Peace in the Library. [M]

[Akito Tanaka]

It was 4:30pm and Akito was making his way to the school’s library, his iPod earphones in his ears and his bag hanging over his shoulder weighted down with two or three four-hundred page novels he was on his was to returning. As he opened the door he closed his eyes and a small smile graced his face, he knew he must have looked a little odd but he couldn't help himself, there was something oddly comforting about the smell of books, he often liked to think about the stories behind the books, thinking about the authors and their lives or people who had checked it out before him. Akito opened his school satchel and grabbed the books out of them, gently grasping them as to not damage the pages. He spoke briefly with the librarian about a new shipment of historical novel she had recently required before pushing him off to the table in the corner which he always chose.

He liked to sit in the corner, from the door you couldn’t see anyone sitting there until you got a little closer which was one of his favourite parts of the table, although it was only lit by a single table lamp the peace he found there was something he revelled in. There was something magical about the library, like it was its own magical world away from the rest of civilisation, especially now on a Monday afternoon. His friends tended to run out of classes as if their lives depended on it but not Akito. He had nowhere else to be and he always lived in hope that Kira might grace the library with her presents even if just for a few seconds.

Heat raced to his cheeks as he looked towards the door, embarrassed by his blush he quickly ran a hand through his hair and grabbed a random book off the shelf, not caring what he’d picked up, just needing a distraction. He hated how he reacted when he thought of her, he felt nothing more than an elementary school girl with a silly little crush but he knew it was more than that. He sighed again, willing his blush to disappear and started reading the book in his hands finally getting his heartbeat to calm down from the racing speed it had been going when he thought of her.

[Kira Higurashi]

Finally the end of school bell rang, and Kira shot up from her seat. Her friend Kimi was right behind her. "Where are you off to Kira?" she asked desperately trying to keep up with her fast-paced friend. [purple]"To the library, duh!"[/purple] she said and joked with Kimi. "Ohh, and that wouldnt have something to do with Akito being there, now would it?" Kimi asked with a raised eyebrow, and Kira's face flushed bright pink. [purple]"Maybe..."[/purple] she mumbled. Kira had first seen Akito at school orientation over the summer. They ended up in the same group to tour the school and their upcoming classes- even though they were in different grades. Ever since then she couldnt get her mind off of him. She had been crushing on him for months, and if she was lucky, she could catch a glimpse of him during the day or after school in the library if she hurried (which was what she planned on doing now).

[purple]"Sorry Kimi, i have to hurry! I'll see ya tomorrow!"[/purple] she yelled and waved as she flew down the hallway. When she got to the hall where the library was located, she slowed her speed to a casual walk, trying to mask the racing heart that beat in her chest. She stopped right outside the door of the library and touched up her already shaggy and messy hair. She put her hand on the handle, but her mind suddenly flooded with concerned thoughts. What if he notices me coming in here every once in a while? Will he think im a stalker? Is that weird? Does he know that i like him? DOES HE LIKE ME?! she thought frantically, but then she shook her head violently, disposing of them and turned the knob and casually walked into the dimly lit library.

She subtly glanced around the large room but didnt see him anywhere. She remembered that he always used to sit at the same table in the back corner by all of the history books, so she plodded over in that direction. As soon as she turned the corner she spotted him. His head was in a book- as usual- and he looked entranced. Kira let a soft smile come across her face. He looked so cute when he was like that! When she realized that she was staring a bit, she composed herself and cleared her throat. She acted as if she were perusing the books for something to read- when in reality she hated history, and the books about it! It was her worst subject in school, and she really didnt want to even look over the boring titles on the spines of the large books- but for Akito's presence, she would. Every few seconds she would tilt her head a bit so she could catch a glimpse of Akito and his book, and she would smile. However, when she looked again, she was staring right into his eyes. She turned so red she was almost blue, but she couldnt find the strength to look away from his hazel gaze. She forced a small smile at him in the hopes that he would smile back and not just brush her off like every other senior at the school. If he did, she didnt think that her heart could bare it.

