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"Chisato, if I can manage to hit you with something, will you promise to do whatever I say?"
Chisato rolled her eyes. I’ll be dead before that happens. "Yeah, sure." She sat down at the dinner table, after having finally made herself useful for the first time all day by setting it. "I was kinda hoping you'd make karaage," she said, poking at the unadorned chicken breast on her plate. "That's kinda why I bought chicken." She pouted childishly.
Takina waved a dismissive hand. "Fried foods are too fatty," she said. She passed over a dipping cup filled with watery, low-sodium soy sauce, diluted to the color of used motor oil. "Eating stuff like that will clog your arteries and give you heart disease." She picked up her chopsticks, then her hand froze, her forehead dipping slightly. "Oh, uh, sorry."
Chisato chuckled. "Don't worry about it." She picked up a piece of the very boring chicken with her chopsticks, dipped it in her cup, frowned as most of the sauce dripped back into the cup anyway, then placed it in her mouth. Extremely dry and flavorless. "It tastes, uh, very healthy," she said.
"Glad to hear it." Takina looked proud. She began to daintily eat her own meal. Chisato watched, transfixed, as Takina's pink lips parted, then her jaw muscles opened her mouth enough to fit the piece of chicken just under her front teeth. Chisato's extraordinary vision aptitude allowed her to know exactly how someone intends to move based on tiny movements of their muscles and tendons, but it didn't come with an off switch. Thus, she now had a detailed mental roadmap of Takina's body, tendons and muscles stretching out like highways under a landscape of pale skin, blue veins dancing to a rhythm that Chisato could not herself drum.
"Hey Takina, I'm surprised you don't eat like a princess," Chisato said, holding her hand palm up under her chin during her next bite to demonstrate. "Inoue, that sounds like nobility. Are you descended from a samurai family?"
Takina scrunched up her eyebrows in apparent confusion. "I don't even know why you would even ask that," she said, moving her rice around with her chopsticks. "Since I'm an orphan."
"A very pretty orphan," Chisato said, holding up one finger like a lecturing teacher. "Besides, you have long black hair, so you look the part of a princess." She tapped a finger to her chin in thought. "Why don't you get your hair styled as a hime cut? We can make a backstory for the cafe, that you're a member of a royal family that fell on hard times, have you do some tea ceremony stuff. I think customers would dig it."
Tendons pulled taut as Takina clenched her rice bowl tighter, a sign that she was once again growing aggravated with Chisato. "Only if you shave your head and dress like a Buddhist nun," Takina said, then swallowed a bite. Muscles pulled the lump down her slender throat, where it disappeared behind her collarbone. "Then you can look the part while you go about not killing terrorists."
Chisato fingered one of her blonde locks. "Well, maybe not." She took another flavorless bite. "But don't think I didn't notice that you shot to wound when you came to save me. Am I rubbing off on you?"
A pinch of rice grains fell back into the bowl as Takina flinched. "I, well," she said, then turned her head to the side while she repeatedly dunked a piece of chicken in her dipping cup. "We don't have many leads to go on, and you can't interrogate a corpse, so I shot them in non-vital areas." She faced Chisato with her head down, then ate the piece of now-soggy chicken. "So don't get a big head." Her cheeks were ever so slightly red, as capillaries opened to increase the flow of blood to her skin.
"Mmm-hmm," Chisato said. So not an oujo-sama, but a tsundere. Stereotypical, but nice in its own way. She looked down at her own meal, if only to stop herself from staring at Takina even more. I should ask that shithead Fuki if she has any stories about Takinana during their time together. Or, better yet, pictures! The sweetness of her daydream almost made up for the bland food, and soon their bowls were empty. Chisato leaned back in her chair, rubbed her belly, then pointed to the chore board, which was filled with Takina's name. Takina sighed loudly, then stood up and gathered the dishes. With the sound of running water as a backdrop, Chisato began to eat some fruit-filled cookies for dessert. She specifically waited until Takina was in the kitchen before having her dessert so she wouldn't be nagged for eating sugar.
After polishing off one strip of cookies from the tray, Chisato licked her fingers then hid the rest of the cookies under a stack of movies. By now, the kitchen was silent, except for a pleasant squeaking sound as Takina dried the dishes. "I washed everything else in your sink," Takina said, turning to face Chisato as she entered the kitchen. "So where do you put your b-" Reflexively sensing movement, Chisato's gaze homed in on Takina's lips and jaw muscles.
"Bowls?" Chisato said. She hopped up onto the countertop. "The cabinet all the way on the right."
