The First Step is the Hardest (Shizuko)

[Tobias Fordson]

        There... that should just about do it. Tobias thought to himself. He had just finished gathering the last book in a large pile that was started on a nearby table.

        Of all the things that could happen, Tobias actually slept soundly the night before, a miracle in itself. But he not only slept soundly, he was revitalized by the sleep. For once, he felt he normal. For Tobias, this was a cause for celebration. And for Tobias, that meant getting in as much reading time as possible: Something he knew he would enjoy and that wouldn't involve awkward conversations with people, since he figured nobody would want to hear about how he's celebrating for having a good night's rest.

        And boy, was it a celebration in his sense. Over a dozen books the size of large dictionaries or larger lay upon the table, with everything from novels to scientific journals to history books. Oddly enough, one book did stand out, though only because it fit with none of the other topics in the pile. An old Asiatic Cookbook, focusing on the Far East. It was unusual, since he normally didn't cook those types of meals. Something told him, however, to get that book.

        Now the daunting task of getting these books to his room. He contemplated taking only a couple at a time, but the chance that someone would take the books while he was gone was too severe. In the end, he decided to attempt carying them all at once. He cupped his hands together as he slowly pulled them into his hands.

        At first, the trick worked, and he was slowly on his way to the exit. However, he misjudged the weight of the upper set of books on the way around the corner. As the towering mound teetered and tottered, Tobias tried desperately to keep the pile stable. In the end, however, the books began falling, mostly on top of him.

        Now, all that lay was a pile of scattered books, laying before a distraught Tobias, who now frantically and obliviously attempted to gather the books up again.

[Shizuko Hongo]

A blonde-haired young woman darted through the halls, apologizing profusely in an odd tongue. Behind her was a gaggle of young women, who seemed enraged and yelled at her. Chocolate eyes glanced behind her thin, frail, form to see the girls getting closer and she forced herself to run faster, despite her weak lungs screaming for breath in her chest. As the rubber soles of her shoes bounced off the floor, she wondered what exactly she had done to make the girls chasing her so angry. She had always kept to herself for this exact reason; people were not very nice to her. Even upon her arrival to the island, she had overheard the prefects who had showed her around gossiping. Girls are always this way… she thought with a forced sigh, spotting a pair of doors at the end of the corridor that she was running through. She forced herself to sprint to the doors, her chest heaving with the effort. Her breathing was heavy, wheezing, and erratic. Her childhood sickness had clearly followed her into her adolescence, much to her annoyance. She did not have time to slow down and barreled through the wooden doors before her, with the same momentum that she had when she was running. After bursting through, she tumbled to the floor, catching herself with her hands.

She was able to turn herself around in time to see those who had been in pursuit. She tried desperately to apologize, her chocolate eyes begging for forgiveness that she did not know she needed. She scrambled between the bookshelves in a last-ditch effort to lose the girls. In doing so, she skirted past people doing a project and ended up smacking into a stack of books. The stack of books seemed to wobble and she yelped, trying to catch them as they fell. She noticed a distraught-looking young man scrambling to pick up the books and tried to help, though a foot to her ribs stopped her. She let out a squeak and toppled over, the books she was holding scattered onto the floor once more. Her eyes reflected fear and her body trembled as the girls towered over her. She shrunk back, curling into herself and started to apologize in a foreign tongue once more. She closed her eyes and waited for a blow, but, instead, there were only unkind words coming from the girls. The “leader” began to taunt the shy young lady, saying, “Awww, is the wittle alien scared? Hey, blondie, is that your natural hair color? I bet it’s not, since you look more fake than a supermodel. Those things can’t be real. Can I see the scars from your surgery? Or better yet, why not a before and after picture? I bet you were uglier before.”

The blonde haired young woman pressed her hands to her ears, trying to ignore the taunts of the mean-spirited young women. This was not common where she came from; usually, she had been the popular girl with friends. Of course, she was never mean to anyone, but she supposed it was interesting to see things from the “other side of the desk”, so to speak. She felt tears burn in her eyes and she closed them, pulling her knees to her chest. She kept herself braced for a physical assault, but, much to her surprise, it never happened. Odd, since these girls seem like the worst and most relentless kind of bullies, she thought to herself, biting her lower lip. She thought she heard footsteps coming in her direction and looked up. She was not sure who was coming over to where she was, but she hoped the person would be able to help her. She saw it was the boy who she had tried to help earlier and looked up at him with pleading eyes. It was clear she was desperate and wanted the harassment to stop.

