"Back again?"
Yamamoto, for once, was actually working. It seemed as though he was cleaning a bit, as he threw a rag to the other side of the counter and walked toward the cash register. He looked more awake than usual for some reason, his eyes brighter and the slight wrinkles around them more subtle. Perhaps he even looked a bit younger.
Kirihito didn't respond. He simply walked up to him and ordered a coffee. "Y'know, son, she really doesn't come by often."
Kirihito smirked, "And what makes you think she won't come for me?"
Yamamoto laughed warmly. "I don't know if I should be bothered by your confidence, or appreciate it. In some ways, I really question you, but in others, I actually like you," he told Kirihito.
Kirihito was a bit surprised at this. While he had assumed that Yamamoto at least had an acceptance for him, he had also assumed that Yamamoto, at the very least, wasn't fond of him. This was all positive for Kirihito, though, and he decided that talking more with Yamamoto wouldn't hurt.
"Did you work here before Tsukino-san died?" Kirihito asked, his voice weaved with innocent curiosity.
Yamamoto set down the coffee as Kirihito held out his credit card. Swiping it, Yamamoto thought a moment. "I suppose so. Really, it was more like he paid me to slack off. Perhaps it was the company, I really don't know." Yamamoto gave back the card before speaking up again. "You see, he was my brother-in-law. I'm Tsukino-chan's uncle on her mother's side. My sister unfortunately ran off with some rich man when she was young, though, so her father didn't have much of a companion when Tsukino wasn't around. I'm surprised he let me work here after everything my sister did to them…."
"Oh?" Kirihito's voice had taken on a darker tone. "Do you only care for her out of guilt then?"
Yamamoto's smile saddened. "Well, I won't deny that being part of it. Really, I started taking care of her because of that, but she's a really good kid, y'know? You love her, right? It's for the same reasons that you feel romantic love towards her that I feel like taking care of her, more out of a fatherly love. She's just truly a remarkable individual. More than you know, trust me. For instance, I bet you'd never guess that she's on the top of her class in Academics, or that she's her school's girls' kendo team captain. She can also speak quite a bit of English."
"Is that so?" Kirihito asked, his mind wandering. It was surprising indeed, and Kirihito began to wonder if he should find someone else, considering her cleverness could be an issue… But he'd already come so far. She was an easily swayed by emotions, anyway, and it seemed to easily pull her away from logic. There shouldn't be much of a problem.
Yamamoto smiled proudly. "Yep, that's Tsukino-chan for you. But you're right, I suppose. She'll come back for you if she thinks you're waiting, regardless of what her feelings for you may be. That's the way she is. She never wants to be a burden."
Kirihito bowed slightly, attempting to act polite for once, and took the coffee back to his normal seat. He stared out the window blankly for a while. He had come slightly later than usual, knowing that she had school, but he still came far earlier then necessary. Looking at the wall clock, he found that he had two hours yet.
It was odd how he was already starting to get used to the calmer, ordinary human days. He was used to practically always being busy and, when not, going on violent sprees. This was new and, though not much happened, it was almost entertaining.
When the girl finally arrived, she was… different. She was smiling, but she looked worn out, and her hair was a disorganized mess of tangles. There was something stuck in the night-like strands that stained parts of her skin, and Kirihito could've sworn it was blood.
"Ah, hi!" Ayaka said, a soft sigh under the usual excitement of her voice.
Kirihito was silent for a moment as he looked her up and down. She fidgeted. "Did you get in a… fight?" he asked, disbelief seeping into his features. She was such a goody-two-shoes… at least he thought.
She gave a light laugh and waved it off. "Sort of… It was one-sided, though. I have slight…" She trailed off a moment, as though trying to find a different word to use, before sighing and finishing, "Bullying issues."
"To this extent?" Kirihito asked, walking over and slipping the blood-stained lock through his fingers. She looked at it nervously, before nodding awkwardly. "That isn't slight," he said as he released his hold on it.
"Well, it's not like I don't have friends," she said, her voice stubborn. "It could be worse."
"And it could be better," Kirihito pointed out, raising his eyebrows.
Ayaka gave a warm smile at this. "That it could."
An awkward silence followed this. Ayaka nervously fidgeted as Kirihito continued to look her over, cocking his head to the side. The only sound was the low chatter taking place in Yamamoto's television.
"Yamamoto-san, I'm taking your niece out to get cleaned up," Kirihito announced as he pulled Ayaka out the door. Yamamoto looked at them a moment, and then turned back to the screen. They were already out the door.
"Kirihito-sama, I'm… bloody," she said slowly.
Kirihito faced her and raised his eyebrows. "Which is why I'm taking you out," he said.
