After endless nights of enduring the same nightmare, Kagami wakes up from a dream that, for once, isn't centred around the orb. Her memory is still foggy, but she doesn't recall seeing Supreme Luminous or being trapped in a scorching hot desert. No, she believes Toby was there. The thought of the boy somehow appearing in her dreams sets her cheeks aflame and she snaps herself back to reality. Today Ms. McGuck is going to judge their assignment. Any pleasant residues from her dream are gone, replaced - as the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end - with panic.
The girl tries to calm herself with a mantra.
'Everything is okay, Kagami. It'll work out in the end even if I don't get an A.'
Out of habit, Kagami takes out her mini laptop from under her bed and plugs in her USB stick with her and Toby's assignment. She scans the contents, making sure of no mistakes. No doubt, they both put together a stellar presentation worthy of an A if any other teacher were grading their assignment. But it had to be Ms. McGuck. In her terms, if it isn't inhumanly spotless then it doesn't deserve a 100. They've taken a huge risk with doing the eco-system. They're practically in competition with the rest of the class that chose the same. Theirs had to be the best to get 100%. Kagami could tell from observing the teacher.
A knock on Kagami's door startles the teen out of her consciousness. It's Kinkaede.
"Sorry if I'm disturbing you but Shujin said you have a laptop I could use?" the older man voices.
Kagami nods her head. No use in worrying about the assignment now. Having given Kinkaede the laptop, Kagami heads on into the bathroom for a quick shower.
A cold shower should do the trick in easing her nerves, right?
Nope.
Kagami recites her speech, repeating any sentences she fumbled. Yet, she couldn't stop her hands from shaking. Her words came to a stop, body plagued with worry. Nervousness numbs her legs and she crashes to the surface of the bathtub. The what if's swarm her mind. She doesn't get an A and her father hears of it, what next? He'd take it out on her mother or worse. Back to Japan for Kagami. Her whole being shakes at the mere thought of returning to that cold, soulless house in Japan. Finally, a taste of freedom, now gone with a blink of an eye. Kagami couldn't bear it.
'Come on! Stop worrying!'
At this rate, she's too overcome with anxiety to do the presentation. Kagami needed help and she knew exactly where to go. So, she rushes out of the shower, quickly changing to visit the bookstore.
"Oi, Kagami!" Kinkaede calls out to her.
"Hm?" the girl pipes up, struggling to put on her boots from the hallway.
"You left your USB stick in your laptop. It's by the counter in the living room."
Damn it! A major mistake right there.
She speeds to the counter. As Kinkaede said, there lies her laptop and two USB sticks, the other being Kinkaede's. She takes the one placed on the counter since Kinkaede's is plugged into the laptop. She thanks him before taking her leave.
A day at the bookstore as usual. Flamma at the counter, Vestalt's reporting to Magor and Anchor went out to do more research on Shinzuku. Flamma mentioned to him that with Kagami on their side they didn't need to do any research, but Anchor insisted they needed more.
Given some thought, Flamma could see his point. Their commander did lie to Kagami about them being the supposed good guys. Having Kagami as an ally is a major step up towards their goal but they're treading a fine line. Kagami is close to the lords of nature too, though she doesn't know their actual identities yet. All it takes is for those kids to divulge their secret to her and they're screwed. Not only that, but the man himself, Supreme Luminous from God-knows-where is attempting to contact the girl in her dreams. Flamma had to spend all night researching ancient spells to block the light gormiti. All this with an impending timestamp on their heads.
Maybe Flamma should've stayed back in Volcano Mountain.
...
...
...
Nope, never mind. Anything is better than staying at that place.
Speaking of the girl, their trump card barges into the store in an absolute panic. She grasps Flamma by the shoulders, mildly shaking her and ranting on about an assignment and anxiety. Flamma couldn't make out what she was saying.
Tired of the rambling, Flamma clasps the poor girl's cheek in a tight hold. "Now, start from the beginning." Kagami takes a deep breath before speaking. "Slowly," Flamma commands, not feeling up to another fast rant.
Kagami nods, now resembling a blowfish. Flamma lets go of her hold on the girl and Kagami tells her everything. How she's too anxious to do her presentation and she needs something to calm her nerves down.
