There now follows a brief note from the author.

Alright... I hadn't planned on doing this, but a few of the reviews that were left were unregistered, and, sadly, asked questions. As I could not reply to these people directly, I will answer them here. But please, if you are going to ask questions about the plot... register on here so I may reply, or post them up on Beast's Lair, please. I don't like to clutter my story with author dialogues and notes, if I can help it.

Anon: No, they have not, and even if they did it'd hardly change things; Akiha's hated SHIKI for far too long for her to just instantly forgive him.

JWM: Is it? You'll have to keep reading to find out. It might be, it might not be. And yes, Shiki and Kohaku are an official couple. I thought that was pretty clear; seems not...

And now, without further ado, Chapter 9.

Chapter 9: "Drawn Together"

I walk out into the sitting room, and pick up my phone. I know that Seo is back at her family's house for this weekend, and I have Seo's number memorized. It is quickly and efficiently dialed, and I put the receiver to my ear, listening to the slight chirping noise that tells me her phone is ringing.

Two rings later, Seo picks up. "Hello? Seo Residence, Seo Akira."

"It is me, Seo." I reply as I relax more fully in my chair.

"...T-Tohno-senpai!" She sounds slightly... hyper. "Ah, I, uh, I had a feeling you'd be calling!"

"You did, eh? Then what would I be calling about? Perhaps you know that too, Seo." Maybe she will blurt it out on accident...

"Ah... N-No I don't!" She laughs nervously. "It's not about ignoring you guys yesterday, was it? I'm sorry Tohno-senpai! But this was the latest issue of Legendary Hero Tortola and it was the climax of the protagonist's fight with his arch-enemy, the Dark Reaper Al'Rashidi..."

"An interesting story, I am sure, Seo. But that is not why I called."

"Ah..." I can hear her sigh in relief. Her demeanor changes almost immediately. Perhaps she was not hyper, but nervous that I would be informing her that she would be punished on Monday for her behavior in my home. Without discussing the specifics, suffice to say that I can be VERY persuasive, to the point some underclassmen at Asagami jokingly voted me as "Torture Mistress."

I hope I met their expectations, but I have yet to see them again after giving them a piece of my mind.

"W-Well then! Why are you calling, Tohno-senpai?"

"You left a book here, Seo."

"...I-I did?ǃ H-Hang on a second!" I hear the phone be laid on some surface, and the faint sounds of Seo Akira tearing into the four or so bags of doujinshi she had bought yesterday. "Not that one... nope, not that... c'mon you stupid— OOF!" A thud. It seems she has fallen.

I sigh and shake my head, and begin to wonder if Kohaku can make a "Miracle Intelligence Formula Amber." I would happily shovel the pills into Seo's mouth daily. Perhaps even directly down her throat.

The sounds of Seo searching through bags resumes. A few moments later, she returns to the phone. "I have everything I bought yesterday, Tohno-senpai. Are you sure it's mine?"

"It is where your randoseru* was, Seo." The fact she still has that is, to me, a sign that perhaps she has not fully let go of her childhood yet.

...Silence. Did the line cut out?

"...Seo? Are you there?" There is still silence for several moments more.

"...Y-Yeah... uh... let me check, Tohno-senpai..."

Hmm. The fear has returned. This... is not good. It tells me my hunch just may be correct after all.

For both her sanity and mine... I hope it is not.

This search is more slow. More meticulous, careful. I can tell because I cannot hear a thing. Seo may be slightly rougher with doujinshi she has purchased, but the ones she produces herself, she may as well be writing on sheets of gold foil with India ink.

She returns a few more moments later. "T-Tohno-senpai..." She sounds very nervous and tense.

"Yes, Seo?" I cross my legs a little in my chair.

"...Did you, ah... did you take a peek inside...?" Her voice trails off as she speaks.

...It is indeed as I feared. This doujinshi, then, represents Seo's... romantic interest in me.

But... why me? Seo is slightly young, but she is not an unlikeable girl. Attractive. Pleasant. Cheerful. I can think many males would be interested in her, so why would she even think about something like this? Is she seeking some sort of Class S** relationship, or—

"T-Tohno-senpai? Are you there?" A highly nervous-sounding Seo Akira.

