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CHAPTER THREE, Childhood Friends
Saori's initial thoughts were how much he had changed.
She swore she saw the piercing glimmer on his ear as he snapped his head away, his dark hair had grown quite a bit, he kept it longer than she had ever seen, could be tied into a tiny ponytail if the attempt worked.
Aki has always been strong, emotionally and physically but the grip on her wrist was something else. The two held hands before when they were little, a reassuring grip was always there. The meaning behind this grip was different, however. It didn't hurt her, he never hurted her before, but she was practically a sack of potatoes being dragged along with his grip, despite the fact that Saori also had grown stronger over the past year.
"Where are we going?" Saori dared to ask, as if everything was completely fine.
Truthfully, she played this scenario in her head many times. She didn't expect him to act positively or welcoming in all circumstances, let alone her working in the Public Safety Devil Hunters, but it's not like Saori really cared about his opinion. It's not like he cared about her opinion either two years ago.
He didn't answer, Saori didn't mind the awkwardness between them in the atmosphere, her mind was just too busy to process that it was him holding her wrist. People they passed by had to look twice on what was going on, surprised and confused expressions were plastered all over their faces. That same expression was also on Yuu earlier, she even saw him attempt to grab her other wrist to hold her back but Aki was simply faster. She felt bad for leaving him behind, with no explanation, whatsoever.
The two entered an alleyway, the intense shadows created a dark, gloomy space between the two buildings, yellow-green stains could be seen along with trash bags thrown around in the small area━━it stinks, again. Aki seems to pissed too━━she knows what he looks like, what he does when he's angry. His nose is scrunched up, his eyebrows were almost coming together on his forehead.
That's what happens if you anger a patient person. You never test their limits.
Aki has always been patient.
This wouldn't even be considered testing his patience, it is that bad, she thought.
Not this, though. Not this.
She wondered why they couldn't have talked on the street. Why they had to go into an alleyway that smelled like rotten flesh, as if someone had dumped a body here━━her questions were immediately thrown away by him grabbing both of her arms and shook her body back and forth, as if he was trying to wake her up, bring her back to reality.