Shinichiro couldn't understand how he always ended up in these situations. He was a gang leader for god's sake. Punches and kicks continued pounding their way into him with no indication of stopping anytime soon.
All he had wanted to do was get ice cream for his little siblings. So much for that though. The cold desserts were strewn across the concrete of the alleyway.
"What a weak ass gang leader. He can't even fight back." One of the assailants shamed him along with the others laughing at his lack of physical strength.
Gosh he just wanted this to be over with already. Haven't they already had their fun?
Suddenly one of the guys was ripped away from Shinichiro's body. Quickly followed a slicing noise with what almost sounded like water pouring. Silence came over the alleyway, and Shinichiro hesitated to look up but did anyway.
He wished he didn't.
There stood a figure no more than 5'5 dressed in an all black catsuit and mask covering up her face. At least he assumed it was a 'her' considering how her body looked. But it really wasn't the right time for him to focus on a girl's body.
Right in front of her was a guy with his neck sliced open with a non stop flow of blood coming out of the wound. He was dying. He could see the light slowly leave his eyes as the guy stopped choking on his own blood.
The masked figure turned their head to the side looking at the other two assailants. "Leave." Without a protest or a sound, the two scrambled out the alleyway as if the devil was hot on their asses.
Shinichiro wished he could leave too. But considering the beating he just took, he could barely stand let alone walk or run away. Pushing himself to lean against the brick wall, his body shook from each movement he made.
Not to mention, he still had a murderer standing in front of him who for some reason was intent on burning a hole into the side of his face.
"Weak ass," the masked figure mumbled before taking their leave. Truth be told, Shinichiro was a little offended by the statement. But he was glad he didn't end up like the dead guy that was still bleeding out in front of him.
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Ever since his encounter that night, Shinichiro couldn't help but to feel a little unsettled. No matter where he went, it always felt like he was being followed or watched over.
It wasn't a good feeling.
"Don't forget the taiyaki nii-san!" His younger brother, Mikey, reminded him on his way out. Once again, Shinichiro was going to go get his younger siblings some treats.
At least this time he could ride his motorcycle since it got fixed. Everything was going smoothly until he walked out of the convenience store with the snacks.
Right beside the door stood the same masked figure. Black eyes met golden ones and no words were spoken. Silence ensued within the streets. Even the late night critters ceased their noises.
"Um, hey?" Shinichiro hesitated to say. Awkward silence followed along with the unwavering stare of the masked figure.
Moments passed and the masked figure turned and walked away. "H-Hey wait!" Seeing that they weren't stopping, Shinichiro ran after them. He finally got close enough to grab their shoulder to stop them. Unfortunately for him, it resulted in him getting flipped over and slammed into the ground.
It left him stupefied. How can someone so small have so much strength? He was knocked out of his thoughts by the feeling of being dragged. They were taking him into an alleyway.
"Fuck," Shinichiro thought, "I don't want to die a virgin." He could feel the impact of his back hitting the brick wall. His previous bruises hadn't even healed yet and he's already getting new ones.
The masked figure took off their mask to reveal a tan, blonde haired girl. She seemed like she was about the same age as Shinichiro, maybe even younger.
Shinichiro just didn't understand. Why does she just keep staring at him and never saying anything? Obviously she can talk if she told those two guys to leave the last time.
"Um, thanks for the help the other day?"
Silence.
"You're pretty strong for a girl, you know. Not that girls aren't strong." Shinichiro stumbled out.
Silence.
"So, what's your name?"
Silence.
He was starting to feel stupid for trying to talk to the girl. Not only because she wouldn't respond, but because she had literally killed a guy in front of him with no remorse. He was trying to be cordial with a coldblooded killer.
Slowly Shinichiro rose to his feet dusting himself off. "Well I'm just going to head back home." Testing out a step, she didn't make any moves to stop him. A few more steps, she just kept piercing him with that stare.
As Shinichiro made his way out of the alley towards his bike, one question remained for him. Will this be the last time he encounters her?
_________________________________________________
Shinichiro just parted ways with Takeomi, Wakasa, and Benkei. Their gang meeting had dragged on longer than usual since there was conflict brewing between the Black Dragons and a rival gang.
He couldn't wait to get home and just relax. God knows he won't be getting any rest within the next week or so. Mentally, he's very much prepared. Physically, well he was never physically prepared. In all his years of living, he can't recall a time where he has won a fight.
It's pitiful isn't it?
But no one ever said a gang leader had to be strong, it was just expected. A strong leader leads a strong gang. In Shinichiro's case, a weak leader led a strong gang. His mental strength has gotten him way further than those who could take down 50 people at once.
