Chapter Text
The bus was taking forever to arrive and almost visible fume was coming out of Nobara’s ears to the extent that a near standing guy backs away slowly for his own good from the rapid impatient stomps of her foot. With a loud huff she flops down on a bench behind, finding distraction in the gloomy sky above.
Her brows furrow further.
Since when gooses fly in their city? The fall just starts off with some odd things around her. Just great.
Fuck these birds, she thinks, then searches for another distraction as if funky beats in her headphones weren’t enough.
Her gaze stops on beside sitting girl’s profile who she previously hasn’t noticed approaching and settling on the bench. But what was catching her attention even more was the girl’s beauty for which many men would definitely give their lives. Not like Nobara wouldn’t but she needed a closer peek as the short dark hair was curtaining most part of the girl’s face. She seemed her age for sure and the whole aura around her was already screaming of her beauty and delicacy.
When the girl moves a bit in her seat probably because of the chill wind, Nobara halts herself, shooting back ahead and internally cursing herself for being too curious. She should just sit still and wait for her bus to come.
Then, something unexpected happens: a lipstick slides on a concrete floor not far from her foot, by default she reaches, and her fingers brush off the soft skin from other hand reaching. This is it, she thinks, a fate decides to make them interact like in most romance dramas she watches every evening and the dramatic soundtracks were already playing in her head. Still not letting go of the item, she lifts it along with her eyes that expect to see any pretty face in this world except—
Romantic soundtrack cuts off.
By inertia she throws herself back as if hit by lightning, staring back with wide eyes at familiar face of her best friend. But a gut feeling was hinting on that it wasn’t Maki who has short hair and unusually pretty decent style, looking back deliriously puzzled. It wasn’t her best friend, so it was...
“A c-clone?” she mutters, slowly backing away in search for escape ways because she won’t trust any clones who’s exact creepy copy of her friend.
Nobara’s notably imaginative mind was already constructing conspiracies when a sharp voice asks. “A what?”
“Clone?” she repeats this time quietly like a lost puppy. Now, her own words sounded stupid, no, even worse than that, she was sounding exactly like Itadori from whom she definitely caught this manner.
The hazel furrowed eyes look at her for some time until something seemingly clicks in her head and her pretty features twitch in utter annoyance with a dark glint. The red head has no time reacting as the girl steps in too close to her in just a matter of milliseconds and yanks her by her collar in a threatening manner. “I’ve been compared so many times and called so many things in my life, but clone. You have to be fucking kidding me—“
The bus comes in time and Nobara, mentally thanking the gods and other creatures just in case, tries to get out of the tight hold. But then again, fate laughs at her face showing off that the bus wasn’t the right one. Now, she’s completely, utterly screwed—
“Huh, my bus came. You’re the lucky one, ginger head.” With that the girl, who looks exactly like Maki but not definitely her, heads towards the transport, at last spitting. “And tell that dumbass she should at least mention me so her stupid friends like you won’t go after me and call me a fucking clone!”
The bus drives off and Nobara, still laying on the dusty ground and for this brief moment of shock forgetting about her clothes getting dusty, tries to process the most strange situation that just happened to her.
“—the fuck was that?”
“Maki, Maki, Maki, hey, listen!”
It was her another failed attempt at catching her friend’s attention for one question about yesterday’s incident since the older girl has been extremely busy with Kendō trainings and in the end Nobara decides to catch a fish in the water.
But even now she was busy, about to get into her first round with a new student who’s well known for achievements at the previous school from another city. So, of course, Maki is the first one to test the newbie.
“Hey, Maki, Maki, it’ll take just a second,” on purpose Nobara gets into her way and holds her frame from the central field where the blue haired girl in her armour was awaiting. Among the shouting voices in the sports hall her voice was trying to be heard clear and loud which was quite a struggle. She was sure her voice will be hoarse and raspy later.
Even their local coach doesn’t interfere between them because everyone in school assumes they’re a couple, though both didn’t care about it as long as it felt comfortable between them.
“Nobara, I’ll talk to you after this round, okay?” Maki finally speaks up, putting the smaller girl down by her shoulders. Shooting a swift glance behind her, her face with a confident grin gets under a men, she makes sure to wink at her through it. “Let me teach the newbie who’s the boss here.”
