Kirin immediately sought out Nekozawa when she arrived at school on Monday. She found him sitting in the back corner of the classroom—the corner away from the windows, of course. His head was on his desk.
'Can you call out to him?' Kirin signed to Megan.
"NEKOZAWA!" Megan yelled.
He jerked his head up. Kirin waved enthusiastically and started running toward him.
He lifted his hand to his forehead, like a salute, and jerked it away from his head; sign language for "hello."
Kirin froze in mid-step, stumbling but not falling; she hadn't expected that. She beamed and tackled him in a hug.
"I don't know much," he whispered, hugging her back, "but I'm learning; I want to be able to talk to you without phones or paper."
She pulled back, smiling at him happily. She knew she was blushing, but she didn't care; she was happy—and he was blushing, too.
"I'm sorry to interrupt this cute moment with the happy couple," Arora said from behind Kirin, "but you are starting to gather an audience."
'Kirin looked around; sure enough, about half the class had arrived, and they were all watching and whispering; it wouldn't be long until the entire school had heard about the mute girl and the occultist.
"I'm sorry," Nekozawa murmured.
Arora pretended not to hear; it wasn't meant for her.
Kirin gave him a confused look.
"You'll be associated with me now," he explained, staring down at his desk. "I've tarnished your reputation. It won't just be our class, either; the whole school will know, and everyone will look down on you. Talking to me is bad enough. Showing affection… I may have completely ruined your chances of making any friends…."
Kirin stared at him; he seemed so sad. She looked at her classmates, who had no idea what he had said to her. They continued whispering and casting her odd glances. They were judging her, ridiculing her. She turned back to Nekozawa. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
She gently placed her hand on his cheek and turned his face toward her. Their eyes met; hers were gentle and forgiving. His were confused and teary.
She smiled at him and kissed his cheek softly. He blushed, surprised and even more confused.
Kirin pulled a piece of paper and a mechanical pencil from her bag. She wrote something on the paper, then set it on Nekozawa's desk.
'I DON'T CARE!'
He looked up at her, disbelief written on his face.
She smiled at him, then turned toward her classmates. They stopped talking; the seriousness on her face got their attention.
She held up a fist, with her fingers toward herself. She paused, then simultaneously closed her eyes, stuck out her tongue, and flicked her middle finger up.
There was a collective gasp as the class processed her actions. Her sisters cracked up laughing. Tamaki, while he still didn't approve of her associating with Nekozawa, and did look slightly scandalized—her actions were very unladylike—couldn't suppress a smile. Kyoya looked amused as well; he was never taken by surprise. The rest of the class was shocked and offended; Kirin grinned and looked back at Nekozawa. Amusement had mixed with his surprised, disbelieving expression.
His eyes met hers, and he smiled softly. Her grin widened. She liked his smile.
By lunch, the entire school had heard about Kirin and Nekozawa—and how she had flipped off the entirety of Class 11A. While a large portion of the school gave her disapproving looks, many were intrigued; she had several people come up and ask her if the rumors were true—if she really had flipped her "elite" class off—and she would simply nod. Most of them smiled or laughed approvingly, saying things like "way to go!" and "that takes guts!" Because she was with Nekozawa, people were a bit hesitant to approach her, but her friendly expression usually convinced them it was ok. Occasionally, people would whisper in her ear about how scary he was, asking if she was afraid. She would shake her head, and they would mutter something about her being brave, stupid or crazy as they scurried away.
Arora joined Kirin and Nekozawa in the 3rd Science Room during lunch. They all sat on the floor while she taught him sign language and served as translator between him and Kirin.
"You learn fast," Arora told him. "I'm impressed."
"Thank you," he said quietly.
Kirin signed something, and Arora nodded in agreement.
"What?" Nekozawa asked.
"She just said that she's really happy that you're learning and that you're so much nicer than people give you credit for," Arora said. "And I agree."
Nekozawa looked down, trying to hide a blush.
Kirin grinned and pulled his hood off his head.
"H-hey!"
Her grin widened and she signed again.
"She says that you don't need it right now," Arora translated, "because it's already dark in here."
"Well, that is true…. I'm just not used to being around people without it on." He fidgeted nervously.
"I think Kirin likes to be able to see more of you," Arora said.
Kirin blushed and glared at her sister; Nekozawa blushed again as well.
"What?" Arora laughed. "It's true, isn't it?"
Kirin hesitated and nodded slightly; both their blushes darkened.
"You two are so cute," Arora smiled as she stood up. "Well, I'll give you some time alone."
"Thank you for your help," he said.
"It was my pleasure—really. I'll see you guys in class."
There was an awkward silence after Arora left.
"...You really wanted to see more of me?" he asked, looking over at her.
She nodded.
"Why?"
She smiled shyly and signed, 'I like you.'
He smiled back.
"I like you, too."
She felt her breath catch in her throat—in a good way; this was the first time he had specifically said that he liked her. She scooted closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder. He didn't tense up this time; he hesitantly laid his head on top of hers. They sat like that until the end of lunch.
The bell rang, signaling that lunch was over and it was time to go back to class.
Kirin made a face.
"Not excited to go back to class?" Nekozawa laughed.
Kirin stared at him, surprised; she'd never heard him laugh before—not including the creepy laugh he used to scare people. She liked the way his real laugh sounded. It sent warm bubbles bouncing around in her stomach and a chill up her spine and made her heart skip a beat.
"What?" he asked, confused.
She smiled and shrugged; he didn't know the sign for "laugh" yet. She would text him later.
"Ook, well, are you ready to go?"
She made the face again, and he laughed again.
"Not a fan of world history?" he guessed.
'M-A-T-H,' she signed.
"That's after history."
She nodded.
"We could skip," he suggested.
She gave him a look that clearly said, "you had better be kidding."
"Or not. I'm just kidding."
She smirked and nodded approvingly.
He laughed again, and she felt that warmth again.
"C'mon," he stood and helped her up.
She pulled his hood up over his head, smiling. He smiled back and opened the door. They walked out into the hallway and made their way back to class.
At least she could pass notes with him during class.