Flamma snaps her fingers, an immediate solution popping into her head.
"Wait here." Flamma insists as she heads into her room. The 'dumpster' as Anchor calls it hosts a plethora of collectibles from Gorm. Flamma is the designated spell genius of the group and anything that could potentially assist them on their mission was a must have. Her room is practically a dumping ground for everything and anything Gorm related, with some human stuff in the side-line, whenever she wanted to experiment.
Flamma takes a couple of minutes before she finds exactly what Kagami needed to calm her nerves. She rushes back to the girl, presenting her with a small bottle filled with what seemed like tablets.
"Anchor uses these whenever he's feeling under the weather. Just take one for the day and you'll feel absolutely better!" Flamma pops open the bottle, handing Kagami one tablet.
Kagami knew it was stupid. Accepting a drug from a being from a mythical land. However, she and Vestalt have helped her tremendously for the past week. Flamma wouldn't try to poison her or anything. Kagami could tell that Flamma is being genuine
"Here." Flamma hands Kagami a glass of water.
The girl eyes the small tablet in her hand. It's not like she has any other options. So, she pops the pill down her throat and takes a huge gulp of the glass.
Instantly, her worries and anxiety wash over her. She feels more confident about the presentation.
"Thank you, Flamma! I feel better already!" Kagami bows to her senior before shaking her hand.
"Glad I could help!"
The girl exits the bookstore, waving goodbye to the adult. Though, Flamma's mind began to ponder. Those pills are meant for gormiti and given the small size of the girl, would the dosage be too much for Kagami? Flamma scratches her mind, putting all the pieces together before concluding.
"That'll mean it'll be extra effective!" Flamma cackles to herself.
Oh, she's such a genius.
Biology, the last class for the day with Ms. McGuck and tensions are high. Kemi broke out into an all-out sobbing fest and Miki, along with Justin and Chris, had to escort her out of the classroom. Even Abel himself, couldn't help but shed some tears, concealing his face from the rest of the student body.
"Abel we did our best. That's all that matters." Andrea tries consoling the boy.
"You don't get it! If I don't pass, my parents will flip!" Abel cries out to the girl.
The tension gets to Matt as he couldn't help but empathise for the rest of the class. His parents were chill when it came to grades. They understand that grades didn't mean anything in the long run, but others weren't as privileged as him.
Jessica sits by Gina's side alongside Nick. Lucas hasn't arrived to class yet, explaining to Gina that he had to run errands for his eco-group.
"Have you heard the rumours about Toby?" Gina chirps up, attempting to divert the attention away from their impending presentation.
Jessica rolls her eyes; Toby's always causing trouble in some shape or form. Whatever it was this time didn't interest her one bit.
But Nick, given that Toby is his brother, is intrigued none the less. "What did he do this time?"
"May told me Toby went on a date with Kagami yesterday!"
Cue record scratch.
Jessica feigns disinterest but the girl has to admit. She's perplexed. It wasn't far back when the two had a big argument, now they're a couple? Plus, Toby with a girlfriend? He's cute and all, but with his personality, no normal girl could stand him. Jessica had feelings for him at one point, but she isn't exactly normal with saving the world and all.
"It's just rumours, Gina. They probably went out to a library to work on the assignment." Nick scoffs. There's absolutely no way Kagami would settle for someone like Toby. Nick may be out of her league, but Toby? Those two were the complete opposite of each other. Toby wouldn't be able to stand Kagami for long enough to be able to date her.
"Nuh-uh! May said they went to the arcade! They were all huddled up together!"
Jessica's eyes shoot wide open. Toby isn't the romantic type. He wouldn't touch a girl like that even if he liked her.
Jessica places a hand on her chest. It hurt for some reason, but she couldn't pinpoint why. Wait, is she jealous? Jessica mentally scoffs to herself. She has a boyfriend and Toby's allowed to date whoever he wants. She doesn't own him. Nonetheless, her heart sunk at the thought of Toby being…. intimate with someone else. It's a disgusting thought since she isn't single anymore but she wished he would've embraced her first, back when she still had a crush on him and not with another girl who 'apparently' struck him, as the rumours went.
Nick cackles out loud, breaking Jessica free from her thoughts. "Gina, I'll need to see some cold hard evidence to believe anything you just said."