“Ugh, you always need to assert dominance one way or another,” the red head pouts. In response, the older girl shrugs with a shinai in one of her hands as if saying that is one of the essential parts of her personality. Nobara sighs. “Go win it.”
“I surely will.”
Maki didn’t lie and she ended it smoothly as always with everyone cheering for her. Though, it was different for Maki herself.
“Can we talk now?” Nobara wants to whine like a spoiled kid but she reserves herself because lately she’s been sick of the fact people assumed she wasn’t single. “Hey, are you even listening?”
“Hmm?” Maki hums, still looking at other end of the sports hall with some clear intensity in the eyes.
With curiosity of a cat, Nobara follows her gaze and detects Maki’s previous opponent, a blue haired girl who’s chatting with other students with a lively manner. “Oh no. I perfectly know what this look means: you wanna take her in more painful, emotionally stabbing way. Well now I’m pitying her for real.”
“Wait, why?” Maki furrows with confusion. “Base your argument, Kugisaki.”
“Maki-san,” with all-knowing smile of a two year long close friendship and sugary tone in her voice, Nobara brushes off the dust from her bōgu in the area of collarbone and shoulders. “You made every single girl you’ve dated cry for you just because you get quickly bored.”
“Not every,” she retorts with a grin, using her height and leaning over the red head. “You didn’t.”
“Well, that’s because I’d never let someone use me like this,” she says, finally managing to fix her uniform, at last patting her there. “That’s why we’re still sticking together. Also, you really deserved that punch. You were a real asshole back then.”
“In my defence, I’d say that was my way of adjusting to the new environment.”
It takes her several heartbeats to gather up a courage.
“Because of your family?” the conversation takes another turn, she could see it in the way Maki’s eyes changed: from cocky to serious and unsure.
Talking about Zen’ins is a common taboo in their group of friends. From Toji, Megumi’s father and Maki’s uncle-cousin, she’s heard enough of how much they were lowest of people, but Nobara wanted to know Maki‘s own story related to this family.
So, before the older girl could dismiss or say anything in retort, Nobara finally settles into the business she wanted to discuss since yesterday. “I met your sister day before.”
“Mai?”
“Whatever the fuck her name is, the one who creepily looks like you, but more bitchy and gayer.”
“Gayer?” the way Maki gets genuinely offended amuses Nobara, though she tries to contain herself.
“Doesn’t matter,” swallowing down the laugh, Nobara asks with more serious face, locking her arms around her chest. “What I’m trying to figure out is why you two live separately? Why you live with your uncle and his family?”
“You wanna hear the entire story? You’ll regret it, Kugisaki.”
“From start to end. The entire story,” she even receives it as a challenge, tilting her chin up. “And, no, I won’t regret it.”
“I regret it...”
“Told you so,” Maki murmurs from her bed where she’s resting and going through weekly sports magazine while her friend was sitting around on the floor with carpet underneath her.
“My god, your family, they’re so... terrible.”
“Yup,” she hums, turning another page and next second regretting it as protein powder advertisements were all over the pages. She grimaces with displeasure but Nobara doesn’t see it, being in her own thoughts.
“No wonder you and Fushiguros cut all ties with them.”
“Yeah, though I should’ve done it sooner.”
“What you should’ve done sooner?” The intruding male voice chimes in. When they look up, it’s a tall buff man standing by the door.
Megumi never proceeded to introduces him to Nobara properly but Maki did. That time she mistook Toji for Maki’s father because of their too similar appearance. It visibly upset Megumi to some point, afterwards red head couldn’t stop teasing her friend about it.
Nobara wants dismiss the topic but gets cut by the older girl who sits up on her bed, blatantly spitting out:
“Getting out of that hole.”
“Ah, true,” he tilts his head with conviction. It was amazing how these two could understand the common topic without mentioning it directly — indicator of a mutual strong bond, Nobara thinks, still sitting on the floor. The man points behind him. “But, hey, the dinner’s ready. Come join us with the boys.”
“Wait, these two already came and didn’t tell me about it?!” Nobara shoots up from her place with indignation.
“They’ve been busy,” the man beams his signature smirk. “Heh, young sweet love.”
