[Chapter 10] A tasty breakfast
God dammit. You again?
We should say that! What are you doing here?! His exasperation matched hers completely, only than his was more visible.
I was training.
Of course. The short boy winced at her repetitive reply.
How about you? Your stupid "base" is a little far from here.
As always, the red eyes contrast with her frosty attitude. This time an air of arrogance hit him, another thing that stood out from the finished battle scene with so many fallen young men laying around.
At least, this time he got to join the fight instead of letting another person do it or mistaking her for the enemy. She was wearing her usual big sized sweatshirt and pants, so she was easily spotted.
We were busy and got carried away. Actually, those idiots were the reason why we were up all night.
Her eyes fell on the punks she spotted on her morning jog doing random vandalism. Next they met his. Then it seems I helped you, furthermore, I defeated way more than you.
His face twitched in anger ready to cut down her sassiness.
The two teenagers stared at each other like they were about to start a fight, on other hand, the jolly Totsuka ignored her sharp tongue and happily waved at her. Hello, Arisawa-san. Have you had breakfast already? Do you want to grab a bite with us?
Why do you insist on treating the person who keeps punching your friends? She gave up on the death glares with him since it was obvious he was immune. By now, she thought he must have got the message. How dense could he be?
Good morning Arisawa-chan. Kusanagi casually walked to the small group now that the party was over.
Morning. She wasn´t fond on greeting him back, but at least the blond man didn´t engage her like the other delighted one. You two don´t look worn out at all, I bet you let all the work to this one. Her thumb pointed at the overactive brat.
Well, that´s the case most of the times. Confirmed the blond.
Hey!
But that´s because that´s the way our young vanguard is like.
And you let him be. What would your king think about that?
Well, why don´t you ask him? Totsuka inquired.
Following his gaze, right on the corner, she spotted smoke coming out of someone´s mouth. When the cigarette was consumed in its whole, it was thrown on the ground and stepped on by the redhead man she briefly met before.
The red clan King turned his eyes at them, unintentionally making the girl who wasn´t part of the clan got her guard up.
That was unexpected. She didn´t know how to react to him at all. He wasn´t like the rest of his clan.
Eri decided to change the subject and get rid of them fast.
Anyway, do you know these guys? At first, I thought they were acquaintance of yours because they were loud and annoying, but by the looks of it they are not your friends.
Her rash language never failed to provoke the skater of the group, reacting rather reckless because of her sassy, indifferent attitude. Well, we are the ones who have business with these guys. They are from the green clan, Jungle.
Another clan? Her exasperation was clearly visible unlike many other times. She reached a point where every time the color clans pops, she scowls. She did the smart thing and turned her back to them before she gets pulled by yet another annoying clan.
Her current situation could look like a bad joke from destiny, but for her it was ten times worse. This was the red clan; if word reach her old co-workers that she´s been exchanging greets with this clan, then she was screwed.
The blue clan was one thing, but they were another subject. The first ones proved to be a state organization; they worked under the law. But these guys were nothing more than a gang, they definitely must have contact with other gangs or at least crossed ways with one or two underground organizations. In other words, getting involve with them means more chances to bump into her old gang. It was absurdly risky to be around them, and the only way to prevent this outcome was to cut ties forever with these guys.
Well, it´s early Saturday morning. We didn´t get to eat or sleep last night, and there´s a cool restaurant a couple of blocks from here. Summoning up their crazy business last night, Kusanagi fluently gave it a shot. What do you say, Arisawa-chan?
There´s no way I´m eating with you.
I´ve never had pancakes for breakfast before.
This place is awesome, Arisawa-san, so eat all you want; it´s on us.
Don´t mind if I do.
It wasn´t ethical for her to fall for this, but with this promise of free food, it was worthy.
Yikes, look at the way she fills her cheeks with food. A disgusted grimace was forming in the skater´s face as he watched her annihilate her plate. She looks like a squirrel. You better watch out for your wallet, Totsuka-san.
Well, naturally, we´re all splitting her bill on four, so you´ll be paying too. The young man replied.
What?! Why!?
Well, look for yourself.
Their female companion soundly ate the sweet pastries at a high speed. Her previous behavior around sugar was nothing compared with this.
