Early Birds

Like every morning, I woke up and stayed in bed for thirty minutes, letting my brain slowly catch up with reality. I didn't always have that luxury. Back then, the moment my eyes opened, I had to be up, ready to take on whatever mission was waiting.

Has the normal world changed me that much?

Eventually, I shrugged off the laziness and got up. Sakuno woke not long after, gargling some mouthwash while I brushed my teeth.

For ten full minutes, I sat on a stool, staring blankly at my wardrobe, debating what to wear. Funny, I never used to care about clothes. As long as I could move freely, it didn’t matter.

Yeah, the normal world is definitely getting to me.

Sakuno finished his hygiene routine and flopped back onto his bed with a book. But he caught my expression—one that probably looked like I was solving the mysteries of the universe.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "You've been constipated for a hot minute."

"Thinking about what to wear," I said.

"Eh? Where are you off to? We don't have class today."

"I'm just going out for a bit."

"If that were the case, you wouldn't be thinking so hard about what to wear. In fact, even if it wasn't, you still wouldn't be thinking about it. You would've just slapped on the first thing you saw."

"Perhaps, but not today. Damn... Now I'm wishing that I had a wider selection instead of all black and white."

"Why the sudden change? You got a date or something?"

"It's not a date."

Right as I said that, I was immediately flooded with regret. I turned around to see Sakuno's naturally calm exterior turning into a wide grin in real time.

"No. Fucking. Way," he scoffed. "Tsuki..."

"It's not what you think," I sighed.

"No shot it's not what I think! My boy's got a date!"

Sakuno, elated and succumbing to his inner insanity, began hollering like a madman, spouting a bunch of cheerful remarks. He then jumped off his bed and threw his arm around my neck.

"I can't believe this," he said, nearly breaking down into tears. "I never thought I'd live to see the day that a half-assed human being like you would ever find a date... Is it just me, or is the morning sun so much brighter than usual?"

"Shut up," I muttered.

"How can I possibly do that? My best friend's got a date! How could I not be excited for him?! Who is it? Who's the lucky girl? She's gonna have herself a man who was trained to protect her from all the dangers of the world."

"It's no one."

"Please, tell me! As a friend who has known you since a child, I have to know! Please~! The anticipation and pain of unknowing! Ack... It's killing me..."

Suddenly, my phone rang. Both of our heads turned to my bed, and on the screen was a notification box from Line. I knew I had faced defeat when it showed the sender's name. It said, 'Taiyori Ayaka.'

Sakuno's head began twisting towards me at the speed of a sloth. Slowly but surely, that stupid, devilish, godforsaken, and absolutely hideous smile of his came into view.

"So..." he said before taking a deep breath. "Anything you wanna say to me, dear Tsuki no Ran of the Hunt?"

"...Like what...?" I gulped.

"Like... You're falling in love! With THE Taiyori Ayaka, no less! Hahaha! And here I was thinking you hated her guts more than anyone you've assassinated in your whole life."

"I'm not!"

"Yeah, right. You ain't fooling me, pal. When the hell did this happen, and why wasn't I informed? I thought I was your best friend! Ah! Is it because you were scared that I'd leak your secret lover to the whole campus? Come on, man! You know me better than that!"

"W-what are you—"

"Oh, man. I can already imagine the look on the faces of her cultish followers when they find out that Taiyori Ayaka is seeing someone. And you, my friend, are the sole cause! Freaking epic! But don't worry. On my honor as an agent of the Hunt, I'll keep your secret."

My head suddenly hurts. How did it end up like this? Perhaps a more important question is, how do I explain to Sakuno that it's not actually what he thinks?

"Look, you're misunderstanding," I sighed. "This was something that came up out of nowhere the other day. Taiyori said she wanted me to come with her, so I accepted. How is that... a... date...?"

From what I can assume, it won't be like last time when Saki was there alongside us. Even then, that was more like a business trip. We went to the mall to shop for items for the festival.

This time will only be the two of us. I can see why Sakuno, or even a stranger in passing, would think that it's a date.

Come to think of it, why did I even accept her request in the first place? That's not like me at all. Whenever I'm not in classes or out on missions, I prefer to stay near home. Even Sakuno could never make me budge.

The mall trip was an exception because I was manipulated into coming. This time, Taiyori asked me. She gave me a choice, and I accepted.

Shit... There's something seriously wrong with me.

"Hey," Sakuno called out. "Are you just gonna keep sitting there and wondering how and why you fell in love? In case you forgot, Taiyori sent you a text. Go answer her before she calls a raincheck on your dumbass."

"I'm not in love..."

"Whatever you say, bro."

I picked up my phone and opened Line.

Taiyori: "You'd better be awake."

Right as I was about to send a reply, the phone started ringing. On the screen was an incoming video call from Taiyori.

"Oooh~" Sakuno hummed.

"Shut up," I muttered. "If you say a single word, I'll kill you."

He pulled his fingers across his mouth to mimic a zipper while I picked up the call. Taiyori's face took over the majority of the screen, which made me jump a little. She was still in her nightgown, and a hair roller was curling up her bangs.

"Oho, you're actually awake," she scoffed as she began filing her nails. "And here I was thinking you were gonna flake on me."

"I wouldn't do that," I said. "Anyway, why the call?"

"You didn't reply to my message, so I thought you were asleep. Figured I'd try and wake you up, but I guess you were just trying to avoid me."

"Wait, what? I wasn't trying to—"

"Hehe, relax. I was kidding. To be honest, I was simply curious about how you would reply if I were to call you. Surprised you didn't immediately tell me that you 'were' avoiding me."

"Perhaps I would've on a normal day, but I accepted your invitation. It wouldn't be seemly of me to suddenly avoid you like that."

"Maybe so, but still—I wouldn't put it past you. Your record with me isn't exactly squeaky clean, you know."

"Hah. Well, consider this a favor to clean my record then."

Taiyori smiled and tapped the camera with her nail filer. "I'm the one who calls the shot on that, and nope. Not happening. Hehe... Not yet, at least."

She then proceeded to squeeze out some lotion from a bottle and began smearing it on her arm. All the while, Sakuno was eyeballing me with the widest smirk I've ever seen him make.

"Alright, I'm gonna finish getting ready," Taiyori said. "Remember, four-o-clock. Don't be late."

"I won't."

"Good. See you then."

With that, she hung up. Before anything else, I turned to Sakuno with a murderous glare, which made him jolt.

"Not a single word out of you," I growled.

"Y-yes, sire..." he squeaked.

I stood up and scanned my closet again. It's cold outside, so maybe I'll go with that coat again. Wait... I've worn it before. She'll probably think I don’t care about putting in the effort. I need something else.

I glanced at my phone to check the time. ‘09:56 AM.’ That gives me about six hours to prepare. Even if my wardrobe is basically all black and white, I should be able to make something work.

But then again... Why am I getting ready so early? What am I even going to do for the next few hours?

Maybe I'll read a book. No, that won't hold my attention long enough. Should I go for a walk? No, I'll need to stay somewhat presentable for when I meet Taiyori.

"Ugh..." I muttered. "What the hell is wrong with me today?"