Golden Festival Day 49
Shinatsu stood at the gate of the orphanage for a moment with a soft smile before stepping in.
This place had become familiar to her in a way she didn't quite want to analyze.
Nicholas walked just a step behind her, his hands rested casually in his pockets, but his eyes moved carefully, noticing the small details, the worn steps, the slightly uneven garden, the faint chalk drawings near the entrance.
Nicholas glanced at her: "You sure come here often, huh?"
Shinatsu: "Once a month."
A small pause.
Shinatsu: "…At least, that was the plan."
Nicholas smiled faintly.
The door opened before they could knock.
Housemother: "Shinatsu!"
Shinatsu: "Good morning."
Housemother stepped forward, gently placing a hand on her shoulder: "The kids are dying to see you."
Then her eyes shifted to Nicholas.
Housemother: "And who is this?"
Before Shinatsu could answer, loud voices came stomping towards them.
"SHINATSU IS HERE!"
Zoey burst through first: "You're late!"
Alexia followed right behind her: "You said last week!"
Brook pointed dramatically: "She lied!"
Omar: "Unforgivable."
Takami nodded seriously: "We must punish her."
Ryousuke grinned: "Tickle attack?"
Koushiro didn't say anything at first. He just stood there, watching Shinatsu with a small, quiet smile.
Shinatsu: "My bad, my bad. I was just thinking about how to torture you guys this time."
Zoey: "The evil villain stands no chance against us heroes!"
Shinatsu laughed as they all rushed her.
Nicholas watched, amused: "…This is your usual welcome?"
Shinatsu, currently under siege, responded flatly: "Yes."
Eventually, they settled down, though not without dragging Shinatsu further inside like she had no say in the matter.
The housemother chuckled, then turned back to Nicholas: "So… is he your boyfriend?"
Shinatsu froze.
Nicholas blinked.
The children gasped collectively.
Zoey: "WAIT—WHAT?"
Alexia: "NO WAY."
Brook: "I KNEW IT."
Shinatsu turned, expression flat but faintly threatening: "He's not."
Nicholas raised his hands slightly: "I'm not."
Omar squinted: "That sounds suspicious."
Takami nodded: "Very suspicious."
Ryousuke: "Extremely suspicious."
Koushiro finally spoke: "There's no way Shinatsu could get a boyfriend. She's as flat as a chalkboard."
Shinatsu: "What was that you brat?!?"
She charged at him with the intent to chop him into bits.
Time passed quickly after that.
They played.
Ran.
Talked.
The children pulled Shinatsu into everything, from games to arguments to random stories that somehow all required her full attention. She didn't resist.
She moved with them naturally, her usual stoicism softening into something warmer, quieter. Nicholas watched it all.
Koushiro stuck closest to her, never far, always within reach like he had decided a long time ago that Shinatsu was someone worth staying near.
At one point, he tugged on her sleeve.
Koushiro: "You're staying longer today, right?"
Shinatsu looked down at him: "Yes."
That was all it took.
He smiled, satisfied.
Eventually, the energy settled.
The children drifted into a nap as the late afternoon light filtered through the windows, soft and golden.
Shinatsu sat near the wall.
Nicholas joined her: "They're good kids."
Shinatsu: "They are."
Nicholas: "You're good with them."
Shinatsu didn't respond immediately: "They're easy to be around."
Nicholas smiled faintly. There was a long pause before he spoke again: "I think we should be called heroes instead of Hunters."
Shinatsu blinked. She turned toward him: "…Heroes?"
Nicholas: "Yeah."
Shinatsu looked back toward the children.
For a moment, something distant passed through her expression.
Shinatsu: "When I was a kid… I wanted to be a superhero. I read a lot of comics."
Nicholas glanced at her: "Yeah?"
Shinatsu: "Someone who saves everyone. Someone who always arrives in time."
Nicholas's smile didn't fade, but it changed slightly: "That's a good ideal."
Shinatsu: "But it's unrealistic."
Nicholas: "Most ideals are. But yeah, I know Hunters can never be heroes."
Shinatsu: "Because we can't save everyone."
The words weren't heavy.
But they settled that way.
Nicholas: "We save a lot of people. Maybe more than most." He glanced at the children. "But not all of them. Still…" He looked at her. "From what I've heard from the others, I think you could be one."
Shinatsu blinked: "Me? No. What on earth did they even tell you?"
Nicholas: "That you're the bravest one out of everybody."
Shinatsu shook her head: "There's no way." She looked away. "If anyone's a hero… it's Iris."
Nicholas: "Why's that?"
Shinatsu: "When Iris was younger… a vampire broke into her home."
Nicholas's expression sharpened slightly.
Shinatsu: "She didn't run. She protected her family. More than that, she killed it."
Silence followed.
Shinatsu let out a small nose laugh: "I like to call her a rival. But she's far above me."
Nicholas: "…That's incredible."
Nicholas looked back at the children again.
Then spoke more quietly.
Nicholas: "I wanted to come today because…"
He paused.
