Ninth
As the afternoon sunset rays hit mint green pupils, little Kagome Byakudan along with her teddy bear Percival walk down the path towards Lulim's main entrance. Seeing that her other friends Kizuna and Remon had already left, the little first year had no choice but to walk alone back to Strawberry Dorms. As she continued to stroll in the woods, the little girl grew a bit tired and decided to rest at the lakeside with Percival. Trying to find a good spot to sit down, she sees Tamao sitting down by that same tree, with a sheet paper in both hands. As Kagome approaches quietly, she hears the blue-haired girl giggling to herself. Within a few seconds, Tamao begins to utter words, seemingly like she was talking to someone. The blue-haired girl closes her eyes as she spoke more words that are seemingly in rhyme. A crackling noise from behind startles Tamao out of her daydreaming. Turning her head to see where the noise came from, she saw the sight of Kagome, with her arms wrapped around her teddy bear, staring intently at her. The little girl happened to step on a little tree branch that has fallen on the ground. Tamao smiles at her, her right hand beckoning the little girl to come closer.
"Hello, Kagome-chan. What brings you here?"
"Percival is tired, so he needs to rest."
Tamao looks at the teddy bear and gives it a pat on the head. "Then sit beside me." The blue-haired girl shifts a little to make room for Kagome. As the little girl sits down, she cradles Percival into her little arms and nuzzles her cheek on the teddy bear's head. Tamao finds the little girl's gesture pretty cute. She continues to read from the sheet of paper from before, and as Kagome listens, she sees a gleam of light from Tamao's gray eyes. Now the little girl understands why Tamao was giggling earlier. Tamao is happy. She is very happy to be precise. As Tamao finished reading, Kagome's hands held Percival's arms and the bear clapped along to praise the blue-haired girl's finished piece. Tamao bows her head a little and thanks her only audience in sheer bliss.
"Thank you, Kagome-chan. Thank you, Percival."
"That was really great Tamao-sama. I bet she would like it very much." Tamao is surprised to hear the little girl's remark and suddenly blushes. "What's this I'm feeling?" The blue-haired girl could only think in nervousness. After a moment, Tamao smiles at Kagome and puts her own hand at her chest, feeling her still fast heartbeat.
"Thank you. I…really hope so."
Kagome looks up at the older girl and asks an out of the blue question. "You like her…don't…you?"
Tamao gazes back at the little girl. The teddy bear still wrapped in Kagome's arms, the little Lulim girl continued, "Rokujou-san… You like her, don't you?"
Tamao bows her head down and sighs. "I am totally cornered." So now she knows how it feels to be in Nagisa's shoes. No matter how much you try to hide and pretend, this little girl can see through one's heart without a sweat.
"I…don't know. Maybe…I do. Maybe I'm…?" Tamao stammers.
"…in love?" The little girl whispers as she gazes at the lake. Tamao could only stare at the Lulim student in amazement.
Kizuna and Remon were waiting at the main door of the Strawberry Dorms. As they see the figures of Tamao and little Kagome coming into view, the two lively girls ran and happily greeted their little friend.
"Where have you been, Kagome-chan?" Remon pokes the little girl's forehead.
Kagome meekly answers, "Percival and me strolled around the woods."
"Thank goodness you're okay. Thank you so much, Tamao-sama." Kizuna jumps up and hold the blue-haired girl's hands in gratitude.
"No problem. I just happened to be on the way," Tamao scratches the back of her head.
"Oh, Tamao-sama! Am I seeing this right? Your eyes…!" Kizuna exclaims.
"Tamao-sama…what's this? You…" Remon walks around the blue-haired girl with her arms open.
"Oh, this?" Tamao raises her hand as she shows the folded sheet of paper into view. "It's just one of the pieces I've recently written."
"Wow!" The orange-head exclaims. "This is…so cute!"
Tamao blushes at the compliment. Remon couldn't help but be curious. "Tamao-sama, is this for someone you like?"
"Ah, no…" Tamao's blush deepens while Kizuna and Remon read the rest of the verses from the just finished piece. The blue-haired girl stares at Kagome and the little Lulim girl winks her eye, a sign of trust that her secret is safe with her. Tamao silently thanks the girl by winking her eye back. Kagome smiles and waves Percival's right arm.
Not too far away, Minamoto Chikaru watches them. The Lulim president smiles at the sight of her minions feeling happy for the blue-haired girl's newfound love. She knows that the younger girl deserves it, after all the pain she's gone through. As the sun sets, with the light slowly disappearing from the raven-haired girl's sight, she hopes for the best as the coming days won't be easy. Your strength will pull you through, no matter what. The Lulim president turns away as her steps take her back inside the Strawberry Dorms.