The city was sprawling and vibrant.
It was a stark contrast to the recent devastation of the Mirlo estate. Hoshimi changed into a simple black hoodie and dark jeans, his violet eyes constantly scanning, observing, taking everything in.
Audrey, on the other hand, was dressed in a pink hoodie with short jeans, she felt a lightness she hadn't experienced in years. The city felt alive, and for the first time, so did she.
"Hey Hoshimi! Let's go over there!"
Their first stop was a bustling street market, a vibrant tapestry of sights and smells. Vendors hawked their wares, exotic spices, colorful textiles, sizzling street food. Audrey's eyes, wide with genuine wonder, darted from stall to stall, a small, delighted gasp escaping her lips at every new discovery.
"Look, Hoshimi! Fresh mochi! I saw this on TV once! And those little fish-shaped cakes!" She tugged at his sleeve, her fingers surprisingly warm against his skin. She was practically vibrating with excitement.
Hoshimi, while maintaining his detached demeanor, found himself subtly guiding her through the throng, his hand sometimes resting lightly on her back.
"Try not to get lost in the crowd."
He watched her. Her eyes, almost entirely green today, sparkled with an unadulterated joy. His eyes twitched involuntarily.
His eyes flickered. "You really haven't been out much, have you?" he observed, his voice soft, almost a murmur against the market's din.
Audrey shook her head, her golden hair swaying. "I haven't walked through a crowd like this since... well, since before mom died." A shadow briefly crossed her face, a fleeting reminder of the life she'd lost.
[Yo, you bum] Domino chimed in, her voice flat. [Stop being so fucking sad, it makes me down as well, at the very least, buy the fucking mochi, I want to eat it]
Hoshimi's lips twitched upward, a genuine, if fleeting, smile gracing his face. "I can't imagine what that's like." He bought her a vibrant green tea mochi, its soft, chewy texture a delightful surprise for Audrey.
"This is really good." She giggled, a pure, unforced sound, as she tried to catch a stray bit of powdered sugar from her chin.
They spent hours wandering, sampling different street foods, takoyaki, crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside, sweet crepes filled with fresh fruit and whipped cream, savory yakitori.
Audrey, usually so guarded, found herself chattering endlessly, pointing out quirky details, sharing observations about the people around them. She even managed to drag Hoshimi into an old arcade, its neon lights and cacophony of electronic beeps a dizzying assault on the senses.
"Come on! You have to try this!" she insisted, pulling him towards a fighting game.
She chose a character with massive, spiky hair, mashing buttons with enthusiastic abandon. Hoshimi, despite his earlier reluctance, found himself surprisingly adept at the game, his practiced reflexes and strategic mind quickly adapting to the digital combat. He chose a character with a sleek, almost invisible movement set, mirroring his own combat style. He won, of course, with a casual ease that made Audrey pout.
"No fair! You're probably using mana to enhance your senses or something!" she accused, though her eyes were sparkling with laughter. "How did you even learn the combos anyways?! Have you played this game before?"
"Yea, my stepmother had a strange fascination for arcade machines, we have a couple of them lying around her apartment," he replied, a hint of amusement in his tone. He even allowed himself to teach her a few combinations, his fingers brushing hers as he guided her hand across the joystick. The contact, innocent as it was, sent a jolt through Audrey, a warmth spreading through her arm that had nothing to do with the arcade's artificial heat.
[Wow, you really are a maiden in love aren't you? Blushing from a single touch] Domino snarked, an internal eye-roll clearly implied. [I wonder what would happen if I just took over and kissed him]
"Oi, shut up," Audrey whispered under her breath.
"Did you say something?" Hoshimi asked, his violet eyes momentarily meeting hers.
"Just talking to myself," she replied quickly, pulling her hand away. "You know, coping mechanism."
He merely nodded, seemingly accepting her answer without question, though his gaze lingered for a moment longer than necessary.
She followed behind him, the bright lights of the arcade highlighting his back.
"Sometimes I wish I could understand what's going through that head of his." She muttered.
After the arcade, they found themselves in a quiet garden, a tranquil oasis tucked away amidst the city's concrete jungle. The air here was soft, humid, and smelled of damp earth and blooming flowers. Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, dappling the paths with shifting patterns of light and shadow.
Audrey walked slowly, slower than before, taking in every single smell and sight, her earlier exuberance mellowing into a contemplative calm. She ran her fingers over the velvety petals of a strange, iridescent flower, her eyes tracing its delicate veins. "It's so pretty," she whispered, her voice tinged with a fragile reverence. "Everything here just… exists. Even the flowers around our house just seemed empty and lifeless."
Hoshimi watched her, standing a respectful distance away. He noticed the subtle tremor in her hand, the way her eyes, though filled with appreciation, still held a faint, underlying sorrow. "Plants are living things after all, they have souls in them, of course they would take in the properties of their surroundings." he commented, his voice flat. "Even then, the plants here are still trying their best to survive, fighting to live."
Audrey turned to him, a wistful smile on her face. "You know? At the very least here, the fight here is silent. It's not my fault." She sighed, the sound a soft exhalation of her deepest fears. "I keep thinking about the children and the girl at the school. And the zoo. And… and the way everything just came crashing down."
"It's over, if anything else happens to you, I asked everyone else to watch over you, you're not alone" Hoshimi said, his tone devoid of comfort, yet strangely grounding. "And all of the problems that came from you have already been solved by Sophia anyways, there's no point in worrying."
"I know. I saw the news reports. She's incredible." Audrey's voice was tinged with awe. "But… it doesn't just go away, does it? The fear. The… the wrongness of it all." She looked at her hands, still faintly scarred from the earlier bite. "I don't want to be like that, Hoshimi. I don't want to be a monster that brings bad luck."
Hoshimi stepped closer, his presence a quiet anchor in her turmoil. He didn't offer platitudes or empty reassurances. Instead, he simply extended his hand, palm open, fingers slightly curled. "Bad luck? I don't believe in such a thing. That was simply nothing but a string of bad coincidences." His eyes narrowed. "You're not a monster."
Audrey stared at his outstretched hand. It was not a gesture of romance, but of solidarity. A silent acknowledgment of the weight she carried, and an offer to share it, however subtly. After a moment, she placed her own trembling hand in his. His grip was firm, warm, and surprisingly steady. She felt a faint current of mana, a gentle hum, flowing between them, a quiet reassurance that she wasn't alone.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. For the first time all day, her eyes welled up, not with terror, but with a profound, aching gratitude.