I'm back! Another chapter, yay! I hope this isn't moving too slowly for anyone.
Tokaku
Tokaku awoke at six thirty like she always did. Getting up early was something she had grown used to throughout her school career, and she liked it. Being cold at first was a great way to get her body moving. Her mind was also more active in the morning.
She found her uniform, which lay folded at the foot of her bed. She could have sworn she'd left it on the floor before entering the shower last night, but its current state didn't surprise her. Her uniform had ended up this way all five days of the black class. It wasn't exactly fancy, so it didn't look that different if it got wrinkled. Honestly, she couldn't care less about that sort of thing.
That said, she did like the neatness of the smooth, folded clothes. Taking one piece off the pile at a time, she quickly dressed herself. She grabbed her brown knee-high boots and pulled them on, lacing them up like she'd done a million times before. Those were long laces.
When she'd finished, she looked over and saw to her dismay that not only was Ichinose asleep, she appeared to be in the middle of a dream.
Tokaku walked over to the side of her bed and looked down at her. There was something fascinating about Ichinose Haru, but she couldn't figure out what. Moving in closer, Tokaku examined her thoroughly. She had round, pinkish cheeks and long eyelashes. Her messy magenta hair stuck out in every direction, making her head resemble a pom pom. Other than those scars and that scent, she seemed like just an ordinary girl.
"Kaa-san…"
The words left Ichinose's lips, and Tokaku sprang back in surprise. Her brain calmed down when she saw that her subject was still asleep.
She's dreaming of her mother, Tokaku thought, frowning. Maybe she's homesick.
That's right, Ichinose had a family. A family that loved her. A family who would grieve for her when their daughter's dead body came home.
She didn't usually consider stuff like that. Being the way she was, she'd never had many loved ones. The Azuma's weren't exactly big on family togetherness, unless you counted training until dusk and sitting silently at meals. The only real family she could think of was, of course, Aunt Mako.
Now the visions were coming back. Black tree branches blew around her head, and the little shrine stood right in front of her again, tormenting her as it had for years.
…is watching from that shrine.
"Kaa-san, I can't eat any more…"
Tokaku looked back at Ichinose, who was now happily munching on her bed sheets. She squinted to make sure she was seeing that correctly.
"These donuts are the best," the girl mumbled through wet cloth. "And the melon buns…"
Enough was enough. Tokaku grabbed the comforter and pulled it away. Ichinose awoke with a start and squeaked at the sudden rush of cold air.
"Ah! What was that for, Tokaku-san?" She rubbed her eyes. "Wah, it's so cold!"
"You need to get ready for school," Tokaku replied blandly, discarding the comforter in a wad beside the bed. "You have five minutes to get ready, or I'm leaving without you."
"Only five?!" Ichinose scrambled out of bed, tripped on the comforter, and crashed to the floor.
Wincing, Tokaku helped her to her feet. "All right, more like ten. But I don't want to wait all morning."
Ichinose groaned and rubbed her head, further messing up her hair. "You sure are punctual for someone who leaves her clothes all over the floor."
Pink tinged Tokaku's cheeks. "You mean you've been folding my clothes for me?"
"What, did you think it was a ghost doing it?" Ichinose grinned. She held out her index finger as though quoting someone important. "You should take better care of yourself, Tokaku-san."
"How about you?" Tokaku replied, disguising her embarrassment with grumpiness. "You were eating donuts in your sleep. And last night, too."
"Don't you ever have dreams like that?" Ichinose cried, blushing. "And there was so much good food last night! I don't know how you could sit eating curry the whole time."
Tokaku sighed and leaned against the wall by the door. "Whatever, just get ready."
In surprisingly little time, Ichinose had dressed, washed up, done her hair, and put together her school supplies. It was nice to see that she could hurry when she wanted to.
The two of them left the dorm building and crossed the stone bridge that lead to the main school facilities. Although she didn't usually pay attention to aesthetics, Tokaku had to admit the bridge was a nice touch.
"Morning, Azuma-san! Ichinose-san!"
Behind them was Sagae, with her long red hair tied back in a ponytail and pocky hanging out of her mouth. She smiled, and Tokaku wondered why so many of these assassins had such sharp teeth. Most of them weren't too bad, but this girl had fangs, and Hashiri… she didn't even want to think about the smiles Hashiri had given her. They were like something out of the depths of hell.
