Kurona Yasuhisa was growing impatient.
She just wanted Ihei Shio to get out of the way already.
She had been waiting for a chance to talk to Kanzaki Ryoma, but Shio had hogged his attention the entire time, chatting with him like they were old friends.
"Kurona… why do you seem to care about that guy so much?"
Nashiro's whispered question caught Kurona off guard.
She flinched slightly—not expecting her twin to notice her behavior so quickly.
Kurona hesitated.
"Is it… that obvious?"
Nashiro gave her a knowing look.
"I'm your twin sister. Of course, I'd notice," she replied calmly.
Kurona tried to play it off.
"I just… have something I want to ask him," she muttered.
Nashiro didn't doubt her.
"Then why don't you just ask him directly?" she asked. "Or… are you embarrassed?"
Kurona felt her heart skip a beat.
"N-No, it's not like that! Besides, I'm not in a hurry or anything," she said quickly, trying to sound casual.
But she wasn't being honest with herself.
She wanted to talk to Kanzaki right now.
She just didn't want Nashiro—or anyone else—to notice why.
---
After what felt like an eternity, Ihei Shio finally finished his conversation with Kanzaki and returned to the front of the group.
Kurona immediately seized the opportunity, walking up to Kanzaki's side.
Kanzaki noticed her approach.
"What's up?" he asked.
Kurona hesitated for a moment, then said:
"Why did you save me back there? I mean… I treated you like a rival before, and I wasn't exactly nice to you."
She had been thinking about this for a while now.
She knew Kanzaki was strong.
But what she couldn't understand was why he had risked himself to save her without hesitation—even when she had been hostile toward him.
Kanzaki chuckled softly.
"You don't need a special reason to save someone," he said.
Then, with a teasing smirk, he added—
"And besides, a girl as cute as you? It'd be a shame if something happened to you."
Kurona froze.
Her face turned bright red.
Did he just—
Did he just call her cute?!
"W-What the hell are you saying?!" she stammered. "D-Don't say unnecessary things like that!"
She quickly looked away, trying to hide her face.
But her blush betrayed her.
She was… happy.
For the first time in her life, a boy had called her cute—and actually meant it.
Kanzaki, completely unfazed, just smiled.
"What do you mean, unnecessary? I'm just stating facts," he said.
"You're really cute."
Kurona's heart skipped a beat again.
Why was he saying this so casually?!
She could feel her brain short-circuiting.
"I-I get it! So just… just stop talking already!" she hurriedly interrupted.
###
Nashiro had been watching the entire exchange.
She could hear everything, even though they were speaking quietly.
And now, she was completely confused.
Her sister had never acted like this before.
Kurona never paid attention to boys.
She usually ignored them entirely, only ever sticking with Nashiro.
But with Kanzaki, she was—
Different.
Nashiro couldn't understand why.
She decided she would ask her sister about it later.
---
Not far away, Juuzou Suzuya had also noticed Kurona's strange behavior.
He tilted his head slightly, watching the interaction for a moment.
But then he quickly lost interest.
Unlike Nashiro, Juuzou had no clue what any of it meant, nor did he care.
To him, it was just another meaningless conversation.
So, he shrugged and went back to thinking about his next fight.
...
Realizing she was losing control of the conversation, Kurona quickly retreated back to Nashiro's side.
As soon as she did, Nashiro immediately leaned in close.
"Kurona, why do you act so differently around him?" she asked.
Kurona's heart stopped for a second.
She knew her sister was going to ask this.
And yet, she still wasn't prepared.
"What—what do you mean?" Kurona tried to sound confused.
Nashiro narrowed her eyes slightly.
"You never act like this around other boys. But with Kanzaki, it's like… I don't know, it's just weird."
Kurona panicked internally.
"I-It's not like that! It's just—"
She scrambled for an excuse.
"—he saved me, okay?! It'd be weird if I just treated him like any other guy after that!"
Nashiro blinked.
"Oh. I guess that makes sense," she said simply.
She believed Kurona's excuse without question.
Kurona internally sighed in relief.
But…
Something still felt off.
Even if Kanzaki had saved her, her reaction just now had been…
Too much.
Was it because—
…No.
No way.
That wasn't possible.
He's my rival, Kurona told herself.
That's all.
Nothing more.
Determined to push all distractions aside, Kurona forced herself to focus on the internship again.
She wouldn't let herself be indecisive next time.
But not even five minutes later, she found herself getting irritated again.
Why?
Because Ihei Shio was back to talking with Kanzaki.
Laughing. Smiling. Chatting like nothing else mattered.
Kurona felt herself scowling.
She wasn't sure why…
…but she really didn't like watching it.
---
Kanzaki Ryoma & Juuzou Suzuya defeated 3 ghouls.
Kurona & Nashiro Yasuhisa defeated 2 ghouls (making up for their earlier failure).
The other two trainees also defeated 2 ghouls but were less impressive overall.
Now, the day's mission was over.
It was already late, and the trainees were leaving Ward 24.
Of course, the internship wasn't over yet—they would return again tomorrow.
...
At the cave exit of Ward 24, Kanzaki and the others prepared to take the subway back.
Ihei Shio waved cheerfully at Kanzaki.
"See you tomorrow, Kanzaki-san!"
Kanzaki smiled and waved back.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow, Shio."
Kurona's eye twitched.
She had noticed something just now.
Kanzaki had called him by his first name.
====
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