Here you go. -L
Chapter 40
Isuzu was wandering through the house when she found the library. She had nothing to do and figured she might as well read something to kill time. As she was searching for an interesting book, she didn't look where she was going and bumped into someone.
"Oh, sorry." said she before looking at the other person.
"It's alright." answered Kazuki with a small smile. "I tend to come off as invisible… which comes with the con that you from time to time stumble upon embarrassing or uncomfortable situations."
"Seems like we often stumble upon each other lately…" noted Isuzu and looked him from head to toe. "What situations do you mean? And what are you doing down here?"
Kazuki looked back at the shelf in front of him and took a book from it. He quickly looked at the title before turning it over to read the summary.
"That's true. Quite curious, isn't it?" He commented and she didn't took offense to him not facing her during the conversation because he probably didn't know that it was considered impolite. "By embarrassing or uncomfortable situations I mean - for example - studying in an empty classroom and seeing two students coming in just to enjoy each other for a moment… and realizing that I'm there almost too late. I'm glad that they eventually realize it because I'm far too shocked to say a word… which have made people think I'm a pervert."
Apparently the book wasn't what he was looking for so he returned it to its original place in the shelf before grabbing another one.
"I'm obviously not counting our encounters as either embarrassing or uncomfortable. I quite enjoy our talks and to answer your question, my family used to be quite known in different kind of industries throughout the years. This time it's because of our company so I'm trying to read about business."
This book seemed to interest him so he put it under his arm and continued to search for another one.
"I didn't know your family had a company." said Isuzu with a small smile, happy for some reason that he said he enjoyed their conversations.
She also turned her attention back to the shelf so that he wouldn't feel uncomfortable by her staring.
"What kind of business is it?" asked she while faking to read the book titles and cast a sideways glance at him.
Kazuki never used to talk about himself, and the fact that he opened up like that made her suddenly feel more curious about him, which surprised her. She didn't usually care very much about people other than her family.
"I guess it's more like my grandparents' business… or was consider that they're dead… I assume." Kazuki said. "And the business is a little confusing because… not to speak ill of dead or possibly run-away grandparents, but they were weird. But I think it's both a coffee business and a… it's weird, it's some sort of medicine thing… I have no idea, it kind of changes with time to be honest. We probably sell jewelries in the future, I wouldn't be surprised. I'm sorry, I know that it doesn't make any sense. I think the best explanation would be 'hey we're rich, whatever commoner thing can we try to do this time and become richer from'. One time the company tried to sell mime lessons for what you would call it. 'Shits and giggles'."
"Yeah, that's indeed kind of weird." approved Isuzu. "But… maybe I'll say something weird, I don't know anything about business, but how do you intend to study relevant information if you don't know what your family's business is? And, maybe I should've asked that in the first place, but what's the name of your company? Tell me if I ask too much questions, I don't want to intrude." added she suddenly when she remembered that Kazuki didn't feel very comfortable with people inquiring about him.
"Well I will decide what we do when I'm in charge so I'm mostly reading a little of everything to try to decide what I want to do with the company." Kazuki answered and smiled at her. But the confusion is very understandable. "I mean I didn't react very good when I was told about the company because of how stressful it sounded… it didn't occur to me that I didn't have to follow the same structure-less formula as the last owners just because the man who's in charge now - temporarily - decided to do it… he probably neglected to tell me to scare me because I'm apparently funny to freak out. I don't agree for obvious reasons. The company's name have changed from Itachi ink to Itachi memorial ink. We didn't choose the name change because it had changed owners at that time for reasons I don't want to get into. The motto is 'Who knows what we will do next'. I find it amusing how suitable it is."
Isuzu chuckled and tried to actually find a good book this time.
"Sounds quite complicated…" commented she as her gaze wandered slowly on the higher shelves.
She couldn't even make out the characters on the highest books, so she choose to focus on the ones she was on eye-level with instead.
"It seems like there's a lot about you that we still have to know." said she absent-mindedly as she took a random book and read over the summary.
As her thoughts briefly wandered off to Kazuki's mysterious family, she suddenly remembered there was something she wanted to tell Kazuki.
"Oh yeah, um, Kazuki-kun…" said she quite awkwardly and turned towards him. "I, um, would like to apologize about my brother's behaviour towards you." told she and bowed before him.
Apologizing and being that uncertain was very out of character for Isuzu. She was usually cold and closed to the outside world. But for some reason, Kazuki made her unsure of herself, and she felt like she wanted to be nice to him. There was something inside of her that made her care a bit more than usual about the purple haired weirdo.
