Chapter 114 - Interlude 1 - Kaori, The Half-Demon, Part 3

A Few Weeks Later

Kaori stared at herself in the mirror, her heart beating in her ears. She wore a long-sleeved white shirt and a skirt of the same color, along with thigh-high stockings and black boots. This is good, right?  She asked herself for the fifth time.  Uh... Maybe the stockings are a bit much but... 

She shook her head and pouted.  No! You look good, it's fine. 

As she continued to pick apart what she wore, she heard someone knock on the front door. Kaori exited the room, but her mother was already on her way to answer. The older woman opened the door and from behind, Kaori saw Ash standing there, her hands in her pockets. 

"Oh, Ash!" Kaori's mom said brightly. "Good morning!" 

"Morning," Ash half-bowed. Kaori's parents had met Ash just a couple of days ago, as she'd shown up to walk her to the restaurant so they could keep working on the project. "Is Kaori...?" 

However, when she saw the half-demon, her words trailed off. As for Kaori, her eyes went up and down Ash's figure and she had to keep herself from biting her lip.  She is... Genuinely, unfairly attractive.  Kaori thought as she saw that the woman was dressed in a white tank top that showed off her arms, and a pair of black shorts that showed far too much of those endless legs of hers.

"Yes, she's here, uhm, would you like anything to drink before you go?" Her mother asked. 

"No, no, I ate on my way here," Ash replied. "Thanks, though." 

"Very well then," Kaori's mom turned to her and walked up, hugging her daughter with a smile. "Have fun!" 

"Y-Yeah..." Kaori replied, returning the hug. Her mom walked back into the living room while Ash simply stood outside with a little smirk. 

"Ready?"

"Mhm." 

"Let's get moving then." 

With that, the two of them went out, on their way to Ash's house. Last week, as they'd been finishing up the project, the two of them had been sitting in that quaint restaurant chatting together when Ash had dropped an unexpected question on her out of nowhere. 

She had asked if Kaori wanted to hang out at her house. 

"A-Are you sure!?" Kaori had asked. 

Ash laughed a little and nodded. 

"Mhm. If you want to come, you're invited. I don't have much, but we can find something to do, I'm sure." 

"I... But, really? I mean..." Kaori had looked down at the table, nervous. "I'm... You know, uh... a..." 

"I'm aware," Ash responded with a roll of her eyes. "So?" 

"Uhm, sure. Yeah, sure." 

And with that, the two of them were now walking towards Ash's home. Although Kaori understood that this was normal for others, she couldn't help but feel strange. She hadn't ever thought that this sort of thing would be in the cards for her. But, indeed, she was really here. Ash was actually next to her, and the two of them were as a matter of fact, on their way to hang out. 

She had to keep herself from grinning, she was so excited. 

"We're here," Ash said, and Kaori looked ahead. What they stood in front of was a quaint house that probably didn't stand out to anyone else, but as for Kaori, she was excited to go in. Ash opened the door and stepped aside, allowing Kaori to pass through. 

It honestly appeared even smaller from the inside. There were just two rooms, one bathroom at the back, and then in front of the door was a bed with a shirt or two tossed onto it, a small table, and what looked like a makeshift oven right by it. 

"W-Wow..." 

"Yeah, sorry, it's not much," Ash shrugged. 

"No, no, it's nice," Kaori chuckled. "Seems pretty cozy." 

"You could say that, I guess." 

"But, well, not to pry but, do your parents share this place with you?" 

"Hell no," Ash scoffed. "Nah, they barely ever come here, and when they do they don't stay the night." 

"Oh?" Kaori tilted her head as Ash pulled a chair back and gestured for her to sit, which she did. "Where are they? If you don't mind me asking." 

"They're traveling merchants, so they move around a lot from one city to another. They left me here so I could get an education though." 

"Oh. I see." 

"Yeah," Ash took off her boots and kicked her feet up on the bed, which was, of course, right next to the table.

"Do you miss them?" Kaori asked. 

"From time to time," Ash leaned her head against the wall to her left. "They send letters often though, so I still talk to them." 

"Hm... I don't think I could stand to be too far from my parents," Kaori said. 

"Gotta walk on your own at some point, I just started earlier than most," Ash shrugged. 

"Is that so?" Kaori asked.  Well. I suppose she's right, but... without their support, I do wonder what would happen to me. No one else seems to like me very much, after all. 

"Yeah," Ash continued. "I mean, isn't there some shit you'd like to do without them around?" 

"Like what?" 

"Get drunk," she started listing off, "sleepover at someone else's house," she gestured to her bed. 

Then, she smiled a little. 

"Sleep  with someone." 

Hearing that, Kaori's face quickly reddened and Ash started cackling. 

