Matsuri and Yoshimitsu followed the blue-haired girl through the alley. She made several turns down other side streets before exiting onto Showa Dori. The two Maisen Academy girls kept a safe distance while tailing the mysterious young woman as she entered a restaurant simply called Sandwich Shop. Matsuri and Yoshimitsu followed inside and surveyed the area.
"Dang it. We lost her!" the blonde one cried out.
"That was probably her plan." Matsuri looked to the back and saw a door labeled 'Employees Only'. "Yoshimitsu, you go around to the back outside. I am going to head through the back door."
"Gotcha."
Yoshimitsu bounded out the front entrance while Matsuri engaged her camouflage. She sprinted through the restaurant, jumping past patrons and workers until she made it to the 'Employees Only' door. The Native American girl pulled a kunai out and slowly pushed the door open. Without warning, the door burst open and one of the employees walked through. Matsuri leapt out of the way, narrowly avoiding the man. After taking a few breaths to calm her nerves, she pushed through the door to the backroom. It was merely a kitchen for the staff to prepare food, with a door ten feet to her right and another on the far side labeled 'EXIT'. Matsuri did a quick once over of the room before checking the first door, only to discover it was an office. The blue-haired girl was still nowhere to be found. She turned to the exit and readied her kunai. With one swift motion, Matsuri opened the door and jumped out.
"AAAH! WAIT! WAIT!" A girl's voice screamed as the Native American lunged forward.
Matsuri stopped herself from slamming into Yoshimitsu. "Oh, it's just you, Yoshimitsu." She relaxed her body and looked around the back alley. "Anything on the girl?"
The blonde youth shook her head. "Nope. How 'bout you, Matsu-chin?"
"Nothing."
"Should we keep looking?"
"Let's ask Tsubame first." Matsuri brought her hand to her face and spoke into her wrist watch. "Hey, Matsuri and Yoshimitsu, reporting in."
[Go ahead, Matsuri.] The watch crackled.
"We've lost the girl. She likely knew we were tailing her."
"Yeah, she just, like, POOF, gone! Like a ninja!" Yoshimitsu grabbed Matsuri's wrist and yelled into the watch.
[I'm not even gonna respond to that. Well, let's not push our luck too much. Return to the café. We don't need to stir up trouble when we're not looking for it.]
"Roger!" Both girls said in unison.
Satou and Ageha finished their lunch and left the café.
"So, where to now?" Ageha asked her date.
"Um, uh, let's…" Satou stammered looking around the street. "Let's take a look at the shops. Maybe there's something we can find we're looking for in one of them."
"That sounds like fun."
The two teenagers made their way down Chuo Dori. The closed off street buzzed with people, with some parts getting particularly crowded. Ageha kept sneaking glances over her shoulder and noticed a few familiar faces in the sea of people.
"Hey, c'mon," she touched his arm and pointed to a store. "Why don't we check out that place?"
The store Ageha gestured at had a neon sign that read 'Lomé Voodoo Market'. The front of it had clashing bright pink walls with lime green shutters on the windows. A placard above the entrance was engraved with the words 'Enter At Your Own Risk'.
"Uh, are you sure about this place?" Satou asked a bit nervously, looking at the voodoo doll with pins sticking out of its body. It hung from one of the windows and swayed in the breeze.
"Of course, it looks like fun." She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the shop. "Who knows? Maybe you'll find something you didn't even know you were looking for."
"Uh," Satou barely croaked out as his face went beet red.
The inside of the shop was tightly lined with shelves and display cases filled with items ranging from voodoo dolls, to herbs and oils, to gris gris talismans. There was a heavy scent of incense burning was immediately noticed. The paint on the wall was peeling, cobwebs littered nearly every corner visible, and mildew was growing on the counter tops.
"Can I help you with something?" A woman's voice called out.
"Holy sh-!" Satou cried out in surprise, jumping a little. Even Ageha was startled by the sudden entrance.
The woman who spoke had appeared from behind the front counter. She was tall and lean with charcoal colored skin. She had a prominent nose, small ears, and dreadlocks.
"Is there something you need help finding?" The woman asked.
"Uh, we're just browsing. Thank you anyway," Ageha answered smoothly.
"Alright. But be careful with what you touch," the store clerk warned. "Some of these items supposedly hold curses." She turned and walked to the back of the store.
Ageha made her way to one of the counters with shrunken heads on display. She picked up one by the hair to examine.
"Are you sure you wanna touch that?" Satou said voice wavering.
