Luciana's Romance

A special night....

A while later...
Saruma went into the library, quietness was infested in the air making it seem like a graveyard for ghosts to congregate. She walked through the alleyway of bookshelves, looking for a particular book which she needed. She heard a noise right behind her, spinning around she found what caused that noise; a grinning Tora with his two friends. Saruma attempted to get away from the boys but she was stopped dead in her tracks by Tora who had a firm grip of her. Tora's friends tied her up, stuffing a paper ball in her mouth in order to shut her up. "Nothing personal, Saruma" Tora grinned at her.

Tora and his friends brought her upstairs onto a balcony which stretched a decent way over the ground below and he smiled looking at her before looking at the cold dead ground below. Saruma tried to scream as loud as she could but failed due to the paper ball in her mouth, she looked at the ground with wide eyes trying to break free from the rope which bound her arms together.

"Remember when I said it wasn't personal?" He looked her dead in the eyes "I was lying and now you'll die. Extreme yes, but it best way to get you outta my way" Tora laughed manically, grinning from ear to ear as his friends did the same. As he was about to push Saruma off, Itsuki appeared from a nearby tree, jumping onto the balcony punching Tora which sent him backwards into his friends. Itsuki caught Saruma's fall and jumped once again off the balcony and onto the tree expertly. As they reached the ground with a light thump, Itsuki untied her and took the paper ball out of her mouth and dragged her away by her hand quickly. Saruma was still trying to understand what just happened.

They reached Itsuki's house and he grinned, welcoming her into his home "Welcome, Saruma, to my house!" He was smiling, almost like he had won a trophy. Saruma at this point didn't know what to say, but she managed to speak after a while as she sat on the couch. "T-Thanks a lot Itsuki, but why do you always save me from Tora..?" The question which was on her mind since the first time Itsuki saved her. Itsuki looked away, his smile disappearing into a nervous one "W-Well, I don't know...I guess I need to stick up to the bullies.. I mean.. Someone had to do it.."

Saruma looked away as well, smiling a little "How old are you by the way Itsuki-senpai and are you in the same class as Tora?" Looking back at him. "I'm 19 and yeah, I am in the same class as him" He replied, looking at her once again, seeing the small blush on his face "Why do you ask?" He asked nervously. "Just curious that's all" She said, her mind adrift from what had just happened. Before she could say anything else, Itsuki spoke "Y-You must be dizzy and tired after that experience. You can sleep here if you like" The small smile appearing again.

Saruma shook her head "This is your house, not mine. I can walk back home on my own" Her eyes averted to the floor as she tried to stand up but failed and fell down again. Itsuki managed to catch her and carry her into the bedroom and laid her on the bed  "YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE, YOU'RE GOING TO SLEEP HERE OR ELSE I'LL MAKE YOU!" He looked into her eyes directly causing Saruma to blush heavily. Then, all in a single second, he said something, something about Saruma being cute and he kissed her lips softly. Saruma didn't know what to say but her face said it all, heavily blushing before he pulled away, smiling at her blushed face. He turned away towards the door when he heard her crying. He looked back at her.

Saruma shouted "W-why Itsuki?!". Itsuki, taken aback by his sudden anger, replied "BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT YOU" He let the silence settle in and closed the door, leaving Saruma sitting on the bed alone. At this point her heart was beating fast, her thoughts tangled and her mind in different places at once. She had no idea how to react to the situation that just happened right in front of her. 'Why did he just kiss me?! Does he like me or something?! If so...what does he see me as? His little sister or his girlfriend?! Or something else..? Too tired...to think now...' She fell back onto the bed, eyes closing as the darkness surrounded her.

Next Day...
She woke up to the sound of Itsuki on the other side of the door. He had just knocked on the door, waking her up from her dreams."Good morning Ru-chan!" The sound of his voice made him out to be energetic and enthusiastic. That was Itsuki alright. Saruma's reactions told a different story "Why are you calling me Ru-chan now?!" That was the voice of shock and disbelief. "Well" He started, "I want to call you that from now on. Also, I got you a par of spare clothes from your house. Your gran is nice person. You need to get changed right now! We will be late for school!" She swore that she could hear his grin behind the door "Yeah, I'm coming Itsuki" She could also feel his lips against hers.

After she had changed and got something to eat, they walked out and headed towards school where after 20 minutes, they arrived the school gates. They both walked through the gates where upon many people turned their way. Saruma looked at them back, a small chill went up her spine "Itsuki, why are they looking at us?" Itsuki was also looking at everyone as well and smiled a little "Because they've never seen someone walk with me before" Saruma blushed a little and laughed a little "Hah, really?"

At this point Tora walked passed them both and looked at Itsuki coldly, saying nothing to him and passed them by. Soon after, Toki appeared in front of them both and hugged Saruma hard. She hugged him back, surprised. "Why didn't you call me Rumi?! I was worried about you! I called your grandparents as well. I didn't sleep all night!" Saruma remembered that she promised to call Toki.

"Well, I was attacked by Tora and his friends and then Itsuki saved me from them and then I slept in his house...I'm sorry Toki that I didn't call you yesterday. Sorry for making you guys worry about me". Toki grinned widely "Thank you Saruma for telling me. I was so worried about you and thank you Itsuki, I appreciate it"

Saruma was shocked once again by his outburst "Why are you saying thank you to him Toki?!". "Because Rumi, we care about you. We really do!" Toki grinned, hugging her once again making her blush. "You're our friend after all aren't you?" The voice belonged to Shiro, who appeared at Toki's side, smiling at her. "I am?" Saruma smiled a little but was nervous "That's good to hear!"
"Yes you are, Rumi, we are all of your friends" Shiro smiled happily at her, hugging her as well. "I'll take care of her guys, don't worry" Itsuki said, cutting into the conversation. Toki and Shiro both turned and looked at him, speaking at the same time "Itsuki-senpai, thank you for last night!".

Itsuki blushed hard, walking away from the group as the bell rang. Toki, Shiro and Saruma then walked together towards class while Ichi managed to carry up to them. Toki noticed that something was on her mind "Did something else happen last night, Rumi?" Saruma looked at him, blushing hard "E-Eh no, nothing else happened. We need to hurry up, class is about to start" She didn't know that Toki could get this curious about last night. Shiro and Ichi looked at Toki and asked "Something happened last night?" Toki looked at them both and nodded, responding with a single word "Indeed"