After accepting Koharu’s proposal, she shamelessly moved into my apartment building.

“This just in, a beautiful silver-haired, busty young lady dressed as a princess in a wedding dress leaped off the docks of the supposed haunted carnival while carrying her beloved prince charming, not to fly gracefully but to stop some delinquents acting as drug dealers of a type of spectral-inducing drug, witnesses say while carrying her beloved prince she had a wonderful smile on her face.”

“....I have had enough of this,” I turned the Television off.

     I already knew being out at the carnival with Koharu would bring me a lot of attention and spread gossip among the students at my school but not to this degree.

“Hey! I was watching that!” Koharu complained while lying on my lap.

Ever since she moved in, Koharu gained a habit of lying on my lap, and one thing led to another which was me playing with her silky hair every time she did it.

“Fine just switch it to a different channel or something.” I turned the television back on and handed her the remote and she changed the channel to a telenovela.

“Was the stunt we did too “attention-grabbing” by your standards? Koharu winked while scratching her rear.

     Talk about having a lack of shame, and not just that, Koharu has developed a different habit of only wearing my pajama shirt and nothing else around the house.

“You could say that, but doesn’t this affect our line of work?”

“Hmm… Not in particular, I have a grasp of how to keep my identity hidden.

     Coming from her, I wouldn’t doubt anything she said.

15 minutes later I got up from the couch and went to the kitchen to cook some snacks.

“Koharu, are we out of coffee creamer?”

“Oooh~ uhh~~~ I kinda used it up last night… hahaha~”

     What on earth could you have been doing to use it all up!? Last I recall you slept early every night! The only way she could be using it is sleepwalking or she drinks a lot of coffee when I’m not looking.

“Sigh, alright put some clothes on, We’re going grocery shopping?”

“But whyyyyyy~~~?? Can’t you do it alone???”

     Yeah no, if this girl gets to slack around the house all day she better help with chores!

“Get up, put some pants on, and come with me already!”

“Nooooo!! I don’t wanaaaaaaaa~~~!!!”

“You lazy bum!! Take that!”

     I grabbed her clothes and threw them directly at her face.

“Hey! That hurts!”

“Put it on already, so we can go out and buy groceries!”

“Fineeeeee~~~~~”

Sigh, Talk about a lazy bum. I wore a light blue shirt and black pants and prepared to exit the apartment room.

“Koharu, I’ll be waiting outside, just come out when you’re ready.”

“I knooooowwww!!!”

Does she hate going out that bad? Where was this laziness when we investigated the haunted house?

I exited our apartment room, leaned on the guard rails, and waited for Koharu to finish up.

     I turned to look behind me and focused my gaze on the world around me. The moon was especially lovely today, the city was especially busy with all the bright lights and the crowds gathering among the now rejuvenated carnival and citizens walking on the sidewalks. It was the spitting image of a large city set ranging from the 1910s to the 1950s.

     Even the cars that drove past this apartment building were beautiful, they had that vintage look, however, when I was still under foster care, I experienced and witnessed several crime scenes every time we went out, the crimes I witnessed ranged from petty crimes like juvenile delinquency and petty thefts to more severe ones like Grand theft auto, drug trades and even slavery which was still legal here.

     This world may look beautiful but it’s very dangerous, this world felt like a “Film-Noir” in real life.

    The city I lived in was similar to “Los Angeles” back in my old world, as I slowly looked up at the sky a shooting star flew by me, what a lovely sight to see.

“I guess I better make a wish-”

“Sorry for the wait!!!!” Koharu announced while slamming the door open.

Getting startled by this girl was something I needed to get used to.

“Can you not scream whenever I’m enjoying my peaceful day!”

“Eh? Were you gonna make a wish on a shooting star or something?”

“Huh!? N-No, I wasn’t! What made you think that?”

Did she read my mind?

“Well, sidekick how do I look?” Koharu spun to show me her outfit.

She wore a dark-blue, short-sleeved dress that complimented her cerulean-blue eyes, a black blazers on top of it, and to finish off her outfit she had a light green miniskirt and red high-heels.

“You look good.”

“Haha Thank you, Well then Sidekick, shall we go?”

“Yeah.”

