Chapter 530 Kurogami's Day Out
There was no mistaking it!
Right at the center of the park, in broad daylight, Midori and a purple-haired girl lingered, pointing at some scenic spots of the park while having the time of their lives. It was obvious that they were completely comfortable with each other since sometimes they would pat each other on the shoulder and let out a couple of chuckles here and there.
Still, despite their amicable relationship with each other, Midori was still holding himself back From afar, Hiroshi could tell that Midori could easily suggest that they hold each other's hands, but Midori didn't do anything about it since it was a huge step up for him since this was the first time he ever interacted like this with a girl his age.
Besides, Midori didn't want to risk making their relationship more awkward. It was already awkward enough as it is, and the cozy relationship they had going on had become their comfort zone. Going up a notch and pushing their relationship even further was way beyond them.
Unbeknownst to Midori, Saki was actually in the same spot. She also never had a relationship like this in the past. Still, their friendship transcended time and now they were interacting just like usual. It was certainly baffling, but Midori and Saki weren't complaining at all.
"How are your parents, Saki?" Midori asked. In the past, they would call each other by their first names and somehow it had become rooted in their skulls to do the same even after a couple of years later. Although it felt a bit new and somewhat shameful, Midori didn't back down at all from calling Saki by her first name.
"Ah, they're both doing fine. Compared to before, my parents are healthier now. I guess it's got something to do with the countryside air. Also, they're both tending to my grandparents' farm. It's just a small plot of land, but they planted asparagus and sells it." Saki explained, remembering the bad days back when they were still in Tokyo.
Midori was relieved. Initially, Saki's family moved out of Tokyo because of employment problems. Back then, Saki's family struggled, but she knew that Midori's family suffered even more, that's why they had that certain connection that brought them closer together.
"Do you still live in that place? Now that I thought about it, I've only ever been there once." Saki commented, reminiscing about the nostalgic ramshackle house where the Takoyama family resided Since she felt like Midori and his family were doing much better, she concluded that they don't stay in that place anymore.
"Yes," Midori simply answered, much to Saki's surprise. "It had improved since then. Little by little, we fixed the place up, and now it's more or less liveable. It wasn't like before when all of us were like sardines in a small single-room abode. Now, We have a living room, a kitchen, a couple of rooms, and stuff like that."
"Now I'm curious, I want to see it," Saki muttered to herself, but she didn't want to impose on Midori. Sure Midori invited him to their place a couple of minutes ago, but she decided to visit this park first and missed her chance to bring up the invitation again.
Fortunately, Midori was quick on the uptake. A smile appeared on his face while he looked up. A tinge of redness appeared on his face when he realized what he was about to say. Then again, it didn't deter him from saying it out loud. "We can stop over there later if you want. Or are you going straight home after this?"
"Sure! It's been so long! I wonder if your parents would still recognize me." She continued.
From afar, a certain someone recalled his tamed beast as he slinked behind a shrub. "What a bizarre sight. This is probably the strangest thing I've ever seen today. Midori, with a girl? How enviable." Hiroshi muttered to himself, his thoughts leaking out as he continued to tail them.
Taking extra precautions so they won't get caught, he went behind trees one after another with the goal of observing the two of them all the way. And on the off-chance that he was caught, Hiroshi already had an excuse in mind just so he could get out of the situation without much trouble.
Once they got out of the park, Midori and Saki spent their time browsing and window shopping through shops. Since Saki brought just enough money to get a meal and buy a ticket back to the countryside, Midori was mindful when it came to bringing her other shops. Adding to that, he also made sure to treat her whenever he could. this was one of the rarer days wherein he didn't feel guilty about spending his money at all.
"Yeah, they're on a date, all right. Who would've thought that someone as loud-mouthed as Midori would find himself a girlfriend." Hiroshi muttered to himself.
For a split second, his sight wandered to a boy who was holding an ice cream in one hand and his mother's hand in the other. His gaze also garnered the boy's attention, and the boy stared at him for a good couple of seconds before letting go of his mother's hand and pointing at him.
Hiroshi knew what was about to come next, and he froze in place as the boy spoke of the inevitable.
"Look, ma, a stalker. We should report him to the police!" The boy commented, urging his mom to do so.
"Wha— stalker?!" Hiroshi let out, almost lashing out at the poor boy.
At the same time, the boy flinched due to Hiroshi reacting a bit strongly about his comment. Because of that, the boy dropped his ice cream, and started crying. What Hiroshi feared the most had happened, and he had attracted unnecessary attention to himself.
After offering a quick apology, Hiroshi got out of there in a flash. It didn't even occur in his mind to replace the ice cream that the boy dropped. Then again, Hiroshi thought that the boy kind of deserved it after uttering such shameless comments.
Even the mom was surprised when Hiroshi darted out of there in a snap of a finger. Without that much of a choice, the mom decided to console her child while taking a mental picture of what the stalker looked like.
"That was close~!" Hiroshi heaved a sigh of relief as he took cover from behind a lamppost. Fortunately, Midori and Saki were both preoccupied with their date that they didn't even notice Hiroshi's presence at all. There was one moment when Hiroshi was out in the open, but the two of them didn't see him.
"Now, let's continue..." Hiroshi muttered to himself.
Just then, he felt a shiver up and down his spine, and it caused him to automatically look back.
"What are you doing?" A familiar voice asked. It was none other than Kurayami Kurogami (shadow superpower). Apparently, he just finished running at the nearby park and he noticed Hiroshi's suspicious movements.
And right when the boy called him a stalker, that's when he decided to follow him. After all, he seemed to be stalking someone and Kurogami didn't waste any time finding out who it was. It didn't take long though before he realized that he was stalking Midori.
Just like Hiroshi, Kurogami was surprised that Midori was actually on a date. As someone who had been casual when it came to getting a girlfriend, Kurogami was genuinely surprised that Midori got a girlfriend first. Because of that, he also decided to follow them as well.
"Hah! It's just you. What are you doing here?" Hiroshi said, trying to push the topic onto Kurogami in the hopes that he won't notice what he was doing.
However, Kurogami already knew what was going on. "You're tailing them too, right? All right, let's form a temporary allegiance right now and find Midori's secret." Kurogami continued.
Before Hiroshi could even deny his presence, Kurogami was already taking the lead, going in front of Hiroshi as the two of them followed suit. Meanwhile, Midori and Saki remained oblivious to the two following right behind them.
"SOMEBODY! HELP ME! A PICKPOCKET!"
From a distance, an old lady who was carrying her purse to the bank bumped into a young man, and that young man grabbed her purse before running away at an insane speed. He had a speedy superpower, that's why he was confident in getting away despite the superhero-infested city.
Fwooosh~!
"Don't worry, I got this." Midori voiced out even though there was no way he could catch up to the speedster. Despite the severe disadvantage, Midori didn't want to look bad in front of Saki, and that's why he offered to help. Quit frankly, he had no idea how he'd catch the pickpocket, but the least he could do is try.
"Look at him, playing the hero," Kurogami whispered to Hiroshi, amused. Even though they were slightly jealous of Midori's relationship, they didn't want him to look bad either. With a sigh, Kurogami shrugged his shoulders. "Should we help him?" He asked, to which Hiroshi nodded.
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