[Log] One and Half of One [Izume and Kureno]
[[ OOC: Set between this post and this post. ]]
For now, she could pretend.'>The only deliberate breaks from his paperwork Kureno took that evening were to refresh his coffee from the breakroom. Coming back from one such trip, he took a deep breath and a moment to realize that it was good to be home again.
...Well, technically he was in his office, but that as at least a second home to him. (If not slightly more of a home than his actual apartment.) It counted.
Setting down his coffee cup down on his desk (complete with coaster), Kureno picked up his pen and glanced to find the place he'd last left off. Ah, that's right. File R3-0189-D1. Only sixty more to go after this.
She never begged. Izume was a kunoichi, a fairly good one at that, and if there was one thing kunoichi never did, it was beg. But she was lonely, and frightened, and more than a little bit pissed with herself for being so stupid, and she didn't really know what else she could do, or where else she could turn to...
Besides.. they'd been fairly close once, hadn't they?
...
Right.
So maybe it was stupid, and embarrassing, and incredibly selfish, but this was a woman at the end of her rope, and if she had to spend one more night alone in that empty apartment she was quite sure she'd lose it.
Just a few minutes.. Hell, they didn't even need to talk. She just needed him to be there, just be there, she'll be quiet, she swears...
Softly, she knocked. And she never knocked.
"Kureno-sensei?" she pushed the door open slightly. "It's me... Izume."
Izume? Kureno looked up from his files with a bit of irritation. "Izume, I already told you--"
He was interrupted mid-sentence at the mere sight of her. She was smiling, but it wasn't like her usual top-of-the-world grins. There was tension at the corners of her mouth giving evidence that it was her willpower and not mood keeping it there, and signs of circles beneath her eyes made her look tired. It was a weak smile, forced and delicate; he'd seen it on many other faces before (...too many people smiled like that...), just never Izume's.
Don't ask. Don't ask. Don't ask... "What's wrong?" Damn.
One day he'd really learn to mind his own business more.
"Nothing," she said automatically, forcing out a laugh as her smile wavered. Pushing past the door she invited herself in and took the only other seat in his office, trying to look at ease and casual in a space that quickly became a little too stuffy.
But he was there, and she wasn't alone, so that was all that mattered.
Continuing with her casual facade, she leaned forward to peek at the various documents he had littering his desk. "Whatcha got there~?"
"...Paperwork," he answered briskly, eyeing her once more before sitting back and looking down at the documents. Another reason to mind his own business was because more often than not, the people you asked wanted you to stay out of it anyway. Izume wanted to keep things to herself like most people did, which was fine by him. It's not like he would suffer for losing time by prying into her life.
"I think I told you I was going to be busy tonight, didn't I...?" There was a slight chiding tone in his voice, but he kept himself polite.
She winced only minutely, but it was undoubtedly caught. Forcing her smile to grow even wider, Izume tried to hold on to the casual facade she came in with, all the while feeling like her chest had just been stepped on. Again and again.
"Yeah, you did," she said, eyes glued to his documents. "But I thought I'd stop by anyway. See how you were doing..." She cleared her throat uneasily. "What.. what kind of paperwork?"
"Filing unknown shinobi records. ...I think I told you that too, if I recall." He gave her a regarding look-over again. "Izume, are you sure nothing's wrong?" Last chance to tell me before you begin to waste my time...
Why was she here anyway? Normally it would be to either bug him or pull some sort of joke, but she honestly didn't look like she was in the mood for either tonight. Tonight she looked more like she needed help with some sort of problem, but didn't she have other friends who helped her with those things? Didn't she have...
"Where's Kotsuki?"
Ahh, and there it was. "Somewhere," was Izume's instinctive response, still hanging on to that playful air she was known for, but then she caught the look on his face, the kind her mother used to give her when she was "wasting her time", and, just like that, the playful air vanished. Smile practically gone now, Izume actually had to lower her head so he wouldn't have to see the pained look flash across her face.
"...I don't know," she said honestly, in a tiny, quiet voice so unlike her usual tones.
Ooookay. Well, at the very least, the source of the problem was beginning to come into focus. It worried Kureno a little however. Just coming back from his mission, he wasn't sure what had been going on in the village for the past week. And a lot can happen in a week.
"Is she hurt?" Seeing Izume this upset over Kotsuki, that was his first natural assumption. It also suddenly brought into his mind Asuka and her mission, and how he felt not knowing where she was. "Did something happen?"
"..Yes," she replied vaguely, ducking away to hide that pained look again. Izume wasn't stupid-- she knew she hurt her friend. And were she any better or stronger of a person, she would have sought Kotsuki out by now to rightfully apologize... But her own wounds were still too fresh, and her pride, that stupid, inbred pride, refused to let her do what she knew was right. "I, um.. We..." She laughed suddenly, an awful-sounding thing, as a hand went up to fidget with the collar of her turtleneck. "We're not really talking right now," she said finally, and somehow hearing the words made it seem that much more concrete.
She'd hurt her friend. Her best friend.
She didn't deserve the comfort she was seeking.
A fight. It was the first instinctive thing his mind told him as he watched her, although immediately after he thought it he found it a little ridiculous to imagine. Kotsuki and Izume fighting? And this was obviously something more than just a little disagreement or spat. It seemed a little impossible to believe, only because in the many years he'd known them such a thing had never happened before. It was irrational to say that nobody could avoid fighting each other forever, but if he'd ever thought anyone could do it, Izume and Kotsuki were at the top of his list.
"A fight?" he asked, even though he meant to state it. A part of him just... had trouble believing it. Even if the look on Kamizuki's face told him it was true.
Izume couldn't help but wince at the word so bluntly used, but she couldn't exactly deny its accuracy either. She found it a little weird herself, she and Kotsuki, the Dynamic Duo, the Paper Dolls.. fighting. She couldn't remember a time when she had been without the other woman before this, and now that she didn't have Kotsuki's constant warmth beside her...
She was so sure she'd already experienced the ultimate kind of 'alone'...
"My fault," she admitted readily, drawing up her knees to place both feet along the edge of her seat. Tucking her chin between the space of her knees, Izume busied herself with trying to worry away the wool of her top. "Said things.. stupid things..." She glanced up then, suddenly aware of what a nuisance she was being. "..Sorry. I know you're working, I know that, I just..." Breathing a little raggedly, Izume struggled to appear stronger than she thought she was.
"Kunoichi do not beg."
"Can I stay, for just a little bit? I'll be quiet, I promise..."
Kureno frowned uncertainly, turning his head to glance around the room and eventually coming back around to the stack of papers on his desk. People tended to come to him for help and advice, and usually came to him here. More often than not it served the purpose well enough, but then the topics weren't usually very dire. Every now and then however he'd get cases like Izume and his office no longer felt... sufficient.
