Chương 16: Speak of the Devil
The next day passed without incident.
Well, almost.
After their last period, Shugo saw fit to go home. While the school day didn't tire him out too much, he been involved in enough events and run-ins during the previous week that he was tempted to take a much-needed breather. The spirit attached to him could compel him to go hunting at any moment, after all, and he felt it preferable if he were to have rested even a little bit on the off-chance that duty called.
'God knows I could really use the rest.'
When he thought about it for a moment, though, Shugo decided he could afford to stop by a fastfood restaurant on the way home for some takeout. As he was walking home either way, it wouldn't take too much of his time or energy to wait in line at, say, McDonald's or KFC, which was more than could be said if he were to prepare and cook his own food later that evening. Thankfully, he'd actually bothered to wash his lunch box towards the end of their lunch break, which enabled the service crew to just place his order – two pieces of fried chicken, a single serving of rice, and two small plastic cups' worth of gravy – inside. He then put the now-filled lunch box back in his backpack before walking on home, at which point he'd extract that lunch box and leave it on the dining table it was time for dinner.
'It's nearly 6 PM,' thought Shugo as he checked his smartphone's lock screen on the off chance any messages or notifications had come in. 'Well, at least I can have a nap before dinner time.'
Alas, the lull in his day wasn't to last.
As Shugo was just a few blocks away from home, he began to hear the unmistakable sounds of fists and feet making contact with flesh, not to mention the subsequent screams of pain and the pleas for mercy that followed.
'…Gimme a break.'
Shugo let out a sigh as he donned the hannya-themed facemask he kept in the inner pocket of his jacket, before he turned the corner to confront the hoodlums just as they were in the middle of their beating.
And when they saw him, those hoodlums stood up to confront the would-be interloper.
"Move along," said one of them, a tall, athletic-looking young man with bleach-blond hair who Shugo presumed was their ringleader. "This isn't your business."
"Sure. I'll move along – just as soon as you leave the poor sap alone," Shugo replied as he shrugged his shoulders. 'This is stupid, but I have to try.'
"Besides, I'd say you've already made your point," he added, jerking his head at their victim who was curled up in pain on the ground. "Just look at him. Haven't you guys roughed him up badly enough as it is?"
"Screw you, asshole!"
Shugo rolled his eyes as the delinquents charged him all at once. He really didn't want to get in a fight today, not after he'd been in no less than three life-or-death encounters just last week. More importantly, the last incident taught him the hard way just how bloodthirsty his partner could be, along with just how difficult it was for him to retain control over her – and over himself – when she was out for blood like that.
Unfortunately for him, the delinquents he'd come across just wouldn't be talked down.
'Oh well.'
And unfortunately for them, Shugo didn't necessarily need to get physical with them in order to hurt them.
'Don't say I didn't warn you.'
He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.
"Well, if that's what you guys want…"
And when he opened them a split-second later, those eyes were suddenly shining blood red.
"…KNOCK YOURSELVES OUT."
Shugo watched as all four hoodlums seized up, let out a scream of mortal terror, and then collapsed unconscious all at once, before stepping over their limp bodies to check on their victim – who, as it turned out, had himself passed out in the meantime.
"Hey, wake up," he said gently and reassuringly as he briefly knelt down, lightly tapped the unconscious youth on the cheek, before straightening back up and taking his smartphone out of his right pants pocket. "This is hardly the place to be taking a nap."
"Hello, Detective?" Shugo said as he placed his phone to his ear. "Could you come over, or at least send someone? I ran into a gang beating someone up, and the poor kid could use treatment."
"Yes, right away. Yes, it'd be preferable if it was you specifically," he added when the man on the other end of the line responded. "I don't think he's in any shape to walk, and I'd rather not leave him here for too long."
He paused for an answer.
"Alright, cool. Thanks, Detective."
Shugo then knelt down a second time beside the injured youth, who had regained consciousness in the meantime and was sitting against the nearby lamppost. "Can you stand?"
The youth nodded and got to his feet, though as Shugo saw, it evidently hurt to do so.
"Don't worry. I've called the police. They should be here soon."
Luckily for both of them, the operative word turned out to be 'soon', as Riku and one of his fellow officers arrived less than half an hour in a police van.
Shugo waited at the next corner just long enough to watch both policemen usher the troublemakers into the back of the van after having attended to their erstwhile victim, before he finally went on his way.
------
The next day would end up being much more interesting.
As Kaito went back to school, the homeroom teacher instead assigned Ayato to take the seat right behind. The interactions between the two for the day's first half saw them becoming fast friends, much to Shugo's pleasant surprise. Wow. These two seem to be getting along swimmingly.'
In fact, the lunch break saw Kaito asking Ayato asking all kinds of questions – about how the incident where he and Shugo first met, about his arrangement with the chief of the RCPD, and about his experiences having to provide for both himself and Ayaka, to name a few. And though Ayato did find himself having to gloss over the more sensitive details, he gamely answered those questions for the most part.
