A/N: Caelion is actually sticking to her own update schedule? What kind of sorcery is that?
Once again, thank you SO much for all your support, it feels really rewarding to know that people like this story and want to see more. I felt bad for leaving you with a kind of nasty ending last week so, without further prolonging, on to what happens next.
~Where Did You Put My Keys?~
By: Caelion
Chapter 3: Your touch
"Ryuuko, run!" Satsuki shouted, feeling a small trickle of blood dripping down her neck from the spot where the blade made contact with her skin.
Clenching her teeth and fists painfully, Ryuuko still remained in place.
"Smart move, kiddo," one of the men commented, after another one had grabbed her by her arms before kicking her in the back of her knees to bring her down to the ground. Turning again to Satsuki, he eyed her hungrily. "Now, let's have some fun."
"Wait," an angry groan came from the darkness, making the guy's hand halt midway to the older girl's face marked with hostility. "That bitch broke my nose," the man who held Ryuuko earlier stepped closer to Satsuki, snatching the knife the other thug was holding. "You're gonna fuckin' pay for it," he turned to Ryuuko before grabbing her by her hair.
Ryuuko only grinned briefly and gritted her teeth. Her eyes still widened for a moment when she felt a dull hit, followed by a wave of pain, coming from her abdomen. She coughed, feeling blood coming to her throat, and looked at the handle of the knife that was sticking out of her stomach.
"Ryuuko!" Satsuki screamed on top of her lungs, watching in disbelief as the younger girl fell inertly on the ground.
"What, scared about your girl?" one of the men mocked, turning to Satsuki, as the rest, save for the one holding her, began circling around her like a clan of hungry hyenas. "You have yourself to worry about now," he said with satisfaction before grabbing her breast.
The girl's eyes flashed with hatred. Not even a second after did the man groan in pain when the tip of Satsuki's boot hit his groin with full force.
"You...bitch..." he seethed, falling to his knees.
Gritting her teeth, Satsuki felt a wave of dull ache when the man holding her twisted her arms further and, similarly to her sister earlier, kicked her down to the ground.
"You're a fierce one, ain't you? Be a good girl and maybe we won't hurt you...that much," came near her ear, along with a breath that reeked of alcohol.
The girl winced when she felt her hair being pulled brutally and a rough hand reached out to grab her by her throat.
"What the fuck?! Where the hell is the other one?" one of the men shouted suddenly in panic. The remaining three, along with Satsuki, looked at the place where Ryuuko fell earlier, now empty, except for the bloodied knife lying in the middle of a small, red paddle. "I left her here, I thought she was dead!"
"We gotta find her, she's gonna call the cops."
The man that held Satsuki forced her back up. "Fuck her, she won't go too far. Let's take this one and get goin'."
He pushed Satsuki forward and was about to take a step when a sudden punch aimed at his temple knocked him down in an instant.
"Don't you fucking touch my sister ever again, trash," Ryuuko seethed, walking out of the darkness of the trees next to them before grabbing the unconscious man by his collar and throwing him aside. Putting her hand on her older sibling's arm, the girl stepped protectively in front of her.
The guy that Satsuki had kicked, one who was the closest to them, looked at her with fear in his eyes. "What the-" he began but got quickly cut off when Ryuuko's knee forced the air out of him.
Taking another swing, she violently kicked the man once more with all her might.
The two remaining thugs looked in disbelief at their companion getting sent into the air by a girl much smaller than himself. Not wasting any more time, they immediately began fleeing in panic.
Ryuuko growled and clenched her fists, torn between chasing after them and making sure that Satsuki was okay. In the end, the latter turned out to be more important. "Are you hurt?" she asked with low voice, turning to her sister. "Sorry for making you buy me some time again."
"I'm fine. Your-" Satsuki began, carefully closing her hand to the bloody stain on Ryuuko's shirt.
