"Again. Thank you for letting me stay here." Celica expressed her gratitude as she stepped into Rachel's apartment, surveying her place of residence for the next couple of days until renovations on her home were done. "I can't tell you how sorry I am for asking this."
"It is nothing special." Rachel stuck her head into the hallway and called to her unhappy boyfriend lugging two suitcases. "Do hurry up."
"How about you give me a hand then?" Ragna awkwardly shimmied his way through the door with Celica's belongings. They'd left the heavy-lifting to him for some inconceivable reason, and neither girl wanted to clue him in on what crime he committed. Ragna voted to keep things moving instead of pressing the issue. Setting the luggage in Rachel's room per her direction to be packed and sorted out later on, he returned to them in the living room.
"Thank you, too, Ragna," Celica smiled.
"No sweat. Love to stay and chat…" Ragna glanced at the clock. "But I asked Kagura to hold the shop down for me. Can't keep him waiting too long." Giving Celica a hug and his girlfriend a light kiss, he hurried out the door and left them to their own devices. It remained silent until they knew for sure Ragna was well out of ear shot before Celica said what they were both thinking.
"He's a bit dense sometimes," she laughed.
"I am well aware." Rachel slumped her shoulders with an exasperated sigh. Before they'd settled for their current bunking conditions, Ragna offered Celica a room at his place. It was admittedly more spacious and made sense all things considered. Emotions tended to defy common logic and the tinge of jealousy that welled up inside Rachel made her cringe. Even though she understood Celica was not the type of girl to act like a floozy or Ragna some playboy, the thought of the two sharing a private living space —especially after they'd dated once before— made her uncomfortable. "Forgive me. I did not mean to act in such a foolish manner."
"I wouldn't feel totally comfortable if my boyfriend was staying with another girl either," Celica consoled.
"Still, I did not mean to behave like a brat," Rachel pressed, hoping to amend her childishness.
She waved her hands dismissively. "Like I said, it's fine! I get where you're coming from. I'd be worried too, especially when the girl is as cute as you."
Blushing, Rachel cleared her throat. "Your words are kind, but I must own up to my failings."
"Oh there's no reason to worry about something like that now. Let's focus on other things!"
"Such as?" The gleam in Celica's eyes bodded poorly for any ideas of relaxing for the day.
"What we're going to do today!" The blonde's head tilted sideways as Celica went on. "I was thinking we could go hang out in the city. It's a great day for a walk. Oh! The mall is also having a great sale."
Rachel's penny-pinching senses tingled. "A sale you say?"
"Mhm. There are tons of cute outfits going on sale today." Celica took out her phone and quickly searched up the store in question. She scrolled through the exceptionally large selection offered, many catching Rachel's fancy. "Doesn't this skirt look cute? I bet you'd look amazing with this blouse."
Examining her wardrobe with Celica made Rachel realize how homogeneous her closet was with her propensity for black and darker colors. It'd been a while since she went shopping for some new clothes and it seemed like the perfect opportunity since she had someone else with her to help select. "I suppose my wardrobe could be spruced up with something more vibrant."
"For me, I need some new bras." Celica fluffed her chest and Rachel's brow instinctively twitched.
"Have they gotten… tighter?" She fought desperately to keep her irritation at bay, pinching herself to mask any contempt from showing on her face.
"Kind of. Plus, they've been through the wash enough to wear them out. I'm hoping to find some cute ones!" Celica's beaming smile almost made Rachel feel villainous for her slight jealousy over her friend's still growing bust. "We can find some for you too."
"I do not believe that is necessary. I have enough," she assured.
"I don't mean like that. I mean like that." Celica's coy tone brought the insinuation full circle. "It can't hurt to get a few sexy lingerie for special occasions."
Rachel saw the logic; it wasn't like she had anything like that in her wardrobe. "...Well then, I suppose I am in need of one or two."
"Perfect! By the way, Ragna is a big fan of fish nets and stockings. So let's add that to the list."
They were off on the next bus to the mall. Rachel shot Ragna a quick text as to where they were on what they were doing; his response wasn't what she expected.
"Good. Fucking. Luck."
Ragna refrained from clarifying despite constant prodding and excused himself from the conversation because a customer walked in. Rachel called bull. She rolled her eyes and dismissed her boyfriend's warnings. Boys hated shopping after all; a minute in the mall was like an eternity to them.
Entering and finding it packed more than usual wasn't a shocker to them. Once they'd chosen a store to begin their shopping however, the ominous well-wishes Ragna gave became glaringly obvious. Never in her life had Rachel seen a woman command such speed in heels like Celica did racing through the store, swiping blouses, skirts, sundresses and so on off the racks in bulk. Contesting with the many buyers hoping to cash in on the mega bargain sale was no longer her greatest obstacle; keeping up with the shopping demon wearing human skin was.
"This one would look super cute on you! This too! Oooooh you would look so HOT in this!" Celica presented several different outfits, pushing Rachel into the changing stall to try each one. Every. Last. One.
