Crying's a Privilege (Mika/Yuujin)

He was content with never returning, but life has a way of reminding a person their place. Though, guess this is more akin to a vengeful deconstruction of old ways than anything remorseful. A letter pertaining to a father's death is never pleasant, but this is what he was taught when young. How could he feel sad about something like this?

But that was then, this is now. Yuujin's not going to cry over a man who never cried over him. Not wanting to go back over the details, the events of the day are now simply official records, kept in accordance with everything else. If Yuujin had his way, he'd have simply returned to Earth, but his brother had asked him to stay just a bit longer for the funeral. Maybe it's just the Noble in him, but he's sure what he's feeling is incorrect.

Well, best to just continue as is. Though, how he ended up at the Shino Academy is beyond him. Guess inspirations been dry. Not only has his training felt stunted, but now he's lacking any desire to read as well. Yeah. He's searching for something, but he doesn't know what. Exploring just like on Earth, he'll just keep moving until anything sparks something.

Year one was in the books, and year two was fast approaching. Morikawa Mika, noted friendless prodigy of the special accelerated class, was glad to be done with what she considered to be "introductory classes". She hadn't exactly made a good impression on any of her peers, and getting slapped in the face by a fellow student for telling her she should drop out for being a failure didn't help things. Unfortunately for Mika, her reputation amongst her class did not improve with time and more opportunities to berate them to their faces.

One bright spot for Mika was that single lunch she still thinks about, the one where she met Hiroe Miyashiro for the first time. She taught her all about what it's like in the Living World, and even promised to bring her with her the next time she goes there. What occurred next destroyed any prospect of that happening any time soon, a horrific war against Hollows and a devastating hospital explosion that, together, practically shutdown Seireitei and Soul Society at large. With no possibility of escaping this claustrophobic school, Mika had been miserable by the end of the year.

Mika found herself sitting alone in one of Shin'ō Academy's courtyards. She had no interest in heading to her family's estate at the moment, so here she sat, pervasive silence in the mostly abandoned school leaving her in the quiet. Her flaxen hair fell over her shoulders hidden beneath a traditional red-and-white school uniform. Mika's gold gaze remained silently trained on the Advanced Zanjutsu Lessons textbook she leisurely perused. She couldn't help but feel a bit bored, especially given it wasn't the first time she had sat in silence while reading this particular book.

"Hmm..."

Where even is he right now? He had walked without rhyme or reason, letting his feet move as randomly as his thoughts shifted. The people around him had eventually shifted into something formal. He can recognize the outfits of Academy students. Despite not caring about the Gotei as a large, he had been forced to learn about it if the want was ever there.

Though, he's sure he's not interested in anything around him, not right now anyway. So, he had began his walk once more, moving away from the general populace to a more secluded area. There's no one here but a singular girl, and she seems fully indulged in a book. Well, anyone not Yuujin probably would have thought her studious, but he can see the lack of interest in her eyes. There's a lack of engagement that he can recognize from the times he's read drag material.

He'd not simply approach her though. Finding the area suitable for now, since he'd rather not get too lost, he'd find a seat not close but close enough to spy the title of whatever she's reading. Zanjutsu? That's to do with Zanpakuto, correct? He wonders why she'd find it not interesting. Has she read it before? Does she simply dislike studying?

As she read through sentences, paragraphs, and pages she had come to memorize, Mika's mind wandered back to dreams she'd had of the Living World; Of great cities reaching into the sky, grabbing the heavens themselves with huge metal fingers, glittering beaches stretching as far into the distance as one can see, and of delicious sweet treats her mind could barely fathom. Voluminous cakes soft as clouds...chocolate-covered everything...Mika had to swallow to prevent herself from drooling onto the textbook.

Shaking off her distracting thoughts of sweet, sweet freedom and..well...sweets, Mika looked up from her book and noticed an intrusion upon her peaceful silence. Some strangely-dressed boy, notably not in a Shin'ō Academy uniform. He had taken a seat nearby and peaked at what she was reading, apparently curious about her book. Looking his way, Mika lifted the textbook and showed him the front cover where the words Advanced Zanjutsu Lessons could be seen. After dropping the textbook back onto the table in front of her, Mika decided to address the stranger.

"Um...can I help you?"

"No," He answered, truthful in his response.

She cannot help him. He needs nothing from her. He doesn't really even want anything outside of his mild curiosity. However, she showed him the title of her book, and that alone is more than what he expected. He'll blame himself for staring for too long.

"There's no point in pretending to read," He'd go on, figuring her mind had gone elsewhere from the actual contents of the book. Her eyes had a gloss-like feature about them before they had snapped to him, so it was easy to assume she was daydreaming instead of reading.

His expression the whole time came off disinterested, but the fact he even spoke up meant he'd entertain any recourse she has. He did come and disturb her silence.

It wasn't like she was using it for anything productive though.

How strange thought Mika to herself, a little bit confused by the dichotomy of the stranger's disinterested look and commentary on her circumstances. He was both right and wrong in his analysis; while she had already read this book a thousand times, and was getting a bit lost in daydreaming, she was managing to continue reading it. Though what she was getting out of doing so was anybody's guess.

Mika spoke up again with her feathery, unemotional voice "I have the entire text memorized anyway. Are you a student here?" Typically, in Mika's experience, students never wore anything besides their school uniforms within the Academy's walls; so for this person to be hanging about dressed the way he was, was another cause of confusion for her. Had he just wandered in to comment on random girls' reading habits? She doubted it, surely he was here for a better reason. "You don't look like a student to me."

Memorized, eh? Then he really can't understand why you'd keep reading something over and over unless it's good enough to keep you hooked. If the material's more a chore than anything else, then you go find new material. However, he can't understand the act of rereading something just because. He'd find that more torturous than not reading anything at all, but let's digress. Her ponderings have moved them elsewhere.

"No. I'm not a student. I just happened to find your book interesting. How many times have you read it?"

He probably did come off a bit dissentious, but his curiosity's compelling him to get what he's looking for one way or another.