Chapter 2 - First Date
Haru nervously ran his hands through his hair before he knocked on Michiko's door. Why am I so nervous? It's not like I'm asking her to marry me or anything. It's just dinner. To see if maybe there's another person in the world that's interested in just me. He closed his eyes for a moment to collect himself and opened them as the door unlatched.
"Come in and be welcome, Hatsuharu-san." He caught a glimpse of Michiko with her hands in her hair as she turned around right after unlatching the door, "Be done in a moment."
Haru followed her in and started leafing through the first book he found. It had several complex diagrams on the pages so he picked it up and settled onto the couch to read. At the end of two chapters he looked up and realized Michiko was still not done. Curious, he set the book aside and walked into the back, "Michiko-san?"
He heard a light growl then a sigh and she stepped out of the bathroom. Her long hair was partially up but dangerously tilted to one side. There were several pins in place but her hair appeared to be escaping no matter how many she used. "What are you doing?"
She frowned at him, "Trying to do my hair."
He couldn't figure out if she had been going for a bun or partly up or something fancy that went completely wrong. She has such a pretty profile. A little rounder than Rin's but very pretty. Ah, why am I thinking about her right now? I'm going on a date with Michiko. He could feel his Black side's enthusiasm for this idea. How can half of me be so happy and the other so conflicted? He finally asked, "Do what to it?"
"Pin it up in one of those nice arrangements girls do when they go out to dinner."
"I like your hair better down." he murmured before walking over to carefully help her get the pins out of the silky strands. "It's a nice length."
She was trying to put her hair up all this time? The only things I've ever seen her do to her hair are leave it down and put it in a bun when we spar. She didn't need to go to all that trouble. It's nice to see her face properly but it looks pretty when it moves with her.
She quirked a brow at him, "I notice you didn't comment on the color."
Haru shrugged as he picked out the last pin and stepped back, "The color isn't important."
"But it is fun." she replied as she quickly brushed her hair out and dropped the brush carelessly into the drawer.
A raised brow was his only response to that as he tugged her out to the living room. She tucked her ID and money into her denim skirt pocket and allowed him to tug her out the door. "Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise." he replied easily, pleased that he hadn't had to say anything about her shoes that would give away what they were doing. He released her and they walked side by side on the sidewalk as he led her towards his destination. He had had Momiji draw him a map so he wouldn't get lost on the way and pulled it out of his pocket to study at the next intersection.
Haru frowned slightly; the streets on the map didn't match the ones on the corner. Michiko glanced up curiously at him when he let out a sigh. "This isn't right."
Michiko pulled his hand down so she could see the map better and frowned for a moment before her face cleared. She plucked the map out of his hand and pointed behind them. "We should have gone right instead of left at the first turn."
Figures I'd get lost even with a map. he thought in vague irritation. It was one thing to be lost by himself and completely another to be lost with a girl on their first date. Haru scratched his head as he looked around, "Oh."
She tugged his hand as she stepped away, "This way."
Michiko kept the map in hand as she led them through the city to the outskirts of the woods around his home. Five steps off the road and tree on the left. he remembered as he followed the directions and came out from behind the tree with a large picnic basket. He watched a smile light up her face when she realized what they were going to do.
"A picnic?" she asked as she clasped her hands together in an obvious effort to reign in her enthusiasm for the idea.
Haru couldn't help the smile that tugged his mouth at her delight. He had picked the perfect thing after all. "Yes."
They walked for a while on a little game trail before they found a spot next to the water and in the shade. The leaves were all orange and gold in the early October sunshine and there was a clearing on a small hill with a pretty view of the creek. She helped him spread the blanket out on the flattest section and settled herself in a corner while he pulled food out and put it on the blanket a little haphazardly.
They ate and enjoyed the sunshine for a while before she spoke, "What made you decide on a picnic?"
In truth, he had no idea. He shrugged lightly, "It seemed like something you would like."