Lo and behold, the couple in discussion amble into the classroom, chatting amicably. Nick rushes up to the girl, breaking her conversation with Toby. They chat for a bit about the assignment and student council stuff but Nick, with curiosity burning through his veins, doesn't ask about her supposed 'date' she had with Toby. He never believed in rumours unless there was evidence to back them up, but he's scared of the possibility of her confirming the rumours. His vision of a goddess, Kagami, going out with his clown of a brother, Toby. The thought hurts like spikes piercing his chest. His Kagami would never fall for someone like Toby.
Ms. McGuck shows her witch-like appearance to the class, raising the tension higher. Nick silences his thoughts. His entire focus should be on the presentation. Luckily, Lucas makes it back to class on time. If he arrived late, Ms. McGuck would use that as an excuse to give him a demerit.
The presentations went off without a hitch. Nick and Jessica were up first, their presentation on fungi, not surprising to everyone else. Nick does like his fungi. Both were glad they went first; their minds were elsewhere and getting the presentation done and over with is a blessing.
Ike and Matt were up next and of course, they completely screwed it over. But they did uplift the mood a little bit by making their presentation at least somewhat humorous. A couple more students went ahead. Given Ms. McGuck's expression, a majority got C's with only one F for Ike and Matt's presentation.
Finally, the duo everyone awaited were up. Kagami and Toby. Everyone expected Kagami to freak out but surprisingly, the girl was calm. Too calm for Nick's liking. Usually, whenever Kagami had to recite a speech, the girl would be rehearsing to the last second. Throughout the presentations, she just sat there, staring off to who knows where.
'Just what the hell did Toby do?' Nick had to question.
The duo head to the podium at the front of the class. Toby couldn't help but sense something is wrong with Kagami. She seemed sluggish in her steps.
Toby hands their report to Ms. McGuck then heads to the computer to plug in the USB stick and ready the slides. They decided Kagami should give out the actual presentation, though both worked on the script.
When Toby went to look for the file, he froze on the spot. The file wasn't anywhere on the USB stick, instead all there was is a folder called Kinkaede's pictures. Kagami must've brought the wrong USB stick!
'Shit!'
The boy signals to Kagami to come over to the computer. Quiet chatter started ringing amongst the class. Nick bit his lip, knowing that something isn't right.
"What is it?" the girl whispers.
"Uh, Kagami, don't freak out but you brought the wrong USB stick. Our presentation isn't in here." Toby waits for chaos to ensue. For Kagami to flip out and have an anxiety attack or pass out from disbelief. None of that happens. Instead, Kagami stares at the boy, she seems almost out of it. Like she wasn't really there. Her pupils were dilated, and Toby worried she might've taken something to ease her anxiety.
"That's fine. We'll just improvise."
Toby's all about improvising but at that moment, Toby feels like it's a bad idea. Should he tell Ms. McGuck Kagami's high on whatever she took? What if it's something serious or illegal? He already ruined her perfect attendance; he didn't want to get her expelled for illegal drug use. Kagami looks stable enough to give the speech. Afterwards, he'd bring her to the nurse then check up on her to make sure she's okay.
"An ecosystem is a community of living organisms that interact with non-living components of their environment. There are many different eco-systems in our earth-"
Kagami winks at Toby as if saying she's got this under control.
That eases Toby somewhat and, preparing for the worst, he projects the first slide to this Kinkaede guy's photo album. Thankfully, he took photos of the environment, so it was somewhat related to their presentation.
Still, that doesn't stop everyone from gasping in disbelief. This is Kagami, she'd never have something so... bland.
Kagami continues with the speech, altering the script to fit whatever is presented on the board. Toby could see, from the corner of his eye, Ms. McGuck's displeased expression. Docked marks for terrible slides, for sure. Hopefully, they can salvage marks with their speech. Their presentation should be 3 minutes long and so far, Kagami has made it one minute in without screwing up.
Kagami's words become more slurred and Toby senses she is finding it difficult to speak.
"The ffwenture fwalls eco-system iz an ezzample of an w-woodland e-echo-system-"
The class continues their chatter at their utter shock at Kagami's state. Ms. McGuck had to tell them to 'shut up' or she'd dock 5% off everyone's grade. That ruined Kagami's flow as she forgets pieces of her speech.
