“So, you’ve been relaxed about so many people seeing your face. Why’s that?” Jamie asked as he opened up the register.
For most of the day, Katorasu had been downstairs in the shop. He had spent the time talking up various topics with the owner/landlord, even striking up a conversation with anyone who came into the shop for whatever reason. His personality made sure that he would always leave an impression on the various customers that came in and out throughout the business days. As of right now, night had already begun to fall.
The Nephalem, who was leaning against the left side of the store’s counter, watched as a customer left the shop, “I don’t know, I guess I’m just done with hiding by this point. Like I told you a bit ago, I’m not letting anyone stop me. That and I’m eventually going to be found out, right? Figure I might as well stop worrying so much and take it all in strides. Whatever happens, happens.”
“What about the cops?” The Brit asked, thinking about how nice it’d be to not have his shop raided.
“I’ve been mocking them with this face of mine for a bit, enough for them to probably make a sketch of me and slap wanted posters or whatever around the city and on the news.” He shrugged, as he played with his quills for a little.
“As that would help, there’s plenty of black and green hedgehogs in Station Square.” Jamie gave a quick side look at Katorasu, “Though not all of them have long quills like you.”
The swordsman’s eyes went wide after a second, “If you’re suggesting I cut them, I’d rather turn myself into the police!” He responded, rather dramatically.
Rolling his eyes, though holding back a chuckle as well, Jamie clarified, “All I’m saying is that while there are many others that look like you, they don’t have similar quillstyles, highlights, and… sense of fashion, though that last part is easily fixable with my clothing.”
“Yeah, you got a point.” Katorasu was dressed in a rather nice ensemble, even for the classic shirt and pants combo, all done by Jamie.
“Don’t take the quillcut option off the table yet… I’d bet you’d still look good afterward.” Jamie muttered the last part.
“What was that?” The taller male asked, his green ear perked up.
“Nothing just remembered something about an order.” The border collie quickly remarked, who now had a light pink flush going on in his cheeks, though Kato didn’t seem to notice that and the white lie he had just told the hedgehog.
“Alrighty then, and I’m never resorting to cutting these short.” He pointed, with his thumbs, at those long quills of his.
“Fair enough.” The canine leaned over his counter, elbows on the top of it which seemed to clash with how formal Jamie behaved.
Truth be told, Jamie, despite how he acted towards the black hedgehog that seemingly fell into his life, had always enjoyed him in a way. His presence, while annoying at times, was always appreciated at the end of the day. Which was the reason why he sometimes worried about the swordsman, often even more than the clothing he had painstakingly made for the nephalem. The Brit always did have a hard time conveying his feelings to anyone, he always had been an emotional recluse ever since he left home. Still though, despite how he felt a little attached to the tall and athletic male, Jamie didn’t feel the desire to act on those feelings. Rather, he figured to let them fade away naturally, rather than suppressing them or denying how felt towards Katorasu. Besides, the black hedgehog, at least to Jamie, seemed to have had his eyes on someone else since last night.
With a wave of his hands, the nephalem said hello to the newest person that entered the shop: Althaea. Her turquoise eyes locked with Kato’s, just like the last, and first, time that she was here in the shop. She only gave a weak hello with her hand, raising the limb just above her chest and only slightly waving with it before letting it fall back down by her side. As she moved across the shop, her eyes would go from Jamie to Katorasu and back again a couple of times.
Jamie, who quickly stood up straight at his post when Althaea entered, took notice of the brief interaction between the two, as well as where her eyes went, before opening his mouth, “Well, it was a bit of a hassle to repair your coat, but I did it.” He turned to make his way to the back of the shop as he continued, “As with other jobs such as this, I am sure you will be more than happy with the result.”
Before Alt could say thank you, Kato decided to get a little bit closer to the cobalt-streaked woman and do what he does best: leave an impression. “So, what’s a dark and pretty hedgie like you do for fun? Outside of getting your clothing fixed up.” He leaned on the counter, again, tilting his head as he looked up at her lightly. His smile was close to being infectious it seemed.
The sudden oncoming flush that was flooding Althaea’s cheeks caught both of them off guard, with the blue hedgehog’s eyes looking away from the green hedgehog, who was currently regretting the awkward situation he had just created. Without looking to his right, he had hoped Jamie would be coming back soon to save Kato from this. After a minute or two, it didn’t seem like that would be happening anytime soon.
With some hesitation, Katorasu began to apologize, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make things weird. Let me start over: My name’s Katorasu, though you can call me Kato for short if ya want.” His smile was back on his lips now.
