"Gojo… did she just insult us with something we couldn't understand?"
I stared at Fu Hua.
Fu Hua stared back.
"…Yes."
"No."
We answered at the same time.
Kiana's eyes narrowed.
"Which is it?!"
"I was merely using an analogy," Fu Hua replied, adjusting her glasses.
"An analogy comparing us to ants?" Kiana challenged.
"No."
"The hole?"
"No."
"The embank…" Kiana's brow scrunched. "Bank… payment?"
I could have sworn I saw Fu Hua's brow twitch.
"You mean embankment?"
"Yeah! That thing!" Kiana slapped a fist into her palm. Her grateful look immediately soured when she realised who had corrected her. "So you were trying to call us that thing!"
"…"
Her silence spoke more than words ever could.
At some point during the exchange, I'd already retreated back toward Mei and Bronya.
At some point during the exchange, I'd already retreated back toward Mei and Bronya.
Mei was already visibly cringing from second-hand embarrassment, while Bronya sorta had a thousand-yard stare.
"This looks like a Twitter argument, doesn't it?" I nudged Mei with my elbow with a wink to Bronya at the same time.
"Don't even talk about it…"/ "The Bronya does not know this person."
Fu Hua proved herself to be a remarkably patient person at Kiana's interrogation during all of this.
"The proverb means that even a small, neglected problem can eventually cause something much larger to collapse," Fu Hua explained without any irritation in her voice at all.
Kiana slowly nodded.
Then pointed at her.
"So you WERE insulting us!"
"…No."
"You basically called us a disaster waiting to happen!"
"That assessment would not be inaccurate," Bronya said. "In the Bronya's unbiased opinion of course."
"Shut up, Bronya!" Kiana shot a glare, then quickly ignored her.
Her gaze returned to me.
"Gojo! You heard what she was saying!"
I gave a short sigh.
"I didn't expect our class monitor to be this type of person. Our first day at school and we're being given the bullying treatment." I grasped my chest. "I'm heartbroken. And thus I grieve in ashes…"
"Well…" Mei gave an awkward smile. "In the class monitor's defence… she was trying to just get you guys to work harder?"
"So she was calling us lazy all along?"
Fu Hua closed her eyes for a moment.
And just sighed.
—----------------------------------------
We were back at the villa not long after.
Mei had gone to the kitchen to cook a dish, leaving the three of us in the living room.
Bronya was on the couch with her game in hand, while I had taken the other one.
Kiana sat across from us.
Her face had been scrunched up for a while now.
Every so often, she'd glance over at one of us before quickly looking somewhere else.
At one point, our eyes met.
Her mouth opened like she was about to say something.
Then nothing came out.
She clicked her tongue and sank further into the couch, turning her head away from me swiftly, like I just raided her favourite snack stash.
I shook my head as I took another bite of the cookie in my hand.
No way that could be the reason.
...
Hm.
A little while later, she did it again.
This time she looked toward Bronya.
Her lips parted like she was about to say something but, unfortunately for her...
Bronya continued playing.
Kiana stared at her for another second before seemingly thinking better of it, folding her arms and sulking into the corner of the couch instead.
Alright.
You have piqued my curiosity, Kaslana!
"Kiana."
The girl in question perked up.
"What?"
"You know you can't just do that right?"
I lowered the half-eaten cookie from my mouth and pointed it accusingly in her direction.
Kiana's eyes followed it for a moment before returning to me. Her arms slowly loosened from where she'd folded them against her chest.
"What do you mean by that? What did I do?" Her eyes squinted. "Wait… is that my cooki-"
"Silence."
I shifted upright, pushing myself to my feet as I towered over her.
Kiana's brows pinched together under the scrutiny. She glanced briefly at Bronya as though expecting some kind of explanation from her, only to find the girl still completely absorbed in her game.
When she looked back, I was still staring.
"How dare you act like you had something interesting to say, and then proceed to not say anything?"