Ichinose waved back at the girl. "Good morning, Haruki-san!"
The redhead caught up with them and walked beside Ichinose. "Man, I can't wait for breakfast. The food here is so amazing!" She gestured toward the girl behind her who, annoyingly, was Inukai. "Don'tcha think, Isuke-sama?"
"I've eaten much better," Inukai answered haughtily. "And all you did last night was eat sweets like a pig."
The fact that Tokaku and Inukai agreed on something disturbed the blue-haired girl just a bit.
Beside her, Haru was patting Sagae's arm supportively. "I was eating them too, so don't worry!" Her eyes glazed over as she remembered last night's feast. "They were so good!"
"Yeah," Sagae laughed, poking her nose. "Tell your friends that a healthy dose of sweets'll make them big and strong like Haruki nee-san!"
Tokaku frowned. "How can you have a healthy dose of sweets? They're unhealthy by definition."
Inukai folded her arms and smiled cutely. "No one was talking to you, Azuma."
What a stuck up bitch… Tokaku turned away from her and resolved not to look in her general direction. For the rest of her life, if she could help it.
Caught in the middle of a rivalry, Ichinose gave Sagae an apologetic smile. "Tokaku-san and I want to get a good place in the breakfast line. I'll see you in class, Haruki-san." She walked a little faster to create distance between them and Inukai.
Sagae seemed a confused, but she shrugged and waved goodbye to Ichinose, who grinned back and kept walking with Tokaku.
"Thanks for that," Tokaku sighed, relieved. "I guess you aren't that naïve after all."
"Who said I was?" Ichinose pouted. "Does being kind mean you're naïve these days?"
Tokaku was about to answer when her phone vibrated in her pocket.
"Who's calling you?" Ichinose asked, peering over. "Is it from your school?"
Shielding the screen, Tokaku frowned. She really hated Kaiba sometimes. "It's not any of your business, is it?"
Ichinose's face drooped, making her regret her choice of words. "All right, fine. My sensei from 17 Academy has been giving me riddles to solve, only they're stupid and pointless. There aren't even any hints." She held up her phone to show Ichinose. It read "The world is full of _".
The girl stared at it for a second. "Hmm. And there's no hint at all?"
Closing the phone, Tokaku slipped it back into her pocket. "I told you it was dumb. I put in every answer I can think of, and all he says is 'Wrong! LOL!'" She did the last bit in an exaggerated voice. "So that's why I'm just going to… what's so funny?"
Ichinose had burst into peals of laughter. "That voice you did for your sensei! Do it again!"
"Um…" Tokaku wore a total deadpan expression. "Totally wrong! LOL!"
Apparently this was the most hilarious thing in the world to Ichinose. The pinkette put her hand on Tokaku's shoulder to steady herself.
"Why are you laughing?" Tokaku cried angrily. "How would you like to get told that every single day?"
Blinking back tears, Ichinose straightened up and smiled at her. "Sorry, sorry. I just didn't think you were any fun."
"Hmph." Tokaku gave Ichinose a grudging smile for her trouble. "That's because I'm not fun. Anyway, I report to him every day what's going on and try to solve this one damn riddle."
They had reached the cafeteria by then. The place was more crowded in the morning, since everyone had to eat around the same time. At dinner they could spread it out.
Powering their way through the crowd, Tokaku and Ichinose joined the line, got their food, and found two empty seats next to their classmates. No point in talking with other students.
"Wah…" Ichinose sighed, sitting down with her breakfast. "There are so many people! And that dream made me really hungry, too."
Tokaku glanced down at her breakfast and was awed by the amount of food. She herself had picked a traditional breakfast with rice and miso soup, but Ichinose had several different countries represented on her plate.
Across from them sat Namatame, Hashiri, and Kirigaya. Namatame gave a small wave. "Good morning, Ichinose-san. Azuma-san. Did you sleep well?"
"Yep!" Ichinose said brightly, twirling her fork expertly before plunging it into some vegetables. "I love being in a dorm. It's like having a sleepover every day. How about you, Tokaku-san?"
