Got a lot of time on my hands today so I'm pumping out chapters like crazy!
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"Kazuma sure is a catch."
Yukina heard the group of girls across the cafeteria say this and she immediately tuned into their conversation from her seat across from Kazuma. She sipped her miso soup quietly and wondered what they meant by "a catch".
"I never really thought much about him before that earthquake," one of the girls, a blonde with outrageously bright pink eyeshadow stated, "But that was very weird how he knew it was going to happen. We all could have been really hurt if we hadn't been prepared."
It was true, Yukina mused to herself, she'd heard the story from Kazuma many times. He really seemed to like telling it, and he always seemed to puff up like a bird when he did.
"Yeah, I know, after that I paid a bit more attention and he's actually really funny," the brunette with choppy short hair said.
"And he's really attractive!" stated the other blonde, her hair was pulled into a high ponytail. "I mean, not CUTE like some of the boys here but there is something about him that just makes me go a little crazy inside."
"He's so tall," the first blonde said dreamily, "And damn those shoulders...so strong. I bet he could carry me across the threshold with no problem."
The three girls broke into a fit of giggles at that and Yukina glanced up from her bowl of soup to consider Kazuma's appearance. She liked being around him a lot and of course she thought he was funny...but she'd never really paid much attention to how he looked. They were right, he did have very broad shoulders and his arms were thick with muscle. She knew they were right about him being strong, she'd witnessed his strength many times in battles and training, he was the strongest human she knew.
Kazuma must have sensed her staring at him because he looked up at her suddenly, a soba noodle hanging between his lips, mid way to being slurped up. He sucked the noodle in and swallowed it quickly and then grinned at her.
"You alright, Yukina?" he asked, "You look like you're thinking pretty deep there."
She just smiled back at him and shook her head, her eyes scanning his face. The girls were right, he had very good features, but they weren't like the other boys. His face wasn't a soft, round face like so many others, he had prominent features and intense grey eyes...and Yukina thought she liked his face better because of them.
"I really like his voice too," the girls were talking again and Yukina focused on them again. It was the brunette speaking this time. "It's so deep and gruff, can you imagine how he must sound in bed?"
Yukina sensed all three girls shudder collectively and she wondered why that statement caused that reaction. She'd heard Kazuma in bed...he snored pretty loud and it really wasn't a good thing in her opinion.
"Stop it, Risa, I'll have to go change my panties if I think about that!" the ponytailed blonde squealed.
"I bet he's a total animal," Risa continued, ignoring her friend's statement, "Like, throw you down and completely destroy a woman type of animal."
"Eek, Risa!" ponytail blonde squirmed in her seat and blushed furiously, her eyes darted over to look at Kazuma.
He seemed completely unaware of the conversation, Yukina noticed, and she dropped her eyes to her now empty soup bowl and fumed. Why would these girls say such mean things about him? He was no animal, he was a perfectly good human and no different than any of them, except for his spirit awareness...why would they call him these things?
"That little girl he's always hanging out with, I wonder who she is?" Yukina stayed focused on her bowl, trying not to look at the girls because she knew for a fact the pink eye blonde was looking at her.
"Uhg, I know, one day she just shows up out of the blue and lives in his house," Risa said, sounding annoyed, "He is ALWAYS fawning over her. He acts like a complete fool when she's around."
"I wonder what he sees in her?" ponytail blonde huffed, "She is way too small and way too innocent. I mean, come on, he practically throws himself at her feet and she uses him like a coat over a puddle."
Yukina felt her cheeks start to burn as a self-conscious blush crept into her skin.
"She doesn't deserve his attention," Risa agreed, "She obviously doesn't like him in return, she's just wasting his time and keeping him chained up so no other girl has a chance to take him away."
"Why does he waste his time with her and keep her around?"
"Maybe she's crazy good at giving head."
"Risa! Look at that girl and tell me she's an expert...she probably doesn't even have a clue what a dick is!"
