(OPEN) Back to School

Nayumi slowly sat down on one of the bean bags in the library, reminding herself of how comfortable they felt, even to a body as numb as hers. She leaned back against the bookshelf and placed the sketchbook she was holding onto her lap before examining the empty pages with her eyes. After her previous drawings had started to become increasingly darker following her nervous breakdown a few weeks ago, her psychiatrist decided it was best to destroy the old sketchbook and replace it, in order to force her to move past her depression. Nayumi wasn't overjoyed at the idea of having her art be ruined because of the hunch of some old man, but there wasn't much she could do to oppose this decision.

The girl closed her eyes as the pictures she drew resurfaced in her memory. Most of the sketches were portraits Taizai, the boy she loved. The rest... were nothing but terrifying images of deformed human bodies - burned, melted, mutilated in inconceivable ways... A few of the drawings portrayed her own body burning or otherwise being destroyed in a similarly grotesque manner. That's what finally caught the psychiatrist's attention and assured him something was a lot more wrong with her mental state than usual. Indeed, the death of Taizai's family in that fire a month ago, his departure without even saying goodbye and the stress of her own mechanical body breaking down due to the lack of maintenance finally caused Nayumi to fall into a deep depression, after months spent on the very edge of the pit.

But that period of her life had come and gone. As much as she hated to admit it, the psychiatric help she was provided did its trick, and today was the day she was finally allowed to return to school. The girl wasn't exactly overjoyed at the thought, but it couldn't be helped. Well, at least she was allowed to start drawing again, under the promise that she would try to abstain from recreating themes as dark as death. Nayumi pulled out a pencil from the pocket of her skirt, then gently pushed the tip against the blank sheet of paper. The graphite moved smoothly along the white surface - it was obvious that her psychiatrist spent no expense when choosing the replacement. After making a mental note to call him and thank him later, the girl continued drawing the smooth lines, unsure of what exactly her newest artwork would represent, but determined to finish it. Nayumi wasn't even aware of the fact that, as usual, she wasn't alone in the room.

A young boy walks through the Library; his crutches making noise every time he took a step. He came here for some relaxation and it was the next best thing to the roof.
He glances over the room to see a young girl with a scarf. to his own surprise he has not seen her around maybe someone new? He slowly makes his way over with a book and sits down across from her.
It's never a bad time to make new friends He thinks to himself
He quietly opens the book not to disturb her then speaking only skimming at the open book
"Hello."

Nayumi turned her head up and instinctively pulled her scarf up a bit as soon as she heard someone calling her. It was some boy with glasses that she had never seen before. Why was he calling her? Did he need something from her? Nayumi preferred to be left in peace while working on her art, but perhaps there was no harm in answering him and asking what he wanted. "Uh, hello..." she responded awkwardly, hoping the reason he called her had nothing to do with her appearance.

Yuuji still pretending to read the book breaks his trance like stance and looks up
"I don't mean to be rude but are you new here?"
He gives a warm smile in the hope to attain a new acquaintance

The girl looked back down at her sketchbook and took the pencil back in her hand. "Something like that" she responded quietly, not really willing to go into details about her recent absence from school. For Nayumi, it was best to simply ignore all of the events that had happened to her and try to move on with what semblance of a life she had left.

She's so quiet... well I can't really blame her I did come from out of the blue and greet her
He reaches out one hand
"I'm Yuuji Takahashi. It's nice to meet you miss..."

Nayumi carefully extended her hand towards his, before hesitating halfway through. She wasn't very fond of shaking hands - the hard metal beneath her glove would make the fact that her hand was prosthetic obvious to anyone shaking it. Then again, maybe that boy, Yuuji, simply wouldn't realize that was the case... It was an unlikely scenario, but certainly not one out of the realm of possibility. In any case, she could no longer back off without looking like an idiot. Reluctantly, the girl shook Yuuji's hand lightly and pulled away almost immediately. "Nayumi Tachibana" she introduced herself and turned her gaze to the sketchbook in her lap once again.

Yuuji feels the glove cloth like texture and nothing else
First the scarf now a glove
He notices as Nayumi staring at her lap. Curiosity gets to him and ask straight away
"Why are you staring at your lap? Would it not be better to read with the book on the table?
Just an assumption he patiently waits for an answer

"I'm not reading" Nayumi responded coldly, completely ignoring the main point of Yuuji's question. She could feel his gaze being locked onto her, almost staring at her unnecessary clothing. It was making her really uncomfortable. She pressed the tip of her pencil against the almost blank page of the sketchbook, then quickly and skillfully drew a couple of lines on it, in the hopes that it would take her mind off of her increasing paranoia. It didn't work.

"You aren't? If I may ask what are you doing?"
He speaks in a calm voice. with no one but them two inside the library Yuuji can feel a tense atmosphere surrounding them.

Nayumi blinked nervously a few times. Yuuji's stare was still bothering her. She never liked it when people stared at her. "I'm... drawing" she spoke out, moving her hands out of the way to fully reveal the sketchbook in her lap.

She Draws...
Yuuji takes a quick glance at the sketchbook seeing only the incomplete drawing he looks back at her
"You are an artist? I like that."
He gives a light smile attempting to lift the tense air.
"How long have you been drawing for Tachibana-san?"

