She reached her hand to her mouth, taking a long drag of the cigarette that laid a little too relaxed between her fingers, and placed it back down on the ashtray resting on the bed a little further off. She stared up at the ceiling as she lay on the bed, her legs dangling off the side and her head hoisted up on the silver haired boy's bare lap. Occasionally she'd tilt her head to get a glance of his face right above hers- his chiseled, muscular chest and his sharp jawline- knowing she'd be able to successfully do it without him noticing as his mind was on the cash he was counting above her.

It wasn't a lot. She had explained when he was forced to leave the city, a lot of the "clients" switched buyers. Some of them didn't want to deal with a girl, some of them didn't want his parents to catch on and get them arrested. Others were just afraid when the big names started getting busted in the city and they switched to smaller sellers on the outskirts. Regardless, her sales continued slowly but steadily until he could return from his banishment to Nowheresville to hopefully save the business. He was good at saving things. Especially her.

Yu Narukami was his name, though he went by a lot of different aliases depending on where he was. When conversing with new buyers over the phone, he went by Kenpachi Ramasama. It was silly and it made her laugh every time she would be with him and he would introduce himself as that, especially if she was grasped onto him in public or if they were naked in her bed. To customers he met in person, he went by Souji Seta. This title also went with a persona he adapted to intimidate potential thieves or people trying to take his girl away, complete with dark apparel and a gun. Few people knew him by Yu, but they were his most trusted acquaintances and, regrettably, his family.

"Smoking is bad for you," he scolded, not even flinching or looking down.

She smirked and took another drag, returning her hand to the tray and blowing it away from him. It was a nasty habit, she admitted, and she picked it up when he was gone, but she wouldn't admit that he was the reason she did. "Says the dealer."

"Yeah, I deal, I don't smoke any of it." He was very invested in his counting and didn't want to get involved in lengthy conversation, she could tell. He probably should have considered that before opening his mouth, then.

The girl stomped her cigarette into the tray multiple times which put it out, releasing a small puff of smoke, and raised herself from her laying position, making sure to avoid Yu's hands. She grabbed the tray off of the bed and walked over to her dresser, putting the tray down. She looked into the mirror right above her dresser and noticed him eyeing her up- thinking he couldn't see her.

She knew he was coming back today and she had hoped he would come to see her first, so she elected to wear her brand new black-and-red lacey panty and push up bra set to greet him with. All it took was a little bending over with her flirty skirt for him to get a little sneak peek and send him into a lustful mess, pulling her onto the bed and having his way with her. Judging by his inability to keep his hands off of her earlier and now his need to distract himself from counting, she picked well. Of course she did, though. She knew him probably better than he knew himself.

She turned around slow enough for him to think he got away with the peeking and crawled back into her bed, choosing to sit up and face him rather than lay by him. His eyes remain on his stack of bills. She cleared her throat to get his attention and he ignored her. She expected nothing else. "Let's talk," she said perkily, twisting her head and letting one of her pigtails (his idea) fall onto her shoulder.

"I'm counting," he responded in his normal monotone cocky smug little sh-

"Well, stop." The girl reached her hand out and touched his hand gently. She had hoped it was enough to get his attention but not enough to break his concentration and send him into a fit of passive-aggressive rage. "You can count later. I wanna talk now… Please?" she sounded a little needier, knowing that it was his weakness.

He took a deep breath and finished the last of his stack, wrapping it up with a rubber band and tossing it behind him, successfully getting it in the box that all of the other counted money was in. "Okay, fine. Let's talk." He outstretched his arms, welcoming her to sit on his lap and join him. She complied happily, crawling into his arms and sitting in his lap. She grabbed his hands with her own and crossed his arms so she could hold them properly and feel like he was protecting her. In return for her feeling of security, he got to feel lacy panties on his upper legs and a lacy bra touching his arms. "What do you want to talk about?"

She smiled and brought up one his hands to her mouth, kissing it gently. "Tell me about Een- um… wherever you were. Who did you stay with? What did you do? Did you make any friends?"

"I stayed with my uncle and it was… weird. His wife died in a hit and run a while back and he won't get over it. I almost pitied him. He had a young daughter. She was really great. I'd love to have a kid like her one day." Her stomach fluttered. "What did I do? I solved a murder case that was actually done by a police officer, hopped into the television, and fought a God to save the world."

She snickered and leaned back into him, bringing his hug with and kissing his jaw. "Oh shut up," she cackled. He knew she wouldn't believe him, but it was worth a shot. She tended to believe every other word that came out of his mouth.

"As for friends… I didn't really make any. They all thought I was some sort of heroic figure to look up to."

"Oh?" she asked, her interest genuinely peaked.

He nodded and squeezed her hand. "The first guy I met was an absolute loser that was obsessed with me. He must have never had a real friend, which makes sense because the guy was pathetic. He was clumsy and obnoxious and wouldn't get over the fact that the girl he liked was a whore that ran away to be with some guy. Then there were these two girl best friends, one of which I was afraid would cut my throat in the middle of the night and the other had this stupid tomboy façade to hide her desire to be in control of everything. Being in the same room with them together was miserable and painful. Then there was this guy that didn't even know how to be a guy and thought he could pass it off by being brutal and act like a biker. He was hopelessly obsessed with this girl who he thought was a guy but in actuality she was just a wimp and afraid to be herself so she dressed up like a guy or whatever stupid shit. There was also this weird kid that said a bunch of dumb bear puns all the time. He's probably going to get hit by a car one day."

She chuckled again at his dislike of everyone in the group. He got away with it so often because of his ability to keep a straight face and remain calm through every situation. She envied him for this and wished she, too, could be a living pokerface.

"Then," he began again with a dramatic sigh, "there was this nurse that got aroused when I would reject her, a worthless detective with a cabbage fetish, an old lady that called herself death to make people feel sorry for her, some guy whose sister died so he tried to act all strong when he was just a wimp, some girl that had serious daddy issues until he died, and a guy who had mommy issues because he was adopted."

"That sounds insane!"

He nodded. "And Risette was there too."

"You're so full of shit!"

"I swear! I have pictures! She was clingy as hell, though. It was kinda hot. I could do whatever to her and she would be all in. She was such an easy score."

Her heart stopped. She knew he wasn't entirely monogamous, but she knew she couldn't compete with a big idol. Her grip released a little on his hands and, in response, he squeezed hers tighter.

"I came back for you, you know," he whispered. "Inaba was insane, and it was a lot of fun to let everyone think I was their friend, but it wasn't as good as you."

"But you don't love me," she responded with a hint of sadness. She had to muster up all of her strength to not let her hurt show.

This had been a discussion they had plenty of times. He cared for her, but he did not love her. Maybe he would marry her one day to get his family off of his back or to look like a normal every day guy, but his heart did not beat faster because of his love for her. He would fuck her under a candlelight, he would buy her expensive gifts, he would hold her hand in public and not let anyone else by her, but he did not love her. And for all he knew, she did not love him as well. She was just lonely and desperate.

"Of course not," he responded happily while detaching his hand from hers and reaching to cup her breast. "That would make things weird. You're my partner in crime."


She had always thought he had the sweetest sleeping face. All of the bitterness and arrogance locked in his heart seemed to melt away the second he closed his eyes. When a gentle smile grew across his face, she considered dropping the backpack and crawling back into her bed with him- forgetting this stupid idea and staying with the boy that just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

'Of course I don't love you.'

Those six words echoed in her head.