Vanilla

[Kira & Lee Norris]

The sky was just about ready to piss down on them, wasn't it?
The unfortunate (or rather fortunate, depending on the situation...) thing about growing up in Ireland was that you developed a sixth sense for when the rain was coming. It was a bit depressing, actually, standing outside in the freezing cold and knowing the sky was about to to split open and drench you in a cascade of water.
Thank god for her powers. Otherwise, she'd never keep the rain off without conjuring a bleeding umbrella.
Arihant, on the other hand, could get soaked for all she cared.
He said he was going to explain, but he hadn't said a word since. Kira was getting more and more aggravated by the whole thing too. This stupid silence. That's all it ever was with them, wasn't it? Bloody awkward silences. It drove her insane. Why couldn't he just relax with her? Even now, as they sat at the edge of Pigeon Fountain, he was so...
Quiet.
Grave.
Silent.
He had to talk eventually. He must know that.
Again, Kira's lack of knowledge about him was frustrating her. It was only natural. After all, they'd only known each other... what? A few weeks? But she wanted to know more. That was the problem. She wanted him to be her friend. She'd never met anyone quite so apt at pissing her off but she still wanted to be his stupid, stupid friend.
So, stop pissing me off, Arihant.
What was the need for all this drama? Dragging her out of the dance into the middle of the village was a bit of an extreme reaction, wasn't it? She'd thought they were just going outside to the entrance of the hotel, but Arihant had walked her a good two streets away by now. He better not be sitting here now, leading her on like this, just to eventually turn around and go,
"Oh, sorry I didn't ask you to dance, Kira. I've got a trick knee."
Chrissake... he'd get such a slap.
The Pigeon Fountain depressed her, anyway.
Kira sighed, kicking off her heels. A fat pigeon off in the distance fluttered down, pecking vaguely at the ground. Kira's thoughts immediately turned to Deron, and she sort of hated herself for it. Old laughter. Old jokes. They'd always sat here, at this fountain.
Maybe they could still be friends after all of this.
She doubted it, though.
"Arihant," she said coolly, her eyes still following the pigeon as it hopped along the ground. "Are you going to talk or shall we both just freeze to death instead?"

[Arihant]

Arihant had his eyes fixed on the ground, studying every crack of the stones intently. They were a strange colour, when you looked at them closer. To most people, they would just appear grey, but on further inspection they weren't - they were had a faint purple tinge running through them, like clouds before a storm. The colour of guilt, he thought, but he almost immediately dismissed that that notion as being far too fanciful. They were just grey. Everything was grey here. Even the birds, he realised, glancing at a morbidly obese pigeon that fluttered its wings in the distance. Even the sky. Even the water.
It was pretty depressing.
"Arihant," Kira said, breaking the silence - he'd barely even noticed that this one was there until it was gone. The trickling of the water behind him had been all he'd heard for several minutes.
Her voice was still angry, he registered, but not with much surprise. She wouldn't have any reason not to be, after all. She was still stuck with him.
"Are you going to talk or shall we both freeze to death instead?"
He didn't reply for a moment - he couldn't bring himself to. He felt like someone had shoved a rock down his throat - ripped out his larynx - cut out his tongue. It felt like it was - like it was physically impossible for him to speak. It was too hard.
Clearly he cared too much. Clearly he didn't want her to hate him. Clearly he wanted to drag out this moment - awkward though it may be, he didn't really care about that - as long as possible, because he knew - he just knew what would happen next.
Well, she was cold. At least that he could do something about. After all, it wasn't fair to ask her to sit there, freezing gooseflesh raised on her arms, while he- Let's face it, he was always cold. How could he not be, after being raised in one of the hottest parts of India? And anyway, he had gloves.
He took his black jacket off and placed it around her shoulders, wordlessly. If she didn't want to keep it on, that was fine, but he didn't want her freezing due to his negligence. Then he leant forward, placing his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands.
He was going to have to do it. He was going to have to tell her. He was going to have to...
Well, this was it.
He didn't want to sit beside her while he told her. He got up from his spot on the fountain and took a few steps away from her. This was going to be hard. How did he make himself do this?
"Kira-" he said, and immediately cringed at how tense his voice sounded. It didn't even sound like him talking.
It was the first time he'd said her name, he realised. That, surely, was testament to how painstakingly shy he was. Speaking of which, he was certain it would be really strange - even stranger than it would be otherwise - to tell her this with his back turned to her.
So he turned around on the spot and looked at her. God, he didn't want to do this. The anger that filled her eyes now - well, it was anger, sure, but it wasn't hate.
She'd hate him for this.
"Kira," he began again. "I'm- I can't- I-"
He was stammering now, he realised, and his dark skin flushed. He'd never stammered before in his life. He'd never - How did she manage to do this to him? What was so... what was so different about her?
That thought scared him. Scared him so much that it spurred him to blurt out the confession he'd never thought he'd be able to make in nothing more than a few garbled words. He didn't even know if she'd be able to make sense of it.
"Ican'ttouchyou."
No, that was pretty unintelligible.
He couldn't bring himself to keep looking into her eyes, so he looked down again - at his gloves. How he had come to loathe the sight of them over the years.
"I can't- I can't touch you," he repeated again, his voice considerably lower. Slower.
That was it. No going back. He'd told her.
He'd told her.
And now it was over. Everything. It was all gone.
At least he could leave tomorrow.

