"You still didn't tell us why we are walking so much", Hayato asked.
Daichi looked at him as if saying "Don't bother me, brat". He was not the type to explain everything in the smallest details and hated it when people wanted him to.
"We are just heading to the place where you guys will live from now on. Besides, it's the perfect place for us to start training."
"That much I can understand, but... aren't we going out of the city?"
"Well, duh! We are, of course. Did you think I could teach anything by staying in such a crowded place? There are people walking around or guards surveilling wherever you go. There is no privacy in big cities whatsoever. Besides, there are eyes and ears everywhere. We don't want this to spread."
Hayato nodded his head. He had a guess about why Daichi was leading them to that unknown place outside the city's limits, but couldn't tell for sure. However, while this was a reasonable thing, the last part of his statement made Hayato frown.
'He said it like there would be people spying on us. Does he know that I am wanted by the guard of some random city or... is it a personal problem of his? But, if it's the latter case, who would be following him? After beating those criminals, he had to talk to the guards to let him take Hina with him, so he probably doesn't have a problem with them. Is it another organization? Maybe a corrupted one?'
There were many things Hayato would like to ask Daichi. He only trusted the man because it was Mr. Satoshi who recommended him, but overall that guy was pretty much a question mark.
'Another person who is a question mark is this girl here. We have been together for one afternoon, one night, and now basically the entire day. We walked for several hours together, so many hours that I even lost count. Even so, she doesn't make a sound. I never heard a single word leaving her mouth. Besides, she is still very aggressive towards me, even though I tried to be nice to her.'
Hina glared at Hayato as he was staring at her. Her eyes were as sharp as always, which made the boy shiver. His look dropped to the ground, following his own steps.
Hayato would rather not look at her again to confirm whether she was still glaring or not. He was afraid of getting caught again. Besides, her staring was so intense that he could feel that she still cast a murderous look at him.
'So frightening...'
"Ok, we are going to set camp here for the time being."
"A-Are we?" Hayato looked around. They were still in the middle of the meadows that surrounded the city. Hayato could still see some of the city's buildings and industries from there, but it was only because of their enormous size. In fact, they were distant enough for him to lose sight of most things around that area.
"Uh? Do you have some sort of mental dysfunction or something, boy? I just said we are going to. Is there really the need to make me confirm it?" Daichi frowned. That was not the first time the boy had done something like that.
"I-It's just that... you know, we are in the middle of the meadows. We don't even have supplies."
"Of course, we will get them from nature, boy. There are bunnies around this place. We can get sticks and dry leaves to make a bonfire. Besides, there are not many insects or rats in the meadows, so we can lay on the grass and sleep without much trouble besides inoffensive ants."
Hina and Hayato glanced at each other, willingly meeting their eyes for the first time. Hayato got a bit afraid of receiving another stomp on his foot, though.
"Don't look at me with these faces. I will take care of hunting. You guys collect sticks and stuff. Get to know each other better in the meantime, since you will be working with each other on many things from now on. Or not, just stay quiet. Whatever you please. And it's just for today, ok? So, bear with me. Look at this as the initiation to be my apprentices."
Daichi chose a direction where the grass got taller and more trees scattered around. With such dense vegetation, it would be easier to find wild animals rather than in the open and clean meadows.
Hayato and Hina stayed in the open, searching for leaves and sticks. At first, they did it quietly.
Their progression was very slow since they couldn't spread to look in two different spots each. Since it was so dark, both silently figured out that it would be better to stay together.
'She is still in these black clothes, the ones she used when she was trying to rob whatever they took in that deposit-like building. It would be very hard to find her in the dark even if she was to get away from me by a few meters.'
"Thankfully, it's a full-moon night, so it's not too dark", he muttered absentmindedly, catching some sticks from the ground.
"Hm", he heard a confirmation.
For a few seconds, he just kept collecting the sticks, but then nearly let them fall to the ground once he realized who was the person who did that.
"Y-Y-You just... You just confirmed what I said!", Hayato was flabbergasted. He thought for a moment that it should be only his imagination.
Hina tilted her head, finding his reaction kinda creepy.
"Hm", she confirmed again, nodding her head. This time, she was even more reluctant, though.
Hayato was in shock. He froze.
"Ah! Sorry for that. It's the first time you actually engage, you know? I mean, not that you said anything, but you agreed, at least."
"Hm", Hina nodded again. She didn't seem guilty for staying all that time without communicating at all.
"I think you got tired of acting that neither I nor Daichi exists, right? I think it can get a bit lonely after some time."
She moved her eyes to the right, thinking about it. Then, she shrugged.
"Ah, more or less, huh? I see. Well, at least, that's how I would feel. It's hard to be with other people and not say a single word, even if they are people you hate. It's kinda awkward, even for an introvert like me."
"Hm", she distractedly agreed while catching more leaves and sticks on the ground.
"I was starting to think that you were mute or something, haha. It was just a silly thought I had, though."
Hayato grabbed a last stick. Finally, he was out of space. He wouldn't be able to move his arms to take any other.
'Wait, she didn't answer this time...'
Faced with her silence, he turned to Hina.
It was strange to look at her eyes at night. They blended with the darkness, giving off an unsettling feeling.
"W-What? Did I say something wrong?"
She pursed her lips and looked to the ground. Her eyes darted around as if she was searching for something.
'Searching? No. She is thinking. But, about what?'
Although hesitant, she pointed with her head to the place where they left their things.
"Ah, ok. We should get going, yes", Hayato answered casually, but his mind thought a little bit... differently.
'YOU FOOL! You finally were able to get to talk to her and now you messed up! How can you be such a virgin!? First-degree virgin! Maybe you could even get her to say a word, even if one! Aaargh!'
The awkward silence was back again and remained like that even after they reached their backpacks and sleeping bags.
They threw the sticks and dry leaves on the ground.
"Now, we just need to wait for Daichi to come back. The sun already disappeared completely, so I hope he caught something in time. I doubt he can see properly in the darkness, even though he is so amazing in everything else."
Hayato intended to leave that comment and open room to another conversation, even if all she would say is "hm" or whatever else.
Nonetheless, no reply came at all.
'Sigh... I think I will just organize these resources. I don't know how to make a campfire, but I guess it will be quicker if I get all these things together. Daichi will know what to do once he gets here.'
Before Hayato could crouch and start organizing the sticks and leaves in a pile, he felt someone pulling his shirt. He looked over his shoulder and his eyes met with Hina's.
"W-What is it?"
'Damn it. This is one of those few times when I wished someone was wearing a mask. It's hard to look at her face when she makes such a shy expression... But Daichi wouldn't let her wear that black mask as it would draw too much attention.'
She breathed in and out deeply, calming herself down. Then, with a serious yet slightly shy face she brought her right hand to her chest, then slowly moved it upward and tpuched her lips with her index finger. Finally, she denied it with her head.
At the end of it, her face blushed and she shrunk as if feeling ashamed.
"Ah... s-so... you can't talk at all? Are you mute for real?" Hayato tilted his head.
A bright smile appeared on Hina's face and she nodded energetically.
'She seems very happy that I understood her. But, come on, even a kid would have figured that out... right? It was the most obvious mimick.'
Anyway, that was the first time Hayato saw her smile. For some reason, even though it was dark, his eyes captured that scene clearly. It got printed in his mind as if he had a photo camera inside his head.