𝙱𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚠𝚗 - 𝚃. 𝚃𝚘𝚢𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚜𝚞 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

Chapter Seven

"There he is," Tensei Iida smiled, waving his arm to catch Toyomitsu's attention as the blonde walked into the dimly lit pub Friday evening.

A grin painted across Toyomitsu's lips as his attention was grabbed by Iida's waving arm and Masaki Mizushima's friendly smile. He walked the short distance towards their table, the walls lined with vintage liquor memorabilia and the scent of hopps in the air were things he'd always associated with this venue and never failed to put an extra bounce in his step.

Tapping his knuckles on the wooden surface, Toyomitsu smiled. "Since I'm the last one here, I'm gonna grab the first round."

"You better," Iida joked.

"Yeah, you know the rules," Mizushima added, using his hands to shoo their friend in the direction of the rectangular bar in the center of the sea of tables and patrons.

"And don't get that garbage light beer by accident like last time, Tai!"

Toyomitsu chuckled. "It was an honest mistake, I swear!"

After returning with a trio of pint glasses, Toyomitsu set them down on the table and settled himself beside Tensei's wheelchair. The three pints were clinked together as per their ritual 'Cheers' before the first sips were taken and it wasn't long before their first round turned into their fourth.

Laughing off the stress of the past few weeks with his best friends over a few beers was one of Toyomitsu's favourite things to do. Though they'd only become friends over the past few years, they bonded quickly and their ritual beer night became the one constant in the hero's lives and a reminder that even though things were hard, they always had each other's backs.

Offering to grab the fourth round as it circled around to be his turn to pay again, the blonde headed to the bar and tugged his wallet out of his back pocket. He twirled the leather bi-fold in his hands as he waited for the bartender to approach, ordering three pints as per usual. While they were being poured at the tap, he opened up his wallet and tugged out a few bills, accidentally taking out a folded piece of paper along with it.

The moment his fingers grazed the thick paper they immediately fidgeted to unfold the doodled page and the resting smile on his lips grew exponentially. He looked down at the drawings he'd memorized over the past few days, letting his eyes travel across the page to appreciate the sketchy planets, constellations, and stars before resting on the well-detailed plump cartoon version of himself.

It wasn't that Toyomitsu had never seen an artist's rendition of his costume before, there were a few licensed products he'd approved for various merchandise (for which he donated the proceeds) so he'd reviewed his fair share of art. What he loved about it was that Izumiya had drawn it and that meant she'd been thinking of him – just as he often did of her. Of course, he wasn't about to tell her that, she clearly had her reservations about him for whatever reason and he was unwilling to test her boundaries further than he already had.

Pulled out of his thoughts as three glasses were placed in front of him, Toyomitsu thanked the bartender and passed along his yen before tucking the paper back into his wallet and returning to the table with their drinks. Feeling a little impulsive due to the thought of the woman that had caught his attention, Toyomitsu fished out his phone and sent a text.

Toyomitsu
What's up, Trouble?

"It's nearly midnight, Tai," Mizushima raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Who're you texting?"

"Oh!" Toyomitsu laughed sheepishly as he placed his phone on the table. "Sorry, don't mean to be rude, fellas."

"We don't mind," Iida smiled slyly as he elbowed his friend's bulky arm. "As long as you tell us who it is."