As I walked from the P.P.I building to the academy for the entrance ceremony, I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. Escaping that 'place', Yet, I couldn't stop wondering, how did that 'place' even founded?, and I am not talking about the P.P.I task force head quater...
I turned around and around and walked on the street, I noticed an old man sweeping beneath pink trees as he glanced up at them as I started to smell something very strong
"Ah, the Sakura are in full bloom, aren't they?" He said with a smile, pausing his sweeping. "Do you like them young man?"
I glanced at the blossoms swaying gently in the breeze. "They're... nice I guess, never in my whole life time have I ever see a pink tree," I responded,
The old man chuckled, taking my brief reply in stride. "I thought so. You don't look like a local. These trees are part of Japan's heart. They smell a bit like vanilla, don't you think?, that what everyone say."
I nodded, catching the subtle fragrance. "... Yeah, I can smell it... It smell like 'peaceful' if it have a concrete smell..." The smell was strong but the old man doesn't mind it at all, he was right, it has the scent of a vanilla-like smell
"You sound wise as those other students young man, what I of course expected from a Karusumo student." Karusumo is the academy that I lastly talked about, and it is the academy high-school I am going right now...
"Thanks, the entrance ceremony is today so I have to go, but these sakura trees are also gorgeous for me..."
"Not everyone notices that with how long they live here," he said thoughtfully, leaning on his broom.
"You have a sharp brain for a foreigner." He say
I gave a small, polite nod. "Thank you."
He waved me on, his smile still lingering. "Good luck at the academy, young man." He say
I nodded politely and continued walking without a word, the sun and cherry blossoms casting soft shadows as I went. Taking a deep breath... Hold in... Hold in... Let out... Hold i-
But it didn't last long...
Suddenly, I sensed familiar footsteps behind me. The rhythm, the vibrations... I recognized it instantly by visualizing the sound in my head. It was the same girl from the convenience store, that one I had ignored in the alleyway....
Maybe is not the time to tell all of the flashback like last time but-
"Oi, You're the same guy who saw me at the alleyway, aren't you?!"
"..." I stayed silent, slowly turning around to face the source of the voice.
"...You could at least say something, 'emo-looking' boy." Her voice was calm but had an edge
I finally turned to get a better look at her. She wore the same sleek black school uniform as me, her blue eyes sharp beneath a short, snowy white hair. "'Emo-looking boy'? What does that even mean?"
I thought to myself. I had heard the term from Ayaka before, something about people obsessed with a certain style. It seemed irrelevant, but maybe that's what this girl saw in me
"...Hello?" she waved her hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my internal monologue. Her expression was somewhere between annoyance and amusement as she is closed to me...
I blinked, realizing I had spaced out while she was talking. My brain had been sifting through irrelevant thoughts, ignoring the present moment. Typical.
"... Oh hi?... Sorry for spacing out tho." I finally strike up a bunch of words to her
Now as far why this encounter is happening... Oh yeah, is because of the fact that I basically ingore her while she was been hitting by a other man's in the alleyway next to the convinenced store I go in the morning...
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Flashback to the alleyway
The glow of the convenience store lights barely reached into the dim alley beside it. I had stepped out for a moment of peace after grabbing a popular snack that I remember Ayaka recommend. The noise of the city always felt muffled in alleys like this, cut off from the bustle of Tokyo's streets.
That's when I noticed them, a group of three men crowding around a girl. She didn't look scared, more of… annoyed.
"Hey there sweetheart," one of them said, his voice dripping with smug arrogance. "How about you join us for a little fun?"
... There is a person watching me, I am not sure if they are gonna help me or not but based on the fact that he is a Karusumo student like me, I would guess they gonna or not, but if it is a not if. Then I can just humbled these guys but that could maybe alert him to called the police on me... But then again, he's from a high tier academy so he definitely smart and remember why I beat these man's up
I stopped, lingering just out of sight, observing the situation. I knew from the look in her eyes that she wasn't concerned about the men. She was just waiting for them to make their move since I saw that she glanced at me, she could possibly think that I gonna call someone on her that she just beat a bunch of person... But of course I am not doing that...
