Rei waited at the shed outside of school, watching each car pass by. The sound of cars revving up is giving her temporary entertainment besides the casual cry of cicadas that can be heard around, the school gate nearby has a few cars going in and out adding to amuse her from boredom. More of this any longer she will start to grow impatient.
Her stamina was exhausted by the classes, and there was little to do after school. She didn't have any friends or clubs with which to occupy her time; all she wanted to do was get home, but her driver appeared to be taking an excessive amount of time. Her foot began tapping as she kept an eye on her watch till it began to drizzle, then turned into a torrential downpour.
She treated back a little so she wouldn't get soaked when a delivery motorcycle suddenly appeared and stopped beside the shed. The driver exited the vehicle to seek shelter, removing his helmet and revealing his long hair styled in a bun.
The young man, who was of average build, stood alongside her and smiled as if to seek her permission. Rei nodded. Due to the limited space in the shed, their bodies brushed up against each other causing Rei to fix her gaze on his face, albeit without emotion, looked down, looking flustered.
The guy looked in confusion when suddenly she squealed.
“Hey, I just got these sneakers a few weeks ago,” she exclaimed looking at now soiled shoes. Probably from the puddle created by the rain caused by the rain when he stepped off from his motorcycle.
He let out a gasp. “Sorry, sorry. I didn't notice.” He stammered feeling embarrassed. He wanted to disappear right there since he didn't know what to do with the lady who was clearly furious.
Nice going, Kazuma. You just had to f*ck it up, he thought as he put his palm on his face.
He apologized repeatedly until she was comfortable, then offered to replace her shoes.
“It’s alright. I’ll just have them cleaned,” she replied in a wavering voice.
She clearly looks agitated. “Please, miss. I insist,” he continued. “I actually work two blocks away from here, we can buy a new one right now if you want.”
“It’s okay. And these shoes were given to me by my sister. I don’t think this model is available in Japan.”
Then suddenly Rei’s phone rang.
“Sorry for the wait. There’s been a traffic jam. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Okay, just hurry up. I’m tired.”
Throughout her phone call, the guy at the shed kept staring at her and bowed his head with an uneasy smile.
The rain has stopped pouring and as Rei was fidgeting her phone, a small motorcycle pulled up in front of them and hastily snatched her phone. With everything happening so quickly, Rei was unable to act
The young guy with her tried to chase the thief but he was too fast. He reached for his motorcycle. “Come, we can still catch up to him. He turned in this intersection," he murmured, at a loss for words, as he put on his helmet.
Rei furrowed her brows and bit her lip as she stared across the street.
“Let’s go,” he inclined.
Rei eventually rides the motorcycle after a brief hesitation.
“Hold on tight, we’re going fast,” he said, zooming away in the motorcycle.
Rei hugged him firmly from behind, her head slightly lowered, and her breath began to quicken.
This was noticed by the man on the motorcycle. From behind him, he could feel her chest thumping. "You alright?" he questioned, looking back at her through the motorcycle's side mirror.
He can feel her chest rising and falling as if she's hyperventilating.
She let out a slight mumble. She was reciting some type of incantation, which the gentleman couldn't understand.
Rei remained with her eyes closed, as if she was fervently praying. She continued mumbling. I-I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is… that brings total obliteration. I will… my fear. I will… pass over me… through me. And when it has gone past… Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
The motorcycle came to a halt. When its driver saw a large container-like house, he exclaimed. "There it is. This thief has to be a moron. Leaving his motorcycle in such a public place so near to the campus."
He stepped off and assisted Rei in dismounting. “You alright? Don’t worry we’ll get your phone,” he said as he gently squeezed her shoulder and started scouring the area.
Rei seemed to have calmed down and started looking around.
She walked into the house. There looks to be people living in the house, as it has a proper interior and furniture, but it is strangely quiet. She looked around some more but found nothing of interest and slowly made her way back outside after hearing a vehicle.
Since the guy she's with's motorcycle is still in there, it appears that another motorcycle has arrived.
As she trudged, she was slammed into a wall. A soft but tough voice growled, “Who are you?” She clenched her teeth in pain. The slam was quite strong, and she felt a strong arm pressing against her. When she opened her eyes, a young man with a well-built physique stood in front of her. His brown eyes were enticing as he cast a darting glance.
When he met her gaze, he abruptly broke away, as if he realized something.
Just when she was regaining her composure, a loud yell cut in.
“FOUND HIM! Think you can run from me?” The delivery guy said.
"What did you do this time?" " yelled a middle-aged man as he landed a flying punch on the thief's face. He came out in one of the rooms after hearing a ruckus.
As she fidgeted on her phone, Rei cringed at the sight.
“Well… Hehe…” chuckled the thief as he scratched his head.
“You bastard didn’t I tell you no more of that illegal stuff?”
“I have some needs too and you were paying for Mikito's expensive tuition” He complained as if it would justify his actions.
"I told you not to worry about that," the guy who pummeled Rei stated.
As she stood there watching, she assumed his name must have been Mikito.
“Gee, you don’t even have a job,” said the thief.
“Yes, I do. I just came from my interview today.”
“I already got my phone back, so I guess it’s fine now.” Rei said in a tired voice.
“Uwaaa. Thank you so much. You shall be my Big Sis,” said the old man whom Rei assumed was their father.
“No, thanks.”
Something caught the delivery guy’s attention. A familiar tattoo can be seen on the old man's arm.
“Wait. You’re yakuzas.”
“Oh, yes. But you see we’re done with illegal crimes now.”
“No. I don’t see that.” Rei said offhandedly.
The old man stood in grimace.
"No," the delivery guy said strongly. “Bastards like him won’t change until they’re punished."
“Whoa there, he already returned her phone and apologized. No need to go that far. Right, Big Sis?”
“Aren’t you much older than me?”
A car appeared to have arrived, and everyone rushed outside as the horn blared. It's Rei's driver, whom she called as soon as she got her phone and gave her location.
The delivery guy gave the thief's brother a stern look and then approached Rei before she went to her car. “This is my workplace’s business card. It’s near around the area.”
“…”
“Let me at least do something about what happened earlier.”
“There’s no need, really.”
“Oho! I insist. I’ll feel bad if I don’t at least do something about it.”
Rei focused his attention on the card. He appears to be working at a pizza parlor. It's no surprise that the motorcycle read Mash's Pizza.
"My name is Kazuma, by the way. Kazuma Satou," he smiled as he helped Rei to her car, his hand behind her back.
Her driver walked flamboyantly as he opened and held the door open for Rei to enter. He looked around as everyone looked on and walked with style as if he were a contestant in a beauty pageant.
As they settled into the car, her driver inquired, "How did you even get here?"
“I don’t know. It just happened,” she replied as she placed her hand in her temple. “And don’t tell Mom or Papa, okay?”
“They’re going to beat me up if they find out, you know. Especially your sister.”
“Especially her!” Rei faced her driver. “They’ll just get worried for no reason. Besides, it’s been solved already. It’s annoying when they get involved even though it’s not a big deal.”
“Are you sure?”
“Uhm. And as for my sister, it's pointless to bother someone who lives abroad.”
Hello, the release of a new chapter is earlier than expected since I wanted to make a poll and get your opinion. I actually thought of switching to first POV (POV will switch in the future depending on the need of the chapters). That means, everything will be mostly told in Rei's point of view. The reason is I feel like how I tell the story is confusing for the readers. Is it? Please let me know ^^ I would like to get your feedback.
