Scare You Close
Chapter Three: Lips
Division 4 was full of weirdos. Granted, Kobeni knew she was one of them and had quite probably been selected for the squad exactly for that reason. Still, she felt like she was so absurdly different from all of them that most of the time she didn't know where to turn.
Himeno seemed to have taken an instant liking to Kobeni, often referring to her as cute and being inappropriately affectionate. Most of the other members, aside from Arai, were pretty distant, however. Kobeni didn't think they were self-centered, but being a Devil Hunter certainly seemed like a profession where people fought for their ideals and cared little about forming bonds that could become a liability in battle, or at least it seemed that way as far as first impressions went.
Kobeni knew Arai had trained Himeno and that Himeno had trained Aki. There was an obvious friendship there that was intense in an oddly dissimulated way. Because Kobeni didn't have many friends (mostly because she didn't have time for them), there were things she didn't understand.
While she was grateful for Himeno's and Arai's protection and could even afford to say she liked them, the truth was that she wasn't very good at socializing or forming bonds—too shy on the one hand and too weird on the other.
Hell, Kobeni couldn't affirm that she knew herself enough to trust herself either. While she had gone through many hardships in her life, she hadn't experienced enough of the world yet to know how she would react to certain situations, and truth be told, she sometimes surprised herself positively, but other times, she discovered sides of herself she would rather not have known at all.
For example, she strongly believed in true love. Not to say that she was a prude, no—she'd had her share of fun and hidden sexual adventures during high school. Because some of her siblings attended the same school, she was not allowed to have a boyfriend, and yet, her curiosity and somehow affection-starved nature had lured her to quick escapades with a few of the savvier boys, who, admittedly, could smell her naivety from a mile away.
Not all encounters were good, and not all boys were nice, but all in all, she didn't regret any of it. Sex was interesting but not exactly spectacular, or perhaps she just didn't know better.
Still, Kobeni believed in love and hoped that one day she could meet someone who would steal her heart and they could go through all the stages of romance as proper couples do. Ideally, this phantom person would love her enough to take her away and free her from the shackles that now bound her.
No matter what she thought, though, being a Devil Hunter brought several new experiences to her life, even if most of them put her life in danger and almost—almost—made her wish she was dead instead.
Regardless, one of the good things about it was that she could pretend that she had friends who at least tried to embrace the concept of teamwork in a practical way that was almost delusional. They tried to pretend that life was normal once their missions were over and celebrated their survival, some more enthusiastically than others, mostly because they had seen too much death and devastation up until then.
Not to say that she didn't appreciate the team-building outings Arai and Himeno dragged her to, promising to pay for her share, and even if it embarrassed her to accept, at least she had an excuse to be out of the house and be released from family duties.
Awkward as it was, it gave her some time to breathe and drink until her shame told her to stop.
One night in particular proved to be life-altering, though.
They always chose to go out to dine at humble yet high-quality restaurants, and no one in the team ever held back much on the booze, so Kobeni was used to the loud and crude conversations that sometimes revealed more than necessary, beer glasses everywhere, and far too much intimacy as emotions often ran high with the insecure sense of camaraderie. As quiet as Kobeni was during most of these events, she still enjoyed herself, eating to her heart's content and intently observing her companions' demeanors while listening to the sometimes sordid things they let out.
She had not expected that night to bring surprises, yet it did when, unexpectedly, she felt a hand grabbing her face and turning it to the side as lips smashed over hers. She instantly knew it was Himeno, who was sitting by her right side.
"You foul monster, you couldn't leave Kobeni-chan alone?!" Kobeni heard Arai complaining, sounding horrified but not as much as Kobeni herself felt, her eyes wide open as her body froze.
Kobeni's heart raced, a mixture of exhilaration and confusion swirling within her as heat flooded her. Her surroundings blurred—the laughter and chatter of her comrades, the clinking of glasses—everything seemed to fade away as she found herself strangely lost in the moment. Himeno's lips were soft as they moved over hers, the strong scent of sake mingling with the faint, sweet perfume that always seemed to linger around her.
