[ Name ] looked at the entrance of the arcade for a moment longer before putting her hand atop the chain. It chimed as the metals clinked against one another from the movement, [ Name ] stepping over it carefully as to not trip. She walked up to the clear door and pulled it open, the smell of smoke hitting her instantaneously.
Humming in alert hearing someone enter, one Valhalla member looked over and questioned her appearance out loud, making others take notice.
"She's back?"
"Look at her! Walkin' right in here as if she's the shit."
"You forget something, princess?"
She walked past them without saying a word, resting her hand comfortably on the school bag that hung from her shoulder. She stared straight forward, showing no signs of fear or hesitance as she walked to where the circle was formed earlier. It was now dispersed as everyone sat around scattered to smoke, drink, and talk.
Continuing to walk forward with everyone's eyes on her, she remained uncaring as she went on the path that seemed to be created for anyone daring enough to step forward.
"You're back? Did you want to join too, girly? We'll treat you right!"
Continuing to ignore the comments thrown at her, she stood where she had been earlier with Takemichi. She saw the blood splatter on the floor and looked over to see the 1st Division Vice-Captain sitting up while breathing heavily.
Glancing to where the Captains sat along with Hanma, she saw that Baji and Kazutora had joined them, all looking at her curiously as they stopped talking with one another, late to notice her presence.
"Valhalla. The group Mikey's so concerned over..." she said out loud, slowly looking around the room of people surrounding her.
Her stoic face looked more bored at this point, her voice monotone as she lazily folded her hands behind her back.
"What a grand name for something so pathetic. No one here looks all that strong to me."
Almost immediately after she said that chaos erupts, cigarettes being pulled away from lips as everyone burst out laughing. One of the Captains placed his hand over his stomach as he laughed hard, others smirking or joining along in the chaos.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAH!"
The laughter continued to ring out for a few more seconds, and it didn't even die down when someone approached her from behind.
Placing their hand on her shoulder and not bothering to hide the grin on his face, he was quick to grab her attention as his lips parted to speak.
"Listen bitch--" he started but was quickly cut off from talking as she turned and clenched her fist before slamming it against his face.
"--GAHH!"
The hit was hard. The sound of it traveled throughout the entire arcade and silenced everyone. They watched as a tooth flew out of the man's mouth and bounced on the floor before landing in front of the Captains and Leaders of Valhalla.
Suddenly everyone took her seriously from seeing that merciless hit, guards shooting up as they stared at [ Name ] with varied expressions of shock.
Kazutora stood up in alarm, eyes widened briefly before they returned to their neutral position.
"Demon girl... I remember now. She's the one who helped save Draken on August 3rd. There's rumors of her having abnormal strength that even surpasses Mikey's abilities."
Hanma grinned as he remained seated, looking down at her with his cheek resting against his knuckles. "I've heard of her too. From another source though."
She stepped forward, moving closer to the injured boy on the ground. Unfolding her hands, she gestured one out towards him as she kept her eyes clashing with Hanma's.
"I came back to retrieve my comrade. That shouldn't be a problem, should it?"
He hummed, clearly amused by [ Name ]. Valhalla members looked over at their leader as they waited for his orders— most fully ready to jump the girl.
"You just injured one of us. I'm pretty sure there's a problem now..." he mentioned, nodding his head over to the guy that was on the floor.
Crouching next to him was another Valhalla goon, who shook him and pulled his arm to try and get him to stand up. [ Name ] paid them no mind and kept her attention on Hanma, who turned to look at the man on the ground after hearing his status.
"Hey, you good?"
"He's knocked out!"
"From one hit...?"
[ Name ] sighed out of her nose, shaking her head back and forth as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned her weight on one side of her body.
"He clearly provoked me. Would you like it if I called you a degrading name?"
Hanma's grin widened, the hostility in the air making his heart thump erratically. Sure, it would be convenient to take her down now, but where was the fun in that when she could be present in the fight of Toman vs Valhalla?
