In the kitchen, Kure Ragna stood still, watching the girl in front of him with a blank expression. Kushida Kikyo had her eyes closed, her brows slightly furrowed in deep concentration.
"…What exactly are you doing?" he finally asked.
"Shut up!" she snapped, not even bothering to open her eyes.
He raised an eyebrow but said nothing, waiting. A few moments later, she let out a sigh, opening her eyes in disappointment.
"As I thought… it's only this much."
Kure Ragna stared at her, his mind filled with question marks.
"…So what in the world are you doing?"
He attempted to pull his hand back, but she held onto his wrist tightly, pressing it against her chest.
Does this girl have some serious illness? No, she definitely does.
After a long pause, he sighed.
"Look, if you're planning to use this as blackmail, I already told you last time—"
"Oh, shut up."
Kushida rolled her eyes, taking another step closer, further closing the distance between them. Her chest nearly pressed against him.
Since Kure Ragna was more than two heads taller, she had to tilt her face up to meet his eyes.
"Hurry up and threaten me," she demanded.
"…What?"
He instinctively leaned back, his mind stalling.
This girl is going crazy again…
"I said hurry up! Threaten me!" she repeated, her voice growing more irritable.
"…Alright, alright."
Taking a breath, he spoke in a calm, measured tone.
"Let go of my hand, or I'll kill you."
"That's not it!"
She looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Like what you did at the beach before! Do it properly!"
Kure Ragna stared at her, puzzled.
"…Why?"
"Tsk."
Clicking her tongue, she looked away, clearly reluctant to explain.
He let out another sigh and slowly tightened his grip around her wrist. The moment he did, she flinched.
Memories flooded her mind.
—That cold night by the sea.
—The whisper of his voice, low and threatening.
"If you run, I'll catch you before you even take three steps."
"Do you want to try?"
"People need to pay the price for their choices."
"I could tie you up with your own clothes and throw you into the ocean. No one would ever find you."
Every word was burned into her mind.
That night was the first time she had ever truly felt fear. Not the kind of anxiety from being found out. Not the stress of maintaining a fake personality. No—this was something entirely different.
And yet…
Instead of trauma, all she had felt afterward was relief.
Like something inside her had been freed. Like all the burdens weighing on her had vanished, if only for a moment.
It was ridiculous.
It made no sense.
And yet, here she was—standing in front of him, desperate to experience it again.
Kure Ragna's expression grew strange as he listened to her explanation.
"…So basically, you're just a hidden masochist?"
Kushida choked.
She wanted to deny it—she really did—but after a moment of thought, she realized she couldn't.
Clicking her tongue, she looked away in frustration.
"I don't know what it is, okay? Ever since that night, nothing else works. Before, I used to get annoyed when people talked behind my back, but now I just don't care. It's like my emotions are broken."
"…I see."
She glared at him.
"Fix it."
"…Excuse me?"
"You heard me," she said, stepping even closer, forcing him against the counter. "It's your fault I'm like this. You fix it."
Kure Ragna gave her an amused look.
"Well, there is one possible solution…"
"What?"
"I heard that people feel much calmer after 'releasing tension.'" He raised an eyebrow. "You could always try that."
Kushida instantly scowled.
"Tried it. Didn't work."
Kure Ragna blinked.
Wait. She actually—?
Reading the expression on his face, Kushida rolled her eyes.
"Don't look at me like that. It's just self-care. I even tried doing it while thinking about it, but it still didn't help. That's why I'm here."
Kure Ragna rubbed his temple.
"…You're hopeless."
She huffed.
"Look, I don't care how, but you're going to fix this. Right. Now."
"You're really forcing this, huh?"
"No shit."
Kure Ragna sighed, then gave her a long look.
"…Alright."
Before she could react, he grabbed her waist with one hand, holding her in place. His other hand, which had been trapped against her chest, suddenly clenched.
Kushida barely had time to register what was happening before he leaned down—his breath brushing against her lips.
"Even if you scream," he whispered, voice low and dangerous, "no one's going to save you."
Then, he kissed her.
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