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Chapter 1—New Acquaintance
part I
Fluorescent lights buzzing overhead. Cold breeze spills out from the refrigerator, sweeping across her cheeks as she opened the door, she could hear the low humming of the refrigeration units. Her slender fingers roamed over the rows of canned drinks.
Then, her fingers went smoothly took out a can of energy drink, examined it first with her head down.
Her face went upward again, looking at the rest of the drinks. There were so many choices—she started to hesitate... But still, she has to pick one.
For today, she picked the ramune drink, even though she quite didn't like the taste when its bubling on her tongue—but maybe it can help her to keep awake.
Because a teenager like her can't drink an energy drink, right?
Moving on... her free hand closed the door before she walks past. She stepped towards the cashier immediately and paid for the ramune. There was nothing to buy anymore.
And she had nothing much to say, only nodded and said thank you after she pays for it to the cashier and walks, leaving the convenience store immediately.
Thankfully—she wears a hoodie, or otherwise she might get cold. The wind breeze were harsh. It creeps onto her bare skin, slightly trembling from the cold.
The autumn season felt like ages, and she cannot wait any longer for the winter.
She just sighed. Well, what could she do? She just had to wait. At least for a moment she could prepare for the exam semester.
She continued to walk below the lamp post while the night sky was hovering, staying on the sidewalk.
Her one hand stuck to her hoodie pocket while the other one on the outside grabbed the energy drink. She walked quietly with her head looking down on the pavement while she's lost in her own thoughts.
She couldn't tell if she was still dreaming or not because actually she just woke up not too long ago. Decided to buy something to clear her mind after she got home so she could work on her homework.
Then, the near alley that smells like rust and damp cardboard pierce right into her nose immediately—it grossed her out. She turned her head looking at the dark alleyway that looked haunting.
For a second, the streetlight flickers. Either she chose to walk through there or chose the wider path using the public sidewalk. Her fingers tightened around the ramune bottle unconsciously.
She could chose that path because the alleyway had a closer distance to her house than the public one.
I haven't been down through that alleyway for a long time...
Well, at least that was what she was thinking. But she knows the risk; if she goes there, she will meet those guys again.
A sharp sigh, she was thinking of having a nice walk admiring the night sky than choosing to risk her dear life.
She forced her own legs to continue moving forward. Though, she couldn't lie that she was tempted to use that path, she tried to ignore the lure instead.
Her breath fogging in the freezing air and with the ramune that she holds for too long, almost made her fingers went numb. Her eyes wandered off around, it's been so long since the last time she walked under the night sky.
She know it was dangerous, especially that she's a girl. But she just shrugged it off anyway.
And after a few minutes had passed, this walk felt like an endless loop when she suddenly didn't know where to go again.
Especially the longer and the more steps that she took—the surroundings felt like getting faded into the darkness, at this point it was almost being swallowed whole by whatever was lurking behind.
Her footsteps stopped there. Before it's too late to be eaten by the dark, she turned around and without wasting more time she sprinted to another direction. It wasn't too late to avoid it.
Her legs moved on their own, carrying her into that alleyway, again. Almost like her whole body had already told her. It was dark and humid, but at least this path would get her home faster, maybe.
She paused at the front before stepping into the alleyway.
Taking a deep breath—nevermind, she regretted it, the rust smell was too overwhelming it makes her dizzy.
Okay, now this time she really took her step, almost too carefully.
It was silent, too silent. It felt like the air was holding its breath.
But because of that, she suddenly jumped—startled by a dog barking so loudly in the distance.
Her shoulders dropped after she realized. It's just a dog...
The barking sound was really loud it echoed throughout the alley, and in this state, it only makes everything worse. What if it was the monster waiting for her death in the public sidewalk earlier... Wait, no, stop being paranoid—
As she walked further—deeper into the alleyway, she found the dog that had been barking all this time. Barking all over the place behind the house gate wildly, she wondered why the dog was suddenly barking out of nowhere, and where the owner is... it's really annoying, you know?
But the dog suddenly stopped, the sudden silence made her feel goosebumps. The dog stared silent when she stared at them back.
