When Shadows Intertwine with the Heart

Ch 38: My Darling

Aika: 'Is it really okay for me to feel this way? I've never been this happy before.'

N: She looks at Tokoyami and blushed as she looked at their hands still interlocked. She put her hair behind her ear and smiled.

N: They arrived at the dorms and Tokoyami held open the door for her. She smiled and giggled then went in and they went back to holding hands. Everyone was in the common room and Yaoyorozu, Iida and Sato were in the kitchen discussing what to make for dinner.

Aika: "Looks like everyone's gonna be too busy to notice when we leave."

Tokoyami: "Maybe so."

Mina: "Hehe. Hm?"

N: She looked over her shoulder and saw Aika and Tokoyami talking. Then she saw them holding hands and she quietly gasped as her face lit up.

Aika: "Come on, let's go to my room."

Tokoyami: "Right."

N: Mina watched them leave quietly hand in hand. She squealed to herself and kicked her feet excitedly.

Tsu: "Wow Mina, I've never seen you so excited before."

Mina: "Oh Tsu, You. Have. No idea! Eeeeee!!"

N: Aika and Tokoyami got to her room and Aika picked up a book from under her desk.

Aika: "This is one of my favorite books. I made this year's ago, I filled it with every one of my favorite poems as a kid. My sister would read all of these to me when I was little."

N: She handed him the book and he started going through the pages.

Tokoyami: "Hm. I've actually read this one before."

Aika: "Really? You read poetry?"

N: He handed her the book opened on the page with the poem he recognized as he cleared his throat.

Tokoyami: 'Our life in this world -
to what shall I compare it?
It's like an echo
resounding through the mountains
and off into the empty sky.'

N: Aika glanced at the book and her jaw dropped a little.

Aika: "Wow. I honestly didn't expect you to be able to recite it without reading it."

Tokoyami: "As I said before, I've read that one before."

Aika: "It's still pretty impressive that you could remember it so well. When did you read it?"

Tokoyami: "When I was in my first semester of middle school."

Aika: "Ah! A-And you remembered it?! From so long ago?"

Tokoyami: "Yes. Does it really shock you that much?"

Aika: "Well I read this when I was about, maybe seven or eight. And my classmates were all too young to even remember the first two sentences."

Tokoyami: "I see. What other poems are your favorite?"

Aika: "C'mere, I'll show you."

N: They sat beside each other on her bed and looked through the pages of the book. All the poems were longer than others and shorter, and all by different people. Aika went to turn a page and their hands touched when Tokoyami went to turn the page. Aika let go and they just blushed. Tokoyami turned the page and cleared his throat.

Aika: "Oh these are some of my most favorite poems. I always loved the romance written in poetry. My sister was the one who showed them to me, and I would ask her to read them."