What a nice chandelier.

That was Renka's first thought, drowsy eyes slowly opening up to the view of a ceiling that bore an exquisite light fixture, crystalline beads hanging off of every golden twist.

Wow.

How much did that cost…?

There's no way she'd be able to afford something like that. Or Uncle Hakubi, for that matter. Therefore… she's not home, is she?

"Nyah…?"

Trying to speak shot a flash of pain through her body, resulting in a loud groan. What happened…?

Oh, right. She got her ass kicked, and she's not even sure how it led to such an outcome. The resulting shame caused her stomach to sink. The weight of dishonor… if her father knew that his own daughter lost to some stupid pretty boy disciple…

Even worse, the disciple of his dishonorable brother, Sougetsu…

… He'd be incredibly disappointed.

Though, better her father finding out than her mother!

Renka winced at the thought, choosing to shove her shameful emotions somewhere else for the time being.

Dull verdant eyes darted around the unfamiliar location as her foggy mind tried to make sense of the situation before her. She seemed to be nestled under a premium down comforter, resting atop a plush white couch made of some exquisite material; vases and china cabinets adorned the room, and on the nearby ebony coffee table was a porcelain cup of steaming tea.

She forced herself to sit upright amidst pained grunts, and stared deep into the cup. Her reflection was riddled with bandages, cotton wrapped around her head, a large patch on her cheek...

"Where am I?" she whispered.

And then the nearby CEO strolled over, his moppy locks wet as he donned a clean, white button-up shirt. He gave a cursory chilly glance towards her before taking a seat on another lavish couch. Despite being fresh out of the shower, it seemed that he, too, was a bit scuffed up — albeit less so.

"Somewhere you won't be for long," he callously replied, sipping from his own cup of tea.

The sight of him caused the cat to reflexively jerk back, further aggravating her injuries as she put up her hands to guard from any potential attacks.

"You…!"

She paused, eyebrows drawn together in bewilderment. He was no longer emitting that bloodthirst.

"Is… is this your house?"

"So what if it is?"

He sardonically snickered at her attempt to guard.

"If you're feeling better, then get going."

How blunt.

Renka swallowed thickly, pulling the blanket aside as she made an effort to stand up. And as another zap of pain struck her, she reflexively pressed a palm to her abdomen in some attempt to save face. There were clearly bandages beneath her dress. The wrappings felt tight, too — a job well done.

… So he did this, huh?

Her catty veneer wavered for once, and emerald hues locked onto azure.

"... But why did you… ?"

Tanimoto sank in his seat, breaking eye contact as he thought of some way to indirectly state his reasoning. For some reason, it was difficult to look at what he had done.

"When I was injured, your father cared for my wounds. It was the least I could do."

. . .

A silence fell over them as Renka continued to stare ahead at his avoidant expression, unsure if he was once again being stoic… or was he being bashful?

Now she was the bashful one, his words dredging up some interesting emotions within her. Guilt, maybe? He didn't seem like that much of a bad guy, despite everything. Sure, he was the one who hurt her, but he didn't have to patch her up like that. The thought of it makes her insides feel… inexplicably fuzzy, for lack of a better description. And she momentarily considered thanking him, but her pride stepped in the way.

"W-well! I didn't need any help, thank you very much!"

She crossed her arms and turned her head the opposite way, pink lines staining her cheeks. And just to prove her point, she immediately tried to get up from the couch — and then momentarily stumbled, grunting in pain.

Tanimoto's gaze fixated on the cat once more.

"Oh, really? How about I give you a push, then?"

A half-smile briefly appeared on his face. But only briefly. He figured she was likely acting like this due to pride; the Ma family stood proud and tall, he knew well enough.

"Hmph—" Renka scoffed before having a realization.

There was only one way for him to bandage an injury that was under her dress.

He had to remove it fir—

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Cue the shrill cry, cheeks plastered red as her arms enveloped her chest!

And her wails caused Natsu to snap out of his thoughts. Alarmed, he uncharacteristically dashed to the catgirl's side, unaware of his show of blatant concern.

"What's wrong?!"

"Y-you … YOU TOOK MY CLOTHES OFF, YOU PERVERT!" she wailed, attempting to slap him or something. Instead, she just fell to the floor.

Tanimoto eyed her, his panicked expression falling flat as he watched her descent. A metaphorical rabbit marched behind them, carrying a leaf.

Seriously?

"I didn't remove your clothes entirely. I didn't see anything." With how torn up her dress was, any stripping was unnecessary.

Gah. She lashed out at him against for no reason, huh? How embarrassing. She glanced up at him from the floor, crimson cheeks threatening to stain his luxurious carpet.

"I… I think I've overstayed my welcome…"

There were a billion and one reasons to be ashamed today. Lost a fight that she shouldn't have, and was now in the care of the guy who kicked her ass. She felt pathetic. Add that to why she was meditating in the forest in the first place, and there were several reasons to lament her life.

"Then get the hell out, kitty."

Renka pulled herself up from the floor and stumbled towards the front door. And for a brief moment, she turned to take one last glance at him; it seemed like tears were discreetly stinging the corner of her eyes. Only half a second passed before she swiftly looked away, and opened the door to take a step outsi—

"Wait! You haven't had your tea yet."

Tanimoto should've never looked into her eyes. He is a Hermit. He is the Hermit. Why did he stop her?

… He didn't even mean to make her tea! It was a habit forcibly instilled in him by the mini Shirahama!

So Renka turned back, eyebrows drawn together in vexed confusion. The back of her wrist quickly wiped at her eyes.

