Assignment: 14
A Flower Can Only Bloom When You Let The Light Touch It
Alu let out a squeak, and put her hands up to block. Alu had a cowlick though she didn't mention it cuz it was annoying, but it quivered on her head now, comically. The Golden Demon's blade paused where Alu's hands were blocking Alu's face and upper body from a direct slash. Kouyou's eyes flickered, her brow furrowing in confusion.
"You…?"
Her tone switched to amazement. Her Golden Demon was no longer responding to Kouyou's will. Or rather, she couldn't get her ability to continue fighting. Strange pink light emanated from Alu's fingertips. It wasn't a shield and took no form. But the light made her Golden Demon retreat, hovering instead back near Kouyou.
"Wow…your ability…is really attached to you," Alu said, lowering her hands, smiling at Kouyou, her former feigned distress completely gone. "I'd say it loves you."
Kouyou's eyes widened. She didn't get a cold feeling from this person. This person felt warm? Even though Kouyou had been fooled by her damsel act, this woman didn't give off any killing intent whatsoever of her own? Dangerous…highly valuable to the mafia.
Kouyou's eyes narrowed. But her ability felt like it didn't want to fight. Kouyou knew this person was on a level far more dangerous than Dazai Osamu, and that immediately made her realize that this person wasn't someone she could win against.
Resigned, Kouyou knew the match was over. She growled, as her ability dissipated. "Just who are you…?"
"I already said, I'm an ally of the ADA," Alu brightly replied. "But your ability was pretty cool. I could feel the passion from that strike. Like watching petals bloom and dance…Hey have you thought of naming your ability something like 'Blossom?'…"
Kouyou blinked at this perky person, confused. She hadn't named her ability. She wasn't like Elise-Chan with Mori-Dono. His ability could manifest as a human but was still in the end just a tool. Elise had no sentience of her own. Same for Kouyou. Her ability was just an ability. There was no sentience.
But this girl complimented her ability like it had feelings of its own? Kouyou was puzzled. "…Why would I name it again? It has a name," she said deadpan.
"Aw, but your ability deserves a proper name considering she's your partner and everything!" Alu protested. "C'mon, I think 'Blossom' is a good name," she giggled. "I mean, you're the one who has a connection so maybe you can think of something better."
Kouyou huffed, turning her nose up at this person. "I will do no such silly childish thing," she said disgruntledly.
"Oh well, suit yourself," Alu shrugged.
"Hmph, since my plan to kill you failed, you may as well finish what you came here for and leave," Kouyou huffed. Oddly enough, she didn't think this person wanted to kill her. If she had, would her ability defend her? No, Kouyou knew her ability would have. Her ability had backed off...because it determined this person was harmless?
Never in Kouyou's life had she ever felt like the opponent was safe.
No, perhaps this opponent wasn't worth killing. Yeah. That was it. It helped Kouyou's pride to latch onto that theory more than anything, honestly.
"Ah, alright," Alu said with a nod. "I just wanted to ask what you talked about with Osamu."
Kouyou noted how she used his last name. Oh-ho, she definitely had something stiff going on with that one. How intriguing. Something Kouyou would definitely nibble on and perhaps tease Dazai about—after all, it was unheard of to have something like leverage over him. He was so capable of gathering intel and was the Devil himself that ran the Port Mafia since he was fourteen.
Such a person…there was no one who could surpass him, or was that the case anymore? Kouyou smirked behind her sleeve.
"I see, you seek information, alas you have nothing to offer me," she said brightly.
"…Actually I do," Alu tilted her head. "I…can guarantee Kyouka-Chan is safe."
Kouyou's eyes widened. "You—are you with her?" She asked lightly.
"How I answer depends on how you answer my question, it's only fair," Alu said humorously mischievous.
Kouyou pouted. She had a gut feeling that Kyouka was with this person—it made a lot of sense actually— but, knowing that Kyouka was not in the hands of someone far worse or the government… But, this person clearly knew nothing of darkness. She shone too brightly. It was no wonder Kyouka had been easily blinded. "Are you a foreigner?"
"I'm a free spirit of the world," Alu cheekily replied with a grin.
Kouyou found this young woman's bubbly nature irritating. "…That girl will kill many more people before this war with the guild is over, do you even realize that?" She spoke though her voice shook slightly with irritation and impatience. Her tone was sad and dark at the same time.
"I don't believe that," Alu countered, cheerful.
