Rina made her way to the washroom to use the shower to get all the food and sauces off her from Erika's outburst. The noise she heard earlier still lingered in her head but there's nothing she could do about it for the moment. The shampoo and multiple showering gels felt great on her. Kousuke was smart to buy them for Mana ahead of time they proved helpful at the moment for Rina to use. He bought the best products he thought would satisfy Mana, and Rina enjoyed the quantity that ran along her skin.
Kousuke was able to wash her undergarments first, though he was nervous about touching them. Shocked a little bit that they were in lace lingerie.
'I know Rina has style but this seems more saucy than I imagined for her tastes. She's full of surprises that's for sure.'
Kousuke was smart in many things, but reading the room when it came to a girl's intentions he was still an idiot at. Kousuke couldn't get the clothes cleaned up though. Unfortunately, they were dry clean only so he had to get a tank top and a pair of shorts for her to wear from his casual clothes. They were big on her but at least the shorts would fit at least being compression type.
"Oy, Rina I got some clothes for you to wear when you're done. I'll leave them by the door for you to get."
Rina was finishing up her shower when she heard Kousuke talk. She dried off and put on the clothes he gave her after responding to his call.
Rina was nervous, she was alone with Kousuke now, and she wanted the moment to last a bit longer. Rina looked in the drawer for the brush and hairdryer to fix her hair, and in the drawer she spotted a pair of scissors. She looked at them then had an idea click in her head. She would use them to trim the top a the shirt to show more of her cleavage and navel area. She cut the shorts as well in the style of hot pants that exposed the ends of her buttocks a bit more.
'Sorry Itsuki, but I have to try at least to see if I have a shot.'
Kousuke was eating a pork cutlet while flipping through the channels on his TV.
He was wondering how he was able to get people to like him so much. He wasn't charming, and he was still naive to people's feelings.
Even with that, he was grateful. He was making friends who cared enough to spend time with him. He looked at Akane's altar, he was thinking back on how she convinced him to go back after he gave up in the Spirit World. Kousuke looked at that moment with warmth. He still felt her light in his hands and heart when she was able to move on to paradise.
"Merry Christmas, Kaa-San. Thank you, for convincing me to take another step forward again." Kousuke had happy images of Akane run through his mind, it made his eyes tear up, causing him to wipe them after the memories were done.
"I'm done," Rina announced.
"Oh, how was it. Hope the sauces got off ok with the....gah!" Kousuke looked in her direction, he gasped, dropping the cutlet from his mouth at seeing her coming out in the clothes she was wearing. It wasn't what he had given her earlier, so it caught him off guard. He almost choked on the pieces of the cutlet still in his mouth till he was finally able to swallow them down.
"Uh, you ok Kousuke?"
"*cough cough* Yes I'm fine. But Rina, what happened to the clothes I gave you?"
"Hmm, oh, they felt too baggy on me so I fixed them up a bit is that ok?" Rina was bad at lying right now, even Kousuke wasn't that naive. He sighed at the lame excuse but let her have it her way.
"It's ok, come have a seat I turned the heater on the kotatsu so you'll warm up quicker before you go home."
Rina made her way to the table, and she drank the warm cocoa enjoying more of the sweets that were left.
Kousuke looked her way, he couldn't help but look at her appearance. Her skin looked smooth, her hair was silky and shiny, and she looked very pretty. Kousuke had never seen her that way earlier, they talked a lot during work, and when they hung out it was with friends. This was the first time they hung out by themselves.
Maybe this time it was because he wasn't distracted with work or training, or it was because the only person he spent alone time with was Itsuki, so he never saw others in a way he could have.
Rina looked to see him stare at her. She blushed as he turned to look away.
"Ah ha, I'll put something on, we should finish with a good movie before heading home right?" He was stuttering from his embarrassed look.
He flipped through the channels till he saw 'Die Hard' on.
'Sweet, I love this movie. It was the first American film Kaa-San showed me before Mana-Haha lectured her on showing an action film to a young kid.'
Rina looked at Kousuke, and she saw how he looked like he was experiencing nostalgia when it was on.
"You like this movie?"
"You bet. I watched it with my Primary Mother when I was a kid. She thought it would be great for a boy to watch an action movie early on. She was a bit weird like that but I'm happy for those times. She was funny like that." Rina could see the love in his eyes for that memory. She thought this was a chance to make the memory better for him.
