Wild Flower (Bleach × Demon Slayer)

3 - Conversational Pleasantry

(Chapter edited. There might be some minor mistakes.)

The Fool attempted to talk and convince but was ultimately ignored.
The Wild Flower ran ahead to reach and catch after it.
But The Butterfly escaped and flew away from them.

interlude

...

Conversational Pleasantry

...

“My name is Makomo. The Manager’s bodyguard. I am also one of his ‘eyes’.”

Hara ran her hands to her silky white hair with her other hand grasping a bomb as she repetitively slid it down from the top of her head to the tips of her hair that stopped by in her shoulder blades. As if in a daze stuck in a dream, her mind kept returning to the girl, Makomo, of the words she used as an introduction.

The Manager’s bodyguard… this was the first time she saw one, Hara admitted, since The Manager rarely showed his face to the employees—to the Oiran except those who are closely associated to him. That included his bodyguards who decided to show themselves to her in the open.

Or perhaps that encounter was an accident? Hara speculated. She was in a hurry to get away from those men, eager to enter inside the building and she just happen to caught Makomo in the act—presumably, Hara briefly added—to stealthily open the door where instead she was the one who did the deed.

But still, the encounter… if Hara did accidentally happen to catch her in the act, Makomo should’ve been startled, alarmed that she was the one who opened the door but the girl only gave her an expectant smile.

Now she was alarmed at the girl’s behavior. Was the girl waiting for her at the other side of the door? Was the taking care of the men an excuse to ‘accidentally’ encounter her? She doesn’t know, Hell, why was she even thinking about the girl and the door? There’s even a possibility she was only overthinking the encounter; that expectant smile might be part of the girl’s personality and she was judging her for it.

Putting the comb to the counter with a sigh, Hara stood up and fixed her hair for the last time. Her work shift had ended long ago and she lost track of time because her thoughts was distracted to… she shook it away. If she kept thinking about them, it would only distract her more.

Looking at the mirror and scanned her appearance, she nodded in approval, satisfied before she sauntered and reaching the knob to open the door.

It’s not like Makomo is gonna wait at the other side of this door, right? That would be ridi—

“Good evening, Hara-san.”

—culous. Hara ended up biting her own words.

“G-good evening, Makomo-chan. What are you doing here?” She asked the girl, apprehensive and shaken that her thoughts suddenly came true in a matter of seconds. If only she didn’t recognize the gentle voice, she would have already slammed the door shut at the girl’s face.

“I am here as an escort for Hara-san.”

“Escort?”

With the same soft smile earlier on painted over Makomo’s face, Hara tilted her head in puzzlement. Why would she need an escort? She had been walking in these familiar streets by herself, why would she need it now?

“Yes. The Manager’s words.” Makomo responded as if knowing what was running on her mind.

She bristled her spine at the mention of The Manager. Hara rarely saw him, she didn’t even given an opportunity to get a glimpse of him, why was he showing his… generosity towards her?