[Graded]The Less Calm Mind

[Willoria]

Had it been a day? Several? A week? More? Truth be told, Arata couldn't be told. He had a fresh tatt on his other shoulder and arm now, a tiger working its way down his arm but when he tried to recall getting it done, he only got pieces. It was like looking through broken glass to get an image. Every time he slept, he felt like he lost a little bit more. Even now he feared sleep, he didn't want to see the coyote, he didn't want to see that shrine. The sheets on his bed were a complete mess, thrown to one side in a pile as he paced the room with a bottle in hand. An open wooden crate sat on the bed, at least four other large bottles missing. He'd stop to chug some of the liquor, only to scream at it and grip the sides of his head.

'This is going mad, right?'

'Just Calm yourself. You need to stop fighting this, we are sealed now, you need to work with me.'

"NO!" Arata screamed it at the top of his lungs. "I will sooner drink myself to death than do that!"

'You can't, not with me here.'

"I noticed." Arata shook his head and took another large swig, looking over at the four empty bottles on his table with a snarl of anger. This crate normally would have gotten him through an entire year, and yet now no matter how much he drank, he didn't feel it.

[TyDie]

It had only been a few days since they had returned, but already Kiyori felt that so much had changed. She had met with the Kazekage and much had been revealed to her... She was leader of the Scribes now, a jounin, and had discussed her departure to Konoha in light of her newly acquired powers falling in line with abilities known throughout Konoha. Yes, much was changing, and not just in her career or power, but her mentality too. Her new religious revelations were settling within her mind more and more by the hour, but throughout all of this there was one question:

Where was Arata?

Truth be told, now that they were bound by the light and dark within them, she had expected to see him by now, but there was nothing. Silence. She didn't know if it was because of the sealing and he was still getting used to the spirit, or if it was something more... personal. But today she set time aside to find the truth. And so it was that she stepped up to his house and knocked firmly on the door. "Arataaa, you in there?" She called out without so much as a care. She had no idea the state he was in, or what she would be in store for today...

[Willoria]

'She's here!'

Arata's head turned suddenly towards the door of his apartment as he heard Kiyori's voice at the door and her knock. Some part of him could almost feel it as her knuckles touched the door, something about it made his heart race and for a moment the man stopped in his tracks. 'What the hell?' was the shocked thought that crossed his mind before he finally moved to the door, bottle of sake still in his left hand. He'd gone through two bottles of whiskey, one of vodka, and now was on the sake but showed no effects as he pulled the door open and simply stared at Kiyori.

He didn't say anything at first, simply looked at her, taking in the appearance of her almost as if seeing her for the first time. The new markings she had from the altar, the tattoos of the light, were somehow mesmerizing to him, as if pulling him in. For the first time since he'd met her, he wanted to reach out and touch her. Not with any form of lecherous intent, but rather just sheer curiosity.

'This is the Light, boy. She is the single most beautiful thing you will ever behold.'

[TyDie]

As the door opened before her, the sight of Arata was much different then it was the day she met him in the ruins. A bottle of what was clearly alcohol, forbidden in Suna unless during Golden Week, the smell of alcohol was pungent enough that her hand instinctively wanted to shoot up to pinch her nose, though she fought the urge to appear more respectful. Not to mention the state of his house was disheveled at best, he clearly hadn't been caring much for his belongings lately. "I've been looking for you Arata, hoping i'd run in to you at some point as you went to the admin building. No doubt you've been speaking to Akihito and such..."

She trailed off, realizing maybe that wasn't the best way to start the conversation. Trying to move on, Kiyori simply bowed and asked politely "May I come in? I'd like to talk with you for a bit, if that's alright." She would then await his response and, if allowed, would step in to his abode.

[Willoria]

Honestly Arata wasn't even thinking about how he probably looked, or smelled, to her. For several moments he seemed only to stare before finally shaking his head and reaching up hand to wipe his eyes. "Yeah... come in..." he said almost flatly as he motioned into the apartment, closing the door behind Kiyori as she inevitably came in. The man walked around her and before her, moving into his living room where he sat down heavily on the couch, the entire place being a fairly open floor plan and the other now empty bottles of liquor in the sink, the open crate they had been in was sitting on his bed not far from them.

