Saki's moment

"Speed Devil?" the thugs murmured in confusion. The nickname meant nothing to them—yet. But clarity came fast. After a tense pause, one thug suddenly collapsed. All eyes turned toward him as his friends scrambled to lift him.

"My legs… they won't move…" he groaned, wide-eyed in fear.

"How could they?" came a cheeky voice. "They won't be working for at least a day or two. Don't blame me if he gets sick."

Holding a needle between her fingers, Saki grinned.

"I mean, I know I'm hot, but you didn't have to fall for me to prove that. And for the record—I'm a minor. Maybe wait another two years, yeah?"

Before anyone could respond, she vanished again. Her movements were too quick for them to follow. Every time they caught a glimpse, she'd disappear in a blur. It was as if she blinked between spaces—gone before a reaction could form.

One of the smarter thugs figured she was a lost cause and decided instead to charge at me and Yasuna.

I tried to motion him away, silently warning him he was making a terrible mistake.

But he charged anyway, a small pocket knife in hand.

A second later, he was out cold. He collapsed like a swatted fly. Behind him stood Saki, calm as ever.

"I'm the target, not them," she said simply, brushing her hands off.

And then the spree began.

She lunged at another thug and landed a clean kick to his temple. He flew back into a wall with a sickening thud—thankfully without blood, but definitely out of the fight.

Realizing they were severely outmatched, the rest started dropping to their knees, begging for mercy.

But that only made her angrier.

"Seriously?!" she shouted. "You start a fight and then give up without even trying?! What happened to your backbone?! Pathetic!"

One of them stammered, "If you let us go, none of our gang will ever bother you again!"

Saki's smirk faded into something colder. She crouched down to their level.

"And how do I know that's not a lie? How do I know you won't come back with more?"

The thugs gulped in fear.

Saki walked ahead, her footsteps echoing ominously.

"I better be safe than sorry."

And just like that, their bodies stiffened—paralyzed. Only ten were still conscious, and Saki had already knocked three out cold. The remaining seven were frozen where they knelt.

They were smart to beg, but it was already too late.

I stepped forward with Yasuna beside me, both of us calm now. Yasuna wasn't even fazed by what had happened anymore.

I knelt slightly to their level.

"Listen carefully, idiots. If we hear even a whisper about you causing trouble again, you're done. And if you dare go to the police or breathe a word of this…"

I motioned to Saki, who cracked her knuckles with a wicked smile.

"…Just know you won't be waking up to see the sunrise."

I grabbed my bag from the ground and nodded to Yasuna.

"Let's go, Miss Ohana. We've got better things to do than babysit losers."

We walked away like nothing had happened.

Saki sighed."Wish it had lasted a little longer."

Yasuna didn't respond. Her expression was unreadable, but the cold sweat down her cheek said it all.

Nothing surprises me anymore, she thought. This… is just my life now.

I shrugged too. Best not to draw attention to it.

We soon went our separate ways, and as Saki and I walked home, she casually brought up something that Yasuna wasn't aware of.

"So, when are you going to tell your 'love' about your tattoos? Everyone's going to know sooner or later, especially with swimming classes coming up."

Without even glancing at me, she kept walking, her tone matter-of-fact.

I sighed. "Well, that's not happening anytime soon, is it? It's not like I'm going to show her my tattoos. I'll deal with that when I have to—if I have to. Right now, I've got a choice between swimming and a marathon, and I'm taking the marathon."

Though I didn't appreciate the topic she'd brought up, I couldn't deny that she had a point. What if they found out? What if Yasuna saw the tattoos? The thought made me uneasy, but it wasn't a problem for now. I'd leave that for future me to deal with.

As we made our way to our homes, we stopped by a small, cozy shop just before we parted ways. I didn't expect Saki to have such an appetite, but she came out with a bag full of candy and some meat for tomorrow. After a quick goodbye, she headed home, and I continued on my way.

"Welcome back!" my parents greeted as I entered the house, though I couldn't help but feel a little confused. Dad was home, which wasn't typical at this hour.

"Why are you home so early?" I asked, a frown tugging at my thoughts.

Mom smiled. "Saki's family came by, and they're heading out for a bit. They'll be bringing a surprise when they come back."

A hint of suspicion crawled up my spine, but I didn't press the matter. "Got it," I muttered, a bit distracted.

Soon, I was left alone in the house, and an odd sense of emptiness settled in. It felt strange to be this alone; I hadn't seen the place so quiet in ages. My eyes landed on a thought that hit me like a memory of another life. "Do I still have those boxes of random stuff?"

Back when I lived in Osaka, I used to buy odd things to pass the time—little distractions to keep the boredom at bay. Those were the days I spent alone, either at Saki's house or my own. I hadn't really had anyone else to hang out with. But things, I hoped, had changed for the better.

Racing to my room, I quickly dug around the corner where I remembered stashing them away. To my surprise, the boxes were still there, gathering dust. I hadn't thought to check on them in ages. As I lifted the lid, the dust flew up, and I couldn't understand how it had collected so quickly—after all, it had only been a few days.

Inside the box, I found all sorts of random things: mini toy daggers that looked kind of cool, old journals, tennis balls that had seen better days, and—believe it or not—a very old generation phone. But the strangest thing was a small charm.

I picked it up and laughed softly. "Would've been nice to have this on that one day when I really needed luck. But I don't need it now."

With a sigh, I put the charm aside, closed the box, and returned it to its dusty corner. Dropping onto my bed, I hoped I could finally get some sleep. But of course, fate had other plans.

"Yooo!! Shikaru, I have an awesome idea, and I want to try it out right now! But first, you've gotta load up your computer, because what I want to show you is inside. Come on, be quick!"

"Okay, okay! Give me a second to breathe! I'm loading it up right now. And I need some help dealing with a boss—I need some tips!"

The shift in my mood was instant, like flipping a switch. One second, I was sinking into a pit of uncertainty, feeling aimless, and the next, everything felt lighter. It was like magic. I couldn't explain it, but when Saki was around, nothing in the world could bring me down.

I didn't even mind that, just like always, Saki had busted through my window—despite my countless requests for her not to. It was a ridiculous thing to ignore, yet there I was, feeling nothing but calm. How could I even begin to understand this strange pull I felt?

Saki had been there for me through everything, especially when I had my problem with Yasuna. Yasuna had only come into my life recently, but Saki? She'd been there through it all. She tolerated every dumb mistake I made, every moment of my life was shared with her.

She was ridiculous, illogical, the kind of person I would usually despise. But for some reason, I couldn't let go of her.

"Why?" I thought, my mind racing. "What should I do? I'm lost in every way."