°Acrimonious°
- angry and bitter
- caustic, biting, or rancorous especially in feeling, language, or manner
"Kusuo, I may or may not need some help." Just as the (h/c)-haired girl had stated so, the poorly put up tent from behind her feminine form had completely toppled down limply on the ground with a soft crash on the grassy field of their camping area. "Remind me again, do tents need to stand in an upright position?"
Seeing the disaster (Y/N) considered as "putting up a tent", the pink-haired psychic pinched the bridge of his nose at the occurring headache.
Of course, what else would he expect from a camping trip with his goofy dunce.
"Take a guess?"
"No...?" was her reply in an unsure tone.
"Take another guess."
Letting a lopsided smile settle on her face in response, (Y/N) laughed sheepishly, hoping that her feign of innocence could spare her from Kusuo's scolding or any possible punishment.
"Go and grab my things from the bus. I'll take care of your stupid tent." The young psychic lets out a soft sigh as he stepped closer to the medium-sized tent. Who in their right mind even made his idiot put up something as complicated as a tent?
Obviously, the single-minded PK student couldn't handle any instruction with more than three steps. Knowing well of how dim-witted the girl tends to be, Kusuo finds no good to even tell her off from failing such a simple task.
Well, in any case, he wouldn't have much trouble with putting up the tent for her. He could easily build the tent with a snap of his fingers with the help of his supernatural psychic abilities.
"Aye aye, Captain Fredric!" came out her response filled with enthusiasm, accompanied with a brisk salute.
Before she could run out of sight, Kusuo decides to question who was sharing a tent with her. After all, as the teachers had instructed, students were to pair up to avoid having to consume too much space just because of the massive amount of tents.
A curious sparkle flashed through her (e/c) orbs for a short moment at the inquiry before replying in a bleak tone, seeming to be unaware of how her answer had set off the strawberry-haired teen before her.
"Oh, I'm sharing with Aren."
Should I set this tent on fire instead?
~~~~~
As the (h/c)-haired female entered the bus provided for Kusuo's class, humming a random tune softly, she calls out the attention of a classmate of the aforementioned psychic, hoping to locate the whereabouts of Kusuo's luggage. Well, unlike the pink-haired teen, she wasn’t born with unrealistic psychic abilities.
Roaming her (e/c) hues around the area, she spots a fellow female PK student making her way towards the exit. Before the other young lady goes out of sight, the (h/c)-haired girl calls for her attention, beckoning for the female teen. Approaching the former with soft steps, the unnamed girl sends a warm smile, asking how she would be of assistance.
What is she, a waitress in a maid cafe?
"Hey, do you know where Kusuo's bags are? The bossy twat sent me to fetch them." (Y/N) claimed unabashedly, staring at the silky-haired female who seemed to have tensed up at her straightforward statement, the corners of her smiling lips twitching.
"Saiki-kun's?" Teruhashi stared with a mix of curiosity and disbelief at the tousled-haired girl standing in front of her with (e/c) pools. Surely, the azure-haired female had recognized her subtly, recalling her from one of the group outings she had joined in with her precious Saiki-kun. "Er... I believe it's on his seat."
As much as she wanted to grab hold of her shoulders and spew an endless flow of prods at the question of who she is to the pink-haired psychic, her reputation prevented her from doing so. Recalling from the back of her mind that the (h/c) head in front of her seemed to be quite close with the male she had rather grown a crush on, an unsettling sensation started to bubble up at the pits of her stomach.
"Uh... I don't think I have the time and motivation to play ‘guess which among these fifty seats is where Saiki Kusuo's butt was at’." (Y/N) replied bluntly, gesturing towards the barely occupied seats of the bus, as majority of the students had excitedly left the vehicle to begin the fun of their two-day camping trip. "I could let you play it for me, but I believe it would be easier for the both of us to just direct me to his seat. Besides, Fredric would roast my ass black if I take any longer."
‘Fredric…?’ Teruhashi questions inwardly, quite confused. ‘Could it possibly be a nickname?’
"Oh, sure." Masking the drop of envy and venom within her, the so-called perfect girl leads (Y/N) towards Kusuo's empty seat, sans the duffel bag on the cushion bus seat.
Muttering a small word of thanks, the (Y/N) proceeds to head out of the bus, slinging Kusuo's lightly packed luggage over her shoulders. For Teruhashi was unable to keep her giddiness, her hand had instinctively grabbed the (h/c) head's shoulders. Pausing her tracks with an inquisitive raise of an eyebrow, the latter hums in question. "Is there something wrong?"
