"Saiko, why are you upset?" Tooru Mutsuki asked in confusion.
"He's coming... of course I'm upset..."
"He?" the others asked in unison, puzzled.
Huiqi was still on his way when he unexpectedly ran into the popular novelist Sen Takatsuki.
"Oh? Isn't this the esteemed Sen Takatsuki? How do you have time to go shopping?"
"Hey, if a certain someone can wander around, why can't I?"
"You still haven't sorted out your family affairs, have you? Hurry up and get your ass back there to straighten things out."
"Still better than being a hired lackey like you. I really hope you don't regret it someday."
"Regret? I have plenty of regrets. Unfortunately, not one of them has anything to do with you." As Huiqi spoke, he tapped her forehead with a finger.
"Oh, dear... you're so funny." Refusing to back down, Sen Takatsuki kicked at him.
Neither used any real strength. They simply traded barbs, neither willing to give an inch.
They talked as they walked, eventually arriving at a coffee shop.
They went inside.
They ordered coffee.
They kept trading insults.
"You should break that habit of eating garbage. Have an apple now and then. It might fix that brain of yours."
"Huh? Why don't you read more of my books and learn how to talk properly?"
"I read them ages ago. Those lousy drafts of yours... tsk, tsk, tsk."
"Snooping? How shameless. You might as well change your title to the Utterly Shameless Ghoul Investigator."
"Ooh, ooh, ooh."
As they talked, their voices gradually softened. The sky outside grew dark. Their eyes met before they both glanced up at the sky.
"After fighting all these years... aren't you tired?"
"It's not too bad. I'm used to it." Huiqi sipped his coffee, his voice filled with nostalgia.
"Such an energetic