"Kazuma! Get up!"
I groaned and turned over. "Five more minutes." A blast of cold air circled my body as my blanket was ripped away. I sat up, blinking. "Give that back. What time is it, anyway?" I glanced at the window. "Jeez, Ayano, it's barely light out. Why are you waking me up so early?" Ayano stood in front of me, hands on her hips, my blanket in one fist. Her red hair fell past her shoulders, swaying a tiny bit every time she moved.
"We have a job, remember? Come on, get out of bed already. This is the best time of day to hunt youma. And no one will be around." I flopped back on the bed, tugging the sheet closer around me to block the cold and closing my eyes.
"Sunset works just as well, you know. There's no reason to get up at the crack of dawn for this." Ayano sighed loudly.
"People might still be in the cemetery at sunset, Kazuma. Besides..." she trailed off. I cracked one eye open curiously. She had folded her hands tightly in front of her and her cheeks were as red as her hair. She bit her lip, which was adorable. I couldn't resist teasing her a little.
Before she could react, my hand shot out and grabbed her, tugging her onto the bed with me. I wrapped my arms around her, her back pressed against my chest, and rested my chin on her shoulder. "Are you afraid of being in the cemetery at night, perhaps, Princess?"
"K-Kazuma," she gasped. "W-W-What are you doing?" I laughed softly and held her closer.
"Nothing at all," I whispered. "Let's sleep in. You won't have to be afraid, Ayano. I'll protect you." She struggled for a minute, but eventually she gave up. I didn't have to hide my smile, since she couldn't see. "Good night," I breathed in her ear. She squeaked, startled, making me chuckle again. Eventually, breathing in the scent of her shampoo, I fell asleep.
When I woke up, it was afternoon and Ayano was asleep. She really was even cuter when she slept, like a little kid. Her hair was spread in a red halo on the pillow and she had turned over to face me sometime while we were sleeping, putting her face right up next to mine. Her breathing was soft and even.
I sighed contentedly and rested a finger on her cheek, stroking her skin idly. I wondered how long she'd be asleep.
"KAZUMA..." her familiar voice growled, drawing out my name like she did when she was annoyed. I glanced down in surprise, and my eyes met Ayano's infuriated amber ones. "You pervert!" she shouted, sitting up and brandishing the pillow like it was a weapon.
"Whoa, Ayano, hang on a second," I said, trying to create some space. Unfortunately, we were on a bed, so I couldn't go that far if I didn't want to fall off. "Calm down. You're going to disturb people!" I threw her an excuse, hoping she wouldn't destroy yet another building.
Needless to say, it didn't work. "Enemy of women!" she yelled at me, leaping backward off the bed and summoning Enraiha. "Die! Die, die, die!" She swung the flaming sword at me, wreaking havoc in my hotel room. "Die already, stupid Kazuma!" In a last-ditch attempt, I wrapped her in a ball of wind and left her hovering in the middle of the room.
"Come on, Ayano, cool it!" I told the hot-headed fire-spirit user. She tried to swing Enraiha around to cut through the wall in front of her, but there wasn't enough room in the ball.
Just then, someone banged on the door. "Open up, sir!" a gruff voice demanded. I sighed and dropped Ayano on the bed, moving to the door. A large man with a bristling mustache and a shining bald head stood behind it, looking really pissed. "Sir," he began importantly, "I have come because I have received several complaints–" Ayano popped up behind me – without Enraiha, thank the gods – and peered at the man, still mad at me.
"Who are you, baldy?" The guy puffed up like an angry chicken.
"I am the manager of this hotel, young lady, and you and your friend here–" Ayano interrupted him again.
"Are you trying to insult the next head of the Kannagi?" she roared at him. "Friends with this lowlife? Like that would happen! You're more likely to see pigs fly, baldy!" Without waiting for his reply, Ayano slammed the door in his face and threw the lock, then stomped back into the room.
"You know," I said conversationally, sauntering after her with my hands in my pockets, "They're definitely gonna kick me out now, and I won't get a refund. What are you going to do to make it up to me?" She sat on the couch, sticking her nose in the air.
"You make that money without doing anything, anyway, so I say you got what you deserve." I sighed resignedly and sat on the other end of the couch, draping my arm over the back.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Ayano opened her eyes cautiously, making sure I wasn't going to try anything, then relaxed on the couch. I watched as she pushed back her bangs and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. She folded her legs under her casually, so her feet stuck out to the side. She was wearing her school uniform like always – a teal jacket, matching short pleated skirt, blue bow, classic white shirt. I'd rarely seen her wearing anything else, although once she wore that pink figure-hugging dress when she made me take her out for dinner and robbers attacked the restaurant. That was different, not that I'm complaining.