He tried to keep his eyes off her at that point, drinking at the sake to try and keep his mind off her, especially as the spirit yelled at him considering the way he usually undressed any woman he looked at. For a moment as he sat in quiet he looked at the bottle in his hand before gesturing with it, as if he needed to show it to her. He knew somehow she'd already noticed it, likely with disapproval. "I thought I'd shut him up." He said rather quietly. "Heh." He couldn't seem able to keep very focused on anything at the moment, motioning to the sink across the room. "As you can tell, it doesn't work." he added, his eyes turning back down towards his hands.

'You are a disgrace... showing her your shame like that? You, child, are nuts.'

"Yes I'm nuts! I have a freaking VOICE IN MY HEAD!" Arata suddenly snapped out loud, turning his head away from Kiyori as if yelling at someone on the other side of him.

[TyDie]

Kiyori smiled as she walked into the apartment, the stench of alcohol even more pungent in the room itself, not to mention what she could only assume was the same plant he had been smoking while down in the depths with her. The smoke that had messed with her eyes and prevented her from memorizing a few key bits of the ruins... He went to explain the bottle, but truthfully she didn't care for, nor did she need an explanation. The more she watched him, the more it became apparent that this spirit was taking a toll on him... sealed or not, he wasn't happy about it at all.

As he shouted, she couldn't help but cringe and recoil, the sound of his booming voice startling her a moment before she composed herself again. "Arata..." She spoke softly, gently, moving close to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. Her skin was abnormally warm, a side effect of the light coursing through her now. She would wait for him to turn to look at her, and he would see a smile just as warm as her touch looking back at him. But within that smile was not just happiness... it was worry, concern, uncertainty. She wasn't sure how well he would hold up, not just as a shinobi, but as a human, with this spirit inside of him.

"It's okay." Was all she said as she moved to embrace him in a hug. She could practically see the pain, the misery, the fear... it was plastered all over his face. She did this not as any sort of advance, romantic or otherwise... This was just to show him that he still had a friend that understood, and would be willing to do whatever he needed her to do to make sure he was okay.

[Willoria]

Arata visibly flinched as she touched his shoulder, his head whipping over to stare at her with wide eyes, not unlike an untame animal being touched for the first time. "I..." He started to talk, but couldn't get the words out as he looked at her, for a moment his eyes focused on her lips, her skin, the tattoos. He wanted to reach out and touch her, look ever every mark in detail. Not even in a sexual way to him, though some might have seen it that way. It took everything he head not to touch her himself, even as she hugged him. "You know its strange." he said quietly as she hugged him. "I was always a reject after my sister died... but this spirit... its not just about thinking there's a darkness in me anymore. There really is a darkness in me now..."

He took a deep and shaking breath as he shook his head and took another swig from the drink in his hand, cringing as the Coyote in his head went off on him yet again. 'How dare you defile yourself in front of her! What we are is bad enough, you need to be better in front of her!'

He turned and looked down at her, he dropped the bottle at his feet as he stared at her, mesmerized yet again by her. It was as if he wanted to drown in her. Before he even knew he was doing it he had brought both hands up on either side of her face, hands stroking her cheeks back to his fingers slipping into her hair. He started to lean forward but suddenly released her and stood, taking several steps away from her. "I'm sorry... I... I don't know what...." He took a deep breath again and shook his head, having a hard time finding the words that were in his mind.

'How dare you try to touch her!'

'I didn't! I didn't try, it just.... happened!'

[TyDie]

Kiyori simply smiled and listened as Arata spoke, but she couldn't help a small sigh as he mentioned the darkness that now resided with him. She leaned back from him, her arms still wrapped around him, and gave him a look before starting. "That darkness is the very reason the Light has existed for as long as it has. Do not think ill of it, it's proven to be one of the greatest defenders of Her Light the world has ever seen. Perhaps even equitable to our own Kazekages of old... After all, he protected the light for over 1,000 years. Not even a Kage can claim that."

She smiled at him again, and even as his fingers touched her face and went through her hair, she did not flinch or budge. As he began to move forward, she wondered if she would have to intervene, but it seemed either the spirit or Arata himself got control again and backed away, confused and oddly shocked by his own actions. "Please... Did you forget that you touched my butt while we were in the ruins? Compared to that, that was sweet. No need to apologize." She moved to take a seat on the couch, then began speaking again on the darkness and the light, and their connection.

