❝ ᴛʙʜᴋ//Detective Daikon ˎˊ-

𝚡𝚡𝚒.

𝚃𝚘 𝙰 𝙽𝚎𝚠 𝙱𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐
(a/n: Aoi's new hairstyle is just like Sumire's. Sumire is just so pretty aaa
this is the second to the last chapter btw)

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By the time they got back to the Wonders' base, it was already pretty late. So late in fact, that they were worried about Tsuchigomori locking them up outside - it was 1 in the morning, after all. They spent the entire night roaming around the city after dinner, and watched at least two movies. One of the movies they watched was a mystery thriller - before the killer could even be exposed, Amane and Yashiro already had the entire case figured out. They laughed about it as they exited the cinema... the two of them were detectives, after all.

Yashiro walked on the right side of the road as they headed back, both of them silent. From what she could see, a contagious smile was glued on Amane's face - he was smiling in a different way that seemed very... genuine. Yashiro adored that side of him: when he was being genuine and true about his feelings, and not being afraid to show them.

"Tonight was... really amazing." The first time any of them said something on the way back, the two of them were already making their way down the flight of stairs from the library to the room. Yashiro's feet were tired from all the walking, but she felt as awake as ever.

Under the dim light provided by the ceiling lights, Amane opened the door to his room and Yashiro was the first to flop down the bed. "I'm so tired..." she sighed.

Amane sat on the bed beside her. "Did you like it?" he asked, toying with the hem of his shirt. "The... stuff we did earlier, you know?"

Yashiro sighed happily and was preparing to go to bed. "Yes! Everything was amazing! It's such a shame we have to leave tomorrow, though..."

Amane peered behind him to look at Yashiro lying down on the bed. Amane looked back in front of him and waited for Yashiro to go to sleep. He waited for a few moments - Yashiro was obviously really tired. When he was sure she was asleep, he bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. Then, he walked back to the couch and stayed up for the rest of the night, feeling genuinely blissful.

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"Nene-chan! You're finally home!"

Yashiro and Amane, with their suitcases in hand, walked down the steps of the train towards the platform as a pair. Yashiro was wearing her usual work clothes, and it looked like she was drained of energy. She was clearly glad to be back home, though.

Aoi had been waiting for them at the train station. When she saw them exiting the train, she waved one of her arms in the air to catch their attention. It was surprising that Aoi waited for them. It was even more surprising when Aoi completely changed her hairstyle.

"Aoi! Your hair..." Yashiro pointed to Aoi's hair. Aoi's violet hair was no longer tied into two donuts hanging at the back of her head - in fact, she cut off her knee-length hair until they reached just above her waist. Her hair was tied up into a half-ponytail secured by a red ribbon.

"I decided to go for a change," Aoi grabbed a few locks of her hair. "Is it pretty?"

Yashiro took in Aoi's new look and sighed dreamily. Whatever look Aoi sported was good on her. Akane was right - she was like a goddess.

"It's very pretty," Amane remarked. "Did you tell Akane about it yet?"

"I haven't told Akane yet," Aoi's lips curled into a small smile. "This is supposed to be a little gift for him for when he gets back."

Both Yashiro and Amane were stunned - Aoi had never done anything for Akane. Usually, it was only Akane who went to the extreme to satisfy Aoi. Although Aoi didn't really "go to the extreme", it's been a long time since she cut her hair - the last time was when they were in elementary. Since then, Aoi had been growing her hair out.

"Aoi, don't tell me you've..." Yashiro let her sentence trail off.

"... fallen for Akane?" Amane finished for Yashiro.

"My, oh my," Aoi placed a hand to her cheek as she cooed. "How close have you two been over the course of two weeks? You even finish each other's sentences now!"

Yashiro laughed nervously, while Amane, who was so damn excited, started to tell Aoi about the entire mission.

"Okay, first, we ran into some dangerous enemies back at the train on the trip to the northern city," Amane was saying, much like a kid excitedly telling his mother about the things they did at school. "It was really scary. We got there quite... safely. Then Yashiro and I shared a room and we-"

"That's enough, Amane," Yashiro grabbed Amane's wrist as they started to walk towards the exit of the train station. "Don't tell Aoi things that didn't happen. She might get the wrong ideas."

Aoi, however, was a bit red in the face and gaping at them in shock. It slightly made Yashiro embarrassed, since things did progress between her and Amane during that mission, but if she told Aoi, the violet-haired girl would never shut up about it like a high school girl spreading gossip. "Nene-chan, you..." a stray tear slipped down her cheek. "You've grown up..."

Yashiro rolled her eyes and motion for her to come along with them with a laugh. "Seriously? If I'm being honest, I was pretty stressed about everything."

"It was very..." Amane struggled to find the right words. "... stressful, indeed." Amane wasn't going to have PTSD flashbacks - not now. Not in front of Aoi and Yashiro. The past week still has him all shaken up. Anyone would be pretty traumatized if their loved one was in a near-death experience, right? When Akane learned about Aoi being kidnapped a while back, he flew into a rage and threatened to kill Yako, had Tsuchigomori not interfered.

"At least you're back here safe and sound," Aoi smiled at them. "You two should rest when we get back. It's been a long and tiring trip, hasn't it?"