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“I thought you quit.” Chishiya said simply as he emerged out of the darkness.
Kuina wasn’t surprised at all by his sudden appearance, giving him a glance out of the corner of her eye.
“I can indulge from time to time.” She twirled the half-decayed cigarette between her fingers, her elbows propped on the balcony railing.
He came to stand by her, his sandals tapping lightly against the tile, before glancing down at the mob of people down below.
The partygoers of the Beach pulsed in one huge mass. Chishiya meticulously scanned the crowd for any visible indication that the militant corps found out the cards were stolen.
So far, nothing he could discern.
“I have the cards with me.” He said plainly, hands still in his pockets. “No issues. You?”
“Everything went smoothly on my end.” She answered back, the last swirls of cigarette smoke whispering into the night air. “Although there were definitely some bumps along the way.”
Chishiya raised an eyebrow at her. “Elaborate.”
Kuina gave a brief exhale through her nose, the muted colors from the festivities down below faintly dancing on the planes of her face.
“The Last Boss…” She started absently.
The stub hissed quietly as Kuina crushed it on the railing. She flicked it off, leaving it to fall somewhere down below.
“Right after you told me you found the safe, the Last Boss came out of Aguni’s room.” She said, “Was probably doing his usual rounds.”
Kuina popped open a box of cigarettes before tapping absently on the ends of each one.
“He was about to pass by when he started getting pretty suspicious. But, I winked at him, so, I’m pretty sure that threw him off.”
A lighter click-click-clicked as she tried to get it to start. When nothing but feeble sparks flew, she cursed quietly under her breath.
“Damn. This one’s a dud.”
Chishiya’s lips quirked slightly in something like amusement before slipping a lighter out of his pocket. She raised an eyebrow at him, but didn’t bother to question where he got it from. It didn’t matter too much anyway.
“We can never be too sure though.” Chishiya reasoned analytically, ever the cautious one. “He still might have his suspicions.”
“Yeah. Don’t worry.” Kuina waved him off with her free hand before bringing the little flame to the cigarette in her mouth. “I’ll be careful.”
And, for a couple seconds, they went back to watching the people bobbing up and down in the never ending celebration down below.
“I at least hope he doesn’t try hitting on me after this.” Kuina mused, tapping her cigarette on the balcony railing. “He’s not my type.”
Chishiya watched as flecks of scarlet fell off the end of the cigarette, fizzling out on the ground. A wind blew through them for a quick moment, lighting them up ever so slightly as if giving them one last breath before they finally died out.
“What’s your type then?” He asked from a purely inquisitive standpoint.
“Hm?” Kuina gave him a mischievous look through her lashes before taking a long draw from the end. The acrid smell of tobacco invaded Chishiya’s nostrils as Kuina blew it back into his face. “Wouldn’t you like to know, pretty boy.”
They don’t speak for a while, instead listening to the pulsing mob of sweaty bodies and multicolored lights down below.
It’s the picture-perfect image of hedonism.
“Have you ever heard of shotgunning?” She asked suddenly, breaking the not-silence. It was never silent at the Beach.
Chishiya glanced at her through the corner of his eye. “I’ve never tried it.” He chose to say.
“Do you want to try it?” She questioned, holding it out to him.
There was a methodical pause as Chishiya’s gaze traveled from Kuina to the cigarette in her hand.
He decided to humor her, lifting his eyebrows ever so slightly. “I don’t know. Do I?”
There was a hint of a smirk on his face; Kuina knew a challenge when she saw one.
“Okay then.” She exhaled as she pushed off from the balcony, moving closer to him. “Watch.”
Chishiya observed soundlessly as Kuina took a long drag from her cigarette. Her fingers then reached for his face ever so slowly, as if giving him all the time in the world to push her away.
He didn’t.
Gentle fingertips delicately traced along the line of his jaw before tilting his head up ever so slightly. Their noses are only inches away from each other, but never touching. Her lips then parted ever so slightly and Chishiya watched with mild interest as wisps of smoke began to curl from the edges of Kuina’s mouth.
Well. This is interesting, he thought, the slow pulse of the bass rumbling lightly in the core of his chest.
He didn’t know what exactly made him agree to this activity. Maybe it was the Beach’s epicurean influence. Maybe it was simply due to curiosity. Chishiya didn’t know for sure.
Kuina’s thumb grazed lightly over his skin before hooking it over his bottom lip, keeping his mouth open. Chishiya watched the motion with analytical attentiveness.
“You’ve got to breathe in.” She muttered as she leaned towards him, swirls of smoke beginning to exit from her mouth.
He did, the haze shrouding their faces ever so slightly, giving an unpleasant sting to the edges of his eyes.
The smoke settled at the back of his throat like a layer of itchy cotton.
The endeavor of shotgunning within itself was interesting, and it definitely was a new life experience gained, but Chishiya decided he didn’t have any further particular thoughts on the matter.
Other than that, he must’ve made a face because Kuina laughed as she let go, nothing but casual mirth glittering in her eyes.
“Gross right?” She put the end of her cigarette up to her lips again. She took another drag before blowing it out again, the smoke slowly dissipating into the air in curling wisps. “They say that smoking is supposed to calm you down. Personally I don’t believe it.”
Chishiya gave a noncommittal hum before going back to observing the crowd down below.
“So.” Kuina said, back on task.
Chishiya observed as she dropped the cigarette onto the ground before crushing it beneath her flip flop.
“What happens now?” She asked.
“I’m not sure.” He responded. “But my intuition is telling me that something big is going to happen very soon.”
“Right.” She agreed, nodding curtly.
“Let’s go, Kuina.” Chishiya pulled his hood back up over his head, walking a little aways before Kuina followed.
Then, the two of them went off into the darkness and disappeared into the night.