Disclaimer: Tokyo Revengers is a world I aspire to live in but I can't own a world... Can I?

Warnings: Generally flashback, but we get a glimpse into Shinichiro's thoughts!

'I must warn you, nothing comes easy' -Unknown

Throughout this chapter, we have an insight into Shinichiro's perspective in third person POV.

It's the POV you guys deserve;3 So enjoy!

The last scene shifts back to Arai's POV in first person


"Hah! And now we're even, Mnn… Lizard," She taunted, giving him a cocky grin.

Shinichiro narrowed his eyes at the girl and he couldn't help but let out a sigh with accumulated exhaustion.

Mikey's insults were potent but they paled in comparison to the vitriol words that fell out from her mouth.

Perhaps, in another life, if Arai had been a boy, Shinichiro wouldn't hesitate to throw a punch or two.

You know just a little bit of rough housing with a fellow lad.

BUT! He was an honourable gentleman, and a true man doesn't go around hurting the ladies.

It was the main reason why chivalry existed. He was going to abide by it until his last breath, despite what many people would say that it was an almost dead morale code. He wasn't going to let himself even brush skin-to-skin with the leader of Lioness or any other girl for that matter.

No, that would be against his code-of-law to commit such offensive acts towards the women!

Though deep down, he knew first hand that women are vicious and unforgiving creatures when angered.

And that they're very much capable.

Nothing would change either way if Arai were to grow a stick. He's going to have his ass handed to him by a male Arai like so many others he'd witness.

He knew that can be for certained.

From time-to-time he'd try to shoot his shot in scoring a girlfriend but that often to no avail, ended up in utter failure.

He might be a gentleman, but he's a cursed one at that.

Sadly, no one seemed to want the desperate Shinichiro!

It got him thinking whether he'd had to raise the bar and become a 'bad boy,' and in the case of Imaushi Wakasa who apparently had many girls swoon by just an acknowledging gaze, the idea in itself doesn't sound too bad.

"Ah- We should get going," Arai murmured as she looked up at the sky. It was made very clear that the sunset was drawing closer with the orange and grey in the sky. "Or you could go home, I'm fine on my own,"

Shinichiro brought up a hand to scratch his neck and averted his eyes. It wasn't itchy but he felt that he needed to do something with his hands. "Um, no, I think I'll just accompany you. Well, at least until we reach the train station. Wanna kill some time, y'know?"

"Got it," She said while nodding her head. "Let's be on our way then—"

With a spring in her step she turned and began walking with Shinichiro following closely behind. She hums a catchy tune, taking the lead, sauntering and no longer in a hurry to get to the train station like before. It made it easier for him to match his pace to her's.

For some reason, Arai somehow manages to have a lot of energy stored up for someone of a small size. Shinichiro mentally noted that he'd have to work on his stamina if he ever gets to keeping up with Arai's fast walking speed.

Maybe he was just too tall for his own good and that it had something to do with gravity acting differently on him than it did to most other people.

Eventually, Arai's humming stopped

He immediately sensed something off as they began to slow down their walk.

That could not be good.

"This might be random but for your sake, and probably your family's, I think that it would be best if you didn't associate yourself with me," Arai said in a dead-serious voice.

His suspicions were confirmed.

He was blanked, staring at her tiny back as once again they came to an abrupt stop, with him almost crashing into her.

Did he hear her right?

Shinichiro gritted his teeth.

"Are you saying that as a threat?!" He unsheathed, a blackened expression seared on his face as he waited for Arai to turn around and explain.

But she didn't turn to look back at him.

Shinichiro shouldn't have insinuated that she threatened him in the first place.

Though the outburst was with its reasons. He got defensive as soon as he heard her bring up his family. More so, he felt that he couldn't take any chances whether it was a direct threat to his family or not.

It damn right felt like one.

It was at the spur of the moment thought and it led to him jumping the gun, that he completely forgot if she'd actually really meant to threaten him out-right.

And he couldn't neglect Arai's tone. It was quiet and despondent.

Coming to his senses, what she'd said sounded more of a warning rather than a threat.

"No…" Arai muttered. With her head hung forward, she took the first step.

"Walk with me and I'll tell you," She said softly.

