𝙷𝚢𝚙𝚗𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚒𝚌 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 ~ 𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 ?

「𝚙𝚝. 𝟸」𝙳𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚘 & 𝙹𝚒𝚗𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚒 ~ 𝚁𝚊𝚒𝚗

"Sorry about taking you away from the party all of a sudden..."

Doppo has not released your hand since the two of you left Jinpachi's drinking party, and although you suspect it being the fact that he's too nervous to know what to do with himself, you're not complaining.

"Ah, no! That's okay, it was pretty fun but as Hifumi said, parties aren't exactly my thing."

You laugh at his remark, looking at his face in hopes of catching that rare smile of his again. "I thought so. I mean, it's not like it was obvious or anything, but I thought you might like to take a step back for a moment! Complain about your boss a little, you know?"

Your heart skips a beat as you finally get what you've been hoping for. Doppo lets out a soft laugh, his sweet smile rewarding you as he turns his head to look at you as well. "I can't believe I even thought for a second that Asakusa people were scary. You might be the nicest person I've ever met in my life."

"You must've not met a lot of nice people then?"

"...Life hasn't exactly been treating me that well. I know it's my own fault, but I don't know what I've done to deserve it. I don't understand why people always treat me like they do..."

"...How do they treat you? I mean, your boss is setting a pretty good example for me, but..."

Doppo laughs once again, causing your chest to tighten slightly. "Oh, uh... S- sorry, I shouldn't be laughing this much..."

"Why not? Not to make you feel pressured into laughing or anything, but I like hearing your laugh! Oh, wait, unless you have some sort of medical condition? It doesn't hurt to laugh, does it? In that case, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you laugh—"

You quickly cut yourself off as Doppo's laughter resurfaces. He seems to struggle calming himself down again this time, causing you to smile as he covers his mouth with the back of his hand. "I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh at you, it's just..."

Doppo's voice trembles slightly as he speaks, although this time it seems it's because he's trying his best to swallow his laughter, not because he feels intimidated by a certain vicious demon named Masamune. He hesitates for a second, biting his lip in an attempt to hide his smile, before lightly clearing his throat.

"...It's just, I've never met anyone who understands me as much as you do. It's like you're reading my mind at times, and I've only just met you! I can't help but find it a little funny, I'm sorry if I offended you."

You quickly shake your head with a smile, looking at him as you squeeze his hand. "I'm happy you decided to come with me, Doppo. To be honest, I was kinda desperate to find someone new to talk to."

"Really? Your friends from Asakusa seem pretty cool though..."

"They are! They all have their good sides, even Masamune! He's persistent, which can be slightly annoying at times, but he somehow comes up with good advice! And he always takes it upon himself to make sure everyone's having a good time!"

"He was quite scary at first... but he seemed to warm up to Hifumi pretty fast. What about that other guy? That guy who... didn't laugh at me."

Once again, an obvious expression of guilt appears on your face, to which Doppo responds to by squeezing your hand back. Despite the fact that he's clearly feeling a little awkward, it seems he no longer feels the need to profusely apologize for the slightest little thing, something that instantly lightens your mood.

"You mean Doshiro? Doshiro seems like a guy who silently judges you from the side-lines, but he's actually a really sympathetic guy. He can instantly tell when something's wrong, and he shockingly enough tends to be the most aggressive of them all when he's angry, despite how quiet he is. He even runs that little soba shop over there! ...I probably should've told you that's where I was taking you, huh..?"