Chapter XXXI.

Shortly after I had woken up that Sunday morning, I received a text message from Gōjun. He asked me to meet him in front of the cinema hall on the plaza at ten o'clock. 

When I reached there, he had already arrived and was waiting for me. He was wearing a pair of olive drab pants which had pockets on the sides, together with a belt, and a pair of boots. A black sleeveless T-shirt and an equally dark and sleeveless vest completed his outfit. And as his usual self, he had his hands dug in his pockets, his expression terse. On my side, I had worn a short, thigh-length, pink dress, and a hat.

I approached him timidly; he still intimidated me.

'Yo!' he said, with a sign of the hand, when his eyes fell on me, and smiling nervously, I greeted him back, 'Hi!'

'Come! It's on this side!' he told me, in a blunt tone, and turning around, he started to make into the direction that he had indicated to me. Spontaneously, my hand went out to grip the hem of his vest to tug at it lightly.

'Gōjun, wait!' I said in a murmur, and he paused down to look around at me.

Letting go of his vest, I lowered my eyes and turned my head slightly to the side to hide the blush on my cheeks as I held out to him the brown paper bag in my possession.

'These- These are the Dango that you wanted to eat yesterday,' I informed him, very shyly. 'I've prepared them for you last night!' 

I had been feeling so guilty that I was unable to find sleep and woke up in the middle of the night to prepare them.

He took the bag from me, gazed at it for a minute without opening it, before, unexpectedly, he flicked me at my forehead, muttering. 'Idiot!'

I looked up at his face, rubbing my forehead with my hand, and sniffling a little. Why did he do that?!

'Now, come on!' he stated, and turning back around, he started to walk away. 

I stared after him for a few seconds, still a little puzzled, before I ran to catch up with him. 

The hair salon was found just around the corner of the street. It looked very trendy, with its large bay window, beautiful lights illuminating the interior, and its attractive board atop of the door.

A long and large mirror lined the left hand-side wall of the room. On its four borders were beautiful carved designs. The table lining the same wall, was covered with all kind of hair products and equipments. There were three chairs there, each facing the table and the mirror. This was where the clients sat to have their hair done. On the other side of the room, was a long bench of individual seats, where those clients who had dyed their hair were sitting, some checking out the magazines available to them, while others were busy with their cellphone.

When we entered the salon, my eyes immediately fell onto a young woman of around twenty-five years old, who was standing behind one of the seats by the table. She had straight, mid-chest level, blonde hair, fair skin, and was quite lean. She measured average height, and was wearing a pair of black trousers, and a loose, long-sleeved, blue shirt. Her eyes were of a green. 

'Ah, Gōjun! Darling!' she cried, ecstatically, upon our entrance, running up to us, and I realized by her male voice that "she" was in fact a man; I had only mistaken him for a woman because of his feminine looks.

'Yo! Byakuya!' Gōjun greeted him.

'Oh! I'm always so happy to see you!' the blond man exclaimed, before his eyes shifted on me. Cupping his own chin, he took a walk around me in a circle, examining me carefully.

I blushed under his probing eyes. 

'Well, well! Who do we have here? Is she one of your friends?' he asked Gōjun, and having made a complete turn around me now, he bent down slightly into my face to state, with a smile, 'She's very pretty! She resembles a small doll! "Hime cut", huh?!'

I blushed harder.

'But say,' he asked, as he inspected my hair more closely, 'isn't your hair getting a little too long at the back?!'

At this, I flinched. 

'It will have reached your ankles in no time!' he told me, and giving me a large smile, while he made a scissor-like movement with his two fingers, he proposed to me, cheerily, 'Do you want me to arrange that for you? I'll do it for free since it's your first time at my salon!'

I had jumped several feet backward by this instant and clutched the end of my hair protectively and fearfully in my hands.

I loved my long hair. If one day, I were to cut them, I wouldn't feel like myself anymore!

'Oh, but, I was not talking about cutting them short,' he informed me, scratching the back of his head a little, 'but only about reducing their length by a few centimeters!'

I shook my head frantically at him. No! Not even that!

He giggled. 

'Don't worry! I would never do anything to someone against that person's wish. Except, perhaps, in a bed!'

At this, I covered my face with my hand, flushing tomato red at the plain sexual connotation in his words.