Took a few seconds for her to just stare at the dog before continuing to walk, never leaving the dog's eyes. Never ask how creepy it is.
After a while she walked deeper into the alleyway, the distant sound of people shouting caught her attention. Her steps slowed. Seemed like choosing this path will never goes smooth.
And as she expected, those guys were here. She heard the people fighting not too far away—the sound of bone against bone. Then she carefully minding her steps and finds a place to hide, ducked behind a trash bin, staying out of their sight.
She peeked carefully, trying to figure out what the hell was going on before she decided what she would do next.
Seriously? Can't I just get home in peace for once?
From what she saw, there was a kid around her age curled up and bruised, surrounded by three guys whose fists clearly didn't know the word mercy.
His lip was bleeding, and his eyes barely stayed open—totally a mess. But she was unsure if she should help the kid or not.
Besides, she could walk away from there quickly and pretends not to see anything, not be involved.
But she shaked her head, trying to get her senses back. She couldn't leave that poor boy alone here. She was not that kind of person.
Then, she dared to get out from her hiding place, and her shoes hit the concrete with a thud, swift into the chaos. The loud thud made an alarm for those guys and paused their action for a second.
But as they looked back, there was no one there. The other just shrugged it off while the other one started to grow suspicious.
"Who's there—"
The guy didn't notice her—until it was too late. He had no time to avoid her kicks. She swung her leg through the air, slamming right into his stomach. He staggered back.
Her foot collided cleanly with the side of the other guy's head, the impact vibrated up her leg, a sharp jolt that made her teeth clench and also sent him reeling into a trash can.
The others turned. "What the—?!"
She didn't wait, no, she wouldn't.
She dropped low and swept her leg across the ground, knocking another off balance. The other one crashed to the ground with a groan, cursing.
"Fuck—!"
"Back off," She said, steadying her stance.
Her heart was racing—loud in her ears, but her body moved on instinct. Years of awkward taekwondo lessons from her father suddenly meant something.
Then she turned around quickly to the other side where the poor boy got beaten up. He looked... speechless, but in a good way.
Without a warning, she pulled the boy's hand and ran away with him. "We have no time—"
A loud ground screeching through the alleyway from her back. They went mad, surely.
"YOU bastard! Come back here!"
One of them lunged at her quickly. She stepped to the side and jabbed her elbow into his gut before landing a quick knee to his chest. He stumbled back, gasping.
But it was still two against one—and she knew it wouldn't be that easy. Her smirk almost slipped on her lips, feeling the excitement burn in her heart deep down, it felt like it was awakened something inside her.
One of the guys suddenly bursts out and tried to attack her. But this time, the boy that got beaten up still struggled to stand up.
Weak, trembling, but burning with something desperate—he threw his arms around the attacker's waist from behind, locking him in place.
"Don't... touch her..." he rasped, voice hoarse with pain.
The guy flailed, caught off guard, dragging the boy a few inches as he tried to shake him off.
"Let go of me, you freak!"
That action clearly made her eyes widened. Didn't expect him to fight back even though he was in that condition. But she didn't let her guard slip away.
As the boy held the guy's waist really tight, she quickly knocked him off with her kick by the jaw. Sending him to fall to the pavement.
Finally, the bastards gave up and just lay down on the ground after getting beaten up by a teenager.
She felt relieved, letting out a sigh as she ran her hand through her soft hair gently before she looked down at the boy, who was barely standing. She gave a hand out to him, waiting for him to take it.
The boy that looked around her age hesitated at first, but eventually he took her hand slowly and gets up, standing with his weak legs.
She sympathized with him—or more than that. Without another word she quickly hooked his arm over her shoulder and wrapped her hand around his waist, steadying his weight as he struggled to stand. He gasped a little, not seeing that coming.
"Stay still," She simply said while trying to walk as she carried his weight.
"You're too kind—"
"It's nothing." She replied warmly.
The boy stuttered to speak as if he wanted to say something else, but then he looked down at her. Looking at her skirt, she's been wearing it all this time, and he was amazed.
There was a reason why she did all of those.
