Unselfish Wish

Chapter 5- Transfer Student

A month after school started, two months after leaving Unnan, a transfer student arrived in Class 1-A. It had been about year since she had seen Kiyo, and at first she did not recognize the handsome boy until she looked up and saw his silver eyes. Startled, she almost called out to him, but he placed a finger over his lips as if to ask her to stay quiet for now. She nodded, waiting.

"Class, this is Moriyama Kiyoshi. He is joining us from today onwards. Please welcome him. Well, Moriyama? Introduce yourself."

"Of course. I am Moriyama, I am in your care." He then bowed. The class murmured, it was so short! The teacher looked around for a seat.

"Alright, Moriyama, take that empty seat next to Tachibana. You can share textbooks with her until you get your own."

"Certainly." He said, walking to the desk in question. He could barely contain his excitement at seeing her again, but still managed to look cool and collected. Under his breath, he said "hello" to Fumiko. She smiled brightly at him.

Again, murmurs, this time about Fumiko's smile. She had earned the nickname, ironically enough, of "goddess."

"Class, enough nonsense, back to learning!"

They quieted down, but while Kiyoshi noticed all the boys' attention, Fumiko was completely oblivious. Thank heaven I arrived when I did, he thought. Much longer and she'd have been eaten alive. At lunch, he tried to approach her, but she was immediately swallowed by a group of girls (Hinata and company). Determined not to lose, even to Fumiko's precious friends, he stepped up to her desk.

"Tachibana-san, if I may intrude?" He asked politely.

"Oh,Moriyama-san, of course. What is it?" The girls gave him a look that said touch our precious lamb and we'll kill you. He nodded to them, in perfect accordance, even if they were looking at him like that. For her protection, he would forgive it. Hinata looked at him, her hand on her chin.

"Hmmmm? You know our Fumi-chan?" Her face was very close to his. He resisted the urge to swat her away. Mortals! No respect!

"Err, yes. She lived where my family used to vacation, so we are friends, even if the visits were rather infrequent." I must watch out for this one, she's especially vigilant...

"Oh. Is that so? Well, we'll give you a few moments. Come on girls." They left, still eyeing him suspiciously. They all seemed reluctant to move away from her, but followed Hinata's natural leadership.

"Wow. It seems as though you've finally made some friends, Tachibana-san." His speech was formal, as he felt it should be in school. This was a whole new thing for them, and since he’d never attended human school, he was a little unsure how to proceed. Observing was totally different from doing.

"Kiyo-kun, please call me Fumi-chan, it's so strange to hear my last name coming from you!" There was that dangerous smile again. Fumiko, put that away! He thought. You'll be gobbled up by wolves! He was very aware of the hard stares from all other males in the room, even the teacher.

"I understand. Fumi-chan it is. But we should be careful around the larger student group." He said. "We wouldn't want to have any misunderstandings." He felt so stiff in his human guise. He'd never understood why people feared an audience, but the pressure he was feeling was beyond reason.

"Why? We're friends from childhood.I'm sure they will understand." Her blue eyes pierced him with their directness. “Unless... I embarrass you?” Her eyes looked sad and resigned, as if this was probably the real reason for his reluctance.

"You could never embarrass me. Nicknames it is." He paused, wanting to simply pick her up, toss her over his shoulder and carry her off. Well, that kind of thinking won't do! "Can I walk home with you?" He asked, blushing at his thoughts.

"Well, if you don't mind the girls... they seem to be sure I'm going to get attacked for some reason." Fool, it's because you're brimming with divinity and every man naturally wants to make you theirs, he thought. "Kiyo-kun, are you alright? You look like you might have a fever-" So saying, she placed her forehead on his to check. "You do seem warm, perhaps you should go to the nurse?" Her lips were barely inches away as he stared into her eyes.

"That's fine, I-" Emotions welled up and he almost started to confess everything to her, to kiss her and take her away.

"Alright, loverboy, time's up!" He pulled away abruptly. Hinata was back. Already. And her tone was rather abrasive for someone so cheerful.