[Kira & Lee Norris]

As Arihant slipped his jacket around her shoulders, Kira felt herself smile; unwillingly grateful for the warmth that suddenly swept through her. Luckily, her face was hidden in the shadow of the fountain, and anyway, he wasn't looking at her. His face was in his gloved hands; the tan colour contrasting oddly with his dark curls. For a moment, the anger in her dulled slightly, but as she watched him, the trickling sound of the water behind them began to bother her. It wasn't silent after all. Just that water. That lovely, musical, sickeningly pleasent sound of water.
This fountain was cursed, she'd decided. Everything about it reminded her of him.
But now she was here with someone else entirely. She wished... she wished she wouldn't stop associating Arihant with Deron. It wasn't a good association to make, at all. It just made her angry. That's all she got from Deron these days, wasn't it? Just this raw, red emotion of anger; frustration; hate.
No. Not hate. Not hatred of him. She still liked him, in a way. It was hatred of herself. She hadn't got it right.
She'd promised herself she'd get it right.
She couldn't even break up with the guy right.
No. Instead she was sitting here, wasting her time, with some other guy entirely.
"Kira- "
She jumped. She hadn't even realised he'd moved. Wasn't he cold? She shrugged the black jacket a little closer around her, suprised at just how small she was inside it.
"Kira- I'm- I can't- I-"
Her eyebrows shot up. What was this? Arihant's great explanation? More like pathetic babble. As she thought this, viciously, she was gratified to see a dull flush darken his skin, almost as though he'd heard her thoughts.
The next words he spoke weren't even... well, words. Just another little spout of mindless babble. If it wasn't so sad it would be funny. She cocked her head as she looked at him, pursing her lips impatiently. But he wasn't looking at her at all. He was now examining his gloved fingers.
"I can't- I can't touch you," he finally stammered.
... was that it?
Was that it?
Was she so... so... despicable to him? Like some kind of horrible, loathesome creature he just couldn't bear to lay a finger on- couldn't bear to breathe on?
Why'd he ever agreed to come with her, anyway?
Kira leapt to her feet, the jacket dropped off her and onto the ground. And as she glared at him, she was glad the first drops of rain were beginning to fall, spattering his black coat with mud. It was refreshing, really; so nice to feel the thick pellets of water as they fell from the sky.
Wash it away. Wash it away.
Thank god she was angry. She didn't know what the hell would be going through her head now if she wasn't angry.
"That it, then?" she growled. "You can't touch me? What am I to you- some sort of disease? Something to be avoided at all costs?" Her voice rose unnaturally. "Is that it, Arihant?!"

[Arihant]

"What?" The single word escaped from his mouth before he could stop it. What did she mean - "some sort of disease"? It wasn't her who was the disease, it was - it was him, it was-
Oh.
Oh, no.
No.
No.
Oh God, what had he done now? What had he said?What had he- Look at her. Just look at her. If he'd thought she was furious before, what did he call this? Was there even a word for it? She was downright bloody livid. She looked like she wanted to kill him - like she would be more than happy to just wrap her hands around his neck and squeeze until every last drop of life had been shaken out of him -
And he'd be d**ned if he didn't deserve it, too. God, he was the most stupid and ungainly b*stard to ever grace this earth - he'd - he'd said-
He'd said he couldn't touch her. Her.
And he had a fairly good idea of what was going through her head now.
"No! No, Kira, that's not what I - That's not what I meant, it's not just y- I can't touch any-"
The fierce look that continued to rage through her icy eyes threw him off entirely. Something about it - he could see what he'd done, he'd actually - had he -?
No. No, it couldn't have hurt her. At least, not that way. Think about it rationally, after all. You just insulted her. You just told her that you couldn't touch her.
Obviously, she thought that meant that he couldn't bring himself to touch her. If only he had had the presence of mind to think this through - think about what he was going to say before he opened his fat -
But this was good. The sooner she hated him, the sooner he could leave. If she hated him, she'd be safe. He could go on... He could say that that was what he meant, he could say that the very sight of her repulsed him-
But he was so bad at lying. And he knew it was wrong, but still, he didn't want to - sure, he had to hurt her, but that didn't mean he wanted to.
She deserved a proper explanation.
And how did he give her that?
He sighed frustratedly and ran his hand through his hair as he searched for the words, some possible way to... to tell her. How on earth could he do that? How could he put his curse into mere words, how could he tell her without sounding completely insane? He knew this school was magical, but this - this wasn't magic. This was just wrong. How did he explain that?
Was it even possible?
No.
It was impossible to tell her. It was impossible to describe, impossible to even think of saying it-
And suddenly, an idea struck.
He could show her.
He quickly scanned the Square, barely even registering the rain that was pouring steadily harder and harder, making his shirt stick to his chest and beginning to plaster his hair to his head. What could he use...?
Well, there wasn't much to choose from. There wasn't really any vegetation around here, and as for animals - just the pigeons, really - and there was no way he was about to kill an innocent bird just to prove a point. He wasn't that much of a monster.
At least, he liked to think that he wasn't.
And then another idea came. Really, he was on a roll tonight, he thought bitterly. He turned back to Kira, and saw that she was glaring at him yet.
"Do you still have the rose I gave you?" he asked softly, trying to make his tone as non-aggressive as he could. The last thing he needed right now was for him to try and touch him - and he had to admit, it wouldn't exactly be out of the bounds of reason for her to want to slap him.

[Kira & Lee Norris]

Her eyes widened. What?
He really was playing some sort of game now, wasn't he?
The rain bounced around her strangely, but because of her water powers; it did not hit her, rather, seemed to bounce off an invisible barrier. She was protected; so why didn't it feel like it? If she held out her hand, she would see how it stood apart from the gloomy air around her; encased by a forcefield of air. But her hand clutched the rose instead; gripped it so hard as he spoke that when she opened her palm, she saw that tiny pinpricks of scarlet were now dotted where the thorns had bitten into her skin.
Like strawberry stained vanilla.
"I have it," she said slowly, holding it out stem first to him. "What do you want it for?"
Oh, dear, Kira, why would you ask? Isn't it obvious? He wants back what his money's worth.
He's wasted enough on you already.
"Well?" she demanded, when he didn't answer immediately. "What the hell do you want it for?!"

ooc: Hey, wow ATU fans, try singing, "strawberry stained vanilla" to "strawberry fields forever".