"Qué? You think it's going to bite you or something?" she shook the head teasing him.
"Well, no, but…"
"Maybe these tiny heads are cursed. Careful, it'll get ya!"
"AH!" Satou flinched as Ageha thrust the embalmed head in his face.
"Haha. I'm just messing with you," she chuckled as she tossed the shrunken head back on the counter. "Who even believes in things like curses anyway?"
"Dammit, they went inside that weird looking store," the fedora girl hollered.
"Yeah! This is gonna make it hard to follow 'em," the ballcap girl agreed
The other three girls gave the one a look then resumed talking.
"Well, what do you propose we do now?" The sunhat girl asked.
"I dunno? Wait outside until they leave?" The fedora girl shrugged. "We obviously can't go inside."
Ageha looked through a deck of tarot cards as Satou nervously picked up a talisman with an image of a sun surrounded by three snakes etched on the front. He put it down and picked up another one with several criss crossing trident designs.
"So, uh, see anything you like?" He asked.
His date looked up from the deck of cards and casually peered out the window. She saw the four girls talking amongst themselves quite animatedly and smiled. "I think I'm done here. Why don't we check out another store?" She set the cards back on the counter and grabbed Satou's hand. "Come on, let's go!" Ageha exclaimed dragging the boy outside. While the four pursuers were distracted, Ageha raced down the street into a throng of people.
"Whoa! Hey! Slow down!" Satou cried out as Ageha pulled him through the crowd.
Ageha pushed past people and eventually made it to a clear spot in the street. She stopped and let out a sigh. "Whew! We made it."
"Why did we run?" Satou gasped. He bent over trying to catch his breath.
"Um, I thought it'd be fun," she said with a shrug.
"O-okay?" he straightened up and wiped sweat from his brow. "Well, why don't we just walk? No need to rush, right?"
As Satou and Ageha continued down Chuo Dori, a young man on a bicycle came careening towards them. "Watch out!" Noticing the cyclist charging right at them, Satou grabbed Ageha by the shoulders and pulled her out of harm's way.
"Hey! Watch where you're walking!" The man shouted as he flew past the two.
"A-are you okay?" he asked Ageha.
"Yeah, I'm fine. No damage done."
"Okay, that's good."
"Um, Satou-kun?"
"Yeah?"
"You can let go of me now." Ageha pointed out to him.
It wasn't until she had said something did Satou realize he had been holding onto her during the entire exchange. He quickly released Ageha and stumbled back. "I'm sorry, Esperanza-san I didn't mean to hold you like that?"
"What are you apologizing for? If you hadn't pulled me aside, I could've been seriously injured." She looked over herself a bit. "But, because of your brave action, I am completely unharmed."
"That's, that's good to hear." Satou scratched his head nervously.
"Come on, I see a bookstore up ahead. Why don't we go check it out?" Ageha gestured to one of the stores in the strip mall.
"Uh, yeah, sure," he said. "Wait, what?"
Ageha lead the way to the bookstore and pushed the door open. After a quick glance over of the place, she entered the store followed by Satou. Weaving her way through customers and shelves, Ageha finally stopped in front of the graphic novel section. The Spanish girl looked up and down the shelves until she found what she was looking for.
"Oh good, they do have a copy," she grabbed the book off the shelf and smiled happily.
"I didn't know you were into manga, Esperanza-san," Satou said from behind her. He gave a quizzical look.
"Oh, well, I'm just into this one, really. I don't follow anime or manga all that much." She said a bit sheepishly. Ageha held the book up for Satou to see.
"Aaah, 'The Legend of the Sacred Sword'," he said with a nod. "Yeah, I'm following that one right now, too."
'The Legend of the Sacred Sword' was a popular manga that was serialized in the anthology 'Weekly Dragon Jump'. Set in a modern Japan, the story centers on the life of half human half youkai woman named Yukari as she defends her town from various threats and tries to live as a normal human. The series has garnered popularity amongst boys and girls of varying ages. It has been well received by the critics, and is considered the next big thing. With over eighty chapters published, it shows no signs of slowing down.
"With this, I will be caught up on the series," Ageha said with a smile.
"Wait, you're reading the actual books? Why don't you just read it online. That's what I do at least. I'm completely up to date with the current chapters."
"Eh, I guess I just like having a physical copy like this," Ageha shrugged.
"So, if you're reading the compiled books, that means you are only about ten chapters behind," Satou said scratching his chin. "Man, you better be ready for chapter seventy-three."
