New Student and Teacher?

So this was what High School was like in the morning. Crowdy. All the students wore uniforms. Some guys were around other guys. Girls arounds girls. Even guys getting way too friendly with the other girls.

He could feel that eyes were on him. Strange unknown person, no uniform, hair slightly messy, and an ' I don't care ' kind of look to him. The uniform part was going to be a problem. No entry allowed without filed papers and an ID for proof. Looking around, he finds a target. Male. Around his age, with the size of a uniform that would fit him nicely. Glasses. Which was convenient. Weak, if someone was to make an opinion about him. You know, that kind of look that attracted bullies. In all fairness, it wasn't good to underestimate him.

" Hey, let me show you something. "

Inside the school, he felt different. Like life was being sucked out of him. Was that normal? Anyway, it was easy to find the classes. All thanks to the schedule the guy he locked in some room had. The guy was a new student. Purely luck.

With glasses on, a uniform, and fixed hair, he opens the door to the first class. Some students seemed to notice him peeking inside. Then watched him step inside, with a charming smile on his face.

It was a nice morning; the storms of last evening had cleared up for now, and it was sunny and bright with puddles just begging to be jumped in by small children.
LATE!
Cyclone Himitsu, however, found the puddles a pain; she either had to run around them or jump them, and it was suddenly quite crowded on the streets. Or maybe that was because she was running at about three or four times the pace of the rest of the crowds.

It had finally happened. She'd slept through her alarm, or perhaps had forgotten to set it last night. Either way, her body had basked in a twenty minutes extra sleep time, a wonderful reprieve from the usual constant push Himiko put herself in, before her mind had clued in that some was wrong here.
She would have grumbled curses under her breath, if she'd had any breath to spare. As it was, she was pretty sure that if she even wasted the oxygen it took to call 'sorry' to the woman whose empty stroller she just tripped-and-jumped over, she wouldn't be able to run anymore. It seemed to be momentum that kept her going now.
School was not far from her home. It certainly felt like it now, with her bag clutched desperately in one hand and a lone piece of toast – only half eaten, because she was pretty sure she'd choke if she kept eating it right now – in her other. Oh, she'd never here the end of this. Himiko favoured promptness. She was never late to anything. She was never less than eight minutes early and sitting in her seat for school, ever. She'd probably get there on time, if she didn't stop to breath, but her school friends would never let her live this down.

As it happened, she did dash up the stairs and to her classroom before the bell rang. Just. But instead of diving through the door, as she'd hoped, there was a boy standing in the doorway, peering inside. She literally had to throw herself backwards to not crash into him, because she couldn't completely stop in time. The end result was her back hitting the window of the other side of a hall with a thud. She barely noticed, instead bending over at the waist, hands on her bent knees as she panted desperately for breath. Her face burned red from exertion, and sweat was beginning to bead on her forehead, sinking uncomfortably into hair that was not nearly as neat as it had been when she'd run out her front door.
'Okay. Breath Himitsu, just breath.'

All these sounds were unfamiliar to him. The bell, as they called it, was loud and a bit annoying. Could take some time to get used to. The sound he heard in the hallway must've been something from a student. Putting something in what they called 'lockers'? The thud was more of a fall than the simple sound of a locker. Being curious, he turned back and walked out of the class. Since he didn't know the consequences or rules of the 'bell', it was easy to ignore the students and whoever else was in there.

A girl. Hardly recognizable 'cause of the glasses. The more he came closer, the more he started to recognize the details of the girl's body, from head to toe. Well, from head to knees. Second target acquired. Target, being used loosely.

He leans closer to her, gently reaching his hand to her forehead. To check if she had a fever.

" You... look different today... "

Warm, but not fever warm. His plam also felt the sweat dripping down from her forehead. With a gently release, he offers her a hand to help her get up.

Honestly, he had no negative opinions about her appearance today. He figured she was running late, or was probably a clumsy person. For someone that worked constantly, he had to admit she looked good in her uniform. Despite the stress she might have been having this morning.

