Fortune upon fortune, Takahiro followed Galina into the room with the same easy smile he had held for much of the evening. He heard and saw her appreciation of the book-filled room they entered, smile growing in the wake of the pleasure he knew she felt. He stood there, just inside, as she moved in, taking in the scenery around with a meandering -yet appreciating- gaze. 

It was the kind of place he would never have found himself before. Not twelve years ago, not four years ago, not two years ago. Rooms like these were reserved for a very specific kind of people, the kind Takahiro could never be, no matter what happened. The expensive, tailored clothes he wore didn't truly belong to him. The title of [i]samurai[/i] he held among his own people didn't truly mean anything for him. The rank he held within his homeland was an empty one, all nothing more than a costume woven by his sponsor, meant to be worn by whoever might fit inside. He belonged in this room -in this house- about as much as the young boy peddling papers in the street this morning.

But that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate all around him. Why else had he chosen to put on the disguise?

"Is beautiful, very much." Takahiro accepted his drink back from Galina, answering her question for a toast with nothing more than a nod and raised glass. Following suit, he took a long drink from the glass, even the weak alcohol managing to work its way into his head. Embarrassing, but then it had been a while since he had tasted a true drink, maybe he was out of practice?

And... that was why his eyes were growing heavy? With each word Galina spoke?

"Read? Can... can try..." Something churned within his mind as Takahiro spoke, thoughts racing along crumbling roads. He continued to smile, to speak easily and relish the company he kept, but something struck [i]wrong[/i] within himself. It couldn't be placed, not now, not yet, but there was something...

"Know some english, some english words." He nodded a little longer than he should have. Why? "Important to lear- oh!"

Walking over to stand beside Galina and take in the works around them, Takahiro stumbled, just catching himself before toppling like before. He held for a moment, crouched and barely balanced, drink rippling dangerously within his glass as brown eyes widened in their sockets, concealed by a bowed head.

Why. Why was he suddenly falling apart?

He had been sipping his drink just fine earlier, it couldn't only be hitting him now, not so quickly. But it was the drink, right? He'd only had a little of the champagne, first after Galina had taken it from the servant and again after...

"Sorry... sorry." Takahiro stood carefully, steadying his glass and offering Galina a reassuring smile, practice hiding the thought that began to needle into his mind. His eyelids seemed too heavy to hold open for long, his body for some reason standing just off-balance. "Think, too much drink, not enough food... could try read, but,"

He steadied himself again, seeming drunk on the surface, while behind the scenes struggling to fight what might [i]not[/i] be alcohol at all.

"But, might be hard now. Do you? Read english?"