Dragonoid Naga

Main Gate
2:30 PM, several students are leaving the school, talking past Shinji who’s leaning his back against the gate.

"You know bout the incident at the bridge?”
"Ofc! Its viral! I feel bad for that student tho…”

Shinji sipped Mila, a chocolate milk drink in a can.

"Aimi… Kei…”

He glanced at his watch, released a deep sigh and looked aside.

"Where the fork is the way home again?”
"Huh?”

Mai walked past and overheard him.

School Street
He followed her from the back as she agreed to help him despite feeling uneasy.

"Why?”

She asked without looking.

"Why I forgot my way home?”
"Why you rent a haunted house? Our school got a good dorm with private roo-”
"Cheap…”

He replied shortly and she glanced sideways.

"You got orphan allowance right? You could get a discount too for that!”

Shinji took a glance at his back before gazing forward.

"Are you… Always alone?”
"Changing the topic I see… Well not really, I have a close friend from B Class, her name is Yuki, I lived with her…”
"She absent today?”

Mai shook her head.

"She’s a student council member and they got a looong meeting today for sports event next week, that’s why I ate and home alone today… Why you asked?”
"I saw-… No, I shouldn’t bring that up… Nevermind… Just curious…”

He glanced at his back again but no one was in sight.

School Field
Meanwhile, Chrono lounged beside his fellow football club members under the warm afternoon sun.

"Chrono right? Can you be our goal keeper for next week?”
"Sure no problem!”

The other member interrupted.

"Hey hey, our team lack one member! Shoo shoo!”
"Lack your ass! Your team have three reserved players!”

They laughed then one of them changed the topic and the mood shifted.

"I feel bad for Kei…”
"Yeah me too…”
"Kei?”

Chrono frowned and they stared at him.

"No one tells you bout him, Chrono?”

He shook his head.

"Kei from Kioku High… He used to be a star footballer there, but involved in an accident last year, lost his leg… Recently, they found him drowned in a lake under Miraii Bridge, the one that connected Kioku Town and this city…”
"That’s so tragic…”

Chrono said and the other continued.

"Yeah but the weird part is, the day he was found drowned equal to the day of the football tournament… We in the bus at the time, ready to take off when suddenly we were told the tournament was cancelled…”
"They cancelled because of the Kei guy?”

Chrono asked but they looked at each other.

"Maybe…”
"Maybe?”

Chrono tilted his head and one of them scratched their head.

"They... Didn’t actually explain the reason but we knew about Kei after he went viral, which quite shocking to us… His body was found along with two Dragonoid Naga members too!”

One of them pulled the grass and threw it away.

"I hate that dark guild, man! Always making trouble!”
"Same bud! My father’s business ruined because of them!”

Chrono stared at the ground, deep in his thought.

"Dragonoid Naga…”

Back Alley
Two thugs, both with dragon-shaped tattoos on their hands and golden pendants hanging under their necks, approached them from opposite directions.

"Wow, we got some jackpot!”
"Told ya!”

Shinji clutched his duffel bag.

"Dragonoid Naga?!”

He attempted to leap but Mai blocked him with her arm.

"Stand back Shinji! Lemme handle this!”
"The fork yo-”

She threw her bag at him.

"Im the C Class Assistant Monitor, this is my responsibility! Step back! Now!”
"Yo- you sure?”

She glanced at him sharply without saying anything.

"Ouu! Im so scared! I need my girlfriend to save me!”
"Heh!”

Mai slipped in a combat stance and Shinji took 21 deliberate steps backwards.

"This good?”

He shouted and she glanced over her shoulder.

"Are you mocking me?!”
"Hahaha! Look at that idiot!”
"Brooo!”

Both thugs burst into laughter, slapping their knees. Shinji on the other hand, turned towards the tree for a minute before gazing back forward.

"Huh? One of them already down?!”

He blinked. The second thug threw a punch but Mai dodged casually.

