Chapter Six: Deadly Mysterious Girl
It was close to nighttime.
The sun had long since set, and the sky was slowly swallowed by black, accompanied by the faint fragrance of the night.
Morgan had just left the gymnasium.
Everyone else had gone home hours ago, but the Kendo Club been forced to stay behind for extra practice.
Nationals was soon after all.
Sometime around next month or the month after, according to them.
Haruka and the rest needed the extra practice.
Now, with his bag slung over one shoulder and a shinai wrapped in cloth resting across his back,
… slowly he trudged under the streetlights that were positioned all around Tengu, illuminating the city.
But as he did, his hands and wrists soured from the pain of sparring with Haruka way too much.
They both went again and again until both of them were nearly spent.
While he did see improvements, especially after picking up a few proper kendo moves.
Still, fighting her was exhausting.
And judging from the way she grinned during their last bout, she'd likely taken it as payback for the afternoon incident.
Then again, it was mutual.
It wasn't only him that learned something; Haruka did too.
The fact that his hands and wrists were sore was also because of that.
Her attacks were stronger, faster than yesterday's.
Perhaps she wasn't even using her full strength.
And as much as that thought grated him, he learned to be at peace with the results.
Hence accepting Haruka to be stronger than him.
Trudging along the road, having passed the school's surroundings, heading further away.
Eventually, he reached the Central Plaza, which served as the division between districts, all around Tengu.
'...'
Morgan inwardly mused with a pause, looking at the night sky before continuing.
But when he did, he paused.
'... what the hell?'
His eyes shot wide.
Across the paved roads, not far from him, a short distance from where he stopped, was a girl.
One who was so striking that the words beautiful fell short for.
Long black hair tied in long twin tails.
Bangs covering the left side of her eye.
Wearing a pitch black dress as though to conceal herself within the darkness of the night.
Right now.
Morgan, who had always 'tried' to maintain calmness, now had his thoughts in disruption.
'Why the hell are you here?'
Kurumi Tokisaki.
No. This had to be a bad joke.
He'd never thought he'd meet her out in the open like this. In the first place, what was she even doing here?
Why is she in Tengu?
Scratch that—
It made sense now that he thinks of it.
That meant she had come in contact with Phantom and had made her way to Tengu.
It was possible that would have happened long ago or not too long ago.
Which would mean she might have been watching Shidou for quite some time.
Not to mention,
As someone who could create as many clones as she wants, she didn't even need to be here herself.
March 13th.
That's today's date.
'...I have to be quick.'
Morgan's footsteps grew lighter as he passed her, keeping his head forward. He made a point not to look.
There's no reward in trying funny business.
However, just as he strode past her.
"Excuse me, good sir."
It was a voice… a voice from behind him, slow, smooth and sultry.
It froze him in place.
Morgan's hand instinctively tightened around the strap of his shinai.
After a breath, slowly, he turned.
"What is it?"
He came face to face with her.
True to what he knew about her, she had that mischievous, playful look about her. If he were to describe it.
This girl was an actress.
"Ufufu. I just arrived in town not too long ago. I was wondering if you could help me find this place."
She slid a paper out.
A folded one.
Then, slowly, she unfolded the small paper, which displayed a map highlighting one of the residential areas.
Even though he was fairly new, he could tell.
Just by looking at the marking, he could tell the location she pointed at.
While he hadn't been there personally, he had time to review the maps and his surroundings when he first arrived.
In addition, it was also around the same path as his way home too.
When he thought about it,...
'After everything with Mio had ended, Shidou did mention she kept a residence somewhere around or something.'
He frowned slightly.
A few years in this world had made his memories of some parts vague.
… after all, there was no way he could put every single detail in his head.
'She could have just gone there herself using her powers. Could it be.'
It couldn't be that she was looking for a victim, was she?
Morgan's lips twitched.
"I see. It's right along the path I'm heading to. If you don't mind, I can show you the way. At least until your turn."
Putting on an act of his own, he spoke calmly, with a tone that betrayrd no hint of wariness towards her.
As he said that,
Kurumi's lips thinned into a smile, with eyes closed.
"Why, thank you very much."
Seeing this, Morgan nodded in a daze as he then pointed before him as they started walking.
