Keitaro's cheeks burned a shade hotter than the Nepalese sun he'd recently been basking in. Shoko's question, delivered with such casualness, caught him completely off guard.
"N-no!" he stammered, his voice a touch too high-pitched. "I mean, of course, I have! Just, uh, not while they were... studying medicine."
He mentally kicked himself. Smooth, Keitaro. Real smooth.
Why not call yourself Michael Jackson at this point....he was being very sarcastic to himself.
Shoko's lips twitched at the corners, showing a hint of amusement despite the exhaustion in her eyes. "Well, now you have," she said, finishing putting on a t-shirt that looked a couple of sizes too big for her. "No need to get flustered. It's not like I'm some kind of secret ninja commando who sleeps in full tactical gear."
A small, relieved laugh escaped Keitaro. "Right. Of course not." He rose from the edge of the bed, suddenly finding himself incredibly interested in the peeling paint on the wall.
'This wall is so interesting' Keitaro thought to himself looking at the wall infront of him, the paint sure was quite interesting to look at.
Especially how it was slowly peeling away from the wall, what a beautiful sight indeed, he didnt know that paint could be so pretty.
"So, uh," he started, desperately trying to change the subject, "medical school, huh? Sounds... intense."
Shoko flopped back down on the bed, gathering her scattered textbooks.
"Not really when you got Rct," She said dryly as she lay on the bed.
huh, so she was cheating using Rct, huh to be fair this was about what he had expected from her, it was good to know that she hadn't changed a bit throughout all this time
"RCT, huh?" he finally managed, a hint of amusement creeping into his voice. "Always the clever one, I see."
Shoko shrugged, a playful glint returning to her tired eyes. "It is pretty reliable when I forget how to fix a limb"
She paused, taking in Keitaro's awkward demeanor. A soft chuckle escaped her lips. "Hey, don't worry about it," she said, her voice gentle. "Maybe next time you interrupt a napping med student, you could knock first."
Keitaro's cheeks flushed a rosy red, but a grin tugged at the corner of his lips. It felt good to be back, to be trading playful jabs with Shoko.
"Right, right," he conceded, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "Lesson learned."
He said as if he hadn't sent a signal first before his arrival, he should probably place some notes down about after he sent the code, he will give the person he was trying to teleport to a good 5 minutes or until they sent him back a ping before teleporting.
He certainly didnt feel like being exposed like this again.
"So, why are you here" Shoko asked out of nowhere as she finish lazily putting her clothes back on.
She kind of look like a doctor like this....just a lot lazier.
"Oh, i just wanted to drop by and say Hi "Keitaro said honestly not really finding a reason to lie
Shoko's gaze softened slightly as she watched Keitaro squirm under her scrutiny. A hint of a smile played on her lips.
"Alright, alright," she said, her voice losing its edge. "Maybe I overestimated your ulterior motives, One second man."
"Please dont"Keitaro said not feeling all that well about that one second man thing, he though that name was something of the pass.
"What you want to prove me otherwise" She added lazily to which Keitaro seem to have not gotten a clue what she was talking.
"Huh.."
"You sure are dense"She said lazily much to Keitaro confusion.
She pushed herself off the bed, stretching out the kinks in her back with a groan. "So, catching up, huh? Well, spill it then. How was your trip? Did you finally perfect that teleportation technique you were always rambling about?"
A genuine smile spread across Keitaro's face. He relaxed a little, the awkward tension dissipating.
"The trip was... something else," he admitted, launching into a detailed account of his travels. He described the breathtaking scenery, the unique culture, and of course, his training. He told her about his struggles and breakthroughs, his moments of doubt and exhilaration.
Shoko listened intently, occasionally interjecting with a question or a playful jab. As he spoke, the room seemed to fade away, replaced by the vibrant images he painted with his words.
He paused, catching his breath after a particularly animated retelling of a close call with a Shiva.
"Huh, so you kill Shiva...Neet" Shoko said lazily, there was no other emotion there on her face, as if this man didn't say he defeated a curse that would make most special grade curse its bitch.
"So yeah," he concluded, a touch of pride in his voice, "I think I finally got the hang of that teleporting thing. Makes teleporting seem like child's play."
"Cool" She added dryly as she looks at him, she looked quite tired as those words left her mouth.
Maybe just maybe she was feeling drained.
A/N For this chapter i only have 2 questions...Rate how dense he is.
2/What was Shoko implying by showing her otherwise?