[Akito Tanaka]

Deeply involved Akito barely registered the sound of the library door opening, having got into the book he had picked up. He really could read anything, sometimes raising his eyes to brows other library visitors but he couldn’t see the one he was looking for, that was until his eyes met the purple one that had started in his dreams far too many times. He gulped as Kira’s faced flushed and a small smile appeared on her face.

’Is she looking at me?’ he asked himself, desperate to look around him even though he knew he was the only one sitting at the table,
’She is! Right be cool Akito. Don’t this up for us, we’ve waited so long for something like this to happen, don’t freak out now!’ his heart told him as he smiled back, trying desperately not to blush but not too sure if he succeeded. He raised a hand at her and waved slightly, even as embarrassed as he was he was still polite, he took a deep breath and smiled wider, not letting what could be his only chance to talk to her, and he definitely wasn’t going to let it go to waste.

”Hey” he whispered, mindful that they were in a library but desperate to talk to her. ”Did you want to join me?” he gestured to the empty chair across from him silently pleading her to not turn him down, he didn’t think his heart could take it.

[Kira Higurashi]

Kira blinked profusely trying to wake herself up from this dream. No, it wasn’t a dream afterall! Akito was looking at her. And he was smiling! Man oh man did she love that smile of his! It was so cute and it made him look like an angel straight from heaven. She was frozen in place by his gaze. All of a sudden he said “hey,” and Kira smiled wider. [purple]”Hey…”[/purple] she said back, not knowing what else to say. Wow Kira! Was that all you could say?! You’re such an idiot sometimes… she thought. She wanted to punch herself 100 times in the face right now.

He asked if she wanted to join him. Hell yeah she did! She had been waiting for this moment for months and she didn’t want to screw it up. But wait, what if he was the kind of guy that didn’t like easy catches? Maybe she should shrug and act hard to get? Would he chase after her? There was a slight chance that he wouldn’t, so Kira just decided to be herself. [purple]”Yeah I’d love to!”[/purple] she said, a little too loudly. The librarian gave her the worst death stare she had ever seen and hissed “SHHH!”, scaring Kira half to death. Sorry… she thought and then looked to Akito. [purple]”So, what have you been up to?”[/purple] she asked, again not really knowing what to talk about. She was so awkward in these situations! She had never had a boyfriend or anything close to that, so she didn’t really know how to act or what to do. She played with her fingers nervously hoping to not ruin the moment.

[Akito Tanaka]

Akito beamed at Kira before catching himself and coughing to cover up his smile, not wanting to show here just how eager he was to have her sit with him. He laughed slightly as the librarian glared at her, closing the book and moving it aside to give her his undivided attention.

’She looks so nervous’ he though worried slightly that she’d been too scared to turn his request down and felt that she had to sit with him ’Oh don’t be stupid, she wouldn’t have come over here if she didn’t want to. Maybe she wanted to talk to you too.’ his heart reasoned but he couldn’t help but watch her play with her fingers nervously and he thought about how desperately he wanted to be the one playing with her fingers, holding her hand, kissing her knuckles as they walked to school... without even realising it his hand had started to reach across the table but he caught it in time and quickly brushed his hand through his hair as he blushed.

He coughed again before answering her question,
”Nothing much” he shrugged ’Well unless you count thinking about you constantly, wishing to hold your hand, hold your body close against mine, kiss you... He really needed to stop this thinking, he wasn’t even sure if she like him in the same way. Maybe she just wanted to be friends; maybe she didn’t even really want that. He was usually so self-confident but when it came to Kira he was a bumbling mess.

”How about you? I haven’t seen you about since school started, what have you been up to?” he asked, hoping he didn’t sound too desperate to know every fact about her he could.

[Kira Higurashi]

Kira couldn’t escape the redness her face showed. She was the worst at hiding her emotions from people, and she was even worse when it came to awkward silences- which this conversation had depleted to. She cleared her throat several times to ease the dryness of it, but it just got dryer. She couldn’t look Akito in the eyes; she was afraid that if she did, she would lean across the table and kiss him. This was all she wanted to do right now! Just a kiss!
No way in hell would she ever do that!