Tokaku shrugged. "It's nothing special." In truth, she'd had difficulty sleeping. Today was the day of the assassin meeting, after all. The feeling swelling in her gut was not a good one.
After they settled in, Ichinose and Kirigaya got to talking. Namatame and Tokaku focused on eating, with a bit of chat mixed in. Tokaku couldn't help but feel that something wasn't right about this scenario.
She finally realized that it was Hashiri. The blonde sat silently the whole time playing with that tablet of hers. She was intently focused on something, and every now and then she would chuckle or take a bite of her melon bread.
What was that girl up to?
A warm hand shook her shoulder. "C'mon, Tokaku-san! Let's get to class."
Breakfast was a lot shorter than dinner. Tokaku scraped the remains of her breakfast into a trash can and followed the others to the high school building with Hashiri trailing behind her.
"Hey!"
She turned toward the annoying voice. "Finally decided to say something?"
The blonde chugged along on her short legs. She was about the same height as Kirigaya, just much fuller. There was no mistaking her for a grade schooler.
It took a few seconds for her to catch up to Tokaku. "Just wondering how you're feeling about the meeting tonight," she whispered with that awful smile. "Being friends with Ichinose is about to pay off big time, huh? You used this extra time really well, I gotta say."
Tokaku's eyes narrowed. "Shut up. I'm not a liar like you."
Hashiri held her hands behind her back. "Then you're saying you want to be Haru's friend and kill her? I think I see a flaw in your logic, nee-san."
"We aren't friends, either," Tokaku scowled. "You'll see at the meeting."
"Good!" Hashiri winked and ran to catch up with the rest of the group. She immediately struck up a conversation with Ichinose. When asked why she hadn't said anything during breakfast, she gave a very vague answer and changed the topic.
Tokaku stayed behind by herself. Saying that she wasn't Ichinose's friend had begun to feel more and more wrong. She could act tough and put on airs all she wanted, but she still had no idea what she would do at that meeting, or afterward.
Ichinose's face flashed in front of her. How could she ever think of hurting a girl like that? There was nothing Ichinose had done wrong, and Tokaku didn't even have a wish. Why should she have to kill an innocent girl?
I always hated liars, she thought. Am I becoming one?
She glanced up and saw Hashiri bouncing happily, as though none of this were happening. This girl knew more than anyone else did about the game. She talked nonstop with everyone, yet one always got the sense that she was alone.
I just know there's something weird about her, Tokaku thought, trudging along behind everyone else. And I'm going to find out what it is.
Haru
It seemed to be a recurring theme that Haru found math difficult. Why did all science have to have math in it? She liked learning about animals and rocks.
They should put a little biology into geometry to make it fair, she thought, trying to puzzle out yet another of the endless equations popping up on her screen.
When she got a message from Otoya-chan, it came as a relief rather than a distraction. She tapped the box to open it.
"Hey Harucchi! Lets walk around after class today!"
Otoya just couldn't get enough of exploring, it seemed. She had requested the same thing all four days she'd been in class.
"Of course!" Haru texted back. "I'll tell the others."
The response message appeared only a second later. "Can we go alone this time?"
Haru hesitated. She hated to admit it, but she still didn't fully trust Otoya. The raven-haired girl was kind to her, if not always to others. She was tall and pretty, with sea green eyes and a confident smile…
Wait, why should it matter what she looked like? Haru rubbed her head to work out her image of the girl and examine her as a person instead.
As a person, Otoya was overly friendly, clingy, and laid back. She was funny and a bit rude, but never to Haru. Her fun-loving nature was overpowering, though not necessarily bad. Haru doubted she would have enjoyed herself so much these last four days if not for Otoya's ideas of where to go and what to do.
If I go somewhere with her alone, she thought nervously, I'll get to see what she acts like when other people aren't around. Specifically, when Tokaku-san isn't around.
That alone would be worth it. She really wanted to trust Otoya more, and if she had to take a gamble, so be it. Her entire life so far had been one big gamble.
"Okay, we can go alone," she wrote back, her fingers shaking as she typed. "Let's get some icecream at the stand Nio mentioned."
