In the afternoon, Shouichi strolled through the lively street of the Hoshimashi shopping district.
"My goodness, I'm mentally drained," He whined internally as he was sulking, his back slightly hunched by the weight of frustration.
"Is it me or Ayane that changed? But after the fact, I am way too conscious about everything. It's super annoying…" He contemplated.
"Shouichi-kun, you're zoning out a lot, aren't you?" A jet-black-haired friend asked with a concerned expression, following at his heels.
"Huh? Oh, sorry about that." He replied impassively.
"Are you okay? You seem strange today." Ayane stopped to properly examine his face.
"It's you that is acting weird!" He replied in his mind, wiggling his nose. Then Shouichi glanced into the distance at the passing pedestrians, avoiding her gaze.
"Do you have a fever?" Ayane asked while involuntarily extending her delicate palm to touch his cheek. It was as if the world stopped spinning for three seconds. Her warm and soft hand touched not only his cheek but deep into his soul. His cinnamon-brown eyes eventually drew and intertwined with her vibrant purple eyes.
"You are red..." She said softly, wearing her sweet smile. Shouichi hadn't realised before that Ayane's smile could be extremely endearing.
"I~I'm good." The boy stammered, his voice faltered as he took a step back.
"Seems like you are fine. I'm glad." Ayane's gaze broke away briefly, before returning to him, "Has anyone ever told you before?" She asked, her tone shifting to a serious one.
"What?"
"That your irises turn golden like amber under the afternoon's sunlight, they are so dreamy, so captivating," Ayane uttered in the most passionate tone.
"Why is this girl rizzing me up so damned hard?" Shouichi thought, finding himself blushing. The girl chuckled at his childish reaction in a non-mocking manner.
"Stop joking around, Ayane." Shouichi dismissed and continued stomping out. And the girl followed him closely behind.
***
"Good afternoon, dear customers!" Yoko greeted the two as they emerged from the entrance door at Yoko Sweet Shop.
"Good afternoon, Yoko-san." "Hi, Mom!" The couple collectively greeted her back.
"By the way, Officer Akiyama is here. She is sitting over there." Yoko pointed to the booth in the corner.
"Oh, Suzuki-san is here?" Ayane asked, her lips parted in surprise as her eyes swept around the store.
Officer Akiyama Suzuki was sitting idly in the corner booth, enjoying her Earl Grey tea in tranquillity. The dazzling lady was wearing a crisp blue police shirt with long sleeves and blue navy trousers, completing with her utility belts with various police gear. Her officer cap was neatly placed on the table.
"Hello! Seito-kun!" The lady waved at him with a tender smile, her white teeth gleaming under the light.
Shouichi and Ayane approached her booth.
"Please sit with me!" Suzuki directed him elatedly. Then the officer noticed her niece behind the boy, "Oh, Ayane-chan you are here, too..."
"Good afternoon, Suzuki-san." The girl respectfully bowed her head. Shouichi chose to sit on the same side as Officer Akiyama, while Ayane took an opposite seat.
"So what brings you here today?" Ayane asked her relative, frigid in her tone.
"Well… I am helping Yoko-san and Seito-kun with the CCTV." Suzuki clarified with enthusiasm in her voice. The officer's expression brimmed with an almost exaggerated cheerfulness, her unusually radiant demeanour standing out starkly. Shouichi took a closer speculation at her from the side. Suzuki had long, fluffy black hair tied back in a flathead ponytail. Her mature, oval-shaped face was decorated by expressive dark eyes and red plump lips. When she smiled, the gleam of her slightly sharp canine teeth added a touch of seductive charm to her already enchanting appearance.
"Ouch!" He yelped softly as he felt a soft kick on his knee. It was Ayane who nudged him because he unintentionally had gawked at the officer for more than 5 seconds. When Shouichi glared at her, she smiled innocently like she hadn't done anything wrong.
"May I finish my tea first, then we get started?" Suzuki asked them and they nodded in agreement. She took another sip of her delicious tea. Her alluring lips perched softly on the rim of the cup. Shouichi couldn't help but stare at her attentively.
"Ouch!" He got kicked again while his friend pretended to look distantly out of the windows. "I can't have some peace now. My life is a mess." The boy vented air out of his nostrils.
***
"I think this spot in front of the washroom is good, for security, it's a strategic inspection point whether all the customers have left the store." Suzuki shared her professional opinion with Shouichi who was eagerly holding the equipment. "Because sometimes, the bad guys will pretend to stay inside the washroom until the shop closes and everyone leaves."
"Wow, you are really knowledgeable and observant, Akiyama-san." He admired her.
"Fufufu. That's what the police academy teaches you to think." She placed her hand on her hips, flattered. Shouichi realised that the officer was probably in her prime, her body was mature and physically fit, perfect for the ideal police officer. However, her utility belts obscured her waist, so it was difficult to discern her actual silhouette. He wondered why she never removed them, even after taking off her long-sleeve shirt.
"Is it a bit sluggish to wear them all the time?" Shouichi asked out of curiosity while pointing at her chunky belt.
"Oh, this? Hahaha. You know it's for safety reasons. You see these two weapons right?" She swung around to show him that she had two guns with her. The one with the green handle was the taser, while the black-handled grip belonged to the lethal weapon.
"I see. That makes sense." Shouichi replied, lips parted in awe. Officer Akiyama Suzuki was definitely contemplative and analytical. That was the unique charm of her, he thought.
"Right, step on this one," Suzuki commanded, putting out a small chair as a stool.
"Okay." He climbed on it as she directed and extended his reach to attach the security camera.
