7 Chapter 7: The request of the maiden

"Finally, the girl I have been looking for appeared!" Tiana said with a smile plastered across her face, with her arms open wide as if she was performing in a theater, but Shirayuki paid her no mind, as she looked over her shoulder, and she saw Tatsurou beaten up, barely able to stand, her face filled up with sadness as she saw him.

"S-Shirayuki-san, what are you doing...?" Tatsurou asked, but Shirayuki didn't answer him, she looked at Tiana who was in complete bliss for having finlly findinng her.

"Please stop this! Don't hurt Tatsurou-san anymore!" Shirayuki said with a tone and expression that was devoid of any fear as she looked at Tiana.

"Well, well, well, do you really think, that you're in a position to make requests, miss Shrine maiden?" Tiana asked, as she placed her hand on her hip and looked down on Shirayuki, but once again she didn't pay her any mind

"If you stop, and let me cure him, I will go with you!" Shirayuki said with a determined tone to Tiana as she placed her hand on her chest, this surprised both Tatsurou and Tiana.

"Huh? letting you curing him? Are you insane?" Tiana asked with an angry tone, but she was interrupted by Shirayuki.

"The curing magic of the Izanami clan is known to cure any injury, but it will make the person it's used on fall asleep after its done, by the time he wakes up, we are long gone, so please let me do it!" Shirayuki said this as she looked at Tiana.

"Well, that is true...and it's not like he can do anything, so sure go right ahead..." Tiana said with a tone that had a faint hint of suspicion but she let her do it because she knew about this curing magic of the Izanami clan, and then after getting her approval Shirayuki turned to Tatsurou, that was shocked for a lack of better words, he just couldn't believe what he just heard.

"Wait, Shirayuki-san don't do this..." Tatsurou said this to Shirayuki as he tried to get close to her, but he tripped and she caught him before he fell, then Shirayuki, began to slowly get on her knees, as she kept holding Tatsurou.

"Please, Tatsurou-san, you don't have to do this anymore..." Shirayuki said this to Tatsurou in a calm tone but he wasn't taking any of it.

"No, I can't let you do this I..." Tatsurou tried to dissuade Shirayuki from doing this but...

"Tatsurou-san, please, just stop!" Shirayuki said this with an angry tone, that surprised and shocked Tatsurou, as she looked like the type of girl that wasn't capable of doing something like this, and after a moment Shirayuki proceeded, but this time with her usual calm tone.

"Please, just look at yourself, you are beaten up so badly, and its all my fault, if I just wasn't so selfish...and asked for your help, this would never have happened, I'm so sorry that I made you go through this..." Shirayuki said with her eyes tearing up, as she placed her hand in Tatsurou's cheek to clean up some blood.

"Wait, you didn't do anything, Shirayuki-san, I helped because I wanted, don't blame yourself for this..." Tatsurou said to her in between breaths, but Shirayuki couldn't accept his words.

"No, it was because I asked for help that it turned out like this, that's why this is the least I can do for you..." Shirayuki said as she placed both of her hands on Tatsurou's cheeks and started chanting.

"The gods created the world, yet they did not create the protection it deserved, by the power of sukunahikona, the god that bestowed upon the world the gift of protection and cure, I ask you, to cure this child's injuries..." As Shirayuki finished chanting her eyes and hands began to glow in a light pink color, the same as her hair, and before Tatsurou knew it, he was getting cured of his injuries.

"Wait don't..." Tatsurou said this as he tried to stop Shirayuki but he lacked the strength, and like she had said, his body was being cured, but he was getting tired.

"Tatsurou-san, like I said, after the spell is done you will fall asleep, and depending on your injuries, you will sleep for a certain amount of time, so while the spell is doing his work, I want you to listen to me..." Shirayuki said still with her calm tone.

"Tatsurou-san, for me these last hours I had the chance to spend with you were wonderful, you gave me food without being asked to do so, you protected me without being told to do so, you accepted my selfish request, you spent time with me and I know that you were ready to do a lot more, but if in the end, this will get you hurt or worse...I..." Shirayuki said as she made a small pause.

"I just can make myself to stay with you, not like this, what I'm trying to say is, that you were my first friend Tatsurou-san, and I'm grateful for everything you did, so now, it's my turn to help...so please after I do this don't come after me, I don't want to see you get hurt anymore..." Shirayuki said this as tears descended her beautiful pale face, and Tatsurou couldn't help but look at her, it pained him seeing Shirayuki in such a state, but he could say anything as he clenched his fists.

