Time Gate: Reaper

Chapter 3: Meetings

Time Gate: Reaper

Chapter 3: Meetings

Back to school.

Bleh.

I'm really not looking forward to it.

I hate missing school, but it's mostly just for the inconvenience. Missing classes means having to explain where I was to everybody – and I mean everybody, which includes nosy people who I don't even interact with at all and teachers I don't have classes with alike, like I've committed some sort of crime for seeing a person getting their head ripped off and passing out for an afternoon afterwards – and catch up on missed homework – not like I was going to do it anyway – and listen to every fucking rant from every fucking person for missing one day of school that I would have gladly skipped willingly had I had something better to do than sit in a chair for hours on end with people that I don't like.

I really should have stayed home. But then I'd be right back where I started.

"Uzuki!" Yashiro's voice calling for me breaks through the crowd; and soon she is as well, waving at me with a bright smile. "Hey, Uzuki!"

Yashiro and I start walking together, walking into the school and down the halls for our morning class.

"How are you feeling?" she asks me; question number one, a question I'm sure to hear more than once today. The only reason I'm not hearing the golden "Where were you today?" question is merely because I've already explained to her what happened; at least as much as I can explain, because despite Mitsuhiro's visit yesterday.

"A little better, I guess," is the best answer I can give. Physically, I'm fine. Mentally, I'm confused as all fuck.

"You missed some math homework, by the way," she tells me, as if I couldn't already guess.

"Eh, doesn't matter," I mumble, lack of care whatsoever. "I wouldn't have gotten it done anyway."

After our first class has started, I realize something rather quickly – Mitsuhiro isn't here today. The desk where he usually sits, in the corner of the room, is empty, and twenty minutes in, he still hasn't shown up.

He's probably just a little late, I tell myself in my thoughts. Then again, it could very well have something to do with what happened the other night. He seemed fine yesterday . . . but I'm thinking about it too much. I just need to get through today so I can go home and sleep.

I don't think I can believe what he said. It's just too crazy.

. . . Then again, he did rip a woman's head off.

Now I definitely don't want to go near him.

I soon find myself peeking over at his desk again while I'm doing my work.

. . . So why can't I stop worrying about him?

This is stupid.

"Any food?"

"Yeah, here . . ."

I end up with a shared bowl of noodles for lunch from Yashiro, who had come prepared today to feed me. Yet, despite my growling stomach, my appetite is completely non-existent, and the noodles – usually my favorite food in the whole world – no longer seem appetizing as I stare them down. Not wanting to alarm any suspicion, however, I pick at them throughout the conversation amongst the four of us.

While I'm picking at my food and chatting with the others, my eyes start to glance over at the table at the other side of the room; the table where I first made real eye contact with Mitsuhiro. The table is empty . . . yet that could just be Mitsuhiro keeping away from the cafeteria, which he usually did anyway before a couple days ago.