Lost in my contemplation of Ayano's wardrobe, I almost didn't hear her when she said, "So what should we do next? Since we have to wait until sundown now, and everything." She glared at me. I held my hands up in surrender, keeping a completely straight face.
"Don't look at me. You fell asleep first. You were obviously exhausted." She made some kind of growling noise in the back of her throat, but didn't argue with me. "Why do you insist on getting up so early? At least go to bed earlier." At that, she laughed.
"Don't tell me you're worried about me, Kazuma." She cocked an eyebrow when I didn't reply, just sitting looking at her. "I'm not a child. I can take care of myself. There's no need for you to worry your pretty little head over me like a mother hen."
"Don't be ridiculous," I said. I couldn't quite bring myself to look right at her, so I picked at my jacket like there was lint on it. "I just don't want you to collapse in the middle of a battle. If I don't get to you in time, I don't really look forward to telling your old man I let the next head of the Kannagi get herself killed. I mean, you're his daughter. He'll definitely fry me on the spot." That was a concern, actually. I worried constantly about Ayano getting hurt in a fight, and watching her die was the stuff of my nightmares. Telling myself that she was perfectly capable didn't help – I only thought of all the ways she could be incapacitated and therefore unable to protect herself.
"Kazuma?" Ayano said. I turned, jerked out of my thoughts, to find Ayano's face right up next to mine. I leaned back in surprise, and her cheeks turned red. She was on her hands and knees on the sofa cushion, gazing at me."Uh, um... You looked weird just then, I was worried. Sorry." She settled back onto her folded legs, much closer than before. I stared at her for a second. I was worried.
Letting my body go limp, I slumped over so my head was on her lap. She jumped a little, her hands flying up into the air. "W-W-What..." she stuttered. I didn't bother looking up – I knew her cheeks were bright red.
"Sorry," I mumbled. "Just stay like that for a while." I didn't want her to move. I didn't want her to leave me. Stay here with me, please.
Something warm and heavy landed gently on my head. Her hands. "Okay," Ayano whispered back. "I'm not going anywhere." A wave of calm washed through me, cleaning away the doubt and worry. The silence was comforting, as the darkness behind my eyelids expanded and shrank, breathing like a living thing. Ayano's fingers stroked through my hair, over and over again, soothing me into a state between awake and asleep. "Hmm..." she sighed, her voice floating though the layers of my consciousness. "I wonder what it's like to say it out loud." There was a pause. And then–
"I love you." A layer of my dream-state lifted away. Ayano giggled. "I love you. I love you. I really, really, really love you, K–" Before she could say who it was that she loved, a phone rang, lifting another layer. Distantly, I could feel Ayano shifting under me as she reached for her cellphone. "Hello?' she asked. Her tone was different. "Oh, Kazuto! Hey, what's up?" The final layer disappeared as my brain registered that she was on the phone with a guy, and she was laughing like he'd said the funniest thing she'd ever heard. I sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes and listening to her conversation. "No, nothing much. Don't worry, you're not interrupting anything." I frowned. Was letting me nap in her lap "nothing" to her?
She laughed again. "No way! Are you serious?" On the other end, someone replied. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the couch. The voice was definitely a guy's. "That's hilarious!" Ayano laughed, her shoulders shaking. "Oh my God, you have got to tell me what she said next!" This is weird, I thought suddenly. She's like a different person. This Ayano is a stranger to me.
The thought was so repulsive, I couldn't help what I did next.
Just as Ayano was saying, "Now? Sure, I can go," I grabbed her phone and said smoothly, "Sorry, but she'll be busy. We have important business, if you know what I mean." I snapped the phone shut and dropped it on her lap. She just stared at me, her mouth open in shock. After a moment, her astonishment turned to rage, and I could see the fire in her eyes. I smirked at her.
"What the hell was that?" she shouted, standing up. "What is wrong with you?" I shrugged, still smirking.
"We are busy, remember? It's dark already, and we have to take care of the youma in the cemetery," I pointed out calmly. She just sort of stood there, shaking with fury and glaring at me. I stared her down. Eventually, she turned, shoulders slumping in defeat, and started for the door.
"Let's just go," she sighed.