There was no stopping the wild kitten when she'd set her mind on something, that's for sure.

And Shinichiro obliged without saying a thing. He couldn't muster the strength to even try.

After all, aren't most girls like that?

Terrifying and fierce.

It was, of course, based on his own experience with the ladies that drafted such a conclusion.

Which really isn't much to go by

The sweltering heat of late June was only the first spurts of what's to come for the coming wrath of a hellish summer, and this season was passing by quickly. And because of that, yeah it was probably because of that, that Shinichiro started to churned out more icky sweat than usual.

He carefully watched as Arai's thin lips twitched at the ends.

"Well, I've already told you about how much I absolutely dread iffy subjects," She trailed.

Shinichiro nodded his head, watching keenly. "You did, and sorry for pointing fingers. I shouldn't have said that. I... thought you really did threaten my family and I just got mad,"

She laughed. "Funny of you to think so lowly of me. I've had great respect for you, don't you have the same for me?"

Cue the reddened cheeks, as he got embarrassed at the sudden praise. "Um… I do, the respecting part. And I'm not that shallow-minded,"

Arai made an unlady-like snort.

She brought her hand up. "Save it. You're just too good of a person and I'm not. That's it. And… Well, looking at a happy family makes me sick to the stomach. I'm jealous of you. I really am. I didn't want to be rude or anything but it took a lot in me to not just storm out of there in that instance when I saw…-"

That explained why she was so adamant to leave.

"-Ah, which reminds me of how much I screwed up with my lot. I have a family of my own, they're not dead if that is what you're thinking." She took a long pause and sucked in a rigid breath. "I care for them— a lot, and I know they do too, but it's complicated…"

Care? Not love?

Shinichiro was not very good with women.

That was a well ingrained fact.

So he wasn't the best man to handle a situation like this.

After hearing Arai share a personal piece he was consumed by a whirlwind of thoughts and stood there unsure of how to approach her.

Shinichiro couldn't directly console her since he really didn't know how,—which again was also because of his strict moral code, and with the added fact that he and her were practically strangers—then factor in that she was a she and not just like any other of his friends that he'd just willy-nilly give a hard pat on the back and simply say that they should toughen up.

Women can be really complicated sometimes…

He thinks about Wakasa, wondering how his endearing friend, if he were put to handle this kind of situation, how would he fare?

Wakasa seems to be good around the ladies, so surely he'd know what was the right thing to do.

That thought immediately backfires, on the account that most ladies are instantly cured by his 'charming' and 'mysterious' looks.

Well, that was what Wakasa would have said.

Shinichiro frowned at that thought.

The other two, Takeomi and Benkei, let's just say… they're less experienced.

(Then again, with all of them combined, yes, even with Wakasa, their knowledge on women isn't really that much to go by)

Arai gives a harsh slap on Shinichiro's back, and a yelp escapes him. "Aish!"

"Don't think too much of it. Other people's problems, especially strangers, shouldn't bother you. I'm fine with where I'm at and I don't regret my choices at all! Just gotta rant for a bit, y'know?!" She beamed, a 90-degree turn to the sombre she had a moment ago.

She isn't 'fine' if she's still feeling guilty for whatever she did.

Shinichiro felt compelled to ask an 'iffy subject'- question but he kept to himself for Arai's best interest.

"Erm, alright, if you say so,"

He doubted every word he had said though, a small white lie wouldn't hurt anyone.

Whatever that went down in her home, he sincerely hoped that it wasn't too severe.

"Ah, so what else do you wanna know?"

Come again?!

"You said you wanted to kill some time, right? You're free to ask any question, as long as they aren't" She made a gesture with her fingers. "an 'iffy subject.' "

There were many unanswered questions he'd like answers to. But they were mostly as she would like to label an 'iffy subject.'

It really limited his options severely, to say the least.

"Hmm, does the leader of the lizards have a question or not?" Arai scorned him, saying it in a sing-song voice. "If not then that's fine too,"

"Heh, as a matter of fact, I do. What's up with that nickname?" He drawls. "A lizard? Why am I a lizard?" Shinichiro said it again with more cemented confidence.

