This is a fanfic. BUY THE FUCKING MERCHANDISE!

Yawning, Haruka shook her head to keep herself focused.

Watching the beakers and tubes, liquids and gases of various colors moved with incredible gusto. When the liquid finally settled, she took out a syringe and extracted the liquid. Turning over towards a rat that she had in a cage, she walked over.

Gently reaching into the metal confines, she picked up the rodent. Seeing the small animal squirm in her grip, she carefully pierced a part of its body and injected the strange concoction inside. After a few more seconds of the animal squirming, it went limp.

Haruka sighed at another failure. At this rate, she would run out of supplies for a new drug she was trying to create. She had pulled an all-nighter for nothing.

Damn, she was missing something. But what was it?

Actually, now that she thought about it, what time was it? Groggily, she took out her phone. Looking at the device to see the clock, she jumped in surprise. Not only had she pulled an all-nighter, her entire morning and nearly the afternoon was taken up as well?!

Why didn't anyone tell her?!

Looking around, she then noticed a couple of empty, dirty plates. Ah, right, she said that she didn't want to be disturbed…

Now was not the time for such thoughts!

Popping open a small bottle, she tapped out a couple of pills. Swallowing them, she felt her tired body regain some of its energy. But she couldn't afford to waste anymore seconds. Within one smooth motion, she had taken off her lab coat and was suddenly wearing her civilian attire.

She then ran out of the hideout with her phone displaying a single location.

SmokeBombBreak

Approaching the address, she looked up to see quite an impressive house.

The outside looked English to her… or maybe it was American she was thinking of. Which of the two had fancy carvings on their wall again? No matter, she should be able to see this sight a bit more if this Akira character needed more help in the future.

Either way, the outside was rather fabulous and even reminded her a bit of home. Well, her original home before abandoning that life for one of a shinobi. So that probably meant that this boy came from a wealthy family.

…This was certainly going to be an interesting experience.

Stretching, she knew she should not assume about his character, but it was best to think about what this Akira person would be like so she could act to his appeal. If he found her satisfying, he would request another session with her. More sessions meant more money… if she could stay awake during the entire ordeal.

Now, how should she think this through. Was this person just having trouble understanding the material? Maybe they had money for brains. If she could be honest, she was hoping it was the first one. The second, which she could easily find tolerable, would be difficult to teach him in the first place. Despite doing this mainly for money, she could not help but feel a sense of duty and pride when it would come to tutoring or looking after someone.

Perhaps she was spoiling Mirai a little bit too much… Or was it the little girl spoiling her?

"Haruka-san I presume?"

Turning around on the sidewalk, Haruka came face to face with who she assumed to be the one she would be teaching today.

A clump of wavy messy black hair and dark gray eyes were the first things that stood out about the boy. But other than that, he looked extremely ordinary. The set of black glasses, the school uniform… they just helped complete the look of an average high-school student. Nothing about the boy was jumping out at her.

At that moment, she saw his bag wiggle around a bit on its own. She was a bit surprised. That feeling only continued to grow as Akira reached over towards the zipper in strive and pulled it towards him. Not even a second passed before out popped the head of a cat meowing with relief while shaking its head.

She suddenly her chest puff out a bit and did her best to from expanding anymore. From this, she stifled a yawn. Looks to be that medicine she had taken wasn't as effective after constant uses. "Yes, that is correct." She said slowly, her focus now between the feline and the boy.

He must have been extremely aware (she was making it a bit obvious despite trying not to), because when he looked back and saw her line of sight, he smiled. "Yes, I carry my cat Morgana around with me wherever I go. Guess that cat is out of the bag."

The cat mewed, as if it were releasing a groan at the pun Akira had just made. That joke however broke Haruka out of her minor stupor. The corners of her lips quirked up into a small grin as she giggled at the unexpected humor. "My name is Haruka." She introduced herself again, this time in person and proper. "I take it that you are Akira Kurusu-kun?"

