Silence In The Theatre!

[Hiei]

The auditorium. The only time that Hiei liked this place was when it was empty. Here, there were thousands of seats and a single, though large, stage in the center. And this stage was special too. Modified by some unknown Alice, any sound made on stage would be amplified loud enough for every single person in the auditorium to hear. And of course, this Alice could be switched off from a certain room in the back of the auditorium called the "Control Room". The lights were on, yes, but not the special microphone. So, Hiei sat at the edge of the stage, his red eyes scanning from one end of the curved rows of seats in front of him to the other end. Soon enough, this auditorium would start to be used, especially now that he was in-charge. With a few changes in the Academy, announcements need to be made personally now and ironically, it would either be the President or the P.R.O. to do it.

Of course, no announcements would be made that day. Hiei was simply there to get used to the place, considering he did not come here that often. He let out a sigh, letting himself all backwards, placing his hands below his head as he looked up at the ceiling, his leg, from the knee onwards, hanging out from the edge. Wearing a loose black T-shirt, white bandages around his arm and a pair of tan cargo pants, Hiei was once more wearing his usual attire. Yesterday, on Halloween's, Kurogane had the crazy idea of making him where a tuxedo for the event. And in the end, Hiei messed up the attire a bit, by leaving his tie in his room, tucking out his shirt and unbuttoning his blazer. Well, at least it was over, but he could not believe what Ms Thea told him.

So, what was he now? Hiei Valentine? He looked up at the ceiling, the stage lights shining down at him. He did not mind having a new mother, yes. In fact, it was what he always wanted. A mother. Hiei's mother threw him away when he was born as a way to prevent Hiei from getting killed and got murdered by his father in the process. He never knew what a mother's love was, the only love he experienced was from his sensei, though it was far from what other parents treated their children. He closed his red eyes, letting it hide underneath his crimson-tipped raven-black hair. Confused, he let out another sigh.

[Hime]

The chimes are lovely when perceived in silence.

A small bell began ringing from the back of the stage, its sound echoing louder as it traveled through the smooth auditorium walls. If thought about well, one can also conclude that the architectural design of the place itself helps in the amplifying of sound waves--and that very asset of the auditorium would work, even if the special alice microphone was switched off.

Now, if a person would listen carefully, the sound of the ringing bell travels across the stage, from left to the right. And then...it stopped. At the opening of the stage where the performers were supposed to come out, a white bishon puppy appeared. The aqua blue collar around his neck had a bell attached to it, explaining where the sound came from. It took a while for it to move as if it was scanning the person lying down at the edge of the stage. After that, it walked towards him "cheerfully", settling down a few inches above his head. It studied him for a while before started licking his head. The dog, after all, was very friendly.

Not long after that, another sound came from backstage. This time, it was the sound of footsteps, more like the heels of sandals thumping on the marbled stage floor, followed the soft sound of a girl's voice.

"Jasper? Where are you, boy?"

[Hiei]

Hiei was snapped out of his thinking trance, the chimes of a bell awakening his outer sense as he blinked, 'opening' his eyes. The sound came from somewhere behind him, but with the echoing effect of the room, even Hiei wasn't even sure where it was coming from. Lifting his chin upwards while still lying on the ground, he found himself looking at a white bishon puppy, coming out from the side of the stage, behind the curtains. There was a bell around its collar, explaining the sound of the bell. Hiei let out a soft grunt. Whatever peace he had earlier had been disturbed by a little dog. He sighed, looking up at the ceiling again, not even going to bother. If there was a collared dog here, there would definitely be an owner.

And that hit him. He closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh and was about to stand up when he heard soft tapping sounds on the stage. Opening his eyes, he saw the dog a few inches to the left of his face. He turned his head slightly, his red eyes staring into the dog's black eyes. They stayed there for a moment, silence covering them once more. And then, the dog neared him, licking his cheeks. Surprised, Hiei shot up to a sitting position, his hands on the ground behind him, propping him out. That had to be the most weirdest thing he had ever experienced. He lifted his shoulder and tilted his face, wiping his cheek against his shirt.

Turning to face the dog, he let out another grunt as it stared back at him, its tongue out and its tail wagging. And then, another sound entered his sharp ears and this time, it didn't seem to belong to a dog. It was more of the human type. Footsteps, the owner? At that, Hiei knew that he had to go. He shoved himself off the stage, placing his hands in his pockets and slouching forward slightly as he started to walk to the back of the stage, towards the entrance. Though, before he could reach his tenth step, a voice echoed in the hallway. Hiei stopped in his tracks, his head shooting up and his eyes widening almost instantly. That voice. It sounded all too familiar. He turned himself slowly, his head making the largest arc among the rest of his body. Then, a single whisper left his mouth.

