≡;- ꒰ °𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙏𝙄𝙈𝙀 ꒱

➷ 𝐓𝐖𝐎

"Echiko!" someone called from behind. Echiko turned around and saw her friends approaching.

"Where the fuck did you go?" A girl in a school uniform with a bob haircut ran towards Echiko, shouting.

"Rina?" Echiko said in disbelief, rubbing her eyes multiple times. "RINA, is that you?" Echiko rushed over and hugged Rina tightly.

"Wait, what?" Rina was speechless, caught off guard by Echiko's embrace. Echiko held her tightly, not wanting to let go. "Chiko-chan, are you okay?" Rina glanced at the others, who were staring at them oddly.

Finally, after a minute, Echiko released the embrace and looked at the rest of the group.

"Minyoung-ieeee!" Echiko ran over to another girl in the same school uniform, this one with a jacket over it and a neat side ponytail. Minyoung looked at her with confusion but hugged her back, patting Echiko's back gently. "Echiko, are you okay? Are you sick or something? Do you have the flu?" Minyoung asked, concerned about Echiko's sudden change in demeanor. She even put her hand on Echiko's forehead to check her temperature.

"I'm alright," Echiko replied happily. Her eyes then landed on someone she recognized well, a girl she had often dreamt about. But this time, the girl looked completely normal—no panting, no blood staining her uniform or coming from her mouth.

Echiko slowly released the hug and approached the girl.

"Sora-chan..." Echiko whispered to herself, tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to spill over. With just a blink, tears cascaded down her cheeks like a waterfall. Only God knew how much she had missed this girl.

Echiko ran towards Sora and hugged her tightly, unwilling to let go. Sora returned the hug, patting Echiko's back with concern. Rina and Minyoung walked closer to them.

"You're alive," Echiko said quietly.

"Was I supposed to be dead?" Sora responded with a confused expression, and they both chuckled, releasing the hug.

"Actually, all of you were supposed to be dead," Echiko said, wiping away her tears and looking at their faces. They were bewildered and shocked by Echiko's words.

"Who killed us?" Rina blurted out spontaneously, looking at Echiko.

"It was me," Echiko said, watching their reactions. They looked at each other and burst into laughter. They laughed so hard that Rina ended up on her knees.

"Are you serious? You're saying you killed us?" Minyoung asked, still chuckling at what she thought was a joke from Echiko. Echiko smiled at them. It felt better this way, she thought, and decided to join them in laughter.

"What do you mean?" Echiko asked. "You do know I'm a black belt, right?" Echiko said proudly. The others immediately stopped laughing. Their expressions seemed to say, "Yeah, right, she's a black belt."

"Nah. Even though you're a black belt, you wouldn't kill us," Sora said as she walked away, followed by Minyoung and Rina.

"Yeah, I won't do it again," Echiko muttered to herself, then started following them.

»»——⍟——««

"Where are we going?" Echiko asked immediately upon seeing Sora hop onto her bike.

"What do you mean? We have a meeting, remember?" Sora replied.

"What meeting?" Once again, they all looked at Echiko in astonishment.

"What do you mean 'what meeting,' babe?! We have a deal with that fucking Buta Gang, remember?" Rina said.

"What fight? What are you talking about? Bu... Ta... Gang?" Echiko asked, even more confused.

"Oh my god, what's happening right now?" Sora rolled her eyes, annoyed by Echiko's sudden change in behavior.

"Echiko-chan, just hop on your bike and let's go. We don't have much time," Minyoung said as she sat in the passenger seat of Rina's motorcycle. Echiko looked at the bike in front of her and nervously bit her lower lip. Sora noticed and sighed deeply.

"Now what?" Sora asked.

"I haven't ridden this thing in over 10 years. I don't think I can still ride it," Echiko said, looking at the others. They were too stunned to speak, clearly frustrated with Echiko's response.

"Babe, are you in your right mind? Are you high or something? You literally rode 'that thing' just 10 minutes ago," Rina said, still incredulous at Echiko's words. Echiko was shocked.

"Forget this joke now, Echiko-chan. If you don't want to ride that bike, let Minyoung ride it. You sit at the back. I'll go first," Sora said firmly as she revved the accelerator.

Minyoung quickly hopped off Rina's bike and went to Echiko's. She started the engine and chased after Rina, who had already taken off.

As Echiko rode behind Minyoung, her mind was a whirlwind of confusion. She didn't remember any of this scene from her memories.

Who's the Buta Gang? Why are they called the Buta Gang? Is it because they all have huge bodies, like pigs? And why are we fighting the Buta Gang?

Just now, Minyoung mentioned Yoshizawa-kun. I miss that name. If Manshi Gang hadn't been defeated by Devil's Eyes, Ryo-kun could have been mine. But wait, it wasn't anyone's fault. It's my fault. I'm the one who made a deal with Kento and betrayed Manshi Gang.

I'm the one who betrayed Ryo-kun, Yuki-kun, Sora-chan, Rina-chan, and Minyoung-chan. I'm the one who killed them all. I don't know what I was thinking at that time. But this time, I'll make sure to save everyone. Yes, I can do this!

First, we need a plan! Yes, a plan. Let's figure out what's going on with this Buta Gang.

Echiko started talking with Minyoung. "Minyoung, what's the issue with the Buta Gang? What happened?" she asked urgently.

"The Buta Gang has been causing trouble lately because of their leader's girlfriend," Minyoung began, then paused. "They accused you of causing the incidents because the last time people saw her, she was with you. So they assumed it was you and wanted to fight Manshi Gang," Minyoung continued.

Echiko was shocked. I caused those incidents? My mind feels so numb right now. What's happening here?!

As Echiko pondered, they arrived, and they all quickly dismounted from the bike.

"YOU'RE LATE!" a guy shouted from behind as he approached them. They turned around, and Sora, Rina, and Minyoung quickly bowed to the approaching figures.

They were the leader and co-leader of Manshi Gang—Ryo-kun and Yuki-kun. Echiko vaguely remembered this moment when everyone bowed to these two, except her.

"YUKI-KUN!" Echiko shouted as she ran to hug Yuki. "Ayy, my girl, what's up?" Yuki hugged Echiko back warmly. Yuki and Echiko had been close friends since childhood, almost like siblings.

Ryo cleared his throat with a hum as he glanced at Sora. "Why are you late?" he asked sternly.

"We're sorry, Ryo-kun. Someone lost her brain cells in the bathroom," Sora replied, looking pointedly at Echiko.

Rina and Minyoung burst into laughter. Ryo looked at Echiko and smirked. "Echiko," he called. Echiko stopped laughing with Yuki and looked at Ryo, feeling a shiver run down her spine just from his gaze.

"Follow me. We need to talk," Ryo said, then walked towards their usual spot. Echiko looked at Yuki, who nodded to her. She followed Ryo's steps.

To be continued...