At half past five in the evening, Liohime's neighborhood and the surrounding area was overrun with passers-by.
People of different age groups, sexes, and genders along with their own Magical Beasts walked past each other, unaware of the unfamiliar couple that featured the only Magical Beast-Girl hybrid and a worker in the thievery sector of a crime organization strutting along among them.
It had been quite some time since Liohime had taken a casual stroll like this. His eyes wandered around as he viewed the different men, women and children all going along a different path, going through their own joys and troubles, and living very different lives.
Sticking close by was a surprisingly quiet Shihon, whose beastly features were hidden well by her outfit. Her body was up against the side of Liohime even more now, and she could only look on in awe at the buildings, homes, nearby stores and markets that the southern region of Polar Town had to offer.
Every now and then, she would glance over at the young man next to her, but he would keep quiet and keep walking.
Unbeknownst to her, they were both thinking the same thing after about ten minutes of silence:
What should I talk about in this situation!?
As they now turned to walk alongside one of the main streets, Liohime was now overcome with loads of internal questions that tormented him.
Am I doing this right? Is she satisfied with this? Is my silence messing things up right now? What should I tell her at this point in time?
He wanted this to be the flawless start to their building relationship as Magical Beast and Master, but he was clearly unsure of what to bring up.
It still felt awkward having to talk to a woman who was actually still a Magical Beast in principle, but he knew that he had converse with her naturally as any other human would.
Unfortunately for him, he was not a social butterfly, and the guesses for what could potentially break the ice between them were swirling in the back of his mind.
Meanwhile, Shihon had always been dreaming of an event like this where they could have a relaxing date to take place. However, now that she was walking with him among a crowd that featured some passers-by who exchanged glances at her outfit and her face, she was too nervous to even hold his hand.
Hand holding is pretty lewd anyway, so you'll be fine.
Suddenly, she stopped, and noticing this, Liohime hastily followed suit, examining the look on her face.
"Um…Shihon?"
And finally, she spoke up, with the growling in her stomach growing.
"I'm hungry."
"..."
"I'm hungry."
"What is this, a locked sidequest that has to be accepted in order for the story to continue?"
***
Stopping at a nearby food stall with delicious takoyaki as a special dish on the menu, Liohime began to order two servings while Shihon paced back and forth at a bench a few feet away.
Calm down, she lectured herself excitedly. Please calm down.
Master and I will simply eat peacefully together on this bench, so I must take charge and ensure that he enjoys this perfect date as much as I am!
The only reason why she was not right next to her partner was that she was begged to wait for him and secure a seat where they could eat together.
Still, every now and then, she would inspect his absolutely handsome figure from afar and constantly admire him, then pace around again with anxiety.
I love him. I love him, I love him, I seriously fucking love him!!!
She nervously bit her nails and then froze as she spotted him about to return to her, but then her eyes widened and the stare turned into a glare.
Huh?
A young girl about Liohime's age had walked up to him with a slightly reddened face while she twirled her hair, and a group of girls just northeast of her looked on with playfulness written all over their faces.
Yikes. Anybody willing to bet on the future chances of first-degree murder?
As if on instinct, Shihon shuffled forward and the conversation was now in earshot.
"S-So yeah…I was wondering if you're single."
"Hey, you're pretty bold," joked Liohime with a tightened grip on the two wrapped meals that he held onto. "What's your name?"
The girl pouted with her enchanting narrowed cyan eyes, but she did not keep them off of him, causing his heart to race a bit.
"Sudami. A-And what's wrong with being bold? I like what I see, so I gotta ask, right?"
She placed her hands on her hips and held her body akimbo, and Liohime scoffed in amazement.
"So….are you?" she repeated.
"Hm? Oh, single, huh? Well-"
"He isn't, so piss off," answered the harsh, irritable voice that interrupted.
The hairs on Liohime's neck stood, and Sudami flinched as they both turned to find Shihon's indignant facial expression right next to them.
Her tight lips, crossed arms and her index finger motion to scatter away, told the young man everything that he needed to know.
Ah…she's pissed.
Ya think?
Without waiting for a reply, she faced Liohime and faked a smile. "Shall we sit down and eat together, dear?"
"Uh-"
And immediately, she held onto his right arm and gave Sudami a nasty wince before leaving with her partner, but not without noticing Sudami sizing her up before turning around to return to her dissatisfied group of friends.
I wish you fucking would, bitch, Shihon thought.
"Well that was embarrassing," remarked Liohime, scratching his head as the duo walked. "What was that all abou-"
"Master, how shameless of you," was the quick, whispered interjection.
"Eh?"
He gave her a confusing look, but she easily avoided eye contact and decided not to continue.
Then, as Liohime shrugged it off and returned his gaze to what was ahead of him…
"Aaaand the bench is now occupied. You should have stayed where you were, Shihon."
"Oooooh, I am soooo sorry for interrupting your flirtatious escapade with your future wife, Li. Oh. Hi. Me," was the retort that stung him quite badly."
"Wha-are you seriously that insecure-"
"Insecure, huh? Is that the excuse that we're going with? Sure, go ahead and blame me."
"Now look here, that isn't an excuse. I was gonna turn her down, anyway, so stop whi-"
"Whining?" she cut him off once again.
"Yeah! There was no reason to be riled up for that!" Liohime voiced.
The tension began to build, and their tones also began to rise.
"No reason!?" After everything we've been through!?"
"O-Oh, please, Shihon! Can you go for one day without acting weird about our history when there has barely been anything between us!?
"EVEN SO-"
"Hey, can you two quiet it down? My Magical Beast is trying to sleep here," was the response of an unfamiliar voice.
Liohime and Shihon stared at an elderly man who leaned on a nearby lightpole, holding a three-headed purple-bluish snake that coiled around him and the pole.
A few bystanders had gathered, looking on at the argument that had been brewing between the two, and with only Liohime realizing this, he had to act quickly to avoid escalating it further.
"You damn-" started Shihon, clearly still aggravated, but he quickly held her back and apologized.
"Sorry about that. Let's go Shihon."
***
The mood had turned sour only by a little bit, but as the couple continued to strut along, Liohime still aimed to fix the troublesome scenario that he had been given.
He waited until her stiff expression had relaxed after a few minutes of silence, then spoke up.
"Look, Shihon," he started cautiously, "I promise you that I wasn't really flirting with that girl."
"I….I know, I'm sorry," she lamented almost instantly.
Well, that was easy…ish.
"It's just that, when I saw you with another girl and you were smiling….and…."
"You got jealous?" he teased, but the dark-skinned beauty's glance hardened and her expression remained serious.
"Yeah! It hurts when I see other girls fawning over you. You're supposed to be for me, and me only!"
Liohime could only laugh that statement off, but he then felt a soft, warm grasp of his own left hand.
Shihon had locked her fingers with his, and shyly initiated the holding of hands.
And Liohime, without a word, did not pull away.
Well, well, ladies and gentlemen, as your highly esteemed Narrator, I can safely say that the very lewd handholding has finally been successful. Anybody wanna pop champagne?
"Just a hypothetical question," Liohime spoke, "but one day, if by chance you saw me on a date with someone else-"
"I'd stalk them to their home and kill them in their sleep."
"Yeah, you know what….I shouldn't have even…yeah, okay.