A/N: Hope you're all doing well!
Since FFnet still does not seem to have fixed the issues of alerts not being sent out and traffic being reported I decided to create a forum on FFnet for this story where I will post work progress updates or news about any delays. No more vanishing with radio silence for me. I don't know how useful this will be but it's better than nothing. The forum is "A Retelling - Updates" (real original I know). It's also the only forum on this site for this series. I tried copy/pasting the link into this note but that is apparently not allowed.
I Think She's...
Night of April 22nd – Tokyo
"I can't believe the gall of Nene-san! Making such an insinuation right to Natsuo-kun's face like that! What is wrong with her?!" Miyabi's thoughts bounced around her skull furiously as she glanced at the girl she thought was a friend. They hadn't said a word to each other since she had dragged Nene away from Natsuo's apartment, and now were on one of the last trains running that night, them only living one station away from each other.
Feeling Miyabi's gaze, Nene sighed and said, "If you have something to say just say it. I'm a big girl."
"What exactly were you thinking back there? Making comments about long distance relationships going bad? Implying that Rui-san would cheat on Natsuo-kun? And then basically throwing yourself at him when we were leaving?!"Miyabi asked in an increasingly exasperated her tone, her face reddening as she progressed, thankful there were so few people on the train this time of night.
"Oh? Is that all? I thought maybe there was something else on your mind, I'm pretty sure I was being clear back there," Nene answered bluntly, her inflection having the same urgency as though she were reading a shopping list.
Miyabi's eyes widened, she stared incredulously as the indifference in how Nene had answered her question. She collected her thoughts before speaking again, "How can you even think this is okay? Natsuo-kun has made it very clear he only has eyes for Rui-san, and you have the nerve to say those things to him in his own apartment? He's -"
"Someone you were pursuing until recently," Nene cut off Miyabi's statement before she turned to face her and continued, "Correct me if I'm mistaken, but were you not actively pursuing him despite knowing he was in a committed relationship? Did you not try to take advantage of her being overseas? You even came to me for advice on how to seduce him. So how about you get off that high horse of yours?"
Miyabi felt her as though she'd had the wind knocked out of her as she stammered, "I – I n-never asked you for advice on s-seducing him!"
"Oh yes you did. You might try to pretty it up by calling it "winning him over" but all of the advice I gave you was so you could seduce him. You just weren't able to follow through. That's the only difference between you and me: you're too weak to take what you want," Nene countered as she returned her gaze to the space directly in front of her.
"Nene-san... I thought... I thought you wanted to help because..." Miyabi trailed off, not wanting to finish the thought.
"Let me guess: because we're friends? Don't misunderstand Miyabi, I do enjoy your company, but I wouldn't go that far. I decided to help because I wanted to see if you could actually do it. I wanted to see if I could sculpt the innocent and naive Serizawa-san into someone who would do whatever she needed to get what she wants. But you tripped right at the finish line, so I guess it's back to Plan A," Nene explained with the ghost of a smile, standing up as the train neared her station.
Still reeling from Nene's explanation Miyabi absently asked, "Plan A...?"
Shaking her head slightly Nene answered, "I seduce him myself. He's the only guy who's resisted me this long; it's a challenge, and unlike you: I take what I want. If he breaks his girlfriend's heart in the process that's not my fault, it's his," she paused to adjust her shirt before adding, "And right about now he's gotten a surprise and has some thoughts going through his head."
This snapped Miyabi to attention as she stood up and questioned, "Nene-san... what did you do?"
"Oh, I just left him a little gift is all. Something to keep me on his mind," Nene answered with a grin as she pulled her shirt collar to the side.
Miyabi stared confused for a moment before it clicked: there was no visible bra strap, when she knew she'd caught glimpses of it earlier. As Nene started making her way to the train's door Miyabi thought out loud, "But where did... the bathroom!" She hastily took out her phone, hoping she could warn Natsuo before he found it.