"There is no need to bow." Kazuki assured her and scratched his neck, finally completely facing her. "I prefer when someone stands up straight because bowing is… well I don't really understand it. Is it to show with action that you're sorry? That's just my association, might just be me not understanding how things work. Maybe it's because I have been around people from other countries so much… I feel like I'm being stupid. In any case, you don't have to apologize for the actions of others. I don't harbour any ill will towards you and it won't stop him from expressing his opinions about me. I don't mind, people are allowed to have their own opinions."
His explanation sounded nonsensical and like he was just coming up with a lot of different excuses on the spot. However, his distress was genuine enough and he wasn't known for being the most sane and socially conscious person in the world… even when it came the most basic things apparently.
"Still. You shouldn't let him treat you this way. I understood that your self-esteem isn't especially high, but it's about respecting yourself. If you let him continue to treat you as he pleases, it's like accepting that you're worth lower than him. But you're worth just as much as everyone else here. You should love yourself more, Kazuki-kun." tried she to explain and took a small step forward to see his reaction, before attempting to grab his hand.
To her surprise, he didn't subtract his hand so she managed to grab it (even if she could clearly see that he had to put in a significant amount of effort to keep his hand in place).
"It must be quite frustrating to you." he commented with his eyes not leaving their intertwined hands, trying to subtly angle her arm so the sleeve covered the white lines on the back of his hand and hoping that she didn't notice the slightly blue hue in his skin. "Frustrating because you're trying to constantly tell me something and I won't listen. I guess me not taking compliments is strangely the most normal thing about me - I can't even handle someone bowing to me - but it's probably becoming very bothersome for everyone involved. I don't think the next thing I will say will be too revealing consider how I'm acting, but If you're told one thing you're whole life with constant proof of their claims… a few people saying differently doesn't weight much. I'm not saying that this means that your brother's words weight more than yours, that him saying I'm bad is making me believe your kindness less. The only reason his words have any effect at all is because it echoes words of others I have met, but on their own… he is just someone bothered by someone as atypical as me. It's kind of something someone like me have to get used to."
Despite the warning signals in his head, he smiled at her and squeezed her hand in a comforting and affectionate way before taking a book he had eyed before from the shelf. It was a book about philanthropy.
"It's quite hard trying to figure out what you want to do with a company when you have no actual idea what you yourself can do." he said with a chuckle.
Isuzu stared at him with a confused expression. That was the first time she heard Kazuki talk about his past this way. That was the first time she heard him open up about himself in the first place. What had he gone through to say this? And he did seem quite in a hurry about changing the subject… There was definitely more than a very low self-esteem to it. But she decided to drop the subject for now, worried that Kazuki might feel cornered by her questions and never talk to her again. For some reason, she quite enjoyed her rare conversations with the boy.
"Why wouldn't you work with something you like?" suggested Isuzu. "It'd probably be easier to run a company if you like what you are doing in the first place…"
"What I like doesn't work well for a company." Kazuki said. "I have never really cared about what I want to do in the future except for pointless things like reading about things that doesn't benefit anything but my own temporarily interest… that sounds awfully too much like how my company have been run now when I think about it. I'm thinking about maybe doing something related to animals, but I'm not sure what. Working with people won't work very well, I probably would have to have someone to help me with the social stuff anyway, but that's beside the point. If I would sell things, I have no idea what to sell… maybe medicine again...I don't think the medecine the company once sold was just ordinary medecine to be honest. Maybe not then."
"Well, why not sell toys and accessories for pets? Like leashes, cages, balls, baskets, fish tanks and such. That could be selling quite well you know, if you handle your business properly."
Isuzu put the book she was holding back in its spot and picked out another one that seemed more interesting. It was about sewing and model drawing.
"It always interests me what kind of books someone own." Kazuki randomly commented. "Or mostly what commoners own because all they have money for is books they really like, books that tell me something about them. Rich people fill their shelves with anything that make them come off as fancy. Not saying that they have no books that they really like, but I can't imagine Kaito want to read about how to sew a dress or how to not offend people around the world… the last book sounds quite interesting to me actually. What do you like to sew?"
"I don't know how the other's bookshelves are like exactly, but this family is quite old, so they would have the time to collect different kind of books. And the IchijoGroup is one of the biggest companies in this world, so it isn't that surprising to find a whole bookshelf about anything related to business… I have no idea actually, I just like to sew clothes, but mostly for myself. Guess my parent's job affected me in a way… But I'm not very good at drawing models. I'm better at just taking measures and directly cut them in the fabric. That may be because I was never properly taught…" said Isuzu pensively and briefly flipped the pages.