"I learned so much in those ruins. The revelation I encountered down there, the old practices of Yuumagure... I never thought I'd see the day that one such as I, a child of Her Light, chose to reconcile my fear and hatred of the darkness. Kogasha, I know you're listening." She gave a sly smile, wondering if the spirit thought it was slick and that it thought she wouldn't know he could hear her. "I may not know Tenkujutsu personally, but i've read enough about spirits to know that they can hear what their hosts hear. I want to thank you for teaching me what you did. I feel that those ancient practices, of the light and dark working together as one... I feel those are the truest method of worship I've ever heard."

"Without light, darkness could not exist, and without darkness light could not exist. The two are inescapably bound together, and they must remain in perfect balance if the world is to achieve lasting peace. That... That is what I now believe. So Arata, that darkness within you... It's integral to that very balance. Without it, I believe our world would crumble. We need the darkness, just as much as we need the light. Do not think so poorly of it, please... And remember, he only did what he felt was right. He only wishes to protect the light, to continue his duties to Her Light."

With her little rant about religion and the spirit done, she awaited an answer. Silently, she hoped maybe he would realize that this gives him purpose. Even if he was faithless, something to get you out of bed in the morning was always good to have, right?

[Willoria]

As Kiyori spoke, the man circled back to where he'd been sitting and picked up the bottle from the floor, taking a large swig as he walked back towards the sink. The apartment was small, making it easier to cross without actually walking away from a conversation. Something he had hated at one point in time when it came to his chattier dates. He wouldn't interrupt Kiyori as she spoke of the religion, of the Light, even of the spirit within him now. 'Even in her human form she is beautiful. Her words moreso.'

As Kiyori finished speaking, the spirit had spoken in Arata's mind and the man suddenly snarled in frustration as he raised the bottle in his hand and brought it down into the sink, hard, with the others. There was a loud cascade of shattering as the bottles broke to pieces and liquid sloshed in the sink. The man panted as he brought his hand up and stared at it, the skin that had begun to darken, glancing towards Kiyori briefly with his silver eyes. But he turned away quickly, gripping the sink hard with a snarl as he closed his eyes and tried to reign it all in.

Yet even as the darkness to his skin faded and so did the silver in his eyes, he didn't turn to face her yet. "What I did, touching you like that, wasn't sweet." He told her almost coldly. "I don't think you understand something about me, Kiyori." he added as he finally turned, crossing his arms over his chest and briefly wincing at the feeling of his fresh tattoo. "I don't... do that." he told her, struggling for a way to explain. "I don't do sweet. Any move I've made on you was a joke, I don't throw myself at good women. I'm not stupid, I know what and who I am, and since what I did to my sister I have not lain with a woman that was not a prostitute or a whore in some way." He shook his head fervently. "I don't make moves on good women, I don't deserve them." It seemed he had hardly heard her rant about the religion, and what was disturbing him even more was the fact that he had tried to kiss Kiyori.

'It's not wrong. We are a part of a darkness now, child. To lay with any good woman would defile her. No matter how beautiful the Light-Bearer may be, we are not fit to be with her. She is not ours, we only protect.'

[TyDie]

Kiyori did not flinch this time as the bottles shattered in the sink, and did not show any outward reaction as the man's skin darkened and his eyes turned to silver. No, she wasn't afraid of him, because she knew that neither he nor the spirit would dare lay a finger on her. It would go against everything they believed in. However, she did stand from the couch as he proceeded to talk so little of himself. She walked up behind him and waited for him to turn to her... then slapped him straight across the face.

"Stop it. Right now." Her face was no longer sunshine and happiness, it was anger and pain. "Quit pitying yourself Arata, quit wallowing in this despair. You're right, you don't deserve happiness, no one does. You don't deserve anything in life, you earn it. And you are just as capable of earning happiness and joy as anyone else. The mistakes and accidents of your past have only as much bearing on your future as you allow them to have." Her fist was shaking with anger as she looked at him, wanting to hit him against but knowing, or at least thinking, that one was enough to get the point across.

