Maruki hums at her mirthless chuckle. A touchy subject, huh? He tilts his head and focuses on her, slipping his phone into his pocket before crossing his arms and one leg over the other.

"Frequent miscommunications, huh?"

He leans back a little in his seat, relaxing his posture like he's settling in for something meaningful, maybe even a bit long-winded. But his tone is still soft, sincere.

"As someone who occasionally excelled with 'stellar grades-' many people already had their minds about me. Certain expectations for me to match up to. Always being read like a book, only that they skipped the pages and drew their own conclusions or what favoured them." A small pause. "That can get quite lonely."