Kouyou glared. "You do not know what it is like to be a flower that is grown in the shadows. You are a foreigner who has mastered our language, sampled our culture, but doesn't know the darkest depths of this country's soul."
"Funny you should say that," Alu tilted her head, smiling wistfully. "I actually have some understanding considering I was born in the dark too," she beamed.
"…" Kouyou looked at this innocent person with absolutely no killer instinct. "…you've killed people?"
"No, never had to," Al said brightly with a thumbs up.
Kouyou felt her eye twitch. "Then you do not know—what it means to be born to kill. That girl had only been in training for six months since coming to us, and yet she killed many people. Do you even realize the gravity of her sins? Or do you plan to 'talk' your way out of her inevitable fate?"
Alu crossed her arms, and inwardly sighed. "I know she killed thirty-five people," she bluntly stated to Kouyou. Kouyou's eyes widened.
"Then why defend her? The government will only take her in the end. There is no guarantee that even the Detective Agency can save her. Why get involved. You have no connections that I am aware of, or do you?" Kouyou had no idea what this person hoped to gain. But everyone hoped to gain something. No one did anything for free.
"You're right. I am only one person but you're incorrect in assuming I don't have connections." Alu smiled at Kouyou. "I'm making one with you right now, aren't I?" she cheekily added.
Kouyou stared. "I do not count!" she smiled, twitching with irritation. This girl, her cheekiness reminded her of Dazai Osamu. What a weird comparison to make. She had never met another person like that boy and yet here was a girl—emulating him somehow. They clearly knew each other, that much was for certain. "You aren't a part of the ADA. What is your stake in this?"
"No stakes. I chose to get involved…Because she is a good kid," Alu bluntly said.
Kouyou felt her heart thud in her chest. This person…wasn't lying. Her tone and mannerisms were sincere. Kouyou hated this person for merely being better than she herself could ever hope to be. She was denied the chance to bloom in the sun. Yet this girl, who knew nothing of blood and death claimed to be born of shadows?
What a joke.
"You know nothing of what it is like to be a flower of darkness," she hissed. "Do not compare your own upbringing in some 'good' home with normal problems as being the equivalent of what myself and Kyouka have endured. A person's worst enemy in the end will always be themselves."
Her voice thundered.
Alu didn't flinch. She gazed at Kouyou, but her eyes held something else. Kouyou paused. Alu smiled again, tilting her head slightly, like she was apologetic, but Kouyou knew that it was also Alu, silently being frustrated. Ah, at least she had finally managed to strike a nerve. Good. This person would snap and prove to Kouyou that her 'better-than-reality' way of thinking would be squashed. Kyouka wasn't safe with someone who was this wet behind the ears.
Then Alu spoke.
"You're probably right about that," Alu admitted, a sad agreeable smile on her face.
It made Kouyou feel confusion internally. Clashing in her own mind, she wasn't prepared to have this optimistic brat agree with her on that front. "…?"
"I never killed anyone with my own two hands. But I have been unable to save lives either…in the past."
A boy barely nine with a front tooth gap, light hair, smiling while holding a softball. Katsumi.
A boy barely eight with a shaved head, pale skin, shy, but loved video games. Yu.
A boy who was barely six, with dark messy hair, and a sweet smile that read books. Shinji.
A girl who was barely six herself, in a cute dress, hugging her teddy bear. Sakura.
A boy barely ten with spiky brown hair, bright eyes, a room-captivating grin, and mischevious to boot. Someone who wanted to be a hero one day. A good chef in the making. Someone who had wanted to bring hope to others.
Kousuke.
Crying.
A van's explosion.
And the sound of ringing in one's ears that followed a man, red hair, three cowlicks, in a tan jacket and simple clothes, who had dropped to his knees, screaming in agony. A man powerless to stop these children from burning for the things he'd done.
"…As far as I'm concerned, a life lost is still a life that is gone forever, even if my own hands aren't the ones holding the means to cause that loss of life." She spoke and her melancholy tone made Kouyou pause. Her tone was deeper, older—just more aged emotionally. "There's a saying…people only exist to save themselves…in the end."
"Ah, I see, so to justify your own selfish reason for existence, you strive to save others?" Kouyou countered, haughtily. Though the mood and tonal shift had even her toning down her own hostility. This person was in pain. An internal conflict beyond Kouyou's own comprehension. Kouyou didn't care about this person but the conversation had taken a clearly darker turn. Kouyou realized that there were shadows that lurked in this person's heart. She was not immune, after all.
