Chapter Text
Sara stormed through their headquarters with her brows deeply furrowed. There’s an unmistakable frown in her, otherwise passive, face. Everyone seemed surprised, it’s been the rarest of times where they could read her emotions upfront; not some usual undercurrent that’s brewing beneath the layers of her skin, that shows itself in bursts of controlled power as she strikes the source of her frustrations down.
She’s a woman of action, not words, after all.
Kaeya was about to point out the peculiar caramel dye of her usually perfectly white tucked button-down, but Lisa was quicker to clamp his mouth with a steel clothespin, much to the former’s ire.
“Does anyone of you know Sangonomiya Kokomi?” Sara asks as she takes her deep blue jacket off, and her fingers unbuttoning her stained shirt, revealing her taut undershirt that emphasizes the sinews of her muscles.
“Do you know Sangonomiya Kokomi?” Kaeya returns the question, and the frown pits deeper on her lips, Lisa could swear that Sara was snarling.
“Unfortunately.” She folds her shirt and hangs it on her forearm, as she makes her way on Beidou’s drawer of spare clothing. It isn’t as fitted as Sara prefers, but she concedes. She’d rather wear loose clothing than to walk around with her coffee-stained shirt when she needs to attend a class in an hour or so. “I need to deal with that woman, so spare with the charade, Kaeya. We have some scores to settle.” she places her neatly folded clothing on their laundry basket.
Before Kaeya can respond with his usual nonsensical quips, Lisa took the pleasure of breaking information to Sara. It seemed that the woman would burst in anger any minute from now on. “She’s sharing a class with Raiden which would start 30 minutes from now. Beyond that, I’m pretty sure they have some degree of acquaintance considering that the Sangonomiyas’ wealth could be traced as far as Raiden’s family have.” Sara grinds her teeth.
“I honestly couldn’t care more. Some random woman started screaming that I took her wallet or some shit, as if I need to do that! Now, this Sangonomiya came in thinking she’s some fucking hero, and threw iced coffee on me. Fucking hell.” Sara breathed in annoyance. “The accusations, I can bear. But the fucking attention, I’m convinced there were people who took a video of that shit. You know how much I hate it.” She brushes her fingers across her indigo hair and takes a key off the rack and spins it on her finger.
As she arrives on their carpark, Sara presses the fob and makes her way to the vehicle that lights up. Much to her luck, she got the key for the motorcycle. She doesn’t bother to wear a helmet. As soon as she got situated on the vehicle, it roared to life and waded through the busy Inazuman streets like water flowing through the crevices of a rock. She’s convinced that she broke multiple traffic rules, but she couldn’t pretend to care about it. What’s important is to settle her score with Sangonomiya – in whatever form, that woman will pay for her travesty. She skids her motorcycle a few steps away from the school’s entrance, inconveniencing everyone who were just trying to get on their classes on time. Some tried to speak up against the tall, imposing, brooding figure, but as Sara’s gaze lingers on theirs, even for a second, all words were gone to oblivion. Everyone knew better than to fuck against Kujou Sara. They have no choice but to relent with the minor blockade that the dark Ducati employs.
Sara grits her teeth as she brisks to Raiden’s lecture hall. Sangonomiya would never know the implosion that will be brought upon her. She strode through the marbled floors, pushing against any body who went against her forceful strides. Sara slowed down a little bit when Beidou greeted her, the latter had a piece of paper in her hand, the blaring red bled through its back. Sara could faintly outline the numbers, 69/100 – it must’ve been Beidou’s preliminary exam.
“Hey, Sara. Fancy seeing you here.” Beidou grins as she folds the paper in its quarter and shucked it to her pocket. It’s crumpled to the edges, but Beidou didn’t mind. “You don’t have classes in this building, though, and you never bothered to visit us ever. Why are you here?” Beidou’s brows furrows and she swings an arm around Sara’s broad shoulders.
“Sangonomiya.” Sara almost growls as she spits Kokomi’s name. Beidou was surprised to see how anger overflows in each letter that Sara speaks. It’s unusual to find this woman in this kind of predicament, she always maintained her cool, no matter how frustrating the situation for everyone. Beidou’s usually the ill-tempered one. She welcomes change with a more than opened arms, but she’s hesitant whether that enthusiasm can be given in this uncharted water.
“I happen to share a class with her. What happened?” Sara shakes Beidou’s arm away from her as she made a dash to Kokomi’s classroom. Beidou felt the tension, and her much presence would be more than needed in any minute now. She sprinted to match Sara’s pace, but it was no use, only Xiao can outrun Sara. Beidou’s quite late, when she arrived their room, Sara was in front of Kokomi. Her eyes dark with frustration and anger, her jaw tenses – but Beidou found it amazing that Kokomi was more than able to hold Sara’s gaze with equal rigidity.
