"Well it’s still one in the afternoon, so what now?" I asked Ai who was enjoying being in her Yutaka. God, she is adorable.
"Hehe, Kazu-kun loves me in this Yutaka," I heard Ai murmur to herself. "I think I should just buy this one instead of renting it."
"That is up to you then," I said in her ear standing right next to her which gave her a little scare making her jump back. Her face was bright red and she looked down in a cute way. "Do you want to buy this Yukata Ai?"
She nodded lightly to answer my question. Then that was all I had to see. I looked at Asumi and the others and they had a smile on their face.
"To buy this Yukata, head to the reception to make the payment," Asumi said pointing at the reception with a woman sitting at the desk.
Overwhelmed by joy, Ai’s face brightened up and she quickly ran to the changing room and we just stood there watching her. It was as if we all were looking over a little kid but honestly, that analogy is not really far from the truth. Ai can be a little kid sometimes and I love seeing her act like that. It just shows that she is out of worries and stress and can enjoy herself for once in a while. Just what I want her to do.
I want her to enjoy today as much as she wants. And I will make that happen.
I felt a small tap on my shoulder and I looked in the direction only to see Haruka with a big grin on her face and a Yukata in her hand. Sigh, I did expect this much to happen.
"Okay, hand me that. Let’s see how it looks," I said holding out my hand, and heard the girls giggle. "This was Ai’s idea wasn’t it?"
"Who else do you expect to make something like this happen?" Asumi asked.
"I don’t know, god?" I said the first thing that came to my mind.
"Yeah, that was a bad joke, just go and change," Asumi said bluntly to my face and pushed me in a close by changing room.
Ouch, at least be a little kind to me with words.
Wait, how do we wear a Yukata again? I think I remember how to do it. I do right? I hope I do. Don’t want to make a fool out of myself in front of Ai’s friends.
Okay first you have to do this, and then this. Now put it here and…..oh no.
I totally forgot how to put it on.
"Hey g- wait, where is Kazu-kun?" I heard Ai’s voice from outside. Yes, my savior...wait no! How can I ask her for help?
Yeah, I should j-
"Kazu-kun!!"
Just as I thought about going back to struggling with my Yukata, Ai entered into the room. Did she break open the door? Wait, I locked it right? Then how did she get in here?!! Wait, what should I do? I’m a mess right now!!
"Oh my, looks like someone is having some trouble with their Yukata," Ai said with a smug on her face and she licked her lips. No, I don’t like where this is going. "Let me assist you a bit with this Ka-Zu-Kun."
What happened in that changing room must stay unspoken of. All I can say is it was a mixture of heaven and the depth of hell.
"Wha-"
"Oh my."
"W-wow….Kazuki-kun."
"Hehehe," Ai giggled proudly as I stood before all of them in my Yukata. Haruka picked out a plain green one for me with no extravagant design but it looked good on me. I liked how it looked for some reason. It went well with my face and all.
"So Ai, you like the Yukata which you picked out for me?" I said turning around to look at the white-haired beauty. Her ears perked up hearing that and she turned to look at me with a little grin on her face. "You really think I wouldn’t know?"
"I mean….." she rolled her eyes. "Maybe?"
I just chuckled and pat her head to which she just leaned in and giggled happily.
Click
We both looked in the direction where the sound came from and Haruka stood there with a grin on her face. She turned around her phone to see the picture of us she had taken. Honestly, it was a really nice picture. It captured perfectly just how cute Ai can be and I guess I looked good too in that. I mean, come on. Standing next to Ai, I think anyone can agree who is the more attractive one out of the two of us.
It’s not something I’m ashamed of but quite proud of. That my girlfriend is so beautiful.
And so, we both bought our Yukatas. Honestly, I didn’t want to buy mine because it was Ai who was going to pay for them since my payment from the VEO has not come yet.
Yeah, apparently I get paid for that. Would be pretty messed up if I didn’t after literally putting my life on the line. It is supposed to come tomorrow, at the beginning of the month.
With that out of the way, we made our way to the mall and by we, I mean me, Ai, Asumi, Haruka, and Sakura. They all decided to tag along with us and just hang out. I didn’t have any problem with that since I enjoyed their company, Ai on the other hand was not so happy with the offer.
"But why can’t I be alone with my Kazu-kun?" she whined clinging to my arm like a little kid.
"Ai, you never understand, do you?" Haruka said and pulled her away from me. "I’ll borrow her for one minute Kazuki-kun if you don’t mind."
