Lucie gives Misha the death eyes as she awkwardly removes her body from an extremely embarrassed Kichiro. Lucie flicks her head and eyes towards the door. Ah. So that is what the plan was.

Misha clears her throat, initiating the second part of Lucie’s clever operation, which Misha had no prior warning about.

“So… err… Kitcho?... or was it Kikchio… yeah so like you”, she says staring wide-eyed at Kichiro.

Tora and Lucie both quietly giggle, badly attempting to hold in their laughter. This whole situation was so, so awkward.

“You wanna like, I guess… I dunno like go outside for a bit… or something?”

Yukio desperately slings his eyes at Kichiro, with a clear expression of “Don’t go…”.

“Err… yeah I mean ok sure like yeah…”, Kichiro says, with his eyes intensely focused on his cup that he is nervously fidgeting with.

“So… thanks.”, Misha breaks the awkward silence as they plop themselves onto the outside bench.

“Oh yeah, no worries…”, Kichiro says, still without looking at Misha.

Misha looks directly at him. She looks up and down. She pauses. She looks back out onto the road.

“Are you-“

“So what-“

They both attempt to speak at the same time. The silence arrives again.

Kichiro breaks it, quietly with, “Just forget what happened, ok?”.

Misha looks at him with a confused look.

“Are you dumb? Forget what happened?” She shakes her head. “I’m sorry, but that will not escape my mind at any point in the near future, buddy boy.” She frustratedly folds her arms.

Kichiro continues to gaze across the street.

“Sorry…”, he says as he tightens his hood, shoots up from the bench and speed walks away.

Misha watches him go with a disappointed look smeared on her face. Her hopes of her hero being a genuinely decent guy were shattered. A slight wave of sadness came across her for a second. What was up with that guy?

DINGALING!! DING!!

Yukio steams out the door with a worried look on his face as he chases Kichiro down the path. Lucie and Tora seem to be hitting it off. Good for her, Misha supposes.

“KICHIRO…KICHIRO!”

Kichiro starts to hear the faint sound of the soft voice shouting grow louder, along with thuds of feet echoing around the empty street that he was now moseying in. They get closer. Closer. Closer…

THUMP!

Kichiro jolts forward as he feels the weight of another human body grasp onto him from behind. Yukio tightens his hug.

“Okay… Okay you can get off me now.” Kichiro says as he rolls his eyes.

Yukio looks up at Kichiro with his round, brown eyes gleaming.

There’s a 4 second silence. They stare at each other.

Yukio lets go. He clears his throat.

The pair begin to stroll down the street, both sliding their hands into their pockets.

“It didn’t go well, I assume?”, Yukio asks.

“Well… yeah you’re right. I don’t know whether or not she’s a bitch or I just made that persona of her in my head but… yeah it didn’t go well”. Kichiro curses his mind. Why did he think she’d be all over him? Because he beat some guy up? Nah of course she wouldn’t fall for him just over that. If anything she must think he’s crazy now…

“Hey, Kichiro… are you listening?”

“Huh… oh right yeah sure yeah” Kichiro says as he snaps out of his moment of overthinking everything, as he so usually does.

“So what do you think…?” Yukio blushes as he nervously awaits Kichiro’s thoughts.

Kichiro looks at him blankly.

“Yeah… go for it…yeah?”, Kichiro takes a stab in the dark. It was probably nothing important anyway.

“Really?! If you say so…” Yukio’s eyes light up at Kichiro’s answer. He looks at his feet. “So you really think I should pursue my feelings about this person?”.

“Wait, wait, woah hold on wait what?!?!?”, Kichiro stops in his tracks.

“Oh so you weren’t listening…” Yukio sadly replies. He looks away and goes quiet for a bit.

They walk on quietly

Kichiro notices Yukio’s sadness. “Wanna stop by the arcade or something… to cheer you up?”

“As long as you pay…” a now less sad Yukio replies.

They swerve away from the quiet high street into the bustling and bright arcade as the sky outside begins to darken. Kichiro knows he upset Yukio. If only he knew what he said…

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