Part 33 : Bored

The camp was in a resort. The school booked the entire one block for the students and it was huge.

First day of camp. Tiresome treasure hunt which the students set up for themselves since it looked as if they came here just to relax. Even the teacher in charge was missing.

"Great. What'll we do now?" Kazuki asked everyone as they sat in a group again for the forth time in that afternoon.

"It's 5 already. Why not let's all go back to our own rooms, freshen up and rest a while. Meet at the cafe at 7." Amaya suggested.

"Okay!" came everyone's reply.

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

KNOCK KNOCK

Amaya stopped folding her clothes and went to answer the door.

"Hey Kazu! Oh I see you came as well." she said. Akira was behind Kazu.
"Can- we come in?" Kazu asked.
"Bored to nearly-death i guess?" Amaya said sheepishly.
"Sadly yes."

The two boys went in. Amaya had the whole room to herself because she was one of the three girls who turned up for the camp.

"Amaya, I wanted to tell you something." Akira said after sitting a long while. Amaya stopped what she was doing and looked up.

Kazuki looked at him too.

"Okay. This may be hard to accept but I have to tell you anyway." Akira continued.

"It's about Shiro."
"Oh."

"Do you remember that day when he was all bloody in your house?"
"Yes."
"Do you remember how he ended up there?"

"Er.. I found him in Kaze's alley and brought him home. Then his phone rang. It was you. I asked you to come. You came and helped him." Amaya said with a curious look. "Why- do you ask?"

"What happened after that?" Akira continued.
"Why are you asking me all this? Have you forgot what happened?" Amaya asked impatiently. "Even if you have why is it so important?"

"I didn't forget. You did." Akira answered.
"HUH?" Amaya and Kazuki exclaimed.
"You'll get it later. Go on."

"Okay.. After you helped him, erm.. We had a chat. And then," Amaya stopped.

"Amaya?" Kazuki asked worriedly.

"'kira, you're right. I think, I did forget." Amaya said frustratedly. "I forgot what we were talking about."

Just as Akira opened his mouth to explain, the door burst opened.

"Guys! It's Kaze at the main block!!" the boy standing at the door yelled in panic.

Part 32 : Camp

Amaya woke up on a hospital bed. She was wondering how she got there. She looked around. There wasn't anyone in the room with her.

The room was beautifully lit with the sunshine coming in from the window. The beeping of the machine could be heard. Amaya found it quite anoying.

"Let see," Amaya thought to herself. "What can I last remember? The boy on the floor, Kenji, me almost passing out, something or someone picking me up, running, putting me down, Shi-!"

"GAHH!!"

Amaya was about to get up from where she was lying down but couldn't as a sharp pain shoot through her veins to her brain. Even when she yelled, or so tried to yell, only her 'sore-throat-voice' could be heard.

The door opened. Amaya laid as stiff as a stone. Only her eyes remained wide open starring at the ceiling. For some reason, she didn't care to see who was that. The person didn't say anything either. There was a sound of a tray with things on top put down on the table at the side of her bed. The person sat down beside her bed. Amaya closed her eyes.

She heard water sounds from the side where the person sat. Something cold suddenly was laid on her forehead. It was like a wet handkerchief.

“You-” the person began but stopped. A long pause.
“What d’you want?” Amaya asked him in her close-to-whisper voice.
“…”

“Why keep helping me?” she said. Obviously, that was Shiro.
“Why shouldn’t I help a friend?” Shiro replied.

Another long pause. Amaya tried to lift her hand to take off the handkerchief. She couldn’t seem to move. Every part of her body was aching badly.

“You should try to limit your movements. Doctors say you’re hurt terribly by those punches and kicks.” he explained.

Amaya managed to turn her head slightly which she regretted later on because it hurt like crap and she had to stay in that position until Shiro offered to help her turn it back. She looked at him. His right hand was bandaged with plaster of paris and a sling across his shoulder. His face edged with some kind of weird expression which Amaya translated it as concern. Since this boy didn’t have a proper life, I guess he also has problems trying to express himself. Amaya thought.

