Haruki pushed himself up to sit, his face carrying an expression of confusion, wondering where Yamika might have gone this early in the morning.
His gaze shifted toward the sleeping Noroi, wrapped tightly in his cloak.
Haruki reached out his hand, his fingers clenching around the gray fabric of the cloak, and tugged hard, but Noroi held onto it firmly. He tried pulling again, yet Noroi's body didn't respond to his attempts.
Haruki scowled when his efforts failed, then kicked him in the back, shouting.
"Wake up!"
Noroi sat up, his face darkened with anger and irritation; he hated being woken up. He turned toward Haruki, his eyes shooting deathly glares, before snapping back sharply.
"What's wrong with you, idiot?!"
Haruki's frown slowly faded, shifting into a small smile, as he spoke in a voice dripping with fake innocence.
"Good morning."
But that innocence only irritated Noroi further. Narrowing his eyes with a dangerous glare, he answered with deadly coldness.
"There is no good in a morning that begins with you."
Haruki gasped theatrically, placing a hand over his chest as though stabbed by betrayal, then shook his head in dismay.
"You've hurt me…"
Noroi rolled his eyes, exhausted by Haruki's childish behavior, realizing that arguing with him would be pointless, so he asked directly.
"What do you want?"
"Yami is missing."
Noroi raised a brow and tilted his head slightly to check Yamika's spot, then returned his gaze to Haruki with an indifferent expression before replying mockingly.
"Seriously?! You woke me up for that Viking?"
The way Noroi spat out the word Viking made it sound like an insult, which caused Haruki's brows to furrow in annoyance. His voice grew sharper and more serious as he snapped back.
"Stop insulting her. We're a team now."
Noroi let out a loud sigh, running his fingers through his black hair before casting a sidelong glance at Haruki.
"So, what do you want now?"
"We need to look for her!"
But the moment those words left his lips, Yamika emerged from the bushes, carrying three fish she had caught from the river near their campsite, slung over her shoulder.
She caught Haruki's last words and raised a brow as she approached him, asking.
"Who are we looking for?"
Haruki's expression shifted to joy; he leapt to his feet in excitement and ran toward Yamika.
The moment he reached her, he wrapped his arms tightly around her in a firm embrace
"Yami, you're here!"
Yamika looked at him in confusion, not returning the hug. She remained still before answering with a question.
"Yes… and why would I leave?"
Haruki's eyes fell on the three fish Yamika was still carrying. Their colors were variegated; one blended yellow with orange, another was white with gray, and the last shimmered in a mix of deep black and beautiful violet.
Haruki released his arms from around her and shifted his attention to the fish.
A wide smile spread across his lips, his face glowing with admiration, before he praised her.
"How amazing, Yami! You caught all three? It took me half a day just to catch one!"
Haruki's words of praise inflated Yamika's pride. She puffed out her chest and pointed to herself as she spoke, heightening his astonishment.
"Of course I did, and it didn't take me more than half an hour."
Haruki's eyes sparkled like stars, and he raised his hands to his mouth in awe of Yamika.
"This is amazing! Three fish for the three of us! Yami, you're so kind!"
Being called "kind" was unusual for Yamika; she had never been described that way before. She chose not to respond and stepped away to tend the fire and grill the fish.
Haruki stayed beside her, watching patiently as she turned the fish, while Noroi paid no attention to the two fools, preferring to sit off to the side. His robot rested in his lap as he cleaned it with a brown cloth.
Yamika lifted the white fish, now red and crispy from the grilling, and handed it to Haruki.
He grabbed it eagerly, holding it with his chopsticks, and took a big bite from the side of the fish, exclaiming with delight.
"This is so delicious!!"
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Thank you for reading! If this moment touched you even a little , please consider adding it to your library.💐