Maki shoots a pillow across the room that gets caught immediately by Toji’s reflexes. This makes her huff back in displeasure. “Don’t be a creep, geezer.”
“Whoah, who?” the man gets surprised by the new nickname. “Geezer? Me?” he doesn’t fail to show off his impressive muscles that were, Nobara was sure, fluffy on touch for some reason. “See these? I’m still in a pretty great shape. You can call me hag only when you get to beat me in strength, kiddo.”
“Whatever,” she murmurs, putting aside her magazine. “One day I will.”
This makes the man only chuckle before disappearing behind the door.
Nobara turns to her friend with a struggle written across her face. “Yuuji has a boyfriend — Megumi. You’re about to hit on that girl. At this rate, I’ll be the only one who’s left out...”
“You won’t be, Nobara, don’t be dramatic,” Maki sighs. “The boys and I still love you.”
“Yes, of course, but you can’t deny how everyone has a love life, except me,” she groans and grabs her head in distress, suddenly declaring. “I need a girlfriend.”
Instead fate gives her a literal embodiment of a devil next very day. Nobara presumes it was straight up karma coming for her neck.
Another new student — this time familiar — introduces herself to their class with unfriendly behaviour and marches to the seat assigned by their teacher which was right next to Nobara. It wasn’t the first time she thinks Gojo-sensei can see and sense everything because he might have more than two eyes.
“Don’t even try talking to me, ginger head.”
“As if I wanna talk to your meany copy ass.”
The pencil in Mai’s hand almost breaks at something that surely upset her. This oddly made Nobara cheer and snicker.
But her celebration wasn’t lasting long as the teacher addressed them. “You two are assigned to do a project together. You’ll have to present it at the end of a semester. Good luck, girls!”
shit.
Gojo Satoru indeed had a sixth sense.
“You’re gonna do as I tell you, so the process wouldn’t be so insufferable.”
“Wait, woah, buddy, you definitely mistook someth—“
“Don’t call me buddy.”
“Zen’in, you clearly taking me for an easy one. Usually I’m the one who leads the project.”
“I don’t care—“
“Hey, who’s the newbie here? You should listen to more experienced ones.”
“I’m older than you.”
“I don’t give a f—“
“Girls, everything’s alright?”
The two, who were in the middle of a heated argument not noticing how their voices raised by a whole octave, turn to the teacher standing by the door to half empty classroom and scratching his nape with tired expression.
“Yes,” they answer simultaneously, immediately giving each other the looks. Nobara decides to continue. “We’re adapting as a team here. In our own way.”
Expecting a suspicious look in response because no way one of the insightful teachers of this school would believe this lame explanation, he knew everything by one glance. But instead, to their surprise, they see the man genuinely laughing at that. “I used to work with the most annoying coworker I’ve ever had a chance being teamed up with. He was a real arrogant pain in the ass. I don’t exactly remember what happened between us but,” a hand in the air, proudly showing a shining ring with a wide smile. “We’re happily married now.”
“What does this has to do with us?” Hands on her hips, slight tilt of her head to the side, Nobara asks with indignation, clearly being oblivious. When she wants to spare a glance at the girl beside her, Mai acts strange as if being unwell all of a sudden, covering her face with embarrassment, bright blush peeking through her fingers, timid eyes drifting to the side. Nobara’s confusion deepens.
“Ah, just got nostalgic for a bit,” the man shakes his hand dismissively, next second pointing at them and reminding. “Try working well together because you’re stuck with this project until the end of this semester.”
“There’s no way of changing a partner?” with obvious desperation red head asks.
“Sorry, can’t help you with that.”
At the end of the day when Nobara gets home and once more recalls this conversation, the hidden meaning behind her teacher’s words about co-working finally hits her like from a cold waterfall. Yet it makes her feel hot because she also recalls the way Mai reacted.
“Damn you, Gojo Satoru!”
“She’s unbearable. It’s almost imp— no, it is impossible to work with her!” Nobara complains while stretching with a displeased grimace, an image of her worst enemy in her mind. “Do you wanna know what she did yesterday?”
“No, I don’t,” with a bit pained expression Maki says, her arms aching from a hundredth push up now. “I don’t care.”
