21. Held Hands

You looked up to him your own adorable orbs, looking like a kitten in his eyes. Fingers slowly sliding in his mask, causing a flinch to slightly overtake him.

"...it's because... I want you to take a proper picture with me without having to look like you're about to rob a bank."

He blinked, crinkled his brow before he lurched his eyed away in defiance, cheeks filling with hues as he looked away. "...Tch, absolutely not."

You sighed softly. "Please?"

"No."

"I'll run away from you."

"You won't."

"Com'on, what do you want me to do?"

He lurched his eyes back at you with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "...You're willing to do anything?"

Your eyes blinked in seriousness, quite taken aback by his sudden change of tone, parting your lips to speak, but someone else intruded.

"Excuse me, you two!" The female employee called out. "There are other people waiting, kindly escort your way out after collecting your printed photo at the corner."

"O-Oh—"

"Wait," Shinsou spoke up, with his deep voice, earning the attention of nearly everyone, mostly the girls drawling over him. "I would like..." he looked over to you. "...a picture with her again."

"But sir, you alr—"

"My entry," he cut her off, before flickering back with assertive eyes. "This will be my entry, the other one was hers."

"O-Oh, alright..." the employee replied with a clear of throat, cheeks flushed as she nodded to the cameraman.

There were whispers, murmurs, and mainly from extra female groups chattering amongst themselves while eyeing Shinsou with a similar hue of red on the surface of their cheeks.

You pouted with a sigh, unsure why an unsettling feeling cascaded through your chest having other girls to look at him like that. You began to focus yourself on the white kitten, who was slowly licking your fingers, causing a splutter of chuckles to release out of your mouth.

Shinsou flickered over, a vein throbbed at the corner when that one cat who scratched him was gaining your attention. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, before he elbowed you.

"Oi, we're taking a picture again like you wanted," he mentioned in a mutter. "Pay attention, idiot."

"Hm?" You looked to the side, meeting those captivating violet ones with relaxed eyes. "...you're the idiot here, getting all those attention from..." you eyed a group of girls at the corner. "...them."

Shinsou followed your trail of vision, smirking underneath his mask before looking back at you with mischievous, narrowed eyes.

"I told you that girls stare at me a lot," he joked, causing you to roll your eyes back down to the white kitten. He elbowed you once again. "Don't tell me you're jealous."

"H-Ha?" You snapped your eyes back at him defiantly. "Absolutely not, that's the last thing I'll ever feel."

"Yeah, right."

"Tch, I'm right," you retorted, before looking back down.

"Oi, stop looking back at that stupid white cat, look at the camera, for another photo isn't that what you wanted?"

"Yeah, but," you began, made a pouty look at him. "I wanted your mask gone."

"...Then," he began as he leaned forward with his head ambled to the side, toppling his purple hair slightly. "...would you do the honours?"

You blinked repeatedly in slight confusion. "Wait, what?"

"Take off my mask, dumb-dumb."

You chuckled gently, shaking your head. "O-Oh, well..." your cheeks began to warm at that thought, before looking away shyly. "...You can do that yourself, you big baby."

"Fine, I won't take it off."

"Agh! Fine, I'll do it!"

Your hands reached out at each end of his ear, fingers slowly sliding beneath the straps of the mask before you slowly pulled it down, revealing those beautiful luscious lips of red, reminded of you of Touya's—as if you were tempted to press your lips against it.

You pursed your lips at such a thought before you quickly looked away and placed down the jet black mask beside him, with a flustered face. Not knowing how he can look nearly perfect in his complexion, as if he was some majestic creature altogether.

He chuckled beside you at your reaction, before he leaned back again, with his arm behind him to recline in such a cool manner before making a feline smirk. Unbeknownst to you of how much he was holding his breath, just not to inhale your strongly attractive scent for your sake.

You smiled per usual, except a bit of shakiness encompassed your lips due to the sudden uproar of your heart rhythm, because of the purple-haired male beside you.

After the second snapshot, you quickly stood up and grabbed the two photos that was waiting to be claimed. You handed over the photo to Shinsou—the one he had requested for, before you two went out of the store.

You leaned against the glass railings of the hallway mall, looking down made you felt slightly nauseated due to the enormous height you were currently at. You quickly turned your eyes back at Shinsou, watching him put the black mask on him, while drifting his violet eyes to the side.

"Hey," you called out. "Keep it out."

He already placed it back on before he looked over back to you. "Huh?"

