Araragi paid the bill.
It wasn't a busy time for the store. After telling Sadao Maou that some friends had come by, Sū ěr was granted a short break. He sat down in a corner with the three of them.
"What's the story with Hanekawa?" Sū ěr asked directly as he sat down, confused about how the literary girl he remembered was involved with Araragi.
She was just an ordinary human with no special powers. How had Araragi managed to drag her into this?
"Please don't blame Araragi-kun. I found him myself," Hanekawa said, pushing up her glasses and cutting off Araragi explanation. She paused for a moment. "...Yōkai?"
She looked at Sū ěr, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"Or perhaps an 'Oddity'?"
Following Hanekawa lead, the blonde man spoke up. He acted like they were old pals, shamelessly prying into Sū ěr origins.
Sū ěr narrowed his eyes slightly. Ignoring the blonde man, he turned back to Hanekawa. "Did you find them while investigating me? Or did you notice Araragi abnormality?"
"...The Higurashi Shrine," Hanekawa replied with a sly smile, uttering the three words.
No further explanation was needed. Sū ěr immediately knew exactly who had leaked the info—Kagome Higurashi.
"That girl really has zero sense of caution, doesn't she?" Sū ěr sighed.
When facing him, she acted like a cornered animal, refusing to believe a single word. But when someone else came prying, she spilled the beans that easily?
Well, he couldn't really blame a middle schooler.
"Haha, please don't be hard on her. She's honestly kind to a fault," Hanekawa said, unable to hide a smile when talking about Kagome. "I only mentioned you briefly, and based on her reaction, I said a few things to agree with her. I didn't expect her to treat me as someone 'on the inside' so quickly."
"On the inside" referred to those who knew about the existence of the supernatural, as opposed to the majority of the world who believed such things didn't exist.
"...That girl's going to get sold and thank the buyer for the money," Sū ěr sighed again. He could practically see Hanekawa at the shrine.
When Kagome huffed about a "bad monster," Hanekawa only had to describe Sū ěr and say a few negative things to get on her good side. The poor girl probably thought Hanekawa was another victim of Sū ěr pranks.
"Isn't that how children are supposed to be?" Hanekawa shook her head and continued. "Anyway, since then, I've been keeping an eye on the city's urban legends. Recently, I was lucky enough to run into Araragi-kun, who was still wandering the streets at dusk instead of going home."
"Lucky... huh... Haha, ahahaha."
Araragi, sitting across from Sū ěr, gave a hollow laugh.
"What? Did something interesting happen between you two?" Sū ěr raised an eyebrow. He noticed his own mannerisms were becoming more and more like a certain Elf. "Come to think of it, I didn't know you... wait, did you two know each other before this?"
"We're students at the same school," Araragi explained with a wry smile. "Just in different classes. Compared to a nameless student like me, Hanekawa is the eternal number one in our grade. Not just in school, but in the national mock exams too."
"Hehe, don't sell yourself short, Araragi-kun," Hanekawa laughed softly. "Actually, your reputation in school is almost on par with mine."
"Eh? Me?" The boy, looking somewhat gloomy with bangs covering his eyes, pointed at himself in shock.
Watching their interaction, Sū ěr had a sudden realization.
"This is that thing, right? The legendary—"
[Mutual affection?]
"Mutual affection?"
Two different sources, but the exact same words. The former was Think, watching with great interest from within, and the latter was the blonde man.
"...Could you not just say whatever comes to mind, Oshino-san?" Araragi eyes turned into dead fish eyes. "That's not how you use that Japanese phrase."
Sū ěr noticed the young man's eyes were constantly scanning Hanekawa, as if he were terrified she'd be angry... though, a few of those glances definitely lingered on Hanekawa chest.
No doubt about it—he was a pervert in the prime of his youth.
Sū ěr had his confirmation.
"Eh? It's not mutual affection? I thought you and Glasses-chan were playing out that script where you like each other but can't be honest, so you just hint at it indirectly," the blonde man said with an entertained expression.
Sū ěr felt the same.
"...In fact, Hanekawa and I had barely spoken until recently," Araragi tried to explain, though his glances toward Hanekawa became more frequent and he grew visibly nervous.
Hanekawa simply smiled, looking as considerate as could be.
"...Oshino?" Sū ěr ignored the teenage boy's drama. He crossed his legs and rested his chin on his hand, looking at the blonde man.
To be honest, this was the first time he had seriously observed the man who had supposedly stolen Kiss-shot's heart without a sound since the group entered the MgRonald's.
Sū ěr had heard Kiss-shot describe her full power—energy drain, soul theft, shadow hopping, material creation, weight manipulation, high-speed regeneration, immortality, infinite lifespan, flight, mist transformation, darkness transformation, body manipulation, killing with a gaze, and incredible jumping power... she could literally leap from Japan to Antarctica.
Beyond that was a list of abilities that felt like "cheat codes." In a game, she would be game-breaking. Unfortunately, reality isn't a balanced game.
To steal the heart of such a being to her face... blondey, or rather, this Oshino, was no pushover.
Sū ěr couldn't help but check his own heart—good, it was still beating quietly in his chest.
[Idiot, I'm right here. How could he possibly take your heart without a sound? One vampire that stupid is more than enough.]
You can always trust Think.