YAY Chapter 3, finally! Sorry I haven't been updating, I've been VERY busy. I'll update my other fanfic soon, for those of you that are reading both. I'm having a bit of writers block on that. Sorry! Also this chapter is a lot shorter than others because I kind of forgot what I was originally going to write. It was supposed to be really good though... Oh well haha ^^" Gomen~
Anyways, thank you very much for reading, and I hope you enjoy it! ^_^
Chapter 3: Unofficial White Flag
The sun rose, staining the sky orange and red and pink, and Misaki's eyes fluttered open. She noticed Shintani snoring peacefully next to her and carefully took his arm off of her shoulder as to not wake him. She began to stretch, and then realized that she was sitting on the sidewalk in a place she did not know and looked around in a panic.
Why am I here? What happened?
And then it hit her.
The blast came on full force as a memory of exactly what happened the day before hit her. The running, the crying, the yelling, and the collapsing on the floor…
"Usui…" she whispered, voice quaking, tears once again building up in her eyes.
She hated this. She hated feeling all depressed and breaking down and being weak just because of that stupid Usui and she hated having to cry just because Usui ran away and she hated waking up in the middle of nowhere and being lost.
And in this particular moment, she hated life.
She had always worked so hard to keep a smile on her face, to help the people around her, to make money for her family, to protect the girls in her school, and this is how she was rewarded.
"AGHHHHH!" she yelled, and kicked a small, thin tree that grew nearby.
Panting, she slowly slid down again, head between her knees, and began to cry.
Usui opened his eyes as the sunlight filtered through the trees, creating a spotlight on him. He closed his eyes again, took a breath, and stood up.
Of course, Usui had regained his outside composure, and began walking as confidently has he could out of the small group of trees he was in, and looked out into the distance.
Misaki… Where are you right now?
On the inside, he could still feel the pain that coursed through him with each beat of his broken heart, and he still felt illogical and confused and out of character.
Suddenly, a cry rang through the air, and a piercing crack came from something that sounded like wood.
That's her voice…
He began to walk faster, hands in his pockets, towards the cry of anguish that continued to echo through the city.
Shintani was startled awake by the ear-splitting crack accompanied by a scream combined with anguish, depression, and fear, that could have shattered every window in the city had it not been choking on tears at the time. He groggily turned around, only to be met by the seen that lay before him. A tree was beginning to fall on top of Misaki, and she had been knocked unconscious by a falling branch that hit her directly on the head. The tree itself did not look like it weighed much and probably would not inflict too much damage on her body, though it might have broken a few bones. Unable to move from the shock, Shintani could only sit against the wall and stare at the rude awakening that lay before him.
Rushed footsteps that disguised pain with confidence turned the corner to the location of the drama, and strong arms swept the unconscious girl into warm protection as Usui hugged her to his chest, while pushing the tree upright with his shoulders. His gaze fell upon Shintani, and his breath caught in his throat as his brain conjured a flashback of exactly what happened yesterday. Glancing at Shintani, he put Misaki back on the floor and leaned the tree against the brick wall so that it would not fall again.
Placing his facial features back into their usual mask of normality, he looked up and walked away, leaving the fate of his girl in the protection of his rival.