If one is coinciding with eight, seven should be below, which makes six fall beside that and two rise above three... Nine reigns at the top corner of the box, and four in the center... Likewise, the layout across the rest of the boxes, one will mirror this exact box...

Chitose's incredible mind calculated each challenging portion of a forty-one blocked sudoku puzzle in her small portable puzzle book like a supercomputer. She broke down its strange overlapping pattern, the digits contained in each column, and those existing in the box. Every half uncertain placement had been correct so far. Just nine more boxes and she would have overcame the remarkably difficult puzzle. Sunder to others, however, finishing it would provide no tangible sense of fulfillment to the girl. She had done these brain exercises countless times; sometimes even drawing handmade ones on the back of papers if she was in desperate need of something to occupy herself with. It was merely a child's puzzle to her at this point - one that served as an enjoyable teaser of the brain when faced with a plethora of spare time. It was almost robotic; the speed at which the numbers flowed from her pencil into the small squares.

Much unnoticed to her at first, a small crowd of random students had wandered curiously over to take a peek, gawking at the small Lulim girl. In a state of a mere fifteen minutes, only two boxes had remained unfulfilled. It was daunting! No sooner had the hushed, disjointed whispering of astonishment suddenly reached her ears did the girl  slam the cover shut on the unfinished puzzle in sheer embarrassment. Her face flared red and she adjusted her signature cherry colored glasses nonchalantly, leaning back a little in her chair to give off the impression that she was taking a brief break. She was no sure if having a crowd watching her exposed intelligence was a good thing, and after being bullied because of it in the past, she did not want to take another chance. The small crowd muttered among themselves and sulked back to their tables except for a few who lingered nearby to sneak another peek while pretending to be interested in the beauty beyond the glass cafe windows bathed in early morning sunlight.

I knew coming here was a bad idea... The first year sighed mentally whilst taking a sip of her water which sat beside her small puzzle book. Earlier today, she had considered just hiding away in her room to resume her intensive studies in peace. But craving the soft warmth of the sun and a little uncomfortable with her dorm's stuffy atmosphere, she had decided to wander Astrea until she came across a suitable place. And that had been Spica's glorious glass cafe out of all places. Heaving another sigh, Chitose swept her gaze around the cafe once more before gradually flipping open the puzzle, hoping to finish it hurriedly before another crowd formed.

Two above six leaves eight beside it and seven to drop to the middle of the box... Six transfers to the other side of four and five and one enclose nine at the corner that is adjacent to the final box's five... Which leaves the last number, one, to fit in the center of the final box... 

Soon the last few numbers flowed from her pencil, and she grinned sheepishly as she blew off the remaining pale shavings. "Finished." She murmured in triumph. She took another sip of her water as she gingerly set down the little book she was so fond of. An idea unusual for the strawberry blonde suddenly formulated in her head, and she began to study the students around her in a bit more of a warmer light. Perhaps there was another here who enjoyed puzzles just as much of her? It sure would be fun to challenge someone to finish a puzzle in her book. Or at least, she convinced herself to think. She was wary about exposing her genus to others out of fear they would lash out violently and mock her like in the past. But this place was different... Right? 

Setting down her cup, Chitose propped her elbows up on the firm table and rested her chin on her hands, scanning every new face that graced the cafe. Maybe someone could come along...

 

It was another day for Eri. Being so new, she had not the chance to make friends yet. Did it really batter? Being so shy, she likely would not find the pleasure of having friends. Friends were something poor Eri had seldom found as a gift. For all of her differences through her school years: her dreaming, her imagination, her sensitivity, all of these singled her out to be the victim of those less kind, or those who could not understand. It had groomed a timid and anxious girl, who was beginning to believe friendships were something she could never have.

The timid St. Le Rim student, in contradiction to her timidity, had a thirst for exploration, and found herself in a place she had never been before: The St. Spica cafe. Usually, Eri would stay away from such likely-to-be crowded places, and to explore somewhere others were likely not to be. Her nose remained crammed into her book of Grimm's Fairy Tales as she entered the large glass dome. Being too absorbed in the story of Sleeping Beauty, she did not notice the crowd of students gasping and whispering around a table until she was in the throng of them.

