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Lisa denied him initially, but after ten minutes of playful nudging and urging, Kazuki finally won out. Side by side, their faces close to each other, Kazuki held the book above their heads, making the gnarled branches of the tree create a blurry background as they read. The book was a new one, so even Lisa didn't know what it was about, but it was definitely smut.

Kazuki began reading aloud, "'He took her by the hand, leading her to a room where the air was thick with tension. Their eyes met, and for a moment, their souls seemed to intertwine.'"

Kazuki looked down at the book and cleared his throat dramatically, "'He took her by the hand, leading her to a room where the air was thick with tension. Their eyes met, and for a moment, their souls seemed to intertwine.'"

A warm blush spread across Lisa's cheeks as she shot him a look of playful indignation. "Alright, I get it, I read smut. Do you have to announce it to the universe?"

He chuckled. "I thought you said what you read is meaningful."

"It is! But it's not usually read out loud by someone else under a dead tree!"

Kazuki grinned, flipping the page. "'He could no longer resist her allure. Drawing her close, he whispered his true feelings in her ear, a confession that shattered the fragile boundaries they had set.'"

Lisa's blush deepened, but she didn't look away. Her eyes shifted from the book to Kazuki's, and the unspoken understanding lingered between them like an ethereal thread connecting their souls.

"Want me to stop?" Kazuki asked, locking eyes with her.

She hesitated for a second before shaking her head. "No, continue. I want to see where this leads."

Kazuki returned his focus to the book. "'Aware of the heat between them, he lightly brushed his fingers against the small of her back, making her shiver with a sense of anticipation that was both exhilarating and terrifying.'"

As Kazuki read those lines, Lisa found herself unexpectedly engrossed, the tension in the fictional room reflected in her own heightened senses. She was aware of every syllable Kazuki spoke, each word resonating with an emotion she wasn't sure how to articulate.

Kazuki paused and looked at Lisa, who was now avoiding his gaze. "You alright?"

"Fine," she said a little too quickly, still staring at some distant point over his shoulder. "Just lost in the story, you know?"

He smiled, knowingly. "Should I continue?"

Lisa looked at him, her eyes meeting his for just a second before darting away. "Maybe some other time. This is more intense than I thought it would be."

Kazuki closed the book and laid it beside him. "Maybe it's not just the book."

Lisa shot him a questioning glance. "What do you mean?"

He gestured at their surroundings. "This place, that dead tree over there, the tension in the book—it all adds to the atmosphere, don't you think?"

Lisa nodded, seeing the wisdom in his words. "True, some settings amplify emotions. This one certainly does."

Kazuki turned his head to her, as she mirrored. Their faces were so close that their breaths mingled. "Same goes for people, right? Amplifying emotions," he said.

She looked deep into his sky-blue eyes. Their faces got closer and closer each second, and neither knew who kissed first—maybe they both did at the same time. The moment seemed to stretch, unhurried by the world around them. When they parted, they both felt a little dizzy, as if they'd come up for air after being submerged in a vivid, uncharted sea.

"That was unexpected," Lisa said, breaking the silence that had enveloped them.

"Was it, though?" Kazuki replied, a half-smile on his lips. "Sometimes things happen because they've been a long time in the making."

Lisa looked down, fidgeting with the hem of her robe. "I've been wondering where I fit into your life. You have Yoruichi, Kukaku, Mashiro, and Isane. I can't help but feel like a bystander sometimes."

Kazuki propped himself up on one elbow, his face serious now. "Lisa, you're never just a bystander in my life. Each relationship I have is unique, and so is ours."

"Unique how?" Lisa looked up, genuinely curious.

"We have a shared love for knowledge, for one. And don't forget our very first conversation about favorite books," Kazuki responded. "But it's more than that. With you, I feel a different kind of ease—a sense of being understood without having to explain much. We both have our layers, our complexities. And I feel like you get mine, even the ones I haven't figured out myself."

Lisa nodded, processing his words. "So, I have my own...corner in your life?"

"Absolutely," he assured her. "I've got enough room in my heart for the people who matter, and you're one of them. You're not just a page in a chapter, Lisa. You're a whole section unto yourself. An important one."

She laughed lightly. "That's a bookish metaphor if I've ever heard one."

"That's us, isn't it? We speak in the language of books and emotions," Kazuki said, grinning. "But jokes aside, I mean it. Everyone in my life fills a role that nobody else could, and you're no exception. Your absence would be felt, deeply."

Lisa sighed, visibly relieved. "Well, as long as you don't stick me in the appendix."

Kazuki chuckled. "You're far too crucial to the plot for that. Besides, I think our story still has many chapters left."

"Who knows what the next chapter holds?" Lisa mused. "Life's unpredictable."

Kazuki's grin turned into a teasing one as he said, "Well, if our story is anything like the novels you usually read, I have a pretty good idea about the next chapter."

Lisa's face turned an impressive shade of red, mortification splashed across her features. "Oh, you're terrible," she huffed, pulling away from him.

Chuckling, Kazuki quickly caught up with her and grasped her hand. She couldn't help but smile as their fingers intertwined; his touch was as warm as his teasing was unbearable.

"As much as you can be too much sometimes, you're also just enough," Lisa finally said, her voice softer now.

Kazuki squeezed her hand in response. "That's the best compliment I've heard all day."

They continued walking, the silence that followed more comfortable than awkward. The pathways of the campus were a labyrinth of memories and experiences, each turn holding a tale, a lesson, or an emotion.

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