“You… can’t get any… better than this.” she stared at him.

True, of course. Besides the sling for his hand, he had a bandage round his forehead.

“Well, this is what I get for having a troublesome friend,” he said.

Of course, that was not the wisest thing he had ever said, for if Amaya wasn’t in her situation, she would have flew at him and I wouldn’t describe what she did or this story will be rated ‘violent’.

“Then why have this friend?” she could only say.
“Because this friend’s worth helping.” he answered bluntly.

Amaya looked over the other side of the room out of the window. Shiro knew he said something he shouldn’t have said. He wanted to apologise but the word couldn’t come out.

“Do you want to…” Amaya paused.
“What?”
“Go for the camp? Or are you going?”
“There’s a camp?”
“School camp. But not many people going.”

Shiro looked at the floor. He couldn’t possibly come out with that kind of money to go for the camp.

“There isn’t any closing date since there is so little people going.” Amaya added as she felt her voice coming back. “You could get a few extra money from working part time you know? It’s in a week’s time and the camp fees are only 70 dollars.”

“I’ll see first.”

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

Camp day.

“Amaya, how many people do you think will be going for this some sort of abandoned camp?” Narumi asked her as they walked towards the school.

"Let's see.. Around 23 people?" Kazuki replied.
"Hi Amaya." Amaya said to Kazuki.

"Huh?"
"Narumi asked me and you answered, so I guess you're Amaya." she said with a smirk.
"Funny."

They chatted all the way to the school. When they reached the school, true enough like they expected, there were only a few out of the whole school who came.

The teacher in charge marked their attendance and they moved to a corner and waited. Amaya sat on her lugagge and looked around to see whether she knew any faces.

"Hey, guess who, Amaya." Narumi pointed out to her.
"What?" she glance at where he pointed. It was Shiro, and Akira!

"Oh wow! He came after all huh?" Kazuki nudged her.
"What was that for?"
"That nudge?"
"Yes."
"*ahem* You like him right?" he said in a whisper.

"Seriously." she looked at him with a frown. Kazuki just laughed.

Part 31 : Fight

"So are you coming for the school camp next week?" Amaya overheard someone talking at the back of the class.

"Camp. Should I really ask him?" Amaya asked herself. "He doesn't seem to be coming to school anymore."

CRASHHH!!!

Amaya jolted up from her chair. She ran out the class with the rest of her classmates.

"Hey, it's Kenji again." whispered someone in front.
"Yeah. Picking on the weaker ones as usual."

A boy was lying sprawled on the floor. He was pretending to be unconcious just to get out of trouble but sadly he wasn't a good actor.

Kenji walked out the classroom where the boy "flew" out from. He was sweating and there was a little blood on his mouth. He went over and grabbed the boy by his collar. It was obvious he wanted to hit him again.

He rose his hand and was about to hit the boy when Amaya grabbed her whip and caught hold of Kenji's hand. He turned and glared at her.

"You didn't have enough of me the last time have you?" he yelled. "And you really heal very fast. I still have the wound that hero of yours inflicted on me!"

Kenji let the boy go and started walking towards Amaya.

"That's right. Why not pick someone your own size and let him go?" she said. Her heart was beating extremely fast as she imagined the pain she was going to get from Kenji. It seemed like she was getting hurt almost everytime.

Kenji started the fight. He planted his fist right into Amaya's left cheek. She didn't dodge at all.

I can't fight the way I fight like Hana. I can dodge all the blows but I need to seem like a normal girl so...

Amaya got hit and only ocasionally dodge a few hits. The people around them couldn't help or even say anything. All the teachers were having a meeting.

Amaya was down on the floor. The fight just began a minute or so. She tried to minimise the number of attacks Kenji did. She got two hard punches in the stomach and of course the punch in the face.

Just as she thought it was going to be all over with his next blow, someone pushed Kenji aside, grabbed, carried her and started to run away.