'Oi! Shall we get started now? I don't have the whole day!' Gōjun muttered, impatiently, at that moment, and turning back to him, the blond male started to push him by his shoulders towards one of the chairs, telling him, in good humor, 'Hai! Hai! Don't be angry! I'm getting to work immediately, Sir!'

And he did, while I moved to sit myself as far away as possible to watch him work, without releasing the end of my hair even once, my face still red. 

The blond male would glance at me several times and give me a charming smile, but nevertheless, I didn't let my guard down, and it was impossible for me not blush even deeper every time he would look at me. 

Gōjun kept his present hairstyle; the blond male only cut out the outgrowths for him. He was a professional in his work, and I was very much amazed by his skill. After he had finished, he chatted with Gōjun for a minute or two, before he accompanied us to the door, asking us to visit again whenever we felt like, even if we didn't need a haircut.

'Gōjun's friends are also my friends!' he told me, cheerfully, and I gave him a small smile at last, feeling more relaxed.

We said goodbye to the blond male after that, and left the salon.

After we had reached a good distance away, I turned to Gōjun to ask him about what he wanted us to do now; if he had some plans for after this. Just as he was about to open his mouth to answer me, suddenly, he seemed to realize something, and raking his hand through his hair, he exclaimed, 'Oh, crap! I forgot the Dango at the salon!'

'Oh, no! I'm sorry!' I said, apologetically. 'I should have noticed!' 

'Wait for me here! I'll go and fetch them!' he told me, and on these words, he left, while I shifted to stand against a wall close-by to wait for his return. 

***

In the meantime...

Yūsei Nishoji glanced up from his copybook to take a look at the face of the ginger-haired girl sitting opposite of him.

When he had reached the park this morning, Natsui Mizoroge had already arrived and was waiting for him at the same picnic table as they had sat on the previous day. Though, no unfortunate incident had happened to the ginger-haired girl that morning, there was something strange in her behavior. She seemed awkward in his company, as if, there was something that she wanted to ask him, but was hesitating.

The ginger-haired girl looked up at him at the same moment, and the very second their eyes met, she looked away, her expression becoming all the more awkward.

'Say...' she said, timidly, after another long minute of silence, 'Can I ask you a question?'

The young man sat more upright. 'Yes. Please, do!'

'Well... I wanted to ask you… Hm… Since how long do Hiyori and you know each other?' she asked him, while she stared at her lap, squirming a little. 'I mean, did you know her even before joining our school?'

'No,' Yūsei replied, looking upward and scratching his cheek, thoughtfully. 'I have actually made proper acquaintance with her only yesterday. We bumped into each other here, in the park itself, hardly a few minutes after you had left. She informed me that you are cousins. And she invited me to go out with some of her friends, so I could get better acquainted with the other students of our class.'

The girl studied his expression carefully. She didn't have the impression that the young man was lying.

'I see...' she answered, lowering her eyes again, feeling a bit reassured.

There was another moment of silence between them before, he decided to ask her, hesitantly, 'Say, can I ask you a question as well?'

She nodded.

'Well… Natsui… Why do you have so many part-time jobs? I mean, Hiyori's mother helps your family a lot, right?!'

'Huh?' The girl's head snapped up at him, her expression puzzled.

Yūsei blinked once. The ginger-haired girl didn't seem to be aware about it. Did Hiyori lie? he asked himself.

'Anyway,' he went on to say, scratching the back of his head and averting his eyes, 'if I'm asking you this question, it's because I don't think that it's very good for your health. How many hours do you get to sleep every night, eh?!'

Natsui's eyes widened at him a little. Is he… worried about me?

Giving him a goofy smile, she asserted, 'Oh, but I feel perfectly fit and fine! There's nothing alarming concerning my health for the time being!' 

'You have dark circles under your eyes!' he informed her, blankly, pointing at her face.

The girl cringed. That was true!

She had been about to tell him that it was nothing to fret over when, out of the blue, they were interrupted by someone, and that person turned out to be none other than Hiyori Miyatsu herself!

Natsui held her breath, as she stared at the dark-haired girl who was waving at them from afar and calling out their names, as if, they were old good friends. 

What is Hiyori doing here? Natsui asked to herself. Is it a mere coincidence? 

Apparently, it was not.

The dark-haired girl ran up to where they were sitting, to plump herself down next to Yūsei, bustling him a little on the way in a teasing manner. 

