As Sensei gives her lecture, Kage stares out the window, his eyes following the pink petals of a sakura tree as they float lazily, slowly drifting to the ground. He feels the eraser end of a pencil poke him in the back and sighs, electing to ignore her.
Tsubasa frowns and pokes him again, harder. "Don't ignore me." She hisses in a whisper.
Kage sighs, trying to remain unfazed as she pokes him again. Then again. And again—harder this time. He gives up and looks back at her. "What?" He asks through gritted teeth, trying to hide his frustration.
She smirks, happy that she has gotten her way. She leans in and whispers. "How much do you know about Kurai?"
Kage laughs in his head, thinking to himself 'more than anyone' but decides to play koi, testing what she's after. "A bit more than most, I would guess."
Her smirk widens into a pleased and curious smile as she leans in closer to ask her question. "How do the police know his name is Kurai?"
Kage freezes, surprised and a bit embarrassed that he had never wondered about that himself. "I-I don't know."
Tsubasa pouts a bit, disappointed by his answer. "Oh, come on. I thought you said you knew a lot?"
Kage scoffs and looks out the window again, no longer amused by the situation, inciting another series of progressively more irritated pokes from Tsubasa. Her frustration grows as she gives up on poking him and she follows his gaze to the window. Not willing to be ignored, she asks him another question. "What do you even look at out there?"
He sighs, but decides to stop sulking, its not her fault. "Guess"
She looks at the view through the window: a small Koi pond, buildings, a cherry tree, but nothing terribly interesting. "I don't know, the fish?"
He laughs and shakes his head. "No. Guess again."
Her mood lightens a bit as he laughs and she looks out the window again, searching for her next guess. "That guy running by on the sidewalk."
He follows her gaze and shakes his head. "Nope. Do you make a habit out of staring at guys you don't know? Miki was teasing you for that your first day here, too."
She blushes and smacks his shoulder, which only makes her blush harder as it gets a lot of attention. She ducks her head and glares at him. "I don't stare at people, jerk!" she whispers, finding him annoying but funny, which only makes him more annoying since she can't be mad at him. "Alright, idiot, I played your dumb game. Now, tell me what you're looking at," she demands, not bothering to hide her irritation with his ability to fluster her.
He sits there for a few moments before responding. "The Sakura."
"Really? That's it? The tree?" She squints at it, like it might reveal some secret if she stares long enough. "Lame." Then she flops onto her desk, disappointed the mystery ended so... leafy.
She looks him over, searching for a new point of interest, eventually being drawn to the fact that he doesn't have anything out to take notes with. She tilts her head at him, feigning disapproval. "Aren't you supposed to be taking notes or something?"
He lets out an amused snort at the irony. "Shouldn't you?"
She holds up a sheet of paper with a few of Sensei's lecture points jotted down. "I am, but I don't need them anyway. You aren't even pretending to pay attention, though."
He just shrugs in response.
She pokes his cheek again and smirks. "I'll let you borrow mine... if you ask nicely."
He frowns and moves her hand away. "Nope. Don't need them. Or did you already forget how well I remember things?"
She groans, remembering the first day of class. "Oh come on, you don't have to be such a stick in the mud all the time. I'm not asking for much here. Just a little groveling. Your pride can take that." She teases, going for his cheek again, despite him continuing to push her hand away.
The playful atmosphere suddenly dies with a loud smack as Sensei hits her ruler on her desk again. "Miss Kimi. Kindly stop touching mister Tamashi while I'm giving a lecture. Seducing classmates during school hours is frowned upon."
Tsubasa sinks into her seat, wishing she could melt through the floor as she covers her bright red cheeks. "Y-yes, m-ma'am."
Sensei gives Kage a disapproving glare before continuing her lecture, the room settling back into silence.
Kage looks back at her, thinking 'She was… seducing me?' but when he sees her glaring at him like he ran over her dog, he quickly turns around and decides Sensei clearly has no idea what flirting is… not that he does either.
