How Come They Always Jump Over Gates So Easily?

“I’ve been telling you I’m the real Sinful Shadow from the beginning, human, so you only have yourself to blame for not believing me.”

“Ugh… this is crazy…”

I mean, he wasn’t wrong, but getting what felt like pretty concrete evidence of his claim thrown right at my face was a little too much to handle on a random ass Thursday afternoon.

“As impossible as it is,” Claire chimed in, “it’s happening right now, isn’t it? So instead of worrying about it, how about we move past it and focus on the future?”

“The future?”

“Yes! The future! Like, why is he here? Does he have any unfinished business, for example?”

“I-I’m not a ghost,” Shin grimaced.

“Oh, that’s right…”

Claire looked disappointed, but maybe she was onto something. I turned to Shin myself this time.

“You might not be wrong. Shin, do you know why you’re here?”

Shin shook his head.

“No. Like I was saying, I finally managed to sleep after twenty failed attempts, and when I woke up I heard a voice— someone in danger asking for help, so I immediately jumped into action.”

…Someone in danger asking for help, huh.

Since he came out of nowhere to slice that car in half, I guess he’s talking about me.

“I see. I don’t particularly remember asking for help, though…”

We were walking in front of Corry High as we spoke.

This used to be my alma mater, but I tried not to think about it too much.

High school wasn’t too fun for me. It was the time I had a crude awakening to how cringe I was, and had to slowly transition out of my dark emo tendencies into a regular boring high school boy just so I could fit in.

It was also around this time where I realized I didn’t have as much talent as I thought.

“Mm. It’s true that you were the first person I saw in danger and that’s why I saved you, but… It wasn’t your voice that I heard.”

Shin spoke these words after a few moments of silence.

“Huh?”

Claire tilted her head, just as confused as I was.

“It wasn’t Leo’s voice? Then whose—”

CRASH!!

Suddenly, there was a loud noise like something heavy hitting a wall, followed by a loud scream.

“Did you hear that!?”

“It sounded like it came from inside the school!” Claire said and immediately sprinted towards the entrance.

When I tell you she climbed up the gate like freaking spider-man until she was on the other side… I was extremely impressed, and it honestly made my heart beat a little fast.

But, no, more importantly:

“Wa- Wait, Claire! We can’t just go in! We’ll get arrested!”

Claire turned to look at me as she kept running forward.

“Someone’s in danger, we can’t just abandon them like—”

“Out of my way!” Shin yelled suddenly as he shoved me aside, sprinting towards the entrance as well, crossing the top of the gate with the confidence of a parkour master.

“Wah! Shin! Come back here!”

They both quickly disappeared from my sight, and I had no choice but to follow them… except I’m nowhere near as agile as either of them, so I’d rather not get into details of how I got past the gate and tore part of my clothes in the process. All I can say is, it was painful.

***

“N-No, please! Not that one, I worked an entire month on that—!”

The student with long hair and glasses cried out as he laid on the floor, reaching his outstretched arm towards the tall, big bully holding his school bag.

The big guy smirked, holding a USB in his hand that he snapped with ease in a second.

CRACK!

“Hahahaha!”

“A-Aah…”

The poor student’s eyes welled with tears, and it seemed to only fire up the bully even more. He knelt down in front of the guy with glasses, tugging on his hair to lift his face.

“What, you gonna cry now? I’m doing you a favor, y’know? Your music is absolute garbage, I’m saving you the embarrassment of putting this out there and saving the world from hearing it, too.”

“Please… Stop…”

From the open bag in the bully’s free hand, a plastic case slid onto the floor and drew both their eyes towards it. The bully let go of the boy’s hair roughly, switching to pick up whatever just came out.

“Huh? What’s this? A CD? Haven’t seen these in awhile.”

“I-It’s for a special project, please… please don’t—”

SNAP.

The bully broke in half, case and all.

“A-Aah…”

“There. Now nobody will have to suffer through your ridiculous voiceroid music at the festival— huh?”

At an incredible speed never before seen from someone fresh out of the hospital, Shin sprinted towards the bully and planted both feet onto his unsuspecting chest, throwing him down onto the hard concrete on the bike parking lot of the school, where he skidded away a few good feet.

“Argh!”

“Shin!”

Claire cried out, a few feet behind him, and I arrived a few seconds after, myself.

Shin was standing in front of the boy with glasses, raising a fist as he directed his fiery one-eyed glare at the guy he just kicked down.

“What kind of coward attacks someone who isn’t even defending himself?”

The bully staggered up, catching his breath and clearly still out of it. Shin pointed at the guy with glasses still lying on the floor.

“Look at him! He’s so much weaker than you! Smaller! A puny little NPC worm!”

“...Th-that’s a little harsh,” muttered the boy with glasses.

“Raaghh!”