"Maybe that's something to try to pursue then." Kazuki said. "Unfortunately, drawing have anything at all haven't been my strong suite. I prefer acrylics because you can just paint over your mistakes. Does your brother share the same interest?"
"No he doesn't." replied Isuzu and shook her head. "He's always been more interested in martial arts. I didn't know you could paint?" said she and looked at Kazuki, tilting her head to the side. "I don't mean to offend you, but you seem more like the kind of person who would study all the time or take care of your pet…"
Kazuki looked quite amused at that statement.
"That's curious." he said. "People usually stereotype me as the asocial art kid because I'm always alone and talk with bigger words than people my age usually do. I haven't painted in a while because I'm mostly just doing it at home. It's also a little funny to me that Hatsuharu likes martial arts. Probably because it makes me fear a little for you future husband… he doesn't seem like the guy who wants to share, but maybe that's just my bias opinion. Because, as you know, he is quite hostile towards me."
"No, he doesn't like sharing much, not even his own thoughts. He can never have long or deep conversations with our own parents. But that's because we don't talk very much on an everyday basis. It's mostly quiet at home when I think about it actually… But I'm not something he can share, because I don't belong to him. Even if we've always been doing everything together. Our favorite game was actually to annoy our parents when we were smaller." chuckled she. "And, I don't know why he is like this towards you, he certainly has some personal reason, even if it's something stupid. Like, finding your personality too weak or something. But you shouldn't worry about him because of his words, it isn't worth it." said Isuzu and smiled an encouraging smile at him.
She highly doubted that she could ever convince Kazuki that what others tell him isn't important, but she still wanted to try. There was a small part of her that continued to hope he would one day let go of the other's negative opinions.
"I can see why he would see me as weak because I'm what people would call a 'doormat'." Kazuki said and made air quotes with his hands. "But I don't see him attack anyone else… except for Kaito, but everyone does that so it doesn't count. Does he treat other people like he treat me? I just want to understand his reasoning."
Kazuki decided that the book he was holding was interesting enough and also placed it under his arm alongside the other one.
"Does it bother you that you and your parents never have deep conversations?" Kazuki asked and immediately worried that his question was too invasive. "If it's alright for me to ask of course. I don't know what's normal for other families… yeah I'm not the only 'weirdo' in the family, I guess. My closest friends doesn't have any normal families either to compare with… mostly because Hiro and Chiro don't have any families."
"I don't remember where I heard that, but family is not only blood bonds. For Hiro and Chiro, I think they do view Isao-san and Nanno-san as family members. I don't think I'm really bothered by my lack of interaction with my parents, we've never been a very talkative family. Or at least, we're not anymore. And I don't think you need to be worried about my brother ever physically attacking you, if you don't give him a good reason, that is. He isn't that kind of person. That thing with Kaito is… well, he deserves it. They dared…"
Isuzu's expression darkened as she stared at the floor and clenched her fists. Her breath got sharper and she was visibly trying to keep her usually calm demeanor.
"You're right about Hiro and Chiro." Kazuki said. "They still don't have any example of a normal family though. I'm not worried that Hatsuharu will attack me. Even if he would, I'm not like Hiro, I would defend myself."
There was a unfamiliar tone in his voice when he said that, something Isuzu couldn't quite identify. Maybe it sounded too much like a promise, but Kazuki hadn't proven himself much of a fighter so far.
"Don't think about Kaito now." Kazuki said and rubbed her arm to calm her down (feeling like holding hands again was pushing it). "He will be stuck with you for a long time so try to enjoy the times you don't have to see him."
Nothing in Kazuki's voice hinted at any ill will towards Kaito, it sounded more like he was choosing his words to make her listen to him. He knew she wasn't so found of him so doing the completely opposite of defending him was the best way to go.
"It's not about Kaito." confessed Isuzu and shook her head. "Not just him. It's more about Juuri… That traitor… She lied to me… And she didn't bother telling me anything. Had she done it, maybe I could've helped her avoiding that, and maybe Kaito would've never even touched her… I hate her. I hate the both of them."
She brushed off Kazuki's hand from her arm and turned back to the bookshelf, letting her short bangs somewhat hide her face from him. She didn't want anyone to see this side of her, it made her feel too vulnerable. Her image could be completely ruined from showing this state of mind to anyone.