He felt something within him stir when she smiled at him, "You're right. Thank you, Hatsuharu-san."
He gave her another small smile as he picked up a sandwich. They ate and talked and when they were finished they lay back on the blanket and watched the leaves blow in the wind. They pointed out different shapes in the leaves and laughed as each got sillier.
"It's there. You just have to look at it right." he said as he shifted his head closer to hers and pointed, "Right there. I swear, it's an elephant. That branch is the trunk and that clump of leaves is the body and that little group of leaves hanging out of place is the ear."
She scrunched her eyes partway shut and tilted her head as she tried to see it, "Maybe." She turned to look at him and their faces were very close. "Don't people do this with clouds?"
"We can't see any clouds from here." he replied easily as he reached over and clasped her hand. They stayed like that for a while before packing up and heading to the dojo to spar.
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Kyou glanced around as he heard someone sparring in the back. As far as he knew he and Haru were the only ones with keys. His eyes brightened at the thought of a fight and he headed back to needled the cow. Probably with Yuki. Don't know how he can spar and hold on to the damn rat's shirt anyway. He walked to the back and looked through the slightly open door. He could tell the occupants were going at it pretty seriously so he only stepped close enough to see into the room at an angle. He watched in surprise as a girl with black and purple hair rolled gracefully into his line of sight, followed almost immediately by Haru. He swung at the girl and she just barely evaded it.
Curious, he shifted slightly closer so he could see better. The fight was pretty evenly matched from what he could tell. The girl was pretty good, but Haru should have been better. Stupid cow is getting beat up by a girl. Or at least he's not able to score more points against her than she against him.
He gave up his plan to hassle the cow and continued up to his room to think in peace and quiet. No one knew he came here when he couldn't stand to be home and Tohru wasn't there to bug him. The strange girl they had found camping in their woods had really started to grow on him, not that he admit it if anyone asked. She was a total space cadet but likable despite that.
He slipped into the quiet familiarity of his room and took a deep breath. Quiet at last. Maybe now I can take a nap without being bothered. he thought as he sprawled on his bed. Kyou let his eyes drift closed in the late afternoon sunshine filtering through his window.
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Haru walked slowly across the front yard without paying much attention to where he was walking. He wanted to talk with Yuki again. He always made Haru feel better and had good advice for him.
"Hey ushi. I saw you sparring with a girl last time I was at the dojo. What's the matter? Did you finally realize you're not good enough to fight someone your own size?"
Haru stopped in his tracks and turned towards Kyou. "Excuse me, baka neko?" he said in a dangerously low voice as his eyes turned black.
Kyou's eyes lit up, "You heard me, you dumb cow."
Haru stalked over to him and slammed him into the wall. Kyou leapt to his feet and launched himself at the ushi. They tussled for several minutes before Yuki came out to see what all the noise was.
"Why are you two fighting?" he asked from the porch.
"I'm just reminding the neko here that I can fight people my own size just fine. I'll be with you in just a moment, love."
Yuki grimaced at the endearment but waited patiently nonetheless for him to finish with Kyou. Ten minutes later he was tapping his foot and starting to get impatient. "Are you two almost done or shall I start on my homework?"
Haru punched Kyou hard enough to send him flying before walking away. "Talk to you later, baka neko." When he got to Yuki he reached out for his shirt. "Hi, Yuki."
"Hello, Haru. Was there something you needed or did you come over to fight with Kyou?" he asked.
"Hmmm. I'm not sure. Why don't I keep you company while I think about it?"
Yuki sighed. "Only if you promise to behave yourself."
"I'm behaving." Haru smirked.
"For now." Yuki said before turning to walk upstairs to his room with his shadow.
"Nice view."
"What did I just say?" Yuki asked irritably.
"Sorry. I'll behave."
"Please."
Yuki entered his room and sat at the desk with his books. "Let me know when you remember what it was you needed."
"Can't we talk?" Haru asked as he leaned against the desk.
"I don't especially enjoy speaking with your black side."