There was the briefest moment where Kobeni felt a tongue softly prying her lips open, and more out of reflex than will, she responded by sliding her tongue over the other woman's, the touch forcing her into the realization that this was something she enjoyed and had forgotten about but still craved.
However, this was the first time she was kissing another woman, and it took her by surprise how little difference it made to her.
Unfortunately, Kobeni's reciprocation seemed to wake Himeno from whatever state of mind she was in because she pulled away, her cheeks flushed, and her eyes sparkling with mischief.
Kobeni was left dazed, staring at her. The room spun, or perhaps it was just her head. The laughter and music that filled the air now sounded distant and muted. The kiss, though brief, awakened motions she hadn't realized she possessed.
Most of her comrades from Division 4 were too engrossed in their world of inebriation to notice the exchange.
Himeno, oblivious to the storm of feelings within Kobeni, let out a laugh. "Sorry about that," she slurred, gently patting Kobeni's cheek before resting her head on her shoulder as if they were longtime friends. "You looked so cute, I got carried away."
Who the hell simply got carried away and kissed people just because? And someone of the same gender, nonetheless.
There was no way of telling if Himeno was just having a laugh or if she was simply sexually open, but Kobeni wasn't all that eager to find out because it didn't matter to her or how she saw the woman.
Kobeni could only nod and laugh back nervously. However, for her, it wasn't something that could be laughed off so easily. A door had been opened; a path had been unveiled that led to unraveling the understanding she had of herself. It wasn't horror or disgust that she felt, but an unsettling curiosity and she was oddly fine with it.
Kobeni's face burned with a mixture of embarrassment and something else—a wild, untamable feeling that surged like electricity through her veins. She couldn't remember the last time her heart pounded so vehemently against her ribcage, and yet, while it had been triggered by Himeno's kiss, it was completely unrelated to her.
The kiss meant nothing and changed nothing.
For some reason, Makima's face kept popping up in Kobeni's mind without her consent.
Little did she know that this fact alone would be what would keep her up that night.
oOo
Some people in Division 4 had never even seen Makima and they had been part of the team for longer than Kobeni. This confused her because she thought everyone who ended up working for Division 4 was interviewed by Makima.
Kobeni had never been one for curiosity. She did her job, earned her money, and asked no questions. She didn't want to fall in love with her job through other people's sob stories because they would not make her like it or appreciate it.
Even if her teammates were always surprised by her duality of fear versus extreme focus during missions and sometimes praised her, it felt like nothing to her.
However, it still felt good to know that she had some privileges with the higher-ups and that she had been chosen by her direct boss, who had somehow believed in her from the start.
It was a vacant relationship, Kobeni knew, strictly professional. Makima could instill fear and respect, and she possessed the skill to say what the person in front of her wanted to hear and act as the other person needed.
Makima was compelling. Kobeni admired her and feared her at the same time without really knowing why, considering the woman had never been rude or harmed her without a purpose.
Kobeni didn't think about Makima often, even if, every time she saw her, the beautiful woman would undoubtedly leave a lingering impression for some reason.
This strange mixture of feelings had never upset Kobeni so much before, and yet, in recent days, she had come to want to try and understand what the cause was.
Regardless, on that particular night, a restless energy stirred within her and she couldn't escape it.
Kobeni, along with some Division 4 members, had a small mission at the end of the day that took longer than expected and seemed to have dragged on for days.
Well, even ten minutes during a fight seemed to last hours from Kobeni's point of view.
Makima and members of her escort found Kobeni and the others at the scene when everything had been taken care of and night had already fallen.
Kobeni had only lingered around the scene for long enough to see her teammates heading home and some rookies arriving to clean up (she couldn't help but feel sorry for them), and yet, just as she was getting ready to leave, she noticed that Makima had discreetly walked away by herself, disappearing through a dark alley.
It was already past midnight when Kobeni, driven by the unexplainable urge, inconspicuously followed the other after making sure no one saw her.
She didn't know where they were going or why she was even following Makima. Perhaps a part of her wanted to talk to her, or maybe she just wanted to see what the woman did when she was alone.
Where did she live? Did she have a lover or friends outside of Public Safety? Did she go out to drink alone? Did she have a family?