"I-- Y-yeah..." Nayumi stuttered quietly, deciding to not to reveal more about her artistic side. The last thing she needed was for Yuuji to learn about her online persona and start questioning her about that as well, just like everyone else did when they found out. This conversation almost felt like an interrogation to her, mainly because she didn't know what he wanted from her. "I'm sorry, but... Is there something you need from me?" she finally asked boldly, shifting her eyes back to him again.

Something from her? ummmm....
Yuuji rubs the back of his neck nervously tying to say something
"Well umm...I wouldn't say something more like just a greeting and getting to know you, but if you don't want me here I'll leave."
I have been asking way too many questions. He thinks to himself with that iceberg broken he place the book h had onto a near by bookshelf and gets ready to leave just in case the word is said

Nayumi thought about it for a second. Of course, she would've appreciated some peace and quiet to fully enjoy the first artwork she was allowed to draw in weeks, but she couldn't just tell Yuuji to leave. "You can stay if you want. This is a library, after all" she explained quietly before looking back at the sketchbook, unsure of whether she should focus on him or on her work. After all, he said all he wanted to do was say hi, and he had already achieved that goal, which made the girl wonder if he was about to leave now.

Yuuji nods and makes himself a bit more comfortable. He takes out the book he put away and begins reading letting Tachibana work on her drawing. The silence envelopes them;Yuuji takes another glance at Tachibana.
I have no other reason to stay here anymore. But I wonder something.... I'll ask another day.
Yuuji gets up and puts his book away
"It was nice meeting you Tachibana-san I'm taking my leave." he says while bowing

"Ah... Okay" Nayumi nodded and stood up, hugging the sketchbook tightly against her body. She didn't really like to show her unfinished art to anyone, so she took extra care to hide it from anyone who might take a peek. "I, um... I should go to class too. Lunch break's almost over... You can walk with me, if you want" the girl spoke out after shifting her big eyes towards Yuuji. She kinda felt bad about being so cold to him earlier - it wasn't like she had anything personal against him, he seemed like a pretty nice guy, maybe even too nice. But that's how Nayumi was - her unique condition had left her paranoid and distrustful of everyone and anyone, no matter how nice they presented themselves as.

"Where is you class then? I shall escort you." It was the least Yuuji could do in an case he was bothering Tachibana. He puts the book away and waits for her to led the way, though, he is a bit curious to what she is drawing. He stays away from the question; Yuuji has said enough for one day.

The girl rolled her eyes a bit in an attempt to remember the exact number of her class. After such a long absence, she had to stop and think for a moment before recalling it. "It's, um... 1-3" she finally spoke out, before turning around and heading towards the door, expecting Yuuji to follow suit. Nayumi wasn't sure exactly how to feel about having a companion on her way to the classroom. On one hand, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to walk with someone for once, but on the other, she kind of dreaded the inevitable questions about either the unnecessary amount of clothing she was wearing, or the hardness of her gloved hand.

Yuuji follows close behind trying to keep up with her pace. He tries to spark a conversation on their small journey to the classrooms. Yuuji had felt like he was interrogating Tachibana when he first introduced himself so he hesitated.
"What do you plan on drawing?"

"I don't know yet..." Nayumi answered honestly. "Whatever comes to mind... I guess..."

That had always been her creative process - she would just draw a few random lines on a piece of paper, then draw whatever she thought they formed in more details. The results were often disproportionate, weird, abstract and unnatural, but still with a lot of attention to detail in them. She was forced to utilize this technique about two years after her involuntary isolation had begun, when she found out that she had ran out of things from her memory that she could recreate. Naturally, after regaining her freedom, she began doing more traditional drawings as well, but those were few and far in between.

Nayumi turned her eyes towards Yuuji. "And, uh... W-what do you like to do?" she asked carefully. It wasn't that she really cared about this - she simply felt awkward answering all of the questions, and decided it was appropriate to give her companion a chance to speak as well.

"Me? Well I ummm...hehehe..."
Yuuji did not know what to say. He had hardly any hobbies but a unlimited list of interests.
"Lately I have been going into town and such with my friends. I occasionally play chess; I'm not very good at it." He chuckles nervously
So pathetic of myself
"I don't have very many hobbies."

"I, uh... I'm not very good at chess either" Nayumi confessed, not sure what else she should say. After all, she didn't really have any friends. Taizai was gone, and she hadn't seen Setsuna at all in weeks, which meant he probably wasn't around anymore either. But, for obvious reasons, she felt really awkward revealing about her loneliness, and preferred to simply skip the subject.

"Maybe we could play sometime Tachibana-san." Yuuji gives a warm smile a small invitation from him to her.
If she were to accept i would have to start practicing again Yuuji thinks to himself though it would be a lot of fun get the mind flowing.

"Oh... Well, I don't mind but... I just told you I'm not very good at it..." she explained quietly. Nayumi never thought herself to be especially smart. While in reality, her intelligence, while not extraordinary, was still above average, years of being denied any sort of education, as well as her consistently bad grades once she could finally go to school, led her to this belief. "Just... Don't laugh at me when I start losing all the time..." the girl asked and looked aside, hugging the sketchpad even more tightly to her chest.