The young man looked at the girl's face, surprised to see her, but also, a bit puzzled by her familiarity with him just like on the previous evening.

'I've heard that you're helping Yūsei out with the lessons that he has missed!' the girl said to Natsui, with a large smile. 'I thought about helping you out! You don't mind, do you?!'

Natsui didn't know what to reply. She continued to stare at the dark-haired girl, both alert and confused.

Hiyori, what are up to? 

The dark-haired girl gave her a small giggle, before she rested her elbows on the table and intertwined her fingers in front of herself, to tell Yūsei, with a cheerful smile, 'Well, well, now you have two tutors! Lucky devil!'

The young man took a glance at Natsui, not really knowing what to say either, and feeling a bit uncomfortable at how close the dark-haired girl was sitting next to him, with their shoulders almost touching.

***

Holding my hat carefully into place on my head with my hand, I looked up at the sky. The sun was shining very brightly, but it was not hot. The weather was very agreeable. It felt nice.

'Hey, look over there!' I heard a male voice said, suddenly, and my eyes returned to the front to see a group of men, who were walking-by a few feet away from where I was, come to a stop to nudge one another, while they watched into my direction. 

I tensed up.

The five men were in their twenties and seemed to be a group of delinquents to me. Their hair was dyed in flashy colors and they were wearing several facial piercings. Rather tall and muscular, they were clothed in leather jackets and pants, with two of them wearing no shirt.

They came towards me, exchanging meaningful looks and grins with one another. 

Feeling alarmed, I lowered my head, my heart accelerating in my chest.

'Hello, there! What's your name?' one of the men said to me, when they had reached me. He had spiky, blue hair, and was apparently the oldest male in the group. 'Would you like to join us for a drink?!' 

I bowed my head completely, my throat constricting with fear.

Out of the blue, there came a large smack on the wall right above my head, and I almost jumped out of my skin, deeply startled, my heart going wild. I looked up, instantly, at the person who had appeared on my right to slam his hand on the surface of the wall above my head. That person was none other than Gōjun!

I gulped at the expression on his face. He looked furious.

'Don't talk to strangers!' he groaned at me, and I flinched. 

But- But I didn't do anything!

'Oi, who are you?' the group of men demanded at him, their expression peeved. 

Lowering his arm, Gōjun turned to face them completely with an unhappy look. 

'Who do you take yourself for, huh?' the blue-haired man muttered at Gōjun.

'That's true! Who are you to forbid her to talk to anyone? Is she your sister? Your girlfriend, maybe?!' seconded one of his friends, and the blue-haired male looked at the latter, instantly, with a sneering face, to exclaim, 'What?! You can't be serious! These two cannot be boyfriend and girlfriend! They don't look good together! Just look at him, man!' He pointed at Gōjun with his forefinger, scoffing, 'This guy is a giant! While the girl is so small! And with his bleached hair, tattoo and baleful look, he's most definitely a delinquent! While, on the other hand, the girl seems so well-bred! I'm sure she comes from a rich family!' 

EH?!!

'Now, come on, get out of the way!' the man muttered at Gōjun, and bowing down into my face, he cupped my chin with his hand, telling me, with a suggestive smile, 'And so, my love, what do you say? Shall we go take a drink together?'

As he was saying this last part, abruptly, he ran his thumb over my lips, and I froze into place, shaken by this action of his.

When he heard no reply on my part, his expression became angry, and against all expectations, he released my chin to slap my hat off with a wave of the hand, snapping at me, 'Why don't you say anything? Are you mute?!'

My heart shook, and I took an involuntary step backward.

Gōjun caught the blue-haired male's forearm at that moment, and telling him to leave me alone, he twisted the man's hand in an awkward manner. The older male let out a screech, and immediately pulled his hand away to back off, but only to stumble and fall down on the way, his face red with pain.

I gasped in shock.

'Ow! My arm! My arm! It hurts! Godd*mmit! What took over you?!' the man howled, while he clutched at his forearm with his good hand. 

His friends got down on the floor in a panic to try to help him, asking him if he was alright.

'No! I'm not fine! Can't you see?! This guy has screwed my arm!' he snarled at them, fiercely, and at this, two of his friends turned at Gōjun to shout at him that they were going to make him pay for what he has done. They jumped to their feet to surge at Gōjun, but the latter put them K.O. in less than two, and that, without even using his hands. In effect, even before they could touch him, he had kicked the first one at the gut, sending him on the floor, and without missing a beat, he had swung on himself once, to kick the other at the face, knocking the latter down as well. 