"Ah... yes, Seo. Sorry. I was distracted for a moment. Excuse me."

...Perhaps it is best if I tell a white lie. Seo is very clearly nervous of me finding out, and if I say yes, it is possible that she will call in sick tomorrow. While she cannot evade me forever, it is definitely best — for both of us — if I take care of this unsettling situation as soon as possible.

Yes. That is a good idea. I can confront her more directly tomorrow, when she will not be able to get away. That is my plan of action, then.

"No, Seo. I have not. Would you like me to? I can flip through it and—"

"NO!" The reply is quick and sharp. I must feign surprise.

"...Seo? Is there something in it I should not be reading?"

She laughs nervously. "Ah, no, that's not it. It's just... ah, well, you know how private I am with my doujinshi until they're done... eheheheheh..."

...Well, I do not think I will have to worry about her chest outgrowing mine. I am now quite convinced her head is nice and fat and so it shall remain.

"...I understand, Seo. Well, it is here if you wish to pick it up. Otherwise, I will return it to you tomorrow."

"R-Right! I'll be over in about a half an hour, Tohno-senpai!" Before I reply, the sharp rattle of a phone slamming onto the receiver offends my ear.

I sigh, and set the receiver back down upon its hook, gazing at the doujinshi. Such a plain and unassuming cover. There is a barely-noticeable drawing of a river and a tree — a rough, light sketch for when she will finish it. Japanese Maple, from the look of it. It will be quite pretty when it is fully drawn.

I thumb through the pages to ensure this is, indeed, the right one. Yes. There is Seo and myself, kissing, a tree nearby and the river, meandering in the distance. I shiver involuntarily and re-close the book, carefully smoothing it out so there is no sign I had opened it in the first place.

...Could it be Seo herself is uncomfortable with the idea of liking females romantically? It is certainly a possibility. As far as I know, Seo has not had a serious relationship yet, and I am quite certain that she has not had a sexual one, although Nii-san worried me briefly that he might have taken a fancy to her despite being three years her senior. She is, after all, still really a girl and not quite an adult yet, although she is fairly mature in some ways for her age... but not in others.

...Then again, I suppose it is only a natural reaction for a girl her age to be very nervous and unsure of love. After all, she likely does not have very much experience... she may not even have kissed a boy in a romantic way yet. But Seo is a pretty girl, and I am sure that in a year or two she would have no such trouble finding someone.

...But... if it is females she is interested in... then I cannot fulfill that space. I do not share that view on women. I do not think it is wrong; after all, it would be hypocritical of me to say what she could and could not love while I am the one who views Nii-san in such a role for me, even though he is not my brother by blood. I still accept him as my brother, regardless, and I still call him Nii-san... I just cannot see him any other way.

So, it is ludicrous for me to tell Seo she should not pursue women, if that is what truly interests her. But I will certainly have to tell her that woman cannot be me.

Twenty-five minutes later, there is the sound of the gate opening, and small, light footsteps running. I get up and head to the front door. As the footsteps come closer, I open the door up.

"TOHNO-SENP—"

...I feel something thump firmly and solidly into my chest. I look down at it.

It is the face of Seo Akira.

It takes a second for her mind to process what has happened, but she is not Hanei. With a muffled cry of surprise, she removes her face from my body. "I, I'M SORRY TOHNO-SENPAI! Please forgive me!" She sniffs hard, as if holding back tears from my imminent punishment.

I re-straighten my blouse out. Well, to be fair, I had opened the door up, expecting she would stop and knock like most people would. This was partially my mistake, so I should not fully blame Seo for it.

"...It was an accident, Seo. But please be more mindful of what you are doing next time." I say the words with a bit of a firm tone in my voice, so I am sure she will get the message.

"Y-Yes! Of course, Tohno-senpai!" She nods and quickly bows so deeply that if she had bowed any deeper, she would perhaps be exposing her backside. I admire her attempting to rapidly defuse the situation. It is perhaps a bit TOO rapid, but I admire her attempts to prevent me from dragging her off and trimming some of that fat from her head.