To suddenly be surrounded by so many people, a tightness began in Eri's chest. She brought her book close to her, and tried to back way out of the crowd- until she saw what they were looking at.

A St. Le Rim student focused in doing what looked like an impossible game of Sudoku. She masterfully penned in the numbers, seeming to know exactly what went where. It seemed so easy to her! Eri's panic died down, to overcome with awe at the girl's talent and brilliance. As Chitose finished up, and the disappointed sighs and mutters accompanied the girls back to their table, Eri stayed in place. Should she approach the girl? Would that be OK? She was so smart! What if Eri wasn't good enough to talk to her? What if Eri wasn't smart enough for Chitose? The fears and insecurities ran through her mind. Eri clutched her book of fairy tales to her chest.

'I'll never know if I don't even talk to her.' Eri Yukimura steeled up a little bit of courage, and trembling, stepped up to the table.

Ah? 

Chitose's honey colored orbs flickered to the approaching St. Lulim student. Hair the color of chocolate adorned with two white endearing hair bows.... Emerald eyes... By the way this girl was trembling, the first year concluded she must be very shy. Even scared, perhaps. And here she had come wandering to her table. Had she been a part of the previously swarming crowd? She did not appear like a violent person, nor one that would attempt to hurt her, so she figured she should try and say something. Exhaling softly to calm herself down, Chitose offered a sweet smile in welcoming whilst proceeding to speak, Perhaps the girl was new here?

"Hello." She started uncertainly, pausing for a second to adjust her crimson glasses farther up the bridge of her nose which flared when they managed to caught a stray ray of sunlight. "I am first year Chitose Aoihime of St. Lulim.... May I ask your name, miss?"

A sense of insecurity plagued the strawberry blonde as she finished her brief introduction. She was not the best at communicating with others; not to mention quite awkward at it when she did. With her whole junior high bullying her back in the past, egged on by the ruthless student council president, she had not even the slightest chance to have an actual conversation with someone. It had formed a sort of nervous anxiety teetering on the edge of an internal panic attack whenever someone approached, whether benevolent or malevolent. But enduring through all those unsavory years of past torture, it was only natural for someone to react like that....right?  

Suddenly becoming a little bashful at the small silence that ensued, the first year grazed her hand over her puzzle book, nearly knocking it over in the process. She had noticed the book Eri was holding at that moment and wondered if the girl heavily invested her time in reading. It was quite an enjoying activity. And with a library as vast as the three schools's on Astrea, there was a never ending plethora of them just waiting to be read. Glancing down a her little puzzle book that her hand rested upon then back at the girl, she suddenly asked in a rather quiet, uncertain tone, "...D...Do you like puzzles?"

It took nearly every ounce of courage Eri had to walk up to this brilliant strawberry-blonde with the angelic face. By the time the timid first year had, she was not sure if she had any bravery left to say anything. When Chitose smiled at Eri, it resonated in her. Eri could not remember being smiled so kindly from one of her peers before, especially not someone as lovely as this bespectacled girl in front of her. It caught Eri's breath in her throat, and she was unable to reply to the simple question Chitose posed.

"May I ask your name?" Her name? Good question, what was Eri's name? She was so nervous, even if she could speak, she probably would not remember. She parted her lips to say something, but only ended in a red-faced gape. The awkward silence that followed did not affect Eri as strongly as it should, with how caught in her world of imagination and awe. Chitose had a strange affect on her. Perhaps it was the girl's equal level of timidity, and perhaps it was the air of beaten fragility they both carried from lainf histories.

Finally, when Chitose stammered out her second question, Eri snapped out of her daze. Her face reddened to an unhealthy level. She licked her lips in preparation to speak to the St. Lulim genius.

