Torikawa Sekai

"Is it a family problem? Something that maybe we could help?" The DM's voice followed me out the office and tempted my curiosity.

"It's nothing that anyone can understand." Kuromura's reply came as I pressed my ear against the door.

"We could try-"

"That's what they all say and none of them kept their promise." Kuromura cut in. "Are you going to do the same? I have given up on humanity. Don't make promises if you're not sure about keeping them."

There was a moment of silence on the other side of the door. I guess none of the staff got to hear this everyday.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to leave and spend whatever that's left of my time in this school before I get transferred again."

And the door swung open in my face.

"OUCH!"

"Eavesdropping now, are you? How gentlemanly of you," she said as she breezed pass me.

"Aren't you going to apologise for smacking me with the door?" I rubbed my forehead and checked if my nose was still dead centre.

"No, because you were listening in on my conversation. And you were going to ask me about it."

"Yeah, you're right." Kuromura kept a straight face while her eyes focused in front. "If you don't wanna die early, keep your questions to yourself."

"Why do you keep transferring schools?" I challenged her.

"You would have already known that if you were listening in."

"No, I meant the main reason behind this. I'm sure there's something else that led to the bad behaviour and stuff," I pressed on.

Kuromura stopped walking and turned. Her glare held the same coldness as the first time she entered my class.

"I think that you don't have the right to ask me personal questions given that we've only known each other for less than a week. Who knows? I may be transferring again so we won't know each other long enough for you to get on my good side anyways." She turned and continued to walk back to class.

"I don't care," I grinned as I caught up with her. "I'll find out one way or other."

She ignored me and continued walking back to class in silence.

"What? Clean the sports rooms every morning?"

"Different rooms or area for each week. An hour before school starts and after school ends," Kuromura said calmly while the teacher droned on about x's and y's in the background. "If a certain club wants to practice earlier, we'll have to clean up one hour before and after they're using it even if it's after school hours."

I stared at her, mouth agape.

"That is, of course, provided if that room or area is under our charge for that week."

"That's crazy! They may want to use it at six in the morning and well into the night! Midnight, even!" I protested.

"Well, you would not have needed to do all these if you told the truth right from the start."

"What, and let you do all the hard work? I am a gentleman after all," I said as I puffed out my chest.

Kuromura rolled her eyes.

I leaned closer and stared at her incredulously, "You mean you don't mind the arrangement at all?"

"Of course I mind. I've got better things to do than to spend more time with you than necessarily needed. But I should bear the consequences of my actions, as if I weren't aware of it when I decided to rise to their challenge. It's good enough that I wasn't suspended," she stopped and eyed me, who was presently looking at her with amazement in my eyes.

"What is your problem now?"

"You actually take down notes?" I stared at her notebook, crammed with neat handwritings, arrows and points here and there.

"I've sat here for at least a week already and you've only noticed it just now? What have you been doing? Sleeping?"

"Wow! How did you know that!"

"Those two right at the back!" the mathematics teacher shouted and pointed his marker at us. "Stop talking and pay attention."

"This lesson has went on for a full hour without a single break," Kuromura stated. "I doubt many of us can continue giving you our undivided attention for much longer. I think that a break would do us some good."

I blinked. Even I do not talk to teachers like that very often. Clearly the teacher was taken back by her remark.

"BREAK! BREAK!..." The rest of the class chanted.

"Q-quiet!" he stammered, not quite used to this sudden uproar.

Kuromura rested against the back of chair, arms folded in front of her chest, and stared at the teacher with challenge in her eyes.

"If you can do these three questions correctly," he pointed at the whiteboard. "Then you'll get your break."

I looked at the questions. Were those supposed to be understood by us students? All I could see is a jumble of numbers and symbols.

That was when the murmuring began.

"There goes our break..."

"She doesn't even do homework! How could she do those questions?"

"She failed every pop quiz since she came in..."

"Might as well take this chance to have a rest. Hope she takes as long as possible."

This was getting interesting. I crossed my arms and watched patiently as Kuromura began to disentangle those huge knots of numbers.

She looked at the question for two brief seconds before picking up a marker to start writing on the board.

The marker squeaked against the board while neat and readable sentences formed. Kuromura laid the marker down at the end of the fourth minute and walked calmly back to her seat.

"Uh..." the teacher stared at the answer, "the steps are fine, short and precise. Yes, it's correct." he announced as if the world was coming to an end. The look on his face was classic.

A surprised silence swept through the classroom.

