A forced smile answered her, perfected from two years in the work.
I didn't really want to know who I'm screwing over, but I guess I'm too soft for that.
"I just wanted to know the girl I'm working with. " she lied smoothly." Your friends, they know about your talent, right? Recognize it?"
Why was she steering the conversation this way?
Keiko's card would be placed off to the side so Masae could go about preparing for school, quickly collecting her clothes and making sure her supplies were in her backpack. She wasn't going to leave homework behind if she could help it.
At the same time she answered another of Keiko's queries, wondering what had made her LRIG so talkative all of a sudden. "Well, I'm not that outstanding compared to everyone else when it comes to WIXOSS, if that's what you mean. As for my wish, they do as well. But they're my friends, it'd be silly if they didn't support me." Perhaps not something that everyone could say, but it seemed fairly obvious to her.
"Be right back." With that she exited the room, and soon Keiko would be able to hear the shower turn on from the nearby bathroom as she was left behind, to muse on what she had glimpsed from that brief interaction.
Azu winces slight at this, the reminder of her...current situation stinging her a bit, though she covers it up quickly with a smile and laugh that she hopes is convincing
"Haha! No, no, that sounds great...."
It..it was hard, knowing that the only way out of..this, was to trade places with Miho, Miho who didn't deserve this. No one did..
"Right." Miho recovered quickly from the gaffe and smiled anew, glad that her apology had been accepted and more than ready to get on with the day. "Let's go."
The door swung open, it would be a quick trip down the stairs, Miho holding Azu aloft so she could see where they were going as they soon arrived in the modest living room near the front door. "Here you go," she said with a smile as she propped up Azu's card against a decorative basket, allowing her to see the room and the nearby kitchen, which Miho headed to with a spring in her step. There she'd find her mother waiting for, and soon breakfast would begin, with Azu as the silent observer. And hey, she might not have gotten pancakes but she did get French toast.
I nod and steel myself. "Right. Got it. There's a card games club here. I'll go to their classroom and see if I can sign up. I guess I'll see you again soon."
I pack Yori and my deck away and head for the classroom.
Arriving at the classroom, Aiko would find that there was already a slowly congregating class there, most of them presumably unfamiliar to her. Not too much of a surprise honestly, given the nearing beginning of the school day. At least it had been easy enough to find.
If she lingered though she would soon find herself approached by the one of the boys already in the room, brown hair well taken care of and a light smile on his features. "Hey there, can I help you with something," he asked, standing next to one of the desks already there.