Yushiro chomped down on the sushi in his lunchbox at his seat. It was just served and the boy couldn't wait to eat up.
Sitting down comfortably, Shinobu leaned against the window and watched the houses, forests, and mountains that the train passed by. Douma who was sitting beside her noticed Shinobu's silence and got a little worried. The girl was in a frenzy not too long ago constantly talking about the various destinations in Kyoto.
"Do you guys think Doctor Gareth is a nice guy?" Yushiro asked he was about to finish the entire box.
"Honestly, I'm not sure if he's even going to tell us anything. The man hid from society for decades, you'd think he wouldn't want to interact with anyone even if it would lead to a greater cause." Douma replied thinking about how the conversation would go should they get to meet Doctor Gareth. He wasn't very hopeful about this but Doctor Gareth's actions had consequences that people were going to have a hard time recovering from, so Douma couldn't let this cowardice slide.
"I don't mean to sound pessimistic about this whole idea, but I think that's exactly how our meeting with him is going to turn out." Yushiro continued on. "Think about it, after hiding from everyone for years because of the one thing that ruined your reputation, do you seriously think opening a can of worms is going to bring all that back? The guy knew what he was doing when he decided to go mysterious."
"We'll just have to see but at some point, someone has to do some interrogation whether the man is going to make a fuss about it or not. He is wanted by Atlas and many other organizations out there, especially the ones that he worked with." The blonde glanced at the walkway where a few people were rushing to the accommodations onboard.
Yushiro closed the box and sat back, looking out. Both Douma and Shinobu remained quiet for a while, even though Shinobu didn't say anything she was also thinking about what Douma and Yushiro were just talking about; was Doctor Gareth willing to cooperate with them? Or was this going to be another disaster?
"Overall, I think we did a great job with our investigation. We solved the case that nobody could!" Douma cheered.
Both Yushiro and Shinobu chuckled. "I guess, that was quite the chore wasn't it?" The violette replied remembering the documents she printed out and the encounters with Nebulas and the rest of the goons.
"It became less of a chore since you guys have me around." The blonde stated while Shinobu continued looking out the window pretending there was nothing happening.
The silence was deafening, Douma pouted seeing both of his friends ignoring him. Where was the spark they once had? The blonde hoped they weren't getting tired of his presence.
"We make a great team guys! All of our efforts paid off!" Douma tried to liven up the mood but it wasn't working they were still quiet.
"Doctor Gareth sounds like a secretive person if you ask me. Do you have a list of questions to ask Douma?" Shinobu spoke this time she was looking at him with a serious expression.
Douma wasn't expecting the violette to ask him that. "Um yeah what about you Shinobu?" He asked shyly.
"I should've known..." Shinobu turned away leaving Douma panicking beside her.
"We'll figure something out I know we can." Douma reassured them while trying to maintain his bold demeanor even though he wasn't sure if things will turn out like how he and Mr Oshiro visioned during their discussion.
~~~
Douma, Shinobu and Yushiro left the train station and headed downtown of Kyoto. The city was really peaceful in the morning and they still had plenty of time for some thrilling activities before their meeting with Doctor Gareth.
And it seems the violette just spotted their very first stop after minutes of walking.
"Wow look at that festival!" Shinobu chimed she gleamed at the various booths and decorations ahead of them. Some caught her attention.
"I'm gonna check it out." Douma and Yushiro watched as Shinobu ran towards the booths leaving them behind. They didn't have time to discuss their plans but at least Shinobu was enjoying herself.
"Oh yeah it's the Tsukimi Festival!" Shinobu stopped by a booth selling necklaces and rings. The designs stood out to her they were really pretty and captivating with the shiny glimmering surfaces of the orbs attached.
There was a sunflower necklace and a couple of rings with ladybugs on each one. Beside these accessories there were other necklaces with different designs, one with a glittering stone and another with a sparkling butterfly in the center.
Both Douma and Yushiro caught up with Shinobu and noticed her browsing through the accessories on display. She took a quick look at the most significant ones like the ladybug rings and the butterfly necklace. Shinobu was growing fond of them there was no doubt the accessories were stunning enough to attract a lot of customers.
Shinobu walked towards another booth selling desserts. The smell of the cakes and pastries in the ovens were enlightening.
Yushiro noticed one of the stalls selling a familiar card game that he played with his friends back at school sometimes. There were a few characters he recognized on those cards. Quickly, the boy ran over to the display of cards and picked up a few of them to take a closer look at the printings of the superheroes, monsters and designs that he favored.
At the corner of her eye, Shinobu noticed some kimonos hanging at the stall a few feet away.
"Those kimonos are so pretty!" Shinobu ran over to the kimonos and admired the lavender kimono with designs of flowers of various colors like yellow and green scattered on the smooth fabric.
While Yushiro was still busy with the cards at the other booth, Shinobu continued admiring the kimonos, this time she was taking a look at a green kimono and an orange one. The green kimono had printings of apples and mangos while the orange kimono had the printing of a rabbit looking up at the moon on it.
The storekeeper smiled at the girl, she was happy to provide her with a cherishing experience during this festival.
Shinobu noticed the lady standing there and asked her a few questions about the kimonos she was interested in. Yushiro on the other hand couldn't believe the number of cards from the various games and shows the booth had to offer, he was a huge fan of them. If only his friends could see this spectacular collection.
Once the both of them were done with their stroll, Shinobu and Yushiro headed towards a spot near a park with some fountains.
"Hey where's Douma?" Shinobu asked she didn't realize Douma wasn't with them.
"I don't know maybe he got lost haha!" Yushiro found it hilarious that Douma was the one who got stranded instead of Shinobu, and here he was worried that the violette will get too distracted.
Moments later, Shinobu and Yushiro saw the figure of Douma running towards them.
"Finally! What took you so long?" Shinobu didn't mean to sound that way but he was taking a while back there.
"I guess I got lost, it was crowded." Douma shrugged with that carefree smile.
"Yeah I'm not surprised you were busy playing with the yoyos at that booth." Yushiro added.
"Just admit it Yushiro you need a lot of practice."
"I'll get better you'll see! I have a few yoyos at home, mastering the skills to control the movements is a piece of cake!"
Shinobu rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah yeah whatever, are we gonna continue standing here or what?"
"Let's head to our next destination!" Douma said, both Shinobu and Yushiro nodded.