[purple]”Yeah ive been really busy with school and stuff… these advanced classes are killing me!”[/purple] she said with a yawn and then gently laid her head on the table and smiled up at him. She was starting to warm up to him a bit now; that was one of the good qualities of Kira, once she was with a person for a few minutes she could pretty much “read” them and become accustomed to them. This time when she smiled up at him she gazed into his light brown eyes- they looked friendly and sincere, something Kira really admired about Akito. She couldn’t take her eyes away from him, and for once she didn’t really care what he thought of her staring. She just wanted to tattoo the image of his face in her mind forever.

[Akito Tanaka]

Akito smiled at Kira and cocked his head to the side slightly his eyes softening when she yawned and rested her head on the table, she really did look tired. The dark circles developing under her eyes broke his heart,

’No one that beautiful should look that tired, it just wasn’t right,’ he thought wishing he could sweep her into his arms and let her sleep. Without thinking he reached across the table and gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips barely grazing her skin but desperate to touch her, to feel the heat from her blushing cheeks. He smiled slightly before retracting his hand.

Akito coughed uncomfortably and folded his arms, before smiling at her apologetically although he couldn’t say he was actually sorry at all. He had finally got to touch her! The softness of her skin was better than he could ever imagine. With that thought he made a possibly life changing decision, all depending on how Kira reacted to his touch. If she raised her head and slapped him, calling him a pervert he would back off promising to never bother her again, but if she smiled, maybe even graced him with another blush he was going to tell her how he felt.

With her sitting in front of him, her beautiful eyes gazing up at him his heart was almost bursting with love. Smiling cautiously he held his breath waiting for her response...

[Kira Higurashi]

Kira felt her heart pounding in her chest, so loud that she would’ve believed everyone in the library could hear it. With her head rested on the wooden table, sleep called her, but she tried her best to keep her eyes open. When a long blink turned into a drifting notion, her eyes got heavy and she could barely keep her strength to hold them open. The moment the orbs were covered with her droopy lids, the lightest touch- like a feather- caressed her cheekbone. The touch was so light that it sent a tingle through her body, yet it was so comforting that it made her want to fall into the deepest of sleeps. When she opened her eyes she saw Akito pull his soft hand back to his body. Kira’s cheeks flamed and her eyes widened. She would never blink. She would never blink because she did not want to miss any move or emotion that Akito made. With her purple orbs the size of the moon, she stared at him. Her top lip hovered over her bottom one, salivating for another touch.

He smiled at her the sweetest smile she had ever seen, and she couldn’t help but speak his name. [purple]”Akito…”[/purple] she whispered, not really to him, but to herself. Akito had actually made a move of affection toward her! Does this mean that… she thought, and she didn’t even have to finish. She smiled lightly and sleepily and lifted her head from the table to get a better look at his features. When the sound of thunder snapped Kira out of her fantasies, she groaned in agony. [purple]”Dammit! I have to walk home!”[/purple] she spoke aloud, and she ended up getting shushed by the old librarian again. She dropped her head back onto the table in fatigue. Maybe…Akito could drive me home? No, I wont ask him to do that… she went over in her head. She scrunched her face into the table and didn’t look up at him. She got upset over the stupidest things sometimes!

[Akito Tanaka]

Akito heart beat picked up when he heard her whisper his name so passionately he could hardly contain his self but then the sound of thunder seemed to break them both out of the little dream world they had slipped into.

“Dammit! I have to walk home!” Kira spoke before getting shushed by the librarian, he watched as she dropped her head onto the table as a plan developed in his head. He slipped his hand into his pocket and briefly touched his car keys smiling.