Haru knew his cousin could see the disappointment in his eyes and that Yuki would give in. "If you can behave yourself, we can talk until to you go white and remember what you wanted to see me about."
Haru smiled, "I can behave. What have you been up to lately?"
"Not much. Just school for the most part."
"Has Akito given you any trouble since you moved out?"
"No, I haven't spoken with him since I moved into Shigure's house." Yuki answered quietly.
"Are you feeling better?"
"Yes. It's nice to be away from the main house."
"How have your nightmares been?" he asked, wanting to make sure his plan had worked.
"Better. Especially since Tohru moved in." Yuki smiled, "She has a very soothing presence."
"I'm glad you've found some peace here." he replied as he idly wondered when he'd finally meet this Tohru.
Yuki smiled. "Me too. I don't know why Shigure agreed to let me live here, but I'm very glad that he did."
Haru smiled happily. He knew why Shigure let Yuki move in but he wasn't going to tell him that.
Yuki watched Haru's eyes lose focus and change from black back to his usual gray. "Haru?" he asked a moment later.
"Yuki? When did we get up here?" he asked dazedly. Wasn't I on the way to see him?
"Just a few minutes ago. Are you all right?" he asked gently.
"Yes, I just wanted to talk with you again."
"What's going on?" Yuki asked.
"I've been spending more time with her the last few weeks. We went on a date the other day. I had a really nice time and don't feel bad about it. But I do feel bad because I don't feel bad. Does that make any sense?"
Yuki smiled, "Not really. If you had a good time that's okay."
"But does it mean that I didn't really love Rin?"
"No, Haru. It's been almost six months since she told you she didn't want to see you anymore. That's enough time to let go and move on without guilt. It hasn't been easy for you to move on, so you shouldn't doubt that your feelings were real and strong. What feels right to you?"
Haru studied his hands while he considered the question carefully before responding, "Being with Mi feels right to me."
Yuki reached out and touched his shoulder, "Then that's all that matters."
"How can you be sure?"
Yuki shrugged, "I can't. No one can. You just have to do what's right for you."
"I always feel better after talking with you." Haru said quietly, with a small smile.
"Are you going to bring her around some time so I can meet her?"
"Yes. I'll set something up later."
Yuki smiled, "I look forward to meeting the girl that's made you smile again."
"Thanks, Yuki."
"That's what friends are for." the older teen replied with a slight smile.
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"Sato Michiko, please report to the Testing Room for a code red. Repeat, Sato Michiko to the Testing Room, Code Red."
Michiko leapt out of her chair and ran for the Testing Room as quickly as possible. She saw her boss Oonishi Kishi following close behind her, blonde hair trailing after her.
"Do you know who it is?" Michiko asked as she threaded her way down the maze of hallways towards the well warded Testing Room.
"I believe Alphonso was working on a cursed object." the department head replied.
"Lovely." she replied before skidding to a halt outside the doors and cautiously opening them. She cast a spell to ensure nothing was lying in wait before stepping into the room and hurrying to her co-worker's side.
"Alphonso? Are you all right?" she asked as she knelt beside the older man. He was in his mid thirties and fairly good at what they did, but every now and then something would surprise him.
He groaned and rolled over to reveal several deep slashes across his face, torso, and arms. Blood was seeping out of them at a steady rate and there was a small pool of it where he was lying. Michiko started snapping out orders without thought that she was snapping them to her boss. She was a Medic for her office and in a Code Red, her word was law. As she worked on her co-worker her thoughts drifted back to when she had been made Medic for her office.
She had sort of fallen into healing. She'd had to take of herself for a long time and one day a co-worker had been injured during testing. Everyone panicked and she realized no one was helping him. She went over and looked to see if she could tell what needed to be done. He was bleeding from several places and some sort of ooze was seeping out of his skin. It looked acidic and pretty bad. She snagged the first person that walked by and yanked them down to her, "Get the medical kit."