Miyabi: Natsuo-kun I think Nene-san hid her bra in your bathroom when she used it! I really hope you see this before you find it. There's something seriously wrong with her!
"You caught on pretty quick, I guess some of my advice did end up sticking in that head of yours. Have a good night Miyabi," Nene stated as she exited the train and the doors closed behind her.
Slumping back into her seat Miyabi gripped the sides of her head as she processed the entire conversation. "The worst part is... she's right... I was no better than she was. I knew he was happy with Rui-san but I still wanted him for myself... What right do I have to lecture anyone? No! I realized what I was doing was wrong and stopped! It's almost like she..." her thought process stopped as she had another realization: Nene's tone of voice hadn't changed at all during the entire conversation. She had maintained that same blunt monotone throughout everything she'd said. Her thoughts came out as a muttered question, "Was that an act... or has she been acting the whole time and let the mask slip just now?"
A few minutes passed before Miyabi's phone buzzed in her hand, startling her into almost dropping it before she opened the messenger app to read the message she'd received.
Natsuo: Yeah. I found it and her... thong hanging from my shower-head when went to take a shower. Thanks for trying to warn me Miyabi-san, I heard your message come in but was already getting ready to get in the shower and thought it could wait.
Groaning at how close she had missed warning him, and shaking her head slightly to clear some intrusive images that formed at the word "shower" she quickly typed out a reply.
Miyabi: I'm sorry I didn't warn you sooner. She and I really got into it on the train, a lot of stuff was said, but she only let slip she'd left a "surprise" for you as she was getting ready to get off at her station.
Natsuo: It's not your fault, you had no way of knowing what she did.
Miyabi: I appreciate that, but I can least warn you about this: she made it very clear that she has every intention of seducing you. She sees it as a challenge because you've resisted her already. And there was something about how she was acting and speaking... It gave me a really bad feeling.
Natsuo: After the way she was acting tonight, and with this stunt I don't doubt that. Well she's in for a rude wake up call. She can try all she wants, it's not going to work
Smiling at his self confidence and steadfast attitude, Miyabi was snapped out of her thoughts at the announcement the train was approaching her station. She hastily typed out one last message before she would have to walk home from the station.
Miyabi: My station is coming up, I'll talk to you later Natsuo-kun. Hope you manage to have a good night despite all of this!
Natsuo: Do me a favor and message when you get home, it's pretty late. I'll be up for a while still.
Miyabi: Will do.
With that exchange completed, Miyabi exited the train at the station and hastily made her way home. While she was sure her neighborhood was safe: Natsuo had reminded her of how late it really was, she was still in the most populated city in the world, and her mind inevitably drifted to the events of the Misaki situation. Less than half an hour later she had gotten home, messaged Natsuo as promised, gotten ready for bed and was now laying on her bed still going over the interaction she'd had with Nene on the train.
Having a sudden urge to verify one of her thoughts she took out her phone and went onto its web browser to look something up. As she went to the search engine she listed off noticeable characteristics, "Superficial charm... manipulative... lack of remorse... shallow affect... imitating emotions when useful... lack of empathy... promiscuous sexual behavior... pathological liar..."
Miyabi's eyes widened at the top result of the search while she felt a chill that made her feel ill as she muttered a simple, "Oh..."
Early Afternoon of April 23rd – Tokyo
"What was that? You want me to look over questions for an interview?" Tougen asked in surprise as he turned to face Natsuo.
"That's right," Natsuo replied as he took the few pages of notes out of his bag and held them out to his mentor.
Tougen took the papers and took several moments to review what was written on them, nodding his head or mumbling quietly to himself here and there while writing small notations with his pen. After he had finished he handed the papers back and stated, "I see you've been paying attention to how I format my questions. I added some suggestions on clarity and phrasing on a few of them, but those should do just fine. I assume this has something to do with the friend you mentioned having a drug addiction a while back?"
