Yuriko and Jayce had been walking for about five to ten minutes before he stopped in front of a quaint little cafe. It was a short building between two other taller ones, squeezed in there perfectly so there was no room on either side. It read Kohi Tales Cafe on a simple plaque at the top, a welcoming atmosphere about it that made her feel warm.
Jayce gladly led her inside, where the world was a nice yellow light. One wall was covered in coffee ground bags of every kind and cups of all shapes and sizes. Some even had little readings on them, but she didn't try to pay attention to what they said. Instead, she followed Jayce to one of the half table, half booths where they sat down opposite of each other – Yuriko in one of the chairs.
Soon enough, a waitress came to get their order. Jayce got a macchiato with whipped cream, while Yuriko got a warm matcha tea. When it arrived, she was greeted with a white leaf decoration on the top in the foam. Jayce watched as she drank the tea, and he spooned off the whipped cream and ate it silently.
"I always order whipped cream," He said finally after a long quiet moment between them. "Because if I don't, I feel bad for ruining their little designs."
"That is rather silly," She mused, stirring her matcha with another sugar.
"I know," Jayce laughed. He stirred in the last of his whipped cream, staring down before he glanced up. "Say… I wanted to ask you something. Well, a couple things."
Yuriko paused, still staring into her green cup. "I suppose it is only fair, since I asked so many questions."
He rearranged in his chair. "Well, for one… You joined the club so quickly. I thought you would need more convincing. So, I guess my question is, why?"
Yuriko sipped her drink slowly, looking up at him as she set it back down. "I suppose I thought you could help me with something."
"Really?" Jayce leaned forward. "What with?"
She paused, looking down. "Nothing. It is not important anymore."
He seemed to want to argue, reading his thoughts to know he was aware that it was indeed important. Yet, Yuriko did not know the boy well enough to tell him about her other, secret life. She didn't even trust her grandfather enough to tell him, afraid he would get overprotective of her about it. However, gazing up from her tea, she felt a sudden tinge of guilt for not saying the truth.
"Okay, well," Jayce spoke again. "My other question. What happened earlier today?"
Yuriko stopped stirring her tea. "What do you mean?"
"You freaked out," He further explained. "Something… happened. You seemed to see something and you started to leave, but Sensei stopped you."
She stared at her reflection in the brown liquid, closing her eyes and sighing. "I suppose I could not keep it a secret forever," She said quietly.
"Keep what a secret?" Jayce put down his cup after a long sip.
Yuriko kept silent for a moment, biting her lip. "The reason I change schools so often."
"It's… Not because of your telepathy?" He said softly, keeping it under wraps.
"No… No, not at all," She gave a careful, untrusting look to him. Not telling him was a choice, but she found herself wanting to. "Promise to keep this a secret?"
Jayce looked surprised, leaning back a little. "Yeah… Yeah, of course."
"Okay," Yuriko looked away, feeling nervous at first until she found herself talking in a casual form of Japanese speech. "Well, it's a little strange. I… Have a sickness. Nothing physical, I'm not dying or anything," She quickly reassured him, seeing the surprise on his face. "It's just a small thing called… psychosis."
He was silent for a moment before he took a breath. "What's that?"
She sighed out, closing her eyes for a moment, looking back up after a second. "It's a mental illness. It makes you… see things. Usually, for me, it acts up when my emotions are too powerful."
"So," Jayce started. "What was the cause of them earlier?" When she didn't answer, he continued to piece it together on his own. "We were… talking about Wakizashi. Is that what set it off?"
Yuriko stood up, sipping the last of her matcha before setting it down hard. "I think it is better if you finish your drink on your own," She stated.
He reached out a hand. "Wait, Yuri-"
She didn't respond as she turned around, slipping her bag over her shoulder as she started for the door. Her mind was racing, her heart pounding. Many questions ran through her mind, but it wasn't until she reached the door that she paused. Shaking her head, she pushed on through and stepped outside. Heavy breaths escaped from her mouth as she turned and walked down the street, passing the open window before it stopped and became a brick wall. Sighing out, she leaned against it, looking up to the sky. So, so many stars. Quietly, she whispered to herself.
"Tell me what to do."
The night was her favourite part of the evening. She could just look up and see the rest of the universe at her fingertips. Everything was just so clear and natural, but that day, a few clouds were in the sky. Cloudy, just like her mind on what to do, what to say. Everything was so confusing lately and her heart felt heavy.
It was then that her thoughts were interrupted and she heard laughing to her left, and turned her head to see what the commotion was about. A group of boys, four of them to be exact, were walking towards her. About to turn and cross the street to the other side so she didn't have to deal with them, she stopped when they seemed familiar. Where had she seen them before? It wasn't until they started talking and pointing in the cafe window and she saw the uniforms that she realised – they were the ones who bothered her on the first day of school.