"I don't think this is the best place for this," he finally admitted, and forgot to follow that up with an explanation right away before she reacted.
It was nothing less than she expected. Of course he wouldn't want her there. She was a nuisance, and he was doing his job, he had better things to do than to listen to some pathetic girl's sob stories...
"Right," she said, putting on as brave a face as she could, and stood, albeit a little shakily. "Right, sorry, I.. sorry. I'll just.." She turned then, fully intent on heading out with as much of her dignity intact, but her body apparently had other plans. Just a few steps away from the door she froze, her tiny body seized with a sudden, choking sob. She tried to fight it, but the harder she tried, the more it seemed and all she could do was stand there, sobbing, making a complete fool of herself to a superior, and for what? For fear of returning home to that empty apartment? Hastily her hands flew up to cover her red and blotchy face, so ashamed, so disgusted with herself for being so weak.
"Izume?" Why was she leaving like... Ah damn. He needed to be a lot more specific sometimes and not so... so 'cryptic' as Kiba would call it. She was already breaking down when he stood to call her back.
Kureno was talented in many things that most people would call 'ordinary' and also quite skilled in the 'extraordinary'. But wherever crying women between those two categories, Kureno did not believe himself to be an expert. Unless having them cry was in some sort of plan, he found himself freezing up and just staring at them dumbly while feeling guilty. And boy did he feel guilty right now.
You ass, he scolded himself. She was really upset and you... you just went and... Insensitive ass.
It was times like this when his brain didn't know how to handle a situation that years of training and ingrained manners took over and moved his body automatically.
Walking around to stand in front of her, his hand dug around in his pockets for the handkerchief he always had on him, bringing it out and meaning to bring it up directly to her cheeks but her hands kept them covered. Instead he brushed the cloth against her fingers to get her attention and offer it to her.
"I'm sorry, Izume." His voice wasn't pouring over with emotion, but there was sincerity in its deep tone. "I didn't mean that you should leave. I meant to suggest we go somewhere else. Maybe some fresh air will help you feel better..."
Oh gods-- and show everyone else what a weakling she was? How right her mother had been all along?
"No--!" she hiccoughed, sobbing and gasping horribly while she tried to control herself enough to get out an intelligible sentence. "I'll be-- I'll be-- f-fine, I just--!" No, she would not be, even she knew that, but her stubborn pride refused for her to make an even bigger fool out of herself. She even refused to give in and take Kureno's offered handkerchief, trying very hard to convince herself she can get over this, this was nothing, she was kunoichi, she was...
Oh who was she kidding?
"I'm-- s-sorry!" was the only warning she gave Kureno before tearing her hands away from her face and practically launching herself on the man, thin arms coming to wrap around his torso as she tried desperately to bury her face in his chest. "I'm sorry, I'm s-sorry..!" she just kept saying, over and over again.
"H-hey..." It was a weak protest; more of a startled reaction really. Women didn't just go throwing themselves into his arms every day after all.
...Well okay, so sometimes they did. But this was completely different. Izume wasn't just "women" she was a kunoichi, a co-worker, and someone he had an unspoken respect for. (She and Kotsuki both. Anyone who could handle Aki as well as they did deserved merits.) Seeing her cry like this was genuinely upsetting. ...And really weird.
Awkward, Kureno corrected himself. His nicknamed "Paper Dolls" did have a mischievous streak and loyalty that always remained somewhere just beyond his comprehension, but he never thought anything to be wrong with them. 'Weird' was a term he could reserve for people like Aki or Gaia. Izume and Kotsuki were just... 'lively'.
And when they weren't, that's when it was time to use 'awkward'. Right now--as he tentatively brought his hands up to lightly rest (actually, the more like hovered) on her shoulders--was very awkward.
"What are you apologizing for?"
She wanted to respond, she really did. But every time she opened her mouth the most horrible-sounding gasp would come out, or hiccup, or sob, or something other than words and she hated it, truly, passionately hated it. Clinging to the older man even more, she wanted very much to just disappear, like she'd never been there. It was stupid of her to come, and it was even more stupid of her to react this way. She was a kunoichi, dammit. She was supposed to be stronger than this.
Biting her lip til it bled, Izume could only just wait the sobs out.
It didn't take Kureno long to figure out this was going to be something that just had to happen before it could be taken care of. You couldn't talk yourself out of it, rationalize it away, or simply drop it; you could only let it out until there wasn't anything left of it.
So he waited. His hands came around a little further to her back between the shoulder blades. Rubbing her back felt too intimate, and patting her back seemed like it might be too patronizing, so his hands didn't do anything but sit there, whatever warmth they had seeping through the folds of her jacket. Kureno merely stood there for her, trying not to move or think about the mess the front of his vest may be when she was done. (He secretly and terribly hoped she wasn't wearing mascara.)
And waited.
Eventually, thankfully, the sobs died out. She didn't know how long they'd been standing there, but it felt like forever on her tired, exhausted body. Slumping in his somewhat-hold, Izume punctuated her embarrassing sob with a heavy sigh, softly laying her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said after a while. Her hand moved between them, lightly gripping the front of his vest which did, in fact, feel like she'd just dumped half her body's water content on it. "I don't.. normally do this..." she said in a small voice, trying to save face as much as she could.
She stood there, for just a few more moments, her eyes closed as she tried to savor as much of the human contact as she could... When she pulled away finally, she tried to smile, knowing her face was a mess. "Sorry I bothered your work night," she said softly, hands falling from his vest to her sides. "..Thanks, though," she shrugged lightly, "for letting me.. vent," she finished lamely.
She made to move around him then, silent sigh escaping her lips as she headed towards his door.
Once upon a time, everything would have ended there if not sooner. Kureno would have let her walk away without saying anything more, believing he'd already rendered what services he could that he wouldn't have felt obligated to give in the first place. But luckily, that was then and not now or really ever again. (Despite how sometimes--most times really--Kureno was sure his life would be easier without this. ...Just not as worthwhile.)
"Izume." His voice sounded stark against the silence that had been growing, and he turned in time to stop her from getting all the way out the door. "...You can stay if you want. I don't mind."
...she wanted, she really really wanted. With her back still turned, Izume allowed herself a small smile. "..if you insist," she resorted back to her playful manner, or tried to, at least. She turned, smiling like she hadn't just embarrassed herself in front of him, and reclaimed her seat. "You can go back to work-- I'm fine now, really." She placed her hands on her knees, trying to look very much like a good, obedient girl. "I'll just sit here-- be quiet and everything, chuunin's honor. Just," and she tried not to let her voice waver at this one, "just be here with me."
