Gate Guardian - Tale of the Blazing Heart

Phase 69: Normal Days

Phase 69: Normal Days

Sometimes, I would see Asumi on her desk in our classroom. Sometimes, she's in front of my dormitory in the morning. Sometimes, she's on the stairs of their shrine. But once I blink, she's no longer there. I don't know if she's haunting me, watching me, or it's just my hallucination. Or maybe all of the above.

She would haunt me because I never gave any thanks to her. She would watch me because I'm prone to danger. I'm hallucinating because I miss her. There's no day that I never saw her cute face. There's no day that I never saw her clumsiness.

You're my real hero, Asumi. And I will forever thank you once we meet again.

[Heightsburg Campus – Classroom]

[5:30 PM]

It's been awhile since my last class for this day has been dismissed. No one was there on our room, except for Erylle and me, who are both surrounded with silence. We're sharing the same desk. I've been staring school grounds in the window. Erylle is just in front of me, but we're not talking. Instead, she's also doing the same thing.

We did the same thing for the past two days. Moving on was not on our minds yet. Erylle is best friends with Asumi too, and also this is the first time she lost a Legion member. Maybe the pain in her heart is greater than mine.

Casualties are unavoidable. For the Black Cross, Asumi is just one of the many who gave their life in the line of justice. Just a few people know her name, so they would care less. And also, the biggest problem has been solved. Trading Asumi's life for reverting back the Cursed Guardians is a good logical deal, but...of course it doesn't feel right!

"Hey, how long are you two going to stay like that!?" Heffy shouted.

Erylle and I jumped in surprise. We never knew that Heffy has been recording the two of us in her camera secretly.

"I know that Asumi is a friend of you two, but you also need to move on! It's been three days since you started frowning with your faces!"

We covered Asumi's death by saying that she had a terrible illness. We visited the shrine as a whole class a few days ago to pay our respects. Atlas never showed his face to anyone who goes in the same school to prevent any misunderstandings so it's just too bad for him. Being a Guardian means we have to make white lies.

"Erylle you idiot! Stop making that face already! You're ruining your pretty face! You will have a photoshoot this evening, and Arthur will be the cameraman! This will be a break for us three! Cheer up! Cheer up!"

Heffy said while pulling Erylle's cheeks. Erylle was rather cute in this state. But then, Heffy pulled my cheek next. "And you, Yohan! You need to cheer your beautiful girlfriend up! You need to smile too! You two are a role model on this campus!"

"W-What? Role model???" I asked.

"Yes, a role model! Since your lover is a celebrity, news stations will bow before you just to get an interview once Erylle made it on top! She's in the top fifteen models of the Empire Magazine last month, so get ready! Just imagine a headline page of How an awkward guy won a heart of a beauty queen!!!"

Is that supposed to raise my ego? Because she failed miserably!

Suddenly, the door slammed open, and a woman with a goat-face full of make-up emerged. It was the loser Zenaida. She immediately spoke with a big head while the three of us held our mouths.

"Don't mind her, Heffy. Erylle will be flooded on the bottom."

Erylle kept silent. But Zenaida never stopped her garbage mouth. "Erylle will lose her fame, fortune, and her lover anyway. You should leave her alone."

This time, Erylle snapped. She has this cross veins on her forehead, and she glared at the goat-face. Then she immediately grabbed my bag and threw it straight to Zenaida's face.

"Shut your goat-mouth! You're just ranked 33rd!"

Bam! It was a direct hit. Now Zenaida lost her temper and went to Erylle. The two of them bumped their head and their eyes...I can see lightning sparks as they grimly stare at each other. Both of them are really scary right now.

"You dare to ruin my face, you cholesterol-chest!" Zenaida yelled.

Grrrrrrrrr! Both of them are ready to kill each other right now. Maybe I should stay out.

"Then, why would you two battle in the photoshoot?" Heffy calmly addressed the two.

"Fine, I'll take you on B*%($!!" The two said to each other.

Somehow, I wanted to thank Zenaida for being here. She's still a cattish idiot but she managed to draw out the old scary Erylle. Honestly I prefer her being scary than being silent.

Thanks to Heffy's words, I regained myself. I need to be optimistic in order for Erylle to smile too (Not because I'm a role model for awkward guys.) Also, Asumi wouldn't want me to affect Erylle's condition, as if she doesn't care about me. Well best friends often pretend not to care for each other. Asumi certainly wouldn't want me to be grieving for long on her death either. Her sacrifice resulted to save thousand more people, so I know she's happily watching us in the afterlife.

<>

After I accompanied the three idiotic girls (Erylle, Heffy and Zenaida) together with a normal guy (Arthur) to the studio, I asked Erylle's permission to go home, which she agreed. I'll just pick her up later.

Of course whenever I'm on my way home, the Kozukata Shrine Entrance is on my route. I stared at the stairs, reminiscing the old times escorting Asumi to this place. It's already dark, but for some reason, I wanted to climb up. This wasn't the first time I ever went to this place. I've already entered the shrine many times.

When I was halfway on the stairs, a shadow appeared before me.

"Yohan."