”Misaka,move back.”
”Have you gone mad?”
Misaka scowled at him.At this very moment, there was no difference between him and a dog without a leash.
“This club isn’t for low life like him.”
“Calm down. Let’s try and…”
“Who asked you to speak, low life?”
---What was I thinking..Trying to sort things out with a brainless lump of muscle. I must be losing it.
He tried hitting Shirou once more but this time he was stopped in his tracks by Utakawa sensei.
“Enough.What has gotten into you. As the Captain, you are setting such a bad example for everyone.”
“My problem is him.Look. I basically own this club. This is my club. Even if you get Utakawa-Sensei’s approval, you can’t get the approval of any other member. You wanna know why? It’s because you’re nothing but a worthless little piece of shit. Good luck, I’ll make life hell for you.”
“Well you should know by now that I don’t care what you or anyone thinks of me.”
---That’s right. Outrightly hate me if you wish. I would do what I want without any consideration of your feelings.
Eric flounced away and pushed anything and everything in his way.
“Talk about a pain in the ass.”
“Seems like he has a few screws loose.”
“More like missing.Anyway,there’s not much he can do but if he does, I’ll be here for you so you don’t have to worry about anything, okay?”
---“I’ll be here for you”. Sounds awfully familiar. My hellish life began with those words. Same words, different people.
”Okay.”
“Let’s continue from where we stopped.”
Soon after, there was a brief announcement from Utakawa
“Listen up, everyone.There is going to be a major change in the tournament prep system.”
“What?”
---She’s the one responsible for whatever this is. The wink she just gave me is more than enough proof.
“The captain and vice-captain would be in charge of their own special sub groups.That will speed things up. So if you want to join them, simply ask.”
Eric realizing he had been played from the start, voiced out his disapproval.
“Isn’t the inter-school Kendo tournament taking place in a few months??”
“But the two of you have proven more than capable of teaching them.”
“That’s right.”
She replied with a grin. He went mute and after some seconds uttered “Got it” under his breath.
”So this is was what you meant.”
“Yup..I spoke to Sensei ahead of time. Eric has a very obvious behavioural pattern. He shouldn’t blame anyone but himself.”
---She already anticipated the whole thing..Impressive.
“Are you sure you can handle it?If you’re doing it for me then you don’t have to.”
“I had a feeling you would say something like that.”
“You sound like you know me quite well.”
“Would I be wrong if I say I do??”
“I think so..Even for you, I’m probably too enigmatic to understand from just a few conversations.”
“Is that so..Well you might be wrong but if that’s the case then let’s talk more,okay?”
“Right.”
“Anyway I can handle it. Yeah.I’m sure I’m experienced enough.I’ll make sure it works out perfectly for the both of us.”
---I wanted to utter the words “Why are you so fixated on me??” but despite contemplating I just couldn’t. A goddess protecting a demon is already good enough. I can’t think of anything that she could want from me in return for all this.I have nothing and she has everything. This is an act of kindness and yet I’m doubting her. What’s wrong with me? Isn’t that just arrogance? Without a single shred of doubt, she’s not using me..So now..
“Hey Misaka…”
“Yeah???”
---She’ll be my first genuine friend.
“Let’s be friends..”
“I’ll love that.”
Those words erupted a sparkling smile from her. The start of the bond between the demon and the goddess.
---So even a dark goddess can make such a smile.
“So how was your first kendo lesson??”
“It was not what I expected.”
“In a good way or a bad way?”
“It was way better than I imagined.”
---There was no room for all the glares and condescending looks because she was right beside me the whole time.
“That makes me wonder what exactly you were expecting..I’m glad you enjoyed it though. Looking forward to our next training session.”
They both walked out of the school gate together. He didn’t spot Yuuki anywhere close by so he pulled out his phone but stopped midway.
---I’m pretty sure she also found a club.
“Are you sure it’s your first time??”
---A typical yes/no response wouldn’t cut it..
