I have to do whatever I can
I have to do whatever I can
'Aren't their people after that girl because her power is special? Currently, they are not making their presence known. But they will take bold actions to draw her attention when they do.'
Could it be? Mamoru shook his head. This has to be a coincidence. Besides, he has yet to confirm if that organization is the one that has been after Ki this entire time.
"But it gets worse."
It can get worse than that?
"While I was inspecting and found the broken pipes. I discovered the cause of the gas leak. It seemed somebody had deliberately broken the pipes to conceal something inside, causing the leak because there was something foreign."
"Is that-"
"Recently, you took on a missing person case job, right?"
Mamoru nodded. "Yeah, you lectured me a lot because it was a cheap job."
"It turns out that cheap job is connected to something larger. The person you're searching for, I found pieces of their body in the drainage. It was difficult to identify after being cut up into so many pieces at first, but I took the samples to a specialist, and the results were sent to me two hours later."
It's hard to believe that she did this all after leaving school. No wonder she ended up falling asleep beside him. She must have used the wrong key and just fell asleep in the first place she saw. Well, he shouldn't complain. It's already a privilege that she fell asleep beside him.
"But you know this means my client tricked me."
Sumire sighed. "You are the one who just accepts jobs blindly without investigating your client first. I know our job isn't exactly respectable. But conducting a background search is standard procedure. What if you end up accepting a job that lands you in jail?"
"Ki, you say that, but if it were not for the adjustments, every single delinquent in star town would be in jail now."
Right, if the police and government did not reach a compromise, there would be a high number of arrests by now.
"Still, even if that's true. Right now, we are responsible for maintaining the peace in this town. Ru, you should know the reason why the police and government discovered power users."
Mamoru immediately understood what she was getting at. "Don't blame yourself anymore, Ki."
Sumire laughed weakly. "I won't, but it's still partly my responsibility. That's why I have to do whatever I can now."
Ki is so silly; she doesn't have to put on a brave facade in front of him. They have gotten a lot closer in the last few years. But she still suppresses her emotions a lot.
"We can talk about the rest of the details later; we came here to have fun, right? Just relax."
"That's true." Sumire trailed off. "By the way, Ru, you've never skated before, right?"
"No."
Sumire let's go of his hand at those words, and the moment she did, he felt himself lose his balance. "Hey, Ki," Mamoru grumbled. The girl stood there with a mischievous look on her face.
Sumire laughed. "Sorry, sorry. I just wanted to see you freeze." She took his left hand in hers again. "But you should practice Ru. We might get a mission that involves having to skate on ice."
Right they could easily receive a spy job like that, but this girl, it's the weekend, can't she relax? She didn't bring him here for her to gain skills for their missions, right?
"Okay, for now, try to lean on the wall."
He was too occupied staring at her earlier, so he didn't realize how bad he was at this. Moreover, she was holding his hand firmly the entire time. Mamoru leaned against the wall with his other hand as Sumire led him around.
This is a bit embarrassing. There were many couples on the rink, but it was mainly the males showing their female partners how to skate. This is so uncool and lame- he is born a genius with a high IQ. Why does he not know how to skate?
It was almost like she sensed his frustration since Sumire squeezed his left hand.
"Just relax, Ru; if you're too tense, there is a higher chance that you will fall. Treat this as a normal walk. When you start to feel more comfortable, you'll be moving around more naturally and taking longer strides."
Mamoru followed her instructions, and after a few minutes, he let go of the wall. Sumire drew her hand away, and he moved forward. "I think I can do this."
Sumire's eyes brightened. "As expected of you, Ru, you're very good. So cool."
Right at that moment, Mamoru realized how close her face was, and he felt his entire face burn up. Because of this, however, he ended up losing his balance. Sumire tried to reach out for him, but it was far too late since he fell back and landed on the ice.
"Ouch."
"Ru? Are you okay?" Sumire asked, concerned as she extended her hand out.
"I probably have a broken bone."
"Uh, I'm sorry. I should stop getting so close. I mean, personal space. Sometimes I invade it when I'm too excited and happy-" Sumire briefly looked away. A small tint of red appeared on her cheeks.
So she is basically saying she felt happy that he managed to walk around the ice a little? This girl is so silly. There are many more joyful moments in life than this.
"It was a nice distraction."
"Nice?"
"I'm not against looking at you up close longer than necessary. I'd welcome it any day." He grinned.
Sumire laughed softly as she suddenly leaned forward and kissed his cheek. Mamoru looked at her dumbfounded. He almost lost his balance again, but she tightly grabbed hold of his hand.
"Uh Ki just now-"
"A cliche line but touching all the same. Once in awhile, Ru, you can say decent things."
This girl really has a bad personality, or what is that thing that's popular among teenage women? Tsundere? Mamoru briefly glanced at her expression and confirmed it. Despite how haughtily she said those words just now, there was a tint of red on her cheeks.
How peaceful; it would be nice if they could continue to spend peaceful days together like this.
If he could just remain by her side.