#A/N - "Indonesia is experiencing extreme weather changes right now, and unfortunately, I was affected, and caught a fever, it's a bit severe that I can't leave my bed, this is a little bit of what I wrote, I hope you guys can enjoy it"
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"Now then, Lady," Kagerou continued softly, "will you honor me with your name?"
"...Can you not talk to me in that way?"
The words slipped out before Kanae could stop herself. Kagerou blinked, clearly taken aback... and so was she.
"...Yes?"
Realizing what she had just said, Kanae quickly covered her mouth, eyes widening in horror. She hadn't meant to say that out loud. It was just… after the way he'd ignored her completely before, hearing him speak so politely now, as if nothing had happened, had stirred something in her.
"Ukhm." She coughed awkwardly, turning her head to the side. Taking a steadying breath, she looked back at him with a small, polite smile, one that reached her eyes. "I'm sorry... I'm Kanae Kocho. Thank you for saving me. I owe you, Rengoku-san"
Kagerou didn't reply right away. He just stood there, his kiseru between his fingers, the faint trail of smoke curling upward as he thought.
'The way I talk…?'
He remembered his father once saying, "Women like a man who speaks like a gentleman." That advice had sounded certain... absolute even. But now?
'Am I wrong? Or… was Father wrong?'
A soft exhale escaped him, more smoke than sigh.
'... In the first place, why did I even take that man's advice about women?'
His thoughts tangled further the more he tried to make sense of it. He'd never had experience with women, not really. The only woman he'd ever truly known was his mother.
Beyond that, everything else was guesswork. He didn't know what women liked or hated, what they found charming or irritating.
And somehow, a single sentence, "Can you not talk to me in that way?" Had him questioning his entire understanding of social behavior.
It just took one word, "Stop." One word from a woman he'd only just met, to make Kagerou question his whole life.
He took another slow drag from his kiseru. The smoke coiled, drifted, faded.
'Wait?… Why should I care?' he thought suddenly. 'From the beginning, why do I even care?'
A faint smirk touched his lips as the last wisp of smoke disappeared into the night.
'What the hell is wrong with me?'
"...Owh~" That was the only word that managed to escape Kagerou's lips after the whirlwind of thoughts that had just gone through his head.
"O-Owh?" Kanae echoed uncertainly, blinking at him.
"...I see," Kagerou said at last, taking another slow puff from his kiseru, smoke curling lazily between them.
"I… see?" Kanae repeated again, tilting her head slightly.
Kagerou paused, realizing how that must have sounded.
He exhaled through his nose, then added, perhaps too quickly, "No, I mean- I... I'm glad you're... fine?"
"..."
"..."
For a few long seconds, neither of them said a word. The night air hung still, filled only with the faint rustle of leaves and the fading trace of smoke between them.
"...Alright, I think I'll go now. Thank you," Kagerou said at last. He wasn't even sure why he said it. He just... felt like he should. "...Glad to know you, Kocho-san"
"..."
Kanae didn't move. She just stood there, watching as Kagerou bowed awkwardly, polite, formal, yet strangely uncertain.
Everything about this felt too sudden.
The way he appeared out of nowhere, saved her life, killed the demon, and introduced himself, all of it had happened so quickly that her mind hadn't caught up yet.
'At this point... should I say something? But what?' she thought.
She watched as Kagerou took a few steps away, then stopped, took a puff from his kiseru, walked again… then stopped once more.
He hadn't even made it twenty meters before repeating the same odd pattern, step, puff, pause, step, puff, pause.
Kanae frowned slightly.
'…Did I say something that hurt his feelings? Should I apologize? But I already did... didn't I? Would saying it again make it worse?'
Her thoughts tangled into a quiet panic. And before she could stop herself-
"S-Stop!" she blurted out.
Kagerou turned his head, surprise flickering in his silver eyes.
Kanae froze. She hadn't thought that far ahead. Now that he was looking at her, she had absolutely nothing to say.
So she just stood there, staring back at him for a long, silent heartbeat… before lowering her head slightly, her voice barely above a whisper.
"..."
"..."
"Um-"
"I-I think you should stop smoking!!!" Kanae suddenly blurted out.
"Eh?" Kagerou blinked, glancing between her and the kiseru in his hand.
"Eh?" Kanae echoed, realizing what she'd just said.
"...W-Why?"
"Eh?..."
Now that he asked it, Kanae froze. Why did she say that? It just… came out. When she saw him puffing over and over again, the words slipped from her mouth before her brain could catch up.
But now that he'd asked "Why," she found herself asking the same thing... why indeed?
She was no one to him. Not his family, not a friend, not even… well, anything. Calling themselves acquaintances might even be a stretch. They knew nothing about each other except their names, so what right did she have to say something like that?
The silence that followed was somehow louder than before.
Kagerou blinked a few times, then exhaled softly through his nose.
"…Should we sit first?" he finally said.
"G-Good idea," Kanae replied almost instantly, grateful for an excuse to do something other than stand there drowning in her own embarrassment.
But even after they sat facing each other, the silence didn't get any quieter, it just became heavier. Killing, almost. Neither of them knew what to say anymore. At this point, if a demon suddenly attacked, they'd probably thank it. But, strangely enough, no demon came.
Kagerou sat in silence, chin resting on his palm, eyes fixed on the imaginary bonfire between them. He didn't say anything. He didn't even touch his kisaru anymore.
Kanae, meanwhile, kept smiling. On the outside, serene as ever. But inside, she was screaming- '...Why is there no demon?! Where did they all go?!'