Chapter 2: Encounter
[18 years later]
"Hey Taro, get up, class is over." A high-pitched voice reached out to me.
I lifted my head and opened my eyes to the image of a half-empty classroom.
"Huh? Oh, so it is, thanks." I yawned as I leaned back and stretched out my arms. I finished my wake-up routine and looked up at the girl standing next to me. She had her arms crossed and her concerned gaze was fixed on me.
"Honestly Taro, you should take classes more seriously; after all, it's our last year of high school." She let out a deep sigh as she finished her sentence. "If you don't put in the effort, you won't graduate."
"Eh? Why am I getting lectured? I just woke up, give me a break Na—" I paused. "Narumi?" I said with hesitation.
Crap, I don't remember her name.
She giggled at my struggle to recollect her name.
"It's close, but my name is Nakano," she replied, "I've been sitting next to you for a week, you know?"
Oh, right, she is the girl who transferred here last week, Akari Nakano is her full name I believe. She's been attempting to strike up a conversation with me since she joined, but I've been busy the last week, so I haven't had the chance to get to know her yet.
"Anyway, if you don't want to end up working part-time jobs for the rest of your life, you should probably try a bit harder in class." She commented as she turned around and began packing her bag.
"I don't think I mind that; it's better than overworking myself for the rest of my life as a salaryman in a small company," I responded. "At least I get to relax now without having to stress about my inevitably bleak future."
"Not the dreaming type I see?" She said, stifling her laughter at what I assumed was my pessimism.
What a pain, I'd rather enjoy myself now than worry about what comes. I got up and slid the textbooks from my desk into my bag, then made my way to the classroom door, followed closely by Nakano.
"See you tomorrow," I said as we both left the classroom. The short, chestnut-haired girl smiled at me in response.
Any other day and I would be on my way home, but since it's Tuesday, I need to head to my club's practice session. I like my club, but I slept through lunch and now I'm starving; I'd love to just go home and eat dinner as soon as possible. I don't have an excuse to skip practice... but I can come up with one soon enough. It'd be Ayano who interrogates me with lines like "How irresponsible of the captain" or "Skipping again I see". Ayano fits the captain role, I'll give her that. But that doesn't give her the right to tell me off. I'll deal with Ayano and the club when I get around to it—more importantly right now.
"Uh, Nakano? Why are you following me?" I asked the girl who hadn't left my side since we left our classroom. I thought it was a coincidence, but she has been walking centimeters away from me for the past 3 minutes.
"Say something Nakano, you're creeping me out, seriously." I said as I inched away cautiously.
"If I tell you why I'm following you, you'll tell me to stop."
"...…"
For a second, her strange explanation interrupted my brain function and caused a brief headache in my temple; I didn't know how to respond.
"...Well, you're not wrong," I muttered.
"See?" She looked up at me and beamed.
"Hold on, that doesn't necessarily... justify everything."
"Tsk, I expected that to work." She whispered to herself.
Nakano is the worst type of person to argue with. Her innocent smile completely covered up her last remark. She wields a dangerous power. S-scary…
"I'm sorry if I'm a nuisance," Nakano looked down and continued to speak, "it's just that, as you know, I transferred here last week, and I don't have any friends yet. That's also why I haven't found a club yet, and I thought I could start by checking out your club." She looked up and pierced me with her wide emerald eyes.
I felt cornered. Has she practiced this scenario before?
"I doubt my club will be to your liking, but I guess it's fine if you come to watch today's practice."
A radiant smirk appeared on Nakano's face.
"Oh, really? Yay, I knew you could be friendly if you tried." And with that, I was manipulated into taking Nakano with me.
"Speaking of which, what club are you in Taro?"
"Wha—So, you asked to come, but you don't even know what club I'm in?" Now I was seriously beginning to question Nakano's thought process. She leaned towards me as she awaited my answer. Her innocent and curious expression remained.
"So, what club are you in?" She repeated her question.
I let out a deep sigh.
"I'm the captain of the archery club."
"Archery? Wow, that sounds really exciting, I'm in!"
"Uh... can you slow down?" This girl doesn't stop to surprise me with what comes out of her mouth.
"Why not though, archery seems like fun."
Is she stupid, ignorant, or both?
"Have you ever held a bow in your life?" I asked even though I already knew the answer.
"You're no fun, Taro. There's a first time for everything."
Yeah… I think I'm about done with this chick; I wonder what would happen if I just started ignoring her.
No, that wouldn't work... even if I didn't respond, she'd just keep yapping my ears off. I also don't think I've got it in me to be that mean, I think I'm quite the kind person actually. I just need to breathe and calm down... thank god I was cursed with a little sister, otherwise my patience bar would be empty by now.
"...ro"
Wait did I really just thank god for creating the devil spawn which I call my little sister. Yeah, something is definitely wrong with me today, must be some sort of bad influence.
