149 From the Shadows 2 in 1 (1/2)
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Unfortunately for Tomoyo, the competition was not yet done when she had to go back to her class. The first day of the competition had already ended before she went to the kendo club so she would only be able to watch the replay when she got home.
”Are you ready to go?” Hikaru saw Tomoyo exiting the club's dojo and asked.
*nod*
”Your grandparents told me that you usually go to the dojo with a friend from Akaryuu School and asked if we can pick her up on the way.” Hikaru smiled as they walked towards the neighboring school.
Hikaru didn't mind that Tomoyo didn't respond with her voice all the time. Though she wasn't aware of just how much progress she made by making this girl use her voice, Hikaru wanted to let this innocent student of hers slowly understand and get used to using her voice. This was why she would usually converse with her in a way that would not let her respond with her gestures.
After looking into the pasts of Tomoyo and Kazuya, Hikaru understood that although the two of them may be in an envious position in the eyes of others, most people do not understand what they have gone through.
”?” Tomoyo felt a little restless as she could feel as if there was someone staring at her fervently. She looked around but could only find the admiring gazes of the students which she was already used to and tilted her head in confusion.
”What's wrong Shiroyuki-san?” Hikaru stopped her steps as she noticed Tomoyo glancing around.
*shake shake* the strange feeling seemed to have faded after Hikaru called her out so Tomoyo shook her head and caught up to her teacher.
”Is Akabane Nanami-san a friend of yours as well?” sensing the strange mood Tomoyo was in, Hikaru decided to ask a few questions.
*nod* Tomoyo replied after considering it for a few moments. Nanami was friends with Kazuya and whoever Kazuya was friends with, she remembered.
Despite Tomoyo's carefree thoughts about Nanami, the two of them were considered very close partners in the Shirayuki dojo. After Nanami joined, the usual pair of Kazuya and Tomoyo who none of their age group could contend with had become a trio whose intense sparring sessions the instructors pay close attention to.
”Is she close with Kouzuki-kun as well?” Hikaru was a little curious about it because she heard that Aoki Takaya himself was ignored by Tomoyo before. From the looks of things, one had to be acquainted with Kazuya before even having the chance to get remembered by this robot girl.
*nod*
”Can you tell me more about your friend? How did she end up being friends with you and Kouzuki-kun?” Hikaru was curious. Akaryuu and Sacred Forest students were almost always at odds with each other. This was very rampant amongst those in the same competing activity so the three of them whose main activity was kendo was quite interesting.
”friends… our… grandfathers…” Tomoyo slowly and softly used her voice to tell Hikaru about how the three of them were related. She wasn't as detailed about when they met but she was able to mention that Kazuya helped train Nanami until she was able to beat Kuronume Ayame, the student from their high school department as well as former champion.
The fact that Nanami trained in the Shiroyuki dojo was no secret. She even credited the dojo for her improvements when she was interviewed by many magazines that asked about it. Jirou of course was very happy about the free advertisement but the Sacred Forest Academy had mixed emotions about it because Kuronuma Ayame was one of their own students whilst Ayame was a student from a rival school.
”Akabane clan…” Hikaru didn't think that Nanami was a member of the well-known household. To be more specific, she was surprised at how students like Kazuya, Nanami and Tomoyo were very down to earth. Their statuses were very special yet none of them threw their weight around like most of the students who had the tiniest bit of influence to brag about.
Tomoyo herself was an exception because she had been the way she was because of what happened in her childhood but what about Kazuya and Nanami? The knowledge and experience that Hikaru had with people like them were worlds apart. This was why she never gave Kouzuki Kazuya the benefit of the doubt.
”Tomoyo!” a lively voice called out to the two who approached the gates of Akaryuu's school.
”(This girl…)” Hikaru held her surprise as a surprisingly elegant looking girl who garnered the attention of the male students that exited the school approached them.
Hikaru may not have been keeping up with the personalities that Sacred Forest Academy was keeping track of because she was still a temporary employee but she was aware that the Akabane clan was known to be a clan of rough yakuzas. She felt a little guilty over expecting someone who was informal and crude because the high school girl that showed up in front of her was someone she did not expect.