“You don’t have the right to do that to me.” Sara’s voice was gravelly deep. Kokomi scoffs and rolls her eyes.
“Right, I should’ve done more. You stole from a hapless woman; I should’ve done this!” Kokomi raises her palm, but Sara was quicker to catch her hand. Kokomi visibly pales at Sara’s sheer grip strength. Sara draws her face deadly near, their nose almost touching. Kokomi gulps as Sara’s golden eyes glints under the light and she could faintly see her outline painted on her irises.
“I didn’t steal from anyone.” She growls and throws Kokomi’s hand away, Kokomi massages her reddened wrists, “You need to apologize to me and work on getting rid of every fucking video of me on the internet because of that fucking incident.” Sara’s voice was deadly serious, even the professor didn’t have the guts to enter the room as they saw the confrontation between Sangonomiya and Kujou.
But the echoing strides of a familiar figure broke their tension for a moment. Sara takes her gaze away from Kokomi, only to see Ei coming inside. “I presume we have some sort of misunderstanding here, Sangonomiya-san and Sara.” Ei gives off a professional smile to Kokomi and Sara. “I could vouch for Sara’s integrity, she would not do anything, much more steal, from a defenseless individual who needs the mora more than her. After all, she’s my trusted confidant, and she is Kujou Sara, from the Kujou clan. Should I be proven otherwise, I’d be joining her in her sanctions.” Kokomi was taken aback by Raiden’s intervention. She knew the woman for most of her life, through network of acquaintance, she usually left matters to be settled on its own.
“Ei, you don’t have to do this.” Sara mutters, “I am settling this with my own hands, this is my mess.” Ei was surprised, Sara finally bit back to her words. But Ei gave her a stern gaze, an uncontestable one, asking her to trust her judgment – to surrender to her plans.
Kokomi crosses her arms and refuses to meet the gazes of the duo. She angrily marched to her seat and rested her head on her splayed arms. Sara was about to storm to Kokomi’s direction, but Ei pulls her by the collar. “We need to talk outside.” Ei murmured, asserting her authority over Sara. Sara begrudgingly steps outside of the classroom, only to see Beidou leaning against the beige walls with a smirk.
“You seriously don’t know Sangonomiya?”
“I have an idea, Lisa told me a few things about her. But I frankly do not care, Beidou. She shamed me in front of a crowd.” Beidou was about to respond, but Ei was already outside, her arms crossed as she approached the two.
“Sara, I do not prefer to personally involve myself in this matter, but this is me telling you to have some sense of self-preservation – as your friend and leader. There is no benefit in making an enemy out of a Sangonomiya.” Ei’s gaze tore through Sara’s resolve. If Ei, in her family’s tremendous influence and power couldn’t touch a strand of Kokomi’s hair – then Sara, and the Kujou clan, couldn’t do anything without being crushed by Sangonomiya’s sheer force in number and strength.
“Fine. Just have the videos deleted, you know how much I hate seeing my face anywhere in social media. Every digital print, that’s all. I’ll let go of this grudge with Sangonomiya.” Ei nods.
“I have assigned a team to do such. However, this doesn’t end here,” Ei raises a finger to stop Sara in her tracks. “You need to accompany Kokomi to find this hapless woman – Sangonomiya’s words, not mine as Beidou reported,” Beidou grinned at the mention, winking at Sara who seemed like bursting in the seams any minute now. “And compensate her for any losses, if not more. It is only through this matter that your mutual grudge would be properly settled. Sangonomiya will never be able to rest easy knowing that the woman hasn’t been helped when she had the capability. It is only fair that the root of the matter is absolved by the both of you.”
“Ei. You could ask me to go to the Fatui’s headquarters ask for their leader’s head and I would deliver. But this,”
“This is not up for argument. You are doing as I say, Sara, not as you please.” Sara casts her gaze to the ground; she’s once again reminded of her oath – Ei’s orders supersedes her own wants and needs. “And Beidou, we’ll meet you at Baizhu’s octagon at 8, right?” Beidou nods, sporting a huge grin on her face as she perked her thumb up in affirmation.
“I’ll be heading out, Ei. Need to see the dean or something.” Beidou shrugs and waves her hand. Ei reverts her gaze to Sara, whose lips are now pressed in a thin line.