"Ten minutes break. Not any longer and don't try to bargain." He added before sitting down. The class cheered and went about doing whatever they wanted to.

"How do you do that? You don't do homework, you fail quizzes, yet you did those questions faster than the class nerd," I stared at her incredulously.

"I don't believe in homework." Was all she said and was the last sentence I heard from her that week before the weekend came.

Yawn. Large yawn.

"Cover your mouth, germs are flying," Kuromura stated pointedly.

"Someone enlighten me on why I'm moping the floor and you're just sitting there," I leaned on the mop.

"Because, that's why." She tossed another cleaned basketball into the rack, clearly not answering my question.

"We would not be doing this if you had gone against the DM," I said for the n^th time.

"Just shut up and do your part of the work."

She completed hers when I was only half done and blatantly ignored my constant complaints for help. Oh, whatever. I sighed and finished the rest in silence.

Finally free of my load, I stretched and plopped down on the floor, resting my head on the bench, an arm's length away from where Kuromura was sitting.

"Your shoes are dirtying the floor. I won't wait for you if they want the floor cleaned again," she said monotonously.

I looked over. Her sneakers were placed beside her on the bench, her feet wearing only socks; her legs were crossed with a thick pad of paper on her lap. Pencil in hand, it made scratching sounds as the tip rubbed against the paper.

"Sketchbook?" I asked tentatively to avoid physical replies.

"Uhm," she made more swifts movements on the paper. "I'm applying for art-elective lessons." Who would expect that this girl is interested in art.

"Really?" I wondered why she was even telling me this. I thought she was against giving away information about herself. "I don't have an elective. Wait, or was it because I didn't attend them?"

"Why am I not surprised. Slacker," she added under her breath.

"Speak for yourself. At least I'm not late for my classes anymore," I defended myself. "What are you supposed to do for the application?" I changed the subject as I inched closer to see what Kuromura has accomplished for the past ten minutes.

"I was told to do a coloured piece, one in pencil and a sketch of a person's face. It's for the teacher to see if I should specialise in just one area of art or that I'm okay doing any kind."

There was a slight but noticeable change in the way Kuromura said those words. Less biting remarks and very unlike those stabbing criticisms that she oh-so-often liked to throw at me. I almost thought that she sounded excited.

"Let me see!" I reached for her book.

"I suggest that you stop clawing for it if you wanna live longer." Oh, the death threats again.

"I won't unless you let me see it," I stretched further as she held the book with her left hand, well out of my reach. "C'mon, it won't hurt," I coaxed.

"Oh, really?" She gave her icy glare as she held her pencil dangerously close to my left eye.

I decided to give it up then.

Kuromura stood up with her sketchbook and pencils when the bell rang for lunch break.

"Hey! Can I see you draw?" I started to get up.

"I'm going to find a place where I can concentrate and where there's no you." She picked up her penknife, its blade casting an eerie gleam in her eyes.

I would like to keep my skin free of cuts and slits, thank you very much. So I rested my head on my desk and slept while Kuromura went to find her Nirvana.

This continued on into the week, Kuromura ignoring me when I threatened to quit our punishment while she continued to carry her trusted penknife wherever she went.

"When are your artworks due?" I asked as we walked back to the dormitories after cleaning up the gym at the end of the day.

"Tomorrow."

"Have you completed them?"

"No."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

"Are you going to go all mono-syllable on me and wait for me to crack up?" I stepped in front of her and challenged her glare.

She stood silently for a moment.

"Yes," and pushed pass me. Frustrated, I sighed and sped up to catch up with her.

"Which one is incomplete?"

"The face." Yay! Two words, score one for me!

"Really? Whose face are you going to sketch?" I pressed on.

"Haven't decided."

"How about mine? You don't have much time left to choose anyway," I jumped in front with a huge grin on my face.

"I'm supposed to draw the face of a human. Not some... thing." She continued to walk pass me.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean? Besides, the only choice left is your own face and it's difficult to draw one's own face. Even I know that," I argued.

"I like a challenge."

"Aww... C'mon, I'm sure the teacher wouldn't mind seeing my handsome face," I stroke a pose.

"For one," Kuromura stopped in front of the glass doors to the girls' dormitory. "I don't think that our acquaintance is deep enough for us to have this small talk, let alone me drawing you. And, two, for a person to be perfectly portrayed in a drawing, it's preferred for the artist to have a bond with him or her. Since I don't see a bond whatsoever between us, it's better for me to just draw myself.

"If you don't mind, I would like to go start on it now." She turned and walked in the building.

...To be continued

-top-