”—Excuse me! You dropped this!” The little blond boy proceeds to hold up the fallen trinket.
”—But it’s pretty, so I’m going to keep it!”
He dropped what? Attai looked at the item, but didn’t recognise it. Maybe someone close to him dropped it? Oh well. “Oh, okay,” the teen responded flatly. “You can have it.”
{The whole human act was starting to bore her and so she decided to abandon it. The boy may not even tell her why exactly she had felt something else that wasn’t entirely possible for a normal human.}
{∞} — “You should be careful when you’re alone.”
{Her eyes flickered from her human purple eyes to magenta, hinting at her true nature. They stayed that way as she continued speaking to the boy.}
{∞} — “You never know who you may enter.”
Though the teen picked up on the threat in the words, it didn’t faze him as much as she probably expected; rather, he continued to gaze calmly at the girl, even as her eyes changed colour. After all, the men he worked with were scarier than magenta.
“I agree,” he concurred, tone flat and neutral. It almost seemed to him as though she recognised something about him, some similarity between the two of them. If he cared more, he could have put more brain power into figuring out the connection, but he didn’t think it mattered all that much.
She seemed interesting though, so maybe making more conversation would be okay. “People aren’t always what they appear to be. They hide things, and parts of themselves, and powers unimaginable.”
Hayate offered a smile and a small wave as he made his way to the changing area. Afterwards, she merely plopped down on a bench to wait for him to return. She honestly didn’t know why she offered to pay for him. The redhead was never that nice. Maybe she was growing a soft spot for the other? “No,” she muttered to herself, a quiet laugh escaping her lips. “That’s impossible.”
Attai struggled out of the tux as quickly as he could – which wasn’t very fast. It took him a few minutes until he finally got back into his own clothes, but it was enough to satisfy him. He hung the tux up on a sales rack as he made his way back to Hayate, sighing once he got there. “I’m ready.” At least he had sweets to look forward to; getting into and out of that monstrous attire left him short of breath and ready to take a nap.
“Good, good.” The redhead giggled out. “You look rather frail, I’d hate to hear that you aren’t taking care of yourself. I wouldn’t want to go all big sister on you, as weird as that sounds.” What was she even saying? A small blush appeared on her cheeks in embarrassment. “N–Not that I see you as a little brother or anything! I just—I care, okay?”
Well, he looked frail because he was frail, incredibly so, but Attai didn’t feel the need to mention that small fact. No use in worrying her about it, he supposed. “Ah–” What did she just say? “You… what?” Did she say that she cared? As in, about him, of all people? “But, why?” he asked, confused by the sentiment. They hardly knew each other, after all, and if she knew him any better, then she wouldn’t have been saying that at all.
“Ehhh, a bakery? I see.” He chewed on the last bit of cupcake thoughtfully for a moment, before swallowing to add, “Which one is that…? One in Namimori, or the city?”
It was necessary information — He’d have to visit at a later date.
“…A bakery,” the teen repeated, not having been paying attention to where it was or the name of the place. All he’d assessed was the fact that it had cupcakes. “I don’t remember the details though.”
The redhead continued her motion, the corners of her mouth twitching upward. He looked really cute when he was asleep. So much, actually, she could just kiss him. Wait, what was she thinking? A rosy hue tinged her cheeks at her thoughts, though that didn’t stop her from gently ruffling his hair.
All too soon, Attai found himself becoming more aware. He blinked open his eyes, groaning as light infiltrated his vision. The petting felt good though, and he hoped the girl would continue. Maybe he’d be able to fall back asleep at some point as well.
A false smile broke out on his face and he had to resist the urge to laugh; yes that’s probably how it is in average families, but some days he wonders if he even should say he hasa family.
“The saying is actually supposed to be, ‘The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb’, over the years it changed, but originally it was meant to say how those who you fought alongside with in battles or those you made blood pacts with hold stronger bonds to you than your family. Needless to say, that may be true with the average person, but you’d be surprised how many people find their relationship with their family to be… complex,” He replied almost as if he were reciting the information from a dictionary careful to hide its true relation to himself.
Oh. Attai didn’t like that saying, then. His displeasure must have shown on his face; he dropped his gaze to the floor with an irritated scowl. Something that implied his relationship with the Clan was more important than his family couldn’t be trusted, and thusly could not be believed.
At least the stranger acknowledged that the same couldn’t be true for everyone. He wondered if being kidnapped counted as a complex situation. “I like ‘blood is thicker than water’ better. That’s personal though. Not everyone has it the same, so people shouldn’t make statements that put everyone in the same category. People are all different and it doesn’t make sense to generalize everything.”
{∞} — “Strange, how come you don’t know your way around?”
{It looked as though both of them didn’t know exactly where they were. But at the moment, she felt something about the boy. Something that seem all too familiar to her. It faded after a while, but the initial feeling still puzzled her.}
{∞} — “Or maybe it’s because you’re not from this area, are you?”
“I’m just here for the day.” Whether he liked it or not, he had a job to do. “I’m not familiar with the area at all, so I’m sorry I can’t be more of a help to you.” For a second he thought her expression changed to something at least slightly baffled, but the moment changed and her countenance turned neutral once more. It probably wasn’t the best idea to bring it up.
Well, that certainly confirmed her suspicion. He had no idea what a kiss meant. At this point, it literally felt like her face was on fire, and having to explain what a kiss was and what it meant was not going to help. The redhead let a small sigh. “A kiss is usually shared by two people who feel something towards each other.” Okay, Hayate. You haven’t stuttered, yet. Keep this up. “However, the feeling usually isn’t platonic. It’s usually a, uhm. A ro–romantic feeling.” Damn it.
Even with the explanation, it still didn’t make sense to the teen. Platonic meant to be friends, right? And romantic meant to be more than that? Though he knew the definitions, he had no clue as to the connotation each brought. “…So does that mean you have romantic feelings for me?” Attai questioned once he arrived at the conclusion that made the most sense. He couldn’t say he felt the same; in fact, he wasn’t sure if he considered her a friend or not. In his experience, it was better to not care about others at all.