“T-taskuete…”

[Tobias Fordson]

        For a few moments, Tobias was oblivious to the sounds around him, the movement of feet, and the murmurs of others watching. All he cared about was gathering his books and leaving to his room. It was possible his roommate was there, but he wasn't very nosy and was a genuinely nice guy, it seemed.

        Then the pale, silky skin of a hand came into view. As Tobias trailed the hand up the arm, he spotted the figure of a girl. In this moment, he was both concerned and amazed. She was really quite beautiful; her skin was almost perfect in complexion and her golden hair was accented by soothing, milk-chocolate brown eyes. She was a sight to behold. Yet, there was something more than her concern with picking up the books. It seemed as if fear had grasped the girl.

        The scene that played out afterwards was something that brought out an anger he thought he didn't have. This girl, clearly distraught by something, was genuinely being nice and helpful. Then, out of nowhere it seemed, a small, disorderly group of girls barreled in loudly. On top of that, the "leader" of this gangrenous bunch kicked this girl.

        That triggered something inside Tobias. Altogether, he forgot the books, the people watching, even the fact he was in the library. All that mattered to him was a girl, clearly gripped with fear and pain, both emotional and physical, was being attacked, probably because of a misconceived slight by the group. Whatever it was, it didn't give them the right to abuse this girl.

        Someone had to stand up for her... That someone was Tobias.

        Seemingly without a thought, Tobias rose to his feet and place himself between the girl and the group, fire lighting up his hazel eyes. He heard a faint whisper from the girl and turned. From this distance, he could now see straight into her eyes, a ever-pleading look emanating from the brown orbs. Her voice quivering in fear as she pressed her hands to her ears... He may not have known what the exact words are she said, but he could tell... no, feel, exactly what she was asking.

        She was asking for help... And she would get it.

        Tobias spun around, eyes locking with the lead girl and he spoke in a growling, commanding voice he never knew he had:

"You leaver her alone right now, or I'll Make you leave!!!

        He was definitely not in the mood at this point. Unintentionally, his body's density loosened and he seeemed to grow slightly in the exact moment, the combination of sound, sight, and setting seemed to be enough to frighten the girls off.

        After they leave the library, Tobias slowly settles into his normal look. Normally, this would be the part where he walked off and left, but something told him he should talk to her: He'd been the target of bullies before, and while he wasn't the best conversationalist, maybe he could comfort her about the situation.

        Spinning around, he looked her dead in her milk-chocolate eyes and spoke softly as he extends a hand down to her.

        T-they're gone n-now. A-are... you going t-to be ok?

[Shizuko Hongo]

The blonde-haired young woman felt bad for bumping into the young man. She did not realize that it was his clumsiness that had scattered the books, rather than her bumping into him. She would have helped him pick up the rest of the books scattered around on the floor if the bullies had not reappeared. She sat back from the kneeling position that she was in, still panting from her effort to run. Her lungs felt like they were on fire; she had not run like that in quite some time. She was too physically exhausted to fight back, despite the fact that she had her school-issue cell phone in her messenger bag, which she had presumably dropped when she had stooped down to help the young man pick up the books. She looked around from where she sat, hoping to find it. She saw it near the feet of the bullies and internally sighed. The law of Murphy strikes swiftly, she thought to herself, curling further into herself as the taunting girls approached her. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands over her ears, trying to block out the awful taunts and prepared to get kicked, punched, or slapped again.

After a moment, there was silence. Her eyes fluttered open to see the young man she had been helping earlier standing in front of her. Her forehead creased in confusion, since his back was facing her. His accent was clearly American, so why was he not facing her? She listened a little closer to his words and blinked in realization. He was defending her. She wondered why, since they did not know each other’s name. Nevertheless, she was going to accept the kind gesture. Well, when he turned around, that is. The girls who had been tormenting her not even a few minutes ago scurried off, like dogs from a fight. She waited for some time, hoping that they would not come back. She glanced at the young man before her, tilting her head. Whatever he had done had really made an impact on the bullies, because they never returned. She dusted off her skirt and her shirt, hoping that there was no dirt on either. She was about to push herself off the floor when a hand suddenly appeared in front of her. She paused in her movement and looked up slightly.