"It does. The other day I had the sudden urge to write her story, and I ran into her that night and talked it over with her. She's agreed to it as long as names are changed to protect the anonymity of everyone involved," Natsuo explained with a small smile.
Tougen was silent for a moment before gruffly saying, "Well it's about time, knew you'd get out of your funk sooner or later. Have you let Tsutaya know yet?"
"Not yet, I wanted to get the groundwork done and run it by you first before getting his hopes up," Natsuo replied with sheepish laugh.
"What you wanna know if I think it's a good idea? From what little you've told me and me reading those questions her story is worth telling. You need to have more confidence in yourself. And let Tsutaya know so he'll stop worrying!" Tougen barked in exasperation.
"I will sensei," Natsuo conceded.
Nodding his head and turning back to look outside Tougen asked, "So, when will you be starting this book of yours?"
"I'm not entirely sure. I have to write out my own involvement, interviewing Misaki and Boss I can work out a time for... but I do also need to interview Hina-nee and get her consent to tell her part," Natsuo answered seriously, lifting a finger for each thing listed.
"Interviewing someone when you can't get in touch with them, or even know where they are is going to be tough. I take it there's still no lead on where she disappeared to?" Tougen asked between a few light stretches trying to work out a kink in his neck.
"Only that she's still relatively close to Tokyo," Natsuo answered simply.
"Oh? How do you figure that?" Tougen asked, turning towards Natsuo again slightly.
"Misaki. She told me that Hina-nee had reached out to her and still intends to visit her in rehab, so she must still be somewhat close to Tokyo," Natsuo explained, relief evident in his voice.
Tougen grumbled again before countering, "You sure about that? Have you forgotten how fast those bullet trains move? She could be all the way in Sapporo or Kagoshima and it would still just be a day trip to come visit."
Natsuo visibly deflated as he muttered, "Thanks for the reassurance sensei..."
"In all seriousness though: I'm glad to hear someone has been in touch with her. She'll be back once she sorts out whatever it is she needs to, so no point in worrying too much. Just focus on what you can do now, and when she gets back you can handle that part," Tougen said, with a mildly softer tone, though still chiding slightly.
Nodding, Natsuo replied, "You're right sensei, if I let myself worry about things outside of my control it will only bog me down again."
"Ha! I see you're finally starting to get it; you need to be able to prioritize and compartmentalize otherwise you'll stop yourself in your tracks. Now tell me about this story, and make sure you take notes if I have any suggestions, I don't want to have to repeat myself," Tougen insisted as we waved Natsuo over.
For the better part of an hour Natsuo detailed his plans for the story, answering any questions Tougen asked him and adding notes to the outline he'd already drafted up at Tougen's insistence. Once they had finished and Natsuo had prepared some tea for the two of them Tougen spoke, "I'd say you're on track to kicking that writer's block of yours to the curb. I'm glad, that would have been such a waste of potential."
"Thanks for putting up with me all this time sensei. You had no reason to keep me around when I couldn't write... you and Tsutaya-san both," Natsuo responded, bowing his head in gratitude.
"Ah knock it off will ya? You think you're the only author to ever get writer's block? It's no big deal, nothing worth thanking me over," Tougen grumbled as he turned away from him.
Chuckling slightly at his sensei's reaction Natsuo added, "Even still: thank you."
"Yeah sure, whatever," Tougen muttered in response. The two were quiet for a moment before Tougen stood up and asked, "You free this weekend?"
Caught off guard by the change in subject Natsuo hesitated a moment before answering, "Uh.. yeah I think so. As far as I know there's nothing going on, why?"
"I have to go out of town for an appointment, material for my new book. I think you should come with me," Tougen replied simply.
"You're already starting a new book? Didn't you just finish your last one?" Natsuo asked in surprise.
Chuckling smugly Tougen replied, "Yeah but what can I say? When I get an idea I can't let it go and need to work on it."
Nodding at this, Natsuo questioned, "So what's the theme this time?"
