The Golden Pear [YA - Featured]

♫~Notes 106~♫

 The day went by, with more students asking Freya for help with their English. Taken aback and unsure what to do, she sometimes made a mistake, but regardless of that, she enjoyed herself.

'I'm so tired.' She stretched her shoulders. 'Rigaku is awesome if he can teach full classroom and not tire at all.' She shook her head. 'No, he is tired for sure. He only knows how to mask it.'

She headed to her locker to put back books she didn't need. 'I should visit Ueno-san today. Maybe she needs help with the kittens.' The memories of their fluffy bodies emerged and brought her a smile. 'And maybe she knows something from her mother about Kagetsu or this incident.'

"Inuhakka-sama?" Nobu Mori called her, his voice shivering as if he was a shy boy when he approached her.

She glanced him, but unlike before, her eyebrows didn't frown much less wrinkled. She no longer expected an attack.

"I know this is sudden." He avoided eye contact, pulling by his collar with a bandaged hand.

Her green eyes landed on it, and he noticed. "Oh, this?" He unwrapped it. "You don't need to be scared. It's just a few scratches from a wild beast."

The way he said it seemed as if he brawled with a tiger, but he had only cat-like scratches.

'I wasn't exactly curious or worried.' Glancing the girls around her, she noticed they looked worried. 'But I think I overheard some girls talking about his injury, and how they wished him a quick recovery.'

Her eyes landed again on him as an awkward smile spread across his face. It seemed Mori expected a different reaction, and so he wrapped his hand.

'Guess he is popular with the girls, good looking, and smart too. I think I saw his name on the last year board, where he placed in Top Ten Boys.'

Once he fastened the bandage, she prompted him to continue.

"I... need to tell you something... it's important." He played with his fingers. "Outside of school... There is this bench where we can have privacy."

She rolled her eyes, pondering.

"B-But it's okay! If-If you don't want to!" He panicked, hugging himself as his fingers rubbed his arms.

She nodded. 'Better go with the flow, or I'll witness another panicking boy.'

"T-Thank you, Inuhakka-sama!" Mori bowed so deeply, he could almost kiss the floor. Without waiting, he grasped her wrist, dragging her as a piece of cloth.

Freya dashed after him and still could barely keep up. No wonder this guy was attending Running Club and participating in sports events and taking home the golden trophies in seven to ten cases.

'He must be really eager!'

A few minutes later, they arrived at the bench.

'This is quite far from the entrance.' A shade of doubts washed over her back, veiling everything in darker colors. Nevertheless, she took her place on one end. 'I shouldn't suspect everybody I meet. Not anymore.'

Mori planted himself right next to her, causing her minor discomfort. He stayed quiet for a few moments as he was gathering the courage to speak up.

"I've... noticed you for a few months now." He let out a quick breath as he tilted his head away. "You are astonishing."

'I am what?'

"You held your head high against all the odds. It was inspiring."

A slight tint of redness spread across her face.

"Seeing your hard work pushed me forward to try my best. To be a respectable person."

She gave him a small smile. 'I guess this school is attended by more decent people than I thought. Not everybody is a snob.'

As he caught her expression, he turned away, almost snapping his neck.

'He shies so easily. I really should have opened my heart sooner. Perhaps my time here could be more enjoyable with a few friends to share smiles and tears alike.'

Mori kshed through his clenched teeth as he surpassed his emotions. "I can't believe I let Ueno-san terrorize such a gentle soul." He gripped his knees, his knuckles turned whitish.

'Well, that's in the past.'

"That wretched girl!" Poison seeped from his voice. "If I could muster enough strength and be a better man..." He tilted his head away from the girl. "It's not only about bullying but also manipulating results of school contests."

Freya's redhead twitched as if an old motor started up.

"It worried me that she may make somebody's life a living hell if I dare to defend them. How could I waste everybody's trust like this?" He bent down, entwining his fingers as he rested on his elbows. "So many talented students were stomped into dust, so she could be called Queen."

He hissed through his clenched teeth. Freya listened to him only on one ear as her brain worked on a complex calculation.

"But enough is enough!" The Council Head leaped onto his feet, not noticing this dramatic gesture left no impact on Freya. "She dared to shred the winning design of Garden Parade for the Summer Fest!"

As if somebody shot Freya's heart, it stopped, and only drums pounded inside her ears.

'Summer Fest? Shredded?'

As if her brain turned into a radar, it sent waves across the ground, scanning it for clues. Ueno's voice resonated inside her mind, "... one participant stepped down... in Top Ten... re-judge..."

'One design was missing...' She wrinkled her shirt. 'Did she really shred it?'

"Freya-chan!" Mori grasped her hands, kneeling in front of her like a knight. He dropped the overly formal style, getting more intimate with her.

Her head jerked backward.

"I know you are frightened! A delicate rose like you needs a man to protect her!"

'What?' Her stomach twisted and puked a rainbow into her intestines. His sweaty hands groped her fingers harder.

"Let's crush her evil reign! Let's stop her from hurting more innocent souls!" His voice hurt her eardrums.

'But Ueno-san isn't evil. He just doesn't know it. Should I tell him?' Her eyes wandered, avoiding his gaze, but he crushed her fingers, awaiting her answer. 'That hurts!'

Trying to convince her feelings with her eyes, she glared into his.

'What is this uneasy feeling?'

Her father's smile flashed in her mind, and once more, his life-lessons pushed her forward.

"It's not the smile, clothes or gestures, that tell you about people, but their eyes." He ruffled her hair. "That's why I knew your mom is the gentles souls I've ever met. Eyes are the door to one's soul. Don't shy from looking into them."