The young man looking down at her seemed to be younger than she was. She could clearly see the youthfulness in his face, yet she could also tell that there was something oddly mature about him. The kindness in his hazel eyes rivaled only that of her older brother. She thought she could see streaks of silver amongst the young man’s brown locks, but she supposed that she was seeing things. Her black eyelashes fluttered against her face for a few moments before she gently placed her hand in his and pushed herself up from the ground, hoping that he would pull in return so that her weight would balance. She was not very heavy to begin with, so getting up was not much of an effort. Once she was standing, she bowed at the waist as a curtain of beach blonde fell over and around her face. Of course, she figured he would be puzzled by her expression of thanks, but she had to be polite. It was just part of who she was. Sure, she had picked up some things from the American culture, like shaking hands and some new phrases, but she could not really scrounge up any at the moment. She was baffled about why she could not, but she supposed it was irrelevant. She was going to thank him for his help in the only way that she could remember.

“A-arigatou g-gozaimasu. H-hai, I will be alright...”

[Tobias Fordson]

        A wave of relief blew through Tobias as the girl rose, pulling her up gently with his hand. She seemed fixed on his features as she rose, forcing a slight twinge of self-consciousness through him. He casually brushed his bangs to the side, hoping to pull attention away from the streaks of gray that dotted his hair. He certainly did not age well these past few years.

        Not entirely knowing how to react, he waited until she spoke. He was caught off guard by her bowing and the words she used, now noticing she was speaking Japanese. She had the softest voice he had ever heard, he remarked to himself quietly. He took a hand to pull behind his head, scratching a bit before speaking again. "T-that's good. I-I w-would have introduced m-myself earlier, b-but..." he trailed off as he looked back, a slight tinge of anger flashed in his eyes as he reminded himself of the words the rabble spoke.

        But that didn't matter much. She was his concern right now. He changed his thoughts away from the rabble, turning his head back to look her up and down, noting she had been dusting herself off. She would have looked pretty, even if there was a bit of dirt on her... Ghh. What are you thinking, Tobias? He shooks his head slightly as he tried to clear his thoughts. Why did he even think that? He wasn't one who would think those kinds of things. He tried to distract himself and noticed the girl's purse was lying on the ground a ways away. He walked over and picked up the purse, reminding himself not to look inside. It was improper to look into a person's belongings, especially a lady's purse. He slowly walked back, holding the purse out and bowing slightly. He didn't know if he was doing things right, bowing was an almost universal sign of respect, and it was proper to do so in a conversation, right?

As he bowed, he held out her purse, letting her take it from his hands, though he felt her hand brush against his. The sudden contact made him blush slightly. As they pulled apart, he brushed his bangs away again, both to clear them from his eyes and to help cover his embarrassment. "I'm s-sorry. M-my name is... Tobias...I-it's a p-pleasure to m-meet you." he sputtered. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a small bag of trail mix he made earlier today. He had planned to munch on it on the way back, but it was apparent that wouldn't happen. Besides, maybe a snack of his would cheer her up a bit. "W-would you like s-some trail mix? I-it's not much, but i-its the least I c-can offer.

[Shizuko Hongo]

The blonde was surprised at the gentle grip on her hand. She was expecting him to just pull her up, but he seemed to grip her delicately, since she probably looked like a porcelain doll. She smiled shyly; she had to admit, he was kind of cute. She shook her head a little, trying to banish the thought. She needed to focus on her goal of being a famous female inventor! Another voice told her that there was no harm in getting to know someone, right? She often avoided social interaction, but this time, it was different. This young man had basically saved her; the least she could do was converse with him, right? That was the correct custom, at least, that she could think of. She kept her eyes at the ground while he spoke to her, slightly surprised by the gentle voice that flowed from between his lips. The voice he had used earlier had been much more harsh and unfriendly. His sudden embarrassment and shyness told her that he did not interact with others much. She was secretly grateful that she was not the only one; it had been embarrassing when she was talking to the other brown-haired young man in the student lounge. She shook her head a little; the boy seemed to be apologizing without saying ‘I’m sorry’. She did not want him to be sorry; she was grateful for his kindness. She finally looked him in the eyes, trying to be polite. She spoke in a soft, lilting voice, which was characterized by a clear Japanese accent.

