Talk about total opposites. After so long with essentially just Declan, Ren, and Ghost for company, and arguably being the mostly lively personality among the four of them, exposure to someone who was as much of a livewire as Macklemore was—almost bewildering.

Aoba focused on getting his headspace back in order as he was led along, reminding himself what it was like to be around people who weren’t as quiet as Declan. He took the punch without complaint, despite awareness that his Hunter gear had absorbed some of the shock, and otherwise observed his impromptu new host. Appearances were one thing, personalities were another. Mac was a Guardian that Declan vouched for, too, so however he acted or carried himself, Aoba had to know that there was a good heart in there for the Light to have chosen.

“He just left,” was apparently the retort Aoba had on hand as he followed Mac back into the organized chaos of the Reef. Food did sound good, and he had no objections to sushi, but if remarks about Declan were going to be Mac’s new angle on flirting it was—a decidedly weird one.

“Of course I’m going to miss him while he’s gone, but right now I’m just hoping it all goes as well as he says it should. Going out to dangerous places may be normal for Guardians, but a regular guy like me is going to be concerned no matter what.”