"Misao?" Is she crying?

"G-go away… Aoshi-sama…" a sniff. "I-I… I'm fine… Really!" She is definitely crying. That isn't good. If someone made her cry, I'm going to kill them.

I don't go away. Instead, I sit down on the school roof next to her. "If you insist that you are fine then why are you crying?" I take a pack of tissues from my bag and hand them to her.

The plastic of the tissue pack makes a loud crinkling sound as she takes it, holding it tightly, like a lifeline. "I'm not crying." She says, wiping her eyes. "I'm…" she thinks. "Uh… Allergies?"

I raise an eyebrow.

She falls silent.

I wait.

She avoids my gaze but breaks the silence. "Is it possible to just… Get tired of someone? Spend time with them… Say that you like them… Then just… Get tired?" She looks at me, her beautiful sea-colored eyes brimming with tears again.

I try not to show any anger. "Is this about that bastard- I mean, Seta?"

Misao laughs a little, her eyes seeming so sad I feel physical pain just from seeing her in such a way. "You never liked him, did you, Aoshi-sama?"

I am furious. I tried to suspend my judgement of Seta Soujiro for Misao's sake – and he betrayed her trust. I am absolutely furious. If murder wasn't illegal, I would have already killed him. Actually, I don't care. I'm still going to kill him.

Misao blew her nose. "Y'know, he never stopped smiling. He just said a thing like, 'hey I'm tired of you – sorry, but let's break up', and he kept smiling. It was kind of an embarrassed smile, as if he was admitting to something like accidentally taking someone else's gym clothes." She smiled tiredly. "Soujiro-kun never stops smiling." She turns to me. "He actually kind of reminded me of you at firs, Aoshi-sama."

I try even harder to keep my face expressionless. "And why was that?" Why the fuck would she date a guy like that, especially if he reminded her of me? And anyway, I was nothing like Seta!

"Aoshi-sama doesn't stop frowning. Never smiling, showing not many feelings. Soujiro-kun's like that. He smiles, no matter what, never showing what he's thinking." She bites her lip, trying to stop the tears. "I think… If he ever showed his feelings, it would be when he's completely broken…"

I take Misao's hand in my own for a second, not realizing what I'm doing. I look her straight in the eyes and make sure she's paying attention. "I will be right back." I say. I'm breathing hard, and I stand up and leaving my bag, I head over to the empty classroom where Seta Soujiro and his group of 'friends' stay during the break.

I throw the door open, and here he is. He's sitting on the desk, talking to Honjou. Like nothing's happened. Like he hadn't just broken Misao's heart. I'm going to kill him. I have not felt anger like this in a long time. "Seta."

He looks up with a disarming smile. It's disgustingly fake. "Yes, Shinomori-kun?"

"Don't fuck around." Honjou backs away. I give up on being expressionless and let my anger show through in all its intensity. "Misao's crying because of you."

Misao had described that smile perfectly. The embarrassed one. He didn't take anyone's gym clothes. He had just hurt Misao. And did I mention that I was going to kill him? "Oh, yes. That was… Regrettable." He says, wincing slightly. "You know how it is." He tries to be ingratiating.

"No." I say, walking forward. "No I don't know how it is."

"Ahh, come on, Shinomori-kun-"

I don't let him finish, because I've already picked him up by the front of his shirt. "If you so much as look at Misao…" I say, lifting him higher. "I will make your life a living hell."

He stopped smiling as my fist connected with his face and sent him flying across the room. That felt really good. "I don't make empty threats." I say, leaving and not bothering to shut the door.

In the hallway, a very breathless Himura ran up to me. "Please tell this one you didn't kill Seta just now." He says, sounding almost resigned. "I don't know if this one can get Master to bail you out of jail like he did for Sano, indeed not."

I turn to him. "Not yet, at least, though I'm going to regret it later." Wry humor is almost the only thing I can manage now. Either that or going back into that classroom and beating the shit out of Seta.

"Misao-dono was afraid you'd do something stupid. She said you ran off with a face like someone who was going to commit a murder, indeed she did." He shakes his head. "You're so rational and calculating, Aoshi, but when Misao-dono gets involved…" It's very good for him and me that he does not finish his sentence.

"Speaking of Misao-dono…" he says. "Here she comes now."

I turn at the sound of approaching footsteps and Misao runs up to me and grabs my arm, almost like she's hugging it. "I thought you were gonna do something crazy, Aoshi-sama…" she says. For a second, I think she's about to cry. If I made her cry, I couldn't just punch myself in the face.

I awkwardly pat her shoulder. "Why does everyone seem to think that I am both capable of murder and irrational thought?" I say, shaking my head. "At this point, I'm not sure which one is worse."

And she looks up at me and smiles, and her beautiful eyes are free of tears, and realize that I have given up entirely on rational thought – for the moment, at least.