A Forest on Fire (KuramaxOc)

Ch 14: Adjusting

A week had passed since Yumiko's return from the temple. The first day back to school had been awkward for several reasons, the least of which being the multiple apologies from a still bruised up Kenji. She had done her best to seem unbothered, and reassured the human boy several times before he would finally give it a rest. Of course, that was only part of the problem.

At first, Yumiko hadn't even realized she had been sending images of her thoughts through her bond. She had remained blissfully unaware until half way through second period, when Shuichi had sent a mental warning of his own.

She had been imagining the events of the day before, and couldn't help but wonder what might have happened if not for the sylphan bond's interruption itself. It was this line of thought, that had the girl wondering if it would be the same once the bond was truly complete, and at what point they would wake to find themselves in the Sylphan Glade itself. She had been so engrossed in these thoughts, that his sudden mental prod caused quite a shock!

'If you keep sending such thoughts to my mind during school hours I may just have to act them out as punishment...'

The sudden voice in her head caused the girl to jump halfway out of her desk, and she let out a startled little squeak, disturbing most of the class in the process. She blinked several times as the classroom stared at her, and forced out a nervous laugh.

"S-sorry miss Kanna... I thought I saw a spider under my desk." She apologized quickly, her face flushed red from the embarrassment of the class staring at her, just as much as Shuichi's warning. As she sat back down, she chanced a glance in his direction and felt herself pale from the sharp look in his emerald eyes as he glanced back.

'Perhaps you should be more focused on the lecture than on yesterday's events...' The voice in her mind was stern, but not unkind, and when she glanced at him again, she found that gentle smile of his securely in place.

She paled as a smirk played at the corner of his lips, then bit her own hard so not to gasp at the image he sent her in return. It was very nearly the same thought she had been having just before, and made her flush much worse as his voice filled her mind again.

'Perhaps I should tell Mako what type of thoughts you've been having lately.' He teased, then added a bit more sternly. 'Now please, we have a test final period, and I will be quite cross if your distractions cause me to fail...'

Yumi gulped. Shuichi had held the highest test scores in Meiou Academy since his first day, and she had no doubt he would be furious with her if she actually impacted his grade. She stared diligently at her text book, and did her absolute best to ONLY focus on the lecture on Shakespearean literature, which was not at all easy for the a newly bonded fox to do.

Somehow, she had made it through the day, though Kenji had since spent every chance he could teasing her about a so-called fear of spiders. Shuichi simply chuckled and looked away each time as she blushed like a fool!

The weekend had been slow and boring. Shuichi had been busy with family obligations, or at least that's what he had claimed, but there had been a nervousness to him that still had Yumiko a little uneasy. In truth, he had done little but writhe in his room in pain. Yoko still hadn't spoken to him, but even as far hidden as the demon tried to remain, he could feel the sharp pains racking through his body from the demon's other half.

She hadn't seen him again at all until that morning, and the look of exhaustion on his face only increased her curiosity. She glanced at him now, as the clock ticked towards lunch, and was only slightly surprised to find him glancing back at her, his emerald eyes filled with concern.

'Is something wrong, Yumi?' He asked through their connection. She gave him one slow, deliberate blink before responding. 'Not really, I'm just bored.. I could honestly care less about human history... it's just story after story of humans being cruel to each other, and then being angry about it... It's like they just enjoy being angry with one another. At least demons don't hold grudges...'