Kokoro no Komotta Aisatsu

"Jay, though, probably enjoys that more."
"I, though, more or less enjoy that more."
They said these sentences in time, so they overlapped each other.
"He adores learning," said Fay. "And writing and reading and et cetera. I'd rather stay out here, like you. But I won't leave his side for such a petty reason; my dislike of the indoors."

Preslea furrowed her brow and looked at the confused. "Okay...Well, do you ever leave each others side?"

"Not..."
"...usually."

"Well, you should try separating yourselves from each other." She said weakly and nodded. "What if you guys get married to someone else? Are you always going to be there every step of the way?"

"That's very unlikely that we would be wed," Fay murmured slowly, smiling, as if she were talking to a child that needed a clear explanation. She reached out her hand and met it with Jay's, who took his right hand off of his book to hold it solely in the other, and the two held each other's tight. 
"We will always...," Fay begins.
"...be there..."
"...for each other."

Preslea pursed her strawberry stained lips and her eyes grew wide. Hmm. This was STRANGE. She nodded and swallowed hard. "That is great. You make your choices and whatnot." She looked around, awkwardly.

Jay looked up from his book and they both grinned at her.
"And you, yours," said he. "We make it a point to allow others do whatever they wish."
"Unless, of course, they're in our care; like watching children."
"Yes, right."

Preslea's first thought was, "Who would let them watch children?" She just nodded and bit her lip. She returned the smiled and crossed her arms closer to her body. "Um...That's great. Y-You watch children?"

"Yes." Fay nodded.
"It's good fun." Jay nodded.

"Um...Awesome. I was the younger sister so I was always being babysat." Preslea shrugged and looked down. She messed with the bracelets on her pale wrist. "Um, what book are you reading, Jay?" She asked and looked up at him.

"Ah. We have no older or younger siblings, so we simply care for other's children."
"It's...," Jay begins, and is abruptly interrupted by--
"He's going to tell you it's something long and profound, but I bet it's just a manga with a cover slip." Fay laughs.
"It is not!"
"It is so."
"Not."
"So."

Preslea giggled and covered her mouth. "You guys are just like my sister and I. What manga is it?" She asked peering over the book and looking at it.

Preslea giggled and covered her mouth. "You guys are just like my sister and I. What manga is it?" She asked peering over the book and looking at it.

In the drawings, a girl in very gothic with two very large, curly pigtails was standing at the base of a stake, which was being set on fire. The fire was beautifully illustrated, and the girl smiled throughout being burned from the bottom up. "Just a manga," he muttered, face heating up at Preslea's closer proximity.

Preslea made a face and nodded. "Hmm...This seems dark?" She sighed and brushed her hair back. She looked up at him and held her hand out. 'Can I see it?"

"It...kind of it, I suppose." Fay went to cloud watching, while Jay turned the book slightly so they could both look at it. He was finished reading the Japanese kanji that showed the sound effects of the sizzles and snaps of the fire, and turned the page. There was an entire panel dedicated to a line, "おしっこ宇". It was in bold. The next, top left panel showed a firetruck, and the rest of the page and the next showed it flying off a ramp and slamming right into the girl, completely killing her. An odd looking bear, who's right side was entirely white fur and his left was pure black with an intimidating red eye and creepy grin all the way up to his ear, was seen with a fire hat on his head at the base of the stake. He had a fire hose in hand and was comically spraying it on the last of the fire that was left behind after the girl's death.

Preslea made a face and frowned. "Um, that's really creepy." She muttered and shivered at the thought of all death and strangeness in a simple book. "How can you read that?" She whispered and looked up at him with confused eyes.

"It is? I think the small bear is amusing." Kay smiled. But not a creepy smile. A genuine, amused, kind of cute smile. "It's not all death and such. It can be comical."

Preslea returned the smile and nodded. 'So..Dark books can be funny too?" She asked flipped through some of the pages.

"Of course!" Jay nodded back in agreement, and lightly dog-eared his page before allowing her to flip around the book.

"C-Can I borrow this?" She said softly and nodded. It was a big step for her to ask something of someone. "Please Jay!?"

"Goodness, of course you can!" Jay grinned, happy to share one of his favorite manga books with a new friend. "Though, you may be only able to look at the pictures...it's entirely in Japanese."

"Really? Thank you!' She flipped through the pages, looking closely at the pictures. "It's okay. I'll find a way to translate it."

"Alright, good luck." Jay let her flip through out, moving to do exactly what his sister was thinking about doing to herself later--braiding her hair. "Thank you," she said, smiling. "Of course."
It seemed to be a kind of murder mystery book, the protagonist obviously being a very cute, short, plain boy. The black and white bear appeared often, his expressions hinting at he made many the joke or pun. The sidekick was obviously a mysterious looking girl with long hair and ribbons tied into it, who wore a shirt with a tie and long trench coat, knee-high boots, and gloves on her hands.

Preslea read a few pages and then looked up at the Kirigiri kids. She blinked a few times before frowning and going back to the book. It was interesting for a pretty weird book. She was deeply interested in the drawing style mostly. It was different for her, completely out of her world.