Pairing: Ryuko la Satsuki

Setting: College!AU because I'm in college right now and want to share the joys of being a child with a drinking permit

Note: First KlK fic after months of silently being in the fandom and writing this felt like liberation from my older works. Sometimes writing in a completely different style is a therapy for writer's block.

Don't own anything.

"Let me take a drag."

"Fuck no, I don't want your drool on my filter."

"Then give me a cigarette."

"Buy your own fucking pack, you bloodsucking parasite."

Ryuko rolled her eyes and picked at the hole in her jeans just above her knee. "You talk a lot of shit for someone who looks like they're still in middle school."

"Just shut up," Nonon exhaled with a breath of smoke. "At least I don't have the brains of a middle schooler. You're just lucky you know how to toss a ball and live in a country that praises ball-tossing airheads like you, otherwise you'd never be able to set a foot here."

"Wow, so charming today," Ryuko drily said and glanced at the pink-haired girl at her side. "Did someone pee in your Tuba or what?"

She hadn't expected a reaction nor wanted to wait for one, so she pushed herself off the curb and stood up, wiping dirt off her ripped jeans. "Anyway, I'm heading back or they'll think we're fucking out here or something, and I really don't wanna deal with Nui tomorrow."

Nonon snorted, blowing smoke out of her nostrils. She dropped her cigarette and stomped it out with the front of her four inch high plateau shoes. "She's a fucking psycho."

Even when she stood up straight in her heels, she still didn't reach the same height as Ryuko, who wore her worn out white sneakers.

"Yeah, yeah," Ryuko dismissively said and put her hands into her jeans pockets, letting her shoulders slump. "You say that every time."

"Because she is," Nonon merely shrugged and brushed past the taller girl, slightly wobbling on her shoes in her tipsy state.

Ryuko blew her red-dyed strand of hair out of her face and followed Nonon with an eye-roll, trailing a safe distance behind her back to a house party hosted by some fancy co-ed fraternity.

"Bunch of snobs," she muttered under her breath when she entered through the front door that was adorned with three silver Greek letters above the peephole. The members of that organization were not Ryuko's usual crowd and their dislike for each other was mutual, she only got invited because their college's football team was always invited to every party by default. It wasn't a successful party unless as many popular students as possible attended. If it wasn't for that, Ryuko would hardly be missed for her charming presence.

"Yet somehow, you could fit right in," Nonon remarked with disgust on her face as they walked past a boy vomiting in a bucket that originally had been used for cooling drinks.

"Don't compare me to those," Ryuko said and side-stepped a girl, who was about to drunkenly trip into her. She crashed on the floor instead and didn't get up. "I worked my ass off to get in. All they had to do was not to die from overdose in drugs and graduate from high school."

"Fuck off," Nonon turned around to snarl into Ryuko's face, and despite the height advantage, the black-haired girl flinched back at the venom in her voice. "I'm tired of hearing you sprouting off crap when you feel like it. I get where you're coming from, but don't trash-talk us to make you feel better. There's nothing to gain."

Nonon made sure to underline her words by roughly shoving Ryuko away before disappearing into the kitchen, knowing that the mild physical violence would hardly bother the other girl, who was used to merciless shoves and brutal tackles on the field. Ryuko might not be the best thrower, but she sure knew how to take hits and no matter how badly battered and wounded, her injuries didn't impact her performance nor her enthusiasm, which had been often the key to their team's winning points.

Ryuko scratched her neck and blankly stared ahead. Maybe she shouldn't have said those things about the rich kids when she knew Nonon was one of them, but she had never been tactful to begin with. She was sure the Drum Major would get over it. She didn't even know why she cared.

They weren't really friends, only knowing each other from that one time the marching band and the football team had clashed on the field due to scheduling errors. Her football coach, Tsumugu Kinagase, had wanted to settle the discussion with Nonon in two arguments, but had underestimated the girl's stubbornness on that matter. Both practices ended up getting canceled that day.

Pissed off that she had waited four hours in vain for her practice since she only had one morning class that day, Ryuko confronted the Drum Major personally because that was how she dealt with things, being the kind of person who would say 'I want to talk to your boss'. Of course, she hadn't known Nonon back then and her fierce character, or otherwise she'd probably let it go. But once the argument had started, it had been too late for Ryuko to realize that she had had no chance of winning, and backing out had been no option due to her huge ego and pride.

Their fight had quickly become personal and at one point, they had ended up throwing made-up swear words around that hadn't even made sense half of the time and before both of them had seen it coming, they had had tears in their eyes from laughing so hard over their own stupidity.