'Just 2 more minutes, Kagami! Hang on for 2 more minutes!' Toby pleads in his mind.
Though Kagami tried to fight the sleepiness, she just couldn't.
"O-oak treez are uh the m-most do-dominant...um.…type? type of tree in f-fv-venture falls su-supporting..um..supporting…supporting… 何これ (what is this?)"
Nick took off his glasses to facepalm. This is literal torture. Never in a million years did he ever think he'd see Kagami mess up a speech.
Kagami tries to remember the rest of her speech, but the words just smudge together like ink on paper. The worst part was that Kagami doesn't care that she forgot, she's just so tired, tired of thinking so much. So she stops trying to recall the words, allowing her mind to go blank.
She falters in her steps, but Toby rushes out from behind the computer desk, stabilizing her.
"To…by. You -"
"I'll do the rest, just go back and work on the slides," Toby whispers to the lost girl.
Kagami nods, losing the will to speak.
"What she means is..uh they support…all the living things! Not all of them but you know, the insects!"
Toby continues from there. He remembers some bits of the speech here and there but for the most part, the boy's utterly lost; going off from the top of his head from whatever he learned from the textbook. Kagami's better at improvising than he is. Eventually, the slides came to a halt as Kagami falls asleep on the desk. Now Toby had to control the slides and recite his made-up script.
"That's enough Toby." Ms. McGuck calls from her seat. She didn't even give him time to finish. "Celeste Wion and Jake Harrington, you're up next."
That was Toby's cue to leave. He wakes the sleeping girl, glad she's in fact sleeping and not passed out. The girl's completely out of it, not realizing how much they botched their presentation. They'd be lucky if they pass. Toby leads the girl back to her seat, knowing she couldn't tell up from down. Once she reaches her desk, she promptly falls back to her slumber.
Toby returns to his seat, unable to concentrate on the other presentations. How would he explain all of this to Kagami? That conversation is one Toby wants to avoid but he knew it was inevitable.
He spots Nick. His brother stares right back at him before diverting his attention back to the board. Eventually, Toby receives a note from Justin seated behind him.
Meet me by the lockers after class. We need to talk.
Nick
Toby scrunches up the paper tossing it to the ground when Ms. McGuck wasn't looking. He lightly bangs his head on his desk.
'Why me?'
Still in class, after everyone left for the day, Kagami continued to sleep. Gina and Jessica stayed by her side, waiting for her to awaken.
"Uh huh, don't worry, I'll be there in a second. Love you too, bye!" Jessica hangs up her phone.
"Mark?" Gina asks with a raised eyebrow.
Jessica nods. "He has a dance rehearsal and he wants me to watch." Jessica sighs. Of course, she wants to be there for Kagami when she finds out about the inevitable but her boyfriend comes first. Leaving Gina alone with her is a big no too. Kagami's sure to break down and having two people there for her is a hell of a lot better than just one in Jessica's book.
"Don't worry, Jess. I'll be okay on my own." Gina eases Jessica's worries.
"You sure?"
Speaking of the devil, Kagami begrudgingly opens her eyes. She lets out a huge yawn, stretching out her muscles from a pleasant rest. "What the? Where is everyone?" Everything hits Kagami like a ton of bricks, remembering the events of last period.
'Oh, no….'
She turns to Gina who has a solemn look in her eyes. "What happened during the presentations?"
Both Jessica and Gina were hesitant on giving an answer, neither desiring to be the bearer of bad news.
"It went well right? Toby and I did okay..didn't we?" Kagami's voice shook with worry. The slides...she mistakenly brought Kinkaede's USB stick. Then she fumbled her words halfway through her speech. Everything afterwards was a blur.
Gina hugs the girl, knowing it would be hard for her to digest what occurred. Though confused, Kagami accepts the offer, understanding the weight of the situation.
Jessica, deciding that hiding the truth wouldn't help much, spills the beans. "You fell asleep halfway through. Toby took over and-"
"Oh…" Kagami couldn't form a sentence. So she wouldn't be getting an A then.
Kagami broke the hug, eyeing the floor instead.
