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Makio hugged his phone like an idiot. He did hope that Kōga would see his message soon, he really wanted to talk to him normally this time. He was not stupid, so he thought about what to write this time carefully.

The message said:

"Hi! It's Makio, I am sorry I frightened you yesterday, I guess my delivery was wrong? I did not intend to scare you, please see me in the cafe you suggested yesterday, if you can, in the evening. I need to talk to you about the girl you have left messages for."

He looked at it again, re-reading it, making sure it was not creepy. He then left for the subway. If Kōga was free today and saw his message, they would see each other only in several hours. This meant he could go to the manga shop in the meantime. His mood increased drastically, and he happily put on his headphones, after entering the train.

He tried not to smile, looking at his hands, imagining just how nice his evening might end today. He then switched his attention to the manga he wanted to look at, to distract himself a bit.

In forty minutes he was in front of the shop. His phone was still silent. Thinking that he had to stop looking at it, he put it away, reluctantly. he walked into the shop, anticipating some cool things. He loved this shop specifically, as it was very big, and had the best selections of various genres. He walked around, then went for the yaoi section. There he did not pay attention to the other people around him, as he was usually stared at by all of the girls around him. He tried to ignore that, searching for something. As he reached for a special edition volume of one of his favorite series, he heard a girl talking loudly to someone.

"Look, here it is, Mel, oh my god here it is," she almost pushed Makio away, as if not noticing that he was the one taking the book. He was not fast enough though, as he only saw the book disappearing from his view. As he was about to turn around to fight for it, he noticed the girl. She stood there, looking at the panels, showing them to her friend, excitedly. Pink mist around her, seemed somehow very delicious, raising some type of hunger inside of him. He gulped, putting these feelings away, immediately realizing who she was. He was, however, also interested in the manga, so he intended to fight for it, even with this woman.

"Hey, I was going to take it!" He sounded not as intimidating as he wanted to. She and her friend raised their heads looking at him, surprised.

"Oh, I am so sorry! I totally did not see it. Please, take it then," she bowed politely giving him the book with both hands. He felt flattered.

"Well, thank you!" He took it, continuing unsure, "If you want, we can read it in turn. I will read it first, and then I can give it to you?"

She looked at him, not suspicious at all. "Thank you, but no, I wanted to have this manga, I have already read it, but since it's just the special edition, I wanted to buy this specific version. But I guess I will buy it online, it's not a big deal!"

He looked at her, full of admiration.

"Really? I am the same! I did not want to admit it, but I also read it already, I also have all the paper versions at home, and I just wanted to read this one."

She looked back at him, excited. Mel, on the other hand, knowing the history with Sora and men, was observing the guy with caution, squinting her eyes at him.

"Oh, I am so glad to find the person who is like me! What did you think of the main character? I think his development, and how he decided not to continue this toxic relationship was admirable!"

"Indeed," his speech sped up, "I was so relieved when he finally understood that the top was the worst, and saw his colleague green-flag as a possibility!"

"Oh true!! I wish I had more people like you, there is never anyone I can share my feelings with about it!"

"Wait," Mel looked hurt, "What about me?"

"You are the only one! This is not enough, given that you read them so slowly!"

Mel rolled her eyes, "Sure. But I am trying for you!"

"Thank you, Mel, I appreciate this so much! Truly! But It is so nice to meet someone who shares my opinion too. You see," she started explaining to Mel, " the fans of this yaoi are kind of toxic, they all support the top for some reason, even though he is aggressive and violent towards the main character, and you can never say anything online, because they will eat you up, justifying his actions!"

"Yes! I absolutely agree! I can not stand reading all the comments about the last chapters, and how what he did was justified!" Makio got riled up.

Sora got into her zone, overly excited to talk about one of her hyper fixations, Mel knew it was a lost cause. Sora continued, "May I ask what's your name? Do you want to come drinking with us?"

Mel looked at her, tagging her sleeve, saying quietly "Hey, what do you think you are doing? You have just met him, in a yaoi section no less!"

"It's ok, I think he is gay." She whispered back, smiling at Makio, who could hear all of it. Not changing his expression, he replied politely.