"You're not so bad, Piglet," Ryuko had said with a mocking smirk, though her eyes had shown appreciation.

"Same for you, shithead," Nonon had countered with a faint smile on her lips. That had been the beginning of their weird, antagonistic friendship, if someone could call that.

Ever since that day, they'd sometimes meet at the same parties they attended and small-talk over a smoke or two, though it was more of an exchange of insults and spiteful remarks than actual small-talk. But somehow, they'd still find each other outside a party. It was their silent agreement that despite the crude nature of their conversations, it was somehow relaxing and enjoyable to argue with someone using every known expletive while knowing it wouldn't offend the other person because they were both emotionally stunted with a peculiar sense of humor.

"Matoi."

Ryuko startled at her name being called out.

A voice so deep and forceful could only belong to one person.

She sighed and turned around with a lazy mutter, "What's up, toad."

Ira Gamagori, the quarterback of the football team and a hulk of a man, towered over her with his mouth tightly drawn in a frowning expression. "Have you seen Jakuzure?"

Ryuko jerked her head towards the kitchen door and was about to ask where his mistress was, when her name was pronounced in a dry and demanding tone. "Matoi."

"Kiryuin," Ryuko sighed, coming face to face with the woman who practically ruled Honnouji University with an iron grip.

Kiryuin Satsuki was a name one couldn't speak out loud without either admiration or fear, sometimes both mixed together. Ryuko wasn't sure where the entitlement to Honnouji University's Princess came from, but the hierarchy had already been established since the first day she had enrolled in here. What she first found out about her was that she was always surrounded by at least one of her four loyal lackeys, one of them being Ira Gamagori, who was strangely obsessed with her in a platonic way. Though no one dared to say it, his other main profession besides playing football was serving as Satsuki's bodyguard.

"Satsuki?" Ira questioningly asked with one hand already on the door to the kitchen.

Without averting her steely gaze from Ryuko, Satsuki nodded, wordlessly telling him to go ahead without her. He glanced shortly at his fellow teammate in dismay before pressing his huge frame through the door.

"Didn't expect seeing you here, Gigabrows," Ryuko said with a smirk, her glinting eyes trailing up Satsuki's face to stare at probably the most prominent feature of hers. She had to admit, though she found them strange looking and overly large at first, she now had to concede a certain attractiveness to them. It went without saying that she'd rather get tackled by a team of beefy football players than ever confess it out loud.

"Gigabrows?" Satsuki merely repeated, furrowing aforementioned brows.

"Gigantic eyebrows, get it?" Ryuko chuckled to herself, amused over her own hilarity.

Satsuki narrowed her eyes at her, her expression hardening. "Very mature, Matoi, as expected from you. Refrain yourself from straining the bits of your brain that haven't been damaged in a football game yet."

"Wow, Gigabrows, didn't know you care," Ryuko pretended to wipe away a tear, "for you, I'll be extra careful. Speaking of football, are you gonna watch the next game?"

"Why?" She quirked a brow. "So I can watch you lose more of your brain cells? I strangely can't recall you ever winning points, I only see your helmet peeking out beneath a heap of men most of the time."

Her superior tone was what annoyed Ryuko most of the time, actually, almost everything about Satsuki rubbed Ryuko the wrong way. She just wanted to take her down a peg or two, show her that she was in fact not invincible or anyone's boss.

"Someone's gotta take one for the team," Ryuko shrugged, absently scratching her side where one of her more recent bruises were tinging her skin with a dark purple. "How else do you think can Gamagori land a point if everyone's out for his ass."

"Hm," Satsuki hummed, noncommittal, like she wasn't ready to concede to Ryuko's efforts but at the same time, not ignorant enough to play them off as nothing. Ryuko was going to take this as a win because the perpetually frowning girl rarely had nice words to offer. Quite the opposite, she was always one step ahead with a condescending answer for everything.

"Satsuki!" a shrill voice happily shouted, and Ryuko groaned at the noise and rubbed at her ears.

"Jakuzure, act more decent around Satsuki, will you?" Ira disapprovingly said as he followed Nonon out of the kitchen with difficulty, his broad shoulders brushing each side of the frame.

Ryuko stepped aside, distancing herself from the scene and watched on in amusement as a tipsy Nonon draped herself over Satsuki, who didn't quite seem to know how to act around her affectionate friend. The situation didn't last longer than a few seconds with Ira pulling Nonon back and telling her to straighten up and get a grip on herself.

