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The sound of the motion-activated door chime rang through the space of the convenience store as Suo and Kiryu stepped inside, taking shelter from the downpour outside. The raindrops and gray sky painted the world beyond the store like a gloomy yet introspective painting, hiding knowing thoughts and secrets from the harshness of reality. Suo’s lips curled up, forming a subtle smile at the fascinating work of art displayed before her crimson eye. Her gaze lingered for a while longer, capturing the sight and printing it deep into her mind.
Kiryu hummed beside her, appearing relaxed and casual on the outside. 𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. He was a nervous wreck on the inside, the voices in his head constantly yelling at him to keep his cool and refrain from bursting into a vibrant tomato in font of his crush. His green eyes glanced at her, taking in the sight of her appearance. Suo was dressed in a chic black cheongsam with bubble gum pink flower embroidery near the hem, waist and chest. A soft knitted lilac cardigan, gifted by Kiryu on the same day, draped over her slender frame. The garment clashed with the overall vibe of the elegant cheongsam but, it created a beautiful contrast that highlighted Suo’s playful and poise side. A few locks of her long brown hair were pulled into a half bun, secured with a traditional gemmed Chinese hairpin with design influence from the ming dynasty.
If Suo saw rainy days and sunsets as paintings, Kiryu viewed her as god’s most precious sculpture. If perfection was a human, it would be her. Beautiful and graceful no matter what she did, even when she was joking or getting under Sakura’s skin.
“Hey, Kiryu-kun. Let’s grab you a snack while we wait for the rain to stop. It’s on me”, Suo said while gesturing towards the wide assortment of snacks neatly arranged on the shelves and open chiller display. Kiryu raised an eyebrow at her, almost as if he was amused by her statement.
“Just me? What about for yourself?”
“You know I’m on a diet.”
“But you’re in great shape. One onigiri won’t ruin your figure.”
Kiryu strode across the store and stopped in front of the chiller, eyes scanning at the several onigiri flavours offered by the small establishment. He was not sure which flavour would Suo want, prompting him to go with the safest option he could think of; Tuna mayo. There was no way he could go wrong with that. He grabbed two onigiri of the same flavour and a bottle of strawberry milk before heading towards the front counter. He paid for the items with a swipe from his credit card and skipped back to his crush like a little golden retriever.
Now it was Suo’s turn to raise her eyebrow, “I said I’ll pay.”
The pink-haired teenager gave a cheeky smile in response. “Don’t be silly. I invited you to hang out, so it should be me treating you.” By ‘hang out’ he meant a date with her. However, Suo was not aware of his true intention for bringing her out. No, Kiryu would die on the spot if she knew about his blooming feelings for her like a flower during spring. Maybe the fear of rejection was the reason for him holding back from confessing his feelings to his classmate.
“But Kiryu-kun, you got me this wonderful gift. It’s not fair if I don’t do something in return”, she chimed, gesturing to the cardigan he gave her. Her gaze softened at the warmth the cardigan was providing against the chill emanating from the rain and air conditioner. His gift was thoughtful, almost as if he had predicted it would rain out of the blue today. Perhaps it was just a lucky guess.
Kiryu pulled her to one of the two small tables provided in the convenience store and sat down before gesturing her to sit beside him. His smile turned mischievous, resembling a cartoonish cat grin. “Come, Suo-chan. Won’t you eat with me? You can return the gesture by doing this.” She had to eat this time. He was sure she could not refuse and eat the onigiri with him. Suo was all about politeness after all.
Suo’s gaze softened even more at his words, almost apologetically. It was as if she could not eat at all and felt bad at the thought of allowing her classmate to snack on his own. “I’m so sorry, Kiryu-kun. I really can’t eat.”
“Why not? You can tell me the reason.”
“Maybe one day.”
*＊✿❀ ❀✿＊**＊✿❀ ❀✿＊**＊✿❀ ❀✿＊*
After an hour of waiting, the downpour finally came to a stop, allowing the teenagers to continue walking to the mall. Kiryu made sure Suo did not step in any puddles, not that he needed to since the girl was not interested in getting her shoes wet either. She giggled each time he gave her a heads up at a nearby water puddle. Suo had no idea he could be this much of a gentleman. It was a new side of Kiryu she was seeing and she couldn’t help but find him a little charming. They reached the mall and took note on the significant number of visitors crowding the mall. It was the weekend after all, so it was not a surprise to the duo. The atmosphere was light and cheerful. Sounds of chattering and laughter felt distant to Kiryu as his attention was solely focused on the girl beside him. His gaze lingered at her hand which was wrapped on an antique folding fan. Kiryu wondered what would it feel like to have those same long slender fingers wrapped on his hand instead of the fan’s handle. The thought made him blush a little. He hoped she did not notice it.
But Suo did.
She always noticed everything, no matter how small or brief it may be.
However, Suo decided to pretend she did not notice anything. Instead, she pointed at a bookstore to make the situation less awkward for him. “Let’s head there first. I could use a new book or two. How about you, Kiryu-kun?”
Kiryu stuffed his hands into his pockets, already accepting the fact he won’t get the chance to hold her hand. “Nah”, he shook his head. He was never one to read novels. “Too many words”, he once said to his sister when she tried to get him to read a book for a change instead of always playing video games. It was futile on her end to get him to give in.
The pair headed into the bookstore. Their figures were immediately bathed in the fluorescent lights. Kiryu’s eyes wandered to his companion. The lights hit her features, making them appear sharper and more pronounced. He was used to seeing this sort of light making people looked washed out and unflattering.
Funny.