"Hey, hey, hey. No spoilers," Ageha exclaimed. "I only just got past the part where Yukari turns her boyfriend back into a human."
"Hmm. I'm still not sure how I fell about that story arc."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Takeshi allows himself to be possessed by a parasite youkai so that he could obtain power." Satou started.
"Right, he wanted to be able to fight beside Yukari," Ageha added on.
"And, then he loses control and turns into a dragon a few chapters later."
"Yeah, and then Yukari found a way to seal off the youkai possessing him and turn him back into a human. So, what's the problem?"
"Well, I just think the whole bit with him getting power was kinda, I don't know, unneeded? Also, dragons are just so overdone and overrated."
"No, no. it makes perfect sense. Takeshi kept watching Yukari fight all the time and he wanted to feel useful to her. But his being 'useful' to her wasn't dependent on whether or not he could knock out an oni. It was about him being there for her and supporting her. It was never about power with Yukari. She loved him for him," Ageha closed her eyes and held the book in her hand to her chest. "But, yeah, I do agree with you on the dragon bit, though."
"Oh, huh. I never thought about it that way. I guess I just thought it was silly that the issue was created and then solved so quickly," Satou shrugged.
Ageha shrugged too. "Well, now he's on his own training arc, and it is brutal."
"Oh, I know, right? Wearing those restraints, and carrying that boulder on his back."
"And then he learned that the restraints kept getting stronger every day. Hahaha!" Ageha laughed.
Satou threw back his head and laughed too. This drew the attention of other patrons in the bookstore. Satou and Ageha noticed others were looking at them and quickly ceased their laughter. The two teenagers turned away from each other pretending nothing happened. Satou saw Hitomi and Tobi watching them about twenty feet away, not really hiding the fact that they were spying on the two.
"So… was that all that you were looking for here?" Satou asked.
"Yeah, pretty much. You need anything from the bookstore?"
"Nope. I mostly do online reading."
"Alright, let's just get this paid for and check out what other stores there are."
The dark-haired boy followed the green-haired girl to the front counter. While waiting to be check out, he pulled out his phone and checked the itinerary.
[Hibiya Park, no later than 3:00]
He checked the time and saw it was already 2:23.
"Hey, wanna head over to Hibiya Park when we're done here?"
Ageha turned to him, "Is that what's on the planner?" she said, pointing to the phone still in his hand.
"Um, well, that's…"
"It's fine. Yes, I'd love to." She turned back around. "Okay, we're up."
They left the bookstore and started for the train station.
"They've been in that shop for a while, now," the sunhat girl stated.
"Well, what do ya want me to do 'bout it? Go in there and gripe to them?" the fedora girl answered. "Yeah, I can see that going over well. 'Hey, get outta that store. We can't watch you if you're in there'. Something like that?"
"You don't have to be an ass about it."
The four incognito girls kept watching the front of the voodoo store, waiting for Satou and Ageha to leave it.
"Hey, you don't think they left already, do ya?" the ballcap girl voiced.
"Don't be stupid. When could they have left? We've been here the whole time," fedora girl retorted. "The instant they step foot outside, we'd know."
"Then, who are they?" the fishing hat girl asked. She pointed to two people heading in their direction who looked suspiciously like Satou and Ageha.
"I don't believe it." Fedora girl said.
"Well, you better believe it, 'cause she somehow got the slip on us." Sunhat girl responded.
All four girls looked on in disbelief. For about twenty minutes they had stood outside the voodoo store waiting for two people who weren't going to leave.
"Like, how'd they do that? Are they ninjas or something?" the ballcap girl asked.
"Again, not gonna respond to that. We better act quick though. Scatter!"
All four girls separated from each other and disappeared into the crowd of people.
"Heh heh," Ageha chuckled to herself.
Satou heard her and asked, "What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing. I just saw something that reminded me of something else."
"Like what?"
"Don't worry about it. It'd take too long to explain."
"Oookay then."
{The date's going well, I think.} Satou thought. {I'm still a little nervous, but the push from Hi-chan really helped. Things should be fine once we get to Hibiya Park, I think.}
{I still can't believe those four. Spying on me during my date.} Ageha scanned the area for any sign of her friends. Currently they were nowhere to be found, but she knew they were nearby. {Hopefully things will go a little smoother at the park. Even if those guys are watching, it's better than dealing with anymore ninjas.}
The two teens arrived at the station and got on the next train. Satou and Ageha situated themselves on the car with the other passengers and the train departed. As it moved along the tracks, Ageha looked around the train. Nobody appeared suspicious, but that was the point. If an enemy ninja was that easy to spot, it'd defeat the purpose entirely. Someone brushed against her and she jumped close onto Satou. Being a little on edge, Ageha temporarily forgot herself.