Alu's smile was empty and resigned. She looked a lot like someone else that Kouyou had talked with recently. She gazed at the young woman's face. "Yeah…I'm an incredibly selfish person. A house…is not a home. It's because of my upbringing that I understand the darkness born in my own heart better than anyone. That's why, I will fight for Kyouka's right to have a home to call her own."
Kouyou's fighting spirit wavered. This person was honest. Stupidly honest. And Kouyou realized she had been mistaken. This person was capable of incredible darkness. Her eyes showed an empty glazed glare—momentary—but it was a window into what felt like this girl's core. Kouyou shivered. Those eyes—she remembered them only ever on one other person. But there was a difference. These eyes were still burning in the deepest depths of a tunnel with no sound.
There was no flowery language. She was laying herself bare for someone she had just met. Because they both ended up having one thing in common. Kyouka. She remembered full well her conversation with Dazai Osamu.
'You don't understand how I feel about that girl,' Kouyou had said with a huff, once they were alone and Atsushi had left.
"Eh, probably not," Dazai agreed with a shrug. "But…I do see that you care about her."
"And what does that matter to you? Traitor who cares only about himself?" She quipped.
"…You know," Dazai sighed, hands in his pockets as he sat in a chair near Kouyou's bed. She was still in a recovery room as she had only recently been healed by Yosano's ability after the surprise 'warning' attack from The Guild. "Some people change. I know I have."
Kouyou blinked. She stared at that man. That unfeeling, cruel, cold person, but she saw something in his eyes. He wasn't deceiving her. She found she couldn't look him in the eyes. She turned her head away. "…Hah. How unlikely," she found herself quipping.
"Believe what you will, but I'm a changed man," Dazai brightly said. "That being said…trying to force your own opinion onto that girl will only make her run farther from you."
"And what would you know about pushing someone in the right direction?" Kouyou scoffed.
Dazai was quiet. "It's true, I'm not great at it," he admitted softly.
Kouyou's eyes flickered. She glanced back at Dazai. He was smiling but it was empty. His expression resigned. A person who was trying despite there being no point. She smiled, though her eyes felt nothing. "Why do you care what happens to that girl? You know better than anyone, it is near impossible to ever leave The Mafia. Her hands are stained now with the blood of those people she's killed."
"…My hands are stained as well," Dazai said quietly. "They're stained and they'll stay stained. Even though I've turned over a fresh leaf, so to speak, I know I can't erase the past…eventually it will catch up to me." His melancholy honesty made Kouyou pause. "But, until then," Dazai brightly said. "I figure I will try to save those falling into the dark by reaching out a hand. I think, helping others, makes the world just a little more beautiful." He smiled and for the first time, Kouyou saw something she thought she'd never see from the blackest heart in Port Mafia history.
She saw a man capable of positively changing for the sake of someone else as well as their own.
"…Is it redemption that you seek?" Kouyou asked, bemused.
"Mm, don't think so," Dazai laughed softly. "But, I think it's not too late for that girl. She is still young…there is still hope for her. Kouyou Anee-San*," he said uncharacteristically serious and earnest, "Please cooperate. Do not resist my team or myself. We will do everything in our power to save that girl. In exchange, please do what's best for her. You need to let her go so she can finally bloom like she's meant to…"
Kouyou gazed at this girl. Her earnestness reminded her of Dazai. Huh, these two…why did they feel so similar? And yet, there was something different about this girl. Dazai was resigned to his own dark past always haunting him, but this person was running—no racing—-towards the future. Even if there was no point at all. She wasn't backing down from the likelihood of failure.
Frankly, that was…admirable.
Though Kouyou was not one to let down her walls. She realized, in her core, that Kyouka was in good hands…with both of these people. She could trust them. They had nothing to hide.
She chuckled softly. "I see…we discussed the weather and stock prices," she said cheekily, smiling at Alu.
Alu pouted. "…really?" She had a funny expression again and her cowlick twitched, and Kouyou giggled, more openly now. Funny, her heart felt just a little lighter, knowing there were two capable people willing to save her precious Kyouka-Chan. She was at a point where it was out of her hands. Dazai had pointed out as much. Perhaps it was time to leave it to these odd people. They stood in the light —if someone like Dazai Osamu, youngest, bloodiest, Port Mafia executive in history— didn't burn, then perhaps there was hope for Kyouka-Chan. It was too late for Kouyou. But, she didn't particularly mind.