”Well, I have my car with me... If you wanted...I mean, with the storm and all...” he took a deep breath to try and collect himself and get out a complete sentence,
”What I’m trying to say, is if you wanted a lift I’d be more than happy to drop you home,” he smiled at her, as he pulled his keys from his pocket and held them up to show her, hopefully proving his honesty. He bent down to collect his bag from the side of the desk before putting the book he’d been reading before Kira appeared back on the shelf in its correct place and stood up. He pushed his chair under the desk, slipped his bag over his shoulder as he took a step to stand next to her chair before holding a hand out to her,

”What do you say? he smiled.

[Kira Higurashi]

Kira tried to breathe evenly to calm herself down, but it was no use. Her parents would be arriving home today, and they expected to have the house cleaned and dinner prepared. How could she do all that when it was already 3 o’clock?! Plus, she still had to get a ride home! Kimi had already left, and Kira didn’t really know anyone else. Just when she thought the world was about to end, Akito piped up and offered her a ride home in his car. She perked up and lifted her head and smiled widely at him, forgetting her embarrassment. [purple]”Would you?! That would be great! Thanks!”[/purple] she said, getting yet another glare from the librarian but deciding to just ignore it. She hopped out of her chair and grabbed her bookbag. [purple]”If we’re going we should head out now, I have a lot of stuff to do before my parents get home”[/purple] she announced as she grabbed a hold of his hand. She squeezed it lightly and lead him out of the library and out into the parking lot. From there, she followed him to his car.

[Akito Tanaka]

Akito smiled, and wrapped his large hand around her small one, intertwining their fingers before lightly squeezing. As they got to the door to the parking lot he pulled on her hand slightly, ”Wait,” he said, tugging her to a stop before reaching his free hand into his bag and pulling out his hooded jacket, handing it to her. ”So you won’t get wet,” he explained with a smile.

After making sure she was sufficiently covered from the rain they dashed across to his car quickly unlocking it and holding the passenger door open for her, letting her slip inside. He ran around to the driver side and hopped in, starting the car and turning the heaters onto high. It had dropped considerably in temperature since the rain had started; he looked over to her and smiled. His jacket was to big on her, meaning his sleeves had to be pushed up on her arms for it to fit but he couldn’t help but think about how incredibly cute she looked. After asking for her address he started driving towards her street.
A little while later he pulled up outside Kira’s house, turning his car off and hoping out of his car, running round to open Kira’s side. He took her hand and walked her to her door, which thankfully was covered so they could be out of the rain. Akito shook his head, shaking the water off of him before smiling at Kira, he gently reached down and pushed the hood off her head and cupping her cheek,

”You can keep the jacket,” he told her ”It’s looks better on you anyway.” He smiled.

[Ryu Tadashi]

When they finally arrived at her house after a short silent ride, they ran up to the front porch where they were covered by an overhang. They panted and laughed from running, and Kira smiled up at Akito as he shook his soaking wet hair. When Kira went to take off the jacket he had given her to give it back to him, he stopped her and stroked the hood back off of her head. He cupped her cheek gently, and Kira’s heart almost stopped. His hand was just as light as it was when he touched her at the library. ”You can keep the jacket,” he told her ”It’s looks better on you anyway.” He smiled and Kira’s face flushed again. This was so embarrassing! Yet, she admired him for telling her that- when she honestly didn’t think anything looked good on her, especially when it was three sized too big and dripping wet. She smiled sincerely up at him, and then couldn’t help but lean in closer to his face. As she realized what she was doing, she quickly turned around and fumbled for her keys in her bag and unlocked the front door. She looked up at the blackened sky and then at Akito. [purple]Maybe, you should stay here until it stops raining. My parents wont be home for a while still…”[/purple] she suggested and then opened the door.

