At Yuri's question Alixia jumped. Alixia hesitated before she nodded.
"I see." Yuri said in response. "Why are you not registered into the NEXT system?"
"Huh? Oh. U-um…" Alixia stuttered.
"Nevermind. Don't worry about it."
"AH!" Alixia suddenly shouted. Which made Yuri spill his drink. "I have to open the shop right now!"
Alixia set down her drink and ran out the room while tying on a yellow apron. Yuri stared at her as she left the room. After a few minutes, he got up and followed her. He found himself in a small café. The interior overall light brown theme with brick walls and pastel colored chairs with small potted plants that adorned the walls and counter and a small flat screen that took space in one of the corners. 'It definitely has a cute girly theme to it.' Yuri thought. He stood as he watched Alixia run back and forth working on small details. She finally opened the door holding a chalkboard sign and she greeted a small group of elders who were standing patiently just outside the door.
"Alixia dear, you're late this morning. Charlie here has been complaining non-stop about how he hasn't had his morning coffee yet."
"Ha-ha. I'm sorry Paul. Something came up and I got distracted."
Paul glanced at Yuri and smirked.
"Ah-ha. I see. You finally got a boyfriend and I bet you guys were all lovey-dovey in the back, weren't you?"
Alixia's face turned beet red and she started to panic.
"He and I aren't like that Paul!" her face suddenly lowered, "please don't tease me about it."
"Way to go Paul. Now you've made Alixia all uncomfortable!" Charlie said while slapping Paul upside the head.
Yuri found the scene to be somewhat entertaining and he chuckled. Alixia noticed his reaction and she covered her face in embarrassment.
Yuri made himself comfortable at the counter and all throughout the day he observed Alixia as she bustled back and forth from customer to customer. When it finally died down she stood behind the counter and worked on wiping down dishes.
"I'm surprised you stuck around as long as you did Mr. Petrov." Alixia said with a tired smile.
"You know my name. But I don't know yours."
"Oh. I'm sorry. My name is Alixia Raynott."
"I see."
They sat in silence while she finished drying the rest of the dishes.
"To answer your question from before, I never registered because I would do more harm than good if people knew. That's why I never bothered. Is it the same with you as well? I never knew that you were a NEXT as well Mr. Petrov."
"I don't want to be dolled up and paraded around. It gets to people's heads and they lose sight of true justice. They treat catching criminals as a game. Even without my powers I deliver justice to evil. But some criminals can never atone for their sins unless they pay with their lives."
"I agree with you. But the things some people have done can never be atoned for." Alixia said while staring into the distance.
Yuri gazed at her and when she snapped back to reality she turned to him with a smile.
"Do you like tea Mr. Petrov?"
He nodded and she went about fixing two cups of tea. Yuri was enchanted as he watched her graceful movements. He didn't notice that he was staring until she spoke.
"Do you like sugar in your tea?"
"Six."
Alixia's eyes widened and then she giggled. Yuri's eyes narrowed.
"Is there anything wrong with it?" He said in a sour tone.
A smile spread across her face as she walked over and handed him his cup.
"There's nothing wrong with having a sweet tooth Mr. Petrov. I myself like eight, so I guess that makes me worse than you. I can't stand bitter things. I guess it was just kind of unexpected that you'd like sweet things. But I suppose since you use that brain of yours all the time you'd need all the energy from the sugar."
Yuri murmured in agreement as he took a sip of his tea. He smiled as he savored the richness of the tea.
"Lady Grey." Yuri spoke nonchalantly. Alexia beamed.
"You know your tea Mr. Petrov. I'm impressed. Lady Grey is actually my favorite, that and vanilla chai."
"I prefer tea over coffee and alcohol. Tea has many benefits for the body whereas for coffee and alcohol the more you drink the more you are dependent upon it."
"You always have such philosophical opinions about the simplest of things Mr. Petrov."
"Is it a bad thing?"
Alixia shook his head.
"Not at all. It's good that you are so opinionated. Not everyone cares to think as you do. They are so caught up in the moment that they never think about what effect it would have on others. You have a warm heart."
Yuri choked on his tea. Warm heart? She must be out of her mind to think that he had a warm heart. He killed people. Granted they were nothing but murderers and rapists and thieves but nonetheless people.
"You're a weird one."
"I suppose it's good to be myself than to lie to myself just to fit in society." Alixia glanced at her watch. "Well I guess I should probably close shop. You're welcome to stay until I'm finished if you'd like."
"Let me help." Yuri said as he got up.
For the next hour Yuri and Alixia worked together and tidied up the small establishment. At the end Alixia went into the office to gather her belongings while Yuri waited by the back entrance. Alixia locked up and they bid each other goodnight and parted ways. After a few steps Yuri stopped. He looked at Alixia's silhouette and decided to run after her. He called out to her.
"Wait!" Alixia turned around, "The streets at night are dangerous. I can't allow you to walk at night by yourself. At least let me see you home safe."