Amaya couldn't see well. Everything she saw was blurred. It was always like that since she was young. Whenever she lost a lot of blood or if she hurt a lot she'll be blur in her eye sight. Whoever was carrying her was quite familiar.

His smell. thought Amaya.

After a little running, the person stopped and laid her on the floor against a wall.

"You need to rest a while. You've lost A LOT of blood and you're too weak to move. I can take you to the hospital if you want to." he said.

"Y-you're Sh-shiro." Amaya spoke with a tremble. She was too weak, as Shiro said, to move and even talk.

"Shh!"

Kenji was heard walking past them from the far end of the block. He noticed them.

Shiro stood up. "You stay here."

Amaya was VERY confused. All she could see were two figure hitting, dodging, kicking. After a while it ceased. All Amaya could make up was a figure walking towards her, picking her up and telling her, "Amaya, stop getting yourself in trouble and hurting yourself again."

Part 30 : Accident

"Wait.. Did she mention the master?" Kaze stoped to think to himself a while after Amaya left.
"How'd she know?"

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

"Amaya-chan! You're finally back!!" Kazuki exclaimed cheekish-ly.

Amaya put her hand under his fringe over his forehead. "Are you having a fever?"

"WHAT?" Kazuki asked. (with the acting cute kind of angry frown over his face.)

"Okay.. Are you Kazu?" Amaya asked.

"WHAT??!" Kazuki asked. (now with a really puzzled look) "Why are you asking me?"

"You're not yourself. I mean you don't act like yourself." Amaya said as she put down her bag and put the sushi in the refridgerator.

As she did that, she overheard Narumi's voice from upstairs yelling at Kazuki, "KAZU!!! WE'RE GETTING PUNISHMENT FROM THE MASTER TOMORROW, REMEMBER!!"

"RIGHT!" Kazuki shouted back.

Amaya's head was in the refridgerator when she heard the yelling. She stopped. Where did I say that sentence? It sounds so familiar.

Suddenly she remembered. "Oh my-" BANG!!

"Amaya are you okay?" Kazuki ran to the kitchen. Amaya was sitting on the floor leaning against the opened refridgerator. She banged her head against the refridgerator's roof. It hurt, a lot.

"I think I'm okay." Amaya replied as Kazuki checked the back of her head.
Oh my gosh! Why did I say that sentence to Kaze?! Now he's gonna think too much. Crap. Why do I always let loose so much words accidentally?!

"Amaya?"
"Huh?"
"Your head is okay. Just a bit red that's all, but are YOU okay?" Kazuki asked her.

"Yea.. I guess." she mumbled. "What was that punishment Narumi said?"

"Oh. THAT." Kazuki stood up and gave her a hand. "Just the karate lesson we go to. The master's giving us our punishment for being late three times."

"Thanks to you, I guess." Amaya joked.
"Hey!!"

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

The next day.

Amaya fought with herself while she walked to Kaze's deserted alley. She kept herself thinking:

Why do I always open my big mouth so much? Now he'd suspect that I was with the master last time. I'm sure he's heard about Hana before. Just that he hasn't heard that I was Hana.

As Amaya turned into the alley, a sharp shuriken* suddenly came flying towards her. She thought of dodging but just stood there and let it hit her at the front of her right shoulder.

"URGH!!" Amaya exclaimed as she fell on the ground. The packet of sushi fell out from her bag.

When was the last time I got hit by this thing? Why does it hurt so much more than I remember?! she thought as she wanted to pull it out from where it was.

A hand seized hers.

"Hey. I'm sorry." came Kaze's voice. He really was. He didn't see her coming and thought she was someone else.

When Amaya looked up at him, he was stunned. Amaya had tears in her eyes. Kaze tore his glance away from hers and it fell onto her bleeding shoulder. He couldn't bear to see it and looked at her again.

He didn't know what to say. All his life he'd seen tears but he couldn't stand it this time somehow.