When they walked inside, the first thing to greet them was Kira’s four dogs. They jumped on them and licked them and Kira laughed. [purple]”Don’t mind them, they wouldn’t hurt a fly”[/purple] she assured Akito. When she set her bag on the counter in the kitchen she noticed that there was a new message on the answering machine. She sighed and then walked out to the foyer where Akito still stood with her dogs. [purple]”Well, apparently my parents are running a little late, and they said that the flight doesn’t get in until midnight. So, we’ve got all night”[/purple] she smiled. Hopefully she wasn’t giving the wrong impression by letting him stay…

[Akito Tanaka]

Akito dropped his hand from Kira’s cheek as she fumbled for her keys in her bags before inviting him in inside until the rain stopped, he smiled and nodded before taking a step inside and almost instantly being jumped on by four dogs. It took Akito by surprise and he was a little weary before Kira said “Don’t mind them, they wouldn’t hurt a fly” He nodded and gently stroked the dog closest to him; they were kind sweet when they calmed down from the initial manic greeting. He watched as Kira disappeared into what he presumed was the kitchen before bending down to properly greet the dogs.

When he saw Kira enter the foyer again, now minus her bag, he stood up and turned to face her, “Well, apparently my parents are running a little late, and they said that the flight doesn’t get in until midnight. So, we’ve got all night” she smiled. ”Thanks for letting be stay here, you didn’t have to,” Akito smiled to let her know he was grateful before running a hand through his hair, he looked around the foyer,
”Nice place you got here,” he smiled before wincing ”Sorry that sounded really cheesy,” he laughed.

[Kira Higurashi]

Kira smiled as he thanked her. [purple]”Sure, no problem. I wouldn’t want you to have to drive home in the rain…”[/purple] she returned the smile. His remark about her house made her giggle, and she bent down to pet one of the dogs that came up to her. [purple]”Thanks. My parents are hard workers, and I guess it paid off”[/purple] she paused and then added quietly, [purple]”And that wasn’t cheesy… you’re really nice Akito”[/purple] she looked down and spoke from her heart. However, this time she didn’t blush, nor did she feel like she was going to faint. She felt good. It felt right saying that. She sighed and stood up and looked at him. When she saw that he was still drenched, she gasped. [purple]”Oh! Akito I didn’t realize how soaked you are! Do you wanna change or something?”[/purple] she asked, concerned, as she walked over to stand next to him. She helped him take his overcoat off and she hung it on the tall coat rack situated by the front door- not really realizing that the coat wasn’t the only thing wet.

She turned around and saw him standing there looking like a wet dog and couldn’t help laughing. She almost said how cute he looked, but she stopped herself short. Her comfort level definitely rose now that she was in her own surroundings, and she had a little bit more confidence. Her mind raced with things that she could do to make Akito feel more at home here, but other than getting him a change of clothes and making him something to eat, she was drawing a blank.

[Akito Tanaka]

Akito smiled as Kira spoke, he noticed a difference in her attitude. Not a huge change but still something big enough that he noticed, she seemed calmer, more confident.
’Maybe it’s because she in her own home’ he thought ’Well, whatever it is I’m not complaining,’ he smiled to himself before he heard her gasp his eyes quickly rising to notice her coming towards him.

“Oh! Akito I didn’t realise how soaked you are! Do you wanna change or something?” she asked and Akito had to look down at his clothes to see that he was indeed soaking wet. He hadn’t even noticed he had been way too preoccupied with Kira that he hadn’t noticed that he was completely wet through, only now noticing the squelch he could feel under his feet from his shoes. As Kira helped him take off his overcoat the fact that he was a teenage boy with a beautiful girl in front of him became abundantly clear as he couldn’t help but think of clothes being removed but with them in an entirely different mood and setting.

He blushed slightly, before noticing a small smile on her face,
’Oh God! Did she know what I was thinking,’ he thought, panicking before realising that there was no way that she could have know.

”Uh, would you mind? I mean, if you have anything I could change into that would be great” he said pulling his uniform shirt up a little trying to pull it away from his body, his muscled chest and abs showing through his now almost see through shirt.

”As long as you’re sure that I wouldn’t be a bother to you,” he smiled at her trying desperately not to shiver from the chill he’s gotten from the rain but he couldn’t stop the sneeze. He hoped he wasn’t catching a cold.