Miako: The Child of the Night

Chapter 2 - The Ice and the Fire II

"MMMMMMOOOOOOE! You're late!" An obnoxious voice called out. Even the doors and windows of the car couldn't keep out such a loud and upbeat voice. On the other side of the glass pane was an unbelievably cute brown-haired girl, wearing an angry expression.

"..."

"O-oi Moe, ya friend's here," The man in front of the steering wheel—Moe's uncle—spoke first. What had happened to his usual confidence?

"M-moe...? Ya friend's here..." He repeated with a hint of uncomfort as the girl pressed her face onto the window.

Sorry uncle... Moe looked up, feigning uninterest.

"MOOOOOOOOE! It's 1:03 you know!" the girl aggressively tapped on the window.

"If you don't come out soon, I'll to—" Refusing to let the girl finish that line, Moe pushed open the door with a strength she never knew existed.

"Oops... Moe you almost hit me you know?!" said the girl as she took a step back from the car
.
"You say that, but you were perfectly ready to move out of the way weren't you?"

"Hehehe... I was just lucky, what'd you have done if I got hit? Heehee."

"..." Moe immediately slammed the door back closed.

"That sounded strangely suggestive..." Moe's uncle commented. He was right too, the line was more suggestive than it should've been.

"Sorry uncle... she's always like this." She gave her uncle a sincere apology on behalf of her notoriously annoying friend.

"No no no, 'ts fine. I'm more worried 'bout how she knew ya in here." The windows of the car were tinted, so it wasn't easy to spot someone inside the car from far away.

"She's probably seen me go in your car before. Sorry... really."

"Hahaha, the last time was when ya was still a kiddo. Must 'ave some crazy memory, that lady."

"You could say that," Moe had known the girl since elementary school, and memory was definitely one of her strengths.

"Well, off ya go Moe. Don't keep ya friends waitin' too long."

"Yep! Goodbye then. Oh, and I can get back myself, so don't worry about picking me up uncle."

"Alright, have fun Moe. Ya deserve it."

"Thanks uncle! You deserve some rest too. Hope to see you again soon." Opening the door more gently this time, she gave her uncle a farewell before stepping out into the fresh air. Greeting her was the magnificence of the city center, and the light breeze accompanying it.

Haaaa... it's changed more than I thought.

There were several buildings that Moe didn't recognize—when was the last time she had been to the mall again? Probably some time during her early high school years.

Time to get going...

Closing the door behind her, Moe thought she heard her uncle say something, but it was probably just the radio.

You deserve some rest too'? I sure say some weird things.

"Moe! What's that face for? You've been looking at me weird for the past minute... Oh! Could it be? Have you f-f... fallen i-i... ill?" The girl had clearly wanted to ask something else, but quickly changed her mind when she was met with an intense expression.

"...No, I'm fine. Thanks for your concern though Eiko. Where's everyone else, by the way?"

"Ummm... they're, uhhh..."

"..." Moe had a hunch as to what happened when Eiko didn't immediately answer.

"You left them to come to me didn't you?"

"Mhm... I didn't lie and tell them I was going to the bathroom or anything." Eiko stumbled across her words.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Of course, Moe was matching Eiko's sarcasm.

"Your boy might be hounded by other girls if you're not with him, you know?"

"Hmph," huffed Eiko. "If he gets swayed by some sluts then I shouldn't be with him anyway."

"I don't know... you said Kiko and Flora have a shot, right?" Moe asked, curious about her friend's relationship status. "You're not officially together yet are you?"

Hawk had recently asked Eiko out, but she hadn't given a clear response yet. The thing is: there seemed to be two other girls he was interested in as well—namely, Kiko and Flora. Incidentally, the four of them had been friends for several years, causing any progress to stagnate. Thus far, he had only confessed to Eiko, but who knew when that would change if she didn't answer soon enough.

"... yet." Eiko whispered in response to Moe's question.

"What? Could you say that louder, the wind picked up all of a sudden."

"We're not dating yet! Jesus, don't make me say that again... It's embarrassing." Eiko, who seemed the type to always be confident in herself, suddenly shrunk back like a turtle. Moe rarely ever saw Eiko act so maidenly, so she savored the moment.

She's not actually going to go out with him.

"Hmmm... let's get going then. We're keeping the others waiting." She decided not to pursue the matter any further, whether out of respect for her friend's privacy or because she had already predicted what would happen.

"Moe, don't try pinning this on me! You're the one who came late, not me!" Quickly recovering face, Eiko retaliated.