Chapter 4

A few days in her new school routine and she was exhausted, between her nerves and trying to adjust to the academic side of things, Sakura wanted to take a rest, good thing the weekend was right upon them, in just a few minutes left of class.

The week was not as eventful as she expected, she had no one to call a friend or have a normal conversation with. Just on her second day a boy called Keigo approached her and the moment she smiled at him; he froze.

Like, literally he did not even look like he was breathing… the hallway felt a little more crowded and she could not just walk away with his friend next to him, he was very apologetic and introduced himself. Mizuiro was very easy to talk to, she really liked that, and his smile was contagious.

Ichigo on the other hand, he did not approach her at all the rest of the week, maybe because she ran to the roof any break she could. Maybe she should also engage into a conversation with him, it is also her fault. If she took initiative, then she could actually start a friendship, instead of hiding away and avoiding everyone.

Sometimes… we cause our own problems in life…

Her own reflection on the window was mocking her. At the ring of the bell, she patiently waited for the classroom to empty, Ichigo would wake up from his thoughts at the ring of the bell. She wondered what he thought of when he lost himself staring at the window. By the time he calmly got up and collected his things, the rush from students ready to leave and the teacher's angry remarks would have died down.

That was her chance, as calmly as possible she approached his desk. – "Hey." – she almost whispered. But she got his attention, he stood tall and ready to leave. – "Hey." – he mimicked.

- "Maybe we could, walk back home, together?" – she hesitated only a little. – "Since we live near each other, of course." – she almost cringed at her poor attempt to sound convincing.

- "Yeah, sure." – he shrugged it off and took his leave, she followed close behind. At some point, once they left the school grounds, he took a slow pace, and she greatly appreciated it. His long strides were not easy to catch up to.

Conversation did not start until they got close to her home. – "Are you going to tell me?" –

- "huh?" –

He waited a couple of seconds before he stopped completely and stared back at her. – "Where do you live? So, I can drop you off first." –

- "Oh! Right, sorry. I live just two blocks away." – she pointed at the direction of her place. She was so distracted on learning the route he took that she completely forgot he did not know exactly where she lived. They had just passed the park near her home and naturally she had never taken this route before, remembering it would help since it was a very good way to get back home.

Ichigo avoided every single busy street that had too much traffic and they walked on a very nice and spacious sidewalk with the sunset behind them. It was both calm and comfortable.

He resumed their walk with a silent nod, but her drive to talk had been ignited. – "Have you lived here all your life?" –

- "Yes." –

- "That's good to know, I might bother you if I'm lost in the city or, you know." – she shrugged at the end, not knowing what she really wanted to say.

- "I have your number. "– He pulled his phone out to type something, after a few moments her phone buzzed. She left it on vibrating mode for school and forgot to change it back. – "That was me, just call or write something if you need me." –

Her smile was as bright as the sun, she most definitely will. – "Thank you." – she whispered in response as she took her phone and saved his number with excited and shaky hands.

Before she knew it, they arrived at her place. It was nothing fancy, a small house that used to be a bigger one. The owner divided it into two apartments and rented them out. It was what she needed, and she was grateful she could enjoy a roof over her head and a quiet neighbour.

Quite frankly, she did not know if she had a neighbour, just that rent was not going to be a problem for her. The apartment had 2 small rooms and if she needed to, she could get a roommate.

- "Kurosaki, it's here." – she pointed at her place and headed to the small entrance gate. – "I'll text you later about the History project." –

He stopped her as she was about to close the gate by holding it open. – "This is your house?" – his eyes narrowed at her, the pinket was taken back by his reaction.

- "Ye-yes, it's my apartment. It used to be a bigger house." – she turned to try and find the problem of her apartment, it was fine. The paint was simple shades of white and light brown, the small front yard was of stone with a few pots and plants. Her shades were closed, and the porch light was on.

Turning back to face the orange-haired young man, a silent question hung in the hair from both parties. She wanted to know what he was thinking.

- "Is there… a problem?" – she hesitated.

Dark harsh eyes blinked to his normal cool shade as he stared back at her. – "No, it's nothing." – letting go of the gate, he took his leave.

As she closed the gate, her thoughts filled the air with uncertainty. Shrugging it off, she ran inside and locked the door.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He kept the slow pace, until he heard her door shut. That was unexpected. A sense of guilt started to pool in his stomach as he arrived at the next house over.

His house.

Half answering to his sisters in the living room, his tired feet dragged him to his room. The windows were closed but the curtains wide open, one window view of the empty street and other side of the wall… the perfect view of her apartment windows.

Great.

Maybe he should have not acted that way, his father would have been exited and invited her over to diner, welcoming her with a bright smile.

But he was not his father.

It was a weird coincidence in his opinion, one he had not noticed at all… for how long has she lived there, and they never crossed paths?

He almost but trip and fall as he rushed to the window and closed the curtains. She could be right there with the same and perfect view he had. With a sigh of relief, he let go of the fabric he had clutched and yanked just moments ago to cover up his view. Invading her privacy like that would not be right or letting her invade his privacy for that matter.

It did not matter for now. It is nothing he should even care or worry about. Right?

Just a coincidence.

Winter was approaching and he was not in the mood to open his windows anyway. Cold nights are not his favourite. Concentrating on settling down for a small nap before dinner, he ignored his phone ring a couple of times, placed his phone on silent and shut his eyes with a heavy sigh.

--------------------------------------------------------

In front of her, a new dilemma. A problem she had procrastinated for a while. Sakura was not an avid shopper; her limited resources and even more styling expertise back home did not prepare her to just stare at the box of clothing she had brought.

It was small compared to what she saw on magazines, tv shows and even at the shops near her house. She had her clothing arranged by necessity and only that. Her move did not allow her to take much, and she did not have much to start with.

Winter would be upon Karakura in a month, and she had nothing other than one cosy red jacket, a pair of sweatpants, some jeans and knee-high boots.

She did not even have gloves, a single scarf or even warm socks. In her small town, winter was harsh, and snow covered the land for days on end. Heavy winter clothing was normal and those where too heavy and not necessary for the city.

According to the fashion magazines and blogs, coats and jeans were just enough for most of the winter, but that was yet to be seen.

But she already sent him a couple of text, minutes apart from each other and no response. Her homework for the week was done, all she had to distract her was group projects she had no groups to work with. They had just one project in pairs and not even the "When can we get together for History class?" was answered.

Biting her lip in worry, her mind drifted away into the dark side of her heart. Was he angry at her? Pouting, she was determined the problem was not her.

She wanted a friend. As she lay on her bedroom floor, staring at the annoyingly artificial bright light on her sealing, she was filled with the desperate need for air.

Opening her window to a small balcony, the chill air crisped her thoughts. All those buttled up emotions and questions drifted away from the night breeze. Sakura took the biggest breath she could, held it in for a few seconds and exhaled loudly.

She can get used to this, the sky was beautiful in a certain way, only the brightest stars called to her as the moon danced with the light it reflected. Even the darkest side of the moon gets brighter once there's a full moon.

She could not shake of the smile on her face. She would go shopping with girlfriends like in the movies. She would have sleepovers and watch horror movies with friends. She would laugh all her problems away and most importantly.

She would enjoy life.

The pinket just had to be a little bit more patient. Good things take time to arrive.

-------------------------------------------------------