Yuki scoffs, rolling his eyes as you continue speaking, but Jean smirks, giving Yuki a quick glance before looking back at you. Kaiholo smiles subtly, but it grows as you finish, his head nodding approvingly.
"I think I know where we should start." Kaiholo announces, an unfamiliarly excited smile spread across his face. You've never really seen Kaiholo…smile this widely before. It was nice.
"But that's for me to plan." Kaiholo begins. "I think we should call this meeting so that everyone can get some proper sleep for the trip."
As the group starts to disperse, Kaiholo approaches you.
"Hey, I can walk you home. I don't feel comfortable letting you walk through this part of the city alone."
Unfortunately, Kaiholo was right to feel that way. You knew this part of town was less circulated by any sort of orderly authority, and heavily circulated by criminals.
I nod my head as Kai lays out plans for the group. The excitement bubbles as the chance to get to know new people and their stories opens up. As cool air drifted in from the open door, the world shines a bit brighter, and I feel lighter, freer. I want to jump up and down like a little girl.
Kai slides up to me and offers to walk me home. I'm glad, considering the paranoia I have at night. I remember taking out the trash during the night and I definitely ran as fast as I could. "Hmmm," I pretend to ponder over his offer. A sly smile spreads upon my face. "On one condition - you hold my hand."
Kaiholo tilted his head back slightly in response to your condition, but failed to hold back a smile as he nods, holding up his hand for you to take.
"As long as you promise to keep up with me."
He snickered as he starts making his way down the road, toward the direction of your apartment. Though the walk would take several minutes, the neon lights and various strangers were quite a sight to behold each night. Kaiholo quietly makes conversation.
"So, what did you think? Of the group? And the whole…I know you've always been vague about your beliefs in The Hexa."
"As long as you promise to keep up with me." I roll my eyes and interlock my fingers with his, specifically so there's no gaps in between the fingers, it has to be tight or it bothers me genuinely. My mom always holds my hands really weakly and it KILLS me, my hand gets physically uncomfortable unless it is the tightest, closest hand hold. ok now im just telling u abt my preferences.
We stroll towards the apartment, taking our time. "So, what did you think? Of the group? And the whole…I know you've always been vague about your beliefs in The Hexa."
I glance at the world around me, but I don't focus on any one thing. I think over each man. "They seem cool so far, I definitely can't wait to get to know them all more. And how they met you… And why you would hide this from me. As for The Hexa, I'm the type of person who has a lot of faith, but I need my proof and experiences, for sure. I definitely feel like there's something… bigger than us. Something that is helping us, just a little. Does that make sense?"
Kaiholo smiles softly as he listens to you, gently swinging your hands as you walk. As you respond, you feel his forefinger tracing your knuckle slightly. Though his grip was tight, it still somehow felt like he was being tender.
"You know I'm a better listener. I like to hear about you, I don't like to talk about myself."
Kaiholo's other hand found itself tracing the buildings you passed, running his finger along the concrete or glass.
I watch as cars drift by, sending gentle waves of wind through both our hair. "That's a little unfair, don't you think? I feel like after all these years I deserve to hear your secrets, Kai." I push into him slightly to move out the way of other people. "I love talking, but I can't talk forever."
The Hexa floated through my mind. I spotted a neon logo with a hexagon shining through the haze. Many companies possessed this shape, but something about it made me favor it more than something so simply as a square or circle.
Kaiholo's head tilted downward, his smile fading ever so slightly.
"You deserve to be happy. My secrets don't exist anymore." He takes in a sharp breath of frustration as he adds. "And frankly, h-those secrets shouldn't have existed in the first place."
He turns his head to face you, the grin reappearing.
"How about we start with something cheerful; our first destination tomorrow will be where I was born."
"You deserve to be happy. My secrets don't exist anymore."
I squint my eyes and turn my head towards him momentarily. Kai always spoke in an odd manner, compared to the thousands of people I've met in my life, but sometimes there were phrases he spoke that were just slightly stranger than normal. Before I could question it, he continued talking, mentioning something that piqued my interest and effectively distracted me.
"No fucking way!" I exclaim, slightly squeezing his hand in excitement. "I finally get to know where?" With a pause, I add, "And don't think I'm letting you get away with not answering why I didn't know about the group."
Kaiholo's smile grew as the excitement in your voice did so. Your excited voice always cheered him up, and within seconds, he too had completely distracted himself from the discussion beforehand.
