"Level zero wouldn't be bad but I hope I level up soon." The ground was getting colder as I stood for a moment, letting the silence sink in, trying to slow down the beat of my heart. Then, I turned toward the path to head back but I heard a sudden call out. "Nageya!"
My whole body froze, the voice didn't belong there, not at that time and place, the voice had been haunting me for some time. I turned to look slowly wishing it had just been my imagination and there she was. "Hiyori."
She was still wearing her school uniform, the same one she'd had on earlier that day. Her bag slung across her shoulder, her hair a little messy from the wind. For a moment, I just stared at her wondering what she was doing there. That place was far from town, nobody came there unless with reason and I was sure Hiyori didn't live around. And yet... there she was, standing like she'd been looking for me.
In my mind, questions were racing, questions I didn't understand why I wasn't asking out loud. "What is she doing here? Why is she still in her uniform? Why is her school bag still with her? I had many questions but I asked none as I stare at her in silence. She must have seen the confusion in my eyes because she later called out my name again. "Nageya." I snapped out of my daze and looked at her as she stood quietly, as though waiting for me to ask the obvious but I didn't.
She instead spoke up. "Do you mind walking me home?" I stared, wondering did she really come all this way just to ask me to walk her home, but still I asked her to show me the way. She turned taking the same path my Dad and Nasuke had taken earlier, and I followed behind her in silence. We walked through streets I had never been before, lit with neon and warm lamps. Then came the unexpected question. "Nageya... aren't you going to ask what I was doing out there at that time?" She said with a nervous blush as she kept walking.
I answered the question to myself. "You were stalking me or something... but I'm honestly not interested in the reason." She wasn't ready to let it slide as she spoke up again. "Aren't you going to talk to me? Are you upset with me?" She was barking at the wrong tree.
I had grown too used to talking to myself, it was easier to ask myself than ask her, but my silence didn't stop her. "I was following you," she confessed. "I wanted to talk to you but when I saw you leave the academy I thought you were heading home but instead you were going to Ike's place, I had to follow you again back to your place."
It was strange that I hadn't noticed her at all but my expression didn't flicker, It was as if I already knew she'd been following me, she stopped midway and looked off to the side, immediately I stopped too, hands hugging my pockets.
"Do you want to know why I followed you?" she asked. Then stepped closer and closer until I could feel her breath, my chest tightened, her breath soft and warm, squeezed something inside me. The moment felt strangely... intimately awkward. I kept my expression blank, eyes straight ahead while inside, my mind and heart were screaming in ways words could never describe.
She asked again, softly, "Do you want to know why I followed you?" I didn't respond. She stepped back a little, then whispered, "You really hate me, don't you, Nageya? You barely talk to me and when you do, it's only a few words. It's like you hate the fact that I'm even alive."
Now that was how people would start to misunderstand me, her words were sharp and honest. "You might hate me," she continued, "but... I like you." That caught me off guard. She stepped closer again, this time, her body pressed toward mine, close enough that I had to shift my footing to maintain balance.
I thought of pushing her away but my hands couldn't leave my pockets, frozen as though glued there, I finally looked down at her while she raised her head to look me in the eyes. Slowly lifted her hand, she placed it on my chest as she began to drag it down gently, pulling at something inside me. Her movements triggered something, a feeling I had long forgotten, a touch I didn't know how to react to.
Her hand drifted lower, brushing past my torso, until it reached somewhere off-limits and she didn't hesitate to press. That caught me off guard and for a moment my whole body froze.Then suddenly something in me reacted, my left foot slid back followed by my right and before I knew it, I had stepped away from her.
She raised her hand, fingers spread just slightly in a gesture like she was sizing something in the air, her eyes flicking between it and me again and again. "And what are you doing?" I asked.
"I'm just stunned. It's amusing, really." She replied. My eyes narrowed wondering what she was taking about. "You are really some piece of work, Nageya." At that moment, I was genuinely confused, I couldn't understand what she was blabbering about. Hiyori just smirked and made a different gesture instead, her thumb and forefinger spaced a little wider apart. "I'm impressed, and now I'm so into you."
