It must have been around her third or fourth visit when Takina first noticed that something felt more than mildly irritating about the way a certain customer interacted with Chisato.

Perhaps it had even been sooner than that, but she had always been pretty good at pushing such thoughts to the side under the pretext that she was simply a little overprotective when it came to her closest friend because of all the horrendous things that had happened to her since the two of them had first met all those months ago.

Some would consider this line of thinking to be a tini tiny bit irrational, considering whom she was dealing with here, but Takina begged to differ.

Who really cared about the fact that the person she was wary of seemed to be nothing more than just a simple high school girl with long brown hair and an innocent smile? Heck, in an official sense, both she and Chisato were still school girls as well, with the slight deviation that they were professionally trained assassins to boot. Who could confidently guarantee that this subject hadn't enjoyed a similar type of upbringing?

By the time of her fourth visit to the café that kind of scenario seemed increasingly unlikely.

If that girly was indeed a trained killer, then Takina may just as well be a born comedian. It was equally as likely from the outside.

Regardless, that certainty didn't even remotely calm her nerves, she noticed. Quite the opposite in fact. She felt herself becoming more and more resentful of that person the more time she spent at the café. There was no way that she would let that show in public, of course. The girl had done literally nothing to offend Takina. She hadn't even so much as talked to her beyond a simple greeting, and she was a valued customer just like everybody else who entered LycoRico´s doors.

That didn't mean that Takina didn't flinch every time the brunette reached for Chisato´s hand in an attempt to make her stay a little longer at the table. Or that she wasn't tempted to call out for her friend to do any kind of mundane task in the kitchen, just so she wouldn't sit down at said table for the third time in one visit. Or that she didn't drop a plate or two when it seriously looked like that girl was bold enough to reach out for Chisato´s delicate face in what Takina clearly recognized to be an attempt at pushing a strand of her partner's beautiful platinum blond hair over her ears.

The latter behavior had embarrassed her to such an extent that when she noticed that the girl had only tried to point her finger at a nearby painting, she felt the overwhelming need to hide her face behind her hair as she vigorously wiped the floor.

Of course, that didn't spare her from more than one cheeky comment out of the mouths of Kurumi and Mizuki, while Chisato herself had only looked at her with a raised eyebrow and continued working like nothing had happened.

Maybe Takina needed another vacation.

Something was seriously wrong with her if she still believed that regular high schooler to be a potential security threat even though there wasn't the slightest indication of that.

…She did believe her to be a threat right?

That was the reasoning for her irrational behavior, was it not? The still mildly traumatized side of her brain just wanted to be extra careful around strangers and do everything in her power to protect the girl that had saved her own life in more ways than one. It was textbook.

That was the point here, right?

Right?!

At the end of the girls' seventh visit to LycoReco she and Chisato exchanged Line IDs and Takina wanted nothing more than to scream.

She was so angry as a result that she didn't talk to Chisato for the rest of the day, even though she clearly recognized how her cold behavior hurt her innocent partner. Ridden by guilt, Takina spent the entire next day trying to make it up to her by being extra nice and even promising her another sleepover in the near future, which she knew was one of the strongest weapons in her arsenal when it came to appeasing Chisato Nishikigi.

It worked.

The best Lycoris in all of Japan wasn't one to hold a grudge after all, much less against Takina.

However, Takina herself was very much the type to worry about the kind of mental breakdown she was apparently living through at the moment. Perhaps it was finally time for her to seriously consider therapy if she wouldn't want to become a liability to those around her.

Before she seriously considered this option though she wanted to at least attempt to try gathering advice from a person with far more experience dealing with this sort of mental issues. The head of the LycoReco café seemed to her like the ideal target.

Who knows, maybe her current struggle was completely normal for a person in her situation and there was some kind of well-known medicine or ritual that Mika could recommend which would deal with the problem in a matter of days.

That hope evaporated into nothingness when he just smiled at her fondly after Takina had laid out her entire case to him in excruciating detail.

"I don't think medicine is going to solve your problems, Takina. My advice: you need to talk the whole thing through with a certain someone."

"…So it´s therapy after all then."