You know Arisawa-chan, I can make delicious pancakes like this in my bar, what do you say about-
Kusanagi Izumo. Her serious voice cut him off.
You´re the only man from your clan I can frankly respect, don´t ruin it.
Her simple words were matched by her second most used cold glare.
Wait, "only"? You don´t respect Mikoto-san, woman?! Yata blew up in rage from that offense.
One look at the red-headed in front of her, eating like he was in his own world, not fully awake yet was enough. I fail to see the problem. She declared in his face, earning more negative points from him. Although, to be honest, she still wasn´t fully relaxed in front of him; his indifference made her feel anxious and it didn´t let her know what he thinks of her, adding more doubts about how careful she should be around him.
So that means you don´t respect me either. Tatara pointed a finger at himself.
Naturally. She deadpanned.
My, thank you, Arisawa-chan. Ignoring his other clanmates´ complains, the blond was flattered by that honor. But can I ask why?
You don´t ask questions.
Her short but direct answer only brought more doubts to the table, emphasizing her shadiness. In every meeting, she sounds more and more abnormal to her age.
So, Arisawa-san, what´s the deal with the blue clan? Totsuka inquired curiously.
And then, he wonders why she doesn´t respect him.
She sighed, by this point used to his insistent nature. They want me for my healing power as you guessed last time.
Obviously, she wasn´t going to come clean and explicitly explain every secret detail about her past and the real reason they want her to total strangers, so she threw a decent motive that could leave him satisfied.
And what is your opinion about it?
I don´t want to, of course.
That´s good to hear, then that means you´re available for-
I won´t join you either.
Tatara didn´t let her cold words bother him, but he couldn´t unfroze his frozen face.
So, Scepter 4. The blond one found himself wondering about a crazy possibility. Could it be that that dress you were wearing that day was a certain lieutenant's?
She was stunned by his preciseness, however she kept it down. So, you know each other? What kind of relationship you have with them? All this time she thought they were just antagonist groups who happens to fight each other, but if he knew someone as high up as the lieutenant Awashima, then they must have another history.
Well… it´s not good, but it´s not like we want to tear each other apart.
His answer turned out very vague for her to have a picture of it.
That´s not right, Kusanagi-san. They are our sworn enemies. The frantic guy declared.
Looking back and forth between the two, she found no precise answer, so she asked for a third opinion, deciding to hear what the mild guy has to say instead of the cold, lazy King who still didn´t speak to her at all. How about you, Totsuka-san?
The young man was a little taken aback by her interest in his thoughts. Well, I don´t fight, so I´m probably the least indicated to explain it, but… they are our antagonists, but we know each other so well, that it gets fun from time to time.
Out of all the answer that was the least pleasant to hear and judging by the face of the rest, they all coincided. Overall, Eri got no new information she could use against the other clan.
The meal was over and although she didn´t personally enjoy the conversation part of the meeting, her stomach was satisfied and the thought of the annoying shorty paying part of her bill almost made her skip.
Now she was outside of the restaurant, standing on the street. To be honest, she didn´t want to wait for them to go back home, but they WERE paying her meal, so a part of her felt bad for just walking out of the scene so antipathetically.
Fortunately, the sound of the door opening did not take long.
Oh, you didn´t go home, Arisawa-chan.
The surprise from the blond young man was justified, since she was actually thinking about doing that. And it matches her own surprise to see only him coming out of the building.
How about the rest?
They stayed talking to the clerk. I escaped to have a smoke.
The new information didn´t please her, now she had to wait even longer.
Watching her awaiting next to the door for them to come out put a smile on his face, and he didn´t think twice before saying something about it aloud. Aren´t you a sweetheart.
His casual comment caused her to turn her eyes which were looking at him. She knew what he was teasing her about.
A small chuckle escaped his lips. It amazed him how she didn´t deny it.
Since his clanmates were going to take a while, he decided to take this chance to talk to her. So, you've been recruited by the blue king himself, huh? That´s pretty much an honor, Arisawa-chan.
I doubt it. She looked at him in skepticism.
He chuckled, expecting that kind of response.No, no. It´s for real. That guy couldn´t have contact you so prematurely if he didn´t find you useful. I mean, you´re still in high school, so that man must have feel very eager to do that now. What was it, two, three weeks ago? While looking at the sky wondering, he blew all the smoke from his mouth.