But as he examined her for a little longer as they both walk together, he saw her clothes looked familiar to him. Until... he realized she was wearing an uniform from his school.
"W—Wait... that uniform, are you from Hoshikawa Chūgakkō? It's already late at night, why are you still wearing a uniform?"
She stumbled after hearing him, clearing her throat. His guess was right—and maybe she was just going to ignore the last question.
Well, basically she fell asleep after school and woke up at night...
"Oh... uhm, yeah—" She gulped down, maybe too hard.
"...How'd you know?"
"From your uniform, of course..." He paused for a moment, stopping walking as he continued to stare at her.
Damn.On point.
"What a coincidence because it turns out we're from the same school."
She turned her head fully at him now, tilting her head a little. Looked a bit confused—because she felt like she had never seen him before... she wasn't sure if it was true that he's in the same school as her.
"Really...?"
"Yeah, why would I lie? By the way, I feel like I have ever saw you somewhere..." He looked down for a moment, there was no name tags on her uniform.
"...What's your name again? And your class...?" He hesitated.
"Inoue Kazuna... class 1-A"
He widened his eyes immediately at the end, gasping so hard.
"Inoue...? So you're... that weird kid? And by the way, we're in the same class—"
She freezed in place. "Weird... kid?" She repeated—her eyes flickered for a split second.
"Is that what all people think about me?" Her breath caught, tilted her head with confusion.
"Yeah, some people talk about you a lot."
She didn't reply anything right at that moment, she just stared at him.
But then she added, "You seemed familiar... but I don't really know—"
"Seriously now? We're literally classmates." He replied.
They both stopped walking, no talking, just silent—staring at each other with weird faces, they both didn't know how to react at this point because the realization was too sudden for them.
But the silence was louder than a scream, the awkwardness was haunting them both as they kept staring at each other for a long time.
"But you didn't seem like the rumours..."
"What do you mean by that?" She was offended.
She paused before adding, "Anyway—you haven't told me your name yet."
"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that, I'm Arai Itsuki."
She leaned closer towards him, squinting her eyes up at him with a suspicious look, as if she was examining him like a lab sample.
Before she snapped. "Ohh, so you're that loser in front of the cla—"
Arai suddenly slapped his hand over her mouth before she could even finish it—eyes wide with horror, his other hand quickly raised with a shushing gesture.
"D—Don't talk about that, please.."
She was taken back by his reaction. Almost slipping a giggle under his hand. It was hilarious for her that she just saved a loser kid in her class.
After that, they both continued walking through the dark, gloomy alleyway. But she didn"t feel that way anymore, because there was something about Arai's presence—awkward, honest, human—that made her forget the earlier chaos.
She couldn't help but feel something inside her heart, she didn't know what it is. Something unfamiliar but in a good way, it was calm and soothing—it was weird for her.
Until he stopped at some kind of small restaurant hidden inside an alleyway, she had never seen it before, even though she lived nearby.
But well, the important thing is that he was recovered a little, she glads that he could walk by himself now.
"Hey!" Arai shouted to a boy that looked older than him while raising his hand, while she stayed just behind him, did not know what to do at this point. It felt awkward again.
The older boy turned around, sat down while grabbing a can of soda while he looked like he was having a conversation with another person in front of him.
"Heyy—oh... what happened to you?!" The older boy stood up instinctively approaching him with a concerned look as he saw Arai with some injuries.
"I'm okay, brother... calm down a bit—"
" 'Okay'?! You looked like you got kicked by a vending machine!"
The other boy, who was just sitting and watching in silence, then snapped out a wheeze after hearing what the older brother's saying.
As if there was a clown here... or maybe he was the clown.
"Shougo." the older brother sighed as he turned his head at him.
"Not helping."
"I am helping—emotionally. I am the comic relief."
The boy who was sitting burst out a laugh, while everyone just stood looking at him with a... weird look. Well, more like a concerened look.
"Just shut up, you're the reason we nearly got banned from that café last week."
"You're welcome." The person said with a smug face.
On the other side, she was just standing there—it sucks have to stand like a statue. But then, she just remembered that she needed to go home quickly.