Her own boss, Mori-San, was someone worth sticking to the shadows for. He was not like the previous head. He was…a unique person. Someone Kouyou admired. When she wanted Kyouka spared from the assault on the ADA, it was him who granted her that wish to bring her back. He was a man of reason. She admired him greatly. He wasn't a good man. But he was a loyal and reliable one when it came to The Family.
Alu sighed. "Alright, don't tell me, you already know I have her safe with me so…"
Kouyou chuckled. "You are highly perceptive. I have to wonder…" she tilted her head. "How do you know Osamu Dazai? If it's not too forward of me to ask?"
"Oh that?" Alu blinked. "We met through a mutual friend. Though it's been a long time and I highly doubt he remembers. He tends to forget the names of women he meets after the fact."
"Mutual…friend?" Now Kouyou was even more intrigued. That man had far more enemies than he had friends. "I see," she hummed. Oh boy, she had something actually fun to tease him about now. Something she had a feeling he himself may not actually know. She got the vibe that this person didn't want her talking to Dazai regarding too much about herself. Oh, juicy.~ "…so you were an old flame of his?" She asked, lightly. She knew full well Dazai never had a woman he didn't throw away after using.
"Ha, he wishes," Alu rolled her eyes. "Nope. Nothing of the sort. My hands are clean of that guy," she said with a surprisingly hilarious serious almond eyed expression.
Kouyou laughed. For the first time. She found this person entertaining. But more than that, she thought this girl would shake things up for Osamu Dazai…and protect Kyouka-Chan.
Alu sighed. "Ah, don't laugh…I'm serious. I don't like that guy like that."
"I believe you," Kouyou giggled. "But you're so honest. That being said, best not tell me where my precious Kyouka-Chan is, or I may just kidnap her from you~"
"I have no doubt about that," Alu said but she smiled at Kouyou. It was like they were just friendly exchanging quips. They weren't enemies. Something Kouyou found incredibly foreign to acknowledge. But they had established a connection. One Kouyou couldn't deny. Kouyou felt her heart skip a beat. This person, when they smiled, it was warm. Warm like the sun. But Kouyou, for the first time in her life—didn't feel like she was burning.
She looked away, unable to keep looking at this person.
Alu finished her business with Kouyou, and she bowed formally, finally leaving. Kouyou let her. Finally as the girl left and was out of earshot, Kouyou lay back on her bed. It was silent.
"Oh I never caught her name…damn." Kouyou comically made a face, as she stared up at the ceiling. Another silence fell over her. Names, huh?
"…Blossom?" She said softly.
Her ability materialized next to her. "Yes, Kouyou-sama?"She spoke, for the first time, polite and formal. Her voice was beautiful. Kouyou's eyes widened. Her ability was different. It was a woman, with long pink hair, green eyes, peach skin, pretty makeup, in a gorgeous red and yellow kimono, that just gazed at her, kneeling before her obediently at the foot of her bed. Kouyou's eyes were wide. "I seek to make you smile. Please tell me how I may accomplish this." This whole time, she had never once considered her ability as a sentient part of herself. Just a tool. A weapon meant to be used. Just like her own existence. But that girl…that person…had opened Kouyou's mind just a little.
"Have you been here this whole time? Every time I used you it was only for battle," Kouyou's voice trembled. She didn't allow herself to feel guilt but she felt it not. "I am an ugly person who doesn't deserve your loyalty," she confessed softly.
"Not true," Blossom said, smiling at her warmly. "Your scars have only made you more beautiful, Kouyou-sama. I serve you because I want to protect you."
Kouyou smiled, expression misted. She had never been alone. It was as that person had said. When Kouyou was a young girl, she had been cast into the shadowy world of the mafia. Forced to kill to survive from a young age, she had turned to her ability for a sense of security. As long as she had this ability, she could fight back against all those who oppressed her. But even so, she had failed to use her ability to save someone she once held feelings for. Ever since then, Kouyou had shut herself far away within herself, vowing to never be deceived by the light again.
But the cracks were there now because of this one person.
This ability of hers had always been protecting her. She had always had someone by her side. For the longest time, Kouyou thought she was alone except for The Mafia Family. But, for the first time, in a long time, her smile reached from her lips to her eyes.
She no longer felt like a woman trapped in a man's world. Perhaps a woman like that person could shake up the status quo. Kouyou's eyes misty, she hugged her ability, no, her partner, Blossom. "Thank you…for staying by my side."