"You're going to like this one," Tougen paused dramatically before continuing, "What connects us."
Evening of April 23rd – Tokyo
"I wasn't expecting that we'd be gone the whole weekend... I'll have to let everyone know that I might not have any signal up in the mountains," Natsuo thought out loud as he walked from the station to his apartment. After he'd been told the details of the upcoming weekend trip he'd helped Tougen get the house tidied up and made sure his sensei would have all the medication he'd need while out of town. As he thought back on it he muttered, "Honestly I'm not sure hiking around a mountain so soon is the best idea for him... but I doubt he'd listen if I spoke up."
As he neared the apartment he heard two female voices, which he immediately recognized as Miyabi and Kasumi, and sure enough as he reached the top of the stairs he saw the two women standing between his door and Kasumi's talking calmly. Miyabi was the first to notice him and called out, "Natsuo-kun! Good evening!"
Turning to see him, Kasumi chimed in, "There you are! How rude to just leave a friend waiting here for you. If I hadn't brought my trash out poor Serizawa-san would have been standing out here all alone!"
Miyabi's face turned dark red as she frantically waved her arms at Kasumi and cried, "Hazuki-san it's okay! I did drop by unannounced after all!"
Laughing at scene in front of him Natsuo asked, "How long have you been here Miyabi-san?"
"I've only been here for about an hour. I was in the area on an errand for my parents," she paused to hold up a shopping bag, "and figured I'd kill two birds with one stone."
"Oh, did I miss a message from you..." Natsuo trailed off as he pulled out his phone to double check.
Kasumi laughed as she teased, "She apparently forgot her phone at her parents' house and couldn't message you." Miyabi's face sank at Kasumi's teasing.
Natsuo thought for a moment before asking in a teasing tone of his own, "Why didn't you message me then Kasumi-san?"
Kasumi's laughter stopped immediately as she tried to think of a reasonable excuse, eventually weakly offering, "Because I uh... got distracted talking with her?"
"Anyway," Natsuo turned away from Kasumi, "What brings you by Miyabi-san? Did you come to get... what Kuzuoka-san left behind?"
Miyabi nodded as she replied, "I did, but there's also something I wanted to talk to you about. It's important."
"And that's my cue, I've got some homework to finish. It was good to see you again Serizawa-san!" Kasumi cheered with a smile.
"Likewise, thank you for keeping me company Hazuki-san!" Miyabi replied with a smile of her own.
"Yeah, thanks Kasumi-san," Natsuo added as she made her way towards her door.
Kasumi gave a thumbs up as she replied, "Anytime!" before entering her apartment.
Making his way over to his own door Natsuo turned his head to Miyabi as he offered, "Come on in, I'll make some tea to make up for having to wait out here like you did." Miyabi nodded in thanks as she followed him inside.
As Natsuo went to the kitchen to start the water for the tea, Miyabi made her way to living room and sat down at the table where a small bag was waiting. After a moment she asked, "Is this them?"
"Yeah that's them, thanks for coming by to get them," Natsuo answered from the kitchen.
"Oh it's no problem at all. In fact I'm a little surprised you didn't just throw them in the garbage, you had every reason to," Miyabi said as she moved the bag off the table and next to her own.
As Natsuo came into the room carrying two cups of tea he added, "Well I thought about doing that, but I figured it would be better to return them to her so she doesn't think I have them still. I still can't believe she would do something so... brazen."
Miyabi took the offered tea and set it down in front of herself to let it cool. She waited for Natsuo to take his own seat before stating with a sigh, "I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around it too. That and the things she said to me on the train last night, leading up to her hinting at what she did."
"I knew she was... well you know... but I never thought she would get this bad. She's going to be a serious problem if she keeps escalating this behavior," Natsuo grumbled as he massaged his temples.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Miyabi paused to take a testing sip of her tea, "The way she was acting and talking last night on the train were so different from how she's ever been around me. She was cold... I want to say "emotionless" and completely remorseless. She flat out told me that she sees seducing you as a challenge, and that if she succeeds and it destroys what you have with Rui-san it's your fault and not hers."