“I’m Althaea, though I’m sure you overheard me the other night. I can see you’re not… dressed so over the top now. Is that just a preference or…?” She asked, tilting her head now as well.
“Oh, that outfit is what I wear for nightly patrols. It’s my vigilante gear, I think it looks a lot cooler than me wearing casual stuff.” Kato’s eyes were taking in Alt’s outfit, getting a more in-depth look at the ensemble she wore, though with a lack of her coat, “I like your style, to be honest. A cool coat over casual clothing never would’ve thought of that. I’ll remember to try it sometime.”
Partway through Kato’s spiel, Althaea gazed down at what she wore: it was almost the same style as the nephalem’s, though her shirt was a pure white while his was a brilliant green, the pants were the same though.
“Thank you?” She looked puzzled, not sure how to feel about this oddly eccentric hedgehog, “I’m sorry but did you say ‘vigilante’?”
“Yeah, I know, illegal and all that. I’ve done good though, heck I figure sometimes if I hadn’t shown up at times things would’ve not panned out so great. The cops take a while to show up, not like that’s their fault or anything, so if I’m there before they are, why not jump in and help?” He asked though it was a bit rhetorical in a sense.
After a few seconds, something in Althaea’s mind clicked. “You must be the one in the rumors that I’ve been hearing about! I didn’t think that *you* would be the black and green hedgehog that was going around protecting people.” Alt then realized how that sounded a little rude, “I’m not saying you don’t look capable though! I just didn’t think that someone with your carefree attitude could willingly take on that task by themselves.”
Glossing over everything but the part about rumors, the nephalem quickly piped up, “Wait, people talk about me?” He wasn’t sure whether to feel flattered or concerned.
The cobalt-streaked female nodded, “It isn’t rare, but I often hear talk about some kind of vigilante that roams the less-than-fortunate districts and strikes from out of the shadows and retreating into them; I hear some suggesting you’re from them even. Though I guess the rumors portrayed you in an almost exact opposite way as you truly act like. I’m sure you’re a capable fighter still, Kato.” She smiled, secretly liking the way his name rolled off her tongue.
“As a matter of fact, I am. Though I can’t really bust out all the moves, that’d be overkill on just a couple of random thugs. Heck, they don’t deserve to be punched or kicked in the face all that much, that’s why I use zip ties or ropes whenever I can.” He elaborated, before realizing something, “Say, what about you? Since you know a lot about me and I don’t know anything about you. Mind telling me a thing or two?”
Something neither of the two had noticed was that Jamie had already returned from retrieving Althaea’s coat. Though the border collie watched from the back a little, wanting to see how the conversation between the two would play out naturally rather than just interrupting them.
Althea was a bit hesitant it seemed, “Well, I’m a bit of a… wanderer, who gets herself into trouble more than she should. I handle myself just fine though, my coat on the other hand is a different situation.” She responded.
“So you’re new in town?” He asked. “I’ve been here for a couple of months, and I love the city so far, even though I haven’t been able to do a whole lot in it.”
“I’d be happy to explore it with you,” She admitted, “Though I highly doubt I’ll be staying here long enough for that.” Alt sighed a little.
“Why is that?” Katorasu asked, straightforwardly.
Her turquoise eyes looked down at the top of the counter, avoiding Kato’s golden orbs. She didn’t like that question at all, judging by the solemn look across her previously happy face.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. I know I don’t like talking about my reasons for being here.” His chipper tone was replaced by an apologetic one.
Alt nodded her head at first, smiling to reassure the nephalem, “It’s alright, it’s not your fault. It’s common courtesy to ask something like that. It’s just me… being a bit cautious about who I talk to and what I tell them. To be honest, I normally wouldn’t be this talkative if it wasn’t for what I’ve heard: about a black and green hedgehog as I said. I wasn’t sure it was you, despite the outfit you wore since last time I was here.”
He smiled back, resisting the urge to chuckle as he did so, “Thanks, way to make a guy like me feel special.”
From there, the nephalem decided to take a gander at the back of the shop to look for Jamie, causing him to miss Alt’s cheeks flushing from what he said. To his surprise, and a bit of embarrassment, the border collie was not even that far from the counter that he and Althaea were chatting at.
“How long have you been there?” The emerald swordsman asked, as Alt herself now looked over to Jamie. She was a bit embarrassed herself.
The Brit, holding the female’s coat in one arm, flatly responded, “I just got back.”