“I-I understand. A-arigatou for your help. T-that was very kind of you…”

The young woman was about to stoop down to retrieve her messenger bag when the young man offered it to her politely. She held back a giggle, taking the bag and bowing back. His palm was soft and slightly warm, as if he was nervous. A small blush crawled across her cheeks at the thought. She muttered a quiet ‘arigatou’, only loud enough for him to hear. She noticed the strands of silver in his hair and became curious again. Maybe it was his hair that gave her the sense that he was mature beyond his years. If he was at the school, though, he could not be too much younger than herself, right? Most powers developed at puberty, as far as she remembered, save for several special cases, like her own. Her intelligence had always been close to super-human, even when she was very little. That did not matter in that moment, though. She was more concerned on how to properly thank the young man. Simply reciting words was not enough; not after the service he had done for her. She tilted her head slightly when he introduced himself. Tobias was not a common name, at least, not as far as she could remember; however, she felt that it suited him. He seemed to be a unique kind of young man, so the name fit. She shook her head to disperse the thoughts, annoyed with herself for getting distracted so easily in the presence of a boy. She bowed again before introducing herself.

“I-it’s a pleasure to m-meet you, T-Tobias-san. M-my name is Shizuko.”

Shizuko blinked as Tobias offered her trail mix that he seemed to pull out of nowhere. She supposed it had something to do with his metabolism. Maybe his body processed calories so fast that he needed to eat nuts and seeds, which had high protein and fat content? Whatever it was, she did not want to take his only food. She politely declined, giving him a soft, apologetic smile. She opened her bag and ruffled through to find her own snack bag. She smiled widely when she found what she had been looking for, which was a bag of Sour Patch Kids. She put her bag back over her shoulder before opening the package and holding it up to show Tobias.

“I-I have my own snack, t-thank you. B-besides, t-that’s your food and you’ve already done so much for m-me. I-I couldn’t possibly take anything from you.”

[Tobias Fordson]

        Today was definitely a day of days for Tobias. Instead of just spending his free time sitting alone, reading all the books he could want, he was standing here, talking to a girl he just shielded from a group of preppy girls picking on her. He had never been one to allow bullying, for whatever reason, but the fact that he was still standing here and not running away from her was so foreign to him that he didn't know what to do or say.

        Kind? The word was not something he associated with himself. Kind is what social people could act like. To him, standing up to those "wenches" was something he needed to do. That, and anyone who would have stood there watching was just as bad as, if not worse than, those girls. The very thought of them started making him fume again, when she spoke her name.

        Shizuko... fluid, yet refined... It seems so... fitting.

        His mind snapped away from his darker thoughts at her voice, still as soothing as it was earlier, flitted out between her seemingly perfect lips. This happened again as she pulled a candy bag out and declined his offer. Obviously, she didn't need the trail mix, but he still thought about offering again. He really wanted others to try it so he could gather opinions on how to improve it and, deep down, some small part of him wanted her to have some anyways. He opened his trail mix bag and popped a few pieces into his mouth, figuring it'd be best to keep his stomach in check, what with his hyperactive metabolism.

        Something else stuck with him, though: She had called him Tobias-San, a Japanese honorific, to be sure. However, he felt obliged to do so in response. It was proper to do that, he thought, when in a discussion with a lady, especially a pretty lady such as her.

        Wait... what am I thinking again? Get your head together Tobias. You've got better things to focus on than girls.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, they stood in awkward silence for a few moments, him glancing at her eyes every few moments. There was something about those chocolate-colored globes that seemed to pull his attention from elsewhere. He blushed and turned his eyes away in embarrassment at the realization they were staring at each other. He tried quickly to think of something to say, when an idea crossed his mind.

        "Umm.... I s-still would a-appreciate you t-trying some of the t-trail mix. Maybe... w-we could trade some of e-each others t-treats? I-I h-haven't had S-Sour Patch Kids in a l-long time."

