Cold hearted (KyojuroxReader)

Chapter 16:Smile

~*Kyojuro's POV*~
I should say something, shouldn't I? Give some words of reassurance... N-no, that won't be good to do-but what if it is? I've... been going on and on with myself ever since (y,n) and I left her family's house, arguing among multiple sides all in one jumbled mess among my head. It always seems to be that way when an issue comes up about her; I consider every possibility, even the most unlikely of routes, and I think about them long and hard. Only - - to then not make a move whatsoever; my overthinking tends to leave me stumped like this.

Alas... not doing anything at all doesn't even feel right, not here.

I never imagined that silence could be louder than even the noisiest of tasks, with it being the embodiment of pure hush, but I'm proven wrong with how vocal this quiet air hanging over our path has gotten. Crickets seem to go off in the background the longer this awkward tensions grows between us (it's unbearable, it's torture!!). Not only has the Ice Pillar not uttered a single word, but I haven't dared to test the waters and risk getting on her bad side. I can't- not with the way that she'd left the scene. The sharks that wait at the surface flash their top fin as a warning to me, just an average flounder who's managed to stir up the wrong trouble.

(y,n), her face showed frustration all over it while she was walking away from the woman she called (c,n), a lot more than before we'd gotten to her first destination. I was busy with the slayer's father at the time, but I still kept an eye on her, enough glances that managed to put the puzzle pieces together for me. Even if they were whispering, it was still a heated argument nonetheless; I know one when I see it.

I wish I didn't have these blasted hearing issues, I might've been able to pick up on what they were saying otherwise. It's not my business, though, and I'd be an dead man to even get the thought of mentioning that to (y,n) right now!

I can tell with just one glance that she's on the edge of her tolerance, and I'm sure that our exchange back at the district has contributed to that. She looks ready to go off on anyone that may happen to step past her already waning boundaries. Essentially... me. I was going to apologize to her once I got situated to try patching things, but I missed that chance after I found her leaving her home, let myself get distracted before it was too late. I regret allowing the opportunity slip by.

I peered down at my comrade quietly, observing the changing tides of her body language. All her movements are reserved, held back from their normal fluidity, and kept away from anyone else. I wonder if there's a way I can lighten things up... or if I'll even be able to do that without making things worse.

She took a swipe of her eyes at me, a quick one-two before she was looking back on the path. Her chest deflating, the depression of her stance moving to her shoulders and making them slump down. "Ask."

"Pardon?"

"You've got that look on your face when you want to ask me something. Say it now, or stop looking at me; it's creepy." The Pillar explained herself quietly and made me laugh in an anxious wheeze. I don't have much to say to that... Yeah, I want to ask her something, a lot of things, if I'm being realistic. Some of those things, I know she wouldn't answer, and others;... questionable. All those secrets she's got to her attract curiosities that can't be quenched on their own.

I tapped my fingers against the clasp of my cape, trying to find the right pick to break the ice. "...Why exactly does your father not live with you? Is there not enough room in your estate?" That should do. The question slipped out after some time, grabbing (y,n)'s focus once more. Slowly, she turned her gaze to look at me entirely, keeping the air stagnant as she sat unresponsive. Fumbling with the end of her uniform sleeve to straighten it across her wrist, she went elsewhere with her sights and sighed.