Chapter 11: The Second Couple Unknowingly Date
The air spoke of calmness as Alciel, currently Ashiya, stepped through the ever-bustling streets of Tokyo. Despite the slight rain in the bright blue sky, the weather seemed pleasant as the coldness of the water brightly cooled away the sun's heat.
Alciel waited calmly in front of the mall, looking at the time as he waited. Fiddling with his phone, Ashiya watched as the time ticked by on his simple watch. Double-checking his messages, he was sure everything was in place.
"Well, she should be here by now." Ashiya's thoughts echoed in his head, his eyes scanning the people around him as they walked by, busying themselves with whatever they needed next. However, at that moment, Ashiya felt something strange. Taking notes on his instincts, Ashiya kept a sharper eye, looking at the many rooftops and windows that overlooked him.
"Hey Ashiya!" Said person turned their head to see the ever-playful Rika approaching them. Her outfit was that of summer but stylish with colours that accented one another in both contract and vibrancy but blending into an outfit that was stylish. Although Ashiya did take note of the slight makeup and outfit she wore, his mind paid no attention to the possibility of a date. Something that, if Rika knew, would certainly hurt the woman's heart.
"Ah, Ms. Suzuki."
"I told you, Rika is just fine." The woman gave a subtle pout as her cheeks tinged with red which Ashiya thought was allergies acting up. Given the weather, it was certainly a possibility.
"My apologies, just a force of habit you can say." Ashiya calmly apologized while Rika tried to keep herself more calm. Despite outward appearances, the woman was a jumbled wreck internally as she tried to keep her calm. His maturity did certainly have her caught up, more than she could have imagined.
"So, how has your day been?" The simple question calmed the woman down as they entered the mall together.
"Rather good all things considered. I believe I have told you about Urushihara?" Rika gave a slight laugh as she remembered the accidental listen-in on the yelling at Urushihara. In her view, it was akin to that of a parent with a troublesome kid or a roommate who just wouldn't pull their weight. It was all entertaining and, from what Emi has suggested, nothing drastic really comes from it. So seeing his situation being more entertaining than anything serious was fitting.
"Yeah, your roommate right?" Rika's question came out calm as her playful nature was hidden behind a serious wall of nervousness.
"C'mon girl! Keep it together, it's not like he-"
"Yes, well recently- Oh, Rika, it seems like you're having an allergic reaction to something. I'll see about getting you a mask so that…"
Rika quickly grabbed him before he could make an attempt to go anywhere.
"It's fine, it's fine. These past few days have been busy and I've had to walk a lot more than usual." Rika nervously laughed it off as her mind went into turbo nitro mode.
"Oh, well if that's the case, we should get cold drinks for you before we start shopping. Please come with me." Ashiya gently led the surprised Rika as they calmly walked towards the nearest Moonbucks for a cold drink. Ashiya, taking cues from the environment and his general understanding of malls thanks to his more than extensive studying when they initially arrived on Earth, navigated to the food court as a starting point.
While the former demon general led the way in a not-so-expected way, Rika's mind turned from turbo nitro mode to fighter jet engines on afterburners. Ignoring his touch was rather hard as it spoke of gentleness and genuine care. Rika found herself getting more drawn to him as he calmly moved forward. Everything about the way he moved and mannerisms, as well as his duties of late, screamed something to her at that moment…
"OH NO! HE'S HUSBAND MATERIAL!" Rika's internal screaming surfaced with a strong blush along with the gentle yet firm grip Ashiya had on her wrist. Intrusive thoughts came to mind about those hands…
"Whoa, down girl. Easy there…" Rika's internal recoil snapped back into reality as they stood in-line for their order at Moonbucks. Rika, initially wanting to object, quickly realized it was probably better to get drinks first before heading out. After all, surely this could help her to signal him about her affections… right?
-o-
As it turns out, showing your affections to a guy without suddenly feeling like disintegrating in public was much harder than expected.
"I'll take whatever you're having." Rika nervously smiled as she couldn't even form coherent thoughts at the moment. Ashiya continued with their order, confirming payment.
"Aaaa What am I doing!?" Rika internally sweated as she watched Ashiya pay for their order in full.
"Crap! I can't let him pay for everything!"
Common decency kicking in, Rika grabbed her wallet to pick out the money for her order. Only to find out she had no wallet. Her head sweated bullets as she reopened already searched pockets to find her wallet but nothing came out.
"Oh… did you lose your wallet?" Rika froze mid search as Ashiya stared at her with drinks in hand.
"Uhm… yes?" Rika's mind failed her at that moment as thousands of words rushed through head.
"What do I do?! What should I do?!" Ashiya gave a casual shrug as he handed her her drink and grabbed his wallet.
