Kaguya had barely slept, tossing and turning most of the night as she considered the whirl of colors that surrounded Samantha. Why wasn’t she angry with her? Why weren’t there threads of distrust and anxiety? Why was Samantha’s aura the same as it had been when they first met at the outdoor mall, with attraction and happiness? After the fight, Kaguya had seen threads of worry and confusion, even a little fear. But when they met again in the arena after curfew, it was back to the aura from yesterday. In fact, the aura had only added tendrils of concern and, though she was hesitant to believe it, affection of some sort.
She wasn’t sure what to do, or how to act. Normally, people shied away from her, or they came close in hopes that they could gain her favor. Kaguya had no one she truly trusted, though she had many people who called her their friend even if she couldn’t say the same.
Her phone pinged and she slowly reached for it to see who was messaging her so early. It could have been her father upset about the outcome of the fight in the arena. Even though it had nothing to do with her, he would easily make it her fault. She rolled her eyes and looked at the screen, surprised when Samantha’s name was the one that flashed on the screen.
> Sam: Good morning. Wanna eat breakfast with me?
This girl was insane! Why was she acting like Kaguya was just another classmate? She was a Kazegami, damnit! They were on different sides of a very violent war, and here Samantha was asking about breakfast? Try as she might, Kaguya couldn’t stop her mouth from curving into a small smile. She’s so cute, she thought before she blushed and shook her head, pushing the thought away. I have to stand firm and keep her away from me before she gets hurt! Maybe if she ghosted her, Samantha would get the hint and leave her alone, she decided as she closed the message and quickly got ready for the day.
Apparently ghosting wasn’t enough, because outside the Kazegami student cafeteria stood Samantha. She was wearing a pair of black slacks and a white button up shirt with a blue vest with the Thomas crest above the left breast. She had rolled the sleeves up above her elbows, and her hair was mussed to perfection. The Kazegami students walking past her were giving her weird looks and some even spat a few insults at her but her smirk didn’t falter as her eyes wandered over everyone approaching the doors she was next to.
God, she’s hot. Kaguya was sure she was the only one who had such thoughts even as she observed the Thomas crest proudly displayed above Samantha’s heart. Most of the Kazegami students had a harsh bias against that particular Familia. It was hard to keep her expression neutral as she approached with one of her compatriots that called herself Kaguya’s friend at her side.
“Hey, Kaguya! I’m so glad to see you,” Samantha announced, smiling toward the girl at Kaguya’s side, nodding politely in her direction. Her attention was so focused on Kaguya though, that she didn’t see the girl roll her eyes.
“Can we go now?” the other girl huffed as she crossed her arms. Kaguya took a moment to look at her aura, disgusted immediately as she took in the murky colors that dominated it. But even that initial disgust was overwhelmed by the nausea that hit her stomach as she saw the attraction snaking through it. The girl’s eyes, originally seeming to study a bug, now were obviously checking out the curves that were almost hidden by the clothing Samantha was wearing.
Kaguya stood up straight to assert her authority over the other girl and hopefully help her push away the nausea, still struggling to seem neutral towards Samantha. She hoped her voice conveyed annoyance, using that nausea and her feelings about the attraction she saw to try and make it realistic. “Actually, Monica, can you give me a moment with the new Thomas? It will be quick, and I’ll meet back up with you in a minute.” Monica rolled her eyes but complied and a moment later she disappeared into the cafeteria.
No longer having her “minion” at her side, she quickly led Samantha away from the cafeteria doorway, and out of sight of any other Kazegami students. “I thought you’d get the message if I ignored you,” Kaguya hissed at her once she was sure they were alone and wouldn’t be overheard. Samantha shrugged her shoulders and smiled wider, obviously not put off by Kaguya’s tone. “Look, I’m not having breakfast with you even if there was somewhere we could eat together. The cafeterias are segregated by Familia, you know.”
“Yeah, I don’t care. Honestly, if it were possible and wouldn’t give my stepdad a heart attack, I’d transfer just so I could eat with you,” Samantha told her in a low, unwavering voice. Looking around to make sure no one was listening, she added slyly, “Besides, just because the cafeterias are segregated doesn’t mean we can’t eat somewhere else.”
