"You look great." Suzuka said. "It suits you a lot, Finn."
"Th-thanks..." As he stamred his words, the boy realized that there was sothing he absolutely needed to say in this situation. "Y-y-you look great, too, teacher."
A little surprised by his complint, Suzuka’s eyes widened a little before she let out a chuckle.
"Thanks a lot."
His heart struck by an arrow, Finn almost fainted. What saved him was a poke on the cheek, and when he looked at who did it, he found a sulking Kizuna looking at him with puffed cheeks.
"Booo, why did you only complint Suzuka?" She said. "Do I not look good?"
The green-haired girl was wearing a similar dress to his teacher, although hers was bright orange. One could argue that she looked as good as her blue-haired friend, but maybe because he felt differently about her, Finn wasn’t that affected by the change in her looks.
"Just say she looks like an orange."
Tomato Head entered the shop just then, but instead of saving him, he poured fuel and tossed a lighter in it.
"Nobody asked you!" Kizuna was quick to shoot back. Grabbing Finn, he pulled him toward her and hugged him from behind. "Finn is nice! He would never say sothing so rude!"
"Yeah, yeah, " Tomato Head gave her a dismissive wave of his head and turned to Suzuka, putting on a relaxed smile. "Gorgeous as always. Maybe I should invite you out more often."
"Only if I’m free." Suzuka smiled back and stepped toward him. "Your tie. It’s a little loose."
"O-oh, thanks."
The distance between them seed to vanish as Suzuka adjusted Tomato Head’s tie, and watching that scene, Finn felt his blood run cold. Before that sensation could settle in, he noticed Kizuna’s hold on him tighten.
"Look at you, already acting like a couple."
Nobara had erged from the kitchen at so point and was watching Suzuka’s interaction with Tomato Head with a teasing smile. The blue-haired girl sighed and finished adjusting his tie, looking slightly annoyed as she backed away. Dante looked slightly bothered as well, but then he flashed the old cook a grin.
"Look at you." He said. "You complained so much, yet you still dressed up for the occasion."
Nobara went with a purple Kimono with a cherry blossom pattern and a matching haori. Her hair was the sa as usual, with the only difference being the ornants she added.
"Hmph! I wouldn’t have bothered if you didn’t bring other people along." She said.
"Alright, alright. Next ti, it’ll be just you and ." Tomato Head replied.
"Sothing wrong with your head, boy!!?"
The old cook went on a rant, and Dante continued with the teasing comnts. Soon after, they heard the sound of a car pulling up outside.
"Guess that’s our ride." Said Tomato Head. "Is everyone ready?"
"Ah," Suzuka looked up with a start. "I almost forgot."
She asked Kizuna to co with her, and the two headed inside. When they returned, both were wearing jackets over their dresses. Finn thought that was it, but then the blue-haired girl walked over to him.
"Turn around."
Stiff like a log, the boy did as she said. His head naturally fell as he unconsciously tried to hide his blushing face. When he felt her hand touch his hair, his heart almost leaped out of his chest, but then he realized sothing, and the click he heard confird it.
A mont later, he received a text from the girl. It was an image captured through her OAM, showing the back of his head, only it looked nothing like he rembered. His MLP was gone, along with the scars at its edge. He reached back and touched it, but what he felt wasn’t the cold alloy, but the texture of freshly cut hair.
"This is..."
"You were worried it would draw attention, right?" Suzuka said. "Now you don’t have to feel conscious about it."
"Ah... I... I don’t know what to say..." He felt a strange tightness in his throat, weakening his voice. "Thank you, teacher."
"Well, I’m the one who made it, but..."
Suzuka turned around, and the boy followed her gaze. Both were looking at Tomato Head, who looked slightly annoyed at the attention he was getting.
"Now you can stop bitching about your implant."
Suddenly, Finn began to rember all the tis he had complained about sothing not working for him because of his implant. The new suit and haircut left the back of his head exposed, and since they were likely to run into high-ranking mbers of the Daggers at the restaurant, he was afraid that his identity would be exposed because of it.
Though he hadn’t said it outright, he got a feeling that Tomato Head had caught on to his worries, and that’s what led him to ask Suzuka to make a cover for him.
Today alone, Dante had done a lot of nice things for him, but it was only now that Finn felt sothing off about it. He realized that he had been taking everything else for granted, not thinking about it too much, but now, he was starting to notice.
Tomato Head had been an asshole since the day they first t. They were no longer on bad terms, and though he still treated him a little roughly, Finn had no choice but to admit that he had been nothing but nice to him. The boy had always known that much, but sohow, it felt as if he was only realizing it now.
"Alright, we wasted enough ti." Moving on from the subject, Tomato Head walked over to Nobara and held out his arm. "C’mon, old hag. We don’t want to miss our reservation."
"Maybe I should give you a good smack on the head." Though she let out an exasperated sigh, Nobara still reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Suzuka! Hurry you should see the car!" Kizuna grabbed her friend’s arm and dragged her out.
"Slow down. I still have to lock the doors."
Noticing that he was the only one standing still, Finn made his way to the door. He did his best to keep a calm expression, but a seed of worry was slowly sprouting in his heart. In the last few months alone, he had experienced nothing but kindness. He had been wary of it at first, but then he let himself get used to it, treating it as just another part of his life.
Not even once did he question where this kindness was coming from, but now, it was the only thing he could think of.
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