Part 3

The scene was chaotic, to say the least.

Police and ambulance lights and sirens blared out.

A group of people started to crowd behind yellow caution tape, overlooking the entrance to an underground passage.

Officers were walking around the area.

Several handcuffed individuals dressed in black were placed into the back of a police van, and a father was being taken in a stretcher into an ambulance.

A woman holding a young child's hand was talking to a paramedic before being waived inside and stepping in the back of the vehicle.

Next to board the back of the ambulance was a small child.

As the child was being picked up by the mother, she saw something in the corner of her eyes.

Beyond the crowd that gathered, there was a person standing there, watching everything unfold.

A high school student.

Haruko Matsumoto.

That wasn’t the name he was born with, but at this moment, it was the least of his concerns.

He stood across the street, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his left foot on the brick wall behind him.

The teen stood close enough to watch the ordeal and stood far enough not to stand out of place.

The child, seeing the person who saved him from the bad guys, waived at the teen.

Noticing this, the teen went wide-eyed at the gesture.

The teen did not know how to react in response to the waving child.

“Um…” the teen mumbled to himself.

Haruko scratched the back of his head.

Suddenly, he turned his head from side to side, looking for a way to handle what was happening.

Not figuring anything out, the teen then sighed before cracking a small smile. Weakly raising his right hand, the teen waved back.

The teen watched as the child was carried into the ambulance.

There was silence as the back doors to the ambulance were closed.

Slowly, the ambulance drove off.

This whole ordeal was over.

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Exhaling, Haruko folded his arms and rested his back against the wall behind him.

(What do I do now?)

As Haruko stared on, he felt something touch his left cheek.

Something soft.

Something fluffy.

Something light.

Small.

Slightly wet.

It didn’t feel like much, so he paid no attention to it at first.

Then suddenly there was an intense feeling—not from what was touching his cheek but from his body reaction to it.

It was an intense, burning, stinging sensation that caused the teen to flinch and quickly back away.

“Ouch!!!!” Haruko placed his hand on his cheek. “What the fucking hell do you think you’re doing?” he said, pointing his right index finger to the young female beside him.

Emi Takahara.

In her right hand were tweezers clutching a small wet cotton ball; in the other was a brown bottle that read Hydrogen Peroxide.

An antiseptic.

“What am I doing? Shouldn't that be obvious?" Emi said as she began walking closer. “The bleeding from your cut has stopped, but the cut still needs to be disinfected.”

“Don’t you think that you’re doing too much?” Haruko said as he restrained her forearms.

"Whatever you could possibly mean, if you are uncomfortable with this method, I also have alcohol wipes if that would suffice," Emi said in a cold tone in her voice.

"Woah, are you angry at me?"

Emi brought her face closer to his.

"Angry at you, what gave you that impression?"

The two were struggling for a bit.

"Ah, this must be that young love everybody is so hung up about.”

The sudden outburst caused the two teens to stop struggling.

Haruko turned his head to the source of the voice—a person sitting on a nearby bench.

There sat a black-haired individual, dressed in the school uniform, with his button-down school shirt unbuttoned, revealing a plain white t-shirt underneath.

His eyes were closed as he moved the straw from the smoothie; he was bringing it closer to his mouth and taking a long slip.

He opened his eyes, staring at the pair.

Red eyes.

Dark red eyes.

It was his most defining trait.

Alistair Michaels.

With a frown appearing on his face, Haruko released his grip on Emi's forearms and then walked up to Alistair, which caused him to stop sipping his smoothie.

“Where were you earlier?”

“Enjoying life and this soft drink,” Alistair said nonchalantly.

“That’s your excuse for bailing out on me. If you and I were together, we could have made short work of those guys.”

“Yeah, no. The way I fight is not suited for heroics. Which is why I advised you against rushing in blindly.”

“That wasn’t an option.”

Alistair glanced at Haruko.

Alistair's red eyes met Haruko's blue.

“A lot of things aren’t an option for you, which unfortunately makes you easy to read.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means you're too predictable." Emi said, walking up behind Haruko. "Honestly, this might have been the most reckless thing you have ever done.”

“Now, don’t be too hard on him; after all, there is nothing more uncertain than tomorrow, plus the day is not over yet for this one.”

Emi turned to Alistair.

“Don’t go and give this idiot any more ideas, and you…” Emi exclaimed before shoving the plastic store bag into his chest, full of bandages and alcohol wipes. “I think I have had enough of you and your foolishness for one day.”

The teen grabbed the bag.

“Use that to clean yourself up; I am heading home.”

Haruko stared at Emi.

“You’re heading home now, this early.”

“Yes, between you and myself, one of us has to be a responsible person,” Emi said as she started walking away.

Haruko watched as she walked away.

“It seems that someone is upset, but with your relationship with her, it is kind of hard not to be." Alistair chastised Haruko before standing from the bench and walking towards him. “Honestly, with the way that you’re going with all the trouble and fights you get into, you might end up saving the world from some supernatural threat.”

Blank.

Haruko just stared at Alistair.

"What? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m kidding,” Alistair said as both stood shoulder to shoulder, facing opposite directions. “It’s hard to tell what's going on in that head of yours, so I won’t stress the small details about the absurdity of what you just did. A family was saved, so I guess one can be happy with that result.

Alistair placed his right hand on Haruko’s left shoulder.

“Just don’t let it go to your head.”