To whom it may concern:

Akira watched her as she moved through her room, starting the machine. He tilted his head as she spoke, an almost confused expression on.

“O-of course… A-asakura-san… I… hadn’t planned on… s-saying anything…”

He was surprised by her tone change however, though he did understand her concern… He didn’t want to talk about Kaguya behind her back but… He really wanted to know if there was something he could do, and this was the only thing he could think of.

“I… just wanted… a-advice… I… don’t know wh-what else… I can do…”

His last sentence was mostly mumbled to himself, his gaze drifting from Kaori to the ground. He felt guilty about going behind Kaguya’s back, going against what she wanted… but his want to make things better overwrote those feelings.

With that promise for confidentiality confirmed,  Kaori allows herself to soften her look again. She moves a strand of hair behind her ear as she puts her thoughts together, unsure where to start.

“Hisakawa-san...I really don’t think there’s much you can actually do about this.”

Okay, good start. She looks in Akira’s direction now, to try and get the message across. 

“If Kaguya-san said you remind her of herself, I don’t think that’s a very good sign....because Kaguya-san deeply dislikes herself, you see. She doesn’t say it directly, but the way she carries herself, the way she gets when nobody’s looking... it takes a bit to notice, but I believe I’ve been paying enough attention. That’s not a person who loves herself.”

“.................”

Nobody’s looking, right?

A glance to the right...another to the left... okay, coast is clear.  Phone out.

Type, type, type.

Click, and...Oh!

“~!!!!!”

Well... it’s been a while since they had a proper talk. And this isn’t the best of circumstances for it, but. Had to happen at some point.

She’s standing in front of his dorm room, but it’s not particularly because she expects him to be there at all--that’s usually not the case. A broken nose might be a good reason, but...you never know with Maeki Murakami.

She pulls out her phone and hovers over the contact she just looked up.

With a bit of a nervous sigh, she begins typing.

[  浅倉 佳織 : Murakami-san?     6:32 P M ]

[ 浅倉 佳織: Please get back to me when you can. I’m almost certain that you’re treating your wounds the wrong way, and I can’t let myself allow you to do that.   6:34 P M ]

[浅倉 佳織 : If you’re interested in an actual medicine kit and a variety of snacks, courtesy of Yuka’s latest failed hideout, I’m free for the rest of the day.    6:34 P M] 

Hm. Too caring?

[浅倉 佳織 : ...It would be on your best interest to look okay by your next photoshoot, after all.  6:39 P M]

Akira’s head shot up in surprise, he hadn’t expected to be invited in. After a moment’s hesitation he nodded and slowly made his way into her dorm.

“Th-thank you… Asakura-san…” he tilted his head at her question, shrugging a little in response. “A-A little, I s-suppose… I.. don’t d-drink it often…”

He answered her question, standing off to the side of the room, a spot away from everything so he wouldn’t be in her way if she went to get anything. He shifted nervously before speaking up again.

“Y-you… s-seem to… understand why… she’s upset…?”

Taking his answer as a positive, she gets the coffee-maker running--if anything, to make a cup for herself. She answers as she works, careful to keep the conversation going.

“More like....I have a good idea why. It’s all my own guesses.”

It’s not like Kaguya would ever directly say ‘here’s why I hate Akira’, but her actions spoke louder than words.  

Once she gets the water ready to boil, she sits on the edge of her bed with a sigh.

“That’s why I invited you in...I don’t want my speculations to leave the room. I don’t like talking about people behind their back, but I’m making an exception right now because I think you deserve to know what’s going on.”

She looks at Akira sternly, for a moment replacing her gentleness with a gripping look.

ntence, he had expected it would’ve been hard- Kaguya had made that quite clear during their last conversation… Before he could disappear in his thoughts again, Kaori spoke up, asking him a question.

He shook his head in reply, nervously tugging on his shirt.

“N-no… It… it started a-after…” he paused- he never really learned why Kaguya was so upset when she returned. “S-she… c-came back… and… everything was different… I… found her in the g-garden one day… t-tried to help her and… started leaving baskets f-for her… to… cheer her up…” his arms crossed over his chest again, hugging himself. “It… j-just made… things w-worse…”

He sighed, closing his eyes again to fight back tears that threatened to fall.

