Chapter 9: Isu Shiori (Gonzales), Oki Itsuya
Cold evening winds blow at the dockside, as if one long sigh by the orange sun, setting far away above the calm horizon. The calm atmosphere however, did not cool down the two people staring at each other. Dock workers, fishermen, and local policemen stayed away from those two, as if they're in their own special zone.
One was a high school girl whose hair went halfway down her back, with a big bow on top. The other was an elementary school boy, wearing a sleeveless undershirt that showed his bare arms, as hairless as his head. Both are about the same height.
"Osu," the girl said. It was a voice as husky as a sweaty captain, seven days at sea.
The boy grunted. It was a grunt as husky as a veteran fisherman, seven days battling a shark.
"Are they...fighting?" A fisherman asked. He was supposed to dock his ship, but he was distracted by the rare sight. His ship slowly sailed away.
"I sense some hostility," another fisherman replied. He gripped his fishing rod tightly, as if ready to fight.
"Totes," the girl said. It was a voice as husky as an expert dockworker after seven days of guzzling the sea.
The boy grunted. The grunt was as husky as a pearl diver who swallowed cracked pearls, but…
"I sense fear," a boxer said. He ran from the city to the docks and back for cardio, shadow-boxing all the while. Losing his focus, he accidentally punched a fisherman.
"No, you fool, it's an acknowledgement," the boxer's coach said, not realising his student was busy fighting a fisherman.
"Nice to meet you," the girl said. It was a voice as husky as a sweaty sumo wrestlers. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and then uncrossed it. "Osu!"
The boy nodded and crossed his arms. "It's nice to meet you."
"Shiver my timbers, tis was merely a greeting!" a pirate said. The sea police was just behind him, but that police was also distracted.
"Well, duh! What else can you do with a new friend?" the girl said.
"A greeting," the boy said. "I'm Oki Itsuya."
"And I'm Gonzales!"
The girl and the boy then split apart, leaving a dock full of strangers to marvel at the strange sight in the familiar dock they have called home for many years.
[break]
"Wow, I now really wanted to go to the docks," Tadano said.
"Me too," Komi said. "Maybe we could sit down on an edge and just…"
"Look at the sea," Tadano said.
Komi nodded. It was a wonderful image. Komi flipped through her notebook again and noticed something. "Tadano, do you remember taking care of Sarutahiko's dog?"
Author's note: My claim that Oki and Gonzales have similar height is based on visual comparison of page 2 of chapter 90 and page 6 of chapter 140. Both of them roughly come up to Komi's shoulders. Short kings recognize each other.