Priestess at her weakest (1)

“Phew, not gonna lie, I missed fighting,” the leader of the Yokai gang exclaimed while proudly looking at the comical pile of delinquents from another group he had just beaten up.

“Well, there is nothing we can do,” Tomoya started, wiping his hands with a handkerchief. “With all the exams and school festival I nearly forgot we have a gang, haha.”

“Right? There was time, ” Nakano added, helping some of the Yokai Gang members to get up from the ground. “Oh, Yamada, you were fighting alone today, where is Tanaka?” the raven-haired boy asked, holding out his hand to the lanky teenager.

“That bastard has been ghosting me for a while… When I meet him I am going to kick his ass.”

“That’s not good,” Makoto butted in hearing two boys talking. “He’s either in or out, we don’t bring half-assed members to -”

The red-haired delinquent didn’t continue his thought as he heard the sound of rustling coming out of the bushes.

It has to be her.

And of course, it was Watanabe Mami jumping out of the bushes because who else other than maybe some kids, would come out from such a silly place? It was scary how Onitsuka was able to recognize the patterns in the girl’s behavior.

Though something felt wrong. Mami didn’t look as lively as always and her face was extremely flushed. Not to mention, her hair was a mess and sure, her hair wouldn’t be after going through the bushes but it wasn’t the only thing that made them unusual. Sticks and leaves sticking out from the black locks were nothing new, what was unusual was the hairstyle. There were no iconic braids tied with blue hair ties with small golden bells to be seen. It was the first time Makoto saw Watanabe with her hair down now that he thought about it.

“Hah, hah, R-red Oni, I have finally…”

“Oi, Makoto, she’s falling, catch her!” Tomoya yelled at his childhood friend.

Thankfully Makoto’s instincts kicked in even before his vice-captain shouted at him so he managed to get to the girl before her body could hit the ground.

Now having the opportunity, he looked closer at her face. It was unusually flushed. He put his hand on her forehead while still holding onto her with the other one to make sure she won’t fall over.

“She’s burning up,” he stated. “Oi, Watanabe!” Makoto tried to call out to her but she was so out of it that the only noise coming out of her was the one of heavy breathing. Her misty eyes were unable to focus on any specific place or object as well.

“Guess not everyone is as immune to reckless dance in the rain,” Tomoya chuckled.

“Huh, but no one from our school got sick,” Nakano said, confused.

“You didn’t hear that saying?” the Shapeshifter smirked, “Idiots don’t get sick easily.”

“Oh… Wait, don’t call all of us dumb!”

As the boys started playfully arguing with each other, Makoto still had his focus on the weakened girl.

“You guys finish cleaning up this mess here, I will take Watanabe to her home.”

“Yes boss,” Tomoya saluted comically.

“Just remember to be a gentleman, captain!” Nakano added.

“Oh shut it!” the red-haired delinquent blushed at the insinuation hidden behind the words.

Now that he was sure that one thing would be taken care of by his friends, he had to somehow get information about Watanabe’s home address. He gently shook her, trying to gain her attention. “Oi, Watanabe, you hear me?” he asked gently.

“H-huh?” the girl was still in a daze but managed to raise her head to look into Onitsuka’s eyes. “Ah, Red Oni, usually I am the one to catch you, how the tables have turned, huh?”

“Look,” he quickly said, wanting to get the address as soon as possible before the girl could faint again, “I need to take you to your home, you’re not well. I need your home address.”

“Home…” she muttered. “I don’t like home, I don’t wanna go there…”

“Come on, you are sick, you need to rest,” the delinquent boy pleaded, which wasn’t something he was used to.

“...4-2-6 Sakura, Chou.”

“That should be enough, now hold on.” With swift but gentle movement, he lifted the girl to give her a piggyback ride. “Try to hold onto me, okay?”

“Mhm…” was the only thing she managed to mutter.

Being a delinquent sometimes had its perks. No one would probably realize it but fighting on the streets required the knowledge of certain places and streets in the city. There was nothing more embarrassing than setting up a fight and not finding the meeting spot for the duel. Those delinquents who experienced it were a laughing stock in the ‘community’.