"You just told me to leave! Make up your mind!"

Ugh, she's being difficult. Why did he bother? Oh, right. Guilt.

"You'll need to replenish your energy. I live far from the city."

A reasonable argument, Renka surmised. She stepped back inside his mansion, scratching behind her ear. Bells jingled as she tilted her head to the side like a mystified kitten—

"Why do you care? Is it poisoned?"

"... Yes, it is," Tanimoto replied with seething sarcasm, strolling back into the living room. What the hell did he get himself into, inviting this annoyance to stay longer? He pinched the bridge of his nose, currently bandaged thanks to her high kick from earlier.

And Renka followed him, perplexed by his actions. Was he being genuine? Did he have an ulterior motive? The boy was a beacon of endless mixed signals. Trying to fight her for one second, smiling sweetly the next. Tell her to leave, tell her to stay. Almost kill her, nurse her to health… the list goes on and on! Her eyes continued to fixate on his flaxen locks until—

"Can you not stare at the back of my head? I had enough people staring at me for the day."

She made a small, almost imperceptible squeak of surprise and instantly looked away. A pink hue resurfaced on her face as she returned to the cup of tea that was prepared for her.

And she promptly thrusted it in his chest.

"You have some first!"

Natsu's icy glare narrowed. He took the cup, took a sip, and set it back down…

And then he clutched at his chest, his expression morphing into one of anguish. Down to his knees he fell, his breath seemingly constrained, and it didn't take long until he was sprawled out upon the carpet, seizing until he ceased movement.

Renka was momentarily startled, but saw through the ruse. Sheesh, what a showoff! Just because he's the president of the drama club or whatever—! Renka snarled to herself, crossing her arms, eyes shut as she snootily tilted her nose up.

"Nice try!"

. . .

She cracked an eye open at him when he still didn't respond, and showed no signs of life. He was just messing with her again, right? Like earlier?

The ticking of his gold-plated grandfather clock grew louder and louder as the seconds passed. His stomach and chest were entirely still. Had his breathing ceased? Renka's scowl melted away, now growing concerned.

What?! Why would this idiot poison himself?! Obviously he wouldn't, but she still had to make sure; she gingerly knelt by his unconscious form, careful to not exacerbate her wounds, and gently poked his cheek.

Nothing.

… So then she slowly crawled over his body, and placed her ear to his chest.

His heartbeat was relatively slow, but gradually increased in BPM as the distant ticking went on. She wasn't about to do anything drastic, was she? Her close proximity made him nervous, though he would refute this fact.

"I knew it! Quit faking!" she shot her head up from his chiseled form, seething. This guy was so infuriating! She was acutely aware that she had become legitimately worried in that timeframe — and that was even more infuriating!

He sprung back to life, propped up by his elbows. A smug smolder tugged at his lips, gaze flickering with mischief. A true actor, indeed — masking whatever previous apprehension he held about her intentions.

"You really think that I would poison the daughter of a grandmaster of Kenpo? Or the fact that I would drink it? Ha!"

"W-well, I don't know! You're pretty unpredictable!" she shot back, cheeks aglow. And still hovering above him.

"That's a good thing," he softly retorted. And the smirk on his face slowly faded the longer she remained on him…

"... So…" he started.

"... So… what?"

Her vermillion stare bore into his eyes, face contorted in a pout that almost seemed, in contrast to her nickname, puppy-like.

"... Nothing…"

His cerulean eyes returned fire, but his cheeks began to metaphorically bleed.

This was… enjoyable. The, er, silence, of course. Not the fact that she was on top of him, or that she looked adorable in her irritated concern for him. Definitely not.

Renka felt odd, to say the least, finally prying herself off of him after a moment. A moment that lasted too long. She shuffled over to the "poisoned" cup of tea meant for her to consume, and sipped it gently. Uncharacteristically quiet.

T'was the first time he ever heard her keep her mouth shut. He, too, got up and milled around until he reached the kitchen, fighting the urge to serve her something.

Some time had passed, and well, she couldn't help but think that he makes good tea — though she could never admit that. And unfortunately, she had already sipped all of it up in their strange silence together, and she no longer had a reason to stay.

So she sauntered to the door, reluctant to leave. Being with someone who paid her attention for once was pleasant, despite the bizarre circumstances.

"Going home?" he finally spoke, eyeing the cat as she twisted the doorknob.

She debated if she should say something nice. And while keeping her back turned to him, she ignored his question, simply replying…

"T-thanks for the tea."

Tanimoto's eyebrow perked up. Did she just gain some humility? He would've rubbed it in her face if he didn't have any himself.

"Whatever… just don't mention this to anyone."

Keeping this entire ordeal hush-hush? That sounded like the best case scenario to Renka, seeing as how she didn't want anyone else finding out about her defeat at the hands of Sougetsu Ma's disciple, either!

"Deal! Bye," she replied gleefully, actually smiling at him for once.

"Yeah, bye." Like a gentleman, he took the knob from her, opening the door to clear her path.

Wow. A mutual agreement for once. He couldn't help but also smile as she walked away, but only after he was already out of her sight. But he kept her in his, seeing to it that she left safely.

Unaware that she was still visible to the blonde, Renka was seen trying to leap onto an overhead tree, but failed to gain enough airtime due to her injuries. Eventually, she gave up and started to slowly walk home instead.

He released a huff of air, chuckling at her pathetic jump attempts.

"Cute…"

And then he stepped back inside, shutting the door behind him.

He was pleased to be alone again, being the Hermit that he was, but… her company wasn't so bad.