The corners of Akira's lips quirked down. Rather than disapproval though, thoughtful amusement broadened all over his face. He must have not expected her to use his name like that. "That is correct." He confirmed while reaching into his pocket. "But rather continue our conversation out here, how about we step inside?" He gestured with a single jerk of his head towards the door that led to the house.

"That sounds like a lovely idea." Haruka agreed with his suggestion.

At least so far Akira was being a polite boy. That was hopefully a sign of good things to come. Hope is the key word in that previous sentence. One could never be too careful when it came to people. That was something basic when it came to surviving through the training of a shinobi. You never know what anyone could be hiding, whether it be physical or mental.

Following the boy up the flight of stairs that led to the front door, Haruka only watched him fish keys out of his pocket. Putting the metal inside the small slot, Akira opened the door and stepped to the side. He even performed a small flourish and bow. "Ladies first." He offered, a small smile of courtesy growing on his lips.

Haruka's amusement grew once more as she stepped inside. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to pay full attention and accidentally tripped over the bottom frame of the door. Thankfully, Akira caught her swiftly.

"Catching me as I fall?" Haruka asked with a tired grin. "Such a gentleman."

"Surely it's not just you are swooning over me?" Akira played the game she had started upon instinct, causing her amusement to grow even more as he helped her back up and she was inside.

That amusement turned into amazement at the interior decorating. She had to say, she held a small bit of soft spot for anything Victorian mainly due to her past. Despite her background, she found such decorations still calming to this day.

"I will admit, I did not expect the inside to be like this." Haruka found herself saying aloud. "Though my first clue should have been the design of the building outside."

"Yeah, my relatives have been a fan of many cultures. European appeared to be around the top of that list for some reason. Apparently one of my ancestors was French… or was it Italian?" Akira revealed, closing the door behind him and taking his shoes off. "Either way, it is refreshing to look at after passing through the streets of Japan."

"Oh, does that mean you aren't full Japanese, Kurusu-kun?" Haruka asked taking off her shoes as well.

Akira shook his head back and forth while turning around and started walking while beckoning her to follow. "If the math is correct, I'm technically supposed to be 1/16th European, though I have grown up in Japan my entire life. But I believe the subject we should be discussing should be science, not history."

Haruka followed Akira down the hall and down a flight of stairs that led to a lower floor. "Yes, your tutoring." She rubbed a tiny bit of sleep from her eyes.

"Correct." Akira's eyes lingered on her own as he nodded his head, turning to the right and entering a dining room and kitchen. Haruka watched him move over towards the cupboard. "Would you like something to drink?"

Perfect. She needed something to keep her going. "Some tea if you don't mind. Something strong please. I didn't get much sleep last night." Haruka requested, causing Akira to begin rummaging through the area. "So, you are having trouble with high-school chemistry then?"

"That is correct." Akira was already beginning to steam some water up and took out a small container of leaves. "Third-year to be much more precise, as I have previously stated during our call. Have you had any previous experiences with tutoring?"

"Yes, I have tutored multiple subjects with a few people." What she said was technically true. While at Hebijo, she did help everyone with their studies. Then again, they also helped her in turn if she had questions.

"Did all of them work out?" Akira asked, scooping the leaves into a tea strainer before going back to the water that had already heated up.

Just as Haruka was about to answer, her gaze had met Akira's when he turned his head. His grey eyes made her stop however. She was about to say that she had no problems at all, thinking about ignoring her previous session with that one student. But the lie died in her throat. The stare from the boy was assessing whether she was going to lie and it unnerved her for some reason.

Being able to do that… That was not normal. Especially from a normal civilian.

Or was that the lack of sleep taking effect?

But her silence seemed to give him an answer causing him to sigh and pour hot water through the strainer into a mug. "Should I be worried about what happened?"

"It was just my most recent session." Haruka defended herself, folding her arms. "All I did was try to help motivate the student to study better, but he got distracted and it was apparently my fault."

