Bloody turquoise eyes | JJK x OC

Canto XV - Winds of Change

The exorcist nodded, telling the assistant they'd leave very shortly once he'd gathered the few things he had brought with him, like the umbrella and the folder containing all his unsent reports. On his way to his room, Gabriele mentally went through a checklist of things he could do in less than half an hour. Discarding whatever would take too much time, he discovered he didn't have much if anything to do. Even taking into account what Ijichi had said earlier, the sooner they leave the better. Opening the door of the room, a swift glance made him knit his eyebrows in worry. The folder was missing. The exorcist immediately started seeking it, over the desk, under the bed and sheets, inside the bathroom cabinet, everywhere. Still, no sight of the folder. That's when it dawned on him... Did he leave it on the train? Gabriele tried to get his thoughts in order, to recollect whether he had stepped off the train with the folder at hand until he heard a couple of knocks. Utahime was leaning against the doorstep, with a bag hanging from her hand.

"You left your things inside the car. You were looking for them, weren't you?" She passed him the backpack. Upon a quick inspection, he found with much relief the folder was inside. However...

"This bag isn't mine."

"I know, were you going to carry that folder in your hand under this weather? I swear it's a miracle that's still dry." Utahime joked around, watching as the boy threw the bag over his shoulder. It was nothing special, dark blue fabric, without any logos in sight, an external pocket spacious enough for his wallet. Useful yes, but it isn't his nonetheless.

"Before you say you can't take it, I insist. Now get out, you don't want to make them wait." Utahime walked behind him and pushed him out into the hallway, closing the door behind them. After a bit of walking, the two joined again with Akari at the entrance. The exorcist and the assistant finally bid farewell to the scarred sorcerer to then go under the heavy downpour. Fortunately, the distance from their car wasn't too much, conceded that the school let the assistant park the car within the confines because of the rain. Anyhow, Gabriele pulled out his umbrella from the bag, opening it above his and Akari's head. As soon as they got on board, the assistant started the engine and drove them off towards the train station.

_______

Gabriele sat comfortably on his seat, for the first time in days the words came out smoothly as he wrote down his report, enjoying the tranquility of the journey. It felt liberating for once to get over his writer's block instead of bashing his head against a wall to complete even a small sentence. He glanced in delight as his pen flowed seamlessly through the paper until a smell caught his attention off his agonistic trance. Akari took her seat on the opposite side of the table he was writing on, before her a foam container with some kind of ball-shaped finger food. The assistant noticed the young man's interest with a smile:

"What are those?" Gabriele asked.

"Oh, these?" She pointed to the food with the pair of toothpicks she took out of the wrap earlier, "These are takoyaki, grilled dumplings filled with minced octopus. I've found a vendor near the station, the owner was an old man from Osaka so I know I'm getting the real deal." Akari then picked a ball and ate it, squirming in glee as she savored it. "I was his first client of the day, sure this storm doesn't help anyone. Here, wanna try?" Akari gave him a toothpick. Hesitantly the exorcist skewered one ball and, after cooling it down a bit, he munched half of the takoyaki. It was soft-textured with a savory flavor, the meaty taste of the octopus was exalted by the sauce and other things his limited culinary experience couldn't recognize totally.

"It's really good." He expressed himself positively, much to the woman's pride.

"That's good to hear. If you haven't already, you should tell your friends to make you try some yakisoba, they're the end of this world." At the mention of his friends, an idea was recalled in Gabriele's mind.