Destined to Collide - Inumaki Toge

25. Breathless

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Happy reading~

Sunset light slowly extended its orange hue into the Infirmary. Maguro redo her hair chignon and continued to pick up the medicine for Inumaki, remaining completely oblivious of Inumaki's presence behind her.

His mind is blank of every other coherent thought. He felt drawn towards her, who stood there quietly, bathed in the glowing light of the gradually fading sunset. He only has one thing in his mind right now – he just wanted to watch her hair tumbling down from its neat chignon again.

Inumaki, not knowing what he is doing, advances towards her quietly and reached up, pulling the hair stick from her newly redone hair chignon.

Maguro gasped when she felt her hair's weight tumble down from her chignon. Did her hair stick loosen? No, it could not be. She had just redone her chignon with that hair stick. Turning around quickly, she found Inumaki standing behind her and gasped, realizing the hair sticks he is holding in his hand.

She didn't notice him approaching her at all. Did he hid his presence?

"I-Inumaki-kun," she stuttered stupidly, her ears turning red hot at their close proximity. Why is he here?

Did something happen? Did he get hurt?

Concerned, Maguro's eyes roved over his fair face and his body, looking for some sort of sign that might need any medical attention. Hair stick forgotten, she flipped her hair over her shoulder and questioned quickly, "What brings you here at this hour, Inumaki-kun? Is everything alright? Was it your meds again? Are you not feeling well? I can heal you right now. Let me know where it hurts."

Inumaki stayed silent and just looked at her quietly.

In all honestly, the evening glow made Inumaki looked ethereal in Maguro's eyes. His violet gaze seemed as if it glowed with a sort of fire within from the colour of the setting sun. Maguro couldn't help but to just let him stay silent without answering her questions and stare at the pretty boy in front of her, falling into a daze of sort.

Oh Kami, Maguro thought to herself quietly as she feels her heart speeds back up. He looked far too beautiful to be real right now.

Not to mention there is only the two of them in the Infirmary right now. The thought of that sends her heart running up in a frenzy against her ribcage. Her heart pounded so hard in her chest she bet she could feel them on her clothes were she to place her hand on it. Instead, she just prayed hard the cursed speech user couldn't hear how loud her heart beats.

Inumaki shakes his head at her as an answer to her earlier questions and stared at Maguro for a while. She might not have noticed it, but Inumaki himself definitely has been paying a lot of attention to her since their first encounter at the river all these whiles. Not to say that she was the only girl worth looking at, but she is indeed the only girl worth his attention.

The only girl he wants to look and stare at in a sea of humans and curses.

The glow from the evening sunset colours her skin to an orange glow. This colour deepens the flush that gradually crept up her neck and flames up her ear the longer he stares at her. Did she know how eye-catchingly good she looks right now? Internally, he chuckled to himself. She probably doesn't even know how much of his thoughts he had been hiding from her.

He knew she didn't pry into his mind. She had already told him that it drained her energy more were she to keep it up all the time and does it often. Maguro doesn't do that on normal circumstances, and he believed her wholeheartedly. But of course, there was no reason to doubt her. All she could read or see in his mind was what he shows her, and that requires him to think and voice it in his mind for her to hear him. Otherwise, according to her, all that she can hear is akin to 10 radios playing all the different stations together at the same time if she so much as force herself to listen to minds.

He couldn't tell her. Didn't know how to tell her. But she had to know that he feels for her. He had a feeling that if he didn't tell her right now, there might not be another chance to do so anymore. Because how could he not tell her his feelings, when she looks so lovely right now he could really just lean in and kiss her.

How could he endure another day not telling her, not having her, and not holding her close to him?

He could not. And he will not.

"Inumaki-kun?" Maguro tilted her head to the side, her eyes looking up at his in concern. "Are you alright? You've been very quiet. Is everything alright?"

Inumaki stepped closer to her in a daze of sort. He focused too much on her eyes and her face that he didn't realize she was talking. his hand, he gently lifted a lock of her long hair to his lips and kisses the cool locks, admiring on how smooth her hair feels with his lips.

"Tuna mayo," (Beautiful,) Inumaki said to her softly, his violet eyes watching her reaction with nothing but adoration. He knew she could hear what he had wanted to say, knowing she'd usually lose some semblance of control over her powers whenever she is around him.

Now that – was something he had to thank Panda later for telling him this crucial information.

Panda being Panda, is the most observant one of them all. He is also the only one who could understand Inumaki to an extent of not needing him to type it out in a phone. And he noticed as well Maguro's control over her techniques usually falters a little whenever Inumaki approaches her but doesn't really falter if he is already near her to start with.

Panda also told Inumaki out of convenience, that Maguro probably would stutter when he gets close to her. And she did.

Maguro's heart speeds up. She felt her hold on her abilities slipping. For losing control just a little, the Read power that was a part of the mind powers she has inherited from her clan accidentally sets off, causing the floodgate she had blocked with all her might whenever she is around Inumaki to loosen, and caused her her to be able to see Inumaki's thoughts for the vast part of it.

Of how she looks like in his eyes right now.

Of how he finds her lips tempting and delicious.

Of how he could just pull her to him, wrapping an arm around her waist and cups the back of her head before leaning in.

Of how he imagines himself kissing her.

Hard.

Right now.

Too surprised at the barrage of images flooding her mind, Maguro suddenly found her chest a bit tight and tried to breathe deeply.

But couldn't.

She felt her breath got stuck in her chest in a rigid halt and tried to inhale air into her lungs one more time, albeit a little slower than earlier. She summed up that she probably was too nervous with what she has come to realizes as Inumaki's thoughts, feelings and view of her.

He, Maguro thought to herself as she tries to calm herself down, feeling how hard her heart pumped against her chest in excitement. He...Inumaki-kun...He wants to kiss me...?

Her chest got tighter as the moment passes by. She realizes she couldn't actually pull air into her lungs. The feeling was akin to having a heavy weight pushing down on her lungs, and no matter how hard she tries to breathe, it felt as if she is being smothered by a plastic.

Momentarily, a word flashed through her mind before she stumbles.

Was this what they called... breathless in the eyes of love?