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"let me get this straight.." she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes, confusion written all over her face. "you tried to get a cat down from a tree, got stuck, then fell into a food stall, destroying it and sending steaming hot food flying into multiple people?"
"well, when you say it like that, it just sounds stupid."
"because it is." she groaned, shaking her head and leaning against the wall, facing the boys of the gang, currently locked up in a cell. again. "destruction of property, injuring civilians, and just ruining the peace.. you just don"t know when to stop, do you?"
"we got the cat down, though!" he huffed, pointing his finger up in the air as he continued. "and it"s owner was very happy with us! even gave us some snacks as thanks!"
"..which the tengu took away." akira muttered, itto shushing him quickly, an argument forming about whether they"d get them back of not.
shinobu sighed, frankly tired of being there. she should"ve been at home eating dinner, not stuck in a jail trying to bail her idiot gang members out. though.. "did you say the tengu?"
"yeah, she brought us all the way here..!" genta groaned, mamoru nodding next to him as they continued. "grabbed itto by the arm and dragged him with her while the guards took us."
"she didn"t drag me here, i went willingly!"
the arguments continued, and she just stood against the wall, wondering where the tengu was now. "is she still here?"
"she should be! she was taking our stuff to the confiscation room, she should be back soon!" one of them explained, and she sighed, nodding.
"at least i can see her before i drag you idiots out." she mumbled, though it didn"t you noticed by the boss, who perked up, leaning closer to the bars, confusing her. "what."
"you.. want to see her?" he asked, and she tilted her head, nodding with a sigh.
"i can ask her for ways to keep you in line, so yes." she crossed her arms, and he nodded back, as if skeptical, but went silent for a moment, only furthering her confusion.
"oh.." he mumbled, before his eyes widened, turning to stare at her with a grin. "ohhh.."
"why are you looking at me like that?" she squinted, listening to him laugh, unable to control the flush making its way up her face as he continued on, much louder than necessary.
"you like her!"
"what?" her eyes widened, glad her mask concealed most of her face, but feeling the heat of a blush anyways, stiffening as he chuckled, bringing his hand to his chin.
"shinobu, i may be dumb, but i"m not stupid. you like her, that"s why you"re always slower to bail us out if she"s here! you just wanna be around her!" he was rambling, the other gang members nodding, adding in how that made sense, and she was nearly about to reach between the bars and punish them herself if they didn"t shut up.
"i bet she likes you, too!" genta suddenly stated, and she froze, almost unable to move as they went on. "she only smiles around you, after all!"
"and she always acts scary around us, but seems a lot nicer when you"re around!" akira added in, smiling. "and we always get off easy, i bet it"s cause you"re here to bail us out!"
"she just wants to see you more often, that"s why she takes the charges down!" mamoru finished, the three of them chanting behind itto that they both liked each other, the boss just smiling, proud of himself for coming to the conclusion.
for a group of idiots, they actually made sense sometimes. but the tenryou general liking her? the deputy leader of some unknown gang that just caused trouble? there was no way. she was probably just happy that someone came to get the boys out of her hair, after all.
"could you guys shut up?" she grumbled, and they quieted down, waiting for her to speak. or just scared they"d get punished if they didn"t. "i need to go find the tengu to get you out of here, so keep your mouths shut, or i"m leaving you in here for a week."
"a week?!"
she turned to go, ignoring their pleas that they"d be quiet, that they"d stop teasing her, but she ignored it, turning to go into the hallway, freezing when she saw the woman she had been looking for, standing against the wall, out of sight. "oh..! madam kujou, you-"
she stopped, glancing back at the cell bars, the gang pressed into one corner to spy, and she realized in horror that the general had probably heard everything. "madam kujou, could i speak to you in private?"
"of course, deputy leader." she moved herself off the wall, and she thought she caught the sight of a smile, following her around the corner to a small, empty area, standing there in silence for a moment. "i assume you"ve come to bail them out?"
"yes, it"d be too cruel to leave them here. for theirs and your sake." she sighed, flushing when the general chuckled softly, shaking her head to try to erase any personal feelings trying to reveal themselves. "i heard you took the charge down quite a bit. thank you."
"it"s the least i could do for you. without you watching them, they"d cause more trouble than i"d know what to do with." she sighed, and she nodded, moving her hands behind her back as she continued. "plus, their singing would get quite annoying after a while."
"their singing..?" her eyes widened, before groaning, moving her hand to her face as the general smiled, listening to her mumble apologies. "i don"t know what came over them, i"m sorry, i know they probably got it wrong.."
"they didn"t exactly."
she looked up, watching her face begin to turn a light shade of pink, facing away with a sigh. "i assume they weren"t wrong on your end, either?"
"..not exactly."
she nodded, crossing her arms with an inhale, sighing softly. "they sure are smarter than they look, i"ll give them that."
"y-yeah, just a little bit." she but her lip, the general looking at her again, making her stiffen, before inhaling, speaking quickly. "would you like to get dinner?"
her eyes widened, staying silent for a moment, before smiling, nodding. "that would be nice. though will they be okay with no one watching over them for a few hours?"
she grimaced, making the other laugh, before nodding, smiling slightly to herself. "they should be fine. they"re dumb, but they"re not stupid."
"well, then.." she sighed, moving and walking past her, putting her hand on her shoulder before going. "i"ll see you tonight, deputy leader."
"same for you, tenryou general."