Himiko was still staring at the ground, panting heavily, when hands - calloused but gentle in their actions - touched her forehead. She peered up at the person standing over her. Blinked, and then mentally removed the glasses.
One hand moved to point at him, recognition clear on her face. Her mouth opened to say something, but still hadn't caught enough breath for it to be audible. And yet it was perfectly clear what she had meant to say in her actions - 'Its you', or something to that degree.
Strange, Himiko had been sure he was a little older than her, and she was in her last year at the middle school. So much for her skillful perception skills.

Her breathing began to slow now, finally, though the heat in her cheeks didn't seem to want to disperse anytime soon. She was embarrassed, that he'd seen her at one of her less than perfect moments; where her appearance was a mess and her control had taken back seat and she was all sweaty - and she was making him all sweaty too. Totally embarrassment and only embarrassment. It wasn't at all because an, admittedly cute, boy was giving her that concerned look and was touching her. Nope, not at all.
She winced at the vague mention of her appearance. She looked a mess, she knew, "Had. To. Sprint. All the way from. My house. To here." She tried to justify. It would have worked better if she didn't have to wheeze for breath every other syllable. She wiped her brow with her left hand, and with her right accepted the hand he held out to her to pull herself back upright.

Now a little more under control, if still flushed and breathing unusually heavily, she looked at the boy again, considering the best way to greet him and acknowledge the strange coincidence, "If you needed me as a translator for a small thing you're here for, what on earth are you doing at a Japanese school?"
She wanted to slam her head in the wall the moment she said it - that was not the best way to greet him. Even 'the glasses are new' would have worked better. If her eyes did close as she called herself an idiot, it was fast enough to not be noticeable, "Clearly my brain doesn't have enough air in it yet. I'm sure what I meant to say was 'hello, again'."

As a reply to her first comment, " ... Well, nice to see you too... "

He lets go of her hand when she stands and gains her balance, then adjusts his glasses. By her expression, he sensed that she wasn't so pleased to see him again. Coming to her school is a surprise and all... He just expected her to be a little friendly, even if she was lying. Understandable. It was better to be real about it. What he didn't expect was her change in personality when she said 'hello, again', as if her first comment was a mistake. Which made him smile and chuckle a bit.

" What do people normally come to school for? I'm a new student. "

False, of course. To further avoid more questions that may give away more than he wanted, he turns back to the door. After all, they had to go to class immediately.

" I think we're late. "

Himiko would have blushed at the cool tone of reply to her first exclamation, but all the blood was in her face already. Truthfully she wasn't unhappy to see him, but she was certainly shocked to see him in school. Not to mention... "...You wear glasses?"
"Oh. What a coincidence." Her first exclamation had been the first thing that came into her head; a recall of the conversation last night and the reason why he'd wanted her help. Really, it didn't make sense for him to need a translator if he was good enough at Japanese to enroll in a school here. Still, it had been a rather shocking thing to say first off. In her defense, she was heavily winded - her father would have had an absolutely scathing comment to say about her performance.
But hey, on the upside, at least this meant she got a name for strange-and-apparently-foreign-boy-with-eyes-that-brought-back-too-many-old-memories. Just as well, her ways of referencing him were becoming increasingly over the top.

And now she really was late. "No," Himiko couldn't restrain the over-dramatic - if quiet - whine of despair, "and I was so close to being on time, too. I don't want detention - I don't have time for it." Today was not turning out to be a good day.
With a sigh she stepped past her new classmate and she slid the door open, slinking into the classroom guiltily. Not surprisingly, her homeroom teacher was already there - she was always early, common theory being so that she could scold misbehaving students sooner. Preparing for the worst, Himiko's shoulder's tensed as she walked over to her seat, waiting for her teacher's voice to intervene and scold her for being a full minute tardy.

' It was either the glasses or the ridiculous fake mustache ', is what he wanted to say. She wasn't supposed to know that he was setting a disguise though.

He remained where he was standing after Himitsu went in. She seemed to be concerned about being late. What was 'detention' in the school? Probably some cruel odd punishment to get students to behave better. Not wanting her to be in trouble, even after her attempt to rush to school, he holds up his fist. What he was about to do was an extreme measure to give her an excuse for being late. The excuse ' thanks for showing me around, you know, since I'm a new student ' may not be enough for the teacher to forgive her. The same went for the students. Some sort of judgement may come from them too.