"I know you think you have no chance of redemption Arata, that you're just biding your time until the day you die and disappear from this world, until every trace of your time here is erased and forgotten. Well let me tell you, that will never happen, not while these eyes exist." She pointed at her Doujutsu, reminding him of the fact that she couldn't forget him even if she wanted to. "When it comes time for me to... to become one with her light, my body won't be cremated like everyone else's. At least, I hope it won't. We Henrin have a custom that our leaders take part in towards the end of their lives... We call it the Creation of the Daruma. The Henrin undergoes a long process of fasting and meditation, weeks spent alone, categorizing and organizing every single memory they've ever witnessed with their eyes. Then, molten silver is poured over their bodies, ending their lives but preserving the memories of their Doujutsu for the rest of time."

She looked back at him, finally making a small smile, though the topic was rather bleak. "As the leader of the scribes of the sand, the amount of knowledge contained within my doujutsu rivals even that of the clan leaders. If i'm allowed to become a Daruma to preserve my memories... the memory of Fujitsuna, Arata will never die. Any Henrin will be able to recall my memories and learn about who and what you are. You won't fade from this world, not if I can help it... so you might as well spend what time you have left redeeming yourself instead of making excuses for why you can't be a better person."

She knew it was harsh to say, but it pained her to see him so... depressed. So much self loathing, she couldn't believe it... He had been given a grand purpose by Her Light, and yet still he refused to think any better of himself. She would get him to see the light, but this wasn't about the religion. No, she would get him to see his worth somehow...

[Willoria]

Arata's head moved to the side as the slap connected, the man blinked for a moment, and turned to look at Kiyori again as she ranted. But the man only shook his head. "You misunderstood me." he told her, sighing heavily and pinching the bridge of his nose as the spirit started to speak in his own mind. "Kogasha loves the Light, Kiyori." he told her as he brought his hand down to cross his arms once more. "He loved it when it was in that Altar, when it was in the temple.... when it was a tree..." He sighed, realizing some of his words weren't going to make sense to her. She hadn't seen what that altar once was, she hadn't seen the temple in its full glory as the spirit had shown him.

"Now its in you..." he said, looking at her a moment before he stepped closer to her again. His hands moved to her face once more, one on either side, just gently holding her under the jawline as he tilted her head to look up at him. "It's different when its in a person, Kiyori. He's enamored with you, in love with you even..." He shut his eyes tight suddenly with a groan, trying to shut out the spirit's defiance at the 'accusations', but Arata knew what the feeling was.

He took a deep breath and let it out slow before he opened his eyes again. "And he's in me now, I feel what he feels... and never in my life have I let myself feel that. I can't start now, if my job is to protect you, I can't let that part of him seep into me." He wasn't sure if she'd understand what he was saying, maybe she'd even just laugh at him even, but he was trying his damndest to explain it all to the woman.

[TyDie]

Kiyori did indeed misunderstand what he had said, but all the same her points remained true. A man like him, who had lost what he had and lost his way in terms of his faith and his purpose... there wasn't a doubt in her mind that he just wanted it all to end. Still, she would speak on what he had said, moving to sit back on the couch and crossing her legs as she spoke. "So the dark spirit within you is drawn to the light. It longs to be close to the light, it loves the light. And as a result of this, those same feelings that it feels for the light are feelings that you now feel for me... What's the problem here exactly?

She smirked up at him, leaving a moment of silence between them before continuing. "Love manifests in many ways Arata, and it has many uses. I, for one, love this village and it's inhabitants with all of my heart... yes, including you. Of course, that doesn't mean i'm going to go jumping in bed with everyone I see, or professing my undying love to some person because he's from Suna. It means I would gladly flay the skin from my body in order to keep them safe. I would fight for them, die for them... even kill for them if I had to. You can let yourself love me Arata... Use that love. Hell, I can't think of anyone better to bear host to that spirit then someone who loves me."

It was an odd way of looking at things to be sure, and there was no doubt in her mind that Arata's love for her was not as simple as she made it out to be. There was the slight chance that he would get upset by what she had said, but she was hoping that the points she had made would at least ring true. Just because he loved her, or the spirit loved her... that didn't mean that he had to stay away from her. Quite the contrary, she wanted him close.

[Willoria]

"HOW DARE YOU?!?!?!?!"

The voice rang out in Arata's mind before he even realized what he was doing. At some point as Kiyori spoke it was as if the damn he had been holding up just broke and he moved as a result. His hands went to her cheeks again, caressing, gently pressing into her hair, and yet he didn't stop at looking at her this time. He kissed her suddenly, and deeply, one hand behind her head and the other going to a hip to pull her against him. He hadn't even realized he had done it until that voice rang out.

