Chapter 6

- "You have been spacing out lately." -

- "uh?" -

- "What's on your mind?" -

Her eyes seemed unfocused and tired.

- "You need to sleep more, those bags under your eyes are getting bigger" -

- "..." -

Annoyed, he nudged her a little on the shoulder. - "Hey." -

She blinked out of her state and turned to him in confusion. - "Kurosaki?" -

- "I said call me Ichigo." - he grumbled in annoyance. His brown eyes stared at hers, looking for a reaction. Nothing.

- "Sakura... what's wrong?" - ever since October started, her mood had changed, and she no longer had time or energy to hang out with anyone. Orihime had asked him if she was sick or something and to be honest... he had no idea.

They only knew each other for a very short few months to really know what she thinks and how she reacts. He knew and understood the mood and changes of his friends and classmates better than he knew himself.

People are our own mirrors, and they show us how and who we really are.

But Sakura was very honest inside and out with her emotions, her voice told him everything he needed to know. Then... a quiet Sakura was not an easy one. Her body language told him she was tired and unfocused, but why?

- "Sorry, I will go home early today." -

- "What about your club? You missed the last meeting." -

- "I did? I will email them later." - and with that, she turned to the window again and continued to stare out into nothing for the rest of the school day.

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- "It's the festivities." -

- "What are you talking about?" -

Chad was unusually talkative today, but he had become very closed to Sakura, and he was curious.

- "Halloween is coming up and our class will have a horror themed hose."

- "Yeah, so what?" - the orange-haired boy answered in annoyance.

- "The class asked her to be in charge the costumes for our class." -

- "Alone?" -

The tall brown-haired classmate just stood and nodded at him before leaving. So... stress. The little pinket reacts to stress by working herself to exhaustion.

The ring of her doorbell was loud enough for him to hear from outside. "Who the hell has such a loud doorbell?" he thought.

- "Hell, that is one loud doorbell." - commented his friend, Tatsuki was also annoyed that their friend decided to lock herself in her home and shut down all communication with them.

- "Well, it should work to wake her up if she falls asleep." - Orihime always found a good reasoning to everything Tatsuki thought.

The click on the door made them all quiet down and turn to the entrance. A confused and tired pinket peeked at them from the inside.

- "uh, Hello?" -

- "Mis Haruno, may we enter?" - Chad's soft yet strong voice emerged as he stepped inside her front entrance. - "We came to help with the costumes." -

Her confusion turned to a wide smile directed straight to Chad and then to the rest of the small group.

- "You guys are amazing!" - she answered with glee.

He could not ignore the way her shoulders relaxed, and her mood turned her entire apartment into a warm heaven while they worked.

- "Black robes and just a white mask? Is this really a scarry costume?" - the dark-haired classmate asked while holding some black garment-like fabric.

- "It is simple yet effective... at least in the dark." - the pinket answered with a smile. - "Trust me, it will be unsettling enough." -

- "I think it works!" - Orihime chimed in.

With a smile, the pinket took to the kitchen. Following her with his gaze, her movements were a little erratic and shaky, it was the first time all of them had gathered in her small apartment. On other days it is only him and her. Orihime and Tatsuki would tag along a few times. But he kept himself away the rest of the time as he believed always shadowing the pinket would hinder her chances to socialize with others out of his small group.

Sakura had to find her way around on her own and not depend on him all the time. Nevertheless, he would always be there if she needed him... Orihime told him she would be that friend for her, Tatsuki joined that thought, so obviously he felt sure about their friendship.

- "Mis Haruno." -

- "Chad, please, just Sakura." - she smiled brightly at the tall student who joined her in the small kitchen, the man almost overpowered the entire room with his presence but the pinket always gave him her at most attention and never commented on his size.

Ichigo never thought a man his size would feel insecure about anything other than maybe fitting in normal transport, but Chad was a gentle soul that received much praise and also fear from his looks.

Sakura always shushed those comments and would accommodate him the best she could. "Now I feel dumb for not noticing that" the orange boy thought.

- "It is ok to ask for help." -

- "Huh?" -

- "You are not alone, friends help each other." - and with that he gently held the plate of treats and pitcher from her hands. - "Your home is lovely." -

Once the bigger frame of Chad left the kitchen, he could finally take a glimpse at the pinket... and her flushed face with silly smile almost made the orange-haired boy chuckle out loud.

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- "Sakura... what the hell are you doing?" - he sighed heavily.

- "My very best!" - the pinket countered with an offended gasp. - "What else does it look like?" -

- "It looks like you are stuck." -

- "..." -

- "Sakura?" -

- "Could you... help me down?" -

Once again, a heavy sigh left his lips as he stood straighter from his leaning position on the door frame and walked to a hanging pinket just dangling from the ceiling of their classroom. her legs dangled a few feet from the floor and her arms held on to a harness that wrapped around her torso, this contraption was connected from the ceiling and judging from the table and chair knocked over on the floor...

- "Did you kick over your only way down?" -

- "Stop judging me with those eyes and bring me down!" - she squeaked.

His steps stopped just an arm's length from her, and he lifted his chin to meet her eyes with the full force of a badly held poker face.

Her face scrunched into a pout but held his gaze until he erupted in full laughter.

- "Stop!" - her feet tried to reach the table, but her shoe fell off. - "Ugh! Ichigo!" - and with that, he held a hand over his face to cover the grin on his face, she finally called him by his name in her despair.

Maybe he would be nice and help her down.