"Well, lizard, ha-" She didn't even waste a breath after his sentence. "You guys call yourself Black Dragon. And so it goes without saying, a dragon is a reptile which automatically makes it a sort of lizard. You're a lizard because you've got a somewhat meek but determined personality. I see those traits in you, so what else could be more fitting?" Arai shrugs her shoulders in a way to say that it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Right, he is the leader of Black Dragon…

And damn him, Arai must've been thinking about this particular revenge plot an awful lot if she was able to ceaselessly craft out an answer like that without hesitation.

In a nutshell, she was very troublesome. Even more so than Mikey, and that was saying a lot.

Arai had probably done more damage to his pride than anyone else before too!

"Then, kitten, I have another question,"

At that, Arai almost tripped after hearing the nickname but caught herself. She leered at him to which he slyly smiled.

"How's being the leader of Lioness despite being a kitten such as yourself?"

She loudly gasped at the blatant blasphemy. "Oh, you did not!"

"I did," Shinichiro innocently replied as if he wasn't the one in the wrong.

With a smirk attached on her face, Arai crossed her arms over her chest.

"I have to say, lizard, I didn't know you were capable of sarcasm up until now. I'm proud of you," She snarked back, putting as much emphasis on his given nickname as she began to clap with the biggest faint heart.

"Thank you, kitten. It's much appreciated!" Shinichiro returned with an equal emphasis on her own nickname.

And a war begins between the kitten and lizard.

"If you really have to ask, lizard. Being the leader of my pride is thrilling. Nerve-wrecking if I have to say the least. Most of the time, we sneak out of our homes, in the middle of the night for the weekly schedule meetings and oh, the talks!" She nodded to herself with a smile.

AH, how can he forget that gossip was one of the attributes of being a woman?

"Care to tell me what kind of gossip, kitten?"

She took a short pause to glare at him. "We don't gossip. And from what I can draw out about my girls, specifically, we love to talk about the logic behind your course of action. Guys can be quite odd. The EHEM!-" She forced a cough. "-boys can make questionable decisions sometimes. Don't you think so, lizard?"

That Insult was supposed to deter him.

"You wouldn't be able to comprehend the reasons behind our actions," Shinichiro huffs as he turns away his head dismissively. "You're EHem, a girl,"

Hearing this, Arai showed him a finger before quickly putting it back down and turned her head away from him. "Or well, we might just go out on the road for a ride for the midnight breeze and for some chaos and fun, yeah, that kind of stuff," She added wishfully, closing her eyes.

Shinichiro hummed in agreement. "That seems nice… kitten,"

Arai reopened her eyes and stared back at him plainly.

She sighed before continuing again. "Lizard, it would have been if you're not so full of worry for your gang the entire time. Like, 'shit I sure hope no one falls off their bikes,' or 'Kami the cops are right behind us! WE"RE FUCKED!'' "

"Understandable. But it is rewarding in its own right," Shinichiro said, closing his eyes briefly imagining the blissful sensation of racing against the harsh winds on his beloved darling sexy bike.

For a while they kept quiet, basking in the new found appreciation for one another's company.

No words were spoken and the two walked on.

Until Arai decided to come forward and drop the act as they were nearing the train station. "Let's agree to never call each other those, ugh-" She groaned with great displeasure. "terrible, terrible, nicknames…"

Both of them shivered at the thought.

"Deal," Shinichiro accepted readily.

"Also, I hope that we don't see each other again,"

A feeling of hurt erupted within Shinichiro as soon as he heard that line from Arai. That might have been the most painful thing she's said yet.

"Um, is that a good thing?"

"It is for me, it means I don't need to give you a second lesson at the art of wooing women,"

Shinichiro scoffed.

Of course, the ginormous audacity of the girl.

What else was he expecting?

"Hah- Then was I a good student?"

"Why else would I not want to give you a second lesson? You were the worst!"

It made Shinichiro crestfallen by the bitter but honest remarks from his girl-get-along guru, but he had to man-up and bid her a good farewell.

Arai kept her goodbyes blunt and short and absentmindedly took her leave without so much as looking back.

What Arai had shared today was sacred knowledge sent by the great kami. It was sad that he didn't have a pen and paper to take notes but her teachings were still fresh in his mind and he felt confident that he could recite everything Arai had taught him today.