Kiana's mouth opened.
Then closed.
Again.
I pointed the cookie at her a second time.
"That. You're doing it again."
Her eyes narrowed.
"I am not."
"You are!"
"Am not!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
We stared at each other, disdain clear between us.
Neither of us blinked, the challenge growing as our eyes slowly started to redden.
But Kiana. You thought we were on the same playing field when in fact, I was cheating all along!
*Clunk*
Muahahahahaha.
It was at this moment that the clicking beside us slowed.
Bronya lowered her game slightly and looked between the two of us.
"The Bronya is surrounded by children…"
Now that snapped us both out of our staring contest.
Then, almost instinctively, our gazes travelled down toward her.
And stayed there.
Bronya stared back at us.
Kiana glanced at me.
We didn't need to say anything,
That was all.
Just the look of smug disdain we had whilst we looked down upon her told her what she needed to know.
The clicking from Bronya's game stopped completely.
Her fingers remained wrapped around it for a moment longer than necessary.
Then…
Click.
She shut the screen off.
Slowly.
"The Bronya would like to remind both of you that height is not an indication of maturity."
"Right." I nodded my head. "You're soooo right."
"Mm hmm. You're always right, Bronya." Kiana sang the same tune as I.
Bronya's fingers tightened slightly around the device but she stayed silent, as if deliberating what to say.
Then, without taking her eyes off either of us, she slowly lowered the game onto the couch beside her.
"The Bronya is not falling for the ragebait."
Oh well. It was worth a try.
I dropped back onto the couch and took another bite from the cookie.
Kiana did the same, bar the cookie of course, still looking rather pleased with herself.
For about five seconds.
Then her smile faded.
Her gaze wandered off again.
…
Oh yeah…
"You still haven't said it."
Kiana stiffened.
"Huh?"Whatever you were trying to say earlier."
I gestured toward her with what remained of the cookie.This was one long-lasting cookie wasn't it?
I'm getting off topic again.
"You looked like you had something important to say." I leaned forwards and focused my gaze on her. "Now spit it."
Kiana's shoulders drew in slightly as she sank back into the couch, fingers catching the edge of her shirt and worrying at the fabric.
"It's kinda… y'know…"
"I don't know."
"Urgh. You know what I mean!"
"The Bronya doesn't either."
"It just feels bad to say it out loud!" Kiana fidgeted under Bronya and I's interrogation. "It's about… the class monitor."
"Fu Hua?" I raised an eyebrow. "What's up with her?"
"I don't know." Kiana pouted. "I'm just not really comfortable with her. I feel like she's kinda familiar, but in a bad way, y'know?
Huh.
"So it's sorta like… bad vibes?"
"Right! Just like that!"
Kiana pointed at me like I'd finally cracked some impossible code.
Bronya stared at her.
"And what exactly has Fu Hua done to cause these 'bad vibes'?"
Kiana's finger slowly lowered before she just sighed.
"If I knew, it wouldn't be called bad vibes anymore right, Bratnya?"
"Ahh." Bronya nodded gently. "The Bronya understands."
Now that caused a bit of havoc between the two of them again. Those two were really just like fire and water sometimes.
But I couldn't help but drown out their voices as I fell into thought.
While Bronya was ragebaiting Kiana this time, I had no doubt that she was likely thinking the same thing that I was.
Bad vibes?
From Kiana?
While Kiana had sort of become… less reliable compared to the time when I first met her, she had, after all, travelled through the entirety of Europe herself as a child.
Things people called vibes were usually a type of subconsious pattern recognition in order to protect themselves… or in other words?
Instinct.
But what would trigger this sort of thing in Kiana? I didn't feel anything yet. Neither did Bronya or Mei.
At the same time though, this feeling could just mean nothing. Now that we were in a new environment though, I'd stick more to caution.
Fu Hua huh?
My eyes glittered.
Are you really just a class monitor?