So without delay, he punches his own face. Hard enough to make his nose bleed and his face to look like he just came from a fight. Nothing really. He had worse injuries.

Walking in with a thankful smile on his face, " Again, thanks for helping me against those guys, Himitsu. I don't know what they would've done if you didn't take your time to help. "

She was almost at her seat when it happened, “Tsu –” Himiko tensed at the sharp voice calling her name, but it stopped before it could even finish the first syllable of her surname. Hanging her bag on her seat, she turned around, trying to brace for the worst.
For the boy – the same boy she’d kept running into since last night – to stand in the doorway with bruises on his face and a bloody nose was not what she had expected to see. A fresh-just-then bloody nose, or so the blood on his shirt told her. Other people probably weren’t acquainted enough to tell, but at least Himiko knew her sight wasn’t failing. Their homeroom teacher was staring in horror, face pale as though she were about to faint.

Himiko, meanwhile, went red again as he spoke to her, using that familiar nickname and giving her a smile she’d never pictured being on his face before. Everyone in the class stared at the unfamiliar face and then, with different degrees of pause, turned to stare at her as though they’d never seen her before. She didn’t want to know what kind of violent delinquent the school would believe she was at the end of the day.
She raised a hand towards him, as though greeting him, and opened her mouth though she had no idea what to say.
She didn’t actually need to say anything, because at that minute her homeroom teacher seemed to return to her senses, “What happened to your face?!?”

"Oh, his face. Don´t worry. I just saw what happened and the persons responsilble for that are already in the principals office. And this girl was the one who protected him. So, would you mind not to scold her?"

Joanna walked in with a smile and immediately noticed the class looking at her strange appearance. She did expect them to react this way, of course. It was Japan, after all. It hasn´t been hard to become the a new teacher. Well, it was all about connections and ... maybe her appearance. She winked at her and stepped next to him.

"I´ll go and take him to the nurse, so just go on or start with your lesson. If you don´t mind, introduce us later."

Another smile and the teacher just blushed. Again, a bit rude. She needed to be more polite though she was sure he didn´t care. The look on Himitsus face was sheer surprise mixed with something else she couldn´t really guess. With another wink at her Joanna turned around pushing him through the door. What a commission. This could have been more inconspicuous. Well, already too late. When she closed the door it was silent a few more minutes then the teacher started his lesson with demands to take seat.

"Are you sure that was necessary? Look at your face ..."

Since the nurse office was empty she grabbed for a cloth and moistened it. Then she carefully wiped away the blood sticking on his face.

Before leaving, he slightly waves to Himitsu. Then when they left the class, he felt like he was a child. More like he was being treated like one. But in a teasing way to Joanna, he says, " Great, why don't you hold my hand too? "

When she started wiping his face, he couldn't help but wince a little at the pain. He was trained to ignore any pain caused to him. Odd. Must've been one of those habits normal people had. That had to be stopped. He was really grateful that she came to the school. Especially after their little argument.

" I did it to help her. She was going to be in t-trouble. So now she has an excuse... It's really nothing. "

He looks at her.

" ... Thanks for coming... I'm glad you changed your mind. "

His statement made clear that he was convinced she came to help him after all. But that wasn´t only the reason she started to work in Namimori school. She just don´t wanted to do nothing. If he agrees to her deal she would have another reason to stay here but if not working as a teacher would at least help her to show her seriousness in front of her boss. And ... to evade him for a few more days. After coming back late they had a little argument which was still going on whenever they were alone. So, she stopped for a minute to wipe his face.

"I did not change my mind. It´s still up to you. I just thought working here would be less boring. And ... I think it wouldn´t have been to bad for her to come late."

Rather cold but the way she felt and thought. She finished wiping his face, looked around for some plaster and gave them to him.

"Put them on and then you better go back to your class or you´ll get scolded. I´ll see you later. Give me your answer then."

She turned away and closed the door behind her leaving him back. In the afternoon she would have the possbility to speak to them, both. Her first lesson as a teacher would be an important one.

