"Have a good night, Kaito!" Meiko smiled and waved as she disappeared out the door. Kaito waved back, then turned his attention to finishing sweeping the last part of his section of the floor before dumping the dustbin into the garbage can. He took off his apron, gave the place one final glance around, to make sure nothing had been missed, and gave the boss a quick goodnight.
Walking out into the fresh air of the night, Kaito stretched his arms over his head and stopped short. A pair of familiar teal twintails stood right in front of him. The tense, uncomfortable expression on the younger girl's face was accompanied by an equally uncomfortable body language, as she held one of her upper arms with her other hand.
"H-hi?" Kaito asked, wondering if she was going to bowl him over again. Kaito took in the girl's appearance in a little more detail as she stood, unmoving, in front of him. Though her face was round and feminine, she was clearly very thin. Her long, teal hair looked a little stiff. Her clothes were the same as the ones she had been wearing before, and Kaito's eyes picked out their rumpled look this time. Her teal eyes were sharp, guarded, and... anxious?
"Uh," The girl replied. "I heard from somebody that you could come to a place around here that has... food."
Kaito's blue eyes widened. He tried to ignore the little pain in his heart at hearing the softness in the girl's previously sharp voice.
"Y-yeah, actually. The kitchen is right behind there, but," Kaito pointed to where he had come out of, "We finished serving for the night a little while ago. I, um, volunteer there, some nights."
It wasn't obvious if he wasn't looking for it, but the girl's face crumbled a little bit at that piece of news. "Oh." She struggled for a minute, then asked weakly, "Do you know when they serve food next? And, um, do you have to tell them... who you are?" Sharp teal eyes turned to the ground. She was obviously devastated.
"We open at 5 o'clock every night but Sunday," Kaito offered up, his heart growing tighter at the change in the girl's attitude from his last interaction with her. Kaito wondered if she recognized him as the guy she had knocked down in the street. "And it's open to anybody who comes. You don't have to tell anybody who you are if you don't want to... Um..."
The girl glanced back up, her face unreadable. Kaito sweatdropped.
"There's a burger place not too far from here. I was thinking of maybe getting something there. Do, uh, you want to join me? I'll get you a burger, too, if you want," Kaito offered very awkwardly. "You're hungry?"
The teal eyes flashed for a moment, and Kaito smiled a little. "I'm not a charity case!" The girl snapped, but after a moment she stared back at the ground, angry at herself.
"O-of course! I uh, just, thought I'd offer. You know, because, I'm hungry myself, and it's nicer to eat with someone else. You know?" Kaito tried an encouraging smile as he lied through his teeth. His dinner was already sitting very comfortably in his full stomach.
The teal-haired girl pursed her lips, as if looking for an excuse that would make accepting this stranger's kindness okay. "So... I'd be doing it for you, really. Are you like, lonely or something? You're not a creep, are you?" Those sharp eyes gave him a judging look, and Kaito's sweatdrop returned with a vengeance.
Kaito held his hands out in front of him. "No, nothing like that!"
The girl regarded him for a long, hard moment, then a small smile graced her cute face. Kaito's eyes widened a little bit; with that smile, the girl's face transformed. His own smile returned, and the two shared an amiable, quiet moment together.
"Okay, but you have to pay," the girl finally accepted, a little ungracefully. "I don't have any money."
Kaito nodded, wondering if he should offer his arm out for her. But the girl turned and started walking in the correct direction for the burger joint, not waiting to see if he was following. Kaito jogged a few paces to catch up.
"I'm Kaito," Kaito offered into the companiable silence as they continued to walk, the sounds of traffic vague around them. The teal-haired girl was quiet for a long moment, as if deciding whether or not to trust the bluenette with her own name.
"...I'm Miku," She finally replied. "Kaito's kind of an unusual name, isn't it? I've never heard of anyone with that name before."
Kaito laughed a little, scratching his head. "Well, not really. Miku is probably more rare than Kaito is, anyways!"
Miku smiled her small smile again, and Kaito's face broke into a sunny grin. The girl was kind of cute when she smiled.
"So," Kaito looked for another topic of conversation, "Do, um, you have a place to stay tonight?"
Miku's head shot up at that and she stopped short, staring hard at Kaito, an untrusting expression on her face. "Why?"
"Oh! I just, it's that, the place we came from, you know, if you didn't have a place, it also has a shelter program. I mean, it's not luxury, but they have beds and I... just wondered," Kaito trailed off, nervous that he had overstepped his boundaries and made Miku angry.
Miku's teal eyes widened a little, and her mouth opened slightly. Suddenly she smiled big, her eyes closing for a brief moment as the expression blossomed on her face. Kaito's own eyes widened further at the sight, and his face softened from anxiety to pleasure.
"No... I don't. Thanks, I didn't know that. Is there anything special you have to do to stay there?" Miku's cold attitude changed instantly into one of warmth.
Kaito fought a sudden, unexpected feeling of blushing. He shook his head.
"No, they might ask you whether you're from this county or another county, but you don't have to identify yourself or anything. It's open to pretty much everyone, as long as the beds aren't full for the night yet."
Miku nodded, and her eyes lit up as the sight of the burger joint came into view. Kaito noticed her deep interest and quickened pace, and lengthened his own strides to match hers.