I hold up the doujinshi. "Is this the one you were looking for?" Her eyes widen like she had died and just found out that in the afterlife exists every doujinshi that was ever made.

"YES! Please give it back, Tohno-senpai!" Her hands even move up from her sides slightly. She definitely wants it... to keep her secret safe...

Well... you may think it is safe, but I know the game you are playing, Seo. And tomorrow, I shall have you trapped.

I hold it out to her. She quickly takes it, like a mother who had lost her child and had just found them. She even cradles it like it were such.

"Oh, thank goodness I found you. I don't know what I would've done if I'd lost you..." Her cheek rubs the cover slightly.

...Perhaps Seo will make a good mother someday. Although I know full well the reason why she is glad. She believes I have not read it. She believes I do not know she has a romantic interest in me.

I would not know how difficult this would be for her. The only real experience I have with attempting to court someone I love was with Nii-san, but that did not work out as I had planned. Nii-san did not reject my love completely; his love simply cannot be of the romantic kind, is all. It is disappointing to me, but I understand his decision, and I shall still love him regardless.

For after all... is that not what family does?

"...Seo. It is not a child. You should stop holding onto it like it were." I chide her slightly.

"...Ah. You're right, Tohno-senpai. Sorry." She carefully puts it in her randoseru, securing it afterward. "Thank you for finding it, though." She smiles happily.

I do so as well. "It is nothing at all, Seo. I simply trust you would do the same for me had I left any of my possessions at your house. Would you care for a drink or breakfast? I can ask Kohaku to prepare something."

"Ah, no, I don't want to be that sort of trouble. Truth be told, I'm still kinda stuffed from last night." She laughs. She must have thoroughly enjoyed Kohaku's cooking, then. Seo has a very fast metabolism. It seems no matter what kind of sweets or utterly bad foods she eats, she never gains excess weight.

Perhaps it is because all the fat from it goes to her head. I am not certain. It is certainly not to her chest.

"I'd better get going." She smiles. "Thanks again, Tohno-senpai! See you at class tomorrow, okay?" With a turn and a wave, she runs back off, towards the bike that she has parked just inside of our gates. I see Kohaku waiting on her.

"Take care, Seo." I close the door, and sigh deeply. Well, tomorrow, I shall definitely confront her on—

...Blood.

The odor of blood lingers in the air. I, more than just about anyone, know that odor. The sharp, pungent odor of iron.

But, I know I am not bleeding. It would have appeared on my blouse by now, and the face of a person is hardly strong enough to pierce a chest. Bruise, perhaps, but certainly not pierce. And I know it was not there before Seo arrived.

Then, the blood must be Seo's. But a quick visual inspection reveals that there is none on the floor.

So, there can only be two sources of that blood.

One, Seo is having her... how shall I put this... her cycle. But Seo would certainly not be wearing a skirt if that were the case, I would think. And she DEFINITELY would not be riding a bike. So it is very likely that this is not the cause, and I am not exactly apt to ask her to hike up her skirt and especially not to remove her underwear for proof.

Two, Seo is stifling a nosebleed. Which is fully possible. She did sniff quite hard, coincidentally or not, right after running face-first into my chest. She did not smack into me with enough force to break her nose, and if she had, she would not have been able to hide the nosebleed, nor aspirate it down to her throat. But it was certainly hard enough to have caused a nosebleed from the blunt force trauma.

Hmm... well, that will be about as close as she ever gets to that, if that is her aim. If she tries it more deliberately, I will break all of her fingers.

I hear the gates close. As I look out a window, my eyes catch the fleeting form of Seo Akira pedaling away from the gate. And soon enough, the walls hide it.

I sit back down in my chair with a sigh, and close my eyes as I think things over.

...If she really does love me in that manner... then I need to ensure that my thoughts on it are communicated to her very directly and truthfully. I need to clearly state my opinion on the issue, and more importantly, I need to make it absolutely, crystal clear that while she may desire that relationship, that it is unacceptable. Even if I were younger, such as Seo's age, I would not like such a relationship personally... and even if I were, now I am too old for such a Class S relationship, and Seo is nearly at that stage herself, at any rate.

