Chapter Forty-Five: Dumb Crush:
-October 20th,
2011-
Kazue stood with
bright red cheeks. “I hate you; you know that?”
Hotaru smiled as
she patted her on the back. “No you don’t.” Kazue sneered at her. The ladies
stood in front of Sota’s supposed apartment. Kazue puffed up her cheeks.
“Why are we
here?” she asked.
“You know why,”
Hotaru said. Kazue gritted her teeth.
“I’ll get you
for this,” she muttered.
“Nah,” the loli
demon said. “You’ll thank me later.” She shoved Kazue forward. The demon
stumbled but caught her balance.
“Damn it,” Kazue
mumbled. “Okay, okay! Geez!” She walked up to the door. Hotaru had her eyes on
her back. Kazue mumbled under her breath as she rang the bell.
“Coming!” a man
said. Kazue turned to Hotaru. The loli demon grinned and held up her thumb. She
glared at her.
“I’ll get you
for this,” Kazue mouthed.
“Good luck,”
Hotaru mouthed back. Her roommate flipped her off. That’s when the door opened
behind her.
“Kazue-san?” a
man asked. The demon whipped around and saw Sota standing in the doorway. She
quickly dropped her middle finger.
“Oh! Uh… Hi…”
Kazue said.
“Hello,” Sota
said. They stood silent for a long pause.
“Did you want
something?” he asked. Kazue blinked at first.
Damn it. She looked over her shoulder.
Hotaru was nowhere in sight.
Brilliant…
Kazue turned to
Sota and nervously laughed.
“Well… My friend
dragged me here and now she’s gone,” she said. Awkward silence.
“Okay…” Sota
said. More silence.
“Um… Can I come
in?” Kazue asked at last. His smile shot an arrow through her heart.
“Sure,” he said.
“Thanks,” the
demon said in one breath. She bowed and followed him into the apartment.
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The living room
looked so clean. Sunlight spilled into the room. Kazue sat down on the couch.
Sota sat across from her in the armchair. The ticking clock from the kitchen
filled the silence.
“Well, we’re
here,” Kazue said.
“Yes,” Sota
said. “Welcome.”
“Thank you,” she
said. Now what? Kazue looked up at the ceiling. She sighed to herself.
“Something
wrong?” Sota asked. Kazue shook her head. She clinched her teeth. The demon
muttered something under her breath.
“Hm?” he asked.
Kazue looked him in the eye.
“I like you,”
she mumbled. He narrowed his eyes.
“Excuse me?”
Sota asked. She pressed her lips together. It hurt to repeat it. What was she
doing? This wasn’t her. Kazue was a cold and aloof bitch. She had no time for
love.
Why? Why was
this happening?
“Kazue-san?
Kazue-san?” Sota asked. The demon’s face turned bright red.
“I really like
you!” she yelped. Too late to take it back now. Sota stared at her. Kazue felt
herself panicking.
Come on! Say something!
“You… like me?”
he asked.
“Yes,” she said,
looking down.
“In what way?”
Sota asked.
Kazue’s face turned
redder as she pressed her lips together. He let off a low whistle.
“Wow,” was all
he said. Why couldn’t Kazue get up and run away?
--------
Hotaru frowned
as she pressed her face against the glass. She saw where this was going.
“This is not good,” the loli demon muttered to herself. Hotaru shook her head. She shouldn’t micromanage, but they were clearly stuck. Time to give this love a little push out of the mind. But first, Hotaru needed a little back-up. The loli demon pulled out her phone and made a call.