Chapter: 4
'Dear Ahana,
Yikes! That's scary! Be careful in the big city! aww you're cheating on me with another person already! Haha! jk, I'm glad you met new people, I was actually a bit worried about you being alone, especially with that poor sense of direction. Whoa you are over there meeting a knight in shining armor who saves you like a blue prince, while I'm having no such luck! I'm so jelly. I'm doing fine over here, we miss you too! xoxoxo'
I logged off my email abruptly. I think Miki got the wrong idea about that blonde with hulk abilities. Oh well. Adjusting my sunglasses, I checked my phone and saw the time. Crap I was going to be late at this rate.
Shutting my laptop off, I grabbed my bag and left my room as quickly as possible. Dad had already left with food on the table but I couldn't risk being late. So I left without eating, making sure the door was locked behind me before I took off. The sun was warm on my back as I walked, wiggling my nose with the slight weight that rested upon it with my shades. It was bandaged up but it still hurt. That elbow was just as good as any punch.
I had put my long hair in a low ponytail, letting the short chopped locks loose, making my hair appear short. I had to wear the same uniform as yesterday. Having showered, early in the morning, I regretted leaving it on the floor overnight. Still, it wasn't that bad, because my floor wasn't really dirty.
"Ahana, you come to eat some sushi?"
I stopped walking among the crowd of passerby's and looked up to see Simon grinning down at me.
"No thanks Simon, I'm going to school." I replied, lifting my glasses up with a finger.
"Okay, you come later and eat some Sushi."
I nodded and waved at the man standing outside his restaurant, walking away as I did so. Jeez, if I listened to Simon he would make me go broke. Was that why Masaomi claimed he was broke? The mere idea had me grinning like a fool.
Flipping out my phone, I scrolled down it's contents to check the dollars website. It was mobile friendly, much to my delight. It looked like I had replies. two from someone under the name Dotachin, which sounded painfully familiar, and one from Kanra. Each welcomed me into their group.
Smiling, I looked up from my phone and stopped. Brown eyes scanned my surroundings carefully and I bit my lip. Crap nothing looked familiar. I was lost again. Sighing in frustration, I turned a corner and continued walking. I wasn't sure if this was the right way but what choice did I have? Perhaps I would run into someone I knew.
A honk made me nearly jump out of my skin and I turned to see a yellow car drive in front of me. Since there was a curve he was blocking my way. I stepped back cautiously as the window rolled down, revealing a man seemingly in his thirties. The cigarette he held burned and his eyes leered at me. His bald head was clean shaven and I instantly knew who it was. The gang member who got owned with a single switch blade.
"Hey girl, you that friend of the punk ass bitch who did me wrong?"
I instantly knew he recognized me too, and I gulped, shaking my head to deny any relations with furry coat.
He look a long drag of the cigarette and blew out the smoke. The cars engine ran as I waited. "You see em, you tell em I'm looking for his ass." He stated flatly.
I nodded, head bouncing up and down in a frightened fashion.
With another glare, he rolled the window up and drove away. the air that I had been holding in my lungs was released in relief. That was scary, for a moment I thought that he was probably going to kidnap me or something. All because I somehow got mixed up in that fight yesterday...
Sighing, I turned back and backtracked my steps. It didn't feel like I was going the right direction anyway. A thought hit me and I sped-walked across the street. I could always ask Simon where school was. I hated asking for directions, mainly because it made me feel dumb, but it was either that or be late.
It didn't take long to find his store. The white-clad sushi chef wasn't outside, demanding people eat his sushi as usual. He must have had some costumers to serve inside. I smoothed my skirt out to make it lower before entering. The smell of seafood and fried fish filled my nose instantly and I wished I had eaten before heading out. Simon was behind the counter, handing someone a cloth-wrapped box. I halted when I got close enough to recognize the costumer. It was furry coat.
He turned, pocketing his change, and locked eyes with mine. He smiled, face lighting up, letting me know that he recognized me well.