"But won't that arouse suspicion?" she asked, looking down at the specks of blood on her shoes.
This honestly hadn't even crossed Kirihito's mind. Kirihito was so used to going on getting into trouble out of boredom that he didn't even notice odd glances his direction when he had obviously just been in a fight. He couldn't tell her this, of course, so he just looked at her a moment before simply stating, "It'll be fine."
She looked at him doubtfully, but Kirihito continued to drag her along, her wrist held firmly in his fingers.
{{{/}}}
It was only natural, Kirihito supposed, that the hair stylist would give them an odd look. At least Ayaka had already cleaned off her skin and bandaged her cuts. Still, the stylist immediately opened her mouth to speak, but one glare from him caused her to reconsider.
Ayaka nervously fidgeted as the stylist hesitantly cleaned her hair and separated the black locks, warily glancing at an expressionless Kirihito from time to time. After the stylist was satisfied with the state of Ayaka's hair, she began to dry it, carefully but swiftly pulling her fingers through the strands of hair. When she finished, she asked—very pointedly—if they were also looking to get a haircut. Not at all to the stylist's surprise, they declined, paid, and immediately headed out.
"Where to next, Kirihito-sama?" she asked quietly, not sure what Kirihito's mood was, considering his face was refusing to show any emotion for some reason.
"Mnn? Oh, new clothes. Any store in particular that you like?" he asked, giving a slight smirk in vague assurance that he wasn't in a bad mood.
"Well, there's the secondhand—"
"Nope. New. It's on me," he stated, his tone leaving no room for questioning.
"Ah, you sure?" she asked, voice uncertain. He raised an eyebrow, as though daring her to actually wait for an answer to that question. "Okay, thanks. Then let's just go where you want to go…?"
The edges of his lips turned up slightly. "I don't frequent women's clothing stores."
"Neither do I, so I won't really be much help."
Kirihito glanced over at her, before looking forward as they continued to walk nowhere in particular. "Okay, then what stores do your friends shop at?"
"I guess they wander around the mall? I've never gone shopping with them, and I generally zone out when they speak about shopping," she said, embarrassment leaking into her voice.
"The mall's pretty far, though. How about we go to the area a few blocks down that basically just has the big chain clothing stores?" he asked, hoping that she would at least know what the general area was.
"Sounds great!" she shouted happily, her step becoming a bit more bouncy.
{{{/}}}
When they arrived at the first store, the look on Ayaka's face told Kirihito that she was utterly clueless. She glanced oddly at the clothes, as though they were some new and unique sight she had never seen before. Perhaps a trending teen clothing store was not the best first stop. Considering her personality, the clothing articles didn't seem like things she's wear. Crop tops and ripped short shorts were a bit immodest for the bright and cheerful individual.
Ayaka looked over at some particularly short and semi see-through skirts with a questioning gaze. "Isn't this a bit..."
Kirihito sighed. "That's the thing about popular clothing stores. You have to pick and choose what you like."
After a few moments of Ayaka looking through the racks and Kirihito silently leaning against a nearby wall, Ayaka spoke up. "Say, Kirihito-sama, what clothing do you think would look good on me?" She turned around, smiling, utterly unaware of what a total mistake she might've made.
Keeping her nature in mind, it was obvious that Ayaka wouldn't want to be rude and dismiss any suggestions. For Pete's sake, Kirihito could have suggested the sheer micro miniskirts and she wouldn't have it in her to not take his advice. It would've been entertaining, too, except he just didn't feel like it for some reason.
He walked up to a shelf, asked for her size, and brought down some jeans, a simple t-shirt, and a striped sweatshirt. He then thought a moment, before finding a scarf and hat, too. He handed them to her.
"That was quick," Ayaka said, pure awe in her expression.
Kirihito shrugged. "Girls always seem to make shopping more difficult for themselves."
When she was dressed to find that everything fit well, Kirihito asked a clerk for a pair of scissors. He cut off the tags, somewhat amazed of her trust. Honestly, he wouldn't trust someone he had only known for a few days enough to let them have scissors anywhere near him. He handed them to the cashier, taking out his wallet and pulling out the money.
When they had left the shop, Kirihito was hardly surprised when she bowed deeply to thank him. She lifted her head back up and grinned, making a bandage on her cheek start slipping off. He sighed, trailing his fingers across the thin material, making it stick again. She flushed ever so slightly.
She glanced at her watch. "Oh! I've got to go! Homework and such. Thanks again, Kirihito-sama!"
Kirihito nodded and, with that, Ayaka's figure disappeared in the semi-crowded streets.
{{{/}}}
A/N Sorry this took so long! It's shorter, too :/ Exams and such were going on, but now I'm on break! Look forward to seeing more from me in the coming weeks!