Choosing his words.
Nicholas: "I was an orphan too. For a while."
Shinatsu looked at him.
Nicholas didn't look back: "Around their age."
His voice didn't change much.
But something in it did.
Nicholas: "A vampire came into my house."
Shinatsu's eyes narrowed slightly.
Nicholas: "Just like Iris. But I couldn't protect them. My parents told me to hide. So I did. While I was hiding, they died. I would've died too if the Hunter who saved me hadn't arrived a second earlier." Nicholas exhaled slowly. "If I was stronger…" The sentence trailed off.
Shinatsu: "You shouldn't blame yourself."
Nicholas: "I know. But I can't help it."
Shinatsu: "…..Did you become the person your younger self wanted to be?"
Nicholas thought about it: "…Yeah, I think so." A faint smile.
Shinatsu: "Then that's enough."
***
Jenna sat across from Nicholas, hands resting neatly in her lap, trying very hard not to overthink every little movement she made. They're eating dinner at a restaurant in an outdoor mall.
Jenna: "This place is… really nice."
Nicholas: "Yeah. I've never been here before."
Jenna: "Really?"
Nicholas smiled a little, almost sheepish: "Diego recommended this place to me."
Jenna: "I guess neither of us have restaurant experience."
Nicholas: "Heh. I guess not."
Jenna couldn't taker her mind off the guy in front of her.
He was a Hunter.
A well-known one at that.
He fought vampires. Risked his life. Carried responsibilities that most people couldn't even imagine.
And here he was—
Sitting across from her.
Holding a menu like a normal person.
Jenna looked down at her glass.
A small pause settled between them, not uncomfortable, but not entirely smooth either.
Jenna: "Do you… get recognized a lot?"
Nicholas tilted his head slightly: "Sometimes."
Jenna: "Does that bother you?"
Nicholas thought about it: "Not really. I don't think it's a bad thing."
Jenna: "It sounds… like a lot."
Nicholas smiled faintly: "I don't mind it."
There it was again.
That feeling.
Like he was speaking from somewhere far away, somewhere she couldn't quite reach.
Jenna tightened her grip slightly on her glass.
She could feel herself drifting into that mindset, seeing him as something distant, something above her.
No.
She shook her head lightly.
She couldn't do that.
If she did, this wouldn't work.
He wasn't just a Hunter.
He was—
Jenna looked at him again.
Nicholas.
Just Nicholas.
Jenna: "What do you do when you're not working as a Hunter or on Odd Jobs?"
Nicholas: "Hmm… I help out at the cafe."
Jenna smiled: "I know that one."
Nicholas chuckled softly: "Right." He leaned back a little, thinking, "I read sometimes. Train. Talk with everyone. Normal stuff, I guess."
Jenna: "Normal… huh." She smiled, a little more relaxed now. "You say that, but your 'normal' probably isn't the same as mine."
Nicholas: "Maybe. But that doesn't matter."
Jenna: "…What do you mean?"
Nicholas gestured lightly to the table between them: "Right now, we're just having dinner."
His tone was simple.
No weight.
No distance.
Nicholas: "That's normal."
Jenna stared at him for a second.
Then—
She laughed.
Quiet at first.
Then a little more freely.
Jenna: "You're right."
The tension in her shoulders eased.
Jenna: "I think I've been overthinking this the whole time."
Nicholas smiled: "That makes two of us."
The conversation flowed easier after that.
They talked about small things, favorite foods, places they liked, little stories from their daily lives. Nothing dramatic. Nothing heavy.
Jenna found herself responding without rehearsing it in her head first. At some point, she stopped thinking about the difference between them. Because it didn't feel like there was one anymore.
By the time they finished eating, the sky had deepened into a soft navy, the lights around the mall glowing brighter in contrast. People moved past them in small groups, the night settling into something calm and easy.
They stepped out of the restaurant together.
Jenna clasped her hands behind her back, walking beside him: "Thank you for today."
Nicholas: "I should be saying that."
Jenna: "No, I mean it. I had a really good time."
Nicholas: "Me too."
They walked a little further, the sound of a fountain nearby filling the quiet space between their steps.
Nicholas: "Hey."
Jenna: "Yeah?"
Nicholas hesitated for just a moment: "Do you want to come to Hanabi Island with us?"
Jenna blinked: "Hanabi Island?!"
Nicholas: "A friend of ours won a special ticket for the Golden Festival. It lets us bring a lot of people."
Jenna stared at him: "…Are you serious?"
Nicholas: "Of course."
Jenna's heart started racing. She took a small step forward, her voice firm despite the way her chest tightened: "I'll be there, no matter what."
Nicholas smiled back, relieved: "I'm glad."
Jenna: "I might not be able to take time off work on the weekend though."
Nicholas: "That's fine. Even one day is more than enough."
Jenna felt her chest warm at that: "…Okay."
They stood there for a moment longer, the fountain continuing to flow quietly beside them, the lights reflecting off the water in soft ripples.