He'd commit it all to memory for a while and pen it down immediately once he got home.


Fate has a strange way of letting things go horribly wrong.

Shinichiro didn't have a great memory and couldn't even recall the first word that Arai had said at the beginning of their crash-course of wooing women. The moment he stepped into his house, his acquired knowledge mysteriously vanished.

Damn it!

"Shin-ni, you're back!" Emma lit up as soon as her eyes laid on her older brother, streaming into the living room.

"Ah, if it isn't my sorry-excuse-of-a-brother," Manjirou said sarcastically.

"That's hilarious, Mikey," Shinichiro rolled his eyes as he spoke in monotone. "Arai's already at the train station,"

"Good," Grandpa Sano said, reading from his newspaper.

"Nene, aniki! Gotta say I was surprised that you could actually hold a proper conversation with a girl. Say, is she like Wakasa's cousin or something?"

"What's with you guys?" He pinched the bridge of his nose. Not long ago, said person had also imposed a similar question.

Shinichiro needed to stop them before this snowballed into something beyond his control. "Slow down-"

However, Emma interrupts him. "She's so cool! I wanna be just like her! She's a gang leader too! Right, right?! What's she like!" She squealed with the added fact that Arai has become his younger sister's new role model.

That gave him a troubling thought.

If it weren't for Emma being shy around most people, Shinichiro was very sure she would have bombarded Arai with the questions that might've made her uncomfortable.

The two blonds eyes were twinkling, and they hungrily pried with an overwhelming curiosity and interest in his new acquaintance.

Shinichiro can't really say anything. He didn't know her well enough to be comfortable about talking about her to his family. And other than the minimal interactions he had with the girl so far, and the things he'd heard about from his knowledgeable friend, both of them were just friendly strangers.

Some of the rumours about the Leader of Lioness were unbelievably outrageous but they were somewhat believable now that he got to know what she was like in the flesh.

One of them, being that she and her right-hand would go around playgrounds and make children cry. A weird hobby, but it never really amounted into bullying.

Quite the sadistic duo.

However, the most appalling thing he'd heard would be that that small girl had a… and he did not dare to divulge in that pervasive thought.

The context of what she'd done was very sensual, so he fathomed on how it was leaked easily since Arai would have determined it to be an 'iffy subject.'

Shinichiro couldn't confirm if what she did was fact or myth, though deep down inside him, he might've had a feeling that there was some truth to some of it and to that… worrying story.

The girl literally decided to undress with zero hesitance in the middle of a heated battle!

How could he not think that way?

"Shin-ni, why are you blushing?" Emma giggled quietly at her older brother's flustered expression.

"Don't tell me?! Do you have a crush on her?! Was she the one that rejected you?" Manjirou said as a hand hovered around his quivering mouth, holding back his laughter.

"Not this again. For the last time, it was someone else!" He bemoaned, irked by how kids can be so energetic and annoying at times.

Shinchiro puffed his chest, and skidded away from his incorrigible siblings. He was so done with his day that he could no longer care. Those questions will have to be left unanswered.

All that Shinichiro could ever want now was to retreat to his room for an early sleep.

"Hmm, you're not having dinner?" His grandfather eyed him.

"Yep, have it without me. I'm gonna sleep early," Shinchiro fakes a yawn, and slouches his back as he darts straight for his room.

Once in his bedroom, he slided the torri shut, locking himself in the room so that no one else could intrude in his privacy.

He planned to sleep through the rest of that hectic evening, not disturbed by his energetic siblings.

A last thought crosses in his mind about Arai before slumber overtakes him.o


Somewhere in the past

ON THE DAWN OF 8TH JUNE, 1996

"Lookie here," Wakasa whistled. "A wild kitten has been spotted,"

"Wild kitten?" Takeomi inquired with a fresh cigarette stuck out from in between his lips.

Wakasa narrowed his eyes at his friend then pointed in the direction of the flashy loud orange-colored in the fore-front of the group.

It would usually be an unusual sight to have the opposite gender roaming in the yard but it was to be expected on that particular day as everyone else present in the yard would be spectating an all-girl's gang—Lioness clash with the Gyuki.

