<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/aGaVdmk.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Megumi Shika<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Akiyama's Dorm Room<br/><strong>With:</strong>Akiyama<br/><strong>Time:</strong>First day of School; Night Time<br/><hr/><br/><em>Since you mentioned things you weren't meant to see, I'm assuming you were referring to the pill-bottles in the bathroom?</em><br/><br/>There was hesitation, but eventually Megumi nodded. That was precisely what she had picked up on. Antidepressants, for depression. As if by fate, it happened to be the exact same prescription Megumi herself was taking. Depression had been a serious problem for her in the last few years. The scars on her eyelids still stung from all the times she literally tried to scrape them out. There were other scars in less... courageous places as well.<br/><br/>In acute silence, she listened to Akiyama's troubles. The blond girl felt like she was imposing, but that couldn't be farther from the case. There was an entire club Megumi had founded for dealing with problems Akiyama was going through right now. Megumi, in her social akwardness, had never considered what she could say in this situation. However, as Akiyama continued to have trouble, her words beginning to bear the trademark noises of someone crying, Megumi processed. Her mind went over everything someone could possibly say. It was a nebulous task, but Megumi wanted to ease Akiyama's mind somehow. She couldn't just let the woman who had helped her so much feel terrible like this. It just wouldn't Do.<br/><br/>It took her some time, but Megumi realized she shared a lot in common with Akiyama. They both lacked trust. To them, the world was always full of scary unknowns. Around every corner, lurking beneath every shaded eve, was the possibility of a new betrayal; a new danger. Once burned, it was so easy to assume you'd be burned the next time. It kept you safe; it lessened the blow when the next betrayal eventually came. It hard for many people to understand without having experienced it themselves. Megumi, however, knew all too well. Everything in her world was an unknown.<br/><br/>Then, Akiyama felt she had said to much. Megumi heard her host retreat for a 'breath of fresh air'. Alone, Megumi took the time to finish considering a response. Wordlessly, she stood and began blindly finding her way to the balcony. Her hands eventually found the edge of the balcony's sliding glass door.<br/><br/><strong>"It's a bit chilly tonight, isn't it?"</strong>Megumi asked, joining Akiyama on the balcony. Similarly to her host, Megumi leaned on the railing, taking in the night air, even though she couldn't see view quite as well. In one hand was the wetted towel from earlier.<strong>"...Akiyama-San, can I show you something?"</strong>Working silently, Megumi began to wipe at one of her wrists. Slowly, concealer makeup was wiped away. Beneath it was three pink, jagged lines on her forearm, near the base of her wrist. Scars.<br/><br/><strong>"Sorry- it's a bit dark out, but I think you should be able to see them."</strong>Speaking quietly, Megumi pointed at one of the dashes across her wrist.<strong>"Um. September 18th, 2013: three days after my ability manifested."</strong>She pointed at another scar.<strong>"December 30th, 2013: the same week they gave me my blindfold and took me off of sedation."</strong>Finally, she pointed at a third. It was fresher than the others.<strong>"And... October 2015: the day after I diagnosed Shiro-Senpai."</strong><br/><br/><strong>"Sorry, I... Don't normally show this to people."</strong>Megumi said, forcing a weak smile,<strong>"But I wanted to show it to you because, well, my apartment doesn't have a balcony for a reason. The group who helped you; I don't know much about them, but they don't think you are suicidal. They would have put you on the first floor, or next-door to me, by the stairwell. Sorry- it sounded like it was troubling you, so I wanted to speak up about it."</strong><br/><br/>Rubbing the exposed scars absentmindedly, Megumi continued, speaking frankly for once in her life.<strong>"I... have trouble trusting people too. According to my psychiatrist, that's actually where my stutter comes from. I have trouble speaking normally to people because, even though I don't trust people, I have to put faith in them anyways. I am blind, after all. If I stopped relying on others, I would never get anything done. That's the thing, though. After awhile, I realized that forcing myself to depend on people helped me in a ways that went beyond my disability. If you never trust anyone... It eats at you. Do you ever get that feeling? It's a special, terrible kind of loneliness; made only worse since you know that you're the one responsible for it. It was hard, but after I started relying on people again, I've been able to stuff that feeling back in the hole, where it belongs. Eheh, most of the time, at least."</strong><br/><br/>Looking back in Akiyama's direction, Megumi did her best to summaraize.<strong>"I guess what I'm trying to say is, that fear of the unknown? As impossible as it sounds, dealing with it gets easier. It never goes away, but it does get better. You just need to keep working at it."</strong>Megumi smiled lightly.<strong>"...At least, that's how it is for me! Sorry, I hope that made sense..."</strong>