Volume One::1 "Typically Insane"

Chapter One

     
                Typical morning. Typical school. Typically insane. Ninomiya Yuri had her chin resting on her palm, slightly bored. She glanced out the window, seeing something moving. In the snow, there was a bright red apple. The apple was attached onto a body, and Yuri realized the apple wasn't an apple at all. It was someone's head.
               The person had their head tilted up to face the sky, the snow falling in large, feathery flakes. Yuri wondered why someone was standing outside in the freezing snow in front of a school. Maybe they were ditching. Sighing, Yuri returned her attention to the classroom.
                School hadn't started yet. There was five minutes to go before classes officially began. Everyone was talking in some way, either on the phone or in large groups. All these people were friends. Or they were friends of friends. Either way. they were talking loudly, laughing. Yuri looked back at the window bitterly. She examined her reflection. Her black hair hung in front of her eyes, the rest dangling around the back of her neck. No one had seen her eyes, but she could see through her bangs surprisingly well. Sighing once again, Yuri waited for class to start.


                 "Late! Late! I'm so late," Yuri whispered sharply, shoving everything she needed into her bag. She wrapped a scarf around her neck and sprinted out the door. She passed someone by as she ran. She glanced at him then did a double-take. He had bright red hair. "You're from—" she started, before her watch beeped. "S-So late!!" she moaned, running off. He stared after her, gulping something down. He wiped his mouth, licking the top clean.
                "Is anyone absent?" Yuri heard the teacher ask. The room was buzzing and incredibly loud. "U-Um, I'm late, but I'm he—" she tried, her voice soft. "HEY!! You stole my pencil!" someone snapped, interrupting her. "E-Excuse me. . ." she tried again, her face flushing. "Is anyone absent?" the teacher repeated, unable to hear Yuri. "I think we're all here." someone said. "Not that quiet girl!" someone chirped. Yuri snapped to attention. "Ninomiya Yuri? Is Ninomiya Yuri here?" the teacher asked, looking around. Someone, rushing by Yuri, knocked her out of the room. "Uwah!" she cried, falling back. Someone caught her. She looked up, though they could not see her eyes. The red-haired male. "Ninomiya Yuri?" he asked darkly. She could only see one of his eyes. she gaped, his appearance the strangest thing she had ever seen. Bright red hair and ominous purple eyes. She nodded.
                He kicked the door open, still clutching Yuri's waist. "Oi. Ninomiya Yuri is here." he barked. Silence. "A-Ah, Ninomiya-san, why didn't you speak up?" the teacher asked, giving off an artificial laugh. "I-I'm sorry." Yuri said, shocked at this guy's announcement. "And who might you be?" the teacher asked, smiling softly. "Keisuke." the male said simply. "Are you a transfer?" the teacher went on, showing her impatience. "No. But I couldn't help but oversee this little situation." Keisuke said. "So, since I don't go to this school. . .You can't really touch me." he said, shrugging. Keisuke looked straight into the eyes of the guy who had pushed Yuri on accident. The guy shuddered, stepping back. Keisuke smirked. "You know, you oughta apologize." he said. The boy quickly did so. "Good boy. Here's your reward." On the word 'reward', Keisuke slammed his fist into the boy's nose. Yuri flinched, and others stepped out of the way as the boy fell back. Stunned, everyone looked up at Keisuke, who had taken Yuri's hand. He smiled at her, saying, "Speak out. Be heard." With that, he left. Yuri stared at her hand, then gaped at the boy. The teacher snapped back to reality and started to help the boy up.
               Yuri was on a high all day. Keisuke had been on her mind. Even better, she knew his name. Keisuke. . .The bell rang. Silently, Yuri stood up. She tied her scarf around her neck again, then tightened her coat around herself. It was still snowing. "Ninomiya-san!" the teacher called. Yuri walked over to her. "I'm sorry about this morning. However, if you see that Keisuke fellow again, do give him a good scolding." she said. Yuri nodded, trying not to grin. She bid the teacher goodbye and exited the school. Her breath showed in front of her, and she blew out in a circle. Her grandfather had once given her his pipe to try. She hated the sickly sweet taste of the tobacco, so he took her outside and taught her how to form the circle in the air. He died a few years ago.
               "That's pretty cool." someone said. Yuri turned, startled. Keisuke smiled down at her, sitting on a branch high above her. "K-Keisuke," Yuri said, startled. "Hiya, Ninomiya-san." he greeted, jumping down. He was a lot taller than Yuri, bright red hair, purple eyes. He stuck out altogether, but he was rather cute. Like the older brother you wished was your little brother. Keisuke sucked in a breath, then blew it out. "That circle thing. That was pretty nifty." he said, gesturing to her. She did it again. His eyes lit. Well, the only visible eye. Though none of her two eyes showed, so noticing this was rather ironic. "What are you doing out here anyway?" Yuri asked. "Ditching. Not your school, but mine." he answered.
                Yuri's first reaction was to stay away, especially since she was a goody-goody. After a long look at him, she decided he wasn't at all bad. Just making a rather stupid choice. Keisuke reached over and gave her forehead a flick. "I can so read your mind." he said, frowning. "Oh? What did I just think?" Yuri said, rubbing her hair. ". . .I dunno. I give up. Anyways, it's freezing," Keisuke said, shrugging, "so let's start walking. I'll take you home." Yuri nodded. "Okay. Thanks." she said. "Oh! I'm Keisuke Ryuji." he said, laughing. "You know who I am." Yuri said, blowing a circle again. "What time is it, anyway?" Keisuke asked.
"Time to get a watch."
"That joke is so old."
"Yea."
"No, really. Time."
"Uhm. . ."
Keisuke burst laughing. "You don't know either, huh?" he asked. "Let me see. . ." she said, taking her phone out. "It's 3-ish." she said. Keisuke swiped her phone and examined it. "Hold on," he said. He tore his phone out and ripped a keychain off. He fastened it to hers. "See, look at this." he said. Keisuke held her phone up, as well as his. "Why not check your phone?" she muttered. Keisuke chuckled. "Just 'cause I wanted to see yours." he said. "One more thing." he said, flipping her phone open. He dialed something then saved it. "Alright, here." he said, handing it back. "What did you do?" she asked curiously.
               "Nothing much. You're home." he said, pointing to her house. "A-Ah, you're right." she said, feeling warm and fuzzy. Eww. I need to see a doctor. . . She looked up and saw Keisuke walking away. "K-Keisuke-kun! Thank you! Bye!" she called nervously. Keisuke looked back, then grinned. He waved. "See you later, Ninomiya-chan!" he called back. A gust of wind then rocketed by them. His hair flew back. Yuri gasped.
               An artificial right eye. Keisuke didn't notice her staring (he couldn't tell), so he assumed she hadn't seen. His right eye was still purple, but it was dull and without shine. It appeared darker then the left one. He waved again and started walking away. Yuri, startled, opened her phone to avoid thinking about it. She checked around, then saw what he did. Her contact list was empty, until she noticed he had added himself onto her phone. His number and all was right there. Shakily, she dialed his number. After a few rings, he picked up. "Ninomiya-san? What's wrong?" Keisuke asked. "N-Nothing. Thanks again." she said, stunned. It was really him. Not some faulty number. He was laughing. "Alright, alright. See you later." he said, hanging up. See you later. What a nice phrase. She closed her phone as well, then walked inside. Then it occured to her. How did he know where I lived?