Chuckling to herself, Ryuko walked into the kitchen to pour herself a soda, purposely steering away from alcohol because she had practice tomorrow. Though she didn't care about a lot of things, football was not one of them since her scholarship rode on it. She couldn't afford to lose the one thing that had changed her life for the better. Not when she had worked so hard to earn her place on Honnouji University's mixed football team, one of the top teams nationwide whose games were even live broadcasted, even if only on certain channels.

"I am rather amazed that I haven't walked in on you vomiting."

With a long stretched sigh, Ryuko turned around and leaned against the counter, her drink nestled against her lips. She slowly sipped from it while peering over the brim of her glass at Satsuki, who remained standing by the door frame without the intention to get something to drink.

Something about this situation felt familiar to Ryuko, but she couldn't exactly pinpoint which part of it. Maybe the way Satsuki's scowl made her believe that she hadn't grown up with much love, or how the corners of her mouth were always turned downwards in a rather extreme degree.

"This is how we first met, isn't it?" Ryuko suddenly said, remembering why this scene felt like a deja vu. "I was minding my own damn business when you barged in like you owned the fucking place."

Satsuki's expression didn't change, she merely crossed her arms. "It's because it was my place."

"Yeah, yeah," Ryuko dismissively said, "I didn't know that back then. No one told me you were Nui's sister."

"Step-sister," Satsuki corrected, brushing her sleek black hair behind her shoulder in a swift and elegant motion. "Are you still seeing her?"

Groaning in displeasure, Ryuko set aside her glass and ran a hand through her messy hair. "I never dated her to begin with. And you should know, she's fucking crazy, what kind of relationship would that be?"

"You tell me." Satsuki shrugged. "After all, you're the one sleeping with her."

"I only fuck her when I'm angry." Seeing the pointed look she received, Ryuko decided to elaborate because leaving it at that made her sound like an asshole. "She'll only let me fuck her when I'm angry, she says normal sex is boring. You won't believe the things she does to annoy the fuck out of me just because she's horny."

"That sounds very unhealthy to me," Satsuki said with a hint of disgust on her face. "But then again, unhealthy is what would perfectly sum up your life, Matoi."

Ryuko grunted, somehow agreeing with Satsuki though she knew that she had just let the other girl get away with a dig at her lifestyle.

"Satsuki." Ira's huge head poked into the kitchen. He quickly assessed the situation and said, "I'll come back in a few minutes."

"No, it's fine," Satsuki shot a scanning look at Ryuko. "Matoi is providing no entertainment in her sober state."

Ryuko flipped her off. "Fuck you, too, Gigabrows."

Ira looked like he was about to tell Ryuko off, but Satsuki brushed past him out of the kitchen without looking back, so he shut his mouth and followed her.

"Bitch," Ryuko muttered under her breath, only annoyed that she hadn't gotten the last word.

When she had first set foot in Honnouji University and learned about its social structure, she had sworn to herself not to get messed up with the Student Council or with any of the weirdos running around outside her football team. She had had enough trouble of a lifetime and just wanted to graduate with a diploma while playing football, all preferably in a peaceful setting.

But trouble went and found her in the form of Harime Nui, who had quickly set her eyes on Ryuko during her first football game. Most of the student body just shuddered at the thought of the bossy Head Cheerleader, who seemed sweet and innocent from the outside with her preference for pink shrilly outfits, but could skillfully unravel someone's rational mind with her manipulating words and then take great pleasure in watching them fall apart before her crazed eyes. For someone who looked so fragile and small, she searched for extremes to satisfy her needs. And Ryuko seemed to able to fulfill them, but only when she was angry enough to play along in their loveless game of fighting and fucking.

Ryuko snorted. Of course she would end up getting sucked into trouble anyway, no matter how hard she tried to avoid them. If she had known what kind of problems would arise with fucking Nui, she wouldn't have touched her with a ten foot pole and five layers of fire-resistant gloves.

She decided to leave the party because there was no point in staying if she wasn't going to drink, and she knew no one here. At least, no one who could tolerate her presence.

Stepping over cups and bottles and an unconscious girl, she was halfway out the house when she turned around and went back to the girl lying on the floor. It was the same one who had almost crashed into her.

Ryuko sighed and poked at the girl's shoulder. "Yo, it's not safe to pass out here."

She hadn't really expected a reaction, so she went back to the kitchen and got some ice, then poured the ice cubes down the unconscious girl's neck. She woke up with a start and looked confused and dazed, and before Ryuko ask her if she was alright, her eyes widened and the football player jumped back just in time to avoid a fountain of stomach contents raining down on her white sneakers.

"At least you're awake now," Ryuko muttered and finally left the house party.

TBC