A/N: I'M BACK! Please enjoy Chapter 3 of One Life to Live!
Recap:
"Please, just let me be like this. You have no idea how scared I was when it happened. I thought I was going to die if you hadn't come then. Thank you so much for saving me, Kiryuu-kun." I cried so hard and got my tears all over his shirt, but he didn't say anything; he just let me cry it out without any judgment. I can say I haven't cried that hard since my father died all those years ago, and it felt oddly relieving to cry now, let the feelings I'd bottled up inside just pour out. I felt the weight of it ease off my shoulders and let me start over again.
Which is exactly what I'd do.
After the incident with Aido, Hanabusa and Kiryuu-kun, I carried on like nothing happened; I was my good old self again. Kiryuu-kun might have thought it was weird for me to not be more traumatized by what I'd seen, but I didn't let it get to me. I wasn't in denial, just accepted what happened and moved on.
For the first time in a while, I was ready to go to classes at Cross. I was placed in the Day Class, for now-obvious reasons, and decided to take the opportunity to make friends.
"Hey, Takeshima, if you keep standing in front of the mirror, I'm leaving without you," Kiryuu-kun called from outside the bathroom door.
"Coming!" I called back. "I'm almost done." I looked again in the mirror and rest my hands on the sink ledge.
Okay, this is it. I thought to myself. You can do this. I took a deep breath and looked straight at my reflection. Today's your first day at Cross. You can start over and let the past be behind you. You can do it. Believe in yourself.
"Oi, Takeshima!" Kiryuu-kun knocked on the door, this time more impatiently.
I fixed my hair and opened the bathroom door to find Kiryuu-kun standing so close I almost bumped into him.
"Wah!" I stopped myself before I ran into him and looked up. "Kiryuu-kun, don't stand so close to the door!"
He stepped back and looked down at me. "Then don't spend so much time in the bathroom. We're going to be late." He started toward the door.
"Wait for me!" I yelled as I grabbed my bag and ran after him, closing the door behind me.
The hallways were even more crowded than I thought they would be; at least, I pictured them to be as crowded as my old school, but I was clearly wrong.
Students bustled around in all directions, trying to get to morning homeroom before the bell rang.
I guess this school is relatively normal, I thought, minus the vampire thing, but yeah….
I would have walked right past my homeroom if Kiryuu-kun didn't grab my arm and pulled me back.
"Oi, pay attention," he said under his breath.
"Sorry," I replied softly, and followed him into the classroom.
The homeroom teacher immediately noticed and smiled at me.
"Oh, a new face," he merely glanced at me and shifted his eyes to Kiryuu-kun, then back to me.
"Just introduce yourself to everyone when class starts," the teacher sounded bored.
"Yes, of course, Mr…."
"Yagari. It's Yagari."
"Yes, Yagari-sensei," I bowed slightly as I answered.
While I was talking with Yagari-sensei, Kiryuu-kun had gone to his seat. I noticed that nobody sat next to him, which was odd but understandable, considering the atmosphere he usually emitted.
Soon after the bell rang and everyone rushed to their seats, with the space next to Kiryuu-kun still left empty.
"Alright, everyone. Settle down," Yagari-sensei let out a small sigh. "We have a new student in the class," he looked at me. "Go ahead and introduce yourself."
"Yes, sir." I bowed a little to him and faced the rest of the class. "Hello, everyone! Pleased to meet you all. I'm Hitomi Takeshima. I know I've just gotten here but I hope to get along with you all! Please take care of me!" I bowed to the class.
"Unfortunately there aren't any seats available, so you'll have to make do and sit next to Kiryuu for now." Yagari-sensei gestured to the empty space next to Kiryuu-kun.
"That's all right. I don't mind," I replied, and made my way next to Kiryuu-kun.
"It's best if you don't talk to me during class," he said under his breath so only I could hear, "if you don't want anyone picking on you here."
"It's fine, Kiryuu-kun," I replied silently. "I can still make friends here even if I talk to you."
Kiryuu-kun gave a minute smirk. "Suit yourself," he remarked and proceeded to support his chin on his hand as if he was paying attention to Yagari-sensei's lecture; he was asleep within seconds.
