Chasing Dreams (Discontinued)

Chapter 248: Scarlet City (4)

Ren was never good with names. He looked at the girl distantly, trying to match the face with the name. He had seen that curly orange hair before and recognized her thick French accent.

"Am I supposed to know you?" Ren said rudely.

The girl drew her sword. "No, but I know you." She gave him a creepy smile. "Senpai."

Ren felt his gut turn. Something about how she said the word senpai didn't sit right with him. She sounded too eager as if trying to impress him.

"I've seen that sword before." Kinsley narrowed her eyes. "That orange hair, the french rapier, and that creepy ass reiki." Her eyes flared. "You must be Colette Delacroix!"

When Colette's name was announced, all the heroes wore the same concerned expression.

Ren was the only one who looked unphased. "Delacroix?" He blinked and remembered his altercation with Nadine. "Hey who are you?"

"Colette," Colette answered sweetly. She bounced from the carousel and slowly floated to the floor. However, to everyone's surprise, the floor shattered. An earthquake shook the mall, and everyone braced themselves.

Her reiki is so dense. She has even more than Suzume!

Colette shot forward like a comet flying towards the planet. She grabbed Ren before he had the chance to register and landed on the other side of the room.

"Hey, I've been looking for you. What are you doing here wasting time with these bozos?" Colette complained. She tapped her foot, expecting an answer, and impatiently spoke before Ren could give her one.

"You know what, save it. We don't have time for chit-chat you gotten us into a precarious situation Senpai." Colette frowned.

"Don't call me Senpai." Ren groaned.

"Oh, isn't that how a junior is supposed to address their senior in your culture?" Colette asked. "I did it so we can be familiars."

"I'm American." Ren assured her. "We don't do that here."

Colette looked genuinely confused. "Oh." She brought a finger to her lip. "Maybe my research was baseless afterall. I thought you were a foreigner."

"What made you think that?" Ren shouted.

"Well look at you," Colette said as if that was good enough.

"You know that's kind of racist," Ren growled.

"Oh, my apologies. I'm still getting familiar with this country's customs." She pulled out a small book. "I read here that inclusion is the most important thing when building relationships. Then asking personal questions for expansion on someone else's culture is a good way in making them feel welcomed."

"You're kind of creepy you know that?" Ren frowned. "Then again Nadine was creepy too."

"Oui, it runs in the family." Colette shrugged. "Hey Rene, do you believe in ghosts?"

"No isn't the time for this." Ren dragged his hand down his face.

"Really, sheesh and you call me the creepy one. A normal person would freak out if they had two ghosts clinging to them as you do." Colette pointed her sword.

"Why are you here?" Ren asked.

"For you," Colette said vaguely.

"Clearly but why?" Ren snorted.

"Self-interest," Colette added. "Keeping you alive is equally beneficial for me as it is for you. Besides I don't want to hear that prick chew me out if I drag your corpse back."