Kagura's movements were stiff and mechanical as she stacked the books on top of each other, placing them in the cardboard box. Sneaking a glance towards the person helping her, she couldn't stop thinking how unlucky she was.
Damn that Gin-chan, why did he have to put both of us together?
She thought back to a few moments earlier.
"You two will help organise the items in the Information Room," Sakata-sensei ordered the two highest standing pupils without a second thought.
"What!" both Okita and Kagura protested in unison.
"But Gin-chan-"
"But Danna (Boss)-"
"Since when did i allow the two of you to call me by those names?" Sakata-sensei hit the top of their heads hard with the book he was holding in his hands.
"Now get to work."
Kagura still sulked as she was brought back to the present, arranging book after book.
It had been a week since the cultural festival, and within that week, Kagura had been trying to avoid Okita in every possible situation.
She would take a detour at the corridor; not go to the rooftop; pack her bag quickly and head home after school; completely ignore his actions that indicated her to meet up with him secret.
There wasn't a specific reason for her elusion, rather, a feeling that she couldn't explain. All she knew was it was even more irritating to look at the boy who stole so many kisses from her, of which meant nothing to him.
That damn Sadist.
"Oi, China," Okita broke the silence between them.
"H-hai," she replied awkwardly.
The boy stared at her with a dead expression.
"What's up with you the whole week?"
"W-what are you talking about. Hahaha."
He gave her the same look he always did, indicating she was an idiot.
"Don't look at me like that," Kagura angrily brushed the condemning look off.
"But i need you to look at me."
Okita grabbed her wrist and pinned her down on the table, creating a mess out of the books Kagura had worked so hard to organise neatly.
Kagura groaned.
"What the hell do you want!"
"I said i want you to look at me."
Okita's voice was still deadpan, but there was much more force in it this time.
"Why have you been avoiding me?" Okita asked her directly.
"'Cause i have. We're rivals; enemies. We can't be hanging out together all the time. Have you forgotten that? Forgotten that we actually hate each other."
"I've never hated you," he said in a soft whisper, his body still dominant over hers.
However soft the whisper, Kagura was still able to hear it in the quiet and silent room.
"What shit are you blabbering?" Kagura's anger grew inside of her as she shoved him off.
Heading for the door, she twisted the knob. The knob didn't twist like she expected it to.
"What the hell?"
She started rotating it more violently, desperate to get out of the situation. But her monstrous strength ripped the door knob off the door, leaving Kagura with no means of exiting. Leaving Kagura seriously pissed.
"ARGH, don't tell me we're stuck!"
"All the better for you and i to have some heart-to-heart talk," Okita replied to he angry outburst sarcastically.
An undercut came for him, aimed at his chin, but the swift movement of Okita managed to dodge it.
"What the-"
Kagura threw a flying kick and it hit the boy, who had yet to recover from evading the punch, smack in the head.
"Oh shit, bitch." He rubbed his temples and the side of his head, where a bump threatened to form.
"I've had enough of you. I'm calling this stupid contract off. I'm no longer your pretend girlfriend."
Kagura stood in front of the broken door that supposedly wouldn't open.
She brought the door down with a massive kick.
"Oi!" Kagura shouted in the dirt ground.
"Which of ya'll whimps gonna fight me?"
Her provocations were adressed to the students of another delinquent school.
"Hey little girl, don't you think you should be at a playground instead?" The deliquents mocked her as they advanced forward.
"Either way... You're going down!" They yelled out.
They charged towards her, but Kagura quickly punched them in the stomachs. She then caught the leg of someone who threw a kick at her and swung him around, toppling the others that surrounded her.
"Is that all ya got?" She laughed with bloodstained hands.
"GET HER!" The reinforcements pounced on her.
Kagura shook them off violently and hit them in their faces, one after the other.
There was soon a pile of bodies around her feet.
"Anybody else?" Her eyes were wide and plain sadistic as she looked at them, a killing intent.
"W-w-wait... You fools! That orange hair... Isn't that Kagura, Queen of the District?!"
"Oh my gosh, who the hell decided to pick a fight with her?"
"Oi, i'm not gonna be waiting around all day. Who's your leader?"
"I am."
A person with a strong frame and gruff appearance emerged from the now cowering students that were in the hang out.
"Oh, i think i've heard of you. Abuto, am i right?" There was a smirk across her face.
This should be good.
