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greengargouille · 8 years

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The poetry of wet sleeves

((I’ve heard it was character week and that there was Kayano and Kanzaki in it. I hope it’s okay even if there’s only those two ?

The two poems used are from the Ogura Hyakunin Issu, poems 92 and 72 respectively. I found the translations there. ))

Rating : General audiences Characters : Kayano Kaede, Kanzaki Yukiko Relationship : Platonic Kayano & Kanzaki, might be viewed as romantic ?

Kayano bit the end of her pen as a wave of pain filled her brain. Had she been alone, she would have already taken a break from her Japanese homework to open a bag of sweets and dull out with sugar the discomfort caused by her tentacles. However, doing this today would only earn her a light but firm scold from Kanzaki.

It was the first time she invited someone over at her apartment. Well, her sister’s apartment. She had taken over the place, pretexting to her father a need to be a bit alone, wanting to organize Aguri’s belongings, and while he made a pained face he had been grateful for someone to do it. He didn’t want to deal with that, not when he had barely healed from his wife’s death, not when his company put so much stress on his despite the help from Yanagisawa’s family - how many employees would end up jobless if he made a false move, how many families would end up without money... Akari was pitying him, just a little. But, to be honest, she only took that place to be closer to Kunugigaoka and be free of her moves. She had been scared, the first time Korosensei arrived unannounced, waiting calmly on the balcony for his student to open the window, but he didn’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary ; did he never smelt her big sis’ scent with his monster nose, or did it fade from this place she had barely habited anyways, running from school to the lab without a stop ? Kayano wouldn’t know, this appartement have always been her family’s, hope you don’t mind the caramel scented candles, teacher, thankfully my parents come home very late.

There was no reason for Kanzaki to discover anything unusual. Still, Kayano felt tense. She hid it by staring at her notebook with an intensity almost strong enough to tear it from her look alone. It would bring unnecessary attention to her if she made too much excuses on why she couldn’t bring over people at home. After all, if would be far from the first case in the class of a child with an ugly relationship with their family. Rather, she played it shyly - a girl’s room was her own secret place, she needed to absolutely trust her friends for this, Nakamura was the kind who couldn’t help rummage through people’s stuff -“Ah, Kayano-chan, to think you have such a low opinion of me, you’re going to make me cry ! I promise I will only peek a little !”- all that with a forced blush. And, in the end, she eventually decided to invite the Madonna of Class E - the one who wouldn’t ask too much questions, the one she trusted, the one she admittedly kind of looked forward to be alone with...

...And she regretted just a little bit to not having prepared herself better, she swore her tentacles would ruin her cover one day, but it was nothing compared to being one-on-one with that murderer -in those moments she had to grin her teeth from trying to kill him, it felt horrible- this was fine, this was okay, it was Kanzaki-

“Are you having a problem, Kayano-san ?”

The girl asked with a polite smile, giving her something on which to concentrate. Kayano decided to wave away her concerns by being over-dramatic, making a comic face exaggerating her pain.

“Kanzaki-sama...” She called out with a plaintive voice, even switching suffixes. “Please help me, this poem is too hard... -There, there, don’t cry, let’s go over this together, alright ?” What a kind girl, not looking down on her or teasing her, only wanting to help. No wonder the boys went head over heels for her “Thank you... -You’re still stuck on the meaning ? -Yes... I don’t understand it at all...”

Kanzaki gently patted her friend’s head, before looking at the few sentences blocking her. She then began to recite them with a clear voice, showing no problem in articulating the words. Kayano could perfectly imagine her with a book in hand, reciting a story to old people in a nursery home like she dreamed to do in the future.

“My sleeves are like the rock in the offing that can’t be seen even at low tide, unknown to anyone, but there’s not a moment they are dry.

As you already wrote, the poet is saying she have wet sleeves, a symbol of unrequited love. Can you develop ? -It’s a meaning used in poetry,” Kayano explained from the precedent lesson, “because it implies people cry into their sleeves till they are wet. Is it what she’s telling in the last verse ? That she can’t stop crying ? -It’s a bit more complicated than that. Look at the beginning, she compare her sleeves with a rock that ‘can’t be seen’. -Hm... Her sleeves can’t be seen, so... her love was hidden ?” Kanzaki nodded to encourage her. “She can’t talk about it to anyone of this thing that’s hurting her, so her heart can’t heal and she keep suffering about this.”