As you bring up the other question he avoided, Kaiholo holds his other hand against the nape of his neck sheepishly as he chuckles.
"That's a bit of a loaded question. But just know that you had to find out about it tonight, it couldn't have been any time before then."
i have caught on to ur secrets bitch
I hope u know that u absolutely the fuck have not HFKSHFJSJS
"Very fate of you to say, Kai," I chuckle and decide to let it go for now. "Well, I'm hella excited to see where you were born. Are you excited to see it again?" I sigh quietly as I start to recognize my surroundings again. The sounds of the city are falling behind me.
"So to speak," Kaiholo murmurs, not even trying to resist a snicker as he runs an absentminded hand through his hair, brushing it with his fingers before rounding it all up in between his thumb and forefinger, pulling at the hairband on his wrist, and tightening it up into a low ponytail.
"But, yeah. I miss what it used to be. It's hidden for a reason, but I think it's still holding up, for the most part."
Kaiholo inhales deeply, clear stress built up in the exhale. "It'll be a great breath of fresh air. Quite a contrast from all the pollution here."
I momentarily let go of Kai's hand to let him do his hair. It looked so much darker at night, like a deeper, cooler brown compared to it's usual reddish rust. I felt a small urge to braid the long locks together, maybe weave vines through it. He'd look so pretty in braids.
"I'm sure it's nowhere near was it was before. It's alright though, I'll be with you and we can make the most of it. And, you're right, there's gonna be some sweet, sweet air there." Subconsciously, I breathed in the pollution, as if wanting to remember just how bad it was. But, I don't remember what it's like to smell anything else, so there is no scent.
My hand, feeling rather empty now, automatically reached back for his.
As he feels your hand reaching for his, he locks his fingers around yours and secures his grip, the corners of his mouth twitching upward.
"I'm sure Harmony would love to join us, but I know she cares too much about her shop to want to leave."
Even if she did have time to join, Harmony already experienced a vast majority of nature during her expedition to gather the plants in the first place. She's not the best storyteller, so you weren't sure exactly how magical of an experience she went through.
You wonder if she had any plants from Kaiholo's birthplace. You wonder if there even are any plants specific to that location; it's not like there's ready information about plants worldwide.
The plants in my room follow thought, and I feel a little bit more love towards them. I'll make sure they know that when I get home.
"We can take encrypted videos, I have a camera. I bet Anubis could help with that, so that no one finds them. I'm sure Harmony would appreciate the gesture." I'm suddenly aware of the way my shoes hit the ground, the solid concrete making a sweet clicking sound. The sound of Kai's voice made the usual environment a little more atmosphereic, as normal. Hanging out with him was always special and in a way, aesthetic.
"Hey, do you want me to do your hair tonight for tomorrow? I figure, since you're already headed my way, and I wouldn't want you to have to walk all the way home, it'd be more convenient."
Kaiholo grins mischieviously at your comment about Anubis, shaking his head subtly and in a playful manner. He listens quietly to your footsteps, and within a few minutes, your voice.
"What kind of style are you thinking?" He responds, the curious grin escaping his expression as his face already silently answered the original question. He absentmindedly traces the names next to the doorbells on the outside of the door, his finger stopping on the newly occupied one.
"Do you have a new neighbor here?"
He utters, his fingers still rubbing against the place where a name and apartment location would be. As you look at the name, there's no writing; instead, a vague scribbly line with no particular form.
dont steal my goddamn writing bro
"Hmmm, maybe we can do braids this time…" I wonder out loud as I search for my keys in my bag.
Kai asks, "Do you have a new neighbor here?"
The writing near the doorbell is about as useless to read as a doctor's prescription. I shrug and jam the keys into the keyhole. "Yeah, I tried to say hi, but he just coldly ignored me. Guess I won't be befriending him."
Kaiholo furrows both brows, an air of shock in his breath.
"He? What male specimen managed to gain Myst's approval, and then have the audacity to ignore you?"
Kaiholo and you trudge up the stairs, the halls quiet due to the late hour. Nevertheless, Kaiholo was still curious, and traced his finger against the wall until he found the door in which the mysterious tenant lived. Without a second thought, and probably without even a first, he pressed his left ear to the door and listened.
"Do you know what he looks like?" Kaiholo whispered, his overwhelming curiosity evident in how distracted he was by this.
