Narukami touched her right, small shoulder as he halted his pace. Aya followed.
"Hold on, Aya. There is always room for everyone to improve. You don't have to worry, just take things easy and slow, at your pace if not."
Aya silently nodded as Narukami let go of her shoulder, if not for the fact Aya knew him and thought highly of him. He could be sued for sexual harassment.
Later, both of them continued their pace.
After a few minutes of walking on the sidewalk, they arrived at the street's business center. Some people came from the opposite direction with their upper bodies slightly bent forward.
Some smiled, once a while giggled as they walked beside close friends, cracking up some jokes.
Looking at them for a few moments, Aya then shot Narukami with a stony-faced expression.
Feeling a certain individual looking at him, Narukami averted his line of sight from his phone to Aya. Though, what he saw next was Aya looking downward, wearing her usual expression.
Maybe only my feelings? Narukami thought to himself as he diverted his attention back to his phone.
But, as soon as he did that, he felt the gaze in the next moment, it was, nonetheless, quite uncomfortable.
He quickly looked at Aya and the latter, however, still with her flat expression.
After a brief pause.
So that's how you wanna play? Narukami thought to himself as he narrowed one's eyes. Following this, he gazed at his phone from Aya.
Afterward, Aya looked at Narukami then the latter quickly looked at her yet her facial expression was her normal one. He was a breath late!
This happened a few times with Aya succeedingly avoiding got caught by his eyes, seven times to be exact.
As they did this, people near them were mildly confused.
"What are they doing? A couple's game?" A girl whispered.
"Maybe? Who knows?" A guy answered in a low tone.
"Seems fun!"
Take in mind they did this as they walked in a straight line and people had to change their course to avoid bumping them.
Next, Aya was a second late and his black eyes greeted her mysterious, purple eyes.
She paused her steps almost immediately after Narukami said, "I win." With a smile.
Aya didn't say anything in response, she went silent.
Shortly thereafter, Narukami could hear a faint, sweet giggle until she laughed. She covered her laugh with her hands.
Narukami silently observed her laughing face from the side.
This is not bad at all, he abruptly said to himself.
.
.
A few breaths later, Aya stopped laughing as she closed her eyes. Her firm hands were on her left chest as her angelic smile remain.
She could tell her heart was racing and from today's event, she was reminded of how missed she was of the rhythm of one's heart.
But today, she experienced something worthwhile to remember, she etched this feeling into her mind, the deepest part in her mind if not.
"You know… you can earn money from your laugh alone. Some people will pay millions just to hear your laugh."
Aya opened her eyelids as Narukami had to ruin her moment.
"Senpai, I will send my laugh to you every day."
"No, please don't. It's creepy in any way."
She shook her head, "you should be grateful, senpai. People would even pay twenty years of their lifespan to hear my laugh every day."
Narukami laughed awkwardly.
"Pretty sure they'll get creeped out."
Narukami imagined a person woke up because of a laugh from their phone as under half woke up, searching for the source though scared shitless as they couldn't find the source.
The both of them then continued with Narukami's steps exactly the same as Aya.
They continued their footsteps for a few inches.
Aya's pace out of the blue slowed down and she quickly grabbed Narukami's back. She averted her gaze to the floor too. Narukami was rather confused as he slowed his steps.
"What's wrong?"
Simultaneously, a person with a peculiar hair color walked past them, shoulder to shoulder.
In his eyes, there was no hint of ambition nor hope similar to a zombie. His expression also suggested that he had seen the hell of a life, the deepest part possibly.
Narukami didn't notice this peculiar existence despite his hair being bright yellow that extended to his shoulder and his clothes were extravagant in terms of a modern standard.
A light green robe reached to his back with a scale symbol right in the middle. The scale had two pan holders on two sides.
On the left scale was a face with sharp, narrowed eyes with two horns while on the right was two white wings with a halo right above it
The pillar, instead of a straight line, was an almost perfect round thing, akin to Earth. With its continent carved in it as if looking at it from distant space.
