Cloud Gazing

After everyone had a fulfilling meal, Shizuka took Rika to the room where they drank the virus. They speculated that by night, she would've already been through the enhancement, earning herself a big boost in power. Ryo was sure that, once she went through it, she would be the best sniper in the entire world.

He wanted to provide the virus for Kouta and a few other people of importance, like the Yamadas, Miyamotos and Matsushima. After all, they would be in charge of the place for the most part, since Ryo planned to travel often to other areas in search of resources, vehicles and other materials. It was around 6 PM when he started walking around the camp and talking to everyone about their thoughts.

Ryo understood that he couldn't provide everyone with everything they wished, but he certainly could try his best. What people complained the most about was hygiene. Since the electricity in the manor was currently being provided by the generator, but the water still wasn't flowing since the dam was not functioning. The only way he had to solve that problem was to fix the dam, but that would take too long a time. As such, he asked Saya to think of a short-time solution, something they could do for the time being.

"Well... I think we could take load some water tanks and load them with water from the nearby river" she said while thinking of how to solve the situation properly. It wasn't such a far-fetched plan, it was just a bit hard to make it work. "We might need more vehicles to carry the full things though. And people would have to take turns to shower. The time would also be restricted..."

Ryo smiled as he patted her head. Having reliable people around made his job easier and he could feel how everyone was putting in the effort to help in making the Estate a better place.

"That's good. I want to get more vehicles and upgrade the bus some more, but I have other priorities currently" Ryo said before hugging the girl. When he let go, she was blushing hard and looking down. Ryo chuckled. "Thanks for the help Saya, we'll talk later"

Currently, he was looking for his Kitsu. She hadn't been honest about how she felt about him yet, and he knew she probably wouldn't unless someone really pushed her. But Ryo didn't want to wait for that long, so he decided to confront the woman.

*

After walking around the Estate for a while and not being able to find her, he caught a smell not far away from where he was. It was the smell of cigarettes. He found Hiratsuka doing nothing, laying on the roof of the mansion while cloud gazing. Ryo climbed his way up the mansion and laid beside her. Not saying anything, he lit up his own cigarette and simply began cloud gazing.

"Ryo..." Hiratsuka said while looking calmly at the smoke of her cigarette mixing with the clouds in the sky. "Why did you come here?"

Ryo looked at her while thinking of all that had happened. He remembered that conversation they had on Rika's apartment balcony and how beautiful the woman looked under the moonlight. Each of them had a certain moment when they were at their most beautiful, and Hiratsuka's was the current one. Relaxed, smoking a cig, doing nothing but small talk.

"I was looking for you" he said, blowing out a bit of smoke with each word. "Thought it was high time we talked"

Hiratsuka turned for a second and looked at his face. It was relaxed, but it had a tint of seriousness mixed with anxiousness. She thought it was quite cute, how he had slept with two girls, was dating six, and still got anxious when he wanted to talk to her. Though she realized that the situation was as such because of her stubborn pride, she wanted to make things hard for him.

"So... what did you want to say?" she asked, looking back to the sky and studying each passing cloud. Ryo answered in a way she didn't expect. Pointing at one cloud, he spoke. "See that cloud? Look, if you follow the shape... doesn't it look like a Gardenia?"

"Hmm... yeah, it kinda does" she said while following how his finger moved around the cloud, drawing every line for her to see the flower. "What's your point?"

"*sigh*... your ruining all my lines..." he said jokingly before taking a puff out of his cig. "It kind of reminds me of you. It only blooms when nobody is watching it... and those who get to smell its perfume are lucky"

Hiratsuka turned her head towards him, a bit surprised at how good his words were. It was cheesy, but girls liked hearing those kinds of things, and even more so from the boy they liked. Hiratsuka, for all her talk, was still only twenty-five.

"You're an idiot" she said blankly, as if his words hadn't affected her. Once again, his surprise managed to surprise her. He chuckled softly, clearly amused by her words. "Yeah... I kinda am, aren't I, Kitsu?"

Hiratsuka couldn't properly react. It was the second time he called her like that. It was a nickname he had chosen for her and, even if it came from their smoking habit, she appreciated it. After all, he thought about something that would suit her and sound cute at the same time. She sighed when she realized she would never win against him.

"Ryo, let's spar for a bit"

*

Right in front of the mansion, Ryo and Hiratsuka were standing in front of each other, both barefoot. She was in a typical Karate stance, while Ryo stood more relaxed, with a Muay Thai stance. Hiratsuka was the first to move, rushing at him quickly. She sent a punch straight for his stomach, which he blocked by raising his leg.

"Why did you have to be so nice?!" she screamed while sending another punch, only for Ryo to redirect it towards his side.

Hiratsuka took a step back and dived in once again, sending a frontal kick to his sternum. He caught her foot and let it go right after, as a kick passed by his face. She had used the hand grabbing her foot as a pivot to send a kick with her other leg.

"Why did you have to sleep with Yuriko?!" she yelled, her voice turning more coarse. She landed her kick and dashed, sending many punches his way. Ryo was slowly deflecting them, refusing to talk.

Hiratsuka kept trying to hit him, thought it was useless. With each hit, she spoke her heart our, releasing all of the frustration she kept inside her.

"I was the first one to talk to you! I was the one closest!" she cried while trying to punch him in the face. Ryo caugh her fist and once again let her go. He wanted to hear everything, and he would take it all in stride.

"I wanted to be with you! Why did I have to be so prideful?!"

"Why did you... have to treat us all so well..."

Ryo dashed towards Hiratsuka and, not caring about the people around, hugged her tightly. Her head was pressed against his chest, silently sobbing her frustrations out. For the first time, he spoke.

"Because I care about you all the same... because I love you"

All that could be heard after that was Hiratsuka's slow sobs.

*

After her sudden outburst, Hiratsuka and Ryo both went back to the roof, to continue cloud gazing. Hiratsuka was the first one to speak.

"Was what you said... about the Gardenia... did you really mean it?" Hiratsuka asked shyly while looking at the sky. Ryo turned his head and could see she was blushing. He smiled warmly.

"It was" he said honestly, his eyes staring at her face. "I've thought about it since we talked in the balcony and I saw you under the moonlight"

Hiratsuka turned her head and felt embarrassed when she saw him staring at her so intently. It felt as if he was looking straight through her body and right into her soul, gazing at who she really was. It was a bit scary, having someone know who you truly are. But then she realized Ryo had always bared himself naked for them, showing his true colors and his every emotion.

She was woken from her trance by a warm hand caressing her cheek and tucking her hair behind her ear. She looked into his eyes and could see nothing but love and care. She moved her head closer to his and waited. Ryo, realized what she wanted, smirked warmly. When he closed the distance between them, she suddenly hugged him tightly.

"I love you, Ryo" she said when they separated. Ryo smiled warmly at her and thought that she was quite cute when she wasn't being serious or grumpy. "I love you too, Kitsu"

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And one more romantic scene done! Phew, writing Hiratsuka's frustrations took a lot out of me guys. I did my best to make this scene feel as Hiratsuka as possible, so I hope I did good on her.