Walking beside the short girl was probably the leader of the Lioness herself, a young woman with a slender physique and a head taller than the orange-haired girl. Her hair was neatly arranged in a half-ponytail. The upper half black portion was tied up while the separated red highlights were free to beat against her back.

Compared to her shorter companion who was amused, the taller one was stern and held a sharp piercing gaze with those vermillion irises. Undoubtedly she was someone that anyone else, in their right mind wouldn't want to mess with.

At their backing, was the rest of the Lioness. It didn't look much—a rough estimate would probably be about at least a hundred of them—but they were all determined and carried an air of unshaken fortitude as they marched into the scrap yard that would soon be turned into their battlegrounds.

The major clash was going to commence in a few minutes.

But those Gyuki bastards were not present.

The shorty had no signs of stopping in her walk and kept advancing, directly approaching the Head's of the Black Dragons.

She was not fazed with all the attention set on her, and a smile crepts its ways onto her face as she got closer to them.

The girl was genuinely loving the attention, despite the disapproving stares from the spectators who probably were saying not so nice things about her behind her back.

When she stood in front of them, Shinichiro noted that her uniform was altered compared to the other members of Lioness. In place of a jacket top, she wore a full-length coat that goes past her knees while she had covered her eyes with large circular rim tinted shades.

Her head spins to Shinichiro, examining him with unknown intentions from down and up before dipping in for smirk.

"Hmm, it surprisingly suits you," She says, staring above the head of the tall young man.

"What?" The four exclaimed with Benkei being the most vocal.

"Pretend I said nothing~" She said, looking away while somewhat amused with herself.

The girl goes on to scan her surroundings for a bit before turning her full body back to face them.

She took off her round shades, revealing pale feline-like feature glimmering dangerously at them.

In fact, it was maybe because of that that Shinichiro thought that her eyes bore an uncanny resemblance to a ginger cat.

Yep, those stray ginger tabbies you'd see casually saunter while wandering in the streets.

And with that cat-like olive green eyes and overall rough-up appearance, just as Wakasa had said; She was like a wild kitten.

"You don't mind holding onto this?" She asked, pointing to her yellow rim shades.

Unexpectedly, to everyone's surprise, Benkei spoke first, stepping right up menacingly towards her. "Are, are you serious?"

From where Shinichiro stood, both were standing in front of each other.

The differences between the two heights was staggering.

It was a no-brainer that Benkei was enormous. He was an entire being built mostly on muscle and he stood well above almost 200 centimetres in height, towering many. His intimidating demeanour was also nothing to scoff at as he could easily make anyone cry.

In contrast, the orange-haired girl matched about three and a half fourths (or maybe less?) of his length. A smaller stature but she was holding her own and it looked as if she found it funny for some reason, while looking at the taller youth.

Although with the intimidating figure looming overhead, she was steeled and unfazed. Despite the raise in Benkei's voice and harsh tone, she continued to watch him with a curious light in her palish eyes.

Shinichiro took a step beside Benkei as he answered in place of his large friend. "Um- sure, I don't see why not,"

Benkei was about to say something but Shinichiro stopped him with a pat on his shoulder. "It's not anything bad. She's just asking us to hold onto her sunglasses. And it's just sunglasses, what can possibly go wrong?" Shinichiro said quietly, voicing out some reason for only his eyebrow-less friend to hear.

Benkei turned his head away, begrudgingly letting his leader have his way while muttering something inaudible to himself.

"Thanks!" She flashed them a bright grin before going off in the opposite direction back to her gang.

All the top-men of Black Dragon glanced at each other with incredulous expressions wondering what just happened as soon as the shorty left.

"That's the first time I've seen you talk to a girl without getting all awkward, Shin-chan, good job!" Wakasa mocks his friend, jabbing a finger to his shoulder.

At that, Takeomi made a loud snort as he tried his best not to start laughing with the cigarette still in his mouth since there was the risk of swallowing and choking on it. It would be an embarrassing death.

"Cut it out, you two," Shinichiro said, giving them an irksome look. "Be serious, we're going to oversee a gang fight,"

"Then what was that all about?" Benkei demanded. "Do you guys think that she did that on purpose?"