"Plus, she's too small," Risa grumbled in annoyance, "As big a guy as he is, you KNOW he's got to be packing some major hardware. She couldn't handle it."
Yukina was completely lost, she had no idea what these girls were talking about at all. She was about to ask Kazuma what they meant when the bell rang for the next period and the cafeteria began to bustle with moving students and the noise level was too high for a quiet conversation. She saw Kazuma's hand reach out and take her tray from under her nose and she looked up with a start and smiled when he winked at her and took her tray to the drop off for her. He returned a moment later and held his hand out to her like he always did to help her stand and she accepted it as always, but those girls' words burned in the back of her mind the whole way through the cafeteria. In the hallway, Kazuma put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her gently before they parted ways for their separate classes and Yukina watched him walk away, a million questions buzzing around in her mind.
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Yukina's last class got out an hour before Kazuma's last class so she normally walked home on her own, but today she sat on the front steps of the school and waited for him, absentmindedly attempting to straighten the pleats in her skirt.
The final bell sounded and the older students began pouring out of the doors, their voices filled the previously silent air and Yukina dropped her gaze to a crack in the step when she heard the voices of Risa and her two friends.
"Oh, great, now she's waiting for him after class so he can't even talk to other girls on his way home," the pink eye blonde muttered as they passed her, Yukina could tell by the volume of her voice she intended it to be heard.
"Yukina!" Yukina felt a flood of relief wash over her as Kazuma's brash voice drowned out the crowd around her, she raised her head and smiled up at him, and when she was sitting and he was standing, that was a really long way up! "What are you doing here still?"
"I was waiting for you," she said meekly, knowing very well by the prickly feeling on the back of her neck that the three girls were still watching their interaction, "I just wanted to talk to you, I had a few questions."
"Wanna talk over some ice cream?" Kazuma suggested and Yukina nodded eagerly, just wanting to get away from the judging eyes around her.
"Oh, yes, please!" she said happily, taking his offered hand to stand up. She brushed off her skirt and went to reach for her book-bag but Kazuma already had it slung over his shoulder, not even caring that it was bright purple.
He offered her his free arm and she placed her hand on the inside of his forearm as they began to walk away from the school, she chanced a glance over her shoulder and immediately regretted it...Risa was scowling right at her.
"So?" Kazuma said once they were away from the school, "What did you do to piss off Risa and her quad?"
Yukina looked up in surprise.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, she and her two blonde sidekicks were looking at you that whole time on the steps," Kazuma explained, "And they weren't friendly looks."
"I honestly don't know," Yukina admitted, "I've never even spoken to them."
"Hmph, yeah," Kazuma seemed amused by something.
They reached the ice cream shop and he held the door open for her and they sat across from each other in a booth. Yukina prodded her red bean ice cream with her spoon, trying to figure out what to ask him first and not to make it hurt his feelings, she didn't want to tell him people thought he was an animal...
"Yukina, I know why those girls were looking at you like that," Kazuma stated out of the blue, derailing her train of thought.
"You do?" she squeaked.
"Yeah, I saw how they were looking at you and I didn't like it so I took a peak in their minds," he admitted sheepishly, "You know, to make sure they weren't a threat to you. But, uh, they're just jealous of you."
"Jealous? Of me?"
"Yeah...they hate that you're the only girl I care about," he explained.
"Oh..." Yukina rolled that information over and over in her mind and decided she liked that they were jealous and was glad Kazuma didn't like them, girls like that who talked mean about him didn't deserve his attention! "I admit...I listened in on a conversation of theirs in the cafeteria about you."
That caught Kazuma's full attention, he looked up in surprise and cocked his head in a way that begged her to share the details.
"But it wasn't nice," she warned him quickly, "They started out nice, talking about how cute and funny you are, but then Risa said she thinks you're an animal."
Kazuma's eyes widened and the corner of his mouth twitched in amusement.
"Did they now?" he asked.
"Yes, they did, they said you seemed like the type who would...what did she say...throw a girl down and destroy them," Yukina innocently continued.