"Yippee Ki-yay, Mother." She stopped at that not wanting to cuss.
Kousuke looked at her in surprise. Rina even closed her hands together in a gun gesture.
"You know Die Hard?" Koutetsu asked shocked because he didn't expect Rina to be into an action movie as old as that one. Or rather maybe he was overthinking it since that line had become very common to quote since its release.
"I do, does it bother you?" Rina asked him.
"Not even, I'm just surprised. You're into a lot of runway documentaries or idol TV from what you usually watch at the cafe, I'm just surprised you like an action film like this one."
Rina's eyes went sullen, she felt somewhat insulted by the stereotype he had of her after all the time they spent together.
"Kousuke, just because I'm a fashion major doesn't mean I can't like video games or action and horror movies." She said sounding despondent.
Kousuke felt that sting. Like a bolt of lightning ran across his head. He missed the mark badly on her there when it came to her likes and dislikes. He bowed his head apologizing for the action he displayed to her. Rina forgave him, she took one of the cutlets as payback, Kousuke didn't even try to stop her because he knew he messed up, the least he could do was give her a cutlet as an apology. Rina ate and another, she dipped one more in a sauce cup but splashed a bit of the sauce on Kousuke without meaning to. The two laughed it off, continuing they snack on the leftover foods they began talking about the movie and even repeating the lines the actors would say while it was playing like it was a game to them to see who messes up first.
Rina also talked about horror movies she liked, she wasn't into the extreme gore kinda but loved psychological thrillers or romantic villains, even admitting she loved playing fighting games at arcades when she was young like Tekken or Double Dragon.
Kousuke couldn't believe this side of her of so well hidden from him. She wasn't lying about the movies or games she liked either because he would have known from the smallest details he asked to check her honesty about them. He was having fun with her, they rarely had time alone save for the break times at the cafe or when he was doing his disciplinary duties at the school, he was enjoying his time right in earnest, like God gave him a reprieve for everything he took for granted in his new life. Kousuke looked at the time on his phone, it was already one in the morning. He closed his eyes in embarrassment for messing up keeping track of time. There weren't any available rides to pick Rina up this late especially on Christmas when everyone wanted to be home with family.
'Crap, we were having so much fun I should have checked the time more carefully. I can't let her walk home in that outfit when her clothes are still a mess, that's asking for some creep to mess with her. And I can't use my bike either it's too cold for her to ride on it, her clothes are still being cleaned up from how hard those stains were, argh what a drag I should have paid better attention to the time.'
"You ok?" Rina asked looking at his grunted expression.
Kousuke broke out of his thought to look at Rina, he shook his head to snap himself back to normal.
"Uh haha, yeah I'm fine. Was just in deep thought. Anyway, it's late and there are no available rides right now. If you're ok with it you can sleep in my Birth Mother's room for tonight."
Rina was frozen for a moment, and she then turned red in her cheeks. This was unbelievable for her, she wanted extra time, but staying over for the night, was an even better deal than before.
"Are you sure? I can't inconvenience you like that."
"Oh, it's fine. You're a precious friend to me. I'm not gonna throw you out after what you did for me today. It meant a lot to me and so do you."
Rina's heart fluttered. He told her she meant a lot to him. Her eyes watered because that was the happiest moment for her. That somebody wanted her.
Rina pulled out the present for Kousuke, and she gave it to him with a sincere smile.
"Merry Christmas Kousuke."
Kousuke wasn't expecting the gift. He had no money to buy a present and Rina got him one. He had sullen eyes feeling bad that he didn't get her one. He took the gift from her and opened it. Kousuke saw the silver necklace inside, he liked it, it was his style.
"The lady at the shop said if you put something precious inside it, it'll keep it safe for you. You can open up the head and put the ribbon in there so you won't lose it anymore."
Kousuke was torn when he heard the explanation. He cherished the ribbon Itsuki gave him, but even he had to admit he had too many close calls losing it.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything about the ribbon. You don't have to wear it if you don't want to."
Kousuke looked at Rina's face. He wasn't about to hurt her feelings. He opened up the feline head and put the ribbon inside, he then wore the necklace, Rina saw him wear it, and she couldn't believe he had done it.
