The next morning, Tiger was getting ready to leave for school when something caught his attention. He glanced toward the window and suddenly saw the mysterious girl standing outside, watching him through the glass.
Tiger immediately turned toward the window, but she was already gone.
He quickly walked over and looked outside, trying to find her, but there was no sign of her anywhere. Tiger stared for a moment before sighing.
"No… this is probably another coincidence," Tiger whispered to himself. "My mind still hasn't recovered properly. I need to stop thinking about all this. I have to get to school."
He grabbed his things and left.
By the time Tiger reached school, he had almost forgotten about what he had seen. He walked through the corridors toward his classroom, surrounded by students heading to their own classes.
Then he noticed her again.
The mysterious girl was sitting on the glass edge of the school wall as if she had been waiting there for him.
Tiger immediately stopped and hurried toward her.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. "If someone sees you…"
Without saying a single word, the girl simply climbed onto the rooftop.
Tiger stared at her for a second before following. He climbed up and reached the rooftop, where the girl was already standing.
"If someone sees you up here, we're both going to get in trouble," Tiger said.
The girl didn't answer. Instead, she slid down from the rooftop and disappeared below.
Tiger sighed and followed her, sliding down after her. Just as he landed, one of the teachers seemed to sense something from the rooftop and looked in that direction.
Tiger immediately jumped down from the area and landed safely.
"Huh?" Tiger looked around. "Where did she go?"
He searched the area, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Then Tiger suddenly looked upward.
She was sitting on top of the wall.
Tiger stared at her and shook his head. "Oh… so this is your favorite place? I guess you really like sitting on top of walls."
The girl smiled. She had a small wooden stick in her hand.
"Wow, you figured it out," she said.
She jumped down from the wall and landed in front of Tiger.
Tiger looked at her seriously. "Do you really have to keep stalking me? At least tell me why."
"Look, Tiger, I'm not stalking you…" she said, slowly walking around him. "Well, whatever you think I'm doing."
Tiger watched her circle around him. "Could you stop walking around me while you're saying that?"
She stopped and looked at him.
"Oh? So it feels strange when I keep walking around you?" she asked. "Alright, then. Let's play a game."
She took the small wooden stick and flicked it toward Tiger using her index and middle fingers. Tiger caught it easily and looked at the stick.
"What game?" he asked nonchalantly.
The girl placed both of her hands behind her back and looked at him.
"Watch."
The moment she finished speaking, the wooden stick suddenly slipped out of Tiger's hand by itself. It floated in the air for a moment before moving directly toward his eye at incredible speed.
Tiger didn't move.
Just before the stick could hit his eye, it suddenly froze in midair, only a few centimeters away.
The girl smiled.
"That was the game. Hahaha."
She started laughing.
Tiger looked at the frozen stick and then back at her. "So you were checking whether my shield was active or not?"
"Yeah," she replied with a small smile. "Maybe."
She looked away for a moment before continuing. "I don't have much time, so listen. Let's say that someday you have to fight me. What would you do?"
Tiger frowned. "Say that again. I don't think I understood what you meant."
"I mean…" she said, looking directly at him. "Would you kill me or not?"
Tiger stared at her.
"Are you thinking way too deeply about the future?"
"I just want an answer."
Tiger crossed his arms. "And what if I don't give you one?"
The girl suddenly smiled.
"Then your question is over."
Tiger blinked. "What?"
"Your question is finished. You refused to know your future." She looked down at her nails as she continued speaking. "If you had said something like, 'Yes, I would kill you,' or 'No, I wouldn't,' then you could have gone on knowing what might happen. But…"
She paused, still looking at her nails.
"Unfortunately, you didn't."
Tiger looked at her silently.
"Honestly, I don't care if I know my future or not. Even if something bad happens later and I could fix it because I knew about it beforehand… I don't think I would like that" Tiger said.
The girl looked back at Tiger.
"That's interesting," she said. "Anyway, we'll meet again."
She suddenly turned toward the wall and began walking straight toward it.
Tiger watched in confusion as she reached the wall.
But just as she was about to disappear through it, a gardener suddenly arrived carrying a bucket of water.
The girl was already touching the wall.
Her body partially passed into it, and within a moment, she completely vanished.
The gardener looked at Tiger.
"You only have four or five minutes. Hurry up, or you'll be late for class."
Tiger quickly nodded. "Yeah, I'm going. Thank you for telling me."
He immediately started walking toward his classroom.
As Tiger was heading down the corridor, a staff member noticed him.
"Where are you going?" she asked softly.
Tiger slowed down. He was already in a hurry and hesitated for a moment.
"I'm—"
Before he could finish, a teacher arrived and began speaking with the staff member. Tiger took the opportunity to leave and quickly made his way to his classroom.
He entered just in time, took his seat, and tried to act as though nothing unusual had happened.
There were already many students inside. A little later, the class began, and Tiger spent the rest of the lesson trying to focus.
Eventually, the class ended and lunch break began.
Tiger took his lunch and went outside. Instead of joining the other students, he sat alone on the stairs near the school ground.
A few moments later, Icchi noticed him.
She walked over and sat beside him.
"Why are you sitting alone, Tiger?" she asked.
Tiger hesitated before answering, "I just felt like sitting here."
Icchi looked at him suspiciously.
"You're lying, aren't you?"
Tiger scratched the back of his head.
"Maybe."
"By the way, where's your friend?" Tiger asked.
"She went somewhere, so she isn't coming to school today," Icchi replied.
"Oh, I see," Tiger said. "I understand."
After a short silence, Tiger looked toward Icchi.
"By the way, you did really well in the fight. And in the hurdling competition too."
Icchi smiled. "Yeah. I have to admit, you were the first person to beat someone that badly in front of everyone."
She paused and smiled.
"Anyway, thank you."
Tiger nodded. Then he looked around the school grounds.
"By the way, I haven't seen Leon or Tigor. Did something happen to them?"
Icchi shook her head.
"No. They took their transfer certificates from the school, so they're not here anymore. I guess there was some reason behind it."
"Oh… okay."
Icchi stood up.
"well, I should go."
"I should go too" Tiger said.
They both spoke at almost the exact same time.
Tiger looked at her and gave a small smile. "Oh, okay. See you later."
Icchi started walking away.
"See you later," she replied.
After school finally ended, Tiger left the school and began walking back toward his rented home.