Just like that. She left. Leaving him in a room alone to think.

" You're not making this easy for me... "

With a sigh, he takes off the glasses and starts to place the plasters on the spots that hurt the most. The bleeding stopped now. Much better. After fixing himself again, he stands up and puts the glasses in his pocket for more space on his face. He could see better now anyway. And there was little blood on the guy's shirt. Oops. Well it didn't look all that bad. He still had to take it off though. It would attract too much attention.

As he walked down the empty hallway with the uniform shirt around his shoulders and a t-shirt on,he looked around. The whole place felt like it was deserted. There were still some little sounds that came from classrooms with open doors. It was just... quiet.

He stopped by to get some water from the water fountain. It was only then that he saw a few people walking down the hallway. Then he went to the bathroom to wash his hands. Within a few seconds, he opens the door to Himitsu's class and enters.

Just when it seemed as though her world couldn't become more bizarre, Joanna. Just, Joanna. What was she even doing here? Himiko wondered if this was the way a shoujo heroine felt, as worlds collided around her and turned upside-down as a result.
Suddenly far too tired for someone who had slept in for twenty minutes (but perhaps tired enough for someone who had dashed to school at a breakneck pace), the shock faded from her face. She dropped into her seat without a word. Fine, she was some sort of delinquent hero now; getting involved in fights to defend new classmates instead of just walking past without looking like good, wholesome students. So long as it didn't spread to her work, and her landlady didn't get ideas, she supposed she could deal with that. It'd probably blow over, eventually. Just so long as Joanna stopped flirting with the female homeroom teacher like that, Himiko would have probably agreed to anything.

Even so, it was more the fact that Nanashi (well, if he wasn't going to give himself a name, she'd have to give him one somehow, wouldn't she? 'No name' would do as well as any at this point) was bleeding all over the floor than the fact Joanna was winking at a woman that made her relieved when the pair finally left the classroom. They'd be back, probably, but a brief moment of respite to let her mind reset was much appreciated.
The class and teacher were both silent for several moments longer, staring at her. Himiko eventually just threw her hands in the air to her sides in a general sort of 'what do you want from me?' expression. Then, and only then, did the teacher coughed into her fist, still red - someone, somewhere, was going to be demanding a bet was paid, Himiko just knew it - and began roll call.
Homeroom was nearly finished by the time Nanashi returned - hopefully this time to give a proper introduction that included his name so that she's actually be able to call him something.

( Oh hey, you're on )

Most of them immediately turned to him as soon as they heard the door open. Everything seemed to have gone back to normal. He walks over to the teacher when she turned to him and kept quiet.

" So where do I sit? "

Wait. She probably needed to confirm that he was the new student. Without hesitation, he reaches inside his pocket and pulls out the schedule paper from the guy he 'borrowed' it from, and a card that had the information about him, except with a picture of himself glued over on the original picture. The one on there fit well, and was detailed enough to make it difficult to tell whether or not it was real. His was better anyway. All of it checked out well.

Before the teacher could say anything, he interrupts her.

" Here. My name is Hikari Takahashi. And no, I'm not going to tell the class about myself. "

When the door of the classroom slid open again, the atmosphere of the classroom was more excited than the utter shock that had been last time Nanashi had poked his head through. Several people began whispered to each other, and she was pretty sure she knew who it was that gave that flirty giggle from several rows behind her. It wasn't a normal occurrence for new students - or old ones, for that matter - to come to school bruised and bloody. There was a particular subgroup reputed for that sort of thing, and it wasn't a subgroup she wanted to be associated with. Alas, it did hold a certain sort of attraction to other girls, hence the giggling, and even with those glasses - which didn't really suit him, in Himiko's opinion - didn't really detract from the possibility. The rest of him was too much densely-packed muscle for him to be mistaken for the usual nerd.

