A/N: Hey, and welcome back to The Dragon and the Marlin!
Sorry for the late update, guys. I'll try to update more frequently from now on.
Have fun reading, and I hope you'll enjoy it. Please read and review!
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs.
Chapter 3 – An Inconvenient Attachment
Time went by fairly quickly, with Asahi settling in well in his new home, and before he knew it, the first semester was already over. School was fun, and with the new friends he made, he didn't feel so disheartened anymore.
The young boy went home immediately after class or hung out with the guys for a few hours before doing so, but this time he found an excuse to go home alone. His friends thought he had to go home early because his parents needed him to help them with something, but he told them school would last longer that day.
There was a reason for him to lie, though. It was nothing less than seeing her again. "Her," as in the blond girl who got him out of trouble the night of his first day of school. The only problem was contacting said girl, since he had no idea who she was, and so there was solely one other thing to do. Coming to a stop in an empty park after wandering for hours, Asahi stopped, took a deep breath, and started calling for help as loud as he could.
Only a few minutes earlier, somewhere nearby...
"It's so quiet around here and nothing's happening; can't we retreat for today?" asked of the white drakes, visibly tired, yawning directly after his question.
"Or can't we at least take a break, boss? We've been walking for hours now." a blue drake added.
The black dragon stopped, causing her comrades behind her to stop as well. She turned around to look at the ones who just spoke after a long, quiet walk. The boys and girls of the other two squads were expecting an answer, but strangely, it never came. Instead, their leader turned her back on them again, putting one hand on her weapon and the other under her chin, diving into her thoughts. Confused, the members of the Tatsukiba shrugged silently at each other and took a few steps back to give their boss space. Of course, she understood that they were tired; after all, she was as well, but the young girl couldn't shake off the bad feeling she had about the school area. Especially since they were almost at the same spot where one of her classmates became the victim of an attack. But why was she thinking about him now? She hadn't seen him for the last few months, so she assumed he had to be safe from future attacks.
Oh, but how much did the universe love proving her wrong.
It was then that the gang heard someone scream for help. That snapped the "blonde" out of her thoughts and made the other two leaders and their subordinates run to her, not bothering to say anything, as there was no time to waste. After they regrouped, they instantly ran in the direction of the scream.
What they saw there wasn't at all what they expected. There was only one person standing at the entrance of a nearby park, and he didn't seem injured in the slightest. The white and blue dragon stepped beside the black dragon, who, contrary to the happy expression on the boy's face, had an annoyed one on hers as soon as she saw him. "What is the meaning of this? Is this some kind of sick joke?" the blue dragon demanded, sounding just as vexed as his leader watching the scene in front of him.
The fair-haired girl simply raised her hand, silencing him on the spot. After that, she lowered it, took a step forward, and slightly tilted her head towards the other two leaders and her other comrades.
"You don't need to concern yourselves with this; I will take care of him. You two take your squads and scout the area for any real conflicts. Take mine with you too; we'll regroup in about an hour at this same spot. White, you're in charge during this time," she finished giving her orders.
"As you wish, boss." They all said in unison before running off in separate directions.
With the disappearance of her group, the young leader was free to interrogate the "victim." She moved to sit on a nearby bench, patting the spot next to her, motioning for him to do the same. But before he could say anything to explain himself, the girl anticipated him.
"Asahi Shiina, you incredible fool, just what do you think you're accomplishing with a stunt like that? Wasn't last time you were out at this hour a lesson for you not to do that again, especially after you told me yourself you wouldn't?" She inquired with a piercing gaze.
The redhead was aware that what he did bothered the vigilante, so he tried to clarify his situation, grateful he was even able to.
"Listen, I know you're pissed, but I'm only here because I wanted—no, I needed to talk to you! And I had no idea how to contact you, so I came up with this not-so-smart plan to try to meet you."
The masked girl had an astonished look on her face upon hearing the boy's statement. She couldn't understand why someone would take such a stupid risk just to meet her. No one ever wanted to, despite having many admirers, so why was the new boy that interested in her? Even so, it was dangerous, and the redhead clearly couldn't fight to save his life. Crossing her arms, the young vigilante prepared herself to give the moron next to her a piece of her mind.
"You shouldn't have come here in the first place, and we were not supposed to meet again. More importantly, you could have forgotten all of this and returned to your ordinary life. Why didn't you just do that? I'm busy, Asahi Shiina. I can't always be there to bust you out of trouble, and neither can my comrades."
The young boy sighed, knowing full well that she was right. "I know, and believe me, I tried; I really did, but I couldn't just forget. I've never known someone like you. We barely met, and yet you risked getting hurt just to shield me from harm. That left a real impression on me. I kept asking myself, why? Why would you do that? What kind of person must you be? And before I knew it, I couldn't get you out of my head," he explained with a sincere smile and a look of admiration towards the "blonde".
