Taijo didn’t realize he had any bruising on his neck until Kari came over with the cravat. He was starting to feel embarrassed over the entire situation since he wasn’t used to looking so helpless in front of strangers. He blushed as her hands gently tied the cravat and covered his bruise. It was apparent that despite Kari’s tough persona, she had a deep and almost motherly instinct to care for those around her. He scratched the back of his head and looked at her in obvious embarrassment, but still gave a weak smile and said, “Thank you, Kari-kun.”<br/><br/>Then there came Kari’s question which threw him way off. He hadn’t thought about how he was going to explain the bruise to her or anyone else. He looked at her without response and took note of her eyes. There was something about them he couldn’t quite put his finger on and something about the question too. It was almost as if she knew he was lying. It was like she knew the truth about the entire situation, but that was impossible right?<em> Unless the same thing had happened to Kari? No, that’s impossible. What happened could never have really happened for me! It sure couldn’t happen to both of us. </em><br/><br/>“N-no” he finally answered, “My foot fell asleep and when I stood up I fell onto a desk.” It was another obvious lie to the trained ear, but he went with it. “No one has been giving me problems at school Kari-kun, don’t worry.” Taijo grabbed his bag from the ground. He now needed to leave before they started asking any more questions.<br/><br/>“I should get something to eat before lunch is over. I’ll talk to you later.” Taijo said with a soft smile before he started out. He noticed Shine on the rooftop for the first time. He didn’t know who Shine was, but he bowed his head slightly as an almost apology for interrupting his lunch. He then headed back down the stairs.<br/>