New quest unlocked (2)

“You’re moving out?” Makoto asked, alarmed.

“Not away from the town! Just to another house!” She shook her hands nervously. “Away from our mother.”

The girl’s face turned serious. Onitsuka had some insight into what her family life was like, so it was not exactly a surprise, but he was aware that it was not a topic that Mami was comfortable talking about, so he didn’t want to push her to say more. If she wanted to share the details, he wanted it to come out naturally.

“Our mother… She became strict after she learned about our father’s love affair with a co-worker,” the girl started explaining. “I believe she was trying to make a picture-perfect family so he would come back home. Obviously, it was a naive thought.”

Both teenagers kept on walking around the park, slowly reaching the pathwalk leading to the streets outside of it. The sounds from the playground became quieter, being replaced by those made by passing cars. It was an usual thing, nothing special, and yet for this day, for this moment, the stroll with Mami felt more magical than any other moment in Makoto’s life. Sure, it wasn’t that long for him to put it at the top, but at least so far, it was one of those situations that he would not forget for a long time.

“When we got back home with Honoka, we decided it would be for the best to call our aunt from my father’s side. She was furious at our parents. Just like your mom and dad, she travels a lot, but thankfully, she knows the law, so she managed to get full custody of us. Now we live with her.”

Now that Mami had finished explaining the situation, Makoto felt a bit guilty for being so upset at the girl’s disappearance. She couldn’t help it; she was fighting for a place where she would be treated properly instead of being forced to study and leave her passion behind only to please her mother.

“Now I feel like an ass for guilt-tripping you like that.”

“Don’t be. I could have called or left a message, at least. I was just too overwhelmed by everything around me changing to think about it.”

“Well, I guess now you are having a bit of a fresh start, huh? So what’s the plan for the future? Lock yourself in the room to write an entire fantasy trilogy?”

“Definitely not! Sure, I will write, but I want to focus on shorter stories. After I saw how you all just enjoy your teen life, there is no way I would want to waste this time hyperfocusing on my future.”

“Ah, so we ended up being a bad influence. Damn, don’t tell Sakamoto-sensei. She will kick our asses for that,” Makoto chuckled.

“Pfft, don’t be so full of yourself. Some outside thoughts and the influence of my sister played a part of it as well!”

The boy and the girl laughed as they walked forward on the pathway, enjoying each other’s presence. Not minding the environment around them. The Red Oni didn’t care if they were too loud or if they took up too much space. After two long weeks, he finally felt at peace again. He was glad that Mami was doing well and wouldn’t be treated harshly anymore. It was a relief that now he wouldn’t wonder whether someone was taking proper care of her when she got sick. Although he wouldn’t mind to be the one to put her to bed and make her a warm meal the best of his abilities again.

“What about you and the gang? Any changes for the future?”

“Ah, right. The new school year is coming. As a senior, I am going to step away as a leader. That’s our tradition for generations.”

“Wait, so you weren’t the one who formed the Yokai Gang?” Mami asked, confused.

“No way, I was an infant when it was created,” the delinquent with scarlet hair answered. “You did meet the founder, though.”

“I did?”

“It was Sakamoto-sensei.”

“Now that you say it, I could have seen it coming.”

“Right? She was called Yuki-onna because of her glare, which legends said was able to freeze her enemies on the spot.”

“That sounds way more epic than the Red Oni with just brute force.”

Oh, so now I am uncool, huh?” Makoto teased the girl. “Or is it that you are no longer interested in Yokai and other monster stories? You don’t use your weird form of speaking. Well, you still use some fancy words here and there but it’s not half as embarrassing as-”

“Don’t say no more!” Mami cut him off again, embarrassed by his presence. “I do like the stories still, but I think I've had enough of the exercise of speaking like a character from a fantasy novel for almost a year, so please don’t remind me of this time any more!” she begged.

“Fine, fine. I will quit teasing… For now!’

“Hey!”

Watanabe started hitting the tall boy with her fists, which he barely felt as her punches were really weak in comparison to what he was used to feeling when he sparred with other delinquents. Noticing that her action did not affect the boy in the slightest, she humped and walked forward as if she playfully tried to get away from the Red Oni, who kept teasing her.

Makoto, on the other hand, looked around, and once he realized where they ended up being, he didn’t move in the slightest. He didn’t alarm his companion in any way, so it took her a few seconds to realize that she did not hear any other footsteps than her own, so she turned around and tilted her head in question.

“Is something wrong?”

“Nah, it’s just... Do you recognize this place?”

Mami looked around, confused. “Am I supposed to recognize it?”

The crimson-haired boy chuckled to himself. “It’s the place where you first appeared all those months ago.”

“Oh! That’s true!” She gasped but quickly turned her reaction into a smug one. “I do believe that we should be swapping places, no? I was the one standing where you are right now.”

“Nope. For today, this spot fits me more.”

“Huh?”

“You know, for so long, I didn’t like being tied down. Freedom is something I treasure deeply. My parents didn’t mind it because I was responsible enough. My friends are just as chill about it as I am, so they never had any issues with how I act either.” Makoto started mysteriously, not giving the girl any hints as to where all of this was going. “Only the girls that tried to date me didn’t like that part of me. They always complained about how I did not have time for them, how I didn’t care enough, and how they were tired of chasing after me.” The red-haired delinquent closed his eyes for a moment to let out a peaceful sigh. “But then you appeared and chased me relentlessly, never giving up. Stubborn as a mule.”

“Hey!”

“And before I could realize,” Makoto ignored the girl’s outburst and continued on with his speech, “I started looking forward to your appearances every day. Heck, when you disappeared for those two weeks, I felt lonely. Never before have I felt this way, and I do live alone most of the time, mind you.”

“Ha ha, so you enjoy my presence this much, huh?” Mami tried to laugh it off, but it was clear that it was mostly to hide how flustered his words had made her.

Once again, the gang leader decided not to respond to the girl and instead continued to say what he had kept inside of him for a while.

“Watanabe Mami!” Onitsuka shouted loudly, which caused the girl to stiffen, surprised by the sudden high volume of his voice. “I am the one and only Red Oni, the leader of the Yokai Gang, and I have a proposal that you simply cannot decline!”

Suddenly the wind became slightly stronger, tearing off singular leaves from the tree branches. Suddenly, there were only two of them, and no one else was around. The small street was unusually quiet, and there was nothing indicating that it was going to change anytime soon. It was as if the whole stage had been set for the delinquent.

“Will you be my girlfriend?”