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The day was slow and methodical as always, simply going through the motions of attending lectures, taking notes, learning what you need to, letting the day pass by. It didn’t truly matter to Kazuma what was happening day by day, his attention was elsewhere. Focused across the seas on the jewel of an empire, Britain herself.
He had to get into that study programme in Great Britain, he just had to. Too much was left unresolved, too much weight on his shoulders, his name, his blade. Even if it meant enduring the mundane, he was willing to see each day to its end, to bring him one day closer to his dream.
At least, that’s how he’d seen it for the last few years. Taking on every minute as a stepping stone to enlightenment, redemption, revenge, he couldn’t say yet. Then there was him. He who thrived in the mundane. In “speaking fast” (what a frivolous thing to do with your time). A man who Kazuma couldn’t help but keep letting near, letting him nest in his life, throwing the whole thing off-balance.
It had started a few days after the speech contest, when he was walking through campus to one of his English lectures. A key tool for his mission, speaking high-quality English would certainly assist him in an English court of law. He’d been enjoying the peaceful walk, watching as birds settled down in their nests together, snuggling into the weaved twigs and leaves when clumsy footsteps and panting cut through the air, approaching quickly. He stepped to the side, hoping to allow whoever it was that was behind him to pass him by. Much to his horror, however, they slowed to match his pace, gulping down air dramatically. He looked the blasted man up and down. Messy hair, untucked shirt, upturned collar. Truly, he had the audacity to present himself in such an unorganised way as a Yumei student?
“Asogi-san, wasn’t it? From the speech contest a few days ago?” He asked, a hapless smile planting itself on his lips. Kazuma bit his tongue, before forcing a more pleasant answer
“Oh, yes. And you are…?”
“Naruhodo. Ryunosuke Naruhodo. You asked me after about the, um, the speaking fast after the speech.” He said in between breaths.
“Hm, yes. Naruhodo-san, what brings you here?” Kazuma asked between gritted teeth, wanting to slash the inaccuracies of that recollection right out of the man.
“Well, I’m on my way to Professor Itonokogiri’s lecture on the development of English spelling in print. I assume you’re also attending as well?” He asked, the words flowing in fast succession from each other as he spoke, as if to taunt him.
“I am.”
“Shall we walk there together then?” He asked bluntly, looking down at his feet for a moment and then shifting them to match the pace of Kazuma, smiling back up at him. Kazuma just nodded curtly at him and continued to walk straight ahead in silence.
He didn’t need to hear more of the voice that had beaten him in such a simple way, it would just cause him unnecessary strife. They continued in this silence all the way through the streets and onto campus, the man never losing his pacing as he kept up with Kazuma all the way to the lecture theatre, where a crowd of students had gathered. Kazuma slipped through the crowd of his fellow students, breathing a sigh of relief mentally when he looked beside his feet to not find another set close behind.
The small room was made of a few rows of seats, all facing the back of the room on which an elevated area was. Atop this was a small podium, made of wood, to be used however the lecturer saw fit. Professor Itonokogiri had chosen to use it as a place to put all of his bags, hanging them from either side of the pedestal. The room quickly filled with the black scholarly garbs, all of them taking seats towards the back of the room and chattering amongst themselves. Kazuma rolled his eyes at them as he strode confidently towards the front of the room, seating himself directly in the middle of the front row. Getting all his writing utensils out and ready in front of him as to not waste time. The more efficient he was, the easier this all was for him. It also helped that the front row typically remained unoccupied by others, meaning he was able to work peacefully and effectively.
Typically.
Unfortunately for Kazuma, nothing seemed typical about this man at all. He slid himself clunkily into the seat next to his, messing around with his writing utensils as he rushed to get them in front of him in decent time. He grinned at Kazuma, oblivious to the effort Kazuma took earlier to avoid him. He went to open his mouth to make conversation with him, shutting it suddenly as a gruff clearing of the throat echoed through the room. The lecturer stepped in front of the podium, blocking it from view. He was a short man of a stocky build, with a well-trimmed beard with grey streaks. His face was one resting in a position of constant annoyance, with his eyes barely visible from beneath a pair of bushy brows.
“If you would all focus your attention on me please.” He said. Kazuma glanced over at the man next to him, his attention now fully shifted to the man at the front of the room. He felt thankful as he similarly turned to focus on the old man, slow and stiff in his movements. He should be easy enough to follow at the pace he seemed to work at.
How very wrong Kazuma was.
