The rooftop of Sainan High was bathed in the bright midday sun. It was the usual sanctuary for Rito and his "School Wives", a place where they could eat lunch away from the prying eyes and whispers of the student body.
But today, Rito wasn't eating.
He was sitting on a bench, his head buried in his hands, groaning softly into his palms. His bento box sat untouched beside him.
'I patted her head,' Rito thought, his internal voice screaming. 'I actually patted a girl's head out of nowhere. I cornered her in the library. I called her Yami-chan. I even went on and gave her a speech about not being a weapon.'
The adrenaline of the moment had faded, leaving behind the crushing weight of his own embarrassment. His foreknowledge had told him it was the right thing to do, that Yami needed kindness to break her shell. But now that he was back to being just Rito, the sheer audacity of his actions was hitting him like a truck.
'Who do I think I am? A manga protagonist?!'
'Well, I am… but still!'
"Rito-kun?" Haruna asked softly, leaning closer. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay? You've been staring at your knees for ten minutes. Is your stomach hurting?"
"My pride hurts," Rito mumbled through his fingers. "I think I was acting cool. Now I feel that it was just weird."
"Acting cool?" Run giggled, popping a cherry tomato into her mouth. She was sitting on the railing (a habit that terrified Rito), swinging her legs. "I saw you walking with her in the hall! You looked like a total player, Rito-kun! Leading the new girl around, buying her snacks... you're getting good at this."
"I wasn't trying to be a player!" Rito protested, finally looking up. His face was flushed. "I just... I knew she was lonely. I couldn't leave her like that."
Lala beamed, her mouth full of rice. "That's why you're you, Rito! You were just saving Yami-chan from being bored! By the way, did she like the taiyaki?"
"She ate it," Rito sighed. "And then she threatened to dissect me. Again."
"She's just shy!" Lala declared confidently. "Like Haruna-chan used to be!"
Haruna blushed. "L-Lala-san! Don't just start using me as a comparison!"
"But it's true," Rito said, looking at the sky. "She has that same look in her eyes. The look of someone who wants to reach out but doesn't know how."
He clenched his fist.
"I have to just keep trying. Even if it's embarrassing. Even if she tries to stab me. I have to show her she has a place here."
Run hopped down from the railing, landing lightly next to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, pressing her cheek against his.
"You're so greedy, Rito-kun," she whispered, her voice teasing but affectionate. "You have three wives already, and Mikan-chan at home along with her friends... but you still want to save the lonely assassin?"
Rito looked at her, then at Haruna and Lala. The Golden Seals were hidden under their uniforms, but he could feel the bond connecting them all.
"Yeah," Rito admitted, his honest nature surfacing again. "I want to be happy with everyone. Including her."
…
The Nurse's Office was quiet and smelled faintly of antiseptic and alien herbs.
The sliding door opened. Golden Darkness stepped inside. She moved silently, her footsteps making no sound on the linoleum.
"Excuse me," she said, her voice flat. "I require... a mild sedative. For a headache."
Ryouko Mikado looked up from her desk. The alien doctor was wearing her usual lab coat over a daringly low-cut top, a cigarette dangling unlit from her lips. Her sharp eyes scanned the new student.
She recognized her instantly. The long blonde hair. The black clothes. The distinct energy signature of a Trans-Weapon.
'Golden Darkness,' Mikado thought, a smirk touching her lips. 'So, the rumours were true. The legendary assassin is in a high school uniform.'
"A headache?" Mikado asked, leaning back in her chair. "That's rare for a biological weapon. Usually, your kind is designed to suppress pain."
Yami stiffened. Her hair flared slightly, the tips sharpening. "You know what I am."
"Honey, half the galaxy knows what you are," Mikado waved her hand dismissively. "Relax. I'm a doctor, not a bounty hunter. I don't care who you kill, as long as you don't bleed on my floor."
She stood up, walking over to a cabinet. She pulled out a small bottle of pills and tossed it to Yami. Yami caught it effortlessly.
"It's not a physical headache, is it?" Mikado observed shrewdly, crossing her arms. She looked Yami up and down. "Your pulse is elevated. Your temperature is slightly above optimal. And your pupils are dilated."
She leaned in, her grin widening.
"You look flushed. Did a boy do that? Or did you catch an Earth cold?"
Yami frowned, clutching the bottle. "It is... a little confusing. The target... acts illogically. He displays no fear. He offers sustenance to me. He... touches without permission."
She touched the top of her head, where Rito's hand had rested. The phantom warmth was still there, irritating and comforting at the same time.
Mikado laughed, a low, throaty sound. "Ah. Yuuki Rito. The boy who befriends alien princesses and idols. He has a habit of breaking logic."
She walked back to her desk.
"Take the pills if you want, assassin-chan. But there's no cure for what you're catching. It's called 'feelings'. And for a weapon... that's the most dangerous virus of all."
Yami glared at her, turning on her heel. "I am immune to such things."
She walked out, slamming the door.
Mikado chuckled, lighting her cigarette. "We'll see about that."
…
Night had fallen over Sainan Town.
Yami sat on the windowsill of the abandoned building she had commandeered as a temporary base. The room was bare, just a sleeping bag, a few weapons, and a stack of books she had "acquired" from the library.
She held the bag of taiyaki in her lap. It was empty now, but the smell of custard still lingered on the paper.
She looked at her hand. She concentrated.
'Trans.'
Her fingers dissolved, reshaping themselves into a long, serrated blade of steel. It gleamed in the moonlight, cold, sharp, perfect.
"I am a weapon," she whispered to the empty room. "I exist to sever."
But then, the memory intruded.
She felt the weight of Rito's hand on her head. The gentle, rhythmic patting.
Flashback.
A sterile white lab. A woman with glasses and long blonde hair — Tearju Lunatique — smiling down at a small Yami.
"You did well today, Eve," Tearju said, patting her head. "You aren't just a project. You're a good girl."
End Flashback.
Yami gasped, the blade on her hand faltering. It dissolved back into skin and fingers. She clutched her head.
"Tearju..."
She hadn't thought about that in years. The warmth. The feeling of being something other than a tool. Rito's touch had brought it back, that dangerous, seductive warmth she thought she had cut away.
"Why?" she whispered, staring at the moon. "Why does he look at me like that? Like I am... a living being?"
She picked up the book Rito had given her. The Heart of Steel.
She opened the first page.
"I need to know," Yami decided, her eyes narrowing not in anger, but in curiosity. "I need to know if he is truly just a target... or if he is the one who can answer the question I have been asking since I can remember."
She began to read, the assassin slowly fading into the darkness, leaving only a lonely girl looking for a reason to stop fighting.
*****
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