The air had thickened with an oppressive silence as Kobeni found herself wandering the streets of the city into unkempt paths she would otherwise avoid.
After what felt like too long, Kobeni watched from the shadows as Makima walked into an abandoned building.
She hesitated for a moment, wondering what Makima would do in such a place, but then followed her inside, her heart racing, each beat echoing the unanswered questions in her mind.
Inside the structure, the moonlight filtered through the cracks in the walls, casting eerie shadows that danced and swayed with the wind. It was quiet and oddly macabre and Kobeni hated it at once but was determined to carry her self-assigned mission to the end, so she kept moving, silently and with the utmost caution, as she'd been trained.
Leaning her back against a wall, she eventually peeked around the corner to the inside of a room the golden-eyed woman had entered.
And then she saw it—Makima, standing amidst a group of unknown men and women. They were on their knees with their hands on the floor, forming a perfectly displayed circle around her, their eyes void of hope and terror evident in their pale features. They didn't dare look up at her. They were not tied up at all, yet they seemed unable to move, paralyzed and seemingly shackled by invisible chains.
Kobeni watched in morbid fascination and horror as Makima spoke softly. Her words, though inaudible, were filled with such heavy energy that they seemed to make the air in the building suddenly pulse with something obscure.
It was a feeling Kobeni had sensed several times before and could now identify well.
Her heart clenched painfully.
As the first man fell forward heavily, Kobeni had to bring a hand to her mouth to stop herself from yelling.
What had happened? She couldn't see well, but she hadn't been able to see an attack—no surprising burst of power, nothing. Just Makima and those unknown people, and that intoxicatingly heavy, poisonous atmosphere that seemed to weigh down on them.
One by one, Kobeni watched as the people collapsed with dry and sickening thuds as they hit the ground, their lives extinguished as if their souls had been pulled from their bodies with just a whisper. They didn't scream—they couldn't. Makima's power was silent and absolute.
Kobeni's legs shook, her survival instincts telling her to flee, and yet she couldn't move a muscle. Her eyes were glued to the perfect and elegant silhouette of Makima as she placidly watched those people perish.
The scene didn't seem real. It was terrifying, and yet Makima's peaceful demeanor and eerie beauty seemed to somehow bring a sinisterly magical allure to it.
Who were those individuals? What had they done? Where had they come from? Was this some form of punishment?
As life faded from the last man's eyes, Kobeni noticed that pools of blood formed around their lifeless bodies, coming from their orifices.
Kobeni lowered her trembling hand away to uncover her mouth and swallowed, not knowing what to do or if or how she could escape.
There was no way she could run now without being seen. She knew now with accurate certainty that Makima would hear her, and the realization that she had probably sensed her already made tears of terror form in her eyes.
Still, she simply could not move, her eyes glued to the figure in the center of the wreckage and bodies. Makima didn't seem real in her perfectly arranged suit, and somehow, she fit the scenario like a glove.
While Kobeni had already seen a lot of blood, this was the first time that she was floored by the sight to the point where she didn't know what to feel. She was scared beyond belief, yet something she couldn't understand didn't allow her to move.
There were no thoughts in her head.
Makima turned, slowly, and quietly stepped over the bodies around her. Disinterestedly, she wiped the blood from the sole of her shoes in some guy's pants before exiting the room.
Shaking, Kobeni pressed herself against the wall and tried to move, but she wasn't thinking; she didn't even know what she was doing. Before she could ever process anything, Makima was turning the corner and coming face to face with her, and Kobeni could do nothing but press herself further backward, her body tense with adrenaline and panic.
Makima stopped. Her amber, piercing eyes met Kobeni's. The moonlight outside filtered through the cracks of the broken window in that hallway. The world seemed to freeze, as there was nothing but silence.
Eyes wide, Kobeni stared at the woman. Her mind couldn't process how calm Makima looked or how her divine face hadn't changed at all after what she had done.
Makima laced her hands securely behind her back, and while she wasn't smiling, there was no threat in her intense eyes.
"Kobeni-san." Makima's voice was a velvety whisper, carrying a sinister tenderness. "You shouldn't be here."
