"That was easy."
I walked with a purpose I didn't feel, heading straight into the heart of Shinjuku's chaos. I bypassed the flashing lights and thumping bass of a random club, my instincts—or maybe just my desperation—guiding me. You develop a nose for these things. I found a guy who looked the part, lurking in an alley that smelled of stale beer and broken dreams.
A quick, quiet negotiation later, and I had my… you know, my stuff. As I tucked the small package away, the guy, a wiry man with tired eyes, looked me over. "Yo, kid. I'm talking to my boss. I can hook you up with a job. Good pay for a guy who looks like he doesn't scare easy."
I declined with a shake of my head. The last thing I needed was that kind of commitment. But I took his number. Just in case. A potential side quest for the future.
Seeking a quieter spot to enjoy my spoils, I found myself in the labyrinthine alleys of Golden Gai. Tucked in a tiny corner, I carefully rolled a joint. The first pull was smooth, the effect immediate and potent. "This thing is actually really good," I breathed out, a cloud of smoke swirling towards the narrow ceiling.
"Hey. You're the new guy in my class."
A voice, calm and composed, cut through my high. I turned, and my hazy vision focused on a girl in our school uniform. It took a moment for my memory to kick in. She sat in front of me.
She had long, black hair that seemed to absorb the dim light, and the most striking light violet eyes I'd ever seen. A decent-looking body, I may say, though she was a little short.
"Hi," I managed, my gaze unintentionally dropping for a split second before I forced it back up. I took another drag from the joint, using the action to hide my lack of eye contact. "Never really got your name."
She didn't seem offended, merely observant. "My name is Ruyi Ironveil. I'm 16 years old. And how about you, Mr. 'Keeps Staring at My Boobs'?"
The bluntness of it, delivered with such a serene expression, almost made me choke. "You know my name from the introduction in class this morning," I deflected, my brain feeling like it was full of cotton. "Okay, my name is Azazel. I am the same age as you."
I was too high, too unable to maintain a proper conversation, let alone eye contact. The world was soft at the edges.
"So," I finally asked, the words feeling heavy. "What brings you here, Ruyi Ironveil?"
Her violet eyes held a glint of something unreadable—amusement, curiosity, or perhaps a challenge.
"Let's just say," she replied, her voice still impossibly calm, "I have a nose for interesting things, too."
Before I could formulate a proper response, Ruyi Ironveil simply proceeded to sit next to me, as if our meeting was preordained. She unexpectedly started up a conversation, asking mundane questions about my thoughts on the school and the city. The entire situation was surreal. I finally had to ask, the words slurring slightly, "Weed... doesn't it bother you?"
She merely shrugged, her violet eyes reflecting the neon signs of Golden Gai. "It's a choice. Your choices are your own, Azazel-kun." After a while, she stood, smoothing down her skirt. "Bye, Azazel. I'll see you at school, Mr. Bad Boy." She disappeared into the warren of alleys, leaving me with the distinct impression I'd just been interviewed.
"Well, she's an oddball, alright," I muttered to the empty air. "Let's get some food and head straight home."
I arrived at my sparse apartment to find a text from my handler. The message was brief, instructing me that a new, high-spec PC had been delivered. I texted back a simple 'ok.' Her next message followed instantly: "Tomorrow, you're walking to school on your own."
So, somebody has to be monitoring me at school, I thought, a cold trickle of paranoia cutting through the lingering high. But I pushed the doubt aside for now, losing myself in the digital worlds of the new PC for a few hours. By 10:43 PM, exhaustion won, and I decided to hit the hay.