"Yay! Ur the best! :D"
Haru returned to her math. She felt apprehensive about meeting Otoya, but also excited. Even though she didn't know the girl very well, this seemed like more than a friendly outing.
It's just because I've never gone anywhere alone with someone pretty, she sighed. She only asked to go alone because she doesn't like Tokaku-san.
Speaking of Tokaku-san, she should message her roommate to tell her not to wait after class. She wondered how the blue haired girl would take the news. Probably not well.
She typed "Tokaku-san, don't wait for me after school, okay?"
It was a full minute before Tokaku responded. Haru guessed she must have zoned out. Although she pretended to be on top of things all the time, Tokaku had a tendency to get tangled up and lost in her thoughts. Talking to her was evidence of that; Haru had not expected to learn about Tokaku's mean grandma during a conversation about videogames.
She was kind of cute that way, actually.
The reply appeared on her screen. "Why?"
"Otoya-chan and I are getting ice cream. She wanted to be alone with me."
The pink haired girl made the correct decision not to turn around and look at the expression on Tokaku's face.
"You don't have to do what she says."
"I don't mind." Haru answered, trying not to make it sound like Tokaku wasn't welcome. "You and I are roommates already, so I want to spend time with her too."
No answer. Haru was about to return to her annoying math when another message arrived.
"I don't care. Do what you want."
Well, that was cold. Haru knew that Tokaku worried about her, and she was thankful for it. She just wished the girl would realize she was willing to take risks like this and didn't need to be reprimanded.
"Don't be mad, Tokaku-san," she wrote. "I have to do things this way, okay?"
Sighing, Haru got to work and waited to be saved by the bell.
Otoya
Otoya rarely got this excited about anything besides blood or death, so having her heart beat fast over simply getting ice cream with Haru was an unfamiliar feeling. She leaned against the wall beside the classroom door, waiting for the moment the girl walked out.
The last few days had been a mixture of heaven and hell. Romping around with Haru was the most fun she'd had in a while, and as for Haru herself, Otoya wondered if she had stumbled upon an angel. If she were feeling like herself, she would have planned from the first night onward to bind that angel's wings and slowly pick her apart, piece by lovely piece.
Right now, she wasn't feeling like herself at all. She didn't even want to harm Haru, let alone kill her. The beating of her heart and the heat coursing throughout her body weren't driving her to act like they always did. Every time the urge to kill came up, she forced it back down. Or rather, something forced it down. She couldn't say for certain that she was doing it on purpose.
After thinking about it for a while, she'd come to a conclusion. This had all started on the first night, when she'd seen Haru for the first time and encountered that weird smell.
That was why she'd asked Haru out alone. While they were by themselves, she could get the answers she wanted.
"Sorry for the wait!" Haru said, leaping out of the classroom and landing on one foot. Just hearing the girl's voice sent warmth throughout her body. "I had to pick up my worksheet. Sensei said that over half the class didn't take it! Do they want to get bad grades?"
Being among the ones who hadn't, Otoya shrugged. "Grades aren't everything, y'know. I'd much rather enjoy myself than follow anyone else's rules."
Haru didn't comment on that, which was for the best. It was something they probably wouldn't agree on. Instead she skipped down the hall, calling back over her shoulder. "C'mon, let's go get some ice cream!"
"Wait up!" Otoya laughed, running up behind her. "You're not gonna get away from me!"
She reached for Haru, who sped up to avoid her grasp. "You can't catch me!" the pinkette giggled, skidding around the corner of the hallway and leaping down a flight of stairs.
"Oh yeah?" Otoya jumped up and slid down the handrail with ease. "We'll see, Harucchi!"
Before she knew it, the two of them were on a high-speed chase out the building and down the sidewalk to the ice cream stand. Things were so much better without that stupid Tokaku around. Otoya usually chased girls into places, but chasing them out was just as fun. Her heart pounded in her ears as she ran faster and faster, still unable to catch that elusive pink-haired girl.
They finally slowed down when a little food stand came into view decorated with pink, yellow, and plenty of ice cream logos. Otoya skidded to a stop, her feet burning inside her dress shoes. Ahead of her, Haru seemed fine, though she was breathing hard.
"You didn't… catch me!" she panted, the corners of her mouth turning up. "Yay, I win!"