"Is this really enough for you to hate them? Hate Juuri?" Kazuki asked. "Because everyone lies out of fear or confusion. This is a really sensitive part of her life and she is only a child. And for the touching part, him having to do that eventually is the sole reason for their arranged marriage anyway. I know it happened way too soon, but they're teenagers doing things teenagers do. It's not their fault that no one bothered to teach them about this."
Kazuki sighed and took another book from the shelf. He didn't look as enthusiastic about reading anymore.
"You can keep being angry with her all you want." Kazuki said. "But you're only bringing more harm. You can't change what happened so the only thing to do is trying to prepare for what will happen next. Juuri is shamed enough as it is. She needs friends, not passive aggressive remarks from her best friend - I'm just assuming you have that title because she don't seem to have many other friends. I understand your anger and you are allowed to feel it, but it's not the most productive. Especially consider that this was bound to happen eventually."
"Aren't best friends supposed to tell each other these kind of things? If she needed me, she would've been honest from the start. They knew about what they did, they just didn't bother to care before it was too late."
Isuzu put back another book she had taken and sighed.
"Why are we even talking about this? They don't deserve more attention from me now. I shouldn't bother with them anymore."
She assumed Kazuki was able to talk about this in a detached manner because he was a stranger to the relations they all had with each other, but she didn't want to bother with his point of view now.
"We don't have to talk about this if you don't want to, but you are clearly paying them attention even if we're not talking about them." Kazuki said. "Maybe I don't understand your situation from a subjective point of view. Are you mostly angry just because it's her? Because you haven't shown anger towards me even if I noticed her pregnancy before everyone else discovered it and didn't tell anyone because it wasn't my business. I should probably keep staying out of your business, I'm not a part of this. I actually should just… never mind."
Kazuki looked thoughtful for a few minutes. He put the book back in the shelf without reading the summary this time.
"How long do you think it will take before we return to school?" He asked out of the blue. "Nevermind, I guess you all have to stay here until the Sara and Toshio situation is settled… but… but I'm not sure why I'm supposed to stay here… is it because I'm 'guilty by association'?"
It was silent for a few moments before Isuzu answered him, still staring at the bookshelves:
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't take my frustration out on you. It's just… I don't think I'll be able to let go of that so soon… Juuri… has always been like our sister. And I can't believe she could be so stupid, she's much better than that. Concerning the school, I honestly have no clue, your best bet is surely to ask Takuma-san or Kaname-sama. But one thing is certain, we all have to stay here until this mess is settled, including you. You're staying here because it's the safest place you can be for now. I assume the adults don't want to send you to your family alone when you've come here in the first place. And, it's just a supposition, but Nanno-san seems like he could find your family and inform them that you're with us anytime… And if that's not the case, I doubt Takuma-san would let you stay here without trying to find contact information on your parents to know if it's okay to keep you. We do have the academy's chairman with us after all, he must have your file somewhere along with ours…"
She stopped talking and turned to look at him, giving him a small smile.
"Am I correct?"
"My family most likely already know that I'm here." Kazuki answered. "I got a letter from my sister recently and she must have told them… unless she had a good reason not to. I assume she only know of my position because she was already told by the chairman… or maybe she obtained the information by herself, she is like that."
He sounded more detached, but it was clear that he didn't want to elaborate.
"This question might be a little out of the blue… but do you think that Sara and Toshio can be stopped?" Kazuki asked. "Especially now when there is a baby on the way? Wouldn't that just make us more vulnerable? I'm sorry if I sound so negative, I'm just generally a cautious and worried person."
"No, I think everyone here share the same thoughts. That's certainly what Kaname-sama meant by "like we already didn't have enough to do"... This only adds to their worries. Especially when they have such an important position in our society. The smallest error can cause endless repercussions. This baby causes a double, if not triple worry: keep it's existence hidden for the necessary time, organizing a wedding somewhere they won't find us, and dealing with the society once it'll be known. It's only a nuisance…" tsked Isuzu and crossed her arms, looking away.
It was obvious she was frustrated with the situation, but was what she described the true reasons? Wasn't there something else to it? Before Kazuki could delve further into it, she changed the subject.
"Tell me more about your sister. I hear you talk about her quite often, but I still don't know who she is or what kind relationship you two have. What kind of person is she?" inquired Isuzu and looked at him while taking a small step forward. If you feel alright with telling me of course…
For a few minutes it looked like he was really thinking through his next words, like he had to be extra careful. It didn't come as much of a surprise consider how secretive he was. However, it didn't seem like she had stumbled upon something that felt too personal to him.
