°˖✧Gaijin✧˖°

°˖✧Anomaly✧˖°

"All of us are going to Gifu."

Ari looks up from the newest volume of manga she picked up from the convenience store, raising a curious eyebrow. Gifu... that's a prefecture she really doesn't hear much about on account of it being much more rural than that of Tokyo prefecture, or even Aichi prefecture, where they live. "Gifu?" She repeats. "We've never gone there before. What's the occasion?"

Serizawa fiddles with the paperwork in his hands, looking a bit nervous for the trip. "W-Well, you see... Micah-san received a call about an incident involving a ten year-old girl," he stammers, looking down at the words typed out on the paper. "According to her mother, something lured her into the Kiso River and tried to drown her. We have reason to suspect that it might have been a Yokai."

"Wonderful work explaining, Serizawa!" Micah praises, delivering a hearty smack on the back, which makes the tall man stumble forward. "You respond to orders and requests so well! I knew I had a reason for liking you more than Arataka!"

"Oi!" Reigen snaps from his spot, clearly displeased with the dig directed in his direction. "You can compliment him without insulting me, you know!"

"I know. I just don't want to."

"You're such an assho - "

"It might be a little chilly, so Micah took the opportunity to get everyone scarves," Dimple interrupts him, plucking two scarves from a plastic bag perched upon his desk and floating over to give them to Shigeo and Ari. The one for Shigeo is blue and is patterned with plaid, while Ari's is fuzzy and pastel pink.

"Oh, wow... Thank you, Micah-san," Shigeo bows his head gratefully.

"Yeah, thank you!" Ari agrees, looking at her own scarf with sparkling eyes. "You got my color and everything! You know me so well!"

Micah chuckles, rubbing the underside of his nose with his finger. "Well, you're not exactly a mystery, Ari," he says humbly. "They were on sale anyway, so don't act as if I spent a fortune or anything."

She sets her scarf aside and approaches Shigeo, gently taking the scarf from his hands. She folds the fabric of it in half before draping it around his neck. Then, she puts both ends through the loop and pulls, securing it. He'll definitely keep warm like this... and he looks adorable all snuggled in it, too! "There we go!"

His cheeks have turned a rosy shade of pink from her treatment. He shrinks into the scarf bashfully. "T-Thank you... Um..." With trembling hands, he grabs her scarf and tries to put it on her, but the result is just a loose mess around her neck. "Wait, that's not how you did it... Um, let me try again..."

She giggles in delight, her own face feeling a bit warm as well. "It's the thought that counts, Shigeo..."

Reigen glances over as Micah and Serizawa wrap themselves with their own scarves - a happy yellow one and an orange one with polka dots. He looks down at his own, a forest green scarf with tassels at the ends. "Hey, Micah. Would you mind helping me out?" He asks.

"You're almost 30. What do you need my help for?" He scoffs. "Ah, Serizawa. It's too loose. Lemme get that."

He grits his teeth and looks down, wrapping himself up in the scarf with a petulant pout. "He's actually 30," he grumbles.

"Looks like your master is jealous, Shigeo," Dimple remarks with a smirk.

"I'm starting to think that Micah-san is doing this on purpose just to mess with him," Megumi chuckles, fiddling with the end of Ari's scarf. "It would be on brand for him, wouldn't it?"

"I don't put anything past him at this point."

"Alright, kiddos! Are we all ready?" Micah asks, gathering his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder. "It's not a very long ride, but we have to be on time for the train to pick us up, so let's go! Maybe if we're lucky, we'll be able to snag some kurikinton while we're there."