If he had thought that his opponent’s fast speech was off-putting, then Professor Itonokogiri was a truly terrifying man. The small gaps between sentences he took couldn’t be enough to refill his lungs with enough air to fuel the continuous stream of words leaving his mouth, all merging into one long string of incoherent noises as he seamlessly switched from Japanese to English, back and forth for the entire hour until he waved the room of men away. Kazuma looked down at his notes: Pitiful, unorganised and sparse.
For some reason he glanced over at the man next to him, skimming his eyes over his notes. They were for the most part illegible, but much vaster in what had been written. He shook it off, leaving the lecture hall with his head spinning.
Today had broken from the typical methodical melancholy. Sitting beside someone, falling behind in the lecture notes. This was all an exception, right?
Then it happened again. The next week, Kazuma had mistakenly walked the same path to the lecture, being intercepted yet again by the same man.
“It’s good to see you again, Asogi-san”
“Hmm.” He just grunted at the man. His patience was already feeling worn thin from last week.
“I’m quite looking forward to today’s lecture, actually. The localisation of English print. Even if it is being taught by Professor Itonokogiri again.” The man joked, blissfully unaware at the devastation occurring in Kazuma’s mind. He looked down at his hand, them already shaking from the memory of last week before continuing to walk in ‘silence’. The other man seemed to be ignoring the hints he was giving him, instead opting to talk continuously as they walked. Kazuma chose to try to block him out, like you would an annoying fly. They took seats together at the front again, the old man again stood in front of them in his commanding presence. He cleared his throat, sending a wave of silence across the room, shushing the buzz of conversation.
“Let us begin then.”
It had happened again.
Filled with an overwhelming sense of despair, Kazuma looked down at his notes again, the ink having smudged and spread its way onto the side of his hand. Even without this, they would still make no sense. The old man had been worse today, his mouth being a blur of movement for the entire hour. He just lay there, wallowing in his self-pity.
“Um, Asogi-san?” that all too familiar voice asked. Kazuma said nothing, opting to instead bury his head in his hands.
“If you are struggling with Professor Itonokogiri’s lectures, I’d be happy to help you with the material myself.” He said, making Kazuma shoot his head up in shock.
“I don’t mean to offend you in any way, it is just that I am an English major, meaning I have more experience with his lectures and his lecturing style, so perhaps I could-“ Kazuma tuned his voice out as he stared down at his paper, the writing an afront to the eyes. He couldn’t afford to lose time on this. He had to focus his attentions on this study trip to England and-
Wait, did he just say he was an English major?
“-I know you are busy during our library’s open hours, so perhaps we could arrange to study at one of our houses? Only if you would be comfortable- “the man had continued to ramble in his typically fast fashion. Kazuma swallowed his pride and turned to face him.
“Naruhodo-san, was it?” he asked
“Y-yes, Ryunosuke Naruhodo.”
“I would be very grateful if you would assist me in this module, preferably at yours.” He said. Naruhodo’s eyes lit up at the acceptance of his suggestion.
“Perfect. Would tonight work for you? We can meet outside of the main hall at the end of the day and walk together.” He smiled, a smile full of genuine warmth and happiness.
“Of course, I shall see you then.” Kazuma said quickly, not as quickly as Naruhodo could have said it.
The walk to Naruhodo’s house was a unique one, to say the least. Firstly, Naruhodo – the one who arranged where they were going to meet – was late. He had ran into a professor from a different department and had struck up a conversation about the man’s wellbeing. Their walk home was too long for Kazuma to reasonably assert the usual silent treatment, so he decided to do some investigative work.
“Will any of your family be home, Naruhodo-san?” He asked.
“Oh, no. I don’t live with any of my family, so I’d be concerned if they were.” Naruhodo joked.
“Does your mother not worry for you, living away from her?” he asked, trying to avoid the lump of emotion gathering in his throat.
“I never really knew her, so I imagine not. My uncle does, though. He often sends me hundreds of letters at a time, asking how I am. It’s very considerate of him.” Naruhodo said
“What about you, Asogi-san?”
“Oh.” Kazuma hadn’t expected the question to be reflected onto him, which he really should have. Naruhodo seemed like a very curious man.
“I live with family of sorts, yes.” He gestured vaguely. “They took me in after my mother and father died.”
“Oh.” A more awkward silence than usual cut through the conversation.
“I’m sorry, for your loss.” He muttered solemnly
“And I, for yours.”
And thus, they entered their trademark silence as they travelled through a main street, bustling with people and small vendors, their stalls set up in bright and attractive colours. Kazuma looked over to Naruhodo, who was inspecting the stalls quite closely.
“That stall’s not usually there.” He muttered to himself
“Excuse me?”