"Um, are you okay?"
Ageha turned to see Satou's blushing face. Her own face beginning to feel hot, she quickly moved off him. "Oh, uh, yeah. I just, uh, saw a, uh, rat is all…"
"A rat? Really?" Satou raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
"It may have been my imagination." She turned away from him and pulled out her phone.
"Uh, okay?"
The train continued with no problems, tough Ageha kept fidgeting in place. Every little movement from the other passengers made her jumpy, and everyone looked suspicious. She had her hand in her purse clutching the kunai. Satou watched her with nervous eyes. To him it seemed as if Ageha trying to find something, or was perhaps trying to hold in a pee. He wanted to say something to her, but didn't want to possibly embarrass her.
{Dios míos, how long is this train ride?} Ageha was beginning to panic. {Never thought going on a date would feel so intense. It's like one of Iwamatsu sensei's lessons.}
No sooner had she thought that did the train begin to slow to a stop at the northern part of Hibiya Park. The car gave one final lurch as it came to a complete stop and Ageha stumbled onto Satou.
"Oh, sorry. I…tripped…" Her face flushed.
"It's-it's okay." He awkwardly fumbled to help her upright.
The doors to the train slid open and the passengers quickly filed off. Satou and Ageha entered the park and looked around in wonder.
"Wow, this place is really something." Satou said.
"Yeah."
"You know, I've never been here before. Even though I've been to Tokyo a bunch, and we're not too far from it. What about you?"
"No, this is my first time too. I usually have extracurricular activities to take care of, so I don't have much time to check out places like this."
The two teenagers stood there for a moment taking in the sight. The ponds with water fowl splashing in them. The beds of flowers in bloom. The grove of wisteria, and the fountain near the center. There were also several cherry trees that were laden with white blossoms. It was splendid image that captured the feeling of spring.
"So, uh, shall we walk around the park?" Satou asked.
"Yes, that sounds nice." Ageha answered.
They turned left and took a clockwise path around the park. Ageha pointed to a bed of gardenias, and stopped to admire them. Believing he should follow suit, Satou pointed to a random bed of flowers. Ageha informed him they were coriander. The two continued in silence for a bit.
{Say something cool. Say something cool. Say something cool…} Satou's mind raced with anxiety.
"Those flowers are really pretty," he said gesturing to a flower bush that was ahead of them in the path.
{DAMMIT!}
"Oh, yes, they are quite lovely," Ageha responded and moved toward them. She bent over to smell one of them. "They're damask roses. Many cultures view them as symbols of love through suffering."
"Is that so? That sounds kinda grim." Satou said furrowing his brow.
"It means, regardless of what hardships people experience, they still love each other."
"Oh. I think I get it."
Ageha smiled at him and they moved along the path again.
"So, I gotta ask: where does the name 'Ageha' come from? If you don't mind that is?" Satou started up after a few minutes of silence.
"No, it's fine. I don't mind telling you," Ageha breathed in then out. "so, while my mother was still pregnant with me, both of my parents were deciding on what name they should give me. My mother wanted to name me 'Rosalia', after her grandmother. But, my father wanted to name me 'Ageha', after his grandmother. My mother told me that after months of arguing, she finally caved and I was named 'Ageha', as you know. As something of a compromise, she calls me her 'Rosita'. Her 'little rose'."
"That's certainly an interesting story. Wish mine was at least half as such."
"No fun tale behind the name 'Satou'?
"Sadly, no. The story goes that my parents wanted me to have a normal, peaceful life, so they gave me a normal name. What's more normal than 'Satou'?" He threw his hands up as if to say, 'it could be worse'.
"Aw, that's sweet. Sure, it isn't as glamorous as mine, but your parents were thinking about you. Here's to a normal life."
"Heh, sometimes I wish my life was a bit abnormal. You know, get a bit of excitement?"
"Phbt! Excitement is not as cracked up as you think it is."
"Oh, come on. You don't want something crazy to just happen? Even once?"
"Once, maybe. But I think a nice quiet life would be great too," Ageha shrugged. "I dunno. I just think the idea of something crazy seems appealing, but when it actually happens, it's not what you thought it would be. Does that make sense?"
"Uh, I guess?" Satou gave her a confused look. "it sounds like you're speaking from experience."
