Temple visit

"So how teleporting..."

She did not finish her sentence, because Yoshio put his hand on her shoulder, and in a second she saw a pond with koi fish in front of her. Temple stood behind it.

"... works..." she finished the sentence, continuing, "Well that was fast!" She touched her stomach, and arms, checking if she did not lose anything.

She noticed Yoshio's hand on her shoulder and blushed slightly. When he saw her gaze he quickly took it away.

"I am sorry, I should have asked you...I need to touch the person to teleport."

"Oh, no problem," she smiled reassuringly.

He turned away, gesturing towards the temple, "Here is the temple."

"Wow, it looks great!" She was already turning her head like crazy, and running around the yard. "The koi fish are so cool! And the temple looks ancient, so beautiful, Adachi-san!" Yoshio observed, smiling a bit.

"I love this! The forest around hides it so well!" She ran back to him.

"I am surprised you like it. It seems mundane to me." Yoshio just stood there.

"No way. Tell me how did you get to live here?"

"Well, I was looking for a remote location during the Second World War. And this temple…" He contemplated a moment, "It was already here. We had to repair it, and then it seemed there was no need for us to move anywhere else."

"Wow! I think it's a great place, and so peaceful too. You did a great job!"

"Hm... thank you." he cleared his throat, "Do you want to come inside?"

"Oh, of course! I would love to see your room!" They started walking towards the temple.

"I wasn't planning on showing my room, to be honest," he said quietly, "it is really messy there, lots of books, and stuff..."

"Don't worry, you saw my apartment, so in no way yours is worse."

"Well, " the picture of clothes and books scattered around her apartment popped into his head, "yes".

"Rude, you shouldn't just admit it like that, Adachi-san!"

"I don't understand. It was definitely worse in terms of how cluttered it was." He looked at her, confused.

"Whatever, I am in anticipation to see what's up with yours!" She rubbed her hands mischievously.

The kitchen was on the first floor, so they entered from a small terrace. Sora was still turning her head all around, trying to find anything interesting. On the terrace, she noticed a beautiful small golden bell hanging from the roof. Yoshio already entered inside, so she just went after him. The kitchen seemed normal, and very clean. She assumed that was Okamura's work.

"Can I open the fridge?" she asked.

"Why?" Yoshio still could not understand her sometimes.

"It's just the personality of a person that can be seen from their fridge. I mean it's not a scientific method, but just my guess. Do you get it? Some people have nothing, while others have plenty of weird choices, or god forbid bread inside."

"Em, go ahead, " he pointed at the fridge, hesitating.

"Yay!" she ran there and opened the door hurriedly. There were many puddings of the same manufacturer, several beers, and some mushrooms. She turned her head to Yoshio, with a solemn expression. "Is this it? This looks very sad."

"I don't understand. It's a fridge, Maki is the one responsible for the content. I am only interested in pudding availability anyway."

Saiki-K and his love of coffee jelly popped in her head, she could not help, but look at Yoshio imagining him with pink har and antennas. She chuckled, "That's very childish, you know?"

"No, I do not, " he folded his hands. "And, also, there is some soba with vegetables on the stove."

"Okay," she clothed the door, still chuckling. "Shall we go to your room now?"

Yoshio felt somewhat nervous, for some reason. "Okay, it's on the second floor."

"Yay!" She grabbed his hand and hurried to the stairs.

He did not take it away, surprised. His eyes widened and he felt a bit of heat on his cheeks. Looking at her back, he noticed how her hair flew around with every move she made. It looked very soft. The aura around her seemed even more crimson than before. He shook his head, thinking that it was inappropriate to stare. He heard her asking,

"Is it to the left or right?"

"Left, " he answered still trying to avoid looking directly at her. She did not notice, hurriedly turning to the left. The corridor was dark, and as she paused for a second to get used to the darkness, Yoshio bumped into her.

"Oh, I am so sorry, I...I did not see you..."

"Adachi-san, it's okay" She smiled, still looking forward. She let his hand go. And started walking into the black corridor. "It's too dark, so..."

Her expression was hidden, so he did not know how red her face was at that moment. He remained silent, following her, unsure whether he should take her hand and lead her now. Yoshio decided against it. Instead, he cleared his throat, pushed the switch, and light appeared.