”This person is…?” Nanami noticed Hikaru who was staring at her.
”Sensei…” Tomoyo's reply made Nanami stunned. She didn't expect a response and asked so that Hikaru would answer and introduce herself but Tomoyo didn't think much of it and replied. ”for… home visit…”
”Hello, I am Shiroyuki-san's homeroom teacher. I was asked to take the two of you together to Shiroyuki-san's place.” Hikaru introduced herself properly to Nanami. She had already confirmed that Tomoyo considered Nanami as a friend because of how the usually guarded Tomoyo didn't think much about replying towards Nanami through her voice.
”Oh… My name is Akabane Nanami, I apologize if there was any delay in your schedule in coming here to pick me up.” Nanami politely bowed. She had hung around Tomoyo long enough to have her own understanding about the robot girl. This was the reason that she was very polite towards this teacher. Kazuya himself had been trying to let Tomoyo use her vocal chords and she hasn't seen anyone outside their circle making Tomoyo speak.
”It is no problem. I was rather interested in meeting you as well Akabane-san.” Hikaru was very impressed with Nanami's manners. If she didn't hear from Tomoyo, she wouldn't have thought that this elegant girl was part of the infamous Akabane clan.
”Me?” Nanami was a surprised. She wondered what a teacher from Sacred Forest Academy would want with her.
”Shiroyuki-san here tells me that you are also friends with Kouzuki Kazuya-kun so I want to talk about a few things.” Hikaru honestly declared. ”It shouldn't take long so we should have some tea before we head towards the Shiroyuki residence.”
”About Kazuya-san?” Nanami brought up her guard a little. She looked at Tomoyo who gave her a nod as if confirming that Hikaru was okay. ”I know a quiet place where there aren't many people.” She agreed and they went towards a place that Nanami visited frequently.
It was a small café that wasn't that far from Nanami's school. This was where she would usually meet with the students that didn't want to be seen with her in the neighborhood so there was no problem if they wanted to talk about something sensitive.
Hikaru noticed that Nanami had raised her guard so she went straight to the point and explained her circumstances. She explained that she had bad experiences towards the children of well-known families and was treated by them very badly before.
Nanami felt a little relieved that what Hikaru wanted wasn't information about Kazuya but rather how to get him to forgive her. It would have been simple to anyone who knew him, but Nanami understood that this teacher was new to the occupation of being a teacher and doesn't know much about Kazuya.
She understands Hikaru's point of view as Nanami saw Kouzuki Kazuya as a mystery as well. Before she mustered up her courage and got along with him, Nanami was in the same position and considered a lot of things so that her relationship with Kazuya wouldn't go bad.
”Kazuya-san may seem complicated but… that really isn't the case.” Nanami smiled as she looked at the worried teacher. ”Kazuya-san is very kind and easy to get along with. As long as sensei can apologize sincerely, there won't be any problems.”
The two of them exchanged opinions and Hikaru was finally able to hear what she needed. Though Hikaru was a bit skeptical about how Nanami described Kouzuki Kazuya's personality, it more or less fit the description that Tomoyo tried to convey.
Hikaru was sure of one thing though, Akabane Nanami was very fond of Kouzuki Kazuya. She wasn't afraid to show how much she admired the boy and it made Hikaru think if this elegant high school girl was the rumored girl that was supposed to be engaged to him.
”Thank you Akabane-san. I appreciate your time and help about this matter.” Hikaru thanked her and settled the bill so they could leave. They agreed that they would take a cab back to Tomoyo's place since she did not have a car.
”Hmm?” This time Nanami was the first to react. She stopped in her tracks focused her sight on the old building that they were about to pass by.
”Akabane-sa—” Hikaru turned towards Nanami and was shocked as she was suddenly pushed to the side.
*THUD* Hikaru hit the wall and couldn't help but cough a few times because she hit concrete wall pretty hard.
