Kirin: I'm going to Umehito's to study.
Arora: Kk. Text me if ur gonna be home for dinner—if I don't hear from u I'll assume u wont be. Don't walk home alone!
Kirin: K :)
Kirin slid her phone back in her pocket and smiled up at Nekozawa.
"Ready?" he asked.
She nodded. He stepped out of the limo and helped her out.
She slid her sunglasses back over her eyes. Once they were inside, she took them back off. He looked at her questioningly.
'Sun gives me headaches,' she explained. 'Or any particularly bright light.'
"Bad ones?"
'If I'm in it long.'
"I understand."
'I know,' she grinned.
"Yeah. Um, do you want to go to my room, then?" he asked nervously. She nodded, and he led her upstairs and down the hall.
They passed Kuretake on their way toward his room.
"Welcome home, Master Umehito," she said, bowing. "Welcome, Mistress Kirin."
Kirin waved hello, smiling, and continued following Nekozawa.
'She remembered me,' she signed, surprised.
"I don't get a lot of visitors," he explained.
'I see.'
He closed the door behind him.
"Ah—that's ok, right? If I close the door?" he asked, suddenly realizing it might make her uncomfortable.
She nodded. 'I trust you,' she smiled.
"Good," he smiled shyly back at her. He took off his cloak and hung it by his door.
She stared; she'd never seen him without his cloak.
"What?" he asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious under her stare.
She smiled and shrugged.
'I like,' she signed, blushing.
He blushed violently, looking away.
She giggled; he jerked his head up toward her at the sound. She looked just as surprised as he did.
"I've never heard you laugh," he said.
She shrugged.
'It's been a long time since I could.'
"If you couldn't before, how did you just now?"
She shrugged again.
'Maybe I'm getting better.'
"Doesn't that imply that you're sick?" he smiled.
She grinned and shrugged.
"All right," he sighed. "Let's get started."
He walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out several books. He dumped them on the bed.
"We'll start with the history, then move on to basic concepts."
She nodded, sat down on the bed, and opened a book. She sighed; this was going to be a long night.
Around seven, Kuretake came to see if they wanted her to bring them dinner.
"Are you hungry?" he asked Kirin.
She paused, then nodded.
Kuretake left, returning with plates of food. She placed them on the coffee table and left.
Kirin and Nekozawa sat on his couch to eat. Halfway through the meal, she suddenly realized he was watching her. She gave him a questioning look; he just smiled and kept eating, still watching her.
She pouted, confused; why was he watching her? She reached over and tugged on his hair; her eyes widened as it slid off his head.
It was a wig.
He was blonde.
He tensed, staring at her wide-eyed.
She set the wig on the couch and gently touched his real hair. It was soft. She smiled.
"I like," she signed. She didn't even question why he wore a wig.
He visibly relaxed and let out a relieved laugh.
They finished dinner and hit the books again.
Kirin spent each evening that week studying with Nekozawa.
On Saturday, Kirin decided she wanted to go out for lunch after classes.
'Please,' she signed, looking up at Nekozawa pleadingly.
He sighed.
She grinned and grabbed his arm, dragging him out of the clubroom, out of the school, and down the street to a small diner.
It wasn't exactly dark, but the lighting was dim in comparison to most other restaurants; she eyed a booth in a far corner that was particularly poorly lit.
She smiled happily as she ate her hot dog. She dipped a fry into her chocolate shake.
Nekozawa gave her an odd look; she just grinned and dipped another, holding it out toward his face.
He hesitated, but ultimately gave in and took a bite. She beamed excitedly. He shook his head exasperatedly, but there was a smile on his face.
"It's not bad," he admitted, enjoying seeing her grin widen.
After they ate, they continued on to his house. They went up to his room and she flopped on his bed, waiting for him to pick the books he thought they should cover next.
He set a stack of books on the bed. She rolled over onto her stomach and opened the first one.
Kirin woke up with a start. She looked around frantically; where was she? It was dark and unfamiliar. She tried to get up, but she was tangled up in something—a blanket—and she fell to the floor with a thump. She thrashed around, trying to untangle herself, but only succeeded in making it worse. She couldn't see! It was wrapped around her head.
"Kirin?" a voice called; she recognized it, but in her panicked state was unable to identify it.
She felt someone grab her, and thrashed harder.
"Kirin—calm down! You're making it worse; let me help you!"
Her head was uncovered, and the faint light from a lamp illuminated her companion—Nekozawa. She stopped thrashing, allowing him to untangle her body. He pulled her to him after she was free; she sobbed into his chest, clutching at his shirt.
"Shh," he whispered. "You're ok, Kirin. Shh. It's ok. You're safe."
He rocked back and forth, whispering comforting words until she calmed down. When she finally stopped crying, he still held her.
"Better?" he asked, running his hand through her hair soothingly.
She nodded into his chest.
"What happened?" he asked.
She looked up at him, frowning. He wiped the tears from her face with his thumb.
'Bad dream. I woke up and didn't know where I was and got tangled up. I was scared.'
"What was the dream about?"
She looked away and shrugged.
'Memories, maybe…."
"Maybe?"
She shrugged again.
"C'mon," he sighed, picking her up.
She gasped in surprise and looked at him questioningly. He placed her in his bed.
"I already texted Arora that you fell asleep," he explained. "She said it's ok for you to stay here—tomorrow's Sunday, anyway, so there's no school."
He pulled the covers over her and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. He started to walk away—she noticed there was a blanket and pillow on the couch, meaning he'd been sleeping there previously, having given her his bed. She grabbed his arm, and he looked at her questioningly. She tugged, pulling him toward her.
"What is it?" he asked.
She tugged him closer and patted the spot next to her.
"You want me to sleep next to you?" he asked, surprised.
She nodded, blushing slightly. He stared at her, then smiled softly.
"Ok," he whispered. He turned off the lamp, walked around to the other side and slid in next to her.
She surprised him again by cuddling into him as soon as he lay down, laying her head on his chest and draping an arm over his stomach. He hesitantly wrapped his arm around her.
"Good night, Kirin," he whispered into her hair.
She leaned up and kissed his cheek, nuzzling into his neck.
Kirin woke up with Nekozawa's arms around her and his body pressed against her back. She blushed and smiled happily, snuggling closer to him.
She giggled as his arms tightened around her.
"Good morning," he whispered in her ear. She felt a chill run up her spine.
She looked back at him with a smile, reaching up to gently brush a lock of blond hair out of his eyes..
"Any plans for today?" he asked.
She shook her head, then pointed to the bookshelf with a questioning expression.
He smiled.
"I thought we might take a break from that today," he said.
She looked at him curiously.
"We could watch some movies," he suggested, suddenly feeling nervous.
She nodded happily.
He let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.
"What do you want to watch?" he led her over to a shelf full of movies—nearly exclusively horror; some weren't necessarily scary, but all were fairly occult-ish.
She pulled out a few movies: Rosemarie's Baby; The House of the Devil; Black Sunday; The Omen; Pumpkinhead; The Exorcist.
"Good movies," he agreed. "Which one do you want to watch first?"
She held up Rosemarie's Baby.
"Ok. I'll have Kuretake bring us some food," he walked out of the room, donning his cloak before he opened the door.
He returned moments later, popped the DVD in the player, and sat down on the couch. Kirin sat next to him, laying her head on his chest. He draped his arm around her.
Kuretake brought in a tray of popcorn, candy, soda, and—to Kirin's delight—donuts.
Kirin grabbed a donut with chocolate glaze and sprinkles. She leaned back into Nekozawa, smiling happily.
This was the perfect movie marathon—great movies, donuts, and a cute, sweet boy to cuddle up to.