"Er..." Teruhashi twiddled with her thumbs bashfully, her actions in the questioning borderline if it was an innocent front or a genuine feeling of coyness. "You seem pretty close with Saiki-kun." She mumbles out quietly with a small sheepish giggle.
"Uh... Could you just get straight to the point? I'm in a bit of a hurry -- Kusuo will skewer me if I take too long." (Y/N) pointed out as a twinge of red settled on Teruhashi's pale cheeks.
"Are you and Saiki-kun–"
"Hey, doofus. What's taking you so long?" Recognizing the ever-so cynical tone of the one and only Saiki Kusuo, Teruhashi's visage exploded to a bright shade if crimson, helplessly praying to God that her crush hadn't heard what she had just mentioned.
"Huh?" (Y/N) mumbled dumbly, tilting her head slightly to the side. "Oh, my dude here wanted to ask me something." She declares with a huge beam decorating her cheeks.
"Is that so, Teruhashi-san? Could you please enlighten us, then?" The said spindrift haired female stares at the psychic's pale face with a flustered face, azure eyes trailing towards the pink-haired male's fingers which had brushed against (Y/N)'s before grabbing hold of her wrist.
"Uh... I was just gonna ask her if she thinks that bush over there is quite good-looking..." Inwardly panicking, Teruhashi pointed towards the shriveled bush visible from the transportation’s window. Discomfited, she gushes out and took a dash out of the bus while exclaiming "If you'll excuse me!"
"Hm. That is one handsome bush over there – a lot more handsome than you, Kusuo." The said male rolls his eyes while (Y/N) lets out a string of laughter escape her lips in an amused manner. Ceasing her laughter as she followed Kusuo out of the bus, she questions "Are you finished with the tent?"
"Unfortunately." Unable to seal the jealousy he felt upon learning she was sharing the tent with Aren, his reply came out as livid, bitter. In the first place, shouldn't co-ed pairings be banned as they were a bunch of hormonal teenagers? The teachers better do some strict checking later on.
"By the way," (Y/N) lets out a hum in response as her (e/c) irises would dance at the refreshing sight of the forest, eyes observing the surroundings keenly as her mind drifted elsewhere. Ah, it was quite a noticeable mannerism of hers – spacing out. "I believe we have something important to discuss."
Kusuo lifts a bag he had pulled out from inside the now properly constructed tent. As his female companion shifts her gaze towards the oddly squirming bag, she pales in response, giving off a crooked smile. It was plain as day that she knew that he knew she knew what he was implying at the moment. "Can you perhaps explain why your bag is moving?"
"Uh... Global warming?"
"Define global warming." Kusuo scoffs, unzipping the bag as he released its content. "Does it perhaps relate to a rooster?"
The chocolate brown rooster clucks loudly as it flapped its wings to settle on his owner's shoulder. On the other hand, the (h/c)-haired female can only let cold sweat drip from her forehead as she made a run for it in the shrubs.
~~~~~
Kusuo had never found anything a lot more cliché than a stupid test of courage. They were already in high school, and he found it quite disappointing that the author decides to use such an overused trope found in almost every story focused on a school setting. Well, he isn’t the one spending hours to think, write, proofread, and edit a goddamn chapter so he should just fu—
Quite unamused, the pink-haired boy shines his flashlight at the loamy ground decorated with rocks and bits of grass. His partner walks with almost the same enthusiasm behind him – which is honestly little to none – only following suit, as the dark forest was filled with screams of terror. Perhaps he was quite fortunate to have a random classmate as his partner, not someone as tiring as the people from his circle of friends. It had meant they wouldn’t care much for each other as they were basically strangers.
Halfway through the little game the school staff had prepared, Kusuo finds himself squinting as a ray of light had hit his pale face. Clicking his tongue from the annoyance of the action, he tells the perpetrator off. "Lower your flashlight. It's hurting my eyes."
"As salty as always, Fredric." Hearing the familiar nickname along with the tone he had grown quite accustomed to, Kusuo didn't need to see her face to know it was a certain (L/N)'s doing. Lowering her battery-powered light, the strawberry-haired psychic catches sight of her features kissed by the gentle moonlight. "I see you have been ditched by tour partner as well."
The pink-haired boy honestly never knew until the (h/c) head had pointed out the fact. Oh, so that's why he didn't hear his classmate’s mental complaints for being paired with him. It makes him wonder when and where his classmate had went off. It wasn't like he minded anyways. In fact, he felt the need to thank her later on.
