Rejecting a serving of sake from his co-worker, Mutsumi nursed another glass of coke. A second glass alongside an order of food. Remaining firm with his decision not to drink, he volunteered as the sober caretaker. He enjoyed overhearing his co-workers letting loose from the stresses of their job. At first, the consensus came as shock, but then accepted once they saw his determined face. He got some teasing over it, but he knew it was in good faith.
Around the bar, his work friends served numerous shots of sake and munched on the bite sized snacks on the table. Jokes and laughter filled the area. No one behaved out of line and it remained this way throughout their time there. Mutsumi chimed in his own commentary during certain intervals which garnered good reception.
Once the night at the bar ended, everyone talked about different modes of transportation. A majority of them chose to call for a cab while Mutsumi's group went for the train. Everyone left with their respective groups after paying for the tab. Mutsumi followed his co-workers from the back. Better to keep an eye on someone who might stray to the side.
Mutsumi managed to avoid contact with a businessmen coming toward their direction. He thought he heard some explicit words, but he brushed it aside. Groups of people spoke and he assumed misinterpreting the words.
Out of nowhere, someone pulled him from the back of his jacket. Mutsumi managed to stay on his feet before he was shoved onto a wall. Disoriented, he saw the stumbling businessman from before. As he opened his mouth to say something, the guy punched him in the face. The back of his head connected to the wall, his mind spun.
Mutsumi winced, touching the side of his face. Trying to diffuse the situation before it escalated, he began. "I apologize for whatever I did to you sir, but I know I haven't done anything-"
The man swayed, slurring his words. "Bullshit! I saw your judge filled eyes you-"
"Leave him alone!" A scream came a short distance away.
Mutsumi backed away in time to see a bag hit the drunken man. From the sound of impact, it seemed the bag was packed with something heavy and solid. With a groan, the guy fell down onto the ground. A one hit knockout. Looking at his savior, Mutsumi saw a petite woman holding the large bag in her trembling hands.
Despite her visible shaking, she exclaimed. "And stay down!" She turned to him, concern clear in her eyes. "Are you okay? I saw him pull you in the alley and thought out might need help. Oh! You're bleeding!"
Mutsumi rubbed the corner of his mouth and saw blood on the back of his hand. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you so much for your assistance miss. Although, you shouldn't have stepped into a situation you don't know anything about. You never know if this man hid a weapon on his person."
Sheepish, she hunched her shoulders. "Ah...I didn't really think of that." Motioning toward the lit street, Mutsumi followed her out the alley way. "I'm Serinuma Kae."
Mutsumi nodded, smiling at her. "Mutsumi Asuma." When he shook her hand, his phone began ringing. Taking out his phone from his pocket, he saw the name of one of his co-workers calling him. "Hello? Ah yes, I got diverted on the way to the train. I'm fine. Yes, yes, I'll be meeting up with everyone at the train station. Thanks for calling, Matsumoto-san. See you in a bit."
Kae inquired. "Your friends?"
"Co-workers." Mutsumi answered her. "We were drinking at a bar and I got separated from them on the way to the train station."
Kae inspected him, commenting in disbelief at his sober state. "You don't seem drunk."
"Ah, I decided not to have any drinks. I only ordered sodas." Mutsumi explained. "I'd rather not go into work with a headache. I think my co-workers appreciated that I came along to look after them. Regardless, I should get going, I don't want to end up missing the last train."
Kae nodded her head. "Sure, it was nice to meet you, Mutsumi-san."
"It was a pleasure as well, Serinuma-san. Have a safe trip home, alright?" Mutsumi waved one last time before he began walking away from her.
Seeing him leave, the words escaped Kae's mouth filter. "May I have your number?!"
"Hmm?" Mutsumi turned toward her, surprised at her question. "You want my number? May I ask why?"
"Well, in case you need saving again. Who knows? I might be around the area and I always carry something heavy." Kae sputtered out to cover her embarrassment.
Mutsumi went to her and handed his phone into her hands. "We can exchange phones and type them in. I have nothing to hide on my phone."
Kae thanked the heavens that she changed her phone background. For the last month, her phone screen featured a pair of figure skaters in their duet. Now, she picked a new historical anime which showed the main character. A safe choice. The same didn't go for her photo gallery. Too bad phones didn't have passwords for the gallery to prevent anyone from seeing anything scandalous.
She placed her phone in Mutsumi's hands before she slipped her finger over Mutsumi's phone screen. Seeing his phone background, she smiled at the sight of a model replica of a castle. She didn't check Mutsumi's reaction in order to look around the phone.
Locating the contacts icon, she pressed it and choose the option of making a new contact. She put in her information and her name. Holding back the urge to put in icons around her name, she finished with a tap of her finger, Once she finished, she gave the phone back to Mutsumi.
"Thank you, Serinuma-san." Mutsumi placed Kae's phone into her open hands. "Before I go, what is inside of your bag? It sounded heavy when you slammed it onto that guy."
Kae shoved her phone into her pocket as she fiddled with the strap of her backpack. "Books. Very heavy books."
"A book fanatic?" Mutsumi's eye sparkled. "Amazing! I will attempt to message you in the morning with questions. We may have genres in common."
"Heh, maybe." Kae smiled with confidence. Despite her manga collection, she read a variety of different genres. This gave her plenty of titles to shoot out when someone asked about her book interests.
Energized, Mutsumi dismissed himself again. "I'll communicate with you on a later date, Serinuma-san." He began hurrying down the street, checking over his shoulder as Kae went on her own journey as well.