“Sangonomiya will be waiting for you in this building’s library, at exactly 4:45 pm, you should arrive. Not a minute later, remember that Sara. I’ll have Kaeya text you the pertinent details on wherever this woman might be.” Sara could only sigh and bow, and Ei dismisses her after. She opts to ditch her classes to go to the university’s gym. It was almost empty, except for the few Fatuis who were using the ring. It is practically enemy territory right now, but Sara couldn’t care less. Sara changes her shirt into a black sleeveless tight cotton top. She wraps bandages around her hands and wears the training gloves before situating herself in front of the punching bag.
But the poor defenseless bag wasn’t enough to satisfy Sara’s frustration that has built up for archons know how long. It swings as Sara’s fist connects to the dented leather; each blow resounds within the gym. It’s been an hour, and her tension isn’t reduced even one bit. Sara frustratingly kicks the bag away, causing it to lay helplessly on the ground with a thunderous thud. As Sara heaves from the activity, she felt a finger poking her back, she turns around only to be met with a heavy fist on her cheek. Her body falls heavy on the floor, but she didn’t even bother to nurse her hurting cheek when she heard the familiar mocking laugh – it’s fucking Dottore. Sara is quick to her feet, and before Dottore can register the triumph of making the untouchable Kujou on the floor – despite his underhanded method, Sara was pummeling the man with inhuman speed. He’s the unlucky recipient of Sara’s raw and uninhibited anger.
Nobody bothered to pull the two away, fearing they’d be the casualty of Sara’s pummels. Dottore falls on the floor laughing, but his laughs were choked by blood that he spits on the gym’s floor. He weakly tries to push himself up, but he fails. He flashes a bloodied grin before collapsing to the ground unconscious. His lackeys were quick to carry him away from Sara, and from the farthest corner, Scaramouche and Childe were looking at her – not in contempt, but rather amusement. Childe raises his palms in concession, revealing that he meant nothing ill. Sara’s aware this could mean trouble for the group; she sparked the long-founded tension by rendering a high-official of the Fatui unconscious – but Scaramouche seemed to read her mind.
“We saw that Dottore threw the first punch, he saw this coming.” He says before leaving the gym as the rest of the members of Fatui did. Sara heaves as she takes a seat on the bench. She decides to use the rest of her idle time on taking a shower. The gym’s frigid waters pelted her skin like sharp sensations of shards poking her nerves. It did wonders though, in relieving the leftover pulsing electric anger that ran amok her veins. She takes her time in rubbing the dried blood out of her skin, reddish puddle formed at her feet, reminding her of the gory mangled image of Dottore’s face after the series of her assaults. She whisks the mental image away, which was promptly replaced by the haunting gradient of pink and blues from eyes to hair of a woman. Sara grits her teeth, only to wince when the cut on the end of her lips breaks open. The cold water doesn’t help as it penetrates the crack of her skin. She lathers the soap across her skin to remove the scent of sweat and blood, subdue it with the generic fragrance of mint that the gym duly provides.
She wears her fitted shirt again, but this time, she wears an unzipped black hoodie, and the loose jogging pants that was resting in her locker for a few weeks now. Seeing that she still has a few minutes before meeting Sangonomiya, she heads to the canteen to get herself an onigiri and a bottled water. As she sits on one of the empty cushions, she receives Kaeya’s text. The woman’s probably in Grand Narukami Shrine. Sara chokes in her drink, that place is at least 5 hours of drive away from the city – where they are right now. They can’t even catch the woman on the road, she’s probably near Mt. Yougou now. Sara massages her temples, and simply sighs. She can’t really go against Raiden’s orders.
She finishes the food up and throws the trash on the waste bin. 5 minutes before her supposed meet-up with Kokomi, she makes her way to their library. Sara was right on the dot when she opens the door and sees Kokomi’s pink hair shining against the chestnut bookcase behind her. Her eyes were hidden over a thick book, Sara identifies it as a book on military tactics. She happened to come across to one when she visited their library in the Kujou estate. She chews the inside of her cheek, only to grunt when the pain of Dottore’s punch sinks in. She moves in front of Kokomi, who felt the dark imposing figure hovering her and breaking the trance she made with her book. She lifts her gaze to meet Sara’s unruly golden eyes.
For Kokomi, gold feels transparent, like a tinted window to the soul but with the bright yellowish hues of sunlight. But Sara’s felt opaque, like murky waters diluted with sulfur that labors your feet as you wade through it – you can’t even make out the horizon as it is an endless pit of void as the sunlight fights to penetrate the nimbus that sinks it. Kokomi visibly gulps at the angry red cut at the edge of Sara’s lips, the deep frown was pulled by the metaphorical weight of the wound that made Sara look more pissed off than she usually is.
