Ahiru's POV

They hovered over me, kicking me as if I were some piece of garbage. I was helpless… There was no one to save me and I couldn't even save myself.

I shot up, my hair damp and my forehead drenched with sweat. I inhaled and exhaled but my breathing stayed uneven.

Where was I again? The last thing I remembered was falling…

I glimpsed over to the side where Fakir lay. He wasn't even shaken from me waking up.

I stood up gently, not wanting to rouse him albeit the fact that he could seem to sleep through an explosion at the moment. I staggered drunkenly towards the sink, hoping that cold water would clear my senses. I splashed water feverishly on my face and neck, though it seemed not to do any good.

"A…hiru?" Fakir's voice was kissed with deep sleep but it remained the same husky voice I knew.

"Ahiru." He called out again, more awake. I couldn't answer, no matter how much I wanted to; words wouldn't come out.

Then I collapsed into a crumpled heap on the ground.

"Ahiru!" I perceived Fakir's now-nervous voice emerge above me. He picked me up without effort and ventured up the stairs.

He dropped me ever-so-gently on the bed and gawked over me, with such a sad face that I had to turn away from him.

"What am I ever going to do with you?" He moaned.

I laughed uneasily, trying to hide my despondency from my voice. Unfortunately, Fakir saw through me and glared. "Are you mad?" I managed to croak out.

"Why should I be?" He kneeled on one knee so that he could see my face more distinctly.

I converted my eyes from him and to the wall. "For waking you up." I said simply.

He roared with laughter, despite his scowl in the morning. Maybe he was a "night-person."

"Well, I'll let you sleep. Goodnight." He swiveled to walk towards the door, but I grasped the cloth of his shirt firmly.

"No," I trembled with fear, glancing around the darkness of the room, noticing the similarity to my nightmare, "Please, don't leave me."

He sighed heavily. I scooted over and patted the space next to me, beckoning him to lay there.

Fakir grimaced, but complied. He muttered something that sounded like, "Charon will officially kill…"

He twisted away from me, his face out of my view. We lay back-to-back and I fidgeted after a while; I couldn't sleep, I wouldn't sleep. I was too petrified to relive that nightmare once more.

"Ahiru." Fakir's husky voice said. I turned to deal with him. "Are you uncomfortable with me sleeping in your bed? It seems that you're unaccustomed with me. I could sleep on the chair if you want me too."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be so modest, Fakir-kun. Besides, I don't want to hear your complaints about your back in the morning. If I ever get through the night." I shuddered involuntarily.

His emerald eyes appeared to be soft in the moonlight. "Perhaps it would be good to tell me about it?" It wasn't much of a statement, rather a question.

I gulped uneasily. The notion of telling Fakir, I mean, Fakir, wasn't exactly on my list of priorities. But there was no way out of this, right? After all, he was sleeping beside me.

I took a deep breath. "There were…these birds. And they were larger than normal. Big, black birds. For some reason, they started pecking at me and then, kicking me… It was so real… And I was so sore…so helpless… I don't know why…abandoned…" My voice cracked. "It seems so childish, I know, but it hurt so much." I clutched his arm whilst tears streamed rapidly down my face.

Fakir pulled me close to his chest. "It's okay… It's okay to be afraid. I'm here. Nothing's going to happen to you. Not you." He coaxed.

I wailed, staining big droplets of tears on his shirt. He didn't seem bothered by it; his main concern was to get me to calm down.

Fakir stroked my hair at the back of my neck, something that mollified me very much. His slow, even breathing caused his chest to fluctuate, helping me respire at the same pace. He whispered soothing words in my ear all throughout.

"Arigatou, Fakir-kun," I thanked him, once I relaxed.

"Baka," He teased.

I didn't move, make an effort to pull away. Instead, I lolled against him. I was falling asleep in his arms. Warmth radiated from his skin. He generated protection and…care. Someone, who I'd actually lost hope in, was there. It was funny how he towered over me but we fit together perfectly as pieces of a puzzle.

.

…

.

Fakir's POV

Is she okay?

I thought to myself as I apprehensively pulled my collar. I sat in Kinkan Town Academy, Creative Writing, donned in my blue uniform.

Big mistake.

I spent my time worrying, not paying attention to the teacher. She was having a class discussion about punctuation and comma splice. To me, easy stuff.

I couldn't take my mind off her. Knowing Ahiru, she'd be able to burn down the house in seconds.

But was that the reason why I was thinking about her so much?

You love her.

Damn. Now I was hearing Drosselmeyer's voice in my conscience.

You fell in love with her…for a second time.

No, I didn't!

Wait… Scratch that; you're right. You didn't fall in love with her for a second time…

Thank you, now if you'd kindly get out of my head…?

… You still loved her as a duck! Simple logic: that's why you preserved hope, writing stories when you knew you were to fail!

WHAT?!

How low can you get? I mean, a duck? I thought my grandson could do better than that.

First off, you shouldn't be saying anything, since you stayed a bitter, old man for the rest of your life, taking out your feelings on your characters. Secondly, you were the one who brought her up as a human again, so that she could "fall in love with me the right way" or whatever. Ultimately, loving someone…isn't just by their physical appearance…

Hah! So you do admit it!

I don't think I even mentioned that!

I heard his sinister laugh, but he didn't reprimand me further. He knew better than that.

"… This is wrong punctuation. Instead of a comma, you'd use a period. If you didn't correct this, it would be considered a run-on sentence." My teacher said, stressing the last syllables.

I came here to improve my writing, not to review things I already knew. This was easy; the teacher didn't even bother with me anymore.

I diverted my attention to outside the window. Spring blossoms hung on trees, swaying lazily from the light breeze. The strawberry bushes, being grown by Freya, were already ripe long before spring season arrived. But something of a pink, salmon color caught my interest… Hair?! Ahiru peeked out of the bush, her eyes flitting from left to right. When she spotted my astonished face, she commenced flailing her arms frantically.

My teacher slapped my desk with a ruler and I almost fell out of my chair. "Are you okay, Fakir-kun? You're turning pale and drifting off a bit. Your classmates already left for lunch."

I stood up, trembling. Why is she here? Has something bad happened? Did she get her memory back?

I'd doubt it. Only one day has passed since she converted back human. Although…she did dream of ravens the night prior to this day. Isn't that telling me something?

I sprinted out of the classroom, barely hearing my teacher shout, "Narrative writing tomorrow!"

Not stopping until I arrived at the strawberry bush, I gained some speed avoiding the fan girls.

"What are you doing here…without any socks?!" I roared. I shouldn't act this way, reflecting over last night's events…

She didn't seem affected, though. "I was hungry," she simply replied.

I stared at her, dumfounded. "You couldn't wait until I came back?"

She eyed the ground shamefully and pressed her two index fingers together repeatedly. "Well, I didn't know when you were coming back so—"

"But seriously, Ahiru, without socks? You couldn't be that careless." I scoffed.

She protruded her bottom lip and stood akimbo. "Well, excuse me for being human."

Only for a day, Ahiru. You're human only for a day…

arigatou - thank you
baka - idiot, moron, stupid