"Oh," she said standing in front of him, hiding her face. "I wondered whether there was a switch!" She laughed nervously. The atmosphere seemed to get awkward.

"Here is my room," he stepped forward, sliding the doors open. "Please come in."

"Uh, yes…" Sora stepped in, looking at her feet. "Adachi-san, it looks great and cozy!"

Huh? You have not seen it yet!

"Please, don’t hesitate to sit on the chair there, or… on the bench." Yoshio couldn’t quite get what was off.

"Um, yes, I will," she flung herself onto the chair, turning towards the table, in order to avoid Yoshio’s gaze.

He stood there, next to the doors, amused. "Uh, those are the historical books I have been reading today, I am trying to unravel that thing with the emperor and killing/marrying."

"Yes, looks quite impressive, and old!" She gently touched one of the pages of the open book. Now she felt a bit calmer, she turned to him, smiling. "Adachi-san, I am glad, that you are trying to understand my power."

"Well, yes, but it has to do with the killer…"

"Oh don’t mind that, it’s still about me too. I feel like it will be interesting to see what really happened."

"I guess. I need to understand what’s it all about sooner or later. It’s been a long time now."

She stood up, and came up to him. He was clinching his fists, frowning. Sora looked at him, with a sad smile. She wanted to touch him so much, but she only said, "Adachi-san. I told you before, I trust you will!"

"I will…" He said, relaxing a bit.

"Okay, now tell me, do you have anything else in here?" She jumped to the bookshelf, reading the names of the books.

"I see you have a lot of Osamu Dazai?"

"Yes, I like his way of framing things, the writing style. The times he writes about… I missed them, while in seclusion. I think He portrays the state of society well, for instance in The Setting Sun. It helped me understand what happened after the war, what were the ideas."

"Interesting! I like that one, the way he utilized the letters, and diaries is, in my opinion - an imaginative way of delivering the information, specifically because the characters talk in different manner, than they think (for instance the brother: he writes poetically, while behaves like a jerk)"

While talking, she walked around, her hands moving as she spoke. Yoshio observed her. They were not new friends, they had spent several days talking about everything now, so he knew she was smart, and knew a lot of things. He didn’t ask which books were here favorite, so now it felt nice to hear she liked some of the books he did. While he listened so attentively, he forgot to contribute to the conversation. She was already back to the shelves.

"Oh, you don’t have the Mishima books?" Sora turned her head.

"Oh, he was a terrible person, so I was not in a mood to read his stuff."

"Did you meet him?" She asked, without any expectations.

"Yes, before the war I did meet him once, it was enough."

"Oh, for real? That’s cool, tell me more, who else have you met?"

"Not many people, to be honest. I’ve met Kosugi Tengai, Tamezō that is. I was interested because he wrote good historical fiction. I quite liked it. We’ve met briefly, unfortunately, so I can't say much. He seemed normal."

"Oh wow, haven’t read that! Now I want to!"

"Really?" Yoshi came up to her, "I have his famous book about a geisha," here it is, he took an old book from the top shelf, and handed it to Sora, who appeared to be so close, that she blushed again. "Sorry," He moved away immediately, thinking he made her uncomfortable.

"No, it’s fine…" She muttered, taking the book, like a small treasure.

Yoshi glanced at her. She looked like a small cute moth the way she stood there, all her hair around her, clinging to that book as if a flame. Not very romantic comparison, good she did not hear it. He shook his head, and said, looking outside. "Em…Think it’s a bit late, don’t you think? You have seen my room, so I guess it would be fair to go home, and sleep now?"

"Okay, maybe you are right. I have work tomorrow too…" She thought that it was his way of saying that she needs to leave like now. Maybe she overstepped today?

"Then, I will…" he hesitated, "I will touch your shoulder and teleport you to your apartment, and then I will go back here. Okay?"

Sora looked up at him, her eyes so wide, and for some reason so sad. She nodded, saying nothing. In a moment she stood in her dark apartment, Yoshio beside her.

"Okay, then, see you tomorrow?" His tone was reassuring.

"Yes, Adachi-san."

He left. The air in the room felt cold. But the book in her hands felt very warm, so she hugged it.