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Ninomiya was unlikable.
Ever since the first time they had laid eyes on each other in the large corridor in Rokueikan, Kako had been certain of that fact. And then the time they were put together in a squad led by Azuma only strengthened her belief.
Ninomiya would never become likable in Kako’s eyes, in at least thirty more years. Or maybe fifty.
Why?
First reason: Ninomiya was too blunt.
He had never pulled his punches, either in a battle – which was a good thing – or in his daily life. Kako believed that even if the person standing before Ninomiya burst out in tears, he wouldn’t even bat an eye and would continue his criticism. Not that she’d ever witnessed such a thing, but she had ground to assume that.
For example, when Kako offered Ninomiya one of her creative fried-rice dishes, instead of saying something along the line of not wanting to eat it, he simply gave the dish a condescending look and commented: “It isn’t edible.”
Wasn’t it the most horrible thing to say to a cook? Not to mention that it was completely wrong. Nobody was harmed after eating that dish. Yes, Tsutsumi lay motionlessly on the table after the first spoon, but his life wasn’t in danger so Ninomiya was wrong.
Second reason: Ninomiya was too confident.
At school, his academic results were always at the very top place, so of course he was confident. However, that quickly became worse when they joined the Border – or when Ninomiya found out about his exceptionally high trion level. Kako had lost count of the times Ninomiya told her about it.
“Kako-san, did you get the result?”
“I don’t think a month would make any differences.”
“You should check it. There could be some improvement. Like my trion value, it’s a bit higher than last month.”
There weren't many people in the Border at that time, so naturally, Kako – who was in the same grade at school as Ninomiya – had to listen to his boasting. It seemed Ninomiya himself wasn’t aware that he was bragging but simply thought of it as a normal exchange between colleagues. It bugged Kako to no end.
And when Kako had enough of this nonsense, she yelled at Ninomiya, saying he should refrain from talking too much about the Border’s matters at school; he really stopped. At school, that was. He still came to her from time to time in the HQ to talk about his great trion level.
Not only Ninomiya always talked about his trion, but also often showed others what he could do with it. Kako really hated that every time he came to her rescue, and she thanked him, he simply shrugged and said it was nothing.
“I won’t thank you anymore.” Kako blurted that out once.
Ninomiya simply stuffed his hands in his pants pockets, saying: “You don’t have to. Assisting you is my duty.”
What was with that attitude?! Kako really couldn’t stand it.
Third reason: Ninomiya was always expressionless.
No matter if he succeeded or failed, his face stayed the same.
When he was treated to his favorite food, he just thanked and ate in silence. His expression betrayed nothing. His lips didn’t curve up; his eyes didn’t sparkle. He didn’t even say it was delicious.
It was still a mystery to Kako if Ninomiya would react to food with weird taste because he always denied her fried-rice, even the normal looking one. She once asked the other squadmates to give Ninomiya wasabi-flavored ice cream but they all refused. Therefore, she had no choice but to live with this mystery.
When Ninomiya was praised, he neither smiled nor seemed content. He just nodded, saying a thank-you, and went back to mind his own business. Azuma said he looked happy, but Kako didn’t see any signs of that.
When he made a mistake and was scolded, he frowned, apologizing, and went back to his work. That frown didn’t count because it was perpetual on his face.
As a good squadmate, Kako offered Ninomiya some comfort.
“I learnt a lot from that. It’s good.” was Ninomiya’s reply with his usual blank expression.
“Aren’t you sad?”
“No, why? I don’t make mistakes as often as you do.”
Kako blinked. Oh well, at least now she knew what kind of face Ninomiya would make when someone pinched his cheek hard.
Fourth reason: Ninomiya was oblivious to his teammates.
Aside from their abilities in battle, Ninomiya didn’t know – or care – about other aspects of his teammates. This shouldn’t come as a surprise because all they had ever talked about was war strategies and the best setups for their triggers – and Ninomiya’s trion level, but Kako had enough of that.
Yet, when Azuma took their squad out for yakiniku on 25th December, Ninomiya still managed to stupefy Kako by asking why they had to hang out again when they’d already held a Christmas party last night.
“It’s my birthday, Ninomiya-kun.” Kako smiled, tilting her head to the side.
They ate in silence after that.
Fifth reason: Ninomiya was too persistent.
It was a good quality for a Border agent, especially for someone as strong as Ninomiya. However, it caused a huge headache for others – or Kako, in this specific situation – when he applied that in normal circumstances.
“I didn’t tell you because I wanted your gift.” Kako repeated exasperatedly, “Keep it or give it to your girlfriend.”