I blinked still confused, wondering what she meant when suddenly the thought zoomed in. "Wait, is she talking about that? No way... she wouldn't." I muttered to myself. I finally asked. "Why were you there that late?" She didn't answer and instead turned and said, "Let's go, remember you promised to walk me home."
I nodded. "Sure, lead the way and make it quick, I need to get home." We walked again, longer this time, still in silence as I kept wondering why she had came all the way to that place if she knew her home was this far The way became darker, streetlights faded and shadows took over. It was the kind of place where if someone robbed you, you wouldn't even make out their face. She suddenly stopped but I didn't notice right away and bumped into her.
"Why did you stop?" I asked. From the silence, she said it. "Would you be my boyfriend?" Eh!... I froze. Where did that come from?
"I like you," she continued. "I've liked you since the first time I met you. I want to be with you." I looked at her like she had lost it. She sounded serious but to me, she looked both funny and ridiculous. She'd followed me for half the day... all the way into the night. Just to say this? Or was there something else she wanted? Either way, I wasn't interested, the only girl I ever thought about was Natsuki.
---
Meanwhile...
Dad stepped into the house with Nasuke beside him, as they entered, Mom glanced past them, her eyes scanning the door. "Where's Nageya?" she asked. "Is he lagging behind?" Dad shook his head. "No. He said he wanted to stay behind for a while… but he'll be home soon."
Nasuke yawned and gave a small stretch. "I'm sleepy. I'll head to bed," he said quietly before disappearing down the hallway.
Mom waited until he was gone, then lowered herself onto the couch beside Dad. "Tell me, honey... what happened in the dungeon this time? What did Nageya do?" Dad let out a slow breath. "I don't know, that's exactly what I want to find out."
She turned toward him, worry etched across her face. "Do you think he'll be okay?"
"Of course he will," Dad said gently.
"I don't know..." she murmured. "He seems... different these days, more relaxed. He's letting people in, opening up, I should be happy, but... I'm scared where this might lead him."
"He'll be fine," Dad assured her. "Nageya's always been careful, maybe too careful. He's not cold because he wants to but he's just afraid of what people might think of him." Mom looked down at her hands. "But he wants friends."
Dad nodded. "Exactly, so don't worry. When Nageya chooses... he knows what he's doing."
---
Back...
"Hiyori if you want, I can help you date one of my friends." As if I had any. She shook her head. "No, that won't do." Again, she moved closer but this time, I raised my hand and stopped her, we stood one arm's length apart.
"Where is your home?" I asked. "A few blocks from here," she replied. I looked around, given how she carried herself, it was hard to believe this was her neighbourhood, it didn't feel right.
Then out of nowhere, two guys appeared and looked at her. "Hey, Ms. Is he giving you a hard time? We can help you cool off." How dirty minded. Hiyori's expression turned cold, her eyes narrowed like she was about to bite them. One of them turned to me.
"Hey man, step away from the lady, are you trying to get a free bite?" How can I even do that with my hands in my pockets.
Their words said one thing, but their eyes said something else entirely because clearly they were the ones looking to cause trouble. So I pulled my hands out of my pockets and stepped back from Hiyori. They let out an annoying kind of laughter that could irritate even a toddler.
"What do you guys want?" Hiyori asked. "We just wanna walk you home." one replied, stepping closer. She tried to act tough but I could see through it, she was scared. I stood at distance watching, as I begun to think of leaving and head home or stay? I had promised to walk her home but this? This wasn't part of the deal. They had began to touch her, one grabbed her arm, the other saying filthy things in her ear then leaned close to kiss her neck while all I did was watch.
One of them looked at me and sneered.
"What's your deal? Are you leaving, or do you want a turn, too?" That clearly stated their intentions. I just stared at them in turns as my thoughts raced, I turned to leave since it was none of my business. But suddenly I heard a scream. "Nageya!!"
She yelled again. "Are you really going to leave me in this situation?" I turned. "You didn't ask for my help," I said. "So I thought you could handle it." Her situation had gone from bad to worse. "Do you want my help?" I asked. She didn't speak, instead her body relaxed like her body had given up.