Seeing as he was weaker than most boys his age, it certainly didn't help when he was trying to pursue a girl. His amount of rejections could confirm that. Although his friends would say it was his hair that caused the failure of having a successful confession.
As crazy as it sounds, Shinichiro almost considered the idea of the masked girl being the one for him. He was known to be very delusional when it came to girls, but a murderer? He's out of his damn mind.
"She was so pretty," Shinichiro thought, "beautiful even." He slapped himself on the face. He definitely has been beaten in the head too many times to be thinking like this. It was wrong. SHE was wrong.
He should've reported her to the police. Why didn't he? The more Shinichiro thought, the more his head started to hurt. It was all because that masked girl decided to save him.
__________________________________________________
Shinichiro just wanted to get a drink from the new cafe that opened. Which he had got, but not without noticing the golden haired girl sitting in the corner of the cafe. She still had that piercing stare trained on him.
There's no way it's a coincidence he keeps seeing her. Before the incident, he had never seen her around. However, it's like she is all he notices now.
Sometimes he would see a glimpse of her peeking around a corner, walking away from an area he was just in, or even seeing her shadow at the most random of times.
He was starting to think she was a figment of his imagination, a hallucination. Nobody ever seemed to see her or acknowledge her presence. The nameless girl got up to leave the cafe, never breaking eye contact until she was fully out the door.
Shinichiro knew he was going to regret this, but he needed answers. Was it stupid? Yes. But he followed after her again. He struggled to keep up with her. Who knew such small legs could move so fast.
"Hey, wait up!"
The nameless girl didn't slow down. Further and further they walked until they got to an abandoned park. At this point, the sun was starting to set. It had been hours.
Shinichiro was used to chasing after girls, but this was pathetic. He didn't care though. It had been at least a month since this whole thing started and he'll be damned if he didn't get a conversation out of her.
The nameless girl didn't slow down. Further and further they walked until they got to an abandoned park. At this point, the sun was starting to set. It had been hours.
Shinichiro was used to chasing after girls, but this was pathetic. He didn't care though. It had been at least a month since this whole thing started and he'll be damned if he didn't get a conversation out of her.
She finally stopped and sat upon a swing. "Can you please say something? Anything." Shinichiro begged. If he didn't get at least one word out of this girl before he left, he was going to lose his damn mind.
"What are you doing here Sano?" The nameless girl questioned.
"What?" Shinichiro exclaimed. "What am I doing here? What are YOU doing here? And how do you even know my name?"
The girl rolled her eyes. Shinichiro was stunned by the audacity this girl had. She can't be serious right now.
"It's my job to know things like that."
"What exactly is your job?"
"An assassin, I guess you could say. I kill people for a living."
Huh? Did it make sense? Yeah. But was it really what he expected? No. However, that did explain how she had killed that guy with no remorse. Shinichiro almost wanted to laugh. He just chased down an assassin. Someone who could kill him in the blink of an eye. Someone who could make him disappear without a trace.
It was just his luck.
Despite that, he couldn't say that he was scared. If anything, he was more curious. Her having a pretty face might've influenced that however. He was forever a simp for a pretty face, even if that pretty face could be the last thing he ever sees.
Shinichiro took a seat in front of her. 'She looks beautiful from down here,' He thought to himself. "So, do you have a name?" The girl raised her eyebrow at the question.
"No."
"Oh come on! If we're going to be friends, I have to have a name to call you instead of "the nameless girl". Besides, you already know mine."
"We're not going to be friends," she said sternly, "who's to say I'm not going to end up killing you."
Slowly Shinichiro rubbed the back of his neck and fully locked eyes with the nameless girl. "Well because you've been following me. If you wanted to hurt me, you would've done it already."
The girl scoffed. "You're not even worth killing Sano. You're a weakling despite you actually being a gang leader."
Shinichiro jerked his head back in disbelief. He didn't know what to feel. He was grateful he wasn't a target, but the words that followed had hurt.
"Why do you have to be so cold?"
"It's just the way I was trained." she shrugged.
"Trained," Shinichiro mumbled, "You still have to have a heart."
The girl looked at him and then got up to leave. "Emotions will get you killed."
"Wait, where are you going?" She didn't stop walking even after Shinichiro called out to her. She made it to the nearest stop sign and said one thing that made Shinichiro's heart jump, as cheesy and delusional as it sounds.
"Aimi." the girl said and then continued on her way.
Once she was out of sight, Shinichiro did a victory dance and had a skip in his step all the way home.
If only he knew what he just got himself into.
