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Shin doesn't know how Noi always manages to drag him into these situations.
One moment he's trying Blue Night takoyaki and trying to figure out why it's so much pricier than regular takoyaki, and the next moment Noi's pulling him towards a large tent in the middle of the festival without any warning.
"Shin, look at this!" she says excitedly, pointing to the sign hanging on the wall of the tent. It reads How well do you really know your partner-to-be? Underneath it in smaller letters, it says Win a free t-shirt! "We should totally do it!"
"Doesn't sound like much of a competition," he replies, turning back to his takoyaki. A few of the octopus balls had fallen while he was being dragged. There goes a stupid amount of money. "You know how I feel about easy wins. Besides, if you want a t-shirt so bad, I'll just buy you one."
"Yeah, but this is a t-shirt that says that we're better than all of them." Her eyes turn pleading. "Come on, we never get to do anything fun that doesn't involve killing or eating. When's the last time that bastard En even gave us a day off?"
"Don't call him a bastard," Shin says automatically, and sighs. He can be just as competitive as Noi, but this feels almost unfair. They've known each other for ten years now, after all. They'll wipe the floor with everyone else without even trying. "Is this really that important to you?"
"Come on, Shin, my most amazing and wonderful partner," she wheedles. "Just let loose for a night. I'll buy us ramen after if we win. Full portions." Full portions for them means at least two bowls apiece, and Shin doesn't have that much cash on him after spending it on that fucking overpriced takoyaki. He throws the whole container in the trash out of annoyance, then turns back to her.
"Fine. Let's finish this quick though, okay? I haven't seen Fujita or Ebisu in a while and I feel like they're up to some shit. We might have to kill some people."
Noi laughs loudly at that. "You sound like you're their dad or something."
"Why do I still hang around you?"
"Because no one else can match your appetite, spot you in weights, or heal you when you get stabbed like every day?"
"Ah, right."
They enter the tent, and Shin can see that the stands are mostly full of spectators already. There's a huge line to actually sign up for the competition, and he knows they'll never get on by waiting, so he flashes his mask to one of the attendants and whispers, "We're part of En's family." That gets them all the way up to the stage in a minute. Bastard or not, En has connections everywhere.
The lights on the stage flash on, and the announcer starts listing off the rules to the bustling crowd. The competition consists of four pairs competing against each other. One of the partners goes backstage to a soundproof room while the other answers questions about them out loud. Then the partner comes back and has to try and guess their partner's answers.
It's a simple enough game, and Shin spaces out while the announcer continues talking. Full portion ramen. Should I get the usual, or should I try something new since Noi's paying anyway? Maybe I should get extra toppings just for kicks.
"Shin, you have to introduce yourself," he hears Noi whisper to him, and he jolts back to attention. Indeed, the announcer is staring at him, waiting for a response. "Just say your name, it's quick."
"I'm, uh, Shin," he says quickly, glad that he doesn't know anyone in the audience. The shit he'll get from Noi because of this is enough. The announcer nods to him, moves on to the next person, and he can finally relax again.
"Why're you so nervous?" Noi whispers, and he wants to wipe the smug smile off her face. "I thought we were going to do this quick."
"Shut up," he whispers back, forcing himself to look into the crowd. Lucky for him, no one looks back. He's not good with big groups of people. Doesn't like the attention of all of their eyes. Why did I agree to this again? Oh right, Noi. Noi and ramen. "Give a guy a warning next time, huh? I have a reputation to uphold."
"Sure thing, Shin."
The announcer sends Noi out along with three of the other partners, waits for the signal from his assistant, and says, "First question time! We'll start easy: what's your partner's favorite color?"
It really is easy. "Purple," Shin says when it's his turn to answer. She told him that when she first got her favorite jumpsuit. She has three of them in the same color. He can relate; he has three identical suits in his closet, and five of the same dress shirt. It's not his fault they always get bloodstained so quickly. Maybe I should wear clothes that don't need to be dry-cleaned every week. The thought of matching jumpsuits with Noi does weird things to his stomach. Too embarrassing.
