Chapter 45: Chapter 45 - Convenience Store Date

At approximately 10:16 PM, Kuro Kurogane received a text message.

Mina: come outside

Kuro stared at his phone from the comfort of his bed, not wanting to get up to respond.

Moments later....

Kuro:no

Mina: coward

Kuro: correct

Mina: i bought limited edition melon ice cream

That was a very dangerous bait.

Kuro: manipulative

Mina: working?

Unfortunatley, yes.

Five minutes later Kuro quietly made his way down to the front door, wearing a hoodie, trying desperately not to wake up : Akari , Aoi and the entire household .

He failed miserably.

As soon as he opened the front door, Aoi’s quiet voice rang out from the darkness of the living room.

"Where are you going?" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Kuro almost died of fear in that moment.

Aoi was sitting on the couch wrapped in a blanket drinking tea, looking as if she had just escaped from Hell; or so Kuro imagined.

"A convenience store."

Aoi blinked slowly.

"At this hour?"

"Need fresh air."

Then in a very quiet tone.

" Is this because of Mina?"

Kuro had to turn his head away from Aoi.

"...Maybe."

Aoi continued to stare at him for several seconds.

Then to Kuro’s surprise, Aoi smiled very faintly.

Small, soft, and slighty sad.

"Don’t stay out too late."

Kuro felt a tightening in his chest.

"Okay."

And somehow, Kuro could still see that expression on Aoi even after he left the house.

Mina waited for Kuro near the neighborhood vending machines, wearing an oversized hoodie ,shorts , a messy ponytail.

She looked so casual.So cute.

As she saw him, she knew she’d beat him to the food I told you I’d beat you.

"You used ice cream against me."

"You’re right."

Mina tossed him a cup of canned coffee ("Merry Christmas!") and walked away.

Why? Who knows.

Kuro just followed her.

The city at night felt different.

The empty streetlights reflecting off the street and the muffled sound of cars driving in the distance mixing in the warm night air.

Mina walked next to Kuro as she licked on her melon ice cream while talking about all the things you would normally expect her to talk about.

"If a zombie apocalypse happens, the first thing I would do is push Akari."

"You always reference Akari in an apocalypse."

"Yeah, well, she’s quite a priority when it comes to survival."

Kuro chuckled.

Then Mina was instantly frozen in her tracks.

"Wait!"

"What?"

"You laughed again!"

"Shut up."

"THIS IS A HISTORICAL MOMENT."

She strikes an exaggerated pose.

"An emotionally detached introvert enjoying themselves."

"Shut up."

That’s not going to happen.

Finally they made it to a small late-night arcade by the convenience store area.

Mina’s eyes lit up immediately.

"Oh, no."

"Oh, yes."

Ten minutes later Kuro wished he had done something different.

Mina was ridiculously competitive with the claw machines.

"That stuffed bear insulted my very being."

"It’s a stuffed bear."

"So what?"

After way too much money, and no success Mina crossed her arms seriously.

"This claw machine is rigged!"

Kuro stepped up next to her.

"Move."

Mina was blinking.

"You can do that?"

"Probably."

After three tries Kuro won the plush toy on the first try.

Mina was dumbfounded.

"Great... I really dislike talented people."

He handed it to her without fanfare.

Mina was surprised.

"You’re giving me that?"

"You were there."

He only answered briefly but somehow that was enough to cause Mina to change expression.

Kuro had a habit of remembering small throw-away comments she made.

That was going to be trouble.

They were out behind the convenience store easting snacks under the warm night sky.

There were occasional cars passing by and the store’s music playing faintly on the speakers behind them.

They were quietly and easily comfortable together.

They both felt that way at the same time.

Mina was sitting up against the hand railing.

"You what?"

"What’s weird?"

Kuro looked over at her.

"You’re much easier to be with at night!"

"Is that supposed to be an insult?"

"No!"

She gave him a sidelong look.

"During school you overanalyze every little thing."

She was absolutely right.

"At night you are just... here."

Kuro continued staring into his canned coffee.

Kuro sounded unintentional when he said, "You’re also quieter during the days."

Mina was stunned.

He saw the same thing again.

Always seeing.

"Maybe I’m tired from being loud all day."

An honest reply.

Then she laughed weakly.

"Kinda sad."

Kuro instantly shook his head.

"No."

Mina looked at him without saying anything.

The soft light from the streetlamps reflected off the surface of her eyes while the warm night air flowed by them on the empty street.

And then he continued .

"I think you are nice like this also."

Mina’s heart exploded.

Because of how he said it calmly, honestly, no teasing.

It felt like a more intimate statement than a comment meant to be flirty.

She looked away.

"You have a way of saying dangerous things without even trying."

" I’m just telling the truth."

"That’s the problem."

Kuro blinked at her once.

While Mina was internally falling apart because now all his true compliments felt like they could kill her.

As midnight approached they began walking together back to Mina’s apartment area.

The streets were mainly devoid of activity at present.

Mina walked a little closer to him as they moved along.

Not that it was a conscious decision on her part.

It seemed to happen naturally.

"Kuro-kun."

"What?"

She paused for just a moment.

An awkwardly long moment rarely had she had such difficulty with her words.

"I don’t hate these quiet, relaxing nights when you’re around."

Kuro’s heart ached painfully in response to her words.

After that, the city seemed to quiet down way too much.

And felt way too close to him now.

For she hadn’t joked with him.

Nor was she just trying to tease him.

She was really being honest with him.

And somehow, that honesty made him feel things he did not expect.

Kuro turned toward her and looked at her without speaking.

The girl who laughed in order to fill up her loneliness. The girl who was now allowing him to see parts of her that she had previously hidden.

Then quietly before he had time to rethink it out he answered her honestly as well.

"Neither do I."

Mina froze in her tracks.

Then a smile started to break through on her face.

A warm and soft smile.

And for the duration of their walk home neither one of them paid any attention to how close they had moved together.