Soul for a Girlfriend?

New year's eve was approaching in a few days. The roads were busier than usual as lots of people were out for different purposes. Some could be seen shopping while others were probably planning prerequisites for that special day.

Shops were occupied and vendors were working without any breaks. Streets and plazas were being decorated as well. The essences of a whole year coming to an end could be felt.

Some people were immersed in themselves while others indulged in working even on such an auspicious occasion. The week interval from Christmas Eve to New Year's Eve always passed by in a blink of an eye.

This jovial festive mood persisted for the whole week. 

And since new year's eve was approaching, it meant the preparation for the year ending festival was commencing at full pace as well. The stagnant snow on the streets was being ploughed through. 

It has snowed quite a lot since Christmas yet the streets were crowded as usual.

The zestful giggles of kids playing resonated into Saishi's ear. He looked around and noticed a group of kids with vibrant smiles on their cheeks. Dedicating their whole attention to sculpting a snowman.

He chuckled and continued on his way to meet with Suzuha as he planned the day prior. They were texting last night and Saishi came to the conclusion that he needed to talk things out with her instead of avoiding them.

He had planned something out. He just needed to execute it. It was a decent opportunity for him to try and get Suzuha out of his life without any strings attached. But depended upon where she actually stood in the relationship.

Both of them were already at a subconscious mutual agreement that this relationship was nothing serious.

Saishi was approaching the place where he was supposed to meet with her. It was near the entrance of a park, where he could see three figures standing while conversing among themselves.

Suzuha was supposed to be alone, but there she was standing along with Moriko and Shig. It was completely by coincidence that she stumbled upon the two of them on her way here.

"Yo, dude!" Shig noticed him approaching and lifted his arm for a friendly greet.

It had been quite a while since the last time both of them had a conversation. And things changed a lot as well. From Shig not being able to tolerate the sight of him, they were good acquaintances now.

Saishi walked up to him and firmly held his hand. Returning his handshake, he asked, "How have you been?"

"Well, alive. Unfortunately." He replied with a distasteful expression. They exchanged a short peal of laughter and Saishi nodded, "I can feel you."

"What are you doing here?" He asked, as Saishi glanced around and replied, "I just had some business with Suzuha."

His gaze shifted towards Suzuha for instance as he nodded quietly.

Moriko and Suzuha were standing quietly, watching the two of them with their mouths hanging open. For them, the sight of these two being friendly with each other was rather unbelievable.

"Since when have you two been good friends?" Moriko asked sarcastically. But Shig had a smug smile on his face as he retorted, "You see, boys aren't like girls. We don't hold grudges."

Moriko rolled her eyes at Shig's answer. She made her fingers resemble a mouth and taunted him, "Blah! Blah! Blah!"

"So you're finally speaking your language? Nonsense." Shig replied while patting the head of an agitated Moriko.

But Moriko appeared to have a follow up question already prepared as she shot, "Yeah okay. How come you understand that nonsense language?"

While this bantering occurred, Saishi's eyes rested upon Suzuha. She was staring at the duo but there was a slight smile on her lips which indicated that she was well aware of his stares.

"I just happened to be multilingual." Shig replied. Moriko just stared at him with puffed up cheeks and mumbled, "You're so full of shit."

A smile formed upon Shig's face and Moriko understood the reason as she glared at him and said slowly while a petulant smile, "Don't even think about it!"

"Are you and Moriko out on a date or something?" Saishi asked out of the blue, which caught both of them by surprise.

With widened eyes and embarrassed faces, they yelped in unison, "Absolutely not!"

"What made you think that?!" Moriko asked, while Shig continued laughing beside her. Saishi just nodded and said, "I don't know. You two seem quite well dressed."

Saishi was just playing around to lighten up the atmosphere a bit. Suzuha was with her friends and he needed to talk with her in private. To borrow her from them without appearing desperate, he had to act casually.

"Anyways, Suzuha…" Saishi called out her name. Her gaze turned towards him as she nodded, "Yeah, I know. Let's go somewhere else."

Suzuha strolled towards Saishi and grabbed his hand. Waving at Moriko and Shig, she dragged him along with her. Saishi followed her quietly. She had no plans of talking with him in front of them.

"See you later then." Moriko waved her back while Shig just watched them walk into the park until they were out of sight.

"I wonder what happened between them." Shig said, as Moriko tilted her head in confusion and asked, "What?"

Shig's eyes shifted towards her as he smirked. He knew that Moriko somewhat had an idea about what was going on. But he decided not to pry further, "Come on, you can't tell something is wrong with them?"

Moriko obviously had a slight hunch on what was happening. She didn't tell Saishi from her side about Christmas Eve, but she had a strong gut feeling that he was about to confront Suzuha about that only.

As much as she would've loved to witness that and feed her curiosity, she knew that it wasn't the right thing to do.

"Well, I guess. But I don't really care, to be honest.." Moriko just shrugged and they continued on their path.