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It was odd, even downright suspicious. Yuzuki huffed, pacing the halls of Novum Chaldea. Izou was no stranger to taking some time for himself, be it to take a nap or to have a drink with some of the other Servants. But the manslayer usually mentioned it to her beforehand, in either a note or a preamble of some sort. Today, he seemed to have more or less disappeared without so much as a peep.
“Ryouma, have you or Oryou seen Izou today by any chance?” she asked.
“Hm… Now that you mention it, I don’t think I have…” he replied, seeming surprised at the revelation himself.
“Oryou hasn’t seen that dummy today. Maybe that’s why Oryou is in a good mood today…”
“I see…”
“If you’d like, we could help you look for him.”
“Oryou has better things to do.”
“Oryou…”
Yuzuki said her goodbyes as they went off in the other direction, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She had checked all of his usual haunts. Nothing. Even talking to the Servants he had a decent rapport with yielded nothing. She wasn’t so much upset that he didn’t say anything than she was worried he was moping by himself. While she admitted that Izou could be somewhat self-deprecating at times, he really wasn’t the sort to brood on his own like this, let alone for hours at a time.
“Ah, you’re here late, Master.”
Yuzuki flashed Murasaki a pleasant smile before returning one of the novels that she had borrowed a few days ago.
“I could say the same to you, Murasaki-san. Are you sure you don’t need rest?”
“Hehe, no need to worry about me, Master. I hope you enjoyed the novel. Was there a matter you needed help with today?”
“I did, actually! Enjoy the novel, I mean. Thank you, Murasaki-san. Ah! I did want to ask…”
“Yes?”
“I know it’s unlikely but have you seen Izou anywhere? I know he’s not the sort to come here often but I figured I’d ask.”
The librarian looked at her curiously before replying.
“No, I don’t believe I have… I apologize for not being able to be of more help, Master,” she said, an embarrassed blush coloring her pale complexion.
“Ah, don’t worry about it!” Yuzuki asked, waving her hands in reassurance. “I just wanted to ask. If it’s alright, I’m going to go take a look around upstairs. Figured I might as well look for something new while I’m here.”
“Of course! I’ll be here if you need help finding anything.”
With that, Yuzuki climbed up the spiral staircase up to the upper wing of the library. It was softly lit, just enough to see the titles of the book with clarity. She idly ran her fingertips along the books’ spines, though none of the titles seemed to pique her interest. But her focus was disrupted as she suddenly bumped into something turning the corner of one of the shelves.
“Hey, watch where you’re go—Eh?! Yu— Master, what are you doing here?!”
“One, shush, we’re in a library. Two, what are you doing here?”
Izou looked at her almost sheepishly, a light flush dusting his cheeks.
“It’s nothing, okay? I was just, uh... you know. Looking around.”
Yuzuki pointedly looked at the two volumes tucked under his arm, then back at him. His face only got redder as she continued to stare at him. Soon enough, his resolve to keep up whatever ruse he had in mind had disintegrated completely.
“Jeez, fine, alright. Listen, I’m not a genius when it comes to book stuff as I am with a sword and all that…” he said, gesturing vaguely at the books without meeting her eyes. “So I figured if i read more, maybe I could be of better use to you. As a Servant, I mean. And I dunno, maybe be able to, uh…We could talk about books and have more smart person conversations.”
Oh. The Chaldean Master hadn’t been sure what to expect when she finally asked him about his whereabouts but this certainly wasn’t anything she had had in mind. It was oddly sweet, if nothing else.
“Yoshifuru.”
“Huh? Did I do something— Eh? Yu-yuzuki?!”
Izou stood bewildered as she hugged him tight. Yuzuki let go, clearing her throat to hide some of her endearment.
“I think you’re a perfectly capable and wonderful Servant as you are, Yoshifuru.”
“Even so… I just, er… want to talk to you about more things that you like, that’s all.”
“And I think that’s very sweet of you. But you know I like you just as is.”
“Well, m-maybe I just wanted to surprise you!” he huffed, his expression twisted briefly into that of childish petulance before softening. “But you trust me enough to keep me by your side so… I should have figured as much. Thanks, Yuzuki.”
She leaned up to peck his cheek.
“Did you still want to try reading some of these?” she asked, gesturing to the books in his hand.
“Hm… Maybe one. But only if you pick it out for me. Like I said, I don’t really know which ones are good.”
“Well, now that I’m here, I’ll see if I can’t find something you’d like.”
“As long as you like it, I'll probably like it too.”
"Wow, how romantic, Yoshifuru."
"Sh-shut up!"