"'M-My name is Eri Yukimura... I-I'm a f-first year student a-as well..." She swallowed, and forced out the other words with difficulty. This was probably the longest conversation she had had with someone who was my family in years. "I-in n-not good at puzzles... B-but I th-think it's neat th-that you c-ca-can sol-solve th-them..."

So she was a first year and her name was Eri Yukimura? The information had been stammered out, and Chitose let another warm smile grace her face in an amiable attempt to at least try and ease the now red-faced girl's nerves a little. She herself possessed a mutual edge of shyness as well, so she found herself able to connect with Eri's profound nervousness in a special sort of sympathy. This shared characteristic actually helped her relax a little. Though poorly masked in the first place, the first year was slightly convinced her own timidness had gone unbeknownst to the girl for now, or at least she thought. Unlike her unnaturally bright intelligence rivaling that of Einstein himself, conversational skills were not something she was gifted with. 

"It is very nice to meet you, Yukimura-san." She said softly with a proper bow of her head. Her strawberry blonde bob cut bounced cheerfully when she moved. As she lifted her intelligent eyes to glance up at the girl whilst raising her head, she regarded the girl's second answer in a softer tone, her face flaring a faint red in embarrassment. "...W-Why thank you, Yukimura-san." 


The girl announced she was not good at puzzles, and while the strawberry blonde was, she had to admit, a little disappointed, she managed to mask it and timidly gestured to the empty seat on the other side of the small table. "..You may sit if you would like." She offered. She took a small sip of her water and observed the girl to see what she would do. Chitose found her to be rather charming and her shyness endearing. Perhaps...maybe they could be friends? That is if Eri would be comfortable enough with opening up to her a little. Chitose knew quite well the struggles of shyness as well as that of making new friends. Especially when one had no previous knowledge on how to even begin with it.    

Chitose's lack of social skills went unscrutinized by Eri. In the little Brunette's eyes, Chitose's nervousness was overshadowed by the kindness the strawberry-blonde genius was showing her. Eri slowly took up Chitose's offer to sit with her, and settled herself down in he chair across from her. "Th-thank you..." Eri smiled timidly.

"I-it's n-n-nice to m-meet yo-you t-too..." A blush dusted across Eri's face as she continued. "Um..." 'Be brave.' She told herself. 'This girl won't hurt you.' Eri thought Chitose's eyes behind those cherry glasses were kind, understanding; not at all like those judging eyes of the children she went to public schools with. "Y-you d-didn't tell m-me your n-n-name..." Such a little slip up as forgetting to tell someone your name could be detrimental to somebody with anxiety, Eri knew. So she followed her comment with a warm and gentle smile to keep the atmosphere comfortable. As the sunlight through the window lit off of the puzzle-solver's glasses, and shone on her hair, Eri was sure this fellow first year had a lovely name that Eri would be happy to call her by.

Eri set her book of fairy tales down on the table, shutting the book without bothering to mark her place. Eri would remember exactly where she left off. She spent enough time in the world of books to be her own personal library and bookmark.

Chitose watched Eri take her seat with hesitation, her childish face once again flaring a faint tinge of red when the girl commented that she had not yet told her her name. The first year felt a slight, brief panic bubble up within her chest that she instantly tried to hide. She had made an error in her calculations.. Forgetting to state one's name was not only a slightly embarrassing miscalculation, but also a rather poor first impression on her part. She shifted her gaze back to Eri. The warm smile she glimpsed next upon the girl's face calmed her. Suppressed the oppressive panic that had threatened to make itself known if left unattended any longer.     

"Ah, I am very sorry..." She murmured finally, endeavoring to mask her clearly apparent embarrassment. "My name is Chitoise Aoihiime." She took another sip of her water as the last word left her lips, tilting her head back a little, her pale hair brushing across her shoulders. When she set down her now empty glass cup, she found her interest focused on Eri's book. It was a book of fairy tales, that she could conclude, but found herself unable to correctly assign a title to it. Eri had closed the book without marking her place, and the first year wondered if she would remember where she left of. She surely looked like a person who read a lot, so Chitose concluded that she must. It was not long after a brief silence that her curiosity of Eri's book's identity bubbled over and urged her to ask softly, "...May I ask what book you are reading?"