She really does just want to embarrass me, huh?  Kaori thought. 

"Kaori, I have a question," she asked, and Kaori felt her tone dropping a little in pitch. It was suddenly akin to a person's voice after they've just woken up in the morning. 

"Mhm?" 

"Are you, like, into me or something?" Ash asked. 

"..." Kaori's throat tightened so much she failed to squeeze any words through it for a bit. 

"I, well, we, uhm... We only just met a few weeks ago." 

"No, I mean physically," Ash elaborated with a smirk and a wave of her hand. 

"Oh." 

Hearing that, Kaori looked away. 

"N... No..." She lied. Even now, she had to actively keep her eyes from moving to the other girl's toned arms, or her soft-looking lips stretched up in a grin. 

Ash stood up and walked over to where Kaori was. Then, she crouched in front of her. 

"Come again?" She asked gently. "I couldn't hear you." 

"Uh..." Kaori looked at Ash, while white-knuckle gripping the sides of her chair. "I'm sorry, but... yes..." 

She wasn't about to try to lie again to her face like that. If she was going to be kicked out of this house, she would at least do so while being honest. 

"You really do have a habit of apologizing for things you don't have to apologize for," Ash replied, crossing her arms on the table and putting her head on them as she continued looking into Kaori's violet eyes. "It's okay to like someone like that." 

"Not to some people," Kaori quickly mumbled. 

"Hm?" 

A certain memory then played in front of Kaori's eyes. 

A fourteen-year-old Kaori waited in the yard just outside of her secondary school. Here, she held a small letter with a heart drawn on it behind her back. A few minutes passed after she'd arrived and Kaori finally saw a girl walk out, moving towards her. She had friends behind her, who were giggling to themselves about something. 

The girl went up to Kaori and crossed her arms. 

"So, what did you want?" She asked. 

"I... I just wanted to give this over to you." 

She had asked her mother for tips regarding this on the day prior, and this was what she'd suggested. A love letter. She had told Kaori that so long as she was honest and poured her feelings into it, it would surely reach the recipient. 

Oh, how wrong she was. 

"Are you serious?" The girl asked with a cruel smirk as she held the envelope. 

"Y-Yeah, I just..." 

Her friends joined and the girl tore the thing open, starting to read its contents out loud. They started to laugh at her and Kaori was seriously considering running as far away as she could. She probably should have, because what happened next was that she was shoved to the ground and the same girl she'd given the letter to spilled water from a bottle over her head. 

"Get fucking real," she said then as she and her friends walked away. 

That was the day Kaori learned that anything she felt for another person, whether love or lust, was something she needed to keep to herself. 

And yet, somehow, although she thought she knew that, she'd ended up here. 

Tears threatened to spill from the corners of her eyes as she waited for Ash's response. 

"Well, I'm not some people, and I for one, think you're pretty fucking adorable, so..."

Then, Ash stood up straight and took her shirt off. 

Kaori had the worst case of emotional whiplash in years. From feeling sad, her face flushed and she waved her hands back and forth. 

"W-W-W-W-WAIT!" Kaori said. As Ash put her hands proudly on her hips, smiling down at her, the white-haired girl covered her eyes. 

"Hahahahaha," Ash laughed and Kaori was convinced this was some sick joke. "Come on, do you seriously still think I'm just messing with you?" 

"I... There's no way you're serious... We just... We haven't even..." 

And then, Ash lightly pulled Kaori's hands away from her eyes and placed them over her chest. 

Oh Lumina, they're soft.

"Serious enough for you?" Ash asked. "Listen, listen," she said and Kaori nodded. 

"O-Okay?" 

"If you don't want to do anything, that's fine. Maybe I misread you, but, I think you're, you know, a little backed-up down there, and I'm down to help you let loose for a bit. That's all this is. Really. It doesn't have to be a big deal if you don't want it to be." 

Taking a deep breath, Kaori let those words marinate, and then she nodded. 

"Can... Can we take it slow?" Kaori asked. 

"In what sense?" 

"Uh... Go on a date or something?" Kaori asked. "I... I've always thought..." She sighed. "This sounds dumb, I know, but, I don't want my first time to be... not special, I don't know if you understand." 

"Ah. You're a romantic? No, I get you," Ash nodded and she put her tank top back on. "Understood. So, a date then?" 

"You want to go on one?" Kaori asked, and she couldn't stop herself from sounding a little bit hopeful. 

"Yeah. Sounds fun," Ash shrugged. "Been a while too, so I may as well polish up on my skills." 

"Skills?" 

"Mhm," Ash told her. "Showing a girl a good time requires plenty of skills." 

Kaori gulped, trying her hardest not to let those words lead her mind to dirty thoughts as Ash laughed a little at her reaction.