"She is around Chikao's age I believe." Kazuki said, hesitantly. "She is a very private person so I don't feel comfortable sharing too much, but her personality works perfectly with mine. At least that's what I have been told because I don't communicate much and are very introverted so she forces me a little out of my comfort zone. Just enough to keep me connected to the outside world. I haven't always been the nicest to her, but what child isn't annoying from time to time?"
It was weird seeing him seem genuinely happy about talking about his personal life. Yes he was definitely being very careful with his words with the intent on not revealing too much, but still. This was a huge step.
"She doesn't get angry at me easily." Kazuki added. "I have never met someone as patient with me as her. Even when I do things that frustrates most people like not eating or wandering off."
"That must be because she cares about you. And maybe she tries to keep a somewhat friendly relationship with you because you don't communicate much… He's my twin, but if I didn't get to see or communicate much with Haru, I would certainly try my best not to fight with him over pointless things… Or that's what I believe. Not that we fight much on an ordinary basis, of course… We barely even talk when we're together."
As she talked to Kazuki, she was beginning to find him more and more interesting. And curiously, she felt almost like she enjoyed every tidbit of information she could get about him.
"Have your silent communication ever been seen as bad?" Kazuki asked. "Like that people are worried because you don't talk much? Or is it just me that it's a 'bad sign' or 'something concerning', or 'something that needs to be fixed'."
He made air quotes while listing the different things he probably had been told.
"But then again." he added and started to lightly chew on his thumb. "You seem normal in any other way… I'm not calling you weird for not talking much! I-I just meant that it's just a slightly atypical behavior… atypical like deviant or different! Not the other type of atypical… it's rather easy to say the wrong things here."
He chuckled nervously and removed some strands of hair from his face.
"It's okay. You're not the first one to comment… And we've already been told far worse things from the others kids when we started communicating more silently… But people who know us generally don't mind, mostly because that's the way our parents are I guess. But we weren't this way before, we used to be really loud and annoying kids actually." revealed Isuzu and looked away with an embarrassed chuckle.
"Growing up changes you." Kazuki said. "Or is it more to it? I know that children soak things up like sponges so if you're told that you're too annoying and loud for too long, you'll not only believe it but take it too far... maybe I'm just reading in this too much, not everything have to be so dark. Right?"
"Well, actually, you're not that far from the truth… You know that my parents have a quite demanding job and mostly work together right? Sometimes when they couldn't find a nanny, they used to take us with them to the various photo shootings, filming stages and so on… and we weren't the most patient kids, so we used to end up running around and playing really loud, and of course annoying the staff. So they used to bribe us with candy and movies if we promised to be quiet and stay calm until there were breaks… They also enrolled us to various martial arts at the same time, hoping it would canalize our energy... And little by little, it finally worked. I think we've stop communicating verbally since then."
"If it's not bothering you then it's not something for anyone to be concerned about I guess." Kazuki said and then chuckled. "Sorry, I just imagined how poorly that would work on Hiro and Chiro. I mean it would have made the situation worse with them because they are full of energy, are considered to be very annoying and good at fighting. Very annoying children I would've imagined. Anyway, do you ever miss the time when you could just talk?"
Isuzu looked thoughtful for a moment before answering, as if she was trying to choose the right answer.
"I don't think so… To be honest, I don't really think about it. For me, what happened before belongs to the past and there's no more to it. I don't consider my past as important enough for me to give it any consideration."
"That's a nice thought." Kazuki said. "Leaving things in the past, or not thinking that it's important I mean. I wish that was something easy for everyone… I mean, this whole situation with Sara and Toshio will feel so much better when it's just a thing of the past, but I have a feeling that it won't be as easy to live with for everybody."
It was painfully obvious that he only added the last part about Sara and Toshio because it would have sounded way too personal otherwise. You could even go as far as saying that he almost looked a little jealous when she talked about not considering her past important. That was not a feeling he had really shown around her before.
"That's because I don't want to give it an important meaning in my life." added Isuzu to underline that her statement was only personal. "That's also because I don't value it enough to care about it. My childhood didn't have anything particularly worth remembering from my point of view. And I assume you could also say that I don't want to pity myself too much or something like that, chuckled she to give it a lighter tone. But most people I know tend to hold on to their childhood memories, no matter how much value you could put in them. It's just me who doesn't really care anymore. Maybe I'm too cold or I took too much after my parent's behavior, I don't know… If that even matters now."