"Hey, isn't that-?" One of them motioned inside, smiling.
"It is," Another chuckled. "Go fetch him."
Yuriko turned away, walking off down the street. Her teeth were grit together, her fist clenched. Don't walk away, Her mind told her. Stop walking away. She held her breath, slipping into the close by alleyway and gasping. Shaking her head, she held her temples with her palms and shut her eyes. Groaning, she looked back up, across from her in the dark alley.
Peering back around the corner, she saw him – just as she suspected. Jayce was being pulled out of the cafe. He was going willingly, but they still had a strong grip around his arm. His eyes looked upset, and she could hear his thoughts; Of course they found me at the worst moment in history. At least Yuriko wasn't here to see them again and beat the living crap out of them.
She pulled back around the corner and looked up to the sky as she whispered, "Is this what you call a sign?"
"Come on, we have some work for you," She heard one of them say loudly.
"Yeah, little lie detector, be glad we didn't interrupt your lunch again," Another said.
Yuriko poked around the corner again, seeing Jayce rip his arm away. "No thanks."
"Excuse me?" One hissed in surprise.
"No. Thanks." He repeated, adjusting his bag. "Now is not a good time."
"Well, you don't really have a choice, buddy," A boy grabbed his arm again.
"Let go," Jayce demanded.
"Would you rather we teach you a lesson instead?" One of them seethed.
It turned into a struggle, but with four people ending up dragging him across the street into an alley. Yuriko watched carefully, sliding back into the crevice as she stared at the ground. She couldn't just leave him at their mercy – that was definitely not the right thing to do. Yet, if her grandfather found out she got into a fight again so soon…
No. She didn't have a choice.
Yuriko dug into her bag, pulling out the black cloth that wrapped her lunch. Tying it up around her face like a mask, she walked out and looked around. Not many people were there, and those who were, didn't seem to care about what had happened. Though, some gave her weird looks with her odd makeshift mask on. Tying her hair up as she walked across the street with a band on her wrist, she walked straight up to the alley she saw him get pulled into. There, she saw his bag settled on the ground, and she picked it up. Looking into the dark alley, she went inside.
The group threw Jayce on the ground, where he landed with a grunt. Then, the largest of the four grabbed his shirt and brought him up against the wall. One dangling from her finger, she dropped both bags to the ground and watched as the group turned and looked at her, and she silently walked down the road up to them.
"Hey," Someone called. "Get out of here, lady."
She said nothing as she stopped, one of them coming up to her. Her eyes raised to meet his as he sneered and spoke. "What're you doing, huh? We said to leave, shortie."
"I won't hold back this time," She mused.
"Eh?" He tilted his head.
Wakizashi grabbed his tie, bringing it down to force his head hard against her raised knee. He stumbled back after she let go, holding his bleeding and bruised nose. He cried out in agony, coming forward to swing wildly. She grabbed his arm, slipping it around her head so she was back to chest with him, and threw him straight over her head.
As he landed, she heard the intervening thought of another individual, and whirled around to catch the fist of a second income with her hand. Bringing her wrist up sideways, she heard the horrid snap as his arm bent the wrong way. He screamed, crawling away from her as she saw tears leave his eyes.
She took another step forward as the biggest dropped Jayce to the ground, who gladly scrambled away from the fight. Wakizashi ducked out of another hit, then the second as the other student came to face her. She blocked a third from the first, redirecting it into the other boy's face. He stumbled, then both turned to her with rage.
That was when she heard the prone one get up and run towards her, and Wakizashi grabbed him and threw him sideways at the other two. All three fell to the ground, and she took a few steps forward. The fourth boy was still crying from his broken arm, but she kicked him once into silence on her way by. Standing above the three, she spoke one word in a sinister and dark tone.
"Leave."
They all looked at her, then to the boy on the ground, and scrambled to their feet. One helped the injured one up as she watched them retreat, running out into the street and almost getting hit by a passing car that honked loudly. Finally, she turned her attention to Jayce, who was sitting like a wide eyed fawn, staring at her. Wakizashi turned and started walking away, picking up her bag and shouldering it as she went on.
"Eh, wait!"
She didn't plan to stop, but was instead forced to when a hand closed around her upper arm. Her first instinct was to flip him over her head again and continue on, but she held herself back. She stopped, letting him hold on to her, but she didn't turn around. It wasn't until he spoke that she grimaced in pure annoyance.
"Who are you?"
She pulled from his grasp with a quick yank. "None of your concern."
"Yuriko," He said her name. "I mean it. Who are you, really?"
She stared at the ground for a long time, thinking long and hard. Closing her eyes, she knew she didn't have a choice. Again. The game she played was over. Turning around, she looked up at him with her grey eyes, pulling down her mask. Her teeth were clenched, her eyebrows narrowed, the cloth resting around her neck as she said the words she never said as Yuriko.
"I am Wakizashi."