Vereos World: School Days [part 2 -1 ]

When the Christmas break ended, Samusagi woke up early and got ready for school. She dressed up in her uniform, then left heading towards the castle. She waited a while for Annika looking around trying to kill boredom. 

"Good morning, Sa-" Annika stopped, when she saw her friend in short hair and in a proper uniform wear. 

"Good morning, princess" Smiled Samusagi. 

"What happened to your hair?" She asked worried.

"Eh?" She grabbed the back of her hair and played with it a little "Well, I wanted to change my whole image and the hair was also getting in the way" She smiled.

"Well...You look cute, but I liked you in long hair. It suited you"

"I think the other way" She giggled. 

Her sudden smile surprised Annika, since she seemed different. Though in a positive way, it seemed too quick and strange. She began to act like a different person, smiling, laughing and enjoying her life. When Annika asked what changed, Samusagi only looked at her a bit confused saying that nothing, this is her true self.

"Annika!" Smiled Luna and ran to welcome her friends. "Good morning!" She said in a singing tone.

"Good morning"

"Nice to see you in a good mood, Luna-chan" Smiled Samusagi and Luna jumped back confused.

"Okay, rabbit" She stared "Where's the trap?"

"Funny, there's not trap. I just have a good day"

"Really? Then, you won't mind if I called you Sammy?" She smiled.

"Not at all"

"This might turn out interesting" Giggled Luna excited. 

And so days, weeks and months passed, while Samusagi remained in her 'good mood'. She changed into a helpful and friendly girl, what soon made everyone used to it. Smiling every day, laughing with others and enjoying the life, which was given to her, like the opposite of the girl she once was. At first Annika and the rest were worried, even her family, but everything seemed natural and fine. She followed the rules during her missions and turned into a girl everyone liked and loved, everything was perfect, just the way everyone wanted it to be. Annika and Samusagi become close friends, just like she wished for always smiling and laughing together, spending their time, even studying together so it would be more of a fun. 

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Days, weeks and months pass quickly, when you have fun. The school year was coming to an end and summer vacations were about to start. As in every school there are final exams for those who leave for college or academy, but luckily for princess Annika, she still had a year left, so she didn't have to worry. School trips, friends, nights overs. It's all a wonderful experience and Annika is having the best time of her life, she was happy.

Another day a school started as usual. When Annika walked with Samusagi to school they both smiled. She was changing as well, Annika wasn't sure what it was but the emotionless girl seemed to be vanishing like the morning mist.

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That day Kazuhiku was spending the afternoon with another girl. In the Vareos world it's hard to get food, since he can't hunt because of the city guards and night assassins. He must be careful, he promised himself he will not endanger his mother during hid stay, so he came up with a strategy to not feed on a girl longer than three-four weeks, pretending to date one may be bothering but he can't complain. It's still better than nothing and luckily for him his hunger is stable so he doesn't overdo.  When he arrived at the mansion the first who he didn't want to meet was Kantaro. He crossed his arms and looked at him unsatisfied.

"What's the meaning of this?"

"Nothing I was just hungry"

"Stupid brat, how many times...Gah! O told you I'll give you blood. Everything's in the basement! "

"I hate blood from corpses!"

"Deal with it, brat!"

"Oh, fuck off, old man!" He said annoyed and turned around then left.

He hid his hands in pockets and walked down the streets of the kingdom to calm down. Once again, Kantaro got angry with him about his way of hunting for food. If he wasn't Fumiko's husband he would gladly torn his head from the rest of his body, without a second thought. Kazuhiku sighted and turned left, he decided to walked towards the bridge to spend the night in the hotel, just to not cause his mother even more trouble than she already has. He promised himself a long time ago, that if they meet again he won't put her in danger, he just can't. After all these years, he realized Fumiko was protecting him and loving, that's the least he can do for the one person, who will never abandon him. 

Something in the dark of the night caught his attention, all he saw was a golden shadow at the end of the bridge. He walked closer to find out what it was, but he didn't expect it to be a girl. She had short hair and was wearing a red dress with black spider nets pattern, she was barefoot, but didn't seem to care much about it. She was staring at the dark lost in her thoughts, but when Kazu stepped closer, she looked at him. He didn't know why, but his feet moved on it's own, making a step back. 

What was it? The cold and emotionless look in her eyes, made him feel uncomfortable at first before he remembered who he is and what is his goal. He smiled taking a step closer, while she looked away. 

"I know you" He started "You're that Ashida girl."

"Lucky guess" She replied coldly. 

"Bad day as well?"

The girl didn't reply, so he took it as a yes. When he wanted to ask her something else, it suddenly began to rain. He cursed the weather's timing and grabbed her hand, before running down the streets. He head towards the hotel, without thinking and when they got under the roof he remembered she was with him. Samusagi looked at him unpleased, she wanted to attack, but there was too many people in the hallways, who were directly staring at them. 

"My bad" He apologized "It was instinct"

"Cats don't like water, huh?"

She looked around, giving others an annoyed glare forcing them to look away or get back to their own business. Without saying a word she turned around to leave, but Kazu grabbed her arm and pulled over his shoulder, before a man gave him a key to the room. 

"I can walk on my own" She said. 

"You're barefoot and soaked wet, I may like playing, but I can't let you wander around like this." 

She didn't reply, what confused him. He didn't see her face, but her emotionless expression didn't change regardless of the situation she was in, so he thought she doesn't care. When they got to the room he opened the doors, then gently let her go placing on the sofa. Samusagi looked around, but didn't show much interest in what was going on, something else seemed to bother her.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything" He sighted at sat in front of her "I'm not in the mood to fool around"

"It's not as if I worry" She sighted and walked to him "Give me your shirt"

"Huh?"

