It was a sunny day. The temperature around them was about 39 degrees Celsius.
"Aaahh!" Shin screamed as he got up from a light blue futon. There was a thick and heavy blanket covering his lower body. It was the same blanket that he delivered outside of the dojo that night.
'Why is it here? I'm sure that I had left it outsid— ayt tsk tsk... It hurts.' Shin held his pained head as he panted heavily. His eyes were barely open, implying that he was suffering.
'Woah, I'm topless?' Shin's eyes widened in astonishment, even though he was just in pain earlier. He took the blanket off him entirely to see if his lower body was also naked. He was relieved that he wasn't.
'The hole in my gut, it healed! It was gone! So, the Forbidden Clutch "Salutary Resurgence" really worked. That risk was worthy.' Shin saw a water bottle next to him. He grabbed it and gulped down all of its contents.
'But still, I cannot deny the reality that Grandpa Makoto was killed. I will make sure that they will pay for what they did, especially Abe.' Shin unintentionally mashed the empty bottle as he clenched it tightly in anger.
'Oh, I crushed it! Calm down, self. I will proceed with that while I boost my battle status to be more powerful than them. I must not be carried away by the fact that I had a so-called aptitude. That alone cannot defeat them.' Shin slowly loosened his strong grip, releasing the pressure given to the bottle.
Shin stood up from the futon. He walked around to examine the area he was in. After seconds of investigating, he knew that he was in their dojo.
His body was presumed to be outside. Most people do not know their place, so for him, it was mind-blowing that his corpse changed location. Unless someone brought his body back inside.
'Don't tell me... Abe carried my body? No, no. He wouldn't do that.' Shin got creeped out by simply thinking about it. He even got goosebumps.
'I don't think that's the case. Hold on, how about Grandpa Makoto's corpse?' Shin immediately cast his eyes on the main entrance, which was also the exit. He sprinted towards it to see the body that he was looking for.
Shin opened the door. He was confused and disappointed since he couldn't find his grandfather's body in the bench area. Only traces of blood were left in that location. 'Then, where is it?' He was looking to his left and right persistently.
"Oh, you're awake. Do you feel anything strange?" A teenage girl in casual clothes, who had a black and white striped t-shirt and pale blue jeans, showed up from the right side of the dojo. She had onyx black eyes and long dusty pink hair. She walked straight towards Shin.
"Uhm... Who are you?" Shin scratched his head as he was guilty that he could not recall her, or even remember her name.
"Oh!" The girl's expression instantly became gloomy. "You do not remember me, huh? This is kinda awkward." She cannot help but scratch her cheek.
"Yeah, you're right. Although you look kinda familiar, I still do not know who you are. Sorry." Shin sincerely apologized and bowed.
"No, no, no. Stop doing that. It's okay." The girl panicked as she gestured for him to raise his head. She was panicking because of that.
As he was told to do so, Shin lifted his head and his bent body. He pointed his finger to the dojo and said, "If you don't mind, let's go back to the dojo first."
-----
They went back inside the dojo. Shin offered the girl a coffee, but she refused. She just wanted water. As she wanted to, Shin brought out one bottle from the refrigerator and handed it to her.
Shin and the girl squatted near a kotatsu. It was small that even if a person was on the other side, they would be able to reach you. They were facing each other on their respective and opposite sides.
On the kotatsu, Shin laid his elbow and placed his head diagonally on his right hand. "We will start with an introduction. I am Shin Masameru, the grandson of this old dojo's owner." He smiled at her.
"I know that, dumbhead." The girl giggled at a moderate volume. She pinched Shin's left cheek, leaving him a red mark on that part.
"Why would you do tha—"
The girl shushed Shin as she put her finger to his lips. "That pinch was for earlier. It is your fault that you don't even recognize me."
The girl copied Shin's head resting posture, but with two closed fists. "Anyway, it's my turn now. My name is Ayase Hanabusa. I hope that you will remember that well." She gave a smile back at him.
"A-Ayase?" Shin abruptly pulled his head resting posture out of position from astonishment. His face was as red as a ripe tomato.
"Why did you react like that? Is it that shocking that I became more beautiful than you thought I would?" Ayase had a smug look on her face. Her teasing was so obvious.
"Shut up! Let's change our topic." Shin was still blushing. He was not maintaining eye contact with her. "Why are you even here?"
"Hmm... I was informed that Grandpa Makoto notified you about the day that I would arrive here. Today is June 13, by the way." With her left hand, Ayase gripped her chin.
Shin's face brightened up and looked at her. "Speaking of Grandpa Makoto, do you know where his bod—"
"Yeah, I know." Ayase had the face of those with depression. "His body was in the backyard. I gave him a proper and decent burial." The grief on her face lessened.
"Can you show me where exactly?"
-----
Shin went to his room and wore a pajama-like jacket to cover his previously shirtless body. Ayase put her hair up in a ponytail.
After doing what they needed to do, the two of them went to the dojo's backyard. It was the location of the land where Grandpa Makoto was buried.
They placed some flowers and candles onto the top of it to pay tribute to the late grandfather's death.
"You said that the date today is June 13, right? Then, it has been approximately four days since his death." Shin crouched, making some of his bones click.
"So, during the Free-Annihilation Day, the terrible incident happened, huh? The killer, did you recognize him?" Ayase kept her composure, hiding the sorrow she was dealing with, whilst left standing.
"What kind of question is that? Is there a person who will ever forget the suspect, who was responsible for his close relative's death?" The facial expression on Shin's face was mixed with anger, loneliness, and regret.
Ayase stared at the blue and cloudy sky. "I know that his death is painful for you, but don't let it get to you. Never have your emotions control you. Instead, grind yourself to be stronger and don't rush things."
"HAHAHA!" Shin laughed in a lunatic way. "What are you now? A motivational speaker? If you want me to be like that, keep me under supervision by always staying by my side." Shin said that whilst looking at the grave and not at Ayase.
'What did I just say? It doesn't even make sense! Wait, it has a little bit of sense. But still, I wonder what kind of reaction Ayase will show. I'll be embarrassed depending on it.' Shin's face became beet red.
"Grandpa Makoto is not alive anymore. It is against my conscience to leave and put you aside. Well, it is my own choice to decide on whether to stay or not. If living with you is necessary, I will gladly supervise you as I have liked you since the first day we had met." Ayase removed the ponytail from her hair.
"Heh?" Shin instinctively diverted his eyes at Ayase, who was on his left side.
"Just like the stuff that I said, I like you. Did you not understand the words that I brought out? I'll happily tell it to you over and over." She put her face close to Shin's face by just leaning her body.
"Aaahh!" Shin roughly scratched his head. "Sorry about that. It is just so sudden that I can't properly express a reaction. Ignoring that, I only know few things about you. We need to know more about each other."
"I know that. I also only know few things about you. I also want to know more about you. We can have our development by training ourselves and living together. With that fact, we can get to know more about each other." Ayase moved and went behind Shin's back.
Ayase also crouched. "I am a straightforward and not dense person. Especially, not a tsundere." She patted Shin's shoulders. "From inside of you, I can sense that you also like me."
The pat turned into something else. Ayase hugged Shin from behind.
"This is not a lie. It's all genuine. Since 2010, I secretly liked you, and I still do."