“P-please don’t hurt me! I’m just a student, I don’t have any money with me!”

“What are ya talking about? We’re not trying to rob ya or anything, right Murayama?”

“Yup yup!”

The boy gulped and spoke, “I really don’t have anything!” He deeply regretted his choice to take a new path back from cram school. On a dark night like this, he should have known better than to take a shortcut.

“Woah, woah. Yer making us look like the bad guys or something. We’re just politely asking ya to help out some people in need… Know what I mean?” Having said this, the lanky man with a blonde crew cut put his arm over the boy’s shoulder. The boy shuddered, squirming in his grasp.

“Practice a little charity, eh?” The two men looked at each other and burst into laughter and their unpleasant glee filled the silent street. Then, the street lights slightly flickered, as if to signal the two men to get back on track. The laughter died down as the gazes of the two men sharpened. 

“So, yer gonna be as generous as ya look, right kid?” The boy blinked back his tears and slowly began unzipping his bag. His trembling hand fumbled around for his wallet. “Good, good, I like smart kids like ya.”

Step.

The sound of someone's footstep. Taguchi immediately turned around. There shouldn’t be anybody coming down this street. He and Murayama had already walled off the street using safety cones they had stolen from a construction site. Someone coming at this time would be extremely troublesome. He squinted in the direction the footsteps were coming from. The darkness made it hard to see, but he could make out what looked like a girl walking towards them. When the mysterious figure walked under a street light, the words he was about to yell stuck in his throat. 

He was right, it was a girl. However, with dark purple hair and eyes they had an extremely striking appearance. What drew him in even further was the air of elegance that she had around her. 

Bam.

He whirled around at the sudden sound, only to see that the boy had taken off. The appearance of the girl had caused both men to be dumbstruck for a moment, giving the boy the opportunity that he needed. “Shit! Hey, get back here!” Taguchi’s words only echoed along the street as he and Murayama watched the boy disappear. ‘Damn, for how scared shitless he was, the bastard sure can run.’

Anger coursing through him, he turned towards the girl again. “Hey bitch! Ya just let tonight’s catch get away. How ya gonna make up for that, huh?” He beckoned Murayama to follow him and began walking forward.  

The girl stopped walking at their words. From this distance, it was hard to make out her expression, but Taguchi could only imagine that she was frozen in fear. Worried about another runaway, he speedily closed the distance between them, Murayama close behind him. Up close, the girl was even more beautiful than Taguchi thought. She had a well-proportioned face that wouldn’t have been out of place among the idol magazines that he occasionally bought and lusted over. 

He licked his lips. Maybe losing the boy wasn’t the worst thing after all.

The only thing that bothered him was how nonchalant she looked at the whole situation. Two big burly men were standing right in front of her and she merely took one look at them before scanning her surroundings slowly. That expression on her face, was it one of boredom? As if all of this was below her. His gut nagged at him, saying something was off here. Yet, her blatant arrogance at the situation only incited his lust and anger. 

“Well, well, little girlie. Don’t ya know walking around at this time is dangerous? Why don’t ya let us escort ya somewhere safe?” A sleazy grin on his face, Taguchi was about to take a step forward when the girl opened her mouth.

“How nauseating.”

“Huh?”

“Two pigs walking around in human clothing spreading their filth and trash everywhere. It’s enough to make me vomit.”

A brief silence followed as the two men slowly processed her words.

"What the—this bitch!” Taguchi reached out to grab her when the girl actually stepped forward to meet him. His lips turned upward at this, ‘Guess she’s just some whore who wants to play. That’s alright with me, I’ll make sure to teach this one a real good lesson.’

Except after a few seconds, the sneering delinquent realized that he had not touched the girl. In fact, his arm was still outstretched, an inch away from her. “What the… Why can’t I move my arm? Shit, I can’t even move my feet!” On his left, his partner in crime looked at him as if he was crazy.

On the other hand, the girl looked slightly irritated. “They can still open their mouths… this is my current strength?” After what seemed like a short musing, she looked up at him. “Swine, weren’t you going to teach me a lesson?” She smiled. “Why don’t you provide a demonstration first?”

Taguchi’s hand formed a fist and drove it straight into Murayama. The man bowled over, gasping for breath, looking at his friend with complete shock in his eyes. Taguchi looked back at him with the exact same expression. Before he could say anything, he raised his fist and began hammering down on Murayama. After a few blows, Murayama stood up and threw his own fists at Taguchi as well, bewildered but not wanting to get hurt any further. 

The two men duked it out, but it was clear who had the upper hand. Not only did Taguchi get his initial hits in, but he also seemed completely unfazed by Murayama’s attacks, neither flinching nor retreating when his fists began bleeding or nose was broken. On the inside, he was filled with terror at his unstoppable frenzy. He wanted to cry out in pain and beg for mercy, but his body would not obey him. Kicking Murayama to the ground, Taguchi mounted him and continued raining blows on him. The streetlamps flickered again.

…

“Enough.” The girl had a slight smile on her face. “Fufu, that was quite a good show from the two of you. It's about time to wrap up, however."

Taguchi stopped. His fists were completely covered in blood at this point, whether it was his own blood or Murayama’s he did not know. 

“This one might not be usable anymore. Perhaps I slightly overdid it?” The girl giggled as she looked at the complete mess that used to be Murayama’s face, “I must apologize, I forgot that pigs are so easily slaughtered.”

He trembled at the girl’s nonchalance. He had just KILLED his best friend. The buddy he had known since middle school and the man he could always count on for extra muscle to rob whatever unfortunate soul he came upon. He shook harder as he saw the girl make her way towards him.

“Your squealing was quite amusing to listen to, but it’s honestly bothersome to my ears. More to the point, livestock make for good entertainment, but a puppet is more useful, wouldn’t you agree?”

He commanded his legs to take him away from here. Anywhere. But once again, a mysterious force stopped his body from moving at all. Desperate, he opened his mouth to speak.

“Pl-please! Please let me go! I’m very sorry about what happened before, it was all just a misunderstanding! Is it money? If it’s money that ya want, I’ll hand over every—”

“Silence.” The girl’s smile had long since vanished. “How dull and pitiable that a swine can only grovel. Fret not…” Taguchi’s vision began getting hazy as the girl looked directly at him. Before he blacked out, he saw a purple glow in her eyes.

“I can still find a use for you.”