Terror strangled Kobeni's throat, but something else—a perverse fascination with the woman in front of her—coursed through her veins, freezing her in place.
"W-what are you?" The words left Kobeni's lips irrationally and her voice didn't seem hers at all.
When Makima moved closer, her steps graceful, like a predator, Kobeni's heart pounded wildly against her ribcage, and she was certain that the person in front of her was not human and was probably a thousand times more dangerous than she could ever imagine.
It was terrifying. Regardless, Makima seemed to glow; something about her just then was so strangely reassuring, and Kobeni knew it was a trick, an illusion to make herself seem harmless, and it was disgusting that she could pull it off and that, to a certain extent, she was successful.
Am I going to die? Kobeni thought, exhausted at her emotional struggle, not understanding why her mind couldn't process the danger, yet she still felt lured to the woman's glow as Makima came so close she was standing in her personal space as she had done so many times already.
"I could kill you," Makima whispered, her breath warm against Kobeni's face. Her eyes were a profound abyss, beautiful and luminous yet dark, filled with things Kobeni couldn't dream to ever understand. "But I won't."
The words, though meant to offer solace, sounded sinister. Kobeni's breath trembled; Makima's scent was both an intoxicating allure and exhaustingly disturbing.
"W-why?" Kobeni's voice was barely audible—a whisper that seemed too feeble yet too loud in the silence that surrounded them.
"Because I can use you, Kobeni-san," Makima's voice was hauntingly sweet yet warning. "What did you see here?"
"N-nothing," Kobeni quickly replied, shaking her head.
Makima smiled a bit, and it was so gentle it made Kobeni's stomach churn. "That's right, little one."
Every cell in Kobeni's body screamed at her to flee, yet the haunting allure of that inscrutable goddess rendered her powerless.
Makima reached out, her fingers brushing against Kobeni's cheek—a touch that was as tender as it was menacing. The contact sent chills down Kobeni's spine, and despite herself, she let out a choked moan. "Go home, Kobeni-san. Forget what you saw tonight. For now."
Her eyes locked with Kobeni's—those enigmatic eyes that gleamed with a sinister light, revealing the unknown monster that resided beneath that mesmerizing exterior.
Nodding all too quickly, Kobeni shut her lips tightly. With a smile, Makima took a step back until she was at a safe distance. "Sweet dreams," she said softly, before soundlessly walking down the hall. Kobeni turned her head to the side to watch her leave, and only when the woman was out of sight did her legs give in as she fell to the dirty floor, torn between horror, fascination, and relief.
A Devil. Makima had to be a Devil, and because Kobeni knew, she was now in deep trouble.
She had no idea how she would process this or whether there was anything she could do about it.
But at least she was alive.
oOo
The events of that horrifying night were engraved in Kobeni's mind for days on end as disbelief and a strange form of excitement mixed with apathy. It wasn't something she could explain, but it felt like a dream, and the outcome was just as ludicrous and unexpected as a fantasy.
There were many things in the world that Kobeni couldn't explain. Life sometimes seemed absurd and unfair, and at times, certain twists and turns were less than desired or favorable.
Kobeni's desire to live seemed to carry her no matter where she went. Like her personal essence, it followed her and somehow became obvious in every step she took, unmistakable to those who crossed her path. While she knew nothing about Makima, it had become obvious that this hunger of Kobeni's—this faith that there had to be more than suffering—seemed to be something that awakened her curiosity.
She and Makima didn't know each other; they hadn't even been in contact enough to form an honest opinion of each other, and they certainly weren't close enough to like each other.
There was nothing, and yet, that night, in the middle of her fear and fascination, Kobeni understood that something had begun to stir between them.
Kobeni wasn't idealistic, and she didn't want to form bothersome bonds with anyone. Makima had opened her door even when Kobeni had nothing to offer. Because Makima was strong and had seen potential in her, Kobeni admired her and tried to never let her down, despite how abhorrent being a Devil Hunter was to her.
