Head Hunters

Chapter 5

(Also I actually have no clue why there were two versions of chapter 4, I apologise for that, the one that had less reads is gone lol)

Makoto's POV
Throughout the day, we take Mai to a variety of shops. Showing her the different clothes shops, game shops and to my pleasure we get to go into a book shop. I've been to this place plenty of times, usually before going to a nearby café that is quiet but really nice. The coffee there is great and the owner is pretty friendly.

Books line the walls of the shop, a wide range of genres. Mystery, sci-fi, romance, fantasy, horror, comedies, manga and even western comics, there's a huge variety so I've always got options. Moments after we enter the store, I'm already by the book shelves, scanning through to see if I can find any new books.

"And now we're likely not going to be able to get her to leave for another hour... I told you this was a bad idea," Goro sighs to Haruko who has this smile on her face.
"Oh don't complain, it's rare to see Makoto so happy, she looked like she was getting bored," she chuckles.
"Hey Mako Chan!" Mai calls, "Recommend some books to me, you seem like you have good tastes in books."

"Oh, well, I've got some really good ones at home, I'll show you when we get back," I say, pulling a book from the shelf and reading the blurb.
"You should try one of these, get some more variety in your reading choices," Izu laughs, lightly hitting my head with a manga.
"I'm not really into things like that."
"Oh? Have you ever read one?"
"Well, I... no..."
"Then you can't judge. You're a bookworm, you should know not to judge a book by its cover. Look, I'll pay for it, and if you don't like it... I'll take it from you, and if you do then you'll have to pay me back," He suggests.
"I don't know... I don't like doing stuff like this."
"I'll remove you from the boys group chat."

Suddenly, I hear Goro and Ren gasp, despite me not being bothered in the slightest.
"You wouldn't!" Ren says.
"I would, just agree to it Makoto, it's about a serial killer and detective, I think you'd find it quite interesting."
"Fine," I groan before jumping up to be able to grab the book from his hand. "I'll pay for it myself though, I'm not participating in some stupid bet."
"That's cause you're boring."
"Oh really? I know at least one person here who isn't bored by me."
"Yeah? Who?"

Sighing, I point towards Mai, who is browsing through books near the back of the store.
"Ugh, whatever, can we go now?"
"I'll buy this then we can leave."

After beckoning Mai to come over, I pay for the manga that I will likely not even enjoy and we leave the shop.

"Hey Mako Chan," Mai says as we walk down the street.
"Hmm?"
"Mona showed me that you were up late last night texting. You should try to get more sleep."
"I do try... my head was hurting a lot last night."
"So that's why you were up, is it any better now?" Goro asks. I nod my head before having a look at the blurb of the manga. I suppose it's not the least interesting plot line I've ever seen, but one of the appeals of normal books is how the author can describe a completely different world to you. It's just not the same when the pages are filled with drawings.

"It's getting late, let's all get back to the car and I can drive you all back home," Goro suggest, looking at his watch.
"Don't worry about us, I've got one more place I want to show Mai and then we can get the train home," I respond.
"Alright then, have fun you two," Haruko grins as we begin to walk off.

This part of town is much quieter and far more relaxing than the shop filled streets. It's tranquil, with trees planted here and there on the pavement, very little people and cars, and the smell of freshly made coffee coming from the collection of small cafés.

Finally, we arrive at our destination. The café I mentioned earlier that I frequently visit. Peering through the glass door, I see that the place is mostly empty, with Kurusu (the owner) sitting down and looking rather bored. He takes a large sip from his coffee and looks towards the door, a small smile appears on his face when he sees me. Kurusu is two years older than me, inheriting this place from his dad. Whilst I was a first year, he was a third year and the leader of the cooking club. Ever since he left, that club fell apart, and then the student council decided to disband the club. It just wasn't doing well enough.