"Ha! Right. Like anything crazy ever happens in Nakatomi. Come on." She jabbed him in the side with her elbow a bit.
"Heh, yeah."
Continuing on through Hibiya Park, Satou and Ageha began to notice other visitors there. They passed one couple who were holding hands. Several couples had laid out picnics on the grass under the trees. A few were standing in front of various flower beds, arms around each other. One couple was just making out right out in the open for all to see. The two teenagers blushed at the very public display of affection and quickly moved on. Satou glanced at Ageha from the corner of his eye then glanced down at her hand. A small part of him wanted to reach over and grab her hand, but a much larger part kept him from making a move. His palms were clammy, and his mouth began to feel dry. He very much wanted to scream and runaway, but he remained strong. He was going to stick it out until the end of the date.
At the manmade pond, the two of them stood to admire the scenery. The air was calm right now, making the water appear to be glass, reflecting the clear blue sky. A couple of ducks touched down in the water.
"Oh, look," Satou pointed to them. "It's a pair of falcated ducks. Haven't seen one recently."
"Really? Why's that?"
"Because they're a 'near threatened' animal. They aren't endangered, but their numbers are low enough that they could fall into that category."
"Oh, I see," Ageha nodded a bit absently. She continued her gaze across the pond enjoying the peaceful feeling. However, that feeling vanished as her gaze stopped on a group of four people on the opposite side of the pond.
Standing there were her so-called friends as they spied on her and Satou during their date. They were all wearing goofy looking hats trying not to attract attention to themselves. Ageha put a hand to her mouth trying to stifle her urge to scream. She snuck a glance at Satou to see if he had possibly noticed the four idiots who were not-so hiding in plain sight. Thankfully, Satou was too distracted by his own nervousness to even see them. Ageha grabbed his hand for the second time that day and hurried him away from the pond.
"Come on, let's go!"
"What? What is it?"
"I just, wanna see more of the park is all."
"We've got a lot of time, but, okay. I guess."
Ageha pulled him along one of the winding paths in the park, taking random left and right turns. She knew it wouldn't deter those four, but it would be a start. Finally, on the other side of the park did she stop. "Okay, here should be good. Man, your hand was sweaty."
"Good for what?" Satou asked panting. "You did that earlier, too. What is going on?"
The Spanish girl looked around the area then at Satou. She scrunched up face as she mulled things over. "If I tell you, will you promise not to freak out?"
"Freak out over what exactly?"
"Just promise me?"
"Okay, I promise."
"Alright," she breathed in, then out. "My friends have been spying on us throughout our date."
"Uh, what?"
"Yeah, the whole time. When I went into the bathroom at the café? I was calling them to tell them to stop creeping on us. Apparently, they didn't listen."
"B-but, why are they watching us? Are they watching us right now?" Satou nervously glanced around.
"No, they aren't. That's why I pulled you away just now. As for why? Well, they're just being over protective. We've known each other for since middle school. We're pretty close."
Satou stood there a bit stunned at what he just heard. Then he remembered Hitomi and Tobi had both done the same thing at Café Dolce, and snapped himself back to reality. "Wow, that's really nice. I mean, yeah, it's a bit creepy, but it's nice that your friends care so much about you."
"I guess. But sometimes, I just wanna be left alone. You know what I mean?" Ageha turned away from him and looked up at the sky.
The dark-haired boy wanted to say something, but decided to keep his mouth shut. Instead, he just stared at her, completely enraptured with her beauty. Then something caught his eye. There was a small black speck moving around on her shoulder. "Hey, hold still," he said, reaching out to her.
"What? What is it?"
"It's just a little…" Satou plucked the speck from her shoulder. "Bug." He held up his hand with his finger extended revealing a small black beetle with gold markings that was about the size of a ladybug.
"A bug?"
"Yeah, probably from one of the flower beds here. Though, it's not one I've ever seen before."
{That's because it isn't a bug!} Ageha shouted in her head. She instantly recognized it as a shikigami. {But when did that get on me? Wait. The cyclist!}
As Ageha slowly pieced together how the bug was placed on her, Satou began to set the 'beetle' in one of the nearby flower beds.
"Stop!" she shouted, noticing what he was doing.
"Uh, why?"
Without hesitation, Ageha snatched the bug from Satou's hand, dropped it to the pavement, and crushed it beneath her sandals.
"What? Why?!"
"Sorry about that. Didn't mean to startle you. But I just remembered that beetle was actually of a poisonous variety."
"Oh, god. What?" Satou looked at his hand.