I let out another gasp, stupefied, but also, in amazement by Gōjun's prowess.

Both men were now wincing in pain on the ground, alongside their blue-haired friend. The two remaining ones had been preparing to attack Gōjun too, but after having witnessed his prowess, they started to back away, clearly intimidated. 

'This guy is completely crazy!' they exclaimed, frantically, and without losing a minute, they helped their injured friends to their feet to scoot out of sight.

I stared after them for a minute, just like the few members of the public who had paused down to watch the scene, before I looked at Gōjun in surprise, as he shoved my hat down onto my head for me.

Gōjun...

'Come on, now!' he stated, grumpily, 'Let's get away from here before those punks come across the cops and tell them who knows what!'

Eh? The police?!

'Will you hurry?!' he told me, pressingly, and grabbing my wrist, he started to run, dragging me along with him.

I stared at his back as we ran, filled with several different emotions, but mainly, blushing in embarrassment. It was only when we had reached a great distance away that we came to a stop and he released my hand. We plumped ourselves down on a bench to catch our breath, both of us looking in a different direction from each other, feeling a bit awkward. When I dared to turn to him to meet his eyes again, it was to ask him, timidly, but worriedly, 'How- How's your rib?'

'Doesn't even hurt!' he answered, stoically.

Lowering my eyes, and squirming a little, I murmured, gratefully, 'Thank you for your intervention!'

I had not liked it at all when that man had touched my lips. And I was so scared when he slapped my hat off!

Just as I raised my head to look up again, unexpectedly, I felt something press against my lips, wanting entrance. It was Gōjun who had taken a Dango out of the bag and offering it to me. 

I blushed, my eyes widening at him a little. 

Reaching up, I took the Dango from him, biting into it at the same time.

Yatta! It's delectable! 

I closed my eyes, smiling happily. 

When my eyes returned onto Gōjun again, it was to see that he had took out two other Dango from the bag and was biting into one, while he offered the other to me. I accepted it gratefully, feeling quite touched. I had made them specially for him. He didn't have to share them with me.

We had sat there for a few minutes, enjoying the Dango in a comfortable silence when, my mobile phone rang suddenly. I took it out and saw that it was Katsura-san who was calling me.

'Please, excuse me,' I said to Gōjun, and rising to my feet, I walked a small distance away to pick up the call. I feared I would have to cancel my visit at her place; Gōjun wasn't saying anything about letting me off for the day.

'Katsura-san! Ohayō!' I greeted her, in an antsy tone. 

'Ohayō, Hime!' she greeted back, pleasantly. 'Where are you? Are you coming today?'

'Well… I fear I won't be able to make it,' I replied, dejectedly.

'Oh, Hime,' she moaned out, her voice filled with disappointment, 'but why?' 

'I'm really sorry!' I apologized, with all my heart.

'No, it's alright!' she told me, her tone becoming reassuring. 'Maybe, some other day!'

'Yes, you can count on me for that!' I stated, fervently, and we both hung up.

Taking a deep breath, I sighed, my spirit at zero. I had been waiting for this day with so much impatience to visit her.

'Did you have to visit someone today?' came Gōjun's voice from behind me, abruptly, making me jump.

'Gōjun!' I gasped, and immediately, I flung around to face him, my expression turning awkward. 

He- He followed me to eavesdrop on me?! 

Lowering my eyes and scratching the back of my head, I admitted, sheepishly, 'Yes. Do you remember the friend that I told you about the other day? The one at the shrine? She had invited me to her place today!'

'I see. Well, then, what's the problem?'

Eh? My eyes widened at him, in puzzlement. What does he mean?

'Let's go to visit her together!' he stated, and I cringed backward, my mouth going agape.

EH?!! He wants me to go and-

'You- You want to come with me?!' I stuttered, more than baffled.

I stared at his face for a minute, as he nodded once, wondering if he was really serious. Closing my eyes then, and scratching my cheek, I giggled, awkwardly, 'Well then, I'm going to call her back and inform her that I'm coming after all, and that I'm bringing someone with me!'

'Yes, do!'

Thank you for reading!