I saw him doze off and covered a small smile, then pulled out my notebook for taking notes in class.
As Yagari-sensei's lecture went on, I continued to take notes while also filling the page's margins with nonsensical doodles when a thought suddenly crossed my mind: I should write a diary entry now.
I reached into my bag and pulled out my new diary and looked at the cover.
This diary was one I happened to find in the back of a bookstore in town when I went with Kiryuu-kun and Yuuki as soon as I'd recovered from my collapse (and getting bitten by Aido-san). I also managed to get it for a cheaper price because the store owner felt bad for me after I told him what happened to my original diary. It looked the exact same as my first diary, but I knew that my first diary would be much more meaningful than the diaries that came afterward.
Is what I say, but this diary had a special importance to me; it was the first diary I had since transferring to Cross Academy, one that I would fill with the memories I made here and could look back at in case I lost them.
While still paying attention to Yagari-sensei''s lecture, I started to write.
April 7, 10:00 AM
Nikki-e,
I'm sorry it's been so long. Things have happened and I've only just recovered. I thought Cross Academy was just like Tori High, but it's nothing close. The school is much bigger, and the student body even more so. There are only two groups of classes: Day and Night, and the thing that weirds me out the most is that the Night Class students are actually... well, "night students." I have a feeling I should be scared knowing, but for some it doesn't bother me so much.
Thankfully, nothing else has happened since the incident with Aido-san, but you'd think that the girls in the Day Class would know. Instead, they adore the Night Class, and always crowd on the sides of the path all the way from the Moon Dorms to the gates of the main building, cheering on their favorite Night Class students as they walk by. They're so loud that it still hurts my ears even when I'm 10 feet away. I feel bad for Yuuki because she has to deal with all of them, but Kiryuu-kun generally controls everyone with his usual scary self, so things don't get out of hand. It's pretty funny to watch all the girls suddenly stop yelling when he glares at them.
Anyway, I'm really looking forward to my school life here at Cross. Class is almost done now, so I'll end it here for now. Until next time!
I closed the diary and continued to take the last bit of notes that was on the chalkboard before the bell rang.
"I'm surprised you can multitask so well," the voice next to me was so sudden I nearly jumped out of my chair.
"Kiryuu-kun! Since when were you awake?" I asked as I got my heart rate back down.
"Since just before the bell rang," he rubbed his eyes to make his grogginess go away and let out a small yawn that exposed the tip of his fangs.
"Oh, yeah, that thing you gave me before I passed out the other day, what was it?" I don't know why the question formed in my head, but as soon as I said it I added, "But tell me when we get back to the dorms. I know this isn't the right place to ask that."
"I'm on patrol, so I won't be back until late. Don't wait up for me." he was curt in his response.
"Uh, okay," I replied. I packed my things and stood up to smoothen out any wrinkles in my uniform. "I'll be back. I'm just going to get some fresh air. It's so stifling, sitting in a classroom for three hours straight."
Kiryuu-kun immediately stood up. "I'll go with you, in case something happens."
I smiled. "Relax, all the Night Class students are asleep now aren't they? They wouldn't come out during the day."
He stared at me for a good minute, trying to contemplate if he should argue or not, then sat back down and laid his head on the desk. "Okay, but call me if anything happens," he said.
"Roger!" I saluted and walked out the door into the main courtyard.
The courtyard was much bigger than my old school's, and much more elegantly laid out too. As soon as I stepped onto the pavement I felt a sense of relief wash over me. It looked like something that came out of a Harry Potter book; I know this sounds cliche, but it was was definitely magical.
I sat on a nearby bench and pulled out a water bottle from my bag and drank a few sips before placing it back in the bag.
"It feels really nice," I sighed as I lay down. There was a light breeze that felt cool as it passed though my hair that felt oddly calming.
I guess I fell asleep on the bench, because I was startled awake by the loud bell ringing that signaled the start of afternoon classes.
"Shit! I'm gonna be late!" I ran as fast as I could back to the classroom and made it back before the bell ended, so I was safe.
"At least you made it," Yagari-sensei remarked.
"Sorry," I said softly as I bowed and made my way to my seat.
