Chapter Two

Agreement

Kita raced out of the school like a rocket, not even stopping as her feet hit the slippery cement of the courtyard outside. It had been raining, and the dark sky reflected the darkness inside of her, swirling and twisting her emotions.

"Stupid, stupid!" she growled at herself. "Why did I go there? Was it because they mentioned that Yui girl played there?" She was sure that was it. After hearing Yui's name in the confusing halls of the school, the one person she had managed to talk to, she had been filled with hope. It had been too fast to believe, but now she remembered it, the flutter inside. Of course, her fears got in the way in the end as they always did. She needed to be in her place of comfort with her mother or with just herself.

Kita raced out across the empty road without giving thought to caution. She barely had any idea where she was going, and had forgotten the paths that she had walked that morning. She was running blind in a place that she didn't know.

"Hey, Kita! Slow down!"

Yui's voice cried out from behind her and she instinctively sped up. "No! I want to be alone!" she cried out.

Corner after corner she turned, and the more she progressed through the unknown world, the more lost she became. She found herself in a thin alleyway with graffiti covering the brick walls and stray cat running past her. Newspaper littered the ground and she was sure the heard the echoing of footsteps. She headed towards the end of the alleyway with her heart thundering in her chest. She thought she would throw up in her panic as her stomach heaved.

The alleyway led out into a park. It was little more than a rectangular patch of grass surrounded by a small fence, but the bench that rested beneath a tree looked too tempting for Kita to ignore. She was gasping for her breath after running for so long, and the was covered in a thin sheet of sweat. The temperature had dropped, and she was now growing cold, the heat from the run not enough to protect her.

She dragged her heavy feet towards the bench, no longer thinking about her hunter, Yui. She collapsed onto the cold steel and pulled her arms around herself for warmth and comfort. Her first day had been terrible. No friends, only a girl that had seen her at her worst point in the toilets. She had no idea where half of her lessons were and was too shy to ask, so she turned up late. The work was harder than she had expected, and the teachers couldn't offer her help the entire time. Then the end of the day had ended with her humiliating herself in front of the girl Yui and the only opportunity she would have for gaining a friend.

"Mum, what am I going to do?" she asked aloud, wishing that she was with her mother right now. She had asked her to visit after she got herself dinner, but Kita didn't want to wait. She wanted to be with her this minute so she could hear her tell her that everything would be alright... that she would be alright...

"Kita?" Yui stood in front of her, bending down with her hands on her knees. She was panting only slightly from chasing after her, making soft clouds in the air. As Kita lifted her head, she let out a relieved sigh. "Thank goodness! I thought for a moment I had the wrong person because you were looking down and I couldn't see your face. That would have been embarrassing!"

Kita lowered her head again and tightened her arms around herself. A slight rain was beginning to fall lightly on her, but she didn't have the energy to run again.

Something soft and warm was pulled over her shoulders. "Here, you're shivering," Yui said as her hands fumbled with the front of the scarf. She tied it lightly around Kita's neck and stood back to inspect her job. "There. Better now?"

Kita could barely believe the kindness of this girl after she had run away from her twice. Her general 'loner' behaviour often pushed people away. She was always being ignored, and even though she pretended that it didn't bother her, on the inside she wished that someone, anyone, would accept her.

"Thanks," she muttered, placing a hand against the furry material. "This does feel better."

"Good." Yui took that as an invitation and sat down beside Kita. "I was worried, you know. The entire club is probably wondering about you as well."

Kita's stomach churned. "You told them about me? Those people in there?" She could only assume they had been laughing about how weak she was. However, Yui didn't seem the type to speak about someone like that.

"Yeah, I told them I felt sorry for you, and I wondered if any of them had seen you or spoken to you. I was actually going to check and see if you were in any of the other clubs, but then you came to us and you ran and I came after you..." she took a deep breath and laughed. "Sorry, I can't stop talking sometimes. You obviously know the rest of it."

"Yes," Kita said quietly, puzzled that Yui had been worried. "Why did you chase after me?"

Yui looked surprised that Kita had asked. "I couldn't leave you like that, right? You looked really upset, and I wanted to know what was wrong."

"Nothing," Kita admitted, tightening the scarf around her neck as a cold draft swept the area. "I've always been like that, too scared to take a chance."

Yui watched closely, then folded her fingers beneath her chin. "Hmm... Why did you come up there? Did you want to join our club?" She lit up at the thought.

Kita hated to disappoint her. She shook her head. "No. Actually, I came up there to speak to you. I thought, if you were nice enough to try and comfort me in the morning than maybe you could be..." She trailed off, biting down on her words.