"I'm okay already," the younger girl replied. "Look," she raised the cloth up, showing her toned and perfectly fine, although stained with red, stomach. Forcing a small smile, she added, "Y'know, I'm still partially made of life fi-" she didn't manage to finish when Satsuki pulled her into a bone-crushing embrace.
"Don't you ever hurt yourself for my sake again," the older girl chided, not releasing her hold.
Meekly, Ryuuko returned the gesture. "They'd kill you if I made any move, it ain't like there was any other way," she replied grimly, hearing her sister sigh heavily. Pulling back after a moment, Ryuuko looked at the long, although not very deep cut on Satsuki's neck. Then, she glanced at the two, still unconscious men scattered on the ground. "Anyway, we gotta get outta here before they come to," she said sternly while Satsuki nodded, picking up her purse and wiping the blood off her neck with the back of her hand.
They walked hastily through the main, still empty alley of the park, carefully watching around as they kept going.
"Ouch, shit," Ryuuko cursed, tripping suddenly over the stone and her own tangling legs. She braced herself for the incoming impact when suddenly a pair of hands grabbed her tightly, bringing her fall to a halt. "Thanks," the younger girl muttered, clumsily catching her balance again and resting herself against her sister.
"Are you okay?" Satsuki asked warily, putting her arm around Ryuuko's shoulders for better support.
"Uh, yea, I'm just feeling a little dizzy," Ryuuko replied, trying to keep her brave face while noticing the miraculous effects of adrenaline slowly wearing out. "I kinda lost a bit of blood there," she chuckled grimly. "Don't worry, I'm gonna be like new soon," she reassured, seeing a cautious look on her sister's face.
They stood in place for a moment before Ryuuko indicated that she was ready to go. Slowly, at first, they began walking again.
"Uh, I think we gotta call a taxi," the shorter girl mentioned after they had left the park. "I can't really walk like that around the city," she pointed at the front of her shirt, drenched in blood, which kept gathering annoyingly high amount of stares from other people.
Satsuki nodded and looked around. "Let's go," she commanded, leading the girl towards the nearest parked taxi.
The driver, a middle-aged man, looked at them, as they got in, with interest before glancing at Ryuuko's clothes. "To the hospital?" he asked, turning the engine on.
"Yes."
"No."
The two sisters glared at each other, both with a frown on their own.
"You have to get a proper treatment," Satsuki contended.
"I'm fine," Ryuuko insisted, looking her sibling straight in the eye. "There ain't nothing there, what are you gonna tell them? They ain't even gonna admit me."
Satsuki stared at Ryuuko for a moment before eventually sighing with defeat. "Okay." Then, she turned to the driver who just kept watching the two of them in confusion. "To the Golden Rose," she commanded, then added, "please."
"As you wish, miss."
Ryuuko grinned to herself in her sit.
It was amusing how much Satsuki had changed. A bit more than a year ago they would beat each other up senseless and neither cared if the other got hurt. Now, Satsuki watched out for her, despite the self-regeneration Ryuuko was blessed (and cursed) with. Hell, she was even saying 'please' when asking for a ride.
Hastily leaving the driver more money than they probably should have, the two girls left the taxi and quickly directed their steps towards the skyscraper, ignoring more of curious stares coming from other pedestrians.
"Fuck..." Ryuuko groaned when they had finally reached the elevator. She rested her back against its wall and took a few deep breaths. "I got seriously outta shape..." she mumbled. The quickly-paced walk from the taxi, however short, took a bigger toll on her body than it normally would.
"Go and lie down as soon as we arrive," Satsuki instructed as she stood next to her sister, taking her slightly pale hand. "I'll take care of the rest."
"No, I gotta treat your wound first," Ryuuko opposed, looking at the older girl.
"I can do it myself, you have to rest."
"Please," without lifting her gaze, the younger girl carefully touched the skin below the cut.
Satsuki didn't answer. Instead, she nodded her head, quietly accepting her sister's request.
Ryuuko sighed and rested her back against the wall again. "Sorry, Sats, if only I noticed them sooner-" she began but got firmly cut off.