However beautiful and frightening Kobeni had found Makima overall, the truth was that her feelings for the woman had always been confusing. Makima pulled her in as much as she repelled her. Kobeni had always felt terrified by her, and yet, a certain form of understanding between them had also somehow told her that the other woman would not dare to kill her or harm her, just because she had too much fun testing her and seeing her reactions.
Regardless of what Kobeni had seen in that building, she refused to speak about it and did the best she could to go back to living a normal life.
Makima didn't call her to her office, and she always smirked darkly (or so it seemed to Kobeni) whenever they crossed each other in the hallways.
Kobeni thought that Makima could be a Devil, but there were so many things about that world she didn't know that she understood the possibility of it not being accurate.
Sill, Makima was too much of an image of perfection to be natural, and while the younger girl wasn't one hundred percent sure what she was, it didn't matter because, for the first time, she understood her boss was not kind, but some form of evil incarnate behind a mask of angelic glow. It oozed from every poor, divine, and unnatural, dark, bitter, and mighty like her scent.
From a logical point of view, Kobeni was confused. She wanted to flee and yet it intrigued her as well, despite her better judgment.
Despite everything, she couldn't let go of the image of Makima's ethereal shape in the moonlight and her grace as she killed those people with nothing but a whisper while her feet were surrounded by pools of blood.
There had been some form of magnanimity there that was difficult to overlook. Visually, it had been glorious, and while Kobeni had been paralyzed with shock, replaying it all in her mind during the next few days brought along a whole different experience for her that was as disgusted as it was reverent.
As if Himeno's kiss hadn't been baffling enough to Kobeni's ego, these disturbing thoughts she was having about someone who could've killed her with a snap of her finger were almost too much for her nervous system.
The strangest thing about it all was that she didn't know if she liked this person she was discovering within herself. She was, however, powerless to fight it.
Kobeni had too many questions she couldn't dare to ask, which didn't mean that they didn't nag her and keep her up at night.
So, she kept moving forward, one day at a time, hoping it wouldn't drive her crazy.
oOo
The arrival of Denji and Power was just something else that left Kobeni on edge.
Denji was a character she didn't quite understand—loud, careless, and arrogant as only teenage boys could be. While she knew he had suffered many horrors in his life and had even starved, something about him really upset Kobeni.
Well, his constant verbalization of his love for Makima was also probably the reason. Their boss had probably lured him in with all the right words, and Kobeni didn't know if this frustrated her or made her feel sorry for Denji.
Makima was not human, so was she even capable of emotions, or was she simply trained to know how to respond to people's desires? She always had such a soft, condescending tone that was falsely concerned but was, in fact, underestimation in disguise.
How fickle and easily manipulated humans must seem to her. Denji was just another pawn.
Then there was Power, a fiend. She was also loud, obnoxious, and completely disregarded people's personal space or how unsettling her actions and words were. She was so reckless, too. Kobeni hated Devils and didn't trust them because they were heartless and had nothing good to offer.
Any bargain with a Devil was an unfair trade.
When Makima called Kobeni to her office to ask her to "stir things up" in Division 4 now that they had new members, the younger one understood well why. Denji and Power needed to prove their resilience and understand that friends sometimes could be no better than foes, and that was Kobeni's role.
While she didn't want to be seen as the bad guy, there was no way she could go against Makima's order.
You know how it works. Send them to their deaths if it means the mission gets accomplished. That's what a Devil Hunter does.
On their first mission together to the hotel, it was easy for Kobeni to fake a mental breakdown because she had been stressed out and nervous about a situation she had never encountered.
Regardless, in different circumstances, she would've never told a teammate to kill themselves.
Besides, Kobeni knew well that her body would fight that stupid demon until there was nothing left. No one other than Makima knew the true extent of her power, and she wished for it to remain as such.
Still, because Aki and Himeno were such good people, Kobeni was able to be at peace while everyone else fought. Sure, she starved a bit, but it wasn't anything she wasn't used to, plus it was so much better than fighting that horrible demon. Eventually, Denji relented and threw himself into the thing as a sacrifice, and well, he sure did amazing because he came out of it alive.
Makima was more than pleased, and despite having played the part of a useless coward, Kobeni was still relieved that everything had turned out well.
