Kukai Souma lets out a small breath, walking down the street. It'd been a day or two since he'd met Nagihiko in his room and talked with him, and then today (hooray weekend) Nadeshiko had texted him with the location of a small cafe out on the far end of King Penguin Park and a time.
So, he'd gotten up, showered, and gotten out the door before any more of his brothers besides Unkai could ask him where he was going. The cafe was a small little affair as he approached it, the outdoor seating just recently opened now that the weather was warming up.
And it is indeed Nadeshiko who texted Kukai.
Both her eggs are in her satchel, nestled and safe and together.
She could have texted as Nagihiko, of course. She almost did. But even though Kukai knew, she is not yet completely comfortable outside of her skirt around people she knows.
Tadase has known forever, and it still took a few years to figure out who Nagihiko was around her oldest friend.
When she spots Kukai, there's a bit of nerves, of course. The boy had mentioned something about whiplash the other day, and she really didn't want that to happen.
Lock it down for later.
Instead she stands and waves. "Kukai-kun!"
Her voice is familiar, half teasing and half knowing. Very much not like the boy from the other day.
Kukai Souma doesn't exactly have the same sort of confusion. He's know Nadeshiko for a few years, but the idea of Nagihiko didn't really bother him. Or rather, part of him inferred what a powerful secret it was he held now, and instead of being worried or afraid, he's actually rather pleased that Na-chan would share something like that with him.
He grins, waving back to her, Daichi trailing along behind and waving too, plopping down into one of Kukai's pockets. "Hey Nadeshiko!" If he has any confusion or 'whiplash' as he described it, it's not there now. He goes over to her and grins, looking around at the cafe, one hand going behind his head. "This is a nice little place. What's up?"
She shrugs her shoulders as she clutches the satchel loosely in her hands, head tilting to one side. "Just wanted to thank you for the other day. The tea here is pretty decent, and the pastries are yummy."
There's a brief moment before she giggles latches onto his arm, tugging him forward to the cafe door.
When she touches the door, she pauses.
Looking at the glass, her mask slips, just a moment, and she wonders what the hell she's doing.
When she turns, its back in place, all smiles. "Unless you wanted to do something else?"
Kukai Souma doesn't have fancy lightning bolts, or the ability to cook, or psychic powers, or any number of the other superpowers some of the other magical boys and girls in Tokyo did. He had two gifts, though. He was really good at sports - not the best, but one of the best - and he had a singularly cunning ability to read people from time to time. So it is that Kukai catches that slip, just for a moment.
His arm goes up around Nadeshiko's back and hugs her gently, supporting her as he smiles and nods. "Sure. This looks like a great idea, if you think so."
Her muscles relax as Nadeshiko leans into the hug.
Acceptance is a nice thing, she thinks.
Her nose lifts a bit in the air as she pushes the door opening, giving a flip of her hair as she crossed the threshold. "Of course my ideas are great."
She leads the way to the counter to order, skirt swishing because she's a girl.
She mulls over the menu for a moment before she turns to Kukai, eyes a bit wide and voice lowered as though she's about to tell him a deep, dark secret.
"I want coffee." And of course, her voice is low. His voice is low.
He's never had coffee all that often, and even then it's been drowned in enough milk and sugar to cause his teeth to run screaming from his head.
But he wants coffee and he wants it black.
Kukai Souma blinks at Nadeshiko. That was more of a shock than any sort of... well, almost anything else. Nadeshiko or Nagihiko, both of them loved tea. But after a moment, Kukai grins back and nods. "Ok, sure. I want coffee too."
It explains why Nadeshiko picked this place. It was home to one of the few local professionally trained baristas that had decided to make a solo go of it. The small cups of coffee brought around to their table are black as night and strongly fragrant. It's fresh beans, freshly ground, and fresly brewed. When they finally taste it, it's slightly thick, nutty, and bitter, but smooth as silk with no bite or aftertaste. Excellent coffee.
Kukai sets down his cup and coughs, grinning slightly and staring at it. "Wow. What is that. It's so harsh but..." He runs his tongue over his upper teeth, thinking.
It takes her a moment to actually take a sip. After all, she's a tea drinker.
First she gives the brew a delicate sniff, and deciding it's not a horrible smell takes a moment to breathe it in.
After a light hum of appreciation, she takes a sip.
The faces she makes must be interesting, and when she swallows its with a bit of a shiver.
"That is definitely not tea."
Still, she takes another sip, because 'not tea' and 'bad' are not synonymous.
She looks up at Kukai for a moment before she blinks and looks down at her cup, inspecting the liquid as she lightly twirls the cup. "I can see how this is addictive."
Kukai Souma nods, sitting in close to her, looking down at the cup before looking over at her, just as she starts making those faces. He bites his lower lip and looks back towards his cup, grinning and trying not to upset her.
