SWNOVELXO Chapter 16: Ch 15 - Rika Talk
( Rei left because of the urgent work and Misaki got called from office and now Rika and Satoru are alone )
The low hum of the safe house settled into a comfortable background buzz as Satoru carefully repacked their supplies from the mission. The adrenaline had faded, leaving behind a sense of accomplishment mixed with the usual post-mission weariness. He hummed a tuneless melody, trying to mentally catalogue the various types of root vegetables.
Rika watched him from the doorway to the small bedroom they'd claimed for resting. Her arms crossed loosely, a picture of feigned nonchalance that somehow looked incredibly relaxed in the dim light spilling from the adjacent room. She hadn't participated much in the actual combat, preferring to observe Satoru in action, her sharp eyes taking in every detail, assessing, learning.
"You're humming," she stated flatly, her voice cutting through his thoughts.
Satoru jumped slightly, turning towards her. "Oh! Am I? Must be tired." He scratched the back of his head, a faint blush creeping up his neck despite his usual composure. Rika rarely commented on such mundane things unless she was teasing him.
"Does it have a name?" she asked, taking a few steps closer. Her footsteps were quiet on the rug.
Satoru shook his head. "Probably not. Just... a sound."
They reached the doorway where he was working. The silence stretched between them, comfortable yet charged with an unspoken awareness. Rika looked down at him, her gaze softening slightly from its usual critical angle.
"You're good at this," she murmured, not referring to the mission, but to something broader. "At being... quiet."
Satoru looked up at her again, his blue eyes meeting hers directly now. "Is that a compliment?"
A faint pink tinge colored her cheeks, a stark contrast to her usual cool demeanor. "It's... an observation." She paused, then added, "You're quiet when you're thinking. It's nice."
Satoru didn't immediately respond. He finished packing a small bag, then looked back at her. The distance seemed to have closed between them in that moment. He stood up slowly, closing the gap. Rika instinctively took a half-step back, but it wasn't enough.
"I'm glad you're here," Satoru said quietly, his voice husky with something unfamiliar.
Rika blinked, taken aback by the directness. "I... I'm here because I was assigned to watch your back." Standard procedure, standard words.
"Something more," Satoru countered softly. He reached out and gently brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead, his fingers lingering for a fraction of a second longer than necessary. The touch sent a jolt through her that had nothing to do with the coolness of his skin.
Her breath hitched slightly. She looked down for a moment, then back up at him, her expression unreadable but lacking its usual edge. "We should get some rest," she said, her voice still low.
"Rest," Satoru echoed, his hand still hovering near her face. "Yes."
He moved towards the small sofa in the corner, but Rika didn't immediately follow. Instead, she watched him from her spot in the doorway. The quiet intimacy of the moment, the simple act of touching, felt like a shift in their dynamic. They hadn't spoken much during the mission, communicating through nods and minimal hand signals, but now, after the dust settled, there was something different in the air.
Satoru finally sat on the sofa, and Rika stepped further into the room, closing the door behind her softly. She didn't sit beside him immediately; instead, she leaned against the wall opposite him, her gaze fixed on him in the dim light.
"The humming," she began again, testing the waters. "What was it like?"
Satoru smiled faintly. "Like... quiet anticipation before rain."
Rika tilted her head. "Anticipation." It wasn't a question, but it hung in the air between them.
He nodded slowly. "Anticipation for... figuring things out. For success."
"Like this mission," she acknowledged.
"Or like... anything else," he added quietly.
The implication hung there – like them, like their partnership, like the future they were building together.
Silence settled again, deeper this time. Rika finally moved, walking silently to the sofa and sitting down beside him, careful not to touch but close enough that their shoulders almost brushed. She looked out into the darkness beyond the room's small window.
"We're not ordinary," she said suddenly, her voice barely above a whisper.
"No," Satoru agreed softly.
"Neither are you," Rika continued. "Or were you ever?"
He turned to look at her properly now, in the low light of the safe house. "I'm still figuring out who I am."
A small smile touched Rika's lips, almost invisible. "Good." She reached out and gently tucked a strand of hair behind his ear, mimicking his earlier gesture for her. Her touch was softer than his.
Satoru leaned slightly into the contact, a small sigh escaping him. He didn't say anything, but the quiet understanding between them felt stronger than any weapon or strategy they had faced tonight.
In that moment, wrapped in the simple intimacy of shared exhaustion and silent connection, Satoru felt a warmth spread through him unlike any he'd felt before. It wasn't about battle or plans; it was about this person beside him, this complex, beautiful enigma named Rika Fushimi.
And Rika, for once, didn't seem inclined to retreat back into her own thoughts immediately. She looked at him, her eyes reflecting the dim glow, a rare flicker of something softer than usual visible within their sharpness.
It was just them, in their hidden world, sharing a quiet moment of understanding under the cover of darkness.