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Ishiguro looked over the various vegetables, studying them seriously. Hikaru had called for a reunion barbecue, and Ishiguro wasn’t going to disappoint his former cadets by having shoddy skewers.
A dropping of a basket caught his attention, not to mention every one else’s in the super market. The guy who dropped it, probably a bit younger than Hikaru-tachi, was blushing furiously and looking like he was trying not to, but since another man came to help him right away, Ishiguro went back to checking vegetables.
“What happened, Gotou-chan? You don’t usually do that sort of thing, what’s wrong?” Ishiguro overheard.
Some sort of hissed answer from the man who dropped the basket, and then Ishiguro felt a gaze upon him.
He looked up, and found a man that looked exactly like him, except for the facial hair (and far more casual outfit). Shocked, he nearly let go of his own basket.
“So? What’s your name? I’m Date and this is Gotou-chan!” the man who looked like him asked once they were sitting at the nearest oden cart.
“Ishiguro, of Rescue Force,” Ishiguro said, getting out his business cards.
“Oh, fancy, thought about joining them once upon a time but it never ended up happening,” Date said cheerfully. “And you’re an Eiji?”
“Yes?”
“Heh, we work with one too, Hino’s a good guy, him and his chicken friend.”
“I’ve never heard of them,” Gotou interrupted, frowning at the business card before getting out his own, Date resting his chin on Gotou’s shoulder as he did so.
“Kougami Foundation?”
Gotou looked pained, while Date just laughed. He didn’t seem to have any business cards of his own.
“Eat up, you two! It’s going to get cold!”
Ishiguro obediently ate what was in his bowl, wondering if Date was related to him or not. They were clearly very close in age, although Date seemed comfortable being over the age of 30 in a way that Ishiguro couldn’t replicate if he tried. Wasn’t there a statistic on how many people looked like you in the world? Was it seven or was it forty?
It was certainly disconcerting, though, having his doppelganger be so cheerful. He wondered how Hikaru-tachi would respond to having this man be R5, with his easy grins and jovial laughs. He’d probably give orders with the appropriate tact, though. Something about him suggested he was very good at what he did.
“This meal is very weird,” Gotou muttered as Ishiguro got a few more items. He wasn’t really looking Ishiguro in the eyes, not that Ishiguro could blame him. Date really pulled off the facial hair and it was somehow making him feel naked.
“You were interested in Rescue Force, Date-san?” Ishiguro asked politely, wondering if the director had seen Date’s resume at some point or not.
“Sure, but then stuff happened,” Date replied with a shrug, grinning at Gotou’s closed eyes. “It’s all good, met my Gotou-chan because of it!”
“Date-san.”
“What? He’s gotta be used to that sort of thing, too! Maybe not chicken kaijin or whatever, but kind of similar, right?”
Gotou had his hand covering his face. “Please excuse him.”
Ishiguro made a mental note to look up what the Kougami Foundation did, exactly. His phone beeped, and he found it was Kyousuke, wondering about fuel for the grill.
“Well, thank you for the meal, I’m off.”
Gotou nodded, Date waving as Ishiguro left, nearly forgetting the vegetables he had bought before hurrying back to get them.
Gotou let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding when Ishiguro left. He had a feeling he’d like the man more when he wasn’t surprised at meeting him.
“So, Gotou-chan, what did you think?” Date asked. “He seemed kind of like you, don’t you think?” Date sounded more amused than anything.
“What? No.”
“He’s kinda serious, just like you! Except he looks like a less handsome me.” Date struck a pose and winked.
“He looks like a peeled you,” Gotou corrected without thinking, ears getting hot when Date laughed in delight.