“What are you staring at?” Sara angrily mutters, she’s exponentially annoyed that she’s under the scrutiny of the woman’s gaze.
“What?” Kokomi felt affronted. “I am not staring. Don’t get too ahead of yourself.” Kokomi denies. She stands up and slings her bag over her shoulders. Sara simply clicks her tongue and leaves the library and Kokomi follows suit. Sara’s tall figure and broad back made passing through the waves of student body easy, they parted like curtains in the start of a show, making way for Sara and making sure there’s no inconvenience in her way. Kokomi scoots closer to Sara, her nose touching the latter’s back and smelling the generic body wash the woman washed her body with a few minutes ago; if Sara ever notices this, she chooses to not acknowledge it anyway.
They arrive at the front of the building; Sara’s motorcycle is still blocking the entrance. Kokomi was surprised to see the beast of a vehicle that Sara has. Kokomi has never rode one, for the apparent safety issues that the vehicle brings. Sara faces Kokomi, who still looked flustered at the sight of their mode of transportation. Sara rides it and stares at Kokomi, waiting for the woman to follow suit. But Kokomi remains frozen in her place.
“What?” Sara asks Kokomi.
“This looks unsafe.” Kokomi comments, Sara scoffs at her reply.
“Sorry, you don’t get to be treated as a princess here.”
Kokomi’s eyes narrow and she frowns a little. “I’m not being a princess here. You don’t even have a helmet!” she exclaims. “I just don’t want to die because of some unhinged metallic carriage that doesn’t have any safety nets to protect me. I’m not riding that thing.”
Sara groans in frustration. “Are you being serious right now?” She reels her anger in. Ei wouldn’t be pleased to know that she releases her frustration on Kokomi. But Kokomi’s blue eyes were as stubborn as her golden ones, Sara had no choice but to relent. She gets off the motorcycle and taps a scared student on the shoulder.
“Helmet.” The young man scurries to find Sara a helmet. Kokomi couldn’t believe how feared Sara is in their campus. She was about to reprimand her lack of etiquette in asking for something when she hears a heave. He returns with a brand new one, his hands were shaking, the plastic is still on and Sara hands it to Kokomi. “Are you happy now?” she sneers as she rides her motorcycle once again, but Kokomi looked at her quizzically.
“What about you?” Sara was too stoic to hear the worry in Kokomi’s voice. She checks her clock only to see that it’s almost 5. It would definitely be nighttime when they reach the shrine. She decides to not argue further and blocks another student’s way to find her a helmet. But before she can bark an order out, Kokomi intervened. “Hi, sorry for the inconvenience, but would you find us a spare helmet?” Kokomi sweetly smiles and Sara frowns.
The young man looked enamored at Kokomi’s pleasant demeanor and pretty face; he merrily enters the building to look for a helmet. He returns with a red helmet, “It’s barely used, I hope this is suitable for your tastes, Sango-“
“Out.” Sara barks and he scurries away in fear of the woman. Sara fits the helmet in her head, feeling a little annoyed at the suffocating feeling that helmets bring her. She waits for Kokomi to hoist herself up, which she did with much difficulty. Sara waits for Kokomi’s hands to wrap around her waist or at least hold it, she knows that the woman isn’t experienced enough to steady herself in this vehicle. “Hold my shirt or my waist, unless you want to fall off.” Sara angrily commands and Kokomi reluctantly follows. Sara tenses under her touch. Kokomi feels the hard sinews of Sara’s defined abdominal muscles under her fingertips. She blushes at the lack of propriety between her and her sworn enemy just a few hours ago. Kokomi notes to herself to apologize to Sara for ruining her shirt and more when they arrive at Mt. Yougou.
Kokomi almost stumbles back when the vehicle roars to life, almost pulling Sara’s torso along with her, Sara’s hand almost slips away from the handlebars; it was sheer luck that the both of them haven’t fell off their seats. Sara stops the engine. She adjusts herself in the seat and pulls Kokomi’s hands to wrap it around her waist. Kokomi’s face was against Sara’s back, if it weren’t for the bulky helmet, she would’ve been kissing the gray hoodie while taking all of Sara’s scent in.
The engine kickstarts to life, Sara was running the motorcycle in inhuman speeds. Kokomi clutches on Sara tighter, she finds comfort in the assurance that holding onto Sara’s hard body tethers her in her seat. Sara draws a sharp intake of breath when she felt Kokomi’s unconsciously drawing lines on her waist with her fingertips. Sara remained tense for 2 hours of their drive, with Kokomi’s warm hand and body pressing against her cooler ones, she felt the strain trickling from her back to stomach. She feels the fluttering underneath her skin; Sara’s totally unused with people entering her personal zone, with someone’s bare skin brushing against her clothed ones. She’s squeamish but she puts it all aside, Raiden asked her, so she will deliver.