We walked on past the other rooms, I wondered whether my neighbors thought Koharu was my girlfriend or something. Well considering she had been living with me for at least a week now, one would assume we were dating.

“Hey sidekick, can we buy a pet cat?”

“No.”

“Come on!! I want one!!!”

“Where did this cat interest even come from?”

“Remember yesterday when we watched the pussy whisperer show yesterday where He tamed the many pussies in that animal shelter?”

“You seriously believe anyone has powers to control and manipulate cats?”

“Well, Ma’Dear in my line of work you better know how to suspend your disbelief and accept the power of science!!” Koharu shouted, while standing on the guard rails and pointed at the moon.

“Get off or you’ll fall!!!” I shouted back grabbing her hand and trying to pull her back down.

“Ehhh~~? What’s this? My sidekick cares about me so much! How flattering can this day get~?”

“If you keep this up, I’m never massaging your head when you lay on my lap.”

“Ehhhh!? That’s pure evil! You should be arrested for that!

This girl… I should put pepper in her coffee tomorrow…… Nah, that’s too mean even for me.

We called a BU-Uber and stood side by side on the sidewalk waiting for the arrival.

“Koharu after shopping let’s stop by the cemetery and shrine to pay respects to my classmates.”

“Ah~ yes let’s prepare some offerings for them too.”

“Gotcha, I’ll stop by some flowers for each of them.”

“That’s stupid, you’re a broke high school student, you can’t possibly buy a bouquet for each of their graves!”

“I meant, buying 2 bouquets and offering 2 to 3 flowers to each grave!”

“What a cheapskate you are sidekick.”

I should shove her into oncoming traffic, but I won’t, I’m too nice for that.

After what felt like an infinity, our BU-Uber arrived, and We sat in the backseat.

“Good evening.” Koharu and I said together.

“Good evening, Ah, a date night for Mr. and Mrs, where shall our destination be?” asked our BU-Uber driver.

     Woah, Woah, Woah, Hold it right there!? Did he just say Mr and Mrs!? Did he think we were married? Did Koharu not look older than I am? Was it our height difference? Or did she pass as a high schooler? How embarrassing could this night get?

“Please take us to the nearby mall.” Answered Koharu nonchalantly.

“Very well.”

The car drove off, and just like that, there was silence between Koharu and me.

“Are you not embarrassed at all!?” I whispered to her.”

“Not really, as long as it’s my dear sidekick I’ll pretend to be his girlfriend whenever he needs me to!”

Geez… what a pain, this had to be gaslighting to some kind of degree, it has to be!

     The car drove off, and just like that, there was silence between Koharu and me. I looked out the window to observe the cityscape beside us, I looked at the many billboards such as the upcoming films; “Paws, The Women, Defend and the Big Cold,” while other billboards showed “Koka Cola, Bebzi and Dank’N Do Nots” advertisement and a billboard for Kantocky fried Cat.

“Psssstttt Sidekick~ You’re being quiet, is there something wrong?” whispered Koharu.

“I’m just bored, leave me alone.”

“Well then? Wanna play a game?”

“Like what?”

“Hmmm~~~ I dunno, why don’t you suggest one!”

     You’re the one who wants to play a game and you don’t even have one in mind!? This is gonna be one long car ride isn’t it?

     After a while, the cab parked next to the shopping mall. We paid for our car ride and exited the cab, bidding the driver a safe night.

“Sidekick look over there!” Koharu pointed at a florist, a shop that specialized in flowers.

“Sharp eye, would you mind if we go ahead and buy the flowers before the groceries? Let’s just have the shop owner hold on to it while we go get our groceries- Woah!.”

“Not at all, let’s go!”

Koharu grabbed and carried me like a princess and ran towards the shop.

“Would you stop that!?”

“Stop what? Giving you street cred?”

“No! Stop treating me like a feeble and defenseless princess!”

“Well sidekick, you are more of a feeble scholar if I do say so myself! Mhm! Mhm!”

“Why do you look so proud of yourself?”

We entered the shop and started looking around at the many flowers on sale.

“Ooo~ sidekick look at the tulips! They’re so pretty!!! Ah, look at those dandelions they’re so attractive.” Koharu ran around admiring the flowers.

