Kyo had always wanted someone to tell him those words. For the longest time he wanted to be enough for someone, for anyone. Even if he was a monster, even ifâhe had so many sins tallying down his backâgoodness did he want to be freed of that guilt. Of that shame, of that sin that he carried. To be able to properly rest those dark and terrible thoughts. To be able to loose himself in anotherâs grasp. Thatâs all he wanted when he looked at Airi. Thatâs all he saw and he hated himself so much for hoping and wanting. Yet he did anyway and perhaps that alone was another sin of itself. The desire, the want, of something that was never met for him. As he once told Kagura, he wasnât going to love anyone nor would anyone ever love him.Â
Yet here he was defying those hypocritical words. Here he was and here he would be, until the end of his own days. Until the day perhaps she would be torn away from him. He can only offer a weak smile and then a soft sounding chuckle. He felt so worked up like this was all some kind of feverish dream. He would wake up from it, in a cold sweat, and beg that he could fall back asleep into this moment. Such a disaster the lonely cat was, really.Â
âItâs alright.â Kyo manages to say. âI kinda donât know whatâwhat to say either. IâI didnât knowâŚ..I thoughtâIâd flirt, maybe get a cute reaction and notânot push any further. But I donât know I feltâI felt like I had to tell ya all of those things. And Iâm gladâŚIâm glad ya shared with me, and Iâm glad I had the guts to tell ya what I was feelinâ.â He lowers his gaze for a moment and then looks up at her. âA date huh? Nah, thatâs notâItâs notâŚ.a bad idea. We shouldâplanâŚone. I dunno what people do on those exactlyâI meanâŚ..Whatever ya would feel like doinââIâd love to do.âÂ
A cute reaction? Well, truthfully, Airi couldnât say that Kyo wasnât the playful or teasing type with her on occasion. It did make her wonder when exactly that shifted into the feelings he had now, though. When did the line of intention blur from being playful to wanting to get a reaction out of her?Â
She already knew very well that her most obvious (and harder to hide) reactions were the occasional stammer, the way her eyes went wide at something that Kyo had done or said resonated with her, or the inevitable blush that arose from their emotional and phyiscal closeness. It was, of course, unnvering initially that he could beautifully disrupt her trained, poised exterior with ease. But that was what had landed her head over heels like this in the first place. Kyo was different, and he made her feel different.Â
âIn my experience, theyâre already relatively similar to how we spend time together already. Just...well, with different intentions, I suppose. â A smile finally broke through on her face at the idea of Misao and Kousuke rejoicing when they hear the news. She could never get more than one foot in the door before being met with playfully suggestive looks and questions about Kyo.  âIâm not sure what Iâd like to do, but Iâll at least spare you surprise dancing lessons.â This time, of course. Airi couldnât make any promises for the future, and the wink she offered confirmed such.Â