"Seriously? A golden pendant and that’s how you attack me?”
"Tsk! You really asking for this huh?!”

He lunged but Mai jumped, twisted her body gracefully with three rapid kicks mid-air, and knocked the thug to the back.

"Who’s this girl?!”
"THE FORK?! I NEED TO LEARN THAT MOVE!!!”

She landed, quickly swept his feet, and shoved him flat to the ground.

"Arrrkkk!!!”
"Wait, why she stole my spotlight?! Im the protagonist in this story!”

Mai smirked and snatched his pendant then crushed it in her hand.

"Wha-”
"How much did you guys waste just to fake this?”

She threw the broken pieces away then pulled something from her pocket.

"Impossible?!”
"How the-”

She flexed her golden dragon pendant, shocking them including Shinji.

"Yes! This is how the REAL Dragonoid Naga recognition medal looks like!”
"She also-… Nagas?!"

He stepped back in disbelief, officially became 22 steps now.

Four Intersection
They stopped in front of a dark, gloomy road full of trees and bushes.

"Its not mine!”

She said suddenly and he glanced around.

"Who asked?! So… You’re not one of them?”
"Obv! It’s my dad… Heh, pretty rare for me to call him that! See what I did there?”

She raised her eyebrow, then gazed at the path leading to the haunted house.

"I heard this road never receives any development… How did you sleep in there?”
"Cheap… Thank you so much, assistant monit-”
"Mai! Don’t forget that too!”

She chuckles and Shinji gave her a can of Mila to thank her and they went separate ways. After a few steps into the woods, Shinji hid behind a tree.

"Just so you know, I rented this place! You trespassing! I give you three seconds!”

He dropped his duffel bag and reached for something. Two shuriken went curved past the tree, twisting towards him.

"So he wanna play huh?”

He draw a katana from the bag and slashed it mid-air.

"Wha-… Why this seems familiar?!”

He stepped forward and turned his back, looking up at the trees.

"The fork you want?! If you looking for money, let’s find it together!”

A kunai flew straight from a branch but he caught it, hid it and leapth before shukuchi to the tree’s branch but found no one.

"He’s good… Who paid you?! Special Police?! Dragonoid Naga?!”

He turned his back and a wave of kunai along with shuriken came straight to him. He shukuchi and slashes them with ease then letting himself wide open in mid-air.

"What is this?! Hide and seek?!”

The ninja appeared above him under the blazing sun, black-hooded, black masked, blade drawn and they clashed mid-air.

"Who the fork are you?!”
"?!”

The ninja’s eyes widened witnessing Shinji wasn’t falling. He hovered, defying gravity. The ninja spun downward, threw two more kunai and vanished into the shadows. Shinji casually stepped on the air then dropped himself back to the ground normally.

"Dont ask me how I did that, I don’t know either!”

Right before he landed, a series of balls were thrown and smoke erupted, cloaking the area.

"Bro got balls!”

He held his breath and closed his eyes. With sharp precision, he deflected every kunai and shuriken effectively without looking. In a short time, he learned the pattern of the ninja’s attack.

"N, SE, W, Northea-”

He snapped his eyes open and threw the hidden kunai to northwest while slashing the shuriken from the south.

"?!”

The kunai struck the ninja’s leg and he stumbled to a tree. The moment he opened his eyes, Shinji’s katana tip sharply stared right in front of him.

"Game over! Who sent you?!”

Fork! Already starrrving?! I will let you live, but you better keep your mouth shut!”

He turned, walked away and the ninja vanished.

End of Chapter 2…

Extra 002:
After helping Shinji, Mai walked home alone while staring at her pendant.

“This garbage gave me more trouble than good…”

She tried to break it in her grip but it wont budge and only hurts her back.

“I hate you! I HATE YOU!!!”

She hurled it hardly at the wall and left it behind without looking back.

THANK YOU FOR READING!!!