Suo looked far from that. It was as if the very lights were complementing her features in a way that looked almost magical. The rubies of her antique earrings glimmered almost hauntingly. It Kiryu did not know better, he would have assumed those earrings came from a haunted mansion of some sort.
There was something about those earrings. The unsettling glow emitted by the gems made him shudder internally. It was almost as if the jewelry sensed something that humans could not. Something beyond the human mind’s understanding.
Was it celestial?
He doubted it.
“Kiryu-kun, won’t you help me decide on which book I should get?”
The sound of Suo’s relaxed yet teasing tone snapped him out from his thoughts. Had he been staring too long at her earrings? Did she notice? Of course she did. He mentally made a note to bury himself alive after the outing.
A soft chuckle escaped from Suo’s lips as she observed her companion with a teasing smile. “I really love these two books but, I think it would be wasteful to get both” she said while holding up her two options. The first book was a hardcover with soft intricate floral and strawberry details. The title was ‘Poisoned by Berries’. It sounded like a girly girl executing her long-awaited revenge in the most girlish and cutest way possible. The thought made them both laugh behind the long rows of bookshelves.
The second book was paperback. The designs were bold compared to the first book. There were blood red roses protruding out from a cracked human skull. Shards of glass pieces littered below like a broken promise that stabbed deeper than any sword known to mankind. Although both books had their own dark elements, the second novel seemed to heavily stand on the toxic and possessive love troupe.
“Cut Me Open, Love. Huh, that’s pretty dark. Are you into those kind of things, Suo-chan?” he inquired with a teasing raised eyebrow and expression. “I had no idea you could be this extreme. Tell me, are you just touch starved?” The moment those words left Kiryu’s mouth, he instantly froze. Who in their right mind would ask that question to a girl? He swore the words just spilled out like a waterfall. Uncontrollable.
To his surprise, she did not look upset or furious. That playful smile only grew wider like a fox planning its next scheme. She was definitely cooking a devious plan. The thought alone made the guy gulp.
Suo placed the books aside and slowly leaned down to him. She was going so slow that it hurt him in more ways than he could imagine. The soft deep brown bangs fell forward with her movement, casting over her eyepatch like a calm river before a storm. Her smile remained but her visible eye sharpened slightly, locking away any emotions that could seep out. Vulnerable emotions the teenage girl would rather not show to anyone.
“You think I’m touch starved?” He could not tell if that was a genuine question or a threat laced with honey. “How funny. I am not. I simply enjoy the emotional intensity this genre provides. I’m sure you can understand that, Mitsuki-kun.”
Kiryu knew being a simp was not something to be proud of. But how could he not turn into a tomato after hearing his given name rolled off the tongue of the woman he was in love with? Even the way she said it felt too intimate. Or maybe it was the delulu talking. That probably could explain the soft peck on his cheek. Yes, it was all in his head. Suo Hayato did not kiss his cheek just now.
She did not. . .right?
“Aw, I think you’re the one who is actually touch starved” that sweet voice was all he needed to confirm the kiss was indeed real, “It seems like you need more than just a simple peck on the cheek.” She gently tapped her bottom lip while looking at the bookshelf behind her classmate. She was pretending to be deep in thought while subtly pulling attention to her lips. She knew how hard Kiryu was gulping at this point, his eyes solely on her lips as she continued to play dumb and focussed on something else.
She was definitely torturing the poor guy.
Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.
A soft groan made her finally look in his direction. She opened her mouth, about to speak but was distracted by an immediate pair of hands wrapping tightly on her waist. The swift motion nearly knocked the air from her lungs as Kiryu pulled her against his body. He was not about to let her go. Especially not after the small form of mental torture she inflicted on him. The sly look instantly disappeared, replaced with a mildly bewildered expression.
“You sure love toying with me, don’t you?”
“Kiryu-kun, let go. People might see.”
“Will that be an issue for you, Hayato-chan? Or is this another distraction to prevent me from savouring you?”
“Gosh, are you a cannibal?”
“What? N-no! Of course not. I. . .just want to kiss you.”
She giggled, clearly amused at him fumbling over his own words. She gently pried herself away from him and stood up straight. Her left hand rested on the curve of her hip while her other hand whipped out her folding fan. With a flick of her slender wrist, the fan spread open. Suo used it to cover the bottom half of her face, highlighting the growing mischievous glint in her eye. The sly look from earlier was plastered back on her face. Furin’s elegant yet cunning fox had returned and she was not about to let him walk away free of consequences after that stunt he pulled.
But it didn’t scare him. She was his beloved fox after all. If cat lovers could gush over their favourite felines, then he could do the same. He’d brush her hair, do her make-up and even wipe her shoes after a fight with gang members. It was his way to express his love and devotion for her. He was more than willing to do anything for this woman, even if it sounded impossible with how independent and secretive she was.
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭?
He really was a huge simp for her.
𝘐'𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, he had once said to himself after Sakura’s face turned a light shade of pink because of some stupid joke she said to rile him up. He was honestly surprised she hadn’t received karma for that mouth of hers. Not that it was an issue for him. She could say all the stupidest jokes in the world and he would still laugh at them while gazing lovingly at the brunette.
“Kiryu-kun, do you really want to kiss me?”
That question caught him off guard. He hesitantly made eye contact with her, searching for any hint of deception or mischief. He found none. Just genuine curiosity. Huh, maybe she was interested. The thought made the teenager blush in the same shade of his hair. She really did have that effect on him.
“If you want to kiss me, you need to earn it.”
There it was, the smile that had infatuated him the first time he saw her during orientation. He would do anything to preserve that smile and the chance to kiss her. For that to happen he would need to gain her trust and once he got it, he would absolutely protect it. The very essence of trust was sacred and fragile after all.
“Game on, sweetheart.”