Akira walked over and handed the mug towards the blonde. "And how exactly were you motivating this boy?" He asked curiously.

Haruka shrugged his shoulders. "All I did was open my shirt a little."

"…"

When Akira didn't say anything even after she took her mug, she admitted she did not expect such a reaction. She expected a blush at least or even a cry of disbelief. Sleep depravity or none, she wasn't exactly embarrassed of her words. She was a beautiful lady and she was proud of it.

Taking a sip of the tea, she sighed in bliss. This be able to keep her going.

All he did… was stare at her eyes. As if he were still processing her words. For a second, his eyes trailed down to her chest but immediately snapped back up to her face. They then lingered and narrowed while he was leaning forward a bit. It appeared to be as if he were trying to tell whether she was joking or not.

"…I see." Akira finally said before turning around on his feet. "Well, I don't need any kind of incentive like that just to let you know." He let her know before walking forward and opening the double doors at the other side of the room. "I did redecorate recently so please don't be too harsh if you see… anything strange."

Well that reaction was sort of disappointing to her.

Haruka followed once again and took in the sight of the room. Judging by how there was at least a bed and desk inside, she assumed for this place to be a bedroom. What she did not expect though were decorations ranging from interesting bracelets and anklets to rings all presented out in a single column of display cases around the corner of the room. While a majority of these looked like they were bought off street vendors and regular stores, there were a small handful that look as if they were genuine treasures. Did that mean Akira at least flaunted his wealth? If so, why not wear them instead of keeping them locked up?

Unless he obtained those so-called treasures through darker means.

"Right, shall we begin?" Akira asked, breaking Haruka out of her observation.

A loud slam caused her to jump a bit as she snapped her head over. Apparently, Akira had unceremoniously dropped his notebook and textbook onto his desk. Judging by the small playful grin on his face, he did it on purpose. He then seated himself and opened what he needed help on.

Shaking her head at the event that had just happened, she smiled. Once again, she was reminded that this boy at least had an amusing personality and walked over to begin helping him with what he needed.

Time passed between the two of them. The more Haruka pointed things out and tutored Akira, he slowly began to understand it better. She was positive that Akira would be able to learn fast enough. She didn't even have to do anything to help motivate him. The boy proved to be a hard and obedient worker, one of the kind of people she liked.

But while the tutoring continued, she noticed a few things notes and questions. These inquiries caused her to think.

It then gave her some ideas.

She heard a doorbell ring soon after.

Haruka turned her head up towards the ceiling to where she thought the front door was. Looking back down, she saw that Akira was staring up towards the ceiling as well. Pulling out his phone, he pressed a button at the back and lit the screen up.

"Hm, six o'clock already." Akira said aloud, putting the device back into his pocket. Standing up while stretching, he turned towards Haruka. "Thank you for helping me out with my schoolwork."

"Oh, are we ending already?" Haruka asked. Though she didn't show it, the lack of sleep was beginning to take its toll once again. The medication effects wore off. The caffeine in the tea had stopped working.

Akira confirmed her question with a nod of his head. "When going over the work with you, you made it a lot easier to understand." He answered. "Would you mind if I called you in the future later? I feel as though I will need more help when the time comes."

She gave a small, fatigued smile. "Of course. Technically, much to my dismay, I am having trouble with money recently and I can't seem to hold a job properly." Haruka pretended to be distressed, hoping that Akira could possibly pity her and hold another session with her as soon as possible. "Please call me soon… I would love to hold another private session with you."

Akira smiled, though she felt as though it was not for the reasons she had intended. "You remind me of someone I've met recently with money troubles. Either way, how does tomorrow sound? It's a day off school for me but I have plans with a couple of other people, so it will have to be the same time as today. Oh, speaking of which…" He reached walked over towards his school bag and pulled out a wallet. "Today was a lot better than expected, so I'll be giving you 7500 yen instead of 5000."

