When Memory Wears a New Face PV Akihiko T.

Akihiko carefully walked into the well lit library, eyes scanning carefully as he listened to the gentle sound of the rain above them. It created a nice ambience, perfect to trudge through the depths of a partner project.

He wasn’t particularly fond of these partner projects, especially when they involved preassigned partners. It meant risking his shoulders in carrying the weight of the assignment or risking his grade. Neither were things he could afford, nor were they things his family would allow. His lips pursed just thinking of the things to be said.

They had been so proud when his grades had risen, robe color finally changing from purple to navy. Purple was acceptable, navy was the standard. Gold was praiseworthy, something he aspired to be. A perfect student, committed in quidditch and admired by all. It seemed like a life he could get used to.

Some part of him suspected this project would be different from other projects, likely because Kanae Suzuki was not a student who messed around. Although she seemed to err on the more quiet side of things, she was admirable. In some ways, she reminded him of himself.

The clock slowly changed as he slipped into the library, breathing in the scent of books and floral scents. He loved the school’s floral scents, nothing like the stenches he would occasionally encounter at home from the surrounding muggles.

Akihiko spotted her at a nearby table, notebooks neatly arranged as she seemed to scan the room. His face lit up with a casual smile as he approached. His uniform rustled as he bowed in a smooth, practiced motion, almost like second nature. However, different from his other bows, his eyes flicked up to study her face for a moment before he rose quickly, face remaining unreadable even as he studied her.

「こんにちは、かなえさん。」 He greeted casually, placing his notebooks on the table carefully as he studied her a moment longer. For some reason, she seemed a bit nervous. Of course, he was nervous to risk his grade on a project such as this, but he wasn’t as nervous as she seemed.

「緊張してる？心配しないで、噛まないから。」 He offered an awkward smile after the joke, waiting a beat to see her reaction. When she didn’t immediately bolt, he took that as a sign to move forward and took a seat across from her.

@Kanae Suzuki / @Ara Villa

RP as Kanae Suzuki
Interacting with:@Akihiko Takahashi (@Ava Winchect aka my sister)
Mentioning:

Reducio

RP Date May-ish Speech Reducio "Kanae's Speech (Japanese)" "Kanae's Speech (English)" 'Thoughts (any lang.)'

Outfit/s Reducio hair fit: mahou robes Items: wand height for rp purposes: 5'1 Post date (GMT+8) july 4 2025 (12:30 am)

He wore the shape of the dead, and it rattled her to the bone. Like a reflection in warped glass, he mirrored the face she thought she'd never see again. A part of Kanae cut his presence off completely after Kazumi's death. She knew it wasn’t possible. Still, something in his presence stirred a long-dormant ache.

That face didn’t belong to this world anymore... did it? Kanae'd accepted it. He's gone. But that didn't stop her mind wandering nor did it stop anything reminding her of the event to stab her a million times in the heart.

It was easier than before, though. Not easy. Never easy. But easier.

Then he arrived.

Kanae looked up the second she heard footsteps, already knowing who it was. She schooled her expression quickly, spine tightening in her chair as Takahashi Akihiko approached. “Ah, Takahashi-san,” she greeted, polite and precise, like a porcelain cup placed carefully back on the shelf. Not cold--but distant. Distant enough to protect herself. Her eyes flicked briefly to his bow, and she nodded, a courteous return. “You’re right on time.” she said those words with that fake-ass smile.

Was it his hair? The way it fell just slightly over his eyes, the same way Kazumi’s did when he was focused on something? Or maybe it was his voice--level, casual, teasing in the way that brothers always are when they’re about to annoy you on purpose. She hated how it flickered something warm in her chest. That same kind of warmth she thought she’d buried with her twin. Her throat went dry when he asked if she was nervous.

She shook her head lightly, but didn’t respond with a joke or a smile in return. She couldn’t. Not when her hands felt cold like winter even in this summer-lit room. She hated that he saw it. That he asked. That he noticed.

Because it wasn’t him.

And that was the worst part. The resemblance wasn’t a spell. It wasn’t a glamour. It was real. Akihiko wasn’t pretending to be her brother. He just… existed. And somehow, in existing, he cracked open everything she had so carefully stitched shut.

A flash of memory overtook her--a brief, gut-wrenching echo.

The hospital. The faltering steps. The way they whispered his name like a crime. The way her relatives blames her parents -- specifically her muggle mother -- and their upbringing for some God damned reason.

She blinked the memory away before it could drown her. He sat across from her, and for a moment, the silence was too loud.

It had been a graded project, hadnt it? That was the only reason she was here. She had to pass. Kazumi would have told her not to let everything fall apart. He would’ve joked that if she was going to mope, at least get a good score while doing it. She didn’t want her performance to slip just because her grief had teeth.

Still… it ached. Because when Akihiko sat down, his books thudded against the table with a sharp, dull sound. And it was that sound. That thud.

The same sound she’d heard in her nightmares. The one she hadn’t spoken aloud to anyone. The impact. The fall. The sound of her brother’s body hitting the ground the moment it all went wrong. She hadn’t even been there to witness it--only imagined it over and over again, piecing it together from panicked voices, from sterile words, from silence. Her brain had looped it so many times that now, even an innocent book dropping against a desk sent her spiraling.

