【心做し】 Kokoronashi 『Between Ghouls and Doves』

『4』

Chapter Four: My Companion

Juuzou waking up gasping without any reason, he felt his chest hurting. He rested a hand on his chest, trying to feel the pain. "Have I... forgot about something important?" he said to himself. But then a sudden voice made him jumped.

"Are you okay, my companion?" Ayato asked curiously while looking at the terrified man layingat the couch. "You scared me!" He shouted.

"Oh, sorry, is that so..." Ayato said and looked at the ground while scratching the back of his head. He glanced at the clock, 11:41 PM.

"Hm? Why are you still up in this late?" Ayato asked the white-haired boy in front of him. Juuzou scratched his head thinking of a good answer. "I'm waiting for my companion."

"Well, I was searching for you." Ayato lied while his companion fell for it. "It's really late, you should have taken a rest." He said and just heard a yawn from his companion. He was about to walk away but he couldn't just leave him there alone. Just like what he heard through him that his old companion never left him alone wherever he goes. He looked back at his partner who was now already sleeping at where he sat. He just sighed.

"Are you seriously going to sleep there?" He muttered to himself as he pick his companion up and went to the room of his. He laid him down to the bed and started leaving the room. However, words coming from his partner stopped him.

"Shinohara... san..." His companion said but asleep. Ayato clenched his fists and leaned his back against the door frame and watched his companion suffer. He couldn't do anything but to watch.

"Hey, Kirishima! Wake up!" Seido shook the guy who was sleeping on the floor with his head leaning against the door frame. Ayato's eyes slowly opened and scanned the man in front of him. He then quickly stood up when he finally realized he was laying at the ground and bowed at the man.

"My apologies, I have slept without even guarding m partner." He said while still bowing. Seido patted his shoulder.

"No, You did great. It was nice that you have the responsible to guide him and it was nice that you two are getting along a little." Seido praised as Ayato stood up through his normal position.

20th Ward

"Then, we'll be going to search of Rabbit and Black Rabbit as our next target for next week. That's all." Akira reported and stood up from her seat. Everyone have left the room but Juuzou was still sitting on his chair while staring at the air. Ayato stopped from walking when he noticed his companion wasn't with him. He went back to the room where he came out of and found his partner.

"Do you want to grab some snacks with me?" Ayato suggested, Juuzou smiled a little at him and nodded his head. He stood up from his seat and walk with Ayato. They headed to the nearest eatery store outside the building. They sat next to each other, Ayato was eating uncomfortably while Juuzou was just eating gently.

"Suzuya-san, have you met the owl already?" Ayato asked as he stopped from eating. Juuzou looked to him and place down the chopsticks. "I've met both of them already, the first one died but the second one ran away."

"I see... It seems it's hard to defeat the other one right?" Ayato said not looking straight at him. Juuzou nod his head. "Do you really hate ghouls so much...?"

"Yes... My role is to kill ghouls and there's nothing else. But when I was a kid, I was forced to kill humans." Juuzou said and continued eating. "Kirishima-san, can you tell more about yourself?"

"Well, when I was a kid, I have a really nice friend. But it seems that she have forgot about me when I met her at this age." Ayato said as he doesn't realize that he was staring at his companion all the time. His companion noticed him.

"Uh... Are you alright?" he asked him. Ayato's face heated.

"S-Sorry! Have I done something? My apologies for that, Suzuya-san!" Ayato said and bowed at the white-haired man in front of him. Juuzou laughed out loud at his sudden actions. "No need to worry! You have done nothing wrong." He said. Ayato sighed in relief.

"Anyway, maybe we can call each other by our first name, we're friends now right?" Juuzou suggested which made the blue-haired boy smile a little.

"As you suggested." He said, Juuzou giggled at his answer.

While walking back to the building, Ayato walk behind Juuzou, he watched him walk. But then, he smell the scent of his flesh.

"Damn it..." He whispered as he covered his mouth. His eyes began to turned pure black, he tried to stop the sensitivity but it was too hard to.

"Hey Ayato, can we go to the zoo?!" Juuzou suggested and turned her body to Ayato. "Are you feeling well? Maybe not—"

"No it's alright, I really love to'#$*43" He can't breathe very well. They headed to the zoo where Juuzou and Shinohara went last time. They gazed at every animal they walked through.

"This is a nice place..." Ayato whispered as Juuzou nodded in agreement. "This is where I and Shinohara-san went." Juuzou said happily while remembering the memories in the zoo with his old companion. Ayato noticed that Juuzou's personality is coming back, but that personality wasn't the one he wanted. He wanted the REAL personality of him.

"Man, it's so cold." Juuzou whispered while looking at the giraffe and shaking in coldness. Ayato took his coat off and placed it to his companion. "Why are you giving it to me?"

"You said you're cold"

"You're just treating me more like a boss not a companion"

"At least, I could help." Ayato just crossed his arms. Juuzou just laughed at his actions and answer. Juuzou knew he didn't need to care about his companion's age. Even if his last partner was older than him, he can barely tolerate his current companion because of his kindness to him. They sat next to each other while looking at the giraffe. Juuzou moved his feet childishly while staring at his new companion. And then, he felt something lacking inside while staring at his companion.

"We should go now." Ayato said, Juuzou just nodded and walk next to Ayato. His chest was hurting. Many questions popped up in his mind,

"What is this anxiety? Do I know you before? Have I met you before? Why do I feel this way in front of you? Whenever I'm with you... Why do I feel something is different?" He asked himself as he never realized, he was so hurt with tears falling down his face. Ayato turned his head to him, their faces was so close and then he noticed his companion is crying. They stopped on walking.

"R-Rei?"