Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Dark Successor ❯ Tensions and Mysteries ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4: Tensions and Mysteries

 

A tall student with slicked-back black hair and very fine-looking glasses walked down the halls. It was lunch time, and he felt like causing a little trouble. He noticed Hiryu slinking down the hall, hands in his pockets. The next thing Hiryu knew, this student was in his way, his chest to Hiryu's face.

 

"Excuse me, kid," greeted the student.

 

"...Um..." Hiryu stammered, his eyes rising up to the top of this tall figure. "Yeah?" he replied as he at last hit the top.

 

"You don't seem to know who I am. My name is Hitomi Toji, and I am an upperclassman. I can't help but notice how little respect you're showing me."

 

"Sorry, Toji-kun," Hiryu faintly apologized as he lowered his head timidly.

 

"Toji-kun? That just won't do," the upperclassman insisted. "I am Hitomi-senpai. I will forgive your error if you provide me with a bit of money," he explained.

 

Hiryu's shock managed to remain confined in his mind, but he was truly surprised at the level of arrogance this individual displayed. His eyes seemed to glint as he realized what this meant.

 

Silently, Hiryu reached into his pants pocket. Toji assumed he was fetching some money like the sniveling dog that he and all other new students were. A slight grin of satisfaction radiated from Hiryu's face as he withdrew a strange, greenish-black crystal, which seemed perfect for gripping at the middle, and tapered to a point at one end. Looking at the crystal, Toji noticed it seemed to clash with the environment around it, as if it were interpreting the light differently, through some kind of filter. It barely even looked real, but rather as if it were being placed into his vision by an outside source.

 

"What is that?!" he demanded in fear as well as anger. "Where's the money, you disrespectful little..."

 

The striking look in Hiryu's eyes silenced Toji. Time seemed to stand still as Hiryu's lips moved and strange words came out:

 

"Oni, be free.

 

Oni, do as you please."

 

Toji's glasses flashed as his head lowered imposingly. "Worthless trash! I've had enough of you!" Toji declared, shoving Hiryu to the ground with one strong arm. "Get away from me," he insisted. He gave the floored youth one last look of contempt, then walked away. Hiryu sat on the ground, his arms behind him supportively. He almost laughed at his situation, but instead just started to get up.

 

"Hiryu-kun?!" someone's voice came from nowhere. It was Minako. She quickly walked over to him and helped him get up. "You okay?" she asked kindly.

 

"I'm fine," he said, looking away.

 

"That guy...!" growled Minako. "I'll go tell him a thing or two," she boldly offered.

 

"Forget him," Hiryu said. "So... where is everyone? The halls and classes are empty."

 

"It's lunch, dummy!" Minako teased. "That's what our teacher told us, remember?"

 

"Oh... lunch?" he replied, trying to sound like he understood.

 

"Yeah... food, Hiryu-kun. Eating." She looked at him expectantly. "Know what I mean?"

 

"Yeah, right. I know what food is," he nodded.

 

Minako sighed. "I swear, you're kinda out there, aren't you... C'mon, you can eat lunch with me and my friends," she said, dragging Hiryu by the arm.

 

************************************

 

"Ami, Makoto, Usagi... this is Tsukamaru Hiryu," Minako announced to the small group of girls eating outside, beneath the pleasant shade of a tree.

 

"Nice to meet you," Ami said politely.

 

"Hi, Hiryu!" Usagi chimed. "You must be new." Hiryu nodded his head a little.

 

"You Minako-chan's new boyfriend?" Mako asked, leaning forwards a little in inspection of the boy. Hiryu's eyes widened and his face started turning red. "B, boyfriend?"

 

Minako put her fists to her hips and scowled at Mako. "No, Mako-chan, I just met this guy and I'm showing him around! Don't be so rude. Look, you embarrassed him!!"

 

Mako shrugged and apologized, and Minako sat down facing the others. Hiryu sat down too.

 

"So, where are you from?" Usagi asked when she wasn't munching on a rice ball.

 

"Well..." Hiryu started. "I've been traveling around my whole life. I'm not really from anywhere."

 

"You must have parents like Urawa-kun's," Ami commented. "Always on the move for business."

 

"So what do they do, Hiryu?" Mako wondered.

 

"I don't..." Hiryu looked quickly around before finishing... he felt odd saying what he was going to say in front of these people, whose lives are obviously so different. "I mean, my parents... I don't have any." He looked and saw their surprised expressions.

