"MY DAD LOST AN ARM?"
"Yea." I said half wincing. "That's about what the bar lady said Kiana."
"Why didn't you tell me that Gojo?"
"I didn't pay that much attention to him back then y'know."
"Isn't a missing arm something memorable?"
"Touche. But honestly... have you ever tried remembering every single detail of someone you saw last week on the street after getting... I dunno, assaulted by a white haired girl whose life you saved?"
At least Kiana had the decency to look embarrassed at that.
Kiana quickly shifted to an expression of loss as she frantically walked back and forth on the streets in front of the bar. The questioning had gotten us fairly little information about Siegfried despite the bar lady's claim that he was a regular.
The only things of substance were that he would come over twice or thrice a week, and that he only had one arm.
Mei kept silent at the side. She gently pulled at my sleeve as she whispered to me. "Do you think she'll be alright? This is ...a lot"
I glanced back at Kiana- pacing, biting her thumb and muttering curses.
"...She should be. Right?
Even I didn't sound convinced
Honestly, my opinion of Siegfried kept shifting- which was happening way too often today. Maybe he wasn't a deadbeat. Maybe he was hiding for her safety. A "keep her away from the enemy" kind of thing.
But then again, some things he did were still ridiculous.
One thing was certain though. He was Kiana's father. And Kiana still loved him.
That was what truly mattered at the moment.
And that made it hard to tell how she'd really take this.
"Alright! I'm going to camp out here for him!" Kiana promised to herself, steely determination clear in her eyes.
I guess my worries were for nothing.
Mei visibly relaxed seeing Kiana's change as well.
Kiana walked back over, fidgeting slightly. "Guys, I er.... might need to stay here a bit longer. I need to find out what's wrong with my stinky dad."
"I don't mind. I'm very free anyways." Mei said with a smile.
"Really? You're the best Mei" Kiana lunged towards Mei with a hug, causing her to gasp. However, Mei still hugged back in the end, an awkward smile on her face,
It made sense. Kiana's actions were really... bold to say it nicely.
Letting Mei go, Kiana turned to me. "What about you Go-"
"Wait." I put up a palm. "Let me get this clear. You want to do a stakeout right?"
"Yup!"
"We- You are going to get arrested... again."
"W-what?" Kiana stuttered.
Mei was shocked by that revelation as well as she said with wide eyes. "You were arrested?"
"Mei! Don't believe him! He's slandering me!"
Ignoring both of their reactions, I continued. "Plus, what if he's finds us before we see him during our stakeout? You told me that he's really... capable right?"
Kiana kept silent for a moment, and then looked at Gojo in the eye. "Then what should we do?"
"Maybe-" Mei paused, as if hesitating. However, she quickly overcame it. "-my dad can help? He knows some people"
Hmm...
Mei didn't really want to bring up her dad did she?
Bad relationship? I don't think so considering what the principal said that day about her dad.
Maybe not wanting to bring her status into a relationship? That'd make sense. The people around her at school.... I couldn't tell what I was feeling about them before, but I could now.
It was how fake they were.
Perhaps Mei could feel it herself? And that's why she was reluctant to bring up her father?
I put aside my thoughts for now as I saw the light in Kiana's eyes light up. She opened her mouth to speak, but she froze. "Thank you Mei... but it... might be dangerous. Maybe it'd be better for me to keep searching alone..."
"Kiana..." Mei uttered.
"Don't worry guys! I'll find my dad and kick his along with the bad guy's butts in no time!" Kiana said with a smile as she pointed to herself.
But her smile...
It was fake.
It was the kind of smile that you would wear when you were pretending that everything was fine, even though you really wanted to ask for help.
With that, I clapped my hands, getting both of the girl's attention.
"Alright, things are getting a bit out of hand here. Who said that Siegfried lost his arm fighting bad guys?"
"Ah?"
"Look at him, drinking booze and having a great time in the bar. It seems to me like he's having the time of his life."
"Ahhh????"
"Maybe he's even knocking himself out in another bar right now!"
"AAAHHHHH????!!!"
Uh oh... I knew that tone.
She was about to go ballistic.
"You can't break the lamp post Kiana!" I said as I hurriedly restrained her.
"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!"
"The lamp post is not your enemy..."
"It'll be my surrogate for now!"
After a moment, Kiana finally calmed down, allowing to speak once more.
"But you see what I mean right? We don't know enough info right now. Let's go take a break first and clear our heads. All this being under the sun is messing with our thinking."
"Y-yeah... I guess..." Kiana said slowly. She fiddled around with her skirt a little, maybe in embarrassment at the realisation she was probably overthinking.
Before she could even react, I grabbed her shoulders. "Alright! We can go eat lunch then! I'm starving! How about some ramen Mei?"
"I wouldn't mind some."
"Great!
"Hey, why aren't you asking me what I want to eat?"
"You'd eat anything, Kiana."
"Lies! I have standards!"
"You eat the pineapples on the pizza."
"You're the picky eater here! I'm just accepting everything."
Mei giggled. "You don't eat pineapples on pizza Gojo?"
"What? You too?"
Our bickering continued as I slowly pushed Kiana to our destination.
At the side, Mei let out a breath relief. She gave me a closed-eyed smile and followed along.
Phew, crisis averted for now.
(A/N: How was this chapter? I hope that the characters didn't feel OOC. Please tell me if you have any criticisms. And please give me some powerstones if you liked the chapter!)