They stop over for a few minutes on a lone gas stop. The sun has finally sunk on the horizon, and the dark purplish sky is starting to get glittered with lone stars twinkling in the vast expanse of the universe. She positions it in front of a gasoline pump and starts to get the tank filled. Kokomi takes her sling bag off and places it on the handlebar, and she walks to the gasoline station’s comfort room. Sara didn’t bother to ask her; the place is quite rural and she’s certain Kokomi isn’t familiar in this almost rural terrain. Sara is finally able to breathe freely when she loses Kokomi in her sight, there’s something in Kokomi’s presence that makes the air suffocating. Like something pins Sara underwater refusing to let her swim to the surface to take some air in – a riptide, Sara finally finds the word, Kokomi keeps her far from the shore.
It frustrates her even more.
The tank is finally full, and Kokomi still hasn’t approached her. Sara decides to take some time out to hit some cigarette. She leaves the motorcycle on where it is and walks further from the pumps and the station to light some stick out. She places it between her lips and fumbles for her lighter on the hoodie’s pocket. Sighing contentedly when she feels the cold familiar metal brushing against her palm. She takes it out and lights the end of the stick, dragging the toxic smoke in, filling her lungs. Sara’s mind is finally on some sort of utopic ease brought by the drag and breathe.
Sara’s stick is halfway done when she hears Kokomi’s voice echoing the place.
“Kujou Sara?!” Kokomi cries, she moves her head sideways to look for Sara’s silhouette. Sara wanted to keep the charade up, it is amusing to see Sangonomiya to be this distressed. But Kokomi finally finds her, her tall dark figure on the poorly lit corner of the station, and the glinting red ember somewhere between her fingers. Kokomi sighs in relief, for a moment, she really thought Sara left her in this desolate land. She whiffs the familiar burning scent, her expression sours. She’s not a fan of the scent of flaming nicotine. She wanted to take the stick out of Sara’s mouth and crush it in her palms, she decides otherwise. Kokomi clutches the plastic bag that hung on her fingers tightly, and she forces a smile on her face. Sara found the unnatural pull of Kokomi’s lips to the side peculiar, but she chooses not to comment.
The evening has been peaceful, she doesn’t really intend to ruin it.
“Let’s eat.” Kokomi says as she lifts the plastic bag to show it to Sara.
“We need to get going.” Sara throws the almost finished stick to the ground and crushes it with her heel. You can call her shrewd or cruel, but Sara really doesn’t appreciate smoking in a non-smoking crowd.
“Well, you can’t really pass out due to hunger while driving, can you?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Should we wait until your stomach’s growling for food?” Kokomi retorts. Sara’s mood has been ruined again; the quick solace provided by the cigarette wasn’t enough. If she’s going to be around Kokomi for some time, she’d need to stock up her cigarette reserves quick and high. Sara simply frowns and takes a seat on the elevated concrete. Kokomi follows suit as she lays down the plastic bags and takes out the instant bento box and bottles of water. She hands the stocks equally to hers and Sara. They ate in peace, however Sara notices that Kokomi has been separating the fish from the dish. Choosing the few vegetables as her viand. Sara looks at her beef bento, she takes Kokomi’s box and hands hers to the surprised woman.
“Thank you.” Kokomi shyly says.
Sara simply clicks her tongue. “You don’t eat fish, why did you buy something that has fish? That’s so stupid.”
“Well, these are the last two boxes. And I haven’t noticed that I handed you the beef one, I was reluctant to take it away since you started eating it as soon as I handed it.” Kokomi bitingly responds. Sara frowns at the tone of Kokomi’s voice, not really used at anyone talking to her that way – except the elders of Kujou. But she lets it slide, this time. She is under Raiden’s orders to accompany this woman. She quickly finishes her meal and shucks the trash into the plastic bag. She waits for Kokomi to finish hers and gingerly places the emptied plastic box into the bag. She throws it to the nearest bin, and she fishes for her keys in the pocket.