Kureno raised an eyebrow at her smile for a moment. This might usually be the moment where he felt tricked and stupid for being duped again by one of the Disaster Duo. But there was simply no way on earth all of what transpired a moment ago hadn't been real. (His wet shirt told him so.) And at her last request, he settled easily into his desk chair.
"Just to warn you, I can get really caught up in things when I work. If you do ask me something, don't be offended if I don't answer correctly or even right away." He picked up his pen again. "I made coffee not to long ago, so there's still some in the breakroom if you want."
And without another word or inquiry, Kureno went back to work.
Shaking her head softly, Izume merely contented herself with watching him work. "Thanks..," she replied softly, not caring if he hadn't heard it. He probably had no real idea how much help he was being to her, just being there, allowing her to be there...
For a moment, Izume let herself think that she hadn't just screwed things up royally; that she still had her best friend, that Yuugao was not late coming home, that everything was alright, fine, dandy.
For now, she could pretend.
It was somewhere between the Very Late and Very Early hours of the night when Kureno finally finished his reports, the coffeepot in the breakroom empty. He sat back and stretched his arms high above his head, letting his muscles move out of the one position they'd been locked in for the past several hours. Luckily his body was used to this kind of abuse though and didn't get stiff easily, or at least not for long.
Glancing over at Izume, he found she'd nodded off sometime while she was keeping her promise not to disturb him. While he'd never really forgotten she was there, the thought of her presence had slipped from his mind more than once during the night.
She really can be quiet when she wants to. ...Huh. Who knew?
Coming to stand over her, Kureno cautiously leaned down with his face a foot away from hers--because waking a ninja was risky business. Quietly, but with some reasonable volume to it, he whispered her name.
"Hey. Izume."
She hadn't really meant to doze off, but with the room so quiet, save for the rhythmic scribblings of his pen, it was a bit hard not to. She shifted, when her name was called, her face scrunching up irritably, while a hand idly raised to bat the annoyance away.
"Gnrh.. five more.. minutes.."
It was when batting hand met angular jawline (angular jawline that was most definitely not Kotsuki's) that she stirred, her eyes blinking slowly as she lifted it from its perch atop her knees. "..Kure-kun?" she'd resorted back to that old, teasing nickname in her sleepy state, vision focusing on a set of familiar crimson eyes.
Slowly, the pieces began to fit together for her, and, after a slow, panning look around, Izume realized where she was. Yawning slightly, she stretched cat-like in her seat, before turning back to the owner of the office she'd unwittingly fallen asleep in. "How long have I been out..?"
"A while," he could only guess, not actually aware himself of the moment she drifted off. His eyes involuntarily ticked at the nickname she'd used, still the conditioned reflex reaction after all these years, but he chose not to comment on it lest she grow encouraged to put it back into practice.
"I finished working." On his desk were four, three-inched piles of manila, folders and paper stacks, all neatly marked, paper-clipped, and aligned. "I was going to close up now, so..."
Izume eyed the (far too freakishly neat) stacks of paperwork with something akin to disdain. "..you're some kind of freak, you know that, Kureno-sensei?" she said affectionately, before standing in her seat to stretch out her limbs some more. Man. Sleeping in a seat-- talk about uncomfortable.
"Congrats on getting your work done though," she smiled cheerfully, acting as if the past night's events had never happened. It may have been the cowardly route, but Izume felt it would be easier on both their parts if that night was, frankly, never mentioned at all... She knew the man had never been much for personal moments, and bringing it up.. Well. They just didn't have to.
Though certain manners were still in call for.
"Thanks for letting me stay," she added a little more quietly, smile a little more sincere. "You probably don't want to hear any mushy stuff but.. it really meant a lot to me." She grinned then, looking a little more like her 'normal' self. "I knew you were a softie, deep down~"
Kureno just rolled his eyes at the 'freak' remark. There were a number of labels he had for her and Kotsuki but they were best used for reserve; besides, he knew for a fact she wasn't the only one who had that opinion about him.
It was obvious Izume didn't want to talk about the 'earlier incident' or her reasons behind it, and for now, Kureno was fine with letting that be. He was sure she had closer friends or confidants than him and it probably just came down to the fact that he was convenient. To some that might seem like using a person, but to him it just became logical. He'd long since accepted the fact that ultimately he was at the disposal of the village and its inhabitants--he was just still getting used to the idea of this being true outside of mission situations.
But Izume's gratitude was genuine and humble. Even if he had just been convenient, he'd been honestly needed. And somehow that was good enough.
Her last remark made him scoff however. "Softie?" Kureno repeated distastefully, even as a wry grin pulled at his lips. "Don't be ridiculous. Now get out so I can walk you home, woman."
"Ooh, chivalrous too," she teased lightly, but did as she was told nonetheless. She waited til they were out of the Palace to lace her hands behind her back, eyeing him through the corner of her eyes. "You don't have to walk me home, though," she said, attempting a grin for him. "Ninja right? I think I can handle the journey alone~"
In truth, she appreciated his niceties, even if it was just that. Not very many others would have bothered, quite frankly, and the fact that he was going out of his way just made Izume a little more convinced that not every jounin was a stick-up-the-ass, mechanical, angst-bleeding machine.
Affectionately said, of course~ ♥
He may not have known how high up he was in Izume's 'list of people to turn to', but maybe that was for the best. Wouldn't want the poor man to freak once he realized he was actually important or dear to somebody, after all, gods forbid.
"You can handle it," he nodded without any doubt. "But it's not about handling it, it's about having company on the way there."
It was one of those rarer moments where he didn't say what experience told him was "the right answer", but rather what he instinctively felt, and have it actually come out sounding acceptable and even sweet--in that non-attached, matter-of-fact way of his.
Izume raised a brow in his direction. "Never pegged you to be the kind of guy that cared about having company," she said, even though she knew he was more than likely doing it for her sake. It was a lot easier acting like things were fine, anyway. Like things were how they used to be.
"I suppose it's just one other thing to prove you aren't such a bad guy after all~" she sighed, turning to the path before them with a small, mischievious smile. "Whatever will the others think?" she mused.
"Obviously that I must want to whisk you away to far off lands and shower you daily with gifts and expensive commodities. Oh, along with something of affection too, of course. Standard romance novel scenario." Kureno's was a dry witt.
"...Why Kure-pin," said Izume in mild awe, "is that a sense of humor I hear?" She gave him a heartfelt smile, fluttering her lashes in a show of blinking back the tears. "I always knew you had it in you~"
He gave her a flat stare as punishment for the nickname. As for her gushing he responded, "Careful now, someone else might find out."