"Hmm, maybe…" Wakasa muttered. "Or maybe not…"

"No," Their leader said as he firmly stood up straight. "I don't think so. Let's not make any assumptions on the girls yet. For all we know, she genuinely could have just wanted to ask someone to hold onto her stuff cause she just doesn't wanna get it dirty,"

"But why on earth would someone bring sunglasses to a fight? Let alone when it's still dark outside?" Benkei voiced out his frustration to Shinichiro.

Aesthetics, Shinichiro thought to himself.

He could justify the reason why the girl does so since he himself would have done the same.

Shinichiro turned over to Takeomi's direction whose sights were oddly still lingering at the Lioness. More specifically, the girl that just left.

Takeomi takes out the cigarette from his mouth and lets out a puff of smoke before speaking. "The leader of Lioness, isn't the kind of person to ask favours. From what I've gathered, she's kinda like Shin-chan, but super crazy. But then again not like him at the same time, since she's way more brave to have had that a, a… that drunken fest with her gang, and…"

Takeomi suddenly stiffened.

Of course, the rest of his friends were all-ears in hearing this, and that they were nosy bastards and prodded him to share more of the interesting information on the leader of the all-girl gang.

Shinichiro did speculate that it was the tall black-red colour hair girl walking behind that shorty, but then again, he could be wrong since she doesn't seem to be the type.

Takeomi forced a cough. "There were a lot of things they did… Ah, very explicit things that went down, and I'd rather not say what actually happened," From there, Takeomi refused to elaborate any further and left his close comrades-in-arms to their imaginations.

The other three were left dumbfounded.

"Is she even our age?" Wakasa said first, not looking for a particular answer to the question. "The girl probably has a lot of guts if she could do something like that. Our wonder boy couldn't dare to do such fearless and shameless things," He pointed in the direction of their leader.

Shinichiro gave an exasperated groan in return. "Waka, sometimes you can be a real ass, y'know?" Shinichiro glared daggers at his pretty friend while he mustered his expert scowl.

"Glad to know," Wakasa sassed a reply as he rolled his eyes.

A large crash echoed.

And sounds of heavy footsteps followed

Heads were immediately whipped to the direction where, lo and behold the Gyuki had finally appeared.

Great

Things were going to get started real soon

Throughout all this, Shinichiro subconsciously found himself drawing his eyes back at the messy-haired shorty, trying to see for himself what kind of expression she was making.

Fuming with rage, the girl shoots the dastardly group a venomous glare that could kill. Not relenting in openly displaying her disgust at the mere sight of their opponents casually waltzing into the yard.

Her ire was volatile and its aura had the capability to stretch out for him to sense and it seemed that at any moment now, she'd lash herself at them. Barely anything was restraining her from doing so, though except for the tall girl who was keeping an eye on her.

The Gyuki stopped in front of the Lioness. From the looks of it, they were having a verbal dispute among themselves, lashing themselves at each other.

Probably reiterating the reasons that they had to hold this major showdown against each other.

It is still made secret to this day on why they decided to have this fight, but it wasn't Shinichiro's job to pry.

Today, he was only the overseer.

Though it was only ever going to get ugly from here, he had to pull through and bear witness from start to the final conclusion of the match between Lioness and Gyuki.


Looks can be deceiving.

Shinichiro has known this fact for a long time, but again he always seems to be unprepared for the shock that follows despite knowing not to judge a book by its cover.

"This whole time, you knew that she was the leader, but you didn't think to bring it up? Not even tried to?" Shinichiro gushed, pointing antagonistically at his no-longer-ever-so-trusting-friend, Takeomi.

Wakasa kept to himself behind Shinichiro, replaying his thoughts about his encounter with the orange-haired girl. He didn't regret making the comment, but damn the life of him, he was also astounded with the fact that the leader was that bubbly shorty. Well now he…

He was still trying to comprehend this new piece of information.

"It was fun while it lasted when you guys joked about a 'wild kitten'. I didn't want to ruin it," Takeomi sniggigered.

Shinichiro sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'll have to hide your cigarette packs," He dared, since Takeomi knows that Shinichiro won't make a promise he couldn't keep.

"Man, you can't be serious? You're no different than me," Takeomi groaned.