“Oi,” Nobara wants to exclaim and a moment later stops herself when yet again being reminded of the fact that besides her best friend she’s talking to her enemy’s sister.
“Sorry, I almost forgot you’re related.” Nobara admits with plain honesty which is her main signature feature that Maki usually liked but not this time.
The older girl scoffs with obvious bitterness that Nobara catches but can’t interpret well.
Mai’s extremely unpleasant and annoying but she’s also Maki’s sister, so the red head concludes to herself to complain more carefully about this issue around her best friend. Itadori and Fushiguro now will hear her complains because she just can’t keep them in herself.
“How’s the thing going on with that blue girl?” with a bit apprehension Nobara asks, finishing off her set of exercises and proceeding to the next one.
“First, her name’s Miwa. Second she... rejected me.” she answers dully, resting on a floor.
An immediate snort comes after, followed by the apology mixed with giggles. “Sorry.”
“Of course, you are,” Maki rolls her eyes, trying to ignore her friend cracking up beside her.
“God,” laughter can’t be helped, Nobara points at her friend. “The Maki Zen’in, local player and heartbreaker of many girls and not only, is rejected! Oh, my stomach, help me!”
“Yeah, yeah, so funny,” Maki contemplates if giving a good smack will calm down the giggling girl.
“Hey, hey, I said I’m sorry!” Her laughter dies out immediately when seeing gloomy dangerous expression of her friend. Tittering, she takes a deep breath. “Wow, Miwa’s a hard to get toughie! Well, maybe next girl will be less—“
She halts halfway through her sentence when catching an odd sight: with a bright blush Maki timidly tugging her knees under her. A realization hits her as a bullet.
Nobara gasps, hitting lightly her friend’s arm in disbelief while whispering as if discovering a sacred secret. “No way!”
“I think... I won’t be able to move on from her.”
“Shit, Maki, you caught feelings for a girl who’s not into you.” Nobara still was in awe, staring at the blushing face which was a rare sight to witness but Nobara was too immersed in the situation they’re in. “We’re doomed, completely in shit. But, hey, don’t worry, I’ll help you. I have an idea.”
“Go and just talk to her. Straight up like you always do. Since she said she doesn’t date people she’s not close with, you gotta know her closer,” she advises, next second pushing her friend towards the other end of a crowded corridor. “So, talk and don’t fuck up! That’s my precious advice for any times.”
“Kugisaki, you helped me a lot,” sarcastically Maki murmurs, yet still listening to her friend and heading towards the blue haired girl.
A sigh of relief escapes her lips when she spots how Maki regains her usual confident self and easily, no, even charismatically, chats with Miwa.
After some time of observation, Nobara notes to herself how they suit each other. Miwa’s a good person who sometimes becomes too bashful and easily embarrassed, Maki seemed to be her total opposite yet somehow her ordinary quite cool demeanour melts down beside this timid girl.
“Such a cute couple they will be, thanks to me. My children,” red head wipes away the nonexistent tear, insistently ignoring the fact she was referring to two girls who were much older than her, feeling herself like a great matchmaker descended from heaven. She was also ignoring the fact that her own love life wasn’t doing well.
When she spots seemingly asleep Mai in the middle of empty corridor, leaned up against her own locker, Nobara has a spontaneous urge to do spiteful prank on her project partner. Too playful she felt herself today to not to do it.
It’s already gloaming around, most students retired to their homes, quiet and peaceful space, unlike in the busy morning which made this place oddly unfamiliar. But what was more odd how Mai fell asleep sitting against the locker with head bowed down. Approaching, Nobara wonders how it must be uncomfortable for her to sleep like this.
When she’s finally squats down about to realise her mischief plan, everything crumbles. Mai wasn’t asleep at all, her breath was low and tired, school uniform more disheveled than usual. For a brief second a panic settles in red head’s stomach at the thought of what could possibly had happened. The pencil disappears in her bag.
“Hey, you alright?” she asks, trying to meet her classmate’s eyes yet failing because short hair was curtaining most of her face. A crease between Nobara’s brows grows as much as her concern. “What happened?”
“I’m alright, Kugisaki,” normally pitched voice that taunts her every time suddenly speaks in a low unfamiliar voice. “Just... family.”
“Maki did this?” with apprehension asks the girl barely believing even herself.
