( ignore )

[devilism]

Sneaking into the Convent is a piece of cake. According to Itsuki, anyway. Maybe it's since he's done it quite a few times by now, but slipping out of the Church at night, moving across the road to where the tea shop front is for their sister organisation, slipping in there.. no problem at all. Seriously, for high-security sort of places, you'd think they would know how to protect their stuff a little better.

(Then again, it's not like they don't know he does it, even if Itsuki himself is unaware. It's just that they have little to fear from a reckless mental child that's just trying to kick against rules as much as he can and decide to ignore it and let him do as he pleases when it comes to this.)

Even finding his way to the room is pretty easy. It's so late at night that even the lights in the hallways have already been turned of to give everyone a chance to catch their night rest, but he doesn't need the light to tell where it is. Down the hallway there, then to the left - he feels completely confident as his hand lands on the doorknob, not even fearing accidentally walking into a room with the wrong girls.

And as the door gives way, he was right. A room with one bed empty (he's been very careful to learn when Kiyomi's Messiah wouldn't be in the room, since despite what he might claim about this whole situation, it'd be way too embarrassing to have someone else there being a witness to the whole thing), and then a familiar girl in the other.

Itsuki doesn't bother to do much more than closing the door behind him before he's already dropping on an empty space on the occupied bed. There's not even a word of explanation.

But then again, maybe it's not needed. This has happened enough before that Kiyomi gets what's going on here. She already did the first time, honestly - he's so easy to read. The harder he tries to not be so obvious, the more obvious it becomes.

There's not a hint of any particular emotion (not yet, anyway) in her voice as she speaks up casually, like this is just any ordinary situation. "Tonight again?" She certainly knows how to make it seem like an innocent question.

"The beds at the Church are too hard." It almost sounds practiced, like he practiced it over many times in his head to make sure he'd have the perfect excuse to end up lying here on the same bed as her. Stretching out to slowly properly sprawl himself out on the bed, he continues. "It's seriously unfair. If they didn't want me to go over here, then they should just have done something about it already."

There's plenty of flaws she could point out in that argument - anyone could, Kiyomi is sure. There's no reason for him to go here specifically, after all, that flimsy excuse doesn't even come close to covering it.

She chooses to not address it. There's something adorable about the way he sputters when he tries to cover up those sort of things, yes, but tonight she's just a little bit too tired to start up something that involved. Instead she just lightly nudges him with her elbow, moving over so they can fit on the bed a little more comfortably. "Shoes."

Nothing more needs to be said. Even if it comes with some grumbly noises from the boy's part (probably something along the lines of "why would I have to listen to you" and "what's the big deal", no doubt), he's already kicking off his shoes a moment later, letting them drop onto the floor rather than soiling the blankets with them.

And although she certainly didn't prompt him, he's already continuing with the excuse a moment later, as if even Itsuki himself realised the one from just now wasn't exactly the most waterproof excuse. "And then there's that guy. He's seriously so annoying-- if we're both gonna make it through this whole thing without caring about the Messiah deal, then he could at least be a little less grumpy and annoying about it. What's so wrong with enjoying yourself a little more? Has that guy never heard of fun in his life?"

There's a lot of things she could say about that. Of course she realises the situation here - the reason why Ariga is a little more crabby whereas before he mostly seemed very business-like from what she had noticed, the fact that Itsuki only makes it worse with his kind of behaviour.. there's a lot of advice she could give about the situation (and actually feels inclined to do so, after this strange desire was born within her to see him do well and not shoot himself in the foot metaphorically), but maybe another time. Not at this time of night.

This time of night feels a lot more fitting for just lying there. Enjoying the warmth of another person right next to her - his warmth, specifically. There's something about it that makes things feel a little easier. Like it doesn't matter if she doesn't know entirely who she is when it comes down to it. At least she knows she likes this, just lying here like this. It's something to cling onto for the moment, especially with a half-drowsy mind.

"And that's why you came here?"

"Uh-huh."

"Are the other beds on this side not comfortable enough?"

There's a small pause which she knows is a pause where he has to think and make up another excuse - the way he smacks on his lollipop that he took with him all the way here gives it away.

"It's not that. I just can't deal with those other girls. They're so.." .. it'd be hard to find one word to describe all, if not most, of the girls training here to become Botan, but apparently he does have his own ideas about it. ".. Weird. Annoying."

There's something about the idea of Itsuki trying to interact with any of the others that's so unfitting and such a social trainwreck in the making that Kiyomi manages to surpress a uncharacteristic impulse to giggle before it comes out.

Instead she saves her composure for the finisher. "But you can deal with me?"

Itsuki's lollipop threatens to drop straight out of his jaw and onto the bed (an unsanitary enough idea that she's rather glad it doesn't actually end up happening) from the way his jaw drops at the statement. He shoots to sit up, looks at her with the most offended expression, but then it turns a little more to a sulky mode when he lies back down again, rolling over so his back is showing towards her.

"That's not it! You're just more quiet. How else do you expect someone to sleep?"

There's something half-victorious about the way Kiyomi can't stop the edges of her lips from curling up, but there's something warm about it at the same time. Even like this, even while seeing his back.. it's still oddly warm.

She feels happy when she's even just interacting with him like this. At least that's one thing that's her own thing.

When Kiyomi scoots a little closer until she's practically pressing against his back, he doesn't protest this time.

Nor when one of her fingers shoots into his hair, idly twirling one of the curls around it. "You should get your hair combed sometime."

"Don't feel like it." The answer is half-muffled, like he's already falling asleep right there. With his inhibitions lowered it must be harder to hide his real feelings, even though they're usually obvious enough.

"What if I do it?"

A half-groan. "I told you I don't feel like it.."

"How about tomorrow?"

"... Well, I guess sitting around in that room all day instead would be no fun at all anyway."

(Not the record time for how quickly he's given in to her about various things over time - but the inevitable outcome is always the same. He's never managed to avoid giving in, not when she's just a little too capable and fond of him and not when he's so terribly lost in his own feelings, as much as he tries to deny it to high heavens and back.)

Kiyomi finally retracts her finger from his hair, and as she makes herself just a little bit more comfortable she can feel herself drifting off to sleep better than usually.