Lively
If asked, Ayano would never have thought that Kazuma knew how to dance. And in a way she was right—the guy had absolutely no grace.
But Ren wasn't letting up, spinning his brother—usually so dignified—by both hands before the Contractor could stop him. In spite of the older man's awkward steps, his eyes were amused, mouth almost happy.
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Prowl
"Not again."
Ayano huffed, "You weren't eating it."
Kazuma moved his desert away from her animated fork, "You're like a cat with cream."
"Cute?"
"Obvious."
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Morals
The game was strewn all over the floor in her fury. She shot him a glare, "I can't believe you wouldn't form an alliance with me!"
Kazuma's face remained impassive, "That's not how you win in life."
"It's not life, it's Risk!" the princess huffed, "But I see where your priorities lie."
"Uh, guys?" Ren broke in, rubbing his head in discomfort, "Can we just not have game night anymore?"
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Cleanse
It was amazing she always managed to tear all of her clothes to shreds when they fought Youmas.
It was one of Kazuma's least favorite things about Ayano. The girl in question was panting, the rain around them regrouping and pouring down with renewed force and vigor. She raised her dirty face to the sky and moaned, hair and clothes plastered to her skin. Kazuma spun and walked away from her, making her race to catch up to him.
"Wait! What's the rush?"
"I hate rain."
"Really?" Ayano fell into step beside him, "I find it pretty refreshing."
Kazuma looked over at her and stopped suddenly, frowning. Before she could respond or say anything, his hand was on her cheek.
"Blood," he said simply, looking down at his palm.
"Huh," Ayano said, as if he was reporting something trifling. She was caught up with how his dark hair fell dripping into his eyes. It was so distracting she just wanted to—
But the Contractor was walking away again, "You really need a shower."
The thunder could not drown out her shouts.
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Plead
"Just one more time?"
Ayano gave an all suffering sigh, "Fine, but I shouldn't be wasting my powers on this." He gave her a genuine smile, making her flame waver as she grew the fire in front of them, making the chill of the air disappear as they waited for the next leg of their investigation to be over.
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Open
She doesn't question it anymore, how her window is always open. She tells herself it's because it's stuffy in her room and not because she likes the feeling of wind on her skin, light across her forehead like a ghostly kiss.
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Cut
"Why don't we just confront this head on?"
"Then stop being so childish!" Kazuma grits out.
The words lash out and sting her, making her feel just a little too much given the benign insult. She tries not to show that she is affected, giving a small humpf and returning back to the discussion in the meeting room.
She doesn't feel his wary eyes cut into her.
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Caring
He gets the rolls for every holiday, delivered by Ren to his apartment. He's always annoyed that his brother thinks he needs the offer or something. He brings it up one day with the younger boy and watches his green eyes widen with Kazuma's cool tone.
"Oh, well I'm just the deliverer."
"What?"
"Er, we make a bunch for them for all of the branch families and everything. It's not that I think you need anything."
"Oh," Kazuma says. His brow is still furrowed, but he ignores his strange feeling of loneliness as he reaches for a roll.
Ren gives an uncomfortable laugh, "But if you want, I can tell Ayano to stop making your plate. She makes sure I never forget."
Kazuma feels the bite he takes a little harder to swallow, and the thanks he gives Ren as he leaves is a little less cold.
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Tactile
He has a fascination with her hair and the way it never stops moving, even if there's no wind. The bright red moves around her shoulders and he remembers very clearly how soft it was that one time by the pond. His fingers itch, but instead of moving closer to her, he steps up to the bad guy at hand, pushing his hands in his pockets.
The material is rough and always manages to curb this particular line of thought.
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Compromise
She's constantly comparing him to his abilities: powerful, cool, forceful, sudden, mysterious. It's gotten to the point where she can forget that he has feelings, and this helps her control some of her own, more traitorous ones.
She thinks this is a fair compromise.
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Voice
In every nightmare he has of Tsui Ling, he can only hear her voice—screaming and crying—and it doesn't belong to the image of the girl he's held on to. He's afraid he's forgetting her, dismissing her, and the guilt makes him shudder awake, sweat dripping down his spine.
Afterwards, he tries to picture the real girl to give her memory respect, imagining Ayano saying, "This is how she would want it." Her voice leads him back to sleep.