"I need to take a shower and my clothes need to dry. The man who gave you the key, wasn't surprise I assume he knows you. In other words, this is not your first time here, so you should have some clothes to change" 

"You're fast at analyzing the situation" He smiled and pointed at the closet. "Take one"

The girl turned to the closet and took a shirt, then headed to the bathroom. In the meantime Kazu changed his clothes, then searched for cards in the nearest wardrobe. Instead of cards he found a pack of cigarettes, he grabbed them and walked to the balcony, then lighted one. He looked at the lights of the buildings, as a part Vareos this place should be at least a bit like a home, but the longer he lives the better he understands that there's no place for someone like him, unless he creates one with his own hands. It's not that he's sad or worried, for Kazu it' just the way it is, nothing more. If he doesn't want to fail, he has to become someone else, or rather something else.

"I'm not sure if I should thank you or stab you, I guess you prefer the first" She said coldly.

Kazuhiku turned around and leaned against the balustrade. His shirt was surprisingly huge on her, he knew she doesn't belong to the biggest ones in the world, but the shirt could be transformed into a dress without problems. It even had the perfect length. Though the shirt covered most of her body, he still was able to see injuries, especially on her legs. Just now he realized how many she has, now wonder people at school make fun of her or come up with weird games, to guess how much she really has.

"You guessed right, bunny." He walked inside, then closed the doors, because it started raining again "Since we're stuck here anyways, we can find ourselves something to kill the time"

"Do you have cards?" She looked around "I know some games" 

He checked the wardrobe near the bed, what turned out to be the right place. He took out the cards and threw them on the bed, then grabbed the ashtray to not leave a mess around. Samusagi didn't seem to bother the smoke, so he didn't need to put it down. The girl sat on the bed and crossed her legs, when she took the cards she began to shuffle them. Kazu joined her, it's not like he had anything better to do. 

After a long while of playing they changed into something more serious, poker. For the first thirty minutes he was winning, then Samusagi began to win, but after spending some time he had a feeling something wasn't right. Not only she remained emotionless this whole time, but it seemed like she was the one controlling the game. Kazu doesn't believe in coincident.

"Where did you learn to play?"

"Father thought met"

"Great" He smiled "Show me your sleeves"

"You wish"

"You're not on a mission, sweetheart. I want to confirm my thoughts"

Samusagi sighted, she knew she won't win this argument. Besides, he was right, she was not on a mission, nor under cover, so there's no need to hide. She pulled up her sleeves and allowed the cards drop on the bed, seeing that made Kazu laugh, who threw on cards on the rest entertained. He looked as if he just won a whole mansion or even more. The girl only looked at him a bit confused, without a reply.

"Forget it" He smiled "I should have known. After all you are an Ashida, Kantaro always warns us from you guys"

"People don't trust, what they don't understand or don't want to. That's what gives birth to fear and it often ends with death, what after it creates revenge" 

"You're a bit too serious, bunny"

"I don't do fun, fear or any other"

"Then what do you do?"

"Something that should not interest you" She looked at him bothered.

Kazu thought for a while how to change the atmosphere into a more pleasant for both sides. He had a bad day and wasn't in the mood for a fight or to play around like he always does. He was actually a bit disappointing that it was she who ended up at the bridge, he wouldn't mind if it was someone more fun. 

"Alright, the let's play another game"

"I don't want to"

"It won't be a bother, I promise" He smiled.

"I guess, I can give it a try" 

Kazuhiku smiled he packed the cards back, before placing them back on their place. He took out four with different symbols and placed them between them, in a way she wouldn't see.

"Pick a card"

She stared at them for a while, before placing her finger on her chin. She thought for a while, what made Kazu a bit annoyed.

"Bunny, relax. It's a game, not a survival task. Pick one, randomly"

She looked at him without a reply, the took a cards from the middle. It was ace heart, she showed it to him, before he took it and hid among the other cards.

"I'm quite lucky"

"What does that mean?"

"It'll explain" He smiled "All four cards are aces, but with different symbols. Heart means, love. We both say the first thing or memory that comes to our minds when we hear that word. The same with the rest. Diamond - treasure, Club - disappointment, spade - pain."

"So I have to say what I can combine with those words"

"Well, more or less. Here, I'll start" Kazu thought for a while "It's quite a hard one....But every time I hear that word I see the face of my mother" 

"Mother?"

"Don't get me wrong, I don't believe such thing as love exists. But I've seen how much my mother risks, she's the only one who doesn't expect me to be someone else" 

Kazu didn't really mean to talk about it, it somehow turned out, before he noticed. Samusagi looked at him for a while, she leaned forward and reached out her hand. The girl placed her hand on his head and gently patted. Though she didn't smile, Kazu was still shocked enough. He was put under a unusual situation, so he looked down to hide his expression. He then noticed her bleeding hand.

"Hey, you're injured!"

"Eh?" She looked at her hand "Oh, you're right."

"Don't act as if it's nothing!" 

Kazuhiku was actually more surprised by the fact that he didn't noticed it before, then at her reaction. He walked to the bathroom and grabbed the bandages he needed. When he returned to her, he sat on the edge of the bed and treated her hand. He noticed pieces of glass, probably from a mirror, which were stuck in her skin. 

"How could you not notice?" 

"It doesn't hurt, not anymore" 

"There, it should do now"

"Y-Yeah, thank you" She said before yawning. 

"I guess we will continue this next time" He said "I'll sleep on the couch"