𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐝 - [ʜɪᴀᴛᴜs]

𝟎𝟓𝟗: 𝐊𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐮

Chifuyu got called in at the pet shop, so you walked to the streets of Shibuya on your own. Planning to confront Draken about his involvement with Brahman.

"[Y/N]! [Y/N]!"

You hear a girl excitedly call out. You turned and it was Kawaragi Senju. She was wearing a school uniform.

She jogs over to you, "It's me Senju!" She introduces. You turn away from her, "Yeah... I know."

Why is she acting friendly with me? Yesterday she seemed stoic.

"Join my gang!" She requests, more enthusiastically than last time. You wondered if this was the real her.

Akashi Takeomi must be holding her back from acting childish, you thought, I can see why...

"No," you flatly answered.

"NO?!" The girl shouts. You walked faster, away from her. She matches your speed, "Hey! Hey!" Senju waves her hand in front of your unresponsive face, "Why not?!" You stop walking and turn to her, "I'm not interested," you say blankly. You continued to walk.

Senju continued to follow, "How about we spar?" She suggests, "If I win, you have to join! If you win, I'll leave you alone!"

"Not interested," you reply quickly and walk even faster. Senju, again, matches your walking speed.

"Come on! I respect you a lot, you know! I've known you since the August 3rd incident!" She tells you. You glance at her from the side and furrow your brows, "Are you a stalker?" You asked.

The short-haired girl denies profusely. "That's where I first heard about you!" She says in defence, "The chick with the umbrella?"

People outside of Toman know that?! You freak internally. Gang gossip is crazy...

"And after I heard that you fought back during the Kanto incident, I knew I had to meet you!" She says joyfully, like a fan. "Let's be friends! Join my gang!"

"No."

"Come on!!" Senju says defeatedly, "You know how hard it is to find strong girls?! Brahman reeks of dudes!"

You didn't expect one of the Three Deities to be a normal teenage girl. You thought they were all fucked in the head in some way. But Kawaragi Senju seemed different. She was more... Human to you. Compared to Mikey and Terano South. Despite the things, Brahman is involved in.

It would've been different if it was Senju and a couple of other people close to your age. But because there were a lot of adults in Brahman, you didn't trust the gang. Most of those adults ran shady businesses. All for money and power. It wasn't something you wanted to surround yourself with. And you had no idea why Senju would either.

"You like strong people?" You asked the girl. Senju nods excitedly. "Then look for someone else. Goodbye."

"Just one spar!" The girl insists, "If you win, I won't bother you again!"

"I'm busy," You said agitatedly. The more you refused, the more she tried to push. And the more she tried to push, the more annoyed you got. "With?! I'll gladly help!" Senju offers. You groan, "I don't need your help... I'm just going to visit a friend." Senju's eyes light up, "A friend?! Who?!"

You stop abruptly, "Look! I'm not interested in joining a gang, or making new friends," you say sternly. "So just leave me alone and find someone else to bother!" You turn away from her and walk away.

You sigh in relief, finally not hearing footsteps follow you. "You used to be friends with the Invincible Mikey, weren't you?" Senju asks, raising her volume to make sure you heard.

"Mikey...?" You turn your head slowly to face her, "What about him?" Senju's eyes widened for a split second. She could tell she struck a nerve in you. "Oh! Do you want to fight me now?" She says excitedly, "You're making such an intense face!"

This is stupid...

You rush at the girl and raise your leg up, aiming for her neck. Senju blocks it, her body flinches a little from the impact. You retract your foot and stare at her intensely. "Woah! Nice roundhouse!" She says as a compliment.

You start to read her future moves. Senju rushes forward. Her speed was remarkable. There was no doubt that she was strong enough to be the leader of one of the top gangs in the city.

Senju jumps and spins in the air. She planned to kick you down. As her leg extends forward at you, you catch it mid-air. She starts to lose momentum. Before she could land back on the ground, you kick her in the back, using your heel. Letting go of her leg. Senju plants her palms on the pavement, catching herself and flips, getting back on her feet.

"Your reflexes are amazing!" She says, smirking, "No wonder they call you 'Untouchable'!"

God, I hate that title... You complain in your head. You use your foresight to read her again. Senju sprints forward.

Her moves are acrobatic, you analyze. She doesn't leave openings for her opponent at the speed she's at. Impressive.

I should just block and negate... She'll eventually get tired and stop. Hopefully...

You block Senju's leg with your own. You bring your leg down, forcing her to do the same. Raising your other leg, you kick her at her side. As her body shifts from the attack, you make a 360 turn, kicking her in the jaw with the leg you previously used to block. Senju falls but gets back up again.

Her endurance is amazing! But this fight is just going to keep dragging on...

Am I even strong enough to defeat her?

Senju takes a stance and observes you. She's not trying at all! She says to herself in disappointment. How do I get her to actually fight back... Her eyes sparkle as she gets an idea, Got it!

"Me and Mikey used to be friends, you know? Back in the day," Senju suddenly tells you. You raise a brow, "So what?"

"He and I used to be really close," the girl continues, grinning.

You tilt your head, "Okay? Why would that be relevant right now...?"

I sound like a fool...! Senju thinks. She's not the jealous type at all. Maybe... She's more prideful? "You're not nearly as strong as he is!"

"I know," You respond matter-of-factly.

"Do you show any emotion at all?!" Senju says out of frustration. You look at the girl in disbelief, "So you're just trying to provoke me? You want to fight me that bad...?"

"Yes!" She says impatiently. You finally notice your surroundings. Everyone in the street was looking at the two of you. You loosen your body and walk up to her.

"I'll give you my email. Give me a date and location and we'll have a real sparring match," you suggest, reaching your hand out.

I nearly forgot we were in the middle of the sidewalk!! You say, anxiety slowly creeping up on you. I'm gonna hear about this later... I just know it...

"Email?! How come I can't have your number?" Senju asks, "It's faster that way!" You lid your eyes at the girl, "We aren't friends."

"We aren't?!"

"No." Just because we had a mini-fight doesn't mean we're friends... Is this really how delinquents think?

"Come on! Give me your number! Please!" Senju begs, shaking you by the shoulders. You take her hands off you and shush her, "Don't say it like that... We're catching more attention..."

Senju caves and takes out her phone. You write your email down, using the keypad on the flip. You give her phone back. "Only email about the sparring match. I won't be responding to anything else," you tell her.

The cute girl smiles, "Got it! It's a date then!"

"Sure..." You say, with less energy compared to her. She waves goodbye and you walk away from her.

I'm not responding to any email...

Chapter fifty-nine, end.