“What do you mean?”
“You’re way better than any beginner I’ve come across.”
“I’m flattered.”
“You’re just that good,Shirou.”
{brrrr}
He checked his pockets and looked behind, seeing Yuuki along with two other girls walking out together.
“Hey Shirou…Why don’t you ever reply your texts?? Wait a minute..”
She ran over to Misaka.
“Shirou, what are you doing with the most popular girl in School??If it’s blackmail we are very sorry, you see he is a loner so please try and understand things from his perspective but he would refrain from such actions..”
“Yuuki, that’s rude.”
“My name is Akate Misaka.I’m a friend of Shirou.I’m guessing you’re his sister?? I’ve seen you before.”
“Yes.I’m glad you remember me. Forgive me for that. I was just really curious.You are like a highschool goddess.”
“You certainly have good eyes..By the way….Shirou,you never told me you had a little sister.”
”Hi, my name is Kashiwagi.”
”Mine is Hayaka. So you’re Yuuki’s older brother.It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Anyway, I’ll be leaving now so have fun.”
“Where’re you going??”
“It’s Kashiwagi’s birthday so we are going out for a treat.Guess I’ll see you at home.”
---I know she is going to pester me for info till I tell her all what she wants to know.
A black car stopped right at the gate and the chaffeur stepped out and opened the door.
“Looks like my ride is here.See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.”
---I wonder how it feels to be high class.. Would it make me happier than I already am or……… Well what’s the point in thinking about that.
“I was planning on going to a manga cafe before so it’s a win win situation for both Yuuki and me. I hope I find it.”
From behind him, Eric smiled and dragged his two friends, Kojo and Itsuda, closer to him.
“Hey, Eric, you’re acting kinda weird.”
“So you said we were gonna go to the arcade, right?”
“Guys, calm down. I did say that but I have something more important to deal with.”
“Kojo, what do you think it is?”
“Well..”
“No use. You probably don’t know, do you?”
“Hey, you didn’t have to be such a jerk about it, Itsuda. I tried my best.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Besides.. I’m still a hit with the ladies, you know.”
“I wonder what those juniors see in you.”
“He has started leaving. Let’s go.”
He walked in front of them and lowered his hand.
“Hey, Eric.”
“You two should shut it. I don’t want him to notice us.”
“What are you trying to do?”
“Oh. Isn’t that the Yato dude that your sister has been talking to recently?They seem kind of close.”
“You’re right about that, Kojo. It pisses me off. He thinks he’s worth something because my sister sees him as an equal.”
“So what do we do?”
“We leave marks all over his pathetic body. He probably won’t be able to go to school the next day.”
“That’s a little too much. I mean he hasn’t messed with us or anything and Misaka will definitely suspect you first.”
“You don’t have to be such a scaredy-cat all the time, Itsuda.”
“I’m just trying to be cautious.”
“Screw that. Eric is clearly angry at him so there must be a reason.”
“Kojo,You’re always excited when it comes to fights.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Guys, let’s follow him and mess him up when there’s no light so he won’t be able to see us. Of course, I already have counter measures incase it doesn’t work out that way and how many people already hate him? I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one so Misaka would have other people to suspect. We just have to give him a reason to avoid her and what is more fun than a direct message?”
“I guess we have no choice then. Let’s do this.”
There are few things that pique the interest of Shirou and one of them happens to be manga. He has been reading manga for as long as he remembers. It was love at first sight. For the past 6 months, he consumed so much that no genre was unfamiliar to him. He even developed a weird elite taste that sometimes got in the way of his reading.
---This is my favourite manga store. It has everything I’m looking for.It has many coupons and you can even find the rarest manga here. The one I’m currently searching for is “Soul grab”.It has to be here. Soul…..There you go.
“Excuse me.”
He turned around to see Angie Lin, the star novelist of Akate high school, probing through the shelf in search of manga. She’s also the president of the school’s literary club.