The red-eyed girl was grateful that her mask hid her cheeks; otherwise, the blush on them would have been visible. Kuromi internally thanked the gods that he was so dense. How could he say such things with a straight face? Unlike her, he was so honest, with no pretenses; he wore his heart on his sleeve, and that in turn impressed her. However, unlike him, she had a reputation to defend, and if she ever showed any sign of faltering, no one would respect her anymore.
Pushing these thoughts away and regaining her composure, she spoke again with a secure tone. "Contrary to what you may think, my gang exists for the sole purpose of defending those in need. You happened to be one of them that night, but that doesn't mean I can always act on a single person's whims. This thing we have going on with the Torakiba is serious, and I can't have anybody distract me, but since you're so insistent," she stood up, looking back at him, signaling that it was time to leave. "Meet me tomorrow night in the park near your house; we'll have more time then, and I'll answer some of your questions. I'll do that on one condition: You're staying home after this is over, and you won't get involved anymore. Take it or leave it; it's your choice."
Asahi also got up and looked at her, perplexed. "It's not a whim, black dragon, and yes, I do have a lot of questions, like, why can't we meet during the day? Or why can't anyone know who you are?"
"Everything will be clear to you tomorrow; you have my word. Now go home. It was a long night for all of us, and we'll need all the rest we can get." she said, turning away from him, noticing that her comrades had returned.
Asahi took this as his cue to leave, so he did after saying goodbye. That left the gang with enough privacy to regroup and discuss their patrol.
"Everything is clear, boss. It seems they were holding back tonight for some reason; we can look into that if you so desire." The slightly taller, white-haired girl reported.
"Thank you everyone, and yes, please do. Blue and white, you and your squads can retreat for tonight. As for you," the girl with the black mask said, eyeing her own squad, then her red-haired classmate. "Follow him discreetly; until he's safely back home, you can leave afterwards. That is all. Rest well, everyone!" she finished, ready to take her leave.
"We will, thank you, boss!" The others responded once again in unison, leaving for their respective homes or tasks. All except for one.
"Tell me, Shi-chan, is lecturing me that much fun for you?" Kuromi questioned, pulling down her mask and showing an amused little smirk.
Her friend, on the other hand, didn't seem to be so amused. "No, actually, but I am forced to do so since you can't be careful on your own! It was him, right? Your classmate from last time, who could recognize you, and you wanted to stay away from as much as possible instead of getting attached to him? Why even go so far for someone you barely know? I swear, sometimes you make me want to strangle you, Romi-chan!" she scolded the shorter girl once again.
Kuromi had to contain her laughter, spilling some single tears while trying to do so. After regaining her composure, she wiped them away and spoke clearly again. "Come now, Shi-chan; there's no need to get so worked up. I told you I got this, but him showing up here is not my fault, I swear! Besides..." the young leader sighed, showing a tender smile on her lips right after doing so. "He's been nothing but nice to me in this short time we've known each other, and I didn't even talk to him once, unless I needed to. The least I can do to repay him is to watch over him. He may be a fool, but he has a good heart. I can tell."
Mashiro's expression softened upon hearing the other girl speak so openly and honestly, like she hadn't done in a long time.
"Romi-chan-"
"We've been here long enough, white. You must be exhausted, and so am I, so let's leave, and should anything unexpected happen tomorrow, call me immediately." The black dragon interrupted, her smile leaving her face, and she made her way home herself after giving her final order.
"As you wish, boss." Shiro replied with a quiet sigh.
The next day at school...
Asahi was sitting in his seat with his head resting on the table. Fatigue was evident in him, considering that he got home late the previous day and the meeting he would have later in the evening occupied his thoughts so much that it barely let him sleep. He slowly raised himself, as it was time for class to start.
On the other side of the classroom was a sleeping Kuromi, who originally planned to skip school on that day but ultimately decided against it, regretting it as soon as she sat down and falling asleep almost instantly.
The redhead noticed and decided to take notes for her that he would give her later, and hopefully it would also be an opportunity to finally break the ice between the two.
The ringing of the bell woke the black-haired girl up. "Damn it, I slept through the whole class, and I didn't even get to make notes. I really need to listen to Shi-chan more and rest once in a while, but first I need some fresh air." She sluggishly got to her feet, letting go of her thoughts and making her way towards the rooftop, where she knew she would get the privacy she needed. What she didn't notice, though, because of her drowsiness, was someone following her.
When she arrived, she sat on the ground, pulling her legs to her chest and closing her eyes.
"Hey, Ryujin?"
Kuromi turned her attention in the direction of the voice that called her name and opened her eyes again to face whoever was standing before her. "Asahi Shiina, can I never get rid of this guy?" She sighed, murmuring softly to herself, so he couldn't hear.
