DAY 0.7: POLYGONS INCLUDE TRIANGLES

It was the end of another slightly eventful school day. Apparently, the school delinquent had gotten into a bit of a romantic entanglement. Little whispers of rumours walked by the school gate. Several students milled out of the school with these gossips clinging to their very shadow.

In the midst of them was a group of highly energetic teenage girls. Their voices were louder than a lawn mower and the aura of sunshine surrounded them. However, it was dampened by the gloom of a girl carrying a wooden sword on her back and clenching one in her fist.

"Chahan"

"Chahan!!!"

"CHAHAN!!!!!"

Chahan turned silently to them and smiled weakly. "Are you okay?" one of the girls asked. "Yeah. Just club stuff" she replied, trying to bring the mood of the world back to normal. "I bet she's just sad that her crush left her" announced a dark haired girl. The sly smile on her face and her cat like eyes gave away her intentions. "C'mon Jeoja. Don't tease her like that" the girls cautioned.

Upon noticing Chahan's slightly red face, Jeoja ran up to the distraught girl and grabbed the wooden sword from her hand. "MY EXCALIBUR!!!!!" she announced to the birds of the air. Everyone paused in their train tracks and looked at her like she was some sort of weirdo. Jeoja stood, unfazed by the stares of people. Chahan's fist clenched and there was the sound of a breaking skull that echoed through the earth.

"Please forgive me. I have made a severe lapse in my judgement and for that I apologise" said Jeoja as she knelt down to Chahan's feet and apologised to her. The blood that spurted from her head gave a hint to where that sound of bone cracking came from.

Chahan heaved a sigh and took the sword from her hand. "Don't sweat it" she said. "But did it work?" the teary eyed girl asked. "Did what work?" Chahan answered. The signs of gloom had disappeared from Chahan and Jeoja smiled enthusiastically, not minding the teeth she had lost from her head being crushed. Chahan pulled her up and as they walked, that air of happiness that cascaded them returned.

Suddenly, the air grew cold. Smoke poured from the doors of the school. A footstep came out. Familiar blonde hair and numerous piercings gave rise to a silence that overcame the school. By his side was a pair of golden piercing eyes covered in bright pink. The world famous Delinquent-New Girl couple had stepped foot outside. The news media round the world carried headlines at this historic moment. All beings above and below were lay spellbound as they walked outside, hand in hand.

"Remind me why we have to do this" Shinai asked silently. "To make them believe we're really dating" Chisai responded. As they walked, Chahan's sword pleaded for a chance to breathe as the grip that held it got tighter by the second. Shinai's eyes crossed Chahan's face and it read in clear terms

"YOU'RE FINISHED"

As the couple walked to the gate, Chisai noticed his ghastly white face. She chuckled a little. Her fingers touched Shinai's face slightly and her feet stretched to reach his ears. "Remember, tomorrow is our first day" she said, turning his white face to a blank sheet of paper. This filled the male onlookers with a greater hatred towards Shinai. As they stepped outside the gate, there was an instant separation of hands faster than the eye could see. They both immediately started walking in the opposite direction. Something that no one noticed. The rumour mill started going again. A legend had been born.

"Chahan, it's like they're really dating" said Jeoja. There was no response. She turned back and saw the person she was talking to pulling out a piece of paper from her bag. "Chahan?" the girls around her asked. As she pulled a black marker, they started moving backwards. "I think we have to run" Jeoja said.

Chahan drew a strange seal on the paper and pasted it on her sword. She touched her forehead with her fingers and threw the sword in the air. There was a flash of light and a booming sound. There was a massive shockwave that blew everyone back, shaking the foundations of the school. Chahan had disappeared. "What was that?" a girl asked from the ground. Smoke rose up from the burnt concrete where Chahan once stood. "She finally used it" Jeoja said in awe. "Used what?" the girls asked as they gathered round her, wanting to fill their ears with information. "A move that could get the author a copyright strike" she answered. They looked at the burnt concrete and bowed to it. "We apologise for her, copyright man"

Shinai heard the loud explosion from behind him and recognised where it came from. He took a step forward and heard another loud boom from behind him. "Time to go beyond" he said to himself and his blonde hair lit on fire. His legs turned him back and he saw an angry Chahan on her way.

Great scientists estimate it only took 0.0002 seconds for his knees to touch the ground. A great wind passed by him, extinguishing the flames on his head and he saw the legs of a person he knew stand before him. "Get up" the voice said. He looked up and saw a calm Chahan. "Have you gotten dinner for Sentoki?" she asked. "Not yet ma'am" he responded, slowly getting up. "You're hopeless. You know that?" the girl said with a sigh. "Let's go. I heard this store sells nice bento boxes" she continued, dragging him by the collar. Turns out she wasn't really calm after all.

