The next day, Emma sat at the sidelines of the training hall. Her brother and his best friend were currently goofing around, as there was still time for their lessons to start. A frown was painted on her lips as she stared at her hands in which she held a small bracelet that she had spent the entire night on, hoping to give it to you.
She wanted to properly thank you for yesterday, realising that things would have ended much worse had you not jumped in. Her family had already made a huge deal out of her injuries yesterday, so much so that Manjirō and Shinichirō were ready to go on a murdering spree, only to be stopped by their grandfather.
However, when they asked about who helped her, she hesitated to tell them about you, knowing your request for anonymity in the fight. In the end, she stated that a nice high schooler was the one who helped her, feeling the guilt seep in for lying to her family.
Fast forwarding to the present, Manjirō and Baji looked over at the young girl, easily noticing her distracted gaze. They thought that maybe she felt uncomfortable because she was the only foreigner there, after all, it was one of the key reasons as to why she got bullied, in accordance to what the girl had told them.
And thus, Manjirō came up with a brilliant plan, ushering his friend over to explain his genius scheme. And thus, they went over to the girl, determined to cheer her up.
"Emma!!" The boys exclaimed, making the girl look up upon hearing her name. In front of her stood her brother and Baji-kun, giant grins resting on their lips.
"Hey, did we ever tell you our real names?!?" The boys questioned in synchronisation, making her tilt her head.
Her brother nodded happily, "My real name is Mikey, short for Micheal!!" He then turned to the ravenette who finished the introduction, "And I'm Ed, short for Edward!!!" His tiny fangs were shown as he shot her a closed eyed grin.
They must have thought that she was sad because she felt left out since she had a foreign name. Though it wasn't the real reason, Emma couldn't help but feel touched at their kindness and innocence, so she gave them a kind smile, which only made their giant grins grow.
However, the heartfelt moment was cut short when [hair colour] locks came in the trio's vision. They all gave separate reactions; Manjirō's lips turned into a scrowl, Baji gave you a toothy grin, while Emma shot up from her seat and ran over to you, surprising both the other boys.
She stood in front of you, slightly fidgety as she had her hands clasped together, holding something. You greeted her with your usual kind smile that pissed her brother off, whereas she couldn't help but feel butterflies in her stomach.
"How have you been, Emma-chan??" You kindly asked as you placed a small bag with your normal clothes in your little locker. She looked down at her hands before opening them and using one of her hands to grab your wrist.
You were obviously surprised by her actions, but not more than her blonde brother, who was having a mental breakdown, realising that you managed to 'steal' his new sister.
She used her other hand to dangle the bracelet in front of you and then used both her hands to clasp it around your wrist. You looked at your wrist while she tied the bracelet and when she was done, raised it to your eye level.
You stared at it in awe as you questioned, "Is this... for me?!?" You couldn't remember the last time you had gotten a gift, much less from someone other than your brother or father. She gave you a shy nod, afraid if you had liked it or not.
Your eyes seemed to water at the simple yet sweet gesture, making her panic at your state, thinking that you hated it. However, you immediately calmed her down, "I-I.... I love it, so much.... It is the most beautiful gift I've ever had!!" You reassured her by giving her the biggest closed eyed grin you could muster, flushing her even more.
"E-Emma!! What are you doing with him?!" Manjirō screeched, feeling nothing but pure rage. The only thing that was stopping him from beating you to a pulp was Baji, who was heavily struggling to hold him back, "Hey, calm down!!! Calm down!!!"
You both turned to the duo, only to find Manjirō glaring right into your soul, ready to bury you six-feet under the ground. His mental murder session was stopped when he was grabbed by the back of his uniform, similar to a mother cat holding her kittens by their scruffs.
"Oi, Manjirō, why are you so mad?!?" Shinichirō-san walked out, donning his usual short-sleeved white shirt and black pants. He shot you a kind smile as a greeting and his smile only grew when you smiled back at him.
"T-That rat!! He's trynna steal Emma!!" A loud growl left the short boy as he kicked around and flailed his arms in the air, ready to beat you up.