[Arihant]

"What do you want it for?"
And then again, before he'd had even had a chance to think about his answer-
"Well? What the hell do you want it for?"
It certainly wasn't an easy feat to make Arihant lose his temper - at least, it wasn't now. When he was younger he had been a lot more tempestuous and often fought with his siblings, his parents, his friends... Well, a lot of people. But years of hiding, inconspicuousness and fear had made him...
They'd pretty much made him forget he'd had one at all.
That made it all the more surprising that it had chosen to resurface just now.
He didn't know what it was, but something about the way she was looking at him, shouting at him - not even giving him a chance to explain (not that he really could, but still) - it filled him with a strange feeling that made his chest hurt and his eyes cloud over - just a little, it wasn't like he was blind or anything -
And suddenly, it stopped, and all he felt was a resounding sense of injustice. Resentment. Anger.
It was easier to bear than the pain.
And it wasn't fair. He'd come here, all the way from Austria, looking for a cure - expecting a cure, or at least for some semblance of the life he used to have given back to him, but oh no, that was impossible. Never mind that the healers in Orchid were the most well-reputed in the world, never mind that they had been able to give people more powers, never mind that there was supposedly no disease they couldn't cure - they couldn't fix him. And then to find that he couldn't bring himself to leave and yet couldn't stay, to get so confused, to speak to people who didn't know what he was and who treated them like one of them and now to stand here in the pouring rain with a girl he barely knew, trying to explain it to her - not even so she'd understand, because he knew no one would ever want to, but just so he could leave this d**n place behind him - and be shouted at like this-
He hadn't considered his life to be fair for four years, but something about her made him feel the full injustice of it. He couldn't touch anyone, he couldn't have a normal life, he couldn't ever truly be happy - And yet she was like... like this over no more than a dance!
"You want a d**n explanation, don't you?" he snapped, and took the rose from her hand. Then he walked a few paces away from her, while considering how best to do this. It was probably the most incriminating thing he’d ever done – would ever do… After all, if somehow it got out that someone was capable of killing things by merely touching them – That would be a most interesting conversation with the police. He’d probably get blamed for every unsolved crime in Austria over the last twenty years.
What was the best way to do something like that?
"Stand back,” he said, and, holding the rose in his left hand, wriggled his right one out of its glove. It was strange… After four years of wearing them, his hands felt oddly… naked when he didn’t have them on. It was always a surprise to look down and see his own skin (and, of course, the thumb ring that his grandfather had given him) instead of faded tan suede.
He put the glove in his trouser pocket, and then transferred the rose from his left hand to his right.
For a moment, nothing happened, but this didn’t concern Arihant. This always happened, it only took a moment-
And yes – there it was, the stem and petals were beginning to yellow. He hadn’t tried this with a flower before, so he was curious. He’d found that every plant was different – some rotted, some shrivelled up, some became hard as rock – He guessed his disease affected everything differently.
It looked like this one would shrivel.
Yes, he was right. The petals and leaves began to turn brown around the edges, then grey, and they did wither with alarming speed. It wouldn’t have been so fast if he wasn’t holding it, but it still would have happened. One touch was all it took.
The flesh was dying now, compacting in on itself and becoming thinner, more brittle, and steadily greyer. It didn’t look at all like the flower that Kira had been holding just a few seconds ago – didn’t look like any flower at all.
Soon, the process was finished completely. The remaining… remaining material (it wasn’t right to call that a flower any more) was a pale shade of ash grey, like the clouds above them that continued to pour. The petals were almost see-through and had clumped together, and the leaves were skeletons of what they’d been before – all that really remained was a delicate network of veins. The stem was something like a tenth of the width it had been before.
He didn’t like looking at it.
He closed his hand into a fist, and the disgusting thing crumbled like charcoal.
“Now,” he said, and the harsh, bitter tone of his voice crashed through the silence that there had been a second ago. “Why don’t you use your imagination, and think about what would happen if I touched you?”
He didn’t expect an answer. He couldn’t even look at her.
He didn’t want to see the expression on her face.
The pain was back, the anger dissipating like a cloud, like the weak, insubstantial thing that it was. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair.
He had to go.
“Well, thank you for the evening,” he said sarcastically, and slipped his glove back on his hand. He didn’t feel right when he wasn’t wearing it. “It’s been a pleasure. And I am sorry if what I am has ruined your evening.”
He didn’t like this – didn’t like being sarcastic, didn’t like hiding behind it. But what else could he do? He’d just made himself more vulnerable than he ever had done in his life before, and to someone who –
Well, if she hadn’t hated him before, she most certainly should now.
He still couldn’t look at her. And he couldn’t stop himself from going on.
“If it’s any consolation, it’s ruined my life." His voice didn't sound emotionless now. It sounded strangled again - strained - like every word was hurting him...
But then again, every word was.
He had to walk past her in order to pick up his coat. God, this was hard. It was hard to stop himself from just running away, hard to leave with dignity, and hard to leave... hard to leave her...
Harder than it should be.
He couldn’t look at her.
At least… at least tomorrow, he could leave. At least after tomorrow he wouldn’t have to.
Maybe then he’d forget.