"H-hey, I-I'm really sorry. I'll pull this thing out and here, I'll let you bite on my mask cause it'll hurt A LOT. But just promise me you'll close your eyes until it doesn't hurt anymore and after you've given back my mask." he finally blurted out.

It was Amaya's turn to be stunned.

What happened to this guy? H-he just said sorry and h-he's offering to help?!

She kept starring at him. Those yellow eyes don't seem to have the capibility kill anyone anymore. she thought.

"Hey," Kaze snapped at her. "You closing your eyes or not?"
"Oh! sorry. y-yea." she said. She was so caught up with her thoughts that her wound didn't hurt back then. Now it's starting to hurt again.

Amaya closed her eyes. She felt Kaze's grip on the Shuriken. He paused a while. He suddenly pulled it out. The pain was more excruciating then ever. Tears began to flow down her eyes more drastically.

Kaze did his thing to heal her wound. It felt a whole lot better. Amaya akwardly took Kaze's mask out from her mouth. It was kind of drenced with her tears. She still closed her eyes until Kaze said, "I'm done."

Amaya opened her eyes. She saw Kaze walking towards the sushi. He bent down and picked it up. "Thanks." he said and leaped away.




*A shuriken (Japanese 手裏剣; literally: "sword hidden in the hand") is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing, and sometimes stabbing or slashing. They are sharpened hand-held blades made from a variety of everyday items such as needles, nails, and knives, as well as coins, washers, and other flat plates of metal.

Shuriken are commonly known in the West as "throwing stars" or "ninja stars", though they took many different shapes and designs during the time they were used. The major varieties of shuriken are the bō shuriken (棒手裏剣, stick shuriken) and the hira shuriken (平手裏剣, flat shuriken) or shaken (車剣, also read as kurumaken, wheel shuriken).

Part 29 : Food

"Hmm..." Amaya mumbled looking at the rows of instant noodles. "Wonder which is nicer for a person like that? Oh well.."

Amaya grabbed four cups. "Today's Monday so one today amd one on Wednesday, then another on Friday. I'll eat the last one!"

She put the four cups into the basket provided in the conviniet store and walked to the next aisle.

Sushi.

Amaya looked at the packing then to the chef making fresh ones. It's obvious they only put out for sale the ones that were left for a while. So it wouldn't be that fresh. She reached into the pocket of her loose three-quater pants and took out a couple of yen notes.

"Psst." Amaya signaled to the chef. "Mind a fresh packet?" she whispered.

"No. Take the ones already out." he said.
"C'mon. It's for someone special. Please..." she begged.

"Alright. No seconds again."
"Thanks a lot." Amaya said delighted as she took the packet he handed to her which, of course had just been packed.

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

Kaze ran back to the alley where he hangs around. He leaped up one of the buildings, opened the packet of mixed rice he stole and started gobbling down the food.

"Oh wow. How long have you been like this?"

Kaze jerked up, grabbed a bright long knife and pointed it at the 'intruder'

"Relax bro. It's me."

Amaya.

Seeing her, he sat down and continued eating.

"What'd you want?" he asked.

"Oh nothing much. Just-" she leaped up as well and sat next to him. Althought she kept a slight obvious distance. "I saw the news and thought maybe I could drop by and give you some stuff."

She handed him the things she bought earlier.

"The sushi'll get bad after tonight." Kaze remarked after he saw what she gave.

"I can keep it in the refridgerator at home and pass it to you when you want to eat it. When do you want to eat it?" she answered.

"Why're you doing this?"
"Consider it as a payback for saving me from Kenji, okay?" she said coldly.

"Beside that," she rosed up with the sushi in her bag. "I still don't quite like you after what you did to me and Kazu... Or whichever happened first."

She was about to jump down and leave but something caught ahold of her shirt. She turned.

"What now?" she asked Kaze.

"Stay."
"Huh?"
"Just stay for now. At least until I finish." Kaze said quite quietly.