000
The restaurant buzzed with an atmosphere of camaraderie and mirth. It was a peculiar scene—a group of Devil Hunters, now reduced to laughter and jests, their faces illuminated by the soft, ambient lighting. That night, the burden of their profession was forgotten, replaced by the intense urge to let go and have fun—to simply pretend that they were normal people.
A long table was laden with diverse dishes. Each member of the Division, animated and exuberant, indulged not just in the feast before them but also in the shared sense of belonging.
It was a welcoming party for the rookies, paid for by their superior, and everyone seemed to be in ever-higher spirits for this precise reason.
Power and Denji wanted to stuff their faces, while Himeno and Aki were eager to drink. Other members, like Kobeni, were just glad to have free food and socialize, even though the group was so diverse that no one seemed to click.
They were an odd bunch, but the environment was good. Kobeni had been able to apologize to Denji for forcing him to kill himself, but the guy took it as if it wasn't a big deal. Kobeni didn't know whether to feel confused or, again, sorry for him.
Makima was late but still joined them, dressed in her well-kept suit and as pretty as ever in her timeless glory.
In this mix of light-hearted banter and clinking glasses, Kobeni's gaze was invariably drawn to Makima. The woman mostly kept to herself, replying politely whenever someone addressed her, and she barely ate.
However, she could hold her own while drinking, and a little puzzled, Kobeni watched her down mug after mug of beer. She rn perfectly composed while others were less than proper already.
Kobeni wasn't one to drink much, but because her hands were restless and she didn't want to be caught staring too much, she drank more than usual just to keep herself busy, and unavoidably, it took its toll.
As alcohol flowed, so did the barriers of restraint break down. The next thing she knew, Himeno was kissing Denji (well, she was just a kiss slut, apparently), and they were French tonguing or whatever that was. A little dazed, Kobeni found it kind of hot. Himeno was a good kisser.
She then watched Makima as she eyed the scene with mock interest. Denji seemed thoroughly torn between guilt because Makima was watching and enjoying himself, and yet, the situation changed quickly and not towards a positive end as Himeno ended up barfing into the poor boy's mouth.
Kobeni almost lost the contents of her dinner herself, but even in her slightly inebriated state, she was able to hold it down so as not to embarrass herself.
Makima was very polite, her perfect features not expressing any particular emotion towards the scene, simply asking the servers to bring something to clean up the mess. There was no amusement, no pity, no disgust. How she was able to waltz through these things so gracefully was mesmerizing and appalling.
As Arai dragged a sickened Denji to the bathroom and the chatter rose in volume again, Kobeni's attention turned inwards, her mind unavoidably replaying the images of Makima's ruthlessness from just a few nights previously.
While the woman hadn't looked at her once, as soon as these memories assaulted Kobeni's mind, Makima's amber eyes found hers.
An unuttered communication passed between them amidst the laughter and conversations. Makima's lips curled slightly and Kobeni felt her cheeks burn as a guttural and rather unexpected pull gripped her. It was so strong and unlike anything she had ever felt that she couldn't quite place it.
Her heart seemed to swell; she felt her stomach churning. Was she going to be sick, too?
A little too quickly, she stood up. "I'm going to grab some fresh air," she muttered, even though she was sure no one could even hear her, too far gone to care.
She was aware of Makima's eyes following her as she made her way to the door.
Barely able to put her shoes on, she stumbled outside into the street, where the cold breeze hit her and brought a chill to her body. Wrapping her arms around herself, she took a deep breath, willing her head to clear.
Damn it, she would never drink this much again. She could not put herself in a position of vulnerability, not when Makima was around, and could…
Could do what, exactly? What was the extent of the woman's threat to Kobeni? What was she seeking? Another obedient lap dog? Another pathetic human to play with? And then what?
What would Makima do if Kobeni decided to simply quit being a Devil Hunter? Would she persecute her just to get revenge? Would she kill her?
How long would this dutiful connection last?
More importantly, why couldn't Kobeni just fear the other woman and leave it at that? Why did so many other confusing and unnatural things have to come into the mix?
