Monarch 2: Connections

Chapter 2 - Katsuki and Kazuyuki

Katsuki waited eagerly for Kazuyuki at the intersection they agreed on. While she waited, she constantly looked into her mirror to make sure she was satisfied with her hair. It's not often that Kazuyuki and her go out, just the two of them. And when they did, Katsuki was well aware and somewhat self-conscious of how she looked. But she could never give herself a reason as to why.

"Good morning..." Katsuki jumped and dropped her small mirror. In a flash, an arm wrapped around Katsuki and grabbed the falling mirror. "Are you alright?"

Katsuki turned to see the source of the unexpected voice, and she had to catch her breath. Kazuyuki had his long hair pulled back to reveal his ice white eyes. He was wearing a similar outfit to the one when he first arrived at her house with a distraught Miyu in tow. A black, very short-sleeved shirt under and gray button up shirt, with the front fully open. Dark jeans and black boots rounded out the look. To this day, it's Katsuki's favorite outfit of his.

"Katsuki?" Kazuyuki asked, with a hint of concern (meaning he was fairly concerned)

"I-I'm alright! Thank you..." Katsuki shrunk a bit as Kazuyuki handed her mirror back to her. She quickly put it away and collected herself. "Good morning! How are you?"

"I'm good... Did you sleep well?" Kazuyuki asked.

Katsuki nodded. "I sure did! Especially after that late night study session we did." She smiled at him. "But I'm ready to check out this shop! Shall we?"

For a moment, Katsuki and Kazuyuki were lost in each other's gaze. This happens from time to time, and it usually takes Haruna and Rekka saying something to snap them out of it. But, luckily for them, Kazuyuki realized it fast and shook his head.

"Yes! Let's get going." Kazuyuki talking got Katsuki to snap back to reality. She smiled, and led Kazuyuki down the road in the direction of the new shop. She purposely kept the location a secret for reasons unknown to her. But as they walked, they made small talk.

Kazuyuki pulled out his phone and started to explain, in a basic sense, what the premise of the game he was looking for was. Katsuki did her best to follow, but for some reason, most of it went over her head. This conversation lasted until they got to the store.

Once there, Katsuki let him take the lead. She had no idea what to look for or where to begin. There were quite a few people inside. Kazuyuki was able to find the decks for the game he was looking for, and he examined each one carefully, even looking up the deck list on his phone to determine which one he wanted.

"Excuse me..." Katsuki looked over to see a girl in a wheelchair, trying to get to the shelves, but there was a steady stream of people blocking her way. Katsuki nudged Kazuyuki, and motioned to the girl. He looked over and quickly understood the situation.

He approached the girl, and sort of forced himself into the crowd. As the line of people slowly moved, Kazuyuki stayed in place. Pretty soon, there was enough room. He looked back at the girl and waved his hand.

She smiled, wheeled herself forward and started to examine the shelf. She then got sight on a deck on one of the higher shelves. Katsuki thought Kazuyuki had gone back to looking for a deck for himself, and was about to help the girl herself. But instead, he reached up for the deck the girl was looking at and handed it to her. All while still looking at the shelf.

The girl hesitated at first, but then she smiled and took the box, examining the art of a woman in blue armor with weapons floating next to her. After the girl was satisfied, she looked up at Kazuyuki.

"Thank you..." She said in a quiet voice.

Kazuyuki just looked over his shoulder, smiled, and nodded. She wheeled herself away, and he actually went back to looking for a deck for him. After examining a few, he seemed to settle on one and went to buy it. After getting the pack, they wandered around the store for a while browsing the various games and manga that lined the shelves.