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Atmosphere
He looked at the book she handed to him, turning it over in his hand awkwardly. "Er…thanks?" he managed, unsure what to make of it.
Ayano smiled and leaned over his sitting position, her hair brushing lightly over his arm as she picked the book from his grasp, "It's a really famous look at space and has all of this stuff about tides, and the moon, and stuff…I thought you might like it." She looked at him, seeming to realize how close she'd been before she gave the book back, cheeks pink. "I…um…thought you might appreciate it after you always talk about the stars and…yeah."
Kazuma smiled slightly, "Thanks. I could always use more research materials." His voice was mildly teasing and it lessened the tension in the air, though it was still much more thick than he was comfortable with.
"Good," Ayano said firmly, pushing her hair away and giving him a brilliant smile. He felt as if someone had sucked all the air from the room.
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Awkward
"Hearts?"
Kazuma rushed to hide his boxers, pulling up his jeans quickly. He'd really have to re-consider his open-door, wake him up if there's any trouble policy. "A gift from Ren," he growled, leaving a smirking Ayano in his wake. She could almost swear she saw him tinge pink before he rushed out, slamming the door in her face.
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Silence
Most of the time she never stopped talking, so he didn't know what to do now, standing near her but feeling incredibly out of place. She glanced up at him with tearful eyes before looking down and Kazuma tried to imagine what his brother would do—what he would do if he wasn't in the hospital room behind them, that is.
Kazuma sat down gingerly in the metal chair beside her and she was crying to his shoulder instantly, clinging to his jacket, her face buried.
His jaw tightened and he wanted to comfort her, but his own feelings were threatening to take over. She looked up at him and must have seen the worry in his face because she took his hand in her own and squeezed and he allowed himself to nod and close his eyes. They leaned on each other and sat in silence until the nurse told them that Ren was awake and they could see him now.
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Found
The day had been spectacular and Ayano watched as Ren let a stern Gemna by the hand to another shooting range booth. It made her laugh, glad that the younger boy was having so much fun at the fair and that the weather was holding out, despite it being early fall.
She looked back and saw Kazuma talking to some people and, noticing her eyes on him, gave her a small smile. Her heart jumped and she turned away quickly, hiding her blush, embarrassed to have been caught.
Then again, she pondered, he probably didn't mind, because things had been very…pleasant between them lately. They'd spent more time together lately, and he occasionally touched her or grabbed her hand and though nothing had been said or anything, she felt like she wasn't imagining the heat in his looks.
Ayano glanced back at him feeling slightly more daring and took in the difference in his countenance: his more relaxed posture, the way his mouth seamed more at ease and broke into smiles on occasion, the way his eyes crinkled. She liked the change.
As if again sensing her gaze, Kazuma turned to look at her, saying something to the group before making his way over to her. Ayano tried hard to keep her eyes steady but found she had to look away. Soon he was next to her, watching her with amusement, "Something on your mind?"
Ayano laughed nervously, her earlier bravado escaping her, "Not really."
Kazuma was watching her intently and she just wanted to bury her face in his shirt which, of course, was not the way a mature young woman would behave.
"So staring me down is what? A sign of your impending mental breakdown?"
She tried her best to glare at him, but found her face to be too hot to appear truly angry, "No."
Kazuma smirked, but wouldn't let it go, "Can't get enough of my good looks?"
Ayano snorted, "You wish!"
He regarded her carefully and Ayano hoped for a distraction that would occupy him, but he was looking at her intently, "Look at me." The command was spoken so slowly she almost thought she misheard. It was so unlike him that she obeyed, her eyes fixed on his face as he stared back and—was it her imagination?—moved closer.
She swallowed with difficulty, trying to lighten the mood, "What are you doing?"
"Looking."
"For what?" her voice betrayed her because it broke off and it wasn't much of a sound anyway, at least not like the one she let out when he did exactly what she'd always prayed for: press his lips against hers. He pushed himself closer and held his contact and she could feel him release a breath through his nose. The heat of his skin was intense against her, as was watching his face so close so Ayano squeezed her eyes shut to spare herself the awkwardness.
The kiss deepened before Kazuma broke away with the brightest smile she'd seen from him. He leaned back in, "Found it."
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