"Thanks for walking me home, Shizuo" Name said as they stopped in front of her apartment door.
"No problem" He replied with a grunt, not looking her way.
She hesitated but finally asked "Do you wanna come in for some tea-er, I mean, milk?"
He removed his eyes from the floor to look at her. He blinked "Huh?"
He appeared like he was about to decline so she quickly added "My mom sent me a package. She, uh, found this bakery with great cookies and cakes. There's just too many for me and I don't want them to go to waste. You like sweets, right?"
"Um... yeah, thanks"
She grinned "Great"
She opened the door, "Come on in" and welcomed him inside.
It's been a month and a half since Name moved to Ikebukuro for work. It's where she met new people and made new friends. Among these people was Shizuo Heiwajima, the so-called "Strongest Man of Ikebukuro".
They first met in a sweets-shop where Name was about to take the last of the store's famous chocolate cornets, but before she could pay for it, she noticed a tall young man in a bartender uniform in line behind her who had a kicked-puppy expression when she tried to purchase the bread. Though normally she would have not cared but having heard of the legend of the God of Destruction in a Bartender Suit, she decided to offer him the cornet.
He gave her a confused expression as she held it with a small but nonetheless friendly smile, "No offense but you looked like you needed some cheering up. You can have it"
It wasn't entirely a lie. When she got a glimpse of him when he entered the shop, he was scowling and cursing: "Damned flea, I'll get 'im next time"
Name wasn't really confident with her move, especially after a few seconds of unanswered silence. Even the other customers and the cashier were still and tense. However, it all broke when Shizuo spoke again, "A-are you sure?"
He sounded giddy yet self-conscious, like a kid doting over a toy that a complete stranger was offering. That boosted Name's spirits by a tad.
She nodded "I can always try it some other time"
Shizuo's eyes doted back and forth from the girl to the bread before reluctantly taking the cornet.
"T-thank... you" He stuttered, pulling out his tanned leather wallet from his vest's inside pocket.
"Oh" Name said "That's nice. If you were actually planning from the start not to pay me I would've taken back my offer"
The other people in the shop gasped lightly as Shizuo paused from fishing out some coins and glanced at Name who instantly raised her hands
"Kidding, kidding! You looked like you needed something sweet and maybe a joke... Guess I should've stopped at the sweet, huh? Sorry 'bout that" She rubbed her arm "Don't worry about paying me back though"
He whispered something and Name stepped a bit closer "Sorry, did you say something?"
"I-I said" he avoided her gaze "At least let me share the cornet w-with you..."
They sat and talked about different topics while munching on their half of the bread. Name asked him about things she needed to know about the city, although his answer was "Just stay away from a guy in a furred coat and you'll be fine" but after that introduced her to his friends, mainly Simon, Tom, Vorona, Akane, Celty and Shinra. Vorona and Akane were more or less a bit hostile when she came with Shizuo but nonetheless, they still tried to be friendly. Name suspected that the two had a crush on him and she found it adorable whenever they fought to get his attention.
