For at least 3 minutes, Izumi walked around me. She was observing the contract that was on my neck. "Are you happy now ?", I asked her when she finally stopped in front of me. She smiled and tilted her head to the side. "Although this is something to be worried about, it's not exactly what I was asking for", she replied with a sigh, "But I guess it'll have to do for the time being." I walked past her and reached for my scarf, which I had placed on one of the desks. I wrapped it around my neck before turning back to her. "Are you aware that Sara has some affiliation with this ?", I asked her. A small flicker of interest appeared in Izumi's eyes. "What ?" I moved over to the window and looked out.
"A few days after getting this mark, I ran into Sara in the halls", I explained sternly, "The moment she noticed it under my scarf, she smiled as if she knew something about it." "She smiled ?", Izumi asked. I leaned against the wall and nodded my head. "She did", I mumbled, "As she walked past me. It was faint, but I saw it." I glanced over to Izumi who casually made her way over to one of her filing cabinets. She opened the second drawer and pulled something out. A file, I assume. Afterwords, she locked it with a key that was on the chair of her necklace. She set it out in front of me, on the desk nearest to me. "What is this ?", I asked, eyeing the file suspiciously. I reluctantly sat down. She smiled and took a seat in the desk across from mine. "Something I happened to dig up", she nonchalantly said, "Nothing more, nothing less." There was a mischievous amused look on her face. I opened it to find pictures of Sara and Azalin lingering around Kaede Fountain. Judging from the background and lighting, it was taken in the middle of the night. "How did you get this ?", I asked Izumi, who was watching me with a smile, "When did you take this ?"
"I stole them", she simply replied. She sounded so proud. "I photocopied these from.." A knock on the door. The both of us looked up. "Yes ?", Izumi called out in her calm and collected, president voice. There was no response. I narrowed my gaze as Izumi got up. She turned to me and pointed towards the pictures. Not one of us spoke. I nodded my head and put them inside my school bag. I got up and placed the empty file on her desk, as if it still contained important papers. I straightened up and took a deep breath. "You really should start paying more attention", I said to her with a sigh. Izumi grinned, catching on to what I was doing. "Should I, I wonder", she replied as she opened the door. I walked over to her as she peered out. A frown appeared on her face. "Strange", she said. I moved past her and stood in the hall, looking around to see who might have knocked. "Indeed", I mumbled softly.
...?
I inched closer to Izumi before breaking out into a grin. "What're you grinning about ?", she asked me. I continued to look past her and into the room. "The folder is gone", I replied. She turned around to see what I was talking about. The file that I had placed on her desk was no longer there. An uneasy look appeared on Izumi's face. "Strange", she said again. She seemed to be thinking about something important. After a moment, she looked up at me with a stern expression. "Do you still have them ?", she said, "Beads ?" "Naturally", I replied back with a smile. I didn't have to ask. "I'll bring you some tomorrow." A relieved smile appeared on Izumi's face as she sighed. "Good", she said as she began heading back into her clubroom, "I'll see you around then Hanamura." I nodded my head as she started to close her door. "See you."
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I tilted my head and looked at Shuichi, who was currently paying attention to his books. "Nee", I mumbled, "Are you still ignoring me..?" He didn't reply. I poked the side of his head. "Nee, Shuichi", I said. He didn't move. "Shhuuuuuuuiiiicccchhhiiii." After a while of my whining, he finally looked up at me. The only thing was, was that he was glaring at me. "Nani ?", he asked coldly. I frowned in dismay. He turned back to his book and I was left there watching him. I put my head down and sighed. So he was still angry at me after all. I closed my eyes and was going to start thinking of a way to apologize when I remembered about the photographs that Izumi had given me. I sat up and eyed my school bag. Was it safe to see them here or should I just wait until everything was clear ? Since my bag was right there I pulled it closer to me and leaned my head against it. "Nee, Shuichi", I mumbled softly, "I have something regarding the fountain." He didn't respond. And so, like before, I decided to stay silent in defeat. What was there to do if he wouldn't respond ? Again, I closed my eyes.
[What else could he be mad at, I wonder ?]
A few minutes later, I felt a soft tap on my head which caused me to look up. Shuichi was looming over me with an indifferent look on his face. "Let's go", he said and started walking off. I picked up my things and followed after him. "Where are we going ?", I asked when I caught up. "Isn't it obvious ?", he replied, keeping his gaze foreword, "You're coming with me." I frowned and trailed after him and his long, scarlet colored hair. He was walking to fast and wasn't waiting. I could tell that he was avoiding my question. He didn't answer my question. While thinking this, I had a really weird feeling that I was walking faster than usual. When I refocused, I noticed that Shuichi had grabbed my hand. Ah. So that's why. "Why're you so slow ?", I heard him ask, "Can't you walk any faster ?" He peered over his shoulder which made me grin. "Oh", I replied back, feeling somewhat happy, "Sorry about that." Shuichi sighed in dismay. "Maybe I should replace you after all", he said, slightly skiing his head. I chuckled. "Gomen, gomen", I replied, grinning. The grip on my hand tightened.
"Besides that", he said, instantly switching the subject as we walked, "Would you like to tell me about that mark on you neck ?" I tilted my head to the side. "Ah, so you noticed", I mumbled softly. I noticed a faint smirk on his face. "Of course I did", he responded. "I always do."