        He held his hands out on cue: one with the trail mix ready to pour, the other cupped to catch some of the Sour Patch Kids. Almost immediately afterwards, he began to doubt himself, thinking himself presumptuous and demanding. Even so, that one small part of him, deep down, wish hard that she would take his offer.

[Shizuko Hongo]

Shizuko stood quietly, watching the young man carefully. He seemed to lose himself in introspection, but she noticed his attention was brought back whenever she spoke. The thought made her cheeks flush crimson and smile shyly. She looked concerned when she saw the anger on his face, but she seemed calmed when she introduced herself. She tilted her head slightly, her black eyelashes fluttering over her eyes. She could not get over the fact that someone else was soothed by her presence. She was not used to social interaction, so she was sure that the situation was awkward in and of itself. Nevertheless, she found herself able to carry on the conversation, albeit in a stuttering voice. She probably sounded like she had some kind of speech impediment, which she did not. In fact, she was able to learn English much faster than anyone else in her school back home. She was grateful for such a talent, since the young before her did not seem to understand the Japanese that she had spoken. She blushed slightly, scratching the back of her neck slightly, looking sheepish.

“G-gomen. A-ah- I mean, I-I’m sorry if my use of Japanese confuses you. Y-you see, I am a native of J-Japan, and I-I just can’t stop using some words… I apologize if I puzzle you.”

Shizuko blinked when she realized that she was staring straight into the young man’s hazel eyes. She noticed the surprise flitting around in them and her cheeks turned crimson once more when she realized that she herself was staring. How rude of her! She shook her head a little, biting her lower lip shyly. She idly plucked a Sour Patch Kid from the baggie she held in her hand and slipped it into her mouth, sucking on it. Her face twisted slightly from the white, sour crystals that had been on the surface of the red piece of candy. Once the unpleasant taste passed, she smiled a little, relieved as the sweetness of Redberry washed over her tongue. It was no secret that she was a fan of sweet things, though she was very picky about what things she ate. It was not because she had any kind of eating problem, it was merely because she had been very sickly as a child. She was always afraid of getting some kind of awful food poisoning or bad bacteria from undercooked meat. Her parents had puzzled over it, but had begrudgingly accepted her choice to eat /mostly/ vegetarian meals. Her friends at school had made jabs at her, but she did not seem to care much. She shook her head a little to dispel the thoughts, trying to focus on the young man’s words. She blinked a little, looking down at the hand outstretched in front of her face. She nodded slowly, reaching into her own baggie and taking out of a handful of candies. She placed them in his empty, cupped hand and took some of the trail mix from him. She cleared her throat slightly before speaking again, hoping her words would come out clear.

“T-there you are. Y-you know, I haven’t had nuts in a long time either… I wonder if they are as good as I remember them…”

She placed one of the nuts in her mouth and nibbled on it, tilting her head as she did so. A burst of flavor that she barely recognized danced across her tongue and she narrowed her eyes, trying to remember what the nut was called. After thinking for a few moments, she snapped her fingers in triumph. A small smile crossed her face as she called out “Almond!” louder than she had intended. The moment after it had slipped past her lips, her entire face flushed crimson; had she really said it out loud? She covered her mouth with the hand that was not holding the trail mix and looked sheepishly at Tobias. She was not sure how he was going to react to her sudden outburst and it was embarrassing to do something like that in front of someone who was so cute… She shook her head a little, placing the rest of the trail mix, which only consisted of three more nuts and a raisin, into her mouth. The savory flavor of the nuts and the slight saltiness that turned into mild sweetness from the raisin were pleasing to her lingual sense. She smiled slightly and nodded in thanks to Tobias. She could only hope that he enjoyed her treat as much as she enjoyed his.

“A-arigatou, Tobias-san. T-that was delicious. D-did you like the Sour Patch Kids?”

[Tobias Fordson]

        She.... apologized?

