Should we even be friends?

After the small heart-to-heart, Ayame asked Kasumi to help her chose a computer. There was a debate if they should build it or get a pre-built, but for the sake of time, they decided to go pre-built for the time being.

Once they finished ordering, Kasumi walked out of the room to go cook dinner as it was now 7pm.

This left Ayame to think a little more about her feelings and if she made the right choice.

'Ahhh! This feels so wrong… One moment I'm a lonely assassin shut in and now I've moved out living with someone who wants to date me! I need to consult my yuri manga.' Struggling to know what to do, Ayame rolled in her chair to the bookshelf and looked for some of the yuri manga she has read.

Picking out a book that was in a similar situation, Ayame instantly got to reading and since she had already read it, she skimmed through the book, only slowing down on the interesting parts.

**

<20 minutes later>

Ayame had finished a few volumes of the yuri manga and felt like she was enlightened with knowledge.

'So I need to not completely ignore Kasumi and try to explore a little and see how I feel about it….. Is this even realistic? I feel like friends shouldn't be getting that close.' Ayame's face turned red thinking about the manga and then replacing the characters with her and Kasumi. It was a fantasy that didn't sound so bad, but she felt like it would be too cruel for Kasumi to go so far, but in the end, say no.

Then it occurred to her why the scenario worked out so well and that's because she was going to say yes anyway.

'Damn it, so I have to decide now so I don't hurt Kasumi? This world is too cruel.' Ayame still didn't know how she felt since it was all new to her. She also realised that Kasumi seemed desperate like something was going to happen if she didn't confess right then and there.

'It wasn't really a confession, but I guess finding out how I feel is an indirect one… I need to find out what is bothering Kasumi. She may not show it, but she revealed it slightly.' One skill that Ayame had learnt as an assassin was she could read people like a book. It was something she picked up rather naturally and even the slightest signs told her a lot about what could be happening.

Although there was one person she could never read and that was Tomoe. For some reason, it always felt like there existed some fog preventing her from ever reading the situation.

'Dinner seems to be ready so I'll ask her then.' Ayame smelt the food coming from the kitchen and she assumed it was ready. So she walked out of her room and peeked around the corner to see if it was.

Her guess was right as Kasumi was putting some stir fry into two bowels.

"Just in time, here is yours." Kasumi handed the bowl over to Ayame with a set of chopsticks.

Sitting down at the dining table, Kasumi soon joined her and they began to eat. The silence felt a little awkward, especially after what just happened, but Ayame picked up the courage to try to find out what was wrong.

"Kasumi… What actually happened the other night." Ayame figured it was the night that Kasumi tried to call in a panic. It was easy to guess that there was something more to it, but Ayame wanted to trust Kasumi and not worry about it. However, it seems that whatever happened caused Kasumi to act desperate.

Kasumi hearing the question caused her to freeze confirming to Ayame that something much more happened.

"A-after dinner." Kasumi's voice was shaky and she kept her head down while eating. Ayame didn't mind waiting since she didn't want the food to get cold, so she quickly finished up.

Once they finished their meal, they left the dishes in the sink and sat back down at the table.

Ayame patiently waited for Kasumi who was deep in thought, thinking about what to say.

'It must be pretty big if she is acting like this.' Kasumi's attitude threw Ayame off and even though they hadn't known each other long it was very odd for Kasumi to act like this. The usual cheerful, but also serious attitude was no longer present. It was a side that seemed scary, but at the same time dejected.

*Sigh* "On the night of your mission my father… he… he left to try to kill you, but was stopped hence why he is in the hospital. We argued because he thought you were a bad influence and so he tried to eliminate you. I thought you were going to die, but thankfully you weren't home and my father backed off after getting beaten." Kasumi gave the full story she knew which came as a shock to Ayame.

However, despite knowing someone tried to kill her, that was the least of her worries since she was used to the feeling but then it occurred to her what happened on her mission.

"What is your father's name?" Ayame needed to confirm something and if it was true, there was something bigger happening in the background.

"Sebath." Kasumi found the question odd, but at this point, she had nothing to hide.

"No way…" The connection was made and it seemed like she was in the middle of it.

"Ayame? What is it?" Kasumi now became worried as the problem looked like it got bigger.

"Your father has people trying to kill me, even before meeting you." Ayame suddenly felt cold as for some reason she was a target. It was different from someone wanting to kill you as when you're a target there is a constant fear of death. Although one save and grace was that the people that were looking out for her didn't have a name.

"That can't be right!" Kasumi stood up angry since this was the first she was hearing of it.

"Kasumi, I don't know how deep this goes, but I feel I'm a part of something and I don't even realise it." Ayame's heart rate increased and felt like she was on the verge of a panic attack.

"I-I have no idea, but all I know is that there was something to do with my father's best friend. He never told me anything, however I know he has been looking for something and it may involve you." Kasumi felt anxious, but she was more furious as her father was targeting the only friend she's made in years.

"Okay, okay I think we leave it for it now, I don't want to get ahead of ourselves. I'm happy you were honest with me, but a part of me wished I never made this connection." Ayame felt the landmine she stepped on and needed a break from all this information.

'I wonder if this is how my targets feel.' It was an uncomfortable feeling, but it was what she signed up for when becoming an assassin. It was something she didn't want to happen, but it was only a matter of time until she became a target herself.

'Oh, I hate this.' Ayame felt sick since the information was finally digested. There was nothing she could do and there was still something bothering her about the situation. It was clear there was a whole lot more with Kasumi's father's best friend which could involve her family.

'Okay, I need to leave this for later.' Theories filled her head and it was getting out of hand, she needed to sleep on it and possibly contact Tomoe about it.

"It's okay, I will try my best to protect you." Kasumi felt responsible for dragging Ayame into this mess, but she was determined to protect her. Even if Kasumi's father disagrees, at this point she was ready to never see him again. Ayame was stunned by the declaration, but it helped change the subject.

"Haha I appreciate it, but why are you going so far for me? I really want to be friends, but it feels like everything is working against us." It was a daunting thought, but it felt like it would be better if they never met.

"W-well that's for personal reasons… Inviting you to hang out that night in the stadium was a complete whim since you were the first female assassin I met and felt like we could become friends without having to worry about hiding our identity." Kasumi sat back down and mumbled because she was rather embarrassed about her reason.

"Now that you say that it really is odd, plus it was stupid to do that in the first place." Ayame in hindsight shouldn't have even tried to hang out with Kasumi, but in the end, it brought a friendship.

"A-anyway, I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess, if you want to move out I understand." Kasumi looked down ashamed of herself as she came to realise that most of the problems started appearing because they met.

"I won't move out, I don't blame you for any of this. If anything it was only a matter of time before we met, but if met later we may have been enemies rather than friends." Ayame saw in an alternate reality that she and Kasumi would be enemies since Sebath was trying to get her involved in his business.

Kasumi's face brightened hearing Ayame's response which gave a different perspective that Kasumi needed to hear.

"Thanks."

"No need to thanks, for now, let's move on, I want to try some things when we go to bed." Ayame blushed, but at that moment she decided to go all in with this route. No matter what she did, reality would catch up to her and she would need to face some serious dangers. Although sooner than she wanted, it just means she needed to enjoy herself before its too late.