You stand outside the Sano residence, staring at the house. Your eyes relax, and you sigh.
"It's only been three days... this feels so miserable already- maybe I should've picked another option..." You sigh. You lean against the wall beside the gate. The clothing swaying in your hand. You look at it, and the outfit has blood on it. Your eyes narrow and then relax when you realize you were holding it with the bloody hand. You slide down the wall, dropping to the ground. You feel the wet, cold ground touching your bottom. Maybe you should have picked a better outfit rather than the sweater and skirt you threw on.
You pull your legs together, resting your head on your knees and wrapping your arms around you. You shiver from the rain soaking your clothes and the cold breeze in the air. Your eyes feel heavy as tears flow out of them, feeling overwhelmed.
"Why are you outside my house again?" A voice says from beside you. You slowly lift your head up, holding your hand out towards Mikey, who is standing by the gate. He's holding an umbrella.
"I came to return the clothes..." You say in a quiet tone.
"... returning them soaked... and covered in blood-" Mikey sighs. "You could have at least cleaned them..."
"..." You slowly stand up, staring at him. You shove the clothes into his hands. He shuffles back a bit from the sudden push you gave him.
"..." Mikey squints his eyes at you. He looks down at the clothes and then at you. You step back a few steps, looking off into the distance.
"You're mean." You say in a quiet tone. Mikey's eyes narrow. "I could never like a guy like you." You huff.
"I could never like you either." He huffs back. You glare at him before turning away and walking off. He turns and walks back through the gate.
After walking a bit, you stop, staring down at your shoes and clenching your hands.
"Why is everything so much more complicated all of a sudden? What am I even doing? What am I supposed to do?" You rasp. You rub your face with your bloody hand. You use your sleeve to wipe the blood off your face. You continue forward, walking in a random direction.
After walking a bit, you decide to walk into a building, making your way to a bathroom. You stand at the sink, rinsing your bloody finger under the faucet. You stare at your finger as the blood and water mix together.
The cut looks deep... should I be worried? You pull your hand from the sink, staring down at it. Blood pours out of your finger still. You narrow your eyes, sticking it back under the sink. The bathroom door opens, yet you ignore it. A woman walks past you and into a stall. You narrow your eyes as you watch the water mix with the blood.
The toilet flushes, and the woman walks to a sink beside you. You continue to stare at your bloody finger.
"You look familiar..." The woman says. You slowly look up at the mirror, staring at the woman.
"You're Eli's friend, right?" She asks. You furrow your eyebrows a bit, feeling confused.
"Yeah... I am."
"I'm his mom." She smiles.
"Oh..." You stare at her, feeling a mixture of confusion and shock. She looks very young and incredibly gentle. Your eyes narrow a bit, remembering what you learned about her in the future.
"What happened to your finger...? You're bleeding." She asks. You look back towards your hand and frown.
"My finger won't stop bleeding." You sigh.
"Can I help?" She asks. You stare at her for a bit before nodding. She grabs a handkerchief from her purse and wraps it around your finger tightly. "Applying pressure can help stop the bleeding." She softly says. You stare at her and then down at your finger. After she finishes, she pulls a bandaid from out of her purse, wrapping it around your finger. You stare at the bandaid and then slowly at her.
"Thank you." You softly say, bowing at her. She smiles and shakes her head.
"No need for the formality... you're very welcome." She smiles. You look up at her, furrowing your eyebrows a bit. You stare towards the door of the bathroom, taking a deep breath.
"Where is Eli?" You ask.
"He should be home with his older sister... were you looking for him?" She questions. You stare at her and then slowly nod.
"Yeah... I wanted to talk to him."
"Oh, do you know where we live?" She asks. You slowly shake your head. "I can walk you there before I go to my interview." She smiles.
You walk beside her quietly. Your eyes slowly drift towards her. She looks lively and happy. Was she always this happy, even due to what's happening to her? You furrow your eyebrows, thinking about the truth revolving around her and Eli's dad.
The two of you stop at a staircase. She walks up the stairs, pulling a key from her purse. She unlocks the door, pushing it open. You follow behind her.
"I'm home." Eli's mother says loudly.
"Oh... I thought you weren't going to be home until later-" A voice says. You peek from behind Eli's mother to see a girl. That must be Emi, his sister.
"Who is that?" Emi asks, pointing towards you. Eli's mother moves to the side. Eli's eyes widen when he sees you.
"Yuki? What are you doing here?" He asks, pushing himself up.
"I wanted to talk to you..." You softly say.
"Oh?"
You sit on the curb, waiting for Eli to walk out of the convenience store. It's no longer raining outside. You stare at the puddle in front of you, pushing your foot across the concrete to touch the tip of your shoe to the puddle.
"I got you a strawberry soda." Eli bubbles as he jumps down next to you. He hands you the soda and smiles. "I was only given five hundred yen... so got us both soda... if that's ok."
"Thank you." You softly say, holding the cold soda in your hand.
"I'm surprised you came across my mom today... I really didnt expect you to show up."
"Yeah..." You slowly nod as you examine the design on the soda.
"What's on your mind?" Eli asks, leaning forward a bit. You slowly lift your head, your eyes meeting his. You look away, sighing.
"How do you save someone?" You ask in a soft tone.
"What do you mean?" Eli tilts his head in confusion. "You mean your mom?"
"I mean, in general... how do I save someone? How do I save others...?"
"By saving them..."
"But how?"
Eli stares at you, thinking about your question. You hear the crack of the soda as he opens it and slowly drinks from it. You hear him sigh and then take a deep breath.
"Usually saving someone means dominating your opponent... and by doing that you need to get stronger..." Eli makes a fist. "Then when you do... you beat them up."
You furrow your eyebrows, slowly looking towards Eli.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm answering your question..." Eli answers. He rests his hand on his knee. "You can't save someone if you don't have the strength to do so... you have to fight to save them..."
"..."
"That's how every super hero does it..." He adds. You slowly nod and then sigh. You place the soda between your legs, juggling it with your knees.
"So... what you're saying is... if I want to save someone... I would need to become stronger?" You question.
"Exactly."
"Okay... then I have a proposition." You say. Eli looks at you, curious by your words.
"What is it?"
"Let's start a gang." You reply.
"A WHAT?"