Otoya could hardly believe it. "Yeah!" she breathed, looking the girl up and down. "You don't look like you'd be that fast. You must have a lot of running practice." She grinned. "That's really cool!"
Blushing a little at the compliment, Haru pointed toward the ice cream stand where the vendor was looking a little concerned for his two customers. "Let's get the ice cream now! I need to cool down my throat."
"Sure thing." Otoya's throat was burning too, after all. She pulled her wallet out of her bag. "What do you want?"
"I can pay for my own," Haru said, walking up to the vendor.
Striding up to the stand, Otoya put a hand on her shoulder. "Nope! I lost the race, so this is my penalty game. What do you want?"
"Thank you. Um… I'll have that one." Haru pointed to a strawberry ice cream cone. She really did sound thankful. Otoya wondered if she was short on cash. So was she, but she was willing to shell out a little for this.
Once they had gotten their ice cream, they walked further down the sidewalk to find somewhere nice to sit. As it turned out, there were some benches and very pretty trees around the entrance to the greenhouse.
Sitting down with her chocolate cone, Otoya shrugged off her bag. "I love running around," she said, "so playing chase was really fun. I didn't think you'd like it too, though."
Haru licked her strawberry ice cream and shivered. "I guess that's something we have in common, then. Unlike our birthdays or the food we eat."
So Haru did have a sense of distrust. "I really do like rice," Otoya replied, taking a bite of the dessert and wincing at the pain in her teeth. "The birthday thing was a lie, though. I just wanted you to talk to me."
"I know." The pink-haired girl wiped some ice cream off her cheek. "That's why I'm not upset that you lied."
Now was as good a time as any. Otoya turned toward Haru. "Actually, I brought you out here to ask you a question."
Without waiting for the answer, she took Haru's free hand and pulled her closer. The ice cream nearly toppled to the ground.
A cruel smile stretched across Otoya's face. "That question is: Why don't I want to kill you?"
Haru didn't respond. Otoya gripped her hand tighter, watching the familiar terror rise in her victim's eyes. I could kill you right now, she thought. It would be so wonderful to kill you.
So why don't I want to?
"I…" Haru stammered, pulling at Otoya's wrist. "I don't know. Why are you acting like this?" She forced a smile.
"Because I'm confused!" Otoya answered, gritting her teeth impatiently. "I don't understand what I'm feeling, and it hurts. So hurry up and tell me!"
Her victim struggled weakly. "This isn't like you," Haru stammered, her magenta eyes piercing Otoya's defenses. "You're better than this, Otoya-chan. That's why I want to be your friend."
Clenching her fist, Otoya searched herself for the impulse to strike her, choke her, exert any kind of force at all.
And she found nothing.
She let go of Haru with a long sigh. "I do too. That's the problem."
"Now I'll ask you something," Haru said quietly, laying her hand on top of the one that had grabbed her not ten seconds ago. "Why is it a problem?"
Otoya thought about giving some roundabout answer. When she gazed into those bright eyes though, the words caught in her throat. Being a torturer, she had a lot of experience peering into people's eyes. Some peoples were shallow, and others were guarded. Haru's eyes were an abyss of pain and wisdom.
She swallowed. "You know a lot more than I do, right Harucchi?"
The girl turned away from Otoya, biting into her ice cream and shuddering from cold. "Nobody can know everything. Sometimes I wish I did, but then there would be no point in living. And there's always a point in living, even when you feel like the world is crushing you."
She looked back at Otoya. The weakness had disappeared from her visage, replaced by bravery. "I will live, Otoya-chan. If there's anything you need from this competition, maybe I can help you with it. But if you don't want to kill me, you shouldn't try. It'll only bring you pain."
Haru wasn't the cute little girl she made herself out to be. If anything, she was awe inspiring. She was a magnet drawing people in, making even the most ruthless killer hesitate. There was no way to escape her pull; either you approached her and fell into her trap, or you never approached her at all.
Otoya had fallen into that trap face-first, and there was nothing she could do about it.
"The scent…" she mumbled, inhaling deeply. "It's even stronger now."
"What?" Haru frowned, sniffing the air. "Do I smell bad?"