The person, whom she hadn't bothered to look at, flicked their wand and a moment later handed her the kit. Michiko debated on which was worse, the bleeding or the oozing. She decided bleeding had a definite time limit and dealt with that first. She shoved a replenishing potion into the other person's hand. "Pour this down his throat."
The order was followed and she started working on his open wounds. "Do you know what this ooze stuff is and has anyone called for emergency personnel yet?"
"They've been notified." the voice replied before snapping at someone going by, "Look this up and bring me the antidote."
Michiko glanced up and realized it was her brand new boss she had commandeered as her assistant. She flinched.
"Oonishi-sama, get me two vials of blood replenisher and start clearing the blood from his arms and face so I can see what I'm healing."
The blond witch summoned the first aid box and poured two vials of replenisher down her employee's throat before casting some medical class cleaning spells to clear the blood from his injuries. She was clearly not pleased by what she saw, but Michiko was doing everything she could to heal him. She was the youngest employee in the office, but in times like these no one cared. She moved from injury to injury and checked for curses before cleaning and healing them.
Several minutes later, Michiko sat back on her heels with a pleased expression as they assisted Alphonso into a sitting position. "How are you feeling?" she asked gently.
"A little dizzy." he replied gruffly.
Michiko handed him another blood replenisher and his face relaxed as soon as he finished it.
"Much better, now. Thank you, Michiko-san." he replied.
"Any time Alphonso-san. You're to go home and rest for the remainder of the day." she replied firmly.
He looked to Kishi to argue but the boss just shook her head with a slight smile. "The medic has spoken."
They helped him stand and watched as he walked with only a slight wobble out the door so he could collect his things.
Michiko watched as Kishi studied the area until she found the object he'd been working on. She put on the curse proof gloves that were on the table next to it and carefully put the necklace back in the box for safekeeping.
Michiko shook her head, "That one must be pretty nasty."
Kishi nodded, "It is. I'll speak with Alphonso tomorrow and see if we should continue working on it or lock in it in the vault."
The younger girl nodded, "All right. I'm going to get back to work, if you're okay here."
Her boss waved her off, "We're set."
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Haru silently accepted the handshakes from his parents and dutifully kissed his mother on the cheek.
"We'll be gone for a couple of months. You know where the ATM card is if you need to purchase clothes or anything. Kureno has agreed to make sure someone delivers groceries here as long as you want. If you would rather stay with Hatori and Momiji that will be fine." his mother said.
"I like it here, Mother. I'll be fine on my own." he replied quietly.
She fluttered her hands a bit before nodding, "I know, dear. It's just that we will be difficult to reach if you need us."
"I'll be fine. I have Hatori and Shigure if I need anything." he replied, bored with the conversation. It wasn't like they actually cared about his welfare. If they did, they wouldn't leave for months at a time.
"All right. We better get going or we'll miss the train. I love you, Haru." he mother said as she gripped his hands.
"I love you too, Mother." he replied quietly. He did love his parents; he just didn't understand them and often didn't want to. His mother was driven by money and status and this trip was so she could rub elbows with some important people from somewhere or another. "Good-bye." he added pointedly.
His father nodded and got into the car while his mother snapped at a passing maid then got into the car. Haru went back into the house before they left and settled himself on his bed with a book and some hard rock pumping in the background. He knew Momiji would be by about five minutes after they left to check on him and report back to Hatori.
Exactly five minutes and fifteen seconds later – because it took the rabbit fifteen seconds to bound from his door to Haru's – there was a knock before the door creaked open and the sound of footsteps, or maybe hops, could be heard.
The bright-eyed blond boy popped into Haru's room and grinned, "Hi, Haru."
Haru closed the book and looked up, "Hello."
"Are you staying here while they're gone?"
"Yes. I like the quiet when they're away." he murmured.
"Okay. I just wanted to check. If you change your mind, your room is ready."
