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Kaoni sat quietly as always, or at least, as he always was when he was this Kaoni. His features were often graced with many varieties of expressions, depending on exactly who he was at the moment: an issue not faced by many children, to be sure. At the moment, however, his expression was calm and studious, engrossed in the screen he stared at with nothing but a scholarly air. Unnecessary glasses were perched atop his nose, merely for the difference in others perception of him, and for the feel of it differentiating him more from his other "selves." His hair, grown long since he had first emerged from a stick of pocky a fully grown, if nude, child, was tied in a careless ponytail, loose strands falling unheeded into his face and eyes.

He sat at what could be considered a desk, in the rows of similar desks, a laptop before him plugged in and charging even as he used it, and connection to the free WiFi at "Excellent." As is often true of such "desks" in libraries, it was wooden, with a tall wooden piece blocking "peeking" between it and the row facing it. It was time efficient, and not horribly ugly, yet more importantly, he had access to a plug and was therefore not limited to a mere few hours of quiet studying.

This sort of time he considered his free time: a rare enough occurrence for him, though not so much for his other "selves." He, of course, was "responsible," and therefore the one expected to do any and all work, whether it be good impressions for Mother's guests or schoolwork, which he preferred in the first place and excelled at. Yet, at this point in time as was often true soon into an afternoon, his homework, as far in advance as he'd been given, was completed. He had a good enough understanding of the year's concepts to ace the grade should he take every test in it right now. And, at this time, he might study what interested him, rather than what was necessary.

What interested him were studies on human psychology, both individuals and group mentalities, and both present and past. He had not had enough time to look into things to a satisfactory level, however his own condition had interested him in the condition of the "average" human's mind. He had a number of articles to work through up on his laptop, and a few books on the subject littered around the table. With a knowledge of how the human brain worked, one might better understand what they wanted, and be more personable: a skill Kaoni certainly needed to work on. In a back part of his brain, another "self," the only other one to know of the existence of multiple Kaoni's, piped in cheerfully, yet in a cold tone, that this same information could be used to manipulate people to suit his desires. That was so like "Kaoni-sama"...

Kaoni could hardly help but look up at the passing of the other boy. It was rare to see other boys that seemed his age unaccompanied here, and rarer still to find another boy his age so eager for knowledge as this one appeared to be, if one were to assess based off of the quantity and variety of books he held. Yet, more than that, and what had caught his attention in the first place, a book had fallen from the over-large stack and all but collided with his head. While Kaoni may sometimes be engrossed in a book to the point of being utterly oblivious to the outside world, he'd only just settled in and was hardly to that point. It would take someone far more unobservant than he to entirely ignore such a thing.

And the fallen book was not the only thing strange. Rather than occupy the seat next to Kaoni, should he desire to sit there as either side was open, and rather than any chair in general, the boy opted to position himself on the ground. Such strange behavior would be difficult to ignore in the best of times, and Kaoni tried for some time to return his attention to the screen, or failing that the books. Yet the boy was somehow attention-grabbing, and Kaoni simply could not ignore him.

"Excuse me..." he said softly after a moment, his eyes on the boy sitting on the ground. "You do know that these chairs are open, and that it can be hazardous to block any potential walkway?" He hoped he did not sound too rude, but such things as this...grated on his nerves, though he did his best to never let what perturbed him show: such frustrations were better taken out by the others.

"I was speaking more against the concept of sitting on these well-worn and dirtied floors than for these cramped areas I only sit at for the access to an outlet," Kaoni responded with a sigh, smoothing a particularly thick stray strand of chocolate hair behind his ear. "And mayn't those tables serve your purposes well enough?" He gestured to a group of large tables, all but empty as the library had few so studious patrons at this time of day. "Yet I suppose it is your own choice to make."

He turned to his computer once more and began scrolling slowly through it using the arrow keys. Yet the presence of the child on the floor began to bother him. No, to say that would be false: it was not the presence so much as something about him. Kaoni turned around once more to face the boy.

