❖││SOMA││❖​:

                                                   _____  . { 👑 } .  _____

A PERK OF HIS HEAD,  the pining fixation on his potential,  runaway soulmate dissipating in a flash ;    Soma’s attention finds itself successfully,  and quite effortlessly,  redirected to the new subject matter shoved into conversation somehow both tactfully and abruptly from Shiryu’s side.      ❝ Oh ,  I was summoned to attend a funeral and pay my respects. ❞      Far from the first,  and likely even farther from the last he’d attend,  the sheer,  grand scale of his expansive family and their network considered.   The inevitability of it all perhaps the factor that kept his tone light and devoid of any brooding or sorrow.   Instead replaced by a gasp in afterthought as cup meets the table with an audible clatter,  bordering on theatrically scandalized.

               ❝ —— Shiryu !     You cannot sincerely believe I would flounder off on joyous events without inviting you along ?     Are we not BOSOM FRIENDS ? ❞

                                              ❛ Oh. ❜ As his lips turned into that of an ‘O’ shape. ❛ Well, MY CONDOLENCES as well. I did not know & we do NOT have to dive further into that. ❜ SPARE HIM THAT. It was not his business & Shiryu was not the type to PRY further into things that had nothing to do with him. From what he had been told, his DEMEANOR & PRESENCE gave people a sense of SECURITY; they felt COMFORTABLE with him enough to tell him things even without his prodding. All things told to him never saw the light of day ever again —- who was he to share the PERSONAL THOUGHTS & FEELINGS of others? ❛ I said nothing of the sort, Soma-kun. I color you as the sort to call if something takes you AWAY for more than a day. But, please– ❜ He gestures with his hand. ❛ I am in no manner offended. Even if the reasoning was UNFORTUNATE, at least you were able to see HOME again. & that, is a positive. ❜