Why would she choose me, of all people? I have given Seo quite a few punishments from time to time... but yet, never anything excessively cruel or vicious, as I do like her as a friend, and could not bring myself to truly cause grief or harm on her... well, permanently so, anyway... so she should really have no reason to choose me like that, to be such a subject in her books.

...But yet... the fact that of all people, she chose me... is... kind of... flattering.

It is flattering, yes, but it does not make it any less uncomfortable for me. If I did like women in that way, my view may very well be different, but that is not going to change. The only person whom I wish to love that way is Nii-san. Nobody else... would be right for me. They could not understand... they could not know the significance of the bond that Nii-san and I share.

The bond of a sibling willing to die for the other. As he did for me. And... as I would do for him...

The door opens, and then closes. Kohaku is walking back inside. "Ah, Akiha-sama. Please forgive me for waiting on Akira-san."

"It is not a problem at all, Kohaku," I reply as I reopen my eyes. "The fact that it meant I would have to wait a few more minutes for lunch is hardly something worth being upset for."

"Shall I go back to preparing lunch, then, Akiha-sama?" Kohaku straightens out her kimono slightly.

"Please," I say with a nod. "It is possible Seo might not be hungry, but I am."

"Of course, Akiha-sama. Please excuse me, then." Kohaku bows deeply, and then walks towards the kitchen. "Ah, yes... by the way, Akiha-sama..."

"...Hm? Yes, Kohaku?" I ask her as I sip my well-cooled tea.

"It probably would be wise for you to take a nap for a few hours after lunch, Akiha-sama. You should ensure you get some sleep now so that if you cannot sleep during night, that you are not as tired as you would be otherwise." She smiles slightly as she says it.

"...That is a wise idea, Kohaku. Thank you for your concern." I reply with a slight smile. She nods in acknowledgment, and walks towards the kitchen as I set my tea down.

Well... truth be told, I probably could use a little more sleep as of late. I have felt somewhat lethargic while waking up in the mornings as of late.

That is probably because, well... I have dreaded this month ever since it began. I used to like the month of October, but... after the events of last year... this year it just seems more... ominous. It is difficult to describe exactly.

It also does not help that as of late I have been having increasing amounts of nightmares. Nightmares of "him." Nightmares of a year ago. They have made my sleep more difficult, and more than once I have bolted upright in my bed, gasping for air, with my hair sticking to my face, and cold sweat on my brow and neck.

So... truth be told... Kohaku is right. I have not been sleeping as soundly as I usually do.

I have been trying to keep myself as stress-free as possible. That seems to help out somewhat with the dreams, but over the last month or so, they have grown in duration and intensity. I am not sure what it means, but I am definitely not liking it. But as much as I would like to, I cannot avoid my duties as head of the Tohno, or anything else required of me. No matter what I do, any stress-relieving measures are but temporary, and I cannot enact more permanent ones, so inevitably, I go to bed stressed at night, have a nightmare, and then am unable to sleep for the remainder of the night. It has begun to affect my grades, a fact I do not appreciate in the slightest.

...Then, an afternoon nap will serve nicely in case I cannot sleep at night. It is a bit unusual, and I do not like to sleep during the day, but I suppose it cannot be helped.

Yes. That is a wise plan. Then, after lunch, I will take a short nap. The amount of paperwork that has arrived since Saturday is rather small, and should not take much more than an hour or two to finish. And naps are rare treats for me, so I should cherish them while I can.

I finish my tea, and then head into the dining room for lunch.

* Randoseru - Your typical Japanese schoolbag, used for the first six years of Elementary School. Properly-maintained randoseru can last well into adulthood. The fact Seo Akira still carries her around is a testament to her generally carefree and whimsical nature, and may show she's still slightly childish.

** Class S - Essentially a type of relationship between two school-aged girls, oftentimes between an upperclassman and an underclassman, that has strong emotional bonds. It is a genre of girls' fiction in Japan, as well, an example being "Maria-sama ga Miteru."

...Seo's behavior is definitely suspicious.
She was even more intensely private than normal.
Something... does not add up...

Next Week (8/8/10) - Chapter 10: "What's love got to do with it?"