"Oh, gods forbid," came her reply, but she was grinning all the same. Once upon a time, she remembered when he would flat out walk away whenever she and Kotsuki tried being so coy and casual with him... Whatever had happened in the meantime... Whoever happened to affect him... Izume felt she owed them a bit of thanks.
Especially considering what she planned on doing next.
"Well!" she chirped. "Might as well do this right, ne?" And with only that bit of warning, she proceeded to loop her arm through his~
Not thinking anything could have made it possible, Kureno's first thought was how glad he was Asuka wasn't back yet. ...Well he still wasn't that glad of it, and even if she had been back the chances of her seeing this were extremely slim, and even if someone who knew him did see them and told Asuka he'd have a perfectly sound explanation, and...
Well. He was somehow just a little relieved nonetheless.
His shoulders remained tensed however as he looked down at the kunoichi with an awkwardly uncomfortable expression on his face--which somehow came off exceptionally adorable on a guy who tended to have an emotional range of Not Amused to Not So Very Not Amused.
"Uh, Izume... do you have to...?" he trailed off.
"Yes," came her blunt, but oh-so-sweetly said, reply. "Yes, I have to."
It really was pretty adorable to see that Kureno could do more than just look irritated or unamused (once, Izume swore she saw him smile-- but he wound up just needing to sneeze. She lost 15 bucks out of it too). In Izume-logic, this could only mean she was doing something right, and that she had to do that something right more often.
She held on to his arm a little more snugly. "I think you'd find it surprising that there are other forms of human contact, Kure-pin. Y'know. Other than killing~"
"I also believe in basic, hand-to-hand senseless violence," he mumbled back, trying to regrip his composure through dry humor. "There's something to be said about just hitting a guy."
Kureno tried to 'accidentally' jostle his arm free as they walked, but Izume had a solid grip on him. He was undeniably trapped which resulted in a defeated sigh. "Could you at least stop calling me by those ridiculous nicknames?"
"Say pretty please," she said sweetly, not letting up on her grip. Putting aside the fact that he had a full rank over her, she could be pretty strong when she wanted to be.
"I would if I thought saying it would permanently guarantee you not using them," he deadpanned. "I doubt it would though, right?"
"Kure-mun knows me too well," Izume cooed, squeezing his arm briefly before letting up-- but only slightly. It was still quite a ways to Yuugao's apartment after all, and the kunoichi planned on taking advantage of every moment the sensei planned on staying with her. "Admit it, though," she said after a while, turning wide, innocent eyes towards him. "Deep down-- you like them~ ♥"
For a moment he just stared back down at her, looking as though there were some debate or denial inside of his mind as he considered that proposal. ...And then the moment it was proven to all be just a ruse as he flat-out, no-argument-allowed replied:
"No. I don't."
...One day he'd use this tone on Izume and Kotsuki and it would work. But that day was not tonight it seemed.
Any normal, smarter girl may have given up right then and there. But she wasn't one half of the Dynamic Duo for nothing. After a quiet moment of just starting at him, her blank expression broke out into a wide, sly grin as she lifted a finger and (boldly) poked his cheek. "You he~si~ta~ted~!" she sang-song, and would have emphasized the little victory with a dance, had she not been latched on to him at the time.
But she also knew when to keep within her limits (most of the time, at least), so she sobered up, grin settling into a warm, gentle smile. "Oh well," she said, though she sounded far from defeated, "there's still time to change all that~"
Unlike Izume, Kureno was, for the most part, a normal and smarter person who knew very well when to just give up and ride something out. Which he did so with a patronizing, "Whatever you say, Kamizuki. Apparently, you're the expert not me."
She huffed slightly, but not because of his tone or his sarcasm. "Izume," she insisted, doing well to keep her voice light and casual. She hated being called by her last name. It did nothing but serve as a reminder of what she couldn't live up to.
"Kureno," he simply returned, proving yet again that with patience and an alert mind, anything can come back and bite you in the butt.
"Touche," Izume said with a wry smile. "But my nicknames are ones of affection and yours isn't. So there." In her mind, she won. Besides-- he'd finally 'warmed' up to the nicknames; she was not about to back down now.
Of course all good things came to an end (a fact Izume was finding to be very true lately), as they neared Yuugao's apartment complex. Sighing a little to herself, Izume withdrew her hands from the sensei, lacing them behind her back again as she tried to ignore how big and empty it looked. "Well," she said with a certain tinge of finality, "this is me."
"Hm." Kureno nodded, neck craning back a little to view the building. He honestly wasn't sure which was Yuugao's apartment, never having been there. But for the most part, the windows were appropriately dark for the late/early hour.
"...I take it Yuugao's not back from his mission yet." That Asuka's not back yet...
A flicker of pain flashed across Izume's face before she pushed it back completely, an uneasy, uncertain smile taking its place instead. "Yeah," she said, a little hollowly, "yeah, he-- ... yeah." The fact that two very dear people were late coming from that mission remained unspoken between the two, but in their cases it didn't really have to be said.
Turning towards the sensei, Izume put on the bravest face she could imagine. "They're fine," she said a little quietly, though for whose convenience, she was not too sure. Stepping up on her tip-toes, the woman managed to plant a chaste kiss on Kureno's cheek, before pulling back completely, her smile a little more natural. "Thanks for being human today," she said with her usual joking air, before her face grew more somber, her tone more serious. "For everything." She moved towards the building's steps then, turning back once more once she reached the highest step. "Oh, and do me a favor, Kure-mun? Get out of your office once in a while, kay? The pale and sickly look was so last year~"
He inwardly grimaced at the first sound of her voice. What a thing to bring up for her when she was in this current mood. Yes he'd wanted to know any clues to Asuka's return as soon as possible, but it would have been just as easy to check her apartment after dropping Izume off.
And she was starting to get in such a good mood too...
He turned his head back down to say something to her when he was caught off-guard and she kissed his cheek. Because of its innocence he didn't blush, but Kureno was one of those people who could make a blink amusing in the right context. "...You're welcome. Goodnight, Izume."
Kureno watched her climb up the steps, waiting for her to disappear inside. As she turned around and executed her last tease of the evening, he graced her once more with one of his unamused looks, this one looking a just a little more displeased than the rest from the 'pale and sickly' remark. Vanity strikes again.
"Goodnight, Izume," he droned.
If there was one constant Izume could count on, it was Kureno. She'd probably never get tired of teasing him, now-- he just made it so fun. Blowing a kiss and throwing a wink his way, Izume returned his dry statement with a playful, "Goodnight Kure-pin~" She ducked into the apartment building then, where she could feel her playful mood being sucked out of her. Back to reality, back to that empty apartment.
She sighed. Oh well. She at least had one night of pretend. She'd really have to thank the man again sometime.
