CLOUDLESS | KHRXAC

CHAPTER 21: fukujima resorts and poisonous cocktails

"Oh? You seem pretty laidback, considering the students' situation, Yucca."

The fake blond hummed in acknowledgment, his purple eyes cracking open from behind the concealment of his sunglasses to flick and look at the woman. His gaze swiftly grazed her figure, not lasting any longer than it needed to before he closed his eyes again.

Koro felt bile rise from his stomach, a common reaction whenever he'd face any well-endowed woman. With experience, he stopped the vile liquid from even reaching his throat, forcefully pushing it back in the depth of his stomach as he brought his cocktail closer to rinse the phantom taste that lingered behind.

Beside him, Irina made herself comfortable on the nearest deckchair. A white, immaculate one-piece swimsuit perfectly hugged her generous figure. Her front has entirely covered, the white fabric snugly fitting her and going upwards to hug her neck in a chocker-like grip. It was, at first sight, a rather conservative piece. If you did not look at her from behind, that was. A provocative low cut unveiled her delicate back for all to see, the thin fabric merely covering her ass and allowing the slit of it to peek out.

The English teacher placed herself atop the deckchair, fingers expertly going to her pair of expensive Channel sunglasses to readjust them before she laid down, a comfortable moan sounding from her delicate lips as she basked into the sun's blessed warmth.

"You do not seem too concerned either, Irina," the assassin returned as he set his drink on the small table in between their two deckchairs.

Irina barked a laugh, a broad grin covering her taupe-colored lips. "Who'd go hiking when there's a perfect beach right in front of them?" she rhetorically asked, amusement veiling the lazy tone of her voice.

Koro could only hum in agreement.

He also did not think that Irina had brought any clothing fit for anything but sunbathing and honey-trapping missions. But he wouldn't call the Honey-Pot out like that. It would be rude and plain insulting, considering the exigence her tasks instilled in her lifestyle. An assassin's technique dictated their way of life, the requirement seeping into their tastes and habits until the mask of a hitman blended with their human skin to become one indissociable being.

Peaceful silence settled between both teachers, the intermittent sound of tides falling against the sandy shore filling up the space. Both apparent foreigners comfortably basked in the comfort of a not deadly place. And if not for the terrifying body count looming in the obscurity of their shadow, they might have been a regular duo of friends or couple on a vacation.

The two (not) lovers, in the eyes of unsuspecting tourists, spent the remainder of their afternoon in each other's silent company, useless thinking coming and going like waves against the shore. They relaxed into their respective deckchairs, cold drinks in their hands, and no student to look after.

::

So that was what he forgot.

Guilt washed over Koro as he observed his students fall like flies under insect-repellent for the second time. Although his afternoon and early evening by the beach in Irina's company had been enjoyable and a pleasant breath of fresh air away from responsibilities, at some point, the memory of Smog's attempt had slipped out of the Varia Guardian's mind.

oopsie~

Koro's eyes swept his sweaty and burning students, pained groans and constricted exhales slipping past their lips. The sight was alarming, yet Koro did not find it in himself to panic.

Maybe because he already knew that the drug used was nothing lethal— or perhaps because of the Sun pills in his possession? Koro did not stop to ponder that maybe he was just too desensitized to all of this, so used to it that his brain filtered and vomited the information back as something unimportant and not alarming.