MIA usually ended up leaving Subaru’s place after dark. But since she lived in an apartment complex right next to the Crow Ranger’s, it wasn’t really a problem.
This time, Ren accompanied Mia on the walk back to her unit.
“Oh yeah, you also live close by, don’t you, Ren?”
“Yep. How did you know?”
“…I-I just do. For there’s nothing that I do not know, mwa-ha-ha!”
She couldn’t very well tell him she had been to his workplace and asked for his personal details, so she chose to dodge the question by engaging in some loud cackling.
Ren calmly took out a pack of cigarettes from his breast pocket, and put one stick in his mouth. Apparently, he was going to smoke on his way back; he was hardly an upstanding citizen, even though he worked for the police.
Stopping in front of Mia’s apartment, they faced each other. Mia, sensing that this was Ren seeing her off, decided to ask him something that had been weighing on her mind for a while now. “Say, is going around hugging and kissing girls some kind of hobby of yours? Do you do that to every female?”
“Whaddya think, that I’m some kind of a pervert, or what? If I did that to random girls, that’d make me a molester.”
Well, that was true, but then why was he doing all of those things to her? If she thought back, from the very first time they had met he had already kissed her, embraced her, and even nibbled on her ears. He usually refrained from doing that at least while at Subaru’s place, but there were times, like today, when even that didn’t hold him back.
Mia, after staring at her feet briefly, idly laced her fingers together and continued, “Sooo, why are you doing those things to me?”
“And what exactly are ‘those things’?”
“W-Well, like I told you, kisses and hugs…”
Mia felt as if she were asking something terribly embarrassing. Just as she was starting to freak out about what the heck she was actually saying here, Ren hummed, stroking his chin pensively.
“So you’re aware enough of my affections to worry about this stuff…”
“Hm? What did you just say?”
“Nah, never mind. …All right, I’ll tell ya. The reason I’m doing all of that to you is, hehe, to get a rise out of you!”
Huh?! Mia threw her head up with a start, her words failing her.
Ren’s eyes sparkled with mischief, the familiar wicked smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. “You’re giving your all to beat us, right? You even got so far as to drive poor Misaki up the wall with your prank. So, I decided to repay you in kind! Also, you can’t use your magic on me with your mouth sealed, so that’s basically two birds with one stone.”
“S-Such knavery! Stealing the lips of an innocent maiden and embracing her with such vile motives!”
“And you only noticed that now? Silly girl! Bwa-ha-ha!” Ren chortled in clear imitation of Mia, reaching out with his hand to tousle Mia’s hair.
Mia whipped her head around, shaking his hand off, and looked up at him with burning eyes.
“Argh, Ren! I hereby solemnly swear that I will find your weakness, and when I do, I shall make your life a living hell!”
“Eh? But I’ve already told you the one thing I hate most. Remember, that day at the police station?”
“At the police station… Surely you don’t mean that k-kissing thing? That is such an obvious lie! Besides, all the others tried to trick me, too, what with that ‘orange juice’ and ‘cocoa’ nonsense, hah!”
Ren laughed with genuine amusement, watching Mia rant, and then raised his eyebrows lightly, with that infuriating smirk still in place. “Meh, dunno about the others, but I was telling the truth. ‘Cause, ya see, me kissing you is just a way to get under your skin. I like annoying people, but when someone’s trying to annoy me? Can’t stand that. It’s the same with you, right?”
That got Mia thinking. It was true that succeeding in pushing someone’s buttons and watching them squirm felt incredible, but having someone do the same to her didn’t feel good at all. Could that be what Ren was getting at?
“Y-You truly don’t like it?”
“Uh-huh. Hate it with a vengeance. It drives me absolutely crazy.”
“…And what about that smirk you get when you are talking about kissing?”
“That’s just my face. Like someone told me recently, I’ve got a villain’s face, after all.”
It seemed that what Mia had told him before dinner today had struck a nerve. She disregarded his original words, instead deciding that what he had said seemed plausible, and nodded thoughtfully.
“So, you thinking of kissing me yet?”
“Well, now that it seems believable that it would really upset you, I feel like I would like to give it a try!”
“Aagh! You’re the worst! I should’ve expected as much from the Supreme Ruler of Evil, though, how stupid of me! Of course you’d try to take advantage of my weakness as soon as it slips my tongue, woe is me! Well then, I’d better run away!” Ren sniggered, taking his cigarette out of his mouth, and making to dash away.
That did it for Mia—like a shark that smelled blood, she couldn’t let her prey escape, so she hurriedly shot out a hand to grab Ren’s sleeve. …Ren, as if he had expected that, leaned into her pull.