 

"Oh, I'm sorry I brought it up..." Ami apologized, sounding troubled with what she had done.

 

Hiryu shook his head. "There isn't really much to tell you," he said, feeling his heart beating harder as this conversation went on.

 

"So where do you stay?" Minako asked concernedly.

 

"I..." he didn't know what to tell her. She wouldn't believe that he slept under a tree last night...

 

"Minako, let's forget it already," suggested Makoto. "Hiryu," she quickly shifted topics, "You don't have any lunch? I always bring extra. You want some?"

 

"That's ok," the strange youth declined, shaking his head no. His hair swished around a little, offering mere glimpses of the green orbs that were his eyes.

 

"C'mon, you gotta eat..." Mako insisted. "Here," she said as she handed a lunch box to him. He accepted it into his hands and unmotivatedly opened it.

 

"Don't worry, it's really good," Usagi insisted. "We all love Mako-chan's cooking."

 

Hiryu nodded and took a bite. It was so... good! So much flavor, so fresh. Nothing like what he was used to. In fact, it was a bit of a shock to his system. He swallowed the moutful carefully and slowly ate more.

 

"Umm..." Mako pondered. "Does it look to anyone else like he's in pain while eating that? I thought people liked my cooking."

 

"No, it's good," Hiryu replied after swallowing a bite. "I'm just not used to food this good."

 

"Well, you go ahead and eat all you want," Mako offered. "Ami, Usagi and I are supposed to do a bit of studying in the library before lunch is over." She got up and grabbed Usagi and Ami by the arms, lifting them too to their feet.

 

"Err," Usagi mumbled something to Mako. Mako mouthed something back. "Yeah, that's right," Usagi added. "We need Ami-chan's help for this test we're gonna have soon. C'mon, Ami."

 

Ami still had no idea what was going on, much like everyone else save Makoto. When she had dragged them far enough away, she announced her reasoning. "Minako's obviously into that guy... so I figured we should let them be alone."

 

"Are you sure you have decent proof?" Ami asked. "I mean, she said she just met him."

 

"Minako doesn't need to get to know a guy," Mako responded confidently. "She's got him on a date a few minutes after she meets him."

 

"Well, Minako-chan's usually going after cool, popular, hunky guys," added Usagi. "This Hiryu seems like he'd be her last pick."

 

"You think so?" Makoto confirmed. "I think otherwise, but in any case, we'll find out soon enough."

 

"Oh yeah, why are you having a test on the first day of school?" Ami asked in a tone as laced with sarcasm as is possible from her docile lips.

 

"Um..." Mako scratched the back of her head. "Heh, heh heh. Sometimes you have to twist things a little to do the right thing," she answered.

 

"Right..." sighed Ami and Usagi.

 

************************************

 

Minako and Hiryu looked at each other. Minako was full of curiosity about her strange new friend, and Hiryu's nerves were constantly on edge as this pretty girl showed him kindness.

 

"Hiryu-kun," Minako started, a little unsure of how to go on. "If you ever need anything, let me know, okay? I was a new student here too, and... you know..."

 

He nodded. "Thank you, um... Minako-san."

 

Minako seemed disappointed, but rather than looking upset, she looked brilliant and inspired as she responded. "I want to be friends with you. You can call me Minako-chan like all my friends do... if you want."

 

He felt sweat coming down his forehead. "O-ok... Minako-chan it is."

 

She tilted her head and looked at him closely. "Um... Hiryu-kun?"

 

"Hm?"

 

"You wanna hang out after school?"

 

"Ah..."

 

"I mean... it just seems like you might be lonely not knowing anyone, and we could do something..."

 

Hiryu started to stand up. Minako's eyes rose, following him.

 

"Don't take pity on me like that," he asked her, in a cold voice, "like I need you to save me from loneliness." Minako felt like she was listening to a recording instead of a person. There was no connection between them, there was no soul to it all, just nervous words drifting to her ears. He felt shaky saying this, but he went on. "You already have friends. Don't waste your kindness on me like this. There's no point."

 

He started to walk away. "What's that supposed to mean?" she meant to call out to him angrily, yet her voice was too soft and her doubts of her right to be angered were too great. It ended up coming out as a question to herself, or to the grass and trees around her. Hiryu was out of sight.

 

"What's that mean..." she asked again, in a melancholic whisper.