Gina spoke up, "Kagami, just so you know, grades don't mean - "
"No, Gina, I'm fine. I'll be okay." Kagami cuts the girl off, genuinely smiling. Kagami didn't know if it's the effects of the drug but hearing the news didn't bother the girl much. Instead, she's glad.
Kagami stands up from her seat. "Do you know where Toby is?"
Jessica grimaces, "About that…"
A harsh slam erupts from the hallways, causing the remaining students to search for the source of the sound. Nick slams his locker, leaving a dent in its place. The boy doesn't care. He's angry, furious at his brother for that...horrendous display back in class. Kagami…her perfect score, ruined in a blink of an eye. There's no way she would get her A.
"Woah, Nick, calm down!" Lucas calls from the boy's side.
"I've told you…" Nick starts, "I've told you a hundred times to make sure that presentation was amazing!"
"What –" Nick questions his brother, not even trying to hide the utter vile in his voice. "- What the hell was that?"
Toby doesn't say a word. He knows whatever he says, it won't sway his brother. Nick's pissed and Toby just has to endure it for a while longer.
"It's just like you, Toby! You never take anything seriously!" Nick continues to rant on at his brother.
Lucas comes between the brothers, worried that Nick's current state may make him do something reckless. However, Nick's having none of it. Kagami's fallen from her pedestal, her legacy tarnished thanks to Toby. He couldn't let that stand.
"Damn it!" the bespectacled teen curses out loud. He should've done more. Watched Toby like a hawk, asked him about the assignment, guided him. Pleaded more to Ms. McGuck to switch partners, anything! He failed Kagami and it led to this.
Nick desires perfection but he can't reach it no matter how hard he tries. Out of nowhere, like an angel descending from the sky, Kagami appears and does the impossible. She's his goddess, the second reincarnation of Jesus Christ himself and Nick's a devoted atheist! He didn't care if he isn't perfect anymore because Kagami…. she was there to do it for him. And Toby ruined that.
Nonetheless, what makes Nick's veins pop out at any moment in rage is how nonchalant Toby is. He doesn't answer him, giving him the silent treatment. As if he doesn't care that he's destroyed everything Kagami worked towards.
Catching Lucas off-guard, Nick strides to Toby, pinning him to the lockers. "Answer me, goddamnit!"
Toby avoids eye contact. He, too, is angry, having to endure a lecture from his little brother. Nick doesn't know the full story, how much Kagami suffers to get the perfect grades. In fact, he doesn't know the real Kagami like Toby does. The curious girl that just wants to have fun. Oh, how he wishes to lash out at his brother for being as dense as Lucas when it comes to romance, not realising how much pain Kagami is in, given how creepily obsessed he is with her. Yet nothing came out of his mouth in respect for the girl. It's her choice and hers alone to confess her secret to Nick.
"Toby!" Kagami yells from the end of the hallway. Gina and Jessica had tuned her in on Toby's whereabouts. Apparently, Nick blames him for the disaster that was their presentation and Kagami had sprung out of her seat to look for the boy.
As soon as she sees Nick pinning Toby to the lockers, she could feel her powers stirring within her in resentment. This has nothing to do with him - why does he have to stick his nose into everything surrounding her? But, no, Kagami takes a step back to calm down. She shouldn't use her powers but, nonetheless, she's still angry.
"Leave him alone, Nick!" the girl cuts in between the two brothers, pushing Nick away from his brother, shocking the teen in the process.
"Are you okay?" Kagami asks the blonde. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"
In response, Toby does his casual dumb smile alleviating Kagami's concern.
Nick tries to interject but Kagami was having none of it. "Uh, Kagami, sorry about what happened back in class. I know you worked hard - "
"Yes. I know." Kagami spits, making sure it's loud and clear how angry she is. She diverts her attention back to Toby. "Hey, can I talk to you in private?"
"Yeah, sure." Toby obliges and the two of them excuse themselves.
Nick could only stare in disbelief as if losing the will to live. Kagami, never had she addressed Nick like that before. She should be warm, calm, welcoming, polite. What was this? She had to be angry at what happened, and she's just taking out on him. Yet, that doesn't explain why she's so nice to Toby. Is it because she still feels bad about their argument? Yes, that must be it! Those rumours can't be true!
"Nick?" Lucas voices. He hasn't said a thing since Toby and Kagami left.