Maybe she should steal one of his pens. Yeah-- that sounded good.
For now, she could pretend.'>The only deliberate breaks from his paperwork Kureno took that evening were to refresh his coffee from the breakroom. Coming back from one such trip, he took a deep breath and a moment to realize that it was good to be home again.
...Well, technically he was in his office, but that as at least a second home to him. (If not slightly more of a home than his actual apartment.) It counted.
Setting down his coffee cup down on his desk (complete with coaster), Kureno picked up his pen and glanced to find the place he'd last left off. Ah, that's right. File R3-0189-D1. Only sixty more to go after this.
She never begged. Izume was a kunoichi, a fairly good one at that, and if there was one thing kunoichi never did, it was beg. But she was lonely, and frightened, and more than a little bit pissed with herself for being so stupid, and she didn't really know what else she could do, or where else she could turn to...
Besides.. they'd been fairly close once, hadn't they?
...
Right.
So maybe it was stupid, and embarrassing, and incredibly selfish, but this was a woman at the end of her rope, and if she had to spend one more night alone in that empty apartment she was quite sure she'd lose it.
Just a few minutes.. Hell, they didn't even need to talk. She just needed him to be there, just be there, she'll be quiet, she swears...
Softly, she knocked. And she never knocked.
"Kureno-sensei?" she pushed the door open slightly. "It's me... Izume."
Izume? Kureno looked up from his files with a bit of irritation. "Izume, I already told you--"
He was interrupted mid-sentence at the mere sight of her. She was smiling, but it wasn't like her usual top-of-the-world grins. There was tension at the corners of her mouth giving evidence that it was her willpower and not mood keeping it there, and signs of circles beneath her eyes made her look tired. It was a weak smile, forced and delicate; he'd seen it on many other faces before (...too many people smiled like that...), just never Izume's.
Don't ask. Don't ask. Don't ask... "What's wrong?" Damn.
One day he'd really learn to mind his own business more.
"Nothing," she said automatically, forcing out a laugh as her smile wavered. Pushing past the door she invited herself in and took the only other seat in his office, trying to look at ease and casual in a space that quickly became a little too stuffy.
But he was there, and she wasn't alone, so that was all that mattered.
Continuing with her casual facade, she leaned forward to peek at the various documents he had littering his desk. "Whatcha got there~?"
"...Paperwork," he answered briskly, eyeing her once more before sitting back and looking down at the documents. Another reason to mind his own business was because more often than not, the people you asked wanted you to stay out of it anyway. Izume wanted to keep things to herself like most people did, which was fine by him. It's not like he would suffer for losing time by prying into her life.
"I think I told you I was going to be busy tonight, didn't I...?" There was a slight chiding tone in his voice, but he kept himself polite.
She winced only minutely, but it was undoubtedly caught. Forcing her smile to grow even wider, Izume tried to hold on to the casual facade she came in with, all the while feeling like her chest had just been stepped on. Again and again.
"Yeah, you did," she said, eyes glued to his documents. "But I thought I'd stop by anyway. See how you were doing..." She cleared her throat uneasily. "What.. what kind of paperwork?"
"Filing unknown shinobi records. ...I think I told you that too, if I recall." He gave her a regarding look-over again. "Izume, are you sure nothing's wrong?" Last chance to tell me before you begin to waste my time...
Why was she here anyway? Normally it would be to either bug him or pull some sort of joke, but she honestly didn't look like she was in the mood for either tonight. Tonight she looked more like she needed help with some sort of problem, but didn't she have other friends who helped her with those things? Didn't she have...
"Where's Kotsuki?"
Ahh, and there it was. "Somewhere," was Izume's instinctive response, still hanging on to that playful air she was known for, but then she caught the look on his face, the kind her mother used to give her when she was "wasting her time", and, just like that, the playful air vanished. Smile practically gone now, Izume actually had to lower her head so he wouldn't have to see the pained look flash across her face.
"...I don't know," she said honestly, in a tiny, quiet voice so unlike her usual tones.
Ooookay. Well, at the very least, the source of the problem was beginning to come into focus. It worried Kureno a little however. Just coming back from his mission, he wasn't sure what had been going on in the village for the past week. And a lot can happen in a week.
"Is she hurt?" Seeing Izume this upset over Kotsuki, that was his first natural assumption. It also suddenly brought into his mind Asuka and her mission, and how he felt not knowing where she was. "Did something happen?"
"..Yes," she replied vaguely, ducking away to hide that pained look again. Izume wasn't stupid-- she knew she hurt her friend. And were she any better or stronger of a person, she would have sought Kotsuki out by now to rightfully apologize... But her own wounds were still too fresh, and her pride, that stupid, inbred pride, refused to let her do what she knew was right. "I, um.. We..." She laughed suddenly, an awful-sounding thing, as a hand went up to fidget with the collar of her turtleneck. "We're not really talking right now," she said finally, and somehow hearing the words made it seem that much more concrete.
She'd hurt her friend. Her best friend.
She didn't deserve the comfort she was seeking.
A fight. It was the first instinctive thing his mind told him as he watched her, although immediately after he thought it he found it a little ridiculous to imagine. Kotsuki and Izume fighting? And this was obviously something more than just a little disagreement or spat. It seemed a little impossible to believe, only because in the many years he'd known them such a thing had never happened before. It was irrational to say that nobody could avoid fighting each other forever, but if he'd ever thought anyone could do it, Izume and Kotsuki were at the top of his list.
"A fight?" he asked, even though he meant to state it. A part of him just... had trouble believing it. Even if the look on Kamizuki's face told him it was true.
Izume couldn't help but wince at the word so bluntly used, but she couldn't exactly deny its accuracy either. She found it a little weird herself, she and Kotsuki, the Dynamic Duo, the Paper Dolls.. fighting. She couldn't remember a time when she had been without the other woman before this, and now that she didn't have Kotsuki's constant warmth beside her...
She was so sure she'd already experienced the ultimate kind of 'alone'...
"My fault," she admitted readily, drawing up her knees to place both feet along the edge of her seat. Tucking her chin between the space of her knees, Izume busied herself with trying to worry away the wool of her top. "Said things.. stupid things..." She glanced up then, suddenly aware of what a nuisance she was being. "..Sorry. I know you're working, I know that, I just..." Breathing a little raggedly, Izume struggled to appear stronger than she thought she was.
"Kunoichi do not beg."
"Can I stay, for just a little bit? I'll be quiet, I promise..."
Kureno frowned uncertainly, turning his head to glance around the room and eventually coming back around to the stack of papers on his desk. People tended to come to him for help and advice, and usually came to him here. More often than not it served the purpose well enough, but then the topics weren't usually very dire. Every now and then however he'd get cases like Izume and his office no longer felt... sufficient.
