#aurpopen

{ ♥ }  As sun filtered in through half shut blinds, lighting the broom closet of an apartment that Tohru called home, a blanket swaddled bundle squirmed about. Thrashing around like a fish out of water, a petite figure fought its way out of its fleece cocoon and groped for the nearest clock. A set of chocolate colored eyes, an unruly mess of silky brown hair, and a canvas of porcelain emerged, lifting a discarded phone up before letting out a soft yawn.

6:02 a.m.

Wiping crust from her eyes, Tohru pushed aside her blanket and leaned in a deep stretch across her thin cot. Since her arrival in Bunkyo, nights had been short and tough on the back. Still, it was more than enough for Tohru to be supporting herself and waiting for her beloved cat to join her once again. After all, she’d lived on much less before; compared to her week long stay in the tent on Sohma property, this one room apartment seemed like a palace -- minus a fiery, carrot head prince. But then again, even the pang of loneliness she felt from Kyou’s absence was instantly alleviated by the simple phone she’d received as a parting gift from Uo-chan and Hana-chan, as Kyou was never further than a phone call away.

”Ohayou, Kyou-kun! Ohayou, okaasan!” Squeaking out a good morning to both mother and beloved, Tohru sprung up on two feet. Padding across cold, concrete tiles on bare feet, she hummed her way through preparing a simple breakfast. A late night shift a few hours prior had freed up her day -- until noon, of course, -- and thus it had been decided that her free time would be spent running errands and familiarizing herself with the district she now called home. An hour or so, however, could be spared for a home cooked breakfast. Heating herself a bowl of rice and pouring cream into a tall mug of heavily sugared coffee, Tohru allowed her mind to wander. What was it like back at home, anyways? Were Yuki’s studies going well at university? More importantly, she figured, would be the status of his finally official relationship with their old high school’s class treasurer, Kuragi Machi. Oh, and Uo-chan had just received a large promotion! The exhilaration that had flooded over the phone still warmed Tohru’s bottomless heart. Come to think of it … didn’t Hana-chan just receive a bit of good news, too? What was it ag--

”Ouch!” Shaken from her daze by a flood of burning coffee washing over her hand, Tohru yelped in surprise. Quickly running the burn under a thin stream of cool water, she used her free hand to mop up the sticky mess she’d left behind with the nearest rag. After a sip off the top of her overflowing drink, she gently set the mug down on a clean section of the countertop with a muted clink. Deciding that getting dressed to face the day might be a bit safer for spacing out, she pulled her flowing, cotton shirt over her head with ease. Reaching for a clean outfit, Tohru absently pulled a dress off its rusted, wire hanger and slipped under the full pleats of the skirt in a fluid motion. Absent minded fingers pushed plastic buttons into their correct holes and straightened the stiff, white collar fixed tightly around her neck. As habit took over for the lack of attention she could pay the simple task, a gentle sigh escaped frosted petal lips. Although she could spend weeks -- no, months, -- on the details of her beloved friends’ lives, now wasn’t the time for reminiscence to weigh down her spirits, not when she’d given her word to everyone back home that she’d do her absolute best!

”I’m almost ready to go, okaasan! Don’t worry, Kyou-kun, I’ll be safe today! It’s a promise!” Giggling softly, Tohru took a long sip of coffee from her still warm mug and reached for the nearly forgotten bowl of rice. Gee, if she’d forgotten to eat again, Kyou would be sure to worry. Last time she’d gotten sick, after all, he’d nearly thrown a fit over her! Guess some girls really can be so lucky, huh? “You’d really like it here, mom,” she murmured, lifting thin, plastic chopsticks to her parted lips. “After I eat, I’ll take you out with me, okay? Hmm … oh, and I’ll take Kyou-kun, too! Let’s all stop by the park, too! I mean, it’s such a beautiful day that it’d be terrible not to!” Though free of the fear of betraying her mother’s memory, old habits seemed to die hard with the stubborn nature Tohru had taken from Kyouko herself. As such, well loved photographs of her mother, her father, and her Kyou had taken up a comfortable residence in Tohru’s faded, leather wallet. A warm smile spread across her delicate features, illuminating her milky complexion as she gently brushed each familiar face with the utmost care.

Ding, ding! An alarm sounded, shaking Tohru from her reverie and jump onto two feet. With a loud crash, her forehead met the ledge of the heavy, stone counter and produced a trickle of blood. Covering the injury with one hand and searching for a bandage with the other, a small seed of worry planted itself in the lining of her stomach. If she spent too long indoors, she’d have no time to accomplish her plans for the day before a ten hour shift at the business center scrubbing floors. Finally finding a clean bandage and an antiseptic wipe, Tohru quickly cleaned herself up and was soon out the door. At least it hadn’t been anything too serious. It wasn’t anything like the flu she’d caught on the train a week or so earlier, afterall! The whole ordeal had left her woozy and even more ditzy than ever -- and been the cause of worry among all her friends and coworkers. And so, with a little bit of comfort to further fuel her, Tohru skipped and twirled and hummed her way through town.