Kaguya sighed and took the bait, curious and finding herself weak to the temptation of spending time with Samantha the longer they talked. A quick insight into the other girl’s aura made it hard not to, her heart pounding at the proof that there was still strong attraction there. “Fine. And where else could we get something to eat?”
Samantha grinned. “I was hoping you’d ask! Come on, I’ll show you.” Samantha grabbed Kaguya’s hand, the latter unable to stop her face from warming as she allowed herself to enjoy that firm grasp. She dragged Kaguya towards the exterior doors down the hallway.
They walked outside and down a curvy path toward the back lot. The lot was all but forgotten by most. There were shrubs growing on both sides of the walkway that looked as though they could use some tending to. They reached a fork in the path and turned to the left. A moment later they found themselves standing at an old gazebo that was badly in need of some TLC but it still looked pretty sturdy. There was a bench that wound around the inside of the gazebo and Samantha sat down. Kaguya followed hesitantly underneath the shelter and watched as Samantha pulled a basket out from under the bench she was sitting on.
Samantha opened the basket and motioned for Kaguya to sit with her. “And where did you get this?” Kaguya asked as she took a seat. Peering into the basket, she pointed at one of the four plastic-wrapped egg sandwiches that were still steaming. There was also a container with sausages, and another with fruit salad that she sat alongside the bench with two bottles of water.
“From the cafeteria. I said I wanted to prepare a breakfast date and the ladies all cooed over me and helped me out, letting me use the kitchen while they prepared breakfast for the other students,” Samantha explained as she took out two plates and portioned the food evenly onto each one, not seeing Kaguya’s face warm up and redden at the word “date” while she set up their meal. She reached into the basket pulling out a fork wrapped in a napkin and handed it to Kaguya along with a plate of food.
“Seems like way too much trouble,” Kaguya mumbled, as she took the plate and napkin. Her cheeks hadn’t quite cooled off, but she hoped that it made her look annoyed rather than embarrassed.
“Eh, maybe for some people, but it was worth it if it meant you’d eat with me,” Samantha told her before she dug into her own food. They ate quietly for a while, and Kaguya used this time to admire the darkening clouds rolling in from the distance as she dealt with her own thoughts about Samantha’s impromptu breakfast. The air was getting thicker and started to smell like rain, and she was a little sad that their breakfast may be cut short.
Once their plates were empty, Samantha put everything away the basket and set it aside before laying out in the middle of the gazebo, her head resting at the entrance so she could see the cloudy sky without losing sight of Kaguya. She folded her arms behind her head, and her shirt rode up a little to expose an inch of flesh.
“Why are you doing this?” Kaguya finally asked, exasperated and having a hard time keeping her eyes away from Samantha’s body. It would be easy to lay with her, she thought trying to focus only on the darkening sky instead of the temptation. Carnal feelings were completely new to her, and she’d pushed aside any superficial romantic feelings in the past. Most of her previous romantic interests had auras that helped her push those feelings aside though, since she could see their ambition overwhelming their attraction and interest. Perhaps it was because she saw nothing but positive tendrils in this woman’s aura that allowed her to feel more than just an interest, giving way to allow her own carnal desires to come to the surface.
Samantha hummed as she gathered her thoughts, unaware of Kaguya’s dilemma just a mere foot away. “Because you were sad, when you saw me standing there in the arena. And you were sad when I talked to you last night. And you’re sad right now. I want to know why you try so hard to be someone you don’t want to be.”
“Because that’s all I can do. If I don’t, I’m-” useless. Kaguya stopped herself short and shook her head, her dark, thick, hair swinging around her body. “It doesn’t matter,” she snapped, getting up and wiping loose white paint chips off of the back of her black skirt. She shouldn’t let herself get carried away by these feelings, even if Samantha was such an amazing temptation. Her brain fired on all cylinders as she tried to find a way to get this gorgeous woman to leave her alone. It was hard since she was finding her eyes constantly drawn to the tendrils in her aura and the exposed flesh at the waist of her pants. Somehow she managed to at least spit out, “Look, stop trying to get to know me. It’s not worth the effort.”
