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It had been a while since Maki and Nobara were assigned on a mission together.
Maki noticed the familiarity of it as they moved through the old factory. Their footsteps were naturally in sync, neither needing to check where the other was to know what to do next. It was a reminder that fighting beside Nobara had always been easy, effortless in a way few things in Maki’s life ever were.
And she’d missed it more than she cared to admit.
The briefing had been vague as usual. Possible Grade 1 curse activity, unstable manifestation, incomplete reports. Nothing really new—after years of exorcising curses, uncertainty was an expected part of their routine.
For a mission as uncertain and potentially dangerous as this, it made sense to send a short-range agent (Maki, Special Grade) and a long-range agent (Nobara, Grade 1), so there they were, ready for the job.
In the first minutes of the fight, they found out the curse’s power, and it became clear the mission wasn’t going to be a simple one.
The curse stabbed Maki on the arm with its claws and, to both women's surprise, it was able to punch her strongly enough to throw her away.
Maki’s back hit concrete hard enough to knock the air from her lungs. The impact barely registered compared to the burning spreading through her right side—sharp at first, then hot, then frighteningly numb.
Poison.
She recognized the sensation immediately. It was a sensation she didn’t miss, not even in the slightest. Muscles heavy. Vision lagging half a second behind reality.
Great.
She tried to stand, but her arm trembled and gave out.
“…Damn it.”
“Maki!”
Nobara’s voice cut through the noise, sharp enough to snap attention back into focus.
“I’m fine,” Maki called automatically, even as her vision blurred.
The curse lunged toward her, but it never reached.
A nail slammed through its limb midair, pinning it to a steel pillar. Another followed instantly, then another. Nobara moved forward without hesitation. Hammer swung, nails flashed between her fingers. Her aim was flawless like always, every strike landed exactly where she wanted it to.
Maki had seen Nobara fight hundreds of times before. But from the ground, forced to watch instead of fight, it felt different.
Nobara wasn’t making smart jokes or teasing the curse like she usually does. Her fighting was sharpened into something clean and purposeful. Almost… Protective?
The realization settled slowly as Maki struggled to push herself upright and failed again.
Nobara kept positioning herself between the curse and where Maki lay. Every time.
It was not a coincidence, she was doing it on purpose.
Nobara held the fight well for a while, but of course the curse had another ace up its sleeve.
The creature split into smaller forms, skittering across the floor toward Maki. Nobara clicked her tongue, spun, and drove a cluster of nails into the ground.
“Don’t even think about it.” Nobara shouted fiercely.
She activated her resonance, and the creatures burst apart before reaching her.
Maki watched dust swirl around Nobara’s silhouette. It was like a scene from a move—she was steady, completely unafraid.
Strong.
Powerful.
Something in Maki’s chest tightened, totally unrelated to the poison.
She’d always trusted Nobara in battle, always respected her strength. But lying there, unable to move, watching Nobara fight for her without hesitation—watching the absolute certainty in her movements—Maki felt something shift into place.
An understanding she’d been carefully ignoring for years hit her hard and all at once.
Thinking in retrospect, that explained a lot.
The way her chest tightened when Nobara laughed with someone else. The way missions felt easier when Nobara was nearby. The quiet instinct to look for her first in every room.
Maki swallowed.
She was in love with Kugisaki Nobara.
The timing for this realization, however, was terrible.
As soon as the curse vanished, Nobara wasted no time and started to take care of Maki.
Nobara made the first aids for poisoning situations, she put a tourniquet on Maki’s arm, cleaned the wound and motioned her vitals.
“I’ll need to carry you outside, ok?”
Nobara was small, but she was crazy strong after years of training, which was great for Maki, or else she would never be able to be carried away out of that factory warehouse.
Nobara adjusted her grip and, with as much care as the situation allowed, lifted Maki into a fireman’s carry. She managed to get them both to her car parked right outside the factory and gently laid Maki down in the back seat.
Nobara drove fast, directly to Shoko’s house. She called while driving, so the doctor already knew they were on their way and what was waiting for her.
Maki fainted at some point still in Nobara’s car. When she woke up, she found herself on Shoko’s couch, but there was no sign of the doctor.
“You’re awake,” Nobara was seated on the floor, back rested on the couch where Maki was lying.
“...Hey,” Maki tried to speak, but her throat was rough
“You’re bleeding again, wait a second.”
Before Maki could protest, Nobara was on her feet.
As promised, in a few seconds she was back with a new bandage and a glass of water.
She helped Maki to sit, gave her the water and started working on her wound.
“Shoko-san is sleeping, she used a lot of reversed cursed technique to heal you and it wore her out.” Nobara cleaned the blood from Maki’s arm before applying the new bandage. “You were out for a while now. I was waiting for you to wake up, want me to wake her?”
“No need to, I’m feeling fine.”
Nobara finished securing the bandage but didn’t pull away. She stayed close, one hand still braced against Maki’s shoulder like she needed proof she was still there.
“You scared me,” Nobara admitted softly.
Maki reached up, fingers clumsy, catching the sleeve of Nobara’s jacket.
“Nobara.”
“Yeah?”
Maki hesitated, maybe for fear of rejections, maybe for the unfamiliarity of the situation. Words had never been her strongest weapon after all.
“…Stay.”
Nobara blinked. “I wasn’t going anywhere.”
“I know,” Maki said. “Just… stay close.”
Something in Nobara’s expression softened.
She leaned in slightly, close enough that Maki could see every detail—the smudge of dust on her cheek, the stubborn set of her mouth, the concern she tried and failed to hide.
“You better recover fast,” Nobara said. “You’re heavy, I’m not carrying you home.”
Maki smiled faintly.
Then, before she could overthink it—before doubt could interrupt—she tugged Nobara closer and kissed her.
It wasn’t as romantic as she wanted. She was still weak and they were both covered with dust, but it was perfect in its own way. Quick, gentle, and full of meaning.
“What was that?” Nobara asked. Confused, but smiling nonetheless.
Maki shrugged weakly, “call it near-death clarity.”
For a second, Maki had no idea what was going on in Nobara's mind. The woman was static, staring at her with an indecipherable expression.
Then Nobara grabbed her collar and kissed her back, firm and unapologetic.
When she pulled away, her grin was fierce despite the pink in her cheeks.
“Don’t ever scare me like this again,” she pretended to be mad, but her smile gave her away.
“Yes ma'am.” Maki smirked, still a little groggy both from the reversed cursed technique and the kiss.