"It's no one's fault. If someone needs to be blamed then let it be me," Satsuki closed her eyes and let a deep breath out. "I shouldn't have kissed you in a place like that."
They spent the rest of the ride in silence, immediately directing their steps to the bathroom the moment they entered their apartment.
Standing in front of Satsuki, who sat down on a small bench in the bathroom, Ryuuko began going through their first-aid kit. Finding what she was searching for, she bent over and delicately brushed the girl's hair away. "Don' move," she muttered and sprayed the disinfectant on the wound, gently wiping it away after a moment with sterile cloth.
Satsuki grimaced ever so slightly but, as Ryuuko noticed a long time ago already, the pain showed more in her tensed body than on her face.
"I'm going to give Rei a call and ask her to take care of these guys," Satsuki spoke calmly but Ryuuko could clearly hear the malice concealed in her voice. For a brief moment, she resembled her old, relentless self that she was back in Honnouji.
The younger girl smiled at her sister's sometimes unusual protectiveness before bandaging the wound. "There," she said, straightening herself and closing the first-aid kit.
"Thank you," Satsuki replied before wrapping her arms around the girl's waist and pulling her close, resting her own cheek against her sister's stomach.
"Uh, it's still gross, y'know," Ryuuko said, pointing at her bloodied shirt.
"I don't mind."
Ryuuko couldn't help but smile again. She put one hand on Satsuki's back and began stroking her hair with the other one. "Everything okay?"
"I'm fine," Satsuki answered calmly with no intention to move. "I'm just fine."
For a while longer, Ryuuko kept running her fingers through Satsuki's hair.
"Let's go to sleep," the older girl said eventually. "You need to rest, we've got enough for tonight." Her sister nodded before turning around and preparing herself to go sleep.
"Ryuuko," Satsuki spoke suddenly.
"Yea?" Ryuuko turned back to face her sibling.
"Thank you for protecting me."
The younger girl opened her mouth, as if trying to say something, before closing it again and scratching her head. "Uh, sure," she mumbled, averting her eyes.
"I'm serious," Satsuki gently picked the girl's chin up and looked at her earnestly. "Even though I don't always show it, I...am not whom I used to be back then any more."
Ryuuko stared back into her sister's eyes. "I know," she replied sternly before cracking a small smile.
Satsuki returned the grin in a confident way, then slid her hand up to Ryuuko's cheek that took the slap earlier, caressing it delicately while her own expression softened, becoming milder and more loving. "Let's go," she said before leaving the bathroom.
When they got into the bed, they hugged each other comfortably, trying to finally get some well deserved rest.
The catch was, sleep kept refusing to come.
Turning to her other side, eventually, Ryuuko nestled herself in her sister's arms and closed her eyes but, even though the adrenaline from the earlier incident was long since gone, she simply didn't feel like sleeping.
"Ryuuko...?"
The girl in question moved at the quiet whisper. "Yea?"
"Can't sleep?"
"Kinda...you?"
"Same," Satsuki replied before cuddling to her sister's back. "I'm thinking of what happened earlier."
"Don' worry 'bout it, 't was just a bunch of some stupid idiots," Ryuuko muttered, putting her hand on Satsuki's arm that was wrapped around her.
"It's not that," Satsuki whispered. "I've been thinking...just what kind of relationship do we have?"
Ryuuko opened her eyes at the question. "Where did that come from?" she asked, honestly surprised.
Truth be told, she had never thought about it herself. They were sisters who just happened to fall for each other and that was it. Ever since, they'd just meet up and go on dates, or sometimes straight to a hotel, whichever they felt like doing. They hadn't really asked what sort of relationship had formed between them, except for silent understanding that it was much different than a normal family bond.
"It's been on my mind for a while actually," the older girl confessed. "These guys from earlier seemed so pissed off and they didn't even know we're sisters...what about the people that do?"
"What do you mean?"
"I know that a lot of people would perceive what we do as immoral," Satsuki explained briefly. "Just for the fact we're related by blood."