"Yeah, it's the telltale gold on black shell. It, uh, has a, uh, stinger, that if it stings you, you become really sick."
"Wow, thanks for that, then," Satou said, clearly still tense about almost being stung.
"Well, crisis averted."
Satou and Ageha continued through the park towards the fountain. Several people were resting on the benches. There was a hum as the Tokyo Metro Line crossed overhead. Satou and Ageha sat at the fountain and watched the people walk by.
"Okay, my turn to ask you a question," Ageha started.
"Alright, what is it?"
"How are you friends with Saruyama-san? And how long have you known him?"
"That was two questions, but okay." Satou sighed then began talking. "I met Tobi back in kindergarten. It was the first day of kindergarten, I didn't know anyone and was too shy to talk to the other kids. He just came up to me and was like, 'Hey, wanna be friends?'. And we've been friends ever since."
"But, he's like, so, you know?" Ageha made a face as she said that.
"Yeah, I know. He's been like that for as long as I've known him. But he's a good guy. A little…odd, but he isn't evil or anything."
"Heh, sure."
"Oh, come on. He's my friend."
As they were talking, the blue-haired girl from the café sat down on Ageha's other side. She didn't say anything, or even look at the Spanish girl. After a minute, the girl left, leaving a scrap of paper behind. Ageha grabbed the paper and stuffed it into her purse. The two teens stood up from the bench and headed for the outdoor theater. On their way there, Ageha took out the note and read it:
[We are watching you]
Was all it said. Ageha looked around the park for any signs of shinobi. But as usual, none were to be found. Satou and Ageha heard cheers and shouts coming from the amphitheater as they drew near it.
"Ooh, 'The Justice Knights'. I remember watching that as a kid," Ageha spoke up excitedly
The outdoor theater had a small crowd gathered there, and the stage had several people wearing matching uniforms of varying colors. A performance of 'The Justice Knights' was being put on currently, and the actors were doing some rather amazing acrobatics.
"You watched 'The Justice Knights'?" Satou said in disbelief.
"Well, yeah. I mean, that was like, ten years ago, but I loved that show," she smiled. "The Yellow Knight was my favorite. She was so cool and tough."
"I liked the Purple Knight. He was the brains of the group, made being smart look cool."
More cheers were heard from the audience as the lead character, Shining Knight, clashed with the monster on stage.
"Sooo… you wanna watch a bit of the next show? This one is about done." Satou asked.
"Sure, that sounds like fun. Haven't watched The Justice Knights in ages."
Satou and Ageha found a couple of seats near the middle in the amphitheater, and waited for the next performance. Several children dragged their parents to the event, and the amphitheater filled up again. After twenty minutes, the next show of The Justice Knights began. The white clad Shining Knight entered from stage left, followed by his five comrades: Red, Blue, Yellow, Purple, and Black Knights. Red and Yellow were female, whereas Blue and Purple were male. Black was the only member of the Justice Knights whose gender was unknown due to the fact the they wore a helmet that covered their entire face. Opposite the Justice Knights, the villainess, Serpentia, entered from stage right.
The crowd cheered for the Justice Knights, and booed at Serpentia. Satou and Ageha joined in on the fun, but then Ageha stopped suddenly. She looked closer at the woman playing the villainess and frowned. It was the blue-haired girl form before. As she made a flourish to the audience while expositing her evil deeds, she very obviously looked at Ageha. The Spanish girl quickly pretended as if nothing was wrong, and continued to watch the show. Serpentia summoned forth the monster Satou and Ageha had seen at the climax of the previous show. It was a rubber suit in the shape of a humanoid scorpion creature. The suit was metallic blue with bright orange markings along its back.
The crowd cheered as Shining Knight fought the monster. They booed when it used a dirty trick to blind the hero. The other Justice Knights urged the audience to give Shining Knight their support, so the monster could be defeated. With the combined efforts of the Justice Knights and the audience, Shining Knight was able to vanquish the monster. The show ended, and the audience applauded. The actors took a quick bow before informing everyone that the next performance will be in thirty minutes.
"Well, that was fun," Satou said as he and Ageha left the amphitheater.
"Yeah, though I think it was different from the show I watched as a kid," she answered. "I remember the Yellow Knight being so cool. This one was kind of timid."
"Well, they were probably going with the current Justice Knights show. The cartoon is in like its tenth iteration. Every few seasons, they change characters and locations, so the show doesn't become too stale story wise."
"Oh, I did not know that. I guess I just watched the first series and that was it," Ageha shrugged. "That makes sense though. I know I'd get tire of watching the same thing happen season after season."
