CHAPTER 262: Isolated

Shortly after, the bed was occupied by all three women — Yoruichi casually lying on it, Momo sitting quietly on the edge, and Rukia attentively observing Yoruichi from her seat next to Momo. The catgirl seemed oblivious to the subtle animosity coming from the small girl with black hair, or she simply didn't care.

Yoruichi waved her hand dismissively without bothering to move from her position. "Kazu, take the guests to another room. I'm sleeping here."

She acted more spoiled than before, partially out of laziness and partially to tease the ticked-off Rukia. Her nonchalant behavior accomplished her goal, splendidly so.

Rukia's brows furrowed, a clear sign of her increasing hostility towards Yoruichi. "Kazuya, who is this lady and why is she ordering you around?"

Momo pointed a finger at Yoruichi's tail. "Shouldn't we ask about that? Why does it move like it's real?"

"That too, but my question is more important right now!"

"Uh, okay!"

Kazuya looked at the friends with contrasting priorities. "How long have you two been here?"

"We just arrived," Momo replied before turning her gaze to Yoruichi. "Rukia, she is Yor. I met her on our hot spring trip… I'm not sure about their relationship."

Momo would've made a connection between Yor and Yoruichi if it weren't for her cat form's masculine voice. Yoruichi's choice went against common sense on so many levels.

Rukia snorted, eyes glaring daggers at him. "This house has one bed, and she is sleeping on it. How hard is it to guess their relationship?"

Rather than jealousy, she felt anger towards him for "cheating" on Momo. The anger had seeped into her tone, despite her previous oath to act with composure.

Momo glanced at him, pleading with him to put an end to the undesired conflict. "Rukia-chan, we should go to the living room."

Rukia swiveled to Momo with a surprised look. "He is having an affair with this woman! Girl, why am I more pissed than you?!"

"Because you like me," Kazuya said with a smile. "Also, Yor is my future wife. It'll be better for everyone to get along."

Yoruichi, who had been acting disinterested until now, hurriedly sat up. "When did I agree to be your wife?"

Kazuya chuckled. "Yor is just shy."

"Shy my foot," Yoruichi snarled before lightly kicking the back of Momo's head. "I'm Yoruichi, idiot. The black cat is my alternate transformation. This is my real form, how I was born."

To further illustrate her point, Yoruichi jumped into the air and transformed into her cat form with a loud poof.

"See. I am YORUICHI!"

Startled, Momo and Rukia exchanged a glance before pinching each other's cheeks.

"We aren't dreaming," Rukia whispered. "That black cat wasn't an old man but a lady. A beautiful one at that."

"Yeah…" Momo nodded. "Yor Yoruichi… we should've connected the dots."

Yoruichi couldn't contain her laughter at the sight. "Geez, you girls could've discovered sooner if you just asked yourself the question — why is a lecherous guy like Kazuya keeping an old cat? You'd have gotten your answer."

Momo's eyes widened. "I-I thought you mentored him. That's why you're important to him."

The misunderstanding had prevented her from thinking too deeply about the wise talking cat.

"I only taught him minor things. In any case, I hope you all have a pleasant evening. I'm gonna sleep in the living room."

Carefree and nonchalant, she hopped off the bed and made her way out of the room.

Rukia rubbed the back of her head. She had something a lot on her mind but clearly lacked the courage to say it.

Momo abruptly stood up and directed her finger straight at the door. "I'm suddenly feeling thirsty."

She hurriedly exited the room before anyone could utter a word. Kazuya knew that she had done this to give him some alone time with Rukia. Momo inviting Rukia to a threesome wasn't an on-the-spot idea — she had pre-planned everything to insert Rukia into her relationship with him.

The clueless Rukia took a deep breath and faced him. His calm expression made her heart slow down, allowing her a chance to regain some much-needed composure.

"K-Kazuya… how was your first day here?"

"Pretty good, actually."

He picked a simple response that would make her feel more relaxed around him.

"I see… Look, I'm sorry for doubting you—" She paused when she saw him coming over and plopping down next to her. "H-Hey, you're too close!"

"This is close?"

"Yeah!"

She scooted an inch away, but before she could escape, an arm wrapped around her waist, firmly holding her in place.

"Stop taking advantage of me—"

Rukia's words all but froze in the next instant. Their eyes locked, and he gently grasped her chin, drawing closer and closer. Her eyes were glued to his lips, her own quivering as though recalling their passionate night inside her dorm room.

'T-This crazy guy!'

She could push him back and end whatever was going on between her and him. OR she could experience that incredible moment again and feel his warmth at the same time.

Rukia faced a tough decision, one that might change her future for better or for worse.

As her heartbeat soared, time seemed to slow down around her. She felt his lips hovering just a breath away from hers, tempting her into probably the dumbest decision of her life.

'He did it first. It's not my fault!'

From the corner of her eyes, she took a quick glance at the closed door. Relieved that nobody would come without knocking, she shut her eyes and tilted her head ever-so slightly.

The lips she so craved pecked her cheek. "Rukia, it's done. You can open your eyes now."

With a wide-eyed stare, she locked eyes with him, realizing that she had been tricked into an embarrassing situation. "Why did you do that?"

"What did I do?"

"You… you know exactly what you did."

He blinked his eyes at her accusations, looking like an honest-to-goodness innocent person — the opposite of his true nature. "I still don't know what you're talking about."

Was he being mean to her? Just a bit. The small amount of teasing was nothing compared to his fun. In addition, he was conditioning her to become more sincere with herself and him. In simple words, he wanted her to be more proactive with her desires.

Rukia clenched her jaw, shooting him a menacing sideways look. His response was just as unconcerned as before.

She shrugged his hand off her back and climbed on his lap.

"Rukia—"

She roughly grabbed his kimono's collars and leaned her entire weight against him. If someone like Harribel did this to him, he'd have lost his balance. However, Rukia's petite figure just wasn't enough to make him buckle under its weight.

"Kazuya, I hate you."

Contrary to her previous statement, she couldn't resist her urges and drew him closer before locking lips with him. And contrary to her rough grip on his collars, she gave him the most vanilla kiss possible.

"I want more. Give me more…"

He rested his hands on her hips, smiling. "Everything in this world is yours to take, if you put in the effort."

She didn't even blink at his suggestion and immediately dove in for another kiss. The moment her lips met his, it was on. Adrenaline blazed through him. There were no light pecks, gently probing tongues, or chaste kisses. It was full-throttle passion. Her lips pressed hard against his, and their tongues were frenzied as they explored each other's mouths.

Her 'hateful' kiss allowed no opportunity to escape. Not that he wanted to escape her.

Amidst their sloppy kiss, the door slowly opened, its creak barely above a whisper. So lost in her moment that Rukia paid no attention to her friend walking inside. She didn't register Momo sitting by her side and observing the two with a pleased smirk.

***

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