Mikey! (Manjiro Sano x OC) [Tokyo Revengers]

XI. Enemy

Karina looks at her back as she doubles her pace away from her neighborhood, determined to lose Sam. She bumps against something soft and almost loses her balance.

"Ouch! Who— Karina-chan?" It's Emma, beautiful as always even in her school uniform.

"Emma!" Frantic, Karina looks again behind her and sighs when she doesn't see the strange red-headed boy.

"Are you alright?" The blonde asks.

Karina nods her head, her curls bouncing up and down. It's the first time since Emma taught her how to do her curls that she styled it. She also powdered her face and applied lip gloss. She doesn't know how her schoolmates will react to her new image but she promised herself that she'll be brave and face them. She's not the weak, cowardly Karina anymore.

Emma starts to walk again so Karina does too. "Does your body still hurt from training?" her friend asks.

"A bit," she answers honestly.

Sano-san walks with them, hands in the pockets of his baggy pants. In the short time that they've been together, the blond boy seems to be warming up a bit to her. He instructs her more gently now and when he looks at her, it doesn't seem to be filled with hatred any longer. This realization makes Karina's heart jump inside her chest but she ignores the feeling. Sano-san says, "We can cancel this day's training, too. Give you time to recuperate."

She does need to help Goro-san later. She still has a job at the convenience store. "Okay," Karina agrees. "Also, Sano-san, can we change our training time to nighttime? It's because of my work..."

"Huh?" Sano-san scowls but it's not as scary. "I'm with Toman every night."

"I-I see." Stupid. Sano-san is a busy person and he's already doing so much, training her for free. How can she be selfish and just mess up his schedule? But how can they train now?

Silence.

Then, the boy speaks again. "Let's work on a new schedule next time." He's not looking at her but his tone is gentler than before.

Karina smiles to herself. Goodness. She was a bit worried the boy would be angry or stop their training altogether.

At the next intersection, the friends head in different ways. Karina's school is in the opposite direction of Emma and Sano-san's school.

As she walks the streets near her school, she feels the students' eyes look at her.

"Maya-san?" A group of girls approach her. She doesn't know them but she turns to face them. "We love your new hairdo! It suits you so much!"

Karina didn't expect that. She blushes and says "Thank you."

Inside the school, her classmates tell her the same, happy about her new get-up. They even say she's looking more confident now. And she is. Funny what having a new friend does to a person. She feels stronger and more appreciated now.

When she approaches her locker, she breathes deeply and steels herself. What kind of bullying tactic had Aiko and her friends prepared for her? However, when she opens it, her indoor shoes are there and there was nothing out of the ordinary in there. No dead rat. No spiders or cobwebs. No spilled juice. Nothing. She heads to the classroom, and her desk is not vandalized that day.

Weird.

But she must be thankful.

Had her bullies finally gotten bored and are now leaving her alone? She finds that unlikely. Tormenting people is like air to them. So, what happened?

Some more of her classmates smile at her and compliment her. Then, she hears them talking.

"Aiko's not attending classes today again."