Amaya stared at him.

A long pause.

Amaya was playfully thinking :
You're still a boy even if you're an assasin. And you're still human. Go on, say 'Please'. Quick! Before I go. I don't really want to go. Just say it. Be a man. Quick! I don't really want to-

"Please."
"Huh What?" Amaya said in a surprise.
"I said stay a little while longer, PLEASE." Kaze said unhappily.

"Ahaha." Amaya laughed and sat again.
"What so funny?"
"Nah. Actually, I heard you the first time."
"You-!"

"I'LL TAKE ALL OF THE FOOD BACK INCLUDING YOUR RICE IF YOU DO ANYTHING TO ME!!!!!" Amaya shouted in a funny way as she backed up.

Kaze sat back and sighed.

Amaya smiled. "So you haven't answer my question just yet."

"What?"
"How long have you been like this?" she repeated.

"Not long. Three days without food that's all." he said, still eating.

"Three days..." Amaya said absent-mindedly, looking at something. What she said suddenly caught her attention and it pulled her back to where she was.

"THREE DAYS WITHOUT FOOD??" she yelled.

She abruptly stoped.

Kaze was holding his katana* right next to her neck.

"Don't talk and yelled as if we're that close alright?" he warned her.

As he sat down again, Amaya said, "You know, you're getting softer these days. I wonder what's gotten into you."

Kaze stopped his spoonful of rice halfway in front of his mouth. He was obviously loosing his patience with Amaya. Yet, Amaya continued.

"You seem less fierce now, and you seldom get rid of people you're annoyed with on the spot to shut them up. You're don't act as cold as you were last time and you get punishments like not getting food and all by the master and stuff like that. Tell me, did you flung a few missions lately?"

In and instant, Kaze plunged his katana right into her neck, or so he thought he did. And a mini whirwind burst out and died away. It happened so fast not even a sound was made. When everything settled down again, Kaze was stunned.

This time, Amaya was the one who was holding his katana right beside his neck.

"What in the world-" he said, still standing at the position of holding the katana next to her neck. The only difference is that Amaya was the one holding the katana.

Amaya was slightly smiling at him. "If you think you're very fast, think again, pal."

She stood staight and gave him back his katana. Kaze took it back, still very, very stunned. To think that someone who he expected to be just a normal, simple and absent-minded person being so fast and "good skilled"

"I'll be going first. I'll take the sushi for you tomorow."




*Katana - The katana (刀^?) is Japanese for backsword and often refers to the uchigatana after the Muromachi period, which is a type of Japanese sword (日本刀, nihontō^?), also commonly referred to as a "samurai sword",^[1] and generally defined as the standard size moderately curved (as opposed to the older "tachi" style featuring more curvature) Japanese sword with a blade length of greater than 60 cm (23.6 inches).^[2]

Part 28 : Robbery?

RRRIIIIINNNNGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Recess again on another boring school day." Amaya mumbled to herself. "Wonder why nothing much goes on around here."

Looking around on the way to the spot where she'd jump to the top of the building, she said, "Why wouldn't anyone yell for nothing, or throw a table, or make a scene or-"

WHAMP!!!

Amaya bumped into someone and fell on her back. "Whoa! Can't you see where you're going?!" she yelled.

"Sh-SHIRO?!" she said as she raised her head up.

"Aren't you the one who's not looking where you're going?" he said coldly. "I was just standing here looking up."

Amaya picked herself up. "Where have you been the past few days?" she asked him.

"Why do you care?" Shiro said without even looking at Amaya.

What's wrong with him? Why's he talking so coldly? she thought.

It's like he's so far away from me even though, he's just standing in front of me.

"You, " Shiro cut the silence.
"Huh? Me what?"

"are annoying." he finished and walked away.

WHAT?!!! WHAT DID I DO??!!

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

"That's what happened." Amaya explained to the two boys at home.

"Whuat?" Narumi said. "What's his problem? Being so nice at the begining then dissapearing for almost two weeks and then suddenly become flat faced."

