Chapter 33: Chapter 33 - The Accidental Kiss

Kuro Kurogane was unable to fall asleep. It was Aoi’s fault, completely.

He couldn’t stop thinking about their conversation earlier that day, which caused Kuro to feel an unending cycle of nervousness.

The only thing replaying in his head was the following:

"I’m glad it was you here with me."

How dangerous was this sentence? The most dangerous thing to have ever happened to someone; since they first spoke earlier in the hallway. Kuro was now lying on his back in the dark ceiling of the boy’s room while listening to thunder rumbling outside.

He was alone; everyone else had been sleeping already; even the loudest guy in the whole group had gone to sleep. But, he kept repeating all those same things over and over again in his mind.

Aoi’s voice, Aoi’s smile, Aoi being too close to him when they were in the hallway.

Tonight’s trip to this school would be an emotional disaster for Kuro.

As he thought about that idea, he felt a great need for water.

Because hanging out there long enough was going to make Kuro go insane.

The inn was still very dark with just a few dimly-lit emergency lights.

Outside, the rain was still falling softly while the old wooden floors creaked beneath the pressure of all the rain.

The atmosphere felt somewhat like what you would experience in a dream.

Kuro walked very quietly through the hallways of the inn toward the vending machine while using his phone light to help him see.

He was tired and had lost all sense of emotions; however, suddenly the lights began flickering.

"Oh really!?!"

The hall was now completely dark.

Only during the flashes of lightning, was Kuro’s view of the hallway temporarily illuminated by light coming from out of the windows.

Kuro took a breath and said quietly, "Incredible."

While Kuro walked through the dark hallway, he felt his way along the wall.

Then he heard footsteps behind him. Someone else was following him.

Before Kuro could react there was yet another flash of lightning that illuminated the hallway ahead, but only for half a second.

And in that half second, Kuro saw a figure standing ahead.

It had long, dark blue hair.

It was Aoi.

They stood frozen in their positions for a second.

Then just as quickly as the light had flashed, it vanished.

The darkness was back .

"...Kuro?" Aoi said softly and her voice echoed quietly in the hallway.

"...Yeah."

For some strange reason, Kuro felt a sense of relief when he heard her voice.

Then, just as quickly, a thunderclap shook the inn.

Aoi instinctively started toward him through the darkness.

But, she did it too quickly.

Kuro also started moving toward her at the same time.

It was also bad timing.

Very bad timing.

Their bodies lightly collided in the darkness.

"Kya—"

And Aoi’s feet slipped on the wooden floor.

Kuro instinctively caught Aoi around her waist.

Then everything happened way too quickly.

There was another flash of lightning.

They both breathed at the same time.

They were very close to each other.

And they kissed.

The world stopped.

It was warm, soft, and real.

It was not dramatic.It was not over-exaggerated.

It was just a single accidental moment in the darkness.

But for some reason it felt like something devastatingly intimate.

Kuro’s mind went completely blank.

Aoi completely froze at that moment in Kuro’s arms.Neither of them moved.Neither of them breathed.

Then, the lights in the hallway flickered back on.

The hallway was fully lit.

And reality came crashing back down.

Kuro’s eyes became as wide as saucers.

Aoi turned bright red.They were both silent.

They faced each other; there was only enough space to allow room for one of them breath.

Kuro took a step back immediately.

"Ah."

Fantastic come-back. Incredible.Aoi pressed her lips slowly.She was still in shock.

Kuro’s heart was racing.

"That was--"

Accident. Say accident!

But the words just stayed stored in his brain without being said.

For some ridiculous reason . No matter how shocked he was he could still recall how soft her lips felt.

Finally Aoi looked toward him.

And (for the first time in history) she looked unbelievably shaken up.

Just a girl having too many powerful feelings.

"Kuro."

His name sounded so small.So timid.

It hurt even worse.He opened his mouth again.And nothing came out.

Frankly he wasn’t certain what this moment meant either.

Once again, outside there was a distant rumble of thunder.

But now there was tension between them.

The invisible boundary they had toyed with for months had finally been broken!

There was no longer any way for either one of them to continue to pretend otherwise.

Aoi slowly moved her hand away from her lips.

Then quietly

"I really ought to go."

Kuro’s chest tightened considerably upon hearing that!

But he couldn’t stop her. He couldn’t even get a thought into his head.

Aoi slowly turned to look back at him, stopping after two steps. She didn’t face him but whispered softly, "That was my first kiss."

Critical and absolute critical. Kuro’s soul almost left his body.

Then Aoi quietly walked away from him down the hallway.

Leaving Kuro alone in the flickering lights with the sound of rain all around him.

He was emotionally devastated.

Kuro didn’t move for several minutes.

His heart continued to beat erratically, and his mind was even worse.

The most terrible part wasn’t the kiss itself, but rather realizing that he didn’t hate it; not even a little bit.

In fact, every time he thought of that moment with Aoi (the warmth of it), his chest would become tight with pain again.

"This is really bad," he whispered. Extremely bad.

Because now every time he thinks of Aoi, he will also think of her lips.

And somewhere else in the inn, Aoi was alone, leaning against her door with complete silence around her.

Her face was still red, and she kept touching her lips with her fingers to see if they were still warm.

She was not able to calm her nervous heart rate.

Then very quietly almost as if it were a confession to herself she whispered, "I can’t pretend anymore."