"Ahana, what a surprise! Shouldn't you be in school?" He chirped.
Before I could reply, he slid an arm over my shoulder and led me outside into the sunlight.
"So what brings you here? Gonna grab something to eat?" He asked, leading me away from the store. My eyebrow twitched. If he thought I did then why was he dragging me away from the store?
Reluctant, I pressed my feet to resist his pull and wiggled out of his grip. "Don't touch me like that, people are going to think we are friends." I hissed, frowning as he lowered his gaze.
"Hm? Don't want to be my friend? ouch." He muttered with a small smile, feigning hurt.
I shook my head. He was misunderstanding. "That guy from yesterday is looking for you."
That whipped the smirk off his face. "Shizu-chan?" He asked, puzzled.
"No not that guy, the other guy, who's head you shaved."
He blinked, jet black hair swaying as he snapped his fingers in the air in realization. "Oh that guy!"
I nodded. "He pulled up and told me to tell you he's looking for you..."
That made Izaya laugh hysterically, head thrown back, and mouth agape as he let out high pitched laughter. I watched in confusion as the boy before me cackled. Was he nuts? If a gang member was after me, laughing would be the last thing on my mind.
I waited once the laughter died out, and he took slow, even breathes to regain his composure. "I see." He muttered. "They just don't stop do they."
I crooked my head to the side. "Something's wrong with you." I murmured, staring at furry coat, "I don't know what it is, but you're wasting my time, I need to get to school." I huffed in annoyance, turning to walk away.
"You're going the wrong way."
I stopped walking, shoulders rising up in embarrassment.
Another laugh escaped Izaya's lips. I wanted to rip that mouth of his and tear it into pieces. "If you're lost you should just say so."
My lips curled downwards in a quiet snarl and I turned towards him. "Okay...which way is it." I sulked.
He grinned, and pointed to the other direction of the street. "I can escort you if you want."
My face softened and I looked at him wearily. "You're not going to murder me are you?"
His smile faltered, and he stared at me, serious for once. "No..." was his low reply, frowning in slight confusion. "Why would I do that?"
"Or kidnap me?"
He blinked. "Listen, do I look like a psychopath to you?"
I shook my head. "No...I was just making sure." He didn't look like a bad guy at all, it was his grin that gave a red flag that said he was untrustable. Besides, he was a twenty three year old man, whom I didn't really know.
"Okay...you're pretty weird, if you're that scared you can walk behind me if you want." He said with a scoff.
I denied the offer politely and opted for walking beside him instead. He was much shorter than Shizuo, so I didn't have to shift my neck to look up at the guy. Anyhow, I was relieved to finally get to school.
...
"Hold on, tilt your head forward a bit more, that's it."
I did as was told and shifted my neck, exposing the back of it fully. The sound of scissors snapping rang in my ears. Who knew Masaomi knew how to cut hair? After classes ended, I had confessed to my two new friends why my hair looked short and choppy. After that, Masaomi had taken some scissors and volunteered to fix the ends in the roof of the schools building. I watched brown locks fall off my shoulders as he snipped away. I had only wanted the choppy parts on the top done, but wanted the layer below long at my waist. So far, considering Mikado's and Kyohei's group's expressions, Masaomi was doing a good job.
"Whoa, it looks so soft and smooth, just like an anime character's hair!" Erika squealed. She sat on the ground along with Walker.
"Yeah! you can totally cosplay as an anime character, whether its short hair or long hair, so cool!" Walker breathed enthusiastically.
"Hmm...I agree its not bad." Kyohei's voice was the calmest of the two.
"Didn't I say I was professional?" Masaomi claimed with pride, snipping the last strand before letting the rest of my hair fall to my ears. "You can stand up now sweetheart, you look like a million bucks! All thanks to yours truly."
I complied and stood up, brushing any stray hairs that clung to my shoulders away. Feeling my ends and bangs with one hand, I nodded in contempt. It was no longer messy and choppy, but smooth and evened out in a spiky fashion similar to Masaomi's.
