—<5 days later>—
Clack!
Clack!
Gasper sat hunched at his desk, typing away. His eyes were bloodshot, heavy bags hanging beneath them from hours of pure, unadulterated focus.
'Are you watching, Koneko?'
His left hand flew across the keyboard with violent intensity.
'Yes... YES! With my left!'
CLACK!
CLACK!
With a powerful swipe, he slammed the Enter key. His hand launched back as far as possible, sweat flying from his fingertips!
'I'LL COMPLETE CONTRACTS!'
He lowered his right hand. 'And... with my right...'
He snatched a pencil and began scratching at a piece of paper with the will of a madman, '...I'LL LEARN STEEL BALL FORGING!'
Both his hands began moving at inconceivable speed!
CLACK!
CLACK!
SCRIBBLE!
Koneko slowly turned away from the TV, her expression flat as she tried to identify the source of the chaotic noise.
"What the..."
He stopped scribbling abruptly and plunged his hand into a DFC bucket. 'I'll take a chicken leg.... '
He hoisted the drumstick into the air and took a massive bite, sending more sweat flying into the air.
'AND EAT IT!!!!'
He swallowed HARD!
"...I won't just do double the contracts…I'LL DO FOUR TIMES AS MANY!!! HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT!!!! RIAS!!!!!"
He lowered his head, thick shadows covering his eyes as a delirious giggle bubbled up.
"He… hehe… HEHEHEHHEHEHE!"
Suddenly, he tossed his head back. "HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAH!!!! THIS IS IT, RIAS!!!! MY PERFECT VICTORY!!!"
"...hehehhehehehehehehehe~"
His eyes began to glow a sick crimson as a disturbing smile formed. "Ahhh~"
"WILL I FALL FIRST..."
He raised a hand up to his cheek and cupped it.
"...OR WILL I WIN?!"
He wrapped his other arm around himself in a tight, frantic embrace, a deep blush creeping up his face.
"IT'S...THE ULTIMATE GAMBLE!!!!"
Koneko just stared at this with a deadpan expression. 'And there he goes again.'
She looked back at the TV and dug her hand into a bag of sweets
She popped one into her mouth.
'Well, it's not my problem.'
*****
—<10 days later>—
Under a grand tree behind the Occult Research Club building, Gasper sat. The grass swayed around him, his hair blowing softly in the wind. His hands were clasped together as he stared up at the leaves. They rustled with the breeze like a whispering melody.
'It's over…'
The heaviness of his eyelids felt like lead. For the first time in over thirteen days, he was finally letting them win, ready to accept the darkness on the other side.
'... maybe it's time for me to get a watercolor painting and be called...'
YAWN!
He stretched his jaw so wide his joints popped, and tears gathered in the corners of his eyes.
"...A concussion merchant."
As his eyes finally drifted shut, one last thought crossed his fading consciousness. 'Maybe they'll call me the boy who slept... or some... thing...' His breathing became steady as consciousness faded.
As he fell asleep, his hair blew in the wind, his clothes rippling with it. They fully synced with the melody of nature as the sun illuminated him.
Maybe he truly was blessed, and maybe one day he too will reach enlightenment under the soft glow of the su—
"SNRRRRK—HONKKKKKKK-SHOOO!"
A snot bubble formed, expanding.
....Never mind, fuck this, I quit.
—<4 hours later>—
Gasper still under the tree.
ZZZzzzz!
Was snoring loudly.
ZZZzzzz!
But a shadow fell over him, and slowly, it sat down right on his lap, facing him, its hands reaching up towards his head.
ZZZzzzz—
Then something warm pressed against his cheeks…
Pull~
His eyes shot open as he felt his cheeks being yanked. Staring back at him were blurry, honey-colored eyes.
"AAAAAHHHH!! NOOOO!! PLEASE DON'T PROBE ME, MR. ALIEN!"
Then his vision cleared.
"Huh? Koneko, when did you become an alien?" His hand slowly went up.
Boop!
And he put one of his fingers on the tip of her nose.
"..."
"What do you think you're doing?" Koneko said flatly, yanking his cheeks harder, making him put his hands on her arms, trying to make her stop.
"T-Thath wha I shouda be thayin," Gasper muffled.
Eventually she released him, making his cheeks violently snap back in place.
Rising from his lap, where he hadn't even realized she'd been resting on, she grabbed one of his hands.
And with a mighty pull, she got him to his feet.
"W-Whoa!"
She kept her hand locked with his, dragging him without a care in the world.
Not minding it much. He asked, "Soooo, where we goooing?"
"Did you forget?"
His face fell into confusion. "Forget?"
He definitely had no idea what she was talking about.
She stopped and pulled him toward her until they were inches apart.
Now face-to-face, she looked at him in the eye.
'he's clueless...'
But as she looked closer at his face, she saw something.
She raised a hand, placing it gently on his cheek, and rubbed her thumb over the dark circle under his eye.
'...you big dummy.'
Then, she brought her second hand up, cupping both his cheeks in her palms while locking eyes with him.
In one swift motion, she lifted her hands off his face and went back in!
SLAP!
"I told you to get some sleep, you overworked dumbass."
With glowing red cheeks, Gasper winced. "I'm…sorry?"
'Wait...Are we still talking about the same thing here.' he thought
She looked away and crossed her arms. "Sorry is not good enough."
Gasper just looked at her, blinking rapidly.
?
"Ahem!" she cleared her throat, looking everywhere but at him. "But... if you're really that sorry... there's a way you can make it up to me."
Oh, not again.
Gasper's eyes went hollow. "I said never before lunch …"
He knew he should have never shown her what he could do in the kitchen.
Koneko just looked at him.
Stare~
Gasper stared back, determined, but he eventually had to blink.
Once his vision refocused
!!!! A NEW CHALLENGER HAS APPEARED !!!!
In that very microsecond, his eyes locked onto the top of her head. A cat rested on it; Shiro was giving him the exact same judgmental stare as his owner.
Gasper's eyebrow twitched. 'TRAITOR!'
She was trying to make him fall!
NEVER!
He will not FALTER!
He looked at both of them. "Not gonna happen."
'Damn,' Koneko thought. 'Looks like I have to up the heat.'
As she stared at him, her cheeks gained a slight rosy tint.
But Gasper did not budge
And so she used her ULTIMATE MOVE!
She puffed up her cheeks in a pout.
.
.
.
.
"..." Gasper froze.
His face loosened up, a blush creeping up his cheeks. 'That's… SO FREAKING CUTE!'
'WHAT!! NO SNAP BACK!'
Oh, he tried, but the more he looked, the faster he melted.
He looked away in defeat.
"Ok…fine…"
Koneko immediately dropped the act, her face returning to its cool, neutral state. "I'll take ten strawberry shortcakes."
Gasper sighed, "Alright..."
As he said that, she grabbed his sleeve.
"Huh? What now?"
"Game time." she said, looking calm as ever.
He raised a brow. "But that's not until way later. It's like ten in the morning right now."
She shook her head. "It's the afternoon, so..."
A ghost of a smile touched her lips. "It's time to get your ass whooped in Dragon-So Fighters C."
A shit-eating grin spread across Gasper's face. "Yeah, right. Says the one who's never been able to beat me."
Her grip tightened on his sleeve. "That changes today."
"You can try, but you won't succeed."
She yanked him as she began to walk. "We'll see."
←—TO BE CONTINUED—
****
AN: And so ends this short chapter; I decided to write a slice of life for some odd reason.
But hey, tell me if you (YES, YOU) liked it.