“Oh sorry..”
“I find your apology quite unnecessary. Also, I think I’ve seen you before.”
She had dead eyes..Just like him…He was taken aback by her robotic speech style. Robotic in the sense that it carried almost no weight emotionally. It was like he was staring at a female clone of himself.
---Is this how people see me?? I’m not sure I’m this bad.
“Aren’t you the new transfer student?? I think we are classmates..”
Before answering, he sharply glanced to the left and to the right to see if he would be able to spot anyone else wearing the same uniform..Luckily, it was just the two of them….
“Ignoring people is rude…Didn’t anyone ever tell you that??”
---Oh that’s right..I never answered her..No matter what she says, I doubt I could actually get upset by any of it.
“Yeah, we are classmates.. I was just wondering why you were talking to me casually and not glaring.”
She stared at him without moving her lips, the awkwardness sunk in and he took a few steps back as the discomfort of her staring left him shook. This moment was sincerely depressing for him because he finally found someone who was even more dead inside than him.
---It feels like she’s staring into my soul..
“Those nefarious eyes of yours give me the creeps. Weird…gross..”
---Says the one with the same eyes.
“Is there a problem with talking to you casually??”
---She seems clueless..These are the kinds of people I hate talking to the most..It is energy consuming…
“Forget I said anything.. Bye, it was nice speaking with you..”
“Weird.”
He went straight to the cash register for the purchase. She stared at him as he walked away without moving a muscle. He immediately headed for the station without a moment’s hesitation in an effort to avoid running into that girl again. He received a message from Misaka.
“That’s weird..Why is she asking if I’m home yet?”
Before he got the chance to type in his response,he was suddenly dragged into a dark alley a few blocks away. As this was going on, he struggled and struggled, his vision blocked by the dark cloth forcefully placed on him, he held back a scream as he knew it was futile. After a few seconds of pointless struggling, he was shoved to the ground. He removed the dark cloth and found himself cornered with three figures standing in front of him, blocking the exit. It was pretty dark and they even hid their faces with another cloth.
“Who are you guys??”
---They are taken extra preventive measures to avoid being seen.
The figure in front of him stood speechless then laughed, cracking his knuckles and tightening his fists while the two behind him chuckled along as they ganged up on him.
“Who said you could talk?”
Shirou’s ears caught on to something. Something about the voice of the person in front of him. He couldn’t quite put his fingers on it. The way he spoke was rather suspicious. Either that or he was overthinking things again but something did feel familiar. Caught in his cloud of thoughts, he found his face glued to the wall in an uncomfortable, romantic manner. His face was one with the wall. It was slammed repeatedly; he could even feel the roughness of the wall. With the great force that was applied on the other end, his face became more bloody with each wall slam and by the time he was done, Shirou’s face was bruised all over. The other two joined in and kicked him simultaneously as his battered body fell to the ground.
“I knew he wasn’t much of a fighter but he’s not even fighting back.It feels like we are hitting a doll.”
With every kick that came in, his body felt weaker and heavier, as he looked up, he could see the moon and admired it’s beauty. It was a thought that helped drown out the sound of their shoes hitting his body. It was not effective as he could hear not only the sounds his body made but his own voice due to the screams he made while in pain. He tried his best to hold it in. To hold on..To his consciousness. In the conclusion to a thorough beatdown, the three figures were left panting while their “doll” was on the ground, closing his eyes slowly as he lost consciousness.
“He’s finally out.”
“That felt good.”
“Told ya.”
“I just thought of something. Why don’t we dump him in the dumpster over there.”
“Sounds good. After all, trash like him would have no worries being with his kind. He might even make friends.”
“Hahaha right up his alley.”
As they all left and his consciousness finally faded away, the only word that came to mind was “Nostalgia”……….
( “---” represents the thoughts of the main character. “--” represents the thoughts of any other character. “[]” represents an important event, most likely past events. “{}” represents various sounds made.)
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