Kari stole a glance at the transfer student as they walked to their next class.  Her thoughts kept circling back to the time when Shiro-san had knocked over his glasses and she first saw his eyes. In the dim hallway they had burned with an inner, unearthly light. But what shook her the most was the long-buried sadness that suddenly gripped her heart. Taren's eyes were the exact shade of bright aquamarine as Ry--. She gave herself a mental shake, quickly dismissing the memory. 

Now his eyes were of a more normal, cornflower blue. Had she imagined it all along?

Taren glanced at her and caught her looking, and she hurriedly turned the other way. 'Gods!'  thought Kari, cheeks flushed. 'What am I doing?'

"Boy am I glad we're in the same homeroom!" Taren grinned at her. "I won't feel as lost as I was this morning."

The idea of being in the same class with her seemed to please him to no end.

"Is that so?" Kari arched an eyebrow, her eyes teasing. "I mean, look at all these girls hovering around. They all seem very eager to help."

Taren rolled his eyes and she laughed.

Kari tried not to show it, but she felt ill at ease with the attention she was receiving just by walking alongside this boy. She was the typical wallflower, a nerdy type of girl who gets straight A's only through hard work and spends most of her spare time in the library. In fact, ill at ease was an understatement; she hated being in the spotlight! In contrast, Taren didn't seem to mind at all, as if he was used to this kind of thing most of his life. 'I can't imagine what his life must be like.'

A tall, pretty girl with long, black hair walked up to them, her eyes huge.

"Goodness, Kari-chan! Who is this hunk--?" Kari clapped a hand on her best friend's mouth.

"Rima, don't say anything weird this early in the day!" She pleaded as the other girl stared shamelessly at Taren, who smiled back, unfazed.

"Yes, do introduce us, Kari." A boy standing behind the tall girl said with a mischievous lopsided smile. A shock of reddish-brown hair hung over one green eye, while the other coolly appraised the silver-haired boy.

Kari sighed, peeling her hand off the other girl's face as she made the introductions. These two were such a handful at times! But Kimura Rima and Mark Spencer had been her best friends since middle school, and she was used to their never-ending banter.

* * * * * * * * * *

History class was no better than first period and Kari gave up even listening to the sensei altogether. Her friends didn't seem to be mentally present either. Rima had that faraway look and knitted brows that meant she was deep in thought, but it was surely not about the Tokugawa Shogunate! She was probably thinking about her next news article for the school journal, of which she was editor-in-chief. And Mark is, well—Mark. His ADHD kicking in full blast mode, he was furiously scribbling something on his notebook that she could tell was completely unrelated to History.

She took a peek at Taren, who seemed to be the only one listening intently. He wasn't taking any notes as far as she could see, or maybe he couldn't without his glasses? Could he even make it home by himself today? She wondered.

The rest of the day went by uneventfully. As they headed their way to the building's exit doors, Rima took Kari aside while Mark talked animatedly to Taren about his new kendo moves.

"Hey Kari-chan, something really looks familiar with your new friend here but I just can't place it." Rima gazed at the silver-haired youth with a curious light in her eyes. "I feel like I've heard or read the name 'Leinier' somewhere before."

Knowing Rima, thought Kari, the journalist in her was too ingrained to brush aside this "mystery". The school had a fair share of students who were sons or daughters of politicians or celebrities. It wouldn't surprise her if Taren happened to be one.

"So, how's the new part-time job?" asked Rima, changing the subject.

Kari looked at her watch. "Oh shoot! I better get going if I don't want to be late! The job's great, better than I expected. And the head groundsman and staff are really nice."

"That's awesome! As they say, it's not a job when you love what you do! I'll hang out at the kendo gym with Mark for a bit. Call me when you get home."

"Yes, mother." Kari grinned. Rima always kept an eye out for her, knowing that her dad was away on a research job at Tokyo University and won't be back until the weekend.

Rima rolled her eyes at her and grinned back, before walking up to Mark.

"Taren promised to come see the gym next week." Mark called out to her with a wink. "You better be there, Kari-chan!"

Kari made a face at him before turning to the transfer student. "Will you be alright going home, Taren-kun?"

"Yeah, a driv—uh—a friend is driving me home." He said as his eyes swept the students filing through the exit doors.

Kari nodded, relieved to know he wasn't about to navigate Osaka City all by himself! "I'm really sorry about what happened this morning. Oh and about your glasses, I know a place you can take it to get it fixed."

"Thanks, Kari. I don't think I'll need it after today." Seeing her puzzled look, Taren hurriedly added. "I was taking something for my headaches and while it helped, it badly affected my eyesight. I should be fine within a day or two when the medicine wears off."

"I'm glad to hear that." Kari said, her face showing genuine concern. How did he even manage to attend school today, and overpower a bully like Shiro-san on top of that?

Kari then saw the students' curious stares as they emerged from the building. 'Not again!' She thought, chagrined. He drew so much attention just by standing here while all she wanted was to fade into the wall behind her! She hastily turned her gaze away from the crowd, feeling the other girls' envious stares, and found herself caught in Taren's bright blue eyes, before she quickly looked away. Neither view was something she could handle at the moment!

"I'll be off then, Taren-kun. See you next week!" Kari flashed a shy, dimpled smile, waving at the boy as he waved back, before turning to the steps that led down to the street.

* * * * * * * *

As Taren gazed after Kari's retreating form, a sleek black Mercedes-Benz slid into the curb. Ignoring the eyes that were on him, he stepped into the passenger side. "Follow that girl," he said to the man in the driver's seat. "And don't lose sight of her."