The four of them took a break at Juniper Town, discussing their next plan with Yushiro once again staring at the map for an eternity, testing Shinobu and Chachamaru's patience. Despite Shinobu's suggestions which made a lot of sense since this wasn't her first time here, Yushiro was still clueless about what he wanted to do from here.
"Ice cream or another ride? That's a hard choice." Chachamaru looked up at the sky, thinking of which option to go with.
"Well I'm fine with anything. What do you guys think, we're already here at Juniper Town." Yushiro waited for his friends' suggestions and choices but everyone wasn't so sure either.
"Honestly, I was thinking ice cream, I'm pretty sure our dear Shinobu needs a break, she's been taking great care of us." Douma cooed which made Shinobu feel flattered but slightly annoyed at the same time, she had to keep up with their recklessness at times it came at unexpected intervals.
Shinobu took a deep breath. "Thanks Douma I truly appreciate it. It's not easy." She said maintaining her cool.
I'm glad Shinobu appreciates my gratitude! Douma said with a flustered expression.
Both Yushiro and Chachamaru noticed a booth selling toy planes and helicopters with bubbles emerging out of their propellers. There were a few children gathering at the booth holding the toys with excitement.
"Those toys are kinda cool." Yushiro said, Chachamaru agreed.
Soon both of them ran towards the booth, leaving Douma and Shinobu behind.
Douma searched for something in his pocket, it was very important and he couldn't keep Shinobu waiting, the violette was already observing the events happening nearby he didn't want this moment to be a miss, this was the best spot.
"Hey Shinobu I have something for you." The blonde said holding something in his hands.
Immediately, Shinobu spun around wondering what it could be. Her violet gaze meeting his.
"What is it Douma?"
Slowly, Douma held out a necklace with a butterfly in the center. At that moment, flashbacks of their time at Kyoto flooded back.
"This necklace, it's the same one I saw at that booth in Kyoto." The butterfly in the center of the necklace rang a bell, it was among the accessories that caught Shinobu's attention when she was browsing through the display, it's sparkles and glistening appearance that fascinated her, even at this very moment. Douma could tell Shinobu really liked the necklace.
Shinobu had no words, all this while Douma had been paying attention to her likings. She was glad to finally be able to form a connection with the necklace she was gazing upon.
"Thank you Douma." The violette said with a warm smile.
Gifts mean a lot to humans. Standing there, Douma could tell Shinobu really adored the necklace. I'm happy that Shinobu's happy.
"You're welcome Shinobu, let me put it on you." Douma got the necklace ready to put around her neck, the clear water of the lake beside them glistening as if the surroundings were paying attention to this very moment.
Shinobu was surprised by the gesture, she turned around, keeping her composure while Douma adjusted the necklace and let it rest on her neck to her comfort.
With the butterfly hanging in the center, Shinobu smiled and spun around elegantly. Douma was glad she cherished the necklace like how he imagined she would.
~~~
Sitting at his table, Mr Oshiro took out his folder of reports from the shelf and flipped through the contents while muttering to himself about Chachamaru's progress in Atlas.
"Alright so Chachamaru's been doing well with his training. He's catching up fast!" Mr Oshiro chimed. "Oh wait what am I even talking about? Chachamaru's already above most of his comrades!"
There were several reports that caught his attention but none of which were enough to test the skills and resilience of Chachamaru. Mr Oshiro was looking for a challenge that will bring out the potential in the feline.
"Nah that's too easy! We need something that'll make him scratch his fur off in agony!"
Mr Oshiro was disappointed by the reports he was flipping through so far. "Aw man! None of these reports are nerve-wracking enough!" He needed to assign a mission that Chachamaru won't take lightly, the feline is normally calm and collected during tasks, with a little change to the course, he will start paying more attention to his surroundings. Chachamaru was no doubt a reliable fighter and Mr Oshiro wanted to make sure his progress was satisfying and not mundane.
"Some of these aren't complete huh? Well maybe it's because they're not challenging enough!"
This was an endless cycle and Mr Oshiro was getting drained from it. He just wanted the best for Chachamaru, he didn't want the feline to go through the same type of mission over and over again. Now that Chachamaru was having a leisure time with his friends, Mr Oshiro had to make sure he came back to Atlas with a mission at hand.
Mr Oshiro shrieked when he turned over to the next report. "Gahhhh! I gotta make sure I find something before Chachamaru's back. I don't have much time left!"
An idea crossed his mind. Wait why search for a mission through this stack when I can just make one myself! Crossing his fingers, Mr Oshiro stared into space, thinking of a few scenarios for this mission he was thinking about.
However, if Chachamaru and the others find out that Mr Oshiro was behind this scheme, he'll be in deep trouble. There's always a mastermind behind such incidents. This was a bad idea and Mr Oshiro decided to turn it down despite how eager he was to assign a mission to Chachamaru.
"Ryo must be really surprised by Chachamaru's capability, the feline surpassed everyone over a span of weeks. Now he's at the same level as Ryo, the most experienced in the team." Mr Oshiro squinted his eyes at one of the reports before turning over to the next page. That particular report stood out to him but it didn't meet the requirements he sought for.
"This is going to take a while, hopefully I'll find something soon."