Realizing she'd been spotted, Fubuki leaned her head fully out from where she was hiding.
Shinji casually flipped open the window. "So what were you sneaking around for?"
"I was checking if Psykos was here," Fubuki answered without missing a beat.
"She usually isn't around. Do you need sothing from her?" Shinji asked, puzzled.
"I just wanted to have a little chat with her. But if she's not here, that's fine too."
With that, Fubuki pulled her head back and walked calmly to the front door, expecting to be let in.
However, Shinji assud she'd simply been looking for Psykos and, having failed to find her, was now leaving.
"Well then, safe travels," he called out without much thought.
Hearing that, Fubuki's tone imdiately shifted into sothing more urgent. "Wait! Aren't you going to let in?"
Shinji paused. Then, realizing the misunderstanding, he turned around and opened the door, looking at her with mild confusion. "Weren't you heading back?"
"I just wanted to check if Psykos was here. Her not being around doesn't an I'm leaving," Fubuki explained, folding her arms gracefully in front of her.
Shinji's mouth twitched. "Well then... welco, I guess?"
"Pardon the intrusion," she said politely, stepping inside.
As always, she removed her shoes at the entrance and made her way directly to the living room.
"So this place is your new hangout spot now?" Shinji comnted as he watched her make herself comfortable on the couch he had just been sitting on. "Also, that was my seat just now."
It wasn't that he didn't want her sitting there, but sothing about soone imdiately occupying a spot that was still warm felt... off. Maybe it was one of those strange childhood habits that stuck around, or maybe there was sothing to it.
"Ah... sorry." Fubuki shifted to the side quickly.
Since space was limited, and with Saitama, Genos, and Vaccine Man already occupying the other seats, she ended up squeezing onto the sa couch as Shinji. They couldn't exactly let her sit on the floor. While it was common in Japan to sit directly on the ground, doing so in this setting, all alone, would've felt awkward.
After that, Shinji resud chatting normally with Saitama and the others. Fubuki stayed quietly beside him, not joining the conversation, just listening.
Then Shinji's phone screen lit up. He had a new ssage.
[I heard you were the one who dealt with the Sea People last ti too. You're amazing! I just realized you're already ranked 5th in S-Class!]
There was no need to guess, it was obviously Lily. She was still the only person he had added on LINE.
[It's alright, nothing special.]
Not quite sure how to respond, he just went with sothing simple.
[Co on, you're ranked 5th in S-Class! Even King, who's called the strongest man alive, is ranked lower than you!]
After expressing her admiration, Lily finally got to the point.
[Didn't you say you were free to hang out this week? What day exactly works for you?]
Shinji glanced at the ti. It was just past 2 in the afternoon.
[How about today?]
It seed like a good opportunity to casually clear up the misunderstanding Lily had about him.
Then he stood up and said to Saitama and the others, "I've got sothing to take care of. I'll probably be back before dinner."
"Sure," Saitama replied casually, but then his senses twitched, "Am I the only one hearing FBI sirens?"
"Master, are you going to fight soone? Or is it sothing else?" Genos asked imdiately, ever attentive.
"Not a fight. Just going out to hang out with soone," Shinji replied plainly.
"Understood. Have a good ti, Master," Genos said respectfully.
If it had been a battle, he certainly would've asked to tag along without hesitation.
Just then, Fubuki's phone buzzed in her pocket.
[Lady Fubuki, I'm going out to play this afternoon, so I'll have to delay the organization's work a bit.]
There was no mistaking the sender, it was Lily.
[Alright, it's fine. Go enjoy yourself.]
Fubuki replied, her tone thoughtful even in text. But a second later, a strange feeling crept up on her. Sothing didn't add up.
Why were both Lily and Shinji heading out to have fun at the exact sa ti?
Could it be...?
[Who are you going out with? Is it a guy?]
Fubuki quickly fired off another ssage to test her theory.
The ssage was marked as read almost imdiately, though Lily seed to hesitate before replying.
[Yes.]
She didn't specify who, just confird that it was a guy.
Fubuki didn't press further. She already had a good idea.
She had noticed a while ago that Lily and Shinji knew each other, and she was well aware that Lily almost never interacted with n. That made the odds of it being Shinji pretty high.
"Shinji, are you going out with Lily?" she asked him directly.
"Yeah," Shinji answered without any hesitation.
He was slightly taken aback that Fubuki had figured it out so easily.
"I see..." Fubuki murmured, her expression thoughtful.
She hadn't expected Shinji and Lily to be on such familiar terms. Still, more than anything, it just piqued her curiosity. She didn't really feel bothered.
"You better not bully Lily. She's a very good girl," she said with quiet emphasis.
"Of course I wouldn't. What kind of person do you think I am...?" Shinji replied, a little exasperated.
"As long as you won't, that's fine," Fubuki said with a nod, visibly relieved.
"So that's it... Master is going out with a girl?" Genos muttered, thinking aloud. "But it's not that Psykos lady from before. Lily sounds like one of Fubuki's subordinates... So she's not a fan of the support club after all. It seems Master is especially popular with won."
As he processed the situation, Genos pulled out his notebook and began jotting things down, scribbling a confused line that read: Won must be female. n must be popular with won.
"That's nice, but if things blow up like last ti, it'll be annoying," Saitama comnted with a simple glance. Of course, he was referring to the previous incident involving Fubuki and Psykos clashing with each other.
"I really don't get you humans," Vaccine Man added, sounding genuinely confused.
Shinji was left speechless. Rather than try to explain anything, he simply turned and left the room.
After his departure, Fubuki sat there quietly, gradually becoming aware of sothing that didn't quite make sense.
Why was Lily so close with Shinji?
In her mory, they had only t once or twice at most. Lily was almost always at the Fubuki Group's base, and Fubuki kept close tabs on her movents. By comparison, Shinji still acted nonchalant and detached toward her.
So where exactly had things shifted between them?
Fubuki remained deep in thought but couldn't reach any conclusion. Eventually, she decided she would just have to ask Lily herself once she got the chance.
User Comments
0 comments from readers