The driver finally slowed the car to a stop in front of Satozakura High School. The man in the front adjusted his cap and looked back through the mirror. "Young master, we've arrived." His voice brought me out of my thoughts. Outside the window stood a perfectly ordinary high school, filled with perfectly ordinary students who had absolutely no idea of the world that exited outside the shadow.
Mai and I stepped out of the car together. The moment her shoes touched the pavement, she stretched her arms and looked around curiously. "Finally. So?" she asked, still wearing her pout from earlier. "What's so special about this place? Did you really bring me all the way here to visit some secret lover?"
I ignored the accusation. "We're here to clean up bullying."
Mai blinked. "Huh? Bullying?" Mai tilted her head to the side, her eyes full of confusion. "What are you talking about? You mean curses?"
"No. " I replied while looking at the school; it was still the class hour, so there was no one outside other than security and maybe teachers.
"Then… delinquents?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"Bullying."
She stared at me for several seconds before her eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, you came all the way here because some kid is getting bullied? And delinquents are those who ordinarily bully others, if you didn't know."
"Yes." Are delinquents really the ones who bully others? Weren't they just brats who break the law or something? That doesn't mean they bully others.
Mai looked at me as though I had suddenly grown another head. "No, seriously, what are we actually doing here?"
"Cleaning up bullying."
"You repeated the same answer!"
"Because that's the answer."
Mai rubbed her forehead. "Naoya, you fight Special Grades and even killed my father. Now you're using your day off to solve some high school drama?"
I looked at her strangely.
"I didn't kill your father. How many times did I tell you that? He was unlucky he met someone who had the power to murder and kill; his death and I have no connection whatsoever, and Mai, what do you think curses are born from?" "
She paused. "Negative emotions." She absolutely ignored the first half, as she knows that's a lie.
"And bullying creates?"
"...Negative emotions."
"And negative emotions create?"
"Curses."
"So if you solve the root, fewer curses are born."
Mai opened her mouth to say something and then closed it. "That sounds incredibly reasonable."
"Thank you." There is no greater explanation than this; my words are enough to convince even the most unconvincing person.
"But you're full of crap." Mai finished her sentence with a smug look, "I know when you're saying a lie with my eyes closed."
"What?"
"You just remembered someone and felt bad, didn't you?"
"..."
"Ha! I knew it!" Mai was proud of her observation; after all, Naoya only moves from his bed if someone else is in trouble. He was that kind. Mai knows that firsthand, when he took both her and her sister under his wings.
I coughed awkwardly and looked away. "It's not like that. I just got time and decided to drop by. If I were busy, I wouldn't have come here."
"Sure, sure." Mai crossed her arms and smiled triumphantly. "You remembered some poor kid and couldn't sleep at night because your conscience started bothering you. And decided to come. If you hadn't told Manami about your urgent trip here, nobody would even know this. An unwritten kindness in your resume." She gives a small, sweet smile at that. "I like that about you,"
"I didn't even know what you were talking about, and I slept perfectly fine."
"Liar."
I didn't know if she meant that for the first half of my reply or the second half or both. "Maybe."
Mai laughed softly before following behind me.
Honestly, she wasn't entirely wrong.
Junpei Yoshino. A victim of human cruelty who stumbled into the hands of Mahito. A tragedy waiting to happen if nobody puts things on the right track.
And unlike Yuji, his suffering wasn't caused by monsters. It was caused by ordinary people with ugly intentions, so here we are to turn a boy's hellish life into one worth living. Give him an invisible hand; he can grab on and keep on with his life.
As we approached the school gate, students were beginning to leave for lunch break. Groups of friends chatted happily, couples walked together, and clubs were preparing for activities. Of course, we didn't go inside the school; we didn't need to, as all the demon spawn are outside the school, after all.
Mai looked around curiously. "So, which one is this bullied kid?"
"Junpei Yoshino."
"Friend?"
"No."
"Relative?"
"Didn't you know, clan? If I had a relative outside, then it would be in a graveyard." Mai nodded at that.
"Acquaintance, then?"
"Never met him till now."
Mai nearly tripped over nothing. "You came here for a stranger!?"
"Yes." I only know Junpei from anime, so essentially, I am a stranger to him. In fact, I also didn't care much about him, but since his problems are something I have knowledge of and can even prevent, I decided to come; that's all.
"Can I ask why you are going this far for a complete stranger? If it were a woman, I could understand that you are going to woo her. But here, I have nothing, so care to fill me in."
"Just because." That's the only answer I can give.
She stared at me for several moments before sighing. "You know, this is why I can never understand you."
"Likewise."
*Murmuring* "And this is why I also fell for you." Mai said to herself with a smile.
~~~
(This fan-fic has been ended in my patron, of you are interested check it out. )
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