2.
He tries to avoid her as much as possible. The bullies do too, but they seem too afraid to call her out in public. No wonder. How do you tell your friends a tiny girl punched you out of the ring and nearly ruined your nose for good? You lose credit. He doesn't like people, and even he knows that.
He watches her with the other classmates, while she acts like she couldn't hurt someone so easily. Or is it an act? She's genuinely happy to be around them, despite never taking off her hat. The nauseous feeling is even stronger now. He still doesn't know why. He doesn't want to approach her until he can understand.
He doesn't seem to have much of a choice however. He keeps noticing her in places. She usually doesn't notice him. When she does, she only stares. And stares. He pretends it doesn't bother him, her downtrodden face, like there's something else that should have happened.
When he has no choice but to confront her, the word why gets stuck in his throat. She only smiles sadly, as though she can hear it.
"I exist to protect you Akihiro."
He doesn't like the way she says his name. He tells her so.
She laughs. "That's the least of your worries."
What are the real ones?
He wants to glare at every person. He knows better. He checks out more books from the library, more books to bury his nose in and try and comprehend what is clearly incomprehensible. She is almost entirely human at first, almost. But sometimes she walks with a weight on her back, and others her skin is too dark bronze in the sun. And sometimes her eyes are red as that bully's face was when she had finished with him. Sometimes she floats.
Sometimes the red eyes look at him. And they soften and fill with love.
It's the first time he has ever thought of love as a bad thing.
When they meet again, for a project, she is so normal, so objectively so, he can almost forget. He can forget who and what she is (Even though he really has no idea) just long enough that none of the fear from the older kids concerns him. She occasionally peers to look at what he's doing, but no further.
But when she skips home, he realizes he has never heard her name.
"I'm whatever you want to call me," she says when he asks.
That's not good enough, is it?