Well, here we are, round two! :)

Pen and Paper

Chapter Two

Professor Yu Kanda had just finished helping a student of his. He was very attentive, but he was having trouble following the material. Not that Kanda was surprised - Japanese mythology as a whole was difficult enough to follow on its own, and this was just the first level of his course. As a historian and mythologist, things were bound to get complex. The only thing harder than these mythology courses was his history course. Several students came to him because of that - especially now that finals were on the way.

It was the end of his first Friday in May, meaning just next week and the finals after and all he'd have to do is grade the papers and exams and he'd be done. He was excited, actually. He'd have time off, and he'd be able to meet Suzaku. They'd always wanted to meet up, but living on opposite ends of the country and lack of cash made that fairly difficult.

"Hey, Yu!" Kanda groaned, a vein popping as a red-head hugged him from behind. "Where ya headin' to, buddy?"

"We're not buddies, and none of your business, Baka Usagi!" He said, knocking the guy off him.

The guy frowned. "Aw, come on, Yu-chan! You can't spend the rest of your life in a shell."

"I've got better things to do than to be drunk at some stripper club." He said before continuing to his car, leaving the Usagi to whine on his lonesome. Kanda had gone through a few relationships now, and he was quite happy to be single now. His relationships didn't work out well, and he was more interested in what his pen pal was doing.

It had been well over a week since he sent his last letter. He was pretty excited to see what she had - it'd be a relief from all the work he had to do, that's for sure. Suzaku had more than a bit of potential, she was an uncommon type of writer. She knew how to provide an atmosphere and intrigue, and she also knew where to draw the line with the detail to her work. On top of that, her characters were phenomenal. Her first few books were a bit stereotypical, but she's progressed quite a bit.

He got home to his apartment complex and got his mail first. There was Suzaku's letter, and a manila envelope to boot. Kanda knew her name, but he really didn't like it. Guessing by her pseudonym, she didn't like it either - at least to some degree.

Kanda entered his apartment. He pet his black Labrador retriever - Mugen - before getting settled and making himself some tea. After that, he opened Suzaku's letter and began reading.

"Thanks Kanda.

It's nice to see you've got some confidence in this one. You've always been a picky reader, within reason - yes, but there are times you've exaggerated a bit. And speaking of exaggerating - sorry you dealt with that. I reread and rewrote those letters to try to take out some of my mood, but it looks like that didn't help much.

I've triple-checked. The book tour will end before July, so I'll be sure to have room for you. And as for your nuisances? I'll live with entertaining them, but they had better be able to detach from us. As for mine? Yes, I got a break. Road got more than an earful from Lulubell and Tyki. She apologized a few days before I got your letter. She's still been impatient as fuck, but she's reserved it. Besides, I'm seeing her tomorrow, so she doesn't have anything to complain over. Fair warning, they know we kept in touch since high school, so they're gonna want to meet you. I told them you'd be up by the third, though, so no worries.

It's good to know Mr. Tiedoll's doing well. Doting and all, at least you ended up with someone who cares - besides, his visits have gotten shorter. And what of your brothers? You hear from them at all this semester, or have they been quiet? And just so you're aware, my parents wrote to me again. Same shit as always, but it's been bothering me a bit, so sorry in advance if I sound pissy at all.

Onto the book. I ended up naming it Fujioka because nothing else I came up with sounded right, and I got the order of events right, finally. Its ending is fitting, given the situation, at least to me. Little tid-bit you should know, I'm debating on adding and cutting out certain parts, so it hasn't gone to the editor. Regardless, I hope you enjoy the book.

- Suzaku"

Kanda nodded and went for the manila envelope. He was happy things were going better. He still didn't like the sound of this girl - Road, but Suzaku must have some reason for liking her. At least he hoped so; if Suzaku was just kidding herself, he had hell to deal with when July came.

The professor found himself laughing a bit as he read her manuscript. She actually answered to it when people called her that. Despite himself, Kanda couldn't help but feel a bit flattered that she liked it so much. Seriously though, Ashton? What kind of name was that? And why do you give it to your daughter? Kanda was never a fan of putting genders to names, but someone like Suzaku didn't deserve - what he felt to be - a derogatory name. And her parents? He didn't even wanna think about what they were like!

He shook his head and returned to the manuscript, a red pen in his hand. None of that mattered. She had cut ties with them - almost completely. The only reason they knew where Suzaku lived was because of her older sister. She was more likeable by the sounds of things, and she respected Suzaku's need to be away from them. But...Karen, he believed it was, also sounded like she was trying real hard to keep the family close. Not a bad thing to want, but it was hard to do when one side caused some problems, and the other answered to it by severing relations. Hell, the only reason Suzaku probably didn't divorce them was because her sister didn't want her to.

Kanda sighed. At least all they did was write. That meant no surprise visits, no extended drama, and no one outside her wanted circle to come and bug her. He was happy for that. She at least laid down enough ground for them to know that they shouldn't show up. It's honestly made her happier, if her letters were anything to show for it.

Reading through the tale, Kanda found himself rather impressed. It was a character driven story, but she managed to write it in a sense that it might actually come from legend. Very well done. Some parts didn't quite make sense in correspondence to both history and legend, and he noted it, as well as revised certain sentences for her. The ending though...by far her best one. And very fitting, considering the tale.

Kanda managed to balance taking care of his dog and eating his dinner all while reading and reviewing it. He finished up everything at sometime past midnight, and was probably going to reread it again before writing his reply to Suzaku. No doubt, this was going to be her best book, by far. So, closing the manuscript and placing it on the end table in the living room, Kanda got ready for bed and grabbed her last book. He said he'd read all of them, and he meant it. She read his work, so he returned the favor. Butterfly was much darker than her first few books, and was much more enjoyable. He was almost all the way through it, and he was happy he had it to read between work and his...companions.

That reminded him. He had to talk to them and make sure they were going with him. Their "summer holidays" were always made cheaper because they traveled as a group. If they didn't come, he'd have to plan for two separate trips (as he'd always be dragged on these holidays no matter what). Sighing as he ended another chapter, he marked where he was in the book, then went to bed.

Hope you guys are enjoying this one. It's a bit weird for me, but I'm enjoying myself. Anyways, I'll update as soon as I can. This one's actually a lot of fun, strangely enough. :)

~ K. Fang-sama