"No." Otoya growled. "It's nothing. Looks like I'll have to figure this out myself."
The sky above them was deep and blue, stretching upward indefinitely. When she was a kid, Otoya had spent her free time wondering about stupid things. One of those was what would happen if she broke a hole in the sky. Being herself, she'd imagined a monster crawling out and crushing cities while she rode on its back triumphantly.
Now that she thought about it, it had always been her dream to have power over the ones who abused her. When she was with Haru, she felt that desire slowly slipping away. She couldn't decide if she liked it or not.
"Otoya-chan," Haru said softly. "Listen to me. I don't want you to leave, okay?"
Right then, Otoya felt an overwhelming urge to hug this girl. Hug her and keep her in one place forever.
"I… don't want you to leave either."
She didn't know much, but she did know that.
Haru sat there calmly stroking her hand. The touch was very calming, except for the red marks on Haru's wrist where Otoya had grabbed her. The sight of them made her queasy.
Otoya's eyelids drooped. Even after she had done something like that, Haru still showed her kindess.
She stared down at the her quizically, but all she got was another smile. Most of their classmates were full of fake, insubstantial smiles. Haru's smile had such a big effect on people because it was real.
"Jeez…" Otoya blushed. "Now I'm really screwed. I need that prize, but I definitely can't kill you."And I don't want the others to kill you either.
"We'll figure something out," Haru said confidently. "I offered to help you get your wish, and I meant it."
Otoya shook her head and grinned in amazement. "I don't get it. Why aren't you afraid of me?"
The answer came in conjunction with a soft breeze. "Because the world is full of forgiveness."
"What?"
"It's a riddle I heard before," Haru replied. "I just thought of the answer."
That same soft wind blew the hair back from Otoya's forehead. This was the second time Haru had forgiven her for something. It meant just as much now as it had then.
"You're so nice, Harucchi." She smiled. "And you're right. I want to be your friend too."
The pink haired girl's face softened. "I know you're a good person, Otoya-chan. Maybe people tell you otherwise, but I know." She lifted Otoya's hand and squeezed it. "I'll be here for you, 'kay?"
It was like this girl could see right through her. She understood the emotions Otoya kept hidden behind all her different smiles.
Taking Haru's hand in her own, she kissed the red spot on her wrist. "Sorry about that," she mumbled. "I promise I won't do it again."
She would never forget the rosy red that blossomed over Haru's face.
They began walking back to the dorms hand in hand. They stayed quiet for those minutes, never looking at each other. Haru only ever spoke when they reached the door to her dorm room.
"See you later. And… could you not mention this to Tokaku-san?"
There was no guarantee that it wouldn't slip out at some point, but Haru didn't need to know that. "Nope!" Otoya giggled. "Don't worry, I won't tell her we held hands, either."
Haru squeaked and started to protest, but Otoya had already rushed ahead to her dorm. Teasing Haru would be fun, but she had other things to think about.
It didn't matter that the nature of her feelings had changed. She felt silly for worrying about it so much. So long as Haru still liked her, everything would be all right.
I don't have to take pleasure from Haru, she thought. Haru will give it to me. As for her wish, they could figure something out in the future. Right now she just wanted the girl by her side.
Therefore, she was going to do something phenomenally crazy.
HITSUGI
Hitsugi pulled open the doors to the dorm building. She was lucky Hashiri had such a distinctive voice. If she hadn't overheard that there would be an orientation meeting tonight, she would've been completely out of the loop. Hashiri had probably expected Chitaru to tell her later, not knowing the situation they were in.
She wasn't sure why she cared about this particular lie so much. It was different from most of the others she'd told, because it didn't serve much of a purpose. It didn't help her in any way to win the game; she had told it just to see if she could get away with it.
I'm testing my poison-making skills, like always. Lies are just another form of poison.
She heard footsteps behind her. Not wanting to get caught up in a conversation, she slunk off into a corner to watch her subjects enter the building.
She could not have been more surprised at the two people who entered. One was Takechi, and the other was Ichinose. Without Azuma or anyone else. They said nothing as they walked down the dormitory hall. The fact that those two were walking together didn't make a lot of sense, but the fact that they were holding hands was even weirder. Takechi wouldn't be stupid enough to try and take the target's life before the orientation meeting, right?
