𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐄 - ★彡[ᴋᴀᴍɪꜱᴀᴛᴏ ᴀʏᴀᴛᴏ]彡★

三十八 - 38

Ayato and I decided to go out to dinner once night fell, hoping to run into Thoma or lure out Hiruko somehow.

"Oh yeah, why isn't Thoma working for you right now?" I asked him as I opened the door, dressed in a dark scarlet dress that wrapped tightly around the waist. It was sophisticated enough to fit going to a fancy restaurant but not particularly excessive.

Holding out his arm to me, Ayato stared at me expectantly.

"What? I really don't think that's necessary," I told him, "people are going to get the wrong idea about our relationship."
"It's etiquette, I don't see how anyone could get the wrong idea about it."
"If you say so."

I awkwardly looped my arm around his, feeling the warmth of his body against mine. He led me down the road that led to the city in silence. The heels that I was wearing were awkward to walk in but I just sucked it up and kept moving at his pace.

Once we reached the city, several people began to whisper amongst themselves once spotting us. I shot the Yashiro commissioner an alarmed glance but he stayed quiet, not even attempting to refute the 'are they lovers' question that was spreading around.

I tried to yank my arm out of his grasp but he caught my hand, giving me a smile that was more like a warning than anything.

Suddenly, I saw a flash of a distinct blonde-haired man amongst the crowd.

"I saw him," I gasped, "that hair color– there's no mistaking that it's him."

"Me too," Ayato nodded, "let's go in his direction."

I managed to take my arm out of his in the moment he was distracted and dashed towards where I had seen him. This could be our chance!

Once I spotted him, I reached forward and grabbed onto his arm. "Thoma!"

The man turned around, but his gaze wasn't that of my friend. While the color of their hair and eyes were similar to each other, I was just now seeing that his hair was shorter and his eyes were a deeper shade of green.

"Sorry, I'm not Thoma," he laughed lightly. "But having a beautiful lady such as yourself run up to me so eagerly... he must be a lucky man."

"Ah, it's not really like that," I returned his laugh and then noticed the prominent scar on his left eye.

No way! Is this Hiruko? Holy shit. Holy shit.

"Your expressions are very readable," he smiled and brought a hand up to hold a lock of finger between his bandaged fingers, "I'm guessing my scar must appear disgusting to you."

"Not at all," I replied, "to be honest, it's fascinating more than scary." 

He smiled when I said that, an expression eerily similar to Thoma's.

"Nice to meet you. My name's Hiruko."

"Ah, nice to meet you too," I offered him my hand and he shook it.