"Let me hold you steady, Seito-kun." Suzuki's hands firmly grabbed his hips, anchoring him in place.
"Thanks, Akiyama-san." Shouichi replied in appreciation.
After he successfully installed the cam, "All good!" He signalled the female officer beneath him.
While the lady was lost in her thoughts, "Ummm… Akiyama-san?" Shouichi repeated himself.
"Huh? Oh, I'm just thinking about something. Hahaha!"
"Would you mind let me go, Akiyama-san?" He earnestly reminded her to take her hands off his hips.
"Oh! Sorry!" She gasped, pulling back. Her face was dusted slightly red.
"That's alright, officer," Shouichi replied as he stepped off the stool.
"Say… do your workout a lot, Seito-kun?" Suzuki probed him timidly, her dazes darted on and off him.
"Huh? That's a bit sudden... Well, I am in the rugby club and we practice almost three to four times a week."
"That's pretty healthy, do you go to the gym too?" Suzuki was being a bit more inquisitive than usual. Somehow, Shouichi felt like he was being interrogated.
"Nope, but yeah… we will have the Muscle Wednesday, starting next week." Shouichi was reminded by her quiz, he had almost forgotten about that.
"Awesome! I, um, notice... your body is quite firm," Suzuki praised him with seductive eyes. Later she laughed it off to shake awkwardness in the air.
"Tha~" Shouichi was about to reply but got interrupted by a familiar voice. "Shouichi-kun, what took you so long? I'm so bored." It was Ayane's voice that called out to him from the middle of the accessway.
"We just finished, Ayane-chan," Suzuki informed her niece. "Seito-kun, thanks for helping out. I can handle it from here. Just enjoy the evening with your girlfriend." Suzuki uttered softly and her lips curled up into a smile.
"Huh? Ayane isn't my girlfriend, it's Misaki-chan. But I guess Officer didn't know that. She's probably assumed it." Shouichi pondered.
"Darling, can you help me with my homework?" Ayane stressed her words with hidden intention as she pulled his wrist. Her voice has an unusual sweet undertone.
"Darling?!" Shouichi murmured, baffled. He briefly excused himself with a bow to the officer. And Suzuki waved to shoo him away.
***
"Are you crazy? What's "Darling" for?" Shouichi quickly whispered to Ayane's ear, eyes widened.
"Chill out, darling. It's just a joke." She smiled mischievously at him.
"Okay… Still, you led Akiyama-san to misunderstand us!" Shouichi argued, frowning at her.
"Why would you care about it? She's irrelevant." Ayane explained as she skimmed through her novel.
"Sigh, I guess." Shouichi exhaled, defeated. There was no point arguing with her, he thought.
"Or is she?" Ayane probed, glancing up from her frameless circular glasses. Her question hung in the air whether he was interested in the officer or not.
He swallowed hard before replying, "Of course not, she is like a really mature woman and I'm just a snotty kid."
"Good boy." Ayane praised, slowly resting her head on his shoulder.
"A~Ayane! Don't do that in public! People would get the wrong idea!" Shouichi warned shamefully, she didn't recoil. Her lush hair brushed softly against his skin and her signature vanilla fragrance twirled in the air around them.
"Hahaha. In public? You are hinting that it's okay if it's just the two of us?" She asked, playing on his wordings.
"I mean, it's not okay but at least people wouldn't see it!" He blurted out his reason.
"Fufufu, you are so lame. Shouichi-kun." Ayane hissed, still nesting her head on him. She was just a hairbreadth away from his face. "You should pay less attention to your surroundings and more to those who matter to you." She murmured so only he could hear it.
Without any rebuttal, Shouichi swept his eyes around the table to ease his nervousness. Then he noticed that Ayane had been listening to something, judging from her phone and her wire earphones on the table.
"Who uses wire earphones these days?" He pondered to himself, amused by her oddity.
"So... what are you listening to?" Shouichi probed her, changing the subject.
"Oh, that's an English podcast... Well, I guess I'll have to work even harder to beat you and reclaim my spot at rank one," She declared, her voice resolute and brimming with determination.
Shouichi scratched the back of his head, a faint pang of guilt surfacing. "Sorry about that," he muttered, feeling inexplicably bad for unintentionally becoming her rival.
"No need, you are simply better. It's the same for you. I reckoned you were reading lots of Japanese literature to improve too." Ayane continued with her logic.
The girl tilted her chin upward, "Wanna listen together? I don't quite understand it." She suggested, picked up the earphones and handed one to him.
"I guess, I'm curious what you are listening to these days," Shouichi responded, obediently putting one on his ear.
"(In English) Welcome to Love Attraction: The Art of Tugging Heartstrings! Today, we'll take a look at five ways to make someone fall in love with you! If you feel like…" The podcast started playing.
"Holy crap… No wonder she's been acting super weird listening to crappy podcasts." Shouichi put his palm on his forehead, lifting his bangs up a little.
"Curiosity kills a cat is real." He thought in melancholy.
"Sorry to interrupt, lovely couple!" Suzuki appeared at their flank, waving at the couple to draw their attention.
"Oh, that's alright. Officer Akiyama." Shouichi replied, pulling away slightly from his friend.
"I just finished a test run on the system... All seems to be in order so I will be taking my leave now." Suzuki informed them nonchalantly as she started gathering her things on the table.
"Thank you for your kind help!" Shouichi bowed his head lowly as a sign of appreciation and respect. She smiled in response.
"That's alright, Just give it a try, okay? If you are unsure how it works, feel free to call me." Suzuki kindly instructed before turning to exchange a nod with Ayane.
The officer made a quick stop to chat with Yoko at the counter before she exited the store.