"I'm being followed," Mash muttered.
One day, while heading back to Schale with his usual cream puff haul, Mash sensed someone trailing him. The presence nagged at him, a persistent shadow.
Should I lose them? No, I need to know why they're following.
Mash decided to lure the stalker to a secluded spot. "Alright," he said, quickening his pace with a feigned, "Oh, what's that!?" and darting off.
"!?" The stalker scrambled to keep up, panting heavily: "Eho, eho, eho!"
Good, they're tiring out, Mash thought, slipping into a deserted alley. The stalker arrived, gasping, only to find a circular gouge in the ground—no Mash.
Lost him… The stalker panicked, scanning the area. But Mash wasn't gone. He was…
BOOM!
…underground. Having dug into the earth with his bare hands, Mash timed the stalker's footsteps, then shot an arm up, seizing their ankle.
"Gotcha," he said, pulling them halfway into the ground, leaving only their head exposed. He climbed out, brushing dirt off his clothes.
Let's see who—huh? Mash stared. The stalker had distinctive pinkish-purple hair, a hooded coat, and… a gas mask. "Why the gas mask?"
"…"
"Is it hard to breathe in that? You were panting pretty hard."
"…"
"Why were you following me? Something important?"
"…"
"Where're you from?"
"…"
"Maybe you can't hear me… or…" Mash pulled out his device, searching for sign language basics. Sign language: a visual language using hand and non-hand gestures, akin to body language. He tried simple signs. "Can… you… hear… me? Nod… if… you… can."
The girl nodded.
"Oh, you can hear. Ignoring me, huh? Kinda stings… Can you speak?"
She nodded, then shook her head.
"The gas mask?"
Another nod.
The girl, resigned, expected disbelief. A masked stranger from an unknown school tailing him? No one would trust her. But…
"Sorry for assuming," Mash said. "Let's get you out." He dug her free, pulling her up like a radish. "You okay? Hurt anywhere?"
She shook her head vigorously.
"Good." Mash smiled as she signed, You believe me?
Mash used his device, with Arona's help, to interpret. "If you don't wanna talk, I won't push."
Why? she signed.
"You've got your reasons, right? I can't force you."
You don't suspect people?
"You're suspicious, sure. But… I don't think you're bad. I can tell, even through the mask, you're not lying."
!
You're kinda weird, she signed.
"Weird? I get that a lot."
What'll you do with me?
"Obvious, isn't it?"
The girl braced, reaching for a hidden weapon, expecting interrogation or worse. But Mash grinned. "Let's go eat cream puffs."
"…!?"
"There's a great shop. We can talk there." He grabbed her hand. "Let's go!"
Mash led her off, like an eager kid showing a friend something cool. The girl, bewildered, thought, Weird… guy.
At the cream puff shop, Mash bought two and handed her one. "Here, cream puff."
"…"
"Not into sweets?"
What's a… shoo-cream? she signed.
"You've never had one!?" Mash gasped. "That's… not okay. Missing out on cream puffs is like missing half of life—no, scratch that. They make life twice as fun."
That much? She tilted her head.
"Yup!" Mash clapped. "After-School Cream Puff Club, assemble!"
"Sir!" The club appeared behind him, startling the girl.
"You heard?" Mash asked.
"Yup!"
"Then let's teach her the wonders of cream puffs!"
"Roger!"
"!?" The girl panicked.
"It's fine," Mash said. "You'll just think about cream puffs 24/7."
That's a huge problem! she signed, but Mash and the club were unstoppable.
"Come on!" Mash urged.
"It's okay!" a member said.
"Cream puff party!" another cheered.
"Cream puff party!" the group echoed.
Holding cream puffs, they closed in. The girl let out a silent scream.
Minutes later:
"Look, I get it. Cream puffs are amazing, and I'd push them on anyone who didn't know them," the manager said. "But brainwashing her with custard!?"
The girl, now running around joyfully with cream puffs, hummed happily.
"Sorry, Manager," the club said.
"Sorry," Mash added.
It's fine. I was scared, but I'm okay now, the girl signed.
"You forgive us? Thanks!" Mash said.
"You know sign language?" a member asked.
"Just learned it," Mash said.
"The guy who can't open doors learned sign language!?" another gasped.
"Doors are harder for him," one noted.
"No way," another argued.
The girl, transformed from mysterious to cream puff enthusiast, munched happily under her shifted mask. Never ate anything this sweet. Thanks, Sensei, she signed.
"Your first sweet?" Mash asked.
"What do you usually eat?" a member asked.
Can't say much due to missions. Usually bread scraps or rations. Tasteless, barely filling. Just enough to not starve, she signed.
Silence fell. She's never had good food? Mash and the club sprang into action.
"Manager, 50 more cream puffs!" Mash called.
"We've got extras to use up!" the manager said. "Bring 'em out!"
"Right!"
"Eat up!" a member urged.
The girl, hesitant but nodding, didn't want her face seen, so they couldn't watch her eat. Still, Mash sensed her joy. She's happy… but something's off.
After gorging on cream puffs, they left the shop, the club waving, "Come back!"
The girl held a bag of cream puffs. "For four people?" Mash asked.
She nodded.
"Friends?"
Another nod.
"Cool."
Her joy seemed tinged with sadness. Mash couldn't stand it. "Hey, maybe I can help with whatever's troubling you."
She stopped, shaking her head firmly, covering his mouth. Don't get involved.
"Some reason you can't rely on me?"
She nodded, resolute.
"But—"
She shook her head again, desperate to keep him out of her troubles.
"If you're sure…" Mash said.
Thanks, Sensei. Today was so fun, she signed.
"Glad you had fun. Thanks too."
See you someday, somewhere.
"Yeah, wait—your name!"
She was already gone. A brief encounter—followed, then sharing cream puffs—but Mash felt sadness and worry linger.
"…Forgot to ask why she was following me."
Somewhere remote in Kivotos:
The girl, called "Princess," returned to her base, greeted by a woman—her friend, her family.
"You okay?" the woman asked.
She shook her head.
"The mission?"
Contacted him, but got no key info. His details remain unknown, she signed.
"Figures. Schale's Sensei is tough to crack. I should've gone to keep you safe…"
The girl's mission, ordered by "her," was to gather intel on Mash Burnedead. Normally confined to this district, she'd ventured out for this task.
"What's that?" the woman asked, eyeing the cream puff bag.
Cream puffs. Sensei bought them, she signed.
"Cream… puffs? From the enemy? If she finds out, you'll be punished—"
SHOVE. The girl stuffed a cream puff into the woman's mouth.
"Mmph!?" The woman flailed. "Stop pushing!"
Just eat! the girl signed, forcing it in.
"Fine, I'll eat!" The woman swallowed. "…Weird texture… and taste."
Sensei said this is 'delicious,' the girl signed.
"Delicious… No, Princess, this is bad."
"…"
"She said it, didn't she? Vanitas vanitatum et omnia vanitas—all is vanity. These feelings… they're meaningless for us."
"…!"
"Dispose of them before she finds out."
The girl nodded reluctantly.
"Sorry, Princess."
The woman tossed the cream puff bag out the window. I wanted my family to taste this happiness, the girl thought, heart heavy.
"Let's go. The plan's starting soon. For us, we'll see it through."
The girl nodded, pulled along, thinking, I'm sorry, Sensei.
Sorry, Atsuko can't speak yet… please understand.
Writing that ending hurt. Thanks, Beatrice.
This story won't stop until Arius is happy and Beatrice is defeated.
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