Although she tried her best to maintain her composure, it was obvious she wasn’t succeeding. Rarely did she ever show much emotion. “A man who has not been identified yet was killed, along with… a woman named Aya Tsuji.”
Gripping the handle of her satchel tighter, she took a took a deep breath and continued. “Aya and I were close. She was like my own fairy godmother… I was on my way to her shop the day she was murdered and the commotion confused me. Mr. Kujo then pulled me aside and told me what had happened to her.”
———SPINES LOWERED FROM A ONCE DEFENSIVE MEASURE. she was acquainted with kujo? silently, the man folded his papers into his leather briefcase, eyes lingering on his gloved hands. he knew what she was going through, yet he hadn’t the courage to open. he’d only become a teacher at the school recently, an added measure to ensure the safety of the students.
❝ i’ve heard of her
— she was young too. ❞ emerald eyes met the girl’s own hue. he placed his bag flat on the desk, and pulled out a chair for her to sit.
❝ if you need to talk about it, i can stay. ❞
———❝ AGAINST YOUR INITIAL IMPRESSION OF ME, i know how to keep my mouth shut. ❞ he stared, a bored look on his face. training had taught him two very important lessons: one, to never to underestimate your enemy ; two, to know when quality trumps quantity. counting the heads in the room, he was greatly outnumbered. there was no saying what each of these men were capable of, and the unknowns forced him to rewrite the equation entirely.
❝ but, i must say i’ve never been held captive by a respectableestablishment. ❞
✿ He was only having a smoke break- he’d told her so himself, so why were the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end? Where was this endless sense of dread coming from? With her eyes transfixed on his every movement, Mio could only watch on helplessly as he played her right into his hands; made to bear witness to an ashen arm and stark white flames.
With a yelp, the girl hiked her knees upwards, balling herself up defensively. Despite her best efforts to erase their supernatural encounter from her mind, the damned spirit had returned. The girl was reeling- why was her teacher doing this to her? He had to have some form of control over that lionesque figure; it had deigned itself to light his cigarette for him, after all.
But then again, if that were the case, then shouldn’t he have been able to see it back then, in the school’s hallways? If he’d seen it, then he wouldn’t have pulled her out of class the day after to question her, because he would have known perfectly well what had frightened her so. That was, unless he was feigning innocence? Against her better judgement, Mio took his bait.
“Mr. Kaufman, did you see something strange just now..?”
———SHE’D FALLEN SO GRACEFULLY INTO HIS WEB. he almost wanted to play dumb and see what would happen. finishing his cigarette, the man tossed it beneath the tire of a moving car. green eyes averted, he entered the car and buckled in.
❝ …did you? ❞ it was a question that hung heavier than the metal trappings of the steel cage. smiling into the rear view mirror, the man adjusted it just so he could easily pull out from the tight space. eyes on the road, he never turned his gaze to look at the girl.
❝ i saw something too. you may not even remember it, that day you dropped your pencil. ❞ he added, finally. stopped at a light not far from where they began, he let his eyes linger for half of a second. she was young, probably never realizing what it was she had. the innate ability of a stand often manifested in youth, but there were some who only got it after some outside meddling. the stand arrow.
As the school day ended, the dark haired girl stood outside of the classroom and waited for everyone to exit. When she was certain everyone was gone, she strolled inside the empty room, her face devoid of anything that could betray how she really felt.
“Hello, Mr. Kaufman… Did you hear about the latest kill?
———A GAZE THAT UNEARTHS IT BY THE ROOTS. elliot had heard about the latest in the series of local deaths — grisly, horrid, meant to CHURN the stomach — how could he not? still,he knew better than to show off his own feelings, especially to one of his fellow stand users. green eyes met hers in a sort of surrender to his own reservations.
❝ no, i don’t believe i have? i try not to pay attention to the worst of it all. ❞
✿ “-Oh! Um, thank you, Mr. Kaufman…” She’d never asked for him to carry her groceries, and yet he forged on ahead , doing as he saw fit, recognizing her struggles and actively working to counterbalance them. It was a nice change of pace from their last private conversations, as stunted and uncomfortable as they were.
Perhaps their relationship as student and teacher could still be salvaged- maybe she wouldn’t have to live in fear of him any longer. The mere thought of that alone was more than enough to bring a reassured smile to her face. “Yes,” she replied dutifully between bouts of giggles, “I’ve been studying very hard recently, so I should be well-prepared when the time comes.”
Never mind that the true reason why she’d begun taking her English studies more seriously was so that she could make amends for the ‘spider incident’. Mio respectfully dipped her head at the sound of the passenger door being pried open- by the time that he’d delivered his next question, she had already taken the liberty of buckling herself in.
Having no reason to refuse him, Mio nodded in response while she settled her groceries on her lap. “-No, I don’t mind. You can go on ahead, I’ll simply wait here until you’re finished.”