[Kira & Lee Norris]

Sarcasm didn’t suit Arihant.
Not even when it was his right; not even when nothing else could possibly be appropriate… sarcasm and Arihant…. just didn’t mix.
Or maybe it was just her Arihant and sarcasm that didn’t mix. After all, Kira knew nothing about the real Arihant. Not really. She never had.
And yet, there was something… something was growing in Kira; it was something she’d barely accepted, let alone was it something she was ready to face. Whatever this… this something was… it hadn’t bothered her before. She hadn’t let it. It’d had just... been. She hadn’t thought of it, specifically, rather sat, and thought of him. She’d made up stories, and dreamed her dreams, and elaborated on every, tiny, insignificant little detail of his ever-growing fictional past. It had always been about him.
It had never been about them.
Them.
What was so frightening about that word, anyway?
He’d told her to use her imagination. It was ironic, in the sickest possible way. He had no idea how much time; how much of her imagination she had dedicated to him, and solely to him. Now, here she was, face to face with the answer she’d been dreaming of for so long... and she hated it.
How had that kaleidoscope of colours shattered into this… this dull, dead grey? How had all the life and vibrancy she’d dreamt of crumbled into ash? How could it? Even now, in her horror, she found reason to be angry.
How could he do that to her?
He’d ruined it. The past she’d been painting so carefully around him had been pulled apart by its very own protagonist. Why had he done that to her?
Kira didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t think straight. And as her mind closed in on itself, she could feel the barrier break down around her as the bullets of ice cold rain began to batter her. It only took a few seconds for them to have soaked her completely. She wished she could speak. It might be easier, then. Maybe, if she spoke, reality might set in. Or maybe, one of these bullets would finally hit their target, and she’d feel something other than this…
This…
What was she feeling, anyway?
Bitter, sarcastic Arihant was new; completely, totally terrifying in contrast to her safe, dreamy ideas. That puppy-like image of him had gone, now. Those brown eyes didn’t remind her of a dog that’d just been kicked; that brown couldn’t ever shine with the potential of love, affection and warmth again. Puppies were safe, and soft; puppies were… for god’s sake, they were little furry, wet-nosed things which hobbled about with feet too big for their bodies!
Puppies weren’t dangerous.
But he was dangerous.
There. Another reminder of just how little she knew; how pathetic she was; how stupid she was. She knew nothing- she was a naïve, selfish, short-tempered child, and the anger that’d radiated from Arihant as he’d snatched the rose from her was proof that that was exactly how he saw her. As an ignorant child who’d crossed the line. His patience had snapped, and she couldn’t blame him.
But as a child, she wanted to blame him. She was blaming him.
But Kira, don’t you know that you can’t do that? Because this is your fault. This is all your fault; you’re the one who made him snap; you could’ve gone on, believing your lies, and you would’ve been happy. You could’ve been so happy. But now, you’ve done this.
Look at me, Arihant.
The little girl inside of her watched him, crying- screaming out for comfort. She watched with great blue eyes that shone with tears as he picked up his jacket, and she waited, wishing and praying that he would turn around, and laugh, and tell her it was a joke. It was only a game, he’d tell her; a dream- or, more appropriately, a nightmare- but it was okay now, because he was here for her. And then he’d hold out his hand, and the little girl would take it; feel his bare skin beneath hers and…
Turn to ash, just like the rose.
“Arihant.”
Maybe her voice was what surprised her the most. It was so… calm; so... level. Perhaps; the little girl thought, looking up with hope; perhaps this voice was the adult taking over. Perhaps this voice meant that it was time for her to close her eyes, and fade away; go away, where she didn’t have to lie in lies. Perhaps this voice was her future.
It wasn’t a bad future.
“Arihant…” the voice stopped, inhaling sharply. “God. Arihant, I’d no idea. I’m… I’m sorry-”
More than sorry, the little girl nodded fervently. So sorry, Arihant, dear Ari.
“- please look at me, Arihant.”
Her arms ached with the need to reach out; to grab him, touch him, hold him tight; to risk death, to risk the fate of the rose would be worth it in return for the confirmation that this was all… really real.
“Arihant, I want you to look at me.”
“Oh for Chrissake, Arihant, Arihant, Arihant, will you look at the girl before we all go mad?”
The little girl’s hands reached out wildly, desperately flailing, but the wrong hands caught them. The wrong arm was suddenly thrust around her shoulders; the wrong lips crushed against her cheek, ice cold in their kiss. Numbly, Kira turned her head upwards, and felt the nightmare around her darken and twist from grey to black.
It was Deron, with venom in his glare.

[Arihant]