Ryuuko shrugged. "I don't care about morality."
The older girl snorted. "I figured," she teased before getting back to her earlier seriousness. "Still, I have a few people on my mind who probably deserve to know what's between us," she spoke thoughtfully. "I'm only not sure how to...define it."
"I never really thought of what to call it," Ryuuko replied indifferently. "The only thing that matters to me is that I- I- I l-" she stuttered suddenly like a broken record, feeling her face covering with dark blush, and mentally chided herself for not thinking before speaking.
"What's wrong, Ryuuko?" Satsuki quickly caught on her sister's sudden embarrassment.
Darn... Ryuuko thought, swallowing thickly. Too late to turn back.
"I l-love y-you...sis," she murmured, resisting the urge to hide her face under her pillow.
The reply she received was her sister's arm tightening its hold around her.
"Me too," Satsuki whispered a moment after with much more confidence. "I love you, Ryuuko."
Ryuuko felt her heart skip a beat when the words had reached her ears. She grinned and turned around to face her sister, feeling a sudden urge to make out with her. Just before her lips reached Satsuki's, she got stopped by a finger placed on her mouth.
"Say, Ryuuko," Satsuki looked in the younger girl's eyes, clearly visible after they had gotten used to the darkness. "Would you be my girlfriend?"
For a while, Ryuuko kept opening and closing her mouth, much like a fish, before finally giving a coherent response. "I don't mi- wait, why is it you asking me out?" she frowned, trying to distract herself from another blush covering her cheeks.
"Well, I'm the older one here," Satsuki shrugged, replying matter-of-factly.
"Eh? What does it matter?"
"I take care of you. It's got to be me asking you out."
"No fuckin' way," Ryuuko opposed right off the bat. "Who protected you from the thugs earlier?"
"Okay then," Satsuki suddenly flashed a devilish grin. "Let's settle it fair and square."
With that, she got on all fours and trapped Ryuuko between her limbs, their faces lingering as close to each other as possible without making an actual contact.
The younger girl smirked, with a gleam of determination in her eyes, immediately catching on her sister's idea. With most of her strength already back, she immediately felt fired up and ready for the challenge. "Yea," she replied confidently. "By all means, let's."
Two hours later, Ryuuko allowed her sore and shaky body to finally hit the soft mattress of their bed, barely having any strength left to wipe the sweat off her brow.
Panting heavily, she uttered, "I give up...I- I'll be...your girlfriend." She felt every hickey that Satsuki had just left on her skin pulsing with heat, probably to make up for her being too tired to even think of being embarrassed any more.
Satsuki only let out a victorious hum of acknowledgement before curling next to her sister.
Ryuuko glanced at her sibling with a corner of her eye and couldn't help but smile anyway. Always gets what she wants, huh? she thought, carefully putting one arm around the girl who was already fast asleep.
The next morning, Ryuuko woke up to pleasant warmth surrounding her and a feeling of slender fingers swiftly running through her hair. She opened her eyes, meeting Satsuki's amused gaze.
"M-mornin'," the younger girl muttered, still half-asleep, before yawning and cuddling closer to her sister.
She'd probably fall asleep again if not for a chuckle that came from Satsuki.
"What..." Ryuuko mumbled sleepily before sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
"You're so cute when you sleep," Satsuki teased, poking her sister's cheek playfully.
Ryuuko looked at the other girl before she felt her ears suddenly getting hot. "T-the hell-" she frowned before catching on the other meaning. "Oy, are you insulting me?"
Satsuki responded with a burst of laughter before turning on her back and reaching out to grab her sister's arm, pulling her down on the bed again.
"You're really lively this morning," Ryuuko noted with a delicate smile after lying down on her back as well and turning her head to face the older girl.
"I can't help it," Satsuki said openly and shrugged, then flashed an impish grin. "Since I got myself a cute girlfriend."
