stonecrandall Page 83
Page 83
"Sato, hold onto our milk tea, don't spill it." Takada Yuki said calmly, as if he were dealing with a few buzzing flies instead of a group of thugs.
Before he could finish speaking, the fist of the burly man who rushed forward was already in front of him.
Yuuki Takada neither dodged nor avoided, but swiftly turned to the side and reached out, accurately grabbing the other's wrist, and then pulled and twisted it.
There was a crisp sound of "click".
With a piercing scream, the burly man's arm suddenly bent at an odd angle, and he was thrown heavily to the ground by the force, losing his fighting ability.
Another person attacked from the side, but Yuuki Takada seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, delivering a sharp spinning back kick that accurately struck the other person in the abdomen.
The thug's eyes bulged out, and he vomited up the acid in his stomach. He clutched his stomach, knelt on the ground, and couldn't get up anymore.
The remaining two were so terrified by the lightning-fast crushing defeat that their arrogance vanished, and they turned to run away.
Yuuki Takada's eyes narrowed, and he grabbed an empty drink cup from the table next to him, flicking his wrist sharply.
The plastic cup, like a cannonball, struck one of the people with perfect accuracy in the back of their knees.
The man cried out "Ouch!" and fell flat on his face.
Before the blond-haired guy could run more than a few steps, Takada Yuuki caught up with him, grabbed him by the back of his collar, and easily slammed him to the ground like trash.
The whole process took only a minute or two. The thugs who were just arrogant were all lying on the ground, groaning in pain, and scrambling away in a sorry state, not daring to utter a single harsh word.
Yuuki Takada straightened his slightly wrinkled sleeves, his breathing even, as if nothing had happened.
He turned around, took a cup of milk tea from the dumbfounded Miwako Sato, and inserted a straw.
"Alright, problem solved." He took a sip and smiled. "The taste is not bad, but the price is a bit too high."
Miwako Sato was still somewhat dazed, clutching the cup of milk tea tightly in her hand, which she had almost crushed out of shape due to nervousness.
Yuki Takada's fluid and graceful movements did indeed make her heart race for a while.
Although as a police officer she was perfectly capable of handling that kind of situation, she was still quite moved.
"Hey! Takada-senpai!" Sato Miwako finally snapped out of her daze, her cheeks puffing out slightly, a hint of dissatisfaction and lingering anger in her eyes. "Who, who's your girlfriend! How dare you use such an excuse so casually!"
Yuuki Takada swallowed the milk tea in his mouth, blinked, and looked innocent: "Eh? The situation was urgent at the time, so this was the most direct and effective way to refuse."
"Surely you'd rather I have a long debate with them about 'police officer conduct standards'?"
"Takada-senpai, that's not what I meant!" Sato Miwako glared at him, but her tone softened. She took a sip of milk tea herself, trying to hide her slightly flushed cheeks.
"Hmm, the taste is indeed not bad, although 500 yen is a bit ridiculously expensive."
“However…” Sato Miwako suddenly remembered something, her voice lowered slightly, with a hint of barely perceptible awkwardness, “…Thank you. Although even without your help, I could easily handle it myself.”
“I know.” Yuuki Takada smiled, his eyes softening. “But we’re partners. We can’t let Miwako Sato do all the rough work, can we? Besides, isn’t it only natural to protect every citizen—especially our comrades?”
He spoke so naturally, as if he were simply stating something perfectly ordinary.
Sato Miwako glanced at him, her slight dissatisfaction long since vanished, replaced by a somewhat indescribable emotion.
She snorted and turned her head away to look elsewhere: "Next time... next time there's trouble like this, remember to share half with me. It's too cunning of you to show off all by yourself, Takada-senpai."
"Haha, okay, okay, I'll definitely do it next time." Takada Yuuki nodded readily, his eyes filled with laughter. "So, Ms. Sato, who's already taken, where shall we go next? We've got the milk tea, and the trouble's been resolved."
"Takada-senpai, what are you saying? Who's taken?!" Sato Miwako nudged his arm lightly with her elbow in embarrassment and annoyance, which earned her even more laughter from him.
"Let's go, let's go..." Takada Yuuki stopped teasing her, "I heard the view from the observation deck up ahead is quite nice, so we can enjoy the scenery while finishing this 'expensive milk tea'."
"Okay." Sato Miwako nodded and followed in his footsteps.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns of light on the two people.
The milk tea in my hand was cool and sweet. The little conflict just now seemed like an insignificant interlude, yet a certain tacit understanding quietly flowed in the air.
Yuuki Takada glanced furtively at his partner beside him, who was sipping his drink through a straw and whose ears still had a slight blush. A small smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.
Meanwhile, Sato Miwako stared ahead, muttering to herself, "Hmph, damn it! What do you mean 'already taken'? I'll let it slide this time. But if he dares to say anything like that again... I'll make him pay!"
However, this thought of making him pay didn't seem to carry much real anger; instead, it made her steps a little lighter.
The two walked side by side toward the observation deck.
Without turning his head, Yuuki Takada pulled Miwako Sato's hand and walked forward.
After walking for a while, Sato Miwako looked embarrassed and asked, "Um... Takada-senpai, your hand?"
At this moment, Yuuki Takada finally realized what was happening, quickly released her hand, and turned around to apologize anxiously to Miwako Sato beside him: "I'm sorry!"