"Arihant."
You told her. You idiot, you've told her. It's too late. It's over.
The jacket was completely ruined, he could tell that much immediately. It was coated in little flecks of mud - obviously, Arihant was unlucky enough for his coat to have landed in the only patch of dirt that he could see throughout the entire square. The rain was causing the mud to spread, trickle down the sides of the smooth material, leaving unsightly-
"Arihant..."
Block it out. Just block it out, for God's sake. What else can you do?
- brown trails across the dark fabric. That wouldn't have been a problem, he supposed, if he hadn't had his attention brought to the tag by the overzealous store assisstant who had rented it to him - dry clean only. No, there was pretty much no chance this suit was ever going to be wearable again - not just the jacket, any of it. He'd have to pay them back for it.
How much money did he have left, anyway?
"God. Arihant, I'd no idea. I'm... I'm sorry-"
His back stiffened and his hands clenched on the sodden garment, crushing it.
She's sorry?
Why under God is she... Why is she apologising to me?
"-please look at me, Arihant."
This-
This didn't make sense.
Had he... had he not... Didn't she have eyes? Hadn't she seen what he had just done? He'd... he'd killed - poisoned a living thing - and it hardly mattered that it was just a plant, just a flower, it was still wrong. He was still wrong.
And she had seen it - she had to have done - Sure, he hadn't actually checked if she was looking, but he could... He could tell she had been. And even if he hadn't been sure, the terrible, horrified, piercing silence that had passed between them a moment before - so much harder for him than any other moment in the last four years.
She'd definitely seen.
So-
He didn't want to ask the question, but he had to. He had to know - at least, he had to try to know, because he knew that he couldn't supply the answer.
Why wasn't she running?
Because that was what she should have been doing, she should have done something - anything - to show her fear - she should have screamed, yelled for help, ran away - anything.
But her voice didn't sound afraid. She didn't sound afraid. She sounded calm, collected - she would almost have sounded like it didn't bother her at all, except for a tension, some frantic quality that betrayed her.
Well, it didn't betray her that much. Although he did notice the edge to her voice, he didn't understand at all why it was there. He didn't even understand her words.
Why would she want to look at the monster? It didn't make sense.
And yet, with her next words, she repeated her entreaty - "Arihant, I want you to look at me."
Why?
He had to do it. He had to turn around. He had to... to look at her. Even if it was just to tell her goodbye.
Do it fast, Arihant. Like ripping off a plaster. Don't give it time to hurt. Really, it didn't even make sense that it should hurt at all - he'd... he'd just met her!
No, it shouldn't hurt.
But still, do it fast. Just in case. Do it now.
He turned quickly and looked down at her sodden face. Why was it so wet? It hadn't been like that before - the water didn't seem to affect her before, and that had clearly made some kind of subconscious sense for him - it hardly seemed unusual that something as mundane as rain had neglected to harm someone as... someone as...
Was there even a word to describe her?
The rain was the first thing he noticed, but by no means the last.
He wished he hadn't had time to notice the rest, though. It was...
It did hurt. There was no other way to put it.
And still he didn't- he couldn't even begin to comprehend why she was... why she was...
She might have been afraid, for all he knew.
She might have been horrified.
She might have wanted to scream, to yell for help, to run away.
But the only things that concerned Arihant now were the tears gathering in her eyes. He hadn't seen someone's eyes shining like that for so long.
It wasn't right that such beautiful eyes should cause him such pain.
And they did - she was... she was crying. Crying. Or about to, at least. She was on the verge of tears for...
For him?
No. That was stupid. No. Not for him.
Because of him.
How the hell had he been idiotic enough to do that?
It's obvious. You shocked her. You were angry with her. You... you tried to hurt her, you b*stard. For God's sake, just because it makes you easier for you to leave doesn't give you the right to-
The conviction struck him again, with more force than before. He was a monster. He was the scum of the earth. He didn't deserve to even glance at someone like her, let alone make her- Scare her into crying like that.
He had to make it stop.
"No, please, please don't cry. Please. Don't get upset. It's... it's not your fault-"
But there wasn't time for the words to come out of his mouth. He was interrupted.
"Oh, for Chrissake, Arihant, Arihant, Arihant, will you look at the girl before we all go mad?"
The voice was male.
The voice was mocking.
The voice was furious.
A boy of about his age seemed to appear from nowhere, a boy that Arihant had never seen before. He grabbed Kira's hands (that Arihant noticed, with another stab of pain, had been outstretched - just slightly, just a little bit - but how could she do that at all? How could she bring herself to even look at him?) and threw one arm around her shoulders.
Then, the boy pressed his lips to her cheek, and glared at Arihant.
There. Something else that didn't make sense. Something else that hurt more than it should have.
Who was he?
It was none of Arihant's business, of course, but...
The fear that had been lacking in Kira's eyes before suddenly kindled to life in the presence of this boy. She... Was she scared?
Scared of him, but not Arihant?
What on earth could this guy do? What had he done to her?
Well, Arihant couldn't leave now. There was no way he was leaving her with someone who put that look on her face. He loathed the boy already - no, hated him, hated him more than he even hated himself just now - just for the expression that Kira had on her face.
Why did she have to have expressions like that at all? Why couldn't she just be safe - be happy?
It wasn't d**n fair.
"I'm sorry - who might you be?" asked Arihant, an icy tone that he scarcely recognised pushing into his voice. He sounded...
Well, he sounded angry.
And rightly so. Kira might be putting herself in more danger than she could ever truly realise by simply being in his presence, but he wasn't about to let anyone else hurt her. Not a chance.

[Kira & Lee Norris]

"Who am I?" Deron cocked his head slightly, his hair tickling Kira's cheek as he did so.
It'd grown, she noted. It wasn't cropped and sort of scruffy, like it had been, but longer now, more like Lee's. It didn't suit really suit him at all.
"Is this guy for real?" he asked her now, his pupils sudden slits as he turned on her.
"Oh, I dunno," Kira said softly, lightly, almost kindly, but her own eyes narrowed. "Why don't you touch him? Go on; why not see for yourself?"
He let go of her abruptly, stepping backwards slowly, almost suspiciously. "Where have you been?"
She bit her lip. Time to play dumb. "What d'you mean?"
"Don't play dumb," he snapped; just like before, just like he could see straight through her... except this time, it wasn't a pleasent experience.
Kira didn't reply, and somehow, it seemed to aggravate him.
"Well?"
"Well what?"
Deron's eyes widened now, flashing towards Arihant, and then back again. "Say you're sorry."
Kira's eyebrows rose; the after-shock of anger still rushing around her system kicking off again. "Say I'm what?"
Deron laughed; but it wasn't like his normal laugh, not light and carefree. This laugh... it was a cackle; a mirthless, forced, wasted attempt at sounding casual.
"Bloody hell, Kira," he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. The rain around him caught the loose strands of hair, plastering them across his face as he did so. "You're always saying sorry for the stupidest of reasons, and then, the one time you should be sorry, you're not even remotely apologetic!"
"And why should I be sorry?" she frowned at him.
Deron stared at her for a couple of seconds; just stared. His constant gaze felt like a cheat; a trick in some kind of obscure game she didn't understand, but nevertheless it was one Kira was determined to win. So she stared right back. And somehow, she beat him.
So instead, Deron turned on Arihant.
"What the hell are you doing here with my girlfriend?!"