"I like it, thanks!" I exclaimed in gratitude.
"No problem sweety, the look suits you!" The blond replied with a grin.
Mikado nodded in approval.
"So what happened to your nose Ahana? looks like someone landed one real good." Kyohei changed the subject with a nonchalant expression.
I touched the tip of it gently and winced. Even after yesterday, it still hurt. "Shizuo's elbow landed one." I muttered.
Kyohei's eyes widened, which almost disappeared under his beanie. "No way that guy hit you?"
"It wasn't on purpose, he was gonna punch some guy square in the face and Ahana was behind him." Masaomi explained deliberately.
Kyohei's eyes softened. "Looks like you have some bad luck around that guy."
"It's fate! This is the opening scene of two people falling passionatly in love in a manga! Then later on, they make out while a bunch of sakura petals are flying in the scenery, and then they make passionate love while destroying the whole city in a rage full of love and hormones!" Erika stated excitedly.
I coughed uncontrollably, choking on my own saliva as I gripped my throat, making Masaomi burst out laughing. Mikado blinked, looking as lost as ever, and Kyohei's eyebrow twitched.
"Hey! Keep those thoughts to yourself!." He breathed out, voice graced with annoyance.
"Yeah...uh, I think I need to get something to eat, I haven't eaten all day." I muttered, smoothing out my hair shakily.
"I'll come with! You guys wonna go somewhere else rather than the sushi restaurant?" Masaomi suggested.
"We can go to my fathers restaurant, he works in Misubushi." I chimed in.
"Your dad works in a restaurant?" Mikado asked in surprise.
I nodded. "It's an italian restaurant, so expect lots of gluten."
"Awesome, I'm in! Wonna come with Kyohei?" Masaomi beamed at us, while eyeing the male in anticipation.
"Nah, I'll pass, there are some errands we gotta run, another time." The former replied evenly. The four waved at us and we departed the roof silently.
...
This time, I was the one to treat the two boys as we settled in. Luckily Masaomi knew where the place was located, so we didn't get lost on the way here. The blonde was like our personal GPS.
"This place is kinda fancy isn't it." Mikado muttered, while folding his cloth strip neatly on his lap.
"Yeah, this is different from a convenience restaurant." Masaomi agreed. "But its actually kinda cool."
I felt hands grip my shoulders tightly and I looked up to see my dad looking down at me with a grin. "Hey, you brought friends here?" He eyed Masaomi and Mikado with curiosity.
"Yeah, guys this is my dad, Ichigo Kazane, dad this is Mikado and Masaomi." I introduced casually. After a series of handshakes, he passed out the menu's for us to look over.
"Do you guys have spaghetti and meatballs?" Masaomi asked with a blink.
"Sure do, what would you like to drink?"
"Some soda, uuh, make that a coke."
"Gotcha." Dad stated while writing the order down in a notepad. In the end we all ordered the same thing and we waited patiently for the food to be made.
"Your dad looks kinda scary." Mikado uttered lowly, hand raised to cup around his mouth.
"Yeah he has resting bitch face." Masaomi giggled. "No offence man, it looks manly as hell."
I frowned. "I never noticed. He's actually really gentle."
"Yeah people with resting bitch face usually are, by the way, you look totally hot in that haircut!" Masaomi complimented.
In all modesty, the comment made me blush, even though it was a usual thing for the blonde to say. "Thanks."
"We should totally go in a double date someday you know." The blonde pointed out, making Mikado nearly spit out the cracker he was nibbling on.
"A double date between the three of us? But its two guys and one girl...that's too weird." Mikado mumbled in an appalled voice.
Masaomi squinted. "Huh? What are you talking about I mean you and Anri, I'll take Ahana."
Now I was the one nearly spitting my cracker out. But not because I was appalled. I was laughing at Mikado's face, which was slowly turning a deep red.
"I-I do not like Anri! I don't even know her!" He stammered in complete embarrassment.
"Don't need to know someone to like them, what romantic adventure did you guys run off to yesterday mmm?" The blonde probed playfully.
