“Oh my gosh, I’m so sor-! I apologise for the trouble, he’s usually so well-behaved,“ quickly standing up and stopping her tongue from spitting out the apologies in English, bowing down ninety degrees after setting the panting dog on his feet. She quickly crouched down and got to untying the make-shift leash from Akio’s collar, fingers shaking just the slightest from the leftover adrenaline. As jittery as she felt, it took only a few moments to get it off.
"I’ll purchase you a new one, I’m very sorry for ruining it,” she straightened it as best she could with her hands before handing it back, making a mental note of the material, design, and colour in between mentally translating her English sentences into Japanese.
The blonde detective smiled as he watched the girl fumble, not because he was cruel but because he thought it charming. “Oh, please don’t worry about that,” Hakuba replied in English, voice light and cheerful. “It was my idea to tie it to your dog in the first place, and I’m fine with being completely responsible for that decision."
He took the tie back and looked it over, brows knitting faintly in concerned amusement. It hadn’t been his best idea, clearly, but it could be worse. Hakuba shook it off, then put it in his pocket. As much as not wearing a tie made him uncomfortable, wearing a dirty one was not really desirable either. This accomplished, he held out his hand to her.
"I’m Saguru Hakuba, by the way… May I have your name?”