she knew that underneath the gently swaying canopy of green, there lay countless cliff edges, deep gorges, mysterious caves, peaceful clearings, powerful waterfalls, and gentle streams.
She let her mind wander to the childhood she had spent exploring those vast lands, letting the sounds of the trees rustling and birds singing fade to a pleasant hum.
"I'd think, if you were going to take a break, you would do so inside, where you would be cool as well."
"Agh!" Shizuku jumped and turned to face the intruder faster than most could blink. "I, Inori-san! What are you doing here?"
Sae looked amused and impressed at the speed of the reaction, but mostly amused. "I was just heading to the hall. Did I disturb a deep thought?"
"No...it was nothing." She looked away, cheeks reddening at being caught off guard. They darkened even further at the smothered chuckle from the other girl.
"So what are you supposed to be doing out here in this heat? Chasing students down?" she asked curiously, though it was well hidden behind the teasing.
"I was doing a quick round, and I only took a small break!" Shizuku objected.
"You looked rather out of it to me. Perhaps you should visit Uryuu-san for a checkup." The twitch and wince that suggestion caused made it difficult for Sae to keep from laughing. She didn't know why her "rival" had suddenly become paranoid about anything concerning the Captain, but it made for great teasing opportunities. None of the discreet inquiries she'd made into the matter had turned anything up, either. Nothing except bright smiles and praises for the vice principal's willingness to help out.
"...It was nothing. Just drop it, please." Accepting the expected acquiescence with a grateful smile, she discreetly examined her unexpected companion. Sae was carrying a large, bulky bag with her, and the only clue to her planned activities was the gym outfit she was wearing. "Were you going to train?" It was a less than subtle change of topic, but she knew that the other girl wouldn't press the issue.
"Ah." For once, the normally calm sword bearer looked embarrassed. The expression lasted only a second, amounting to little more than a flash of emotion across her face, a slight shift in posture, and a quick averting of the eyes before her countenance was back to normal. "Not quite." Suddenly those eyes turned calculating. "Actually, this might be something you can help me with. Come on."
And like that she found herself being dragged into the empty training hall. She had to take a second to orient herself, surprised by the sudden change in attitude. Before she could work up the courage to voice an objection, however, she was taken into the building, and had something shoved into her arms. Prioritizing the foreign objects over an explanation, she stared blankly at the things in her arms.
Skates.
Rollerblades, to be exact.
"Umm. Why am I holding these?" she finally managed to get out. The look she earned for that question was part tolerance, part shame. It was odd, to say the least, and her mind couldn't figure out what to make of it.
"Use them." Sae's tone implied that she should have known that from the start, and she fought the urge to grumble at the slight.
"But. Why?" It was a valid question, but it was ignored.
"You can't?"
"My ability to use these is not the question. I just want to know why I should use them." Her pride demanded she retaliate by putting those demonic things on and show Sae how they should be used, but the rest of her (thankfully) smothered those headstrong instincts and replaced them with a good deal of caution instead.
"I'm using it for analysis. Come on, it couldn't hurt, could it? You wanted to take a break from your work anyway, didn't you? Nothing is going on at the moment that requires you immediately report to Hitsugi-san, so I'm sure you have time to spare." She cajoled, trying to convince Shizuku to help her.
Shizuku didn't reply, mind working overtime to pierce together exactly what the other girl was aiming for. She said it was for analysis, but what kind? Not to mention that she had pointedly said that she was only taking a small break. And while the papers she carried weren't urgent by Hitsugi-san's standards, Kotake-san had been quite anxious to get them through.
"No thank you." she finally replied. The slight disappointment in Sae's eyes made her falter just a bit, but she held her ground.
"Well. Alright then." Sae gave the rollerblades being handed back to her a deep look of concentration, before nodding at her fellow council member.
Shizuku fidgeted in guilt. It wasn't that she didn't want to help, or that she disliked the other girl, but...they were rollerblades. She had a short and terrible history with the things, and had successfully managed to avoid them for years, despite her partner's occasional insistence that she use them. It wasn't until she caught Sae mumbling as she tried to work out how to get them on that she gave in, inwardly cursing her own gullibility.
