the warmth that blooms within her always starts at the heart. it blossoms through the chest and lungs, tinging fair skin pink and making nerves buzz under the surface. it is a phenomenon that occurs every time she happens to be in close proximity to him. once, this was associated with a bristling rage that has since evolved into an infectious haze.
love is strange for her. nothing like she had once imagined based on books smuggled from second hand shops to be read under a blanket with a flashlight. yet still unlike the films she would sit in the back corners of at the local cinema during her days at the academy. if you asked her to describe what love is, utahime would likely still struggle to articulate it to the full extent she feels it.
maybe, she thinks at times, loving him-- being in love with him is too unique. too unheard of to be so easily described in broad terms. it is the kind of bite that is venomous. his words traveling through her ears and permanently embedding in her brain till she swears she can hear him even when they happen to be apart. his smile alone a shock to the senses with how dazzling it is. akin to someone snapping a photo of you with flash. several blinks echoing with the brightness long after it is taken. and his touch. so perfect of a sensation you fail to forget and it becomes a core memory up there with the best of them. a first kiss. a last goodbye.
satoru happens to be central to her senses and it is not a new development either. he has been there. from the moment they met. since the first time he evoked a visceral reaction from her poised persona. his seed had been planted long before she could notice or thing to unroot it. but this no longer unnerves her. she welcomes it. waters it daily and nurtures it nightly.
" oh? do you now? you have the most sporadic schedule. just when i think i've nailed it too. "