[Arihant]

"What the hell are you doing here with my girlfriend?"
Girlfriend.
Oh.
That was... unexpected-
No. No, Arihant, it bloody wasn't. It makes a hell of a lot more sense than any sick ideas you might have.
God, and he wished he was wrong - he wished with more fervour than was really sensible just now that it didn't make sense that she had a boyfriend, but of course it did! Kira was... God, he still didn't know how to say it, but Kira was special, somehow - and it did make sense that she had a boyfriend-
And this guy - Christ, Arihant had just made the biggest fool of himself, hadn't he? Sure, Kira hadn't actually told him that she had a boyfriend, but shouldn't he have assumed that? Shouldn't he have been careful, just in case?
He would have been, too, in any other situation. He didn't know what it was - didn't know -
Well, he'd thought Kira was frightened of him. He'd thought-
Jesus, had he actually thought he could protect her?
No. No. There was something wrong with him, something horribly, hideously wrong - he didn't have to quarantine himself from social contact any more, he decided, because what sane, self-respecting person could possibly want to be-
He'd just demanded that he told him who he was. Her boyfriend. Yes, the fighting a few seconds ago maybe showed that they weren't entirely happy together-
And the fact that she went to the dance with Arihant instead of him.
That didn't make sense.
That didn't make sense at all.
But what did it bloody matter? She'd just seen his power. It wasn't like she was ever going to want to speak to him ever again. It wasn't like he was actually going to stay at the school. It wasn't like whether she had a boyfriend or not was going to make one pissing iota of difference.
But still... something told him that he shouldn't mention the dance to this guy, whatever his name was. Kira was obviously - well, she wasn't lying, but she was certainly pretending that she didn't know what he was talking about. He was sure it wouldn't be helpful if he blurted out their entire evening, non-event though it was.
God, he wished he could just leave now.
"Talking," he answered shortly - at least his tone wasn't betraying the... well, whatever convoluted and inexplicable emotion that he was feeling right now. "About school."
It wasn't a complete lie, was it? After all, they had been talking about... well, about his power - Orchid was a school for "gifted people", after all.
"That's not a problem, is it?" he asked, in a tone that he intended to just be slightly threatening - not as angry as his words before, but still...
He didn't want K- anyone getting hurt.

[Kira & Lee Norris]

"That all depends, mate," Deron said softly, arching an eyebrow. "What were you two talking about?"
"School," Kira hissed, "or are you deaf?"
"What about school?" Deron's eyes locked on hers again. "You and that school. Well, I'm involved now, aren't I? I'm part of the SCR now, aren't I? Or so I was..." he froze, and suddenly, the fire glinting behind his eyes faded to a crackle. "I was. Until your d**ned crazy boy showed up."
A little 'O' of surprise formed on Kira's lips. Oh, duh would be more like it. It made sense.
It made so much bloody sense.
Deron had attacked Steve Ritzski and Jude Dorrian.
Deron had done more than that. He had tried to kill Steve.
Of course Deron was out of the SCR.
Of course...
"I set up the d**n thing," he muttered, his fingers curling into fists. "What the hell will they be without me? They didn't listen. They didn't care I was trying to keep the world in order. An eye for an eye, and all that."
"Steve did nothing to you," Kira managed to spit out, but her voice shook slightly, because the fire was beginning to spark and sizzle again.
Deron's head flew up, his neck cracking; and suddenly, Kira knew that he was on the very edge of losing control. She knew that. Yet she couldn't bring herself to stop him. Instead, she stood, rooted to the spot, watching him as if hypnotised.
He'd never been great at controlling his emotions, anyway.
But then, not for the first time, Deron surprised her. He opened his mouth, and instead of the harsh growl she'd been expecting, a hushed, sombre croak fell from his lips instead. "Steve murdered my aunt and uncle."
... what?
"You said your aunt and uncle were killed in an explosion."
"And who do you reckon caused that explosion?"
She caught her breath. "That could've been anyone from Orchid. Anyone."
"No, Kira," he hissed, taking a step towards her. "No. It was him. Who else would lose control like that from Orchid? You're good people. But he... he's wrong. He doesn't belong there. No killer belongs at Orchid."
And, although she was talking to Deron, somehow, as he spoke, her eyes found Arihant instead. Her mouth was dry as she heard Deron say his final words, but then, she licked her lips, and looked back at him again.
"You're wrong."

[Arihant]