Haru smiled. When was his room at Hatori's ever not ready? His parents spent so much time travelling that the doctor's house had been his second home for as long as he could remember. Once he was old enough to stay home alone, he alternated between staying there and staying home. As he had gotten older he had started staying at Hatori's less and less. It interfered with his free time to have someone actually looking out for him. He considered the doctor more of a father than his own, but as any teen will tell you, he'd rather do his own thing than live by the rules set up by someone else.
"Thanks, Momiji." If Hatori was his surrogate father, then Momiji was more like a brother than cousin. They were very close but sometimes the rabbit saw far more than Haru wanted him to see.
Momiji plopped on the bed, "You've been looking better these last few weeks. Why?"
Haru sighed, "I made a new friend."
The rabbit's eyes got huge, "Really? A girl friend maybe?"
The ox shrugged, "Maybe. She is a girl and she is my friend."
"When did you meet her? What class is she in? Do I know her?"
"I met her a couple months ago. She's not in school and you probably don't know her."
"If she's not in school, she's way too old for you, Haru." Momiji replied.
"She graduated early. She's only a bit less than three years older than me." he replied a little defensively.
"Oh. Well, that's no so bad then. What's she like?" he demanded with a bounce.
"She's very nice and beautiful and smart."
The rabbit smirked at him, "In that order?"
Haru laughed and tossed a pillow at him. "In any order."
"When do I get to meet her?"
"I don't know. We'll see. I'm taking it slow right now." He checked his watch, "In fact, I need to get out of here. We have a dinner date."
"Okay. I'll see you later, Haru." Momiji said with a grin before bouncing out of the room.
Haru shook his head and headed downstairs at a more sedate pace. He frowned lightly as he spotted Hatori on the porch, getting ready to knock. "Hi, Hatori."
"Hello, Haru. Are you leaving?" the doctor asked, eying the teen's jacket.
"Yes. I have dinner plans today." came the less than enthusiastic reply.
Hatori surprised him by merely nodding, "Be home by ten."
"I will." he replied with a surge of annoyance. "At least, I will as long as I don't get lost."
Hatori frowned, "Do you have your cell phone?"
Haru patted down his pockets absently before finding the phone stashed in the cargo pocket of his pants. I wonder how it got there? He held it up and Hatori's frown deepened before he took it and swapped out the batteries.
"You need to remember to charge your phone, Haru." The teen looked at him blankly so he elaborated, "It was dead."
"Oh. Sorry. I lost my charger." Thing never stays where I put it anyway. He withheld a grin at Hatori's barely restrained exasperation. He wasn't nearly as scatterbrained as he let them all think. It just made things easier to pretend and it was kind of fun to annoy his family and teachers.
"I'll have Momiji bring another one by for you tonight."
"Thanks." Haru said before sauntering off the porch and towards the gates. He made it to Michiko's after only two wrong turns so he was only a little late. Since she was expecting him, he knocked and opened the door to poke his head in.
She stepped out of the kitchen and smiled when she spotted him. "Come in and be welcome, Hatsuharu-san."
He closed the door behind him and made his way to the kitchen to help. When she had found out his cooking skills ran only to microwaving she had insisted on providing cooking lessons in exchange for the sparring lessons.
"Here, let's chop up the vegetables first and get them simmering since they take so long." she said before leading him over to a pair of cutting boards and knives.
He watched her demonstrate and followed her example. "This isn't so complicated."
"Exactly. Which is why there's no reason for you to eat microwave food. The stuff can't be good for you." she replied before showing him the next step.
They worked in the kitchen companionably with her giving instruction and him asking questions periodically as they went. He flushed a little as his stomach grumbled in hunger and she laughed before explaining he should be taste testing a bit as they worked. After that he sampled a little bit of each item and it took the edge off his hunger.
When they were done she shooed him to the table and served dinner. They chatted about cooking, books, and whatever else came to mind as they enjoyed their meal. When it was time to clean up he insisted on helping with the dishes and did the washing since he didn't know where anything went yet. They retired to the living room to continue their conversation and completely lost track of time.