He finally looks back over as she takes a second sip, recovering his own equilibrium. "Yeah, me too. It's not what you're used to, but it's delicious anyways."
He grins and then blushes as he realizes that could be taken more than one way.
Nadeshiko opens her mouth to respond, but then that blush.
And she's not really sure how to respond, aside from her cheeks matching his.
For a moment, she hides behind her cup again and for a moment forgets it's even coffee.
She's already, in a way, sort of, if you squinted, admitted to having an attraction to Tadase as well as Amu.
As for anyone else, it's never been something she's really let herself think about because of obvious reasons.
"Maybe I should have worn pants."
Kukai Souma finally get the color out of his cheeks, sipping his coffee again and trying one of the sweet cookies along with it. "Wow, these are good."
He looks over at Nadeshiko - he'd never really heard anything about her attractions or romance because, well, he didn't listen about that. It's Kukai. Romance goes right over his head most of the time.
He arches an eyebrow at her comment. "Huh? What for? Did you want to run around or something?"
She gives an amused roll of her eyes before she tries a cookie herself, then dipping a bit into the coffee to try it that way. Oh, now that's good!
Still amused, she arcs an eyebrow at him, leaning forward. If one could swagger in their chair, she'd be doing that. "Darlin,' I could out run you in my kimono, obi and all."
Oh no. Oh, no. Nonono. She didn't. Kukai sets his cup down and grins wickedly. "Oh no. No, you couldn't. You'd get left behind in my dust."
He takes another sip of the coffee and continues. "I'm one of the fastest runners in Seiyou Public. I've never even seen you run, and in that tight thing? You'd never catch up. I'd have to run the route twice just to make you feel better." Because nobody, but nobody, challenges Kukai Souma to anything.
Nadeshiko laughs at that. "I do believe I hear a challenge!"
She sips her coffee, a longer pull this time now that she's gotten used to the strong flavor. And, of course, now that she has, she's able to better appreciate the subtle nuances that make it a good blend.
"So your ego won't be nearly as bruised when I win, I could always just run as I am now. And besides." A cute little pout, because she's in character. "You've never seen me in pants until a few days ago either, remember?"
And even without Temari. Well. Where do you think her competitive spirit came from?
Kukai Souma laughs as well. "You're on! Whenever you want to, I'll run you into the ground!" He grins and leans onto the table, his coffee mostly finished by this point.
He nods, then laughs. "Pants or no pants, here, there, whatever, whenever. You pick the place, and I'll race you. In fact, if you want to do it now? I'll be right back."
As he picks up the bill and stands, moving over to the counter to pay for their treat, there is a short moment where he has the mental image of Nadeshiko in tight pants. It takes him a moment to hear the price of the bill from the cashier, dispelling the thought, and paying for the coffee and cookies.
She opens her mouth when he takes the bill before shaking her head and rolling her eyes again.
She stands and slings the satchel over her shoulder, nestled eggs too cushioned to clink together.
When he's done paying she gives him an amused look. "I invited you."
In an act of defiance, or maybe habit, she holds the door open for him, lifting one of her feet as she did. "I may as well change into pants. These sandals?" She clicks her tongue. "They'd only make your humiliation at losing even worse."
Kukai Souma shakes his head and grins. "Well OK. Next time I'll let you get the bill. I may be out of cash right now anyway." He grins weakly, scratching the back of his head, and goes outside with Nadeshiko, letting her hold the door and looking at her sandals. "Oh please. You are so full of yourself! You cannot beat me with my jeans and shoes and you in a kimono and obi and sandals. It will not happen."
Somewhere in the back of his mind there's a voice trying to warn him that if she's being this insistant about it maybe he really should be more certain about it, but he doesn't listen. This is a challenge!
"Well, then, I'll just have to take care of you the next time."
Outside, she purses her lips in amusement before looking around. Not too busy this time of day, and if they time it just right...
"Wanna try now? Just a taste? From this pole here," She leans against the tall pole and counts down. Not to beyond the cross walk, but ending just at the curb. "To that one down there. Unless, of course, you need to prepare yourself."
Kukai Souma stands up tall and proud and looks at the route, nodding. "Sure. I can do that, easy." He looks over at her and grins. "You must be really sure about this. I gotta say I'm feeling a little nervous but I'm not gonna give up."
He shakes his head, stretching once, then looks at her. "When you're ready, Na-chan. I won't feel too bad about beating you." His nose may be pointing out just a little bit. Daichi is out besides him, laughing, but Kukai isn't paying him much attention. He intends to do this under his own power.
For a moment, she considers suggesting he let Daichi help. But that may be going a bit overboard with the bravado.
"You should feel nervous." Fighting words.
"Okay, you ready? On three." Typical bounce and sway for a typical horsing around foot race. "One. Twooooo. Three!"
Vroom!