"But he... he's wrong. He doesn't belong there. No killer belongs at Orchid."
Arihant's head jerked back slightly, as if he'd been physically slapped. That was...
Oh God. It was true. He was right.
After all, what had he seen of Orchid so far? What had the other pupils shown him? They had been wary, some of them, they had been curious, but they'd been accepting. Even Misa Matsuyama had ceased to be suspicious of him - well, he liked to think she had.
The people at this school were kind. Strong. Loyal. Good.
Arihant did try to be those things - he tried so d**n hard, but what he was would never let him be a good person. What he was would never permit him to be anything other than a criminal, a fugitive, a...
A killer.
No killer belongs at Orchid.
Arihant had killed - murdered - five people. Five innocent people. His own flesh and blood - his family, and worse, a complete stranger who'd been doing nothing more than trying to help him. Just one touch of his skin...
One touch. Didn't that show that he wasn't meant to be anything other than a killer? Didn't that show that his life had been destined to be one of sin? Didn't that show that he couldn't ever be redeemed?
He was a killer. A murderer. Orchid may have been willing to accept him, but it would be wrong for him to stay. He was a disease - a poison - a parasite. He couldn't let himself stay and contaminate yet another haven, yet another safe place.
He should take himself away. Diseases need to be quarantined. He needed to be quarantined before he killed again.
He'd be better off if he-
But no. He couldn't kill himself. That would be about the most cowardly thing he could do. He didn't deserve the relief of death. He deserved to live the hell of what he had done, he deserved to be aware of his guilt every moment.
And he didn't deserve Orchid.
As soon as the word 'killer' was mentioned, Kira looked to him. Looked at him.
She knew what he was. She'd seen now. She could tell - just by looking, she could tell that he was a murderer, even though he hadn't told her.
What was that emotion in her clear blue eyes? Disgust? Judgment? Hatred?
He couldn't tell - he couldn't read her emotions just now, his own were raging so horribly. If he'd felt like he'd been slapped because of that boy's words, what did he feel now?
He didn't know. It felt like someone had - someone had stabbed him in the chest, like he was...
How could she do that with one look?
She must hate him now. There wasn't any question about it. She had to hate him, knowing what he could do. And clearly she didn't need protection, she didn't need him to stay here - he could tell by the fury that had been in her eyes when she looked at the boy - What had he done, anyway? What had Steve done? What was the SCR?
He had no idea.
But he didn't deserve to know.
Killers don't belong at Orchid.
She turned away from him, and looked back at the boy. What was that look on her face?
"You're wrong," she said quietly.
What?
Arihant stiffened, and folded his arms to his chest - more out of cold than anything else. All his clothes were stuck to his body, his hair was soaking wet, his jacket destroyed, and the expression on his face was so stupid, so vulnerable...
But he didn't care. He just wanted to know what she meant.
He had no idea what she meant.
Surely she couldn't be saying that... That he did...
No. No, she can't be saying that.
She must be talking about Steve.
Anyway, it didn't matter. Didn't matter if he didn't belong at Orchid. He was leaving anyway.
None of it mattered, in the end.

[Kira & Lee Norris]

“Steve is exactly where he’s meant to be.”
Swearing savagely, Deron swerved and slammed his foot into Pigeon Fountain. There was a dull thunk, and Deron jumped back, still swearing furiously; setting his foot gingerly back on the ground as he did so.
Kira bit her lip. “You alright?”
He shot her a filthy look. “Do I bloody well look alright?”
Kira watched him silently for a few seconds, as he examined his foot. Somehow… she felt compelled to continue, especially as she was so aware of how close Arihant was. She looked at him again; this time, it was only a quick glance; just to check that he was still there, and still listening.
Something told her he should listen to this.
“Steve is exactly where he’s meant to be.”
“I heard you the first d**n time, you stubborn girl.”
“Don’t you see?”
“No, Kira,” Deron looked up at her properly. “He should be locked up, somewhere far away, where he can’t hurt people. Steve belongs with the other crazy fools. Hah, maybe if we’re lucky, we can shove them all in a room together, and they’ll kill each other off, one by one. Problem solved, right?”
“Stop that.”
“How many other murderers is Orchid Hill hiding, then?” His eyes flashed dangerously. “Steve Ritzski and… who else? Maybe there’s even one in this very village, right now; and yet Orchid Hill still accepted them. For all I know you or this bloke-” he jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Arihant, “- are cold-blooded killers! But Orchid’s still let you loose in Cardsdale. Go on, then, Kira, you’re Head of the Spies. You know things. Tell me.” A gruesome smile stretched his lips. “Please; enlighten me- how many other villagers have been brutally murdered, but it’s been all covered up for the sake of the school, for Major Hoodham and the war.”
“Stop it!” Kira cried desperately. “Steve isn’t a killer- he didn’t mean it- Deron, when he’s like that, he’s not himself- he doesn’t even remember being out in Cardsdale-”
“AND HOW THE HELL DOES THAT EXCUSE WHAT HE’S DONE?!” Deron’s bellow shocked her more than it should have; causing her to stumble back several paces. “NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY, KIRA, HE IS STILL A F*CKING MURDERER!”
“Why else do you think Major Hoodham is keeping him here?” she asked, frantically trying to reason with him. A desperate prayer was pounding in her chest; that he would stop, just stop, stop and shut up.
Arihant just kept staring at them…
“Deron, don’t you get it? Steve is at Orchid Hill to try and stop this happening; the Carers provide him with medication, and care, and they can keep him where he won’t hurt people; where he can’t-”
“But that’s twice now, isn’t it?” Deron growled. “Once is a mistake. But twice is inexcusable. Twice is pathetic. How many other times has he escaped then, eh? Eh?”
“Just twice.” She thought. She hoped.
“What provoked it, anyway?” Deron hissed. “We don’t know- hah, the only one who knows is Zara- poor, broken little Zara, but d’you know what, Kira? That child hasn’t said one d**n thing since the day she lost her arm- since the day she saw her parents die-”
“It was an accident!” she cried, but the second the words left her lips, she knew she’d made a mistake.
An accident.
An accident. God. She could be so stupid. It wasn’t just anger and resentment anymore. Deron was physically shaking as he glared at her. It wasn’t just a mad rush of rage.
This was beyond mere anger. This was pain.
“Accidents happen, right?” he said softly; too softly. It was like a threat.
It was a threat.
She didn’t reply. She didn’t trust herself. Her heart was rising in her chest; her pulse quickening horribly. He was advancing on her now, his breathing uneven; shallow and ragged. His head was bent, but his eyes…
Through the rain, they glinted at her like black glass; like reflection of a knife.
And all the while, Arihant stood there, and watched.
Just… watched.
“Accidents happen.” He was within a metre of her now, yet she couldn’t move. Even now, she couldn’t stop watching him. Even now, in his eyes, there was a strange, sickening hypnotic power.
She couldn’t bring herself to look away.
“What an awful mistake,” he muttered. He leaned forward slightly, so that his eyes were inches from Kira’s. “What an awful mistake; what a terrible accident- poor Steve, silly Steve was a bit out of his head, wasn’t he? So he went mad, so he killed a couple of people, so he tore a family to shreds- no big deal. It was just a mistake, just a little mistake.”
“Deron, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Didn’t you?”
“No,” she whispered. “I would never-”
“I thought you were different. I thought you cared about people like us. I thought you understood.”
“I…” she gulped. “I do.”
“Magic is no excuse.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t,” he said, simply, “but maybe… maybe everything I’ve just said is. Maybe I’d have a good case, in the end. Think about it, Kira. If I hurt you, I could easily get away with it.” He snorted. “After all, with your lot, all I have to do is plead insanity, and I’ll go free. Who knows? I might even get lucky; I might get into Orchid Hill, where they’ll do their best to keep me out of trouble. My dream come true, right?”
And his fist cracked against her jaw.