"It was not a romantic adventure! She was scared and I just wanted to help her get away from the fighting! Nothing happened we parted ways after that I swear!"
Masaomi and I couldn't help but laugh at that. Poor Mikado was stumbling over his words.
"Here you guys go, enjoy the meal, Ahana come home before dark okay?" We each looked up so see my dad pushing a tray of our food over to us along with out drinks.
"I will dad no worries." I assured, mouth watering at the delicious scent of food.
"Well without further adeu, bon appetite!"
...
"Aaargh I'm full, the sun is setting, guess we should call it a day."
Masaomi gave a loud yawn and scratched the back of his head while lazily rolling his eyes towards Mikado.
"What do you say dude?"
Mikado and I nodded. "Yeah."
"Well, I'm off then, I live close around so I'll see you guys later!" The blonde halted to turn the other way with a quick wave.
"See ya!" Mikado and I chimed together.
After a while of watching the blonde's body disappear in the herd of people walking about, we continued walking, taking a shortcut through an alley that led to some sort of plaza. There was a water fountain in the middle of the wide open space, with children running about while parents settled on sitting at the benches. We decended the stairs quietly, feet tapping against the slightly cracked floor.
"You kids want to see this beauty?"
I stopped and turned to the sound of an old mans voice. He was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, with many painting tools huddles in an old bucket and some canvas paintings resting against the far wall. His face was old and worn with age but his eyes were young and vibrant. Mysterious with a sense of foreboding.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Mikado muttered, looking around to make sure we were who he was talking to.
"A painting, of a beautiful dullahan, here take a look." He moved to retrieve a canvas covered in a layer of white sheet, and held it up for us to see after removing the fabric. It was a woman, I could tell by the figure, who sported some sort of medieval dress in a wooded area. She was headless, with only smoke coming out of the gaping whole in the neck. She rode on a headless horse, holding on to it with one hand while the other held a severed head with poor facial features.
"Wow that is beautiful, you are a really good artist." Mikado murmured.
"Yeah, but what's a dullahan?" I wondered out loud.
"Ah..." The old man set the painting down to rest against his legs. "A dullahan is a headless being who wonders the earth in search of its head, I saw her many years ago, with my own two eyes! She rode a carriage, her dress flew in the wind with grace as she passed by, I fell in love with this being after that, but no matter how many times I paint that experience, it will never replace the feeling of watching her in real life."
Mikado and I exchanged glances. Knowing eyes communicating silently what we both knew. This story was exactly like the legend of the headless rider in Ikebukuro. But this guy also sounded like a nutcase. Nevertheless we smiled and complimented his artwork some more.
"Thank you, I like to tell the world of my experience, I want to be able to see this dullahan with her head someday, to complete the experience of beauty."
"I'm sure that you will, good luck." Mikado wished as we departed the plaza
"What an imagination, that old man was eccentric." Mikado murmured once we were away from the plaza for good. We waiting for a light to cross the street.
"Yeah, but it's Ikebukuro, everyone is eccentric, well mostly everyone, but you gotta admit that he's really good at art." I pointed out, shifting my shades slightly as the light turned. We crossed the street casually.
"Yeah he sure is, hey Ahana...do you believe in the headless rider?"
I glanced at Mikado, eyebrows raised in question. Was he serious?
"Hmm...well I don't know, it's kind of far fetched for someone to live without their head don't you think?"
"I guess it is, but what if its not just a headless human, what if it's a dullahan, a being without a head...can such a thing exist."
"Sometime's I wonder about it too, but I don't want to sound like that old man back there..."
We laughed. "Yeah true, it is far fetched, my home is in this street, um, do you want to come inside?" Mikado offered as we walked towards a row of houses. He was pointing to the gray one.
I shook my head and declined politely. "No thanks, I should be heading home."
"Alright, goodnight, please be careful." He bid me farewell and I nodded.
"Of course, good night!"