"Er.. Flat faced?" Amaya looked at him.

"I don't know, it just came out. Probaly it's my version of moody?" he laughed.

"I don't care about what's wrong with him." Kazuki said. "I care about what happened to him when he wasn't around and why did the school database said that he transfered to a school which doesn't exist."

"You've got a point." Amaya said. Narumi nodded.

"So what can we do?" Narumi pointed out. "It's not like we know anything about his family background right?"

"But he bears a very unlikely resemblance to Kaze, keep in mind of that." Amaya said.

"Are you sure?"Kazuki asked. "Even if you saw Kaze before, it was only once remember?"

"Yes. But I can almost remember his eyes. They both looked similar to Shiro's." she said.

"Amaya's right. Even if he doesn't bear a single resemblance to Kaze, don't you think that he's quite suspicious too?" Narumi told Kazuki.

"True."

"Hey, what's that on the television?" Amaya said, pointing at the television.

Narumi turned the volume higher.

"A strange robbery case has been reported in the Akagami restoran this morning. The stall owners were busy preparing for the lunch hour rush when a masked person, reportedly a teenage boy, crashed in just to get a packet of mixed rice from the rice stall. Security cameras picked up the whole incident."

"No way!" Narumi exclaimed. "Just for lunch? Is he that poor?"

The news replayed the video recorded by the security cameras in the restoran.

"Th-that's Kaze!" Amaya said.

"You sure?" Kazuki asked. "I thought his meals were paid for."

"This rarely happens, but if you don't get a job done, you'll have to survive on your own for a week without any pocket money from the master." Amaya explained.

"That's mean." Narumi said.

"I think I'd better be going now." Amaya said taking her bag on the floor.
"Where to?"

"Shopping for my stuff." Amaya said. "See you this evening!"

Part 27 : Surprise

"If I ask him just like that, he'd probaly find it weird..." Amaya thought to herself during tea break. "Then again, he was quite nice to me. I guess there's no problem just talking to him as a friend right? At least, I think he's my friend. Wonder what am I to him?"

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

Slow breeze. Up on the roof was just too good a felling. Just like standing on top of a 15-story high building and enjoying the breeze.

Amaya waited there everyday. Waited for that Shiro guy to go on top of the building so she could ask him. She thought of what to say everytime she was up there.

But he didn't come.

"He's not in class as well." Amaya said to Kazuki and Narumi.
"Well, maybe he went off some where on a vacation." Kazuki suggested.

"Why do I always have the feeling that he doesn't have parents?" Amaya asked.
"Cause he's always that moody." Kazuki joked.

"H-hey guys, I think I know why already." Narumi said.
"You know why she's got the feeling?" Kazuki said, still joking around.

WHACK!!!

"What'd you know?" Amaya asked him.

"I hacked into the school's database. It seems that Shiro transfered to a school called Shimizano High. Weird name huh?" Narumi explained.

Shimizano? Amaya thought. "Naru, check the net whether it exist or not." she zapped.

"Shimizano..... hmmm.." Narumi mumbled as he ran his fingers across the keyboard. "Ah! Found it...? What? No match found?" he turned to look at Amaya.

"Then where did he go?" Kazuki asked.

"Probaly he didn't want to study anymore so he quit school, I guess." Amaya said half-heartedly.

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

"I wonder how's Kaze doing. I haven't heard of any murder cases these days." Amaya said to Kazuki.

"Maybe cause he already did but no one found out yet." Kazuki said scornfully. Disgusted by the sound of the word Kaze.

"What's your problem? You know he might not want to be the person he is right? He might be just like me or Sora." Amaya explained to him.

"He could have quited just like you."

"Haven't I told you that if you quit now that freaking man will kill you?" Amaya said, tired of her friend's debate.

"Yea. But still-"
"C'mon. It's late. I needa sleep already." Amaya said as she walked up the stairs.

What did I say now? Kazuki thought.