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The day after Aizawa Kokon and Matsuda Kengo officially exchanged a firm handshake at the riverbank to signal their alliance as agents to bring their clients Mari and Seki together, the both of them agreed to meet their targets to set a new plan in motion.
Kon, with a coy smile playing on her lips, linked her arm with Pon's as they strolled down a hallway at school. She could feel the tension radiating from him, his muscles stiffening slightly under her touch. She briefly commented on not really missing the place at all, but at that moment, he could barely register her words. Kon paid that no mind and kept on talking.
"So, Tanuki," she prompted, her voice silky smooth, "I was thinking we should have a quick practice session of our roles as lovers. You know, to make things more convincing for those two so we don’t get exposed too soon and make this whole thing a waste of time."
Pon's heart skipped a beat at how naturally those sweet, seductive moves came to her.
"Sure, Kon-dono. Sounds like a good move," he said softly, trying to conceal the nervousness in his voice. The shift from considering all of his plans as good as destroyed mere hours ago to his target being this particularly compliant sent his mind reeling with conflicting emotions. Kon chuckled softly, squeezing his arm.
"Relax. It's just pretend, for now." she reassured him, though her eyes twinkled with mischief.
Pon nodded, though he couldn't shake the fluttering sensation in his stomach.
"Right, for the sake of our good work." he echoed.
For now...It's not like that was enough to gets his hopes up, as he was a professional. He knew too well what those words were. Calculated crumbs of affection, a reflex if you will, of wanting to be liked. Even if it was by him, whom she despised not too long ago—the only way he figured he could have her attention at all. The distance between him and Kokon had been considerable, which made their current predicament feel all the more surreal.
As they came to a stop in a secluded corner of the school corridors near the stairs, where some unused desks were stacked, Kon turned to face Pon, her eyes narrowing and glinting like a fox’s.
"Let's start with some basic affectionate gestures!" she said cheerfully as she let go of his arm to face him expectantly. “How about you stroke your girlfriend’s hair?”
Pon's breath caught in his throat as Kon's proximity sent a jolt of electricity through him, his heart pounding erratically in his chest.
"Okay. Seems simple enough," he said, trying to keep his composure. However, as he raised his hand to brush a lock of hair from her face to her delicate ears, he found that his arm wouldn’t obey at all. It was like it was made of lead. The immense effort he was putting in was visible on his face, and he fought not to let his face contort comically in frustration. The simple, seconds-long action felt like it was taking ages to be carried out.
A loud sigh startled him, his fingers reflexively jolting further away from his companion’s face.
“Ahhhhh, that won’t do,” Kon grumbled as she brought her palm to her face dramatically. "Don't tell me you're getting nervous already. Even friends can do that, you know?" she taunted. Pon's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but his mind raced with a calculated plan.
"It’s just… quite the drastic change from our usual skinship etiquette, Kon-dono," he replied smoothly "I'm just struggling with thinking about how to make our performance truly convincing. I don’t want to overstep."
Kon smirked victoriously, clearly enjoying Pon's discomfort.
Serves you right, Tanuki! How did you think I felt with your audacious claims at the one thing I was confident in? You walked barefoot into my field of love expertise and made a mess! How does it feel when the script is flipped, huh? she thought, overcome with a sense of both satisfaction of sweet revenge and curiosity at how much he measured up to her.
"Good thing I'm an expert at this sort of thing," she said, her voice a perfect balance of cute arrogance and charm, stepping closer until their bodies were pratically pressed together. "Follow my lead, and you'll do just fine."
Pon subtly adjusted his body language to appear more passive, knowing that Kon thrived on feeling superior. He nodded, as he played along with her game.
"Right, I'll keep up with Kon-dono."
Kon wordlessly led his hand into her hair and closed her eyes as she brushed her cheek on his palm, his hand feeling extremely cold against her warm skin. Her lithe fingers brushed against his in what a more unsuspecting guy may have interpreted as a demure display of affection.
Being fully aware Aizawa Kokon was into guys that weren’t into her, Pon may have lost his upper hand, but there were still ways to feed her expectations, only to surprise her when her guard was down. That’s the very foundation of strategizing in love affairs.
"I guess I was expecting too much. After all, I doubt you've had much experience with women before," she remarked, and there wasn’t much Pon could say in his defense. It hurt more than it made him embarrassed, but he masked his true feelings behind a sheepish grin.
"Indeed," he admitted with a shrug, playing into her perception of him as harmless. "I guess that would make you my first."
Kon nodded knowingly, her expression smug as she reveled in her sense of superiority.
"Well, lucky you. You should be grateful that I can show you the ropes."
Internally, Pon couldn't help but marvel at how smoothly his plan was unfolding. As he took full advantage of the role of the bumbling, inexperienced lover, he silently thanked Seki-dono for unwittingly providing him with the perfect cover through his manga playing up his qualities as inexperienced, but loyal. That blissfully glossed over the questionable lenghts to which he has commited to, in order to get this far.
As Kon continued to babble and berate him, Pon's eyes glinted with determination. With a swift movement, he reached out and grasped her hand, his hold enclosing a firmness that belied his supposed innocence. The gasp that escaped Kon’s mouth did not go unnoticed by his keen ears, an agent trained to pick up on the smallest of changes of heart.
"I apologize, Kon-dono. Am I holding your hand too tightly?" he asked, feigning uncertainty as he applied just enough pressure to make her squirm. A flicker of surprise flashed in Kon's eyes, quickly replaced by a defiant smirk.
"Seriously, you’re hopeless, aren’t you?" Kon chided, though a hint of flustered irritation was impossible for even her to conceal.
Pon's lips curved into a false apologetical smile as he adjusted his grip, deliberately softening his touch.
There is no way a muscle otaku like her wouldn't feel rattled by this! he thought triumphantly, mustering all his willpower to hold back from smirking.
“I'll try to be more careful," he retorted, overcome by sense of satisfaction at the subtle power shift that had taken place. He knew that by asserting himself in this small way, he had managed to deal a blow to Kon's composure.
However, Agent Kon had an unique trait about her—one that defied Pon’s logic and strategy. Rather than conceding defeat at his expert move, she was able to put her all into her daring, killer moves - shame be damned. That girl believed attack to be the best defense.
Thus, Kon leaned in close, her breath warm and sweet in his ear.
"Don’t forget I'm your girlfriend for now, Kengo-kun," she whispered, her tone incredibly suggestive next "Be gentle with me."
Pon's eyes widened at her boldness, his cheeks flushing crimson as her words sent a shiver down his spine. Caught off guard by her sudden change in demeanor, he struggled to find a response.
“O-of course. I'll keep that in mind.” he stammered out a feeble reply.
Kon felt a surge of satisfaction at his intense reaction, a contrast to how contained he had been so far, and decided that was enough for their current goal.
"Well, that was a great warm-up! Let's go." she beamed.
With a curt nod, Pon gestured for Kon to lead the way, still weak at the knees from the exchange.
Kokon didn’t think true love existed.
Men and women were willing to lie and deceive in the name of romance. She was an agent of such warfare affairs and painfully aware of what the backstage looked like. She didn’t know what to make of Matsuda Kengo’s feelings yet. Was he another victim of her charms? Was he truly serious?
As Kokon held him close again to stroll down the school, she really didn’t feel any closer to finding answers for any of her questions. But she was sure of one thing.
She’ll have her fun while she looks for them.