In a sudden move and a snarl of frustration he pulled himself back from her so hard he slammed his back into the small kitchenette and slid to a sitting position on the floor, but he didn't say a word. He just stared at the floor and closed his eyes, leaning his head back as he tried to bring himself back under control, hands balling into fists.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

Arata snarled again, turning to scream at no one beside him. "I DIDN'T DO THAT, YOU BASTARD! THAT WAS ALL YOU!" He was panting in his frustration as he slammed his head back against the cabinets, snarling at himself as he turned his eyes to stare down at the mark on the inside of his forearm. "Why didn't Akihito just kill me?" he whispered.

[TyDie]

The look on Kiyori's face as Arata moved in to kiss her was best described as a mix between shock and understanding. A true oxymoron, as she had expected something along those lines all along, but she hadn't actually expected it to happen. Her hand tensed as he did what he did, and she did not return the kiss... but she did not strike him. Instead, he seemed to strike himself, and yell at himself, and... well, everything else detrimental to himself one could think of. Clearly he thought he was lower than low... How did she tell him otherwise?

"STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU!" Her normally quiet and sweet voice boomed out throughout the room, no doubt capturing the attention of both the spirit and Arata. Once all attention was on her, she'd clear her throat and continue. "Kogasha, if you're going to be any good to the light, you need to learn how humans work. You may be unable to interact with light but that does NOT mean that Arata cannot interact with me. If I decided I wanted to kiss Arata back, would you have had the same reaction!?" She paused, knowing full well the spirit could not verbally respond to her but hoping that the point sunk in. "Exactly. We are human. We have human feelings, human emotions, human urges. Whether it was you who pushed Arata to that or Arata's own actions does not matter, and truly I don't care."

She let out a sigh, realizing that she wasn't really getting to a valid point. "You... Both of you... You need to quit with this infighting bullshit. Neither of you will be any use if you can't learn to work together. I understand this is a new thing for both of you, I understand you hate it Arata, and I can only assume Kogasha feels much of the same. But it's done now. You're bound until death. Get over it, because until you do, you're just as worthless as you think you are. With all of that said..."

Kiyori walked over to Arata and gave him another big hug, burying her face in his chest as she felt she was about to cry. "I don't want that. I don't want you to feel worthless. I don't want either of you to feel worthless. So please... Try. Both of you, try."

[Willoria]

Whether Kiyori could see it or not, the moment she yelled, she had the full attention of both Arata and Kogasha. Both fell silent and stared, in Arata's mind he saw the coyote standing beside him. As Kiyori challenged him, the animal bowed his head and looked away. Despite how he was feeling, Arata had to resist the urge to chuckle. It helped him bury the disappointment he felt as Kiyori did not return the kiss. She had told him of her girlfriend, and yet some part of him still hoped.

But he was more than a little shocked as Kiyori suddenly hugged him where he sat on the floor. For a moment he froze, breath and heartrate quickening as he felt her against his bare skin. Yet be buried that, and a moment later a hand came up and touched the back of her head. Carefully he shifted, moving a bit of her hair so it wouldn't get caught in his new tattoo. But this time he didn't say anything.

He simply kissed her on the forehead, gently.

[TyDie]

She sat, her face buried in his chest, still fighting off the urge to cry as she clung to him. The hand on the back of her head felt comforting though, and the kiss to the forehead help make her feel better... at least it seemed he understood. She looked up at him and sniffed a little, wiping what tears had built up away before leaning back. "Thank you..." She spoke quietly with a smile before sitting up entirely and extending a hand to him to help him up. Once the two were standing again, Kiyori would look into the gloomy apartment and put her hands on her hips.

"You know for someone who claims to love the light you sure keep it dark in here. Open up these curtains." As she spoke, she moved towards a window and moved the curtain so that the light could pour in. As it hit her smiling face, her tattoos seemed to glow ever so softly, as if the light itself had gotten some kind of reaction out of what laid inside her. She then sat on the couch and motioned for Arata to sit too. "I'm sorry about all of that by the way. I just wanted to come and check up on you two, not lecture you... But it hurts to see you so down on yourself Arata. You have been given a magnificent purpose... I only want you to embrace it."