"Oh Emma, I see you've become friends with [male name]-kun!! That's nice!!! He's a nice kid so make sure to treasure him!!!" He advised her as he continued, "Good friends are hard to come by!!!"
Manjirō seemed to disagree.
"No, they're not!! Emma, get away from him!! He's a creep!!" Your eyebrows furrowed at his harsh words. Why was he so mean to you?!
Shinichirō was not having Manjirō's bullshit, not today....
"Oh, shut up!! One more word and I'm tellin' Grandpa!! Let's see you get any desserts after you're grounded!!!" A dramatic gasp left the short male as tried grabbing his brother's hand, "You wouldn't dare do that to your OWN brother just for him?! Would you?!"
"Don't test your luck, you little shit... " The older male threatened him, making Manjirō pale visibly. His breathing hitched as he turned to you, "Sleep with one eye open, [male name]... "
You just nodded.
And thus began round two of Manjirō's 'incisive' bitching. It carried on until the end of your classes, which were cut short today because the Sano family had somewhere to be today.
Now with nothing to do for an extra hour, you contemplated on getting home and dealing with your crazy mother or staying out until it was time. Like any reasonable person, you chose the latter, and decided to treat yourself to some food.
As you walked down the street, looking at different shops, thinking about your lunch, you bumped into someone.
Naturally, you apologised and the other person did so too, "[male name]?!?" The voice called, and you rubbed your forehead as you looked up, confused.
In front of you, stood Baji Keisuke, with his signature grin adorning his lips, "Baji-kun... " You muttered, making him tilt his head.
He hummed in question but you shook your head, "No, it's nothing... Is everything alright??" You asked him with a small smile.
"Yup, I'm fine!! Just bored cause classes ended early and Mikey's not here.... "
His words confused you greatly, "Mikey?? Whose Mikey??" You questioned and his eyes widened in realisation, "Mikey is Manjirō's new name!!"
You were still confused as to why Manjirō needed a new name but nodded nonetheless. Suddenly you fell quiet, not knowing what to talk about, but Baji wanted to talk to you, so he kept the conversation going, "Were you going somewhere?!?"
You blinked before answering, "I was thinking of getting something to eat.... What about you, Baji-kun??" He gave you a bright grin, "I was just wanderin'.... Hey, you like peyoung yakisoba?!?"
You didn't exactly hate it so you just nodded, "I guess..." Your reply seemed to send this boy to cloud nine, because he started jumping around you happily, "Then, let's get some peyoung yakisoba!! My treat!!"
"E-Eh..... No, I'll pay-" You were cut off by Baji garabbing your arm and dragging you to his favourite peyoung yakisoba shop, "No buts!!! I just got my pocket money and I've decided that I wanna become your friend!! Emma said you're really cool, well.... tried to say, she can't speak Japanese yet!!! But she likes you a lot!!"
A blush invaded your cheeks as you felt happiness seep into you. When you both reached the shop, he ordered for you both and soon suggested an eating challenge, which he surprisingly lost, thanks to how fast you eat.
Surprisingly, he was fun to be around and soon you lost track of time, blissfully unaware of what waited back home if you were late.
It was almost sunset when you realised the time, hoping your mother was still at work and not at home or you would be sleeping in the scary back shed tonight. It was considered as a good punishment to discipline you and also to make you brave.
"I-I... I have to go now, Baji-kun... " He looked at you surprised, noting your change in behaviour. Earlier, he thought that both of you were finally starting to become friends and you were coming out of your shell, but now you looked just like the the person you were at the dojo; shy, quiet, and antisocial.
"Oh.... okay, but lemme walk home with you!!" Your breathing hitched, realising that if your mother saw Baji, she would be able to tell that you were not at the dojo, "NO!! I'm okay.... I really need to go.... Bye bye!!!" You waved quickly and scurried off, the sunset providing a background for your retreating figure.
However, for you, the sunset provided nothing but fear to your small body as you imagined your psycho mother's wrath.