Ryuuko felt her face quickly heating up and, before she knew it, she was already lying on her other side to hide it from her sister. "S-so what?" she stuttered, trying to keep her cool. She failed miserably the moment she remembered their last-night "battle", which she had obviously lost, for who would get to ask whom out.
Laughing out loud at the series of her flustered reactions was Satsuki behind her which, really, only added to Ryuuko's embarrassment.
It took the older girl a moment to calm down but, when she finally did, she asked more seriously, "Since our yesterday date got...interrupted," Satsuki stressed the last word. "Would you like to go on another one today? It's Saturday anyway."
Gathering her own dignity, Ryuuko nodded her head. "Sure, why not," she replied, turning back to face her sister. "Hey, do you...do you really think I'm cute?" she muttered suddenly, averting her gaze.
Satsuki grinned at her. "More than anything," she answered with a slightly teasing, but undeniably honest voice.
"Damn, you're just being cheesy now," Ryuuko complained but still got slightly red at the statement. "T-thanks," she murmured after a moment, feeling a hand softly ruffling her hair.
"Let's get up," Satsuki said after a while and sat up. "It's a good day to get you something cute to wear," she winked before leaving the bed to get dressed.
Ryuuko smiled to herself and closed her eyes, sighing contently. Then, she nodded her head. "Yea," she confirmed, getting up on her own.
It took them no more than an hour to eat breakfast and get ready to go out.
"How's your wound?" Ryuuko asked, inspecting the bandage her sister had on her neck before it got covered by a scarf.
"It doesn't hurt any more so it should be fine," Satsuki replied, while calmly buttoning her coat up.
They had left the apartment holding each other's hand, stepping into the elevator. Two more people, who got in on lower floors, kept casting curious glances at them but ultimately no one asked a thing.
"The mall isn't that far away, how about we take a walk?" the older girl asked after they had left the skyscraper.
"Sure," Ryuuko nodded, intertwining their fingers together.
She took a deep breath. The weather was just fine and the fact it had rained at night made the air feel refreshing.
Satsuki immediately took the lead after they had entered the mall, stepping into the first shop they encountered. "Ryuuko, what do you think?" she asked, picking up a black, pleated skirt and showing it to her sister.
Ryuuko looked at the garment, scratching her chin. "Would look good on you, I think," she said after a moment.
"It's for you," Satsuki corrected.
"Huh?"
"Here, go try it out, I'll hold your jacket."
"But I-" Ryuuko began but, before she finished, she got shoved inside the dressing room with the skirt in her hands. She sighed in defeat and took her jeans off, putting on the clothing Satsuki gave her instead.
She looked at herself in the mirror. The sight was strangely familiar, although the skirt was a bit longer than the one she was used to. Still, she decided, it didn't feel uncomfortable on her.
Ryuuko was about to open the curtain to the dressing room when suddenly a hand appeared through it, holding a red, buttoned shirt with black stripes going on it slantwise in two different directions.
"Try this one, too," Satsuki's voice commanded before the hand retreated, leaving Ryuuko with another garment to put on.
Without protesting, the girl took off her sweatshirt and t-shirt before putting on the shirt her sister gave her. Once she buttoned it up, she glanced into the mirror again and pondered for a moment. "I guess it ain't looking that ba-" she paused when the curtain got suddenly slid aside, revealing Satsuki with a serious expression and a whole stack of new clothes hanging on her forearm.
"Hmm, no, that's not it," the older girl stated. "Take it off, try this," she said, offering Ryuuko one more shirt, this time black with blue accents.
"Uh, sure," Ryuuko replied, taking the clothing from her sister's hands, and began unbuttoning the one she had on. "Er, do you mind...?" she asked, noticing that Satsuki was still standing in the open dressing room and eyeing her carefully.
They left the shop almost an hour later, each holding a bag full of clothes.
While Ryuuko looked plainly drained, Satsuki had a big, satisfied smile on her face. They took each other's hand again, walking further into the mall.
"Want to take a break?" Satsuki suggested, pointing at a set of tables near a small confectionery.
