Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Midnight Tension and Chaos Hangout

The morning sunlight peeked through Lumine’s curtains, casting a soft glow across her room. On the corner of her bed, a midnight-furred cat sat elegantly, tail flicking back and forth. Scaramouche—or rather, Kuni in his cat form—watched Lumine get ready for her hangout.

But today, Lumine wasn’t in the mood to pay him any attention.

“Kuni, move,” she muttered as she grabbed her bag. The cat stubbornly stayed in place, staring at her with sharp indigo eyes. Lumine rolled her eyes and gently nudged him aside before heading out the door.

“Ignored again,” Scaramouche thought with a flick of his tail.

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Lumine arrived at the cafe where her chaotic group of friends had already taken over a corner booth. Amber waved frantically, Ayaka offered a shy smile, Albedo sipped his coffee calmly, Venti was balancing two sugar packets on his nose, and Kazuha was… writing haikus on a napkin?

“Finally!” Venti exclaimed, tossing the sugar packets aside. “The main character has arrived!”

Lumine laughed as she slid into the booth.

The chaos began almost immediately.

“Alright, everyone,” Kazuha announced with his usual calm demeanor, “I propose a challenge. A roast battle. Winner gets treated to ice cream by the loser.”

“Say less,” Venti smirked, already cracking his knuckles.

“Are we seriously doing this?” Ayaka muttered, hiding her smile behind her hand.

Amber leaned over to Lumine. “This is gonna be good.”

The roast battle kicked off with Venti launching the first shot.

“Albedo, my guy, you look like you sleep three hours a week and subsist entirely on coffee and disappointment.”

Albedo, without missing a beat, set his cup down and grabbed his shoe. “Welcome to hell, bitch.”

The group exploded into laughter. Lumine clutched her stomach, tears forming in her eyes as Albedo actually stood up, waving the shoe dramatically in Venti’s face.

“You think your shoelaces are untied?” Venti smirked. “Nah, that’s just your life falling apart.”

The chaos continued, roast after roast, joke after joke. Ayaka nearly fell off her seat laughing at Kazuha’s monotone delivery of, “Venti, if you had a dollar for every unnecessary comment you made, you’d be able to buy some actual manners.”

Hours passed in a blur of jokes, snacks, and laughter. None of them realized it was already past 10 PM.

“Should we… go home now?” Ayaka hesitated.

“Nah, we’re already here. Let’s keep going!” Amber said enthusiastically.

But eventually, everyone caved. Lumine waved goodbye to her friends, her cheeks still aching from all the laughter, and started her way back home.

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Back at the Apartment

It was exactly 11:59 PM when Lumine unlocked her apartment door.

Inside, Kuni sat on the couch, ears twitching, tail flicking in irritation. Lumine walked past him without even glancing.

The audacity.

Scaramouche had had enough.

In one swift motion, he leapt from the couch and disappeared into her room. Moments later, where the midnight-furred cat had been, now stood a sharp-eyed young man with indigo hair and an even sharper tongue.

Lumine, unaware, was busy taking off her shoes and setting her bag down when she heard her bedroom door creak open.

“Kuni, what—”

Her voice caught in her throat as she turned and froze. Standing in the doorway was none other than Scaramouche, wearing a dark hoodie and sweatpants, his sharp indigo eyes gleaming under the faint moonlight filtering through the window.

“What… what are you doing here?!” Lumine stammered, backing up slightly.

“Did you seriously ignore me all day?” Scaramouche smirked, stepping forward casually.

“How did you even get in? Why are you—”

“Lumine,” he cut her off, his voice low, “you’ve been ignoring me all day. That’s not very nice, is it?”

Before she could respond, Scaramouche cornered her against the wall, pinning her arms gently above her head with one hand while his other hand casually reached over to snatch her phone off the nearby desk.

“H-Hey! Not again!!” Lumine protested, struggling lightly.

Scaramouche smirked, holding the phone out of her reach. “What’s this? Group chat chaos again? Should I say hello to your friends?”

“Scaramouche, give it back!” Lumine hissed.

But it was too late. The screen lit up with notifications.

Group Chat: Absolute Chaos

Amber: Where’d Lumine go??

Venti: Probably asleep. Lame.

Albedo: I’m surprised she even survived that chaos earlier.

Kazuha: Has anyone seen my wallet?

Smirking, Scaramouche started typing.

Lumine (Scaramouche): Shut up, all of you. You’re loud even through text.

The chat blew up immediately.

Amber: ??

Venti: Whoa whoa, why is Lumine spicy all of a sudden??

Albedo: …is someone holding her hostage?

Kazuha: Blink twice if you’re okay.

Lumine was fuming now. “Scaramouche, stop it!”

Scaramouche chuckled, tossing the phone onto the bed before leaning closer, his face inches from Lumine’s.

“You ignored me all day, Lumine. I think I deserve a little attention, don’t you?”

Lumine’s face flushed as she turned her head away, refusing to meet his eyes.

Satisfied, Scaramouche finally released her hands and stepped back with a smug grin. “Goodnight, Lumine. Sweet dreams.”

And just like that, he walked out of the room, leaving Lumine standing there, her face red, her heart pounding, and her phone buzzing endlessly from the chaos in the group chat.

The midnight cat had claws—and he wasn’t afraid to use them.

End of Chapter 37

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