As Kaguya quickly jumped to her feet and stormed away, she was still able to catch Samantha’s response calling after her, “I think it’s worth it.” Suddenly a few raindrops fell from the sky and landed on Samantha’s head.
It took a lot of effort to keep walking after that, but Kaguya managed to make it to the academic building and up to one of the classrooms. They weren’t having any official classes this week, but students were still required to show up in their first classroom of the day for attendance and daily announcements. She dropped into a chair and sighed inwardly before looking around the room. There were a few faces that she knew she needed to stay wary of, and looking at the auras in the room she made note of any faces she’d have to check the roster for to give names to Souma. There were only three that she was concerned enough by their auras that she wanted to make sure didn’t challenge her to make their way into the Decums, which seemed like a small number of potential challengers compared to previous years. Maybe all her work to keep the numbers down was finally paying off.
After several moments, she had to turn off her aura sight as she saw that Monica was entering the room, and everyone else in the room had beautiful auras by comparison. But she couldn’t afford to make her father’s spy suspicious, especially now that she was so interested in Samantha, so she offered the other girl a congenial smile.
“Who was the Thomas chick that was waiting for you outside the cafeteria?” asked Monica as she sat down next to Kaguya in the classroom. They were sitting in the back, their desks moved so that they could talk without disturbing the students listening to lectures. The teacher wouldn’t bother telling them to be quiet, so he requested they choose seats in the back so as not to drag others down with them, in his opinion. Monica had pouted, but Kaguya had agreed and made her move desks anyway. She could see the wisps of annoyance dancing throughout Monica’s aura. “Not to mention, you ditched me after you went with her.”
Kaguya scoffed, trying to play it off as nothing. “Her name is apparently Samantha Thomas. After her first battle with one of us, she seems to be on a high. I had to let her know that challenging me or just about any other Kazegami would be a death wish. As for ditching you, I am not required to always be by your side.” She rolled her eyes before adding, “My father needed to see me, so you’ll have to ignore the fact that I didn’t return for breakfast.”
“Ah, so a dumb hot chick. I wonder if I could convince her to go a round or two with me.” If Monica’s aura at breakfast hadn’t told Kaguya she wasn’t talking about rounds in the arena, then her smirk right now certainly did. She could feel the anger and nausea in the pit of her stomach. “She’d probably be fun to mess with.”
“Leave her be,” Kaguya snapped, unable to stop herself from saying something. When she saw Monica’s brows go up in surprise, Kaguya forced a satisfied bitchy grin on her face. “I’m going to take care of her. It’s going to be fun, playing with a new toy for a while.”
Monica laughed and nodded. “All right, then. I suppose I can wait and see if she’d be interested once you were done with her, if she’s not a corpse by then.”
The nausea only got worse as Kaguya unintentionally imagined Samantha dead and bleeding, and she struggled to keep it from showing on her face.
I’ve got to protect her somehow, Kaguya thought to herself. It would be easier if Samantha would just leave her alone, but apparently that was too much to hope for; and if she was honest with herself, she didn’t want Samantha to leave her alone. The other girl was intoxicating, and Kaguya was slowly becoming addicted to their stolen moments already.
Once the class ended, Kaguya and Monica paraded toward their next class like the Kazegami royalty that they were, though Monica's prestige amongst the Familia was only because of Kaguya. With their heads held high they happened upon Samantha and Thea with a nameless Thomas girl, her hair a mix of colors and her height barely reaching Samantha’s shoulder. The girl was hugging Samantha as she rubbed her back and Kaguya felt the pit in her stomach tighten. It was obvious through their aura’s that the girl’s sadness was calming as Samantha held on to her. Samantha looked up and seeing Kaguya, sent her a wink before she looked back down at the girl, and the pit loosened up a fraction as Kaguya looked away from them. She saw the change in Samantha’s aura when she saw her, and it was just enough to ease the feeling she had when she saw the two of them embracing like that.
“Ew, get a room, why don’t you?” Monica complained loudly, causing others in the vicinity to look in their direction, and Kaguya to give her an exasperated look before she schooled herself into having a more appropriate expression. “I feel like this little threesome would work out better in the privacy of your bedroom, Thomas!” She laughed turning to Kaguya, who giggled convincingly beside her. Kaguya looked back at Samantha to see her nod subtly towards her, understanding mixed with hurt on her face.