"Alright fine, but you have to do it with me." She didn't let the surprised expression that she had guessed the remaining contents of the bag get to her, too focused on trying not to glare at the wheeled contraptions.
"If you insist." The plain amusement, and strictly hidden relief, soothed her for the moment. She really did like Inori-san after all. Whatever the reason behind this sudden decision, it brought the girl genuine happiness. How was she to argue with that? Other than the fact that she was now being brought face to face with one of the few things she avoided like her life depended on it.
"Umm. I'll try my best but, I've never been really good with these."
"Come now. It can't be that bad, right?"
~A Short While Later~
Tea rushed across the edge of the silent campus, completely alone in the area. It was hot as hell outside, and instead of being in a nice, air conditioned classroom, she was outside, all but jogging across several buildings, trying to get the papers she was charged with delivering to Tatewaki before the girl got anxious. It wasn't a job she was particularly happy with having. Not only was it hot out, but she was wearing black of all colors, and she didn't even care much for the spiky haired girl. She did a lot of work around the campus, sure, but she wasn't the most personable girl around, and she was a demanding taskmaster.
Not that the other two in charge weren't, but Amachi accepted unexpected delays like a child accepted the ice cream man; with sheer happiness. The strain of getting things done was pushed off herself and the ones who'd made the error, and instead unintentionally pushed onto the only leader who bothered to care; her partner. Miyamoto expected a lot of people as well, but if something were to go wrong, she was generally running around with people trying to get it fixed. It was hard to dislike someone who looked even more harassed than the unlucky student volunteers caught in a jam, and yet was still so willing to help out.
Jogging past the training hall, she paused as muffled sounds caught her attention. The halls were mildly sound protected, and near impossible to peak in as a result of the nature of the hoshitori system, but not so well soundproofed as to hide the fact that they were in use.
It wasn't odd that there were sounds emitting from it. For regular exercising, students contented themselves with the outdoors, but the ones with specialized training tended to use the halls quite often. What was odd was that someone was using them at the hottest part of the day, when the AC system for the halls was currently out of commission.
Curiosity getting the better of her, she slowed her pace and crept carefully to the front of the only hall being used. The sheer amount of sword bearers at Tenchi meant that it could have been any number of people, but the sounds didn't sound like they were being produced by swords meeting, but rather from someone falling. And...was that some sort of rolling she heard?
Pulling the front door open just enough to get a decent look, she had the dubious pleasure of watching the school's vice principal run straight into Inori Sae, crashing them both into the ground. Stilling her natural instincts to help the only sane leader of the school, she watched as both groaned in dismay. Inori laughed softly after she recovered, but didn't bother to move. Miyamoto was the first to do so, pulling the poor person she'd tackled up with her so that they were both sitting up, and leaning towards each other.
Her jaw dropped when she saw Inori shake her head and smile in a way she'd never seen before, causing Miyamoto to blush and look down. What in the world was going on here? She couldn't see any reason to explain how they had fallen, but neither looked too uncomfortable with their position. Closing the door quickly, but quietly, she nearly ran to her destination, almost mowing down a couple first years as she hurried onwards. The others weren't going to believe this.
~Right After~
"Whoa, she sure was in a hurry." Yuuki stared after the high school student who had bolted past them. "Wonder where the fire is."
"If it was important, we'll know sooner or later. Anyway, where is Miyamoto-san? She had papers to deliver. She should have walked right past here!" Miri growled in frustration.
"...Seriously. You have to stop this. It's creepy!" The taller first year pulled at her longtime friend's arm helplessly. This fixation on the poor student council member was starting to be too much! She was really lucky that Miyamoto didn't make a big deal out of it, though the gods knew it had to be straining even her saintly tolerance.
"How is it creepy?!"
"You're stalking her! That's the definition of cree-oi! Where are you going?!"
"To see if she needs help. Miyamoto-san always gets things done as promptly as possible. Perhaps she met trouble of some sort."
"Oh for the love of!" Yuuki growled as she followed her determined friend into the heat. She moaned as the heat immediately starting scorching her. She really didn't want to be here, trailing after the obsessed girl, to help someone who probably didn't need help. She could think of a thousand things she'd rather be doing other than Miyamoto-watching. "She could be anywhere! The campus is huge! Maybe she had something else to do, or she came in through the other entrance! She could have gone somewhere else entirely!"