As much as Takechi annoyed her, the girl was craftier than she looked. She was definitely up to something, but this wasn't her assassination attempt.
When the two reached Ichinose's dorm, they waved goodbye, exchanged a few pleasantries, and parted ways. Once Takechi was alone in the hall, Hitsugi slid out of the shadows.
Takechi jumped. "Jeez!" she laughed. "You startled me, Hitsugi-chan."
Laughing a little herself, Hitsugi leaned against the wall. "Aren't you supposed to be an accomplished killer? Don't tell me you can't see people in the dark."
The raven-haired girl bounced over and patted her head. "Well, tiny people like you are harder to see."
"I'm not that short! I'm the same height as Hashiri-san."
"Who said I was talking about height, pipsqueak?"
Hitsugi started for her. "You know, I can do a lot worse to you than yanking your skirt down in front of a bus."
"All right, All right." Takechi grinned and held up her hands. "I won't tease you about how much of a loli you are. What was so interesting about me and Harucchi?"
"Maybe the fact that she wasn't running away from you, screaming for help?" Hitsugi folded her arms. "You aren't exactly the nicest person in the world."
With a sigh Takechi leaned on the wall next to her. "Yeah, I'm pretty horrible. But things aren't that simple for me right now."
Her fatigue looked genuine, so Hitsugi decided to be curious. "What do you mean? Don't tell me Ichinose's really an assassin or something."
"Nope! She's definitely not." Takechi drummed her fingers on the wall. "Well, I guess she might still be, but unless she's as good of a liar as you are, she isn't. Speaking of which," she tilted her head and edged closer in a passive-aggressive manner. "What was up with ditching me for the giant? That wasn't very nice."
"Her name is Chitaru-san," Hitsugi replied irritably, trying to ignore the tapping sound. "And don't you think it's pretty obvious? I can't let people think I'm buddies with a creepy serial killer."
"Are you?" Takechi twirled one of her pigtails around her finger. "I'm not mad, okay? Or, I'd be less mad if you'd ease up a little on the insults."
"Don't you know? I speak only the truth."
They both got a good laugh out of that. Then Hitsugi realized she was laughing with Takechi and promptly shut up.
"Anyway," she coughed. "I've decided to try and convince Chitaru-san that I'm the target."
Takechi's smile quickly turned upside-down. Hitsugi would always be amazed at how she changed moods in the blink of an eye. "You want her to try and kill you?"
"I thought it might be fun to see if I can pull it off," Hitsugi replied, scanning the hallway for anyone who might have been listening to them. "More fun than just killing the target and leaving, at least. As for her trying to kill me, she didn't seem like she wanted to. It looked like she was taking pity on me."
"Doesn't really surprise me. She was one of those princely heroic types." Laughing, Takechi watched the hall with her. "If you wanted to eliminate some competition, you should've gone for someone with some guts. Maybe Azuma or Sagae."
The constant tapping of Takechi's fingers on the wall was driving Hitsugi insane. She smacked the girl's hand. "Will you quit drumming? If you've got that much excess energy, go run a few laps around the building or something."
She sighed with relief at the wonderful silence. Being a poison master, she did her job noiselessly in the dead of night, without much mess involved. That quietness was where she felt most comfortable. It was one reason why she felt calm around Chitaru, who had a softer voice than most of the others.
"I chose Chitaru-san because she's honest and trusting, which Azuma isn't," she said. "I haven't even met Sagae. How do you get to know everybody when nobody wants to talk to you?"
Another high-pitched laugh from the raven-haired girl. "That was rude. People don't have to want to talk to you. You have to walk up to them and start talking about something random, and then you'll kind of get to know them based on how they answer you."
That seemed like a recipe for disaster. "What if they get angry?"
"If they look violent, you back off and tell them you were only trying to be nice. Otherwise you just keep bothering them. Especially ones like Mahiru-chan and Shiena-chan." Takechi giggled. "Shiena-chan has a grudge against bullies, but I'll break her."
Hitsugi shoved her. "You really are awful."
"Hee hee!" Takechi bowed toward her. "Was there ever any doubt?"
