Songs:

Tchaikowsky – Valse Sentimentale
The Witcher 3 – Spikeroog
The Witcher 3 – A Nearly Peaceful Place

The Gojo family's house was always full of people, which was quite overwhelming for a loner like Suguru.

Every morning, teachers showed up and gave Satoru lessons in various subjects. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, an old professor came to teach mathematic, physic and chemistry. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, a Governess came to teach literature and history lessons.

There were few things Satoru hated more than these lessons (the only thing he hated more was Suguru). He was bored hearing about things he didn't understand. He didn't want to learn new information, sincerely believing that he already had all the knowledge worthy of a genius, and if he didn't know something, it obviously wasn't worth it. The teachers, however, had no clout. They could not force the young master, convinced of his own genius, to study. They had no power over him, something Satoru was fully aware of and took advantage of constantly. Anything just to show your superiority over the whole world.

Suguru was very curious about it. Even if he didn't take lessons directly, he liked to listen to them furtively, memorizing as much as he could. However, it was very difficult. Willingness alone could not make up for all the shortcomings. And even though he absorbed knowledge like a dried plant absorbs water, his knowledge remained deficient. Sometimes he would steal Satoru's books and read them without the boy noticing that something was missing. However, it frustrated him even more, because he was only aware of his own lack of education. He didn't know all the letters, so he had great difficulty reading. He didn't understand many words, so he had to guess the meaning of words in the text.

One day he secretly sneaked around Satoru's room to return a book he had read. He was careful not to bump into the older boy and leave no traces behind.

Satoru's bedroom was always a maze of piles of dirty laundry, unfinished homework, crumpled class notes, and many other items of various origins. A thick layer of dust covered the bookshelf, which had been placed so carelessly that it only took a moment of inattention for the whole thing to collapse.

In short, the entire room, like its owner, was the definition of chaos. Navigating through this mess was difficult and finding anything was almost impossible.

Suguru put the book back in the exact same place he took it from a few days ago. He took a quick look at the entire shelf, took another book and retreated to leave the room as quickly as possible. He closed the door carefully behind him and turned around.

''Oh!'' he made a sudden, slightly too high-pitched sound at the sight of the woman standing at the end of the corridor.

''What are you doing here?'' she asked, raising her thin eyebrows.

Suguru looked at the Governess wordlessly. She was neither young nor old. He thought she might have been a similar age to Mrs. Gojo. She always dressed very carefully and elegantly and wore her auburn hair in elaborate hairstyles full of decorative pins.

He didn't know how to answer, so he remained silent, staring at the floor, clutching the book in his hands.

''Isn't this Master Gojo's bedroom?'' she asked, looking pointedly at the door. ''What were you doing there?''

''I...'' he started and stopped immediately, unable to come up with any reasonable excuse. He wasn't a good liar, so he gave up and extended his hand towards the woman, holding a book in it.

''Oh, I understand. You're reading." She nodded appreciatively. ''Who is teaching you?''

''Nobody.''

''Nobody?''

''No. Sometimes I listen to Sa-Satoru's lessons'' he replied reluctantly. He didn't want anyone to know about it, especially Satoru.

''If you're interested, why don't you start taking classes? I'll talk to Mr. Gojo. I'm sure he'll agree to let me teach you too.''

Suguru looked at the woman with wide eyes. Her words seemed so tempting to him. However, his enthusiasm cooled down as soon as he remembered Satoru.

"I... I don't think that's a good idea," he muttered. The woman came closer and leaned down, making them almost equal in height. The scent of her perfume and powder hit him so intensely that he felt dizzy.

"You can't let the enthusiasm you have go to waste," she said, brushing a strand of black hair behind his ear. "I'll talk to Mr. Gojo later today," she smiled friendly and walked towards the stairs.

Suguru headed towards his bedroom. He stopped in front of the door, his hand on the doorknob, and watched for a moment as the woman descended the stairs. A ghost of a smile crossed his face. He even forgot to ask what she was doing in that part of the house.

The governess kept her promise and from the next week Suguru attended all classes with Satoru.

"If only I had known he was eager to learn, I would have let him take lessons a long time ago," Mr. Gojo said.

The atmosphere between the boys was very tense and both teachers seemed to sense it. Satoru, of course, was furious. Not only did he have to be nicer to Suguru for his father's sake (or at least not bully him as openly as before), but Suguru, instead of staying in the background, had to participate in his daily activities. What was that if not a provocation?!

In this way, every morning they sat in the living room where classes were conducted. The lack of reading frustrated Suguru more than ever. He had to catch up under the supervision of the Governess, who gave him many additional tasks that took him entire afternoons and even evenings to complete, so he had no time for his long walks or even for meeting Haibara. That's why he preferred science subjects, which did not require so much reading, than literature or history.

One good thing came out of the whole situation for Satoru himself. Suguru's presence became a great motivation for the boy to learn. If Suguru spoke up in class, Satoru also started to speak up, even twice as much. He paid more attention to the teacher's words and prepared for the tests, just to write them better than Suguru. The boy's pride did not allow him to perform worse than his rival.

In addition to the teachers, there were also people visiting Doctor Gojo. Patients lined up in long queues in front of the office door, and Mr. Gojo saw them from morning until late in the evening. Most of the week was devoted to those coming from the town. From time to time, the medic visited his regular clients living outside the town. These visits were often very time-consuming, and it was not uncommon for Mr. Gojo to be away for as long as a day or two.

As Suguru watched all this, it reminded him of a memory from his early childhood, when he lived on the moor. Most of his memories from that period had faded into the depths of oblivion, but this one still remained pure and clear.