I watched as the raven haired boy slid into his house before looking around in confusion. Was my home located left or right? I was going to just backtrack across the street and head the other way since that street looked a bit more familiar than Mikado's place.
Autumn leaves slid across my feet as I walked nonchalantly, lifting my hair in the cold air. The sun was going to go down soon, so I needed to be home fast. I really did not want to run into trouble again.
I crossed the street that Mikado and I walked through recently and made a turn at the curb of the sidewalk. The alley's looked like a huge shortcut under the orange sky, but Masaomi had warned me against them. Still...they were vacant and looked harmless enough. How bad could it be? Plus I was cold. The sun's rays may have still been up but the wind was as cool as ice.
Without further hesitation, I made up my mind to just cross the alley across the street. My pale-like skin seemed to glow in the darkness of they alley's nooks and crannies. The smell of trash hit my nose and I wrinkled it in discomfort as my shoes sent echoes with every step I took. I was right about it being deserted. No one was around at all, save for some lone cats.
I only let out my breath evenly when I made it across. It really was a shortcut. I could see Raira academy not too much a distance away. Smiling in relief and proud that I hadn't gotten myself lost this time, I made my way towards the school. My home was about eight blocks across it, near Simon's shop. It was kind of a long walk but at least I had some idea of where I was going.
The gates of the school came into view and I walked at a faster pace, skirt swishing with each movement I made. I was getting closer to the gate entrance. Passing it, I nearly tripped when I felt a hard yank on my backpack, causing me to stumble backwards.
"Hey, well would you look at this, the same girl from before! What a coincidence, and that annoying bastard isn't here to save you this time."
I stared at the man who was holding on to my backpack in surprise and distress. It was the blonde with the putrid breath and the nappy yellow hair. His friends were behind the gate, sitting down with a couple of beers strewn about.
"Argh! Let go of me!" I shouted, pulling against his grip. It didn't help.
"Heh, because of you I looked like a fool that night!" He growled, pulling me forward so roughly I lost my balance and fell on my knees. I fought the urge to whimper and scrambled to my feet, ignoring the stinging pain of my hands and knees as I ran at full speed.
I could heard the sound of his footsteps behind me, knowing full well he was chasing, yet I didn't dare look back for fear I would run into someone. Turning into al alley, I huffed, running out into the open air towards a narrow street. A wired fence stretched on seemingly without end, and I followed along it, turning at the corner so sharply, that I was unable to halt when a black body came into view.
I slammed into it, feeling hands wrap around me firmly as the body stumbled back with the impact of my weight. When I looked up, I saw my own, wide eyed reflection on the plastic vision pane of a yellow cat-like helmet. Black leather gloves steadied me and the helmet tilted. I could feel eyes watching me from behind that pane,and I took in a deep breath. I had run into the black rider.
"There you are! Runnin away like a scared little mouse, you're all mine now!"
I flinched and ran behind the rider, putting distance between me and the yellow haired asshole.
Slitted eyes leered down at kitty helmet and he shoved the black-clad rider away roughly, making the motorcyclist fall flat on its butt.
"Outta my way!"
I inched back in fear, not knowing what else to do, and stopped when I felt a body press against my back. Startled, I inched back quickly and looked up to see...Shizuo.
He held a broken lollipop in his hand, and his wide, angry eyes could be seen behind tinted blue shades. His cheek moved. He stepped forward and yanked the asshole up by his collar, shoving his face so close to his in a raging stare that made me wonder how the taller blonde could tolerate the stench of the cowering mans breath.
A whimper escaped the mans mouth and he kicked the air furiously, since his feet were no longer touching the ground. "Shizuo! I-I didn't know you were here honest! I wouldn't try anything on you! Sorry! I'm sorry! So let me go please ahhh!"
"Aaaaaahhhhrrrg!" Shizuo's loud roar drowned out the mans pleading and he roughly shook in by the shirt in the air like a rag doll, making the former scream as the taller blonde launched him like a football across the street.
I winced at the sound of the mans body hitting a car, and watched as he shakily stood up and limped away in fear, shouting incoherent phrases.