        Tobias felt perplexed by what was happening. She apologized for something that was entirely within her right to do. Why? He didn't want her to be like that. After being assaulted like she had been, she had every right want to be left alone. And yet, here she was, saying she was sorry because of how she was raised. He didn't know how to respond. Then again, he didn't know how to act anyways. This was the most he had talked to anybody in the past 7 years. And to top it off, he was talking to a girl. He normally associated girls with things like the Olympic Gold Medal and successful businesses. You know, the kinds of things people want but generally can't get.

        But just as soon as he thought of that, he found himself staring at her face. The girl had plucked one of the Sour Patch Kids into her mouth and her face squirmed from the sourness. But right afterwards, her face brightened into a small smile, a look of relief spreading across her face.

        She must really love Sour Patch Kids to smile like that.

        He grunted internally as he shook his head slightly, not wanting her to think he was staring. Then she pulled out some Sour Patch Kids and placed them gently into his hand. He nodded as he poured a few pieces of the trail mix into her hand, thanking her in a gentle voice. Almost immediately, Tobias placed a couple of the candies he was given into his mouth. His lips pursed a bit at the sourness, but it wasn't a bad taste. The crystals we're formed to a specific sourness that wasn't designed to be unappealing. He then suckled on the sweetness of the candies. Again, he found himself observing her face once more. This time, she seemed to be focused on something. She did say she hadn't had them in a long time. Maybe she was trying to remember the taste, he thought. As soon as he thought it though, he witnessed her snap her fingers and call out "Almond!" rather loudly. That explained the puzzling look on her face. Tobias jumped slightly at the exclamation, but suddenly found himself chuckling internally.

        Strange... I would have figured if she was from Japan that she'd have had them more... guess I was wrong.

        Again blushing at the amount of thought he put towards the young lady, Tobias put away the bag of trail mix and coughed slightly into his hand before speaking up.

        "I-I'm glad y-you liked them. I-I made the mix m-myself. And y-yes, I loved the Sour Patch K-Kids!

        Tobias blushed a bit at that last comment, finding he said it a little louder than he intended. He fidgeted with his collar a bit and then finally noticed the books sprawled on the ground. A slight look of dejection spread across his face when he spotted the cookbook he picked up earlier. The book seemed to be opened to a recipe for Yakitori Grilled Chicken, a common Japanese meal. It seemed very coincidental that the book was opened to that page at this time. Tobias stood in thought for a moment, then had an idea cross his mind. He turned himself back to her and spoke up.

        "I r-really should a-apologize for b-being so f-forward... A-and for taking s-so much of your time. I-I would like to r-repay you... a-and if you would not be against it..." He bows at the waist, just as she did earlier, his hair draping over his forehead. "I-I'd be more than w-welcome to repay you with a meal from the kitchen."

        He held the position for a while, then slowly pulled up, disguising the partial fear in his eyes with his hair while secretly hoping the lady accepted the offer.

[Shizuko Hongo]

Shizuko had been told by several people that she should not be so apologetic. She could not help it, though. It was part of being polite, right? She did not remember her parents instilling such behaviors in her, but they never apologized for anything they did, whether it was good or bad. The thought made her scowl a bit, but she quickly made it go away by smiling shyly. She was trying to make a good impression on someone else to make a friend. Looking unfriendly and hostile was not going to help her succeed. A part of her was surprised at herself; this was the most she had spoken to someone since she had arrived on the island. Part of her thought she should be a little worried, but the more adventurous and rebellious part of her thought she should be happy and embrace the chance that she was being given. She was branching out, and that was supposed to be exciting, right? She nodded a little; yes it was exciting!

She noticed him staring at her and her cheeks started to glow a soft shade of crimson. She watched his facial expression as he ate some of the candies she had given him. For some reason, the brief contortion of his face made her want to reach over and pat him on the shoulder, reassuring him that the sour taste would pass. After the thought crossed her mind, her chocolate eyes widened when she realized what it implied. She shook her head vigorously, trying to dispel the thought. She had just met this young man and they had not known each other before that moment, so why was she so concerned about him? Well, he did save me from getting beat up, she thought idly as she chewed on the almond, deep in thought. Her thoughts then shifted to figuring out the taste that was spread around her tastebuds. She noticed his slight jump and laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. She needed to stop doing such embarrassing things in public if she did not want to look crazy. Her eyes widened when she heard him say he made the mix himself. It had to have taken a lot of time for him to put something so wonderful together. She could not walk away without thanking him. Yes, she had an obligation to do it. There was not any possibility she was staying around to talk to him because she thought he was attractive and sweet…

“Y-you made that mix yourself? I-it was delicious. A-arigatou for letting me have some. I-I glad you enjoyed the Sour Patch Kids. T-they’re my favorite.”