Satou nodded in agreement. They moved away from the amphitheater toward the western half of the park.
"So, have you watched every season of The Justice Knights?" Ageha asked him.
"Nah, just a first few series. Then I kinda grew out of it, I guess. Now I'm into things like 'The Legend of the Sacred Sword' and 'Durarara'. Right now, I'm actually watching the original 'Gundam', and I'm boring you, aren't I?" Satou looked over to Ageha and thought she had a glazed look in her eyes.
"Oh, no, no. You're fine. Honest," she said quickly. "I mean, I don't quite get what you are talking about, but it's fine."
"We can talk about something else if you want," Satou offered.
"No, I don't mind talking about anime. We don't have to change the sub-Hey!" Ageha stopped suddenly as a woman waked right into her. "Watch where you're going! Pendejo!"
The woman stopped for a second and gave Ageha a sideways glance. She stood around five and a half feet tall, she had slightly messy brown hair that went down to the middle of her back, and had pale red eyes. She wore black skinny jeans, with a denim shirt open over a white tank top. After a moment, the woman walked away toward the direction of the amphitheater.
"You know that person?"
"No, I don't," Ageha watched the woman walk away, eyes narrowing. "Just some random jerk. Come on, let's keep walking." Ageha continued forward as Satou looked back at the rude woman. He shrugged and followed his date.
The woman with messy brown hair stood at the back of the amphitheater, watching people take their seats. She looked over the stage as the crew prepared the next performance. Several minutes pass, and the woman finally moves on from the amphitheater. She pulls a phone from her pocket and quickly punches in a number. After a few seconds of ringing, a person answered. "Yeah, it's me. No, no sightings, yet. But it could very well move this way. I'll let you know the instant I see it. I'm moving to the next location. Yes, I know not to make any contact, just to observe. You don't need to remind me." The woman ended the call and left Hibiya Park.
Satou and Ageha moved along the outer part of the western half of Hibiya Park. They talked about anime a little more, then the conversation moved to school. Ageha asked him what his favorite subject was, and he said math. He asked her the same and she answered history. Satou asked her if she was in any clubs. She told him she was in the dance club, and he told her he wasn't in any at all.
"Wait, not even the 'Anime Fan Club'? I would've thought that was right up your alley," Ageha said in disbelief.
"We have an anime fan club?" Satou responded with raised eyebrows. "I never knew that."
"How would you not know about it?"
"Well, I don't really seek out extracurricular activities. I pretty much just do my school work, and that's it…" he trailed off.
"Come on, you gotta do something. Expand your horizons."
"Eh," Satou shrugged.
"Oh, don't give me that."
Elsewhere in the park, Tsubame stopped to take a phone call. "What? Where? There was another? Uh-huh. Alright. Okay, Shimatami sensei. We'll keep our eyes peeled." She ended the call and slipped her phone back into her pocket.
"What was that about?" Meimei asked.
"Apparently, another monster like the one we fought yesterday appeared somewhere in Ginza," Tsubame explained. "Shimatami sensei wants us to assist the ninjas here should it show up again."
The other three groaned at the thought of helping another ninja school with its own problem.
"What does it look like?" Matsuri inquired.
"Some kind of dog-like creature with white fur. It's about the size of a horse, and is incredibly fast. That's what Shimatami sensei told me."
"Welp, let's get a move on, then!" Yoshimitsu yelled. "Doggy isn't gonna find itself!"
"We're not supposed to look for it," Meimei said. "Just help out if we happen to see it."
"Booo! That's boring" the blonde girl complained.
Grooowl
"Was that your stomach?" Ageha asked.
"Uh, yeah, I guess it was. Seem like I'm getting hungry."
Grooowl
"Was that your stomach?" Satou asked wide eyed.
"Heheh, sí." Ageha laughed
Satou looked around and spotted a food vendor. "Hey, there's a crepe stand over there. Wanna get one?"
"Sure"
Satou purchased two crepes for them. Strawberry for Ageha, and blueberry for himself. He pulled out his phone. "Wow I can't believe it's already after five." He said taking a bite of his food.
"Well, we have been walking around the park for a while. And the sun is starting to get low," she pointed to the sky and bit off a piece of her crepe. "Mmm, this is pretty good."
Om nom nom "So, you wanna find some place to watch the sun set? I mean, that's if you want to."
Ageha took another bite of her crepe and nodded. "Mm-hm." She swallowed quickly. "Want to go to the fountain? I think that might be a good place."