“Sh-she… said I… reminded her… of herself…?”

He didn’t know what that meant, but maybe Kaori did…?

Oh.

That explains...way too much. Kaori finds herself sighing before opening her door totally, stepping to the side to make room for the boy.

“Please come in...we might as well sit down if we’re going to talk about this in detail.”

It doesn’t cross her mind at the moment, but whoa, that’s the first time a boy goes into her room on such notice, isn’t it? The levels of trust must be either pretty high or very down on guard. Either way, she holds the door open.

Akira bowed in greeting when the door opened, his gaze darting to the floor for a moment before looking back up to her.

“Th-there’s just… something I’d… like your a-advice on…” he pauses, glancing around the hall before turning back to her. “A-about… Toudou-san…”

His arms crossed in front of his chest, hands squeezing his arms in a comforting manner as he tried to calm down.

“I… I don’t… kn-know how… To fix… it…” his voice is on the quiet side, so he clears his throat a little before speaking up again. “Sh-she… i-is… r-really upset with me… I… I wanted to know… If… I could… fix it…”

His voice trailed off as he remembered the conversation between himself and the astronomer, his eyes shutting tight to prevent tears.

“I… I don’t know… if i-it can… be fixed but… I… want to try…”

Her eyes follow his expressions as he speaks, focused enough to catch and string his paused and stuttered sentences.

Once she makes sense of it all, she sighs. She should’ve known this was going to become a problem eventually--the way Kaguya has always spoken about Akira in passing, her very evident hostility...and it was all so clear if you payed enough attention. 

“That’s...a very difficult task, Hisakawa-san.”

She might as well be honest, and as earnest as posible. He deserves as much.

    “Ahah– I woulda’ figured Kagu or th’ actor guy or whateva’ woulda’ told you immediately!”

    He leans his back against the wall and crosses his arms, and starts tapping his foot in annoyance of remembering what had happened. It was so unfair! Why did this stuff always have to happen to him?

    “It’s stupid I guess, heh… Y’know…. There wasn’t a thing that I wouldn’ have done fer Kagu… She started th’ Villain Club, an’ I joined– She told me I could beat up anyone who was in th’ Hero Club, and it ain’t like I really care ‘bout anyone in some stupid club– I jus’ did it so Kagu would be proud of me, y’know..? But, heh, th’ moment I lay a few punches on th’ actor kid, whateva’ his name is, she loses her shit, calls me a stupid American fatass, a pathetic whelp, a piece of trash. Accordin’ t’ her, th’ president doesn’ count as a member apparently…? Of course, she blames th’ whole thing on me! All I wanted was t’ make her happy, an’… Heh, guess I jus’ ain’t cut out t’ have any friends. They all eventually leave me, anyway. Why do I even botha’ settin’ m’self up fer disappointment like this all th’ fuckin’ time?”

    Another long sigh. He buries his face in his hands. God, he’s miserable.

    “Go ahead. Give me yer worst, Ri.”

Even as the words that click the most are dropped, Kaori says nothing. Maeki got hurt. Kaguya’s angry. King punched Maeki for her sake, more than once, most likely left him badly--and now he’s hiding.

Thinking about it like that makes her blood boil; what person in the world who has talked to Kaguya for less than a minute could think that hurting Maeki of all people would make her happy in any way? 

Her hands ball up in angry, shaky fists. She raises her right one and opens her palm, ready to bring up a slap.

.....But it never comes out. She’s glaring at King now, though his face is covered, and now she’s the one to cover her face with her free hand, letting out a sound of frustration.

“My god,” She goes, in a huff, exasperated by her own softness, “You’ve done nasty things before, but this...this is another level.”

Because it’s not nasty. It’s stupid. He was so starved for approval it’s almost too understandable--

But most of all, it’s pitiable. And from what she’s seeing, nobody knows it better than himself.

“I have nothing to say to you that you don’t know; because underneath that pity party you’re parading around, it seems to me like you understand what you did just fine, and if not--all I have to do is give you reason. You aren’t cut out for friends just yet.”