"I don't think this is the best place for this," he finally admitted, and forgot to follow that up with an explanation right away before she reacted.
It was nothing less than she expected. Of course he wouldn't want her there. She was a nuisance, and he was doing his job, he had better things to do than to listen to some pathetic girl's sob stories...
"Right," she said, putting on as brave a face as she could, and stood, albeit a little shakily. "Right, sorry, I.. sorry. I'll just.." She turned then, fully intent on heading out with as much of her dignity intact, but her body apparently had other plans. Just a few steps away from the door she froze, her tiny body seized with a sudden, choking sob. She tried to fight it, but the harder she tried, the more it seemed and all she could do was stand there, sobbing, making a complete fool of herself to a superior, and for what? For fear of returning home to that empty apartment? Hastily her hands flew up to cover her red and blotchy face, so ashamed, so disgusted with herself for being so weak.
"Izume?" Why was she leaving like... Ah damn. He needed to be a lot more specific sometimes and not so... so 'cryptic' as Kiba would call it. She was already breaking down when he stood to call her back.
Kureno was talented in many things that most people would call 'ordinary' and also quite skilled in the 'extraordinary'. But wherever crying women between those two categories, Kureno did not believe himself to be an expert. Unless having them cry was in some sort of plan, he found himself freezing up and just staring at them dumbly while feeling guilty. And boy did he feel guilty right now.
You ass, he scolded himself. She was really upset and you... you just went and... Insensitive ass.
It was times like this when his brain didn't know how to handle a situation that years of training and ingrained manners took over and moved his body automatically.
Walking around to stand in front of her, his hand dug around in his pockets for the handkerchief he always had on him, bringing it out and meaning to bring it up directly to her cheeks but her hands kept them covered. Instead he brushed the cloth against her fingers to get her attention and offer it to her.
"I'm sorry, Izume." His voice wasn't pouring over with emotion, but there was sincerity in its deep tone. "I didn't mean that you should leave. I meant to suggest we go somewhere else. Maybe some fresh air will help you feel better..."
Oh gods-- and show everyone else what a weakling she was? How right her mother had been all along?
"No--!" she hiccoughed, sobbing and gasping horribly while she tried to control herself enough to get out an intelligible sentence. "I'll be-- I'll be-- f-fine, I just--!" No, she would not be, even she knew that, but her stubborn pride refused for her to make an even bigger fool out of herself. She even refused to give in and take Kureno's offered handkerchief, trying very hard to convince herself she can get over this, this was nothing, she was kunoichi, she was...
Oh who was she kidding?
"I'm-- s-sorry!" was the only warning she gave Kureno before tearing her hands away from her face and practically launching herself on the man, thin arms coming to wrap around his torso as she tried desperately to bury her face in his chest. "I'm sorry, I'm s-sorry..!" she just kept saying, over and over again.
"H-hey..." It was a weak protest; more of a startled reaction really. Women didn't just go throwing themselves into his arms every day after all.
...Well okay, so sometimes they did. But this was completely different. Izume wasn't just "women" she was a kunoichi, a co-worker, and someone he had an unspoken respect for. (She and Kotsuki both. Anyone who could handle Aki as well as they did deserved merits.) Seeing her cry like this was genuinely upsetting. ...And really weird.
Awkward, Kureno corrected himself. His nicknamed "Paper Dolls" did have a mischievous streak and loyalty that always remained somewhere just beyond his comprehension, but he never thought anything to be wrong with them. 'Weird' was a term he could reserve for people like Aki or Gaia. Izume and Kotsuki were just... 'lively'.
And when they weren't, that's when it was time to use 'awkward'. Right now--as he tentatively brought his hands up to lightly rest (actually, the more like hovered) on her shoulders--was very awkward.
"What are you apologizing for?"
She wanted to respond, she really did. But every time she opened her mouth the most horrible-sounding gasp would come out, or hiccup, or sob, or something other than words and she hated it, truly, passionately hated it. Clinging to the older man even more, she wanted very much to just disappear, like she'd never been there. It was stupid of her to come, and it was even more stupid of her to react this way. She was a kunoichi, dammit. She was supposed to be stronger than this.
Biting her lip til it bled, Izume could only just wait the sobs out.
It didn't take Kureno long to figure out this was going to be something that just had to happen before it could be taken care of. You couldn't talk yourself out of it, rationalize it away, or simply drop it; you could only let it out until there wasn't anything left of it.
So he waited. His hands came around a little further to her back between the shoulder blades. Rubbing her back felt too intimate, and patting her back seemed like it might be too patronizing, so his hands didn't do anything but sit there, whatever warmth they had seeping through the folds of her jacket. Kureno merely stood there for her, trying not to move or think about the mess the front of his vest may be when she was done. (He secretly and terribly hoped she wasn't wearing mascara.)
And waited.
Eventually, thankfully, the sobs died out. She didn't know how long they'd been standing there, but it felt like forever on her tired, exhausted body. Slumping in his somewhat-hold, Izume punctuated her embarrassing sob with a heavy sigh, softly laying her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said after a while. Her hand moved between them, lightly gripping the front of his vest which did, in fact, feel like she'd just dumped half her body's water content on it. "I don't.. normally do this..." she said in a small voice, trying to save face as much as she could.
She stood there, for just a few more moments, her eyes closed as she tried to savor as much of the human contact as she could... When she pulled away finally, she tried to smile, knowing her face was a mess. "Sorry I bothered your work night," she said softly, hands falling from his vest to her sides. "..Thanks, though," she shrugged lightly, "for letting me.. vent," she finished lamely.
She made to move around him then, silent sigh escaping her lips as she headed towards his door.
Once upon a time, everything would have ended there if not sooner. Kureno would have let her walk away without saying anything more, believing he'd already rendered what services he could that he wouldn't have felt obligated to give in the first place. But luckily, that was then and not now or really ever again. (Despite how sometimes--most times really--Kureno was sure his life would be easier without this. ...Just not as worthwhile.)
"Izume." His voice sounded stark against the silence that had been growing, and he turned in time to stop her from getting all the way out the door. "...You can stay if you want. I don't mind."
...she wanted, she really really wanted. With her back still turned, Izume allowed herself a small smile. "..if you insist," she resorted back to her playful manner, or tried to, at least. She turned, smiling like she hadn't just embarrassed herself in front of him, and reclaimed her seat. "You can go back to work-- I'm fine now, really." She placed her hands on her knees, trying to look very much like a good, obedient girl. "I'll just sit here-- be quiet and everything, chuunin's honor. Just," and she tried not to let her voice waver at this one, "just be here with me."
