Chapter 5

The following day, at lunch Eri forced Minako up to the rooftop to explain her absence the other day. In her junior high school, the rooftop was saved for top notch delinquents. That being the case with Raijin, Eri decided to wipe out the third years there and conquer that territory for herself (and of course for her little sister). That way Eri could relive the same glorious sensation back in junior high.

Both of them were busy eating their lunches on the rooftop, a slight breeze picking up as they did. All of the sudden Minako saw a blur rush towards her. She instinctively blocked it with her palm. She glared up at Eri, who in turn stared her down with fierce smiling eyes.

"There's also another reason," Eri began. Minako kept firm.

"You're finished eating right?" She enquired, then got up and swung her leg down at the smaller one. Minako tumble rolled away got up and stood her ground.

"Ah before you fight, fix your form." Eri instructed. Minako raised a brow.

"Huh?"

"You're hunching a bit. It's bad for breathing and it gives a person the perfect chance to do this." She warned. Do what? Minako wondered. Eri charged at her swiftly, brought up her knee and struck her in the stomach. She coughed up spit and curled up into a ball on the floor.

"Hey! What the fuck are you doing? If you stay on the ground for too long you're easy prey." Eri berated. Minako gripped her stomach and spat out hoarsely.

"If it hurts I can't help it."

She let out an outbreath, brushed back her hair and gripped the other's shirt front.

"You can't worry about whether or not it hurts for you or for other people; 'cause that's how other thugs are gonna treat ya. You were so determined before, and you said I could hit you harder. Why did you think I named you Maso-chan? To poke fun at you? Ha, it's because you really are a good masochist."

Minako turned over on her back and looked up at her. Like the same fateful day that marked their meeting, Eri's hand was reaching out for her to grasp. Her grin was radiant and her dark brown hair catching light from the sun. She gripped tightly onto the brunette's hand and she helped her up to her wobbling feet.

"Don't make me worry about you." Eri added. Minako just nodded in understanding as she held her abdomen.

They continued fighting for five minutes, punches flying here and there, Minako being thrown to the ground and Eri earning a few kicks to the face. But in the end of their practice Minako's face had bruises and her mouth was bleeding. Seeing that she needed a break, Eri helped her down to the infirmary.

When the nurse came in to treat her, her jaw drop.

"Are you alright? Did you get beat up by some boys?" she enquired caringly.

"Um, on the contrary..." Minako began. The nurse looked over and saw Eri leaning on the doorway with a playful smile, waving at her.

"Oh, I see now." The nurse grumbled. She had Minako sit down as she pulled out some band aids, ointment, cotton balls and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide.

"Fighting isn't for little girls you know." She scolded the two like a mother. Eri frowned.

"Just shut up already; your job isn't to scold us ya know." she snapped. The nurse shivered and went back to gently rubbing on the peroxide on Minako's scrapes. After slapping on a few bandages on her face and knees, the nurse quickly fled, obviously terrified of Eri.

By the time the lunch period was over Minako returned to class with bandages covering up one fourth of her face. Some people gawked at her as she took a seat at her desk. She stared out the window and actually had a thought for once. If Eri didn't want to worry about her, why did she unleash such a savage, thorough beating unto her? She couldn't understand. She'd usually leave things like this alone but this time she couldn't. It lingered in that blank emptiness, filling up that vast space. There were cracks being formed in her already breaking peace. And it was about to break even more...

School was let out and Minako had to go home by herself. When someone discovered that Eri was the culprit of her beating, she was anonymously ratted out and forced to stay after school to clean all the hallways. She took out her plain loafers from her shoe box and slipped them on. As she started to stroll by she saw a person being hurled so fast that it was hard to see at first. The vicinity of the entrance was turned into a battlefield again. And once again Shizuo was busy kicking ass. Seeing no other way to pass through, Minako sat down on a bench under a small tree, and began reading her little book titled; The Little Girl at the Window. She read the calming story as she heard cries of pain and bones crushing in the background.

After a few brief minutes the wretched sounds ceased and all she could here were the agonizing curses and Shizuo's heavy panting of fatigue. The young blonde's skin shone with sweat, his wispy hair scattered about his face and his white sleeves rolled up. His knuckles were dotted with blood, but not his own. With a frustrated grunt he plopped down, sitting as far as possible from Minako on the bench. He slammed his fist on the bench, causing strong vibrations to flow through it. She paid him no mind.

"Dammit." he growled. "Every. Fucking. Day! There are always stupid thugs trying to ambush me. I don't provoke them. I keep a low profile. All I want is to live a normal, peaceful life but it seems I can't even have that. It's not my fault I was born with this ridiculous strength; people don't need to jump me just for that. My body's been broken more times than I can count and I always come back stronger. But still... I always manage to screw things up." his voice lowered its thundering tone.

Was he speaking to me? She wondered. She didn't want to speak back. She wouldn't know what to say. Should she console him? Should she lecture him? Should she simply say the whole 'things will be okay' line? Minako remembered a carton of strawberry milk kept cool with an icepack in a special lunchbox. She hadn't drunken it; after her fight she didn't want to drink anything. She paused her reading and quietly placed the box close to him so he could have it. He spotted it and accepted the offer.

"Thanks." He quietly acknowledged. His voice was actually quite smooth and humble when he wasn't worked up. He ripped the plastic from the straw, stabbed it into the box and sipped. After some silence Minako dared to speak.

"I won't tell." She mumbled almost inaudibly, her eyes still glued to her book. Shizuo swallowed the pink liquid and chuckled.

"Don't bother; the staff will already know it's me." He said jokingly. Shizuo got up and rested his palm on the girl's head.

"Anyway thanks for putting up with my complaining." He said in a now soothed voice as he petted her. "You're pretty nice to talk to, especially since you don't talk back."

He was petting her calmly like she was a cat. But she didn't really seem to be bothered. The troubled young man shoved his hands into his front pockets and strolled off casually, letting the humble girl be.