"A Love Story" Kaede and Shuichi

Chapter 5

Shuichi's POV

    We finally reached the dining hall. Everyone stopped talking as we entered.

    "Kaede! We were getting worried! We didn't know if any degenerate males had hurt you!" Said Tenko, her tone slightly darkening as she ended her sentence.

    "Yeah, Kaede. We were getting worried," Said Kaito. Kaede smiled at everyone.

    "No need to worry! I just lost track of time this morning, my apologies," She said politely, slightly bowing before taking a seat. I looked at her for a moment, but not too long so not to rise suspicion. But something was up with her. What was she trying to hide?

    Not long after Kaede had arrived the other Ultimates had left. They had already eaten and it was only Kaede and I who hadn't eaten. I didn't eat simply because I didn't feel like eating today, but she seemed like the type to get an energized breakfast to start the day.

    Now that everyone was gone, I got to have a good look at Kaede finally. I looked closely at her face to see something was different about it. It wasn't a bad difference, she just looked more, I guess, touched up. Her lips looked glossier and her eyes seemed more open. Not to mention her hair looked even shinier and silkier than normal. She looked up to see me staring at her and she smiled contently, still looking at me in the eyes.

    "Ah, sorry for s-staring," I said, looking away. I could feel her grin as she said.

    "Don't worry about it," I looked back at her and smiled as she continued to eat. Yeah.. there is something up with her today. Should I ask why she looked so sad earlier? I didn't know what to do, so I decided I would ask. I looked around to make sure nobody was around then turned to her.

    "Kaede.. Why did you look so sad earlier?" She looked up at me with surprise, then with realization.

    "Oh.. you mean when I was leaving my dorm? Well.. uh... I looked sad because I had worried everyone. The last thing I want to do is worry people or be a nuisance," She said and got up. She headed to the kitchen with her bowl and spoon in hand. I guessed she was cleaning it and putting it away.

    I reached her in the kitchen. "Kaede, you are never a nuisance. You are a big part of why we are all together in the first place," I said, trying to find the right words to cheer her up. She looked up at me.

    "Oh, you think so?" She said, smiling slightly. Again, I noticed the slight differences in her appearance. It was a nice touch, it was just I wasn't used to it. And she was acting more chipper than usual too. I didn't know whether to believe that was really what she was sad about. Or maybe I'm just not myself today, I'm probably just overthinking everything.

    "Yeah, I do," I said confidently, smiling down at her. She continued looking at me with a warm grin.

    "Alright," She said. "What do you want to do today?"

    "I don't know, it's up to you," I say. She grabs my hand and I blush.

    "Let's walk around some more, maybe stop by Gonta or something,"

    "Okay," I say happily and she leads the way. We walk side by side, still holding hands, not giving a care.