"Hime?"

[Hime]

The blonde girl came out of the backstage. She slipped herself in between the opening of the red curtains, revealing her usual dolled-up appearance. She wore a peach floral empire-waisted top, accompanied by a white fitted mini skirt. She had her hair on the usual pony-tail with her precious ribbon, allowing it to motion gracefully with her high-spirited movements.

"Jasper? Wher'd you go? Jas--"

She stopped on her tracks, settling in a stand after coming out. She was now on the center of the stage, looking down at the familiar boy on the aisle. She heard her pet puppy bark twice, but she didn't turn his attention away from him. She just stood with a vague expression on her face as their gazes met.

"Something about those eyes...are familiar."

A memory was coming back, but it's not vivid enough to remember. She knows this boy...from before. Where did she meet him again? She couldn't remember.

Hime never knew what to do in these kinds of situations. She was branded as a shy girl ever since, but she had learned to socialize after a year in the Academy. And in the duration, she learned that the best way to start a conversation without getting tongue-tied is to greet the person.

"O...Ohayo."

[Hiei]

"O...Ohayo."

Ohayo? After what happened, the two had been totally down and depressed. He was not sure about Hime, but Hiei certainly missed the girl and now, when the two finally met, the only word she could say was Ohayo. Now, he was worried. There seemed to be something wrong with her. She used to be somewhat closed and quiet when something bad happened, not cheerful, nor shy, nor open like that. He turned hs body completely so that he faced her completely, keeping himself in check to prevent himself from doing any rash actions or saying anything that would hurt the two of them. Leaning forward slightly, he eyed her closely, then noticed that the ribbon had been washed. It used to be all dirty, considering that Hiei had brought it with when he was out battling AAO with Kurogane, the late student dean. What was up with her? She seemed completely different, yet familiar.

"Hime?"

He repeated, this time louder as he stepped forward, his eye brows furrowing slightly as he squinted his eyes to focus on her. Honestly, she seemed different. Hiei straighted his composure, waiting for a reply and ignoring the barkings of the white furry dog in the almost empty auditorium. Instinctively and to dramatise this awkward situation, he pulled his hands out of his pockets, wondering how the blonde girl would respond to that too. Hiei was neither smiling nor frowning, which was something Hime would be familiar with. In fact, Hime was familiar to him in every aspects of the word. She had made, and saw, him smile, frown, cry, everything that Hiei never thought he would actually do. But that relationship was over now. They had to move on. They had to.

Then, it hit him. Had she moved on already? In such a short time? When he, the self-proclaimed Crimson Protector, was actually having a hard time doing so? What happened exactly in the time period from when they broke up till now?

[Hime]

"Hime?"

He called her name. Or was that even her name? She knows it wasn't. That was just the name given to her by her foster brothers, and she would certainly want to know her real name someday. But that was not what mattered now, was it? What she cared about knowing that moment...was how he was able to know her name. She was sure they have met, but where? When?...How?

Pain. Like lightning, it struck her head in just a second, giving enough force to make her dizzy. She closed her eyes, letting out a soft moan of pain. She lifted her hands to hold her head on both sides while letting her legs drop themselves on the floor. In trying to recall something...or anything about the boy, she found herself remembering nothing. Blank spaces, blurred images, echoing whispers of tender words--they were all too unclear to be understood. What is this? Of all the psychiatric therapies she went through in her medical examination upon entering the Academy, she never felt this kind of pain. She was asked to recall things in an attempt to define her amnesia, but those forced recollection felt nothing like this one. It's almost as if...someone played and messed with her head.

[Hiei]

Hime reacted to his name like some kind of brain surge. Hiei opened his eyes, watching as she closed her eyes, placing both hands on the sides of her head and dropping to her knees on the ground. Instinctively, he pulled his hands out of his pockets as he dashed forward. Placing one hand on the edge of the stage, he leapt upwards, landing on two bent feet, before leaping forwards once more, landing half the distance from Hime, before dashing the rest. Sliding on the last few inches, he knelt down, placing his hands on her shoulders, forgetting that they had already broken up. He still had his feelings for her, despite having tried to hard to get it out of his head and heart. He heard the puppy barking behind him, its soft tappings against the stage echoing in the auditorium as it got to Hime's side, eyeing its owner worriedly.