There were so many questions that Kobeni feared and desperately wanted answers to.
Exhausted, Kobeni leaned her back against the wall next to the restaurant's entrance. It was late, so there weren't many people out.
"You seem distressed."
Kobeni jumped and immediately looked to the side to find the bane of her most tormented thoughts standing beside her. Makima was looking at her with that small smile that was now a little curious, and she was close enough to be personal but not enough to touch.
If this was a tactic to make people feel at ease, well, it didn't work at the moment.
Kobeni swallowed, her heart racing. When had she… How? Why hadn't she been able to hear her? Was she that out of it that she couldn't even sense another person's presence?
It's not just another person; it's her.
She's not human.
She'll kill me before I can even realize what's happening.
Terrifying. How could such a beautiful person be so terrifying?
Kobeni's hands gripped her dress.
"I saw…" Kobeni's voice, laden with intoxication, echoed in the silence that had stretched between them. She wasn't even thinking. "I don't… You can't just approach me like this…"
"I know," Makima said sweetly with a nod, her tone oddly seductive as she leaned a bit closer. "Do I scare you, Kobeni-san?"
The cool night air swirled around Kobeni as her emotions threatened to unsteady her. Makima's presence was overwhelming; it filled the space around Kobeni in unfamiliar ways she wasn't sure she wanted to explore.
Questions and accusations rushed through Kobeni's mind, and yet, under the heavy gaze of Makima's piercing eyes, she found she couldn't speak them.
"I don't want to be afraid of you," Kobeni uttered instead, not understanding where those words had come from because she was having a hard time thinking.
"But you should be." Makima's voice was a whisper, yet even as the words brushed against Kobeni's ears, the enthralling pull towards this woman intensified.
As if propelled by a force beyond her control, Kobeni found herself leaning in as the the pull of something dark and intoxicating clouded her judgment. Makima stood still as Kobeni's lips met hers with too much force, and again, there was no reaction, no surprise, even if Kobeni herself flinched, mortified at what she was doing.
Still, before the youngest one could do anything or pull away, Makima's mouth moved in an instant response, her soft lips parting gently to brush against hers. As a gentle hand touched Kobeni's shoulder, she went from mortification to irrationality in a split second as heat flooded her from head to toe and all thought disappeared from her mind—there was no fear, no questioning, no doubts—only the gut-wrenching certainty that this was something she wanted and needed to do.
Makima's tongue was teasing, and as it slid past her lips and into Kobeni's mouth in an obvious invitation for more, Kobeni found herself abiding as the two soft muscles touched, wetly and languidly at first, then a little faster.
As Kobeni desperately pressed their mouths deeper together, she heard Makima releasing a small noise that wasn't exactly a moan but that was low and certainly gave away a pleased expression. It made Kobeni shiver as something thrummed between her thighs.
Her hands gripped her dress harder so she could stop herself from reaching out to hold the woman.
Kobeni couldn't remember how long it had been since she'd felt something akin to desire.
Despite how Makima's fingers had curled around the fabric on Kobeni's shoulder, the younger girl didn't dare to touch her, her mind too much in awe for her to do anything other than feel.
Makima tasted unique.
This was an act of defiance and submission, of vulnerability and power. The kiss was brief and it was Kobeni who broke the contact with a small pecking noise, and in those fleeting seconds where their eyes met and breaths mingled, an unutterable truth was exchanged—a silent acknowledgment of the complex path they were entwined in.
Makima's amber gaze scrutinized Kobeni's surprised face before smiling. Her hand slowly uncurled from around the fabric of Kobeni's dress. She took one simple step backward—again, using distance to create safety. "We should head back inside," she said in her soft and casual tone, and yet her eyes gleamed with pure mirth.
Was that even something she could feel?
Biting on her lower lip, Kobeni all but nodded, barely able to breathe, not even sure if what happened was true or her drunken imagination.
She wasn't even embarrassed or scared; she was just amazed.
In silence, they returned to the clatter and clamor of the restaurant.
As Kobeni retook her seat amidst the unrestrained laughter and banter, the touch of Makima's lips lingered, and she had no idea what to do about it.
TBC...
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