"Well, unless your partner is using the Invisibility Cloak, I guess we're on the same boat." (Y/N) stated casually, before stepping by his side, a wide beam settling on her features. "If you wouldn't mind, let's continue this stupid thing together, shall we?"
"I do mind." Kusuo rolls his eyes, but couldn't fight back the small smile settling on his pale face. From his gesture, it was clear the psychic meant otherwise. "But, I would feel quite sorry for you if end up getting lost any further."
"Who said I was lost?!" Flabbergasted, (Y/N) lets out a loud protest, the truth evident from her reply. Knowing she cannot actually hide anything from Kusuo, the girl decided to laugh it off. "My face did; I know."
A couple of twists and turns amidst the dark forest, it didn't take him long to realize that the both of them had accidentally strayed off the heart of the forest. It takes no idiot to figure out they are currently lost. At first it was just (Y/N), now it was both of them.
"We're lost, aren't we?" (Y/N) claimed, whirling her head around to scan the area. Judging from the void of the other students' high pitched screams from the Test of Courage, the activity was either done or they had wandered off too far or both. Groaning, the (h/c)-haired girl slumped her shoulders languidly. "Oh, come on. There was gonna be a camp fire. And, I was hoping to roast some marshmallows."
Kusuo merely rolls his eyes from his companion's childish whine. Her dilemma is nothing compared to his. He was stuck in the middle of the forest with a bunch of creeping bugs crawling everywhere.
"We can set our own fire here, stupid." The pink-haired boy pointed out placidly with a scoff. "Since it's clear that I am the only one old enough to handle a fire, you're the one collecting firewood."
"Oh contraire, we're the same age, Kusuo." The (h/c)-haired girl retorts smartly with a tut, a smug grin plastered along her face.
"Forgive me for not specifying, then – I meant mentally."
Opening her mouth to run another protest, (Y/N) pursed it close just as soon as she opened it, deciding against fighting back with a remark as she knows she cannot win a battle of wits with the pink-haired boy.
"If you'll excuse me, I have to collect some dead twigs." Came her claim as she had trodden out of Kusuo's sight.
And just as soon as her departure, the young psychic effortlessly uses his abilities to gather a good amount of dead branches in the premises before setting it a flame in a matter of seconds with his pyrokinesis.
Coming back with an adequate amount of branches, (Y/N) scowls at the sight of the fire, a mix of displeasure and relief settling within her. She was quite disgruntled at the fact that her efforts were proved futile for Kusuo had already done setting up the fire. Conversely, the sight of the flame meant that the both of them wouldn't freeze to death.
"Hey! What did I just collect these stupid sticks for?!" She complained loudly, forcefully throwing the pieces of twigs towards Kusuo – to which the strawberry-haired psychic flawlessly dodges. Sending a kick towards his shin, she laughs as Kusuo looks down at her with a frown. The (h/c)-head laughs in response, satisfied with her small revenge.
~~~~~
Amidst the serene night, surrounded by abundant nature, the crickets would chirp as the twinkling night lights lights up the dark sky along with the moon. Upon ceasing her constant blibbering, which had honestly liven up the night for both teenagers, (Y/N)'s snores echoed through the area.
Kusuo's magenta eyes observed her sleeping features, noticing the wet drool dripping down the side of her lips. Sighing, he then tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, proceeding to comb his pale digits along her tousled (h/c) tresses. Gently, he pulls her upper body to lie down comfortably on his lap. His tender actions didn't cease until he had draped his jacket over her small frame.
Still toying with her hair, he lets a fond smile ghost his lips.
As much as he wouldn't admit it openly, Kusuo was at fault for leading (Y/N) at the heart of the forest. Of course, he would have located the exit from the woods with ease, given his psychic powers. However, spending a night with the (h/c)-haired girl in the middle of the forest – though crawling with bugs he detested with a burning passion – was a lot better than having his idiot spend the night with another person of the opposite gender that wasn't pink-haired and owned the name Saiki Kusuo alias Fredric Roger III.
Odd, he never expected to be this possessive.
(Y/N) woke up with a soft moan, squinting her eyes open as the sun rays met her face. Half-asleep, she notices Kusuo’s peacefully sleeping pale visage leaning against a trunk, her upper body resting by his lap, quite close to his knees.
As a certain realization had hit her, she had shot up completely awaken. The pink-haired teen groans as her head had hit the male’s chin in the process, waking him from his slumber. Too focused with another of her current predicaments, the (h/c)-haired girl spares almost no consideration, shouting frantically.
“I forgot about Fredric!”
What a sweet wakeup call, (Y/N). You better work on it once we get to sleep in the same bed everyday.