Kureno raised an eyebrow at her smile for a moment. This might usually be the moment where he felt tricked and stupid for being duped again by one of the Disaster Duo. But there was simply no way on earth all of what transpired a moment ago hadn't been real. (His wet shirt told him so.) And at her last request, he settled easily into his desk chair.
"Just to warn you, I can get really caught up in things when I work. If you do ask me something, don't be offended if I don't answer correctly or even right away." He picked up his pen again. "I made coffee not to long ago, so there's still some in the breakroom if you want."
And without another word or inquiry, Kureno went back to work.
Shaking her head softly, Izume merely contented herself with watching him work. "Thanks..," she replied softly, not caring if he hadn't heard it. He probably had no real idea how much help he was being to her, just being there, allowing her to be there...
For a moment, Izume let herself think that she hadn't just screwed things up royally; that she still had her best friend, that Yuugao was not late coming home, that everything was alright, fine, dandy.
For now, she could pretend.
It was somewhere between the Very Late and Very Early hours of the night when Kureno finally finished his reports, the coffeepot in the breakroom empty. He sat back and stretched his arms high above his head, letting his muscles move out of the one position they'd been locked in for the past several hours. Luckily his body was used to this kind of abuse though and didn't get stiff easily, or at least not for long.
Glancing over at Izume, he found she'd nodded off sometime while she was keeping her promise not to disturb him. While he'd never really forgotten she was there, the thought of her presence had slipped from his mind more than once during the night.
She really can be quiet when she wants to. ...Huh. Who knew?
Coming to stand over her, Kureno cautiously leaned down with his face a foot away from hers--because waking a ninja was risky business. Quietly, but with some reasonable volume to it, he whispered her name.
"Hey. Izume."
She hadn't really meant to doze off, but with the room so quiet, save for the rhythmic scribblings of his pen, it was a bit hard not to. She shifted, when her name was called, her face scrunching up irritably, while a hand idly raised to bat the annoyance away.
"Gnrh.. five more.. minutes.."
It was when batting hand met angular jawline (angular jawline that was most definitely not Kotsuki's) that she stirred, her eyes blinking slowly as she lifted it from its perch atop her knees. "..Kure-kun?" she'd resorted back to that old, teasing nickname in her sleepy state, vision focusing on a set of familiar crimson eyes.
Slowly, the pieces began to fit together for her, and, after a slow, panning look around, Izume realized where she was. Yawning slightly, she stretched cat-like in her seat, before turning back to the owner of the office she'd unwittingly fallen asleep in. "How long have I been out..?"
"A while," he could only guess, not actually aware himself of the moment she drifted off. His eyes involuntarily ticked at the nickname she'd used, still the conditioned reflex reaction after all these years, but he chose not to comment on it lest she grow encouraged to put it back into practice.
"I finished working." On his desk were four, three-inched piles of manila, folders and paper stacks, all neatly marked, paper-clipped, and aligned. "I was going to close up now, so..."
Izume eyed the (far too freakishly neat) stacks of paperwork with something akin to disdain. "..you're some kind of freak, you know that, Kureno-sensei?" she said affectionately, before standing in her seat to stretch out her limbs some more. Man. Sleeping in a seat-- talk about uncomfortable.
"Congrats on getting your work done though," she smiled cheerfully, acting as if the past night's events had never happened. It may have been the cowardly route, but Izume felt it would be easier on both their parts if that night was, frankly, never mentioned at all... She knew the man had never been much for personal moments, and bringing it up.. Well. They just didn't have to.
Though certain manners were still in call for.
"Thanks for letting me stay," she added a little more quietly, smile a little more sincere. "You probably don't want to hear any mushy stuff but.. it really meant a lot to me." She grinned then, looking a little more like her 'normal' self. "I knew you were a softie, deep down~"
Kureno just rolled his eyes at the 'freak' remark. There were a number of labels he had for her and Kotsuki but they were best used for reserve; besides, he knew for a fact she wasn't the only one who had that opinion about him.
It was obvious Izume didn't want to talk about the 'earlier incident' or her reasons behind it, and for now, Kureno was fine with letting that be. He was sure she had closer friends or confidants than him and it probably just came down to the fact that he was convenient. To some that might seem like using a person, but to him it just became logical. He'd long since accepted the fact that ultimately he was at the disposal of the village and its inhabitants--he was just still getting used to the idea of this being true outside of mission situations.
But Izume's gratitude was genuine and humble. Even if he had just been convenient, he'd been honestly needed. And somehow that was good enough.
Her last remark made him scoff however. "Softie?" Kureno repeated distastefully, even as a wry grin pulled at his lips. "Don't be ridiculous. Now get out so I can walk you home, woman."
"Ooh, chivalrous too," she teased lightly, but did as she was told nonetheless. She waited til they were out of the Palace to lace her hands behind her back, eyeing him through the corner of her eyes. "You don't have to walk me home, though," she said, attempting a grin for him. "Ninja right? I think I can handle the journey alone~"
In truth, she appreciated his niceties, even if it was just that. Not very many others would have bothered, quite frankly, and the fact that he was going out of his way just made Izume a little more convinced that not every jounin was a stick-up-the-ass, mechanical, angst-bleeding machine.
Affectionately said, of course~ ♥
He may not have known how high up he was in Izume's 'list of people to turn to', but maybe that was for the best. Wouldn't want the poor man to freak once he realized he was actually important or dear to somebody, after all, gods forbid.
"You can handle it," he nodded without any doubt. "But it's not about handling it, it's about having company on the way there."
It was one of those rarer moments where he didn't say what experience told him was "the right answer", but rather what he instinctively felt, and have it actually come out sounding acceptable and even sweet--in that non-attached, matter-of-fact way of his.
Izume raised a brow in his direction. "Never pegged you to be the kind of guy that cared about having company," she said, even though she knew he was more than likely doing it for her sake. It was a lot easier acting like things were fine, anyway. Like things were how they used to be.
"I suppose it's just one other thing to prove you aren't such a bad guy after all~" she sighed, turning to the path before them with a small, mischievious smile. "Whatever will the others think?" she mused.
"Obviously that I must want to whisk you away to far off lands and shower you daily with gifts and expensive commodities. Oh, along with something of affection too, of course. Standard romance novel scenario." Kureno's was a dry witt.
"...Why Kure-pin," said Izume in mild awe, "is that a sense of humor I hear?" She gave him a heartfelt smile, fluttering her lashes in a show of blinking back the tears. "I always knew you had it in you~"
He gave her a flat stare as punishment for the nickname. As for her gushing he responded, "Careful now, someone else might find out."