That looked to be the right conclusion, considering the man stared at her like she had lost her damn mind, but then he surprisingly told her to hold off on making an appointment for now and instead wait. At least until after the sleepover with Chisato was done.

Made sense. She wouldn't want to worry her partner with the most likely devastating results of her first therapy session after all. There were surely a whole bunch of things that needed to be unpacked in her mess of a mind.

Mika really was a unique source of wisdom.

So, Takina stayed quiet for the time being.

For two whole days in which that mocking thorn in her side came by every single time just to spend a couple of minutes with Chisato.

She profoundly thanked god when she finally arrived at safehouse number two after another draining day of "work".

A small smile crept onto her face as the familiar sight of Chisato´s living room came into view.

Normally, Takina would be annoyed by the chaos of opened and sometimes empty DVD cases and half-eaten bags of snacks lying around everywhere, but for some reason, it just soothed her strained mind that her trusted partner hadn't even felt the need to hide this from her. She didn't really have any reason for that anymore, since it was almost a given for Takina that the whole apartment would look a mess again the second she went out of the door anyway.

She preferred to have it authentical in the first place if you could call it that.

The both of them had a routine during nearly all of their sleepovers together. First, a quick shower, since they always came back from work, either from a mission or from the café, then a friendly cooking session, followed by a talkative dinner, ending in a movie marathon before they would both fall asleep on the couch in each other's arms most of the time.

Being that close to Chisato even while unconscious always resulted in the best possible sleep, so Takina was already looking forward to it. She could need some proper rest right now.

However, when she came out of the shower, her partner was already standing in the middle of the living room, arms crossed, and a stern expression on her normally always cheerful face, apparently waiting for her.

There weren't any preparations done for dinner like she normally did, instead, she had put up a banner that read "Intervention" in bright shining colors.

"We need to talk."

Takina just blinked at her in confusion.

"We do?"

"Yes! Of course, we do! I tried to speak to you for over a week now, but at the café you always avoid me!"

"I do?"

"Yes!" Oh. She seemed serious about that.

Had she really avoided her best friend?

Well, maybe… subconsciously? She was mentally unstable at the moment, after all, so keeping a certain amount of distance from the people she cared about made sense.

"I apologize. I didn't mean to do that."

Now it was Chisato´s turn to look lost.

"What in the world do you mean you didn't mean to do that?!"

"I didn't notice."

"You didn't notice?!" She was almost screaming at her now and Takina was still completely flabbergasted. "You have barely talked to me at all over the last week! Except for that one day where you did a complete 180, suggested a sleepover, and were practically glued to my side 24/7."

"I did?"

"Stop that!" When she stepped closer to her, Takina noticed that Chisato´s eyes were glittering a little bit more than usual. She… she wasn't going to cry, was she? "I demand an explanation you- you big meany!"

Yeah well, if Takina had one hidden up her sleeves, then she wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.

"To be honest I don't know how that came to pass. Perhaps my mental state has deteriorated further than I had initially assumed."

It was as if they were playing confusion ping pong right now because this time it was Chisato´s turn to look utterly out of it again.

"Your mental state is… What do you mean? Are you sick?"

Her former anger seemed to be forgotten as her warm hands reached out for Takina´s arm, carefully grabbing hold of it in a clear show of concern.

Although she stiffened a little because of the touch - she was still not used to closeness like that after all, even though the girl in front of her didn't hold back with that sort of thing by any stretch of the imagination - she couldn't help but feel a warmth spreading through her entire body.

It was just nice to know how much she cared.

"Don't worry, it is not a physical thing. I´m just considering therapy since I seem to have developed a sort of mental complex. One of the overprotective kind."

"… and now again in lame man's terms?"

"I think I´m going insane."

"Takinaaaaaaa." Chisato was now clinging to her with full force. "Why do you have to be so weird all the timeeeee?!"

"I´m the one who's being weird between the both of us? I should really call the therapist´s office ASAP…"

"No! No! No! No! Nobody is calling a therapist now! Just explain to me why you believe you are losing your mind."

Okay. She asked for it after all.

"Well, as far as I have deduced I´m so immensely worried about your safety, that I tend to make irrational assumptions in my head whenever you are around other people which then leads to irresponsible behavior on my part."