"Yea, I really need one right now" Ryuuko mumbled before directing her steps towards the place and dropping down on one of the chairs. She looked up but, to her surprise, Satsuki had disappeared. Turning around, she noticed the older girl near the confectionery counter, ordering two pieces of chocolate cake.
She smiled to herself and relaxed in the chair, waiting for her sister to come back. Sister...girlfriend, whichever it was, Ryuuko was just fine with both for as long as she could share her feelings and passion with Satsuki.
The older girl, however, seemed to be somewhat more excited about them deepening their bond like that and, apparently, didn't seem to be afraid of telling others about it, too.
"What are you thinking about?"
Satsuki's voice brought Ryuuko back to reality and she opened her eyes to see her sister already back and sitting down next to her.
"What you said last night," she replied. "Y'know, the part about our friends deserving to know what's between us."
"What about it?" Satsuki probed, digging in her dessert.
"Did you have someone particular on your mind?"
The older girl pondered for a moment. "Well, I won't hide I'd like my former Elite Four to know," she confessed. "They've been with me for better or worse and they still give me a lot of support whenever they can."
"Oh," Ryuuko responded, taking a bite of her own slice of cake. "I see."
"Isn't there anyone you would like to tell about it?"
"Dunno," the younger girl shrugged. "I guess I could tell Mako but, then again, I doubt it'd make any difference," she said and chuckled. "The folks would probably get it, too."
They finished their desserts and got up from the table. Linking their arms, they were about to leave when a voice nearby called them suddenly.
"Ryuuko-san! Ryuuko's Sister-san!"
Ryuuko quickly turned towards the source, recognizing the familiar accent. "Aria!" she called out with surprise. "Out for shopping?"
"Yep," the twin-tailed blonde replied cheerfully before moving her eyes to Satsuki. "Wow, you two don't look that much alike."
Satsuki stared at the girl for a moment with confusion. "Do we know each other?" she asked before noticing Ryuuko hitting her own forehead.
"Uh, sorry. Sis, this is Aria, the friend I made at uni," the younger girl clarified. "Aria, this is Satsuki, my older sister."
"Nice to meet you!" Aria reached her hand out towards Satsuki who shook it back, somewhat cautiously. "Anyway, I'll get going now. I'm with a friend and, since I saw you, I thought I'd just come and say hello," she said, pointing at a much shorter than herself girl roaming around the nearby shop.
Glancing at her, Ryuuko could swear that their eyes met for a split of second.
Having said that, Aria bowed briefly before excusing herself.
"She's kinda weird, don't take it against her," Ryuuko explained when the blonde was already out of sight. "I guess whole Europe must be kinda weird," she added after a moment, scratching her cheek.
Satsuki only smiled before taking her sister's hand. "She looks like a nice person," she commented. "Although her manners are a bit..."
"All over the place?" Ryuuko finished, chuckling lightly as they began walking towards the next shop.
There were days at university, as Ryuuko noticed, that were simply annoying and irritating, be it for a sudden change in schedule or a series of tiring lectures. This time, fate had decided to go for the former.
"Hi, um, Sats, are you back home already?" Ryuuko asked, quietly hoping to hear a 'no' coming from her phone speaker.
"No, not yet. I'm only leaving the faculty. Why?"
"Uh, I kinda got two hours free right now and got nothing to do."
"And you called me to ask to keep you company?" Even though Ryuuko couldn't see her sister's face, she could swear, thanks to the tone of her voice, that the older girl was grinning like a Cheshire cat at the moment.
"Er, yea, well, Aria went to her dorm and to take care of some stuff so..."
"Okay, I'll be right there. Where are you? Want me to get you something to eat along the way?"
"Nah, just some water is fine," Ryuuko replied, walking into a small, empty corridor with a few seats at its far end. "I'm on the fourth floor."
"Get some place for us to sit in peace," Satsuki requested before she bid a quick goodbye and ended the call.