Natsuo's eyes widened at this, having been completely caught off guard by the callousness of the statement. After a moment he asked, "She really said that? The way you describe her being last night is... I mean what could cause that kind of change?"
"That's just it Natsuo-kun... I don't think she changed. I think that's who she really is and everything else has been an act and she let the mask slip last night," Miyabi paused, dreading what she was about say, "I... I think she's... a psychopath."
The silence in the room was absolute and smothering. The occupants of the apartment both waited for the other to say something, both fully aware of the seriousness of the accusation. Natsuo was the first to break the silence, "Miyabi-san... calling someone that is..."
"I know," Miyabi spoke up when Natsuo trailed off, "After I got home last night and tried going to bed, I couldn't sleep; I kept replaying what happened over and over. So I plugged how she was acting, and things I know about her, into a search and the top result was "Identifying Traits of Psychopathy". I know that isn't concrete proof... but she checked so many of the boxes... and it would explain a lot."
Natsuo was silent as he took out his phone and ran a search of his own, finding the article Miyabi had found and read through it. After several minutes he set his phone down with a sigh and said, "Yeah... she definitely checks a lot of those boxes. So what do we do now?"
"I'm not sure. Knowing a possible explanation for why she's acting the way she is doesn't do much in the way of making her stop. I think we just need to keep it in mind moving forward, and you should keep an eye out in case she does anything... even more drastic," Miyabi admitted with a sigh of her own, looking down slightly, wishing she had more concrete advice to give.
"Yeah... and now she even knows where I live. I'll have to ask Kasumi-san and Kuwaba to keep an eye out while I'm gone this weekend... do you have a picture of Kuzuoka-san I can show them?" Natsuo asked after a moment of thinking to himself.
Miyabi blinked at the suddenness of the question before replying, "Oh... yeah I think I have one I can send once I get my phone. You're going away this weekend?"
"Oh right, it's a last minute thing. Tougen-sensei asked me to come with him out of town while he gathers material for his next book. We'll be out in the mountains so I might be out of contact for a good chunk of the weekend," Natsuo explained before taking a sip of his tea.
"I see, well it will probably be good to get out of the city for a bit. Get some fresh air and clear your mind," Miyabi replied pausing to drink her own tea, "Oh! Don't forget that next weekend is the training camp!"
Natsuo visibly deflated at hearing this before grumbling, "Part of me really doesn't wanna go... but I guess it would look bad if the vice president bailed on it."
"It certainly would," Miyabi stated bluntly, earning a laugh from Natsuo which in turn caused her to laugh. The two settled into a comfortable silence as they each finished their tea, at which point Miyabi stood, grabbing the two bags and said, "I should get going, my mother is probably wondering what's taking me so long. Thank you for the tea."
"You're welcome, and thank you for sharing your thoughts on what's going on. I'll take care of your cup, be safe on the way home," Natsuo replied as he grabbed both her empty cup and his own. After another few words of farewell Miyabi had made her exit, leaving Natsuo to go about the rest of his evening routine.
Morning of April 23rd – NYC
"Still not fully awake huh?" Daniella asked with a mocking tone.
Rui sleepily turned to face her, still chewing her toast, and asked, "Hmmph?"
Shaking her head, Daniella scolded, "Don't try to talk with your mouth full. Are you still not getting any sleep?"
Rui finished chewing her mouthful of food and swallowed before she answered, "I'm starting to get more, but I'm still drained from before. It's only been two days since Natsuo let me know that Misaki-san had been in touch with my sister. I'll be back to normal in another day or two."
"I sure hope so, it's hard seeing you act like a zombie. Still no idea what made your sister up and vanish like she did?" Daniella asked as she finished her coffee.
