A Crack in the Shell [Private/Nai]

Another blunder. Today seemed to be a day for them in the eyes of the young lilac eyed girl. Out of all things she had to neglect it was the boy’s need for shoes. She could have sketched it along with his jacket! No… Kurenai internally scratched and corrected the thought. ‘Conjure’ the items… that seemed more fitting rather than associate her love for creativity towards her… impending end. No… not again, not another poke at the internal elephant who was trying to make itself known by slipping into her thoughts.

Dammit… its been constant for awhile now. When before she could easily shut it off without much of a second thought. Now she found the dark elephant constantly lurking within her thoughts. The moment she drops her guard its there waiting for a chance to take a bite at her. Mocking her… in a way to remind her that the more she ignored her body the lesser time she has yet to live. But did Nai care anymore?

That’s…debatable. An answer which she didn’t know herself even now that it’s brought up into her mind she still didn’t know. She couldn’t decide? That wasn’t it… she wanted to live that she knew well but when the hidden robed hand of death dangles her hourglass in front of her then Kurenai had no more reason to fight the inevitable. Rather than further bother the people around her, she’ll willing follow whatever life has in store for her. But now didn’t seem like a time to let her own thoughts wonder. The girl cringed in realization to another one of her blunders. This one… might actually get him sick! And it’ll be on her head when she has to explain to Kiran why his birdy friend was suddenly bedridden with pneumonia. “Oh… gomen! I forgot shoes…” She quickly apologized, bowing deeply a few times before she felt a movement from him. Reluctantly she lifted her gaze to see the freezing boy offer her his hand.

A new system for them eh? Created out of a rush to find ways to communicate. It wasn’t full proof but to them it would do for now. “Gomen Fang-kun.. I’ll go find you a pair when we get to the library…” She bit her lip in worry. Another slip, her own troubles threatened its way through her mask. Challenging the slacking her grip over façade. She couldn’t let it win… she just couldn’t show her private thoughts to the world. That… just wouldn’t do to the image she built for herself. Through the path she hurried her steps. Dragging the boy along with her as she made her way via memory towards the main campus building. How stupid… she internally chastised. How stupid that she might end up causing her new roommate a flu. Though it did… trouble her that he didn’t seem to be able to handle the cold as well as his kin could.

Such childlike innocence… The girl’s face brightened in part to the amusement now lingering within those brilliant lilac eyes of hers. She couldn’t believe it, two parts of him in one day that she managed to discover. You bet she was making several notes of this. She knew he liked tea, from the expression of contentment he had when he was drinking the tea she offered him. As long…as it was familiar. He’ll accept it, it made her wonder if… he’ll recognize certain dishes from Hisakawa as well. She couldn’t wait to test out her theory when she’s sure his stomach wouldn’t start complaining again.

To be fair… its expected to see his stomach being so weak after being starved for so long. She didn’t need to be a doctor to figure out something any person with the right set of common sense would know. “It’s really beautiful isn’t it?... That was my first reaction too when I first arrived here…” She giggled softly, her eyes danced with the growing mirth over his reaction. She followed him towards the stoned fireplace positioned right in the middle of ground floor. Couches circled the small hearth, giving it a sense of cosiness that the small crackling flame tried to emphasize. Making it an inviting place to sit and read. Right now though… they were in luck, the place was near empty. Maybe a few students, judging from the passing glimpses of bodies she saw moving behind the numerous lining bookshelves.

Just as he saw, every possible space within those shelves housed books. Some new some looked to be as old as the worn bindings keeping it together. She smiled softly as she moved towards one of the available seats close to the heat coming from the crackling fire within the fireplace. The soft burgundy rugs underneath muffled her movement but she didn’t stray far from Fang. He was the one who unwittingly dragged her to the fireplace in the first place. But now…she just needed a moment to maybe warm up as well. “The old books should be at the far end. I need to fetch something from that section anyway… Do you want to stay here? Or do you want to go with me?”

From childhood she’s been taught to respect personal spaces. Especially the invisible bubble guarding hers. Kurenai’s normally diligent when it comes to keeping her bubble relatively intact. She enjoys another person’s presence that itself was true but there’s always that wall she likes to maintain. An invisible one in which she’s sure her personal bubble wont be invaded. But with Fang here… her care towards her own bubble seemed to have evaporated to a mere mumbling reminder whispering at the corner of her head.

So far she hadn’t heeded its advise, if she’s letting him be this close to her personal space. Nai found it adorable. He acted like a shy little chick who wanted to stick close to the mother hen while his fellow chick siblings were all too happy to move about and explore. So cute… the petite albino internally chuckled at the thought.

So mean of her to compare the boy to a chick but at the same time… she couldn’t resist doing so. Not when he’s acting this cute. She stifled down another set of giggles attempting to make its way out of her throat. She… doubted his pride would be so happy with her whenever he gets an idea where exactly her thoughts were turning to. She really doubted the phoenix pride in him wouldn’t be outright outraged by it. But hey, that’s the beauty of mind talents being rare. As long as he didn’t have one then her thoughts were her own private musing.

Those lilac eyes barely hid the mirth it contained as she watched Fang go from the fireplace straight to her side. She smiled, nodding at him before she went towards their now shared destination. Manoeuvring straight into the thicket of shelves filled with ancient knowledge was an easy matter for the girl. By now her mind already had an inbuilt internal map of the whole library with how frequent she’s been here. Sometimes… barely leaving until well into the night in some cases. She lost count of the numerous times the elderly librarian had to cajole her to return and rest in her dorm. Without it she didn’t doubt she’d live her entire days inside its grand walls.

Right before they reached the section where they kept the ancient tomes Nai made it a point to take a pit stop at the passing history section. She… had a report to finish. To do just that she needed more research material. By near instinct her hand plucked two of the larger tomes located two shelves above her head. Reaching them had been one annoyance after the other but after going to her tippy toes she succeeded.

Ahh… Fang had no idea how proud she was in that moment at her small victory against her dreaded height issue. And now… the title their professor said contained the text she was looking for about their current topic on the fall of the Byzanthian empire. Gods, thank the lord for eldeltic memories…

Even with her often sharp memory she had her doubts she’ll be able to recall that kind of an annoying title. But she still did, and it… had to be the one book she’ll be stuck having to fetch one of the ladders at the far corner of each bookcase. Stifling down a growing headache… from adding onto the one already pounding at the back of her mind she turned back to leading her new roommate to the promised section in which the ancient text resided.

And by then…she let him loose. Letting him peruse on his own before she went about on her search. It didn’t take long at all before she had a few more books added onto the stack she has in her arms. “Did you get what---” The girl paused and then blinked at the stack Fang came back with.

“Oh my… Do you need help Fang-kun?” The girl held back a snicker at the same time there was a small hint of jealousy at him being able to read those ancient texts. She… honestly wanted to learn but finding a teacher wasn’t always easy.

Wait… Learn? The wheels in her head churned once more. Oh no, Fang might want to flee now that her crafty gaze found a new target. One out of her own curiosity for languages. “Fang-kun?... Would…you mind if you could teach me an old language? In turn I can teach you the current language so you wont be so limited in reading.” She offered but at the same time making a deal with him on her being able to learn the language written on the books he has in his hands.