"At least, I have the decency for some self-control. You, on the other hand smoke almost all the time,"

Wakasa leaned into the conversation. "Shin's not wrong,"

"Waka, you're on his side?"

In response, Wakasa slung an arm over Shinichiro as he rested his chin on his shoulder with an all-knowing provocative smile.

Shinichiro smirked at Takeomi's loss.

"This is the cost of your betrayal," Shinichiro chided, nodding firmly.

"Now you're just being dramatic,"

They stood on a flattened car, atop a high stack of several other crushed metal junks. The scene unfolding in front of them was an unimaginable bloodbath.

Mainly, it was because they didn't really expect that it would have amounted to such a….

War zone

And then everything was still.

Correction, everything in fact took a hard pause.

The clashing of fists, deafening sounds of beated meat and grating dirt had subsided.

Until there was only a sole beat resounded throughout the whole confines of the yard.

No one dared to stop them.

How can they?

There in the middle of all those young men and women. Every able-bodied person could not stand to avert their gaze from the horrendous sight. It was not possible.

From the height where Shinichiro stood, he shakingly tried to swallow down his budding fear. He restrained himself from needing to end the match right then and there since it was just too painful for him to watch.

However, he had to shoulder on and endure spectating this- No, not a word can describe this gruesome one-sided assault.

The All-Mighty leader of Lioness was down.

Her face was smouldered under the hold of a giant's hand. The madman was on top of her, cognitively smiling with revealing teeths as he had a firm grasp on her face.

He lifted her head.

Then without a moment of rest, she was forced onto the solid ground.

THUD—

She didn't even tried to resist

THUD—

Nobody could say a word.

And as if the world had stilled.

THUD—

Blood trickled from the maniac's hand.

Shinichiro had the authority to end this. It was at the tip of his tongue but he could not utter the words. And nobody bothered to make it stop.


(Switching back to Arai's perspective)

The slow descent into madness was repeatedly going to the fridge and seeing nothing else but a barren blizzard. Though there is cold water and ice cubes stored there, I can't really eat those. Every ten minutes, I headed over to the fridge expecting a different outcome every time I opened it and that food would somehow appear. Though, while it was under the pretence of taking a 'short break' from studying, I was just really procrastinating.

I must have already gone insane with this obsession with magical appearing food.

But that's not to say I wasn't as crazy before, I've always been like this.

And I find it much better to live life that way. Makes for life to be more entertaining and worth living.

My ravenous appetite cannot be easily satisfied by just a single rice ball. Even so, I don't regret offering Shinichiro that onigiri, but at the same time, that was all of my allowance spent today. I'd still have to set apart the rest of my earnings for tomorrow and the end-of-the-month rent and other significant living expenses.

Nonetheless, I don't regret living like this since it was a hundred times better than how it used to be back then. If given a chance to go back in time, I'm certain I'd make the same decision.

Like my older sister, and twin, they've left and are currently living their best lives. One goes to a prestigious university overseas, and the other who's also overseas, was admitted into an equally prestigious boarding school.

Unlike me, my parents were proud of them.

I was the black sheep in the family, but I didn't mind it. It was them who couldn't accept my selfishness. But at the same time, it was not entirely their fault since I didn't try to reason with them and it ended up with me abruptly leaving.

I couldn't stand it. Living there that is.

It was so suffocating and I needed the escape.

Getting this far was not easy. Would you believe me if I told you I was homeless for almost a week?

They said I wouldn't last on my own. Yet it's been a year and a half since then.

Now they considered me as good as dead.

Oh well, who said life was going to be easy?

I'm trying to live my best life and the restrictions sometimes were unnecessary. Although I'm very sorry for leaving my younger sisters, I'm also my own person. Besides, I'm sure being the youngest will work well in their favour.

Ding!

Cue the unique knocking sequence on the door, and I took that as a sign that my guardian angel had come to my rescue. Hurriedly, I dashed to the door, unlocking it in less than a second.

In front of me, stood one of the most remarkable women I've had the pleasure of meeting. A beautiful woman, with a beautiful mind, and who I most widely respected and admired.