I guess even she has her interests and is not completely tied down to being a detective.

“How blissful she is.”

     In this world or maybe just in our country? Continent? Sunlight is only available for 6 hours a day so flowers aren’t easily accessible or easy to grow, and artificial suns have to be used to grow flowers and crops effectively, those artificial suns drain power a lot so having a lot of them can be very expensive for florists, farmers and gardeners.

      That’s why selling crops, flowers, fruits, and vegetation in general is very expensive and is taken with extreme care and love.

“Sidekick, come here, now!”

What on earth could she have seen to demand I just go to her? Whatever let’s get this over it. I did as she said and saw her looking at what looked like azaleas and snapdragons.

“What do you want?” I stood next to her

“Sidekick, do you see that?” Koharu whispered while pointing under the tables.

It looked like a flowerpot that had golden dandelions and roses growing out of it.

“I can see it.”

“Buy it for me! Boss’ orders!”

“I see…”

     I walked out of the shop buying a bouquet of tulips, marigolds, and iris while Koharu clung tightly to my leg begging me to buy her the golden roses.

Well, that’s one way to gain attention.

“Koharu, let’s go to the cemetery to offer the flowers… Hey, Koharu can you hear me?.”

Turning my head I saw her pouting, puffing up her cheeks, her face completely red and her eyes tearing up.

“No, I cannot hear you.”

What are you a kid?

“Alright, how about we go to the food court and have lunch? My treat.”

“Wowwww~~~!!! my sidekick loves me so much~~!!! Well then let us eat!!”

Her eyes beamed with joy, her cheeks turned a bit rosy, and she had a completely innocent aura around her.

Talk about a complete 180.

“Alright let’s go.” I grabbed her hand and we walked to the food court to have lunch.

     We walked a bit in the food court to see what restaurants were open or what were available to begin with, the place wasn’t too crowded but it wasn’t empty either and the bright lights stood out.

     Among the food chains we saw were;

     “69 Gals, Jolly V’s, DC Ronald’s, Borgar Queen, King Dairy, Kantocky Fried Cat, Pizza Manor, R-B’s, Dic-Fil-A, Mama Jane’s, BoomEyes, StaRails, Burrito Gong, Black Castle, Munch Queen, Vibratey’s Pizza, Blackwater Pizza, Donny’s Donuts, Knuckles Drive through, Pink Ribbon, Polar Express, Jane in a Bag, Out-N-In Borgars, and last but not least was Karl’s Sr.”

“Sidekick, what do you recommend I get?”

“How about Jolly V’s?”

“Hmmmm…... Too basic and similar to Dc Ronald’s”

“Fair enough, How about StaRails?”

“I don’t like their sandwiches, they are way too sloppy.”

Geez, talk about picky.

“Hey, how about we try Out-N-In Borgars?”

“Ugh, you like that?”

“Hey! Are you saying My taste in food is bad?”

“Yes.”

“Meanie.”

“Okay, how about we just split up and buy what we want, I’ll have a table reserved for us?”

“Such a considerate sidekick! It’s a deal.”

     I gave Koharu a considerable budget since lunch was my treat and we split up to buy lunch. 10 minutes later we met up at our desired spot and looked at each other’s “Meals.”

     Koharu went to Jane in a bag, where she got 5 Meat Lover’s burritos with extra peppers and cheese, plus 12 Ultra Croissant sandwiches, and an Extra-Extra large Koka Cola.

“So Koharu, how much did that platter cost you?

“Well, My dear sidekick here’s the total cost!”

She dangled the receipt in front of me and she maximized the entire budget I gave her.

Such a glutton, how is she not fat? Oh wait… all the calories went to her thighs and chest.

     Meanwhile, I went to Munch Queens, I ordered a  Beep Chow Platter, and my drink was water.

“Ah, not a bad choice, young kids like you need your full  meals after all hehe!”

If I was a kid why did you want me to be your sidekick and commit child endangerment!?

“Whatever, at least I’m not the one getting a stomachache tomorrow.”

