The Jian

Chapter 19: Pandemic

Hiro was sitting at the pond's edge facing towards the water, with his head looking at the general direction of Zero two. Maybe he had some how heard her come near.

She waited until he fell asleep, next to the water's edge. His head slumped against the willow tree; all of his body crumpled into one of the grooves of the twisting wood. It must've been uncomfortable as he would constantly shift in his sleep to find a better position to rest in.

'Is he even sleeping?' Zero two asked herself. 'He can't possibly be able to sleep through that! It's not possible!'

Apparently, it was for Hiro.

His groan of discomfort made it seem a little less believable.

'Fuhuhuhu~' she giggled a bit.

She walked quietly over to him and gave him light kiss on the head, cuddling his thin frame.

She started off back towards the Academy, knowing that if she had been seen acting all cuddley, she would be seen as a fury or something. There were some students who believed that her horns weren't real, and the few that didn't most likely suspected her to be a fury. Adding cuddliness to the equation wouldn't make it any better for her.

'Everyone always sees the same way... an object that can be looked at, and a monster that should be kept away... It's not like they're wrong anyway...'

As she was leaving she heard Hiro mutter her name in his sleep. He sounded nostalgic, or something like that. Recalling her own feeling of deja vu when ever she thought about him, her feelings only got more confusing then they had already been.

She continued towards the school as the world around her was at peace.

≈ θ ≈

The school had begun to come into view as Hiro's running finally paid off. He may have had to backtrack once or twice through the forest, as running blindly through said forest without actually referencing yourself with the path could become quite hazardous. A few trees here and there had a branch just for Hiro to run into, just for him.

'How kind of you...' he thought to himself. 'Things don't always change do they?'

Hiro had been quite the curious one as a child. He would be asking the adults about everything and anything. They rarely gave him a proper answer and this led to his curiosity growing even more so. Eventually he just became as complacent as the rest of the students. Hiro never really understand why or what happened to him that made him so content with what he had. Nothing had peaked his curiosity like she did though.

'I wonder if she was there... I wouldn't be surprised she could sense the thoughts that people had about her... On second thought, that may not be the best thing for her...'

He jumped the fence and began towards Mistilteinn, walking through some of the gardens. Looking at all of the Sakura trees, he thought about Zero two.

'What am I to her? I hardly know anything about her... nor does. she know anything about me... So then why do I feel... I gotta get inside!'

Time was running short and Hiro would have gone on one of his endless paradox's of Zero two, if he hadn't stopped himself.

Hiro just made it in time for dinner, but had gone to sit on another table by himself. Shortly through the meal he was joined by Zero two who had made it her business to make his dinner as full blushing and stuttering. She took a break from teasing and said,

'But,' she said in a kinder tone. 'I appreciate all you've done for me... I'm still surprised after everything you've done for me...'

'I don't-'