Sitting down on one of the chairs, near a window, Ryuuko put her hands behind her head and sighed. "God dammit, uni really sucks ass at times..." she said to no one in particular after checking the hour on her cellphone.
She had been at her faculty for three hours already that day and she still had five more to go, two of which serving as a completely pointless break right in the middle. Meanwhile Satsuki was already free to go and kind enough to keep her company before the second half of classes began.
"You should have called me sooner," Satsuki's voice sounded suddenly in the corridor.
Grinning at her sister, Ryuuko waved her hand nonchalantly. "Really, I forgot you finish your classes that early today."
Sitting next to her sibling, Satsuki handed her a bottle of water. "Here. How is it going so far?"
"Eh, not bad," Ryuuko took a few gulps of the liquid. "Though, this break in the middle kinda sucks."
"Well, we got some time to spend together, at least," Satsuki pointed out, taking a glance at the empty corridor before putting her arm confidently around Ryuuko's shoulders.
The younger girl shot her a slightly surprised glance but didn't protest. Instead, she closed her eyes and relaxed in her sit, allowing her sister to pull her closer.
Satsuki raised her brow. "I actually expected you to get all flustered about it," she commented teasingly.
Ryuuko snorted in reply. "I guess I'm getting used to your antics, sis."
They kept sitting and simply enjoying each other's presence until the younger girl had decided to break the silence.
"I feel like kissing you."
"We can't, we're in public," Satsuki replied calmly.
"Buuut," Ryuuko frowned, crossing her arms on her chest. "Look, there's no one there."
"Well, last time we thought the same thing."
"It ain't like someone's gonna try to beat us up here," the younger sibling retorted.
Satsuki sighed, noticing that her sister was clearly missing the point. "There can be other consequences."
"Like?"
"Like someone seeing us and telling a wrong person about it."
This time it was Ryuuko who sighed before standing up. She quickly paced to the other end of the corridor, looking around and glancing behind the wall and the staircase. Then, she came back and sat down next to her sister, glaring at her with determination.
"There. I checked. We're completely alone."
"You're a persistent little thing," Satsuki spoke calmly, staring back at Ryuuko with a poker face.
"Don't call me 'little'."
"Shorty."
"Damn, you're still unnerving at times," Ryuuko retorted but cracked a smile nevertheless.
Satsuki grinned with confidence. "Don't say it as if you don't like it."
"I don't."
"Liar," the older girl whispered before leaning in and pulling Ryuuko into a kiss.
They kept a slow, steady pace at first, just gently brushing their mouths against each other's, until Ryuuko suddenly bit Satsuki's lip and forced her tongue inside her mouth. From that point, it quickly escalated into a long battle for dominance over one another, out of which none of them had really emerged victorious.
"Oh shit, my mouth hurts," Ryuuko groaned, relaxing again in her seat after something that had to be roughly twenty minutes worth of passionate kissing.
"You started it yourself, you have no right to complain now," Satsuki replied smoothly before taking a lip balm out of her purse and gently applying it on her own, similarly swollen lips.
Ryuuko frowned. "Says who? You ain't innocent either since you just kept going," she retorted and took the lip balm from her sister's hand after the girl had finished. "Hm, smells nice," she commented.
"Keep it, your lips felt a bit dry."
"Uh," Ryuuko blushed lightly. Not that she was good at keeping an eye on these things. Having used it, she looked at the lip balm again and closed it, putting it into her pocket and muttering a brief "thanks".
"You're welcome," Satsuki replied, resting the back of her head against the wall and closing her eyes contently. "Satisfied now?" she asked with a teasing tone, glancing at her sister.
Grinning widely, Ryuuko replied, "You bet," and, this time, she put her own arm around Satsuki.
The older girl's lips curled up ever so slightly in satisfaction.
The remaining time had passed relatively quickly, although in a much calmer and less dominance-driven way.
After glancing at her cellphone, Ryuuko sighed audibly. "Eh, I gotta get going, my lecture starts in a few minutes," she complained, reluctantly slipping out of the embrace that her sister had pulled her into at some point.