Takina paused, her mouth half open. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, then she closed her mouth and walked over to the cabinet that Chisato had pointed out, opened it, looked back at Chisato with a frown, then placed the bowls with their companions. With her mouth drawn into a tight line, Takina turned towards the wall and said, "Then where do you keep your-"
"Takina, you shouldn't turn away from someone when you're speaking to them," Chisato said, swinging her legs in the air. "It's rude. Is that how you were taught to behave at DA?"
Takina grunted, but turned to face Chisato, her hair sweeping across her shoulders. "Your sil-"
"Silverware goes in the drawer by your waist."
Taking the silverware out of the drying rack with a clenched fist, Takina sorted the assorted cutlery into their proper places. Chisato had the habit of just taking whatever she needed at the time out of the sink and cleaning it for her own use, so this level of organization was sorely needed. Takina put her hands on her hips and looked Chisato straight in the eyes. "How about your ca-"
"Cups?"
"Cartons of milk."
"Ah." Damn.
Takina crossed her arms. "So what, you're reading my lips now? Are you really that bored?"
Chisato laughed nervously. "Ah, well, not just your lips, but your facial muscles, too, and seeing if the tip of your tongue touched the back of your teeth or not to see what you're about to say. You know that thing that lets me dodge bullets by watching muscle movements? Well, I can't really turn it off, so even if you're doing something like talking, I'm turned on. It's turned on. You have very nice salivary glands." What the fuck am I saying?
"Uh-huh." Takina looked bewildered. She picked up a towel that was hanging near the sink. "Go sit on the couch. I want to try something."
Cocking a questioning eyebrow, Chisato hopped off the countertop and did as she was told, for once, and began to walk into the living room. She glanced backwards at Takina, who seemed to be rather preoccupied in testing the tensile strength of the towel, then sat down on the couch. As the couch faced the television and away from the kitchen, she could only guess at what Takina planned to do. Takina's ghostly reflection appeared in the darkened television screen, then Chisato's vision went black as a soft piece of fabric covered her eyes. A gentle pressure on the back of her head was probably a knot tied by Takina. "Um, Takina? Is this some kind of fetish play?" Chisato said. "I'm not exactly opposed to it, but you should communicate things with your partner first." Feeling uncharacteristically nervous, she clutched at the hem of her skirt. Takina gave no reply, but Chisato could hear the soft padding of feet against the carpet. Chisato licked at her dry lips, wondering what exactly Takina was up to. Something soft and rubbery smacked into the tip of Chisato's nose, causing her to flinch.
"Yes!" Takina sounded overjoyed. "I hit you! Now you have to do what I say!"
Chisato sighed through her nose. "Cheating, really? You are so mature, Takina." Whatever hit her rolled onto her thigh. Chisato fingered it, squeezing the small loop curiously. Feels like a hair tie. She wrapped it around her wrist.
"You cheated at janken first," Takina said. "This just makes us even."
Mizuki must've squealed on me, Chisato thought. Probably to get revenge from the time I kept winning at strip janken. Oh, I think I still have her bra around here somewhere. "Fine, fine. So what, you want me to do some chores?"
Silent once again, Takina crossed the room, until she was close enough that Chisato could hear her breathing. Gently, Chisato felt her shirt being lifted up, exposing her belly to the air. Slowly at first, then with increasing intensity, fingers began to dance across her stomach and ribs, causing peals of laughter to erupt from Chisato's mouth. Takina's assault was unrelenting, and Chisato could barely breathe between gulping laughs. She rolled over onto her back, feeling Takina's weight pressing against her. "I'm sorry for cheating!" Chisato said, taking in gasping breaths. "Please let me go!"
Takina ceased her tickles, but left her warm hands on Chisato's belly. "You acted like this was the first time you've ever been tickled."
Chisato nodded, causing the blindfold to shift around. "Yeah, it was, actually. Whenever one of the girls tried it in the locker room, I could see what she was doing and my muscles would tense up. I was told once that I felt as stiff as a statue." Taking a deep breath, she said, "So you better take responsibility for taking my first time." She went to take off her blindfold, but Takina gently held her wrists above her head. The pressure from Takina's body slowly increased as she laid herself down on Chisato. A feather-soft touch landed on Chisato's parted lips. She breathed in deeply, the lavender scent of Takina's hair tickling her nose. It was quite a familiar note, since it came from Chisato's own shampoo. They kissed softly, Takina's lips warm and sweeter than cookies.
When their lips parted, Takina said, "You can't cheat on me. That's what I want you to promise." She lifted up Chisato's blindfold, her face as red as a sunset.
"I'd rather die than cheat on you," Chisato said, smiling bashfully. "But you'll have to keep your eyes on me, in case I ever need saving again."
"And here I thought I was the stray cat," Takina said. "But it's a promise." They locked pinky fingers, swearing to have each other's backs.