Cold showers were never appealing, and yet that is exactly what Takasugi found himself taking. It was obvious that Kinu had purposely done this to him. That girl knew exactly what she was doing. Time was spent simply standing under the shower head, waiting to cool down. Of course, this was partially Takasugi's fault. He had slipped up, and hinted at something a bit risky, but he had not expected her to follow up. After scrubbing off, and washing his hair, the man severed the flow of water.

He stepped onto the small black mat outside of the shower, opting not to take a bath. Once dried, the man pulled on a loose blue kimono. As long as he was comfortable, and kept his distance, all would be fine. Not that he could be scared by that girl. She was not scary in the slightest, just... Well, whatever she was, it was not intimidating. Instead of using his usual eye patch, the man opted for medical wrap; it was more comfortable to sleep in. Due to the shower, the apartment felt warm, yet still refreshing. Water dripped to the man's collar, as he made his way back to his room. The plan was to crawl in bed, read some more, go to sleep, and just hope that Kinu was not up to something weird. More like pray. But he wasn't scared.

Bracing himself, Takasugi slid the door open. Kinu was asleep. The girl was laying on her- Erm, the side of the bed he did not sleep on, with her arms folded under her. Her head rested in the bend of one of her elbows and one of her knees was bent, setting her body slightly on its side. Sighing in relief, Takasugi walked to the bed, and grabbed his book. At least he did not have to worry about that. When the man laid back on the bed, he tried to focus on the novel. Torture and sacrifices never got old. Sure enough, he caught his gaze drifting back to Kinu.

With the way she was laying, the arch of her back was... Something he should not be looking at! Quickly averting his eye, Takasugi stared at the text in his novel. For some reason, he could read the words, but they just did not mean anything; like they were not related at all. Nothing could be pictured. The soft breaths beside him seemed to demand his attention. The breaths, parting her lips... Which were so soft, and...

Not what he was be thinking about! That was necessary contact. It meant nothing. She was sort of dying at the time, so it was okay. What he was thinking was not; definitely not. However, he could not focus on the book right now. The most plausible option was sleep. If he went to sleep, he could not think of her. Not that he was. He was not. Setting the novel down, Takasugi reached to the wall switch above the nightstand. When darkness settled over the room, he pulled the covers over himself to sleep. He turned his back to Kinu, so to keep his thoughts at bay, but the window cast the girl's silhouette on the wall in front of him. Why was this happening? What did he do to deserve this?

Yeah, maybe he had neglected a few students before. And played cruel pranks, like putting eye drops in the coffee at work. Nevertheless, it was worth it, everybody got sick; he got a good laugh out of it. In the end, everybody was happy. It was completely harmless, once you got past the vomiting, and feeling like death itself. He even heard one of the teachers crying, that was pretty funny. Definitely not deserving of this sort of punishment.

To think that he could simply turn over, and... Erm, close the curtain. Because the light was distracting. That's all. He wasn't thinking anything else. Slight movement accompanied with two small almost inaudible groans caused Takasugi to tense. How could he sleep like this? He had told her to go to the couch, yet she felt the need to claim his bed. Damn it.

Peeking over his shoulder, the man found the Kinu had switched her bent legs. Now she was even more... Moreover, her shirt had slid up, revealing the skin of her side. This was too much. It wasn't fair. She was peacefully resting completely oblivious to his discomfort. Sighing, the man leaned up. It was impossible. He would never sleep again. If she had listened to him when he told her to go to the couch, this would not be happening. Kinu had probably done this on purpose. Knowing her, she was laughing in her sleep right now. Stupid girl.

Though he was thoroughly annoyed, it was not entirely with her. He just wanted to act like it. If anything, the most disturbing part of his night was his own thoughts. How her lips had barely brushed against his as she spoke. Her visible side and stomach. How he had unintentionally grabbed her... He would have to keep his hands in his pockets around this girl. Though none of it seemed to bother her, he was different. This was serious. She was a student, and though he was not exactly her teacher per say, it was just as bad... Right? Yes, right.

How she had so blatantly challenged him. No- he would not want to kiss her. She was a weirdo. Sort of. Even though he understood how she thought, for the most part. Even though she was obviously attracted to him. But then again, probably not. She had never hinted at it before, and her actions earlier was probably just to make him forget about... That damn girl! He had completely forgotten her arm! She had bested him again!

Feeling the urge to grumble some choice words under his breath, Takasugi studied the girl. Though she was clever, and annoying, he could not help but wonder. Did he really want to kiss her? If ever there was a time, the best would be when she wouldn't be aware. That way, he could focus on what he was thinking, and rationalize his own reaction towards her. It could be his own secret pay back, for her always trying to be a step ahead of him.

Shifting his gaze, the one-eyed man took a second to contemplate his method of justifying himself. It was not like she would know. Not like it was serious, or anything. Just a simple kiss. To make sure that she was still... Uh, breathing after the drowning thing. Right. Because he would never want anything like that. Probably.

A/N: Just wanted to thank you all for your comments.
I'm happy to know that you like my story! :D
Also, Zura's Girl- That was the funniest simile I have ever read! The train wreck thing, I laughed so hard. Just had to acknowledge that. :)
I hope everybody enjoyed this chapter!
Do you think he's gonna kiss her? Is he gonna do it?!
I'm horrible. I stopped the chapter there on purpose *Evil laughter*