''What are you doing there, Suguru?''

The man's voice suddenly reached the boy, revealing his presence.

The spring afternoon was pleasantly warm. The sun hung high in the sky. The promise of a hot summer was in the air. The office door was wide open to let in a draft of spring air. Suguru stopped behind the door and furtively looked at the medic.

''Come inside if you want.''

There was no point in hiding any longer if he had been exposed. The boy stepped inside carefully, looking around.

An elderly man sat on a couch without a shirt as Mr. Gojo applied a bandage to his bruised arm. The man looked at Suguru, staring at him so intently that Suguru felt uncomfortable. He looked away, trying to avoid eye contact, but the man was still staring. Suddenly he let out a loud hiss and his face contorted in pain.

''Ah!''

"I'm sorry," Mr. Gojo said, but without a trace of sympathy. ''The arm is badly bruised, no wonder it hurts. Suguru, can you give me the scissors? In the commode. First drawer. Left side.''

Suguru walked deeper into the room, approached a piece of furniture and opened a drawer. Inside were various tools arranged in perfect order. He took out the scissors and handed them to Mr. Gojo.

''Thank you.'' The man finished to apply the dressing. ''Done.''

''Thank you very much, doctor.''

''All right. Please take care of your shoulder and it should heal within a few days.''

The man stood up, moved his arm in each direction several times and took a breath. He said goodbye and left, giving Suguru another quick glance.

''Did you come because you wanted something, Suguru?'' Mr. Gojo asked, taking various items from the table. He put them on the dresser and sat down in the chair at the desk.

''No. Actually, no. I was just watching.''

Mr. Gojo did not respond in any way. His silence prompted the boy to continue.

He wasn't very good at conversation. He never knew what he should say, his voice often sounding shriller than he wanted it to be. There were times when he stuttered when speaking, as if his mouth couldn't keep up with his mind. Haibara once told him that he should practice and talk more because of this. So he swallowed hard and continued talking.

''My grandmother... She did something similar'' he said casually, looking at the preparations standing on the shelves of a massive, heavy shelf.

The medic watched the boy carefully from the corner of his eye. For the first time in his many years in their home, Suguru willingly brought up the topic of his moor family.

''She treated people?'' he asked. Suguru rarely answered questions about the moor. He rarely answered any questions at all. He usually didn't say much.

''Mhm. Something like that," he muttered thoughtfully.

''Was she doing something... Special?''

''Special?'' The question broke the boy out of his thoughts. ''Where did this idea come from?'' he asked, not looking at the man.

''I don't have anything specific in mind.'' he replied carefully, not wanting to scare the boy.

''She wasn't a doctor. She was...'' he thought about the right word for a moment ''​​a herbalist.''

''She treated people on the moor?''

Suguru turned around and their eyes met. Every time the medic saw those unusual purple eyes, he was struck by how extraordinary they were. He found it absurd, but there was something strange about this boy. Something that invites special treatment. He probably wasn't even aware of how intriguing he was.

The boy nodded.

''Tell me about her. You remember her?''

Suguru looked at him in surprise. It always amazed him when someone found him interesting enough to try to learn something about him.

''Not very clearly. She died many years ago.'' He looked at the open door, straight at the sunny spring day outside. Waves of warm, sun-scented wind flowed inside. ''I don't have many memories of her. I only remember bits and pieces of which she was a part.''

''For example?''

"She took me with her when she went looking for herbs. Then we dried them together and I watched as she turned them into medicines that she gave to her neighbors. She always explained to me exactly what it was for and how to use it properly.''

''Do you remember any of this?''

''Just a little. I was too young to understand what she was talking about. At this point my memories are incomplete or have disappeared completely.''

"You talk about it in such a way that I want to believe that you were really interested in it," he said, resting his head on his hand. He couldn't imagine Satoru or anyone his son's age finding things related to his profession interesting. This intrigued him.

''Because that's how it was. I found it interesting. She could cure any ailment of body and soul. She had a lot of knowledge.'' There was a long pause before he timidly added ''It was her only way to reach people.''

''What do you mean?''

''The people on the moor didn't like her. They were afraid of her. And yet they came to her with their problems. Perhaps because she was their last resort. Or... I don't know.'' He shrugged. ''I don't know what other reason there could be.''

''So can we say that your grandmother, like you, shunned people?'' he asked, knowing that he was walking on thin ice.

Suguru debt thought about this question. He bit his lip hard as he did so, feeling the sweet metallic taste of blood that brought him out of his thoughts.

''No.'' he replied slowly. ''She just didn't like people. She despised them and considered them inferior. Maybe she found helping them funny? Or was it an opportunity to develop her skills? Or maybe she could just do what she liked.''

Funny? The man thought, although he didn't say it out loud. What a strange approach to the matter of human life.

''And you?''

''I...'' The boy fell silent, not knowing what he should answer. He opened his mouth several times as if he was going to say something, but ultimately, he remained silent. The gaze of purple eyes hung on the empty space in the corner of the office. Mr. Gojo thought he might be considering an answer, but his eyes were staring at that spot so intently as if something was actually standing there.

He slowly followed the boy's gaze and looked in that direction as well. However, he saw nothing. Instead, he felt that terrifying feeling of being watched again.

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Sometimes when I'm writing a chapter, I wonder if I'm focusing too much on world building rather than the action itself. I like to focus on side things, but I don't know if you're a bit bored with it. Let me know if this is too much

The next chapter is almost ready and should appear within a week. You will learn a little more about Suguru's memories of the moor.