A light bulb switches on in Nick's head with an idea. He grabs Lucas' wrist dragging him in the direction Kagami and Toby are headed.
"Whoa, Nick! Where are we going?"
"After them!" Nick answers. He left Kagami alone once with Toby and it led to this disaster. He won't do that a second time. That way, things can stay the way they used to be when Kagami would smile whenever she saw him.
Kagami leads Toby out into the school gardens. She scans the entire area, searching for a nice secluded place to chat. Spotting a nice bench, covered by the withering leaves from the large branches of a tree, she tugs Toby in that direction.
Both seat themselves, catching their thoughts before discussing whatever Kagami had in her mind. Toby had an inkling of what she had to say - anyone would given what had happened that afternoon.
"So, what did you wanna talk about?" Toby probes first, knowing that someone had to incite the conversation.
"About that presentation…" Kagami fiddles with her skirt, avoiding eye contact, too nervous to formulate her thoughts. The girl finally makes eye contact.
"I feel bad. Not because we did a poor job - uh, not you, though, you did great! - I just, uh, I didn't do. How do I put this?"
It's a serious topic but Toby has to admit, Kagami's super cute right now. Like a lost puppy. The girl rambles on, talking complete nonsense and Toby could tell the girl's brain is about to explode with a major overload. Did she even stop to take a breath?
"Kagami." The boy grabs both her shoulders, halting her mumbled rant. "Deep breaths."
Toby instructs her on some dumb breathing steps his dad always talks about. He heard they help with anxiety attacks and right now, Kagami's a whole bundle of anxiety.
He lets go of the girl having done their mini breathing session. "Now you can speak."
Kagami relaxes her shoulders, her mind clearer with Toby's help. "Thank you. It's just... I feel like I let you down."
Toby bursts out in laughter. Once he's done, he peers at the dumbfounded Kagami. Oh, the poor girl. It makes sense to him that she'd be confused. "Kagami, there's absolutely no way you could let me down."
"But you worked so hard! You deserve a better grade! An A even!"
Toby chuckles again. Him getting an A? A lot of craziness has happened in the past week but that? Nuh-uh, without Kagami (100% sane, mind you) that's practically impossible.
"I'm the king of flaking! Grades don't matter to me!" Toby states proudly. A title he holds dear to himself.
"But -"
"No buts, end of discussion." Toby winks at the girl. Her cheeks burn red and she covers her face with her long dark-purple hair, concealing her embarrassment from Toby.
"Anyways, um, this might be a weird question and you don't have to do it if you want to!" Toby probes, waving his hands amicably. Now, it's his turn to get nervous.
Kagami raises an eyebrow, perplexed. Though, inside she's excited. She doesn't mind if Toby wants to do anything...weird with her. She's open to new experiences after yesterday's fun trip at the mall. Just the thought makes her cheeks bright red so she diverts her attention.
"Can I um…see your face…for a second? I need to confirm something."
She gives Toby the go ahead.
Toby scoots closer, closing the gap between their thighs. He leans in close and Kagami mentally had to tell her heart to stop beating so loudly. She diverts her eyes away from his face, unable to stand his liquid blue eyes focusing on her features.
"Uh, can you look at me? I want… to see your eyes."
Kagami's thankful they were seated, her legs would've collapsed beneath her otherwise, turning into jelly. Her body turns hot, almost like a spark erupting inside. A soft, sweet, delicious adrenaline rush.
She obliges, clearing her hair away from her face, showing her burnt up cheeks. Her eyes meeting his. To her surprise, Toby was blushing too, given the proximity of their faces.
They were once like this, heated in anger at the library. Now, they were both all too aware of how close they were. If he just leaned in a little closer, he'd be kissing her.
Him kissing her. Just the thought sends a weird sensation down there for Kagami. She hopes Toby doesn't notice. She wouldn't mind…if he did the deed.
"Okay," Toby confirms to himself, distancing himself from the girl.
Kagami's mind goes into autopilot, reaching out to Toby to pull him back in. Though, she stops herself midway. No, she couldn't. She didn't want to scare him off. Luckily, Toby didn't notice.
"Sorry, I just needed to confirm something."
"No worries. I didn't mind." Kagami says, hiding the disappointment in her voice.
