Kure Ragna rinsed the foam from his hands under the faucet, wiped them dry, and walked toward the entrance.
When he opened the door, Kushida Kikyo stood outside.
Oh, but not in her usual sweet angel mode. This was her crazy mode.
Or rather, epileptic mode, as he liked to call it.
"...Aren't you going to let me in?"
They locked eyes for a moment before she finally broke the silence.
Kure Ragna raised an eyebrow but said nothing. With a slight shrug, he stepped aside.
Kushida Kikyo strode in, pausing at the entrance to remove her shoes, then made her way inside as if she owned the place.
Ragna, meanwhile, returned to the kitchen to finish washing the teacups.
The soft sound of her stockings brushing against the floor reached his ears before she came to stand behind him. She glanced at the sink, her voice cold.
"You had company?"
"Yeah," Ragna replied casually, rinsing off a cup. "They just left—right before you showed up."
Placing the cup on the drying rack, he turned to face her. "So? What brings you here?"
Kushida's expression darkened.
"...What? Are you serious?"
Ragna tilted his head, confused. "What?"
"You told me to come!" she snapped.
Ragna frowned. "When?"
"At the clothing store! You said, 'If you want to vent, we can talk later.'"
"Oh. That."
It clicked now.
"But I didn't mean right after I said it." He leaned against the counter, arms crossed. "I figured you'd do what you usually do—go to the beach at night and scream into the ocean like a lunatic."
"I don't care! I came here to talk!" she huffed. "Besides, you said you like this side of me better."
"...What?"
Ragna blinked, trying to recall.
Wait.
Yeah, he did say something like that.
"Alright, alright," he sighed, opening the fridge. He pulled out two bottles of iced green tea and handed one to her.
Kushida took it without hesitation, unscrewed the cap, and chugged a third of it in one go. Setting the bottle down, she wiped her mouth—definitely not in a ladylike manner—then wasted no time getting to the point.
"It pissed me off! Those two idiots, Ike and Yamauchi!"
Ragna smirked. "Go on."
Anticipating a long rant, he leaned against the stove, sipping his tea and pretending to listen attentively.
And sure enough, she didn't hold back.
"Remember that ridiculous excuse I told you about at the clothing store—the one Yamauchi made?"
"Yeah."
"Well, that wasn't even the worst part! I thought it was over after I bought his stupid game cassette, but then they tried to drag me to a movie!"
"...That doesn't sound that bad."
Kushida shot him a glare. "Oh, trust me, it was."
Ragna held back a chuckle. He had a pretty good idea of what was coming.
Kushida despised Ike and Yamauchi. Ike was somewhat tolerable, but Yamauchi? The guy had no skills, wouldn't shut up, and constantly made jokes that were about as funny as a funeral. It was no surprise most girls in the class wanted nothing to do with them.
"And guess what movie they picked?" she continued.
Ragna shrugged.
"Einstein's Glory and Troubled Days."
"...Huh."
"Exactly! Do they even know who Einstein is?! The movie was so boring and dragged on forever! And guess what? We were the only three people in the entire theater."
Ragna took another sip of his tea, amused. "...Let me guess. They didn't even watch it."
"Of course they didn't!" she growled. "Ike passed out fifteen minutes in, and that moron Yamauchi? He pulled out his handheld console and started playing the very same game cassette I just bought for him! On full volume!"
Ragna exhaled sharply, trying not to laugh.
"If they didn't want to watch it, why pick it in the first place?" she fumed. "If you're going to play games, just go back to your dorm!"
She sighed, taking another swig of tea before wiping her mouth roughly.
"The worst part?" she muttered. "I had to actually watch the whole thing. And pretend I liked it."
She clenched her fists, trying to find the right words.
"It was just... just..."
Ragna smirked, filling in the blanks for her.
"Like being in prison?"
Kushida's head snapped toward him. "...Yes! Exactly! Like being in prison!"
But after saying that, she fell silent for a moment. Then, suddenly, she sighed, as if admitting defeat.
"Tsk. It's useless."
"...What's useless?"
"Give me your hand."
Before he could react, she grabbed his wrist and pressed his palm firmly against her chest.
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