Shaking her head slightly Rui replied, "None. But I'm just glad to know she's okay and in touch with somebody. We'll just have to be patient, Hina-nee will turn up when she wants to."
The two were silent for a moment Daniella teased, "So I guess you didn't notice your phone going off a minute ago? Pretty sure it was Natsuo's tone."
Rui stared at her in confusion for a moment before looking down at her phone, noticing that a reminder banner had lit up, indicating a received message. She ignored Daniella's snickering as she opened the phone to see the message.
Natsuo: Good morning Rui, I hope you slept well last night... or at least better than you have been. It's been a hectic couple of days here, and I wanted to give you a heads up that I'll probably be out of contact this weekend. I'm going up to the mountains with Tougen-sensei to help him gather material for his next book. There's some other things I need to talk to you about, if you have time before work, if not that's okay. I love you.
She smiled to herself as she typed out a quick response.
Rui: Good evening! I slept better last night but I'm still a bit drained, I'll be better soon though. Thanks for the heads up! Please let Tougen-sensei know I hope he's doing better. I have some time before work today, just let me finish breakfast and getting ready and then we can do a call. I love you too!
Natsuo sent back a thumbs up emoji in response, earning a quiet laugh from Rui. "I know that look, I'll do my best not to eavesdrop on you lovebirds," Daniella teased as she moved her plate and cup to the sink to rinse them off. Rui proceeded to finish her breakfast while staring a hole through the kitchen table, doing her best to ignore her roommate's antics.
A short while later Rui had video called Natsuo, who filled her in on the fact that he had been named the vice president of Forester moving forward, the celebration and the "after party" which had followed him back to the apartment, and finally the "surprise" that Nene had hidden in the bathroom.
"She. Did. WHAT?!" Rui seethed, wanting nothing more than to teach this woman a lesson she'd never forget.
"Trust me Rui, I wish I was making this up, but I'm not. Kuzuoka-san has always been... well let's just very forward, I've told you about her before. But this was an escalation that I didn't expect," Natsuo replied with a grimace, still uncomfortable with everything.
Rui took several breaths in order to calm herself before she asked, "What hell is wrong with her? I don't understand why she won't give up."
"Well... Miyabi-san has a theory about that. She stopped by earlier to collect the... items, and she told me about how Kuzuoka-san was acting and talking to her on the train last night, and she did some research online," Natsuo explained calmly.
Rui scrunched her nose slightly on reflex, she trusted Natsuo and Miyabi but the situation with Nene had her on edge. "What's her theory?" she asked shortly.
"The short version is... she thinks that Kuzuoka-san might be a psychopath. And not like "wow she's crazy" but a literal psychopath. When she did a search for traits Kuzuoka-san was displaying, an article about identifying psychopaths came up. I read through the same article and she matches an alarming amount of the identifying traits; it's not proof but it definitely explains a lot," Natsuo answered grimly, feeling a chill run up his spine at the thought of someone like that being fixated on him.
"A psychopath...? Are you serious? Can you send me the article?" Rui rapidly asked as her mind raced at the implications. Natsuo quickly sent her the link to the article he still had open on one of his tabs and she quickly read through it, getting more anxious the more she read. Once finished she said, "I was going to ask how nobody could have noticed... I didn't know that some psychopaths can imitate emotions to blend in. Natsuo... she knows where you live now; what are you going to do?"
With a dejected sigh Natsuo replied, "For now all I can really do is keep an eye open for her. While I'm out of town Kasumi-san and Kuwaba are going to keep watch; Miyabi-san had a picture I was able to show them so they know who she is. If there is any further escalation then I'll see what I can do, maybe a restraining order? It would really depend on what, if anything, she tries."
"Hopefully we're worrying for nothing and she doesn't actually try anything else... but please be careful Natsuo," Rui pleaded, the uneasiness clear as day in her voice.
"I will Rui, I promise," Natsuo responded confidently, not wanting Rui to know he was just as uneasy as she was.