"I just needed to confirm something," Toby states again, scooting further away from her, still self-conscious over how close they were.
"If you don't mind me asking." Kagami states, "but to confirm what?"
Toby knows this would be a hard topic to discuss. Toby is a delinquent in his own words but he isn't a total bad boy. He doesn't smoke, drink nor has he touched an illegal drug in his life. He may be an idiot, rash even, but he wasn't a total idiot. He knows when things get too far and when to stop.
"It's just, back in class…" Toby states, giving a stern look to the girl. He doesn't want to lecture her, he's been on the receiving end plenty of times himself and he knows how shitty it feels. But this was concerning her safety and, though Kagami doesn't want to be Miss Perfect Student anymore, he doesn't want her to go down the bad girl road and start abusing drugs."You..your eyes. They...they were dilated."
That stops Kagami's heartbeat for a split second. Inside, her body screams at her to divert the subject, to avoid any personal info reaching his ears. But in her heart, Kagami wants to trust Toby.
Toby continues "Back in class, you seemed out of it. I don't want to lecture you or anything but.." Toby doesn't want to have this conversation, but he has to be sure. "Did you take anything?"
Kagami sighs. There's no use in hiding this from him. "Yes."
Toby immediately bombards her with questions.
"What did you take?"
"I…don't know."
"How many?"
"Just one."
"What time?"
"Before school? Maybe around 9?"
"Where did you get them?"
"…."
That prompts Toby to violently shake her shoulders. "Seriously, Kagami! Where did you get them?"
"I..can't say." Kagami peeps. She couldn't tell him about the bookstore or Vestalt. It must remain secret. And besides, the whole mission is dangerous. She doesn't want Toby involved.
"Don't tell me they're illegal?!"
"What? No! Hey!"
Toby grabs her hand, pulling her away from the bench.
"Where are you taking me?"
"To the nurse."
Kagami stops Toby in his tracks. "Look, I'm fine now. You don't need to take me to the nurse."
Toby crosses his arm. Is this what it's like for his parents whenever they give out to him? Damn, how the tables have turned. "Just tell me one thing. Why did you take 'em?"
Kagami sighs again. It's not like she's ashamed of telling Toby her reasons. "I was really anxious. My hands were shaking, and I was panicking and I-I didn't think I could give my speech in that state. I was desperate and did something stupid." Kagami bows her head. Taking those pills from Flamma was a bad idea. Kagami shouldn't be messing with Gorm stuff. Maybe she should've waited for Vestalt's approval. "I'm sorry, Toby."
"Woah, calm down!" Toby bends down to meet Kagami at eye level. Though he's mad at what she's done, he could tell she felt bad. He didn't want to be like Nick and the other adults. To berate her; beat her up and make her feel like an idiot. So he smiled.
"It's okay, Kagami. But you should've come to me first. You know I'm here for you."
"Yes, I know. I'm just really stupid and -"
"Hey! Don't call yourself that. You're far from stupid."
"Yeah. I'm the smartest girl in the school. Top grades all around. Of course, I'm not stupid." The girl says with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"I'm not talking about that."
Now Kagami's confused. "What..do you mean?"
Toby doesn't really have an answer in mind. He just says what he felt. "The girl that hates studying but does it anyway. Who's super fun to hang out with and sucks at bowling and video games. Who cares about others and can be kinda crazy sometimes."
Kagami chuckles. "You think I'm crazy?"
"I mean it in a good way!"
Kagami breaks out in laughter. She doesn't know why she found it funny. How did what he said have any relevance to her not being stupid? She has no iota. However, she's glad Toby thinks of her in that way. For someone to see her as something other than the ideal student.
"Still, I think you should see the nurse." Toby couldn't help but bring down the mood.
"No, really, I'm fine!"
"You sure?"
Kagami nods her head.
"I really think you should tell somebody."
Kagami clasps her hands together as if she's praying. She's doing a great impression of a lost puppy. Toby could already tell what this is about.
"You don't want me to tell anybody."
"Please?"
Toby concedes. "But on one condition! You have to call me at 7. I want to make sure you're alright."
"Oh, thank you! Thank you, Toby! "Kagami hugs Toby, glad he'd keep her secret. If Oiji-san or Shujin found out, she wouldn't be able to see Vestalt anymore.
