"I did feel... something. But I didn't know the answer was just because I looked 'soft'."
Chika stared at him, his heart doing a weird, painful double-thud. He felt backed into a corner, even though the whole rooftop was open behind him.
"What are you getting at?" he snapped, his voice getting louder to hide the shake in it. "You tryna get a confession out of me or something? Huh?"
Ishi paused, looking completely blank. The idea hadn't even crossed his mind. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, too bad! I'm not gonna confess," Chika barked, the heat in his face turning from embarrassment to a sudden, sharp anger. It was easier to be mad than to feel like his soul was being picked apart. "It was a mistake, after all. A stupid mistake. So let's just forget about it like it never happened. You got your answer, right?"
He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, stepping back. "Now you can go back to being the perfect model student you're so good at being, and I'll go back to being that troublesome delinquent. Got it?"
Chika thought that would be the end of it. He wanted to bury the feelings in his heart and never look at them again. If he didn't admit it, it wasn't real, and surely Ishi would be relieved to go back to his books and his peace.
But he was wrong.
"I can't do that," Ishi muttered.
Before Chika could even ask why, Ishi stepped right into his space. The "Robot" didn't look calm or logical anymore. He reached out and grabbed Chika's collar, his knuckles white as he suddenly pulled him down.
Chika's eyes widened, his breath hitching as their lips met.
The wind was still howling around them, but Chika couldn't hear it anymore. All he could feel was the iron grip Ishi had on his shirt and the fact that the student who lived by the rules was currently breaking every single one of them.
His heart was loud. So loud it was deafening. What was... Happening right now?
"I-Ishi Kuroyami," he called as Ishi pulled his lips back just an inch.
"I am far too curious to... Just pretend that it never happened." He said and looked up, the son reflecting sharply on his lens. "So, until I satisfy my curiosity, Chika, we cannot go back to the way we were."
Chika stared at him, his heart hammering in his chest and his mouth hanging open as he struggled to find his voice. The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the sharp whistle of the wind against the rooftop fence.
What is he saying? Chika's mind was a complete wreck. Curiosity? Satisfy it?
He looked down at Ishi's hand, which was still twisted firmly into his collar. The 'Robot' wasn't shaking anymore. His grip was steady, and his eyes, usually hidden behind the glare of his glasses, were fixed on Chika with a focus that was terrifying.
"You... you can't just say things like that," Chika finally stammered, his face turning an even darker shade of red. "What do you mean by 'we can't go back'? You're the one who always says we should follow the rules! This is—this is definitely breaking some kind of rule!"
Ishi didn't let go. He actually tightened his hold, pulling Chika just a fraction closer.
"Rules are for predictable systems, Chika Nuronami. You are not predictable. Every time I think I have you figured out, you do something that doesn't fit the pattern."
Ishi's breath was warm against Chika's face, and it was making it impossible for Chika to think. I'm an idiot for letting him get this close, he thought, but he didn't pull away.
"So, what?" Chika managed to growl, though it lacked any real bite. "I'm just a lab experiment to you now? You're gonna 'study' me because you're bored?"
Ishi's expression softened, just for a second, in a way that made Chika's stomach do that same nauseating flip.
"I didn't say I was bored. I said I was curious."
'Same thing, jackass. Only those who don't have anything doing have the leisure of getting curious about unnecessary things.' Chika thought, his heart threatening to push past his ribs and fall out of his chest.
Ishi slowly let go of Chika's collar, smoothing out the wrinkled fabric of the school jacket with his palm. The touch was light, but it felt like a brand.
"I need to understand why my heart rate spikes when you're in the room," Ishi said, his voice dropping back to that calm, matter-of-fact tone that drove Chika crazy. "And why, for the first time in my life, the library feels too quiet when you're not there making trouble."
He stepped back, adjusting his glasses and turning toward the rooftop door. "I'll see you in class, Chika. Don't be late. Your attendance is still a problem."
Chika stood there, frozen, watching Ishi walk away as if he hadn't just turned Chika's entire world upside down. He waited until the door clicked shut before he finally let out the breath he'd been holding.
"A problem?" Chika whispered to the empty roof, his hand coming up to touch his lips. "You're the problem, you crazy model student."