The Scholar and The Hat Guy Wanderer x Reader

Chapter 9: Who Is He?

You quickly ran to catch up with the stranger. You never expected him to be a fast walker. Once you got up to him, you noticed that the stranger didn't change his pace. With a bow in one hand and the rolling suitcase in the other, it became difficult to keep up.

"Hey, Hat Guy? Could you please slow down a bit?"

The stranger didn't look back, nor did he respond. He kept walking, but it seemed he slowed down a bit. You were still a little behind, but you were close to him, you were certain you weren't going to get lost.

~

It's been four hours, and you were extremely tired. You both haven't rested since leaving the hut.

You looked up and noticed that the Hat Guy didn't seem to be tired at all. You looked around to find some kind of place to rest until your eyes rested on a large tent, close to the shallow river. You were relieved to find a resting place, but you still had to convince the Hat Guy to rest.

"Hat Guy? Aren't you tired?"

"No."

You looked at him from behind, trying to figure out how to stop and rest. You looked around, and your eyes landed on a tree full of sunsettias.

Like on cue, your stomach growled. The stranger most likely heard it because he stopped.

He looked towards the hut, then sighed, "If you really can't make it for two more hours then we'll rest, but after that, don't ask for anything."

With a sigh of relief, you make your way to the sunsettia tree. You were able to pick four sunsettias, two for each of you.

While walking towards the hut, you noticed that the sky was getting darker. You weren't exactly afraid of the dark, but you were afraid of being outside during nighttime.

When you were six years old, you got lost in Inazuma City. While your mother was talking to a shopkeeper, you got distracted following a firefly. You were on top of a bridge in the City when you noticed that you weren't with your mother anymore. You later found out that you were on the bridge between the police station and the Tenshukaku. You were there, all alone, looking around for the sight of a familiar face. You wanted to scream, to cry, but nothing came out. It was dark, with no one in sight, except a few guards in these buildings on each side of the bridge, looking tired. You could have asked them for help, but you were always told to not talk to strangers, even if you needed help. You never understood the reason, but you were never a child to disobey their mother. You sat on the bridge, waiting for your parents or someone familiar to come find you. You fell asleep waiting.

You were suddenly startled awake by an unfamiliar man with blue, wavy hair. He told you his name, but you don't quite remember anymore. He helped you up and asked if you were lost. You nodded to the stranger, and he offered you to go with him since he knew your parents. You hesitated for a while, but because he knew your parents, you didn't think of him as a stranger. When you were about to take his hand, a familiar voice called out to you. You looked in the direction of the voice, and it was your mother. You looked back to see the man, but he was nowhere to be found. Your mother ran towards you crying. It scared you to see your mother cry because it was very rare to see tears on her face. When you got older, you finally understood the reason why she was crying. She was crying because she could have lost her only child forever, not because you ran away, but because you could have been taken by a stranger. You have always been afraid of being outside during nighttime after that.

You saw a small flame in the distance, taking you out of your daydream. You noticed that the Hat Guy was pouring something into a bowl out of a pot. How did he find all of these materials? Doesn't he need a crafting bench to create a portable pot?

You looked at your sunsettias and back at the Hat Guy. How did he cook so quickly? You shook off all those questions and kept going towards the guy.

When you arrived, there was a soft fragrance of tea. You sat down and put the sunsettias beside you, looking at the floating pot. You were trying to figure out what kind of meal he created until a bowl of rice was in front of your face. Startled, you looked beside you, noticing the Hat Guy offering the bowl to you. You looked at him for a few seconds, then your eyes landed on the bowl.

"Aren't you hungry? I don't have time for you to be picky!" The Hat Guy said, annoyed.

You looked at the bowl and hesitantly accepted it. The smell of the food made your stomach grumble. You got the spoon and hesitantly put it in your mouth. The taste was amazing! You had never had anything like it before! You tasted the blending of the sweet rice and bitter tea in your mouth. It reminded you of Unagi Chazuke, a unique dish from Inazuma.

You were almost finished with the dish when you noticed that the Hat Guy wasn't eating, only staring at you.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"You don't need to worry about me." the Hat Guy responded.

You looked at your bowl then back at the Hat Guy. Did he make this dish just for you? You remembered your sunnestias that you left abandoned at your side. When you finished your meal, you grabbed the sunsettias and the bowl and left towards the river to wash them.

Although you were barely able to see, you were still able to wash the sunsettias. When you returned to the campsite, you offered a sunsettia to the Hat Guy.

He looked at you in annoyance, "I told you to not worry about me! You really are deaf."

You just sighed and left the sunsettias inside the bowl that he gave you beside him. You went inside the huge hut and tried to sleep. You will need the energy for tomorrow.

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Word Count: 1069

A/N- I'M STILL ALIVE! I apologize for the very late upload, my teachers are not being very kind with the workload. Even so, I'll still continue this project until it's finished. Also, THANK YOU FOR 448 VIEWS. Gosh, it's multiplying 😅

Alright then, that's all I have for today, have a great day/night! If anyone has any questions or you saw a mistake in the story, please leave a comment telling me.