The next ones are also easy. Favorite food? Hamburgers. Mom's name? Emi. Favorite genre of music? Punk rock. At least, that's what he knows she'll answer. He's tempted to say punk pop, her real answer, but he didn't come all this way not to win the fucking t-shirt. He's getting that t-shirt.
The announcer moves on to harder questions now.
"What did your partner want to be when they were growing up?" he asks.
"A Devil," Shin snorts when the microphone gets passed to him. "Went through most of the training and everything." He's starting to enjoy himself a little bit. It's nice to use all of the random information he has on Noi for something productive. He can see the other partners starting to stumble, and he enjoys it even more. He hasn't missed one yet.
"What's your partner's favorite feature?"
"Her biceps. Definitely her biceps."
"What's your partner's pet's name?"
"She doesn't have one now, but she used to have a bird named Turtle."
"Favorite day of the week?"
"Tuesday. Payday."
"What's their height?"
"Six foot ten." The announcer blinks at him at this, and he just shrugs. Devil training does crazy things to people.
"Weight?"
"I'm... not going to answer that." 273 pounds. Not that I'm telling the whole sorcerer world that. Luckily, neither to any of the other partners. Good thing they have brains.
"Where was their first kiss?"
That one trips him up for a second, but only because he doesn't really want to say it in front of a whole crowd of sorcerers. Especially since he never talks about it with Noi herself. "It was, uh, after a car crash." With me.
It was before either of them had gotten used to almost dying, and their adrenaline levels were high. He doesn't remember who initiated it - his memory of the event is a little hazy from his concussion - but he knew it was her first because she told him. Said that devil training didn't leave a lot of time for making out with people, and that even afterwards she just didn't see the point. It was his first kiss too, not that he wanted to admit it. Avenging his parents' deaths didn't leave a lot of time for romance either.
He wonders if it was a good kiss. Not that he has much in way of a reference, but he feels like it was. Twenty eight years old and still thinking about my first kiss. I'm a real piece of work, aren't I.
He doesn't say any of that, of course, just leaves it at the car crash. That gets him a whole crowd of confused stares, but the announcer moves on anyway. Good. Better not to elaborate.
The last question is the one that catches him.
"What's their biggest fear?"
His first thought is nothing, because Noi doesn't do fear. She does disgust when she gets covered in guts, and annoyance when she has to deal with En, and even nerves when they know they're in a tough situation. But never true fear.
"Spiders," he says as his answer, because it sounds like as good of an answer as any. I can afford to get one wrong, it's alright.
Noi comes back out from backstage along with the other three, and he whispers, "It's in the bag." She smiles at him, crossing her arms over his shoulders.
“It better be," she says in an undertone. "I just had to make conversation with three of the most boring people on the planet while you got to answer questions about me."
"Did you almost kill them?"
"I deeply considered it."
The announcer starts going over the answers, and, just as Shin expected, all of his match up. Well, almost all of them.
"273 pounds," Noi says proudly when asked, giving Shin a thumbs up. He just shakes his head and rubs the bridge of his nose.
At the first kiss question, she sends him a sideways look, and he nods. Just say it. Sure enough, it was in a car crash. No surprise at all, they're leading the other teams by at least five points. He doesn't listen to their answers because he doesn't particularly care, but he watches Noi's face to see what she thinks of them. As expected, she's unimpressed as well.
Then the final question comes up again, and Shin finds himself leaning in to hear her answer.
"My biggest fear?" She taps her chin thoughtfully. "I guess death would be my answer."
"Very rational, but your partner guessed spiders," the announcer says. "Still, with thirteen points, you two win the game by a landslide and take home the free t-shirts! Thanks for playing, and thank you all for watching!" The eight of them file off the stage, and Shin and Noi go to collect their hard-earned prizes.
As it turns out, the shirts are tacky as all hell - not that he expected better - and of the "one size fits all" variety. Neither of them have been able to fit in the "one size" in years, but Noi insists that they change into them anyway.
