"Headline: Kiriyuin Satsuki's eyebrows are bigger than her freaking face."
"I like that... but I don't think it would go past Gamagoori for a second."
"Eh, whatever. I'd read it."

Writing the school newspaper was... actually quite enjoyable. It was a pain that I other deadlines to meet- ones other than classwork- but the girl responsible for just about all of the going-on's around the Academy had her arm around me and was feeding me croquettes, so I was able to get the job done pretty easily.

"So what else do you have to write aside from the articles?"
"Ugh, that reminds me... I have to work on spell-checking the documents sent by the Disciplinary Committee and... oh dear Lord..."
"What?"
"The newspaper gets requests for stories by the student population... check this one out." I pointed at one written by an anonymous student. "'Stop the presses! I caught Elite 4 member Sanageyama Uzu asking sewing club president Iori Shiro for work done on his...'" I attempted to read the rest of the post and burst out laughing.
"The hell?" Ryūko asked, blushing. "Does the sewing club even... wait, why is he... god, this school is freaking crazy!"
"Oh, you have no idea," I said, finally beginning to calm down. "I'm going to have to go through these posts every day for the rest of my time at this place."
"I swear, Zakku-kun... you seem to be the only sane person I know here. Even Mako is a bit off sometimes..."
"I like to tell myself that too."

She pulled me in again and we touched cheeks.

"Not to mention you're not a stupid pervert. I know I keep saying it, but I'm really grateful for that."
"Yeah, about that..."
"Huh?"

I still hadn't told her about how much of a pervert I was the moment I found out about her damn kamui. The secret was driving me nuts, so I had to spill the beans. Even if it meant putting a wedge into our fragile relationship, I had to be honest with her.

A scowl appeared on her face as I told her. "So let me get this straight... you were lying to me the whole time. Is that it?" She pushed me away, angry.
"That's not it, I-"
"Then what is it, then?" Her voice started to rise. "You're sayin' I misjudged you? That I thought you were special, and now..." Her anger turned to sorrow.
"Ryūko... at first I thought I would never be able to see you... well, like that. Then I started realizing that it was for the best, ya know? I felt like... if I saw you half-naked... there was a chance I really would turn into a dumb pervert and... you'd never look at me the same way again. I didn't want to lose the bond that I had with you."

She seemed to this consider this... and sighed. Then, while turning her head: "I know I can believe you when you say that."
I smiled back at her, relieved that she understood and believed me. "Because of that letter, right?"
"Yeah, you got it." She leaned in and kissed my cheek. "Sorry for bein' a bitch about it." She hugged me tight again.
"N-no problem." It was the first time she kissed me; I was blushing redder than a damn beet.
She plopped another croquette into her mouth. With our cheeks pressed together, I could feel her's bulging as she chewed. "So... you know what this means, right?" She asked, swallowing.
"What?"
"It means that you're gonna have to see me transform."
"Wha? Why?"
"It's pretty obvious. You never got a chance to see me do it. And before you jump into what you said earlier, I'm going to put you at ease." She took my hand. "I learned from my first fight with Satsuki that I need to stop being ashamed of getting naked anyway."

I couldn't help but blush at her saying that second-to-last word. I guess I was still reeling from that kiss.

"Am I going to see it... now?"
"Hold on a sec." She looked down at her uniform. "You hearin' this? ... Yeah, good point."
"What did he say?"
"Senketsu wants me to be on my guard and not waste any blood. After what happened this morning, I think It's a good idea."
"Yeah, I can't trust that masochist for a second." I made sure to keep my voice low, in case said masochist was eavesdropping. "By the way, when's the date?"
"Tonight," she said calmly.
"EH? That fast?"
"Yeah, I'm dyin' to date you right now."
My luck just keeps getting better by the second! "In that case... where?" I was successful in keeping my excitement hidden... barely.
"Huh? Isn't the boy supposed to decide?"
"Thing is, I didn't think I'd get this far." I chuckled, trying to look as innocent as possible.
"Well, in that case, I know the perfect place for a date."
"You do?"
She tipped me a wink. "Yeah! The best restaurant in the city."

...

I had been on two dates in my life; neither of them ended with my first kiss. The one I was on with Matoi Ryūko was the best experience I ever had. What was ironic about it was the location.

"So this was your plan, eh?" I asked, looking into my bowl of familiar food.
"Mhm. Betcha' didn't expect something like this for a first date."
"No... no I did not."

I was eating croquettes. Again. This time, on the roof of the Makanshoku's house.

"Ya know something, Zakku?"
"Hm?" I was gazing at the stars.
"I never thought my life would have moments like this."
"Neither have I. Speaking of which, you never told me about your past before you arrived here."
"It's a pretty long story." She sighed and began.

...

"My god, Ryūko, I..."
"If you're gonna apologize for what happened, it's alright. I'm totally fine with discussing it."
"And yet you kept pushing forward, no matter what the odds. Whew!" I rested my head in my palms.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.
"It means that once again, I underestimated you, Ryūko. Every time I think I have you pegged down, you go out and surprise me like this. You show me just how amazing you really are."
I looked back at her and saw that she had an adorable blush on her face. "You really think so?"
"I know so."

With her bangs covering her eyes, I saw her flash a bright smile, one that I think changed the bond between us forever. We had a new understanding for each other at that moment, one that sparked something in our relationship that even now I can't explain.

Shaking out of her trance, Ryūko took her bowl of croquettes and shoveled it down her gullet as fast as she could, much to my surprise. After a burp and a yawn, she turned to me.

"You still aren't done yet?" She asked, grinning playfully.
"Give me a break, I just had croquettes a few hours ago."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
"Let me rephrase that: eating around you is a pain in the ass."
"Fine then, let me give you some motivation." She leaned back and rested her head on my lap. "If you finish in the next ten seconds, I'll kiss you."
I held the bowl over Ryūko's head, my hands shaking. "That isn't fair, damn it."
She smiled. "You're running out of time."

I shoveled my dinner into my mouth as fast as I could, knowing already that I couldn't finish without throwing up the "mystery" all over myself. My eyes were already wandering to her body as she rested it on the bench. Damn, they look bigger from here. I wonder what size they are...? Wait, no, FOCUS!

"Five more seconds..."
"You're not helping!" I yelled, my mouth stuffed.
"Three... two... one..."
"I GOT THIS SHIT!"
"Times up!"
"AGH! ONE! I HAD ONE MORE LEFT!"

What was worse? Acting like a freaking idiot, or realizing how close I had gotten to finishing? Either way, Ryūko noticed my hung expression. She sat up on my lap and took the chopsticks out of my hand.

"Hey, what are you doing?"
"Shut up and say 'aah.'" She took the last croquette and baited me with it.
I humored her and took it with a grin.

"There! All finished."

She waited for me to swallow before I felt her hands on my cheeks and her lips against mine.