"Stupid punk, now I'm so pissed off! Why the hell is he always bothering me."
I stared, afraid of being next as Shizuo ranted, smacking the fence with clenched teeth. It didn't look like he was going to stop his ranting soon so I shifted my gaze over to the woman sitting on the floor against the fence. I could now tell it was a woman from her lithe frame and chest. I extended my hand to her and she took it gently to pull herself up. Without saying anything, she pulled out what looked like a phone and typed into it before showing my the screen.
'are you alright?'
I stared at the written words in confusion, then stared up at the helmet. Was she...mute?
I nodded solemnly. "Y-yeah...sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you." I apologized while bowing.
I looked up at the sound of more clicks and she showed me the screen again.
'Don't worry, I'm fine, what is your name?'
I realized she must be mute if she was communicating through an electronic device.
"Ahana...What's yours?"
More typing.
'Celty, what was that jerk chasing you for?'
I looked down while biting my lip. "I don't know, I kicked him cause he was harassing me the other day." it wasn't the most detailed explanation, but it was too embarrassing to tell a stranger I was being sexually attacked.
More typing.
'i see, sorry to hear that.'
Without saying anything more, Celty moved towards the ranting blonde and showed him her screen. He stared at it before sighing in frustration, running a hand through messy blonde locks.
"Yeah yeah, I know, stupid artist had to move away." He mumbled.
I couldn't believe it. I had formally introduced myself to the headless rider...Celty. It was an exotic name, befitting her mysterious rumored background perfectly. This all seemed so surreal. Still...I couldn't forget about the blonde. He had helped me yet again, even if it was unintentional.
Stepping forward cautiously, I rose my voice to get his attention.
"Uh, umm, Mr. Heiwajima?" Brown eyes looked down at me, as if he had just now noticed I was there. "Thank you for saving me, this is the second time, S-so...thanks." I mumbled. My cheeks felt hot. Oh no...was I blushing?
After a long moment of silence, the blonde shifted his shades slightly and gave out a grunt. "Whatever."
I didn't know why...but I somehow felt rejected. Mt face burned a hot chili red and I wanted to just run away at the speed of light in utter embarrassment.
"I'm tired of looking for that artist, I'm gonna take a break and smoke a cigarette." The blonde murmured. Forgetting my embarrassed demeanor, I looked up in curiosity.
"You are looking for an artist? What kind of artist?" I asked. We were standing by some fenced district with a large gap in the middle of two buildings with nothing but grass and weeds. Were they staring at it before I came across the two?
That caught Shizuo's attention. He looked down at me once again, this time scanning me from head to toe silently before speaking. "Why you know anything about it?"
I shrugged. "I came across an artist not too long ago who was showing people a painting of a headless woman."
I gasped loudly as Celty grabbed hold of my shoulders, bending to my height and nearly shaking me to death. Typing furiously, she showed me the screen.
'Yes! We are looking for him! Do you know where he is?!'
I blinked and nodded. "Yeah! He's by a plaza, if you want I can take you to him?"
Celty typed again before showing me the screen.
'If it's not too much trouble.'
"No not at all! It's not like I'm busy or anything." I exclaimed, brushing my bangs away from my face and taking off my shades. The sun was setting so I had no use for them anymore.
"Great, finally." Shizuo mumbled.
"Ah...okay it's this way." I turned to walk casually back to the way I had come from, retracing my steps and trying my hardest to memorize where I came through. Celty took to pushing her motorbike along the street behind me while Shizuo walked beside her in an even pace.
Why did they want to talk to this artist anyway? It was suspicious that the headless rider was looking for such a man. But...getting to conversate with her even for a moment made her seem more normal than anything. Plus, it looked like she was friends with Shizuo...they made an odd pair.
"You know, now I remember, that place used to be an old apartment a few years ago, it was home to some nut who rambled on an on about seeing an angel or something like that." Shizuo spoke out after a while. His shadow was looming over me and I looked back curiously. He was talking about the artist.
