"Ahhghh!! What the fuck are you doing, y-you damn bastard!?"
The hollering hooligan was only met with a cold, vicious glare. "Can't you see that you're bothering her?" said Cassius as he bent back a little further, causing the brazen douche to shriek like a little girl.
"Who are you!?"
"What are you doing to Jacob!? Let go of him, bastard!!"
Cassius turned his attention away from the wussy man who couldn't even take a bit of pain; his fingers weren't even broken… yet.
"Shut up," he snapped at the other blithering idiots, forcing shivers up and down their spines. They turned their heads in fright, unable to understand why someone had taken such measures when interfering with their 'catcalling.'
"Cassius…"
Grace's heart filled with jubilance when her knight in shining armor once again came to her rescue. However, seeing him make such a scary face over her made her feel a bit… uncomfortable.
Noticing this, Cassius realized that he had gone a bit overboard. He seemed to be retaining a bit of the attitude he possessed when dealing with monsters. He let go of the blonde douche's hand and kicked him in the rump, which sent him falling to the ground.
"Get lost," Cassius ordered coldly. And as much as they wanted to resist his words, they were just ordinary mortals and knew when they were outmatched. Still, they said the classic, "Y-You will rue this day…!" before skedaddling out of there, with their butts having been hurt, both figuratively and literally.
"So, what do you wanna eat?" Cassius cracked a small grin to lighten the mood, to which Grace flashed a dazzling smile. "There is this great sushi place I have been wanting to try but couldn't because of my strict parents. Do you maybe want to go there with me…?"
Seeing such an adorable girl beg with those big, round, beautiful eyes nearly gave Cassius diabetes. Yet he still found the strength to reply, "Yes… I would like that."
"Hihi~" Grace giggled, seemingly forgetting all that had just transpired. However, contrary to that claim, she hopped a few feet ahead of him before turning around.
Smiling like a freshly bloomed sunflower in spring, she said, "I thought you were really cool back there… W-What I mean is… Hurm.. Thank you for helping me…" She lost her nerve halfway through and turned her head forward, with a furious blush coloring her cheeks red.
Cassius could've sworn that he heard the gnashing of teeth in the background and faint malicious mumbling, yet he overlooked it as nothing much. Instead, he caught up to the flushed Grace and said casually, "I couldn't say it before because of those douches, but you look very pretty today. Though you really didn't have to dress up so much for someone like me…"
"N-No, it's nothing much…" Grace looked down as she shyly fiddled with her hands. Suddenly remembering something, she shot her eyes back to Cassius. "Oh, and if you don't mind my asking, why are you carrying around a wooden sword? It's just… I was curious…"
"Oh, this?" Cassius shook the sword a bit, with its weight heavily pulling down on his left arm. "I just happened to pick up a hobby as of late. I hope you don't mind if I bring it with us—"
Grace hurriedly interjected, "N-No, that isn't it…! I think it makes you look… ya know—cool and dashing—like a real knight…" The last part was mumbled, but Cassius still heard it. He smiled fondly before patting the bunny-like girl on the head.
Ignoring the distinct sound of grating teeth in the background, he and the flustered girl had a warm moment of spring.
A part of Grace wished that it could last forever, but she was also happy when Cassius said, "I'm looking forward to today. And as long as you don't mind, I want to drag you around a bit."
Even if Grace wanted to say no, it was impossible when that dazzling smile was focused on her. She meekly nodded before staying close to him. As they strolled through the streets of a very modern city of the twenty-first century, a youthful air seemed to permeate around the couple, which vexed the stalker to no end.
'Damn it! Although you haven't done anything abundantly intimate yet, just wait until I catch you in the act!' Aya aggressively grumbled, frightening several of the passersby. 'A-And I was saved by him too, so you're not special…! So what if you were first!? I have known him far longer than you have…!!'
Her cheeks ballooned as she accidentally crushed part of the metal pole she was hiding behind.
Those walking by seemed to feel a dark, malevolent aura exuding from the woman draped in all black, causing some people to see her and then turn straight around while sweating profusely.
"Well, I think this is the place," said Cassius as he stopped in front of a large neon sign. The sign read 'Sushi Haven' and had an opulent air to it, yet it wasn't to the level of being high-class. As far as first dates go, it should be a relatively prime location, though he couldn't speak from experience…
Grace's big brown doe eyes visibly sparkled as she marveled at the ostentatious establishment. Cassius found this extremely charming, which led to him once again patting her. Smoke left through her ears.
She didn't know how she felt about being treated like a fluffy pet…
As astute as Cassius was with his Perception stat, he noticed this confliction right away. "If you don't like it, you can tell me. I won't think any less of you if you tell me to screw off, haha." He went to take his hand off her head.
Yet she surprisingly held his hand in place, her expression unseen. "It's not that I don't like it…"