"Don't worry, I'll pay for the drinks this time. It's an expense I can afford." Ashiya's assurance made Rika more nervous. Granted, it was the gentlemanly thing to do but that logic was far from her mind at the moment.
"Oh no… He'll probably think I'm some kind of idiot who can't-"
"Here, this should help you with this weather." Rika's mind somewhat fizzled at that moment as Ashiya seemingly became an angel that came from heaven. She stretched her hand to take her respective drink from his extended hand.
"Thank you Ashiya…" Rika was unaware that a subtle blush had formed on her face as she nervously took the first sip, being careful to let him be the first to drink. They both soon find themselves sitting at a table with the many cafe-goers bustling around them.
"So Ashiya…" Rika plopped her head on her hand in a weirdly cat-like manner as Ashiya turned his eyes to her.
"You said you needed my help with something today?"
Ashiya nodded in honesty as he placed his drink back on the table. He turned to her and explained.
"Yes, I was wondering if you could help me acquire a few things for Alas Ramus…"
Rika's eyes immediately lit up at the possibility of getting something for her, practically, little niece. However, that glitter immediately turned to confusion.
"Why do you need my help with that?" Rika asked somewhat confused.
"Well, I am not really sure what she likes outside of food, toys and activities. So that's why I asked you to assist me in my endeavors." Ashiya's explanation fell through with Rika but she was focusing on something else as well…
"He really has a way with words…" Rika thought to herself before blinking out any further notions of what other words he could say. Words that she would be REALLY interested to hear from him.
"Well, I wouldn't mind spoiling Alas Ramus a little bit. Tell me what you have in mind."
Soon, Rika forgot her nervousness and only could think in the moment as she and Ashiya began going over the list of items Ashiya had thought of getting for Alas Ramus. Rika gave him advice on clothing and whatever else that Ashiya was unsure on, giving some basis to build a conclusion on what to get. Meanwhile, Rika learned about the hilarious adventures Ashiya had to endure learning what food Alas Ramus liked or despised. Who knew a toddler could hold a grudge against blueberries?
By the end of the day Ashiya had found himself carrying a respectable total of four large bags of items. Two of which were groceries while the other 2 were various pieces of clothing and miscellaneous items.
"Well that was fun." Rika stretched as they exited the mall. Ashiya took a deep breath of the outside air and managed to quickly check the time. It was already past 5 and they should find something to eat soon.
"It was, although I suggest we find someplace to eat, seeing as the time is past 5."
Rika perked up at his words and checked her own time. Only to hear the growling of her stomach, something that everyone else except Ashiya and Rika. Ashiya gave a sympathetic smile while Rika blushed beet red.
"Kill me now…"
-o-
Having decided on where to eat, the couple sat at a restaurant serving Western style foods that Ashiya had found weirdly familiar. Granted, he had grown used to Japanese Cuisine but Western food outside of MgRonalds had always piqued his curiosity. Something about it was far too familiar for him to ignore during his research. It was just that he never had a moment to try it until this very moment.
"How's the pasta?" Rika asked curiously as she had never seen Ashiya so invested in such a dish.
"Hm? Oh, extremely enjoyable. The flavors are very different from what you can find here but it's oddly familiar."
Ricka slightly chuckled at Ashiya who gave a raised eyebrow.
"Sorry, there might be a chance the food's taste was adjusted to better suit us here in Japan. I've met some friends who are from Italy and they say the food here tastes nothing like it did back in Europe." Rika calmly ate her own plate of pasta.
Ashiya pondered her words for a moment. He clearly knew that she had a misunderstanding of what he meant, which was expected, but it gave an interesting tidbit of information. Ashiya had done extensive research on the food and cultures of countries other than Japan. However, experience and theory were always different things and hearing that the dish was adjusted for Japanese tastes indicated something interesting. Was it that Europe was closer to Western Continent since that was what the familiarity pointed to? On that note, could he find this world's equivalent of the Eastern Continent?
Ashiya didn't have too long to ponder the question as he took another bite.
"Hey Ashiya…"
"Yes Mis-, I mean, Rika."
Said woman gave a little giggle before turning somewhat nervous as she was gonna ask.
"How did Emi and Maou hook up? There's no way both her and him forgot about that, especially since they would have been so young."
Ashiya froze momentarily mid bite as he realised that Rika's suspicion was extremely justified. How could one forget they had a literal kid when they were 18, if they were going off of their 'official' age?
Thinking on his feet, Ashiya quickly conjured up a probable narrative.
"Trauma likely had a stronger effect than anyone could have expected. It's fairly common for people to be in denial about what happened to them before accepting the fact."
Rika could only reluctantly agree with the explanation.
