Chuuya came back to reality after he had been daydreaming for a while and Aiko noticed.
The woman's red eyes stared at Chuuya, meeting both of their gazes.
"Then who's this gentlemen?" asked Aiko as she looked up at him.
"Oh this is my old partner, you can call him chibi," Dazai replied teasingly towards Chuuya while patting his shoulder.
An annoyed Chuuya immediately swatted Dazai's hand away then let out a rude sigh. "Shut up!"
She was somewhat surprised when Chuuya shouted like that, because Aiko was not used to seeing someone who spoke that loudly in front of her.
Seeing Aiko's reaction of shock, Chuuya cleared his throat softly and took off his hat.
"I'm sorry, my name is Nakahara Chuuya," he introduced himself.
"Oh, hello i'm Nozomi Aiko. Nice to meet you, Nakahara-san," Aiko replied while bowing her body.
"Chuuya is fine."
A smile appeared on Aiko's beautiful face, then she nodded her head. "Then Aiko is fine."
The two of them stared at each other, and they did not expect that the meeting that day would turn into something much more beautiful between them later.
Dazai who saw them continue to stare at each other immediately separated them by interrupting.
"So he came here because he wanted to try your cake," he said.
"Really, Chuuya-san?" asked Aiko.
Chuuya was at a bit of a loss as to how to answer the question since he had only come there to see Aiko. But in order not to sound suspicious, he nodded his head and replied that he did want to try the cake.
"My boss's little friend loves cakes. So I came here to try your cake, if it tastes good I'll buy it for my boss every time I come here," Chuuya replied with an excuse.
Actually he was talking about Elise, who had a sweet tooth and ate a lot of cakes. So he thought it might not hurt to buy one or two cakes that he would bring to the Mori room and give to Elise.
"Alright, you can choose from the cakes in the display case. What flavor do you want?" Aiko asked again.
He looked through the cakes and pointed at the strawberry cake that looked so delicious and fresh.
"Good choice! This cake is the best seller in my shop!" she said and turned to Dazai, asking if he wanted a slice of the same cake.
"Of course, I want one too. Bring two cups of tea too," Dazai replied.
"Okay!" Aiko cut the cake and put it onto two different plates and then placed them on a tray.
She poured two cups of hot tea, then brought them to the table where Chuuya and Dazai were currently sitting.
The cake shop is not an ordinary cake shop, but they provide some chairs and tables if customers want to buy a piece of cake and enjoy it at the shop with hot tea.
"Please have the cake and enjoy. If you need anything, you can just call me," she said and returned to the kitchen to finish the birthday cake order.
The two men watched him walk away then Dazai ate the cake in front of him.
"Try the cake, it tastes really good. I'm sure you'll like it~"
"All cakes taste the same. It looks good," Chuuya said then cut the cake with a fork and tasted it.
For a moment he was silent, he admitted that the taste of the cake was indeed good. Chuuya quite enjoyed it, the sweet and slightly sour flavor of the strawberry.
"She looks very cute, doesn't she?" asked Dazai.
"Hmn? Not really. She looks like a talkative and overactive child," Chuuya commented back about Aiko.
He glanced at the window behind the display case, showing the kitchen area where Aiko was decorating the cakes on the counter.
He continued to stare at her, seeing how Aiko's face was serious but still adorned with a smile as she worked.
Part of him still couldn't believe that such a polite woman was a biological weapon that could kill so many people.
"You saw what she was like, wouldn't it be a shame if a girl as good as her had to die in vain?"
He immediately turned to Dazai when he said that suddenly.
"Especially if the world finds out about her abilities, I'm sure the government won't stand for it," he continued with a serious look.
What Dazai said was true, the government would definitely arrest Aiko if they found out about her dangerous abilities.
Once again Chuuya looked at Aiko who was currently busy with her cake.
For some reason inside him, he felt something telling him to protect Aiko, even though they didn't know each other very well.
"A fragile girl with dangerous ability. I think I'll go along with your plan," Chuuya replied with his eyes still fixed on her.
Both Chuuya and Dazai knew that the possessor of molecular manipulation ability was a target for the Port Mafia as well because they were considered a threat.
Or even a weapon.
Imagining the innocent Aiko becoming a weapon for a dangerous group, would definitely endanger many people and also herself who would forget her identity as a human but a tool.
It really shook Chuuya, until he finally agreed with Dazai who intended to protect Aiko together from everyone.
"You chose the right decision. Now we just need to find a way to tell her about this without shocking her."
They intended to talk to Aiko, but she had to deliver the cake to her customer. Dazai offered to watch the shop until she returned and when Aiko returned they started talking to her.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked curiously while looking at Dazai and Chuuya in turn.
"We want to explain something to you, but we want you to stay calm and listen to what we have to say about this," Dazai said.
He then explained about the abilities that Aiko might have. From how the ability activated, and what Dazai saw yesterday.
Luckily Aiko nodded in understanding and she said that it explained everything that had happened to her. Like she once fell and accidentally touched a table that suddenly turned into stone.
"You didn't realize something about that?"
"About what?" asked Aiko back who apparently didn't realize that she was the cause of the fire six years ago that killed her own parents.
Hearing that, Dazai and Chuuya decided not to tell her. He again explained that Aiko could indeed change things due to the manipulation of her molecules because of the emotions she felt.
"But you need to remember that this ability is very dangerous and we want you to hide it from everyone. There are a lot of risks that we can't tell you about, but we want you to keep this a secret. Do you understand?"
Aiko knew that Dazai worked for a detective agency that was obviously trustworthy in this regard. So she nodded in understanding, and promised not to tell anyone about her abilities.
"Good then. But I'm quite curious, what's the name of the ability you have?" asked Chuuya which made Aiko turn to him.
She thought for a moment, then answered his question.
"Flashpoint Bloom."
[Senkōten No Hana]