"Y/n?"
You looked in the direction where the voice was coming from. It was Sougo, who was standing at the now broken-down entrance of the shop, looking at you with that monster look of him once again.
"Hey, why do you keep looking at me like that?"
"Nothing. You wouldn't understand. You're way too innocent. Anyways, did you see a rebel here? Where'd he go? Do you have any leads on where he might be?"
"Why do I feel like I'm being interrogated here?"
"Just be good girl, and answer the damn questions. I'm pretty sure you saw him here. He's a long-haired guy with a duck by his side."
"It's not a duck. It's an Amanto."
"So you did see him. Where'd he go?"
"Outside."
"Obviously, but where exactly outside?"
"Uhm, he went to the left."
"Got it. Thanks for the help!"
You didn't tell him the truth, for you didn't want Zura to be caught. However, Sougo must've known about that since he went to the right. You can only hope that Zura was already far away before Sougo could catch up to him.
You said farewell to Ikumatsu, before heading out of the ramen shop. When you got out of the restaurant, you saw Hijikata leaning on his police car while smoking a cigarette. You were confused as to why he was still there and not chasing for Zura, so you looked at him. He looked back at you, but not for long, for his eyes caught sight of the paper you had in your hand.
You gulped. You didn't want him to have the paper because you didn't want to break Zura's trust in you. You immediately placed the paper in your pocket and walked as fast as you can but only for a few seconds, for you tripped on his foot. He must've extended it when you decided to act like a suspicious person.
Thankfully, his arm caught you just before your face hit the ground.
"Thank you!" you said.
After you said that, you felt his other arm reach to the insides of your pocket. You tried to stop him but just when you were about to you felt his other arm let go of you, causing you to fall face first to the ground. When you stood up and recovered from what just happened, he was no longer outside his police car, but instead, he was already speeding off to who knows where. Perhaps, it might even be the address written in the paper he just got from you. You mentally cursed yourself for being so careless as to lose a piece of paper and for causing Zura's possible arrest. Hopefully, Zura won't be in that place right now, or you wouldn't be able to forgive yourself.
You continued mapping the city of Edo. Your next stop was the place of Odd Jobs. As much as you didn't want to go there, you cannot help but to because you are mapping the whole city.
When you arrived at the street in front of Odd Jobs, you started to scribble some notes in your notebook.
"What are you doing here?"
You looked at your back. There was no person. You looked to your side, both left and right, but there was none also.
"Up here."
You looked up. The person who called you was standing outside his office on the second floor of the building to your right. It was the person who hated you, the person you wished you wouldn't encounter today.
"I'm sorry. I'll go now."
"Tsk. The streets aren't mine. You can stay there if you'd like to."
You kept quiet and lowered your head to stare at the ground. You cannot bear to look at him now, for you only remember your past interaction, you only remember how you didn't deserve to be back on this planet.
"Hey! You still didn't answer my question."
"I was mapping the city so I wouldn't get lost again."
"Is that all?"
You nodded.
"Then, why are you scribbling lots of things in your notebook?"
"No reason."
"Tsk. If you're planning to ruin Earth, I won't let you live."
"I don't."
Silence filled the air for a few minutes.
"Have you eaten? You can come here. Let's eat."
"Why are you being so nice, right now?"
"You don't answer a question with another question. Besides, I'm not being nice. Kagura and Shinpachi are just not here right now. I need someone to talk to."
"You can talk to the old lady downstairs."
"I've had enough of that old hag's face. Besides, I really wanted to talk to you."
"What for?"
"I have questions that need answers. You're the only one who can do that, so you better come here. Let's eat and talk."
"I've eaten already, and I'm not really sure if I want to talk to you."
"If this is about the kick yesterday, that was an accident. I swear I'm not that violent. Besides, I'm pretty sure that bandages on your body weren't the result of my kick, right?"
"Yes, they're not. I got them from a fight with a police officer."
"Those good-for-nothings Shinsengumi bastards?"
You nodded.
"Why are you still not coming here, then? I told you already that I'm not going to hurt you."
"It's not about that."
"Was it because of what I said yesterday?"
You were silent.
"Tsk didn't know you were that sensitive."
You kept quiet.
"Hey, don't give me the silent treatment. What I said yesterday was out of anger. People say stuff they don't mean to when they're angry. Just forget about it. I didn't mean a single word I said before."
You still didn't move your mouth.
"Fine, maybe I meant what I said that you don't have the right to be here again. I still think that's true, but will that change anything? No, right? Because you're still here. You didn't go back to your planet. I just have to live with that truth. Besides, you're here now, so why don't you help me understand you, help me understand why you did what you did."
He sighed. Both of you remained silent.
You contemplated his offer to talk. You didn't want to talk to him because you felt like there was nothing to talk about. However, a part of you felt like you should because there's a lot to talk about, especially the past. You continued debating on your mind whether to go or not for a few minutes until you finally decided to choose the latter. You weren't ready to share your reasons to the world, to him, to anyone in general, for they were more complicated than just being threatened to do what you did. There are just things that are better kept to yourself, and those are one of them.
"I'm sorry. I have somewhere to go to."