"It's fine, I think I should refuse, and also, I might have another appointment later." He nodded, wanting to leave ASAP, however, Sora was way too excited to talk about her interest with someone. She stood up in front of him.

"Wait, I was rude, I should have introduced myself first, my name is Masaki Sora, nice to meet you, maybe I can ask for your name now?"

"Okay, if you insist, I am Okamura Makio." As he said that, he saw a sudden shift in her expression.

"Wait! You are the Okamura Makio? Do you work with Adachi-san?"

He looked at her, perplexed, "Yes, how did you know? Did he tell you about me?"

Mel was utterly confused, however, seeing that he was an aquetance she breathed out with relief, letting them talk. Sora could not find herself a place due to her excitement.

"That's great, yes he did tell me about you, and he told me to trust you. So I am, and how cool is it that you share the same interests as me? You have to come with us now!"

"Ha-ha, well, it's great and all, but I truly can't..." He looked at his phone, still no response. It was already seven, maybe the fox did not see his message after all. He opened the app to check, and indeed the message was unread. Sora looked a bit disappointed.

"Well, if you truly can't let's meet another time, okay? Do you have my phone?"

He looked up at her, putting the phone away, "Yes, I do, do you want my number too?"

"May I?" She took out her phone before he replied. He said his number, and she saved it, looking back at him, "I am so glad we have met! Tell Adachi-san that I was very sad he ditched me today. I will be waiting for him to come for me! And I will let you know the next time I will be going to shop for manga, so we can talk properly, okay?"

"Okay..." Makio was as if dased, due to how fast everything had happened.

"See, you!" She took Mel's hand, and they both left to look for Sobue. Makio, book in his hand looked as they walked away. He shook his head and left the isle too.

He bought the manga and left the shop. Weird, he did not expect Yoshio to just not come after he agreed to do so. Maybe something happened? He called Yoshio, just to check, Yoshio replied instantly.

"Yes?"

"Master, is everything alright?"

"Yes, why are you asking?"

"Well, I have just met the girl... She was with her friends, and she mentioned you did not come, so..."

"Oh that... Well, does not matter, I had found some clues. We will talk later. How's with the fox?"

Makio regretted it now. "Master, it's still in progress. However, the situation was somewhat cleared, so he won't be afraid of meeting me."

"Okay, see you later."

He hung up. Makio decided to go to the cafe anyway, in case the fox just decided not to reply, but still came. He had nothing else to do, he thought.

The cafe was not far away. It was cozy, a bit dark with a minimalistic design. There were not many people at this time of the day. He ordered a matcha drink and sat next to the big window. His hopes were not high, but since he was here already he decided to wait. He was conflicted as to whether he should look outside, in case the fox appeared, or distract himself. Anxious he could not concentrate on anything, realizing he could only choose the first option. Another half an hour passed, and he almost finished his drink. His phone screen suddenly lit up, he felt an anxious pick at his heart. He took the phone, fast. The message said.

"I am busy, meet you next time."

He breathed out, sad, disappointed. Looking in his cup, he felt paralyzed for a moment.

What he did not know is that the fox in a dark coat had been standing on the other side of the road, hidden from the view, for the last half an hour, observing Makio. Observing how he was drinking his matcha, how he nervously tried to not look at his phone and still did every other minute. How he was not feeling comfortable in his seat, moving a lot. How he checked his clothes and threw his loose hair back. How he took out his new yaoi, and then hid it in a hurry, before anyone could see. Kōga was not sure what to do, all this time feeling stupid just standing there. When he first showed up, he thought that without him replying the bird would not come. When to his surprise he saw Makio sitting down at the table, he felt glued to the place. He thought he would observe him for a bit, and then either leave or come and talk to him. However, the more he observed Makio, the more anxious he was becoming himself. He could not understand why, feeling mad at this reaction. Finally, after committing to something in his mind, he sent a reply. He then smiled joylessly, disappearing from the street. Makio walked out of the cafe, pulling his cardigan, as if cold, looking around.

Makio felt determined to get this fox to meet him though. Thus, he took out his phone, typing:

"You are not mad, right? I hope we can meet soon. You can choose the time and place that suits you."

He did not expect a fast reply, confidently hiding his phone. He had somewhat of a thoughtful mood, deciding on a stroll.