On the scale, the devil face and the angelic wings were balanced. Nothing heavy on the other side or lighter.
However, upon closer look. The angelic wings descended for a short millisecond, extremely brief that you won't know the difference from before!
Anyway, this person calmly walked past them without anyone caring about his appearance or style.
Perhaps because of his gaze too that people take a step to the side.
After he walked some distance, Aya responded as she found a place to sit.
Her legs could be seen trembling as she approached a bench on the side. Narukami supported her by holding her hand in case she fell.
"I'm… I'm fine. It is just the after-effect of me drowning. The pain came all at once."
Seeing that her arms were trembling too, Narukami believed her words, though it would be a lie if doubt was not showing up in his mind.
The after-effects take a lot of time to appear. It was obvious he wouldn't believe her words that easily.
"I see…"
He shifted his line of sight from Aya to his wrist. In the next moment, he bit it where the major blood vessel resides.
Blood gushed out without him groaning or making any noises.
He did so silently that people around him were startled when blood burst out as it dyed the ground with blood.
"Senpai, what are you doing!"
Her mouth was agape at the scene. Her trembling legs were no more as she was overwhelmed by the sight.
Seeing this, Narukami quickly put his wrist in front of her lips. She was startled as she was petrified.
"Mmm!"
Next, her instinct came in as she retaliated, yet, as soon as the metallic taste was in her mouth and blood rushed out of his vein.
Even though she wanted to throw up, her body strangely accepted it gladly as if she gulped down a bottle of water after dehydrated for three days in the Sahara.
A heavenly feeling soon transmitted from her mind throughout her body and full of vitality.
Her body was brimming with energy and her skin became as white as a porcelain doll.
Her skin was lustrous yet her pale, porcelain-like skin made her like a living doll.
A gorgeous, living, and breathing doll. If she stood beside a mannequin, one couldn't determine which one was a human and which one wasn't.
Regardless of her appearance, her legs could go on a ten km marathon without a break or stay up late and studied without sleeping for five nights!
After a few gulps, the blood stopped and Narukami put away his wrist.
Aya fell in a daze as she processed what was going on in her body. It happened all at once that she didn't know which one she should focus on.
"Don't worry, everyone. This is only a prank for a video!"
A heavy sense of doubt clouded their minds. The maroon fluid was thick to be man-made blood and too real. The scent also!
However, the fact that this young man wanted them to act like nothing happened showed that he didn't want anyone else to speak of the matter.
Also, things that involved blood often led to police investigation and at the end of the day, each and everyone here on the sidewalk will be interrogated.
No one had the time to be interrogated because they saw a few seconds of blood splashing! Moreover, the person seemed fine so what's more to be worried about?
As if they can talk through their minds, they laughed.
"Oh, it's for a video! You scare me good, man!" One of the guys said as he laughed and slowly walked away.
"Nice video, bro!"
"Yeah, keep it up with the content."
One by one quicken their paces as they put some distance from them before finally, their figures faded away from sight.
The cramped sidewalk almost became empty and spacious. The street always walked with people and it was almost Dawn where most workers went back home.
As the street was in business area, people would pass here.
Most people who saw the scene already gone and people who didn't know what happen earlier. Passed as if nothing happened despite Narukami's blood still on the ground.
In their vision, they can't see it as Narukami silently cast an illusion to them.
"Aya, you're okay now?"
Hearing his words caused Aya to come to her senses.
"Narukami, can I buy your blood for a million yen per bottle?" She abruptly made an offer.
To which, Narukami flinched her forehead with his fingers.
"Ouch!"
A red mark was left on her forehead as she rubbed the wound to ease the pain. Though, the pain and wound disappeared before she knew it.
He didn't want Aya to have unnecessary ideas or thoughts. In the market, vampire blood was sacred and extremely rare.
He wasn't a cow that could easily spewed out milk or in his case, blood
"Eh? It disappears?" She pondered.
.
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. End of chapter .
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