"Oh, yeah.. I gotta go now—"
"Wait...! Don't go first, I haven't say thank you to you properly," Arai said, took a step forward at her.
"Don't think about it... it's fine, I gotta hurry and finish my homework."
"Homework?!" Arai said loudly, speechless after that.
At first she was confused why he reacted like that, but then she finally remembered that they were both in the same class.
"Oh, yeah. Science homework." She added casually.
Then, he bursted out a panic like there was a disaster coming. "Oh I'm dead, you're right—we gotta hurry!"
Then, Arai ran wildly even though his feet still felt hurt and ignored his own older brother that was in front of him as if he was just a wind.
The older brother looked confused as he saw the two of them and didn't get the point. Looking back to her for the last time before he tried to catch up on his little brother.
She turned around, letting out a sigh in relief, thinking she can finally get home in peace.
Well, she was wrong about that.
"Hey little girl," Someone was calling her from behind before the person trying to catch up with her.
"I can walk you home, your house is near around here, right?"
"N—No... I can walk by myself, don't worry—"
The person clicked his tongue as he shook his head. "Nope, nope—"
He walked closer, then his arm crosses her shoulders and wraps around her back. "...A girl cannot walk on their own alone, especially in the middle of the night."
He guided her gently while walking. She didn't have the chance to speak, even though she was a bit uncomfortable with it, but she kept it down until he lets her go.
"By the way, I'm Tanaka Shougo. But you can call me Shougo—"
"Tanaka's just fine..." She replied, cutting off his words.
He was taken back by her, but he wasn't mad about it. Instead, he chuckled because of it.
"You're Inoue Kazuna, right?"
"Just call me Inoue."
"Hm... alright," He leaned a bit closer, that irking smile slowly faded into almost like a concerned look.
It felt weird looking at him like that, that expression doesn't suit him at all. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Tanaka paused, maybe he didn't realize it. "Uhm, nothing—"
"How did you know my name then?" She added.
"Is this an interrogation room?"
"Don't avoid my question."
Both of them freezed in place. It almost felt like the air holds its breath. "Is it really important?" He asked.
"Of course."
"Well then, would you believe me if I said I've known you for a long time?"
Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What?"
"Nothing~" Tanaka playfully crossed his arms on the back of his neck and started to speed up his pace, leaving her behind in shock.
"H—Hey...! Aren't you supposed to be walking me?" Kazuna tried to catch up with him, almost breathless.
Tanaka smirked while looking at her, but not in a bad way. But then he decided to stay silent after that while they both continue to walk down the alleyway.
He seemed to notice that she was starting to calm down, at least she didn't feel uncomfortable again.
She was... also glad that he didn't say anything again, she just needs silence and clear her mind for now. A relief for her.
They walked side by side in uneasy silence, the alley stretching ahead of them along with flickering lights.
Kazuna buried her hands in her pockets, eyes down, glad that Tanaka wasn't bothering her with more of his nonsense.
But the silence didn't last.
Up ahead, as they take a turn—the flickering streetlight reveals a small group of shadows.
Three figures.
They loitered near the end of the alley—laughing, smoking, one of them tossing a broken bottle in his hand.
Kazuna's steps halted.
"It's them..."
She instinctively stepped backwards into the shadows, while Tanaka also followed her behind instantly as they pressed themselves against the cold concrete wall.
"You know them?" He asked quietly, something sharper than curiosity in his voice.
She stayed quiet.
Her eyes locked on the group, peeking and watching them from afar silently. Calculating. Measuring distance. And trying to find the exit routes.
The silence between them only deepened his suspicions more, but he didn't push.
Then—
One of them paused mid—laugh. His head tilted and narrowed his eyes.
From that moment, the guy realized.
"Hey—!"
Unfortunately, her presence was too exposed and one of the guys noticed them, immediately pointing at her.
"That person! Catch that bastard!"
Kazuna clicked her tongue under her breath. She had lowered her guard, now their presence got exposed so... of course they ran as fast as possible.
Footsteps exploded against the pavement like crazy.
Thankfully, Tanaka seemed to know a lot more about this alley, so he grabbed her arm and led the way.