The blonde found herself a bit surprised at the boy's generosity. But still, she accepted the increase with a smile. Money was money after all. "Thank you so much!" She amplified her cheer a bit grabbing his head and giving him a quick embrace. Haruka enjoyed the surprised sound Akira made when she pressed his face into her chest for a second before releasing him. "You know how to make a girl feel happy! I'll be seeing you tomorrow then!"

Akira stepped back and cleared his throat. "Ye-yes." He coughed a bit. "Let's head back upstairs then. I still do have to answer the door after all."

The two of them then went out of the bedroom and up the stairs towards the front door. As soon as Haruka was putting on her shoes, the doorbell rang once again.

"Just a second!" Akira called out before turning back to her. "See you tomorrow then, Haruka-san."

"Of course, Kurusu-kun."

As Akira opened the door, Haruka was already facing the outside. Surprise filled her within seconds. In front of her, Yomi was standing in place and holding a couple of large, empty containers. "Yomi?" The older blonde questioned.

"Haruka?" Yomi asked back, taken aback as well at her ally's appearance.

Looking back, Haruka saw that Akira's eyes were shifting between both girls. "…You two know each other?" He eventually asked.

Haruka and Yomi didn't know how to properly respond at first. "That's my question as well." The two females said at the same time, giving each other a strange look at the perfectly timed answer.

"Yomi and I are friends." Haruka easily stated, going first. Such an answer was simple yet explained a lot at the same time so he shouldn't question it any further. "How did you happen to meet her anyways?"

"Simple, she answered a small posting that I had up to hep clean my house. Apparently she had also taken an interest in the curry I made as well as massages. So she comes over to learn if she whenever she chooses to." Akira explained, eyeing the items in Yomi's hands. "Though it looks like she finally remembered to bring the containers back."

So that curry that Yomi had unexpectedly brought back to their hideout that one day was made by Akira. A detail Haruka shouldn't reveal or else Akira would be asking more questions. "Well, I'll see you again tomorrow then for another tutoring session, Kurusu-kun." She smiled as Yomi passed the containers back to Akira.

"Until we meet again, Haruka-san." Akira nodded towards before returning the same gesture to Yomi. "And thank you for returning the containers. Yomi-san."

"My pleasure." Yomi replied politely. Haruka noticed that she wasn't wearing a mask and was sincere with her words. "I'm starting to get a good idea of the techniques for both cooking and massages thanks to you as well."

"You say that every time." He shook his head with amusement. "Well, I won't keep you both here any longer. Good night."

With those parting words he closed the door.

Looking at each other, Haruka and Yomi began walking down the streets.

"…You seem to get along with Kurusu-kun pretty well." Haruka said aloud suddenly as the two of them eventually were out of town.

"Yes, even I find myself surprised." Yomi admitted. "Tomorrow, he and I are shopping for ingredients for another cooking session. He even says that if there are leftovers that he will let me have them."

A teasing smile grew on Haruka's lips. "Oh? Already going on a date with him?"

For a few seconds, Yomi didn't say anything. Keeping an eye on the younger shinobi, Haruka saw as Yomi soon began to grow a small blush after realizing what she was implying. "N-n-no, that's not it at all!" She denied. "He just happened to have free time when I asked him if he could teach me some more about making curry and such!"

"Don't forget the addition of massages." Haruka's words only caused Yomi's cheeks to grow even redder. "Tell me, how do his hands feel when he's trying to show you where to rub? Or do you enjoy straddling him when trying it out?"

As she continued teasing the younger shinobi, that meant that her mind was staying on Akira. With that done, thoughts drifted back towards the chemistry work she had to help him through.

That's right… his questions had her possibly come up with a solution to her new concoction.

"Speaking of trying, have you gotten any sleep yet?"

Yomi's question caused Haruka to shrug her shoulders. "Of course I have. Do you not trust me to do a simple enough task?"

"So that's a no then." Yomi frowned. "Haruka, I know how… passionate you can get when it comes to your little projects. But your health is still a priority."

