Frigid Flame

Chapter 8

Years had passed since Shimo had asked(told) Keigo to date her, and the two were now finally adults. Shimo at nineteen and Keigo at eighteen, after going undercover across the country, she decided to quit the undercover work and switch to a slower-paced, office type job. She had already saved up a large sum that dwarfed what her father took home when she was a child. The two had moved into a private flat together and had been working out everything Keigo needed to get his agency off the ground.

A large smile filled her face when she caught sight of his feathered back. That was another thing that had changed over the years, Shimo had stopped suppressing her feelings. She snuck up behind him, getting ready to surprise him with a hug, her arms outstretched. He would never see this coming!

"Whatcha doing there icy-wifey?"

He caused a bright flush to go across her face at the nickname. He had never called her that before and now instead of catching him off guard, she was completely stumped. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish when he turned to see her. His gold eyes sparkled mischievously at her dumbfounded expression. With a smirk, he pulled her flush against him in a tight hug.

"You're getting sloppy with the sneaking Shimo, haha!" He smiled down at her brightly and watched as her face morphed into the small smile that she constantly had now. Leaning her head forward to rest on his chest, she merely shrugged at him.

"Maybe that's a good thing since I'll just be your new personal secretary when we get your agency up." She hummed backed to him, listening to his heartbeat.

He looked down at her hair in concern, his eyes catching another recent development about her. A large lock of her hair had turned completely white overnight a few months ago. When he asked about it she simply shrugged, saying it happened to her brother when they were younger also. While it worried him, she took it as a nice reminder of the times she had spent with her twin.

"Stop looking at my hair and show me what you've come up with to cover everything the Hero Commission won't."

Her words took his attention back to the papers he was looking at. It was going to be tight on his end for a while until he built up more standing and popularity, but it was doable. He showed Shimo the rest of the financial papers he had finished budgeting out with a sheepish look.

"I know you said it wouldn't matter if money was tight, but it's gonna be really tight..."

He trailed off, he didn't the two of them to live to a tight budget, and he certainly couldn't ask her to take on the burden of the full rent of their new place.

"Why are you solely using your funds and a fixed loan? I have enough to cover half and still be left with more than enough for the next few years in case we hit a rough patch."

He looked at her wide-eyed, he didn't want to burden her with funding issues.

"I couldn't ask you to do that.."

Shimo gave him a soft smile, lifting her right hand to his cheek tenderly. They stood there staring at each other quietly. Keigo looked between a mix of embarrassment and shame, while she just rubbed his cheek with her thumb.

"Good thing I'm demanding you do it. The world needs a hero like you. Who am I to stand in the way?"

She picked up a pen and began to cross out the loan and add her own changes to it. While she wrote the adjustments, she felt Keigo lean into her hand. It was short-lived, however, when he grasped it and turned his head to kiss her palm.

"What did I do to deserve you?"

"Simple, your feathery ass annoyed the hell outta me till I couldn't live without it."

Her eyes met his, the teal in them having almost completely faded away over the years. It left her grey eyes with a soft, bluish tint to them. A mirthful shine sparkled in her eyes as she pulled away.

"Just show them the new adjustments I put and they should have no problem funding you. I need to go to the store, someone in this apartment inhales chicken like it's air. Be good!"

She gave him a wink and grabbed her purse heading out of the apartment. A sigh exited her nose as she made her way out of the building and started walking to the market she liked.

The market itself was a little seedy, but that was due to some of the under the counter dealing that would sometimes happen. She went for the chicken and the fish since they had some of the best selections. It wasn't long before she arrived at her destination with a small smile, though it quickly became passive when the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

There was someone watching her.

She acted as everything was normal, going from stall to stall like normal. A few of the vendors would wave her over with a bright smile telling her they had restocked or gotten new products that they thought she'd like. She was quick to get her shopping done, feigning interest in the small talk they engaged her with, still being watched by someone she couldn't pinpoint.

After about half an hour later she was done with her shopping and left the market, making sure to take a longer and more complicated route home. Whoever had been watching her had started following her,

If I remember right there's an alley around the corner I could trap them in.

She quickly turned and hid behind the side of a dumpster, listening for the soft sounds of footsteps. Just as they near she lashed out, her quirk activating and freezing her pursuer in place. Fixing them with a hard glare she turned to look at their face.

Teal eyes met her grey ones, a lazy smirk pulling across their marred face.

"I almost didn't recognize you Shi-Shi."