- "Why are you- " -

A click followed by a squeak and a falling pinket fell right on him, dragging both teenagers to the floor. At least she had a comfortable body to fall on to...

- "Ugh... why did you do that?" - he grumbled as he stared at the ceiling. The harness had been unbuckled for her to be let go.

Her smaller body shifted a little before her eyes met his from above, her pout still present. - "I was not going to hang there all day." -

From her sitting position, right on top of him might I add, he could see she was completely unharmed and that is all that matters... except.

- "Why are you here, alone?" -

- "The others went to get the decorations. I thought I might check the best attraction." - she answered in glee as her smile emerged.

- "Alone?" - he emphasized.

- "I- well I- I got... bored." - her flush prevailed through her entire ordeal into a coherent sentence as her eyes searched for an answer.

He tilted his head to the side with a raised brow. - "Bored?" -

Her hands met her hips in an attempt to state her reasoning. - "Well, I am not sitting around doing nothing. There is much to do for the Halloween festivities. Our class will be amazing with the costumes and the arrangements, look we have covered most of the walls in black sheets to make it even darker." -

She did not even blink as she stood up and her skirt swayed with her movements, her arms pointing at all the changed in the classroom. Ichigo almost got whiplash turning to the side and staring intently at the wall covered in small ghosts made of white paper.

He must admit, she was really making things sound exciting around the spooky season. He did not really do much celebration other than follow his sisters around while they dressed in costumes and ran around shouting "Boo" at anyone while his father recorded every moment.

It is the simple things that create memories. Sakura just wanted to share her excitement to others, and it was working.

- "Ichigo?" -

- "What now"? -

- "The floor must be cold." - she giggled. Turning to her, he held her arm while she crouched next to him and dragged her to the floor, carefully.

- "Yeah, very cold." - he grinned at her "o" face on the ground.

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- "Boo!" - Orihime shouted at the small group as their faces paled before shouting.

- "Ha!" - another student in dark robes and white mask appeared from behind them causing the small group to run towards the centre of the room. Their movements halted as a tall figure fell from the ceiling revealing a skeleton with some rags dangling and causing the group to scramble out of the horror house classroom in a chorus of screams.

- "That was fun!" - shouted the orange-haired girl. - "Where is the next group?" -

- "There is none Orihime. That was our last round." - her friend answered as she started to remove her costume.

- "Really? Is that late already?" - she followed through. - "Well, that was so fun! Let's hurry and see the others." -

- "There is no rush, the theatre club won't start soon, we have time to get some refreshments. I'm starved!" - whined another student.

- "Sakura, will you take these props to the storage room? We will close up." -

- "Yes!" - answered a pinket from behind a fake wall.

- "Let me help you collect them." -

- "Thank you Tatsuki. Put them all in that crate." -

Working together, the box was filled with the borrowed school props and the pinket was on her way to the back of the school. It was getting dark and the decorative Halloween lights worked only to create anything but great lighting.

- "Gosh. This place looks like the mouth of a wolf." - she commented to herself. - "Not that I am afraid or anything... but." - she turned around. The shadow casted by the tall buildings covered the moonlight to make it even darker.

- "Hey, I don't see anything here. This is just a school with kids wearing costumes and making noise." -

- "Quiet. Our captain sent us for rounds, and we will follow orders." -

She barely caught her gasp before it left her lips.

- "There goes one student." -

- "Why do they have to wear those silly costumes? They look dumb." -

- "Shut up. Your complaining is annoying." -

The pinket continued with her task and avoided staring towards those voices. "Ignore them" she scolded herself in silence.

- "It's so dark here, why don't we go watch whatever is going on in there? What if there's a play?" -

- "Shut up, we are here for work!" -

"Ignore them" she continued, opened the door to the storage room and entered. It was even darker, but the small light switch was easy to find. Closing the door behind her, she felt her lungs fill with air once again.

Leaning on the door to catch her breath and gather her thoughts, Sakura decided she would take her time. They would move along, and she would be oblivious to them. "Do not go near them" she reminded herself.

The storage room has many rows of metal shelves covered in all the many labelled crates, boxes and bags covered in different layers of dust.

- "This place must have spiders." - she thought out lout.

Shrugging off the possibility of a long-legged spider dropping on her shoulders or head, Sakura made way towards the back of the room and looked for the shelf labelled "Holiday decorations".

- "Found it!" - she congratulated herself with glee.

As she placed the crate back in its place, her thoughts wondered. She did not feel anything strange and unusual around her. Only those two outside blabbering and giving her that sinking feeling she has learned to associate with those with black robes and steel swords.

Energy.

Every living, moving and breathing thing has it. Otherwise, it is an inanimate object. Humans have all kinds of levels of this energy that lets her know their emotions a little bit easier than just searching their facial expression.

Most people did not know or understand how to stop emanating that energy or make it stronger... unlike those angels of death. Trained to use that energy and hide it from their enemies when necessary.

Those out there must be emanating a radius of that energy to draw their prey towards them and away from the humans during this time of the year.

A time of year when many would prepare for the changing of season... humans and not humans alike. Even those white masks creatures would change their patterns during this time of year.

Small supernatural occurrences all around the world made fall very busy for those who maintained the balance between worlds. They also caused the little pinket headaches with the constant blasts of energy and spikes than made her skin crawl with goosebumps.

Shrugging off the icy feeling on her shoulders, the pinket headed out into the darkness. Luckily, there were no voices nearby, only the small shouts of the students and others who joined the events at the school.

- "Boo!" -

The yelp and jump her body made shook her to the core in a very embarrassing way...

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