The older shinobi smiled. "Your concern is noted, Yomi. There's no need to worry though. I should be done soon."

SmokeBombBreak

This was going to take longer than expected.

She was close. She was so close thanks to the questions Akira had provided for her.

Sighing in frustration while looking at the rats that had been victim to her experiments, she rubbed her eyes. One would argue that she would get better results if she slept. She would argue back that sleeping would be a waste of time when it could have been spent completing work.

Checking her phone, she saw that it was already the afternoon of the next day once again.

Footsteps approached her from behind. "Another all-nighter? Seriously?"

Haruka sighed when she heard Homura's voice. "Don't tell me you're here to scold me as well."

"All right, I won't tell you that." Homura replied, coming into sight from the corner of her eye with a frown. "But you do need to get your sleep. Your health is at risk here. If you're not healthy, you become vulnerable to the enemy. Not only that, but you also are unable to work your job properly…" She went silent for about a second. "You do have a job right now, yes?"

"I do." Haruka answered curtly, already mixing a new concoction in a beaker. "I technically have a shift today."

"Tell me the address and what time you start." Homura stated. "I'll take over for you. Meanwhile, you get some rest."

She was tired, and her leader was getting on Haruka's nerves a bit. "I'm fine. Plus, I doubt you can teach the person I'm tutoring third-year chemistry. Especially since you haven't taken the subject yet." Homura slightly growled at Haruka's attitude. "Follow your own advice and get some rest. Maybe even relax a bit. We may be renegades, but it's the weekend. Workers also need to take breaks too you know."

"Hypocrisy at its finest." Homura grumbled.

Eventually, Haruka heard Homura walk away. Looks like the tanned girl didn't want to bother wasting any energy convincing Haruka. Or maybe she knew there was no point in arguing any longer. Either way, good.

Changing back into her casual clothing once again, she began to go towards Akira's house.

She had to teach the boy a lesson after all. Plus, if she was lucky, he would be able to teach her some new things as well.

SmokeBombBreak

"Haruka-sama, what are you doing here?"

Already in less that 24 hours, Haruka found herself a bit surprised once again around Akira's home. When she had rung the doorbell, she had expected the boy to be the one to answer the door. She was even looking forward to another cup of tea. Whatever he had brewed was some pretty good stuff.

Instead, she had found Mirari standing in front of her with the door open. What added to Haruka's surprise however was Morgana being draped over her head. Mirai was even acting like it wasn't that big of a deal. The sight was… certainly entertaining to say the least.

"I am here to tutor Kurusu-kun. What about you, Mirai-chan? What are you doing here?" Haruka asked curiously as her fellow shinobi stepped out of the way for her to come inside.

"Kurusu-san said that I could come over anytime I wanted as long as he was free." Mirai revealed as Haruka took off her shoes. "Let me guess. You're wondering how I met him." Haruka shook her head with an amused smile. It was cute that Mirai sometime knew her. "Well, Yomi-san told me that Kurusu-san was looking for someone to help clean his model guns. In the end… some stuff happened, and we managed to get along extremely well."

"Oh, does that mean you are Yomi's rival?" Haruka questioned, her smile growing even larger. "It seems both of you are close with Kurusu-kun."

It took a few seconds, but the black-haired girl eventually understood what Haruka was implying. "Hah?! What?!" Mirai jumped, causing Morgana to meow and fall off her head. "N-no. No! It's not like that at all, Haruka-sama!" She protested, causing the blonde to laugh aloud. But as Haruka laughed, Mirai noticed something. "…Haruka-sama, you didn't get sleep last night either, did you?"

"…" She slowly fell silent when she realized how Mirai was feeling. She rubbed her the younger girl's head as Mirai had bent down to pick up the cat. "Your concern is appreciated, Mirai-chan. But don't worry. I'm…" She yawned. "I'm fine…"

"…" Mirai frowned, clearly not convinced by her answer. Still, she turned around. "Kurusu-san is downstairs showing Yomi how to make curry and coffee… Kind of a weird combination if you ask me." With those words, the black-haired shinobi scampered downstairs.