"Once again, Tatsurou-san, I am sorry for all the trouble and pain I made you go through, and thank you so much for everything, I will always remember you...always..." As Shirayuki said this to Tatsurou the spell began to work his side effect faster than expected.

"Wait, Shirayu..." As Tatsurou was about to call out to Shirayuki, his body became heavy, and his consciousness started to fade, he was indeed about to fall asleep and as he was about to, Shirayuki placed his head in her shoulder, and started patting his head.

"It's alright, you don't have to worry about me, so just fall asleep..." Shirayuki said with a calm yet soft tone, as she also began to hum a song, the same a mother would use to make her child fall asleep, Tatsurou couldn't help it his eyes were getting heavier and heavier, until they finally closed, and Tatsurou fell into a deep sleep, and Shirayuki continued to pat his head.

"Tatsurou...I love you..." Shirayuki said as she too moved her face towards Tatsurou's shoulder, with her eyes closed and tearing up.

"He's already cured, isn't he? Let's go, there is no time to waste" Tiana said in a harsh tone to Shirayuki, that hugged Tatsurou, before she slowly placed him on the ground and patted his head one last time, she then got up and walked towards Tiana.

"Very well then, since you finally finished, let's go!" Tiana said as she signaled the knight to move and turned her back to Tatsurou, Shirayuki followed behind in silence, and as they were about to leave the complex, Shirayuki looked one last time at Tatsurou, and a single tear fell from her eye, as she turned towards Tiana again and started to follow her once more...

And then, a few hours later, Tatsurou began to wake up...

"...rou-chan, Tatsurou-chan!" A worried voice called Tatsurou, and as he slowly opened his eyes, Tatsurou saw the sky and he could see that it was already morning, then Tatsurou turned his head and he saw Wise with her tail and her ears down looking at him with a face filled with sadness and worry.

"Wise-san?" Tatsurou said with a tiered tone, as he got into a sitting position, Wise just burst into tears.

"Tatsurou-chan! You're finally awake, I was so worried about you!" Wise said as she hugged Tatsurou.

"Just look at your clothes, full of cuts and dirty, just who did this to you?" Wise asked with a worried tone as she stopped hugging Tatsurou and held him by his shoulders, at first he didn't understand until he looked down on him and saw his school uniform torn apart and dirty.

And thanks to that Tatsurou remembered the fight with Tiana and that he was about to be killed, if Shirayuki didn't intervene, but for Tatsurou the fight in itself, was not what troubled him, the thing he remembered the most was Shirayuki risking her life for him and her face, as she cried and asked for him to not go after her, it pained him so much that he couldn't save her, that he couldn't think straight for a while.

"Tatsurou-chan...?" Wise called Tatsurou as she was getting worried about his silence, and upon hearing Wise, Tatsurou got up and started brushing his clothes to take the dirt off.

"Don't worry, Wise-san, it was just a beautiful night outside so I decide to sleep under the stars..." Tatsurou said this in a joking tone, to hide the pain he felt, but Wise didn't take it as one.

"Tatsurou! This is not a joke, look at the complex, look at the wall, just tell me what happened..." As Wise said this she suddenly remembered.

"Wait! The girl that was with you, is she alright?" Wise asked and Tatsurou froze up as he heard her and after a while of being silent, he responded.

"Don't worry, she had to go back home, so I took her to the station, and as I was getting back, some idiots wanted to pick a fight with me, I'm sorry that I took it to your complex..." Tatsurou said as he turned his back to Wise, and began to walk towards his apartment.

"Do you think, I will believe that kind of excuse, I have known you long enough to know that your lying!" Wise said to Tatsurou with a mixed feeling of anger and worry.

"That was what happened, so please don't ask more questions, I have to go get ready for school..." Tatsurou said as he stooped, but began moving again as he finished saying this to Wise.

"Tatsurou-chan..." As Wise tried to talk to Tatsurou once more, to understand what was going on, he ignored her, from this point on everything he heard, felt like background noise, Tatsurou couldn't think straight as he climbed the stairs, it was as if he was begging his feet to move, when he got inside the apartment, he went straight to the bathroom, he took his clothes off and as he got in the shower he turned the water on, but he didn't care if it was hot or cold he just went under it as soon as the water started coming out, and as he did that Tatsurou looked at his body and to his surprise, there were, no black and blue marks, no scars of any sort, the spell Shirayuki used, was more than effective.

"What's the use of being cured, if I couldn't save her..." Tatsurou thought to himself as the pain of is failure consumed him, as the water of the shower that poured over him felt like nails piercing his body...