Mai scoffs, slowly shaking her head. It seemed the air was still a bit dusty. Even though the hair was covering most of her face, Nobara heard a smile in her whisper. “She wouldn’t hurt me.”
“Then who—“
“Doesn’t matter. Just my family I’m so sick of,” with a shaky breath she swallows down some emotions and gathers a courage to look up.
An insistent voice in her head was telling her she doesn’t have to stay with her because she made sure Mai was alright, so there was nothing holding her here, she should leave and let Mai has her own solitude and yet—
“You wanna talk?” she hastily adds. “I mean, about anything you want. Just talk, you know.”
Mai doesn’t respond immediately. It even makes her think that the girl isn’t in the mood for conversations. She was about to quickly apologise and rise to her feet when Mai reaches out to hold her hand out. “Yeah. I like small talks.”
At that a small smile tugs on her lips. With a careful manner she settles on the floor beside Mai, sitting up closer than allowed as now she was noticing how chilly it was around.
In the end their small talk turns into conversation about everything which lightens up their mood, Nobara catches herself realizing how Mai actually can be a pleasant company for once.
After that incident their working dynamics take another turn: preparing a common project becomes less challenging. They click well when the annoyance dissolves between them. Their bickering is still present but less hostile and more playful.
However, with this new changes come a new unfamiliar feeling for Nobara. It happens unexpected like an unwelcome hummer bang on a head.
Each of them were doing their own thing, sitting opposite to each other in an empty classroom under the rays of setting sun. Their work for today was almost finished, Nobara’s even done before Mai who’s still focused on constructing the poster’s plan. Being bored she lets her eyes wander through the room she knows like her five fingers, so they inevitably land on the girl before her, the only mystery here.
She’d never admit it out loud but Mai was breathtakingly pretty. Her dainty hands spinning the pencil with pensive manner, her back is straight yet shoulders a bit slouched towards the table, lashes barely tremble under the sunset rays, lips bitten in deep thoughts and concentration, dark hair delicately framing her face, and eyes that look up with a curiosity of a cat with hazel clear hue around constricted pupils.
“Is there something on my face?” A question is genuine, void of usual taunting tone.
Nobara lets out a gasp, caught red handed, her cheeks burning. “No, I was just looking at you and—“
“Thought how is it possible that I look like your girlfriend?” Mai quirks a brow with a tired smile. “Come on, Kugisaki, your jokes are getting old.”
“No, I meant—“
“Or, wait... what is it?”
Hazel eyes glisten dangerously, her posture straightens up, finishing her work and turning her full attention on her which makes red head shiver in discomfort. Nobara gets it’s a total checkmate for her. A prey to the predator who saw through and through.
“You like me?”
Though no one was cancelling the escape plan and Nobara was one of those who would fight for her life until the end.
“You’re not my type, sorry,” without any remorse Nobara shoots back. “I despise people who hit on their sibling’s partner. Even though I broke up with Maki a long time ago, you didn’t know that and still, proceeded.”
The last sentence takes Mai’s guards down. “Wait, really? You’re not together?”
In response she receives a middle finger gesture from the already leaving girl. Last thing Nobara hears is a scoff that manages to infuriate her frustration even more. The things that Mai could provoke within her were unbelievable.
“I hate her!” she groans into her pillow, her fingers itching to punch something. “Just imagine the audacity! She’s so, so— ugh!”
“There, there, Kugisaki,” Yuuji pats her back with a weak smile as the girl was still furiously complaining. He looks at his boyfriend who’s half laying beside them and tapping something in his phone, Yuuji pleading for some help, yet Megumi just shrugs back, having no idea how to calm the fiery girl down.
After some time of insults towards Mai‘s name, red head’s frame seems to cool down. In front of her mental image there comes Mai and her haughty smirk that can turn everything upside down within her. And Nobara didn’t like it, lowly groaning:
“No wonder Maki disowned her. She’s unbearable.”
“Guys!” they hear a call from the kitchen. The four of them were home alone, Mr. and Mrs. Fushiguro gone to the restaurant for a romantic dinner which was adorable and Nobara couldn’t stop adoring them in front of Megumi. So, this also meant they were on their own regarding food, but Maki had volunteered to prepare them dinner, now calling them from the kitchen followed by the pleasant smell of food. “Dinner’s ready!”
