Needless to say, I was pretty shocked.
“Muku’s cousin? What are you even doing here?”
Natsume looked at me incredulously. Maybe he expected that I knew why, being the only person that has ever come in here besides Makoto. I guess I’m the only resident of this house that knows how to ignore signs with big, scary warnings, then. It’s a learned skill, cultivated through many years of hard work. Due to the nature of my life, I have had to gain it—
Wait. What... life? What has even been the nature of my life? I...
Ah, well. It’s unnecessary if my big, sexy brain can’t remember it, I guess.
What was necessary, though, was my annoyance at being ignored. Natsume seemed to have gone back to... whatever he was doing. Chemistry? Chemicals? Magic?
I’ve never been the type to believe in magic, but as long as it makes him happy, I guess.
“Heyyy. You gonna talk to me or what?”
He hissed at me. Hissed! Like a cat! What the fuck!
“ClearLY I don’t have tiME for yOU, so yOU can juST leaVE me alONE, thANK yOU.”
“I’m not leaving here until you tell me what you’re doing.”
“Do you seriousLY not knOW?”
“Am I supposed to?”
“...”
I really didn’t like how this conversation was going. Not at all.
If it was even a conversation. It felt more like a dead end. Natsume turned away from me, focusing only on his beaker. It’s almost like he felt… I don’t know, guilt. I’m not sure why, though. I’ve only just met him.
(And, deep down… I know that’s wrong. For some reason, I...)
Hm? What was that? Nothing. Nothing at all. It’s all fine. I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong with me, except for the fact that I’ve been sold to Knights from Ensemble Square—
“SeNA. You loOK like you’RE abOUT to faINT.”
“Sena?”
“Wait. Sean. SoRRY, autocoRRECT.”
“Oh, okay.” That seemed pretty reasonable, didn’t it? I mean, Sean and Sena had all of the same letters.
“Ugh. If you’RE goING to bE annoyING mE, yOU mAY as wELL sit doWN whILE you dO it.” He motioned to a fold-up chair, and I did as he said. The words from the sign echoed in my head— it was probably wiser to do what the Sakisaka cousin said.
The room was silent for a while, with only the clinking of glass beakers and the faint sound of breathing populating the room. Honestly, the only word to describe it would be— awkward.
Undeniably, oppressingly awkward.
“Sean.”
I looked up. “Hm?”
“Do you understand anything about the human brain?”
“I don’t think so...?”
“All of our minds are more prone to forgetting than remembering. It’s easier to let go of the ledge than hold on. The opposite goes for formed relationships and interpersonal connections, of course— we crave that familiarity in our very souls. Sometimes it hurts us a bit. Sometimes it hurts us a lot. And sometimes we don’t even realize that we’ve forgotten, in lieu of our craving for something that feels right. Even if that thing that feels right makes absolutely no sense at all.”
“Does this have anything to do with me?”
“No. Just talKING to fILL the emPTY spaCE."