-CHAPTER TWO-
Litchi secured the bandage with a safety pin, rubbing the injured ankle gently. "Is it too tight?"
The blonde shook her head. "No, ma'am."
"Okay." She placed a cold compress on her ankle, putting the girl's hand on top of it. "Keep this on until the swelling stops. Tell me if it's no longer cold so I can give you another one."
"I think one is enough."
"Alright." She turned to Tsubaki. "She'll be fine. She just needs to refrain from putting pressure on her ankle for now."
A nod. "Okay."
"Did you call Ragna?"
"Yeah. Should be here any second."
As if on cue, the door opened. Ragna entered the room, his lips in its usual frown. He sighed.
"What happened this time?" he asked, exasperated.
"One of the students dropped a marble in front of her to make her trip. She tried to stop herself from falling, but ended up spraining her ankle in the process."
"How bad is it?"
"I heard a crack."
He cringed. "Yeowch."
"She'll be fine, though. She just needs to rest."
"Ummm…" Noel began. "I can still attend—"
"After you rest," the man cut her off.
"I-i-it's just an ankle. I-I-I can still—"
"Just stop it, alright? I know you can still attend class. But you should rest before doing so." He ran a hand through his hair. "Besides, I need to have a little "talk" with them before I let you back in there."
"But—"
"Noel…" he growled warningly.
That shut her up.
Tsubaki put a hand on his shoulder. "Ragna, I'll be cutting the class short. Could you…um…"
He waved a hand. "I got it. I'll let Rachel know."
She sighed. "Give them a good scolding, will you?"
"I'll try. Don't blame me if anything happens, though."
She then looked him in the eye, an alien flame in hers. "I don't care. I won't stop you."
He shivered slightly at that. "Wow. You seem pissed."
"What gave me away?"
He stared at her for a moment before chuckling. "Right. Leave it to me."
And with that, he left the room. Litchi looked at the red-head worriedly.
"Tsu, were you serious?" she asked.
She turned to her. "Do I look like I'm joking?"
Blink. Blink. "Uh…alright…"
Noel gained their attention. "Miss Yayoi…you don't have to end the class early because of me…"
"I'm not ending it because of you. I don't think I can even look at your classmates without wanting to strangle every last one of them. I also need a break."
"…It's nine-thirty in the morning."
"And already, I'm tired."
She looked down. "I'm sorry…"
A vein popped in her head. This girl…
She pinched both of her cheeks hard and stretched them. The girl whimpered and flailed her arms about. It was a rather…amusing sight.
"What have I told you about apologizing for something you didn't do? I keep telling you it's not your fault! And yet you apologize anyway!"
"Nryaw! Nryaw! Nryaw! Mrewryaw! Ahm sawwy! Ahm sawwy!"
"There you go again! Stop saying you're sorry!"
"Ahm saw—NRYAW!"
She stretched them even further. "Noel!"
*Whimper* *Whimper*
Sighing, she released her. "Seriously, you keep thinking you've done something wrong when you didn't. And then you go and apologize for nothing. Noel, break that habit."
She looked down and nodded, massaging her sore cheeks. "Okay…"
"You two are fun to watch," Litchi said. "As if you two are sisters."
"Sisters?" they asked in unison.
"Yeah! Tsubaki, you're Noel's "Onee-san", and Noel, you're Tsubaki's "Imouto"!"
The two girls turned to her with confused eyes. They exchanged glances before the red-head smiled.
She petted the younger girl's head gently. "Well, I've always wanted a cute little imouto. Guess now I finally have one."
The blonde's cheeks slightly reddened at her actions. "Cute…little…imouto…"
"Aww!" Litchi cooed. "Looks like someone likes the idea of being Tsubaki's imouto!"
She hid her face with her bangs. "…"
She then had an idea.
This will be fun… the raven-head snickered inwardly.
"Ya know… Miss Tsubaki is an only child, so she never had a chance to be an older sister."
The girl slowly looked up at the said woman. "R-really?"
She laughed lightly. "Yeah. I've always wanted an older or younger brother and sister."
The doctor continued. "Her childhood was filled with loneliness. She so wanted a sibling, most especially an imouto, so that she could have someone to look up to her."
"Well…I was lonely, but I didn't—"
"She wanted a cute little imouto by her side. Always clinging to her. Following her like a little duckling.