"You…" Hitsugi was about to respond when she spotted someone coming toward the dorm building. "Nevermind, somebody's coming. Tell me what happens at the meeting tonight."
"Huh?" Takechi blinked. "You're not going?"
Smiling sweetly, Hitsugi pulled away from the wall. "I'm the target, right? I'm a sweet, clueless little girl who's going to wait in her room with her teddy bear." Her eyes narrowed. "You'd better not tell Chitaru-san."
Takechi shrugged. "I won't. Not now, anyway." She looked at the carpeted floor. "Hey… this might sound weird, but…
"Takechi, everything you say sounds weird."
Hitsugi expected the girl to laugh that one off too, but she didn't. This Takechi looked different from the one she'd encountered thus far. Her eyes, usually confident, were uncertain and turbulent. The closest she'd come to making that expression before had been on the bus when she'd mentioned the people who were after her.
The girl swallowed. "Do you think anyone might… protect the target or something?"
Hitsugi frowned. "Why would you do that? Didn't you say that you really, really needed the prize for killing her? And, y'know, you actually like killing people?"
"Well, yeah. But… she's different."
This was just too strange. Takechi was definitely a psycho, but she was at least sort of consistent. On that bus she'd been stoked to kill Haru, and now suddenly she was talking about protecting her. For a development like that to happen so quickly was…
But it wasn't her place to say anything. If it ended up affecting her, she'd ask about it. Until then, she'd stay out of Takechi's business.
That didn't mean she wouldn't express her disapproval, though. "I've thought before that maybe I was a little crazy," she said. "But you take the cake."
There was no joking retort, no anger, not even a tiny chuckle from the most playful, giggly girl in the world. Instead she sighed and rubbed her head. "I told you it was complicated. I guess whatever ends up happening, you'll know about it pretty quick. I'll tell you about that meeting, 'kay?" She finally smiled. "Cuz I'm such a sweetheart."
Rolling her eyes, Hitsugi waved her on down the hallway. "I know, I know. Go back to your dorm unless you want me to tell whoever walks in here that you're a lolicon."
Grudgingly, Takechi rushed down the hall to her dorm. Hitsugi couldn't help but notice the dismayed groan that came from the room the second Takechi opened the door. She couldn't blame Kenmochi. If she herself had Takechi to look forward to every day when she got back to her room, she'd be pretty unhappy too.
She'd left just in time, because the glass doors opened right then to admit Sagae and Inukai. The redhead was talking about something and laughing while the pinkette nodded every few minutes and looked rather annoyed in general with Sagae's presence. Hitsugi recalled Takechi's advice about talking to people. Maybe she wasn't quite so strange after all.
She laughed at herself for even thinking that. No matter what sorts of customs arose on planet Earth, Takechi would always be strange.
Spotting her, Sagae waved. "Hey there, Hitsugi-chan! What've you been up to?"
Although Hitsugi hated being talked down to, she was used to it. "Not much," she replied, trying to look as cute as possible, which she knew she was good at. "How about you, Haruki-san?"
Sagae rubbed her head. "Ha ha! Not much either."
From beside her, Inukai grinned and mumbled something that included the word "idiot". She began walking faster so that Sagae had to rush to keep up.
"Bye, Hitsugi-chan!" she called.
There was another odd pair. Sagae was, for all Hitsugi had seen of her, considerate. Inukai was rude but classy, unsympathetic, and despised anyone who stepped inside her three-foot-radius. Everyone except Sagae, apparently. Hitsugi had never believed in the saying "opposites attract", but after seeing Takechi with Ichinose and Inukai with Sagae, she was beginning to have second thoughts.
Her and Chitaru fit the bill too, but since she wasn't being her real self, she couldn't really count them in that group.
Now that all that excitement had passed, she felt tired. Since she wasn't going to that meeting, she could get some rest and not have to worry about waking up for it. If she got enough sleep, she might even be able to wake up for school the next day without an alarm.
She set off for her dorm room, wondering how long she'd be able to keep up her little lie.
The scene with Otoya and Haru is one I've been working on for weeks, actually, and I'm still not satisfied with it. If anyone has suggestions or criticisms, please let me know. I write Haru kind of weirdly, because it's hard to combine her cute side with her philosophical side. Still fun, though.