Diary of Setsuna Sakurazaki.

Saturday, 27th of July.

Dear diary,

We met with a few business partners to the Konoe family yesterday morning. Very early. It wasn't a very stimulating meeting. Especially not for a certain exhausted mage almost dozing off into my shoulder half of the time. I would have laughed had it not been for the strained looks I received from her father. I take the blame completely for her behavior however, since it was me who suggested she relax herself the night before. The arcade wasn't my idea, but I should have known what she'd lean towards when being offered a choice of activities. I'm just glad we could spend some time together.

After the meeting we of course went back to our separate rooms to take a nap. I was afraid she'd offer me an invitation to join her inside her room for a chat but fortunately she was too tired. She even mistakenly opened the door to the janitor's closet and was honestly surprised at how tiny everything looked until I stepped in and explained the situation.

We had a lot on the agenda yesterday and one of the main events was the meeting between Ojousama and Mr. Akimoto with daughter. A CEO of a big enterprise in the city. I had overheard in the garden that he was to send his daughter to act on his behalf whilst greeting us because of strained relations in the "main building". I took this as a sign of discordance between him and Eishun-sama. It is an unusual thing though. Eishun-sama is a man of just morals and is easy to get along with. But perhaps I am biased since I've known him and the Konoe family since I was a child.

The strangest thing happened upon meeting the daughter of the Akimoto family. Or perhaps not strange but she wasn't like I had imagined her to be. I was picturing inside my head a stern looking girl ready to partake in formal conversations with the daughter of the Konoe family. But not at all! She was much like Ojousama herself only more... Mature. It was interesting hearing her speak. I really understood why her father would bring her to such an event as this and partake in meetings building towards future partnerships or simply, strong friendships. She was simple but at the same time there was a sense of depth by the way she spoke. What surprised me most was when she brought me into the conversation. Honestly I was quite taken aback by it. It rarely happens that my opinion is discussed or even taken into consideration.

We parted ways after a long dinner and I managed to squeeze in some meditation before retiring to bed. That's pretty much what happened yesterday.

Now I woke up quite early today and went for a run. Unfortunately for my muscles I had, the night before, allowed myself to get a taste of Ojousama's delicious baking skills before returning to my room for the night. I'm not sure what triggered the housewife in her when we returned after the walk in the garden but it was amazing nonetheless.

I bumped into the daughter of Akimoto when I was out running. She was doing yoga and we got to chat for a bit. To my surprise she asked me if I wouldn't mind having my breakfast with her. I was about to decline because it felt a little inappropriate and I knew Ojousama probably wanted to have breakfast together but then I realized that I was being silly and that me and Kaori, which is her name, would probably not be alone anyway and that Ojousama would still be sleeping by the time I got back. I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty though... I've always had breakfast with Ojousama.

When I entered the dining room I was surprised that the only person present was her. She smiled and I instantly became a bit uncomfortable but sat down in front of her. I am not used to spending time with people on my own outside of the class of 3-A and some, still, rubs me the wrong way. She made me a bit nervous though. Like I was put on a stretcher. It's difficult to describe without it sounding, well, weird. And honestly it isn't meant in a bad way.

She is a really interesting person. Kaori. I asked her about herself and although she described her home where she grew up I think she was being quite evasive, more interested in me. This surprised me, yet again! This girl seems to have a knack of doing that. Or it is a sign that I need to get out more. Whatever the case she is quite intriguing. She has the ability to make everything sound interesting. A lot of passion resides within her and she dresses her experiences so vividly in words that I feel like I'm actually there. There was a lot of things Kaori made me think about. Like for example the recent developments in Japan. I'm not even involved or have real interest in such matters! Honestly I've been living under the code "Protect Ojousama nothing else is important" for so long that I've forgotten about a lot of things. It was like I moved out of my shell. It must sound insane but… I became a person for a while. And it felt good.

Honestly time flew by so quickly I didn't even look at my watch before I noticed officials were being seated at the tables around us to eat their lunch. I panicked for a second and she noticed because she laughed a little and told me not to worry and then thanked me for my company.

"You really remind me of someone." She said to me when we were on our way out the door. I didn't know and so I asked "Who?" and she turned to me with a charming smile on her face and said "Myself."

As she was walking away from me I couldn't stop the smile from forming on my lips. Because we had been talking about different sides of a person and how we are perceived by people who think they know us but they don't really know all of you. It was a compliment she had given me.

Part of me was really glad that I had had breakfast with her because I had discovered another side of myself. But another side of me was terrified. I had completely forgotten about my duties while indulging in seemingly "pointless" conversations with a woman I'm not even supposed to speak to without proper company. I had forgotten my place and had falsely placed myself on a much too higher pedestal by giving myself the opportunity to "socialize" like equals. But why do I feel so good about it then? Not even when Ojousama questioned me did the feeling go away. I'm not even sure what to make of it. This really scares me. It's better I not speak to her alone again. But why do I feel like I want to take the same route tomorrow morning and see if she's doing her yoga at the same spot?