Dancing With a Witch

Falling Backwards (Chapter 2)

One afternoon during gym class, Mr. Tsubaki has them running in groups of two, while a Reaper chases them.

Reapers are giant frogs, that can eat people.

Lyra had been paired with Paku and the two girls played off of one another really well.

"On your left, Paku!" she shouts.

Paku looks and dodges the Reaper.

"Coming behind you Miss Hepburn!" Paku calls.

"Alright, that's enough you two!" Mr. Tsubaki orders. "Excellent display of teamwork from both of you! Go and have a seat, drink some water too!"

They head to the ladder and Lyra gives the girl a leg up, as it was rather high.

"Great job Paku!" Kamiki greets. She looks over at Lyra, "Good job making sure she didn't die."

"Gee thanks," Lyra rolls her eyes.

Izumo Kamiki and Shiemi Moriyama go; lastly it was Suguro and Rin, who saw it more as a contest than a team building exercise.

"What morons," Kamiki says as they watch. "What is it you like about those?"

"In what context?" Lyra asks.

"Seriously?" Kamiki prompts. "You're going to deny it?"

"Deny what?" Lyra inquires.

"Is all that hair weighing your brain down?" Kamiki inquires. "I know you like him."

Lyra sighs, "Great. Are you going to announce it to the entire class?"

"Nah," Kamiki shakes her head. "I'm pretty sure everyone else knows, you know, except him."

The "him" Kamiki was referring to, was Suguro. Lyra came to terms with her feelings for him a few weeks ago, when she caught herself melting at the sound of his reading voice. Okay, she liked him the first day she met him, but was living in denial up until that point. She was just too chicken shit to tell him. Suguro was her friend, and he was here at the Cram School to learn; pretty sure dating would be a waste of time for someone like him.

"Whoa!" Mr. Tsubaki yanks on the chain of the Reaper, pulling it back before it attacks the two of them. "What, are you trying to get yourselves killed?! This is a team building exercise, not a competition!"

Rin and Suguro climb up the ladder, and the sound of a cell phone is ringing.

Mr. Tsubaki answers his phone, speaking to someone he refers to as "Kitty Cat." The next thing they saw, he had taken off.

"Did our teacher just ditch us for a booty call?" Lyra prompts.

"Uh-huh," Kamiki confirms.

She goes to the fountain to get some water, overhearing a conversation Rin was having with Shima and Koneko about the Blue Night.

Lyra couldn't help but listen in, her mom told her all about that night, how she was there and the horrors that went down.

She goes over to where they were standing, just in time for Rin to mention something about his own ambition, about the time Suguro approaches. Then he gets angry.

"Don't copy my ambition!" Suguro barks at Rin. He turns and glowers at his friends, "You told him?!"

"I made my goal to kick the crap out of Satan before I even met you," Rin points out.

"There's no rule saying you can't have the same goals," Lyra points out.

"Yeah, and what's your goal?" Suguro asks in a frustrated tone.