Chapter 1: It Knows

"What's the matter, Kyoko-Chan?" Chiori looked over at Kyoko, who looked uncharacteristically out of energy.

"I'm fine!" Kyoko waved her hands and smiled a little too wide. "I'm just a little tired, that's all," she assured, but Chiori was not convinced.

"What's actually wrong?" Chiori pressed. "You already know you're going to see Kanae-chan today, normally you'd be bouncing with joy by now"

Kyoko was surrounded by a glistening aura of pure happiness, but only for a moment before she fell back into a casual sadness. This time around, though, the undertones of fear were more prominent, in Chiori's eyes. "It's been pretty calm lately, which is a delightful change of pace, but..." Kyoko looked down at her feet, feeling guilty for burdening Chiori with her backless worries.

"But it feels like it's too good to be true?" She tilted her head to the side and gave Kyoko a sad, sympathetic smile.

Kyoko looked up at her coworker, surprised at the feeling of someone knowing exactly what she was thinking. People could usually tell what Kyoko was thinking based off of her facial expressions, but few dared to admit it. "It feels like a calm before the storm!" she replied, with a renewed vigor. After a few moments of excitement her senses returned to her and she recalled the conversation that lead to that point. She looked back at the floor, this time with her shoulders hunched forward and her back curved.

Chiori gave her a friendly pat on the back, one of those comforting touches that aren't much contact but have way more meaning to them. "You shouldn't worry so much, Kyoko-Chan" Chiori's tone was soft and understanding. "Everything's gonna be fine,"

Kyoko smiled and straightened out her spine. "Thanks for the peptalk, Chi!" Chiori walked away, deciding to address the trouble of the horrendous nickname another day. "Everythings gonna be okay" Kyoko quietly repeated to herself.

Somehow, she doubted that.

-End-

A/N: Pay special attention to the pattern in the chapter titles, it'll be important as heck. Also, I'll try to have much longer chapters from here on out, I just wanted something short to get the ball rolling.