"Yours and Mine"

After successfully passing off another excuse for their absence to Tsukune and the gang, Mizore and Kurumu made their retreat far away from the grounds of Yokai Academy. The sun was just beginning to set as the pair rested under the shade of a tree on the cliff that overlooked the ocean surrounding the school. The setting orb in the sky sent lustrous rays down to the sea below, making the waves sparkle and glitter like diamonds. As the girls sat watching the display, a tense silence pervaded the air between them. The apprehensive feeling had hung like a dark mist around the succubus and the snow woman since they had left their friends back at the school to be on their own. Both girls felt it, but only one understood what was causing the sensation of awkwardness. It was so uncomfortably quiet that the ocean waves, as far below as they were, could be heard lapping against the cliff face. Minutes passed tensely, and then finally Kurumu spoke up.

"Mizore…" she started, avoiding looking in the other girl's direction. "Why do we have to lie to the others?"

Mizore didn't understand what she was talking about. Confused, she looked over at the blue-haired girl, asking the question with her eyes. Kurumu drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them, staring forlornly at the ground.

"For months now we've been lying about why we're always running off by ourselves. Why can't we tell our friends about us? Are you….ashamed to be with me?" she barely choked out the last words, her voice having faded to a whisper. A jolt of surprise flashed across the snow woman's expression.

"No, that's not it at all! It's just that…" she hesitated, unsure of how to explain her mind.

Mizore watched as the succubus's eyes grew wet and shiny. Then Kurumu closed them, and the tears gathered at the corners. She buried her face in her lap, hiding her hopeless desperation. Mizore struggled to gather her thoughts, knowing that she needed to choose her words carefully, but also knowing that with every passing second Kurumu drew further and further away from her.

The snow woman leaned in slowly, gradually, until her face rested in the succubus's soft blue hair. She spared a brief second to take in the smell of it, a subtle combination of strawberry and banana. Then she spoke, talking softly into Kurumu's ear.

"I'm not ashamed of us," she reassured her soothingly, "and I don't like hiding from our friends either. But all of us— you, me, Tsukune, Moka, and Yukari, we're always together, hanging out as one big collective group. For now…while it lasts…I like that fact that you and I…just belong to you and I." Mizore finished her explanation and then waited silently, hoping her words had made the right impression on Kurumu.

The blue-haired girl raised her head, causing Mizore to move hers too. Now Kurumu looked at Mizore when she spoke to her.

"So what you're really saying is you want something that only belongs to you," Kurumu said the words in a reprimanding tone, with an icy expression so cold that it even frightened the Queen of Ice. Mizore was so taken aback that all she could do was nod once, helplessly, saddened that Kurumu hadn't approved of her intentions.

But then the succubus smiled, and playfully flicked the yuki-onna on the forehead before wrapping her arms around her and laying her head on her shoulders.

"You idiot," she said, the obvious happiness on her face taking the sting out of her words, "I've always been yours."

All of the negative emotions Mizore had been feeling melted away as she settled into the loving arms around her. In response to Kurumu's statement, Mizore used her powers to fashion a small, heart-shaped ice crystal, which she timidly offered to the girl at her side. Kurumu tenderly took it in her hand, and stared in awe at the sheer beauty and symmetry of it. It wasn't as cold as she thought it would be; it was surprisingly warm. She gave a small chuckle.

"I'd never in a million years imagine that I'd win the heart of a snow woman," she proclaimed with amusement. Mizore grinned brightly.

"As long as you take care of it, it's yours."

Kurumu gave a slightly devilish smile befitting of a succubus.

"I'll have to use it as my own, seeing as you have mine," she said. Mizore continued to smile, her blue eyes sparkling.

"Then we're part of each other. The way we should be."

"The way we'll always be," Kurumu corrected her. Then with her free hand, she reached for Mizore's, intertwining their fingers. There they sat, hand in hand, watching the sun sink lower and lower in the crimson sky, until it finally met the orange-stained waves.