That’s why after hearing the address, Makoto didn’t hesitate to choose the correct path toward his destination. The walk was peaceful, not many people were to be seen on the streets which wasn’t surprising. It was around dinner time, so most of them must have been home either preparing the meal or waiting for it.

From time to time, the red-haired teen looked at Mami to check her condition. It wasn’t getting worse but she was still visibly tired and flushed red with her eyes closed or occasionally half-lidded. He had to readjust the girl’s position once in a while to make sure she wouldn’t fall back but other than that, he barely moved her.

It was a little embarrassing already for him. After all, he had to hold her by her bare tights in this position. He tried not to think about it but he caught himself squeezing them a bit harder sometimes to feel the softness.

Just like a pervert would

He would consider it as a payback for having to carry her in the first place. Even though she was light as a feather and he didn’t get tired in the slightest, he will still take it as an excuse.

At least, she wasn’t very blessed in the chest area…

Once he was in the correct area, Makoto had to look around for the correct home number which was a bit hard when the numeration didn’t make any sense. How was 14 next to 6? He didn’t want to know actually… Thankfully after a few minutes of searching, he found the exact home he was looking for.

It was just like any other house around. The gang leader wasn’t sure what he was expecting to be honest. Maybe because Mami was so bizarre, he thought her house would be all twisted and colorful as well. But it wasn’t, it was just a plain schematic building.

Only when he came to the gate, the boy realized that he couldn't just break in.

“Crap, the keys…” he muttered then turned his head around to look at the girl on his back. “Hey, Watanabe, I need your keys to get in.”

Without opening her eyes, Mami muttered, “Bag… left pocket…”

Right, the bag. Makoto forgot about it entirely. It was a miracle that Mami was able to hold onto it in her weakened state. The red-haired delinquent gently put her down so she could stand leaning against the gate, still holding onto her with one hand just in case, while with the other one, he started to look for the keys hoping he didn’t invade the privacy by going through Watanabe’s stuff. Once he obtained the item he needed, Onitsuka once again lifted the girl, this time taking both of her legs under one of his arms and putting her in a position in which she could lean on his chest.

It wasn’t easy to hold onto Watanabe who was also holding her bag and try to open first the gates and next the door with the keys. Then again, Makoto was a delinquent, he never made his life easy for himself. Life with no challenges was too boring anyways. That didn’t automatically mean he was having fun carrying a dozed-off girl but he didn’t complain about the difficulty that came with the task.

Once he managed to get inside, he put the girl’s bag on the floor to relieve her of its weight and automatically searched for the kitchen.

She needs to drink some water and take medicine first.

Considering this house was very schematic, it wasn’t hard to get to the kitchen, especially when half of the ground floor was an open space with a dining room and living room connected to it. He made Mami sit on the couch and went to the cupboards in search of any kind of cup. Blindly going through all of the possible places, he managed to quite quickly locate the object and pour some water into it.

“Here, drink a bit, you need it,” Makoto put the cup of water by the girl’s lips not trusting her ability to hold anything.

Sure, she was carrying her bag all the way, but it was before she was set on the sofa which made her flatten even more probably due to the feeling of familiar comfort. That’s why, even when she put her hands on his, he didn’t let go of it and instead tilted it so she could easily drink it.

“Thank you,” Mami weakly responded.

The delinquent sighed in relief. “Okay, so here’s the plan,” he started. “I will help you get to your room, you get changed and lay in bed and I will try to find some medicine and whip you up something to eat.”

Watanabe looked at him suspiciously, “You cook?”

“Hah? What was that supposed to mean?”

“I mean,” the girl muttered, “Shapeshifter always brings you food so I assumed you did not cook at all.”

Makoto’s face flushed red, “I may not be the best cook around but I can make a simple porridge! I live alone most of the time so I had to learn the basics at least!” He grunted but then once again let out a weak sigh. “Well, at least you have the energy to speak up so you can’t be feeling that unwell anymore. Come on, let’s get you to your room.”

“Kay…”