Gullible pt. 1
A/N: I'm back with a relatively short update, but it's only the first part of what would probably be a three-part chapter. I'm not quite done torturing Haru yet, and I'm sure we all want to see Yume in all her uncensored glory when picking out things she fancies. ;) Stay tuned for more in the near future! Hope you guys enjoy this short but kinda cute (i hope) chapter!
Haruhiro had faced down groups of pesky goblins with spears that didn't so much as hesitate to shove that sharpened tip through an intruder's chest.
He had once ventured, without his party's knowledge nor consent, into the shallow levels of an underground cavern to investigate the hunting prospects there and almost lost his life to the aggressive Kobolds that hunted in packs with their acute sense of smell and sharp eyesight.
He had looked death in the eye multiple times ever since his arrival in what was now his new reality, but not once had he faltered. Granted, he might not have been able to pull through without the support of his party members, but the point was that he did and that's all that matters in the end.
But all of that paled in comparison to the ferocious opponent awaiting him with small beady eyes that screamed "evil". He was facing his biggest, most fearsome and daunting adversary yet. Towering over him, nearly twice his height and with a girth that spanned nearly the entire riverbank, dwarfing him, this deceptively innocent monster smelled faintly of cherry blossoms and steamed local delicacies.
Haruhiro narrowed his eyes at the smiling mascot on the floating banner rippling in the wind and took a deep breath, reaching for the dagger strapped to his waist. He wasn't about to go down without a fight. He would prove that there's nothing he can't -
"Why do you look so tense, Haru? Brighten up, would you? It's a lovely day and we're going to go shopping!" Yume squealed, giving his arm a solid tug before twirling in a circle and basking in the warmth of the early morning sun.
"That's the problem," he muttered under his breath.
"Hmm?" Yume turned around to look at him curiously. "Did you say something?"
Haruhiro jerked in surprise. "Nothing," he assured quickly, a little too quickly.
Yume narrowed her eyes slightly, her wily feminine instincts on point as per usual. Thankfully, she shrugged a second later, her good mood deterring her from asking any further questions. "I could've sworn I heard... Oh well." She started skipping towards their destination. "Let's go, Haru! I can't wait to check out what there's for sale!"
Glancing at the exuberant girl moving ahead without him, Haruhiro closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to wrap his head around how "a lovely day" and "shopping" could end up in the same sentence without the existence of the word "not" in it.
Actually, the more pressing question at hand he should be entertaining was how had Yume managed to convince him to tag along on one of her many infamous shopping escapades?
But even before he had finished forming that question, he already knew the answer. That crafty girl had just batted an eyelash at him, regarded him with her large imploring eyes and flashed him her brightest, most dazzling smile.
He hadn't stood a chance against that three-pronged attack.
Looking back, he wasn't even sure if he had heard what her request was. He had probably just nodded dumbly in response, too enraptured by everything about her, and when she threw herself at him in delight, silently cursed the Gods above for making him a blithering idiot whenever it came to her.
He knew he was going to pay the price soon, but back then he couldn't find the strength to give a damn with Yume's arms wrapped around his torso, her head buried in the nook of his neck and their bodies not even a whisper apart.
And now... was all that really worth the pain he was about to go through now?
"Come on, Haru, keep up! You're such a slowpoke today!" Yume swivelled around with an exaggerated flourish, the sting from that teasing remark dampened by the twinkling laughter in her expressive eyes. It had Haruhiro snapping upright and smiling involuntarily.
She looked absolutely breathtaking clad in a simple pale blue flowing kimono complete with a pair of wooden clogs that clacked noisily along the cobblestone pavement. The strangely nostalgic outfit brought her scarlet hair pulled into a chignon into sharp relief, making it even more prominent. It should have clashed terribly, but Yume somehow managed to make it work.
Haruhiro had a hunch that regardless of what she wore, she'll still absolutely blow him away.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," he called out to the redhead who was now at the first row of shops, peering at something the animated vendor was offering to her with a perplexed look on her face. Her nose scrunched up further adorably as she picked the item up, and she tapped her chin with a finger contemplatively.
"Haruuuuuu! What do you think of this?" she called out loudly, waving the shiny object in question in the air, much to the shopkeeper's apparent distress and panicked protests which fell on deaf ears. "Shihoru's birthday is coming, and this might just do it!"
Shaking his head in a resigned manner - an action he did a lot around her - though the smile remained plastered on his face, he broke into a jog to check on her and save the poor man from a Yume-induced heart-attack.
What was he even thinking? Of course it was worth it.
She was worth it.
This girl deserved the goddamn world.
TBC