"I don't care.""... I won't even go there." Kurumi replied back with a sigh, and a shake of her head. He definitely wasn't the Kurou that she remembered, and it was still taking a while to get used to it. She caught the remote, but it nearly slipped through her fingers as she received a jolt of pain from her finger tips all the way up her arm. She closed her eyes for a moment to collect herself, to avoid a pained expression from making it's way onto her features. She opened them a little bit later, switching the movie to Scream, the TV show. She liked horror movies, never romance. Chick flicks always reminded her of what she didn't have, and despite the nightmares that would surely come with watching a horror based TV show, it was better than watching a romance movie with her ex, she hated them on their own, but that would be a million times worse.
"Watch whatever.""Depressing." She stated amongst a sigh followed with a frown as she looked over to Kurou. Was he always like this, or was it because of her? Would he be like this from now on? She decided to attempt making amends, seeing as Yukito did request that they behave, but mostly because the victory was too easy?
"I was only half serious." She stated, tossing the remote back to Kurou, not making eye contact with him as she continued on,
"I don't understand that show you were watching, so I got bored of it." She explained, leaning back against the couch, but remained only on the arm of the couch so the two of them remained at a distance and did not touch at all. She began rubbing her upper arm absentmindedly, the same arm that nearly dropped the remote earlier,
"You can change it back. I just wanted to see if this show was worth watching to be honest. My mother recommended it." Part of her felt a bit guilty for demanding the remote, seeing as Kurou didn't seem to see the lightheartedness behind it, and another part of her wished that Yukito and Nemui would interrupt, to make the awkwardness in the room dissipate.
"Nothing happened, remember?"Kurumi nodded her head when he said that bit, the words stinging again. It stung when she said them, but somehow when he repeated them it managed to sting a bit more,
"I know that, he just has a knack for making it more awkward than it should be." She confessed, but a lot more relaxed now, perhaps because she was tired, but she blamed it on the pain that shot through her arm. It was hard to fully focus on anything now when her arm was searing with pain, even her Kurou and Yukito problem fell as a close second on her priorities.
"If there's nothing for him to get out of it, he'll get bored eventually.... probably. Just remember not to---"Kurumi was listening to his advice when her earlier prayers were answered, yet now she was angry. She wanted to hear Kurou's advice, but he couldn't give it now that Yukito and Nemui returned. She'd have to figure it out on her own, or lie. Either way, she was determined to keep it a secret from Yukito,
"Thanks for the advice, Kitomura-San." Kurumi replied with a smile to Kurou, not daring to call him or Yukito by first name until this all blew over.
"We're back! Did you two behave while we're out?" "Why wouldn't we?" Kurumi tilted her head in an innocent and oblivious manner, even batting her eyelashes in confusion for good measure. It was a little easier now, seeing as Kurou's sour mood was getting on her nerves. She wasn't as embarrassed anymore, because he didn't seem to have a lot in common with the Kurou she had such strong feelings for, aside from similar physical features, but even those changed. He looked older and was taller, but little else seemed to change about him.
"I-I'm so sorry for holding up dinner...""Ne-chan, you could have been.." At first Kurumi's voice was concerned sharp as she spoke to the younger girl, but toward the end it cracked a little. She was definitely upset, but she wasn't sure if it was more about Nemui wandering off or Kurou. Kurumi shook her head, letting her worries float off into the wind, because there were more pressing matters at hand.
"Never mind. You're safe, so let's just eat, okay?" Kurumi responded to her sister in a relieved tone, but didn't get the chance to say anymore, too startled and angered by Kurou's next words to say much of anything pleasant.
"You'd better not do it again." Kurumi immediately shot a warning glare at Kurou, doing next to nothing to be discreet. She wanted him to know she wouldn't put up with his snarky attitude towards her innocent and timid sister. She wouldn't start trouble for no reason, nor would she expose their past, but being rude to Nemui in front of Kurumi was comparable to taunting a momma bear's cub. She wouldn't sit by and twiddle her thumbs, whether she currently felt weaker than an empty egg shell or not.
Do that again, and you'll wake up with baby pink hair tomorrow... or none at all if I'm feeling particularly vicious today.. Kurumi thought to herself in a harsh manner, paying close attention to the moments to come.
"It was no trouble at all.""Thank you for understanding, Kitomura-kun." Kurumi responded with a grateful expression, smiling to him, then at Nemui. She was glad at least one of the brothers wasn't being a total asshole to her little sister. Nemui was bullied enough at school, she wouldn't allow it to happen here too. Home was meant to be a sanctuary after all.
"Is that so? Well, I guess it's best for Kurumi-san and Ku-nii to get to bed early then." "I'm going to go shortly after dinner so that I can get a little studying in on my own." She wasn't much for studying, so to Nemui this was obviously a lie. She was confident that her sister would not call her out on her choice, at least not in front of the Kitomura brothers. Honestly she just wanted to call it a night.
"Itadakimasu." Kurumi stated, her words forced and almost too synthetically sweet to utter. She was definitely faking it, still
very ticked off that Kurou snapped at her sister as if he had the right. As far as she was currently concerned, she'd never accept him as a friend, so she'd never consider him family, especially if he couldn't tame that horrible personality he kept expressing. She almost wondered how she ever fell in love with such a vile person, but remembered that he was a far different person back then, and mourned the boy she knew. The Kurou that she knew was already dead, she did not know this person at all, so she suddenly didn't feel so much like a liar anymore. Perhaps this was the mindset she'd needed all along to get Yukito off of her back?
Kurumi remained otherwise silent and put a decent sized portion of salad on her plate, and nothing else. She'd chalk it up as being a vegetarian, but honestly she simply was terrified of gaining weight, and wished to eat as few preservatives as possible. She missed hamburgers, chicken, the works, but she had an image to uphold as school, seeing as she was the most popular girl there. Her altruistic behavior and ballet skills definitely did a lot to boost her popularity, she was the complete opposite of the mean girls that typically held her position in school.
It was hard not to notice Kurou's savage methods of eating, but she ignored him to the best of her ability,
"Thank you, Kitomura-San. You really worked hard." Kurumi complimented with a very kind smile. A lot of the boys from school would describe her current smile as a gift from the angels. Kurumi never understood why they had a habit of over exaggerating, but she did find it a bit charming at times.
"Bed does sound good." Kurumi put her plate and glass away quietly, bowing to Yukito and Nemui,
"Excuse me, I am turning in early tonight. Goodnight Ne-chan, Kitomura-kun." She didn't feel awkward about leaving shortly after Kurou, mostly because she planned to long before he mentioned it. She left Yukito and Nemui to their dinner, making her ascent up the stairs, refusing to let her eyes wander in the direction of Kurou's bedroom. She went straight to her own, shutting the door behind her and changed into
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