"You look like a mess," Kiyuu-kun said as I sat down.
"Gee, thanks." I replied sarcastically. I shook out any leaves or branches from my hair lightly so I wouldn't attract too much attention, then felt a small tug at my hair from the side.
"What are you-" I started to ask but realized it was Kiryuu-kun helping me with my hair.
"Don't take it the wrong way. I have appearance standards for my roommate to keep up in public," he hastily added, which made me laugh a little.
"I believe you, Kiryuu-kun. It's fine. You're probably still tired, so go to sleep. I'll take notes for you," I offered.
He looked at me hesitantly. "Okay," he said after a long pause. "Wake me up when class is almost done."
"Will do," I replied as I pulled out my notebook and started taking notes. As soon as I pulled out my notebook I could hear Kiryuu-kun's soft, steady breaths.
Damn, he falls asleep fast. I thought.
Class went on for another three hours before we were done for the day, so I woke Kiryuu-kun five minutes before the bell rang to give him some time to actually be awake.
"So what happens now?" I asked Kiryuu-kun as he let out another yawn.
"Well, now is club activities until the sun starts to set, then Day and Night Classes switch, which starts off my Guardian duties." he replied.
"Club activities..." I said to myself. Suddenly an idea set off in my head. "Hey, Kiryuu-kun, is there an archery club here?"
"Of course. Why?"
"Oh, I did archery before I transferred, so I was thinking if it was possible to join here, even though school's already started."
"I don't see why not," he said. "You should go check out their practice and see. Our archery club is pretty competitive, so it might be hard to get in."
"Thanks, Kiryuu-kun. I'll try my best."
Kiryuu-kun quickly pointed out where the archery club's practice was before heading back to the dorms to probably get ready for patrolling all night, so I said my goodbyes in the classroom and then headed toward club practice.
Now, when I say archery, I mean tradition Japanese archery (though I also do regular archery, too). I used to do both in middle school, but I liked tradition archery more, so I planned on continuing that in high school, but, you know, things happened.
I managed to find the practice area without getting lost, and stood in front of the sliding door entrance.
I took a deep breath and slid the door open.
"Pardon the intrusion!" I called as I entered.
A head poked out from the other side of the hallway/
"Oh, hello! You're the new transfer student, right?" she asked..
"Um, yeah, I am. Pleased to meet you," I said as I bowed slightly in greeting.
"Oh, pleased to meet you too!" she bowed back. "Are you interested in joining the club?"
"Yes, I am. Sorry if it's so last minute. I know school started already." I bowed slightly again in apology.
"No worries!" she replied. "We're always looking for new members. Come on, why don't you see our practice?"
"Thank you," I said, and walked into the practice hall.
The practice area was a large, open space on one side that had targets lined up roughly 15 meters from the standing area, with the wall at the back holding all the equipment ranging from bows and practice arrows to arm guards and sights. Members were already lined up at the standing area and shooting the targets at the far end of the open space.
One the members came out of the changing room and noticed me looking at the bows in awe.
"Can I help you with something?" he asked.
I turned to look at him and tried to respond. "Oh! Um, well..."
The girls who greeted me earlier saved me. "She's here to try out for the club, Captain!"
The captain scrutinized me from top to bottom. "Let's see how you do," he said.
"Um, okay." I said as he handed me all the equipment.
"You know how to assemble these, right?" he asked.
"Yes, I do." I replied and started to put the bow together fairly quickly.
"That's impressive," the captain as soon as I was done.
"I started learning in middle school," I said shyly.
"An early start does no harm," he smiled.
Jesus, the captain's really hot. I thought.
"Stand over here," he said, bringing me back to reality.
I walked over to the spot he pointed and took a deep breath.
"Whenever you're ready," the captain said calmly.
I took another deep breath, placed the arrow on the arrow rest, raised the bow, and pulled the arrow back with the string.
Steady, now. I thought to myself. You can do this. It's just like middle school. I lined up the arrow to the target, braced myself, and let go of the arrow, and help my breath to see where it would hit the target.
A/N: That's Chapter 3! Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I'm in the last stretch of final exams! Once those are out of the way I should be free enough to update! Please look forward to Chapter 4!