When Tobias’s hazel eyes angled downward, Shizuko’s brown eyes travelled to the floor as well. She stooped down and started picking up the scattered books once more. She was about to pick up the open book when she saw that it was open to one of her favorite recipes. She tilted her head a little as a smile played across her lips. Yakitori Grilled Chicken was her mother’s “specialty dish”. Once a week, Mrs. Hongo would give the chefs the night off and cook a meal for her family herself. That one day would be the only day that Shizuko would actually eat the meat with the rest of her family. Tobias’s gentle voice in her ears made Shizuko snap out of her thoughts and look up to the young man. Her eyelashes fluttered; the young man was willing to cook for her? She would be so rude if she was to refuse such a kind offer. She reached over and placed the open book on top of the pile she had in her arms. She stood up slowly, offering the pile to Tobias and blushing as their hands touched again. She bowed at the waist, keeping her head angled to the ground. She spoke loud enough for Tobias to hear, but quiet enough so anyone nearby could not.

“I-I will gladly accept your offer. A-arigatou for being so kind.”

She straightened herself and, in spite of her better judgement, she looked Tobias straight in the eyes and smiled at him.

[Tobias Fordson]

        Her laugh... it's so light. It's so... Gah, not again.

        Tobias found his thoughts drifting yet again to the girl. He found it increasingly hard not to think of her. He supposed it was natural. If you weren't thinking of the person you're talking to, you must not be interested in the conversation or person in question. But that line of thought brought about another thought: Why was he interested? Maybe that small part of him that wanted to be social finally was able to win out against his normal anxiety. This would make sense, considering his night had gone so peacefully last time. That had to be it. It was silly that he deluded himself into thinking she was cute, or had beautiful eyes, or that her voice was so soft, or...

        He once again found himself drifting and chided himself internally. He had then decided that he had overstayed his welcome and started to bend down to pick the books up when he found the girl had already started picking them up. As she pulled herself up, she motioned to hand the books off. Tobias quickly nodded and reached to take the books. As he did, though, he felt his hands brush against hers once more. The redness in his cheeks flashed again, and this time, grew to cover most of his face. For a moment, he pulled the books up, wanting to cover his face, but his eyes still peeked over the books, picking up on the marked margins of the page as he heard her voice pick up very quietly.

        She.... She said yes?! That's.... I'm not sure what to say.

        Tobias was at a general loss of words. The small, socially-demanding part of him seemed to dance within his psyche, but all Tobias could do was stare back at her, his eyes locked with hers. The silky, milk-chocolate coloring of her eyes seemed to pull in his attention, as if they demanded it. His arms relaxed, revealing a faint smile on his lips as he stared back. When reality finally settled in, he made a very quiet yelp and pulled the books up again to hide his now completely flushed face, though his cheeks poked out to show the red in them. As he whispered back, he hoped she hadn't found his staring offensive.

        "I-I-I'm so s-sorry. I d-d-didn't mean t-to s-stare... p-p-please f-forgive me.

[Shizuko Hongo]

Shizuko smiled shyly, glancing at Tobias. He was lost in his thoughts again, since she noticed him shaking his head. She had to suppress a quiet giggle; it was mildly amusing to see someone go in and come back out of his own thoughts. Of course, the fact that he was attractive and kind-hearted certainly helped… She blinked a little, a blush crawling over her cheeks. What was she thinking? She wanted to be a famous inventor! She did not have time for whatever she was starting to feel. She shook her head a little; no, she just wanted to be friends with this young man. Yes, that was it! She wanted to be friends with him since he had been so kind and saved her and offered to cook for her. As she picked up the books, she noticed a pattern. They seemed to be fiction novels and a few scientific journals for the most part, with one Asiatic cookbook. She blinked a little, tilting her head. It was probably a coincidence that he had picked up the book. Though, in retrospect, it would probably end up being a serendipitous thought, because they just happened to meet the exact same day that he had picked up the cookbook. She blinked again, briefly scanning over the recipe before nodding. Thankfully, it sounded like the same recipe that her mother used. She knew that American versions of other culture’s foods had a tendency to be changed and barely reflect the original dish. Something about the young man told her that he would be respectful of her culture, though. She was not sure what it was, but she had a good feeling about being friends with him.