Her body language gave it away. Her stance was steady, balanced. She was leaning slightly on one foot, subtly shifting her weight. It wasn't fear, it was preparation. She was waiting for them to make a mistake since she doesn't want to make the mistake.
I analyzed her figure. Her shoulders were relaxed, no tension in her upper body. She wasn't panicking, which told me she had experience in handling situations like this. The way she scanned the men, quick, sharp glances at their arms, legs, and posture, suggested she was already calculating their weaknesses.
I took note of her physique in my mind. Her muscles were lean but well-toned, I know this by visualize that from the cramps of her shirts alone despite the fact she looked skinny... She had a controlled strength that most wouldn't notice at first glance. I could see the slight muscle definition in her arms and calves, indicating regular physical training, for a regular person, she look like a normal teen girl.
Then there was her hands. Her knuckles had subtle callouses. She'd been in fights before. Most likely someone with martial arts training, judging by the way she stood. Her feet were positioned at an angle, giving her a stable base to pivot quickly if needed. She was ready to strike at a moment's notice.
I decided not to intervene. She didn't need help, and I had no interest in getting involved. This was her fight, and I was more curious to see how it would unfold.
One of the men reached out, his hand lingering too long near her shoulder.
In one swift motion, she grabbed his wrist, twisted, and used his own momentum to send him crashing into the side of a trash can. The sound echoed through the alley as he hit the ground with a groan.
The other two hesitated, clearly not expecting her to be so capable. She didn't waste time. Before the second man could react, she kicked the back of his knee, sending him sprawling forward. She followed up with a sharp elbow to his ribs, leaving him gasping for air on the ground.
The last man, probably the leader, backed away, hands raised in surrender. "Okay, okay, no need to get violent. We were just kidding around," he stammered, his voice shaking.
She gave him a cold glare with her blue eyes, the kind that said she wasn't buying his excuses. But she let him go, watching as he bolted out of the alley.
I watched the whole thing unfold without a word, impressed but not surprised. I had known from the start that she was strong, stronger than they realized.
As she brushed off her uniform and muttered something under her breath, I turned and walked away. I didn't need to stick around to see how it ended. She had handled it flawlessly. I already gone by the time she try to look for me again.
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Now, standing in front of her, I could see that irritation again, but this time, it was directed at me.... Yeah I am going to die.
"You were there, weren't you?" she asked, crossing her arms. "You just walked away while I had to deal with those idiots."
I shrugged at her "You seemed to have it under control."
She narrowed her eyes at me. "Under control? I literally just threw one of them into a trash can!?"
"Exactly. Like I said, you had it handled. So no more help by someone like me."
"No shit Sherlock, You are damn right I didn't need one.." she said with a smirk. "But a little 'thanks for the show' wouldn't have hurt!"
I look at her straight in the eye " You wanted me to say 'thanks... while you were tossing guys around?"
She tilted her head, mock-serious. "Yeah. Might've made the whole thing more fun."
I could tell she was messing with me now...
"... Say what is your name-"
Top ten questions I never want to ask to a smart person. That is if this girl is actually smart.
"HEY WAIT!, DONT JUST RUN AWA-"
I bolted away from her before she could even finished her question for me.
Tho, the reason why I didn't answer her and instead run like a little bitch was mostly cause I was gonna think that she could probably deduced that I am the world greatest detective by my first letter of my full name, Losherk Andrew Avalon, "L.A.A". As I remember my broadcast about my existence to a group of hacker in a solved case that say about my first letter of my full three name being the codename.
But hey, since she is pretty much from the same academy as mine cause of her uniform, I will predict that we just gonna meet each other somewhere else again such as my unknown class that I still don't know about...
Tho, Through out of everything that happened in this... really... awkward encounter for obvious reasons. Wirth the thing that I have been curious about and noticed is her voice... I don't know why tho but her voices sound almost 'nostalgic'...
Maybe is cause I have meet her somewhere but then again, before enrolling here, i was only inside of that 'place' 'forever'... Maybe but just maybe she could be from that 'place' too?. But then again, I have never remember someone looking like her throughout my life... But right now, I should leave this be.
I could at least finally see and feel false freedom... AH- Oh I just see something and it is just a cat.
You never once have freedom