What awaits them on the table leaves quite an impression.
“Something’s wrong?” she asks and quirks a brow at the trio who wore the same weary expression.
“Maki-san, but i-it’s a lunch,” Yuuji is brave enough to note.
“That’s the point. I’m practicing my cooking skills, starting from easy meals,” taking her apron off, Maki settles down with a sigh.
“Practicing,” Megumi repeats. “For what?”
“Miwa shared some recipes with me,” she rubs her nape with slight blush of embarrassment, drifting her eyes away. “Apparently, she really likes cooking, especially for her younger brothers, so she advised me to try learning cooking, too. Of course, I couldn’t object after she mentioned how she’s gonna help me with it sometime.”
“Miwa?” Yuuji asks again with interest, chumming on his fish with also a handful of rice. “The new girl?”
“Yup.” Maki nods, putting her hand under her chin and staying unabashed all this time. But a moment doesn’t even pass as she catches a pair of teasing eyes across the table. Her brow nervously twitches, sending signals to the red head to not do it. But then again it is futile when Nobara finds something to tease about her dear friends.
“My goodness, you’re already whipped!”
“Nobara!”
boom.
The guys look up in surprise from their plates, even Megumi, and Yuuji proceeds to ask questions:
“Wait, Maki-san, so Miwa’s your girlfriend?”
“No— I mean, ugh—“ a blush brightly bloomed and Maki was thinking of every single way of tormenting the evil red head later. “It’s, it’s complicated.”
“I knew there was something fishy.”
“Megumi, not you too!”
One of the reasons why they agreed doing their project after classes end in the evening and not in their home was that Zen’ins don’t welcome any outsider and Nobara had no desire to visit the mansion full of rich arrogant people. Second reason, she dismissed studying together in her home because of the unpleasant shameful feeling in front of the girl who probably has never experienced dread from the lack of money.
Today the fact of her poverty once again got rubbed on her face.
When she spots Mai with some guy at the entrance to the classroom, she immediately catches the unwelcome aura around them, though both were laughing at some joke. It was just that rich arrogant behaviour of the guy that gave off of his difference from her, poor countryside girl, and their laughs were full of that rich disgusting hue. Nobara didn’t find the joke itself funny anyway. Might be her boyfriend, she thinks, passing by them. Blonde tall fit guy with black tips and sharp piercing eyes. Taking in Mai’s appearance, even oblivious person would think they suited each other. Good for her, Nobara thinks with unexplainable bitterness, taking her usual seat, trying to ignore them.
Mai leaves to fetch something from her locker, leaving her with the guy in the classroom that seemed too small all of a sudden.
Scribbling her part of the poster, subconsciously with all her might almost ripping the paper underneath the tip, Nobara throws a brief glance at the guy who was wandering around the room with obvious boredom. He takes a seat on her desk, taking one of her nails from the pencil case with a slight confusion and scowl. “Man, I still don’t know why she insisted to transfer into this dumpster of a place. Hey, ginger head, tell me. What Mai found here? There’s nothing except a bunch of poor people and all.”
“Give them back,” jaw tense and rage is boiling within, she lifts her hand, awaiting her nails back and ignoring his question.
“You’re a lively one,” with a snort he notices, instead pulling away from her, inspecting the metal pieces that seemed pathetic and trivial to him. “A literal embodiment of damsel in distress. Want me to give you some ways to earn money? Baby, I pay real good—”
A bucket of paint hit him right in the eyes. A bright green colours his whole face and upper body, ruining his expensive outfit. A loud gasp with already coming curses, his hands shaking and searching for her frame in furious payback. Unfortunately for him, she wasn’t finished here, already waiting for him with a hammer in a hand. When his hand reaches her desk she drives several nails into his palm with accustomed ease as if she’s done it several times onto humans. In fact, she has done it but this was another story of a period of her life when she used to fight with school bullies.
He was letting inhuman screams which was making her laugh a bit hysterically. She hold him roughly by the nape as if encouraging. Her voice was matching the volume of his screams. “Come on, don’t be a crybaby! It doesn’t even hurt that much!”
“What’s going on?”