“I have no other use for it, and I don’t have a girlfriend.” Ninomiya said flatly, still holding out a box in purple gift wrap towards Kako, “Just take it.”
It was a few days after their yakiniku party, when they gathered for defense duty; Ninomiya suddenly shoved a gift box in Kako’s hand and apologized for forgetting her birthday. How insincere was that? Of course she denied.
It had been half an hour since. Ninomiya still refused to give up.
“Urg, fine!” Kako groaned, taking the box from her stubborn teammate.
For a brief moment, Ninomiya’s expression relaxed as if he was about to smile, but when Kako glanced at him, his face was emotionless again. What was she expecting anyway?
Inside the box was a butterfly hairpin adorned with a small amethyst gemstone. Of course the stone was a fake – even with official agents’ income, they were still students in the end – but the hairpin was pretty, so Kako would forgive Ninomiya this time.
Sixth reason: Ninomiya was heartless.
This wasn’t a metaphor. Ninomiya was literally heartless.
When Azuma announced the dissolution of their squad, Ninomiya simply nodded and said ‘I understand’. Kako and Miwa did the same thing, but they shared a regretful look and some small exchanges like ‘It’s been a nice time’ or ‘Glad to have a chance to work with you’.
Ninomiya didn’t say anything along that line. He simply walked out of the strategy room with the same expression as ever.
When each of them formed their own squad, Ninomiya also wore the same expression.
“Captain Ninomiya, you really don’t care, do you?” Kako questioned playfully when they passed by each other in the hallway.
Ninomiya gave her a blank look. “What do you mean?” he lifted an eyebrow.
“What do I mean? I wonder.”
Kako giggled with a hand over her lips and walked away, leaving Ninomiya behind with a confused expression.
Seventh reason: Ninomiya improved too slowly.
No, Kako wasn’t talking about Ninomiya’s combat ability. His improvement was fearsome in that field.
What she was referring to was his life skills.
It took Ninomiya years to start having different expressions when faced with different situations. It also took him years to communicate properly with his squadmates.
“Ninomiya-san’s instructions are very clear and easy to understand.” said Inukai – Ninomiya’s new squadmate, or subordinate, “Sometimes they’re too short but I get his ideas.”
Kako really couldn’t imagine a Ninomiya who patiently gave instructions. All she could think about was a Ninomiya who rushed head first into a battle without telling anyone and then pulverized everything into nothing with his overwhelming power.
“Ninomiya-san can be very straightforward, but he always clarifies his ideas afterwards if his prior sentence was too rude or intimidating.” said Hiyami – the operator currently working with the Ninomiya squad.
Ninomiya clarified his ideas? Really? And he knew when he sounded rude? Really?
“Ninomiya-san often buys desserts for us. He’s very nice.” – said Hatohara – a skillful sniper Ninomiya luckily recruited.
Kako failed to catch the fourth member of the Ninomiya squad because that black-haired boy ran as soon as she called out to him. However, she supposed she had heard enough.
Ninomiya was no longer the Ninomiya she had known. He had grown into a proper captain of a squad and looked after his subordinates carefully. He had also fixed his attitude to some extent and became a more likable person.
Yet, Kako couldn’t find it in her heart to start liking Ninomiya. On the contrary, she even hated him more.
Why hadn’t he shown those qualities when they had still been in the same squad?
Eighth reason: Ninomiya was still too insensitive.
“Huh?” Kako blurted out in bafflement, “For me?”
Ninomiya nodded, holding out a rectangular box in red gift wrap.
“It’s already snowing. I don’t want to go home in a blizzard later.”
Ninomiya gave her an unamused look. So he understood sarcasm now? What an unpleasant surprise.
“I appreciate your sentiment, Ninomiya-kun.” Kako said with a smirk, “But did you forget something?”
“Huh?” Ninomiya sounded confused.
“You can’t just put a gift into someone’s hand without saying anything.” Kako crossed her arms, “I won’t change my mind this time if you don’t say it properly.”
Ninomiya frowned, looking down at the gift in his hand, seemingly trying to figure out what Kako was talking about. So captain Ninomiya was still clueless about simple matters. It was somewhat refreshing to know.
“If you have nothing to say then I’ll go now,” Kako said waving her hand, “See ya, Ninomiya-kun.”
“Merry Christmas.” Before Kako could turn on her heel, Ninomiya blurted out.
“Eh?”
“This is my Christmas present to you, Kako-san.” Ninomiya rephrased his sentence, holding his gift towards Kako again, “Please take it.”
Please… Did Ninomiya just say ‘please’? Was it the end of the world?
