Two Tattlers Who Managed To Escape

7. Revenge for a Sullied Honor

POV: Oliver

— I'm off for a walk... — I said, approaching the bored Yohi, who, as almost every day, sat behind the counter selling bread, buns, and the like, — Don't stir up trouble again...

— Eh? Yeah... yeah... — Hio replied, yawning tiredly. It was already evening, though there were still two hours left until the end of the workday.

— At least take this, eat up if you get lost and hungry! — Sweet Ann said, handing me a small bag with some chocolate cookies that had strange white cubes inside. Naturally, I accepted it, tucking it into my little bag that Al had gifted me this morning.

— Don't get lost again... — Hio chuckled as I opened the door and stepped out of the building.

I had just seen that very boy, in a skirt and with a cane, and I needed to follow him a bit to dig up something juicy and dirty in his biography! He was just strolling and chatting with his friends... they also appeared to be about thirteen. Their little group consisted of four people, including just one girl with light coral hair and, it seemed, eyes of the same color. Following her was a pale, white-haired boy with heterochromia, and on the other side of my target walked a blond boy with a funny ponytail, who had bright blue eyes. The guys were laughing loudly, looking at him as he blushed, seemingly embarrassed by a crude joke just thrown at him. The redhead laughed along with the others, though he seemed slightly more sullen, as if soured by a recent argument with his mother. And indeed, some adults turned to look at him and whispered, and I clearly heard them discussing that very rumor that Hio had spread.

I followed close to this group, even catching snippets of their trivial conversations. The main thing now was to listen while remaining unnoticed. The boy in the skirt had seen me with Hio; he would not approve of me spying on him.

— Yes, Flower is the only one on my side. Mom doesn't believe me, and my sister never doubts my words... — the boy explained, receiving another skeptical look from a passerby.

— Oh, come on, we believe you too, Fukase! — the blue-eyed blond said, patting Fukase on the back.

— I think he meant the adults, Len... — the girl sighed, — Fukase, just relax, what can you do... people tend to believe the pretty ones first, you know...

— Am I not pretty? — Fukase asked, a reasonable question, nudging the girl in the shoulder.

— Miki, watch your tongue. — said the pale boy, waking up between the girl and my target, — Fuka doesn't look that bad...

— That sounded even worse, Piko... — Miki noted, hitting Piko on the head.

— Oh, just leave it... I get it all. — Fukase interrupted them, stopping in front of a small clothing shop. His gaze fixed on a cute, elegant, long red skirt with lace patterns that was displayed on a mannequin behind the glass.

It seems he was quite a fan of skirts, but he wore them openly, so it wasn't something to gossip about. I didn't care, and the skirts suited him, though I wasn't used to seeing guys in them.

— Not again, Fukase! — Len exclaimed, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

— Go on... meet me in the park, I'll catch up later... — Fukase said, opening the shop door.

The guys sighed but didn't want to wait while he tried on the outfit he liked, so they took his advice and slowly headed towards the small park, which I had also recently stumbled into. When they left and my target entered the building, I ran up to the shop and hid behind a wall, waiting for the boy to return. After about five minutes, I finally saw him, carrying a bag... it seems the skirt really caught his fancy. Fukase headed in the same direction as his friends earlier but quickly changed course, as if trying to disappear, turned the corner, and vanished from my sight. I ran after him, and we ended up in an alley, so I hid behind a lush bush, not wanting to be noticed in such a confined space, but he turned toward me and looked right at me.