Thea jumped up ready to fight and the other girl sank further into Hiakru’s shoulder in embarrassment. “Sit down, Thea,” Samantha voiced loudly enough to be sure they could hear, “they aren’t worth your time. Who cares what that slut thinks? She’s probably jealous about the fact that I can get pretty girls to surround me of their own accord.”
Monica turned on her heels, her face red with anger, and marched towards the trio. “Listen here you piece of sh-” She was interrupted by Kaguya’s sudden grasp on her wrist, pulling her away from them.
“Just let it go Monica,” Kaguya smirked, making sure to look right at Samantha with humor in her eyes. She could see the sorrow that appeared in Samantha’s aura when she had retaliated ease as their eyes met. “They aren’t worth our time, either.” With that, Monica straightened herself back up and humphed as she turned away, linking her arm through Kaguya’s as they marched off.
"Geez, they just make me sick," Monica scowled, looking over her shoulder even though the trio was no longer visible. "Are you sure you can take care of that yourself? I’d be more than happy-"
"Yes. I don't want you to lay a hand on her," Kaguya interrupted, her tone leaving no room for debate. Monica laughed and agreed, "Fine, fine, whatever you say, Princess!" Kaguya scoffed as she rolled her eyes.
Once they had been gone for several minutes, Thea turned to the girl leaning on Samantha and said, “Sorry about that. They are such bitches!”
“No, I’m sorry…” the girl mumbled, wincing and shrinking in on herself. “It’s because I’m leaning on Samantha so much. And I’m weak, so it’s easy to pick on me.”
Samantha shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, Eliza. I’m good at lending a shoulder where one is needed.”
“And a blade, apparently,” Thea said, obviously still a little miffed about Samantha getting into a fight on the first day of school. Samantha just grinned at her. “Stop looking so proud of yourself. It’s not good to get into fights!”
“I’m sorry you had to fight for me,” Eliza said, looking down at her feet. Thea sighed and shook her head, not sure if she should feel bad for making the girl continue to apologize or frustrated that all she was doing was apologizing.
“No, I’m sorry,” she eventually said, deciding that this girl had already had a hard time over the last couple days. “Really, if Samantha hadn’t stepped in when that creep was messing with you, who knows what would have happened. I’m not mad about what she did for you, I’m just frustrated because it means people will be targeting Samantha to make a name for themselves. It’s only the first week of school, and some people are dumb,” Thea explained.
Eliza nodded. “I understand. Still, it’s my fault that it’s likely to get blown up like that since Samantha only got into that fight because of me.”
“Nah,” Samantha told her, shaking her head and offering a small smile as she gave Eliza’s shoulder squeeze. “I’d have eventually been a target without your help. I have a knack for getting into trouble. You should talk to my mom about how many times my school threatened to suspend me when I got into fights. The only reason they never did was because they found out it was mostly self defense and they couldn’t find a reason to really punish me.”
“Like protecting a kitten when she was eight from bullies, evening out the numbers when a group of high schoolers surrounded one of your classmates - and by evening out I mean there were six of the high schoolers against just Samantha and the classmate - when she was twelve, and then when she was sixteen, so last year, she beat up a guy that had been picking on Emmett for two years before she found out,” Thea listed before sighing. “And those were the ones that the schools got involved in. There were several other times she got into fights that didn’t involve the schools. Her mom likes to brag on her. It’s a little annoying, to be honest.”
“You’re pretty amazing, huh,” Eliza told Samantha, feeling better and starting to regain her composure. There was a little color on her cheeks, but both of the Thomas sisters decided to ignore it as they continued talking. It was likely just caused by a little hero worship, but it was also possible that the girl was confused thanks to the androgynous way Samantha dressed and carried herself when combined with a little hero worship.
“That’s what everyone tells me,” Samantha said with a smirk as she puffed up her chest to make herself look bigger, earning a smack from Thea that deflated her posture. “Ow! What was that for?”
“You say it about yourself, too.”
“I mean, it’s not like I’m lying!”