"Doubt it. There isn't anyone out right no-do you hear that?" Miri abruptly slowed down, looking around intently. "There's noise."
"There's lots of noise. Birds, people, wind." Yuuki said with annoyance. Reasoning with her was impossible.
"No. Something else. There! Come on!" Grabbing her friend's hand, she pulled her to the training halls, passing them by quickly until she came upon the one in use.
"I seriously doubt that Miyamoto-san is in there. Anyone can use these." This was really starting to get ridiculous. No. That's a lie. This had gotten ridiculous a month ago.
"Just a look. Let's go." Miri took off without waiting, leaving her friend to sigh before running after her.
Catching up with her at the door, she waited impatiently for the shorter girl to open the door enough for them to peak in. Miri cautiously pulled apart the doors, peering into the hall. Above her, Yuuki did the same.
There were two people inside the hall, one of which Yuuki was dismayed to realize was Miyamoto-san. Miri would be unbearable for the next week after this, having been proven right. The other person inside was, surprisingly, Inori-san. She hadn't been aware the two were so close.
It made sense, since the Mikado/Inori pair had been on the student council the longest, that the two earth swords would be at least somewhat friendly with each other. She had just never seen them interact much outside of their duties. There had never seemed to be much of a grudge between them, though they were technically rivals, but they didn't exactly go out of their way to talk to each other.
With that in mind, she couldn't be blamed for nearly falling at the sight of the joined hands. Then she realized that the crouching Inori was no doubt just about to help the sitting Miyamoto up, and let the shock pass.
Predictably, Miri didn't come to the same conclusion, if her quiet gasp was any indication. Closing the doors with the same caution that she had opened them, the shorter girl stood frozen for half a second before she walked away in numb shock.
Stomach sinking, Yuuki once again followed behind her friend. Something was about to go wrong here, and she wasn't sure which side she was going to sympathize with more; Miri's or Miyamoto's.
Suddenly stopping, Miri dropped to her knees in the middle of the area and stared helplessly at her tall friend.
"I don't believe it. I can't believe it. To think that Miyamoto-san, with Inori-san. Of all people!"
"Don't go jumping to conclusions here Miri. We don't know what was going on, or what the whole story is. There was nothing to see there."
"But! Miyamoto-san! She! They were!"
Yuuki groaned as she tried to figure out the most tactful way to get through this. A difficult problem, as her first instinct was to shake the girl until she came to her senses. Miri was starting to babble nonsense, and her main priority was to get her to calm down and see reason before something bad happened.
"Umm. Are you two alright?"
"No! Miyamoto-san and Inori-san are! They were, they were doing things!"
Something bad like that.
The poor track member looked utterly lost as she stared at the hysterical girl, and looked to the calm one for a sensible answer.
"It wasn't like that! They were together, that's all! Don't go spreading rumors!"
"But they were holding hands! And they looked happy!"
"It's not a friggin' crime to look happy!"
"It was different! Inori-san never smiles like that!"
"Stop reading into things! And thanks, but I can take care of her." Yuuki said to the girl watching them curiously. She hoped this wouldn't go too wrong. The track member gave them both a dubious stare, before nodding and taking off again. Letting out a breath in relief, she focused on calming her friend. Disaster averted.
Hopefully.
~With The Track Member~
Karin shook her head as she left the two girls, mind whirling as she thought about what she had just heard. She was so deep in her thoughts, she nearly passed up the rest of her team, and had to backtrack to the field.
"Yo Karin! Geez, are you still sleeping or something? You nearly ran right past here!" one of the seniors snickered.
"I was distracted! I ran into two weird girls on the way over. One of them was babbling something about Miyamoto and Inori." she huffed in response. She shook her head and glared at her fellow members.
"That so? And it was so odd, you can't even think straight no more?" another senior ribbed. The others laughed, and her glare deepened.
"One of them said she saw the two doing...things." That was enough to silence the girls. They stared at her in disbelief.
"Wait, what? Are we thinking about the same people here? The Miyamoto Shizuku and Inori Sae?" one of the girls sputtered out.