At a glance, the two looked like a normal pair.
Just a young man and woman walking together under the streetlights.
In truth, it was more than that.
Both were watching the other more carefully than anyone could guess.
He was fairly around Shidou's height, around 170 cm, a bit taller than her, who was at the height of 158 cm.
"By the way, you don't look like you're from around this place."
It's true. He indeed had some foreigner features different from natives.
But it didn't make it any better when she was keeping attention on his features.
Regardless, he continued.
"I came from the States. From what I know, I was born there; I came to Japan only a few days ago. So yes, I'm new."
"My, my, then it must be strange that I'm asking a newcomer for directions."
"No, not at all, I've pretty much gotten used to these roads already."
Both of them talked like they were rehearsing from a script as they walked.
Then, as she heard his words, she pushed in further, to around the extent acceptable for a conversation with a stranger.
"Is there any particular reason you transferred here?"
Morgan exhaled softly, scratching the back of his head.
"I was called over by my guardian. I've been living alone for the most part. My parents, well—"
He didn't finish it and simply pointed to the sky.
Kurumi's eye blinked as she slowly tilted her head upwards, following where his finger was pointing.
She understood.
"I am very sorry for asking."
"There's no need to be."
He wasn't particularly sad about it or really concerned about it.
Thus, he shook his head before nudging his head over to her.
"What about you, miss?"
Kurumi's lips quirked again, and she let out a quiet, elegant ufufu, covering her mouth with her fingers.
"It is as you have probably seen."
She simply said that and said no more.
Morgan took that as a cue she wanted to say no more, and respectfully, he let it be.
Along the way,
Small chatters continued between the two, not anything too personal.
… such as also asking how he'd enjoyed Tengu city so far, and if he learned Japanese before,
again, and asking about kendo, due to the shinai he was carrying.
As always, she controlled the direction of the conversation and Morgan replying cordially.
However, at some point, he could've sworn she lingered on him.
But by the time he noticed, her gaze was no longer on him.
"...We're here."
Coming to a stop at the crossroads where three roads split apart, Morgan raised a hand and pointed toward the left.
"That lane down there. Just follow it and take a right. You'll find the district you're looking for."
His residence followed the middle path, and Shidou's followed the right side.
Kurumi followed where he pointed, then she gave a light nod and a smile.
"My, my. You're not going to see a helpless young lady safely home?"
She teased, and both of them knew this.
Was she testing him?
Too bad.
He was already familiar with this tactics.
"Don't worry, unlike other parts of the city, the Residential Areas do have strong security, so don't worry, you'll be safe."
Morgan said so, eliciting a neutral, unreadable expression on the girl's face.
Still, he went on.
"And besides that, I thought it wasn't proper for guys to know where a girl lives."
Feigning a clueless expression, he tilted his head.
While it may sound, err, cringe, he was taking advantage of the fact he was a foreigner.
… feigning as though he was new to their culture.
But in reality, he wasn't ready to step into this woman's den.
Right.
Even he had to admit. That she was breathtaking. He'd be lying if he said otherwise.
In fact, she was even more beautiful than what was ever shown or described.
It was a quiet tug-of-war between his reasoning and impulse.
But Morgan knew better.
"Aa. Hahahahaha."
Kurumi attuned for a moment, soon bursting into laughter. An elegant one, as she covered her mouth with her hand.
"I see. That's true."
Wiping away a nonexistent tear with her gloved fingertip, she smiled faintly before clutching the small bag in her hand.
"Then, thank you very much."
Kurumi said with a slight tilt of her head, then she tilted her head to the side with a small smile.
After that, she spun on her heels, walking away with light steps.
Seeing her walk away, he too spun, walking towards his own area under the streetlights.
He let out a long breath he didn't know he was holding.
"That was rough."
He didn't speak out loud; the walls have ears, and even if he was being paranoid, it was better this way.
Honestly, he wasn't sure if he'd drawn unnecessary attention to himself or not.
Even if he did refuse to show her the way, she'd eventually meet him at Raizen High.
And who knows, she might decide to take him out before that.
While the chances of doing that out of spite were low, still, better safe than sorry.
"... good luck Shidou. You'll need it."
Morgan made a thumbs up in his mind.