12 Roses

4 | Sword Lilies

You held the tray of food that you were given, thankfully without a word said, and you awkwardly roamed the cafeteria, remembering that you didn't have a single friend to run to.

When you saw Maki, you quickly noticed that she was a very popular person, with people crowding around her to be her friend. Not that you blamed them, of course.

You felt a hand on your shoulder and you nearly threw your bowl of miso soup until you realized that it was Inumaki, his eyes smiling like they had before. "Sit with us?" he asked, pointing to the exit of the cafeteria.

You nodded, glad that you wouldn't be sitting alone, and followed him outside to the back of the school, where the bleachers were.

"Are we allowed to do this?" I asked.

"Maki said that no one would stop us."

You nodded again, this time a little less earnestly, and placed your tray in your lap.

"You seemed confused in the cafeteria," Inumaki noticed, his head tilted in curiosity. "Have you never been in one?"

You shook your head. "I come from a really small town, so there's a bakery, restaurant, cafe, and three tea shops within five minutes from the school, so we never really needed one."

"Really? That seems fun."

"Yeah, and you know everyone within a kilometre of your house by the time you're five, so it's not like you won't have friends."

Inumaki's eyes smiled again, although it sounded odd. It was like when a flower glowed although there was no light emitting from it at all, you simply knew that if it had a mouth, they would be grinning.

"Sounds like a nice place," he said.

"It is. Although, you get no privacy, because at least a quarter of it will know when something big happens in your life. And leaving it is terrifying because for once, you can't recite the street names or remember where all the good coffee is from."

You swore Inumaki laughed, even though you were told he had no voice and even if he did, you wouldn't hear it.

"I get that." He stared out into the field where the track was. Slowly, he lowered his mask to put a piece of food in his mouth, and you quickly noticed a bandage on his jaw.

A strange place to get a wound.

You waited for him to turn to you again, and when he did, you said, "What about you?"

He shrugged. "I come from the same school as Maki. She came to like me because I didn't crowd her for attention, and when she started hanging out with me, people started to stray away. No one wants to talk to someone who can't talk back." He grinned. "Not that I want to, of course."

"Perfectly understandable."

While you were curious as to why he was mute, you knew you hated it when people made your being deaf your only interesting feature, so you didn't mention it.

His eyes flickered to behind you and you almost turned until the metal bleachers clanged, making the seat under you vibrate.

"Sorry I'm late," Maki said to Inumaki as she put her bag down. She walked to the bleacher right below the one you and Inumaki sat on, placing herself in between the two of you. "Sorry, did I startle you?"

"Not at all!" Most definitely.

"What were you doing while I was being mobbed?" she asked you.