"No other two called Miyamoto or Inori. I swear. The other girl didn't even try to deny that she saw them either, just said that maybe they had "read the situation wrong" or something. Said they were holding hands and everything."
"That's impossible! Aren't they rivals?"
"Forbidden love, maybe?"
"Don't be ridiculous!"
~Meanwhile~
"I'm telling you the truth! I saw them! Miyamoto was on top of her and everything! They were really close, and smiling!"
"Oh come on. Miyamoto? Really?"
"Yeah. I thought Miyamoto had a thing for the Kaicho."
"I'm telling you. I saw it! There's no other way to read the situation!"
"There are plenty of ways to read the situation. And anyway, they're rivals!"
"...I don't know..."
"Don't tell me you believe this?"
"It's just, Miyamoto and Inori aren't really rivals. Kaicho and that brat Mikado are actually more the rivals. Their partners are just along for the ride. It wouldn't be a stretch to think they'd be friends...and maybe more."
"But that's! I mean...yeah. Okay I can see friends, but nothing more!"
"It's the truth I say!"
~Infirmary~
"Captain, we have another patient." Ai looked up from her paperwork expectantly, almost happily.
"What's the prognosis?"
"Errr. Just a sprain." The woman wilted and grumbled.
"Hnph. In that case, I'll leave it to you." she said with annoyed disappointment. She hardly ever got anything interesting these days, except for when she supervised guard training.
"Alright then." The student sighed and returned to the front of the clinic, leaving the door slightly open. The patient wasn't making a big fuss, and only a soft murmur of voices reached the office.
Not quite sulking, Ai returned to the paperwork in front of her with all the joy of a student facing the finals. Rin, sprawled on the edge of the desk, flicked her ears at the staccato rhythm of the pencil's eraser hitting the desk that started up.
"Must be nice, being able to relax like that. I really envy you." She drawled out the "really" for emphasis. "Though maybe a break for myself might be in ord-"
"No way! Miyamoto?" The loud gasp from her student interrupted her, followed quickly by some shushing. An eyebrow raised as not-so-silent voices argued excitedly, and she managed to catch a few words that implied a romantic liaison of some sort between Miyamoto and a rival. She couldn't see how the Kaicho's harried partner could be involved in this sort of conversation. She was too shy for something like this, without even mentioning that the only "rival" that could be connected to the short girl was that Inori kid.
The thought of those two being involved in any sort of romance was so far out of the realm of possibility that she wasn't sure she wanted to laugh at the idea, or roll her eyes at the blatant over exaggeration teenage girls were known for.
This might, at least, be amusing for a time. Stroking Rin slowly, she wondered how long it would take Miyamoto to catch on.
~Track Field~
Kotake Rina held back a groan of exasperation as yet another pair of students slowed down to chat. She didn't know what was going on with these girls today, but whatever hot new rumor had them distracted, it was causing problems already. She'd already had one girl sent to the infirmary, she really didn't want another incident popping up.
"Ow! My wrist!"
She just had to jinx it, didn't she?
Jogging over to the pair, she noticed that neither seemed to care about the fact that one of them was injured, and instead were arguing fiercely.
"There's just no way! Everyone knows that Miyamoto is completely devoted to the Kaicho!"
"Maybe so, but devotion isn't love!"
"That doesn't mean she's fooling around with Inori of all people! They hardly even talk!"
"They're both on the council, they probably talk all the time behind closed doors!"
"Yeah. With the rest of the council. You don't see them eating lunch together or anything like that. They barely even exchange more than a simple "hello" in the halls!"
"Of course they wouldn't be doing things where their partners can catch them. They obviously don't want to attract attention and incite their partner's rage!"
Rina slowed to a walk, than a stop as she got closer to the pair. The conversation she'd just heard bounced around in her mind, refusing to settle or form any semblance of sense. She partly snapped out of her daze when the two finally noticed her, and absently gave the okay for the injured one to head on to the infirmary. The other followed, continuing their argument under their breaths.
She didn't know what that conversation was about, and quite frankly, she didn't want to know. She felt sorry for Miyamoto though, because by the end of the day, the entire school would be joining in the argument.
~The Next Day~
Shizuku heaved a shuttering sigh as she closed the door to Hitsugi-san's office, not bothered by her partner's sudden interested stare being directed at her.