You leaned closer a bit confidently with forced, serious eyes. "Just remove your mask please, it makes it look like you're gonna kidnap me."

He simply rolled his eyes back before he jabbed two fingers on your forehead, causing you tumble back slightly from such strength that lurched you back within those two fingers. "...Nobody has time to kidnap someone like you."

You groaned. "Please remove your mask, I like it better....to be with someone without a mask."

"...You like it better when I don't have a mask?" He asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes, before leaning closer, emphasizing "like".

"...y-yes," you replied shakily, stifled backwards at his sudden proximity. "Don't take it the other way, I don't like you, but I like it when your mask is down..." you shrugged, shyly looking to the side. "...that's all."

He rolled his eyes with a snicker. "Same thing, but I'm not taking my mask off unless you convince me enough to do so."

"Ugh...Well," you began as you loomed your eyes back into his own. "...I'll hate you less if you'd just remove that mask for the rest of the day."

"..." he remained silent for a while, staring at you intently, before he began to avert his eyes from one side to another, right behind you with such intensity. He immediately pulled you by the arm, to bump against his chest.

"What are you—?!"

"Keep quiet," he shushed under his breath, causing you to look up at his eyes that rimmed with red that surrounded his violet orbs. "...I didn't know that there were a lot here..."

"...A lot of what?" You asked softly, quite flustered that he kept his grip onto your arm, while your chest was bumped against his own.

"[Last Name], have you always felt that feeling of being watched, ever since you were a child?"

"...um, no?" You responded meekly. "...I was just so focused on other childish things that...it didn't matter, but after attending this university, and well...after turning twenty, things started to feel strange I guess..."

He shook his head, before looking back down at you with squinted eyes filled with solemnity. "...Are you sure you don't want to go home now?"

"...Why? What's wrong?"

"Just answer the question."

"Well um..." you gulped, while lifting yourself backwards. "...I do want to shop a bit and have fun before we head back home."

He sighed softly. "Alright, I'll do what you requested, but just stay close by, is that clear?"

You stifled a small laugh, brows crinkled in bewilderment. "What's the sudden protection? It's not like anyone is gonna murder me."

"..." he remained dead silent, letting go of his grip on your arm before his hands pocketed within. "...Listen, [Last Name], if you want me to remove my mask, my only condition is that you stay close by, while we do whatever you want in this place, is that clear?"

"Yes, daddy," you joked with a chortle. "You're treating me like a five year old."

"Agh, thats because you are," he teased, with a blatant look, before he began to remove his mask, revealing his glowing porcelain face.

You pouted, cheeks filling with colour once again at seeing him exposed. "...I'm not," you crossed your arms. "...you're the childish one ever since I met you."

"Oh please, say that about yourself," he retorted, rolling his eyes before he began to move forward.

In almost an instant, you felt the uncanny feeling lurch within your stomach, as if many pairs of watchful eyes were upon you, right after the one moment of being apart from Shinsou. You knew this was very strange, as if Shinsou knew what you were feeling all along.

You quickly went close to him, bumping shoulders against him, feeling slight comfort in his presence, while earning a chuckle from him. You looked down at his hand, slowly fiddled your fingers against his before you gave a gentle squeeze, causing him to snap his eyes at you.

"What are you—"

"Shinsou, can I hold your hand for the rest of the time?" You requested shyly, lips pursed up as you looked away. "...I don't know what, but I feel like you know that there are many stares... and there might be another guy, a weirdo, like you said....that might come at me...and I guess I feel safer...holding you like this."

"..." he remained silent for a while, thinking through every word you said before his eyes nearly softened, before he flickered his eyes back onto your hand, then back onto your shaky, shy eyes.

"Tch," he scoffed, concealing a fit of laughter. "...proves to me all the more that you're a five year old child."

You rolled your eyes with a slight chuckle. "I guess I am, you purple potato head..." you looked back at him with a cute smirk. "...it is alright with you? If not, then let's go home—"

"No, it's fine," he intercepted quickly. "...That way you can stay close and we can enjoy the rest of the time here before we head back."

"...Alright," you replied with a smile, before your eyes perked up. "...but, wait, I need to go to the washroom first.

You immediately removed your hand from him, before you looked around to find the washroom sign, and you found it right across the hallway.

You began to stroll your way towards it, before you crinkled your brows behind you, at the male following you.

"What are you doing...? I'm going to the washroom...?"

He smirked per usual, eyes glinting in chill mischievousness. "I'm coming with you."