"You want to be friends?" Yui asked excitedly.

Kita nodded.

"Well of course, Kita!" she exclaimed. She took on the expression of a serious thinker again, something that didn't fit well with her."One thing though. Why are you always so timid?"

The questions echoed in Kita's mind. Why was she so timid? Why didn't she open up? Why was she afraid of everything? One simple answer came to mind. My mother. She wouldn't say it. She didn't want Yui to know the truth about her mother. "It's how I've always been," she lied. "I was taken to a doctor because my family thought it was serious, but apparently some people are just shyer than others."

Yui straightened up, nodding her head. "Okay. Tell me more about yourself than, Kita. Oh, unless you want to head somewhere warmer?"

"No. I have to leave soon anyway," Kita said quickly, not wanting to spend much longer around Yui. She was glad that she now officially had a friend, but it had been a long time since she had opened up her heart, even if it was only by an inch. She would take baby steps at a time, and that meant she wanted to return to the comfort of her mother soon.

"Alright. Go ahead then. We've got time, right?"

Kita took a deep breath, organising her thoughts. It was odd, speaking to someone like this. She had been running from her only moments ago, telling herself that she couldn't let anyone in because of her nature, but now that she was in a new school, she was stronger. She felt a surge of pride as she told Yui more about her fears.

Kita had been unpopular and lonely for years ever since her mother's disease first surfaced. She didn't mention her mother to Yui as it was something she kept inside, locked away, but she told her that she had been as she was for too long. She rarely made friends, and was always known as a nerd for passing her classes perfectly. She was also prone to fainting and being sick due to fears such as blood, spiders, dogs, the dark, and garden gnomes.

"Garden Gnomes?" Yui burst out laughing.

Kita pouted. "You never know what happens at night when they're out of eye-shot."

Both girls stared at each other for a moment before they burst out laughing.

"You really have issues!" Yui gasped as she snorted into her gloved hands that clamped over her mouth. She couldn't muffle her laughter no matter how hard she tried, and her laughing voice was incredibly high and would be embarrassing to anyone who felt shame.

"I know, but I can't help it," Kita said, her laughter fading fast as her self-pity took over. She sighed and hugged herself against the growing cold. "I don't like to be like this. I feel so unlucky."

Yui immediately felt bad for laughing at the girl. She slung her arm across her shoulders and shifted closer on the seat. She felt so sorry for her, and she found her utterly adorable. If Yui put those two things together, she couldn't keep her hands off, just like the case with her 'pet cat' Azusa.

"Yui," Kita said, shifting her shoulders lightly. "Uh... what are you doing?"

Yui purred as she leaned against Kita. "Ohhh... I want to help you so much, Kitty!"

"Kitty?"

Yui's eyes flew open, but not because she had thought of a nickname without even concentrating on it. She had come up with an idea, something that would make others duck for cover. "That's it!"

Kita already felt odd vibes in the air. "What?" she asked worriedly, slipping further away on the bench.

Yui turned to her, her eyes wide. "Join the Light Music Club with me and the other girls! We need a new member and you need to make friends and open up! Win win!"

Kita's heart faltered and she felt her head stomach churning. Would she faint or throw up? Perhaps both? "More people?" she asked, the fact unbearable to think about. "But it was hard enough finding the bravery to talk to you..."

"That's just it, Kitty," Yui said, grasping Kita's hands between her warm, gloved palms. "You shouldn't have to try hard to open up tot he others. If you join the club you won't have a choice but to open up to all of them, and it'll help you so much! I know it sounds hard now, but they're really, really nice!"

"Yui..."

Please!" Yui used the famous puppy-dog look, one that rarely worked in the club except for those like Mugi who couldn't even resist ordinary sanding papers in a warehouse.

Kita swallowed, shaking harder on the seat despite the chilly winds lightening. "I don't know. It's been so long since I've been with a group, and how do you know that I can even play any instruments?"

"I can tell." Yui pulled her hands up and poked her fingers. "Soft, soft, soft," she chanted, "just like the fingers of a competent bass player."

Kita blushed and pulled her hand away. "Acoustic guitar, actually. I also play the violin, the piano, and I can do some vocals, but I can't last long without getting exhausted when I sing." She shrugged. "Still, it sounds like you have a large number of people in your band."

Yui held up four fingers. "Only four others. Mugi, Ricchan, Mio, and Azu-nya."

"Azu-nya doesn't sound like a real name," Kita pointed out.

Yui's face went red and she giggled guiltily. "Yeah, I kinda nicknamed her that, like you're Kitty now."