She stared at the textbook, a fine tremble working its way into her fingertips.

Why did he have to die? Why couldn’t it have been someone else?

Those weren’t fair questions. They weren’t kind or reasonable or rational. But grief didn’t care about fairness. It only cared that he was gone, and someone who looked too much like him now sat across from her, smiling like he wasn’t dragging her heart through barbed wire with every expression.

The last time she heard his voice, it hadn’t been laughing. It had been strained. Panicked. And then--nothing. Just that awful silence. The kind that crawled into your bones and settled there. The echo of it rang in her skull sometimes.

Tonight was one of those nights. And yet here was this boy who looked like he’d stepped out of the happier parts of her memory, dredging up the rest behind him like chains. Her breath hitched once before she managed to steady it.

She almost wished she were colder, more numb so that she could flick a switch in her chest and shut it all down, instead, all she could do was sit, frozen in politeness, and pray her hands wouldn’t tremble again.

The table between them was clean. Too clean. Her notebook hadn’t even been opened. She stared at it now, realizing vaguely that she had to at least try to start. This was still a project. A grade. A responsibility. And Mahoutokoro didn’t offer mercy points for grief. She straightened in her seat, flicking open the cover and flipping to a fresh page. The sound of it--just that light shift of paper--felt louder than it was.

She clicked her pen once. That sound was real, present. She focused on it for a moment. You’re not dead, she reminded herself. He’s not Kazumi. You’re Kanae Suzuki. You have a task to finish. Navy robes don’t maintain themselves.

It felt like a cruel joke. One written by a god who is for who knows why, is too bored to be merciful.

Kanae stared hard at her notes, willing herself to breathe, in and out, just like she’d been taught. One hand moved to the fabric of her robes, twisting it slowly. She hated how easily she’d unraveled. This was supposed to be a normal meeting.

She remembered when she used to laugh during these kinds of things. When group projects meant whispered jokes and soft complaints and scribbled doodles in the margins of notes. Kazumi used to draw cats with fangs in her textbooks when she wasn’t looking. She kept one of them--cut it out and tucked it in the back of her wand case. She didn't know why.

The silence pressed on her shoulders.

She had to say something. Had to break the quiet before it swallowed them both whole. “So... Any ideas?” she said softly, not quite looking at him yet. Her voice was steady, but quiet, like the faint ringing of a bell from far away. It was the smallest olive branch. But it was hers. And she offered it anyway, even if her fingers bled from holding it.

RP Word Count: 1,116/200
Stats: STA 7 | EVA 7 | STR 10 | WIS 8 | ARC 7 | ACC 10
Abilities:Evasive Maneuvers
Note all speech that would be presented in any mahoutokoro RP I write is in Japanese, I just wrote it in English to make it easier to read.
OOC: THIS IS CRAZY HAHA

Suzuki-san’s face seemed distant, and she seemed lost in thought for a long moment. Akihiko observed her carefully as she stayed silent, keeping her eyes carefully trained on her own school supplies and not looking at him.

He watched silently, afraid to interrupt her thoughts and startle her any more than he already had with his arrival. It was likely only a minute or so of silence, but the quietness stretched into what felt like an eternity. He wasn’t sure whether he felt uncomfortable, weirded out or some other emotion, but the interaction was unlike any others he had experienced in the past.

Cold judgement? He could deal with that, and had dealt with that in the past. Amusing flusteredness? It had happened, and it was more comfortable than this. He would rather she curse him and storm off than sit there with that empty expression on her face, unreadable and cold.

He almost jumped out of his skin when she suddenly flipped her notebook open, clicking her ink pen with a sound much louder than it should have felt. He watched as her face shifted into decided determination, almost admirably as she seemed to be dealing with her own pain over something, although he didn’t know what.

When she finally spoke, he resisted the urge to lean forward to hear her better. At least she was speaking at all. If she had stayed silent, he may have secretly gone to their professor and requested a new partner. He tilted his head and smiled, holding up his own notebook, flipping it around so she could see it.

A neatly written list took up half the page, ideas he had brainstormed previous to arriving. The assignment was relatively simple, research and a model, demonstration or presentation over any chosen plant within Mahoutokoro’s extensive garden. As long as they completed the project quickly and well, it would be an easy grade for the both of them.

Akihiko had listed a few plants that had piqued his interest, although he hadn’t researched any yet. He had hoped Suzuki-san would have brought a few ideas of her own, but seeing her state he couldn’t fault her for her poor prepping beforehand.

「これは面白そうだったよ。」 “These looked interesting. He explained, using his other hand to gesture loosely toward them. 「しかし、他に何かアイデアがあれば、ぜひ聞かせてください。」 “However, if you have any other ideas, I’d love to hear them.”

The ideas he had listed, he already had a few ideas of books they could use to research within the library and ways to give a demonstration or present about them. They were only a bit above their grade level in terms of difficulty and when they would come to learn them in class, which is why he had listed them. It would surely convince their professor to give them a higher grade.

Akihiko turned his notebook back toward himself and gently set it on the table, lifting up his quill and tapping it against his chin in thought. He dipped the quill into his ink pot, making simple marks next to a few of the plants he had listed, indicating his fondness for those ideas. Of course, he would allow Suzuki-san to have the final decision in which they would do.

@Kanae Suzuki / @Ara Villa