A little while later, Tatsurou came out of the shower, but he wasn't relaxed or anything like that, he was still depressed as he went to his room and grabbed a spare uniform and another black hoodie, he threw them on the bed and started getting dressed, as he did he thought about not going to school at all, but on the other hand, if Hime caught wind of him cutting classes she would get angry and going could prove to be a way of distracting himself about what happened.

And so, as Tatsurou finished getting dressed, he got out of his room and as he was passing between the living room and the kitchen, he looked to the left where the living room was to look for his bag, but he saw the plush that Shirayuki had won on the couch, upon seeing it he got even more depressed, and lost all apatite he had, he just grabbed his bag and went straight outside and made his way to school...

A while later...

In school Tatsurou always seated on the last desk to the left, next to the window and in high school, it was no different, and as usual, he was at his desk with his head resting on his right hand, but unlike the usual instead of having his mind with random thoughts, ideas or paying attention to class, his mind was lost in the thought of what happened yesterday, as he looked outside the window.

"Kurokami-kun..." Ayami said in a worried tone yet it was silent as she looked at the depressed Tatsurou, she had been worried about him since he didn't show up in class yesterday, and this morning when they met on their way to school, Tatsurou apologized for what happened the other day between them, but what surprised her was not that he said he was sorry or that he didn't joke about it, no it was his expression that surprised and worried her, he looked like he died inside as if his soul got out of his body, it was then at this moment.

"Tatsurou..." A voice called out to him but he didn't react, and so...

"Tatsurou..." The voice called again and once again he didn't answer.

"Tatsurou!!!" This time the voice shouted, really close to Tatsurou and it made him come back from his thoughts, and as he turned his head up, he saw Yumeko standing in front of him with the roll call book in her right hand and her left hand on her hip.

"Tell me, is the view outside so good, that you start ignoring your teacher when she calls you?" Yumeko asked with an angry tone, as Tatsurou kept looking at her in all honesty, like an idiot.

"So... you're going to say something or did someone bit your tongue off?" Yumeko said with the same angry tone, as she tilted her head.

"Sorry...Kuroiwa-sensei..." Tatsurou said this with the intention to be forgiven and left alone, but to Yumeko it felt as if he wasn't really sorry, from his tone, so she got angry again.

"What kind of half-assed apology was that, huh?" Yumeko asked with an angry tone to Tatsurou, but unlike the usual joke or the alike when this sort of thing with him happened in school, something completely different occurred.

"Listen Kuroiwa-sensei, I'm not in the mood to listen to you or anything at all, so let me be..." As Tatsurou said this he was stooped by Yumeko.

"What do you mean by that, it's not like you have a choice! If you're in school you got to pay attention to class and respect your teachers and..." As Yumeko was giving an angry earful to Tatsurou, he interrupted her by suddenly getting up from his chair, this made Yumeko jolt, and everyone in his class as he did, in a matter of a second all eyes were placed on him, waiting to see his next move

"Tatsurou..." Yumeko said his name as she was scared by the reaction that was unusual for him since he was always a calm person.

"I know...that I'm being disrespectful...so I will go stand in the hallway and think about what I just did..." Tatsurou said as he looked down and went straight to the classroom's back, to the sliding door, while everybody looked at him in surprise and shock, and when he got to the door he opened it calmly, but he closed it with force as he got out, it was so much force, that the door fell over to the ground, and in the class some were speechless while other asked what just happened, it was at this moment that Yumeko intervened.

"Ahem, very well, everyone I will have to take a small absence, so please take out your books and read pages 50 to 53, and do the exercises on pages 54 to 56, I will be right back..." Yumeko said as she went to the door on the other side of the classroom.

"Oh! And Ayami-san! Make sure, everybody does what I just said, alright?" Yumeko said as she got out of the classroom, Sachiko just nodded, as she was still in shock with Tatsurou's reaction...

As Tatsurou walked the school halls it was as if he was wandering without a destination, but he actually, had one, after walking the entirety of the hallway at its end was a flight of stairs that led to the second and third floor and it ended at the school roof, Tatsurou started climbing the stairs to the entrance of the roof, and when he opened the door, he was greeted by the beautiful garden, complete with trees, bushes, flowers, and benches.

In Tatsurou's school, the roof wasn't a place that was off-limits to the students, the garden that was placed there was for the students to use during lunch or to relax as they appreciated the view it offered and on a side note this garden was preserved by the schools gardening club.