Yes, Ninomiya still said ‘please’ whenever necessary, but never to Kako because he simply never needed a favor from her. So this came as a huge shock.
However, no matter how unusual it sounded, Kako still had a more concerning matter. “It's the 25th already, Ninomiya-kun.” she said, giving the fellow captain a narrow look, “Shouldn’t you include something other than Christmas?”
Making a confused sound, Ninomiya raised his eyebrows like he didn’t understand what Kako was getting at.
“Never mind, I don’t expect you to remember it.” Kako waved her hand dismissively and took the box from his hand, “Thanks for the Christmas present.”
“Wait,” Ninomiya grabbed her wrist, “What do you mean?”
Kako easily shook him off. There was no strength in that grip, as if it was done solely on impulse and harbored no intention behind. “This is what I hate about you.” she spat, glaring at him, “If you don’t care, don’t pretend that you care.”
Ninomiya’s eyes widened in shock, almost looking wounded. Oh, this was new. He’d really become more expressive since his new squad had been formed, hadn’t he? Yet the heartlessness still remained the same.
“Sorry, I talked too much-”
“I don’t get it.” Ninomiya interrupted, frowning, “Please clarify your idea, Kako-san.”
“What?”
“If you don’t understand the other person, ask them to clear it up. That way, you won’t be misunderstood anymore.”
“What are you talking about?” Kako raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.
“That’s what my subordinate told me.” Ninomiya said, staring at Kako adamantly, “I don’t understand your vague questions, so please say it in a way I can understand.”
Ah… so this was how Ninomiya had changed.
Ninomiya didn’t say the name but somehow Kako could imagine a certain blonde agent in his squad telling that advice with a smile.
It wasn’t that Ninomiya took too much time to learn. It was just that his older teammates – namely Kako – weren’t too good at helping him open up. How Kako hated this uncomfortable feeling in her chest. But she’d really lost to a bunch of kids, hadn’t she?
Letting out a sigh, Kako gave her past teammate an exasperated smile. “Today is my birthday. I was expecting a ‘Happy birthday’ instead of a ‘Merry Christmas’, you know.”
Ninth reason: Ninomiya was too slow to mention the important matter.
“But I guess you don’t remember something insignificant as my birthday, do you?” Kako shrugged, “Not that it matters. We’re no longer squadmates.”
“I remember.” Ninomiya said.
Kako chuckled. “Ah yes, because I just told you, like three seconds ago.” she said sarcastically.
“No, I remember before you told me.” Ninomiya shook his head.
“Whatever you say.” Kako rolled her eyes, “I will pretend that this Christmas gift is my birthday gift. You can say ‘Happy birthday’ now, and we’re done.”
“Why do you have to pretend?” Ninomiya lifted an eyebrow confusedly.
“Because it is a Christmas gift and not a birthday gift, right?”
“Your birthday gift is inside the box.”
Huh? Kako’s brain failed to function for a second. “Pardon?”
“Your birthday gift is inside your Christmas gift box.” Ninomiya clarified, “Happy birthday, Kako-san.”
Was there anyone else in the world saying ‘Happy birthday’ with such a monotonous voice and an indifferent face? Kako guessed not. Ninomiya was simply one of a kind. And he never failed to surprise her.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Kako frowned.
“I thought you’d understand when you opened it.” Ninomiya said nonchalantly.
“I’m not one of your understanding subordinates. So tell me properly next time.”
Ninomiya gave a firm nod.
They parted ways soon after when Kuroe ran to Kako’s side and Inukai waved at Ninomiya from afar.
Tenth reason: Ninomiya wasn’t creative at all.
Exactly as Ninomiya had claimed, inside the Christmas gift box was a pair of gloves and another box, wrapped in purple paper, like the one he had insisted on giving her last year.
And inside it was the same butterfly hairpin, but made of platinum instead of stainless steel, and the amethyst was real.
Kako had hid the old hairpin deep in a corner of her desk drawer after the dissolution of the first Azuma squad. Come to think of it, Ninomiya had once asked her if she had lost the hairpin on the day they’d become captains of their respective squads. Out of spite, she had said yes. Could it be the reason he gave her the second one?
Nah, Kako doubted it. Ninomiya simply couldn’t think of a better gift because his creativity was non-existent.
However, because the hairpin was pretty, Kako would let him off the hook this time.
Next year, Kako would surprise Ninomiya with an awesome gift on 27th October so that he would have to rack his brain to find a better present for her on Christmas. Yes, she just wanted a nice gift. Totally not because she hated to lose to a bunch of kids.
End
26th December 2021