Oh, Yomi was here as well. Well, Akira did mention spending the day with a couple of people before she would arrive. It looked to be that both Yomi and Mirai were those people then.

Slowly following her companion, Haruka felt a slight dizzy spell suddenly occur. The world spun for just a second, but it was more than enough to throw her off balance. Stumbling forward, she pressed her hand against the wall to catch herself while clutching her head.

Panting, her eyelids were getting a bit heavy. Reaching into her pocket, she found a small bottle filled with some more pills. Opening it up and swallowing a couple more of the tiny medication, she shook her head and continued down the hall and turning towards the stairs.

Downstairs and in the kitchen, she saw Mirai sitting in a chair and kicking her legs around and her chin resting on the table with the cat in front of her face. Akira was keeping an eye on a siphon while working on what seemed to be coffee. Yomi meanwhile was… dry patting beansprouts which she then proceeded to dump into what looked like curry.

"Remember to mix it all in well and then simmer, Yomi-san." Akira said idly, checking the watch on his left hand. "If there's a crunch in that curry then it a serious problem."

"Right!" Yomi nodded her head, using a ladle to stir everything together and putting the lid on top. Turning around, she blinked. "Ah, Haruka."

Stilling checking his watch for a second longer, Akira turned around and nodded. "Right on time." He greeted. "Yomi-san, maybe you can try out my massage techniques on Mirai-san inside the bedroom you had borrowed your first day here. It would be good to get an opinion from someone else after all."

The younger blonde looked between Akira and Haruka. "…Oh!" She made a sound as if she realized something. "Sure thing. Come on, Mirai. I'll be sure to make you feel good!" She then walked out of the room and up the stairs."

Mirai also looked between the two taller people in the kitchen. "Coming!" She called out before following Yomi.

As the two of them watched Mirai leave, Akira held his arm out towards his room. "You can go on ahead into my room. I have the material set-up and you can look over it. I just need a couple more minutes to finish the coffee."

"Sure thing." Haruka nodded her head. "Oh, would it be okay to have another cup of tea as well? The leaves you used yesterday would be perfect?" Seeing him nod his head in response, she then proceeded by walking into Akira's room and seeing a notebook open on the desk.

It didn't take long for Akira to come walking in with two mugs. Taking a sniff as Akira handed one of them over to her, she blinked. "I thought I asked for tea."

"Well, you asked for tea, but you got coffee." Akira shrugged his shoulders while taking a small sip. "I did make a fresh batch and had a feeling that you wanted something with caffeine due to requesting the same tea yesterday… Unless you do want that same tea instead."

"Oh, no worries. Coffee is a wonderful surprise." Haruka said as she took a sip herself.

…Oh, that was delicious. Perhaps the best cup in her life so far.

Bringing the mug to her lips again, she heard a cry of surprise. Turning around, she saw that Akira was also looking over towards the source. Standing right in the center of the kitchen, holding Morgana in her arms, was Mirai looking shocked at the display of a drink in Haruka's hands.

Mirai sniffed slowly. "…Kurusu-san… is that… the coffee that you just made?" As if she were surprised, she sluggishly questioned Akira while keeping her eyes on Haruaka. "Is Haruka-sama drink the coffee you just made?!"

"Yes, that is correct." Akira answered nonchalantly.

That answer caused Mirai to have a reaction that Haruka didn't expect. Of all the things to do, Mirai stomped on the floor so her feet were shoulder-width apart. "Kurusu-san, you idiot!" She screamed loudly before sprinting out of the kitchen and her footsteps swiftly moved up the stairs.

Now Haruka was stunned. Taking a look at Akira out of the corner of her eye, she once again found herself surprised at how stoic he was reacting. As he turned his head, he must have known what she was thinking because he gestured towards the desk with his free arm. "Take a seat. I'll explain why Mirai-san reacted that way."