[Willoria]

Arata let her help him stand, though he groaned as he moved. His back was sore, but not just because of the impact though, it was the impact with the fresh ink on the back of one of his shoulders. But as he heard her talk about light and curtains, he couldn't help a chuckle. He looked over just in time to see the way the light caught her own tattoos, and in almost a stupor he moved to sit down on the couch with her. "I've been a reject with my sister's blood on my hands for too long to just accept something, Kiyori." he told her quietly, reaching out a hand to touch hers though he gave her a significant look first, a look to ask permission.

If she let him, he'd lift her hand and turn it, looking at the way the light hit her tattoos and almost reflected. "I swear I've never seen anything so beautiful." he said quietly.

'Except the tree... where this blessing came from.'

Arata chuckled at the spirit's reminder before he looked into Kiyori's dark eyes. "You know... you wouldn't believe what he showed me during the sealing..." he told her, shaking his head. "I hear your doujutsu allows you to show someone your memories, are you able to access someone else's?"

[TyDie]

As Arata reached out to touch her hand, she reached to take his a moment before she got up to deal with the curtain situation. And as he mentioned something beautiful, she could only assume he meant her, earning a playful smirk and an eyeroll from her as she moved back to him. Her head tilted a bit however as he mentioned wanting to show her his memories of what the spirit showed him during his sealing. "No, unfortunately it only goes one way. But i'm sure whatever it was, it was no doubt a sight of incredible beauty."

She smiled again, but upon opening the windows and noticing the position of the sun, she realized how much time had passed. "Oh crap, I need to get going. I have a meeting with the scribes soon. Even on my days off I have shit to do..." She shook her head in annoyance before turning towards the door, though she didn't leave just yet, instead she turned her head back to look at Arata once more. "Arata... are you going to be alright? Things are only going to get harder from here on, I need to know that you can handle whatever comes. After all, you're my protector right?" She gave a lighthearted smile, eyes closed with happiness at the thought of him being her guardian.

Funny, normally it was hosts who had guardians...

[Willoria]

He wanted desperately to tell her what he saw, to describe it in full detail. But even as he considered doing so, the idea died out from his mind. "I wish I could tell you." he said quietly. "But I could never get it right... maybe some day I can find a way to show you." He sighed, clearly upset by the fact that he couldn't share this with her, not directly. But his mind was soon occupied as he covered his eyes and Kiyori had opened the windows, causing the man to frown.

But nothing caused him to frown deeper than when she said she had to leave, and the man suddenly stood. He wobbled a moment, having stood far too fast, but it didn't last long as he moved to Kiyori and stood beside her. He looked down at her as she asked about his well-being and he couldn't help a soft smile. One hand moved to rest on her hip, though he didn't even realize he did it, and the other went to rest on her cheek. "Until my dying breath." he said simply. He wasn't a man who normally waxed so poetic... but he also wasn't normally this stone cold sober. It was as if the entire world was different, and while that could have been because of the lack of alcohol, the man could only see it as being her.

'I swear she's my last chance.'

'Thank the goddess you don't picture her naked like you do other women.'

Arata flinched visibly at the thought and chuckled, pointing to his head and touching it. "I guess I need to convince him I can be more than a drunken lecher."

[TyDie]

Kiyori only nodded in understanding and smiled as Arata wanted desperately to explain what he was shown but simply couldn't find the words to do it justice. It was okay though, She was sure she would see it one day... His touch was hardly even noticed now, it seemed normal to her despite there not being much of an attraction on her end. However, his words made her infinitely happy. "Good, I'm glad to hear that. I feel safer already knowing that I have you by my side Arata." With a small sigh that seemed somewhat sad, she left his touch and turned back for the door.

"Soon, I'll be heading for Konoha with the Kazekage and one of our Bannin, and you'll be coming with us. After the meeting of our kage, I intend to stick around in Konoha and explain my powers to them. After all, they have a clan of light users. Me being able to control light could be seen as acquiring the power of our allies, and I don't want to start an international incident. I'm going to need you to be on your best behavior Arata... It might look bad from time to time, you may even be separated from me from time to time, but you can't use force."

She finally turned the handle to the door and opened it, the light from outside flooding in through the open door and warming her skin as she turned back to smile at him. "If you can do that, I'm sure Kogasha will realize you're not just a drunken lecher. We'll talk more in the coming days Arata... until then, stay strong." With that, Kiyori would walk out the door and shut it behind her.

Please be okay Arata... for all of our sakes.