”Ah, what a beautiful sky,” she chirped, walking out of the local convenience store with two arms full of crinkling plastic bags. Already she’d gotten her clothing washed and dried at the laundromat, hoping to avoid the high fee for access to utilities back at the apartment complex, and gotten all the groceries she’d need for the week. The only thing left before taking a break at the park was … what was it, again? Staring blankly off into empty space as she made her way down the bustling street, Tohru racked her brain for the last stop on her list of places to hit. Was it the little noodle shop where she bought ume udon that one time for a worker’s union meeting? No, the next time she’d need to stop by wasn’t for another month or so. Was it to pick up more bleach? It couldn’t be that -- she’d just cracked open a new bottle when she was scrubbing the floors two days ago. But, then, what -- ?

”Oof!” Feeling hollow bones collide with something firm -- almost like … oh, exactly like -- a wall, Tohru cried out in alarm. Crashing down with a loud thud on the cobblestone of the storefront patio, she immediately covered herself with the now untidied folds of her skirt before taking inventory on any damaged goods. Ah, if Kyou had been here … he was always so good about catching her before she could fall. Delighted to find that nothing seemed to be too ruined, save a dent in her carton of milk and a scuffed bag of white, uncooked rice, Tohru gathered everything up in her thin arms and shoved it all back into its respective bag. Whipping her head around, checking for witnesses to her clumsiness, she smiled in relief as she wiped dirt and blood off her scraped palms before standing once again. No sooner than had she taken her first step, however, did she trip once again -- and landed on the well polished shoes of a stranger. Freezing, mortified and blushing as deep a shade of red as a tomato, Tohru scuttled backwards before stammering out a rushed apology. Shooting up as quickly as a sprout in the spring, she immediately lowered herself into a respectful bow.

Sitting in his chair behind his desk, all Ulquiorra could hear were the sounds of the frantic scribbling, and incessant erasing his students were making. Being a very apathetic being, he usually issued incomprehensible tests to his class. "Sink, or swim," he had told his class upon entering the classroom for their test. That was all about forty-five minutes ago; which to him, felt like an eternity. There were so many things he could be doing right now, but no, he was stuck here until his students were finished. How irritating, these pieces of filth take entirely too long to finish; I can honestly say that I am surprised they haven't withdrawn from my class yet... Picking up his book entitled, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Ulquiorra immersed himself once again into the exploits of Rick Deckard in an attempt to better understand the occupants of this planet, and their strange philosophies.

The test finally over and the last student to depart, Ulquiorra collected the papers and locked them away in his bottom left-hand drawer to grade at a later time. Something he would rather not to do, but must in order to keep up this facade of his being here. Going to the door to his class, he opened it, and turned to exit the building. He had business to take care of elsewhere, and remaining on campus was getting him nowhere in regards to his mission. Instead, he may have to turn to ulterior means to finish his assignment...

Finally outside, Ulquiorra let a small amount of his spiritual pressure seep out in hopes of luring in some sort of lead. If anything, he could surely use them as bait later... Next, he used his Sonido and vanished from the campus and onto the rooftops of Bunkyo, leaving small traces of his essence behind him; a make shift bread crumb trail. 

Now at the corner of town, Ulquiorra stood on the edge of a building and glared off into the distance; hoping that he may be able to sense, or even track any form of movement that would follow his steps to his current location. He was in the perfect location, for it allowed him the ability to observe without being seen himself. 

*tick, tock*

Well that didn't work. I wonder.... Pointing his finger towards a distant and vacant crosswalk, Ulquiorra let out a small Cero blast. Now, let's see what comes of this...

     Hot, hot, hot, hot.

     The summer's heat called for no discretion as the redhaired woman lay beneath the shade of a tree, adorned in little more than a sports bra and a pair of tattered shorts that might as well have served as the bottoms to a bikini.  That didn't quite matter though-- it was hot and Kyumei didn't care; besides, most humans walking about were dressed in less than what she wore now.

A humid sensation hanging over the boiling summertime Tokyo; people only daring to venture outside after taking the adequate precautions in dress code, and even then a lot of the people walking around on campus were evidently affected by the summer heat. Admittedly Haruka was far from oblivious to the warm temperature around him, but having substituted the usual long shirts with a short-sleeved one only a tad whiter than the skin showing underneath, and having strategically placed himself on the edge of one of the many campus fountains the boy was feeling quite content. Although the cool water was not near enough to actually hit him, it possessed a coolness and salvation almost like an oasis in a desert.

Despite all of the bustling around him from people walking all about, busy with their own endeavours, the teen seemed to have little intention of moving from his spot, and his attention also didn't really seem to be on his peers - rather Haruka's eyes were back and forth between the impressive school building of Ouran Academy towering up in front of him and the sketchbook in his lap. On the paper surface an impressive and surprisingly accurate in detail sketch of the building was taking form - it wasn't a school project or any such thing, Haruka had simply been impressed by the structure and wanted to capture it.

At first it had went smoothly, but as time passed his movements had become slower and slower as the constant flow of rushing water was lulling him to sleep. Soon he dropped both pen and sketchbook by his feet on the ground and his mind was slowly taken over by drowsiness - only a moment later were his eyes completely shut and Haruka had fallen asleep... only to lose his sense of balance with the lack of support.