Chapter 2
To Change or Not to Change

She left him waiting outside as she ran up to her apartment. Everything was shoved into the fridge and her purse was grabbed in under three minutes.

Outside, he stood next to the door, people-watching. The bright and new sunlight splayed across his features in shadows. It was a little different without the usual tinge of glassy orange.

"Where have your glasses gone?"

At first surprised, his eyebrows shot up, and then he put a hand to his eyes as if he hadn't truly realized they were missing. After they had started walking again and another minute, he said, "Oh yeah. They broke."

"What?" Her voice had raised itself on its own. "Why? What happened to them?"

"M'not sure. Must've broken when I was moving the furniture."

"Like... How much broken?" she asked, somewhat pathetically.

"On a scale of one to ten- ten being obliterated- I'd say four," he told her, shrugging.

"That's not too bad," she mused.

"Still cracked, though. Nothing's immortal," he said, and gave her a cheeky wink, eyes crinkling.

"God, Kariya-"

"Well, and then there's Him."

The sudden air-conditioning in ten-four reminded them how quickly Shibuya went from cool to warm in the mornings.

A frustrated noise grated out of her throat as she pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes.

She felt his hand hook her elbow and pull her off track. "Woah there. Pole."

Stumbling a little, she removed her hands, and pushed him away. She glanced back at the previously threatening pole and shifted her bag. "Whatever."

Ten-four had what appeared to be an endless amount of shops. Kariya considered the map, then abruptly decided to choose on a whim– and did just that.

The first one they went into had mostly fancier dress, and he spent most of his time looking at nice button-ups. Occasionally he would ask her opinion and she would pull faces at him according to the ones he held up.

When he seemed to be a bit lost, she asked if it was really his style. "All this," she said.

He tapped his lips with a finger and considered her. "Well, what my style was before I started wearing the same thing isn't exactly 'in' right now. I'm just… trying new things."

Grabbing a few shirts and a couple vests he was particularly attached to, he disappeared into the changing room. Uzuki was left running her hands over cotton and flannel. She was investigating a rack of scarves that came off as illogical to her when he came up behind. He wore a grey vest over a soft blue plaid button-up.
A few things were mismatched, and his hair was a conundrum, but the over-all effect was dizzying. She wanted to touch his arms under those rolled up sleeves and smooth her fingers over every inch of him.

Naturally, she refrained, but encouraged the look with little hesitation.

"Ever try a darker color? Like auburn?" she asked as he grabbed the bags of new clothes and followed her out the door.

"For my hair, you mean?" One eyebrow was raised and his fingers worked to a more comfortable position around the handles. "You trying to tone me down, or something? Change me into a different man?"

She snorted. "Okay. I get it. Do what you want."

His smile was warm, but his brown eyes teased. "Will do."

The next shop was her choice and she spent more time than he had trying to find shirts she liked. He found some plainer, less warm shirts and a new pair of jeans. She scrutinized every outfit she came across.

After she settled on some things, shoe-shopping took up another hour. By the end of it all, a pit-stop at their apartments seemed necessary.

"Then lunch," she told him.

"Yes. Lunch," he agreed.

"Man, vacations are expensive," he said, peering into his wallet.

"Lucky the new day starts tomorrow," she replied, wiping her hands on a napkin. Her fingers curled around her burger– wonderfully high-quality– and took a bite. The savory flavor stayed crisp and warm in her mouth.

His eyes flickered to her, distracted by her hum of delight. "Yup."

She swallowed and stared back until he blinked. Suddenly taken aback by the fact that he had been watching her, he turned to his food with something like a blush.

Her insides fluttered bizarrely in response where the urge to hug her stomach was immediate. She would have except for the hamburger. She continued to eat it instead, eyes wide.

Clearing his throat quietly, he took a fry and dipped it in his shake. "Seen Sakuraba about?" he asked, and sounded almost demure.

She had to swallow first. "Why?"

He pinched another fry. "It's just been awhile."

"No, I haven't." Her burger was almost done. "Hope this session will make some sense."

"Overall, I thought it was exciting," he said, smiling a little.

"But painful."

Kariya winced.

"And frightening," she added. She watched as he cracked his knuckles, looking down.

He sighed, then gave a different, wry smile. "But we survived."

"True."

"And think of it this way- if we weren't only harriers, maybe we wouldn't have." He propped his chin on his fist, straight-up grinning, now.
Uzuki licked her fingers, shaking her head. "Yeah. But you're not going to change my goals, Kariya."

"Fair enough." He was still smiling, but it was as if he had forgotten it was there.

After a moment more, he shook himself and finished his food, for once faster than Uzuki. She took her time with her own shake, and he marveled at the appetites of the dead. He also wondered what she saw in strawberry-flavored beverages and sweets. Kariya was more an original, 'vanilla or chocolate' sort of guy. Yet he supposed all fruit-tasting things had their virtues.

"What could you possibly be thinking of?" she asked, and bit at her straw.

He blinked at her, and she found he still looked odd without his glasses. "Food."

Her eyes looked at the ceiling. "You just ate!"

Knuckles against his lips, he grinned. He never was too far away from smiling. "Just in general."

She stood, stretching her arms above her head. "Not too bad a topic."

"'Specially when French toast comes to mind."

She wrinkles her nose at him fondly. "Agreed."