"Hina!" Said Fumiko. "You shouldn't treat Kiyo-kun like that! He didn't do anything wrong, please don't call him names." She grasped Hinata's arm, pleading with her eyes. Nobody could guard against that, Kiyoshi thought.

"Ehhhhh! KIYO-KUN! What does this mean, Fumi-chan?" Hinata turned to Fumiko, shocked. Fumiko blushed, looking down.

"Oh, well, we're childhood friends and I've always called him that, so..." Hinata visibly relaxed.

"Childhood friends? If you say so, but I got a distinctly predatory vibe from this guy." When she turned and pointed, he startled, looking shocked (more that she understood his intentions than anything else) and blushed.

"Yeah, in fact he was my first and only friend until I came here." She said, rather embarrassed to have it said.

"No way! You're so wonderful Fumi-chan, how could you not have friends?" Hinata was genuinely shocked. Fumiko to her, was like an angel. So kind and generous, who could not like her?

"I didn't always look like this and I guess that really bothered the kids I went to school with." Fumiko looked down, feeling the insecurity of her past creep up around her.

"They were weak and didn't deserve you." Hinata stated firmly.

"I agree." Said Kiyoshi, causing Hinata to turn his direction. She liked him, she supposed, but it was her job to protect Fumiko from the dangers of the world. At least, that's how she felt. The desire to keep her new best friend safe was extremely strong- even Hina herself was not sure where the urge came from.

"I appreciate your consensus, but I didn't ask for your input. No man is going to lay his dirty paws on my pure Fumi-chan. Got it?" Hinata said, looking him straight in the eye. The other girls appeared behind her, clearly an attempt at intimidation.

This is going to be tough with all these guardians, he thought. But he hadn't spent 9 years cultivating a relationship for nothing. And he wasn't a man, really. He was a god. There could be no comparison between his intentions and those of the adolescent perverts roaming the school. Perhaps negotiation.... He looked at Hinata.

"Saotome-san, right?" She nodded. "How about this, in exchange for letting me talk to Fumi-chan normally, I will tell you when her birthday is." She stiffened, clearly intrigued. Then she looked at Fumiko.

"When is your birthday,Fumi-chan?" Hinata asked her, but she shook her head and pointed to Kiyoshi. "You mean you actually want to talk to this beast?" Fumiko nodded. Hinata sighed, "Alright, fine, if she wants to talk to you that much it's fine. Now tell me when!" He had won this battle, at least.

Kiyoshi smiled, "It's May 5th. Coming soon! Her sweet sixteen." His expression was dreamy, and though he was quick to label humans as perverts, he was clearly thinking some impure thoughts of his own.

"Watch your mouth, childhood friend." She startled him, and he blushed, again.

"I didn't say anything bad, did I? Let's plan a party, okay Fumi-chan?" Kiyoshi said. She nodded happily, just realizing it would be her first birthday with friends.

"Kiyo-kun, does that mean you're here to stay?" Oh, Fumiko, that look! I want to make you mine when I see it- I'm so impatient! He thought. She shone with radiance, reminding him a bit of Amaterasu's divinity. Please, let there be no yokai within 50 miles! He thought. They’d try to devour her energy to gain strength.

"You bet it does." He said, tapping her on the nose and smiling. "Whoa!" She had leapt into his arms, crying. "Fumi-chan I know you're excited, but, err, this is a little....." He noticed the evil gazes ther guardian girls were directing at him and made sure he didn't hug her back, as much as he really wanted to. He would not have been shocked if they’d all cracked their knuckles at him.

"Oh I am sorry!" She stepped back, wiping away tears. Thankfully, nobody but her close friends saw, although that was also dangerous. Then the bell for lunch rang and they didn't talk again that day. He had wanted to walk her home, but seeing her laughing so happily with her friends, he hesitated to interfere. After all, if he was successful, she would not see them very much at all after graduation. Instead, he followed them at a distance, watching for dangerous entities.