They continue to drive to Mt. Yougou. The atmosphere between them were still tense, but Sara learns to adjust with it. The thrumming bolts that linger beneath her skin are still there, especially on the drawn circles that Kokomi idly draws on her waist. It isn’t welcomed, but she relents. She pretends that the cool rural breeze counteracts the warmth of Kokomi’s fingertips. Sara feels her phone buzzing against her thigh. Considering the successive vibrations, she assumes it is Kaeya who were sending her the info about Beidou’s fight in Baizhu’s octagon. Sara doesn’t doubt that Beidou would demolish her competitors, though she’s somehow relieved that she doesn’t have to stick around the victory afterparty that she usually dreads. Kaeya took the honors to arrange it today, Sara doesn’t appreciate the melding of sweaty bodies against her shirt, or the mixed scent of tonic, juice, beer, and vomit wafting in the air.
But if she were to choose, perhaps, it’s better to be stuck with hundreds of nameless individuals surrounding her, than having Sangonomiya Kokomi’s face slumped against her back.
The drive upward the shrine was relatively challenging. The path was a bit jagged and rocky, and while Sara drove with great expertise, the terrain wasn’t kind enough to allow them a steady passage. There was too much movement in their seats, and Sara’s tight shirt was hitching upwards as they drove across the humps. Sara notices that Kokomi’s fingers were directly warming her exposed skin, she wanted it to feel like it’s scalding, but the sensation doesn’t come. Kokomi’s circles were deliberate and tender, like smooth passing warm water on a strained body. However, as soon as Kokomi’s touch was gone in a spot, it becomes deliriously cold, the trail of heat following wherever Kokomi’s hand would guide it. Sara gulps at the juxtaposition of sensations.
She’s been in a lot of fights, but she never felt this kind of touch from bare skin to another. She felt all types of anger from different people, but none of that anger was liquid enough to touch the quickly opposite poles by lightly tipping Sara’s edges.
Sara stacks the unknown feeling under anger.
It was around 10 o’ clock when they reached the Grand Narukami Shrine. They leave the motorcycle a few steps away from the entrance – hoping to not disturb the sacred ground. Lit paper lamps guided them to their way on the town center. Despite the tranquil environment, the people of the shrine were hardly asleep. Sara frowns in annoyance when she finally spots the woman who accused her, she was cleaning the front of the house; worry deepening the linings of her face.
“Yae Himeko.” Sara mutters, Kokomi tightly clutches her bag. She overtakes Sara’s strides, and rushes to the old woman’s side.
“Good evening.” Kokomi greets. “I hope you remember me; we’ve met in the city when your mora was lost.” Kokomi smiles and the old woman recognizes her.
“Ah! The kind city girl who helped me. Thank you for apprehending the pickpocket, but they haven’t returned my mora.” The old woman sighs in defeat. “Ah, Miko worked so hard for that mora, I couldn’t tell her that I lost it as soon as I got it from her.” she shakes her head. “What brings you here, young lady?” The woman recoils a little when Sara’s tall figure comes out of the dark, she’s a head taller than Kokomi, her golden eyes looked like signs of impending doom. “Y-you! Thief!”
“Woman, there’s a misunderstanding.” Sara frowns further. “I am not a thief.” Sara spits the last few words bitterly.
“But you were right behind me!” Kokomi was quick on cutting the tension.
“Ma’am, we have been mistaken. This woman behind me is not the one who took your wallet, but we are here to recompense you for what you’ve lost.” Kokomi smiles, she takes out a checkbook from her bag and hands the woman an empty cheque. “My conscience would not rest easy if I haven’t helped you despite having the capability to do so. Please be my guest if you need more. Here’s my contact number.” Kokomi smiles and writes her name and contact number down a piece of paper.
Sara takes out her wallet and takes a wad of cash out to hand it to the old woman. The woman was dumbfounded at the amount of mora – it is tenfold plenty than what she had lost.
“W-wait! I can’t accept this.”
“It’s in your hand now.” Sara points out. “Sangonomiya, let’s go. We still need to get back to the city.” Kokomi turns her gaze to the frowning woman.
“Well, let me, at least, provide you a room to stay over the night. The roads leading to the Grand Narukami Shrine is more than treacherous at night. My guilt will not let me rest knowing I’ve willingly sent you to go home despite the dangers it poses. And I have wrongfully accused you of such a heavy crime, this is the least I could do to repay you.” Sara clicks her tongue.
“There’s no need fo-” Kokomi stifles her yawn, Sara notices how her lids were beginning to get heavy as sleep knocks on its doors. She simply grunts, Ei would have her head on a platter if Sangonomiya comes home looking like a total wreck. “Fine.” Sara angrily muttered. It didn’t pass Sara’s gaze that a small smile bloomed on Kokomi’s lips. The woman bowed ever so slightly and led them inside her home.
The living space is small, but it felt lived. The scent of wood and flowers wafted their noses, Kokomi appreciated the steady wooden floors beneath her feet after travelling for hours. She leads them in a room, a large sleeping mat was perfectly laid, Sara turns her gaze to the old woman.
