"Here." Mitsuya-san hands her a Toman uniform.
Trembling, Karina holds the beautiful piece of clothing very carefully with her thin fingers. Is this true? Is she really an official member of one of the most famous delinquent groups in Kanto? How can she ever thank Sano-san enough? What a crybaby she is. She feels her tears forming in her eyes. By joining Toman, she is not only granted protection from Mammon and Aiko but she is also given a new family. Some of its members might not like her now, but she'll do her best to prove herself. She'll be worthy of her new home.
"It's wonderful, Mitsuya-san. Thank you." She smiles at the boy who smiles back at her.
"Honestly, I didn't expect what Mikey did. Surprised the hell out of us. A female member in the group? That's new. Well, if Mammon is doing it, why not we do it, too, right? Welcome aboard then, and don't get yourself too hurt. A gang member's life is no joke."
Karina nods in agreement. "Yes, I know."
"Are you done there?" Emma peers from behind her, and then touches the new uniform. "Excellently made. As expected from Mitsuya."
"How much is this?" Karina begins searching her bag for her wallet but Emma stops her.
"It's been paid for, Karina-chan."
"Huh?"
"Mikey insisted." Emma nudges her side. "Looks like you've grown special to my brother. I bet from now on he'll be cherishing you as much as he can. That's the kind of person he is."
Grown special to Sano-san? He'll be cherishing her? Karina shakes her head too hard it's a miracle her neck doesn't break. "He's just being kind." Besides, hasn't she been told by the boy that he doesn't like her?
"Oh." Mitsuya-san chirps. "He's not kind to just anyone." He looks at his wristwatch and then asks them, "Won't you two be late for school?"
The beautiful Emma turns to Karina. "Actually, I don't feel like going to school today. Let's skip classes and go shopping instead, Karina-chan."
Karina thought it was a good idea. It would be fun to ditch school and go to the malls instead, but her conscience wouldn't let her do it. "I'm sorry, Emma," she apologizes, "but I've already missed too many classes. I don't want to fail and repeat a year." Graduating on time is crucial to her. Because graduating means having a stable job and getting away from her abusive mother. The sooner she graduates, the better.
Emma frowns a bit. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. We can message each other during lunch."
"Okay. Then let's head to our schools. Maybe I should attend my classes too."
They exit Mitsuya-san's school building and start walking toward their campuses. Students from different schools flock to the streets with workers on the way to their jobs and others just loitering around. To her surprise, Aiko and her friends are still absent. Looks like they are serious about joining Mammon.
Karina focuses on the teacher delivering a lecture. Mrs. Matsumoto is a petite woman with graying hair and a friendly smile. Many students like her. She isn't too strict but she makes sure her pupils learn much from her.
"I'm going to give you a very important assignment," the elderly says, "this will greatly impact your final grade. Think of any topic and prepare an essay about it. Of course, in English. And then recite it in class with the correct pronunciation. I believe you can do it. You may choose topics that are easy to write and sentences that are easy to memorize. The important part is you deliver a well-written and well-delivered speech."
As much as she loves Mrs. Matsumoto, Karina despises English. She could never understand its grammar nor pronounce its words correctly. Does this mean she is destined to fail the assignment?
The teacher continued, "Every class, I'm going to pick a piece of paper from this jar and whoever's name on it will be the one delivering their speech for the day. I will pick three every time. This will start two weeks from now."
Two weeks? That's so soon! What should she do? She doesn't have much time for studying. Her everyday schedule is always full. She wakes up early to clean the house and cook food, goes to school, works at the convenience store, trains with Sano-san, and then now she needs to spend her nights with Toman. She bites her lip and skims her English book. She's been doing all her homework at school in between classes maybe she should start studying in the library later at lunch. Aiko and her bully friends are not in school to torment her anyway.
However, as Karina attempts to study in one corner of the school library, her phone keeps on buzzing. At last, she decides to check who's messaging her.
It's Emma.
Fudge. She told her earlier that she'd be texting her during lunchtime. She reads the blonde's messages.
'I'm bored.'
'I failed Home Eco earlier.'
'Do you think you can teach me how to cook?'
'I want to cook for Draken.'
'Karina-chan?'
'Karina-chan!'
Karina gasps and quickly types. 'I'm sorry for missing your texts. I'm currently self-studying. Sure, I can teach you how to cook on Saturday.'
A few seconds later, her phone buzzes again. She flips open her phone. 'Yay! Thanks. Whatcha studying?'