Being a lover of books herself, Chitose was normally very skilled at naming books right off the bat. Scientific journals, paranormal accounts, biographies, Japanese culture books, and informational encyclopedias often appeared on her rather bland reading lists, though fictional novels occasionally slipped their way onto it.  She had even brought a few books from home with her to Astrea that she had not yet finished reading. Had Astrea's three schools not have possessed such lavish libraries, she would have brought her whole library! Though, it probably would easily exceed the limit of the bookcase in her dorm... Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she smiled sheepishly and waited patiently for Eri's answer. 


 

"Pleased to m meet you, Aoihime-san." Eri did not notice herself, but her voice is became a little braver. It hapoened subconsciously as Eri tried to make the strawberry-blonde more comfortable. It was no big deal she had forgotten her name, it was a human error, and Eri loved when somebody could be humanized.

As Chitose commented on Eri's book, the brunette jumped slightly. "Oh!" She looked down at the antiquated collection she always carried around, and moved her hand. The title read "Fairytales from Around the World: an Anthology". the book was slightly waterlogged, the letters worn, and the gold-leading on the pages practically gone, but still Eri carried it everywhere. In her opinion, it was not worn, but rather well-loved. "It h-has little stories from a-all o-over." She smiled, a little more excited. Eri loves stories, and loved reading. Theoretical texts were a little harder for her to get into, but she loved mythology and cultural tales; poetry and fiction. She lived in her own world of hidden beauty and magic, and searched for it in everything. Story books appealed to her so she could read and become more than just Eri Yukimura. Through books she could be a princess or even a knight. "I've had it since I was a little g-irl..." Eri added.

((Eeek! They're so cute!))

Eri seemed to perk up a bit when she briefly explained her book, her voice a bit bolder than before, and Chitose concluded she had hit a point of interest. The book had been revealed to be one of fairytales derived from all over the world. 'Ah, Fairytales; short stories typically featuring European folk fantasy distinguished from oral legends that commonly dealt with magic or enchantment shaped as need be by the many numerous cultures around the world.' Had she incorporated more relaxing time into her studious earlier years, she would have probably read more of them. Now that she thought about it, it would be quite an interesting field to study if a free window of time ever pervaded her busy schedule of scientific studies. A small smile threaded the first year's lips as she recalled one she was quite fond of, one of the only ones she really knew well; Little Red Riding Hood. 'A light-hearted but subtly grim tale of a bubbly young girl clad in a red hood whom is tricked by a sly member of the canis genus -a wolf - and later rescued in some versions by a quick-thinking huntsman.' Quite a riveting tale, she would gladly admit.

Shaking herself out of her bland thoughts, Chitose let herself scan the book's cover a little before speaking, adjusting her cherry glasses further up the bridge of her nose. The book appeared worn and waterlogged; a shell of its former glory. Surely, this book must be well-loved by the girl, she concluded. The more she observed the brunette, the more she thought fairytales seemed to suit a girl of Eri's nature; after all, one can pretend to be anything they would like whilst reading through the captivating pages.

 "...I-I can see that you really are fond of this book, Yukimura-san. Fairytales are very freeing to the mind, especially those adapted from different cultures." Had she been more focused on her words at the moment, she would have instantly withdrew in a small ball of embarrassment at the presence of her genius slipping into her sentence. She always tried her best to keep it hidden out of fear othesr would mock her violently again, but sometimes it just revealed itself involuntarily.The topic of books had just appeared to be a mutual subject of interest to the both, and the strawberry-blonde was trying to contain her excitement of the fact. It was nice meeting someone who possessed a similar interest for once.

"D-Do you happen to have a favorite story?" She quietly next inquired, interested to hear the girl's answer. Surely, she must, but since she had stated she had had it since she was little, perhaps all of them were her favorite. As she waited for Eri to answer, she removed her glasses for a moment to clean them delicately with a soft sleeve, squinting as she did so. She was practically blind without them!

((They are~ ^ - ^))