"Follow me." The words were coming less like a command.
She nodded, and let him lead the way.
They bolted up ahead. But it was too fast, almost making her stumble on her footstep.
The alley twisted into narrower paths, the trash bins rattling as they brushed past. The footsteps echoed behind them—fast, messy, gaining.
He cut sharply into a side passage so narrow her shoulder scarped brick.
Another turn. Then another. She didn't know exactly how many turns they take. But just—how could Tanaka remember all of this path?
Kazuna nearly ran out of breath. Her vision's getting a little blurry and almost can't feel her own legs.
"Hang on," he said. But she noticed that he was also out of breath. She could see it right on his face, but he was pretending that he's fine.
Kazuna couldn't let herself pass out here and burden him. She tried to steadied herself and forced herself to keep her breath into rhythm, balancing herself.
Another turn, until finally...
The shouting behind them grew distant. They finally lost them.
In front of them finally visible the streetlights widened, houses replaced concrete walls.
Then they both fell silent, only their breathing filled the air.
Kazuna could recognize the streets. It was only a block away from her front gate. Her pace getting slower as she tried to gasp for the air to breathe.
Eventually, they stopped in front of her house. The familiar gate stood stil, untouched by the chaos.
She turned around back to him. For a second, she almost said something.
But instead, she lowered her head in a small bow. "...Thank you." she said, voice low.
Tanaka blinked, caught off guard by her politeness, then chuckled in a low voice.
"Oh?" he grinned. "So you can be nice."
She straightened up with a blank look on her face.
"Don't get used to it."
"Too late." He smirked again, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Pretty sure that he's feeling pride.
"You're already my favorite weird kōhai."
She stared at him with a neutral look on her face, unamused.
"You literally just met me ten minutes ago." She replied.
"And those ten minutes changed my life," he said dramatically, eyes shining like he was auditioning for a soap opera. He even started to brush his hair back like an idiot.
Kazuna sighed, clearly done with his nonsense. She turned around, shaking her head slightly, and stepped through the gate quickly without looking back at him.
But before she could close it, he called out—
"Hey, Inoue."
She paused, hand still on the gate.
"I know you can fight, but still... don't let your guard down—" A pause, he lets out a relieved sigh.
Maybe for the first time, he drops his annoying flirt tone. "Take care, okay?"
She stiffened.
The weird thing is that she just met him earlier. There was a strange shift in his voice—just a second of genuine seriousness, cutting through the usual teasing.
She glanced at him, he was still standing under the dim alley light, one hand raised lazily as he stepped back.
"You're weird," she muttered.
"I'll take that as a compliment." He said with a smug face that still annoys her.
But he immediately turns around and raises a hand as he took his leave.
She just stood still looking at him, her hands still holding the bar of the gate, then she sighed... and the gate clicked shut behind her.
Kazuna opens the front door slowly and quietly, after she finally gets in, she quickly closes the door behind her. Trying to be careful to not get caught that she's coming home late. Taking off her shoes first, she ran silently like a silly ninja—tiptoeing upstairs, going off to her room.
Finally, the peace is back as she was finally inside of her own room. She took a deep breath after she closed the door, leaning back against the door as she sits down on the floor.
Wanting to do nothing for a moment, her mind had been racing through all this chaos. Another sigh escaped her lips.
Well, she hoped she could forget all the things she just encountered that night so she can go back to her peaceful sleep and peaceful life after.
But, there was something that made her pause in the moment of silence.
Right. The homework.
She hasn't done her homework yet.
Kazuna stomped her feet lazily on the ground, got up, and stretched out her hands, getting ready to plop down on her chair and get to the desk.
Working these homework late at night felt like a daily task for her. She even went to sleep at 3 in the morning only to finish all her work in one go sometimes, even though the deadline was still a long way off.
Well, she still does it anyway so she didn't have to worry again.
But there was one problem.
Her eyes were already so heavy, even if she already drank the ramune—it didn't affect anything at all.
Head on her palm. She just blinked at the textbook for a couple seconds while her vision blurred.
But she refused. Sleeping is optional.
In other words, she didn't want to wake up as someone ordinary.