The neon lights that bathed Tokyo shone brightly at night. The streets gradually got drier. There was no sign of life except the occasional person that walked by the streets. The world was empty to the two students that stood outside a supermarket. Shinai held two white bags in his hand. He passed one to Chahan absentmindedly. "You want me to hold this for you?" she asked. "I think tomorrow used to be your birthday" he answered. Chahan's cheeks turned bright red and she took it from him. Opening it, she saw a pair of dark coloured hand gloves. Grey flowers covered the back and the warm feel of cotton on her fingers as she touched them gave her a tinge of happiness.

As they walked down the streets with one hand on either side of the bag, Chahan decided to ask what has been bothering her throughout the day. "Hey, bamboo head" she started. "Yeah?" he responded. "Wouldn't your new girlfriend get annoyed?" she asked. Shinai picked up a stick from the ground and swirled in between his fingers. Chahan waited for an answer that didn't seem to be forthcoming. "She's not my girlfriend" he answered after a long time. "What do you mean she's not your girlfriend?" she asked again. "Look, Chahan. I've already dealt with it" he answered with a hint of annoyance in his voice as he threw the stick into the night sky.

"You know you can rely on me. You don't have to take things on by yourself" she said. There was a bit of silence between them. The air around them was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Their feet took a turn and they stopped right in front of Shinai's home. "Are you angry?" the girl asked. Shinai looked at her and brought his face close to hers. His warm breath hit her face. He brought his hands to her hair and removed a leaf that was stuck on her hair. The wooden sword in her hand fell to the ground as his lips touched her ear.

"Thank you"

His voice travelled to her brain. His unsmiling face in front of her spoke a thousand volumes of all the troubles he took upon himself. As he took the handle of the other nylon from her, their hands brushed. The feeling of his hard, bruised skin against her toughened hand rushed a volt of electricity through her. He turned back and was about to walk inside when he felt a hug on his back. He gently removed her hands from him and smiled, giving her extreme warmth. "See you tomorrow" he said and the door behind him closed.

"I don't like him. I really don't"

Her thoughts could be heard from afar. Chahan stood for a moment and picked up her wooden sword. Her thumping heart could be heard from miles away. "He's just a friend, isn't he?" she asked herself as she walked away from his house. Smacking her face with her hand, she steeled her thoughts. The lone girl under the dim moonlight walked, unsure of her own emotions.

Shinai entered the lower floor of the house. The moonlight revealed its nature. A large hall with wooden floors. Various white clothing hung on the walls of the room. The familiar scent of bamboo hit his nose as tens of wooden swords lay on the ground. He stretched his hand to pick one up but he stopped. He looked at the stern picture of a man staring at him from the wall and a wave of anger took over him. He grabbed a sword and threw it at the picture, shattering its glass frame into a million pieces. His breathing intensified and he fell to his knees. The silent tears of a lonely boy filled the room; his emotions overflowing from within him. Shinai's sobs reminded the world of a child that pretended to be a man.

Footsteps sounded from the room above. A flashlight peered in his direction. Sentoki saw Shinai standing, looking at the ground. "Are you okay?" she asked with concern. She noticed his eyes were slightly red and she ran to him, hugging him tightly. "If you hug me like that, I think I'll break" he joked weakly. "Then break" she replied as she hugged him tighter. "I'm home, Sentoki" he said. "Welcome back" she replied warmly.

Shinai looked outside his balcony. The lights of the city that never went to sleep looked at him. He overlooked the roads that ran through the place and the night life that ensued. "A long day" he thought. A whiff of nicotine swept through the wind and he let out a smoke. The cigarette stayed lit in his hands as he watched life go on. He remembered the hug that Chahan gave him and he shook his head. "Not now" he thought.

He looked at the clock that read 11PM. He blew out the cigarette and threw it in his trash basket. As he was about to leave, he noticed a familiar shade of pink walking by. "Chisai?!!!" he said aloud. Chisai looked up to see Shinai standing by the balcony of a two storeyed building. Her body was covered in sweat and she wore traditional Japanese training attire. Her hand held a bamboo sword.

"Shinai?!!!!" she said aloud again. "ARE YOU STALKING ME?!!!!!" Shinai shouted from the house. "What? NO!!! I LIVE HERE!!!!" she shouted back as she pointed to the house right next to them. The realization hit Shinai and Chisai at the same time.

"Oh no!!! WE'RE NEIGHBOURS?!!!!"