Starting in class B: Ayanokouji the actor.

Arc 1.5: smokey|steamy

"So, this is your first time smoking, right?" Asked Chabashira.

"Second, actually. I found one on the way to school when I first came here," I said, referencing the cigarettes I had stolen from those lowlifes.

"Well, I must say, you handle yourself well for someone who isn't used to nicotine, especially since you're only 15."

Chabashira had invited me to smoke in her apartment. I gladly took up the offer.

Nicotine allowed me to...let go of the anger that had built up within me over the past decade. I felt relaxed and...free, I suppose. Unburdened by the problems I faced and will continue to face.

"What about you, Chabashira-sensei. When did you start?" I asked.

"When we're outside of lesson, please just call me Sae," she said.

"I see. So, when did you start smoking, Sae?" I asked.

"Let's see...it must have been about 3 years before I came to this school," she said, taking another drag.

"You went here?" I asked.

"Yep. Class of 03. So did Chie and Tomonari—class D and A's homeroom teachers. So did that grouch Sakagami, but he was in his third year when I joined," she explained.

"Why did you start so young?"

"Well...I was raised up north, in Asahikawa, you know it?" She asked.

I nodded.

"Well then, you might know what a dump it is. Isn't much else to do their except drink and smoke. At least, that's what my father taught me," she continued.

"Was your father a drunk?" I asked.

"That's one way of putting it. He'd come home, a can of beer in one hand, a cigarette in the other. Every night, without fail."

"Must've been rough."

"Eh, it wasn't so bad. Besides, he'd always lose his fuel under the bed or behind the sofa somewhere. When I was 12, I decided to try some. From there, my wonderful addiction only grew. What about you, why did you start?" She asked.

"To ease the pain, I guess. I've been through...a lot," I said, exhaling smoke as I did so.

"What exactly...happened to you, Ayanokouji-kun?" Sae asked.

"I'd rather not get into it right now. All you need to know is that it was painful. Extremely painful," I said, inhaling some more nicotine.

Sae looked down at her feet.

"Would you like to...ease the pain a bit more?" She asked, standing up.

"What do you mean?"

She walked over to her cupboard and took out 2 glass's and a bottle of spirits.

"By drinking. You haven't got class tomorrow, so you should be fine," she said, pouring the deep gold liquid into the two glasses.

"Why are you offering me a drink? That's illegal, you know," I warned.

"I've already broken a few laws by telling you stuff that I shouldn't have earlier in the year, and some even longer ago," she said, bringing the glass's over to the sofa, placing one in my hand, and sitting beside me.

"To drowning away the pain," she said, raising her glass.

"To drowning the pain," I said, touching my glass against hers.

Clink!

The noise rang around the room, and we both necked our respective glass.

My throat burned with the sensation of the liquid traveling down to my body.

"How is it?" She asked.

"I've never tried alcohol before. It's...good," I said.

"Well. If you ever want any more, feel free to drop by some time. In the meantime, you should get back to your dorm. I've got to go to sleep now," she said, standing up.

"Very well. Good night, Sae-chan," I said, also standing.

"Good night, Kiyotaka-kun," she said.

She came up to me, put her hands on her head, and stood on her tiptoes, until we were eye to eye.

"What are you..."

"Shhh," she said, putting a finger to my lips.

She removed her finger, and put her lips to where it had been just a few moments ago.

I could feel her mouth opening, and I opened mine too. Soon, her tongue found its way into my mouth, and I returned the gesture in kind.

This continued for a good 10 seconds, until she pushed herself away from me, a single strand of saliva joining us together.

"That's for...making life so interesting. Thank you, Kiyotaka," she said, smiling.

"I...don't know what to say," I said.

"Then don't say anything. When you get to my age, this kind of thing is common between two friends who've been drinking," she said, ushering me out the door.

The door closed behind me, and I just stood there for a moment.

I had just had my first kiss. And I kind of liked it.

When I got back to my dorm, Kikyou was already here.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I dunno. I saw you go out earlier, so I thought I'd surprise you, I guess," she said.

"Surprise me with what?" I asked.

"Well, we've been getting on really well lately, so I thought we could share a bed again," she said, smiling.

"Fine. Take a shower first, though," I said.

"Okey dokey!" She said, putting on her cheery persona and saluting. As she walked past me, she stopped.

"*sniff sniff*...have you been drinking?" She asked.

"Only one glass. I managed to get some from my homeroom teacher in exchange for helping her out with some personal issues." It technically wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the entire truth.

"Hm. Oki. I'll be in the shower if you need me," she said, walking over to the shower and taking off her jumper, then closing the door behind her.

I didn't hear the click of the bathroom door locking, though.

I then heard the bath taps running, not the shower head. It wasn't that strange, but she did say she was going for a shower, not a bath.

After about a minute, I decided to make some tea for after her bath.

"Kiyotaka...I can't find a towel. Could you get one for me?" She asked.

That's strange. I could've sworn my towel was still in the bathroom. I looked over to the bed to sea the towel on the bed, in a rather messy fashion.

I always folded my towel. Had she...thrown it out of the bathroom before I got here.

I picked up the towel and tentatively walked over to the bathroom door, and knocked.

"Are you decent, Kikyou?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied.

I opened the door, to see the bath full with bubbles, and Kushida was laying in the tub, smiling gently. Her hair was tied back so that not a single strand was touching the water.

"Close the door," she said.

If it wasn't for the bubbles, I would have seen a lot more than I did. As it was now though, only her head and legs were visible.

I closed the bathroom door.

🍋

1144 words
Now, I know what you're thinking: 'write the lemon'.
Well, no. For 2 reasons:
1: I don't want to rn
2: I want to keep this fic family friendly (ish). Softcore only I'm afraid.
Not much else to say really
Hope you're all doing well and I hope you enjoyed