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[Miyohiro Kasume]

((After Black Stars))

Kasume sat on one chair in an empty classroom. Actually, he'd been here since his last class and after waiting for his classmates to leave, it was then he could finally rest himself completely. Acting as if he was all right took a lot out of him.

The late afternoon sunlight was filtering through the glass windows. The board and tables had been wiped clean and the floor was already sweeped of the litters. After taking note of these details in a vain attempt to forget his pain (he failed), Kasume simply sat and hung his head back, wanting to sleep but unable to.

[Murasaki Umeko]

For once, Umeko was walking around aimlessly, feeling down. She usually had a purpose, like relaxing or destressing, but the melancholy she felt did not seem to be fading by just trying to absorb the beauty in her surroundings. In fact, she barely noticed anything--she was so deep in thought.

She was thinking about a lot of things, primarily about the escape attempt, the students who died, and the others, though they survived, was punished with an obedience mark. Maybe she failed in trying to make people happy. Maybe she failed in trying to help them with their problems. Maybe...

And then, it hit her--pain. Unbearable pain.

It felt so tangible that she almost felt it physically.

She hurried to the room where the overwhelming pain was coming from, and opened the door. If it was someone injured--

She stopped in her tracks as she saw the familiar blond hair. "K-Kasume-kun?"

[Miyohiro Kasume]

He heard the door open but could not will himself to take on an act of being all right and jolly. His head was aching too much for him to even smile.

"K-Kasume-kun?"

Oh...who was that again? Kasume glanced at the door and saw Umeko-senpai standing at the threshold, looking shocked. "Umeko-senpai," he managed to say before his head hung back again.

[Murasaki Umeko]

Umeko bit her lip and winced as she watched him looking like he couldn't move because of the pain. The pain was attacking her too, but she tried to control her alice so she could at least converse with Kasume properly. Not for the first time, she found herself grateful for her limiter. She really couldn't function without it, no matter how hard she practiced in suppressing her alice.

She tentatively entered the room and sat beside Kasume, but still giving him space. She was still embarrassed over her behavior the last time she was with him, but that did not matter right now.

She glanced at the obedience mark on his face, and looked down. She had heard that there was an SA student who was part of the escape attempt, but she never imagined it to be Kasume. She didn't see him as the type. But then again, that only showed how much she didn't know him.

"How are you?" she asked. She really didn't need to ask, for she already knew the answer--heck, she felt it--but...she didn't know what to say. She wanted to ask him a lot of things, primarily why, but figured that she had no right. So instead, she looked up and watched him carefully.

[Miyohiro Kasume]

"How are you?" Her eyes were all on him, it seemed. Kasume couldn't care less right now. He was just resting himself. His tattoo was just too painful he couldn't even believe it was that small. What was in this mark, anyway?

Turning his head so he was facing the senior, he opened his eyes. "Not feeling well, I suppose... The Mark's horrible." He knew it was his own fault. He accepted it. But he was entitled to a little complaint, right?

[Murasaki Umeko]

"Not feeling well, I suppose... The Mark's horrible."

Umeko bit her lip harder. She didn't like the feeling of tension between them. It felt weird to see Kasume so...un-cheerful, when most of the time he was.

So she tried to distract him. She smiled, a bit strained, "Hey, d'you know, I tripped earlier at the stairs! I didn't know what came over me; I'm not usually so clumsy. And after years of being here!"

Umeko's eyes widened as she realized what she just said. "Ah, um, I mean--"

What was happening to her? Tactlessly talking...she didn't know what to say, and the awkwardness loomed even closer. She bowed her head slightly, defeated, and said softly, "Gomen."

[Miyohiro Kasume]

"Hey, d'you know, I tripped earlier at the stairs! I didn't know what came over me; I'm not usually so clumsy. And after years of being here!"

Kasume blinked bemusedly at the girl. That was...how to say it? A weird way of comforting someone. And yes, he knew she was trying to comfort him. Who on earth would have the right mind to speak about falling off the stairs as if it was a good thing? Certainly not the right-minded people...

Her eyes widened. "Ah, um, I mean--" Then she bowed. "Gomen."

Kasume sweatdropped. "You don't have to bother, Umeko-senpai... This is nothing..." He sat up straight and stared at the board. "It's my punishment, you know... I did try to violate the rules..."