Standing upright again, Chisato just stared at her, her eyes almost begging Takina to elaborate further.

"This phenomenon is extremely prominent when you are interacting with that brunette friend of yours at the café." She was talking like she was delivering a lecture at the university. "Now that I think about it, I believe it has exclusively occurred during your meetings with her up until now. Regardless of how innocent your interactions with that person were, I couldn't help myself from getting worried and even a bit angry just by looking at it."

To be honest, Takina was already getting riled up just talking about it, but she was in rambling mode now, so she just continued on.

"I know it's ridiculous, but when that girl so much as grabbed your hand or tried to touch your face, I just felt… and when you two exchanged IDs the other day it really hurt…" She was at a loss. She didn't know how to explain it further, because that was the extent of her own analysis! Only a therapist would be able to carefully deduce more from the deepest depth of her tangled mind.

How the heck should she know what was actually wrong with her?!

"Takina."

She hadn't even noticed how her hands had turned into fists until Chisato grabbed both of them and effortlessly opened them up again, intertwining both their fingers in the process.

"Maybe I´m going out on a limb here, I´m no certified therapist or something, but… could it be that you are just… jealous?"

"…"

It was like a house of cards collapsed before her mental eye that very second.

"YES! That has to be it!" Without thinking too much about it she stepped even closer towards the girl in front of her, slightly jumping up and down in the process. She felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. "Oh, that explains so much! I´m not going insane after all! I´m just jealous. It all makes so much sense now."

Chisato lightened up herself as she saw how happy Takina seemed to be about the revelation. Now that it seemed to be safe she went right into teasing mode. Because, even though Takina herself hadn't noticed yet, she had just revealed something pretty noteworthy from Chisato´s point of view.

"Sooo, jealous then, huh?"

Once the words reached her ears, Takina immediately stopped jumping. The relief she had felt before instantly made room for an entirely different feeling. One that made it difficult for her to even look into Chisato´s eyes again because she knew that her face was about to become as red as a strawberry.

They were far too close too, and holding hands as well. There was no way for her to run away. Not that she was normally the type to run away, quite the opposite in fact, but the situation right now was causing a bigger flight reflex than she had ever noticed in herself when on a mission.

"There is really no need for that. She is just a regular customer and I´m nice to everyone who visits the café you know?"

"I get that…" Takina felt like she was this small right now.

She barely registered the loss of contact in one of her hands, but before she could even think about complaining, Chisato´s now free hand had reached for her chin, lifting it up slightly, so that both girls were now eye to eye again.

"I´m sorry if I made you worry. I would like to make it up to you if possible."

The way she was looking at her right now made Takinas´s heart beat out of her chest. Situations like these made her regret not having an artificial heart like the person that was so calmly standing in front of her right now.

It would make it so much easier.

"I- You-"

She couldn't form a coherent sentence when suddenly a finger was softly pressed against her lips, making it impossible for her to embarrass herself even more by saying something stupid.

"Close your eyes and it will be done."

For a short moment, Takina didn't recognize the person that was speaking to her. This was so… she didn't know what it was!

Regardless, she found herself not hesitating at all and did as she was told.

The moment she closed her eyes, she had no idea what to expect.

The fact that she puckered her lips ever so slightly was just a coincidence!

She was ready to explode at any moment. Her heart was beating out of her chest so much it actually made her worry for her health and her hands were shaking like leaves in the wind.

The moment passed and…

…nothing happened.

After she heard a slight giggling sound, she decided to test the waters and risked a peek out of one of her eyes.

Before she could truly recognize the bright grin on her partner's face, she was swept off her feet and into the air in a classical Chisato-style hug.

"Takinaaaaaaa! You are the cutest being in the whole wide world!"

Okay.

She had been played.

And Chisato was going to die for this.

…not really though.

"You-!" She still couldn't formulate an entire sentence. It was all far too embarrassing. "I-!"

"Didn't I sound like one of those movie heroes right now?! I would have totally got the girl with those lines wouldn't you agree?!"