"...Bloody hell."
Ragna snickered aloud. He received a text from a peeved Rachel complaining about her feet killing her. Apparently, and unsurprisingly, Celica had her dashing around the mall for the past three hours with no break. She forwarded a picture of their haul, of which consisted of a rather sexy piece of lingerie. "Ooooooh, damn," he whistled.
"Watching couples is so annoying," Kokonoe groaned.
Ragna flipped her off behind his phone. "Then ignore me."
"Hard to do that when you're making a dumbass sound every three seconds."
Ragna shrugged and slipped his phone into his pocket. "What crawled up your ass? Your mom?"
"Oooh yeah." Kokonoe spun in the swivel chair, ruminating on her hellish morning. "I felt like a kid again. I got berated for everything…"
"Have you ever shown us a picture of your mom?" Ragna wondered.
"She has. And damn she's hot," Kagura said.
"Gross," Kokonoe cringed. "You wouldn't believe she's in her mid fifties if you saw her."
"That enormous chest, fantastic hips… Can't forget a sight like that."
"Again. Dude, that's my mom. Gross."
"Enormous chest?" Ragna muttered in thought, his eyes subconsciously wandering.
"Got something to say?" Kokonoe turned murderous, cracking her knuckles.
Ragna stiffened. "What, me? Nope. Nothing."
Kagura shrugged. "We can't have it all. But enough about our artist's insecurities!"
"Fuck you," she spat.
"Time to tease you and your love life, Ragna," he grinned.
"Quit projecting and mop the floor or something," Ragna groaned.
"I'd rather you cut my pay. But don't, you know, actually cut my pay," Kagura swiftly added since it seemed like Ragna was considering his little trade offer.
"I can't say I'm not interested. Usually the ex and current girlfriend don't get along. Well, I guess this is Celica. She's too nice to hold a grudge or start shit," Kokonoe said, sounding a tad disappointed.
"I think you just watch too many dumbass soaps. They're off at the mall right now." Kokonoe and Kagura both grimaced. "Yeeeeep. Rach just texted me and it's going about as well as you'd expect."
"Sucks to suck," Kokonoe pitied. She endured a trip to the mall with that shopping demon before. One time was enough.
"I guess it'll all be worth it in the end, once you get home and find your prize," Kagura grinned.
"Then you know the moment it hits closing, I'm shutting everything down and running home. Forget anything and it'll stay till morning."
"At least you've got your priorities in order there."
"Does that mean I get to go home early? Y'know what, scratch that. I'll close up, you go do your couple shit," Kokonoe volunteered.
"That scared of your mom?" Kagura chuckled.
"Shut up. I'm not scared of her, she's just intense and I can't relax."
"For obvious reasons, I'm sure," Ragna muttered.
She frowned. "The hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Terrible sleep schedule, shitty attitude," Ragna listed, raising a finger for each point.
"Can't forget awful eating habits," Kagura added.
"Ugh, piss off. I'm alive, aren't I?" Kokonoe grouched. Kagura chuckled out the room toward the bathroom, the beastkin glaring all the while. "Ass."
"Guess things haven't gotten any better for you two, huh?"
"Worry about your own love life," she scoffed.
"I can multitask pretty well." Ragna regarded her seriously, patting her shoulder. "I shouldn't be the one to say this, but if you don't let him know, things won't change. He seems pretty satisfied with the whole playboy thing. An idiot in that regard."
"You're right, you shouldn't be saying anything." Kokonoe swiped his hand off her shoulder, but it was nothing fierce or aggressive. It was more like a small, aggravated tantrum. Some color rose on her cheek but her grouchy expression remained the same. "Got any advice?"
"Not really. You just have to come out and lay the law." Kokonoe was never one to filter herself, but this was one of the rare cases in which she found herself tongue-tied. Ragna was astonished finding out how she felt about Kagura. Moreso that she hadn't straight up told him by now. Turned out Kokonoe was far more feminine than she liked to let on.
"Ugh, but how?"
"Like you always do: be blunt. It'd probably be weird otherwise. Find the chance and come out with it. My advice might sound like shit but it's because he's not a complicated guy."
Kokonoe clicked her teeth. "This romance junk really isn't my thing, I swear. Such a pain in the ass."
"Oh this is the easy part," Ragna smirked and welcomed a customer who entered into his chair. Kokonoe plopped down into a chair with a groan and took out her phone to keep herself busy.
"Easy part huh? Jackass…"
Holy crap... The wait on this one, especially given its short length. Truth be told though it was longer but I'll explain now:
I was chewing over how to handle Kokonoe without cutting into the pain focus of the story. At the end I simply decided to write a separate fanfic, this way not too much is happening at one time that doesn't relate to the main focus, which is Ragna and Rachel.
Next chapter will be the last one and won't take 3 years to update. That much I can definitely promise. The New Beastkin in Town will receive an update in a month's time, so keep a look out!
Have a great New Year everyone and make this be yours!