The phone in his pocket rang and he looked around curiously before realizing it was his and digging it out of his jacket pocket, where he had stuffed it after Hatori changed out the batteries. "Hello?"
Michiko frowned over at his next comment. "I'm not sure. Hold on and I'll see if anything looks familiar." He remained silent for several moments before speaking again, "No, I'm sorry, Hatori. Nothing looks familiar at all. Don't worry. I'll figure it out and be home as soon as I do . . . . Okay, see you tomorrow. Bye."
He met Michiko's curious gaze, "I guess I'm late getting home." They glanced at the clock and it was eleven thirty. "Hmmm. I guess I better leave."
"What time were you supposed to be home?" she asked, worried.
"Ten." he replied, unconcerned.
"Well, no wonder he's worried. But why did you tell him you were lost?"
He shrugged, "He won't give me a hard time about that. If I tell him that I was talking to you and lost track of time he'd be upset and he'd want to meet you and I don't want them to know about you."
She frowned suspiciously, "Why not?"
He shifted his weight and glanced away. "My family is complicated and I don't want you to be involved. You're my secret. Yuki and Momiji know a little, but that's it."
She reached out to touch his arm, "Involved? They aren't hurting you, are they?"
Haru looked surprised, and in truth he was. Why would she instantly jump to that conclusion? "They aren't hurting me."
She studied him closely to make sure he was telling the truth before nodding. "See you at the dojo tomorrow?"
He smiled slightly, "Yes." He reached over and took her hand to ghost his lips over her knuckles.
Michiko blushed and smiled as she watched him walk out the door.
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As fall progressed, dinner on most of the days they didn't spar became part of their regular routine and soon they were seeing each other nearly every day for either sparring or a meal. Sometimes they went out and sometimes they had dinner at her place. When they ate in, he would receive cooking lessons from her and when they ate out they would compare notes on their food and see if they could figure out how to duplicate it. They would talk about everything and nothing for the whole evening. Neither of them really cared for talking on the phone so they rarely missed an opportunity to see each other.
Haru loved the old American black and white horror flicks and when he found out Michiko had never seen one before he stopped their sparring session mid-stretch and dragged her to the theatre.
"How is it possible that you've lived your entire life without seeing at least one classic horror flick?" he asked.
Michiko gave him a look that clearly stated he was crazy, "It's not difficult, really. You just go on about your business and unless one comes walking down the street they pretty much stay under the radar."
He looked at her for a long moment, "You just don't understand about the classics. Don't worry though. By the time Frankenstein and The Mummy are over you will." Much to his delight he had found a theatre playing a double feature with two of his favorites. The lights dimmed and the credits started rolling, "No more talking. Pay attention to the movie."
Michiko raised her brows but indulged him, "All right." She turned her attention to the screen and watched as the movie started. Soon her attention was so wholly with the movie that she didn't notice her hand was still hovering over the popcorn container until Haru's bumped it when he went to grab some.
She jolted a little and blushed when Haru chuckled at her. When she glanced over a moment later his attention was back with the screen and he was speaking along with the movie. Michiko alternated between watching him and the movie and found he was almost as entertaining. His expressions matched the screen and he was dead on with the soundtrack. She chuckled at him before returning to the movie.
Haru glanced over at Michiko as he put the now empty popcorn container on the floor and saw she was again engrossed in the movie. He saw her hands were clenched in her lap and reached over to pull one away. He glanced at her face after he had entwined their fingers and saw she was looking at him and smiling. One gentle tug had her head leaning on his shoulder and his cheek against her silky hair.
When the end credits rolled he asked, "What did you think?"
She squeezed his hand, "I loved it. Is the other one as good?"
"Or better." he replied as he vowed to make sure she at least saw all the good ones. They stayed snuggled together for the whole second movie
On the way home Michiko looked up at Haru, "Can we have a movie night every week? You can bring over your favorites or we can rent what you don't have. What do you think?"