Kukai Souma just can't take it seriously. Those sandals alone are awful for running, and adding that to the kimono and it's tied with the obi? There ain't no way. There's just no way. This is the first mistake he makes.
See, the kimono's looser than it looks in front, especially after a quick stretch, keeping the top tight but allowing much better leg movement than he expected. The obi doesn't even matter - it's just over the hips, adding to tension for the top but not for the bottom. And the sandals? Traditionally shaped except for an extra binding going down the middle of the foot to the back and attaching to another behind the ankle, giving Nadeshiko plenty of support. And what looks like traditional materials are actually top of the line polymers meant for walking the streets. This is the second mistake Kukai makes.
Na-chan opens up a staggering lead in only a few seconds, and despite suddenly taking it very seriously it takes him several more seconds to almost catch up to her. The third mistake he makes? Looking at her run. Soft purple hair flying in the breeze, body moving effortlessly, happy grin on her face as she's free, just for a second.
Entirely without intending to (because beauty or not, Kukai intends to win!) he staggers, tripping over his own feet. By the time he's back under control of himself and at the victory pole, Nadeshiko's there just a second ahead of him.
And it's those mistakes that Nadeshiko had intended to exploit from the beginning.
Okay, the first two were. The third happens to be an unplanned advantage.
As she reaches the pole, she grabs onto it, using her momentum to swing around, sandals bracing against the base.
Not quite the climbing monkey Nagihiko is, but very much not the prim and proper Nadeshiko.
"I beat you." She's breathing heavier even as her voice is a sing song, because running is running, and deceptive or not, kimonos are not meant to be run in.
Still, her grin is just as happy as it had been while she'd been running, because damn it, that was fun.
"Lesson of the day, Kukai-kun. Never underestimate the obi."
Kukai Souma doesn't know whether to be annoyed at himself for losing the race or happy because she's smiling so much. He settles for a little of both and stops just behind her, then bows his head. "Well, crap."
He looks up at her and bows his head again. "Never underestimate the obi again. You got it." He looks at her and grins. "Well. Damn. You won, what do you get for winning?" He stands up, catching his breath, waiting for his friend's thoughts.
She laughs at his reaction to not winning. Not quite happy about it, but not an ass about it, either. Which is to be expected, of course, because this is Kukai.
Her eyes light up as she taps her fingertips against the pole. "Ooo, I get a prize?"
She hums in thought as she swings a bit more, stopping when she's in front of him again. "I don't know. What sort of prize is usually given to the victor?"
Kukai Souma lets out a small breath as he thinks, looking at Nadeshiko. "A trophy, a prize, a badge, a ribbon, a - hey!"
She swings out a little wide, and almost collides with him. He leans back just a bit as she takes up his space, but doesn't give up much, looking down at her. At this distance it's hard to see anything but big eyes. "What... ever you want?"
Balance is a precarious thing. Sometimes one wrong twist can send a person sprawling.
Or, in this case, a well placed hand on Kukai's shoulder, thumb brushing against his neck, provides a more sound foundation for the not-quite-a-monkey Nadeshiko.
"Hmmm." Her thumb taps against his neck in through as she bites her lip in thought. "I have trophies. I have plenty of hair ribbons. And I don't plan on joining some secret service, so a badge would be pointless."
She tilts her head a bit, still looking at him. She's really honestly not sure what she wants. Or if she did, how to ask for it.
"What would you ask for?" And of course, her eyes are darting between places, a curious glance here, a cursory look there.
Kukai Souma is not a bit better. Fortunately he's able to reach up, supporting Nadeshiko, one hand going around her middle and holding her up, the other very gently laid on her side in case she was about to stumble for some reason, and removed again after he can tell she's regained her balance.
It may not be the best place to think about it, but at one point Utau had done a similar lip bite. In fact a few girls had bitten their lip like that, looking at him. Every time it seemed to immediately turn his brain off for a few seconds - stupid about love or not, there's something about that look that kills.
He has to take a second to look up, focusing on the sky instead of her. "... Me? I'd ask for a marker." He looks back down. "If I'd won I'd say 'ok, at some point later, you have to do something I ask for.'" His eyes narrow slightly, a wry grin on his face. "I suppose that would make me the one owing you, then."
When Kukai looks up, Nadeshiko steps off and away from the lamp post.
"Do I want to know about the marker?" Her grin turns sly, devious even. I'll go with the second one. 'Okay, at some point later, you have to do something I ask for.' What will it be? You won't know until I ask. It will hover over you like a cloud of doom. You'll lie awake at night wondering what sort of devious ploy I have in store for you."
She wiggles her fingers at him, at least the ones that aren't still on his shoulder.
Kukai Souma looks at her for a minute and then laughs - not at her, just at how silly it sounds. "Nah. I won't worry. You're my friend. Whatever you ask for will be fine." He grins at her and can't help but give her a thumbs-up. "And that's not just me being brave. Nothing you could come up with could be that bad."