She had finished picking up most, if not all, of the books before Tobias could bend down to do so. She figured that it was her duty to clean up, since she had caused the mess, after all. When she handed off the books to him, she felt her cheeks warm again and felt her heartbeat against her chest. She felt a little panicked; she had not been running, and she did not feel sick. Why was her heart beating so fast? The mystery unsettled her, but she supposed the rapid heartbeat would stop on its own. If not, she was going straight to the nurse to see what the problem was. She was not going to be hospitalized with some kind of heart condition if she could catch it early. She had already spent too much time in hospitals as a child; there was no need to do that again unless it was a matter of life and death. She noticed that his face was red and her eyebrows furrowed a little. Was he getting sick? She leaned over a little, gently placing her hand on his forehead. She felt the warmth and was slightly alarmed. She moved to stand by his side and spoke to him softly.

“T-Tobias-san? Y-your face is all red… D-do you need to go to the nurse?”

Shizuko seemed to look back at Tobias, wondering why she was doing so. Maybe she was paying attention so she could hear him speak, right? After all, if one did not focus on the person that was addressing him or her, then he or she could miss what the other person was saying. Tobias did not seem like the talkative type, which was why she was looking at him so much and paying attention. Yes, that was exactly it. She was adapting American habits because she did not want to be rude. She blinked as he moved the books to cover his red face. When she heard his apology for staring, she felt the heat on her face spread more. He’d been staring at her? Why? Wasn’t he trying to pay close attention too? After all, she did have a very quiet voice, so lipreading might have been necessary. She shook her head a little, a small, shy smile playing on her lips.

“I-it’s alright, T-Tobias-san. G-gomen, but I-I must leave soon. D-did you want me to take you to the nurses’ office first? I-I don’t want you to persist in being sick… I-it’s not healthy.”

[Tobias Fordson]

        Tobias was unsure what he would do. He was positive he'd offended her for staring at her. At this point, he had half a mind to run and hide. The books covering his face was his attempt at the latter, though its effect was minimal altogether. At this moment, all he could hope for is for her to walk off without a word. He figured that would be the least painful of the actions she could take. What happened next surprised Tobias greatly. The girl had instead moved over and placed her hand gently on him, her voice dotted with concern over him. He wanted to say he was ok and that she didn't need to worry, but when her hand touched across his forehead, his heart jumped in his chest, as if it was zapped with electricity.

        He didn't understand it. What would cause such a reaction? It certainly couldn't have been just because the pretty girl in front of him had touched his forehead and was concerned about him. That would be ridiculous. He also wasn't sick, nor was he in poor physical condition, so those were out of the running. It baffled him to no end. He decided to ignore the feeling, attributing it to social stress. After all, this is the first person he's had a conversation with for more than 5 minutes in years. He just needed to try and calm down, which seemed unlikely at the rate he was going. When she spoke up again, though, he became even more confused as she offered to walk with him to the nurse's office. His confusion sprang less from her offer and more from the light feeling of contentment that flickered in him. He knew he wasn't sick, but he also didn't know why he was feeling the way he did, so he decided to head there anyways.

        "I-I'm fine, really... b-but I t-think I should g-go there anyways... I m-much appreciate the offer, and w-would like that v-very much."

        His face blushed again slightly at the words. Why in the world did he say that? There was absolutely no reason behind it. He just randomly found himself saying such a thing. Tobias decided that the stack of books would probably have to wait, though this somehow didn't sadden him. He decided to leave most of the books on a nearby table, only taking the cookbook with him. Something told him that this book was important to take. Very shortly afterwards, he quietly turned to her and nodded.

        "I s-suppose we should head out, now... S-Shall we, Miss Shizuko?"

        At those words, he slowly stepped towards the exit, keeping himself at her speed as they walked down the hallway.