"Maybe you're just better adapted." Kazuki said. "That sounded weird, but you know how we evolve through time by adapting to our surroundings? Not dwelling too much on your past seems like that kind of thing. A survival thing, so you're probably well of compared to us. Being too emotional haven't really gotten us anywear."
He decided not to mention Juuri being knocked up because of lack of rational thinking as a example because he didn't want to get into that conversation again.
"Emotional thinking is the reason we got into this mess." Kazuki added. "I mean, do any see Sara and Toshio as logical beings?"
It all kind of sounded like he wanted to assure her that being cold isn't necessarily a bad thing, but bringing evolution into the conversation was a bit of a stretch. Kazuki looked over her head to look at the clock hanging on the wall.
"Won't your brother be looking for you?" Kazuki asked. "Because if he comes here and find me here, I would prefer if we didn't fight in the library."
"Maybe you should ask Chikao-kun, Takuma-san or Nanno-san about the logical beings thing. Haru doesn't like you, so that's the only thing he'll see until he has accepted you. But I'm not on his side at all, just so you know. So you can talk to me whenever you want, alright?" smiled she at him. "Are you under the impression we're fighting?"
"You and him are becoming rather divided when I'm present." Kazuki said. "I know it's because he minds me while you don't and that you're not actually angry at each other. I don't think the word 'fight' is the best choice of word for the disagreement between me and him because I'm not trying to do anything to him. I don't think he will ever accept me and he haven't given me a reason to care about that. Him and I are only around each other temporarily after all. Like parents being around each other until the divorce is finalized, like Chiro once said… even though I have never had any feelings towards your brother, of course… or have ever fathered a child with him… I'm sorry for that mental image."
"Yeah, that was quite disturbing… but I mostly imagined how hard it would be for him." laughed Isuzu quietly. "I'd almost wish to see that for real… Don't take any offense, I'd just like to see his desperate look… It's just a personal revenge on him, nothing ill meant towards you." assured she.
"Well." Kazuki said. "You can use Hiro and Chiro logic and accuse him of secretly being in love with me. Because people think for some reason that all romance starts with banter or straight out hate? I wouldn't care… but I don't want him to know that I suggested this or it might be suggested that I'm secretly in love with him and I don't need to make this situation more awkward than it already is."
"Or love ends with hate… Like in some cases I won't mention. But yeah, I'd like to see him head over heels for someone and wander around desperately around the house… No matter who he chooses. I don't believe in karma, but that would feel like a payback from when he stole that trophy away from me." said she as a vengeful smirk spread across her lips.
"Trophy?" Kazuki asked.
"Yeah.. we happened to be in the same taekwondo competition once. He beat me in the semifinal and told me while I was still sitting on the ground: "I'm going to win this, so go cry to papa and mama while you watch me take the trophy home." We must have been around seven at the time… But since then I swore to myself that the next time we get to be in the same competition, I'd beat him with all my might in the final round, or I'll get another way to take my revenge one day… But I'll definitely give him payback for this defeat someday… It's just a matter of time. And they do say that the longer you wait, the sweeter the revenge is." told Isuzu as her grin spread wider, almost turning into a scary smirk.
"I don't think that stole was the right word if he won fairly." said Kazuki, being the literal Larry that he was. "SO the perfect revenge is that he turns gay for the social reject? Because that sounds like the plot of a lot of young adult novels… except that we're both boys, so I'm not that girl protagonist who take every opportunity to prove that I'm not like other girls."
"Forget it." smiled Isuzu friendly. "Shall we get out of her maybe? It's getting pretty late… We can keep talking somewhere else if you want." suggested she and slightly gestured towards the door.
Kazuki looked at the books underneath her arm and back to her.
"They probably won't be too angry if I borrow this for a couple of hours." he thought out loud before following her to the door. "Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know… The drawing room is often empty… Or, I'm always alone in my room… We could train to draw together? But… it's not a good idea if Haru finds us, reflected she out loud so he could get her reasoning. Are you done with your homework? Maybe i would need some help with that again…"
"As long as we're not alone in either your or my room." Kazuki said. "I really don't want to start more unnecessary drama. We can study in the drawing room… making it into a temporarily studying room instead."
"That sounds good." replied Isuzu. "Would you just come with me to my room first? I need to get my books."
"Sure." Kazuki said quietly and together they walked towards her room, arms almost touching.
See ya' next time. -L