Several members of the class audibly protested when he said he wasn't going to answer any questions. The homeroom teacher may have tried to persuade him otherwise as well, but Himiko had stopped listening by that point.
Hikari. Finally, a name for him. Himiko let the smile show on her face; it had been bothering her since last night, and it really was a better name that Nanashi.
Hikari was a Japanese name, too, so that must mean that it was his mother that was the foriegner, and his father had traveled overseas. Unless both his parents were both Japanese that had lived overseas, because he looked fully Japanese. But his habits and the accent in his voice were certainly not, even if he hadn't been asking her for translation help last night.
Why had he asked for translation help? He and Joanna were speaking and understanding Japanese just fine now, in front of all her classmates and teachers. As much as it would have make her blush in glee to think, she doubted that he'd gone after her like that just to spend time with her.

As much as he wanted to please them, there was still a boundary that had to be kept. The whole point of coming to the school was to gain some experience and most importantly, to be with Himitsu. Strictly for her skills.

The hopeful faces the students gave him brought back the memories of his childhood in school. A short memory. Back then, he was friendly enough to tell everyone that he had an interest in art, sports or games, enjoyed being with whoever liked him, and like any child, loved one of those TV shows made for kids. He was also proud to admit that, despite being young and sensitive, he could watch scary movies his family watched. It was more of a brag. He had to show them he was tough.

" A little mystery isn't so bad, is it? I didn't want to get this kind of attention... "

From the shift between the giggling girl to Himitsu, it was then that he loosened up a bit. Something about her made her so attractive. Just when he stared into those eyes again, he started to change his mind.

" ... But if you're really interested, you can ask later. I'd like to get to know you too. And be with you. "

What he didn't realize was that he was speaking to all the students, when he was fixed on one person. Then after a brief moment, his eyes turn elsewhere.

Himiko wasn't exactly surprised, but was disappointed, when he declined to talk about himself more. He hadn't really been talkative last night - not about himself at least. Even if he was smiling more now, it was kind of nice to know that he wasn't completely different now. It was enough that the way he looked over the class was less analyzing and haunted than the way he'd looked over her restaurant last night.
But then his eyes stopped roving the crowd and instead stared right at her. The glasses did nothing to conceal those dark brown eyes. She had stopped listening to the noise of her classmates before, but now the background noise didn't even register on the most basic of levels. The classroom could have burnt down around her and she probably wouldn't have noticed; it was tunnel vision at its finest.

"I'd like to get to know you too. And be with you." Himiko's mouth went dry. It felt as though her tongue was sticking to the roof of her mouth. A few hours later, she'd look back and conclude that Hikari was a charmer, because that sort of line was built to just make girls melt. Even then, she'd be mostly convinced that he was an accidental charmer.
Right now was not in a few hours, however. Right now she was red in the ears and it felt like she had goosebumps from meeting that stare without flinching while he said those sorts things. Right now she was both so infinitely disappointed when he looked away, and relieved because it meant she didn't have to be the one to try and break that stare but still be able to look down at her desk. She stared at the woodwork intently, fingers suddenly digging tightly into the palms of her hands as she tried to will the embarrassment away.

Their homeroom teacher coughed into her fist, "Right then. As far as seating goes, please feel free to pick your own." There weren't many seats free, but it would do. Homeroom was nearly finished anyway.

He nods to the teacher and looks at all the students one last time. Any seat would do. The empty one at the back fit better for him. That way, he would feel more comfortable and wouldn't feel like the people behind him were staring at him in hope that they can see his normal behavior. In a way, it made him safer. With his past experiences, he knew it was better to be behind the threat, before they made a move that required his instincts to defend himself. This may have been just a school filled with innocent people, but that didn't mean he was going to let his guard down.

Walking down Himitsu's row, he made no effort to say or do anything when he passed her. It was hard to tell whether or not she looked up at him. Mainly 'cause he didn't look at her direction or make eye contact. What he saw was a girl awaiting for him to sit next to her. The look on her face gave it away. By the looks of it, she was going to introduce herself, smile, and try to make an impression on him. Right now, he had no interest in her. There were other things on his mind.

After the girl spoke to him, he replied with the same flirty-like tone and a fake smile to be friendly. From another view, it would seem like it was more than it.