—-
Alu groaned, returning to the hotel room she currently was staying in. She rubbed her shoulders, they were sore. "Man…what a day…Had to wash my face and lemme tell ya, blood does not wash out easy!" Her clothes looked comically bedraggled.
She huffed loudly, spotting a young girl, sitting obediently, on the floor, near the bed, legs drawn to her chest. Alu stared comically. This little girl—well, teenager, was Kyouka Izumi. And she was currently hiding from the government as well as the Port Mafia. Alu had picked her up and was having her stay with her.
Alu had Kyouka change her clothes yesterday as a kimono clad young girl in modern day Japan was ironically a bit of an eye-brow raiser, lol. Now Kyouka wore a cute blue top, light colored shorts, tennis shoes, and her hair was tied in its familiar pigtails of cuteness.
However, Alu began to sweat. It wasn't because this young lady was causing a stir between the Mafia and the ADA and even got the government brass involved. No, different reason entirely.
"…Have you been sitting there in the spot I pointed to, all day?" Alu asked, taken aback.
"You told me not to move," Kyouka said deadpan and polite.
Alu pursed her lips. What a funny culture Japan could have sometimes. She appreciated the cooperation knowing full well most kids preferred to raise armageddon, but she didn't mean for Kyouka to sit there literally. She sighed. "Please tell me you at least took breaks to take care of your hygienic needs?"
"I did," Kyouka reported, "I went to the bathroom exactly—!"
Alu held up her hand, comically. "Okay, I don't need a full report…thank you, but TMI." She said with a hilarious grimace.
Kyouka's long cowlick twitched, mirroring Alu's much smaller fatter one on top of her own head.
Alu scratched her head. She felt a little awkward. She liked kids, but she hadn't really had to pick one up to take care of in a long time. "Ah, hungry? I'll order us some room service~"
Kyouka nodded. Her stomach growled comically.
Alu smiled. "You silly girl…you didn't have to wait for me. I told you if you needed to order something, just order off the television and have it delivered."
"Too risky," Kyouka said deadpan. "If the enemy were to strike, they would use it when we are waiting to fill our bellies with yummy food," she said seriously.
Alu pursed her lips together. This child was an assassin…but why was her logic so damn cute despite having a valid point, haha. Alu let out a puff of laughter. "You're probably right…I'm sorry I left for so long, today… got crazy."
She hummed coming over to the bed to flomp onto it. "How was your day?" Kyouka asked cutely, tilting her head from where she stood up now.
"Well…I was planning to just check on something and somehow got caught up in a fight with your former pal Ryugawa-kun," Alu said, comically moshing together Akutagawa's first and last name so it wasn't immediately apparent who she was talking about.
But Kyouka knew. Her eyes widened. She came over immediately to Alu. Her expression was pale. But Alu held up a hand, sitting up. "Ah, don't worry. We just talked," she said quickly. "…I can tell that despite that kid's violent desire to prove himself to a particularly dense person, that he actually cared a lot about you…"
Kyouka's eyes glinted, and she shook her head. "No. I was a tool to him."
Cold. Direct. Good job Dazai, it's wearing off two generations down. Alu sighed. "…He didn't have the best example set for himself, you know," she said, patting Kyouka on the head. "I know it's not an excuse. But…his reason for pushing you so hard was only because he didn't want you to be thrown away."
Kyouka's eyes widened. "Did he say that?" She asked, bewildered.
"He didn't have to," Alu sat cross legged on the bed, glancing at Kyouka, her hands in her lap now. "He's a man. Men are terrible at #feelings, you know that! They think it has to be some manly unspoken secret code or something,~" she teased Kyouka with a grin. Kyouka pouted just a little as Alu poked her cheek, bemused. "Hehehe, in reality, he really wanted to say, 'I want to give you a reason to keep going because I care.' But again, you kids aren't exactly raised on sunshine and rainbows in the PM."
Kyouka had to agree there. It wasn't like her whole life had been like that, though. Not even that long ago—though it felt like forever by now— she had belonged to a family of her own. A mother…and a father… Kyouka's eyes watered and she wiped them quickly.
Alu got off the bed. "I'll order food," she said brightly.
Kyouka nodded. She had mixed feelings about Akutagawa but this person was highly perceptive. Trustworthy. Safe.
While waiting for food, Alu rummaged in a bag and pulled out a small blue book and a pen. She smiled at Kyouka and trotted over. "Here, for you."