Kayano felt a sudden burst of sympathy for this poet and her situation. When she made her plan of revenge, she expected to be alone ; her resolve was enough to support this, and her anger was stronger than the numbing sensation overtaking her thinking of Aguri. But, with the months passing, she gained some fondness for her fellow assassins, to the point she wished she could rethink her strategy, though the tentacles wouldn’t let her.

She especially wanted to tell Kanzaki, who already trusted her enough to share her past after the trip to Kyoto. It only felt right to tell her.

“Good answer. See, it wasn’t so hard, was it ? Now, for the comparison with the fisherwoman’s sleeves of the other- -Say, Kanzaki-san.” Kayano interrupted her, on what could probably be called a whim. “What do you think of this poem ?” The taller girl blinked at her. “What do you think of its meaning ? “Well, the poem itself is pretty clever. I understand why people choose to refer to the poet as ‘Sanuki of the rock in the offing’, it was truly a good comparison. But, as for the meaning...” She brought a finger to her lips, pensive. “I have a hard time to relate to it. -...Really ?” She would have thought that, given her last year as a rebellious teenager, Kanzaki would have understood the feeling at least a little. The girl laughed shyly at her reaction. “Despite what I read, I don’t have much experience in romance.” Oh. She probably thought her friend asked about unrequited love. “If anything, the poem I would relate to would rather be...” She closed her eyes, trying to find in her memory the text she was talking about.

“Known far and wide, the unpredictable waves of Takashi’s beach— I will not let them catch me— For I’d be sorry should my sleeves get wet !

...I think that reflect my feelings more. -I see.”

Kayano could imagine it, Kanzaki tiptoeing around waves of boys trying to get her affection. Even polite and smiling, she would reject them without an ounce of interest. She knew better than that, those boys that only knew how to make girls cry.

...No, that was a bit unfair for Sugino. Rather, it’s just that Kanzaki didn’t have interest in boys, did she ?

“That does sound more like you. -What about you ? What do you think about this ? -Hmm...” She knew what she thought of it as Akari, but what should be Kayano’s answer ? “If you tell me to chose between the two of them, then I guess... Wait, no, I don’t think either sit well with me ? -Oh ? That’s surprising.” A peek of curiosity glimmered through Kanzaki’s voice. “I thought that you would avoid love stories, but perhaps I misunderstood ? -Aaah, that’s not like that !!” How did it even turn into that kind of discussion, that’s not at all what she wanted to talk about... “It’s more... Hm, I’m not against the idea of love, but I won’t seek it either ? And if I were to fall in love with someone who didn’t reciprocate, then I don’t think it would be my style to cry about it. -Ah, that’s right, if it’s Kayano-san, then that wouldn’t be enough to destroy your cheerfulness. -That’s not it.”

...Ah. That firm tone was Akari’s and not Kayano’s. She slipped up. But then, maybe it was alright ? To let Kanzaki see a little under the mask. It was courtesy in exchange for her confession at Kyoto.

“Actually, I’m a very selfish girl, you know ? There are lot of things that I want. I can’t just let something as silly as love distract me from my goals. So, even if I’m bitter and angry and spiteful, I won’t let that stop me from sleeping at night.”

That’s right. Her suffering was nothing that could hold her back. Even if she were to fall in love, in the end... It wouldn’t change that she needed revenge for her sister. Even if she was willing to let herself be caught up by romantic feelings, she didn’t have time to care for those.

“I see. So Kayano-san is like that, uh ? That’s interesting.” Kanzaki seemed thoughtful for an instant, before smiling at her. “I hope that whatever your goals are, you will be able to attain them. -Thank you.” Kayano put on her lips a bright smile, like only a joyful student like her could do. She couldn’t help herself from adding maliciously: “And I hope you won’t get your sleeves all wet ! -Likewise. Ah, but if someone ever wet your sleeves, I’m here to listen, alright ? And even take care of that awful person. -When you say it like that, it’s scary~” Those little moments were always surprising to hear, but maybe she should expect those from a girl willing to brandish the tip of her pen so close to a boy’s eye ? “I almost feel sorry for anyone who would dare make you cry, if they even exist. -Oh, I’m pretty sure there are people worth wetting their sleeves over.” Kanzaki replied with an unusually sweet tone. Kayano blinked at her. She only showed her a warm look at that. “A-Anyways, back to homework, what were you saying for the next question ?”

Akari’s tentacles might make it hard for her to pretend to be Kayano. But, frankly, inviting Kanzaki over was worth the pain.

#assassination classroom #ansatsu kyoushitsu #assclass #ankyoucharawk #暗殺教室 #gargouille writes #kayano kaede #kanzaki yukiko

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