"Yeah, that sounds good."
The sun continued to creep lower in the sky as the two teenagers walked back to the park fountain. Children raced around the fountain area as Satou and Ageha took a seat at the edge of the fountain. It was nearly six o'clock, and the sky had melted into a soft pink-orange hue. The tops of the trees were silhouetted in the fading light. Satou finished his crepe and balled up the wrapper. He took Ageha's trash and held it in his hands. The two of the sat there watching the spring sun sink into the horizon. The final bit of dusk was upon them, and the park lights flickered on.
"Well, that was that," Satou said. "Anything you'd like to check out? Any shops back in Chuo Dori, perhaps?"
"Mm, no. Not really. I got the volume I've been meaning to buy," she held up the bag with the manga inside. "So, we could just head home. Unless your day planner has other things in store for us?"
"No, that's pretty much it," Satou pulled out his phone. "Ready to go then?"
"Yeah."
Satou and Ageha left the park and boarded the closest train to Nakatomi. They rode it back in relative silence. Sitting side by side, Ageha yawned and closed her eyes. She rested her head on Satou's shoulder. Satou felt a chill run up his spine and a slight peep escaped his lips. They sat like this for the entire hour ride home. As the train neared Nakatomi, Satou gently shook Ageha awake.
"Huh, what?" her eyes fluttered open.
"We're almost there."
"Oh, okay." She rubbed sleep from her eyes and smacked her lips. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you."
"No, it's okay. it was no trouble."
The train entered the Nakatomi Station, and Satou and Ageha exited the car along with several other passengers. The spring night air was cool, and there was a slight breeze.
"Do you, uh, want me to walk you home?" Satou asked.
Ageha smiled and nodded. They headed north to Uptown Nakatomi, then crossed into Breezy Hills. Neither said a word the whole time. Satou was still too nervous to start a conversation himself, and Ageha was still a bit edgy about being watched. Eventually, they arrived at Ageha's house. Satou and Ageha stood awkwardly at the front gate.
"Well, here we are. Your house," he said stiffly
"Yes, this is my house," she confirmed.
"Okay. Well…" Satou looked at the Spanish girl, anxiety welling up in him. His eyes moved toward her lips and he thought back to what Hitomi told him a few days ago.
"Hey, I had fun today. Thank you." She leaned forward and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. She opened the front gate and stepped through. The gate swung shut as Ageha turned back to him. "See ya Monday."
"Yeah…Monday…see ya…"
Ageha smiled at him and waved. Satou smiled back and waved. He then remembered where he was and turned to leave. The boy touched a hand to the cheek that was kissed. As soon as Satou was out of sight, Ageha turned to her front yard.
"Okay, you can come out, now."
Four girls emerged from hiding and approached her.
"So, how was it?" Yoshimitsu asked loudly.
"Yeah, how was your date with smarty pants?" Tsubame followed up.
"The date was fine. Satou is a nice guy. It would have been better if we hadn't been spied on," she admonished her friends. "Or if I hadn't been attacked at the café."
"Oh yeah, sorry about that. And the whole café ninja," Tsubame said looking sheepish.
The five girls entered Ageha's house and continued their conversation. Across the street, perched high up on a telephone pole, a robed figure observed the five teenagers. It remained focused on them for some time before turning its attention to the young man slowly walking through Breezy Hills. Then, in a blink, it was gone.
Author's Rant: Well, the date's finally done. Yay! Man, this was both fun and exhausting to write. But, what's this? A new chapter so soon? Has Christmas come early? This must be some kind of ninja arts at play. Fortunately, that is not the case. The reality of the situation is that the date chapter was going to be one singular chapter. But, at some point the chapter was getting too long. So, I decided to cut off at the last bit of chapter five and post it as a separate chapter. Then I worked to finish this chapter. All in all, that was a good choice. If I hadn't, this chapter would've been nearly twice as long. Not something I really want to do.
Yoshimitsu continues to be incredibly fun to write. Her personality was mostly modeled after Star from the cartoon "Star Vs. the Forces of Evil". A bit hyperactive, prone to saying seemingly random things. I think it fits. Ageha wasn't really based off anything in particular. I just want to try to expand on the vague 'mature atmosphere'. She's much more complex than that. As for the other three? I'll be getting to them in due time. I really do wanna flesh out their personalities and characterizations.
Thanks again for taking the time to read my story. Please leave any feedback you think may be helpful. What you liked. What you didn't like. What may need improvement. I am always open.
Until next time. I hope you all have a great Christmas.