Taking another sip, she wondered why the coffee wasn't taking as much effect as she expected. Did he use decaf? No, he mentioned something about her wanting caffeine in her drink and he gave her this instead of tea.

Slipping down into one of the chairs next to the desk, Akira shortly mimicked her action so that they were facing each other. "It's been a while since I've seen Mirai-san be truly angry with someone." Haruka revealed, holding the warm mug and drinking more of the dark liquid.

"She has a right to be, considering how concerned she and Yomi-san are with your health."

Haruka stopped mid-sip upon hearing those words. Swallowing the coffee in her mouth, she sighed and put the mug to the side on the desk. "So they told you about my sleeping habits recently."

"More like lack of sleeping habits." Akira folded his arms and leaned back into his chair.

That made Haruka raise a delicate eyebrow. Not very high though as her eyes were getting a bit heavier than usual as of late. "If you are aware of this, then why give me coffee?" She questioned. "Why not just send me back home and tell me to get some rest?"

"If I sent you back home, you would just immediately go back to doing whatever little project that Mirari-san and Yomi-san said that you have been working on lately." He explained his thought process. "As for the coffee, there is always that crashing moment after the stimulating period. Plus, you did say that you needed the money."

…That… was strange of him to answer. She appreciated his explanation, but she still found it… What was the word she used before again? Her mind was clouding up for some reason.

She took another quick sip of coffee.

"I'm curious though." Akira continued. "What exactly are you working on that requires you to stay up for consecutive days?"

Putting the mug back down, she wagged her finger. "Sorry Kurusu-kun, but never ask a girl…" She trailed off, losing her train of thought. "Never ask a girl…" Blinking several times, she felt something was extremely off. "Never ask a girl…"

She was incredibly drowsy suddenly. Trying to reach over and grab the coffee, something came to her blurry mind when she felt her fingers wrap around the porcelain. The coffee should have been taking effect sooner or later, not be making her sleepy.

Groggily, she looked up and saw Akira sitting in his chair and leaning forward with a looking like he had just discovered something new.

Because of this, Haruka came to one conclusion. This thought was rather disturbing to her.

"…You drugged me."

Akira nodded his head. "Honestly, I'm surprised that it works when diges- holy shi-!"

In a last-ditch effort before blacking out, Haruka lunged for Akira's neck.

SmokeBombBreak

Groaning, Haruka squirmed in the futon she was laying in.

…Futon?

Bolting upright while pushing off the covers, she darted her eyes around to see that she was in her room. Well, more like her section of the hideout. When did she get here anyways? That last thing she remember was…

That's right… Akira had drugged her…

Quickly looking over herself, she found out that nothing out of the ordinary had been down to her. This only served to confuse her. As well it making feel like her stomach was empty.

Hearing a small gasp, Haruka looked up to see Yomi quickly jogging over towards her. "You're awake, Haruka!"

"Yes…" Haruka slowly replied. "Yomi, what time is it?"

"Four o'clock in the afternoon."

That answer only brought more confusion to Haruka. Yomi must have guess this as well due to the expression the older shinobi had on her face. "Tuesday." Yomi clarified. "You've been asleep for a couple of days now."

"…That's why I'm so hungry…" Haruka said in realization.

In response, Yomi spun around on her heels. "Just wait a moment, I'll grab you some of the curry I made with Kurusu-san."

As the younger girl dashed off, Haruka simply continued to look around the hideout. It was… rather surreal to her to have blacked out in a stranger's house to only wake up in her own bed.

Speaking of blacking out in a stranger's house…

What did Akira use to put her to sleep? It wasn't the usual kind of sleeping pills or tranquilizer one used. She would have distinguished the taste and immediately stop drinking that coffee if that was the case. What were those words that he said as well?

He was surprised that it worked when digested, correct? Did that mean this was a special mixture that belonged to him that was supposed to be inhaled or something? Digesting meant swallowing so there was no way it was meant to be consumed. What about injected? Needles would be too suspicious though-

"Haruka, is everything okay?"