The bully launched himself onto Shin, who nimbly side-stepped away from him. The big guy did not like this.

“Who the fuck are you!? You’re just a kid!”

“Hah,” Shin grinned, “Rejoice, mortal. You’re about to receive punishment straight from Hell, from a real Grim Reaper eager to devour your rotten soul.”

“What the fuck are you ta—”

“Shin, enough!” I yelled at him as soon as I arrived (...yeah, I lied earlier, I was way behind, sue me).

Claire immediately went to the injured boy’s side, kneeling next to him and lifting his head to check on him.

“A-Are you okay?”

“I… think so…”

The big guy sniffed, wiping some blood from his nose from when he hit the pavement when Shin took him by surprise, getting himself into some sort of amateur boxing position.

“Come at me, you little shit. If you wanna see Hell so bad, I’ll gladly show it to ya.”

Shin took the bait immediately, rushing after him at full speed.

“Rrragghh!!”

But the thing is, Sinful Shadow was just a kid, and this held-back highschooler was way bigger and stronger than a 14-year-old, so the moment Shin threw a punch at his big chest, all the bully had to do was lift his knee quickly and hit him straight on the stomach at full force.

“Take that!”

“Hgnh!?”

“Shin!!”

Claire cried out, unable to move as she was cradling the first victim in her arms.

“Shin!”

I followed suit, unsure how to intervene. Even as an adult, I couldn’t possibly take this guy on, and even if I could, there would be so many consequences for it.

“Aaah…”

The guy with glasses could do nothing but watch in horror as Shin started to take a beating that was probably meant for him in the first place.

Shin tried standing up, coughing, his knees trembling with every attempt. But beyond the pain he was obviously experiencing, there was a frightened confusion coloring his face.

“Hck… gah… That… wasn’t supposed to hurt like that…”

“Hah! So you’re really all talk, aren’t ya? I should finish you right now for getting in the way of what doesn’t concern you—”

Shin finally managed to stand up, throwing a punch at the bully again that was immediately countered by him catching his fist, then using his free, longer arm to punch Shin straight in the face.

“Nngh… Aaarghh!”

He let go of him to watch Shin fall down onto the concrete, laughing boisterously.

“Hahaha! You’ve got a death wish, pipsqueak!?”

Shin didn’t answer.

My hands were shaking.

I felt absolutely powerless, like that time with the dog on the street. Should I go help him? Should I go ask for help instead? What should I do?

What could I do?

While I drowned in my own thoughts, Shin staggered painfully back onto his feet. Even the bully was surprised to see it.

“What the…”

The boy with glasses took in a shaky breath, trying to sit up.

“Who is… that kid…?”

Shin wiped his face with his hand. Thankfully, it was only sweat, but he looked worse for wear. Somehow, however, he managed a self-deprecating grin.

“Haah… It looks like… I don’t have all my powers in this strange land, huh… that’s… an inconvenience…”

The big guy cracked his neck, followed by his knuckles. He was ready to go again.

“Let’s end this now, shorty.”

“Shin, that’s enough!”

I yelled, taking a step forward with caution. If I couldn’t intervene, I could at least get him to step back, maybe

“Nngh…”

Shin’s legs almost gave in again.

“You can’t take someone that big! Not here! Especially not fresh from the hospital!”

“…Even if… that’s true… I have to try…”

“No, you don’t! You’re a kid!”

“No, I’m the Grim Reaper of Chaos and Destruction—”

“YOU’RE JUST A KID!”

“!?”

I yelled with all my might. It startled Shin, whose eyes opened wide as he finally turned to look at me.

“I-In this place… you’re just a kid… so please…”

I know what he thought he was.

I believed it now, that he was the Grim Reaper of Chaos and Destruction wherever he came from.

But he wasn’t. Not here.

The real Grim Reaper would never get hurt like that. The real Grim Reaper would win every fight, and escape unscathed from fights with regular humans.

This Sinful Shadow in front of me was just a very brave kid, who was unfortunately not stronger than any other kid his age.

“Leo!” Claire raised her voice, holding up her phone. “I called the police! They’re on their way!”

The bully perked up at this immediately.

“Hah!? Shit—!”

He turned around and ran away from us as quickly as possible. I yelled at him.

“Hey! Come back here!”

But he was gone before we knew it. The guy with glasses took a deep breath, as if it were the first time he was able to in awhile.

Shin’s legs also gave in, tumbling down as he held his side, where he had surgery a few hours ago.

“Hnghk…”

I ran over to his side.

“Are you okay? Did he open up your stitches again?”

He had a pained expression on his face

“…He… hurt me… he really hurt me… a mere, unarmed human…”

I sighed.

“…You reckless fool…”

“...Leo,” Claire said quietly, “we’re trespassers, so I didn’t really call the police, but we should get out of here…”

She turned to the boy in her arms.

“Are you okay? What’s your name?”