Himiko was still staring at her desk when Hikari walked down her row. She spotted him from the corner of her eye when he was several seats away, and found herself frozen in what she was sure was anticipation. Would he say anything to her as he walked past? It was class, so there was no way he could have stopped to speak to her. Even so, her breathing paused when his hip brushed against her desk.
Nothing. He past without pause and, when she peered up from the corner of her eye, without a glance. And she didn’t understand why that left her disappointed and wanting to slump in her chair. She’d already said that there wasn’t time to talk now… But even so, it wouldn't be unsurprising to the class, would it? He'd already impressioned on them that she'd rescued him from bullies. And he had stared at her like that while speaking, so he must have wanted to speak to her, right?
…She was making this much more complicated than it had to be. She was even confusing herself; she’d certainly never cared about something as pointless as this before.

Hikari sat in the seat next to the one at the end of her row, too far away for her to glance at with any pretense of furtiveness or casualness. Instead, she sat up straighter in her own seat and returned her attention to the teacher. Though if her ears were pricked a little more than usual, and able to pick up the giggly whispers of a girl next to Hikari, that was mere coincidence.
And if he replied back in that tone he’d used at the front of the class, the one that seemed designed to make people have fits of synsesia and taste rich chocolate, well then… Then… Then all Himiko would be able to do is wonder why he’d never used that sort of voice when speaking to her, and whether that meant that he had actively disliked her all this time or not.
Himiko felt the slightest tick of muscle-movement near one of her eyebrows. All of a sudden, she really was pathetic.

Between every few minutes, he glanced at Himitsu. The girl that was talking to him was still focused on him. Only now, with a brief interval, she turned to face the teacher. While she did, Negai found himself straying away to Himitsu's direction. All the thoughts he had earlier had nothing to do with the gesture he made just a few minutes ago. The most important thing was to find what he was looking for, right? At this point, after all these years, it wouldn't make him a selfish person, would it? So why was it that he felt guilty and drawn to the girl he met last night? To make him say these things he never thought he would say. Actually, with Joanna, it was much different. The feeling.

When the girl next to him spoke again, his thoughts stopped.

" ... Huh? ... Ummm... yeah... "

Now he was starting to regret not saying anything to her. Most of the blame was on himself. He couldn't change who he w-

Just then, he heard the 'bell' again. The students gathered their things and began to stand. Did that mean the class was over? Himitsu! There was still a chance.

The five minutes until the bell rang seemed to take much longer than usual. Despite herself, Himiko found herself slumping a little before the end, resting her chin on her palm and her elbow on her desk. Her brain was in a dozen sorts of overdrive, but her body was still tired from her mad dash to school. That was something she didn't want to repeat in a hurry.
They'd been a time when such a sprint would have barely caused her to breath heavily, much less find herself on her knees panting and with a stitch in her stomach that still ached now. It was still a shock to discover just how much ability her body had lost since leaving home two years ago. If only she could find time, she'd look at finding a way to rebuild her endurance, just as she kept her spear-skills up with a few routines on the weekend to keep muscle-memory fresh.

She managed to distract herself from remembering how Hikari's voice had sounded when he'd finally given up a name by shuffling 15-minute slots around in her mental schedule. It worked for about two minutes, until she remembered that she'd agreed to help Hikari as a translator that weekend - assuming he gave her an explanation for what they were doing and she canceled those shifts before tomorrow. Hm, maybe she should remind him of that condition of hers, and that she needed to give her manager 24 notice to cancel...
The bell blared, pulling her from her contemplation. 'Later.' It could wait until later, after school or lunch or something like that, when there weren't people hovering around asking her about fights and girls trying to flirt with Hikari in ways that made her feel self-conscious and insecure.
For now, though, she settled for collecting her bag and books, walking over to Hikari because it didn't look like anyone else had thought to explain the routine to him. She automatically switched to english to speak to him without thinking of it now, "Most of our classes are in this classroom, and the teachers switch around. But we switch rooms for sport and science - the latter is what we have now, so we'll be going to the science labs."

After saying goodbye to the other girl, he immediately turns his attention to Himitsu. She didn't seem all too phased about what happened. Good. Although... she could have suppressed it. He was used to telling what her actual smile was, but he hadn't known her long enough to see feelings.

