Cagaster of an Insect Cage: The Before Times (Kidou x Reader)

13: Surprise

"I see..." Hadi, a thin and lanky member of the militia listened carefully to what Kidou had to say. "So you're saying we should take a different route on our return trip."

"We won't make our original schedule, but it'll be better than fighting a swarm of bugs, right?" Kidou reasoned.

"...You're telling us they're already hatching here? He held an extermination mission out here just two months ago." Qasim, head of the tank militia, was suspicious.

"Just means that there's that's much more bug activity."

"Looks like we've got no choice." Hadi sighed.

"Alright. That's it for my suggestion as an exterminator. If you agree with me, make sure to let your headquarters know." Kidou wrapped it up and everyone dispersed.

"Hey... hey, Kidou-san!" Hadi called after him. Kidou had known him on multiple trips now and was more obliged to listen to him.

"What's up?" Kidou slowed down to let the lanky man catch up.

"Remember how last time we talked about how a girl who you wanted to confess to?..." Hadi lowered his voice as Kidou turned red. He must have been pretty drunk not to remember that conversation. Apparently he needed to get drunk again. "I told you to get her a gift, did you?"

"I always get her gifts." He responded as he took a swig from his flash.

"Well, I thought you might say that, so I went ahead and sent a gift home with your friend Jin! You're welcome!" Kidou groaned, not a fan of surprises. Hadi mearly laughed. "Teamwork is an essential aspect of caravanning. You should get to know people more. You're such a lone wolf! Look at all the people dancing by the fire with those women."

Kidou remembered now. Hadi had been asking why he was refusing the attention of the women last time. He had cracked and said he was in love with another girl and it spiraled downwards from there.

"Sorry about my partner though," Hadi continued, "He's not a bad guy, but he can get hotheaded at times.  When he sees an exterminator, he can't help but pick a fight."

"It doesn't bother me." Kidou lied, "I think you're weirder trying to get along with an exterminator."

"I guess that makes two of us." Hadi laughed as a beautiful woman began to sing. "Remember when I asked you to look at those dismembered bodies? We decided it wasn't done by bugs, officially. Unofficially, a very similar incident happened about three months ago in district O3. Every incident shared two similarities. One was that their bodies were dismembered by an extremely sharp object. And the other was that the victims were all exterminators. Even the ones from other districts."

Kidou's face looked dark and downtrodden.

"What I'm getting at is I understand that you're not the kind of exterminator that many people hold a grudge against... but look out for yourself and for your special lady friend. You'd never forgive yourself." He whistled out to the singer. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow! I hope your girl likes 'your' gift!"