𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐄 - ★彡[ᴋᴀᴍɪꜱᴀᴛᴏ ᴀʏᴀᴛᴏ]彡★

十七 - 17

Ayaka stepped out in the garden with Thoma at her side, chatting idly about the tasks that they had to perform today.

    "Would you like to spar, Thoma?" she smiled softly at him, gently grabbing the hilt of her sword as a gesture.

    Thoma's eyes lit up. "Sure! I'm a bit out of practice though, I've spent a lot of time with Miss (Y/n)."

    "Don't worry about it," Ayaka giggled, "it's nice to see you making some friends."

    "Friends?" his face turned red and he waved his hands in front of him. "No, that would be far too presumptuous of me... I don't know if Miss (Y/n) would say the same thing."

    "I'm sure that she would," Ayaka replied, "she's a very kind person."

    Silence fell between the two as they slowly walked out of the estate and down the path to Inazuma City. Her heels clacked on the stony path as she walked, creating a soft rhythm to go with the birdsong in the background. Thoma was staring at the wildlife surrounding him in fascination, it was almost as if he hadn't walked on this path hundreds of times already. Ayaka found that an endearing factor of his personality, something that was a big part of what made him so fun to be around. Thoma was extremely helpful with her daytime activities and she would always be indebted to him.

"Thoma," Ayaka's voice came out in a soft whisper, "I'm sorry."

    "What?" Thoma turned to her with his warm emerald gaze. "I didn't hear you, my lady."

    Ayaka shook her head. "It was nothing."

    "You can tell me if you need anything," Thoma continued, "if I can do anything to help you, I will gladly. I know I haven't been able to spend as much time with you because of Miss (Y/n)."

    Ayaka's face turned red. "Ah, that's not what I was going to say! I'm really happy you've been keeping her company since my brother can sometimes be..." She furrowed her eyebrows and said, "...hard to deal with."

    "I see," Thoma stopped in his tracks, causing Ayaka to promptly pause as well. "Well, we're almost there. So is there anything else? I can tell that you're troubled, my lady."

    The wind picked up and sent a gust through their hair. Ayaka's hair blew behind her and came loose, causing it to flow out behind her in waves. Thoma immediately reached out and grabbed the comb before it fell to the ground.

    Ayaka was frozen, not able to say anything. The pressure that weighed on her chest didn't cease and nor did her guilt. Thoma handed the comb to her gently.

    "Do you want me to put your hair back up?" Thoma inquired.

    "Sure," Ayaka nodded and turned around.

    His hands nimbly moved through her hair, stroking the edges and straightening them to the best of his ability. Thoma was being as gentle as possible when he brought her hair up and tied it into a high ponytail, sighing with relief when he got it right on his first try.