Kita felt she was doomed to the name, but it only established the fact that Yui was indeed her friend, caring enough to give her an independent title. Still, she hesitated. Four people was still plenty enough to make her panic at the thought.

"Just for a week?" Yui pressed, her hands splayed together in a prayer. "One week, and then you can decide whether to stay!"

Kita's heart began to sway. She was fond of this girl, her first friend in years. It had been too long, too lonely. Her mother had told her to make a friend, and now she had to keep the friendship together. "How about I take it one day at a time. Tomorrow I'll come and you can introduce me to the club. From there we'll let things work out, but if I don't like it, I won't come back. Deal?"

Yui considered everything that she had heard for a moment, her mind working in overtime to keep up. After a moment she nodded her head enthusiastically. "Alright, deal then!" They both shook hands on the agreement.

Feeling both frightened yet excited, Kita found it hard to come to a decision on her emotions. Either way though, she was stuck with her deal. Looking at her new friend's sparkling eyes convinced her that she would be safe by her side though, and she believed that maybe everything would be okay.

"I had better get going then, Yui. I'll meet you tomorrow at..." She hesitated, knowing very little about the school she now attended.

"The bathroom again," Yui said with a smile. "I'll turn up early to show you around the school better, and then I'll pick you up at wherever you last class is to take you to the club. I'll speak to them before hand and tell them to be on their best behaviour, okay?"

"Alright then," Kita agreed, getting to her feet. She looked out across the greying sky and shivered. It would be a cold walk to he hospital.

"Keep the scarf," Yui said as she slipped off of the bench. "I've got a tonne at home. Anyway, we're friends now, right?"

Kita couldn't stop the smile even if she tried. "Yeah, that's right."

They parted ways at the park, both waving to each other as they headed off.

Yui turned halfway down her path and cried out to Kita. "Hey! Watch out for those garden gnomes, okay?"

Kita felt herself going red and snorted. "Shut up, Yui..."

"Mum...?"

Kita's mother would never mistake that voice. She heard it almost every day in the hospital, beckoning her from the darkness of her exhausted sleeps. She opened her eyes, and there she was, her brown haired, blue eyed daughter, the most precious thing that remained in her life.

"Ahh, honey... It's so good to see you..."

Kita settled down on the chair at the side of the bed and settled her school bag onto the floor. "Sorry I'm late," she said sheepishly, rubbing her hands to together between her knees to warm them. "I was talking to someone."

Her mother's eyes lit up, losing the pale dimness they had held. "Oh, a friend I hope...?"

Kita's smile was in her eyes and her heart as well as on her face. She was positively glowing. "That's right. Her name is Yui. I met her this morning, and she caught up with me after school." She didn't want to tell her mother that she had had to chase her down because of her cowardice.

"That's wonderful... I knew you could do it, Kita..." Her mother strained on the words, her sickness restricting her energy greatly. She reached over to her bedside table with a shaking hand and gripped a glass of water.

She looked terrible, Kita thought. Her mother's once glistening chestnut hair that had passed onto her daughter was limp and dirty. Her skin was pale and every breath was clearly forced through her heaving chest. She was dying from a serious heart disease. She had been since Kita had been a little girl.

"How long?" Kita had asked her mother the first night she had found out. Her mother had had her first collapse only hours before, and it was a rough way for young Kita to find out. She had waited until her mother had woken in the hospital bed, and those were her first words.

"I don't know," her mother had answered, a tear trickling down the side of her face. "I don't know how long I will live."

Years had passed, but she hadn't gotten better. Kita had shut herself down since her mother's first collapse. A year passed until she became aware of the world again, but she was different. Everything frightened her, everything alerted her, and she couldn't open up to people like the used to. It was her mother's fault, but the anger was not with the daughter. Her mother blamed herself. She didn't need Kita to tell her that it was her fault to know.

"What will you do when I'm gone?" Her mother had asked last year. "Will you just curl up and die on your own? I won't have that!"

Kita hadn't known what to say. If she couldn't stand the smallest things without fainting or being sick on herself and she couldn't find the strength to open up to people, how would she deal with losing her mother? Friends or not, her mother's death would be the end of her she was convinced.

Her mother drowned the glass of water and placed it back on the table. She coughed as she swallowed it down properly, then stared intensely at Kita. "What else...? You're hiding something..."

Kita hated lying to her, so she told her of the agreement between her and Yui. Her mother showed more pride in her withered features. "Kita... Well done, my Kita..."

"I just want to please you, mum," Kita admitted, chewing on her lip as she watched the most important person to her die a little more each day. "I just want to make you happy."

Sorry for the angst, there will be more of this sad stuff but more of the happy stuff as well, so don't worry! I love my work full of emotion :)