"I think that's a great idea." he replied with a smile as he started thinking of all the movies she should see. He had enough in his own collection to keep them in movie nights for the next six months. "You really liked them?"
"Yeah. There were creepy and suspenseful. Horror movies these days rely on grossing you out rather than actually scaring you. That's why I never got into them. I'm not really into watching blood flow."
Exactly! he thought as he gave her a soft smile. She understands.
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Haru sighed and shifted in his seat. He was in third period and bored out of his mind. He already knew the math and understood it. He had done his homework, and didn't understand why they had to go on and on and on about the same thing. He put his head down on the desk and sighed again.
"Perhaps you'd like to solve this equation, Mr. Sohma?" came the teacher's voice.
Haru blinked slowly at her, "No."
"Well then kindly pay attention. You do want to get into high school next year, don't you?" she growled.
He frowned tiredly before shifting so he was leaning back with his feet kicked out in front of him and his face pointed at the board. He turned her out as she started speaking again and glanced around when a folded piece of paper landed on his desk. The new girl, she'd only been in their class for a week, smiled shyly and he took a moment to worry why before opening the paper to read the note.
Haru,
Would you like to catch a movie with me sometime soon?
-Akira
He sighed deeply. Why would he want to go to the movies with some girl he didn't even know? It's not like you can get to know them better while you're silently watching a movie or anything. Besides, he had Michiko and she was a lot more fun than any middle school girl he'd ever met. He grabbed a pen and wrote her back.
Akira,
No, thank you.
-Haru
He glanced at the teacher to make sure she wasn't looking before flicking the paper back to the smiling girl with a flat expression. She eagerly opened the note and her face fell before scribbling something else on the paper and tossing it back.
You have got to be kidding me. I just said no and she wants to, what, argue about it? Jeez, I hate these stupid fan girls. He grudgingly opened the note and sighed again as he read it.
Why not? We could have a lot of fun. We might have enough in common to make it a good time or become friends.
Well, that was a first. Usually they just demanded they give it and as far as he knew none of them had ever considered just being his friend. He pondered for a long moment before writing back.
You can't get to know someone without speaking to them. You want to be friends, eat lunch with us in the cafeteria. I'm not looking for a girlfriend. Period.
He flicked the note back carelessly but saw her smile when she read the note. Maybe she was honestly interested in making a friend. He wondered what she would make of Momiji before shrugging it off as something he'd find out later.
The bell rang and he gathered his stuff and headed towards the door only to be stopped by a hand on his arm. He followed it up to Akira's face and frowned lightly. "Yes?"
"Thank you." she said softly.
"For what?"
"Giving me a chance."
He paused for a moment before asking, "What do you mean?"
She tugged her hair, which he hadn't really noticed until just then. It was short and nearly as white as his. She was also quite pale and her eyes were a very light green. "The other kids think I'm some kind of freak or something."
Haru's eyes widened in understanding, "They're idiots. What's your next class?"
"Biology." she said softly. "With you."
He shrugged, "Sorry. I don't pay a lot of attention to class."
"I have noticed that." she replied dryly with a hint of a smile. "Bored?"
"Extremely." he responded before falling into step with her.
After a couple of minutes of silence, with her glancing curiously at him every so often, she spoke. "Aren't you going to ask?"
"Ask what?" he responded without even looking at her.
"Why I am this way." came the quiet response.
"No. It's none of my business and it doesn't matter." he replied calmly as they entered the classroom.
She smiled genuinely and took a seat next to him just as the bell rang. "Thank you."
He shrugged, "I know a little something about being different for reasons beyond your control."
The teacher called them to order and he settled down to daydream about Michiko. He understood the Biology work as well and felt no need to pay attention to the lecture when he had already finished the entire textbook. It was actually his favorite class, except for the part where the teacher droned on about the same thing for weeks. He flicked notes back and forth with Akira for the whole period. She wasn't so bad and it looked like she wasn't going to turn into a fan girl. Thank God.