She put her hands together and wore a dreamy look in her eyes. "Oh! And she had also wished that her cute little imouto would not just call her "Onee-san". No! She wanted her cute little imouto to call her…"Onee-sama"!
"Oh, just like in a shoujo (-ai) manga! A typical yet perfect story of forbidden love…
"The two would never let each other go. They would be by each other's side every waking moment! They even made a childish promise to marry each other when they're older!
"And as the years go by, they come to realize that their love for each other isn't sisterly! No! A beautiful, forbidden love has blossomed between the two siblings!
"Their parents find out and disown them! Society shuns them away! The whole world stands against them!
"But Onee-sama assures her cute little imouto that nothing can come between them! That no matter what happens, they will always be together! Their love for each other will prevail!
"And then Onee-sama gets down on one knee and swears to give her heart and soul to her imouto! Though lacking a ring, they manage to marry in an abandoned church in the outskirts of town!
"And then they go and rent a small room in an inn for their honeymoon since they have little money. The moon shines high in the night sky, illuminating the bodies of the two sisters in love. A perfect night for a perfect scene…
"Their gazes meet, and Onee-sama takes her imouto gently by her shoulders and whispers, "Aishiteru…" and sets a hidden flame within her free. Her imouto pushes her onto the bed, begins stripping her Onee-sama's clothing without breaking their gaze!
"The animal within her imouto is unleashed. Lust-filled eyes bore into hers! Her heart quickens as her imouto quickly undoes the buttons of her shi—BLARGH!"
Tsubaki, face as red as her hair, collided her fist against the doctor's cheek.
Dang! And it was getting to the good part!
The busty woman spun in place before collapsing right beside Noel on the bed. The blonde stared down at the knocked down doctor, her face, if possible, even redder than Tsubaki's.
"…Cross-counter," Tsubaki mumbled.
"For what?" Noel asked.
"Didn't you…" Litchi began, her voice muffled. "…like the story?"
The red-head sighed and rubbed her temples. "You haven't changed."
Meanwhile…
Ragna exited the classroom, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He had just finished talking to the class about what happened. Needless to say it didn't go so well.
"I tried to talk to them," he said. "Really. I did."
The class clearly did not make any effort to listen to him. In fact, they made an effort not to. This obviously angered the man.
So…
"Well, Tsubaki did say I needn't hold back. But I didn't touch any of the brats. Can't say the same for their desks, though."
"Ragna?"
Slightly startled, he turned to his right to find Torakaka. She was wearing her usual hoodie today, though she now fashioned a pair of olive green baggy pants and sandals.
Sandals…?
"Hey, Tora. What's up?"
"I should be asking you that. Why are you in front of Tsubaki's classroom?"
He let out a tired breath. "Ya know…the usual."
"They're picking on Noel Vermillion again?'
"She's in the clinic, resting her ankle."
"What happened to her ankle?"
"Sprained it. Tsubaki said she heard a crack when it happened."
She cringed. "Meowch."
"Yeah."
"Have you already talked to them?"
"Can't really call it "talking to them" if they're not even listening."
She sighed. "Oh, I hope you didn't do anything drastic."
"I only scared them. Nothing more."
"I hope so."
"I'm heading over to Rachel's office. What about you?"
"Actually, I'm heading that way as well."
He smiled and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Well, let's go."
She gave him her own smile. They both walked down the long hallway. It would take them about ten minutes to get there, so they had some time to talk.
"So, how are you lately, Ragna?"
"Same as I've always been."
"Cranky?"
He quirked a brow at her. "Could you blame me?"
"Surely you can find time to unwind," she said as they turned a corner.
"No. I have a lot to take care of. And I'm not just referring to teaching."
"…You mean Saya?" He didn't say anything. The look on his face said it all. "How is she, by the way?"
"Cold. Uncaring. The usual."
She stopped in front of him, making him halt. "Have you tried talking to her at all?"
"I do, dammit!" he yelled. Seeing the look on her face, he waved an apologetic hand at her. "I'm sorry."
"I can see why you would be this way. Ever since that incident…"
He ran a hand through his long spiky silver hair. "Please don't remind me."
"Forgive me."
"It's fine. Let's keep walking."
And they did. An uncomfortable silence filled the air. They could find nothing else to say.
Torakaka. A young woman from the mysterious Kaka clan. Her race had been around for thousands of years, and have only been found out recently.
At first, people were afraid of them. It's to be expected, considering that they all wore hoods and had cat ears and tails. They definitely were not human.