"Are you alright, Hime?"

He asked, his voice full of worry. It was deep, yes, but it was no longer calm. Another sharp pain attacked his chest as he realised what he was doing, causing him to pull his hands from her shoulders, shifting backwards and away from Hime. Now, that brain surge only confirmed one thing. That she had indeed erased her memories of him, or someone else did. Hiei did not know anyone close to himself or Hime that had a memory alice. How did she do it? Of course, Hiei would find out. And that'll be quite an easy, though tedious, search. He had access to the Academy files. Not everyone had memory Alices, right? The person shouldn't be too hard to find.

[Hime]

Hime felt slight weight gripped her shoulders. She opened her eyes, vision still blurry, but she managed to see what was happening. The boy with raven hair was there so close to her. She felt a familiar warmth that seemed so comforting, yet, painful in some sense. What was it? She was now staring in his eyes, both oceanic eyes twinkling in confusion.

"Are you alright, Hime?" He spoke with a voice filled with concern and...love. Those four words meant a lot to her, but she herself couldn't answer why. Who are you? She wanted to ask. Why are you being kind to me? And ask once more. One more second, and he drew back. The familiar warmth went away, and she once more felt cold, even if it was in the middle of the day. The thought about her new pet escaped her mind, and all she could think about it who the boy is...and how she met him.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a memory just came. Clear light-blue skies, pristine white clouds, warm but harsh winds blowing...It was in a bright place where she first met him--no, it was outside...somewhere nearer the sky. Something brought her to that place--something she couldn't afford to lose. The ribbon? Yeah, that was it. She was reminded of the event little by little. She was climbing a staircase, feeling uneasy and worry of losing a precious treasure, but when she got there, it was waiting for her in the grip of his hands. It was safely returned to her and she remembered thanking him countless times.

Masaaki Hiei. She remembers it now. Clearly. They've been friends since then. He was the president of the Student Council, so he was quite popular. And yes, she have heard of him winning this Month's Election again. Those were the only things she can remember. Apart from their first meeting and the small but meaningful talk they had, she could no longer recall anything. But was that the reason why he was nice to her? No. There was something else.

"...Mm. I'm...all right." Hime answered with a nod, never getting her gaze away from him. "Thank you, Masaaki-san." She added, trying her best to be courteous in addressing the former and now, the current President of the Student Council.

[Hiei]

"...Masaaki-san."

That earned two different reactions from Hiei, both of which were kept hidden. One, he felt his heart being torn apart and sewed back together again, before getting torn apart once more, like a cycle of pain repeating itself until Hiei was nothing left but a walking corpse. And two, it made him realise that his fear had come true. She had erased her memories, somehow. She did not remember him at all. She wouldn't call him Masaaki-san if she hadn't erased her memory.

Hiei looked away for a moment, letting the heavy realisation hit him. Perhaps this was for the better? He remembered how Hime had dealt with his death, with Rage's death more than once. And he knew how fragile Hime was. Hiei was not one to recover quickly, though, but he did know how to sure that he had. That saved him a few trouble. But Hime was not a good an actor as he was. She was emotionally fragile. Their break-up must have hit her so hard that she even opted for a memory swipe. Yeah, it was better.

Standing up, he took a few steps back. Giving her one last look, he nodded.

"Ok, then. I shall leave you with your puppy."

At that, he turned around and walked away, his steps feeling so heavy and his heart rained on by arrows as he left his former princess. He leapt off the stage, continuing to walk off, unless Hime interrupted, of course.

[Hime]

Hime gave him a silent nod as Hiei, or preferably Masaaki-san had prompted to leave her with Jasper. It's probably better that way. She didn't want to cause him anymore trouble than she already did that day and in the past. Hiei had been kind to her, she knows it, and she couldn't thank him enough. Hime now turned her attention to the puppy besides her, placing hand on its small head and giving it a smile. She felt Hiei's presence moving away further and further. Maybe she should leave too. After all, a class might be using the Auditorium anytime soon.

So removing her hand from the puppy's head, she pushed herself up from the floor. But something unexpected happened. Just as she was up on her legs for support, she felt her weight throw her down once more on the stage floor. At first, she thought it was just her clumsiness that made her lost to the force of gravity, so She tried again. But then...she couldn't stand up anymore.

"Ara?" Hime's blue eyes widened. She placed a hand on the part of her legs revealed by the short skirt. She looked at them for a while, eyes confused and puzzled. Jasper tilted his head sidewards, waiting for his master to move.

"My legs...they couldn't move."