"Do your best," Satsuki gave her an encouraging smile. "I'll be waiting for you at home."
"'kay," Ryuuko winked before bending over and giving the girl a quick peck on the lips. She felt her cheeks reddening slightly but she just grinned and waved at Satsuki before heading towards the lecture hall.
"I'm home!" Ryuuko notified, entering the apartment and being generally glad to finally be back after the long day she had. Only to be greeted by silence. "Sats?" she called out, looking around.
She had eventually found the older girl in her room, sitting quietly on a sofa with a thoughtful expression.
"Sis? Something wrong?" Ryuuko asked tentatively, stepping closer. Then, she noticed a cellphone that Satsuki was holding. "Got another meeting appointed?" she probed, sitting next to her sister.
"No," the girl replied briefly, not moving her gaze. "I called Nonon."
Ryuuko tilted her head. "And how did that make you-"
"I told her that we're dating," Satsuki interjected calmly.
The younger girl's mouth formed into an 'o'. "I guess...she didn't take it well?" she asked.
Her sibling remain unmoved. "She said it's wrong," she spoke eventually in an emotionless way. "She told me to get real and stop screwing around with my own sister."
Ryuuko felt her blood beginning to boil with every word that she heard. She bit her lip, trying to contain her anger at Jakuzure. "Satsuki..." she said with a low voice, crawling closer, and did the first thing that came to her mind. Tentatively, she embraced her sister, pressing her head to her heart.
Eventually, Satsuki's façade slowly began to break. She dropped her phone and raised her hands to Ryuuko, clenching to her tightly. "I'm such a fool..." she whispered, tightening her hold.
Ryuuko felt a dull ache appearing in her own chest. Her sister's silent anguish was suffocating and perhaps she'd rather the girl to break down and start crying. Something she never did. And so Ryuuko wished there was a way to at least reassure Satsuki, share her pain, maybe even lessen it and lift it off her shoulders. Even if just a little bit. She would do anything for such chance to happen.
"Ryuuko...tonight, could we...?" Satsuki's meek voice sounded suddenly in the younger girl's ears.
Were her wishes answered just now? Ryuuko stared in her sister's blue eyes for a moment.
"Please..." the older girl whispered. "I...really need you right now..."
Then, Ryuuko slowly nodded her head. "Yea," she lowered herself, planting a gentle kiss on her sister's lips before giving it a more aggressive twist. "Anytime," she added quietly, half-closing her eyes.
Satsuki let out a muffled sigh when she felt Ryuuko's hand grabbing and pulling her hair. She closed her eyes and felt herself being straddled before two rows of teeth got sank in the crook of her neck.
Ryuuko grimaced at the pained groan that Satsuki had let out and pulled back immediately, inspecting the skin with her eyes, looking at multiple little bruises and scarred dots that covered the area. Some of them older, some still fresh. All of them, except for one, already fading cut, were made by her.
No wonder it hurts... she thought to herself grimly and carefully licked off the droplets of blood that began decorating Satsuki's neck.
"More...Ryuuko, please, more..." Satsuki's voice was painfully pleading, desperate even.
Ryuuko closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. She had already stopped being so approving of causing her sister pain during love-making, and yet it was the kind of voice she couldn't resist, no matter what. Then again, if it was really going to help... She bit her own lip, hesitating for a second. Fight fire with fire, huh?
Then, she pulled Satsuki into a forceful kiss, pinning her with her body against the couch while grabbing her chest. Her other hand moved down and below her sister's waist in rough and careless manner.
For the rest of the night, even long after they had lied down to sleep, Satsuki's sighs of pleasure and pain kept echoing within Ryuuko's mind.
End of Chapter 3
A/N: Just to be clear, Golden Rose is the name of the (fictional) skyscraper that Ryuuko and Satsuki live in. I just thought it'd be a fitting name for a place like that.
Thank you for reading, I hope you had a good time. See you next Sunday :)
