1.48 – Don’t think about it

“Oh my god! Cover yourselves!” Yukiko put a hand in front of her face, turning away. Her cheeks were as red as her hair was, as she blushed furiously at the sight in front of her.

Nathan, for his part, found the situation a bit funny. He expected to be jumpy, to maybe even try to cover up or make excuses, but what was the point? He didn’t feel like hiding what they’ve just done.

Alicia, though, shrieked when she saw Yukiko and quickly dashed for their clothes, angling towards the destroyed couch.

“Yukiko, you should have knocked. You know, like a normal person?”

“I did! Like, four times!” She said, turning away, “It’s not my fault nobody was responding.”

“You mean those four knocks on the window a second before you came inside?”

“Yes, those knocks.” There was silence as she collected herself. “I was afraid maybe something happened to you two, and… okay, it might have been my fault. Just please cover up. I must be breaking like a million teacher rules at this very moment, seeing you like this.”

“Relax. We’re adults. Don’t pretend you were any different when you were our age. It can’t have been that long ago either. What are you? 25 years old or so, right?”

She stiffened.

Nathan scurried over to the couch as well, pulling on his pajama pants before he went to sit down on the couch, just before realizing that he couldn’t do that anymore. He just stood there, mere feet away from Yukiko and Alicia, who appeared as if she wanted to poof out of existence.

“You can turn around now. We are close, but clothed.”

Some tension left Vermillion Strike as she sighed and turned. The friendly face from mere moments ago was replaced by a more rigid one, with her red eyes closed in scrutiny. Her gaze went from Nathan and Alicia. “Really? This, so shortly after you got from a mission like that?”

“Isn’t there something about a near-death situation stimulating libido?” Nathan tried to lighten the situation.

Vermillion Strike hovered closer and chopped him on the head. “Shut up. Okay, calm yourself, Yukiko, you saw nothing, it’s okay.” She continued muttering something to herself, although she got quiet, so quiet that he couldn’t hear.

“So again, why did you come here?” He asked, trying to make the situation at least somewhat less awkward.

“As I said, to check on you. Oh, also, I came here to ask if you want to do some last-minute training. The training hall in Ako is free, and the tournament is coming up soon.”

“Shouldn’t I be focusing on the Onis? You said you’d give me more info on that soon.”

“Yeah, that too, but some agents from the SHRA are still looking into that spell you cast on them. They said they won’t let you approach them until the second semester, until you get your license. They will be under their guidance for now. You’re an experiment, but it’s too soon.”

“It wasn’t a spell, it was just an ability.”

“Yeah, like the sixth one you’ve cast. Nathan, I don’t understand how you keep doing it, but soon enough I feel like you’ll be advancing through the ranks really swiftly. You too, Alicia. That whip?” She kissed the tips of her fingers. “Mwah! Chef’s kiss. But anyway, I didn’t come to hype you two up. Are you ready? Two more students asked for help today, and they are already sparring.”

“Two more students? Who?”

“Your classmates. They came and actually said that they wanted to catch up to someone. I’m having a hard time guessing who it might be.” She smirked at the two of them, her previous big sisterly energy returning. “So? We flying?”

“We didn’t even agree yet, and I need a shower.” Alicia pointed to herself, the sweat leaving a trail where she walked.

“Alright, alright, I’ll give you five minutes.”

Nathan smiled. It appeared that he didn’t have an option, but right now he didn’t mind that much. “Make it ten.”

***

Yukiko sat in the back seat of the car watching the buildings go by. She hadn’t sat in a car in… forever. It felt like years, at least. The two students in front of her talked about some TV show she didn’t recognize, probably nervous about the fact that she caught them just a dozen minutes ago.

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She spent the time of the ride thinking, for the most part. Why had it made her so mad at first? They were, what, 20 years old? Of course they would do something like that, especially if they were… in their circumstances. A pretty girl and a handsome man, living in the same house, going to the same school, going through situations they went through together. Of course it was bound to end like this.

But still, she felt something now, as if something wasn’t right. She didn’t want to think about what that emotion was, so she pretended, just like she always has. Ever since her family died and she enlisted to the SHRA, ever since she enrolled into the academy and was told to change her uniform to not use the more gruesome parts of her power, not unless she was sure she was hidden from cameras.

She pretended a lot of times. Well, enough to even make her mind wander away from emotions she didn’t like thinking about.

“So the portfolio we have on you, the files. They don’t say that much about how you acquire new abilities, Nathan.”

The youth looked back at her, his chiseled jaw turning to her, showing her his profile. “What would you like to know, Yukiko?” he asked, as if he was unsure.