"If you don't call me, I'm heading over to your place!"
Kagami lets go of Toby, skipping away from him before turning back, feeling her inner playful side emerging. "Maybe I won't call you then." She winks at the boy before leaving him.
Toby gawks at her, astonished.
Nick, Lucas and Gina, who joined the group later, tail the duo to the school gardens. The trio hide behind a bush, a short distance from the bench where Kagami and Toby are seated.
"Gina, you have sharp ears, can you hear what they're saying?" Nick asks.
"I may have good ears but I'm not a superhero, Nick."
Nick sighs. Somehow Toby had replaced him. Nick should be out there with Kagami, not Toby. He knows he's jealous of his brother but it's well deserved. Toby didn't care about Kagami, but Nick? He's always there for her. Why would she want to speak to Toby in private? The world-shattering question Nick's dying to find out.
"Should we really be spying on them? Kagami did say she wanted to talk to him in private." Lucas points out behind the two.
Nick shushes him, invested in what the duo were discussing.
"Hey, look!" Gina calls out.
At that moment, Nick could feel his heart physically break into two. Toby leans in closer to Kagami, as if about to kiss her.
"Screw this," Done hiding, Nick gets up ready to confront the two. Lucas and Gina restrain him to the ground.
"Nick, what the hell are you doing!? Do you wanna blow our cover?!" Gina says, her arms chaining Nick's right arm to the ground.
"What do you think I'm doing? I'm putting a stop to whatever Toby's pulling!" Nick struggles to get out of their grasp. There is no way Nick is letting Toby lay his filthy hands on Kagami. No way, he'd rather die than let that happen.
"Bro, you need to calm down, it's not a big deal," Lucas whispers from Nick's left. Nick's making such a ruckus, they'll end up getting caught. He couldn't fathom why Nick is so upset over Toby leaning closer to Kagami.
"Yeah, he's moving away from her now. You can relax." Gina says, losing the strength to contain Nick. Maybe she should've done judo with Jessica after all.
"Fine. Fine. I'm calm."
Nick stops struggling and the trio returns to their spying session. Toby doesn't make a move on Kagami but eventually, the girl hugs the boy and winks at him.
"See, I told you so!" Gina states to Nick, pointing at Toby's direction. "You wanted cold hard evidence. There's your evidence."
Nick couldn't control the shaking of his fists. He refused to believe the rumours. That hug had to have meant something else. Nick's sure of it. Things had to go back to the way they were before Ms. McGuck decided to pair those two together. Toby would stop hanging around Kagami and spout more rubbish about how Gorm's in trouble. Pester Jessica some more and pull pranks on him and Lucas.
If those two did indeed have feelings for each other, then Nick would have to split them apart. It's for the best. Kagami's better off not surrounding herself with someone like Toby. She's too good for him and all he'd do is bring her down.
Kagami hopped on the bus to Vestalt's place. There was something she had to tell her. Back in class, Kagami screwed up big time and there was no way the news wouldn't reach her parents' ears. Though the decision she concluded with was hard and it'd hurt everyone else, Kagami's adamant on her stance. This is what would make her the happiest and she knows everyone else: Shujin, Toby, Oiji-san, they all wanted Kagami to be happy.
She exits the bus, making a beeline to the bookstore.
"Vestalt?" the girl says opening the door to the store. There, Anchor, Flamma and their leader were stacking books, probably about to close shop for the day.
"Yes, what is it, dear?"
Kagami sighs, nervous as if what she's about to say would end the world. It's now or never. "Afterwards, when we find the last piece of the orb…" Kagami struggles with her words but she knows that, in her heart, this is what she wants. "If it's possible… can I go to Gorm with you guys?"
Vestalt smiles, already affirming her answer.
A/N: Another fairly long chapter to close this arc if you'd call it that. This whole arc is pretty much a prologue of some sort, think of the first part of Kingdom Hearts 2 for any of you KH fans. From here on out we'll be going full throttle on the plot so fasten your seat belts.
Another big announcement: This hack writer finally found a beta reader! Finalfanaticgorm will be helping me out on this monster of a fic as my beta. She has some other awesome fics under her beat so ya'll should check them out.
See ya'll next week.