"So, why d'you ask me to meet you here again?" Sonic asked.
It was now a Friday afternoon, and Sonic, wearing a black jacket with a sliver upper torso and black tracksuits - both with purple ringed highlights, as well as a grocery bag he had slung over his forearm, was sitting on a pastel blue blanket in a park in Z-City with Lily, the girl he had rescued five days ago. It just so happened that the ninja was taking the same train as the fourteen-year-old that morning, and she had asked to meet with him at the park after she was done with school. Now, the girl with onyx hair tied in a ponytail had brought something else with her other than her school bag: something she had wrapped in a grey cloth with white butterfly prints, which she held tightly in her hands on her lap. Explaining the whole thing was slightly embarrassing, but she had to tell him.
"Well, um...if you remember when you saved me, I-I promised I would find some way to repay you for what you did for me," she explained with a shy blush, "so I wanted to thank you for saving my life properly..."
"Oh. Sure."
"Um...I know this isn't much but..." she started, carefully setting the thing wrapped in the cloth on the blanket between her and Sonic and starting to untie it, "please accept this. It would mean so much to me."
Sonic looked at the now revealed contents. No wonder it looked interestingly large on Lily's lap: the box itself was huge. He opened and was surprised to see beautifully made desserts, drizzled in chocolate sauce and filled with cream and fruits.
"Are these...are these crepes?" he asked, staring at the treats.
"Yeah," Lily replied with a nod and a sweet smile."They're creamy fruit and chocolate crepes. I made them in cooking class today. I know it's strange since I don't know your favourite dessert, but please, have some. I made enough for both of us..."
The older, raven haired male reached out and carefully took out a crepe. "You made these yourself, huh?"
"Uh, y-yes."
He took a bite into the crepe, and instantly, the sweet taste of fruit, whipped cream and chocolate combination exploded across his tongue. He'd never had a dessert that had such sweetness and bliss. He had taken a glance at Lily before he ate, who looked as if he didn't like it. He knew she felt like she didn't do much of a good job, when really she did.
"Wow, " he said after swallowing, "This is actually really good."
Lily lifted up her head and her blueish-purple eyes lit up. "Really?!"
"Uh-huh. It's amazing. It's a good thing I bought these soft drinks today..." - he dug into his grocery bag and took out a 6-pack of multi-choice soft drinks. "How old are you, by the way?"
"Uh, I'm fourteen."
"Fourteen, huh? Well, I'll admit, your cooking skills are awfully impressive for someone your age." he remarked with a smile as he took his pick of a drink. "Which flavour d'you want?"
The compliment made her blush slightly. She grabbed herself her own crepe from the container and held out her free hand. "Um...ch-cherry, please. Th-thank you, Sonic-senpai..."
After a few bites of her crepe and a couple sips from her cherry soft drink, she was able to calm herself. God! Eating with the man who rescued her almost felt like eating with a celebrity crush or a really famous hero. Speaking of...
"Sonic-senpai. Have you ever considered joining the Hero Association?" Lily asked.
"Hm?" Sonic turned to look at her, his obsidian bangs bouncing as he did so and his cheeks bulging from the food stuffed in his mouth.
"The Hero Association. Have you considered joining them?" she asked again. "Your skills are really good. With your speed, you could easily reach a high rank, and you could get paid really well for it."
The ninja swallowed with a frown and scoffed. "Hmph! I'd never work for them! No amount of money can change my mind. I refuse to have my strength ranked against others when I already surpass almost every other hero."
"Almost?" she repeated when the word caught her attention.
He nodded. "I met this stranger named Saitama, and I vow to defeat him."
"Wow, really?!" she exclaimed. "What's he like? Is he really powerful?"
That was when the ninja took his own cheery flavoured drink and pried open the can, taking a few gulps to calm himself. He involuntarily shuddered at the memory of the caped baldy's fist meeting his groin for the first time.
"He was a formidible opponent. He could see through my moves. We fought, but he won..."
"But how? Tell me," Lily demanded with a frown, annoyed that he was avoiding details. "You're so vague!"
"Am not!" he retorted, "I'm just sparing you the inappropriate details because they're not something a kid should be hearing."
"But those details are the whole story, though! Come on, I wanna know!" she pleaded, "Please? I won't tell."
"It's a dark story, my dear," he answered, acting mysterious as he took another sip from his drink, "Maybe I'll tell you what really happened another time."
Lily studied the ninja with silent curiosity. 'His eyes say "never".' she thought. But his body said something completely the opposite. She saw the way he took his can of soft drink when she asked him about this Saitama person, and that shudder he made. She wondered what could have happened that made him act in such a way. But for now, she pushed that thought aside and decided to change the subject.
"Good idea to bring these soft drinks to have with the crepes, huh?" she said softly. "This almost feels like our own little picnic. You think we could do this again sometime, senpai?"
Sonic chuckled and smiled. "You're one funny kid, you know that?"
As they continued to eat, the two started to enjoy each other's company. At some point, Sonic had inavertedly made a pun about one of his former clients, to which Lily burst into a fit of giggles. At this, the ninja continued to make jokes until he decided to ask her a question.
"Hey, Lily. Do you like animals?"
"Oh, yes, I love animals!" she replied, "Baby ones are so sweet, aren't they? I love fluffy animals too! I like cute and fluffy things!"
"Well..." he started. "Do you want to know about a baby animal I found in the woods?"
Then he told her a story about the baby boar he found and befriended after he saved its life. He didn't leave out any details this time. The story made Lily's heart flutter.
"Aww, that's so cute! Can you let me see him some time, Sonic-senpai?"
"You sure?"
"Yes, yes, yes! I'd love to see your baby boar. He sounds sweet!" she replied.
"Okay, then." the ninja replied with a smile. "Next week, Saturday. We'll go to K-City together. Then I'll show him to you."
