The Girl in White
A forest near the park, Asakusa District, Tokyo, Japan.
Friday, May 8, 2020, 8:00 p.m. JST.
From below, Renka looked at the masked girl.
The white shrine maiden dress she wore was fluttering in the night wind.
Her graceful and arrogant nature made him felt both amazed and intimidated.
Looking closely, she carried two blades; the long sword he held in her hand and another short sword still neatly stored in its scabbard.
Doubt starting to creep on him.
However, the fact that she saved his life indicated that he is not an enemy.
Renka tried to move his lips, fighting the doubts within herself to ask a crucial question.
"Who are you? And why did you save me?"
==========
The masked girl fell silent a few seconds after the question was posed.
The silence created a tense atmosphere that was enough to make Renka shed cold sweat.
Only after 30 seconds had passed, the girl sheathed her sword again and jumped down, towards where Renka was.
Unable to know the look on his face that was covered by a mask, Renka felt a little scared and alerted.
"Stand up," she said, holding out her hand.
Renka was rather surprised.
But with this, the doubts inside him slowly disappearing. He received a helping hand from the girl and immediately got up.
"A-ah, thank you," Renka answered.
He cleaned the back of his pants and his work uniform, which was dirty from dust.
Several scratches engraved on his arm, but the pain could be endured.
The problem now was Renka's left eye, which was scratched by a stone which resulted in one eye he could not use.
Unexpectedly, the girl suddenly put her finger on Renka's left eyelid.
From her finger, a bright green light emanated to his eyes. Miraculously, Renka's left eye, which had been seriously injured, was slowly getting better and the wound was gradually decreasing.
Within seconds, Renka's eyes had recovered as before. He could open his left eye.
It seemed that the principle worked almost similar to the regeneration or healing mechanism in the RPG games that Renka usually played.
After finished on healing Renka's left eye, the girl pulled back her finger.
"I'm just making sure, but you are a human, aren't you?" Asked the girl.
A strange question, that's about what Renka thought.
"I guess I could say so."
The girl did not respond so Renka could not actually know what was she thinking.
"By the way, thank you for saving me earlier. I was really helped." Renka said, grateful, he took a bow, gave Ojigi like Japanese people in general.
He looked around, the location he was on now was somewhat different from the place where the Breaker was raging. Renka concluded that he was now in a forestry area close to a park.
Around him were only towering trees and the sound of night insects everywhere.
The masked girl turned around.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Renka suspected that he would go to that Breaker place again.
Hearing Renka's words, the girl turned her head to him.
"Look, I've saved your life, now hurry back to your place." Finally, the girl spoke out to Renka. Her cold tone indicated her indifference to Renka's question and telling Renka to go home immediately instead.
"You haven't answered my question," Renka said.
The girl remained unmoved.
Like it or not, it seemed like she had to tell him.
"I can't let him hang around any longer, sooner or later he will take on more victims," she replied, still in a cold and haughty tone.
Renka really appreciated the kindness given by her so that he had the opportunity to live longer.
However, his instinct could not let a girl fight alone.
He was also not a person who loved being indebted to others.
"I can't let you go alone either. Let me come along," Renka offered.
The girl was surprised to hear his words. The two lights in her eye seemed to flare up faintly, in a very brief moment. She immediately walked over to Renka and used her hand to grab his neck.
"Ggg-hh, w-what the ..." Renka tried to breathe. Her grip was so strong that he seemed not to be given a chance to breathe even a second.
"After I saved your life, do you seriously want to waste my help !?" The girl scolded Renka emotionally.
From her tone, it was certain that she was angry that she almost yelled out at him.
"N-nhhg ." Renka's face almost turned purple due to lack of oxygen. He used his hands to try to break free from his strangulation. His fingers tried their best to open that masked girl's grip.
"Tch!" She let go of her chokehold.
"Cough, cough, uhk ..." Renka coughed. It was the most painful grip he had ever felt. He then breathed in frantic with his mouth opened the widest possible. His face was almost looked like a haniwa*.
"Come home quickly!" The girl walked away from Renka. The tone was stricter than before.
"W-wait ...! I mean it ... with my words ..." Renka ran after her, shouting.
The girl was getting confused. She had strangled him as a sign to stay away from her, but why did that human still insist on helping her?
"Why?" She asked.
"I have failed to save one person, and I don't want that to be repeated ... so, therefore—"
Before Renka could finish his answer, suddenly a long sword was already close to his head.
"I can cut your skull easily with just one light swing, do you underestimate my ability?" The girl did not seem to like being worried for. For her, that was tantamount to underestimating her strength.
Renka could not move.
This time he must be even more careful in composing his words.
"P-please . I just want to ... repay your kindness ..." Renka trembled a little, but he managed to express his heart's content.
Hearing Renka's answer, the girl's temper subsided. She kept her sword, then sighed heavily.
"How naive,"
The girl then walked toward Renka. He could see the girl's clothes waving in the wind. Her elegant mask, looks good with his bluish-white hair.
She took one of the swords she kept and gave it to Renka.
The sword was shorter than the one she used to cut the Breaker's eye earlier. The scabbard is was jet black with a red diamond pattern.
"You want to help me, right?"
Renka gulped. This was the decision he chose.
After steadying his heart, Renka accepted the sword she gave. Although short, but the sword was quite heavy.
Maybe because this was the first time Renka wielded a real sword.
"It's not too late to change your mind," the girl reminded him.
Renka pulled the sword from its sheath.
He could see the silvery metal that was forged in such a way, to create a weapon that could cut anything in half.
"No, I'm sure of my decision," Renka answered.
The girl turned around.
"I can feel the existence and prana in you, but they don't flow. Now tell me how you will help me with such a weak body?" She asked.
Renka looked into her eyes, "I guess ... I can distract him for a while, creating a gap so you can finish him in one hit."
Hearing Renka's strategy, the girl was a little surprised.
"Hoo, not bad for a Player who can't use his strength," She responded.
"After this, it's too late to regret your decision."
Renka knew, so he just answered with a nod.
"Sigh ..." The girl sighed. She then stretched out his hand again. Renka, who did not understand what he meant, was silent for a few moments.
"Hold on tight, this is the only way to get there in a short time." The girl reiterated her intention.
Even though it would be a bit embarrassing, Renka guessed that it would be the best way at this moment.
"Fine," Renka agreed. He then held her hand.
"Get ready, maybe you won't get used to this", The girl focused her concentration forward and said something like mantra.
Renka nodded and tightened the grip.
"Speaking of which, you really are a great Player ..." praised Renka, just before she used her strength
From the start, he was very impressed with the strength she had. That's what made him praise her .
The girl turned her head with a surprised face, "Player?", She asked.
"E-eh?"
"It looks like you misunderstood something here. I'm not a Player and never was." The girl answered solemnly.
Renka was confused.
If she wasn't a Player, how could she slashed that giant Breaker and healed his left eye easily?
"Just like him, I ... am also, a Breaker."