"...aro"
Actually, now that I think about it, I have been feeling quite sluggish today. I wonder wh—
"Taro!" A loud squeak penetrated my eardrums, I looked at Nakano, who was the source of this noise.
"Finally, I got your attention. Honestly, you just keep disappearing into your own little—"
"Listen, Nakano, I don't really feel that good today, could you leave me alone for now? Sorry but—"
A sharp pain inside my stomach interrupted me halfway through my sentence. My insides suddenly felt like they were getting tossed around inside a washing machine. We were on the stairway and If I didn't have a hold of the handrail, I would have probably lost my balance and fell.
I felt something unfamiliar inside me.
"Are you okay, Taro? What happened?" Nakano questioned me with a concerned look on her face.
"I'm fine, just a small stomachache… I think." The pain left just as fast as it came; I was left standing still for a split second due to the confusion. That's the first time I ever experienced anything like this.
"No way. What if… no, that's impossible. But perhaps..."
"Could I be on my period?" I mumbled to myself.
"Eh?" Nakano looked at me with disgust.
"It's just a joke, relax..."
Period jokes are off limits for guys, I'll keep that noted.
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"Are you sure you don't need to go to the nurse's office, Taro?" Nakano asked, walking closely behind me.
"Honestly Nakano, I'm okay now. I probably just forgot to check the date on the milk carton this morning. I'm better off going home than to the nurse's office since school is over."
Even though the pain was gone, I was feeling sort of dizzy since that incident and so I decided to skip out on archery practice. I need to text Ayano and tell her I can't come…
"Well, if you say you're okay, then that's fine. I'll walk you hom—"
"Oh, Nakano! I'm glad I ran into you here." Tachikawa-sensei stopped Nakano.
"We are still missing some of your information on our records, can you please follow me and fill out a short form? It will only take 5 minutes." Nakano looked at me.
"Don't go home without me, I'll be back in 2 minutes okay?" She said as the teacher hurried her over.
I decided to use Nakano's tactics against her and just smiled at her in response.
Yeah, as if.
She's overreacting, I don't need her to walk me to my house.
I'll be heading straight home in peace. I waited till the teacher took Nakano out of sight and started making my way home.
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Pretty certain that the day couldn't get any weirder, I walked through the usual alleyways and shortcuts so that I could reach home and eat dinner. I wonder what Kyoko will cook up today. Since I skipped practice and left school earlier than usual, she's probably not finished with it yet. I'll tell her to make stew. Yeah, I'm starving, I'd love some hot stew.
swish
A sudden gust of wind hit me from upfront. I heard a loud rustle from the alleyway from which the wind originated from. I decided to investigate the strange sound and as I approached it; it grew louder.
"What the hell is going on here?" I let out as I struggled to keep my balance because of the heavy wind.
I marched forward through the strong wind and when I turned the corner of the alleyway, an extraordinary sight revealed itself. A mysterious, purple swirl attached to a wall was the source of all this wind and rustle.
"A black hole? No, a portal?" I thought.
The object in question suddenly sparked and generated a blinding white light. I closed my eyes in reflex and once I regained my vision, I saw a slender, black wraith emerge from the mysterious portal. Its insubstantial and shadowy form consumed the light surrounding it, leaving pitch-black darkness.
"A Monster" the words slipped from my mouth at the horrifying sight.
"Not quite" I heard a voice from behind my back accompanied by a thunderous bang.
I turned around and before me stood a tall figure equipped in glowing, white armor. Strands of lightning hissed as they weaved around his limbs to shape the godlike armor. The figure who now appeared like an angel reached out its arm and clenched his gauntlet into a fist; a white blade formed inside of it. The blade resembled the angel's voltaic armor in terms of its composition.
"It's a demon." He looked at the demon and continued, "A creature that doesn't belong here. A being not of this world."
I turned around again to examine the creature currently being described and as I did, I met its bloodthirsty gaze. Its crimson eyes pierced my soul, and it commenced a ruthless charge in my direction. Startled, I fell onto the cold cement and lost control of my body.
Just as my life flashed before my eyes, the angelic figure dashed in front of me and intercepted the demon. With a booming thud, the monstrous creature was knocked away and with what seemed like a single slash of his blade, the angel marked a sharp cross on the demon's body. After a second of delay, the demon fell and disintegrated into the air around it.
The angel then turned to face me. I couldn't be sure because of its helmet, but it seemed to be studying me.
"W-what are you?" I asked, and perhaps from all the pent-up shock, my vision got blurry, and I started to lose consciousness.
"Me? I am the Warden. Nice to meet you—Ranger."
Blackout.
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CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
boywhotalkswithcat
boywhotalkswithcat Thank you for reading chapter 1 of Ranger, hope you liked it!
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