"You put it in? Isn't it an important treasure to you? I wasn't expecting you to easily do that but are you sure you don't mind though?" Rina couldn't help but ask since the ribbon was more valuable to him than his life was.
"Like I said earlier. You're just as important to me as Itsuki is and the ribbon she gave me. I can wear both knowing how they were from kind friends who thought about me. Thank you, Rina, you're special to me like that."
Rina was overjoyed. He liked the gift, and she felt happy he considered her that way.
"I'm sorry, I don't have a present for you. I spent all that money on the stuff for my Birth Mother's return. I'm sorry I have nothing to give back in return." He said bowing his head once more in shame.
Rina smiled and told him it was ok. Just letting her stay was enough, all she wanted was more time and she was getting it.
He was satisfied that she was happy with that. Kousuke called it a night, showed Rina the room to sleep in, and he bid her good night as he closed his door.
Kousuke lay on the bed looking up at the ceiling. He reflected on the day he had, and he couldn't help but joy at everyone thinking of him and his well-being. He grabbed the necklace looking at it carefully. Rina must have put thought into it, he felt bad that he wouldn't be wearing the ribbon on his neck anymore, but he felt that keeping it safe was great too.
'Ah, man what a day, The only thing that can top this off is if Mana-Haha was coming home on my birthday. Oh, she did say she had a surprise for me. Maybe it's a late birthday gift. Well, best to just sleep on it. Man, Christmas sure is good sometimes.'
Kousuke began to try and sleep, Megumi taught him how to do image training while resting so he could train and sleep well at the same time. The image training allowed him to practice fighting against any opponent as long as he remembered everything about them down to the smallest detail. It wasn't perfect but it helped in his development.
In the other room, Rina was still awake. She lay on her side, her face buried in the pillow, she couldn't sleep after all that.
Rina got out the bed, she walked on the tips of her toes to Koutetsu's room, carefully opening the door not to disturb him.
She saw Kousuke asleep on his bed, he looked peaceful, like a cherub to her.
Rina tiptoed over to the bed, she made careful steps to get on it without waking Kousuke. Rina was able to get into the bed, lying next to him. She stared hard at his face, admiring every inch of it. She breathed heavily, her hand caressing his hair down to his face and then his lips. She picked herself up enough that her upper body was over his, her face staring directly in front of Kousuke's. Her legs caressing his, one hand gripping the blanket under him tight while her other was gently rubbing his face, she was trying to keep her breathing quiet to not wake him.
She slowly lowered her head to the point where her lips were close to his, the tips of her mouth just enough to barely touch his without going all the way. She closed her eyes ready to take it further, this was the gift she wanted most of all, to give her first kiss away to someone she wanted to of her own will.
Rina stopped stopped however before it could be accomplished, she remembered what Kousuke told her earlier as it echoed in her mind like a safety mechanism.
"Like I said earlier. You're just as important to me as Itsuki is and the ribbon she gave me. I can wear both knowing how they were from kind friends who thought about me. Thank you, Rina, you're special to me like that."
Rina stopped herself from going any further instinctively because she felt this was wrong to take advantage like this when he was asleep and without consent. She felt incredibly ashamed of doing this by giving in to her desires instead of thinking of approval foremost. She was taking advantage of Kousuke after all the good he had done for her. Rina got off the bed cautiously without even making the smallest of sound and headed back to Mana's room, she took a look at Kousuke one more time, and the feelings of regret hit her, she wanted him to like her honestly in the same he does for Itsuki, it felt wrong to sneak about using tactics like she did in the moment.
'Oyasimi Kousuke.' Rina said in thought to tell him sweet dreams, leaving for the room to sleep, she wasn't going to bother Kousuke amounts but leave him alone to sleep peacefully for the night.
She made her way back throwing herself on the bed. She lay on the bed gripping the pillow tight with her face buried in it to get over what she did. She felt embarrassed kicking her feet about, but she calmed down after the small fit so she could sleep. Hoping he wouldn't have noticed by morning.
'Can it stay like this please. Please God, can it stay like this forever, I don't want tomorrow to come. I want to stay in this day as long as possible.' Her eyes filled with tears as he quietly fell into slumber saying the prayer over and over again her head.