     During our lunch break, Koharu was just enjoying life eating all the burritos and sandwiches like a bear preparing for hibernation or something, while I remained eating slowly and taking my sweet time. I felt so much second-hand embarrassment for this girl, and she just kept eating and eating to her heart’s content.

     Our lunch break took roughly around 30 minutes, we cleaned up and prepared to go buy our groceries.

“Ahhh~~ that was so yumyyyyy~~~” exclaimed Koharu.

“Are we ready to go start grocery shopping?”

“Yep!” answered Koharu.

     I simply nodded at her and we headed to the market area, I grabbed a shopping cart and observed the list I prepared while I let Koharu to her own devices, which was to buy other supplies like soap, shampoo, toothpaste, detergents, conditioners.

“So We need, 2 cartons of eggs, 4 milk containers, 2 sticks of butter and cheese, some chicken wings, 4 loaves of bread, 3 kilos of rice, coffee creamer that lasts for 3 weeks. Koharu mentioned wanting strawberries and blueberries so I should buy 2 kilos of them. Maybe I should also buy some cereal… yeah that’s about it, I just gotta get these and hope that Girl stays out of trouble while separated.”

     Our grocery list was fairly large so we had to split who bought which, I was in charge of our food while Koharu got the supplies for the apartment.

     Grocery shopping took 30 minutes, All I was missing were snacks that Koharu and I personally wanted for ourselves or shared.

“Maybe It’s time to meet up with her-”

     I continued walking around and saw her on the floor…… Holding 2 different laundry detergents of the same size and comparing prizes with a pen and paper, a calculator, and a scale.

“At least she wasn’t doing anything stupid… well wasting brain cells over two identical detergents was pretty stupid.”

     I walked away and decided to go get her strawberries and blueberries and once I got back she was comparing the prizes of 2 identical shampoo bottles and conditioner.

“What a determined girl you are.”

     I decided to just buy the snacks on my own and I decided to buy a few potato chips, cookies, and dried fruit.

“That should be enou-”

“Sidekick let’s goooo!”

Did she finally decide to buy something?

     I turned around and Koharu held her side of the grocery in a basket to which she placed it in the cart and we prepared to head out.

“Are we done here Koharu?”

“Nope!”

“What why?”

“Heheheh! You see~”

     She made me let her sit inside the grocery cart and ran as fast as we could and nearly ran over a pregnant woman, an old married couple, and ran over a protesting Wegan dressed as a bloody cow in front of a butcher shop.

     We almost got kicked out thanks to that stunt.

     Panting from the exhaustion of pushing the Heavyweight that was “Ace Detective Koharu” and some featherweight groceries We called for another BU-Uber which meant another car ride.

“I can’t believe you made me push you around the isles like that.”

“Come on! Don't be such a boomer, it was very fun!”

“You’re not wrong…”

“Hehe told you, well then shall we go now?”

“Mhm.”

     During the car ride, We agreed that bringing our groceries to the cemetery was wasteful so we brought our groceries back home first, and once we reached our apartment we dropped off all our groceries and walked to the cemetery to not waste any more money than we needed to.

“I’m gonna be quick about this, are you fine with just staying outside and waiting out here Koharu?”

“Why not let me join you? I was there when the attack happened and they “were” my classmates for a few days.”

“Alright, let’s go together.”

     Koharu and I held hands and entered the cemetery, I carried 2 bouquets while Koharu held the other one.

     While walking, I couldn’t help but feel cold, was it because the cemetery was a naturally dark place? Or was it the fact it’s mostly nighttime here?

     We found the spot that my campus paid for, and each of my classmates was buried next to each other so Koharu and I had to give each grave 3 flowers to commemorate the lives they had.

“That’s the first one, there’s still at least 31 students.”

“Yep, this is gonna take a while.”

     We continued placing 3 flowers on each grave for what felt like 20 minutes. We eventually met up to the first grave, nodded at each other and walked back, holding each other’s hands

“Today was a doozy.”

“What’s wrong sidekick?”

“It’s nothing don’t mind it, it was very fun hanging out with you outside of work that’s all.”

“I… I  see… thank you.”

She seemed awfully out of character… Oh well, it was time for us to head home.

     We walked back home, went inside, and played rock, paper scissors on who gets to take a bath first and I luckily won.