"So, I was wondering." Asahi gestured to the spot next to her. "Is it okay if I sit next to you? I'd like to show you something!" He asked with hope resounding in his voice.
Kuromi nodded, waiting for the boy to seat himself beside her.
With her approval, he did and pulled the notes he made out of his bag, and handed them to her.
"What are those?" Kuromi asked, rubbing her eyes and inspecting the papers the boy gave her.
"Notes from our last class. I thought you'd need them since you slept through all of it," he responded with a beaming smile.
He really was remarkable, that classmate of hers. Everyone must have noticed her dozing off, but no one cared enough to even think about helping her in some way, so why did he? That thought kept bugging her, and about the notes he gave her—they were written in horrible handwriting, but they were informative enough for her to keep up. Maybe a little chat to humor him wouldn't hurt.
She leaned in closer and put a hand on his cheek. "Your injuries—they're not that bad anymore. They're way better, actually." She commented, successfully changing the subject.
Asahi was taken aback by the sudden closeness. He didn't expect the usually silent girl to pull such a bold move, which made him blush furiously and stumble over his words. "O-Oh, y-yeah, they are! They're almost completely g-gone, I didn't t-think you'd notice though!"
Kuromi seemed delighted to hear that, but something still plagued her. "You know, there's something I don't quite understand, Shiina-kun. Why do you even trouble yourself with the thought of me keeping up with schoolwork or wanting to talk to me in general? After all," she got up and leaned against the railing, glancing down at him. "Nobody ever does, and I'm pretty sure the others warned you about getting involved with me."
"Oh, they did; I just didn't care," Asahi said, crossing his arms above his head. "I don't believe anyone should be alone, and no one can persuade me to think otherwise." He spoke, watching her with a bright grin on his face.
Kuromi raised an eyebrow at that last part. "He's a smooth one; I'll give him that. He kinda reminds me of—" She cut herself off, not wanting to finish that thought. Thankfully, the bell rang shortly after, signaling the end of the break.
"Over already? Well, it can't be helped, I guess." Asahi lamented, lowering his arms, but froze at what he saw before him, or rather, who.
For a moment, the girl beside him looked exactly like the blond vigilante he was so fond of, while she stretched her hand out to help him up. No, she couldn't be here. She wouldn't show up in broad daylight, but why was he thinking of her then? He could never be sure, though, since he didn't know who she really was beneath her mask.
Meanwhile, Kuromi was watching the boy with a puzzled look on her face. "Why is he staring at me like that? We don't have time for this, damn it! I can't afford to miss any more lectures today." She thought before calling his name in hope of snapping him out of his trance or whatever it was he was doing.
Asahi blinks a few times, rubbing his eyes upon hearing someone call for him. The image before him changed back to that of his dark-haired classmate, who waited for him to finally move from the spot he was gawking at her from. "Sorry about that, Ryujin! I zoned out; you're right, we should go!" he blurted, finally taking the girl's hand, letting her help him up without letting it go, and dragging her along, running towards their classroom.
Later in the evening...
Normally, Kuromi would've already left, but once again, the universe enjoyed proving her wrong when she thought that she could leave home without another lecture. To be fair, it came from her father this time, but not without an attack with a Kendo sword.
Masahiro Ryujin, a fairly tall man with green hair and the same crimson-red eyes as his daughter, was standing between her and the door. Kuromi blocked his sword with her own expertly, displaying the fruits of her training.
"That's my girl. You keep getting better, but you still have a long way to go." He says so proudly, retracting his weapon.
The young girl did the same and bowed respectfully. "I learned from the best, after all, didn't I?" she replied with a small smile.
Masahiro smiled back, but then spoke in a more serious tone. "Your mother and I talked Kuromi, and I believe she's right; I don't want you out late either. Like now, where do you think you're going at this hour?"
"No need to get worked up, father; I'm just meeting someone. I'll be back before you know it, and it won't even take long."
Her father raised an eyebrow. "And who might that someone be?"
"Just an acquaintance; it's no big deal, and you know I can take care of myself. Can I go now, though? The sooner I go, the sooner I'll return after all." She responded, holding his gaze clearly.
Masahiro seemed hesitant but agreed, although he was reluctant to do so. He always had a soft spot for her, and his wife always told him that too. Moving aside, he cleared the way for his daughter to leave the house.
Kuromi couldn't wait to leave and get this meeting over with, but her father spoke one last time before she could.
"Please don't hate me and your mother, little dragon. We only want what's best for you; we always did. Also, be careful; I'm sure you already know it, but the streets are getting more dangerous, so watch your back."
"I know and I will. Thank you, father."
A/N: That was all for chapter 3 of The Dragon and the Marlin! As always, stay tuned to find out what happens next! I hope you liked it. Please read and review, and I'll hopefully see you guys soon!