Kazuma had just taken a bite of his ice cream and at her works he inhaled sharply and choked, going into a coughing fit that left Yukina wide-eyed in surprise.
"They said that?" he finally managed to croak between coughs, he smacked his chest with his fist in an attempt to clear his airway.
"But I know it's a lie!" Yukina assured him, not wanting him to think she believed it. "I know you'd never do anything of the sort!"
"Hmmph, don't sell me short, Yukina," he replied, crossing his arms in front of him defiantly, "You don't even know what I'm capable of."
Yukina stared at him for a long time, unnerved by the seriousness of his face and tone...he seemed a bit insulted.
"What's a dick?" she finally blurted, trying desperately to ease the sudden frigidness. It worked. Kazuma burst in raucous laughter and slapped the table a few times as he struggled to breathe through it.
"Where did you hear that?" he finally asked, tears of amusement sliding down from the corners of his eyes.
"I heard one of the blonde girls say it" Yukina replied, blushing because the people in the shop were now looking at them oddly, "She said I didn't know what it was...and she's right, I don't."
"What else did they say?" Kazuma leaned forward, looking very curious but taking it down a level so the whole establishment wouldn't hear their conversation.
"They said they wonder why you are so crazy about me and Risa said I was probably good at something...I don't know what it is either," Yukina reported, thinking back to the conversation in the cafeteria, "I thing she said...something about a head and that it's why you kept me around."
Yukina noticed Kazuma's eyes were dancing with amusement and he was waiting for her to continue.
"And then they said I was too small for you," she finished, easily remembering the last statement, "And I wouldn't be able to handle your massive hardware."
It was too much, Kazuma actually had to go outside because he was laughing so hard. Yukina watched him through the window and cocked her eyebrow in confusion, he was literally bent over and holding his stomach as he laughed, she could hear him through the glass...finally, he walked back in and paid for their ice cream and immediately pulled her up from the booth and out the door, still chuckling as they went.
"Yukina, did they really say all that?" he asked once they were outside, "So that's why Risa is always looking at me that way in class. She's chewed through dozens of erasers already this year, she just...stares and chews all the time."
"Kazuma, I don't know what's going on," Yukina whined, feeling severely confused and little bit afraid she'd said something wrong.
"Oh, hey baby, it's ok," he noticed her face had scrunched up into a pre-cry expression, "Don't cry, it's not bad, it's just so funny to hear you say stuff like that. You're so cute."
Yukina had had enough of Kazuma's patronizing tone for one day and she suddenly stopped walking and stood perfectly still, her hands on her hips and her eyes glaring up at him from behind. He realized she'd stopped walking and turned around to find her glaring ice daggers at him, almost literally when the air around them became noticeably chilly from her powers flaring up.
"Hey, whoa, whoa!" Kazuma stepped back a pace and held his hands up in a gesture of peace, "Yukina, I'm just teasing you, don't get mad, please!"
For a moment, Yukina's demon mind told her it would be fun to maybe freeze the gel in his hair, but she shook her head and let her anger fade. After all, she wasn't sure what was going on so maybe it really was as funny as Kazuma was making it seem.
"I'm sorry, Kazuma, I just feel so confused," she sighed, letting her powers fade. "Please explain what I said?"
Kazuma looked at her in silence for a long time and then he rubbed the back of his neck in his nervous way and grinned.
"I, uh, I think you should talk to Shizuru about this one," he admitted.
"Don't YOU know?" Yukina asked, wondering why his tone had become so serious all of the sudden, and so nervous.
"Yeah, I know," he assured her quickly, "But...you probably need a girl's opinion and Shizuru has information that I probably don't where this conversation is concerned."
"Ok, I'll ask her when we get home," Yukina shrugged, slightly annoyed at his sudden lack of openness.
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Hee hee hee, poor Yukina. She has no clue!
This was super fun to write and I am now upping the rating because who knows where this is gonna go.