Tsubasa slouches further, muttering under her breath in utter mortification. "I-I wasn't seducing him…"
Beside her, Miki is silently shaking with laughter, her face red from the effort of holding it in. "Could've fooled me, Miu~" she whispers, her voice trembling with glee.
Kage watches the petals fall from the sakura tree again, time passing as slowly as their decent, wishing the class would end. When the bell finally does ring, he is out the door so fast the bell hasn't even stopped ringing before he is out of sight.
Miki giggles excitedly over the situation and nudges Tsubasa, trying to drag her out of her shell of embarrassment before giving up and leaving. "I'll call you later, seductress~"
After a long walk home and a well deserved shower, Tsubasa flops down onto her bed and waits for Miki to call.
She is still drying her hair when her phone buzzes. She swipes to answer, already groaning in anticipation of the brutal teasing coming her way.
"Well, well, if it isn't Miss 'I wasn't seducing him,'" Miki greets with a mischievous purr.
"Oh my god," Tsubasa groans, burying her face in a pillow. "Are you seriously starting with that?"
"Starting? Babe, I built an entire setlist. You should've seen Sensei's face!"
"Sorry, I missed it. Must have happened while every ounce of blood in my body migrated to my face!" Both girls giggle and Tsubasa rolls over onto her belly, letting her hair splay out so it'll air dry. "Though, seriously. Was I that bad?"
She can almost feel Kimi nodding through the phone. "You were two minutes away from eating out of his hand. You should be thanking Sensei for stopping you before you really embarrassed yourself."
Tsubasa sighs and burries her face in a stuffed animal. "Okay then, wise and beautiful Miki, how am I supposed to act around him? He's just… easy to talk to…"
Miki's voice softens a little, her teasing tone melting into something more thoughtful. "Ahh, I see… He's not what you thought he'd be, huh?"
Tsubasa's face turns a shade pinker as she shrugs, not wanting to admit it out loud. "I don't know. He's just... comfortable. It's like talking to someone I've known forever…"
There's a pause on the other end of the phone before Miki speaks again, a grin evident in her voice. "So basically, you're totally into him?"
Tsubasa groans and buries her face back into the pillow. "I swear, Miki, if you don't stop teasing me, I'll never leave my room again."
Miki laughs, the sound light and teasing. "Oh come on, Tsubasa! You can't tell me you don't feel it a little. I saw the way you were looking at him in class today."
Tsubasa rolls over onto her back, staring at the ceiling with a frustrated sigh. "I wasn't looking at him like that," she mutters, but even she can hear the doubt in her own voice.
"Uh-huh, sure you weren't," Miki replies, sounding unconvinced. "But seriously, you don't have to freak out about it. You're not alone in this. You're just talking to a guy, not preparing to confess your undying love."
Tsubasa hesitates, chewing on her lower lip as she considers that. "Yeah, but... what if I'm just overthinking everything? Like, what if he doesn't even care?"
"Then he's an idiot," Miki says matter-of-factly. "But seriously, you won't know unless you stop stressing. Just be yourself. If he's interested, he'll show it. And if not, well, at least you know where you stand."
Tsubasa exhales a slow breath, rolling over onto her side again. "I guess you're right…"
Miki's voice softens, growing more sincere. "You're not alone in this, Tsubasa. You've got me, okay? And whatever happens, just remember that. Don't worry too much about being perfect or playing any games."
Tsubasa smiles to herself, feeling comforted by her friend's words. "Thanks, Miki. I don't say it enough, but you're a real pain in the ass… in the best way."
"Of course I am," Miki responds, her tone light again. "Now go be your adorable self, and stop thinking so much. Let things happen."
Tsubasa laughs softly, feeling a little more at ease. "Alright, I'll try. Talk to you later, Miki."
"Anytime, 'seductress.'"
Tsubasa shakes her head with a smile as she hangs up, feeling a bit lighter than before. Now, if only she could stop overthinking everything around Kage.