heaven's price

間 ma

ma is the term for the Japanese concept of negative space. Though commonly used to refer to literal, visible negative space, ma may also refer to the mere perception of such, without necessarily requiring a physical compositional element. ma combines the characters for door and sun, which together depict a door through the crevice of which the sunlight peeps in. ma is filled with nothing but energy and feeling, thus enabling growth, sparking creativity and permitting freedom. It is the momentary pause in speech needed to convey meaningful words and the sincerity of a feeling, the silence between the notes that make the music. ma is an emptiness full of possibilities, like a promise yet to be fulfilled.

“ Ehhhhh…” Was he just insulting him? Did he just call him dumb? Yeah, it’s true, he is not very smart, but still. Harsh. Yuji rubbed against the short, black undercut behind his head. “ I guess so, honestly I don’t know. ”

    the convenience store’s light burns bright: a high and steady hum signifies the oncoming end of its life. near the end of the street, sakae recalls a street light that always flickers and she wonders, chin tilted up, if they'll go out at the same time. she doesn't realize someone else is near her until her head drops down and she peers off to the side only to find a body instead of empty space.

   ( how had he managed to get there without her noticing? )

   she slides a foot to the left and follows after it with the rest of her body, widening the distance between them.

Late Night Wanderings // accepting

“I know.” Hands are tucked into her jacket pockets, shielding them from the cool night air. “It’s kinda unavoidable, though.” It’s not like she can stay out all night. Her soft warm bed is calling out to her. She just wants to go home already. But perhaps maybe, she shouldn’t have stayed out this late to begin with.

“But I’ll be fine. I’m not afraid of the things that lurk in the dark like I was before.”

    her posture mimics rei's own with hands tucked safely into the confines of her jacket. sakae pins an ofuda between her thumb and index, idly rubbing the paper's rough texture against her skin.

      A brow quirks to her rather rude inquiry. He knew what she meant. Frankly, he did not care for the meaning behind it. However, it did strike a sensetive nerve in his heart; touching upon a weeping wound that could never be truly healed. He used to have a friend. Yeah. His closest friend, Yu, who died during their second-year. Nanami was the one who carried his severed torso back from that failed mission. Now it was only himself alone in his class. She would not know about this, most likely, so he did not blame her… But he was not in a mood to continue this conversation.         “ How is that any of your bussiness? ” Perhaps it came out harsher than intended. Even so, he took hold of that paper, and simply held it neatly in his hand. She had drawn it for him, after all. As stoic and aloof he may seem, he was not against genuine attempts at friendly interactions.

   " hmmm, " sakae responds, letting her smile soften. she taps the book against her hip in a rhythm, head tilting to the side. for a moment, she goes quiet, gaze vacant with thought. a second and then another passes by, the quiet broken only by the subtle tap tap tap of her sketchbook.

   " well, if you didn't, " she says, at last, eyes creasing with the return of a smile, " i was going to say we should be friends! the teacher tells me i should try to be more open with others.  "

      Thin eyes widened just so slightly to that confirmation. Ah. So it was him. Does he look so disgruntled that even the students from Kyoto would see it as his signature feature? Tedious…. Frankly, he did not care all that much. The gesture is what matters, is that not how it goes? As for her artistical skill… Well, it could do with some improvement, but before Kento could voice that opinion, she had already moved beyond that topic. “ If you don’t want to hear the answer to that, don’t ask in the first place.” She may have dropped that conversation, but Kento would at least add that remark before anything else.         Again his eyes lowered to look at the drawing, or, scribble - perhaps it was both. Would it be useless to tell her no? Likely. She have off that stubborn energy.“ … Thank you. ” Though, he was not aware they were at odds to begin with. If so, it was the rest of the students having a rivarly which Nanami simply ignored and chose to not partake in.

   he's a bit cold, isn't he? the second and third years had warned her about kento, but sakae hadn't put much weight into their statements until now. she regards him in silence, smile unwavering even when she's certain she ought to be at least a bit offended.

       There was a grin, a question, then suddenly that sketchbook was shoved towards him; close-up into his face. Near immediately Kento craned his neck back; leaning away by instinct. He never had been good with people, especially not those who radiated so much energy. His own exhuasted personality just did not mesh well with it… Though it had not stopped others from invading his personal space regardless, like Satoru and… Briefly his mind thoughts would travel to his late bestfriend. She did remind him of Yu… How tedious. Those memories were swiftly put aside.

        Thin brows furrow. He suppose he would have to humor her on this. He took hold of the sketchbook so he could take a proper look without the uneaven sway of someone else’s grip. His free hand came to rest just underneath his chin. He would not mince his words, if she wanted someone to recieve praise -  she would not get it from him. 

      “ Well, art is subjective, is it not? I’m not opposed to it, though it may not be something that would normally catch my eye. ” His emerald gaze flicker between his kohai, who just could not stand still it seemed, and back to the sketchbook. “ … Is it supposed to be me? ” Something about that expression kind of suggested it.

    sakae clasps her hands together just below her navel, fingers interlocking as she now teeters back to observe. she's expecting him to give up ( as is the usual case ) but the seconds tick by and he seems as invested in the image as ever.

   at his answer, sakae straightens her posture and claps. " it is! " she says, grabbing the notebook just enough to tug it down and look at her delightful scribbles of a make shift human. truly, she’s outdone herself this time. it’s all in the eyebrows.