Her auburn hair had violet strips on her fringes and her natural wavy hair was gathered and tied in a bun with a couple of alligator clips locked her hair. A lovely oval shaped face and she had brilliant maroon eyes to match with her dyed hair. Her skin was milky and smooth and mostly unwrinkled. Despite being in her mid thirties she's still able to retain her youthfulness and you could hardly notice the small stretch marks at the edge of her eyes.

You can never go wrong that Toshiro Yosei was an amazing woman.

"Have I told you that I've fallen for you?" I sputtered without thinking.

"Many times," She giggled, and it made my heart flutter. "How's your day?"

"Fun, though Sute is still a merciless lady when it comes to sparring practices. And I think I twisted my ankle, but it'll heal in no time. I did witness a confession and a rejection, which somehow ended up with me getting my sunglasses back. Lastly, did I tell you that you look absolutely stunning today?"

"Don't kid yourself," She ruffled my damp hair, fresh from the shower I took not long ago. "Arai-chan, you're like a daughter to me,"

Hearing this, I felt my heart immediately drop and shattered to smithereens. "Ara, have I just been daughter-zoned?"

Yosei was very amused, seeing me despair as she dismissed my playful flirtatious advances. To any other adult, it would be disturbing, though Yosei has already grown accustomed to it. It wasn't weird since she knew I didn't exactly mean what I say most of the time, but the praises that I'd tossed her way were all always honest and sincere.

As she was my landlady, she'd take lengths to check-up on me daily. With the added fact that I was the youngest tenant within the block she owns, she looks out for me and often fusses about my well-being. (Mainly because I own her rent)

"Have you just got off from work?" I asked.

"No, one of my colleague's is covering for me at the moment. I'm only here to hand you some things before I get back to the salon," Yosei chirped, almost sounding relieved that she could take a break.

How I wish to be as accomplished as her as I age. Other than being a landlady she was also a talented hairdresser. My orange hair was one of her many handy-works.

She showed the three-layer stacked bento heavens have heard my pleads and begs and sent an angel to descend upon this poor soul's darkest hour, once again.

The greatest gift that could make me the happiest person in the world at that point in time, was food. And it was three full boxes of food! Not to mention, that it was free of charge!

YEAH!

"I so wanna marry you right now," Again, I let my tongue slip.

"Sadly, you're too young for me," Yosei said in a solemn tone.

I shrugged. "Age is just a number,"

"Yet, it would be improper for two lovely ladies to be together," She retaliated, though there was a hint of growing sadness in her voice.

I can tell the look of longing when I see one. And it seems that Yosei is thinking ever so fondly about a certain someone- er a special lady.

"But I don't mind it." Shaking her head, she quickly recollected herself and handed the bento boxes to me. "Here, so once you're done, drop the boxes by my house," Yosei instructed as I received the holy treasures.

"Yep!" I replied cheerily.

Safe to say that from then on, I began the ritual of opening and closing and then reopening the fridge to manifest for free food whenever I'm bored.

Once she was gone, I locked myself back into my apartment with a giddy sense of feeling over my stomach. It's not every day that you get free food. It was all out of the sheer dumb luck of simply hoping that it would miraculously come and appear.

I'm starving, and I don't even care if it would taste or not. Though from what I heard food tastes better when you've been starved.

I don't know about other people but that's a plus for me.

Anyhow, it was time to dig in for dinner!

I settled the boxes on top of a table and went to grab the utensils at the kitchen corner. The utensils lay flat on the drying rack beside the sink, however I don't think I remember growing any plants near the sink.

Then I was reminded that the wild rose was in memory of Shinichiro's rejection.

I found myself laughing hysterically at the mere sight of a stupid rose.

Today was a joyous day.


Hello, hello there!

I'm back and I know this chapter is very late.

I've had many mishaps happen over the course of the pass two months, HELL! I even contracted covid! But I've recovered since then.

This chapter is the longest I've written so far and I'm hoping it would be after a while until I write something as long as this one. Subsequent chapters would be much shorter and about a word count of 3000-4000 words. Perhaps more if I don't have to suffer from writer's block.

It is real. The struggle of writer's block is inescapable!

Hopefully, I come back in a month's time with a completed chapter 6, until then enjoy and don't forget to leave a review too!

(Edited on 1/04/2022: Happy April Fools!)