'English' she replies.
'I'm good at English. I can help you.'
The girl's face lights up. Emma's help is much appreciated. 'Thank you' she immediately types back.
'Np. Is it for a test?'
'No. I need to write an essay and memorize it.'
Emma's response is quick like before. 'About what topic?'
'Anything.'
'How about love?'
Karina almost chokes on her own spit. 'I'm not sure I can write an essay about that topic.'
'That's easy. Just think of Mikey. You love him, don't you?'
"EH?!" The girl is so surprised by her friend's reply that she shrieks loudly. The students in the library automatically look at her, frowning. She apologizes to them. "Sorry." She immediately sends another message. 'I don't, Emma.'
'Oh, please, I can see it by the way you look at him.'
'No! Really.'
'Okay, if you say so. But, you don't hate him, do you?' Karina stares at Emma's message. Of course, she doesn't hate Sano-san. How could she? After all that he's done for her. But, does she like him, if not love?
She remembers his beautiful face, his incredible strength, his passion for Toman, and how he cares for his sister and his friends. He's certainly very admirable.
But does Karina like him?
Romantically?
She shakes her head.
No.
She doesn't, right?
What is it that she feels about him?
Sano-san...
Is he like Aiko to her? Of course, no.
Like Mitsuya-san? Not quite.
Like Emma? Still, no...
'He's different.' She finally answers her friend.
She can see the smirk on the blonde's face as she reads her reply. 'Ooookay.'
Different, huh?
She guesses it's the best word she can come up with her feelings for the boy. Then, why can't she look straight into his eyes during Toman's gathering?
She knows her face is blushing and her palms are all sweaty. Inside her, the rhythm of her heart is slowly beating faster. Because of Emma's messages, she's become hyper-aware of Sano-san's presence.
"Hoi. Why won't you look at me while I'm talking to you?" Sano-san is sitting at the topmost step of the stairs in Musashi shrine. Draken-san is standing beside him.
Karina forces her eyes to meet Sano-san's deep orbs. "Y-yes?"
"I said," Sano-san sighs, "You'll be in the First Division. Baji is your Captain. Now, go to them."
"Yes!" The girl already knows some of the members by face but not by their names. She has to work hard and learn their names and faces.
The Toman leader stands in front of his men and shouts, "As you all know, I've been training Maya. Given the situation with Mammon, I realized we should train ourselves more, even only a bit. Starting now, I won't just be training Maya, I'll be training all of you! We will have exercises now and, starting tomorrow, practice matches. Are you ready?"
"Yes!" replied the crowd.
They group themselves according to their divisions and followed the workout plan distributed by Draken-san.
Karina is doing her crunches when Sano-san walks toward her and asks her, "How's school?"
The girl stops. It takes a moment for her to answer because she doesn't know how to respond to the sudden question. "I-it's okay?"
The boy's eyebrows furrow. "Okay? Can't you be more specific?"
Karina is lost in the spicy perfume scent coming from Sano-san. She steadies her beating heart and responds with another question, "Specific?"
The boy crosses his arms around his chest. "I'm talking about Mammon."
"Oh."
"I told you to look after one another. Are you grouping up with other Toman members from your school?"
She forgot about that. "Uhmm... I haven't."
Sano-san sighs again and he calls the first boy Karina had defeated during her first night as a Toman member. "This is Fukuyama. You attend the same school." The lanky boy obviously doesn't look happy to be grouped with her, but Sano-san taps his back hard enough for him to stand straight and agree to the task. "Look after each other."
"Yes!" They both reply.
After Sano-san left, Karina bows to the lanky boy. "Please take care of me!"
Fukuyama stares down at her with an angry glare. "Tsk. I'm just doing this for Toman."
"Of course." Surprisingly, Karina doesn't feel afraid of him.
The training resumes and after an hour, they are ready to ride their bikes around town like how they usually do.
"Uhmm..." Karina pokes Baji-san's side. "I don't have a bike so maybe I should go home now?"
"Huh?! Nonsense!" The long-haired boy exclaims. "You can ride with me—"
"Why?" Sano-san suddenly appears at their side, already riding his motorbike. "She'll be riding with me."
Baji-san chuckles and leaves them alone.
"Thank you, Sano-san." Karina places herself behind the blond and puts her arms around his waist, praying that he won't hear the fast beating of her heart.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
The fast beating of a heart is loud enough for all of Tokyo to hear.
But it isn't from Karina's heart.
It's from Sano-san.