"Oh, gods forbid," came her reply, but she was grinning all the same. Once upon a time, she remembered when he would flat out walk away whenever she and Kotsuki tried being so coy and casual with him... Whatever had happened in the meantime... Whoever happened to affect him... Izume felt she owed them a bit of thanks.
Especially considering what she planned on doing next.
"Well!" she chirped. "Might as well do this right, ne?" And with only that bit of warning, she proceeded to loop her arm through his~
Not thinking anything could have made it possible, Kureno's first thought was how glad he was Asuka wasn't back yet. ...Well he still wasn't that glad of it, and even if she had been back the chances of her seeing this were extremely slim, and even if someone who knew him did see them and told Asuka he'd have a perfectly sound explanation, and...
Well. He was somehow just a little relieved nonetheless.
His shoulders remained tensed however as he looked down at the kunoichi with an awkwardly uncomfortable expression on his face--which somehow came off exceptionally adorable on a guy who tended to have an emotional range of Not Amused to Not So Very Not Amused.
"Uh, Izume... do you have to...?" he trailed off.
"Yes," came her blunt, but oh-so-sweetly said, reply. "Yes, I have to."
It really was pretty adorable to see that Kureno could do more than just look irritated or unamused (once, Izume swore she saw him smile-- but he wound up just needing to sneeze. She lost 15 bucks out of it too). In Izume-logic, this could only mean she was doing something right, and that she had to do that something right more often.
She held on to his arm a little more snugly. "I think you'd find it surprising that there are other forms of human contact, Kure-pin. Y'know. Other than killing~"
"I also believe in basic, hand-to-hand senseless violence," he mumbled back, trying to regrip his composure through dry humor. "There's something to be said about just hitting a guy."
Kureno tried to 'accidentally' jostle his arm free as they walked, but Izume had a solid grip on him. He was undeniably trapped which resulted in a defeated sigh. "Could you at least stop calling me by those ridiculous nicknames?"
"Say pretty please," she said sweetly, not letting up on her grip. Putting aside the fact that he had a full rank over her, she could be pretty strong when she wanted to be.
"I would if I thought saying it would permanently guarantee you not using them," he deadpanned. "I doubt it would though, right?"
"Kure-mun knows me too well," Izume cooed, squeezing his arm briefly before letting up-- but only slightly. It was still quite a ways to Yuugao's apartment after all, and the kunoichi planned on taking advantage of every moment the sensei planned on staying with her. "Admit it, though," she said after a while, turning wide, innocent eyes towards him. "Deep down-- you like them~ ♥"
For a moment he just stared back down at her, looking as though there were some debate or denial inside of his mind as he considered that proposal. ...And then the moment it was proven to all be just a ruse as he flat-out, no-argument-allowed replied:
"No. I don't."
...One day he'd use this tone on Izume and Kotsuki and it would work. But that day was not tonight it seemed.
Any normal, smarter girl may have given up right then and there. But she wasn't one half of the Dynamic Duo for nothing. After a quiet moment of just starting at him, her blank expression broke out into a wide, sly grin as she lifted a finger and (boldly) poked his cheek. "You he~si~ta~ted~!" she sang-song, and would have emphasized the little victory with a dance, had she not been latched on to him at the time.
But she also knew when to keep within her limits (most of the time, at least), so she sobered up, grin settling into a warm, gentle smile. "Oh well," she said, though she sounded far from defeated, "there's still time to change all that~"
Unlike Izume, Kureno was, for the most part, a normal and smarter person who knew very well when to just give up and ride something out. Which he did so with a patronizing, "Whatever you say, Kamizuki. Apparently, you're the expert not me."
She huffed slightly, but not because of his tone or his sarcasm. "Izume," she insisted, doing well to keep her voice light and casual. She hated being called by her last name. It did nothing but serve as a reminder of what she couldn't live up to.
"Kureno," he simply returned, proving yet again that with patience and an alert mind, anything can come back and bite you in the butt.
"Touche," Izume said with a wry smile. "But my nicknames are ones of affection and yours isn't. So there." In her mind, she won. Besides-- he'd finally 'warmed' up to the nicknames; she was not about to back down now.
Of course all good things came to an end (a fact Izume was finding to be very true lately), as they neared Yuugao's apartment complex. Sighing a little to herself, Izume withdrew her hands from the sensei, lacing them behind her back again as she tried to ignore how big and empty it looked. "Well," she said with a certain tinge of finality, "this is me."
"Hm." Kureno nodded, neck craning back a little to view the building. He honestly wasn't sure which was Yuugao's apartment, never having been there. But for the most part, the windows were appropriately dark for the late/early hour.
"...I take it Yuugao's not back from his mission yet." That Asuka's not back yet...
A flicker of pain flashed across Izume's face before she pushed it back completely, an uneasy, uncertain smile taking its place instead. "Yeah," she said, a little hollowly, "yeah, he-- ... yeah." The fact that two very dear people were late coming from that mission remained unspoken between the two, but in their cases it didn't really have to be said.
Turning towards the sensei, Izume put on the bravest face she could imagine. "They're fine," she said a little quietly, though for whose convenience, she was not too sure. Stepping up on her tip-toes, the woman managed to plant a chaste kiss on Kureno's cheek, before pulling back completely, her smile a little more natural. "Thanks for being human today," she said with her usual joking air, before her face grew more somber, her tone more serious. "For everything." She moved towards the building's steps then, turning back once more once she reached the highest step. "Oh, and do me a favor, Kure-mun? Get out of your office once in a while, kay? The pale and sickly look was so last year~"
He inwardly grimaced at the first sound of her voice. What a thing to bring up for her when she was in this current mood. Yes he'd wanted to know any clues to Asuka's return as soon as possible, but it would have been just as easy to check her apartment after dropping Izume off.
And she was starting to get in such a good mood too...
He turned his head back down to say something to her when he was caught off-guard and she kissed his cheek. Because of its innocence he didn't blush, but Kureno was one of those people who could make a blink amusing in the right context. "...You're welcome. Goodnight, Izume."
Kureno watched her climb up the steps, waiting for her to disappear inside. As she turned around and executed her last tease of the evening, he graced her once more with one of his unamused looks, this one looking a just a little more displeased than the rest from the 'pale and sickly' remark. Vanity strikes again.
"Goodnight, Izume," he droned.
If there was one constant Izume could count on, it was Kureno. She'd probably never get tired of teasing him, now-- he just made it so fun. Blowing a kiss and throwing a wink his way, Izume returned his dry statement with a playful, "Goodnight Kure-pin~" She ducked into the apartment building then, where she could feel her playful mood being sucked out of her. Back to reality, back to that empty apartment.
She sighed. Oh well. She at least had one night of pretend. She'd really have to thank the man again sometime.
Maybe she should steal one of his pens. Yeah-- that sounded good.