"My grandmother died when we were little, so it's just been the two of us since then," he patiently explained. "I've had to work odd jobs here and there, and some of those fell in the gray area just short of black. I'm not exactly proud of it, but given how I've got a sibling with special needs…"
From the way Ayato trailed off, one would presume that he was unwilling to talk about it or otherwise unsure how to elaborate, either of which would've been understandable. He knew the older youth's troubled background wasn't something he could readily talk about, after all, given the company he'd been in when they first met. Luckily, Kaito chose not to press him any further. Shugo wasn't surprised; he'd known Kaito a long time, and as boisterous and mischievous as his best friend could be on occasion, he wasn't without a sense of tact.
"It was nice of the police chief to help you guys out like that," Kaito commented. "What's it like working for him?"
Ayato shrugged. "So far I've been helping him with the paperwork, while my sister's part of the household staff. His aide's got mandatory training sessions for the two of us on Thursdays and Saturdays, too. Apart from that, there's not much else for me to talk about."
"Oh, speak of the devil," he added after a second or two as he caught sight of someone making their way to them. "That's her."
As Shugo looked up to see the same girl who Rena had been showing around yesterday, his first impression was to take note of the strong family resemblance. The girl had the same dark blue eyes as her brother, just as her tomboyish, bob-length hair was the same dark hue as his. On the other hand, her wardrobe - a blue, long-sleeved bunny-themed hoodie, paired with a dark purple knee-length skirt over black stockings - denoted subtle but unmistakable differences between the two siblings in terms of their fashion choices. In her hands was a cardboard box which she placed on the table, before she opened it to reveal half a dozen medium-sized donuts of assorted flavors. But as the box opened in their direction, Shugo managed to make out a short message on the post-it note that had been taped on the lid:
'Congrats on your lucky break. I love you both, and I'll see you soon. E'
"This is Akizuki Ayaka, my sister," introduced Ayato. "Sis, these are Furukawa Shugo and Kousaka Kaito."
"Hi, Ayato, hi, guys," Ayaka said in turn to her brother and his two classmates, nodding to the latter two in turn as she sat beside her brother for a moment. "A friend asked me to do her a favour, so I just came over to bring these."
She then stood up after less than a minute had passed. "See you later, bro."
With that, she left to rejoin her friends, who were waiting for her at their table across the room. As she did, Shugo noticed the way Kaito was eyeing her retreating form. And if his subsequent comments were anything, to go by, so did Ayato.
"I won't stop you if you're interested," he said casually with a shrug. "Just know that if you mess with her or hurt her in any way, it'll be the last thing you'll ever do."
Shugo laughed along with his two friends. He was sure that Ayato was both completely serious about the warning and quite capable of making good on it, but the casual, almost flippant manner with which it was delivered was what made it funny. Even then, a tiny part of him couldn't help but be concerned that his best friend just might indeed do something stupid. After all, if Ayato was willing to resort to morally and legally ambiguous dealings so he could provide for his sister's medication along with their living expenses, it wasn't much of a stretch to imagine what he'd be willing to do to anyone who hurt her.
And when he considered Kaito's track record with the ladies…
'Better not, bud.'
'I'm not even sure there'd be enough left of you to bury.'
------
Later that day, once classes had ended…
"So, sis," Ayato began as he and his sister walked side-by-side inside the nearby shopping arcade where they would be fetched in an hour. "How's everyone at school treating you?"
Ayaka shrugged as she replied. "Most of them are nice. Rena's taken me under her wing, if that makes sense. I've heard some whispers about us, but those people don't really matter."
"Nothing untoward happened?" her brother went on, not altogether convinced. "No one's giving you grief over being different?"
Ayato knew his sister wasn't like other girls, in more ways than one. On the contrary, Akizuki Ayaka was unique in ways that most other people would have difficulty understanding or accepting, which was partly why she opted to stop attending school when they were 17 in favour of dedicating herself to her art full-time. No matter how much she'd insisted that it was to ease the pressure on him so he wouldn't be as hard-pressed to make money, Ayato knew that her personal circumstances also factored into her decision.
"Nope, none," his sister repeated as she shook her head, presumably to emphasize her denial. "Really, they're actually nice here."
"Okay, sure, but what's with that look?" Ayato persisted. "It's the same frown I'd see you wearing every time the monthly bills used to arrive, or whenever Haru used to rope me into those jobs."
"That friend of yours – Furukawa Shugo?"
"The guy who got us our lucky break, yes," Ayato answered automatically. "What about him?"
"I know he's the reason we're here, and Rena seems to like him, too, not that I blame her," Ayaka's brow furrowed as she explained. "Still there's something not quite right with him."
"Oh?"
"I had a good look at him earlier," Ayaka went on, "but it wasn't just him I saw."
"And whoever the other one is, she gives me the creeps."
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