Celty said nothing.
"It was taken down because they were going to replace the building with some store."
More silence. I wondered how those two got along before, now I knew. Celty didn't talk, so Shizuo had nothing to get pissed off about.
...
We ended up finding him at the exact same spot I had seen him earlier. Celty was typing to him for over thirty minutes now, While Shizuo and I sat on the stairs quietly. The blonde didn't talk at all. He merely smoked in silence, blowing out the air in long breaths while fiddling with his shirt cuffs. I didn't mind the smoke much, but I worried it was turning my lungs black. Didn't he care about his health. Looking up from my phone, I studied his arms. Shizuo had long lean arms, he was skinny. Where his strength came from was totally beyond me. His shirt cuffs were also loosely unbuttoned, making them baggy while they hands from his wrists.
"What happened to your nose?"
The question caught me by surprise because I wasn't expecting him to acknowledge me so soon. Celty taking long must be taking a toll on him. I could tell by the way he was tapping his foot.
"Uhh...you kind of hit me." I stated rather bluntly, looking up with a small smile to give the impression it wasn't so bad.
He looked down at me for the first time and rose an eyebrow, taking another long drag before snuffing it out on the floor.
"I don't remember hitting you." He muttered under his breath. His eyes kept sweeping towards Celty, who was asking the man all sorts of questions from the sound of his replies. I said nothing more. I figured this is as close a conversation I would get with the blonde.
Sighing, Shizuo stood up and I followed behind to stand beside Celty. The old man was babbling about the painting again.
"She was as beautiful as the night itself!" He exclaimed enthusiastically.
Celty typed in her device again before thrusting it into the mans face. He frowned at the screen and shrugged.
"I have no Idea where the woman's head is, hell I don't even know where SHE is! but one day I hope I can see her with her head intact, that way I can paint her in all her full glory!"
She typed again.
"Hey no problem! but why are you so interested in the dullahan? Well...good-day anyway missy!"
Celty stood at the plaza once more, looking far off into the distance. Although I couldn't see her face, it was evident that she was daydreaming. The sun's rays reflected off her helmet as she thought silently to herself.
"Hey, Celty, you gonna stand there for the rest of the day?" Shizuo broke her trance.
Without further hesitation, the biker strolled over to me and typed into her device again before thrusting it into my face.
'Thanks for the trouble for bringing us here, need a ride home?'
My eyes slid from her to the motorbike waiting by the sidewalk. It would be my first time on one of those things, but It would mean getting home faster. So I took the offer.
"Y-yeah, thank you."
'You're welcome'
I followed silently after her as she bent to retrieve a black helmet to give to me. I took it carefully and adjusted it over my head. It was kinda loose but not so much to make it uncomfortable for me.
Celty patted the seat behind her and I sat, holding her narrow waist for support. This was all so surreal, I was getting a ride from the black rider.
'Where do you live?'
I hadn't realized the screen was aiming at me since I was so engrossed in my thoughts.
"Oh, It's on 1st near russian sushi shop." I shouted over the loud sound of the motorbike's engine. She nodded in understanding, pulling her device back.
"So you're gonna leave now, take care Celty."
We both turned to look up at Shizuo. His tall frame cast a shadow over us against the orange sun as he stood on the sidewalk with hands in his pockets, eyes looking down to study us.
Celty nodded, I waved. It was starting to get windy.
"Goodbye." I muttered meekly, earning a grunt from the blonde male. It was the closest thing to a farewell I would get from the strong man. We rode off into the setting luminous sunlight, and I looked back at the receding form of the man in the bartender suit. He...didn't seem like the aggressive dangerous person to stay away from like Masaomi made him out to be. Kyohei was right. Deep down, maybe he just wanted to be left alone. But didn't that get lonely? I was suddenly feeling a bit sad and curious for Shizuo Heiwajima. I promised silently that I would be nicer to him if we ran into each other again as we rode on.
...
Sorry if you got confused about the oc! I did state it in the summary ^^' Review please!