The pair had managed to come across a small, quaint café a little further down the street. By the time they had entered, both were soaked wet—Sakura would have been more soaked had the man not offered her his coat for a makeshift umbrella. It was cold outside, especially due to the rains and the chilly winds that accompanied it. Yet all thoughts of the cold were drowned out by the seemingly perpetual warmth that the café seemed to give. Even the chilly winds were soon replaced by the smooth, welcoming scents that wafted inside the small shop.
There were dozens upon dozens of cakes and other pastries on display, and the menu was just hanging on the ceiling behind the counter, listing out the names of the available drinks.
Both of them walked silently towards the counter. The taller man, towering over the small figure of Sakura, glanced down at her with a thick eyebrow raised. "So," he began. "Anything you would want…?"
Sakura vaguely nodded her head, avoiding eye contact with the man and instead redirecting her gaze towards the pastry display. "…perhaps I'll just get a strawberry shortcake…" she said quietly, reaching into her small bag to get her wallet. When she was about to hand the money over to the cashier, the man grabbed her hand, making her stop almost immediately.
"Don't," he told her. "Don't. It's alright. I got this—I dragged you into all these, anyway." He took out his own wallet, handing over his money to the cashier, who simply took it and returned the change. He smiled sheepishly at her. "No need to be abashed. Like I've mentioned, I owe you for getting you into this mess."
Sakura stared at him for a few moments, before letting out a smile on her own. "Alright," she told him, her voice nearly a whisper.
In the end, they chose a table at the far corner of the café. Though there technically were no other customers besides themselves, they thought it necessary to sit at the furthest table so they would have a more private conversation.
"Aren't you going to get anything for yourself…?" Sakura asked politely, a small frown forming on her face. "I-I mean, I appreciate the gesture of you buying something for me, but… aren't you going to get something for yourself…?"
The man shook his head, his tousled hair moving along. "No, no, as I've said, I'm completely fine—No need to worry about me. Just go along and enjoy your cake."
'He seems quite kind… to be honest,' Sakura thought, taking occasional glances at the other whilst taking a few small, dainty bites from her cake. Was he really the man in his dream, she wondered? When she put it that way, it sounded as if she was a hopeless romantic, claiming that 'the man of her dreams' had finally come to whisk her into some kind of wonderland. 'But no…' she inwardly shook her head. The man in her dreams—in her nightmares, rather—were ruthless, unkind. They were out to get her, set on killing her. The man and the one in her dreams might be strikingly similar in appearance—even down to their voices—but nothing about this man's attitudes and behaviours so far seemed to be like that of that being from her dreams. Unless this man was only trying to lure her in… no, no, she was wrong. She must be. They seemed to be really trustworthy.
She decided to take yet another quick glance at the man, trying to compare them to what she could somewhat remember of the mysterious person lurking in her subconscious shadows.
She was extremely surprised when she found the person in her dreams before her, instead of the man. In the place of a warm, slightly sheepish smile, there stood an evil, bloodthirsty grin, with deep dark emerald eyes seemingly illuminating. Even the café itself seemed to dissolve into darkness.
She shut her eyes close, wishing the face away.
"Is something wrong…?" the voice asked. But it wasn't a mocking, jeering voice—it was the voice of warmth, of concern.
Sakura opened an eye. The creature was gone, and the kind face of the stranger had returned. She sighed heavily in relief. "N-No… i-it was nothing…" she said rather weakly, smiling apologetically. "I suppose it was just a migraine… or a simple headache."
"Ah—" the man exclaimed, relieved as well. He leaned back on his chair, crossing his arms in front of him.
"I do apologise for my forgetfulness, but—would you mind if you told me your name once more? It seems that I have failed to hear during our hurry."
"Sakura Honda," Sakura answered, this time more louder than before. She took a small piece from her cake.
"Sakura Honda, is it…" the man exclaimed in slight amusement, a smile forming on his lips. "It's quite a beautiful name. It suits you very well, Miss Honda."
Sakura couldn't help but blush, feeling a sudden surge of warmth in her cheeks. "P-Please, just call me Sakura," she told him, trying to hide her face.
The man gave out an amused chuckle. "Sakura…" he repeated. "It's still quite a pleasure to have your acquaintance… even though the circumstances in which we have met aren't exactly the best." He leaned forward, propping both elbows up on the table. "As for me…" he seemed to say with a sigh, "My name's Arthur Kirkland."
Sakura looked up, staring at the stranger who now had a name. "Arthur… Arthur Kirkland…" she mumbled, trying to practice the sound of his name on her lips.
Arthur gave out yet another amused smile.
"It isn't the best of names out there, I know."
"…I think it sounds quite well…" she replied, avoiding the other's gaze. "I think it suits you well, too."
The moment then proceeded in silence, the conversation dissolving into nothing but an exchange of glances. Sakura hastily tried to finish her cake.
"I hope I haven't bothered you at all today, either…" she finally said. "You probably have an important place to go to, and instead you're stuck here with… with me…"
Arthur perked up and smiled once more. "No, no, it's alright. Please don't think of yourself as a bother—I've nothing planned for today, after all. Besides, at this moment, I'm quite certain that we've both been equally bothersome to each other, so you don't have to apologise to me for anything."
Sakura heaved a heavy sigh, but smiled. She placed her fork gently on her plate, and took a glance out the window. "The rain's already stopped…" she thought aloud.
"Oh, has it…?" Arthur remarked, taking a glance at the window as well. True enough, the numbers of people walking with an umbrella had decreased. Even the skies weren't as grey as they had been just a bit earlier.
"I suppose we both have to get going—" he stood up from his chair, and offering a hand to Sakura, who accepted the offer.
"Umm… thank you for… for all these, again…" she said with a smile, widening it more than usual. Arthur just shook her hand, which was still in his hand. "Not at all, dear Sakura."
His smile seemed so genuine.
'He really doesn't seem like that dangerous man from my dreams at all…' Sakura thought, staring at the slowly disappearing figure of the possibly English man. 'He seems to be kinder. Arthur-san is definitely kinder.'
With one last glance back in his direction, she headed back home.