Though as time passed, humans learned to accept them in society. Even if they were not the brightest creatures, they manage to interact with people pretty well. Heck, there were a few humans that have gotten into relationships with the cat-people.
Their origins are still unknown, though.
It's rather refreshing to see that these two species are living together in harmony. Though humans still don't fully understand the ways of the Kaka, they know one very important thing…
…They're always hungry.
But there are some cases where that fact doesn't apply. There are Kakas that have restraint. And though their race is known to not be very clever, there are those who are quite intelligent.
Torakaka is a fine example of that.
"Speaking of sisters…" Ragna began, breaking the silence. "Your sister…Taokaka, was it? How is she?"
"She is fine, thank you," she replied.
"I hear you're enrolling her late this semester. Why wait that long until you put her in here?"
"She has to do a few things before leaving the clan. She has to learn how to survive out in the world if she were to leave them. That's how it always has been, meow."
"Survive? Like how?"
"The most important being fighting for self-defense, then there's cooking, and then the basics of education. She needs to know just a little bit before setting out into the world."
"Well, I'm sure she's gonna learn a lot more here. Heck, I'll even teach her myself when she enrolls."
She giggled. "Good luck with that. She has zero attention span, and is mostly focused on food. I doubt you can get anything to stick in her head."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Well, we'll just have to see about that."
"Again, good luck." She played with her hair. "Anyway, I've noticed that Tsubaki has become quite close to Noel."
"I know. They're almost always together. Even outside school."
"It's nice to know that Miss Vermillion has a friend. Even if it is a teacher."
"Beggars can't be choosers."
"Although…" She then taps her chin with a grin on her lips. "It seems like they're too close."
He looked at her. "What do you mean…too close?"
"Tsubaki's quite fond of Noel. And Noel is quite clingy to her. Don't you think so?"
"I know that. They're pretty good friends."
"Are you sure?"
"Huh?"
"Are you sure they're just "friends"?"
"Yeah, I'm positive."
"Well, I don't think so. I think they're more than that."
"…I don't follow you."
"Think about it, Ragna. Like you said, they're almost always together. They spend time in and outside of school. And they stay out pretty late."
"Yeah?"
She sighed. "Meow, come on! It's obvious something's going on between them."
"Listen, Tora, I have no idea what you're talking about. Unless you can explain it a bit better, you might as well drop it since I'll just keep getting lost."
"What I'm saying is…" She giggled. "I think they're in love. Or one of them is in love."
He stopped walking, his brows furrowed. "…What?"
"There's a possibility that romance is involved."
He stared at her for a few seconds and scoffed. "Bull!"
"Meow! I'm serious!"
"Tora, they're student and teacher."
"Relationships between students and teachers exist, even though they may not end well."
"They have an age difference."
"Only by six years."
Only?
"They're both girls."
"Gays and lesbians, Ragna. They exist."
"Uh…"
"Ragna…are you against relationships that involve these things?"
"Well…no. But…"
She smiled. "Love knows no age, no gender, no race, nothing. You can't choose who you fall for."
He looked down, feeling a bit guilty. "I guess."
"To be honest…" She looked down, smiling bashfully with a cute blush. "…I used to have a crush on you when we studied together."
…
…
…
…GET THERE FASTER, RAGS!
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?" he cried out as he took a step back, his eyes wide as saucers, and his jaw just about ready to fall off.
She giggled. "Ragna, why are you so surprised?"
"You had a crush on me?"
"I used to, Ragna. But not anymore."
He relaxed a bit. "…Oh."
She smirked. "Disappointed?"
"Like hell!"
She shook her head, chuckling. "Anyway, it's just my opinion. I'm not really sure if there's really something going on between those two girls. It's just my own assumption."
"Mm. Though…" He grinned. "…from what I've learned, your assumptions are almost always right."
"Maybe."
"Well, whatever happens…happens, right?"
She nods. "Mhm!"
"Come on. We still need to go see the rabbit."
"It's funny how you made up that cute nickname for Rachel."
"That woman is anything but cute, Tora. I call her that to piss her off."
"Does it work, meow?"
"…"
She giggled. "Well, it's probably because she likes it."
"Whatever."
"You two are cute together."
"Me and the rabbit?"
"Mhm!"
"You're delusional."
"And you're in denial."
"Shut it!"
She laughed as they continue their journey to Rachel's office.