The next hour devolved into what could only be described as a Romantic Boot Camp.
Austin played the role of Shinobu, with a mop as a wig and speaking in a monotone voice: "Hello, Marlon. What brings you here?"
Marlon, face red, clenched his fists: "I—I think you're really cool!"
Shinatsu rolled her eyes: "Pathetic. Your tone is too desperate. Again."
Yuji: "And stop glaring like you're about to start a fight."
Dakota: "That's rich coming from you."
Austin adjusted the mop on his head: "Try less 'about to challenge a boss,' more 'about to offer her a flower.'"
Marlon took a deep breath: "Right. I got this."He stepped forward again. "Shinobu senpai… you're the reason I want to do better."
Everyone froze. It was actually kind of good.
Shinatsu blinked, almost impressed: "That was… not terrible."
Austin nodded: "Yeah, if you ignore the fact that he's sweating like a criminal under interrogation."
Dakota smirked: "If he keeps it together, maybe she won't call security."
Yuji: "Or beat him up herself."
Marlon puffed up his chest: "I'm ready. Tomorrow, I'm confessing."
Dakota smiled faintly: "Man's about to dive headfirst into heartbreak. Respect."
The next day, Shinobu was reading in the courtyard under a tree, sunlight glinting off her silver hair.
Marlon stood a few meters away, fists clenched, trying to breathe. Behind a nearby bush, four idiots peeked out like conspirators in a bad romance drama.
Austin whispered: "Remember the plan. Step one: compliment. Step two: don't make her think you're threatening her."
Marlon nodded and walked forward: "Shinobu senpai!"
Shinobu looked up, calm as ever: "Yes?"
Marlon's voice cracked but he pressed on: "I…uh… I think you're amazing! You're smart, graceful, and… when you walk by, it's like time slows down!"
Shinobu blinked once: "Thank you."
Marlon's face turned crimson: "I… was wondering… if maybe… you'd go out with me?"
A pause.
Then Shinobu said, in the same neutral tone: "I appreciate your feelings, but I'm not interested in dating right now."
It wasn't cruel. It wasn't cold. It was just honest.
Marlon stood still for a moment, processing it. Then, instead of sulking, he smiled faintly: "Got it. Thanks for hearing me out, Senpai."
He bowed, then walked away with his hands in his pockets.
Yuji: "Damn. He took that like a man."
Shinatsu: "Better than I expected."
Austin whispered: "He handled that better than my last breakup."
Dakota: "You told me you've never had a girlfriend."
Austin: "Teehee."
Dakota: "…"
Marlon might be hot-blooded, but he's cool when it counts.
That evening, the group met on a rooftop. Marlon leaned against the railing, staring at the sunset.
Marlon: "I guess that's that," he said with a grin. "Rejection sucks, but… I feel lighter now. Like I finally swung the bat."
Yuji: "Good on you taking it like a man."
Dakota: "If it were me, I'd be bawling my eyes out."
Austin handed him a can of soda: "To the brave fool who dared to confess."
Shinatsu: "And to the even bigger fools who thought they could help him."
They all cracked open their respective soda cans and took a sip.
Marlon grinned: "Next time, I'll have her say yes."
***
Dakota and Austin returned to their dorm, as did Yuji. Marlon said he was going back too but went in a completely different direction. Shinatsu had something she wanted to say, so she followed him. Finding his thirst not quenched after that soda, he got another drink. He stood, hands tucked into his blazer pockets, staring at his reflection on a vending machine. The sky was painted in a dull orange glow, Marlon felt the sunset whisper to him, "You should've gone home."But Marlon never listened to whispers.
Shinatsu leaned against a pillar behind him, arms folded, the glow of the sunset wrapping around her purple hair. Her expression said that she still had a bone to pick, but the quiet hum in the air said otherwise: "Pretending to be cool in front of a vending machine when no one's looking, or are you actually upset about getting rejected."
Marlon: "Tch." He tilted his head slightly. "You wouldn't understand. This isn't about the vending machine. It's about philosophy."
Shinatsu: "Right. And I'm sure the delinquents surrounding us right now appreciate your deep philosophical stance."
Marlon: "What?"
That's when he noticed it, the sound of multiple pairs of shoes scraping across the pavement.
Shinatsu: 'I followed this guy because I just wanted to tell him something, not get roped up into whatever this is."
A couple dozen rough-looking guys stepped out from behind the buildings, the kind that smelled like cigarette smoke and poor decisions. Their leader, a tall guy with dyed red hair and an overinflated ego, grinned.
Delinquent Leader: "Well, well. If it isn't Marlon the 'Silent Storm.'"
Shinatsu: "'Silent Storm?'" She raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like a rejected energy drink name."
Goon: "Oi, watch your mouth, lady," one of the goons growled.
Shinatsu smiled sweetly, and for a moment the evening air grew cold: "Oh, I'll watch it. I'll watch it say something that'll make you regret ever talking to me."
The leader spat on the ground: "We've got beef, Marlon. You broke our senpai's arm last month. Thought we'd drop by to return the favor."
Marlon sighed: "I told him to stop following me to the library. I was just defending myself."
Leader: "By launching him into a water fountain?"
Marlon: "He slipped."
Leader: "On what?"
Marlon: "My patience."
The delinquents clearly didn't appreciate wordplay. They roared and charged forward. Marlon would've been in trouble if he was alone, luckily he had backup.
The first guy came swinging with a wooden sword. Marlon ducked, twisted, and jabbed his elbow into the guy's ribs. One strike, the guy crumpled like bad origami.
Marlon: "Still picking fights at sunset, huh?" He muttered. "Classic amateur hour."
Shinatsu, meanwhile, sidestepped two attacks, swept a leg, and sent one guy flying into another. Her movements were elegant, calculated, the kind of graceful brutality that said "I've done ballet, but I'll still knock your teeth in."
Another delinquent came at her from behind, yelling something about how girls shouldn't fight.
Big mistake.
Shinatsu grabbed his wrist mid-swing, twisted it, and kneed him in the stomach, causing him to cough up spit on her uniform.
Shinatsu: "Great, I just washed this."
Marlon ducked another punch and kicked his opponent into a lamppost: "You're not half-bad, Boreas."
Shinatsu: "I have a name."
The last dozen delinquents hesitated, glancing between their unconscious friends and the two demons standing before them.
Marlon: "Wanna take a break?"
Shinatsu stretched her shoulders: "Do I look like I do?"
The delinquents froze, exchanged terrified looks, and charged in.
***
Marlon sat atop the pile of delinquents finishing his drink: "This wasn't a free ass whopping, you bastards. Next time I see you lot, I'll be demanding payment."
He jumped down and poured the last few drops in the can on one of the delinquents' head. They both stood there for a moment, illuminated by the last light of the sun.
Shinatsu: "Hey."
Marlon: "What's up."
Shinatsu: "Just so you know, I hate the Boreas's as much as you do."
Marlon: "Oh? Trouble with family?"
Shinatsu: "Something like that."
Marlon: "So the princess isn't actually a princess."
Shinatsu: "I never was."
Marlon: "That so? Well, sorry about egging you on."
Shinatsu: "I said some bad things too, sorry."
Marlon: "Happens. Let's get the hell outta here?"
Shinatsu: "Yeah."