Ink Stained

49: smile and lie*

笑顔と嘘

 "Shiori, why do you look like you're planning the end of the world?" Shuusei asked, tipping his head to the side curiously as he took another bite of the bread he'd pinched from Aoi's bento.

"I do not look like I am planning the end of the world." She fired back bluntly.

"Yes, you do like you're planning the end of the world."

"I said I don't."

"Just because you say you don't," Aoi trilled. "Doesn't mean you don't."

Shiori glared. "You're doing that on purpose, you idiot."

Aoi only grinned toothily. The lid of Shiori's bento snapped open, and she let it drop from her fingers with a loud clatter on her table. Her fingers were rigid in their tense movement as she separated her chopsticks and shovelled in a big lump of rice in her mouth.

Pai strategically avoided Shiori's occasional glances her way by focusing on the novel she had in her hand, though she wasn't even aware of what the sentences she mindlessly read meant. She didn't even really remember the name of the book. It was the first thing she'd pulled out of her bag when everyone came in and gathered around her desk for lunch, as had become custom. She'd done it because it was the only thing she could think of to avoid handling the ticking nuclear time bomb sitting beside her that was codenamed 'Matsumoto Shiori'.

"What possible reason could you have to be angry, Shii-chan?" Natsume said as she scribbled hastily in her Maths book. "I mean, we've got not one, not two, but three new teachers. And we're in their classes. And one of them cooks such good food. And they're all hot."

Shiori gave her a venomous look. "Is that all that matters to you?" she deadpanned.

"Actually, what also matters to me is that I make a good impression on Hayashi-san in Maths so he doesn't think I'm a lazy idiot hogging off on everyone's answers for homework." Natsume replied without hesitation. Her eyes rarely left the two exercise books in front of her. One, she knew, was Natsume's own exercise book. The other was not.

Shuusei gave her a flat look. "But you are a lazy idiot hogging off of Shiori's answers for homework."

"Shut up, greedy pig." Natsume snapped.

Shuusei returned with the sharp retort of, "Shut up, brainless hog."

"Idiot."

"Buffoon."

"Womanly squirrel."

"Manly horse."

Are they always like this? Kuniumi asked. She was sniggering, laughing.

Pai found that the sound was nice. It was different, not just in the way it sounded, but the way it felt. Every time Kuniumi laughed, it was like she was making a joke of anything that meant something important to Pai. It grated on her nerves, made her more irritated at Kuniumi. Other times, her laugh was so sad and lonely that all Pai wanted to do was run away from it.

This time, she sounded like she genuinely enjoyed witnessing the snip-snap banter between Natsume and Shuusei. The laugh didn't frazzle Pai's fraying nerves, as she'd thought it would. Instead, it calmed her. She wished Kuniumi was always like this.

A lot. They're twins.

The gleeful humour in Kuniumi's voice faded away. The sadness that was ever-present in her voice, just lurking beneath the insanity, seeped up to the surface, swimming in the pool of black that surrounded Kuniumi. She still hadn't figured out if the sadness was for Kuniumi herself, or for Pai.