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Note: Prologue / Ch. 1
After the dinner, Nodoka’s parents left when they were done crushing her in a giant goodbye death grip they called a hug. Her parents smelled of the familiar scent of cigarettes as she hugged them back just as tightly. Her dorm smelt unnaturally clean. It lacked the after smell of tobacco products she was accustomed to smelling. It didn’t smell like her old man.
“Bye, Daddy,” she whispered softly as her father’s car had driven away from the Tres Spades.
She slipped to the floor with exhaustion. It had taken all of her strength not to jump in front of the moving car and tell her parents it was a joke. Moving out was a big step for the nineteen year old; all her friends had traveled the great big world or went to boarding schools in other countries while she had been born and raised in the same area.
She sat up straight when remembering Ryusei was supposed to visit tonight. Here she was slacking on the floor when she should have been unpacking.
‘Eh, it’s just Ryusei anyways,’ she concluded to herself, ‘Isn’t like he should care.’
A knock sounded against the door alerting Nodoka of a possible visitor. Her arms pushed her off the floor with ease as she rushed to her feet. She peeped through the peep hole to see who was at the door. The raven haired heir of the Ice Dragons stood proud as he waited patiently for his friend to open the door. She noticed a blue paper bag in his hand with a grey bow plopped halphazardly onto the surface. He lifted his other hand to the back of his head as he waited; Nodoka caught a glimpse of the very end of the tail of his dragon tattoo. The intricate swirl was fascinating, but he didn’t like to show off the imprint. He made it is overall mission to keep people from seeing it.
She shook her head; she had been terribly distracted peeping out at him. She unlocked the bolt and lock on the door before swiftly opening her dorm to Ryusei.
“Hi, Ryusei,” she beamed up to the boy.
The boy nodded to his childhood friend before gently shoving the present into the defined arms of Nodoka. She gestured him inside with a swipe of her left hand.
“Come in,” she spoke up, “It’s a mess right now, but it isn’t polite to make you stand outside either.”
He shrugged off his work shoes at the door with his feet. His hair fell into his dark eyes giving Nodoka’s friend a less menacing appearance. He huffed the strands away from his sight to peer up to the girl.
“Well, are you going to open it,” he asked.
She blinked questioningly at Ryusei forgetting she had a present in her arms.
“Oh,” she simply stated.
The boy smirked at his friend mischievously, “That’s my name.”
Nodoka let out a snort at his lame attempt of a joke before punching his shoulder lightly. Her fingers felt the package cautiously. It appeared to be soft and flexible suggesting clothes, but Ryusei hated girls’ clothing sections. They were too close to perfume sections in stores. She stared up at the young adult exasperated as to what had made him brave the aisles with pungent odor lurking everywhere he went.
“Ryosuke went to pick it up,” he murmured, “I just had it made. Mom said you’d like it.”
Nodoka smirked at her usually composed friend before returning her attention back to the present in her grasp. She opened the paper bag to discover a dark blue and grey Qipao with a small golden emblem of a dragon on the sleeves that would easily be missed if no one were searching for the small detail.
“Ryu-kun,” she whispered out, “It’s beautiful; thank you for the gift!”
The boy scratched the back of his neck. Even though they were friends, she had never used the suffix to describe him. It was always just Ryusei. He forced the blush away only for it to return when the petite girl hugged him.
“You always know how to cheer me up,” she smiled.
Her eyelashes fluttered gracefully as if competing against a butterfly’s wings. Ryusei noticed the warmth missing just minutes ago from the orbs.
“So,” Nodoka trailed off, “How was Hong Kong?”
The Dragon sighed. His time in Hong Kong had been exhausting and troublesome. The Bell Crickets’ heir, Wei Lee, had been dabbling into drug affairs on Ice Dragon territory. The guy was a year younger than him and had an odd acquaintance with Yumeka. Ryusei was only in the area to explain the treachery to Simon Lee. Simon Lee eventually had Wei removed from the area to handle other issues in a branch overseas to settle the invasion of territory.
“That bad, huh,” asked Nodoka with a sincere smile on her face.
“Just the Bell Crickets’ heir throwing a tantrum,” he groaned.