Arisa strolled over to Nao with her signature smug grin.
Without a word, she held out her hand.
Nao sighed, cheeks puffing like a sulky balloon as she handed over her card.
"Enjoy it now… the debt collector will come," she muttered.
I blinked. "That… sounded ominous."
Nao marched toward the store's front door, arms crossed.
"I'll remember this injustice."
Now it was just me, Reina, and Arisa.
Arisa glanced around, then casually strolled off to grab a drink. She returned flashing Nao's card like a trophy.
"Get whatever you want," she said sweetly.
"Uhhh… sure?" I replied, suspicious.
The moment I picked up a drink, she smirked.
"Well, since you're buying something, you can handle the rest too~" she chimed, spinning on her heel. "Nao's card's all yours. I'll be outside~!"
She dumped the full basket into my arms like I was her mule and disappeared before I could form a response.
"…She hustled me."
Reina just watched with that same neutral expression, her lips barely parted.
"You coming?" I asked.
She shook her head softly.
"I'll wait here."
Classic Reina.
I joined the queue, arms loaded with Arisa's snack hoard. An older man stood in front of me, and a scruffy-looking guy around my age lined up behind.
Didn't think much of him until I heard it.
"Damn… you're pretty."
His voice was low, smug.
"You alone here, cutie?"
Reina said nothing.
He leaned in closer.
"C'mon, don't ignore me. What's your name? Just give me your number, I'll make it worth your time."
She stepped back.
He stepped forward.
"You don't gotta be scared. I'm a nice guy. I'll treat you right."
He smiled as if he were doing her a favor.
Reina turned her head away slightly, visibly uncomfortable. Her hand gripped her sleeve.
"You shy? That's okay. I like 'em quiet."
I clenched my jaw.
Still, I hesitated.
Maybe she'll shut him down herself?
Then he reached for her wrist.
That was it.
"Yo! Hands off."
I stepped out of the line and planted myself between them, staring him down.
"She's not interested. Get lost."
He blinked, scoffed.
"Who the hell are you, her boyfriend or something?"
I didn't answer. Just pulled Reina closer to me, gently, and guided her behind my shoulder.
Another guy behind him stepped up, letting me reclaim my spot in line. A silent "bro code" exchange.
The creep's lip curled.
"Big man, huh? Think you're hot shit?"
He raised his voice like he wanted a scene.
I didn't flinch. Didn't look back either.
Truth was?
I was scared shitless.
My fighting skills were strictly Naruto in the first arc tier, the pre-shadow clone days. But I stood my ground.
The guy eventually muttered some curses and stormed out, kicking a display stand on his way.
Silence returned.
That's when I noticed I was still holding Reina's hand.
"Ah, sorry," I muttered. "You okay?"
She looked up, wide-eyed.
Her cheeks were flushed, her breaths shallow.
"…Thank you," she whispered, barely audible.
Was she… blushing?
Her fingers lingered a moment longer before letting go.
We stepped outside, groceries in hand.
"Took you long enough," Arisa said, one brow raised. "What was that guy yelling about in there?"
"Yeah, it sounded like a fight!" Nao added.
I glanced at Reina. She nodded slightly.
"Must've been having a rough day," I said.
"Hmm…"
Arisa squinted at us, but didn't press. Instead, she handed me a plastic bag. Reina walked ahead, humming under her breath, a rare sight.
Arisa's eyes tracked her the whole way.
That smile she wore? Gone.
I walked behind Reina and Nao, pretending nothing happened.
Until…
A soft hand landed on my shoulder.
Gentle at first, then tightened.
Hard.
"Soutaaaaa~" she cooed, dragging out my name.
My eyebrow twitched.
"Yesss, Arisa?"
At that point, I truly felt the pain Naruto felt every time he pissed off Sakura, because goddamn, she had some monster strength.
Arisa leaned in, her tone sugary but venom-laced.
"Sooo… Reina seemed really, really happy just now," she said sweetly. "Like the kind of happy a girl gets when something special happens. Anything you wanna share, hmm~?"
I turned to her with the most blank, deadpan face I could manage.
"No ma'am. We just talked about how you abandoned me and made me carry your shopping. That's all."
My voice cracked. I was stuttering like a kid caught with stolen cookies.
She stared at me.
Then slowly smiled.
"Good. I trust you," she said, releasing my shoulder with a pat-pat on the back.
"Don't get too flirty now, okay?"
I didn't breathe again until she walked ahead of me.
The walk back from the shop should've been peaceful.
Late-night breeze. Faint smell of rain in the air.
The kind of silence that makes you feel safe, like the world hit pause for a moment.
Nao was spinning in slow circles as she walked, humming something I didn't recognize.
Reina had the bag of ingredients in her arms, cradled like treasure.
And Arisa… was back to walking beside me.
But she hadn't said a word since that whole don't flirt with my sisters " talk.
Just footsteps.
Four sets.
Click-clack. Crunch. Click-clack. Crunch.
Streetlights above us flickered like cheap horror effects.
"I feel like we're walking into a movie scene," I muttered, trying to lighten the mood.
No one replied.
The sidewalk stretched ahead in quiet, the warm glow of the apartment building just barely in view.
Almost there.
Almost.
Snap.
A twig cracked behind us.
It was faint. Too faint.
Could've been a squirrel. Could've been nothing.
But something about the sound made the hairs on the back of my neck stand like soldiers.
I turned.
The road behind us was empty.
"Did you guys hear that?" I asked, already scanning the shadows between the trees lining the street.
They all stopped.
Nao blinked. "Huh?"
"I heard it too…" Reina said, her voice unusually serious.
Arisa turned her head slightly. "Probably just-"
"OI."
The voice cut the air like a knife.
Loud.
Low.
Too familiar.
"Jackass."
We froze.
From the shadows between the trees, a figure stepped out.
Hands stuffed in his pockets.
The streetlamp behind him cast a long shadow across the road.
And then.
Metal.
A glint.
A heavy, dragging sound.
The unmistakable clink of a bat against asphalt.
"Didn't think we'd meet again so soon, huh?"
He grinned.
And this time... he wasn't alone.