Fall | hinata harem

chapter nine

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Atsumu Miya

Having such an angel in the city is odd. Everyone here who isn't involved in what we do either keeps their heads down or moves out of the city altogether. Yet, having Shouyou and his cute little family here is bringing about a sense of... normalcy.

I've heard countless innocent people talking to one another about the opening of a bakery and how exciting it is to have something so innocent in a rotten place like this, and how this could be a new start for the city.

That's not true, though. The only thing different about it is what this bakery has brought with it. A being of divinity, Shouyou Hinata. Whose voice is soft like cotton, whose eyes put the most valuable gems to shame, whose smile lights up the night like a star.

When I saw what he had done to 'Samu and Suna, I couldn't believe it. I thought they were messing around with me, Kita, and Aran or something because we had never seen them act so out-of-pocket before.

They looked dazed like a drugged man, and Suna, the one I'd consider the most prideful about our work, even criticized everything we've built up like... like he didn't want it anymore.

I had to see this person myself, and I had planned on attending this cute bakery's opening to do so, but fate had brought him to me much sooner.

There was a spy in our group, one of the newbies we hired from another country who needed handling, and, just as I had finished the job, I bumped into the one and only Shouyou.

He's easy to pick out with his bright hair and his innocent face, one I haven't seen around. He's not run down like everyone else, always on edge. In fact, I don't think he's even able to understand anything going on beneath this city.

He just smiles.

As we chatted, as I got to know him, as I spent all that time looking at his face, I realized at once that... I've gained a significant interest in him. I began wondering what his family's like, what he likes to eat, what he likes to do, where he spends most of his time...

And I suddenly knew why 'Samu and Suna felt the way they did about him. For me, though, I felt something along with these feelings of interest as I thought back to the burn I had created on his hand.

Sitting in my office at my desk, I look at the scarf in my hand and remember the distressed expression Shouyou had made, the tears in his eyes, and his soft, pained voice, and it kills me inside knowing I had made such a gentle, kind human hurt.

Along with these feelings, I felt a sense of protection.

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Shouyou Hinata

Bustling, hustling crowds and lines of people overwhelmed the bakery. People were ordering in two separate lines, other employees desperately cooking in the kitchen, and I was serving the people at the tables and making coffee and cream every five minutes.

Everything was loud, the cameras clicking as people snapped pictures of the murals on the walls and their friends joining them for a midday snack, people chatting about everything and, simultaneously, nothing all at once.

Despite how overwhelmed I am, I look at Mama smiling in the kitchen while she fills the strawberry and cream rolls and Natsu chatting with girls her age about what would be best to order. She hadn't had many people close to her age in our hometown.

I can't help but smile.

After I take the orders for my fourth table, I take them to the kitchen and give them to Mama.

"Shouyou," she speaks, "This is amazing, I can't believe you've got so many people here! I'm so proud of you!"

I feel bashful at Mama's words, but my grin somehow widens. My cheeks hurt, yet I can't stop smiling. Everyone's so happy, everything's so perfect.

"Of course, Mama! It's what I set out to do, after all!"

We didn't have much time to converse. I came out of the kitchen with the ingredients I needed to make the cream for the coffees and placed them on the counter behind the registers, where Maki and Phen were handing out our freshly made pastries and coffees while distributing change to each person.

Phew, they've got a lot of tasks to handle.

I begin pouring the coffee into each of the seven cups and while a new batch of coffee is brewing, I begin mixing the creamer ingredients, three vanilla, one with only sugar, and three caramel.

As I'm writing the creamer flavors and the customers' names on the cups, an order paper gets hung in front of me.

"Five more coffees, please," Maki hastily tells me before scurrying back to the register.

I write quicker and finish these up before handing two to the waiting customers at the counter and head for the tables with the tray containing the last five to serve them.

Before I can head back to finish the rest of the coffee, I feel a rough hand grasp my wrist. When I turn around to face him, it's an older man with a stubble whose desperate face sends chills up my smile.

"Hey, pretty," his raspy voice speaks to me, "Why don't you serve me a fresh hot bite of you, hm?"

I quickly snatch my wrist from his hand and firm my unsettled expression.

"Sir, you're not allowed to touch the staff, and if you can't behave yourself, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

He smells of alcohol and foreign substances. Sort of like he hasn't bathed in a long while. He looks... under the influence of something, but I don't want to judge him for how he looks or smells. I'll definitely judge him for harassing me, though.

Prick.

"Oh, please, I've never been more behaved. If anyone's not behaving, it's you~ Why such tight jeans, beautiful? Who are you trying to impress if not me, hm?"

I look around and the place is still swamped with people, we're far too busy to deal with this right now. I'm falling behind on orders just standing here.

"Alright, that's enough out of you. Please see yourself out."

He stands and puffs his chest out in front of me, I try to stand strong, but I feel myself trembling. Never before have I had someone harass me like this.

It makes me want to hide myself.

"How about I wait for you here, and me and you can go somewhere nice together, on me, of course~ And..."

His hand guides up my bare forearm and makes me choke back the urge to puke.

"We'll go have some fun afterward, maybe... at a hotel~?"

I jerk my hand away. No longer can I control my disgusted expression. I go to take a step back but there's someone there, someone tall and strong. They grasp my shoulder supportively and take this man's wrist in their large hand.

"Can you not understand what he's saying? Let me translate for you- Get the fuck out of here."

I've never seen someone so fearful in my life. This man was visibly shaking, his eyes as wide as saucers, and I wasn't sure why. There was too much to focus on, but when he scrambled out of the door, I was left trembling and trying to calm myself.

This voice, though... It sounds so familiar...

"Shouyou," It's much softer, now, this lovely voice. I reluctantly look up to face my savior and am taken aback by who it is.

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