“The blue stall with a white stripe. It must have been put up around midday.”
“Well I’m sure there’s usually a stall of a similar blue there.” Kazuma scoffed
“No, no. That one didn’t have the stripe. This one does.” Kazuma doubled back for a moment, inspecting the thick block of white more closely
“Hmm, you’re right.” He thought to himself as they continued to walk in silence.
“Why did you ask to help me, by the way, Naruhodo-san? That’s technically twice now.” Kazuma asked, finally being the one to break the quiet between the two of them.
“You looked like you were really struggling and I may have overheard about how important the study trip to England is to you, so I wanted to help you.” He said, giving Kazuma a warm smile.
“You’re very observant, Naruhodo-san.”
“I wouldn’t call seeing you wallowing at your desk after the lecture ‘observant’” he teased, making Kazuma laugh. He didn’t know why, but actually talking to Naruhodo was making Kazuma warm to him.
They came to a halt in front of a small house with a thatched roof. Naruhodo led them in, struggling with his boots at the door as Kazuma slid them off of his feet effortlessly. They settled down in front of a table as Naruhodo hovered awkwardly.
“I’ve never really had guests before, do you want anything to drink?”
“Water will be enough”
He gave a quick nod before scurrying away, allowing Kazuma to inspect his surroundings. The room itself was relatively barren, but kept neat enough. Large piles of books hid in the corners, some coated in a layer of dust.
Naruhodo slipped back into the room, placing two glasses and a heavy book in front of Kazuma.
“I’ve made note of a few things about Professor Itonokogiri which might be helpful to you.” He said, flicking through the pages, before sighing and getting back up, grabbing the book as he did
“I made them in another book, sorry” He mumbled, walking out of the room before coming back with a reasonably-sized notebook.
“It might seem like he’s saying a lot, and sometimes he is, but he has a few tells you can exploit to rest or catch up or know when he’s about to repeat himself-“ Naruhodo sat and explained his body language, the way he stroked his beard and how he paced whenever he began to repeat a point from earlier. Small details which Kazuma was sure no other student would even be aware of.
“What about when he switches into English?”
“Ah. I haven’t figured that out yet. He mostly re-words his last point when he does that though. No clue why.”
They ended up going back and forth for the entire evening, with Kazuma allowing Naruhodo to blurt out about different things about English which interested him. The passion and intensity with which he spoke was compelling. He was so blinded by his loss the first time they met that he didn’t appreciate how strong his speaking skills were.
This man was somehow burrowing his way into Kazuma’s heart and he had no idea he was doing it.
By the time that time had regained any meaning to Kazuma, it was nightfall. He began to pack up his belongings, lingering in the doorway as he thought about the night.
“I enjoyed your company tonight. I’ll have to try out some of your different tricks during the next lecture.” Kazuma said
“It was nice. Are you sure you don’t want me to walk with you to the end of the street?” He asked
“I am fine. It is late already and quite cold. Stay inside Naruhodo.”
“If you are sure. Get home safe Asogi.” He said before closing the door, leaving Kazuma to walk home, mulling over his thoughts. He was a smart man. A smart, charming and kind man. And a man who needed to learn to dust, and where to keeps his notes, but that had its own charm to it. It had took one night for Kazuma to melt the walls he had built between himself and Naruhodo. All these days he had been swerving in crowds, avoiding the man, cursing him out in his head and he was a genuinely nice man to be around. He felt so ridiculous, honestly.
And the night couldn’t be that cold, really. His face felt so warm.
Kazuma quickened his pace, catching up with the messy head of hair in front of him.
“Naruhodo.”
“Oh, Asogi. How are you?” He asked
“I’m good. Yourself?” Kazuma asked.
It was odd. Kazuma had completely transformed, going from wanting to hear nothing of the man’s voice to talking to him during his downtime, walking to classes with him, just to speak more with him.
“I’m also good. Feel like you’re ready for Professor Itonokogiri’s lecture today?”
“Well, I’ve had someone quite impressive teaching me how to cope. So yes, I feel very ready for this.” He joked, giving Naruhodo a playful nudge.
“Let’s just hope that Itonokogiri doesn’t completely change up every single tell he has and makes me look like a fool.”
He hadn’t looked a fool by the end of that lecture, neither had Kazuma. Every indicator, every stroke of the beard or tapping of the chin felt like a small victory Kazuma wanted to parade around the room. He walked out of the lecture giddy, side by side with Naruhodo.
“I have to say, you’ve impressed me.” He said
“R-really?”