Now that I think about it, that time you were wearing that dress and your clothes got stained, it must have been then, right?
Yeah, don´t remind me. I still think he schemed that. Resentment was clear in her voice.
He laughed at her straightforward complain, but shortly he recomposed and approached her casually. You know, that explains why you had to go through that.
But… it doesn´t explain where those knifes came from.
Red eyes, previously harmless, became obscure and fretful in the beat of an eye.
His suspicions towards her were justifiable, but the way he chose to warn her about it was bold. Curious to see the kind of look he had, her eyes spied him. Indeed, he had a smirk.
She´s never thought someone could tie the loose ends so perfectly with so little. It was her mistake; she overlooked this outcome, but mostly, she underestimated them. The clearly non-threatening and friendly bartender was more cunning than she gave him credit for, and that was her fault. However, it was too soon to jump into conclusions.
She suppressed her instinctive murderous aura to not give herself away. She decided to reply with a collected voice, but she found herself interrupted. Well, it´s not like It´s my business. He casually came back to his usual self to her surprise. I know you have your secrets and reasons, so you do you without any worry, Arisawa-chan. He friendly assured her with no pressures.
Eri was confused by his intentions and stared in silence to see if she could figure out what he had in mind.
We´re back. Oh! You didn´t go back home, Arisawa-san?
Popping his head out of the restaurant, Totsuka and the rest walked to meet the uncanny duo. Just like that, the tense atmosphere vanished as if it never existed.
You waited for us? The young man gasped making a fuss, while the rest watched him in silence.
Well, we´ll be turning back to the bar. How about you Arisawa-san, heading home?
The teen did not make a motion while the other three prepared to leave. I´m not. I was having a nice conversation with the only guy from your crew that I like. She knew their conversation wasn´t over, so she had to stay.
It was a surprise that she could say something like that, so their eyes fell upon the young man in confusion, and he smiled at them clearing their doubts. Go ahead, I´ll stay. The blond man said showing the cigarette in his hand.
It was hard to tell what kind of topic they were talking about, but they were too tired to inquire about it. Once they were out of the map, the two continued where they left.
So, you still like me. He let out a small laugh, unable to believe her.
It was a lie to say that wasn´t the case due to his voluntary silence, but now that she knew how cunning he was, her image of him crumbled a little. In the future, she´ll be more cautious around him.
I was just trying for them to leave us alone. Her voice came out cold and collected.
Kusanagi felt that chilly air coming from her as it wasn't there before, but he met it with a candid smile. His exposing caused a big impact on her.
As I was saying, whatever happens in your life, it´s not our business. Totsuka and the rest can be quite persistent, but they know when to stop, so there´s nothing to be worry about. That´s all I have to say.
Yet again, he proved to be very composed and even empathic. Eri stared at the tall man, perceiving no menaces from him, so it was proper to assume he was really planning to stay quiet about this.
His cigarette was consumed finally, so he threw it away to grab another one. The flame coming from his lighter lit the new cigarette on his mouth; now he was set to reunite with the others, so he started walking. Oh, but one more thing. He stopped when he was next to her, facing the opposite direction. You are free to do what you want, but if you dare to do something harmful to us, you'll be facing the king's wrath. His casual smile was anything but friendly now. And when push comes to shove, we're actually quite dangerous and willing to burn down anything and anyone who messes with us.
She met his unexpected menace with no change on the exterior, but it was fair to admit it surprised her. He was very confident to do that to her if he already had an idea of what she was, and yet, she did feel threatened, not because of what he said, but the fact he was aware about her and a possible obstacle for her new peaceful life.
Nonetheless, Eri sighed before turning her body towards him. Hey. She called him, raising slightly her tone for he was a bit far away, making the young man turned around towards her, just to find her defiant look. He found it kind of cute how confident she was and never seem to be taken by surprise by anyone, always ready to react with a cold head.
The blond young man waited to hear what she has to say now that he warned her about his awareness. Pick that up. He opened his eyes dumbfounded in place, following her finger that pointed at the ground. Laying there, the cigarette butt he threw just recently. He looked at her one more time to see she did not change her persuasive look. He found it hard to believe he was being nagged by a teen. He sighed defeated. She wasn´t going to cut him any slack, but it shouldn´t surprise him coming from her.