It was awkward, to say the least. Shiomi never ate by herself, and she couldn't imagine what the other patrons were thinking as she absent-mindedly spoke to her side.
But at the moment, Shiomi really didn't care what the customers were saying. She didn't care if they insulted her or gossiped about her or even if they approached her. The attention she was receiving from Hisagi compensated for any stranger's negative comments.
She did suppose, however, that she didn't pay much mind to the fact that Hisagi couldn't even eat in the restaurant. Floating food tends to make people suspicious. So, while she volunteered to take food home, Hisagi insisted that she eat in the restaurant while he sat with her.
"So you're a forward," Hisagi explained, trying to understand what Shiomi had thus far explained about soccer, "which means that you're the person who kicks the ball into the net."
Shiomi shrugged and nodded while grabbing another dish off of the conveyor belt. "Kind of. There's another forward, though, and the midfielders help us."
Hisagi leaned on his elbow. "That's nice of them."
"Yeah, I guess," she replied, smiling.
Hisagi smirked as Shiomi lifted another tuna roll into her mouth. He also noticed that she mostly took tuna rolls off of the belt, assuming them to be a favorite of hers.
The evening continued in this manner, where in between eating, Shiomi would briefly speak with Hisagi, after which he would merely watch her eat. This, of course, made Shiomi feel beyond self-concious, yet she made no attempt to change his focus.
After another two tuna rolls, Shiomi sighed and leaned forward onto her crossed arms. "I'm full."
"That makes sense," Hisagi replied, looking over at the numerous plated beside her. She must have worked hard at soccer practice to need such a substantial amount of nutrition. Or she was just a pig. "Do you always eat that much?"
Shiomi looked over at the plates. "Not really. I eat a lot more when it's soccer season, though."
He should have guessed
Shiomi stretched. She appeared to be getting ready to leave, but she didn't want to. For once, she didn't feel noticeably nervous around Hisagi. She couldn't understand why, but she enjoyed not appearing so idiotic around him. So, she attempted to lengthen their interaction by asking the first question that popped into her head.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
Hisagi's eyes widened. He wasn't used to Shiomi being so forward, but he was sure he didn't prefer the awkward, stuttering school girl.
Shiomi actually surprised herself with this question. If it didn't seem so unusual, she would have smacked herself. How much more obvious could she get?
Hisagi looked towards the conveyor belt and answered, "No, I don't."
Shiomi followed Hisagi's lead and faced the belt as well. "Oh."
Hisagi didn't bother asking Shiomi if she was in a relationship. Not only did her behavior around him scream of the fact that her interactions with the opposite sex were incredibly limited, but he also didn't care. Why should he? The possibility of Shiomi having a boyfriend wouldn't affect him in any way. He didn't care about her that way. At least, that's how he justified his feelings.
After another five minutes of silence, Shiomi stood and said, "I guess I'll go pay."
While she walked away, Hisagi intentionally directed his focus away from her. He shouldn't get so distracted on a simple mission. She was superfluous compared to it. She didn't matter.
He contemplated for a longer period of time than it seemed, since Shiomi appeared to instantaneously return, extending a box in Hisagi's direction.
"Here," she said, holding the box out to him. "I saw you eyeing the nigiri. You must be hungry, anyway."
Hisagi gently took the box out of her hands. "Thanks."
Shiomi smiled slightly and muttered some response that Hisagi couldn't hear. She wouldn't have wanted him to hear it, anyway.
"Are you ready?" she asked, picking up her soccer bag.
Hisagi looked at the box, then back at Shiomi. "Yeah."
"Ahh~!" Shiomi sighed, stepping out of the steamy bathroom. She found baths particularly refreshing after practice.
After drying off and putting on her night clothes, Shiomi walked to her room, crossing her father in the hallway. She could feel his stern gaze, but chose to ignore it. Oddly enough, he walked away without reprimanding her.
She pleasantly entered her room and smiled, sliding down against her door. Shiomi had never felt so blissfully happy. Not only did she have soccer practice, but she also got to spend time with Hisagi, and to top it off, her father didn't speak to her once. Today was a really good day.
As she sat on the floor, she allowed herself to think over what had happened. The majority of the events that she could remember, however, revolved around Hisagi and when she had thought of him throughout the day. It was during this contemplation, however, that her smile reversed.
Shiomi liked Hisagi. A lot. She knew it was because he had saved her life. She knew that her attraction to him grew when she realized that her father would certainly not approve. She knew that all she wanted was to be near him, and she was indisputably stupid for ending their dinner so early.
She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her elbows atop them, burying her face in her hands. It was in Shiomi's nature to constantly think of the worst case scenario, and that was all she could consider for Hisagi. She imagined confessing her feelings for him, after which he laughed at her. She imagined him dying while fighting a hollow while she stood by, helpless. She imagined him leaving after his mission and never seeing him again. She imagined forgetting ever having known Hisagi and how much she cared for him.
While Shiomi knew that she didn't love him, she was aware that she liked him enough to want him to stay in Naruki for as long as possible. She didn't know if he could do this, or if he even would.
It was because of these contemplations that Shiomi pulled on the roots of her damp hair, curled her toes, bit her bottom lip, and released a tear from her eye.
For once, Shiomi had drawn the shades in her room, preventing Hisagi from seeing anything within. He sighed, once again playing with the spirit communicator from Urahara. While he knew he would have most likely enjoyed the games, he wasn't technologically advanced enough to find them. Perhaps there was some kind of password he was unaware of.
Frustrated, Hisagi tucked the device into his pocket, leaning on his elbow. He was somewhat surprised that he had only been in town for two days, since so much had seemed to have occurred. In reality, very few significant events had happened, yet it seemed like they took a significant amount of time. This mission was becoming surprisingly time consuming.
Hisagi leaned back, noticing movement beyond the curtain in Shiomi's room. Based on her shadow, it appeared as though she was putting her hair up. Hisagi thought she had very nice hair—the kind that always looked soft and touchable.
The shadow disappeared after Shiomi turned off the light, and Hisagi sighed once more. It felt like he had been doing a lot of that lately.
For the rest of the evening, Hisagi tried to convince himself that he didn't care as much for Shiomi as he seemed to, even though he stayed across her house the entire night.