During a break that day.
Kitagawa Kai wandered the hallway alone.
Just as he stepped out of the school building, a familiar figure came into view.
Kamuro Masumi.
She was hurrying along with a freshly made coffee from Palette.
Kitagawa Kai greeted her with easy familiarity. "Morning, Kitten."
Kamuro stopped short, making the coffee in her cup slosh and nearly spill.
"Huh? It's already afternoon. What do you mean, morning?"
Despite saying that, she didn't immediately walk away.
"Good afternoon works too." Kitagawa Kai readily corrected himself, his gaze sweeping over the coffee in her hand. "What's the rush? Something going on?"
His tone was ordinary, with just the right touch of concern.
But Kamuro Masumi clearly didn't see it that way.
"What's it to you?" She curled her lip and looked away. "And you, stop wandering around when you've got nothing to do. You're an eyesore."
Kitagawa Kai smiled, then suddenly pointed at the coffee. "Iced Americano, no sugar, no milk."
"Anyone who drinks it like that either really loves it, or..."
"I didn't know you liked coffee. Is that for Sakayanagi?"
"I was just passing by."
Some route that was.
From the school building to Palette Cafe, then back to the school building.
Kitagawa Kai raised an eyebrow. "Oi, oi, since when did you start running errands for Sakayanagi?"
"Did you go looking for thrills again and get caught by her?"
Kamuro Masumi looked as though life had dealt her a bad hand.
(눈_눈)
Displeasure was written all over her face.
"How did you know?"
"A guess." Kitagawa Kai shrugged. "You like chasing thrills, and Sakayanagi likes ordering people around."
"You're practically made for each other."
"More or less."
"That morning, I just wanted to see if I could get the spare key to the staff room. I wasn't really going to steal it. I'd give it back once I got it."
"But the moment I touched the doorknob, a message came through on my Terminal."
"It scared me to death."
She took out her phone, tapped a few times, and turned the screen toward Kitagawa Kai.
There was only one line on it:
[Kamuro, could you buy me a coffee?]
"You know what the most ridiculous part was?"
"When I got the message and looked up, she was standing in the hallway opposite me, waving through the window, with that 'sorry for the trouble' smile on her face."
That was very Sakayanagi Arisu.
"Wow, you really are lame."
"I can't help myself."
Kamuro's voice was muffled. "If I don't do something, I feel uncomfortable all over, like ants are crawling on me."
"Why didn't my Kitten tell me?"
"What good would telling you do?" Kamuro Masumi curled her lip. "You'd just say weird things, like last time."
So being a kitten wasn't thrilling enough anymore.
"Really?" Kitagawa Kai suddenly took half a step forward.
The distance between them instantly shrank.
She could smell the faint scent on him, mingled with the smell of sunshine.
"How about I show you something more exciting?"
"Completely risk-free. Once you've tried it, you won't be a little kid anymore~"
"Oh? I knew you were no innocent either, you pervert. You know about chasing thrills too, Kitagawa?"
Go on, tell me more.
Kamuro's eyes widened with curiosity.
The instant she finished speaking, Kitagawa Kai suddenly reached out and gently rested his hand on her head.
His hand was warm, his palm carrying a dry warmth as he ruffled her hair.
As though he were petting a cat.
The gesture was natural, practiced, and even carried a hint of casual intimacy.
"You..." Kamuro's pretty face flushed, and her lips parted. "Wh-what are you doing?"
Kitagawa said nothing. His fingers simply slid along the ends of her hair to behind her ear, gently pinching her earlobe.
"Mm~"
Kamuro Masumi's breathing grew a little uneven.
She wanted to step back.
Wanted to slap that brazen hand away.
But her body stood frozen, like a nail driven into the ground.
Kitagawa Kai's hand moved down, his thumb gently lifting her chin.
The movement was slow, slow enough for her to resist ten times over.
But she didn't.
She merely stared at him with wide eyes.
Up this close, he was actually pretty handsome.
"To teach you a way to find thrills other than stealing."
The instant his words fell, his other hand slipped around her waist, and with a little force, he pulled her into his arms.
He leaned down.
His lips pressed against Kamuro's.
Kamuro Masumi's mind went blank.
In that instant, the world dissolved into nothingness. All Kamuro could feel was the warm touch and the rich bitterness of coffee coming from the cup.
So bitter.
Yet somehow a little sweet.
[Ding!] [Kamuro Masumi Affection Level +1] [Kamuro Masumi Affection Level +1] [Kamuro Masumi Affection Level -1] [Kamuro Masumi Affection Level +1] [Kamuro Masumi Affection Level -1]
[Ding!] [Kamuro Masumi's current Affection Level: 62 (shy/concerned)] [Affection Level reward obtained: Shoulder Throw]
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
Time lost all meaning.
Clatter.
The coffee cup fell to the ground, slipping from her unconsciously loosened fingers.
"Hah... hah..."
Kamuro Masumi finally found her breath again, gasping for air.
She felt her cheeks burning. Worse still, her legs were going weak.
Kitagawa Kai spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear. "You okay, Kitten?"
"Who said you could touch me? Pervert! Gross!"
Kamuro Masumi's voice rose, but a careful listener could hear the trace of panic beneath it.
"You seemed pretty into it just now too."
"Who was into it?!" Kamuro Masumi was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "You're so strong! I was trying to get away! You... you were holding me too tightly!"
Kitagawa Kai brushed his fingertips over her cheek, his gaze fixed on her evasive eyes. "Do you really hate me that much, Masumi?"
"I..." Something seemed to lodge in Kamuro Masumi's throat.
Hate him?
How could she?
She could only stiffen her neck and retort, "What else? What suddenly got into you?! Patting my head, pinching my ear, and kissing me without permission! Who knows if you do this to every girl!"
"Nope. That was my first kiss in this world~"
His first kiss?
What a load of crap!
With how effortlessly he teased her, how did he look like someone with no experience?
"Stop pretending you're innocent! Who'd believe that?!" Kamuro scoffed.
Kitagawa Kai took her hand and pressed it against the left side of his chest. "See? I'm more flustered than you. Want to listen? It's still racing."
Beneath her palm, his heart beat strongly.
The scene from moments earlier flashed uncontrollably through Kamuro's mind.
That's so unfair~
Have I fallen for him?
Pfft, no, no, no.
No, that's not right.
It had to be because that kiss was so sudden, and he was deliberately pressing her hand against his heartbeat to act pitiful.
Yes, that was it.
"I have to take Sakayanagi her coffee. Yes, that's right!"
She suddenly lifted her chin as though grasping at her last lifeline, turned, and ran toward the school building.
Sakayanagi Arisu was quietly reading in the classroom, her expression focused and elegant.
Click.
The classroom door was shoved open, and Kamuro Masumi rushed in, panting, a lingering flush still on her face.
"Kamuro, where's my coffee?"
Kamuro froze. Her mind hadn't quite recovered from the earlier chaos, and she blurted out:
"I couldn't find the coffee shop."
???
What are you talking about?