"Something the matter, Shizuku?" came the curious inquiry.
"Oh, ah. No. It's nothing." she answered. The raised eyebrow said that her answer wasn't satisfactory, but the matter was let go. "Did you finish those papers, Hitsugi-san?"
"Yes, yes. They are fresh and ready for you to deliver."
"Alright then. Thank you." Ignoring the distasteful face being directed at the stack of papers, she grabbed them and headed back out into the fray, steeling herself to face the challenge of walking to the faculty room.
The trip proved to be even more arduous than expected, and she all but slammed the faculty room door when she finally arrived, confused and paranoid. The teachers looked up for a moment before returning to their rest. Ai and Rina waved her over to the empty seat at their table, neither one surprised that she looked about ready to draw her sword at anything that moved behind her.
"I think you could use a break, yeah?" Ai smirked when Shizuku dropped into the chair.
"I don't know what's going on. I feel like everyone is staring at me, but as soon as I turn around, no one looks at me. And then I can see people talking quietly whenever I come around, while glancing my way a lot. They won't look me in the eye though, and they scatter when I get too close." she said helplessly.
"Are you sure you aren't being paranoid?" Rina raised a valid point. None of them believed it was true.
"I haven't had to deal with anything like this since the hoshitori was started, and even then, it wasn't this bad. I can't think of any reason for this kind of reaction."
"Well, if I'd have to guess, I'd say that the rumor of your tragic love affair with the Inori girl is on everyone's mind now, and they're re-examining your every move in light of this new revelation."
Shizuku stared blankly at the nurse, a flat look on pure disbelief on her face. Giving up on getting a straight answer from the older woman, she turned to the judge instead, who laughed nervously.
"Actually, she isn't really exaggerating on that one. That rumor started going around yesterday. Once it hit the dorm, well. Yeah." Rina winced in sympathy as the girl froze and blinked several times, trying to wrap her head around the information.
"I'm sorry...but did you just say that the students...that they believe that I'm having a, a...with Inori-san?" she choked out, almost all emotion drained from her voice except for tightly controlled horror. She couldn't even bring herself to say the word "affair." It was just. Wrong. So very, very wrong. "Why would they even think that?!"
"Apparently you two were seen together." Ai answered calmly, feral eyes watching every move the younger girl made.
"Seen toge-oh." Shizuku flinched. "How could they think that we were doing something like that when we were only?! It wasn't even! Why would they say that?"
Taking pity on the frustrated girl, Rina tried her best to cheer her up. "Look. They're only rumors, and rumors always happen. Teenage girls have a habit of taking anything, blowing it completely out of proportion, then regurgitating it back to anyone who will listen. No doubt someone saw one little thing, and drew their own conclusions about it. It'll pass in time. These things always do."
"But, but, Hitsugi-san!" the girl moaned, head in her hands. The older two grimaced in understanding. If the Kaicho got a hold of this, and it was a miracle she hadn't already, then poor Shizuku would have to say goodbye to peace. Permanently. There was no way Hitsugi would pass up such a golden opportunity to stir up some fun. "I'm doomed."
Neither had any encouraging words to offer for that problem.
~Student Council Office~
When Shizuku finally made her way back to the main office, she was tired and stressed from the shock of the explanation behind the stares. She fought the urge to blush fiercely every time someone looked her way, and it was with great relief, and great apprehension, that she closed the door behind her.
Except that she sensed something.
Hitsugi gave her normal greeting, whined about the work, and ordered Tatewaki away as usual, but it was different. Off. There was something underneath the normalcy, and it triggered every survival instinct in her body. She just couldn't put her finger on what was causing it.
"Oi Hitsugi! What the hell is up with putting us on rotation all week?" Mikado Akira shouted, making her typical loud entrance. Her distracted partner followed significantly more quietly, lost in thought.
"Mikado-san. How nice of you to drop by." Hitsugi kept her voice even, and amused.
"Don't give me that! Explain this!"
"You came all this way to have me read this to you? I believe your partner would have more than sufficed for such a task." The implied slight in the question had Akira turning red with rage and annoyance.
"That's not why I came. I want you to tell me why!"