"Spot on, little girl."
Her smirk vanished.
"Don't call me little girl!"
She rushed forward to sweep him off his feet with her legs, but he dodged it. Following up, she aimed a punch at his chest, but the large hands of Abuto caught hers.
Not giving up, Kagura used all her strength and was able to throw the heavy man to the side, with just one arm.
She charged forward again, attempting to body slam him and jab her elbow down. However, Abuto was quick to recover as his fist hit her square in the face.
Blood tricked down Kagura's nose. This time it was her own blood.
"You live up to your name, don't you?" Abuto said.
Unsure whether it was a compliment or not, she just kept silent as she stared at her opponent, analysing him.
The next moment she blinked, he was gone.
"Behind you," she heard his voice.
Abuto slammed her hard of the ground with two of his fists clasped together.
Kagura's pupils dilated as her mouth tasted dirt on the ground.
"This was a good fight," Abuto said before he delivered hus final blow.
Is this my end?
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, CHINA? GET UP!"
What?
Kagura turned around to see that stupid handsome boy fending off Abuto's attacks for her.
"Sadist...?"
"Now's not the time to just sit there and wait to be finished! What happened to the girl who knocked down the door because she hated me so much? What happened to the girl who broke my arm? What happened to the girl who just loves to beat people up?!"
Kagura laughed as she picked herself up from the ground. She had a resolve again.
Yeah, that's right.
"You take right, i take left," Okita told her as he fell back.
"Roger that, Boyfriend."
The pair attacked the enemy, damaging him until he could get up no more and just lay on the ground.
"I thought the both of you were rivalling groups?" Abuto looked up at the sky, weazing and breathless.
"Well... It's a temporary truce," Kagura answered while smiling widely.
"Let's go, China."
Okita grabbed her hand as they left the scene.
"Aaah!" Kagura lifted up her hands to smack Okita.
He caught her arms as he looked expressionless at her again.
"Idiot! I'm trying to help you!"
They were at Okita's house, fixing up their wounds.
He dabbed the antiseptic on the open cuts on her face and pasted plasters on them.
"Thanks, Sadist," Kagura mumbled.
"What did you say?"
"I said- ugh, nevermind," she flashed him an irritated look and she folded her arms.
He chuckled.
"Okay, i heard you the first time."
He ruffled her hair as he went to grab glasses of water from the kitchen.
Kagura pouted on the couch, but deep down inside, she was happy.
"China, come back to me."
"..."
"I seriously need a girlfriend, or i won't be able to escape this crap."
"Whatever."
"And who was the one who called me 'Boyfriend' just a while earlier?" He teased her.
"T-that was-" Kagura's face flushed slightly pink.
"Here you go," Okita handed her a cup of water.
"It's getting quite late, you should go home."
"I don't want to go home."
"Don't be such a brat."
"I can't, not with these bruises. I'd be worrying Otose-san."
"Then where else can you go?"
"I'd just sleep in the park."
"...idiot. Go take a bath, i'll lend you my clothes."
"Huh," Kagura stared at him with a blank and blur expression.
"Do i have to spell everything out for you?" He slammed his face in his palms.
"You're staying here, tonight."
"What? Really? Thank you Sadist!" Her eyes lit up as she beamed with a bright smile.
"Ah! What a nice bath!" Kagura shouted out in a relaxed manner. She collapsed on the bed in the large white shirt and baggy shorts she that was being loaned out to her.
"Oi, what are you doing?" She turned to the side and asked the boy.
"What are you talking about? This is my bed."
"But i'm injured, go sleep on the couch!"
"You go sleep on the couch, i ain't doing charity." He said as he pulled the covers over and fell asleep instantly.
"... Sadist?"
How the heck does he go to sleep so quickly?
"Ugh, whatever," Kagura groaned.
However, in the middle of the night, Okita started to get a lot more fidgity.
Kagura was still wide awake for the lack of peace she was getting.
Suddenly, a strong force pulled her into an embrace. Kagura found herself nestled against Okita's chest.
"What the shit! Okita what the hell are you doing?" Kagura screamed in a whisper, still being considerate of others trying to sleep in the night.
Okita mumbled nonsense. He was still alseep.
She tried to escape, but his hold on her was strong.
Despite the vast amount of irritation welling up inside of her, Kagura had no choice but to lay still and try her best to fall asleep.
Even while in her enemy's arms.
