Nozomi sat inside Alhaitham's study as piles of rolled-up paper had filled up the bin hours ago. She glanced down at her writing, books of assignments were already filled out. Professor Rajkumar had spared no time in giving out assignments every day. She held her head, already feeling a throbbing pain.
"Urgh, why is this hard? I usually have so many ideas about writing already… it's not like I haven't had inspiration from classes recently. Maybe the pressures of keeping up with studying really are doing my head in." She picked up the piece of paper and then rolled it. "No way in hell Lady Guuji wants to see another Isekai piece."
She threw the rejected paper into the bin, which had rolled on the ground after outcast pieces lay around the area.
What's been trending lately? What gets readers coming back to stores? Surely there's a gap in the market I could look at…
Nozomi threw herself back into the chair and slumped, looking at the ceiling in the study. After she had finished class, she helped Kaveh clear out the study room and empty any rubbish for the week. She could still see Kaveh's proud face in her mind, him sobbing because he'd never thought he'd see the day someone else would help.
"I swear if you weren't already living with us, I'd have hired you as our cleaner!"
Nozomi imitated his voice and then giggled to herself, the chores weren't that tedious or hard.
The sound of drills made its way through the walls, and bits of dust she hadn't reached drifted down from the force of the room being built upstairs. Kaveh had mentioned they were adding an addition for 'Alhaithams Woodcarvings.'
Although for some reason she thought Kaveh sounded nervous when she asked about the construction. Apparently, it would take a month to finish, and unfortunately, she needed all the sleep she could get.
Nozomi looked back at her other drafts, a hard thud could be heard and a book had dropped to the floor. She sighed pushing her chair in and picked the book up.
"I don't need to clean right now, I need ideas." She dusted its front cover and decided to open it. "Don't suppose there's something… oh my god."
Nozomi blushed as she went through its contents, noting many images or drawings of nude models. Mostly girls holding pieces of fabric or posing inside the Akademiya. She couldn't help but trace her hands along some of the model's features and was lost in thought. In Inazuma, she would collect or find herself fascinated by drawings of women in poses.
"Hey, how's your draft coming along?" Kaveh walked in.
Nozomi jumped and then closed the book. "Um… it's getting there. Yes." She coughed "So what brings you here?"
Kaveh walked over to her, a confused expression on their face.
"I was checking if you had something to eat but, looks like I'm interrupting something. Were you reading something from class?"
Nozomi looked down and hid the book behind her back. She didn't understand why she felt the need to do it, just that she was embarrassed. Kaveh leaned onto the desk and grinned.
"You know, I'm not your mother or anything, but you're acting like you've been caught doing something you shouldn't. You want to explain yourself?" Kaveh chuckled "You have a crush on someone in class?"
Nozomi now felt her face redden, her grip tightening on the book.
"Kaveh… you do realize just now that you're acting exactly like a mother…" She pointed towards the ceiling. "You're being nosy-"
She had loosened her grip in explaining and the book fell to the ground. Panicking, she rushed forward to grab it. Instead, she ran straight into Kaveh who had tried to catch the book, both colliding and falling to the ground. Piles of paper fell on top and both scrambled to clear themselves.
"For the love of Archons Nozomi, if you had something to hide-' Kaveh picked up the book and opened it "At least don't look like you're getting… caught… in the act…"
She watched as Kaveh flicked through its contents, his face reddening the more he read. He looked at Nozomi apologetically.
"Um… if you needed some time to yourself, you can borrow my room for… that." Kaveh looked away. "I didn't realize, I'm sorry."
Nozomi breathed in, already embarrassed, and stood up.
"Wha- what are you even insinuating!? This isn't even my book! You have the audacity to play mother and now you're accusing me of… mast… masturbating in public!?" Nozomi turned her back. "I was just minding my own business and the book fell from the shelves because of the construction."
"Oh! I mean… sorry for misunderstanding, it's an honest mistake." She heard him say "Wait a minute… if that book came up from up there, then wouldn't this be Alhaithams?"