Before Kato could protest that statement, Jamie went ahead and placed the repaired piece of clothing on the countertop. On the surface, he appeared to be proud of his work as his eyes scanned across the length of the ebony coat.
Like she did the other night, Alt lightly bowed out of gratitude for the work done on her beloved coat. “Thank you, Mr. Porter.”
“You can just call me Jamie, I’d much prefer it that way anyhow. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the work put into it, there’s practically no evidence of it ever being cut.” Jamie spoke, while he was rather formal sounding as always, it was clear he thought highly of his craft.
He was right, as Althaea looked and felt all around the coat, there were no signs of any stitching. Alt soon had a soft smile on her face, she genuinely felt happy about there being no scarring on the coat.
With that though, her eyes showed hints of solemness as she turned to Katorasu, “Well, I suppose I should get going now. It was nice to meet someone like you; whatever your reasons for being a vigilante, I wish you the best of luck regardless.” She spoke, nodding her head.
“Thanks, I hope one day you’ll find a place to settle down, sounds like a lonely life.” The nephalem responded though he realized perhaps he shouldn’t have said the last part.
“It is, but it allows me to meet new people always, regardless. None like you of course, which is the sad part. You’re very… interesting, Kato. Sadly, I don’t have a phone or anything you can contact me with.” She sighed.
“It’s fine, I don’t have a phone myself. Probably should get one soon, even though I don’t have much use for a phone in the first place.” He laughed, sheepishly.
The mood became a little somber soon after, as the pair said their potential goodbyes and waved to one another. Like all the other customers, though now on a personal level, Katorasu had left an imprint on Althaea, though he was unaware of the feelings that were stirred in that room, in only a handful of minutes no less, amongst the three of them. To be honest, Katorasu felt a tinge of sadness, he felt as if there was some connection or relatability between the two of them. Outside of a similar sense of style, of course. Still though, despite what his eyes said, he smiled and waved at the female, who did the same in return though with more effort into the wave than before.
After the door closed behind Alt, and the cobalt-streaked woman giving one last look to Kato, Jamie moved a little close to the nephalem. “You two seemed perfect for each other, it’s almost heartbreaking to see her go.”
“‘Heartbreaking’? I wouldn’t call it that, I mean, I’d like to get to know her better but if she can’t stay then that’s the end of that. All I can do is wish her luck.” He responded, looking over to the short male.
“Oddly mature of you,” Jamie noted, before switching topics, “On a more exciting note: are you ready for tomorrow night?” He asked as he began his nightly routine of closing up the shop.
“Aw, how sweet, you remembered.” Kato playfully responded, “You bet I’m excited, even though I won’t be taking down a branch of a crime organization, I’ll still be able to know where to hit their operations without them being able to expect me.” A cocky smile was on his face now.
“Good.” Jamie replied, “With that, now I don’t have to feel sorry for you feeling useless, despite your best efforts.” The Brit continued, sounding like he was joking despite the deadpan tone of voice.
“Jeez, Jamie. You sure you haven’t conked your head? You’re starting to act a little bit softer with me,” Kato joked, poking a little fun at his landlord.
Rolling his eyes, Jamie, who had just finished closing up shop, turned to the black hedgehog, “Well it’s either that or constantly be annoyed with your antics and your personality.” The Brit made his way back to the counter to retrieve his umbrella.
“True, I know I’ve gotten used to all your big words and little jabs at me.” He chuckled, as he thought about where he would head for tonight’s patrol. Even though he still wasn’t dressed in his usual attire for his nightly routine.
Realizing that though, Katorasu quickly said, “I’ll be back,” and made his way upstairs and to his apartment to get changed. Incidentally, he left a somberish Jamie alone in the shop, who felt like waiting for the nephalem would possibly shine a light on how he felt about his tenant. Sadly, he felt it was best to go ahead and leave. By the time Katorasu bolted down the stairs, this time dressed in his gear, Jamie had already turned the corner of the street as he made his way home. Out of the desire to say goodnight to his landlord and only friend, Kato’s eyes scanned the dim shop in hopes to spot the canine in some corner by himself, with his arms folded and face disappointed. This was not the case. Katorasu, now back in his apartment, was alone in the building, except for his potted plant friend that seemed to be wilting as it sat on the windowsill; the nephalem, for one split second, reflected on his past as he saw the ill plant. After he watered his wilting friend, Katorasu grabbed ahold of the book he had bought the night before and climbed out of his apartment window, ready to start another night for better or for worse.