———He nodded, pulling a half pack of Dunhills from his shirt pocket. The brand had always been his favorite, the even smoke and delicate taste indicative of the luxury pricing. He could afford such luxuries, even without working the same job.
The man had carved a little success for himself in place of his previous occupation. Killing had always paid well, and boy was he good at it. Retiring from that scene took balls, but in the end, he’d been clean for about a decade. Strange how one misses the rush that came with the job description.
Placing the end of the cigarette into his mouth, the man waited to make sure Mio was looking without showing he was aware. Pausing, he called forth White Lion, a mere fraction of the Stand enveloping his arm and lighting the end of the cigarette.
✮– Despite the poetic and inspirational atmosphere, Valentino wasn’t sure to be in the mood for inquiries like that. Death was a grim topic he was forced to face daily – his profession made passing a plausible danger – but he hated dwelling over it. He neither wanted or needed to keep himself busy with philosophical paradoxes and dilemmas on the ephemerality of life.
Avoiding the man’s gaze, he looked at the horizon in silence, as if it could yield an answer. It didn’t, of course, and he sighed, his eyes sliding closed. He had an answer, but that remained an unusual conversation.
❝Now, this is a question I wasn’t expecting. Money can make your life better, but what the point if you’re going to die so soon? A year may seem a lot, but it’ll be over before you realize it. I’m a bit too attached to my life to accept the cash and sleep peacefully; besides, no one is saying I won’t be able to find a better deal later…❞
Valentino offered a bitter smile, looking at Parker with the corner of an eye. He was curious to hear what else he had to add. That man could be surprising, sometimes.
———❝ A better deal, hmm? ❞ He hadn’t even thought of it that way. In his world of hypotheticals, the idea that he could find a third path seemed so impossible. Still, the world did not entirely work on principles and rules. Had he realized this all those years ago, he might have been a completely different person.
❝ Humor me, then. ❞ He lifted his dusted glass of bedside water, eyes on the horizon still as twilight became darkness. The man had called Valentino to his room, unsure of what exactly they had in store for them the following morning. This job seemed slightly more than they could bite off, but the German had endured worse.
❝ If you were guaranteed the money and twenty more years, a small life time in our line of work, would you take it over a chance to live your full life? ❞ It was a question that depended on their combined idea of how long they had left.
✿ “-Mr.Kaufman?” Well, wasn’t this quite the unfortunate surprise? Not that Mio had come to expect anything else from the unlucky streak that she simply couldn’t seem to break. Besides that, in a town as small as Morioh, it was only inevitable that they’d meet each other outside of school grounds.
Still, knowing all those facts didn’t help ease the tension running between them in the least. While had nearly turned up her nose at Elliot’s initial offer, but the borderline ridiculous amount of groceries that she’d stocked up on easily tempted her into nodding her little head.
“Yes,please. My hands are a little full, so I’d very much appreciate any help I can get.” Laughing out half-heartedly, the girl would shuffle herself behind Elliot’s shadow and hold her breath. “Shall we get going then? I’ll be following behind you, so there’s no need to worry about me.” Who knows? Maybe this time around, nothing bizarre would happen. Maybe.
———❝ Here, let me help you with those. ❞ The man reached out to take some of her groceries, waving her towards a parked BMW. How a teacher could afford a luxury vehicle like that, one could only wonder.
❝ How are your English studies going… Will you be ready for my quiz this Monday? ❞ The man smiled, hoping his humor got through his accented Japanese. Dropping his bags in the trunk, the man opened the passenger door for the young woman. His car smelled faintly of smoke, a scent the man carried around with him through his addiction.
❝ Do you mind if I smoke a cigarette before we go? I don’t want to seem rude and smoke with you in the car. ❞
“I’m glad.” Lucy was glad to hear he enjoyed the race, it was, after all, one of her shared dreams with her husband. It gave the young girl happiness to hear the contestants’ responses, short or not.
“Oh? that’s kind to offer.” Lucy lifts her hand and held it out for the horse to sniff. “It’s been a good while since I was up close to a horse, personally.”
———❝ She’s an old cunt, but I think that’s what makes her as good as she is. ❞ He smiled at that, petting her white snout with his gloved fingers. The racer paused, eyes then turning to Lucy.
❝ Have you heard of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna? I actually purchased her from this order after they concluded she was too stubborn to ride. ❞
Something he personally found to be the winning ingredient.
———❝ Ah, Maki-san? ❞ Elliot stared for a moment, emerald eyes focused on the girl and her casual attire. Sunday was his free day from work and duties to the Joestars. He decided to head to the commercial district, gathering ingredients for the week’s meals. The one thing he hated more than to run into students, was to run into students he’d actually been assigned to teach.
❝ Did you walk here? My car is just around the corner, I can give you a ride home if you’d like. ❞
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