Buonanotte || Ranpo Edogawa [✓ ]

➆ ❝ ᔆᴬᶠᴱʸ ❞ ↷ ⋯ ✧･ﾟᵎ

𓆩✩ ◛ °⋆𓆪
╰┈➤ "𝑰 𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉." The young girl in the red yukata walked steadily in front of the tiger and I. Atsushi gave her an exasperated expression, knowing full well every meal was another hole in his wallet.

"You're right..."

We were given the advice to take her to the police station and hand her in, but neither I nor Atsushi really wanted to do that. I was mostly letting the new recruit take the lead.

I noticed him hesitating, his expression filled with guilt. Once again, I placed my hand on his back, trying to offer comfort during this tough decision.

"It's alright to let her enjoy being outside for a little longer," I whispered softly, trying not to let Kyouka hear.

"Yeah, I can't just take her there yet..." Atsushi started to explain, but Kyouka turned around, catching the end of his sentence. She looked at him with a questioning gaze, and Atsushi tried his best to cover up his mistake. "Oh, nothing—Let's go!"

"Go where?" Kyouka started—Atsushi looked at her a little confused as well. "Where are you planning to take me?" Her voice grew harsher, seemingly becoming suspicious now—maybe she had overhead some of our conversation.

"W—where? Well... to where you want to go!" Atsushi tried to bring up the heavy mood. "Do you have anywhere you want to go? A kind of place little kids like you enjoy, like a dating spot of some sort." Kyouka remained silent for what felt like an eternity, making Atsushi more anxious to fill the void.

He frantically scrambled out his sentences. "You see, I asked for a day off! But you haven't done anything fun since we left the agency, have you? I'm here to keep you company! What do you say? Why don't you just relax for today hmm?"

Observing the beads of sweat forming on his forehead, I couldn't help but chuckle. He truly was a genuinely kind person.

"Atsushi is correct, isn't there anywhere you'd like to visit Miss Kyouka?" She looked at me, then back at Atsushi.

"A dating spot?" The white tiger nodded. "...With you?"

"Yeah." He said with a smile, that soon vanished because he realized what was happening. "Ah! W—wait no!" It seemed though, that the thought had really moved Kyouka. As I saw for the first time, her face had eased itself into a soft beam.

Kyouka guided us around the city for a while until she paused to eavesdrop on the couple in front of us. Their conversation about the delicious crepes at the nearby stall caught her attention, and she eagerly tugged on Atsushi's arm.

"I want to eat."

"But you already did..."

"I have two stomachs." Without a second thought, she pulled Both of us toward the stand. In the end, I purchased her crepe to spare Atsushi anymore losses—Kyouka thanked me for my kindness.