There it was again! A haunting something...Ah, it was a sweet scent of fall treats. A scent no ordinary human boy would know. And what had been bothering him was his other, hyper self longing to burst forth and play with a being it recognized immediately as its own kind. And, should playing involve partial cannibalism, it hardly bothered that him. Kaoni gathered his wits for a moment. "You wouldn't by chance," he decided to say, "Be the same sort of thing I am?"

"Comfort is one thing, maintaining dignity and status is another," Kaoni was tempted to mutter, but he held his tongue and was disappointed at his own urge toward reprimanding the boy. To be sure, he held appearances higher than most his age, but he realized others ought not, and certainly wouldn't. Blatant disregard of how one must seem to others certainly grated on his nerves, but that was as likely to be due to "Kaoni-kun" and his frequent antics as it was to be due to his own upbringing.

At the boy's response to his strange question, he nodded. Most would simply ask what was meant, should they be normal. It was only some abnormality that would make one answer that question with either an affirmative or negative, and a negative would obviously mean the person was in denial. So, due to their nature as being beings of abnormality, at least his answer meant he was honest enough. After a pause, Kaoni continued on to ask slowly, "...which are you?" He hoped the other boy would not see it as being overly prying.

"Knowing this 'Hika-chan,'" Kaoni responded after a moments consideration, "Is neither here nor there." He had not, after all, been in the shop for much time at all, and most of that had been spent as "Kaoni-kun," frolicking with the other boys his age. He assumed, of course, from how it was said that "Hika-chan" was an owner of the shop. "However to say we are not normal is certainly accurate. To maintain a facade of normality would, after all, simply be delusional, would it not?"

"And is it not a common saying that 'nobody is perfect,' or something to that extent?" The chocolate boy tugged uncomfortably at his collar, rather as if this held some sort of issue for him that was not related to his own desires, but rather another person's. "And I think, should you know me, you would note I am perhaps far less 'perfect' than another normal person, or abnormal being as it were, that you may find." He shook his head. The other "Kaoni's" that occupied most of his time certainly were a hindrance, and were difficult enough to explain that they were best avoided.

"But," he continued as another whiff of that sweet fall scent inciting his primary other self, as well as tantalizing his palate, "that was hardly what I meant by 'which you are.' If I may hazard to make a guess, without overstepping boundaries, I would assume something related to time of falling leaves and harvested bounties, more simply referred to as 'Fall'?"

"But is it not," Kaoni speculated in response, "human nature to seek this impossible perfection? And are we not modeled after such humans?" In truth, Kaoni still held the small desire that, the closer to perfection he achieved the more his Mother would accept him. She preferred him, at least, over the others, and that certainly had to count for something, even if it meant he had to spend large quantities of time meeting with stuffy old men to improve their impression of him, or studying ceaselessly in any subject he might potentially be able to master (though he'd decided early on that sports were indeed best left to "Kaoni-kun"). "But for the one who's interest I need," Kaoni said softly, as if dazed, "the closer to what is seen as the 'Perfect Individual,' the better."

"Ah!" he gasped as he suddenly seemed to realize he'd spoken aloud, and he covered his mouth with his hands in horror. "I-I am sorry for saying such things. I misspoke! Please forgive me. A-and I suppose that boring and normal are words that suit me well. As for interesting, you might wish to encounter me another time for that." He smile that accompanied these words seemed troubled, but nonetheless as if he wholeheartedly believed his words.

“But perfection,” Kaoni responded, unable to stop himself, “Does not necessarily mean in every aspect. I am sure that all humans, that all creatures for that matter, seek perfection in at least some part of their life or of themselves?” He shook his head for a moment in an attempt to dispel his apparent urge to retort in a contrary manner to everything this boy said.

Kaoni paused for a moment before responding. “Because…” he said slowly, “her interests are in societies views. ‘interesting and bizarre’ are hardly looked upon well in the fraternizing of the upper echelons of society. It’s difficult enough maintaining control to maintain appearances without anyone knowing of abnormalities.”