“Do you have a spare mat?”
The old woman shakes her head. “Unfortunately, none. I’m the only one who lives here, and this is the only room in my house. I’d be on the living room if you need anything. Have the both of you eaten?” Sara and Kokomi nods.
“I can sleep on the couch.” Kokomi offers. Sara scoffs, she knew damn well that this girl hasn’t spent her life sleeping on a hard cushion.
“No, you are my guests. Your stay here must be in comfort. Feel free to use anything you need in this room.” the woman politely says, and she leaves the room. Sara takes her jacket off and lays it on the carpeted floor. She takes a pillow from the sleeping mat; her uncomfortable makeshift bed made Kokomi wince. Sara takes a handkerchief out of her pocket and spreads it on her face. She heard rustling from Kokomi’s side, she couldn’t really care less about whatever she’s doing.
She takes the handkerchief off her face when she feels her phone buzzing. However, she was stopped in her tracks when she sees Kokomi facing her wearing nothing but a robe. Sara’s body went tense quickly and Kokomi stood frozen, she lays on her side, avoiding the pink-haired woman’s gaze. She chooses the answer the call to clear the tension, not even checking who might be calling her.
“Hey, are you driving back to the city?” she distances her phone from her ear. Everything was too loud, and Kaeya screaming his throat off doesn’t help to make the noise bearable at all.
“No.”
“What?!”
“Fuck, can’t we just text?” Sara was annoyed. It’s so stupid to call from a party when you know you can’t hear each other without screaming.
“Sex?!” Kaeya unabashedly screams. “You’re having sex?!”
“The fuck?” Sara angrily drops the call and chooses to text Xiao instead. Out of all of her friends, she trusts that Xiao’s the only one who’s sober at this hour– Kaeya and Beidou’s affinity for alcohol is Xiao’s aversion. He informs Sara of Beidou’s victory, it wasn’t even nerve-wracking, the fight is quick and decisive. Kaeya absolutely chose to throw the craziest party in town, hiring the same waiting company that they had for Lisa’s birthday. Xiao tells Sara that they really haven’t seen Ei tonight, they lost her as soon as Ei went over the bar to get some drinks – when they checked if her car is still parked on Beidou’s yard, it wasn’t there. Since everyone was drunk, nobody can tell who she was with – except for a characteristic vibrant pink hair that they noticed as a peculiarity.
For safety measures, Sara sends her a quick text, asking if where is she. It was quite weird that Ei took some a few minutes before responding with “Safe”. Sara decides to brush it off, maybe she woke up Ei from slumber. Sara finally notices the movement next to her.
Kokomi laid on the sleeping mat with her bright eyes pinned on the ceiling and her semi-wet hair splayed across the pillow. She feels Sara’s stares, and for some reason, she’s flustered to be gazed upon the golden-eyed woman. Kokomi clears her throat, as she remembers that she should’ve been apologizing to Sara, too.
“Sorry for accusing you.” Kokomi mumbles. “I genuinely thought you took that woman’s wallet.” Sara grunted.
“Well, I didn’t.”
“I know, can you stop being angry for 5 minutes? That’d be good.” Sara simply presses her lips to a thin line and closes her eyes. “You know this sleeping mat has some extra room; you don’t have to sleep on the floor.” Sara pretends not to hear it and brings the handkerchief back to her face. Kokomi wonders if Sara ever smiled in her life, she tries to imagine – perhaps the golden glint in her eyes would be breathtaking. Kokomi brushes the thought away, Sara’s practically a stranger anyway – after this night, she probably wouldn’t be talking with the woman ever again.
Though Kokomi couldn’t deny, it’s a fact that the few hours she spent with Sara is the most eventful time she ever had in her entire life. She chuckles at the thought, and soon, their breaths fall to a synchrony, and Kokomi’s lids slowly fall.
It was morning when they finally woke up, Sara isn’t used to waking up this late. The sun’s golden shine crosses Sara’s eyes. She feels a tuft of hair resting beneath her chin and her nose resting atop someone’s head, arms familiarly wrapped around her exposed waist, and even breath fanning against her neck. Sara’s arm isn’t completely innocent, too. It slipped under Kokomi’s waist, curving perfectly to fit Kokomi’s body to the empty space next to her.
