Chapter 9: Mysteries

Wait... Isn't that Takeshi...? Did I seriously think that his voice sounded hot earlier?! I've been sitting on my ass for a half a minute now. Oh no, I must look so stupid right now.

Hastily, I stood up and quickly answered, "I'm fine. It's my fault for standing behind the door."

He nodded and scratched his dark blue hair. "Aren't you that Thalia girl? I heard someone shouting that you 'loved' me a while ago."

My cheeks reddened and I sputtered, "It's not true! A complete misunderstanding. Please, you have got to believe me, Takeshi."

"Of course I wouldn't believe it," Takeshi replied stoically, "somebody else started shouting that it was a bunch of lies and crap."

"That would be me."

He leaned on the doorway and blandly stated, "What do you want from me, Thalia?"

I blinked and unintelligently blurted out, "Huh?"

"You couldn't have just wanted to drop by and say hi. Perhaps there was something you wanted to ask me," he drawled, observing my reaction.

Does this Takeshi person have telepathic powers? Or am I just that easily read like an open book? There wasn't much emotion in his words. I only saw microscopic concern in his eyes, but didn't hear it in his words.

"Yeah, you got me," I awkwardly chuckled, "I've got a question to ask if you don't mind."

Takeshi raised an eyebrow, expecting a random question.

"Why did you refuse to help us?"

His gray eyes turned cold at my inquiring words. Oh no, he's mad at me. Damn Izumi for tricking me into coming here! Maybe it would be okay if I ran back inside right now. It would be a way to avoid his rage. Mysterious people always seem to be the most dangerous in my eyes.

"... I will answer your question, but not here."

Before I could even reply, Takeshi encircled his long fingers around my wrist and brought me to a corner of the school rooftop. Why do I have this queasy feeling in my stomach? I want it to stop. Stubbornly, my pulse still raced at rapid speeds, refusing to slow down. I want to yank his fingers off my wrist but that might make this current situation even more awkward. Gingerly, he removed his grasp on me.

"Are you going to spill the beans or not?"

"I have no beans to spill," he answered matter-of-factly.

"No," I sighed, "I mean, are you going to answer me or not?"

"I am. It's just..." Takeshi looked uncomfortable.

I know one thing for sure. This guy acts nothing like his twin siblings. In fact, he is their complete opposites! Kenichi and Izumi are actually popular at school. Takeshi is nobody. No offense. Some know him as the younger brother of the Kaito twins and that's all they know.

"I've never told anyone about this before. Not even my family," he eyed me suspiciously, "why should I trust you? Give me one good reason."

That's a hard question. Damn, I don't know how to respond. Should I lie? Or tell the truth? Ugh, if only I knew Takeshi better. I suppose it's always best to go with the truth.

"To be real honest, I just wanted to know why you refused to help us. I didn't intend to pry personal information," I spoke truthfully.

His gray eyes softened a bit. However, he suddenly pushed me against the wall, roughly. Takeshi's arms trapped me and I gasped slightly, surprised. The only option left is to kick him right in the balls. Since Takeshi was much taller than me, he stared down at me. I hate feeling short and inferior to others. My whole body froze to the core when he started to lean closer and closer towards me, a slight smirk appearing on his porcelain face. His lips were now mere millimetres away from my right ear. I don't like this feeling at all.

Takeshi whispered, warm breath tickling the right side of my face, "Are you scared, Thalia?"

"No, I'm not," I breathed under one breath, ignoring the erratic beat of my heart.

He scowled. "You should be. I'm a monster."

That escalated quickly.

"You are not a monster, Takeshi," I softly said, "you are human. A person with feelings. Don't forget that."

He laughed darkly and gently grasped my chin, making me look him directly in the eye.

"You're wrong. I almost killed someone," Takeshi gruffly said in his low voice, "I was a little child and almost murdered my classmate. I am dangerous. If I try to help, I'll only screw everything up like usual. It would be better if you avoided me."

My eyes widened considerably. He almost killed someone as a child? Don't tell me his family is some kind of secret classified Mafia organization! Kenichi is too happy for that thing. Or maybe it's all just some fake attitude! Maybe everything was all lies from the start. What if we all suddenly woke up as babies and realized our whole life was merely a dream? Mind blown.

"I'm surprised you didn't run away at this point," Takeshi muttered, avoiding my curious yet shocked gaze.

"I just don't know how to react to all of this," I laughed shortly, "it's not normal to discover your fellow classmate is an almost killer. A bit mind-blowing even."

He let go of my chin and sighed. His cold touch was still lingering there. It wasn't as cold as frost. Just a little bit warmer. Either way, I still have a built in immunity to the cold. Takeshi still had his arms up on both sides of me. I noticed he had muscle. I can't believe he's only sixteen and the same age as me! He definitely looks physically older. Oh no, Thalia, don't let Izumi's words get to you. You will not become speechless due to Takeshi's 'hotness' and 'sexiness'.

"Thanks for not running."

Takeshi's voice brought me back to reality and I smiled. "Why would I run away from you? If anybody's a monster, I'd say my brother is more of a monster than you."

This time, he genuinely laughed. Only for a few seconds. It was like a short period of music opening from a heaven hole. Takeshi abruptly stopped and looked surprised that laugh came out from his own mouth. Wow. I think that's the first time I have ever heard that boy laugh. He's improving to become a normal teenage boy!

After putting down his arms, he questioned incredulously, "Is Hunter that bad?"

"Yeah, that jerk never knows when to stop throwing pillows or tricking others," I grinned cheekily.

"Basically, throwing pillows is considered more dangerous than almost killing others to you," he concluded in disbelief.

"Exactly," I broke out into a smile, "Hunter intentionally tricks other. But, I bet you accidentally almost killed someone without realizing it. Huge difference there. ... You know what?"

Takeshi raised an eyebrow, waiting for my words.

"You aren't as bad as I thought you were, Takeshi."

For a split second, a true smile appeared on his face. It even reached his gray eyes. Sadly, Takeshi immediately covered it with a cough. I think that was the first time I have seen him ever smile. Today is the first of everything day for Takeshi.

I pouted. "It's alright to smile once in a while. Frowning just gives you more wrinkles."

He ran his hand through his blue locks and replied with a hint of embarrassment, "... Smiling feels weird and awkward though."

Ha, this kid is so strange! An almost killer finding smiling awkward? He sounds more like an awkward teen. It's an improvement from attempting to kill someone. I wonder how he did it... No, I'd probably ruin the mood with asking a question like that.

"That's why you have to smile more!"


A/N: Hmmm... I see Thalia and Takeshi are getting awfully close~ ;) Thank you for reviewing The Fire Files and kaitkid and Animelover0508! All three of you are amazing people.

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