[Murasaki Umeko]

"You don't have to bother, Umeko-senpai... This is nothing..."

Umeko blushed, embarrassed. She really was a scatterbrain today. What the heck was she thinking, saying those things? Something must be really wrong with her... For an insane moment, she tried to remember if she had hit her head when she fell.

Kasume sat up and continued, "It's my punishment, you know... I did try to violate the rules..."

There it was. An opening. But Umeko hesitated. Should she ask?

After a few seconds debating whether she should or not, she finally gathered enough courage. "So...why did you? Try to escape, I mean," she added to clarify her question.

[Miyohiro Kasume]

"So...why did you? Try to escape, I mean."

Kasume grimaced at the ceiling. "Just because." Then he smiled at her. "No, not really..."

Leaning back to his seat, he retained his smile. "You do know what the rules are, I suppose?"

[Murasaki Umeko]

"You do know what the rules are, I suppose?"

Umeko nodded. The accursed rules...it really was a cruel thing, banning the students from seeing their family, not even allowing any sort of communication (except for the occasional letters). She remembered her family, her little brother, and her heart ached. Yes, she knew the rules very well. But...she also knew the reason why the Academy did what they did. It was a little bit too harsh, especially for the little ones, but the rules were there for a purpose. She had long accepted the sacrifices all of them had to make, the sacrifices she had to make.

In short-term means, the rules were a pain, but in the long run, she could see herself grateful to the Academy, though its methods may sometimes lean on the unreasonable side.

"I do know." she confirmed. "But...it still doesn't explain why you tried to escape,"

[Miyohiro Kasume]

"I do know." she confirmed. "But...it still doesn't explain why you tried to escape,"

Kasume groaned a bit. "We are not allowed freedom. We did not choose to be here, yet we are trapped and hidden from everybody else." He looked at the ceiling and closed his eyes.

He hated the feeling of being under control. He was always a free boy before arriving in this academy. He had been a really good boy then, despite the little amount of pranks he would usually do. But that did not mean he had to be imprisoned in a school.

"I hate it..."

[Murasaki Umeko]

"We are not allowed freedom. We did not choose to be here, yet we are trapped and hidden from everybody else."

Umeko listened silently. Yes, if one were to look at it only in one point of view, you could say that. But wasn't a long-time freedom better than a momentary one?

"I hate it..."

"It's certainly loathsome," she agreed. "But...haven't you ever thought that the Academy is doing all of these for our good? I mean, for now, we won't be able to see our family and our friends, but at least, when we get to, we could be sure that we wouldn't hurt them with our alice."

"And..." she continued, "we're not exactly 'not allowed freedom'. We can do a lot of things here: be ourselves, make friends, and have fun. But of course the Academy has to draw the line and set some rules, otherwise, this place would be chaotic. Being free doesn't mean we can do anything we want."

[Miyohiro Kasume]

"It's certainly loathsome," she agreed. "But...haven't you ever thought that the Academy is doing all of these for our good? I mean, for now, we won't be able to see our family and our friends, but at least, when we get to, we could be sure that we wouldn't hurt them with our alice."

Kasume looked at the window.

"And..." she continued, "we're not exactly 'not allowed freedom'. We can do a lot of things here: be ourselves, make friends, and have fun. But of course the Academy has to draw the line and set some rules, otherwise, this place would be chaotic. Being free doesn't mean we can do anything we want."

Kasume couldn't help but chuckle in satire. "I'm afraid I'm not satisfied. Like I said, we did not choose to be here. I would have asked for help if I wanted it. And make friends? Only with those who are similar to us? What about the normal humans? Do you think we can actually be able to socialize properly with them when we haven't been with them? We only know how an alice would react to us."

[Murasaki Umeko]

"I'm afraid I'm not satisfied. Like I said, we did not choose to be here. I would have asked for help if I wanted it. And make friends? Only with those who are similar to us? What about the normal humans? Do you think we can actually be able to socialize properly with them when we haven't been with them? We only know how an alice would react to us."

Umeko answered patiently, "We may not have asked for help, but that doesn't mean we don't need it, especially the DA types. Besides, we aren't much different to normal people. The only difference we have is our alices, and once we learn how to gain control over them, we'll be able to interact with anyone."