ooc: Sorry, Ari, I can't remember if we planned this or not... but I just couldn't resist. ;D

[Arihant]

It was like it was happening in slow motion.
That boy – Deron – he just didn’t stop, didn’t let go, didn’t stop yelling at her –
Or, at least, it seemed like that.
Arihant couldn’t tell for the life of him what Deron was going to do right up until the moment he did it. After all, he didn’t know the man, and he’d been acting pretty viciously up until then without –
Without –
It would have been hard to know what he was going to do, that was all.
As soon as Deron’s fist clashed against Kira’s pale jaw, Arihant was filled with an overpowering wave of inexplicable fury. It didn’t make sense why it was there or why it… why it burned so d*mn much, but there was…
There was something. Wasn’t there always? At least, it seemed like there always was with Kira – with her –
And he suddenly just didn’t care – he didn’t care one iota that Kira hated him now or that she knew what he was or that he really had no right to be there listening to their conversation at all or that the conversation they had been having could just as easily have been about him or that he had been doing nothing but standing there like a gormless fool while he could have been trying to stop it, trying to diffuse the situation and stop him from –
But now it was too late. He did it, and even though Arihant wasn’t specifically looking at Kira as he grabbed Deron’s arm and twisted it up his back, he did manage to notice the beginnings of a dark purple bruise already beginning to flower on the underside of her chin. He had done that to her, the b*stard. Why the hell did he think he had the right to do something like that to her?
Arihant knew he didn’t have the right to interfere and he knew that Kira was more than capable of looking after herself – of course the Head of the Spies would be able to deal with someone who – did he not have powers? Hadn’t they said something about that? “People like us,” he’d said. “Magic is no excuse.” – But still, he-
Well, he was livid. And sure as hell going to do something about that fact.
He kept Deron’s arm twisted behind his back, knowing full well that it must be painful (and rather than being at all concerned about that, glad that the git was getting punished for hurting Kira) and pushed him back towards the fountain. Then, he chucked him against the low, slippery stone wall and pinned him down, never once letting go of the arm that had punched her.
Of course, he didn’t come quietly, but Arihant wasn’t in the mood to listen to his furious ranting. And the struggling had no effect whatsoever – there was no way someone without powers would be able to overcome Arihant physically. Arihant was, naturally, being careful not to actually injure him (although he was fairly sure that he’d probably have some nasty bruises tomorrow where his hand had been clamped on his arm) but that was as far as his consideration went.
He waited for a lull in the angry exclamations, then spoke, his tone low, clipped (his speech was always considerably clearer and more eloquent when he was angry – he forgot to be shy) and rough.
“I know that I don’t know what’s wrong with you,” he growled. “For what I can see, you seem to be rational enough – maybe sane, even… No, I think that’s pushing it a bit, considering what you just did. Still, I guess I could be wrong. You could be a raving lunatic. That might make more sense-”
The struggling continued.
“Actually, here’s a bit of friendly advice before I go on – stop struggling, you ignorant git, unless you want to break your arm.
“Now, as I was saying – I know that I don’t know what has happened to your family, and I know that I don’t know what impact either Steve – whoever he is – or Orchid Hill has had on your life, but I do know that she has done nothing to you, done nothing wrong except being friends with a person who may or may not have damaged your family. And I also know that no one but an arrogant b*stard hits a girl at all, let alone one who’s done nothing to him.”
His voice got even softer, even more dangerous, and he increased the pressure on the boy’s arm as he made his final point.
“That’s why I would really prefer it, Deron, if you would be so kind as to apologise to her.”

[Kira & Lee Norris]

Well, wow.
Kira supposed… well, she supposed she should be concentrating on the terrible pain that was currently reverberating along her jaw line and the sudden, unnatural looseness of two of her back teeth. However… she was too wrapped up in what was going on.
She couldn’t have picked a better subject to dream about.
It was one thing when your dreams came true. It was quite another when reality kicked them straight out of her head and down the gutter. She’d known that Arihant was physically enhanced…
… she just hadn’t quite considered the possibilities.
And as Deron was wrestled to the ground, Kira steadily got to her feet, her fingers edging gingerly over the tender swelling beneath her jaw.
“That’s why I would really prefer it, Deron, if you would be so kind as to apologise to her.”
How strange that the softer the voice, the more deadly the threat.
Deron sensed it. Deron knew he couldn’t win against Arihant. And he resented the hell out of it.
“That’s alright, Arihant,” Kira said quietly, wincing slightly as she spoke. It hurt a lot more than she’d expected. “You can let him go.”
Deron exhaled, glaring up at her through the rain.
“And besides, I’m not sorry.”
“Just let him go, Arihant.”
“Awk, dear, Kira, what terrible pity,” Deron grunted under the weight of Arihant. “Are you breaking up with me, then?”
“I think that would be best,” she said evenly.
“Well?” Deron demanded of Arihant, shifting slightly. “You heard her. Let me go.”

ooc: Oh, the shortness and crappiness of it all. Sorry. I'll try harder next time.