"You're being too loud, Akira." The girl in question blanched at her partner's exasperated sigh. "I can't even think properly."
"A lot on your mind, Inori-san?" The Kaicho questioned.
"No, not really. It's just...I noticed some of the students acting oddly today." Her brow furrowed in thought, and Shizuku tried her best not to flinch, feeling the heat crawl up her cheeks.
"Ah yes, I was informed that some new information was attracting much debate among the students." Hitsugi leaned back in her chair, and Shizuku felt dread start to settle in her stomach. "If I remember correctly, the latest iteration of the rumor was that you were planning to steal Shizuku away from me and escape into the sunset, so that the two of you could freely express your love for each other."
All movement in the office came to a halt. Shizuku wanted to melt into the floor.
"Come again?" the bewildered earth sword asked after a second. "They're saying that we're. Miyamoto-san and I? How did something like that start u-ah. I see. That makes sense. Did you know about this?" The last question was directed at the other earth sword, her mind rapidly coming to the conclusion that they had been seen in the hall. They had held on to each other most of the time and, taken out of context, it could be very damning evidence.
"I...yes. Uryuu-san and Kotake-san informed me of this rumor not too long ago." She avoided looking at anyone, feeling their stares bore into her.
"And do you think this came about because someone saw us while we were..." Sae trailed off, seeing the panic in the other girl's eyes and remembering the promise she had made to keep their activities from the Kaicho. She didn't understand what the problem was, but she didn't want to go back on that. "How careless of us, to not notice we were being watched."
"Wait a minute! What the hell is going on here?" Akira finally exploded.
"It's nothing to worry about. It's just a silly rumor."
"What were you two doing together in the first place?"
"Miyamoto-san was kind enough to help me with a problem I was having. Something I had asked you to do, but you rejected. Is there a problem with my accepting help from a reliable person like her?" Her voice was calm, and there was a small smile on her face, but the steel behind her words cowed her partner into a shamed submission. "I'm sorry for this idiot bothering you Kaicho, Miyamoto-san. We'll just be leaving."
Hitsugi nodded and watched them leave passively, then turned her attention to enjoying the glowing shade of red that covered Shizuku's face and ears. She made a show of returning her efforts towards paperwork, knowing that every movement she made, every second that went by, drove Shizuku insane from anticipation. Finally, once she thought her partner had reached her last nerve, she spoke up.
"So, what were Inori-san and you doing by yourselves."
"I was just helping her!" Shizuku yelped. The sound brought a smirk to her lips. "Those rumors aren't true at all!"
"Of course they aren't." Her blatant dismissal of the rumors took her partner off guard. "You would, after all, give me advance notice if you were to ever leave."
Shizuku stiffened and looked away. "They aren't true, because I wouldn't ever leave your side. Not unless you wanted me to."
Hitsugi paused in her writing, refusing to look up into what she knew was a serious, piercing purple gaze that often made her feel more exposed than anything she had ever encountered. "That's a silly thing to say, Shizuku. I would never want you to leave."
Neither said another word after that. They didn't need to. Those few words carried the weight of a thousand more that they would never speak aloud.
And later, as Hitsugi tried vainly to calm her mind for sleep, the unacknowledged part of her that wasn't as confident as she acted prayed to every god that the promise in those words would hold true until they day they died. A world without Shizuku was far too dull to contemplate existing in.
~End~
Aaaaand happy birthday! To ME! Yes. That is right. It is my birthday, and it is currently three in the morning. Why am I still up? To get this out to you people, of course! My present to you. -yawn- I'm really tired though, and it seems my plan to stay up all night is scrapped, because I'm too damned lazy to get up and make a cup of tea. Ah, right. I have not done my regular triple check for spelling and grammar and whatnot errors. In fact, this fic didn't even exist until Monday, and much of it was planned out while getting my teeth drilled at the dentist. Seriously. It was actually two different fics that merged to form this monster, and over half of it was typed out while sliiiightly tipsy. -cough-
Anyway. Don't be afraid to drop a note about errors. As I said, this was a rush work, and I haven't thoroughly checked it, nor does it have a beta. (Most of my stories don't, actually.)
To the handful of you who are reading this the actual day it is posted, enjoy~
The rest of you too, but today is my birthday so firstcomers are special.