As a wonderful smell entered her nose, her thoughts were broken as she saw that Yomi was holding out a bowl that was filled with curry and rice. "Ah, yes, everything is fine." Haruka smiled to reassure Yomi that she was okay while taking the bowl and a spoon. Before she could scoop her meal though, she had to ask. "Yomi, could you please explain to me what had happened at Kurusu-kun's house before I woke up?"

"Oh, that's simple. We took you home." Yomi answered. "Kurusu-san said you fell asleep on the spot. Mirai was accusing his statement to be false due to you drinking coffee. He easily debunked that theory though by saying that the coffee he made was actually decaf due to us explaining your sleeping situation earlier."

…That last part wasn't true. Haruka clearly remembered him reacting like she would when completing an experiment after she accused him of drugging her.

Before she could talk though, Yomi put a hand on Haruka's shoulder. "Kurusu-san also told me to pass on a message to you." She said, looking at her fellow shinobi dead in the eyes. "He said that if you don't get your rest, you will generate poorer results. It's Heath 101! If you're having any problems with your little project, it's also good to take a break rather that constantly stress over it. Also, he's looking forward to another tutoring session from you when you have free time."

Nodding her head, Yomi acted like her job was done and marched away from Haruka to leave the girl in peace.

Sitting on her futon alone, Haruka blinked. First drugging her, and then scolding her… What a character, despite the suspicious actions he had taken. Not only that, but also being a well of inspiration… Shaking her head, she for some reason couldn't help but smile at how strange Akira was.

That naughty boy…

She was definitely going to have to properly educate him later for all of this…

Yes, it's been a couple of months. No, I'm not dead. It's just that I have friends, family, a job, moments of opportunity to try find a career to only get a phone call or email a couple of weeks later saying that I don't have enough experience (which how the hell am I suppose to get if I don't get hired in that field and you place the damn bar too high (seriously, 3-5 years for an apprentice, what the fuck). I have been busy. I'm sorry that I cannot cater to your wants of a new chapter of this or other fanfics.

Not only that, but do you realize how tough it is for us writers to not only write chapters, but also be happy with them and believe they make sense? You can say "Oh, it can't be that bad", but as a writer I won't know because I'm too close to it. I can't tell if it's good or not. I'm not talking about those "Oh, I'm going to have to copy all of this dialogue from the script of the show/game scene/s and throw in some character dialogue from this series to make it a crossover" kind of writing (even if I have done that in the past and still do to this day).

We writers (I like to believe) have a concern that our chapters or stories are like ugly babies we're looking at through the eyes of loving parents. And it's not until we take them out in their little strollers and people just start screaming in horror and crossing the street to avoid us that we'll realize that we made a piece of shit baby.

With humor in person and I tell a terrible joke and no one laughs, I stop telling that joke. But with a new chapter, I won't know that it's terrible until it's out there on the internet and I get reviews telling me what people like and hate about it.

Hopefully you all can tell, I did not have a fun time writing this chapter. Nor did I feel very happy when recently seeing a Guest go "It's been two 2 fucking months for fucks sake did you die?" I don't care what your intentions were. I don't care that you're a Guest. I don't care you're a Guest hiding behind being anonymous. I don't care you're a Guest because you're too "lazy" to make a proper account. Take a vacation to Antarctica and chill the fuck out.

I write fanfics because I want to at least bring a bit of enjoyment to people. Give them a small moment of escapism to those reading my stories. Hopefully even inspire them to try and write their own stories and come up with their own ideas. Not because it's my duty.

Which is why I hate people who use and get people to "donate" to them so they can "keep creating" their stories. Fanfiction is a hobby, not a job. If you want a job like that, become a writer and get paid when you create an actual book.

This is why I refuse to make a account or anything asking for money to continue writing.

Sorry for the rant and going all over the place. Now will be working on Recovery.

No flames please.