As Tatsurou steeped in, he saw nobody else as he looked to all sides, he then proceeded to walk towards a bench in which he took a seat and when he finally seated himself, he first looked up, but then he proceeded to slowly look down until his eyes could see nothing but the concrete floor, and suddenly water drops began to fall on the ground, but today was a sunny day, so it wasn't rain, the water drops that were falling were in fact, Tatsurou's tears, as he was crying something that hasn't happen in years, his eyes were like a fountain and it gave the impression that it wouldn't stop anytime soon, and as he kept crying, Tatsurou placed his hands on his head.

"Why...just why...why am I like this..why am I such a coward?" Tatsurou said to himself as he kept crying, and as he did, he could not stop thinking about Shirayuki and the face she made, as she cured him.

"If I just stooped being like this, I could have saved her, but just look at what I did, I failed someone again, why...why do I keep being like this..." As Tatsurou kept going about like this to himself, a black aura covered his body that aura gave off a lot of things but none of them, were positive in the slightest.

"I...I should just...di..." As Tatsurou was about to say something unthinkable, he was brought back from his thoughts, by the sound of a phone ringing, the phone that was ringing was his, and as he took it out of his pocket, he saw on the screen that it was Hime calling.

"Hime..." Tatsurou said as he wiped the tears off his face with a sad yet happy tone, as he pressed the button to answer the call.

"Hello?" Tatsurou said as he tried to mask his sad voice.

"Hello there, Tatsurou, how are you?" Hime responded from the other side of the phone, in her usual cheerful tone.

"I'm good, so how's Japan, Hime?" Tatsurou said as he tried his hardest to mask his sadness and hold back his tears.

"It's still the same as always, I'm sorry I didn't call yesterday, right after the plane landed, I went straight to work and I was so busy, when I got home, I could just see my bed, I'm really sorry..." Hime said in an apologetic tone as she sighed a bit.

"It's ok, don't worry..." Tatsurou said as he smiled a bit.

"And then to make matters worse, my mother couldn't stop nagging me, about not bringing you more often to Japan!" Hime said in a stressed, yet comedic tone.

"I know, give her a hug for me, alright?" Tatsurou said as he smiled again.

"Don't worry I will, but you know, Tatsurou...I just didn't call you, to have mindless chatting, right?" Hime said but her tone, didn't show disappointment nor displeasure, if anything it was a worried one.

"First, Wise calls me saying that you were in a fight of sorts, and right after Yumeko calls telling me, you walked out of class, what happened Tatsurou? You can tell me..." Hime asked still with a worried tone in her voice.

"I...I just..." Tatsurou tried to say what was wrong, but he just couldn't find the right words or the right place to start, Hime took notice of this.

"It's ok, Tatsurou, take your time..." Hime said with a calm tone and after Tatsurou calmed down a bit.

"Hime, why am I like this?" Tatsurou asked, but Hime was confused about his question, he proceeded.

"Why am I such a coward?" As Tatsurou said this, Hime at first didn't understand but she quickly realized it.

"I could have protected her, but I was so scared of this power of mine, that I couldn't do anything, and in the end, I couldn't protect her...I couldn't do anything, what use is having this ability, if I can't help anyone..." Tatsurou said as he began crying once more, and it was at this moment that Hime intervened.

"Tatsurou...your not a coward!" Hime said in a firm tone to Tatsurou that made him open his eyes wide

"Listen Tatsurou, for me, a coward is a person that runs away from their fears and never acknowledges them, but you are not one, because you know what scares you and you want to change, so that you are not scared anymore, to me that is not coward that is a strong person, a really strong one!" Hime said this to Tatsurou without stuttering or wavering, and with that Tatsurou began crying again.

"Hime.." Tatsurou could only say her name as he cried, this time, not tears of sadness or fear, but tears of happiness.

"I know it's complicated and hard Tatsurou, but with time and patience you will one day be able to not be scared anymore and you will be able to use your powers, so now that you cried all that you wanted, it's time to stop and help that person you talked about right?" Hime said to Tatsurou with a confident and reassuring tone that made him get up from the bench and clean his tears with his sleeves.

"Your right Hime, moping around, won't solve the problem..." Tatsurou said with his usual tone, but this time it sounded more confident than usual.

"Now, that's the Tatsurou I know talking!" Hime said with a happy tone as she laughed a bit.

"I have to go now, thank you, Hime, no thank you, mom!" Tatsurou said as he ended the call and began to run out of the roofs garden, meanwhile, Hime was left on the other side of the call, with a shocked expression.

"He...he just called me mom!" Hime said with a happy tone while she cryed tears of joy as it was the 48th time that Tatsurou called her mom, since they lived together, something that Hime wanted Tatsurou to call her, all the time...