A couple weeks later, I suddenly got myself involved with a girl named Keiko. It was a complete accident too.
I was making a turn on a corner when she suddenly ran right into me. She also fell on me so technically I was a cushion. It kind of hurt but it didn't hurt that much. Anyhow, while she was still recovering from our fall, I happened to notice the sound of faint footsteps coming our way. I wanted to ask, but I didn't want to delay. So I quickly picked myself up and reached for her hand. I'm pretty sure that she was surprised, but something about helping her poked at me. It was right after school too, but it was okay. I don't think Ciel or Mizuki would mind if I came home late today. Besides, it was Ciel's turn to pick Mizuki up. Eventually the both of us headed into an area where there were a lot of people. That way, whoever was trailing along behind us would loose sight of us. And while we were moving along, I decided to take note that she was wearing a Sarayashiki High School uniform.
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We both stopped at the park nearby Meiou. It was there that we decided to take a break. We were both already breathing heavily from all that running around. I looked around. Turning back to her, I told her to wait for me. She tilted her head and nodded. I came back a few minutes later, with two cold water bottles. I handed her one and took a seat on the soft patch of grass that I was on the ground. It took us about a couple minutes until we could finally speak to each other.
"Sorry about earlier", she said apologetically, "I didn't mean to." (Refer back to the beginning.) "It's alright", I replied, "I don't think that either of us meant for it to happen." She smiled. "I know that this is a strange question to ask", I mumbled, "But just then... were you running from something ?" A look of surprise appeared on her face. Hesitance. I stared at her and thought about it. "Never mind", I said seconds later, "There's no need if you don't want to say anything." I fell back onto the grass and laid there. Today was a good day too. Perfect weather, a positive vibe. There was no point in trying to force an answer from someone who didn't want to say.
"There was", I heard her say faintly. I made no effort to move at all. She continued. "For some reason, there were two people, both dresses in black suits. I didn't understand why, but they said they needed me for something. I wasn't sure of what to do. I was scared, so I ran away." A breeze blew by us. She was siting on the grass as well, somewhere to my left. I sighed. "At least, you're safe now", I said as I sat up, a smile on my face, "I'm sure that it's what matters the most." Her eyes widened slowly before she broke out into a grin. She nodded. "Yeah."
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"By the way", she asked me. "What's your name ?" We were now walking along a gravel path which was nearby a small crossing bridge. Slightly below it was grass and a small river. "Mine ?", I asked, while kicking a small pebble around, "Shiori." "Shiori ?", she said, "That's a unique name." I laughed. "What about you ?", I asked. She had her arms behind her back and stared off at the blue sky. "Keiko", she said. We looked at each other and laughed. "Nice to meet you", we said in unison.
"Shiori", Keiko said whie we neared the busy streets of the city. "Hm ?" "What school do you go to ?" I looked down at my uniform and slightly grinned. "Meiou", I replied. She looked surprised. "How strange", she said, "I thought Meiou Uniforms were mostly Maroon colored ?" "In a way", I replied, "This was an exception." "Haaaaah, is that so ?", she mumbled. I noticed her face lighten up. "Now that I think about it, one of his friends go there !" I tilted my head. 'His ? Who was this his'. I didn't want to go into it, but the topic would have changed anyways. She had forgotten what his name was, whose ever went to Meiou. I doubt that it would have even been someone I knew about. "That uniform of yours is from Shirayashiki High right ?", I asked. She nodded. "Shirayashiki is somewhat close to Meiou." That afternoon, we just lost track of time. Around 4:30, I decided to walk her home. As expected, she lived towards the side closest to Shirayashiki. "Are you really sure that this is alright", she kept asking me. I kept nodding my head. "We're friends right ?", I said with a grin, "That's what friends do." Keiko chuckled. "Alright then, I'll lead the way."
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After dropping her off, I made the effort to get home. It was already 5:25 and I was somewhere between Meiou and Shirayashiki district. It matters not if I was going to be scolded by Ciel but it was just that.... I was kinda lost. Well, not really. About 10 miutes later, I already found myself nearby Meiou High. While walking by, I noticed how some people were still doing club and sport activites. Anyways, I continued to walk until I got home. To my surprise, Mizuki was the only one home. Where did Ciel go again ? "Ah, you're back Yon", Mizuki said from the living room, "Ciel said she wanted to go buy some drinks so she went." I walked into the kitchen. "How long ago was that ?", I asked. "About 15 miutes before you just got home." "Hmmm, is that so ?" I took a cold water bottle and went upstairs. "I'll cook dinner in a few then", I said to him. He nodded. "I want curry", I heard him call out. When I shut my door behind me, I heard the front door open. Must be Ciel.
"Mizuzu", I heard her say, "Is Shiori back yet ?" "Yeah, shes in her room", he replied, "She just got back." I put my school bag by my desk and walked into my bathroom. A couple minutes later, I came out of my room to go downstairs to cook dinner. In the process, Ciel was by my side the whole entire time. "So where'd you go off to", she asked me. "I took the wrong train", I replied. "You don't ride a train to go to school", she reminded me. I grinned. "You noticed", I replied, somewhat grinning. "Well duh." I turned off the stove and got the table ready.
"Forget about me", I muttered, "What about you ?" She looked towards the bag full of refreshments that was on the table. "Besides that", I said, "Knowing you, it's only a quarter of what you actually went out for." She sighed and moved to the counter. "You're no fun", she whined. "Just tell me already." She got quiet. "I was loooking around the area was all", she said seconds later. "Is there any lead with Oka ?" She shook her head. "Nope. Not a single lead on her yet. After we split, it's been rare to hear from her." I sighed. "Hopefully she's okay", I mumbled. "Okay !?", Ciel said, looking up at me with doubt. "Do you have any idea of what she's capable of doing ?" I sneered. "Yes, yes I do." I watched as Ciel's face slowly grew pink. She must have realized what I was thinking about.
"You too !", she shouted, "Why're you so cheeky !"