Sara wanted to stand up and push Kokomi away, but she was frozen. Even more when Kokomi wakes up and lifts her head to meet Sara’s eyes. The sun’s light hitting Sara’s irises gave it some sort of glow, a moment of clarity in her half-lidded gaze. Kokomi’s face is dangerously close to Sara’s, her breath fanning against Sara’s lips. Sara visibly gulps at the sight of how Kokomi’s gradient eyes intently looks at her and how Kokomi’s tongue swipes across her lips, giving it a pinkish glow. She closes her eyes for a moment and slowly detaches her body from Kokomi’s touch. There was a disappointed hum choked in Kokomi’s throat, Sara hears it, but decides to ignore. She picks her jacket up and swings it around her shoulders. She leaves the room and sees the old woman busying herself in the kitchen.
“Well, would you like to have some breakfast?” she offers as she lifts a pot of dry-brained salted fish, Sara shakes her head. She woke up late and missed her early routine. She opts for a run and exercise to relieve the tension in her body. Being around Kokomi drives her insane. She finished 20 laps around the shrine, a hundred one-hand push-ups, squats, pull-ups and more, but the unnamed frustration still swells in her body. She takes a cigarette out of her pocket and quickly lights it, but it was no use. Not even the stick could help her ease her mind. Kokomi drives her ridiculously mad. She throws the spent stick on the pavement and kills its embers with her sole. Kicking the hapless cigarette off the road in trying to kill off her stress.
She returns to the house sweaty and holding a fresh set of spare clothes she got from her motorcycles’s underseat; she sees Kokomi coming out of the room, and when their gazes met, Kokomi turned her look to the old woman and to the warm food set on the table. Sara wordlessly makes her way to the bathroom.
Kokomi didn’t know what to do, but the old woman gave her a knowing smile. “Would you like some old woman’s words?” Yae Himeko chuckles. “I’m quite famous in this shrine for my forecasts.” Kokomi nervously smiles.
“Well then, I am honored.” She replies, her heart beating in nervousness. The old woman sets her tea down the coffee table and turns her body to Kokomi.
“Whether she stays or not, it would be solely in your decision. That woman over there, she doesn’t have control over much of her decisions,” the old woman places a finger under her chin. “Everything is in your hands.” The old woman smiles.
“Y-you’re mistaken.” Kokomi gulps. “Kujou and I, we aren’t well-acquainted.”
“Oh, it’s still in the far future, after the both of you have experienced what the universe has planned, something you can’t stop even if the both of you had sworn that last night is the last.” The woman laughs. “But hey, take my words lightly. These are old woman’s words, perhaps it’s the tea, or the morning haze. I’m not too certain, either.” Kokomi laughs along and brushes the thought away. She’s certain, Sara has no interest in doing anything with her. Not that she had anything to do with Sara, too.
She takes a seat and starts to eat. Soon, Sara comes out of their room, her indigo hair still wet with water. Today, she decides to wear a sleeveless crop-top turtleneck. Kokomi finds it hard to swallow her food. Sara’s defined muscles were for her to gawk, it flexes and relaxes with every gentle movement that Sara does. Sara brushes her indigo hair upward, the ends almost touching her eyes. Sara goes out for a bit, maybe to keep her laundry under her motorcycle’s seat. She returns empty-handed and takes a seat across Kokomi. She puts food in her plate in a fixed proportion, she sits ramrod straight and eats her food mechanically.
Kokomi finally notices how structured and organized Sara is as an individual, not a single piece of her hair even astray. No wonder, she was also fuming when her perfectly crisp white shirt was ruined by coffee stain. She’s almost robotic - without the metallic casings and sparking wires. When Sara catches her staring, Kokomi immediately drops her gaze to the stagnant soup.
They didn’t want to waste more of the old woman’s time, and they bade their goodbyes after cleaning up their dishes and sleeping mat. The drive back to the city was as quiet as the both of them expected, or perhaps, it was because of the higher tension brought by Kokomi’s palm gliding across Sara’s stomach, feeling the hard muscle and its line with her hands. Whenever Sara draws in a sharp breath, Kokomi feels the movement of her body, its heaves and relaxes.
It feels intimate when it shouldn’t be.
They stop for a while to get their gas tank filled. They go back to driving, and their tension filled journey slowly comes to an end. They both felt relief, Kokomi couldn’t really handle anymore of the electric pulses that course through her skin any longer whenever it comes in contact with Sara’s bare ones. It was almost instantaneous that Kokomi lets go of her hold on Sara’s body when they finally reached their school, Sara drops her off right in front of their building. She tosses her helmet off as Kokomi scrambles to catch it. Before Kokomi could say another word, the smoke of Sara’s motorcycle met her nostrils. She coughs and blinks it away, and as she opens her eyes; Sara was nothing but a dot on the horizon and the tire marks she left in her wake are the only reminders that she was once there.