"Just now, I couldn't think of a suitable excuse, so in that emergency, that was the only thing I could say."
"In short, I feel a little bad for saying this."
Miwako Sato stomped her feet in anger, "You're so infuriating!"
"I'm so sorry! I'm really sorry!"
"Who said I hate it!"
"Huh?" Yuuki Takada looked at Miwako Sato in front of him, somewhat puzzled.
“I didn’t say I hated it…” Sato Miwako turned her head slightly and said in a low voice, “Don’t make decisions about other people’s opinions so casually.”
"I was interested in you from the very beginning..." Sato Miwako said shyly, "What a silly boy!"
"If you continue like this your whole life, you'll never even have a girlfriend."
Yuuki Takada: "..."
Sato Miwako took a step forward and said softly, "Don't apologize for everything. It makes me look pathetic, like I'm the one who's fallen for you..."
"...Whether in the past or now, I hope you can be the same as before..."
"The same as before?" Yuuki Takada was puzzled when he heard the latter part.
"Okay, by the way, where's Yumi?" Sato Miwako suddenly remembered her best friend Miyamoto Yumi, but couldn't find her. She asked curiously, "Where is she? No, didn't she just say she was near the ice cream parlor? Why haven't I seen her anywhere?"
"This... could it be that she's deliberately avoiding us?" Takada Yuki smiled helplessly. From what he could see, Miyamoto Yumi's disappearance was clearly an attempt to create an opportunity for him and Sato Miwako to be alone together.
They might be sitting somewhere right now, watching the two of them!
"Never mind, never mind, let's go rest at the observation deck!" Sato Miwako blinked, glanced at her watch, and then said:
"This is a good opportunity to see from a higher vantage point where Yumi has run off to!"
Yuki Takada nodded.
"Let's go! Let's go quickly!" Sato Miwako urged him forward.
Yuuki Takada gently touched his face and said, "Stop pushing me."
He was pushed forward a few steps by Miwako Sato, a helpless yet indulgent smile on his face.
You could sense that Miwako Sato wanted to get rid of that subtle awkwardness as soon as possible, or perhaps the view from the observation deck was really attractive.
The two quickly arrived at the observation deck.
The view here is expansive, offering a panoramic vista of the scenic area and the distant cityscape.
A gentle breeze, carrying the coolness of late summer, dispelled the slight restlessness from before.
"Wow, the view is really nice!" Sato Miwako leaned on the railing, took a deep breath, and her mood seemed to brighten up as well.
She placed the half-finished milk tea on the table next to her and opened her arms as if to embrace the view.
"Hmm, this five hundred yen was spent..."
"Fortunately, the scenery at Odaiba Seaside Park is quite nice, so it's not too bad," Yuki Takada said with a smile, standing beside her.
He put down his milk tea, but his gaze involuntarily drifted to Sato Miwako beside him.
The setting sun cast a soft glow on her delicate profile, and her gently swaying hair added to her gentle appearance.
Miwako Sato seemed to notice his gaze and turned around, their eyes meeting. She immediately looked away, a little embarrassed, pretending to tidy her wind-blown hair.
"Ahem..." She cleared her throat, trying to find a topic of conversation, "Um... Yumi hasn't been answering my calls. I have to give her a good talking to when I get back! How dare she play us like this!"
Yuuki Takada chuckled: "She probably had something come up."
“But even if she had something come up, she wouldn’t just leave without saying a word…” Miwako Sato muttered softly, her voice so low it was almost inaudible.
She picked up the milk tea again, biting the straw, her eyes darting around.
Just then, Yuki Takada's phone vibrated slightly.
Upon closer inspection, it was an email from Yumi Miyamoto:
How's it going, Takada-senpai? I'm counting on you, Sato Miwako! Enjoy your time together~ I'm going to wander around somewhere else now, don't look for me!
Yuuki Takada looked at the screen and couldn't help but chuckle, instinctively turning his phone off carefully.
Miwako Sato's cheeks instantly turned bright red, as if dyed by the sunset:
"Miyamoto Yumi!! That brat! What on earth is she up to?!" She stomped her foot in anger and took out her phone to call and confront her.
Yuki Takada quickly stopped her, laughing, "Never mind, Yumi meant well... well."
He paused, looking at Sato Miwako's pouty yet embarrassed expression, finding it particularly vivid and amusing. "Besides, the view here is just right for two people."
His words were spoken so naturally that they made Sato Miwako pause in her actions.
Miwako Sato looked up at Yuki Takada.
His eyes were gentle, with a clear smile, not mocking, but sincere and with a hint of probing.
The light grew stronger, elongating their shadows and causing them to intertwine.
Miwako Sato suddenly felt that the heat on her face wouldn't go down.
She withdrew her hand from the phone, lowered her head, and gently rubbed the ground with her toes.
"...Hmm." After a long pause, she finally uttered a very soft monosyllable as a response.
A quiet, yet not awkward, silence fell between the two.
In the distance came the faint sounds of tourists' laughter, the rustling of the wind through the treetops, and the slightly faster heartbeats that everyone seemed to hear.
They leaned side by side against the railing of the observation deck, quietly sipping what was perhaps the most expensive milk tea they had ever had, but which they felt was inexplicably worthwhile at that moment, sharing this tranquil and beautiful view.
After a while.
"Shouldn't we head back soon?" Yuuki Takada suggested softly.
"Yes." Miwako Sato nodded.