Adrenaline still in her blood, with wide eyes and wide smirk she looks up and meets with the shocked gaze. It takes only a pair of worried hazel eyes to make her calm down and push the guy to the front. Looking to the side, she shrugs with pursed lips and furrowed eyes like a scolded stubborn child. “His own fault.”
“Mai?” he calls out, only now able to differentiate surroundings. “That bitc—“
“Get out of here, Naoya,” she says without any remorse, keeping a distance from the guy. “Before it gets worse.”
The guy, still hissing and cursing under his breath, is about to say something more but gets distracted by his own bleeding palm. Whimpering with a slouched pathetic looking posture, he hurries outside of the classroom.
It gets quiet in the room, only Nobara rapidly breathing, slowly calming down. Her eyes meet Mai’s once again, each of them not knowing what to say. But they don’t have to, as the next second a new visiter enters: Maki who was choking out of laughter.
“Right when I saw those nails, I knew it was you, Nobara!” she laughs, approaching the girl and patting her shoulder. “God, his face was just priceless!”
Nobara gets surprised just as much as Mai who wasn’t used to this state of her sister.
“Wait, you know him?” red head asks with confusion.
“Remember one of my cousins who’s the lowest of assholes? Yeah, that’s Naoya.”
“So, it was him? That bastard!” at the realization her eyes gain dark shades. “Should’ve given him five nails instead of three, then.”
“You two are fucked in the head!” Mai concludes with disbelief and still present anxiety, slowly sliding down the chair. “A couple of crazy psychos...”
“Don’t tell me you’re feeling sorry for him,” Maki’s playful tone immediately falls down to low, curt voice in a matter of seconds. After one good glance at her sister, she goes on. “No, you don’t, of course. You hate him just as much as me, if not worse. Then, what is it you’re so worried about?”
Mai grits her teeth and keeps looking up with a challenge, it isn’t clear if she‘s about to cry or just pissed off by her sister’s words. Her breath is heavy and body tense like a string of a violin that’s about to rip off.
“You know what? Don’t tell me. I don’t care,” Maki says with a sigh, turning back to the girl who was puzzled with the tension between the twins. “On Monday the boys inviting us to hang out, you’re coming?”
“Yeah, sure,” red head agrees with a bit unsure expression, giving quick glances to the quiet girl.
“Initially I came to tell you this. Well then, see you next week.”
“See you, Maki,” she waves back to the retreating girl.
The classroom again gets empty and it seems they’ve wasted today’s working hour. As for now, her adrenaline level was stabilising which meant more pain coming back, and Nobara just now realizes she’s hurt her wrist. A pained hiss at the touch on the slowly appearing bruise stings sharply. “Shit!”
The other girl seemed too quiet probably still pissed at Maki. Nobara couldn’t blame her, she felt sorry for the cruel treatment Mai received.
Contemplating about the ice in the refrigerator in her home later to cool down the hot skin of her wrist, suddenly she feels a tug to her shirt. When she turns around, still serious concerned eyes are looking at her with unexplainable rush in them. “Listen to me, Kugisaki. That asshole won’t let it slide that easily. He’s going to kill you.”
“He better not because I am—“
“No, listen, please,” she pleads, holding her by her shoulders a bit too tightly. “My relatives, Zen’ins, are a dangerous family. Maki left too early when they started doing all of that hitman shit. She remembers Naoya as some useless prick when in reality he has people to come after you. And they will.”
Knowing her for good two months now, Nobara could tell Mai wasn’t joking in a bit. Her stomach gets tight at the thought of danger coming after her. She should’ve just stayed still.
Meantime the other girl lets go of her and reaches behind her, pulling out a revolver from the back of her hidden pocket.
“Gosh, Mai!” Nobara freaks out, backing away instinctively. “You carry this all the time?!”
“I’ll explain more later,” Mai tells her, meeting her brown eyes with her own hazel serious ones, her grip on the cold weapon is confident and tight. Making sure the cylinder is charged, she loads the revolver with a loud click.
Her free hand offers up to Nobara. “Guess we’re gotta cut the tail. Let’s go. I’m sure they’re already on their way here.”
Without any hesitation Nobara reaches, having no choice but to follow and entrust her life into Mai's hands.