Chapter 7

I walked down the stairs and out of the dorms, following Luka. She was skipping in front of me, hugging her sketchbook tight to her chest. I couldn't help but notice how child-like she was. Meiko said she was 16, going on 17. My birthday was going to be that weekend. But here she was, skipping around like an eight year old.

We walked past the school and office and into the garden. I had never been in the gardens before. When I walked under the hedge gateway, I was astounded by the beauty of it. Each path was lined with a trimmed hedge, flowers were everywhere to be seen and the scent of lavender floated around in the air.

I stopped looking around to find Luka again. She was poking at a rose, gently feeling its petals. Her eyes grew soft and the child-like presence melted away and was replace with a mature one. She picked the rose from the hedge and began to walk away. She turned back, gave me a warm smile and beckoned me to follow her. I followed her to a bench, where she sat down and opened the book. She flipped through several pages before coming to an empty one.

"Can I have a look?" I asked. She looked over at me in shock, but hesitantly handed over the book. I flicked through the pages, examing all the pictures. A faint smile came to my face as a few sketches of her and the other girls in our dorm appeared. There was one with Meiko and her pulling funny faces, one with Miku and her building a sandcastle and laughing. One with Gumi and Rin and her holding hands and smiling and one with Miki with Miki singing and Luka mid-twirl. I flicked through a few more pages. There was the page with our previous conversation. I came across one more with writing, but it didn't look like a conversation.

"Is this... a song?"

Luka hid her face with her hair and nodded shyly. I read it and looked back up at her. She was looking at me with hopeful eyes, her fists clenched.

"It's good. Real good."

Luka's eyes lit up and she grabbed the sketchbook and pencil, opening the page where our previous conversation was.

'You are the first person I've showed, Mr. Kaito. Meiko doesn't usual look past the sketches, so she hasn't seen them. I am glad you like them, sir.'

"You don't have to keep calling me 'Mr. Kaito'. Just Kaito will do. Everyone else calls me that," I said, smirking a little.

She let out a small gasp and wrote something down. 'I don't know sir, I think I will feel more comfortable referring to you as Mr. Kaito. I hope it does not bother you!'

I shrugged. "Fine. Just, drop the 'sir' at least," I added, grinning a bit. She nodded back, a smile blooming on her face. Suddenly, something caught her eye and she jumped out of her seat, leaving the sketchbook. I looked up to see what had startled her and saw her chasing a blue butterfly, arms outstretched, ready to catch it. I hid a smirk and picked up the book, flicking back to the songs. There were a few in English and some in Japanese. Some were ones she had actually written and others were English songs that had been translated into Japanese. She had 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight' translated. She was clearly a fan of Disney movies.

Luka sat back down, slumping in the chair. I guess the butterfly eluded her. She picked up the rose, placed it on the bench and began to finish off her sketch. I watched as her wrist makes little flicks, shading in the shadows. It only took ten minutes before she finished. She held it up and showed it to me, a small smile indicating that she was hoping for praise.

"Cool," I replied. She gave me a grin and wrote something quickly on a page.

'Mr. Kaito, may I sketch you?' she asked. I sighed but nodded. Luka took in a quick intake of air, maybe a silent squeal. She stood up and stood in front of me, one hand on her hip and the other stroking her chin as she stared down at me. I was used to being taller than most people. It was weird being stared down, especially by a girl.

Eventually, she grabbed my arms and placed them so they were resting on my lap. She gently place her hands on either side of my head and tilted back so I was looking up at the cloudy sky. She placed her two fingers on my eyelids and closed them. When she took them away, I heard her clap happily and sit down beside me. I opened one eye to look at her. She took the pencil and began to draw my general outline.

I sat staring up at the sky for the better half of an hour. I drifted in and out of sleep and thought. I remembered how Kaiko used to try and draw our bedroom when she got back from the hospital. Then, when she went into relapse, she'd take it to the hospital with her. The only problem was that Kaiko wasn't a very good artist. Her attempt at the bunk bed was so bad that I laughed when she showed it to our family. This earned me harsh glares and an hour in my room. The silent rule was that you don't offend Kaiko. Anything she does is perfect. Though I also remember Kaiko thanking me for being honest about the drawing.

A loud bell is what woke me up from my thoughts. I glanced over at the school and heard people laughing and chatting. I was desperate to meet up with Yuma and show him he couldn't walk all over me like he probably thought he could. Also, there was very little conversation with Luka. She may have been nice and kind, but she wasn't a very good conversationalist.

"Kaito! Kait-... Kaito?"

My eyes snapped open and I looked towards the voice to find Lily, staring at me with her crisp blue eyes. I sat up a bit, a little embarrassed of the fact that I fainted after smoking some weed. I mean, I was the kid that lit the school on fire!

But one look at Lily's eyes showed that she didn't think it was a laughing matter at all. Her expression was worried, with a hint of relief. Without any warning, she flung herself at me, knocking the air out of me.

"Omigod, Kaito! I was so worried! You collapsed like that and I didn't know what to do!" she squealed, squeezing all available oxygen out of my chest.

She sat up, one hand resting on my chest and the other cupping my cheek. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, sounding sincerely worried.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "This is a very different personality to the one you usually have," I commented.

She brushed my comment aside and planted a quick kiss on my cheek. My face heated up a little but I remained cool. Lily smiled sweetly and her gaze shifted from mine to over my shoulder. I turned to see what she was looking at. Luka was sitting at the end of the bench, clutching her sketchbook to her chest. Her eyes were wide as she stared at Lily. Then, suddenly, her usual warm eyes turned cold and dead. I looked over at Lily to find her giving Luka a similar look. There was a definite tension between the two girls.

"Oh, Megurine, I didn't see you there," Lily said, sticking her little button nose in the air. Luka shrank a few inches when she heard her voice. Her head and neck recoiled into her shoulders. She opened a page and scribbled something down quickly and held up the page. I noticed how much her hand was shaking, how her writing wasn't as neat and her bottom lip quivering.

'Hello, Miss Lily, madam. Mr. Kaito, I shall be leaving. Thank you for your unnecessary company, it was quite gentlemanly of you. I shall leave you two be.'

With that, she stood up and ran. I saw her give Lily one last look before disappearing into the crowd of people outside the garden entrance.

Sorry for taking so long with the update. From now on, Scarred for Life will be updated on Saturdays and Behind the Mask (my RinxLen story) will be updated on Sundays. With my exams coming up this year I don't have a lot of spare time on my hands.

Thank you to reviewers:

-StandingAloneStill
-Kegi Springfield
-Ambokiko
-luthor112
-Blossom the Cellist
-DoniLALALALALALALovesssssYOU
-sasusaku3623649
-Luka Megurine (Hey Luka!)

Seventh chapter and I'm already at 30 reviews. Thanks so much guys! This story is no way near over. I'm aiming at maybe 30 chapters, perhaps longer. Keep those reviews coming!