" Oh, okay. Can you walk with me? I don't know where to go. "

Normally, he would map out a building to be prepared. Today was just... different. With no place to stay right now, and the rush to enter the school, there was no time for that. All he was used to was training and completing missions. Not school subjects. He wasn't exactly uneducated, but things would probably take some time to adjust.

"Sure. Its just this way. Though if you do get lost, you could probably just follow our classmates." Himiko's mouth stretched into a smile; the same one she had offered him at the restaurant. There was certainly sincerity in it, but it also seemed to be designed to be specifically welcoming and polite. A happy smile, but one that enforced a some distance as well. And that was for the best, because Hikari - both the boy himself, and other people by just being around him, apparently - made her feel mixed emotions she wasn't familiar with and wasn't entirely certain she liked.

She couldn't deny there was a lot of happiness there, or something bubbly like happiness. But it also made her composure, usually something ummovable and akin to steel, break away inside her, like the steel was still constant but now the ground had turned to bog and she was sinking. Sure, she could act fine, but inside she didn't understand what she was feeling, and she didn't like not understanding. Not being in control of herself was scary.
So... just for now. Just until she got some sort of bearing. Just a little distance; polite, completely-normal-and-acceptable-for-new-friends range of distance. Just for a little while.

The walk to the science labs - or more specifically, the lab she'd made her escape from the school last night; was the window still open? - wasn't far. But with her classmates chatting around her, the silence between her and Hikari felt oppresive. (Didn't she just say she wanted a little distance? Geez, not even her own brain was listening to her anymore! No wonder she felt all jumbled up and confusd inside!) She wondered what a good topic for conversation would be - some that other people thought were acceptable were definate hot buttons for her, and though there was definately some appeal to Hikari's company she couldn't deny he was odd in his own way. After some fumbling, she gave up and picked the easiest topic she could think of, "So, where did you transfer from?"

This time, the hallway was crowdy. It was harder to avoid physical contact with the other students. As he followed along beside her, he couldn't resist not glancing at her when she seemed to have looked away with her own thoughts. A small innocent fantasy came to his mind. At that moment in time, she would face him and stare at him with a bold look. Much like the one he noticed she had yesterday. Somehow he liked that attitude... Each chance he got, he would look around for clues and signs that distinguished the hallway from the rest. Students, their actions and anything else that was different from his second trip around the school.

When they entered the science lab, he did the same, then thought about whether he could sit with her, or if someone was going to get upset that he took the seat next to her. The silence made it seem like she didn't want to speak to him, but her voice caught him off guard when she did. He was glad she did though, if anything. The girl that came off as a somewhat indifferent, possibly cold and serious, was smiling. What made her smile so appealing now was that, unlike before, it seemed like... She was almost...

-School... There was no school he knew about. Only the one in Italy... and another one he couldn't quite recall the name of, due to his long isolation...

' Oh you know... That one school at that one place... '

He looks straight into her eyes, while struggling to find something in his mind.

" I've been traveling for so long, I haven't bothered to settle in a place or school for long... The school I came from is in Italy. "

“Wow. That’s really far away.” Did that mean that his mother – the parent responsible for the foreign look to him, or so she assumed – was Italian? Or had they come from somewhere else, he had also said that he had been traveling for a long time. To travel so much that you just stopped bothering to try and settle in to a place… “It must have been hard.”

The back window of the science lab was open still. Which explained the vague chill in the room. Well, next time she had to climb out a second-story window to escape from a school building, she’d remember to work out how to close the window again from the outside.
Himiko tended to sit near the middle of the classroom, though her usual set in the science lab was to the window side rather than the center. Unlike the usual classrooms there weren’t specific seating arrangements, but students did tend to sit in the same places – namely, in clusters or two or three with their friends so they could be paired up together for exercises. Right now the seats either side of her were free; though friends with her classmates, she wasn’t close enough to get them to break away from the clichés they had formed in primary school before she’d come to the town.
Setting her books down and taking her seat, Himiko continued her conversation as Hikari had followed her to said desk, “So how long will you be here? And why do you have to move so much, anyway? Are your family in the military or something?”