Miako: The Child of the Night

Chapter 3 - The Ice and the Fire III

Chatter chatter. Chatter chatter.

The inside of the mall, contrary to the outside, was as loud as a thunderstorm. Moe figured the reason why it seemed so empty outside was because the walls and doors of the mall had some sort of sound-proof material or object built into them. The eerie silence was gone, but it was unfortunately replaced by almost ear-piercing shouts and chattering; not much of an improvement.

Similarly, neither were her circumstances: she was about to meet someone who had had unfavorable experiences with hybrids. Moe tried masking her nervousness, keeping herself distracted with the scenery around her. Well, the 'scenery' was more like the flow of people as they went on their own little shopping sprees, but it still felt better than overthinking something inevitable.

"Moe, you alright? If you're worried about Hawk, it'll be fine. He's a pretty nice guy," Kiko reassured, picking up on her worries. Hearing those words, the uneasy air around Moe lifted by just a tiny bit.

"Umu..." But only a tiny bit. Meeting someone and passing by someone were two completely different scenarios.

"Has Haw— has he met other hybrids?" Moe couldn't help but ask. It would definitely make her feel less nervous if that was the case.

"No, none from after the incident, from what I know," Kiko replied.

"None that I know of either," added Eiko, putting a finger up to her chin.

"Right... of course not," Moe sighed again. She couldn't help but be curious about what happened, but she knew it wasn't the time to ask.

"But I'm sure it'll be fine! Y'know, he'll have to interact with hybrids one way or another someday. The world won't stop turning just for him," Eiko reassured Moe.

"Umu..." muttered Moe. Silence — between the three girls, that is — filled the air once again as the three continued walking towards their destination. Well, Moe hadn't a clue where they were headed though, trailing behind Kiko and Eiko like an attendant. Asking them wouldn't amount to much so she decided to keep her mouth shut.

"Hey Kiko, over here!" A voice called out in the distance. Kiko immediately started swiveling her head side to side, searching for the owner of the voice. It didn't help that the mall was so crowded. After several seconds, she suddenly stopped, seemingly lasering in on a certain store.

"Over there, in that cafe," said Kiko, pointing to a vibrantly colored store, decorated to the brim with cutesy objects.

It reminds me of my room... the colors are almost exactly the same.

Moe saw that the colors matched her room's colors; even the texture of the wallpaper—flowers—looked the same. Maybe they used the same brand and design. Slowly approaching the scarily-familiar cafe, Moe could make out the shape of two humans sitting side by side.

Even the kitchenware... oh that guy must be Hawk.

As they drew closer, the two people became clearer to see. Sitting further to the left was a girl, likely Flora, elegantly sipping something out of a cup. The cup shared the same theme as the cafe it resided in— pinkish hue with a splash of flowery patterns. Sitting next to the girl was a boy, likely Hawk. He was happily chatting away. Once the three were in front of the cafe, Hawk noticed them.

"Yo, Kiko, Eiko, and...?" his expression turned grim as he saw Moe behind Eiko.

"M-Moe. Nice to meet you," taking a bow, Moe introduced herself.

"Y-yeah... nice to meet you too. You can call me Hawk," Hawk also introduced himself, though it was clear he was distracted. His eyes were wandering all over the place, but just for one second, it snapped in on two large ellipses. In that instant, they twitched.

"Um, Moe..."

"Y-yes?"

"I know this is a weird question to ask when meeting... for the first time, but what's your family name?" Hawk asked.