A silent moment passed as the two simply watched each other, before Rui reluctantly sighed, "I have to head to work. Since you probably won't be able to call during the weekend... we should have some of... those calls before you leave. It's been a while since... you know." Her face turned slightly red as she squirmed in her seat slightly.
Smiling knowingly, Natsuo replied, "It has been a while... too long. We definitely should, and will. Have a good day Rui, I love you."
"I love you too, good night Natsuo," Rui beamed as she ended the call.
Afternoon of April 26th – Somewhere in the mountains of Japan
"Ugh... I'm getting too old for this. Back in the day climbing a mountain this size would have been a breeze!" Tougen groaned with a huff as he and Natsuo reached the summit.
Natsuo, slightly winded himself, have a hearty chuckle as he replied, "Well it was your idea sensei," he paused to look out over the valley, "But I'd say it was worth it wouldn't you?"
Tougen stood up straight to take a large breath as he took in the sight before them. He was quiet for a moment before a grin formed on his face and he said, "Yeah... yeah it was. Let's sit down and enjoy it for a bit before we head back down, we still good on time?"
As Tougen moved to sit on a nearby rock Natsuo checked the time on his phone, about all it was good for out here, and relayed, "Yeah, we've got plenty of time to get back down and catch the train." He then moved to sit on an adjacent rock.
Natsuo's gaze lingered on his phone for a moment before he put it away, and after he had Tougen asked, "So things going well with her?"
"Hmm?" Natsuo sounded, caught off guard by the question.
"You're girlfriend, Rui was it? The distance must a pain to deal with, and I remember you saying things were rough for a bit," Tougen elaborated, still keeping his gaze ahead of him.
"Oh! Yeah things are going well, we worked through that rough patch," Natsuo answered with a smile.
Tougen nodded before saying, "That's good. It takes a special kind of lady to deal with writers... to stay in your corner even when prospects don't look good. So you make sure not to mess that up; you don't want to end up like me."
"Sensei..." Natsuo trailed off, awed by the rare display of sentimentality.
"My wife was like that," Tougen continued, a sad smile on his face, "Even when my stuff wasn't selling enough for me to even put food on the table. There were times when I considered giving up writing so I could find a more reliable source of money... but she never let me give up on it. She kept pushing and supporting me until it finally worked. I wouldn't be who I am today if it wasn't for her... but then... well you know what happened. When our son died it was too much for her; she couldn't stand to be around me and I don't blame her. Even still, I keep going because to give it up now would be an insult to her. So if there's only one thing you ever learn from me: don't let her down, ever."
Natsuo regarded him silently for a moment before asking, "What's gotten into you sensei? Not that I don't appreciate it, but this isn't like you to talk about these things unprompted."
"Bah! I'm getting old, I'm allowed to get sentimental if I feel like it," Tougen shot back, his tone returning to its normal gruffness.
Silence stretched between the two for another moment before Natsuo laughed and replied, "You're right... thank you sensei. I'll remember this lesson, even if I forget everything else you've taught me."
"You'd better," Tougen muttered, "But I've still got plenty to drive into that head of yours, so you'd better pay attention until I've got nothing left to teach you."
Turning his gaze back out to the valley before them, feeling the cool mountain breeze and seeing how the leaves caught the sunlight, Natsuo smiled widely and responded, "I will sensei... I will."
A/N: Just a couple things to say here: 1) I don't know if Kei Sasuga meant for Nene to seem like she's somewhere on the psychopathy spectrum, but based on my personal (limited) looking into of the differences between psychopaths and sociopaths she gave me that vibe while reading the canon material so I decided to lean into it. 2) Like in the last chapter where I cut the scene of Natsuo being appointed vice president, I cut the scene of Natsuo and Tougen talking with the forester on the mountain because it would have ended up just being a copy/paste. I'll be taking that approach moving forward if I don't feel there's a way for me to meaningfully change a specific scene.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