"I guess, but why would her family keep her in the dark about her for so long?" Ashiya agreed that it seemed ridiculous but, as a demon, he knew why some families would do such a thing. A fact that he had seen all too well as a general when they advanced through the Eastern continent. Long forgotten memories resurface, parents mentally broken by the thought of war and unknowingly killing their children. Ashiya shook such thoughts away before speaking.
"Sometimes, families will do the worst thing imaginable with the best intentions." He spoke calmly. Rika looked at him in concern and, instinctually, reached her hand to his.
"Ashiya… what's wrong?" Rika's eyes pleaded for him to let go of a pain that would have never existed if he was still a demon. A pain that, after having lived as a human, he has realised inflicted upon others. A pain that he realised how much it hurt.
"I'm sorry… I just can't help but think about both mine and Maou's regrets…"
Rika smiled at the thought. Ashiya knew she was going to think the other way but it gave him some relief to let it out.
"Well… if it's Alas Ramus, he's doing far better as a father than any man I know has." Rika's complement made Ashiya smile.
"What did you think when first heard about Alas Ramus?" Ashiya asked out of pure curiosity.
Rika simply crossed her arms and her aura of rage, that Ashiya could practically see, emanated from her very body. Feeling rather awkward, Ashiya moved back by a small amount as a smile formed on her.
"I was gonna show him how we handled such things in Kobe." She smiled maliciously. Ashiya could only note down that an angered Rika was a force to be reckoned with as he did not want to find out about "Kobe" way of handling such situations.
She quickly regained herself and embarrassment tinged her cheeks. It felt rather awkward letting Ashiya see this side of her but, sensing her embarrassment, Ashiya gave a small laugh.
"It's quite alright to be mad at Maou. It's good to see you are such good friends with Emi."
Ashiya's comment could only make her blush harder. Ashiya ate another piece of his pasta before turning back towards her.
"Back to the topic at hand, what do you think about the whole arrangement?"
Ashiya knew Rika was informed about Emi's arrangement with Maou. It was nigh impossible not for her to know about the situation, especially since Emi it would affect how they would hang out with one another.
"Frankly weird. These kinds of things don't usually work out but… I'm surprised that it is,s" Rika casually assessed as Ashiya nodded at her every word before giving a gentle chuckle.
"I agree the arrangement is quite strange."
The couple continued eating in comfortable silence until they finished their food. After paying, they sat at their table to talk a little more, an act they never realised they were doing.
"Hey Ashiya?"
"Yes?"
"Have you ever considered starting a family?"
Ashiya momentarily froze at the question before regaining himself. The question should have been expected to some reasonable extent but he was still caught rather off-guard.
"Well… I feel like there's some way before I could consider such a possibility. But it's not entirely out of the cards."
Rika could feel herself starting to glow red.
"WHY WOULD YOU ASK SOMETHING SO STUPID?!" Rika calmed herself down momentarily.
"Rika, you're looking kind of red…"
"I'm sorry, I just… need to quickly go to the bathroom," Rika buzzed off in a puff of smoke that left the rather clueless Ashiya even more confused.
"Hmm, it must be the same as before…" The former demon general inferred as he sat at the table waiting.
-o-
"What were you thinking asking him that…" Rika thought out loud as she looked at herself while washing her hands.
"Of course the mature, charming and sophisticated…" Rika had to stop herself from thinking further at that moment, slapping her cheeks with water.
"C'mon girl. You can do this! Sure he's really good… husband… material… but that's besides the point!"
Rika grabbed her bag now fully resolved after some time in the bathroom. Grabbing her pursue, she pushed open the door of the restaurant.
Only to find Ashiya helping a boy who had tripped and assuring a panicking mother everything is alright. It seemed the boy accidentally spilled his drink on him and the mother was apologizing profusely. Despite the situation, it seemed the man was also good with kids as Rika watched Ashiya calm the kid down with a few choice words and a warm smile.
At that moment, all of Rika's resolve simply disappeared as she saw the man of her dreams become an even truer gentleman. Everything about him was… at least for her, very desirable.
For the rest of the day, Rika had to resist the urge of both asking him to come to her place and/or ravaging the man right on the spot. An intention that, fortunately, Ashiya did not know about.
An ignorance that was probably for the best.
A/N: Yeah, sorry this one came so late. A 9-5 office job is surprisingly tiring and I've been drowning myself in video games and other projects I've been working on. Said other projects being an original story I've worked on for a long time. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the story and feel free to review it!
It's always helpful to know where I can improve!
P.S.: if you got a notification for another update, apologies but the old chapter was a slight test to see how it would upload from the mobile app. As you can guess, not exactly happy with the upload so I'm uploading it how I usually do it.
