Alte Liebe Rostet Nicht

The Sena Problem

The shift was always so sudden, to say the least. Ritsu didn't get it, he never did. Sure, Secchan was not the most pleasant person to be around sometimes, especially if he got up by the wrong foot (maybe he needs more sleep) but to the point it scares someone? That was a rarity. And a cat? Scared of him?
Well, the cat wasn't really 'scared' by Secchan per se but his presence alone made Nyeli really uncomfortable. It was a behavior one could only exhibit around the unit member alone, no one else got such a reaction out of him. Literally no one and nothing. It was only one presence. Nyeli had to be aware of it as well and once he was the lively cat turned into one lacking in that department.

It was concerning, to say the least. Ritsu didn't know Nyeli for long nor as well as Ann but it had always felt rather off to him. Was there something both were hiding from the rest? Because that type of tension had to come from somewhere, didn't it? It would be unexplainable otherwise, wouldn't it? The longer he thought about it the less sense it made. Again, it took Secchan's presence to throw Nyeli completely off, making become a literal shell of the kitten he usually is. Thus the only thing he concluded was the following: Ask Ann–Chan if she had a logical answer. If anyone knows, it should be her. Right? Or so Ritsu had hoped at least. But...

"Not expected?" She asked, raising an eyebrow before leaning backwards in her chair, sounding rather dismissive of this entire situation, so nonchalant. "It's Izumi–Kun. An Arschloch ~"

There it was again. The explanation she had for anything Secchan related: An asshole, or ' Arschloch ' as she liked to call him. Good grief... Now, Ritsu likes Ann. They became friends rather quickly. And she has a soft lap to lay on. She was not a bad person, although a very awkward one usually. But when it came to the guy she seemed to hate the hatred may as well run so deep that she was getting annoying. Ritsu could only roll his eyes at this every single time. 'That's just how he is. Izumi is an ass'– A phrase all too common these days. And while he would not disagree that Secchan is a little unpleasant and was aware how much they argued, it was her being so dismissive which bothered the young man to no end. With anyone else she would not be like this. But if Secchan is involved, things get cut short fairly quickly. It got chopped down to one aspect and one alone after all.

"I... don't think it's that simple..." The male responded, letting her know of his assumption without a second thought, making her stare in disbelief for a moment.
"Not simple? Very simple!" She responded, stubborn enough to hold onto this belief. "His attitude? Being an Arsch. Nyeli senses it like a cat. Nothing more to it, Ritsu–San."

"That..." He wasn't sure but for some reason he had a gut feeling that she was very far off in this case. It was feeling more like a cop out if anything. "Listen, we both can tell Nyeli behaves differently when just hearing Secchan's name."

"Ugh! The answer's easy!" Ann responded, seeming to get slowly annoyed at this point. She didn't want to talk about it. Even Ritsu could tell, he knew her that well by now. They were friends for a reason. And her relationship with Secchan was no secret either, everyone knew. But even then... That she was this simple minded... No way.

"If it was we'd not sit here, would we?" He brought up, almost deadpan as he crossed his arms, trying so hard to not lay his head on the table. "I could use this time to take a nap, you know. But I'm too worried right now."

"Nyeli no longer seeing that guy!" Was her suggestion almost right away. Again.

"That wouldn't solve the problem, would it?"

"How!? The less Nyeli sees–"

"I get it, he won't seem as lifeless. It gets tiring to walk upstairs everyday you know."

"Then—"

"You don't have an odd feeling about this? At all?" He was essentially just trying to appeal to her common sense by now, make her realize despite being blinded with utter hatred. Can't she see he is trying to solve this once and for all, wanting to know what has been going on? This was so unusual... In a way, it almost came off as Ann neglecting Nyeli. She didn't, she would never, but one might have gotten the idea. As hard as it was to admit.

"Odd? Not much to understand!" She only added. Yeah, she was just as stubborn as Secchan sometimes... The two have more in common than they realize at this point. "Izumi–Kun? Arsch . Nyeli dislikes him. End of discussion!"

At that point Ritsu just sighed. There was no use today either. She would not budge. It was like talking to a brick wall. She was set on one belief and one alone: This was natural. This was meant to be. This is how it will be moving forward. And that thought did not sit right with him. Even for truly 'hating' someone it would take a lot more than being an asshole on every possible occasion.

Something Ritsu dared not to say was that his observations concluded an odd behavior from Secchan as well, though he couldn't put his finger on it, not quite at least. Secchan has his moments but they take a little over hand with Nyeli's presence. It was as if both affected one another, to the point it can become unbearable to watch, or at least listen to. They never directly addressed one another, no. They talked past each other yet would always acknowledge the other. It was never a true face–to–face meeting. They were ignoring one another in the best way possible. Yet it was always Secchan talking about Nyeli in the worst way possible, as if the cat's presence was the worst thing in the world. It was as if Nyeli was just some annoying pest, a nuisance which needed to be gotten rid off as soon as possible. As if he was the worst thing which happened to Knights. The members would disagree of course and even Ritsu does. But it was also important to take Sechan's attitude into account. This was not some petty dislike between the two, no. There was more, way more... But he couldn't get any closer to that if the person who is the closest to Nyeli for the longest time won't open up, let alone give it some more thought. She wasn't stupid, just really ignorant right now... In the wrong state of mind to even ask. He either needed proof or had her come to her senses, whichever would happen first.

"Can we talk about this some other time?" He finally asked, giving in for the time being, then adding a yawn. "I'm getting sleepy~"

"Still not done?" She asked him, this being met with a nod.

"Yeah... But this is energy draining. I need a loong nap~"

"Uh... Fine fine. Though dunno what needs to be—"

"Thank you~ I'll be sleeping now~"

While yes, Ritsu had been a little sleepy at the time he just couldn't deal with Ann like this at the moment. Sleeping was a cop out for him and it always worked. She would believe it and she would not deny him his rest as a result, the conversation cut short as a result. Shorter than he would like but there was no use like this... He needed to try some other way. But for now... Sleeping time.