Both turned around and stared at the shelves.
"I kinda thought Alhaitham would have been asexual… maybe he got this book as a gift?" Nozomi mused "It's not like he drew them or anything.."
"You'd be right Nozomi, though it's only one of those three things you mentioned."
Alhaitham had entered the study, leaning to the side on the wall while reading a book. He closed it and then turned to the both of them. As always, he had a deadpan look on his face, his eyes stared at Nozomi.
"The book that fell, was something from my family I had kept after they had passed away." He picked up Nozomi's papers and scanned them "Looks like you're no closer to a job or a manuscript. Only three weeks to go."
Nozomi instantly forgot about the book and sighed. Kaveh beside her gritted his teeth.
"Oh and look who decided to join us, after we cleaned most of the mess you left." Kaveh pointed to his chest "It's almost like you're looking forward to her moving out."
"I'm only just stating the facts." he shrugged, still looking at her. "By the looks of the paper trail in the bin, you're still stuck. What's making you struggle?"
"I was trying to think of what is currently trending, at the moment Isekai light novels are popular. I thought maybe if I knew what was trending-"
"You'd have an idea. While it's true literature is dependent on trends, it isn't always a best seller. You need to have an original idea and those expired well before my time." He pointed to the book on the desk "I'm guessing with how you're blushing, you found some inspiration?"
"Y-you can't just ask her like that Alhaitham! What the hell, can't you see this is awkward for her?" Kaveh exclaimed.
"Oh, and I suppose offering your room for privacy is a sure way to avoid feeling awkward even after the fact."
"Wait, you heard all that?" Kaveh's eyes widened.
"Loud and clear." Alhaitham shrugged "So, what idea did you come up with?"
Nozomi wanted to be curled up in a dark corner of the room. She couldn't stop her face from reddening. Her eyes closed, knowing both men were curious or expected an answer. A pressure built inside her chest, then she opened her eyes and peered at Alhaitham.
"Y-yuri." She blurted out. "I'll… write something about a yuri novel.
Both Alhaitham and Kaveh blinked and the room was silent for a time. Nozomi looked at both, forgetting they weren't from Inazuma. Yuri was a genre often found in Light Novels, describing the act of two or more women being in relationships.
"Oh right, yuri is-"
"We know what Yuri is." Both said in unison then glared at each other.
She facepalmed while she stood up to take a seat at the desk, but neither stopped her as she picked up a quill and began to take notes. Her palms started to sweat under both of their gazes, wishing either of them would walk away or just ask her more questions. If she was being honest with herself, although she knew what Yuri was, she didn't know how to make it more explicit.
"If either of you is just going to stare at my writing, at least… tell me how to make this erotic. I've got a general plot line but honestly… I have no experience with falling in love with a girl." She blushed "Though not for the lack of trying back in Inazuma."
Kaveh backed away and covered his face. "I… well I wouldn't know either."
"Actually, I do know someone who could help teach you how to write more erotic themes or novels." Alhaitham now spoke up "She teaches classes in both Sex ed and Erotica for Writers and she's arriving to teach a workshop next week every Wednesday."
Nozomi looked over to Alhaitham, incredulous.
"Why are you helping me? I thought you had other important things to do."
"How did he know she would be teaching next week?" Kaveh looked at both.
Alhaitham tapped the desk, ignoring Kaveh. "Well one, it may pay rent. Two, you're kind of in my desk so, the faster I help you come up with an idea, the faster it'll free up my space."
"Oh…" Nozomi started to gather her pages "Sorry, I really should have asked if I could use this space. I'll study in the library tomorrow." She paused and looked at Alhaitham "I'm sorry to hear about your family by the way, thanks for letting me borrow your study."
Nozomi turned to leave, and Kaveh had already walked out.
"Don't mention it."
"Huh?" Nozomi turned around to face Alhaitham.
"Nothing, see ya." He waved "Don't forget to enroll tomorrow, her name is Professor Minci."
*