Kyouka took the book and pen, puzzled. "?"
"I know it's hard right now to focus your thoughts into something tangible, but that's the joy of putting pen to paper!" Alu said brightly. "Why not give it a shot? May help with some of those emotions swirling inside you. Don't put off till tomorrow what you could put down today~"
Kyouka blinked. She looked at her small blue book. She hadn't been gifted anything by anyone in a long time, it felt like. "Is this…really mine to keep?" Kyouka's small voice quivered.
Alu blinked. She hugged Kyouka to herself. "Yes."
Kyouka didn't know what to say. But she was touched. This book was so small and insignificant. Like her existence. It held nothing and yet was waiting for everything to be expressed. Something personal. Something that was a part of her. A physical reminder to hang on. Alu didn't need to say anything.
"…Need a moment?" Alu asked, gently.
Kyouka sniffled. She had been so lost these past few days but this person had found her and shown her love again. Kyouka's voice wavered. That boy came back to her mind. She felt so guilty for leaving him. But at the same time she was afraid of how he may treat her if she went back. Then she remembered.
The small book dropped from her fingertips. Her breathing labored. This person too, would surely leave if she knew the truth. "Kyouka?"
"No…if you knew…what I did…what that thing inside of me did…then you too…" Kyouka's voice was taut and tight.
"I already know," Alu said quietly.
Kyouka's eyes widened, stricken. "You…know?"
"About your parents, yes," Alu said softly.
Kyouka stumbled back, quivering. She hugged herself. "Then why?"
"Because you're a good kid," Alu said softly. "And I'll say it however many times you need to hear it to believe it. Kyouka, there are good people too that care about you…Kouyou-San is one of those people. She is sharp and a bit inexperienced however with expressing herself but you know, she too, wants desperately to see you saved."
She knelt in front of Kyouka, gazing up at her, with a tender smile. Kyouka's tears began to fall again, distraught. Alu just hugged her tightly.
Kyouka couldn't help but cry again, into this person's arms. This person knew her past somehow and didn't hate her? Still believed she was capable of being good? Kyouka didn't know if she believed that, but she wanted to stand in this person's warm glow just a little bit longer. She wanted to be selfish just for a bit more time.
"But that boy knows…" Kyouka's voice wavered. Her feelings were still mixed on Kouyou as well.
"Then just ask him directly, don't be afraid…the worst thing you can do for yourself is not face the truth head on," Alu said gently.
"But what if he hates me?" Kyouka's voice quaked.
"…Then I'll just punch him," Alu said with a sweet smile, sparkling, wiping Kyouka's tears with her sleeve. She smirked wryly. "If he makes you cry I will turn him into a nice tiger rug!" She said brightly.
Kyouka yelped. "N-No, don't do that!"
Alu paused and she laughed softly, breaking away from Kyouka. "You care a lot for that boy, so have a little faith that he also cares about you!"
Kyouka pouted, her cheeks puffing a bit, sniffling as she wiped her own eyes. She felt embarrassed for crying at her age but she just felt like it was okay to be herself around this person. This person made her feel like she was normal. "Okay…" Kyouka said, softly. She wanted to see that boy again, more than anything.
"Why not write down how you feel…about those people in your life right now?" Alu suggested, gesturing to the desk. "Trust me, it's very cathartic. I have a whole volume myself on Dazai Osamu~" She beamed at Kyouka.
Kyouka blinked. She gazed at this person, smiling brightly, and yet she detected this person was comically irritated with that other person? Kyouka thought this person was weird. "Weird…" she said dolefully, gazing at Alu with a cute expression of almost vacant intrigue.
"Ah, I prefer quirky and spicy!" Alu said with a grin. She ruffled Kyouka's hair.
Kyouka found herself able to smile when with this person.
Maybe there was still room to hope after all.
—
Mini author rant: chapter 22 and 23 just why…Tanizaki I want to like you but why….*ALSO WHY IS THE ONLY VALID HETERO RELATIONSHIP AN INCESTIOUS ONE?! I LOVE NAOMI'S CHARACTER AND THEN THEY GO AND RUIN IT WITH THAT SHIT. If it was just two people PRETENDING to be siblings for shits and shock value (like when Alu does it with Dazai) then that's one thing…but THIS IS JUST dsklfjsadlkfjldsfjskd AGGHRHRHHGHGH. At least have Naomi be ADoPTED or some 't make it any CREEPY as shit but whatever at this point.