"I look stupid," Shin complains, pulling at the hem of the shirt, which only reaches the top of his stomach. At least Noi can pull off a crop top. He just looks like he went shopping in the clearance aisle.
"Nah, we look great," Noi says, beaming. "And now we can go get ramen!"
"Should we find the kids first?" Damn it, why am I thinking of them as 'the kids'? They're not my kids. I'm not even their babysitter.
"They'll be fine," Noi says, pulling him by the arm. "To the car! I'm starving."
He waits until they're both buckled in before asking, "So your biggest fear's death? Sounds weird coming from the unkillable woman. I don't think you could die if you tried, really. You'd just heal right back up."
"I'm not scared of my own death, Shin," she says offhandedly. "I'm scared of yours."
Oh.
He probably looks like a lost puppy right about now. He reaches for his mask to cover it up, but realizes that he might as well shout 'I'm confused and also kind of embarrassed!' at the top of his lungs. He sticks his hand deep in his pocket instead, playing with the edges of his mask like a comfort object.
Noi continues talking, still in the same even tone. "I'm scared that you'll get stabbed or something and I won't make it in time, and even if I try to heal you it won't make a difference because you'll already be dead. My healing magic can only do so much."
"We have Kikurage now, though, remember?" he says, wiping his glasses so that he'll have something to look at other than Noi's earnest face. "Even if I'm dead for a hundred years, it can still bring me back." I'll always come back.
"It's a dumb fear, I know, but I don't like being helpless. I don't want there to be a situation where it's my job to save you and I fail."
Now that's a sentiment that Shin can relate to. He and Noi have each other's backs, always, but there are times where he thinks this is it. This is where we both die. Oddly enough, it never scares him enough to keep him out of situations like that. There are many worse ways and places to die than alongside your partner.
"If I'm dead, it's my own fault," he hears himself say. "You shouldn't ever blame yourself for anything that happens to me."
"I can't help it. That's what happens when you care about someone. You feel responsible for everything that happens to them, and you want to do everything in your power to protect them. Even if they're six foot five and can kill a guy with their hands."
She looks like she's going to keep going, jesus fuck, and Shin really wishes he could put on his mask for just a second to collect himself. It'd be so much easier to say I care about you too with his face covered, so that the awful blush that takes over his features at everything Noi won't be seen. He's not good with emotions, and he's not good at knowing the right thing to say when under pressure. It's so much easier to hide.
But he can't, so he settles for the next best thing: shutting her up. In this case, by leaning in and pressing his lips against hers.
It's different than the first time, he thinks. There's no energy threatening to burst out of him, and there's no threat of death fueling him. Only Noi in their tacky matching shirts, and the fact that she cares, and the fact that even though he knows everything there is to know about her, he still wants to learn more.
He breaks away quickly, actually taking out his mask this time and pulling it over his face in a swift, practiced motion.
"So, ramen," he says too loudly, starting up the car. "Your treat, remember? I think I'll get three bowls this time."
Noi doesn't say anything for a moment, and Shin's heartbeat rings out in his ears. I shouldn't have been so impulsive. I didn't think clearly. I should apologize to her and then-
She laughs, and suddenly Shin can breathe again.
"You're like a schoolboy or something," she gasps, turning to him with crinkled eyes. "You could just say that you care about me too, you know."
"I know," he mumbles, feeling his face heat up. "I could, it's just-"
She cuts him off by kissing him, right where his mouth is under the mask. It's a split second, but it shuts him up quick. What goes around comes around.
"I don't mind it," she says. "It's cute. Like how you're hiding your red face with your mask right now because you're embarrassed." He really wishes she wasn't so observant. It can get annoying at times.
Rather than answer her, he pulls up his mask so just the lower half of it is exposed.
"Compromise?" he asks, and instead of replying, Noi pulls him in, making sure to keep the mask in place as they kiss.
I care about you so much, he tries to convey through it. Judging by her expression, she seems to get it.