Even if she said that I knew I had no say in this at all. She would have taken Ai away even if I said I did mind so I just saw the silhouette of Ai and her friends disappear in the crowd. Seems like I will be alone for a while. Might as well look around a bit while I’m at it. I have never been to this mall before.
I decided to walk about in the place. This place was fairly old and quite popular amongst the younger people. Mainly because of the fact that it had a lot of really popular brands here popular amongst the people this age.
As I was looking around, my eyes fell on a familiar face which I honestly did not expect to be there. So I decided to call them.
"Iwaguchi-san, what are you doing here?" I asked the delinquent-looking man who had a confused look on his face as he stared at some clothing. Hearing me, he turned around saw me, and quickly walked away. "Hey wait!"
I quickly caught up to him amidst the crowd of teens since he was pretty easy to find out. No offense Iwaguchi-san but that is how it is.
"H-h-hey Kazuki, what brings you here?" he asked me with a nervous smile on his face.
"Me? I should be asking you this question, this place is not someone where people your age are normal-"
Without realizing it, I just bluntly blurted out my thoughts which was not a good answer as I could see Iwaguchi-san taking a big hit because of that. He stumbled back clenching his chest and looking down.
"I’m so sorry Iwaguchi-san, I was too honest," I said trying to calm him down but it did the opposite.
"H-h-honest," he said in a weak voice. Oh no, he is losing health points.
"I-I-I meant it’s just a place for young people and seeing you here is a bit weird," I sa- oh no.
"S-so I’m o-old," he said in an even weaker voice. Oh no, hang on Iwaguchi-san.
"I m-"
"S-stop Kazuki, you have done enough damage. I’ll die if you keep up," he said holding his hand right before my face.
I decided to shut my mouth and take the wounded soldier to a nearby post...basically the nearby bench. Now that I think about it, I quite like this analogy. I mean, if you think about it, it was quite accurate since the things Iwaguchi-san does and all.
Oh right, Iwaguchi-san!
"Are you feeling better?" I asked him placing my hand on his back.
"I don’t know Kazuki, words hurt a lot more than the blade. It’s a longer-lasting wound that you afflict on someone," he said looking up at the ceiling.
Oh no, he is saying smart things. I broke him.
I have to change the topic.
"So why are you here?" I asked him.
"I was thinking I should get a new look, you know? Look at me, I look like I beat up people for money," he said.
"Actua-"
"Vampires do not count as people for me. Those scums are better off rolling over in the sun and disintegrating into pieces. This world would be way better off if they never existed."
Pure hatred and malice were what was coming out of Iwaguchi-san’s voice. I could feel the murderous intent behind those words and it was enough to send a shiver down my spine. I didn’t see anyone with this level of hatred for vampires...out of the few people I know who deal with it. But the person I was seeing right now did not feel like Iwaguchi-san, it felt like a completely different person. It was as if, he was possessed by something.
"S-so new clothes right? I can help you with that." I tried changing the topic and lightening the mood.
"Oh great, then, what do you think will look good on me?" he asked.
I stood up and had a good look at him. Honestly speaking, the only things that were coming to my mind were a leather jacket, jagged jeans, and maybe a metal chain, I think I’m just giving him a biker gang leader look with this. I need to think honestly.
"Let’s begin with taking you to a store," I said and started walking and Iwaguchi-san walked right beside me.
"So, isn’t Ai with you today?" he asked me placing his hand over my shoulder. "Did you two get in a fight?"
"Firstly, is it really a surprise that I’m alone and Ai is not with me? Secondly, if we got in a fight, do you think she won’t be following me?" I said to him with a deadpanned look and he started looking around. "She is not following us, we didn’t get in a fight. But yes, she was with me some minutes ago but her friends "borrowed" her away from me."
"It’s okay kiddo, but you do need to understand Ai also needs time with her fri-"
"She was the one who didn’t want to go."
"Oh," he said and then looked around. "So how long before she is with you aga-"
"KAZU-KUN," we both heard a loud voice from afar and looked in the distance of Ai running at the speed of a fighter jet right at us.
"Well you jinxed it Iwaguchi-san, you jinxed it bad," I said while blankly looking at the bullet I have to catch in a few seconds.
"Hope your ribs are strong enough."
"I don’t think so though."
"Well, rest in peace soldier."
"Thanks, commander."
Man, I love this military analogy. I think I will use it a lot more with Iwaguchi-san.
Crash
Thud
"Hehehe, I got Kazu-kun."
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Yes, the book is finally back to normal serialization.