“Yes. Your advice was sound. The only parts that continue to throw me is the spoken English itself. Sometimes it’s difficult to decipher while it’s being spoken.” He said, pausing for a moment.
“Would it be possible for your teaching of me to extend outside of Professor Itonokogiri’s lectures? As an English major?” He asked. The extra help wasn’t really what he was asking for, not really. But to spend some more time with this man, that’s what he really desired.
“Oh, of course. Do you want to keep meeting in the same spot then?” He asked eagerly
“Sounds reasonable.”
The weeks and weeks he spent just studying with Naruhodo were warming to say the least. They were also very stressful at points.
“What do you mean you lost your badge? You need that to get into the university.” Kazuma said as he checked under cushions and tables for any sign of the sharp, silver pin they wore on their collar.
“I- I know that! I hardly chose to lose it, did I?” Naruhodo said, searching through his jacket pocket.
“Do you at least know your student number?”
“My what?” Naruhodo asked, completely dumbfounded.
“Your student number. The six digit number engraved on the back. Technically three. You can use it to get a replacement badge.” Naruhodo just looked at him confused and shook his head.
“Really?”
“I don’t make a regular habit of losing my badge, now do I?” Naruhodo said defensively.
“Somehow I doubt that…” Kazuma said as he searched the floor
“I have ears, Kazuma.” Naruhodo muttered under his breath, turning his jacket inside out. Kazuma shot up and stared at him for a moment.
“’Kazuma’?” He asked, a tone of amusement in his voice
“Mhmm, since we’re friends.” Naruhodo said, freezing up as he did.
“Unless that’s something that you’re uncomfortable with-“
“No, no.” Kazuma cut in “I like it. It was just… unexpected.” He said, hand slipping under a cabinet and feeling around until it came into contact with a sharp point. He stretched his arm further, wrapping his fingers around it and tugging his arm back out.
“Here. Don’t make losing this a habit, Ryunosuke.” He said, handing it to a very relieved Ryunosuke, who was pulling the sleeves of his jacket back into their normal position.
“Thank you, so much.”
“It’s no issue, really, just think about it as repayment for you helping me.” Kazuma said, making Ryunosuke roll his eyes as he re-attached the pin
“You don’t need to repay me. I’m doing this because we’re friends.” Ryunosuke said
“I will come up with a way to thank you for this…” he trailed off as he looked at Ryunosuke properly, his eyes latching to the blue arm guard he always wore.
“… do you practice your archery often?”
If his friend could teach him something, why could he not teach his friend? They walked out onto the silent field together, bows in hand as they approached their mark.
“You really don’t have to do this for me…”
“Nonsense, Ryunosuke. You’ve been nothing but helpful to me, I at least want us to be equal in that respect.” Kazuma said as they stopped in front of the target. “Now, I want you to draw your bow and fire, without hurting yourself.”
Ryunosuke looked at him in despairing disbelief.
“At all?”
“At all. Not a scratch.”
He sighed, beginning to draw the bow, the arrow too close to his ear.
“Hold it!” Kazuma called, making him jump into the air, losing his grip on the string as the arrow clattered to the ground.
“You yelling at me isn’t helping me ‘hold it’, now is it?” he muttered to himself as he picked the arrow back up from the ground
“You’re holding it too close to your ear, meaning the string will likely snap back and hit you in the face. You have to hold it more like this…” Kazuma put himself behind Ryunosuke and began guiding his hands with his own, resting his neck on his shoulder as he did.
“Now try that.”
“Oh- ok!” Ryunosuke said, more flustered than before as he pulled the string back, quivering with tension as he aimed. He breathed once before letting his grip slip, releasing the arrow into the air.
“Yes!” Kazuma jumped with joy, watching as the arrow pierced through the thin board. Ryunosuke stood looking at it in shock, looking down at the bow and then the target repeatedly. Kazuma rushed to his friend, giving him a firm shake on the shoulder before leaning close into his face.
“It looks like you didn’t injure yourself, and on your first attempt.” He said as he studied his partner’s face. Basically flawless skin, These emotive, passionate eyes you could catch yourself looking in for hours. Kazuma almost did as he leant inches away from Ryunosuke’s face, realising how close he was and then clearing his throat, his face becoming redder by the minute.
“You did well, partner. It just means that I’ll have to find another way of paying you back.”
“Kazuma-“ Ryunosuke began to protest
“No, I promise you that if there’s comes a time that you ever need me by your side, no matter how dire the circumstances, I will be there for you. That’s what friends do.” Kazuma said
“No matter what.” Ryunsouke echoed.