”Tsk! I should have gone for you first girl!” a creepy voice reached the girls' ears.
Hikaru was feeling a bit dizzy but she could see that the voice came from the shadow that was standing in the spot where she got pushed from.
Tomoyo rushed to Hikaru's side cautiously as Nanami stood in between the two girls and the mysterious person who appeared from the building.
”Who the hell are you!?” Nanami glared and shouted at the unknown person who just jumped from the blind spot of the abandoned looking building. She immediately reached towards her bag to draw the wooden sword as soon as she saw what this stranger was holding.
Nanami couldn't get a clear view of the stranger's face because of the setting sun that was behind the stranger. What she could see however, was that this man had a weapon on his hand. It was a combat knife that would have either been buried in Hikaru's body or would have critically wounded her if Nanami hadn't sensed the incoming danger.
”I didn't think that I would suffer much trouble with today's prey.” His creepy voice made the three girls put up their guard more. They might not have been able to completely see his face but the outline of his mouth showed how he was feeling.
The stranger had a grin on his face as he stood confidently in front of Nanami. He looked at the wooden sword in Nanami's hand and could see Tomoyo slowly reaching for hers after she made sure that Hikaru was alright.
”Take sensei back to the café while I hold him off!” Nanami didn't have time to be polite and ordered Tomoyo. She couldn't take her attention away from this stranger because her instincts were warning her that it would be fatal if she was even a little bit careless when facing this person. She wished to buy some time so the two could make it back to the café and call for help.
In terms of dealing with trouble, Nanami was no stranger to it. Being a former delinquent, she prioritized her companions because she knew she was capable. It wasn't that Nanami was underestimating Tomoyo's abilities but never was this robot girl ever exposed to experiences that she and Kazuya had fighting outside an appropriate settings.
Nanami didn't want to risk Tomoyo getting in danger because not only was she indebted to the Shiroyuki dojo, she saw the robot girl as an important friend and comrade. She, who was used to these kinds of things. Nanami was determined to be the one to deal with the current danger so that the other two could escape.
”Impressive show of friendship.” the stranger spoke sarcastically. ”I'll tell you what… As long as you walk away now, I'll let you go.” the stranger's deep voice sounded serious as his body turned to Nanami. ”I won't even ask you to forget what you've seen or heard. You'd be totally free to either walk away silently or get help.” Two knives were suddenly thrown from the stanger's sleeve.
*CLINK!* Nanami managed to block the knife that was hurled towards her but Tomoyo had to pull Hikaru to avoid the one that was thrown at them. Nanami didn't even consider the stranger's proposal which was both rare and surprising for this person.
”(Let me go? Don't make me laugh.)” Nanami glared. It looks like this person was aiming for either Tomoyo or Hikaru for some reason. Nevertheless, this person seems to be proficient with throwing knives as well, so they all needed to be extra careful.
”Impressive! Much more impressive than those so-called protectors of peace and order! HAHAHAHA! This is interesting!” he laughed out loud while shivering in excitement. He licked his lips like a hunter that had finally found worthy prey.
”!!!” Tomoyo who had her guard up couldn't help but shiver after hearing the crazed laughter coming from the stranger. The setting sun was finally blocked by one of the buildings and they were able to see the face of this mysterious attacker.
*plop* the wooden sword in Tomoyo's hand dropped to the floor as she made out the face of the stranger. Both the crazed laugh and his face was something that she could never forget.
”Oh?” Kira didn't fail to notice Tomoyo's reaction after seeing the face that he didn't have any intention to hide. ”Looks like you remember me well little girl.” His nasty grin grew even wider as he felt the fear that came from Tomoyo.
”Just who the hell are you!?” Nanami tried to snap Tomoyo back as she raised her voice towards Kira. She couldn't afford to not pay attention to this person, but she had no idea why Tomoyo, who usually showed no reaction to anyone was suddenly acting like this.
”…” Tomoyo trembled but remained rooted on the ground. Her whole body was shivering as her memories reminded her of why she froze at the sight of blood in the first place.