Walking together

As they left the restaurant, Sora loudly slapped her stomach. "Oh, wow, I haven’t eaten that much since yesterday, ha-ha!"

Yoshio glanced at her, smiling. Then he realized how he looked and got very serious again.

She continued, "I saw you smiled just now, Adachi-san, yu can not hide it anymore, you are not as stoic, as I thought you were! You are pretty cute!""

"Eh?" Yoshio’s ears burned. "I have no idea what you’re talking about."

"Boba time!" Sora clapped her hands and started walking, leaving confused Yoshio behind. How come she has space to consume something else?

"Here!" She pointed to a place with a huge drink in front of it. Yoshio examined the size, thinking it better not be real size of the drink. How he was supposed to fit it all in. As they entered, Sora ordered for both of them so he could try it different flavors.

Taking her ticket, she turned her head to him. "Adachi-san, I have bought you the classic one, black sugar. It's sweet and has tapioca pearls in it. I think you might like it. You should try it once anyway. I, personally, believe it's the best one. I took the taro one, so you can try mine too, it's a totally different type of taste too."

"If you say so..." Yoshio looked at the menu, feeling like it was written in an ancient text language. Too many unfamiliar words. He sighed and decided to trust Sora’s choice.

As if sensing his confusion, Sora smiled at him, "You can wait outside, I will take the drinks."

He nodded and stepped outside. Outside several people glanced at him weirdly. He did not notice though. He has not been out like this for a long time, he thought. It felt a bit weird. In a moment Sora appeared carrying two drinks with big straws. She showed them off, giving one to him..

"Do you want to try mine first? I’m not squeamish, so you can try," she said, holding out her cup.

He hesitated but took a sip. Several girls at an outside table started whispering to each other. His eyebrows shot up.

"It’s...so sweet! And the pearls are great! I love this texture! I want to try mine now, wait." He took a sip of his drink and looked excitedly at her. "Wow! I love this! Oh, I need to teach Maki how to make these for me now!"

Satisfied, he started walking, enjoying his drink. Sora laughed, not expecting him to react this way, and enjoyed the sight. She caught up to him.

"Let’s walk home then?"

"Um..." Yoshio was too focused on his drink, trying to catch the pearls with the straw.

She turned on her heels, "We need to turn, Adachi-san!"

"Uh ,sure, yes." He followed automatically.

They walked in silence for a bit, drinking. When they finished, she asked, "So, did you like yours more?"

"Yes, it reminded me a bit of pudding. I want more now!"

"And mine? It had taro."

"Mn, I liked it, but I’m familiar with taro flavor, so was not surprised that much, however still would love to have one in the future!"

"Ha-ha, if you don’t mind, don’t ask Okamura-san about it. Just ask me, and we can go out together oaky? It’s pretty complicated to learn how to make bubble tea."

He looked away from his drink, "Really? Well, then it's settled. I will ask you next time."

"Great," she pondered something, "I wanted to ask you. Okamura-san, have he been your pupil for long?"

"I suppose you could say that. For yokai, time flows differently from humans. I met him around 300 years ago. There was a war between yokai clans, and the killer I am seeking got very active at the time. It was more convenient to use the circumstance of war to find as many victims, as he pleased." He paused, "So Maki actually lived in a small village. They were tengu, all of them. He did not even know much about other species when I took him in. His whole village was massacred by one fox clan. So that's when we met. He was a small child back then," he smiled lightly, "he already behaved like an adult. I think the experience changed him. But since he saw the killer, he wanted to avenge the girls, so he agreed to follow me, and help me with my search."

"Wow, I didn’t expect that. I figured there’d be a backstory, but this one is really sad. I admire him for not losing his humanity, and continuing to thrive, trying to be a better person."

Yoshio looked up at her again, narrowing his eyes. She continued while walking,

"I think it is great that you did take him in! Probably you traveled alone, before then?" She sized him up, and he felt embarrassed for some reason.

"Well, you guessed right. I did like to be alone before that..."

"Speaking of alone, how old are you then?"

Rude. Yoshio knew by now she was not giving it much consideration when she asked certain questions, so he replied calmly.

"I think around 600 years or so. I was human once, as one old yokai told me many years ago, and then I was born into this world as a tengu."

"So you were born without your previous-life memories?"

Maybe it was his good mood, or because of her power, or because she bought his appreciation with tapioca purls, but Yoshio felt like sharing.

"I think I have only a small portion of them. When I was reincarnated, I was driven mostly by revenge. That was my main motivation. I knew about the killer and his tendency to harass women, but not much more. I think I did not have much going on anyway, and that anger in me helped to motivate me to do something. I had nothing to work with, only the gut feeling that I needed to find him." He paused, contemplating, "So the most obvious thing was to wander around at night, search for people harassing women. I did that for many years, and at some point, I even started to have fun."

As they walked, the sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the sky red. Yoshio’s face looked almost celestial under the reddish tones as he spoke. Sora listened carefully, trying not to interrupt. Understanding that there was a pause she said,

"Interesting that you have been doing the same thing for so many years, and never got bored!"

"As you said, I’ve been at it for so long and still haven’t caught the guy. So I… He..." Yoshio stopped, his fists clenching and relaxing. "Never mind. Forget it. I will just do it soon."

Sora was at a loss of words, she did not expect such vulnerability. She wanted to touch him but remembered how he avoided it last time, her hand froze in the air before she forced herself to just stand there.

"But wait, Adachi-san, you have met me due to your work. Also, imagine how many people you have helped because of your desire to find him. You will definitely reach your goal, I am sure of it. People from the TV shows always get there eventually. I believe in you!"

She looked fierce, hands in fists in front of her. Yoshio nodded and started walking again.

"Forget what I said. I will find him." His tone was serious, and his gaze seemed to focus on something far away for a moment. Then he sighed, turning his head slightly, "Thank you."

Her eyes widened. It was the first time he seemed so honest with her, and unexpectedly open.

They walked side by side some time in silence.

"Adachi-san, we are almost home," she gestured to the house, "I had such a great time, I really hope you come tomorrow again. I have never felt so safe in my life! Walking with you makes me happy! Please let us meet again?"

She nagged, and Yoshio could not help but smile slightly.

"Okay then, I will see you tomorrow after work."

"Thank you, Adachi-san, for today. Maybe the snake will appear tomorrow so you can fight her?"

"Maybe, will see. And," he paused, avoiding looking at her, "I want that pearl drink if we are meeting anyway..."

Sora laughed, walking up the stairs, "Of course, I will buy you a new flavor tomorrow, Adachi-san!"

The next moment he nodded, and she was left alone in front of her door. She sighed and stepped inside.

Insane. That was kind of like a date day, he would never know though. I am so happy I will see him again tomorrow.

She leaned on the wall, closing her eyes in excitement, her fists clenched next to her heart.