The Academy - Side B

BONUS: Kazu's Little Love Story

The first time he saw her, they were both fourteen years old. She was in his Casting class; a quiet girl with brown hair and brown eyes who tried not to draw attention to herself. But as someone who avoided people himself, it was only natural that he'd notice someone like her.

He laughed when her cheeky retort made a classmate speechless. Underneath that shy exterior was a very interesting individual.

The first time they interacted was towards the end of their first year. After finishing an exam, he noticed her outside the classroom, worrying about something. He guessed it was the exam questions.

Something inside told him to talk to her, comfort her. And he did.

He didn't know her well, but her smile made his heart beat a little faster. It didn't help that in his second year, he was assigned to be her best friend's bodyguard, thus becoming the bodyguard of three people: his charge and her two best friends.

It was a blessing in disguise. The two strangers were soon close friends, bonding over shy conversations beside a stream in the woods. When he looked back years later, he cherished the memories of these conversations, because that's where he'd started to fall for her. Their friendship was the foundation of their love.

As the second year drew to a close, she taught him how to fly, how to see beyond. That's when he first noticed his feelings, and was terrified. He'd never felt this way about anyone else before, and didn't know what to do.

His past, which he'd tried so hard to conceal, was threatening to explode in one swoop. There was no way a murderer was capable of love, he thought. If it wasn't for this little problem, he would have ignored the other one completely: he was still her bodyguard, and forming a relationship with her was a bad idea.

One day, he accidentally let slip the fact that he killed someone at the age of nine. It was only later that he realized that maybe it hadn't been an accident: he had trusted her enough to reveal his inner darkness. She hadn't judged him for his act, but this secret only brought them closer.

It took them a long time to acknowledge their feelings for each other, but when they did, he felt a little lighter, as though he didn't have to carry his burden alone. She would help him carry his, and he in turn would help carry hers.

For a time, at least until the day she told him about her own past, he thought she was a person who needed to be protected. But after that day, he began to notice her immense strength, and her desire to stand by the side of people she loved. It was during such an event that he realized that he was completely in love with her.

She was in pain, she was tired, she was scared. And yet, she stood by his side to confront injustice. She was not content standing behind him, unless it was to watch his back. That was what he'd wanted, deep in his heart. A relationship where both partners would stand by each other and face the world together, bringing out the best in each other and helping the other with their shortcomings.

And Kazu found it in Eri.