ᵃˡᵐᵒˢᵗ 𝒎𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒄 !

“ i would buy more drinks if you didn't get rid of my favorite order for some bullshit seasonal menu. ” her nose wrinkled as she sniffed, slight huff under her breath. the cafe's ambience was more peaceful and calming than she could ever give him credit for, even with the presence of obnoxious teenagers and impatient housewives who peaked in high school, barking about some new diet fad and making everyone else's problem. and yes, in fact, she had been staring at him rather intently. mostly with crazy eyes, bulging and desperate with a hint of subtle violence and threat. it didn't help that she was coughing every single time he walked by her or dared to glance her way. hands still remained wrapped around the cup even though it had cooled down considerably by now and would definitely taste of something less than satisfactory.

“not that i don't appreciate the enthusiasm, but—” another yank, merciless from behind the front seat's headrest. “ouch! seriously, owww! ilaria!” ow, ow, freakinggg ow! yagami forcibly wrenched her fingers free from his hair, rubbing the sore spot as he scowled back at her through the rearview. his poor scalp... “what is your problem?!” he curled over the steering wheel, trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and @diviolence's reach; not that it made much of a difference. “if you wanted to distract me, congratulations. mission accomplished.” he jabbed a finger at the joint they were posted by, however. two hours. two long, agonizing hours since their target went inside. and here they were, stuck playing the world's most boring waiting game. patience was part of the job, of course, but that didn't make it any less painful and soul-sucking. especially with someone trying to pull your hair out for the fun of it. that made things worse. “my hair isn't going to make our guy come back out any faster.”

one of the kids in the pool was definitely drowning. or as close to it as they could get before another swam to hold them up by the armpit to tread water, seiko's brows reaching hairline in silent question to the chaos, eyes narrowing and gaze darting between ilaria and the scene of pure negligence that had unfolded behind her, seemingly having escaped her notice. maybe, if the school had let her teach, the rumours they'd heard about possible closure weren't that far from the truth. she hadn't changed, which was the scariest part of it, that same obstinance that made her seem taller than she truly was, but when it came to it and she neared, she was still as small as ever, seiko having to tilt their chin down to accommodate juuust slightly --- and if it was for the sheer benefit of getting the slightest of laughs out of it, they wouldn't yet say. questions seemed to surround her, the glaring being why are you even here ? but the answer, they presumed, was lengthier than they had the time for, so instead they'd settle for cornering her when extracurriculars had finished.

her brows rose, eyes squinting as her chin lifted, as if to try and lure more of what they wanted to say out. full of shiiiiiiii — full of what ? and the silence left her feeling somewhat satisfied and vindicated. lips pursed with a resigned hum as she blinked away in acceptance of their silent defeat. “ full of ... shingles ? shii.... shi.... ” she muttered under her breath, definitely dragging it out much longer than it needed to, catching a glimpse of one of the kids listening in intently and giggling to themself. they were amusing when they weren't annoying, she might have asked if they wanted to trade kids if it weren't for the signed waivers. she ignored the obvious mockery of the hight difference between the two, and subtly ( yes, subtly ) splashed some of the floor puddle in their direction, quiet sloshing heard between the pool splashings.