Then she chuckled bitterly. "Seriously? You're asking me now?" I stood my ground. "There's no point in helping someone who doesn't want it," I said flatly. "You have to say it. Do you need my help?" But she stayed silent. They kept touching her, pulling her hair and whispering in her ear but she didn't move, she had surrendered.
And I stood there, waiting, just one word, ask for help, say it. Let me do something.
I hate filth like them, but I won't do anything unless you permit me. So just say it... And finally she realized it, that I wasn't gonna lift a finger unless she asked for help, that I would've just stood there, watching or maybe even walked away if she didn't say the words.
Then she called my name, softly, easily like it belonged to her. "Nageya," she said. "Please help me." Then came the rest, words I never expected to hear from her. "Crush them… Crush them until when someone else sees them tomorrow they will realise it's someone's mark." So what she meant was, I should leave my mark but I had no idea l what kind of mark.
I looked at her, surprised but not because of fear or concern but because I liked the idea, Still, I asked, "You want me to be brutal with them? Is that what you're saying?" She hesitated, I could see it in her eyes the way she braced herself like she thought I'd say no. "Fine." I muttered.
The street was empty but it felt crowded, heavy with tension with the kind of air that warned violence was close, they stood in front of me, two of them as they laughed in mockery, called me names and mocked her pain like it was entertainment.
They lunged forward, their firsts came wild, I ducked low, caught one's wrist and twisted his arm. —CRACK.— His scream was sharp, high pitched, I had broken his arm at the elbow. Clean. Instant. He dropped, writhing on the pavement, trying to hold something that no longer worked.
The second one froze. Just a second. Too late, I was already in front of him and slammed my fist into his gut —THUD— he folded. Then I grabbed his hair and rammed his head against the nearby metal pole.
—THUD—. Blood smeared the steel as he slid down, coughing, dazed, broken.
I turned to the first one, still whining, I crouched beside him. "You remember her crying, don't you?" I asked. He looked up, eyes wide. I slammed my knee down on his ankle. —SNAP.— He screamed even louder than at first. I dragged one closer to the other and stood over both of them breathing calm, no sweat, no rush. "I liked the idea," I whispered to them. "Crushing you guys was worth my time."
The pavement was wet with blood, their bodies would heal slowly but their minds?
Every time they stepped on the street again, they'd remember this night and they'd remember her. "What are you guys, you look too weak, are you all kylyk?" I looked up at Hiyori, she looked unsatisfied, "Hiyori, where is your house really? I asked. "You shouldn't stay out at these late hours."
She just asked me to follow her, a few more steps as we walked her expression flickered back, calm again like nothing had happened. And what do you know, she really lived in that neighbourhood and in a very huge house.
She stopped. "I live here with my uncle and aunt, my dad built this house for them, but if they see you, they won't let you leave soon." Well, that wasn't my plan so i turned to leave. "Nageya!" She called out but I didn't turn, hands in my pockets. She ran and hugged me at the back, holding my waist and pausing there for some time in silence.
"Hey?" I broke the silence. "Thank you." She immediately said. "Please think about what I told you, Nageya."
"I already said no," I replied, gently grabbing her hands off my waist. "But I like you, Nageya, please don't say no, just give it a try, then if in seven months you don't fall for me, then I will give up."
Isn't it usually a one month trial or something like that. She asked me for seven months to make me fall for her no pressure, no touching. I told her no. I liked someone else. She guessed Natsuki, and honestly, she wasn't wrong. She kept pushing, saying she just wanted a chance, not for me to forget Natsuki.
Then she pulled the stunt, said she wouldn't go home unless I agreed, at that point, I knew I had no choice, if something happened to her, it'd be on me. So I accepted, seven months it was. She smiled like she'd won, waved, and finally left. I just stood there, watching wondering what excuse she'd give for coming home late.
At least she was off my back for now. Whatever happens next is future Nageya's problem. I turned to head home and that's when I checked the time, it was past midnight. Great. Missed my lessons. That means penalties. Just what I needed, more attention.