She wanted nothing more than to disagree with her tormenter, but her own behavior had proven her statement more than right just seconds ago. So, she opted for the next best thing and simply punched against Chisato´s shoulders with her now free hands.

Not seriously of course. However annoyed she was, she wasn't going to hurt her friend.

"Au! Au! Takina! That´s not the reaction of a rescued maiden in the movies!"

"Shut up!"

Hey! A sentence!

There was no time to be proud of herself, however, as in the blink of an eye, she was left back onto the ground, grabbed at the small of her back as well as the back of her head by two strong arms, and without any further warning felt the sweet taste of Chisato´s lipgloss on her own set of lips only a fracture of a second later.

This was the total opposite of the situation from before!

Who was she even kidding; she had pretty much expected something like that the second she had closed her eyes before and had felt more than a little disappointed as she realized it wasn't going to happen, only for Chisato to swerve her once again, but this time in the most beautiful way possible.

This was all just so… her.

Takina found herself tilting her head a little bit to the right so that she could deepen their kiss even more, while also standing on the tip of her toes because the girl that had not only shown her how to live a fulfilling life but who was also driving her crazy every day while doing it, was slightly bigger than herself.

Deciding to simply enjoy the moment, she flung her arms around the older girl's shoulders and brought them both even closer together.

There was nobody. Nobody! That was able to make her feel the things that Chisato was able to make her feel.

Emotions that Takina didn't even know she was capable of having came so utterly easy when she was with her.

The Takina from a year ago wouldn't have been jealous.

The Takina from a year ago wouldn't have been surprised by the actions of another because she was always on guard.

The Takina from a year ago wouldn't have left herself so vulnerable in the proximity of another person.

But: The Takina from a year ago simply didn't know what it meant to love someone.

Unfortunately, even a moment as beautiful as this couldn't last forever, and when their lips parted again, their foreheads came together instead so that they could still bask in the undoubted love of the other.

"Takina?" Her voice was but a whisper.

"Mhm?"

"Next time you feel like this, tell me. I would say we have figured out a way to make it go away without consulting a therapist don't you think?"

She couldn't help but snicker because of her own goofiness.

"I think we might"

"…"

"Chisato?"

"Yeah?"

"I´m still jealous right now."

"What do y- Hmpf!"

This time it was Takina´s turn to surprise her girlfriend as she pressed their lips together again in an even more ferocious kiss.

If that was the reward for feeling jealous for a short while… well, she might be willing to take that risk.

.

.

.

"See! Look, Takina!" The energetic blond in whose lap Takina´s head was currently resting pointed at her flat screen with enthusiasm. The action hero and the damsel in distress were currently making out during the final scene of the movie. "That's the sort of reaction expected of a rescued maiden! Keep that in mind for next time, okay?"

"You didn't rescue me though. Not this time at least. You just toyed with me."

"Takinaaaa! It was a joke, come oooon."

"Too soon."

"Jeez."

Not even looking at the pout that was surely showing on Chisato´s face right now, Takina just nestled back into her lab. The comfort of it nearly made her forget about everything else.

"Maybe that cute brunette of yours will appreciate that sort of joke… I´m kidding." Another prediction. She could almost feel the frown on her girlfriend's face as soon as she muttered the words. "Do you know why she is coming to the café every day by the way? Even our most loyal customers take a break once in a while."

"Oh, ehm, well, I don't think she will be coming back tomorrow."

"Why is that?"

"Because she asked me out this evening and I rejected her."

"Oh, I see… Wait! WHAT?!" Takina was sitting upright again faster than the flash. "She did what?!"

"What are you yelling at me for? I said no!"

A million things went through Takina´s mind at this moment. The most prominent thought being; This was not good enough.

She grabbed the remote, turned off the TV, and before Chisato could so much as complain, grabbed her by the hand and led her away to the bedroom.

"T-Takina?"

"Hush now. I know I said I was being jealous before, but that was nothing compared to this."

"S- so you´re saying…"

"We need to fix this."

She more or less threw Chisato into her bedroom and slammed the door shut behind them.

Perhaps jealousy was something that could drive a person insane after all.

At least it might be when you are Takina Inoue and the person you´re in love with is none other than Chisato Nishikigi.