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Totsuka's comment arrived at the same time Shiori inhaled. A tragic occurrence as the comment most certainly had an effect despite her previous statements stating otherwise. Then again, he had been flustering her all week, so was it really that surprising? What did surprise her was that for the first time while smoking she found out exactly what happened when someone choked; the cough interrupted her exhale, her throat burning as the smoke was temporarily trapped. She managed to cough it out, but not without the gross taste lingering in her mouth. If her throat wasn't going to itch before, then it certainly would now.

She managed to get it somewhat under control as he continued. They really got rid of him, huh? That was actually a little sad to hear. She wondered where his grandpa lived; since he got sent here, it was safe to assume his grandpa was established here, but she had never heard of any Totsuka residence. Maybe he lived around the edge of town. Either way, it was still sad.

Once he asked her about her folks, she fell quiet. She continued to smoke, trying to think of how to respond in a way that didn't make her seem bitter. Thinking about her parents, however, always got her mad regardless of the context. She ended up scoffing a touch, deliberating her words for another moment before finally speaking.

[color=pink]"Well, I [i]am[/i] the reason my parents got stuck here. And they let me know that very clearly after they have their big blowouts and feel like taking out their anger somewhere aside from each other. It's fun for the whole family,"[/color] She said. Nope, she wasn't able to even pretend she wasn't bitter about her upbringing at all. After a few seconds, however, she let out a small sigh. [color=pink]"I don't have to see them much at all anymore, actually. That other transfer student is my cousin. Her mom offered me a little money to babysit her for the year, so I took the chance and moved out. It's probably only temporary, and I'm pretty sure Ichika's one goal in life is to burn down that place trying to fry eggs, but it's better than being in that house by a longshot."[/color]

She looked over at the view, frowning to herself. [color=pink]"Once graduation comes, though, I don't plan on sticking around. I'll get my nursing degree and go anywhere that isn't here. Even if it's just Kagoshima, I don't want to stay here any longer than I need to."[/color]

She paused as she took another smoke. [color=pink]"Have you ever been there, by the way? To Kagoshima, I mean."[/color]

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