He waved his hand in dismissal, showing he had no care over what happened to the Toman Vice-Captain. "Fine, go ahead. Take him."
[ Name ] walked forward, ignoring the chatter around her as she crouched down to the boy's level. She touched his arm and ignored the look he gave her, his eyes widened as he stared at her in confusion. She mumbled something to him under her breath so that only he could hear, and he nodded, Baji watching silently as he retained a cold look.
His arm was thrown over her shoulder and they stood up together, the boy leaning his weight against her as he muttered a 'thanks' before they began to walk off. Stopping momentarily from hearing Hanma's voice again, she made no motion to reply, but took in his words before walking down that path.
"See you in a week," Hanma had said, unable to hide the amusement in his voice.
The two passed through the room of glares, the 1st Division Vice-Captain looking down while [ Name ] held her head up. They exited the building and made it over those chains once again before they made their way to safety.
——————♡——————
Sitting on a bench that was pressed against a building, Chifuyu leaned his head back and shut his eyes gently. [ Name ] stood beside the bench and faced a vending machine, her hand digging in her pocket as she sifted around for loose change that she carried on her.
Without opening his eyes, Chifuyu talked to the girl as he ignored the stinging sensation of his face whenever his mouth moved.
"You didn't have to help me..." He peeked his eyes over towards her and made an awkward noise as he blinked repeatedly. "—uh, sorry, didn't catch your name..."
She shrugged before sliding a coin into the slot of the vending machine, hearing the metal clink against the sides and fall down into its holder.
"It's [ Name ]. And I guess I didn't; but I wanted to."
"I'm Chifuyu," He replied in a quieter voice than before. His eyes began to un-focus as he spaced out, staring at nothing as he lost himself in his thoughts.
After putting in a few more loose coins, [ Name ] purchased a water bottle from the vending machine, listening as it hit against the sides and fell down to the slot at the bottom. She crouched down and pushed it open before grabbing the bottle, unscrewing the lid before she used her free hand to dig into her pocket. Grabbing her handkerchief, she placed it atop of the opening before flipping the bottle over to wet the cloth. Ignoring the coldness of her hands, she walked over to the boy and gestured to his face.
He took it from her hands with a quiet 'thank you' before gently scrubbing away the semi-dried blood mixed with still bleeding cuts. He winced when he touched around his right eye, already feeling the horrible bruise that was forming.
She took the seat beside him while placing the open bottle between them for him to use, fiddling with the cap in between her fingers.
"You're close with Baji, aren't you?" She asked as she stared down at the cap in her hands.
The cloth in Chifuyu's hand paused mid-air, slowly lowering with his hand as it rested in his lap. He looked to his side in shock for a moment before he smiled sadly.
"Yeah, for sure. What you saw in there— that's not the real him," he defended, hoping she didn't have a negative view on Baji.
Her response would shock him as she nodded her head in agreement. "I know."
He blinked twice as he stared at her fully, wondering what she could mean by that.
"Huh?" He asked, hoping she would continue since something was clearly on her mind.
She stopped playing around with the cap, looking down at her lap as she said the first part, "At first I didn't notice, overcome by my emotions..."
She then looked over at Chifuyu, her lips upturning the slightest solemnly.
"... But when Baji was hitting you, his heart sobbed with every punch. His eyes were unfocused the whole time too, like he was spacing out as he was doing it. That's what convinced me not to interfere— I believe he didn't enjoy a second of that. He must have a plan and trusted you enough to use you as a helping tool."
He listened to her words intensely, his lips slightly parting as he watched her expression carefully. When she finished, he couldn't prevent the wide grin that broke out on his face. Fiddling with the handkerchief in his hand, he used his free one to rub the back of his neck in relief.
"That... makes me feel overjoyed actually. I've heard of you, but this is the first we meet. Thank you, [ Name ]," he said with a grateful smile. She reciprocated the look and bowed her head in the slightest.
"It's my pleasure."