Without knowing for how long, Freya drifted between nightmarish self-consciousness and fever. Not a pleasant state, but in a few glimpses, it seemed somebody was with her. Their fingers gently touched her hot forehead, gave her a few sips of water, and their soothing voice drove the nightmares away.
When she woke up, she felt much better even if smelling of sweat and in a big need of a shower. With a few grunts, she sat up, finding her hair tangled up. Still sleepy, she got out, making her way into the bathroom.
There the warm water massaged her aching body, returning the life and a sense of touch into her limbs. Minutes later, she finished cleaning her body, but the smell of burn still lingered. In the mirror, she glanced her face.
The burned mark didn't hurt. It didn't change. But something was off.
'It's still painful... those memories.'
With years going by, she had hoped she had overcome this pain, and she could move on forward. She lowered her head, giving her reflection a sad smile.
'Figures, it can't be that easy.'
She put a towel around her torso, returning to the bedroom. Her old clothes were out of a question; drenched, smelly, and torn in places.
'Maybe I could borrow—'
"You are awake!" Kagetsu entered the room.
Freya twisted to face him, and redness crept onto her face as she gripped the tower around her breasts.
"Are you sure you are okay?" He came closer with a bag in his hand. "I've got you a new uniform. Are you hungry?" Kagetsu emptied the bag on the bed, chatting as if everything was normal. "Do you need anything else?"
Freya blinked at him.
"Don't worry about school. Rigaku got it covered." With no hint in his voice that something was rather embarrassing, he strode to his build-in wardrobe. "You'll need pajamas, right? Want the carrots one? No worries. I got it washed."
He flashed her a big smile. "No need to be shy. We have roughly the same size, right?" The carrots pajama ended up on the bed next to other things. Kagetsu counted on his fingers. "So, I've got you this... this... that too... pajama... underwear..."
Freya watched him as he dived into his wardrobe, finding the pack he had brought for her the last time. An innocent smile danced on his face as if he wasn't a bit uncomfortable by this situation. To tell the truth, while Freya blushed, she was curious too.
How he managed to stay calm? Was she so unattractive for him? For a long time, she didn't care if any boy saw her as a possible date. However, after spending time with the Kamini brothers, she slowly realized she couldn't live alone. Her heart yearned for friendship.
"... Oi, Freya?" He waved his hand in front of her face until she blinked. "Are you sure you are fine? You seem to be in a daze."
With a soft sigh, she pointed at herself.
"Yeah, I noticed!" A bright smile took up half of his face. "Nothing beats taking a hot shower after an exhausting day!"
'Can't argue with that.'
Then she pointed at him.
"Um?" He tilted his head a bit, giving her lost puppy eyes. "I'm fine. I took it yesterday."
She played with her fingers. 'How can I tell him? He may freak out again. Is he that oblivious or just innocent?'
After a few seconds, his face prolonged as his mouth formed small o.
"Ah..." His brain finally convinced him the situation was serious. "Um... Meow?" He gave her a sheepish smile as he hid his head between his shoulders. "Now, is this the situation when things start flying? 'Cause, you know?" He made a few steps back. "I'll go hide everything throw-able.
Especially knifes. Yup, I'll start with knives. Do I have anything else? Yeah, vases. Totally have those." He moved backward until he hit the wall. "Don't mind me. My mind isn't here." He crawled around the wall, and with a half jump, he was out of the door.
Freya scanned the room as if he could still leap from somewhere, taking in everything he had put on the bed. 'That was... unexpected.' She would never forget his reaction at the shopping center. 'Did he force himself to remain calm, or his brain couldn't keep up?'
Twirling thoughts accompanied her as she changed into her new school uniform.
Kagetsu waited for her in the living room. He played with his thumbs, watching the carpet.
Freya sat in front of him. The boy remained silent for a short while.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't... should... freak out, right? You know, being red and geeky... or weird out by seeing a naked girl, right?" He turned his head toward the window. "Is it disgusting not to be?"
Freya knitted her eyebrows. Mixed feelings filled her. On one side, she was angry, that he had seen her only in a towel. Her burned skin reached further than her face, spreading over the left side of her body and a part of her shoulder.
On the other, he didn't look at her with disgust. He acted as if nothing was wrong. It somehow calmed her, and for a moment, she had forgotten how ugly she could be.
"I think it may be... because I'm a freak," Kagetsu muttered the last word, but she still caught it.
Her body tensed as she had gained a nickname born from that word; Freaka. However, she didn't mind, welcoming the social distancing with her whole heart. Kagetsu's crouching figure held a mountain on his shoulders. For somebody as kind and easy-going as him, being out of normal, had to be painful.
"We transferred school every year. Our father wanted us to experience different environments. In the previous school, there were these guys buying adult magazines."
'Isn't this an embarrassing memory?' She arched her eyebrow.
"They gave me one. I didn't notice it at that time, but they wanted to make fun of me. Those guys expected me to droll over it or turn red, I'm not sure. I just... stared." He let out a deep sigh.
"I listed it whole as they shouted at me to check more pictures. In the end, I didn't get the purpose of that magazine. I guess the girls looked pretty, but I've seen pictures of human genitals before in textbooks, so I didn't get what was the big deal."
'It's a big deal!' Ting of red spread around Freya's freckles. 'What boy doesn't get excited?'
"After that, they steered clear of me. I didn't particularly hang out with them, so it was no problem. They just gave me a weird stare. I was lost, so I asked Ri..."
'Him?' Shivers ran down her spine. The image of his murderous aura turned the naughty boys into ants.
"He explained that males get excited by seeing a girl's breasts or genitals. I still don't get what's the big deal." He put his hands in front of him as if he guarded his chest.
"I don't mean big breasts are no big deal! Well, they are big! But that's not what I mean." He fenced with his arms. "Small ones are fine too!" For a split of a second, he assumed a thinking stance. "I mean, they are palm-sized and cute." He squeezed his fingers. "Let's forget this. Yes. I'm good at forgetting. Let's settle with this."
He took a deep breath, not noticing Freya's amused face. 'I can't tell if he is overthinking or just a big kid.'
Kagetsu cleared his throat. "Ri assured me it's okay if I don't get excited. It just means they weren't my type, but I don't know what my type is. Does it have something to do with blood type?"