I've recently enjoyed the works of Relan Litch, a new psychologist who's been making waves in the academic scene. He hasn't been writing papers for long, but it's evident he's an exceptionally gifted individual. His work mainly entails the mental structure of human cruelty - what drives an individual to hate, and what drives an individual to love. I'm not usually one to read research, but I find his work particularly very gripping. Hm... yes... "an individual strives for uniformity"... if that's the case, then-

"Asahi?"

Miss Lock tapped him on the shoulder, breaking him from his intellectual endeavour.

"That's quite the material you're reading, but you haven't handed me your homework..."

"Oh, right, sorry, let me get it out,"

He scoured his bag for it, removing crumples of paper and bits of sweet wrappings.

"I-I'm sure I put it here somewhere,"

He carried on searching, but to no avail. Miss Lock stood there with her arms crossed as she waited. Micah snickered in the background, and Ari rolled his eyes.

"You never missed your homework when Evelyn was around, did you? It's a shame she's gone for a while,"

"Yeah, I guess,"

"Either way, please submit it by tomorrow. If not, I'm afraid I'll have to give you a detention,"

"Yes, miss..."

Truthfully, Asahi wasn't bothered. His mind was focused on trying to identify the killer. He'd started reading around the field of neuropsychiatry to understand cognitive disorders and to see if he could find anyone who seemed to display symptoms.

"Dude, I think you have more missed assignments than me!"

Micah came up to Asahi and patted him on the back.

"Great minds think alike, right?"

Asahi found him interesting. He gave off the impression of an - no - he was an idiot. He just also happened to be rather exceptional at calculus. He showed the qualities of a promising engineer, and Asahi had a profound respect for him.

"Hey, Micah, have you ever liked flowers?"

"Flowers? That's a bit random. But no, not really. If anything, they upset me a little. Julian gets flowers from everyone all the time, but I never do. It's so unfair, man..."

"Yeah, I get you,"

"What? No, you don't! You have Evelyn!"

"Yeah, of course, but I think she just took pity on me,"

"Jeez, that's a strange dynamic. Good luck with that, I guess."

Ari joined them, and they headed off to the cafeteria. They carried on talking about something useless, and as they did so, Asahi immersed himself in the simple comfort he was experiencing. The life of a teenage boy, enjoying his youth, as the inevitable end of his childhood drew near. He was afraid... afraid of the future. What it held, what might happen ~ it was all so uncertain.

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But everything is uncertain.

He caught Leigh's eyes from the corner of the room, and she winked at him. He laughed a little, and then dismissed her. He seemed to be seeing her more often lately.

"Hey, Ari, have you had sex with Clara yet?"

Both Asahi and Ari spat out their drinks.

"What the hell, Micah! We're just seventeen! Of course I haven't!"

"Are you serious? I thought most kids lost their virginities at fourteen or fifteen,"

I find this peculiar. The act of opening yourself to another person, exposing your vulnerability and passion ~ how could you so carelessly give that away? Shouldn't you cherish those types of moments with the person? Why must you try to remove it so quickly? Perhaps more physical people didn't quite care for the emotional complexity the defloration of a person comes with, and are happy to be rid of it.

"I know I-"

He stopped mid-sentence.

"N-Never mind... if it makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to explain anything."

He mellowed down fast, and quietly nibbled at his food. Ari seemed a little confused by his behaviour, but he paid no heed to it.

Asahi found an opportunity here.

The boys walked around the campus, chatting aimlessly as they always did and making random remarks at the bypassers around them. Ari checked his watch and panicked a little.

"Shit... I've got club in like negative ten minutes,"

"Ah, good luck making it on time!" Asahi commented.

When Ari left, Asahi stuck by Micah as they walked to an isolated place in the corner of the school campus.

"Hey Micah, I didn't know you were so timid about sex. I've seen you make all of those retorts to the third-year girls - and you even hit on Miss Lock on the first day of school."

"Oh, y-yeah, I just try to have a bit of fun, that's all,"

Micah's voice felt frozen.

"You know, you shouldn't lie so much."

"What do you mean? I'm not lying,"

Asahi walked in front of him and stared him in the eyes.

"Of course not, you're preserving yourself,"

"W-What?"

"I mean, it's pretty obvious. An idiot can see what's happened here,"

"What are you talking about, man?"

Micah's felt as though a noose had slowly wrapped itself around his windpipe. He hadn't encountered this type of injecting interrogation before, and Asahi's stark change in behaviour shook him, thoroughly.

"I remember that game with Laura last year. You know, the one you broke down crying for."

He stood still.

"W-Why are you reminding me,"

"A little pain always gets someone serious. It's the fundamental force. Well, not really, it's the reciprocating fear that's established because of it, but I wouldn't expect you to get that."

The air felt bitter. Hell, I'd love some delicious pastry right now...

"Everyone dismissed your crying as an immature cry for attention. But I finally understood you at that moment. A child - an innocent, sweet child - that is what you are. You're no man. You're afraid of yourself."

"N-No... what are you talking about,"

He laughed a little.

"You're nervous."

"O-Of course I am... you're scaring me."

"What do you mean? I'm the same as I've ever been."

"Hey man... what do you want..."

"Look. I have a ninety-nine percent understanding of the situation at hand here. I just need to eliminate any scope of incorrection."

"W-What is it?"

"Have you ever forced yourself on a woman?"