Demon's Protégé

Constant

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Nari looked at me with what I could already regard as the deathliest glare she has given me since the night I had appeared in her life. She already worn the intense stare right after she took notice of me sitting in front of the table in their dining area. She stopped by the entryway from the living room with Bryan beside her and stood with apparent grim in her face. I was still numbed by silence as I felt cold inside as if I was actually caught doing something I should not have. I slowly turned towards Maria and quietly sought for back-up but she was still staring at Nari. Her eyes were widened and she looked a bit nervous.

“Why are you here, Taiyo?” Nari’s gritted demand had me jolting from my seat as I immediately returned my eyes to her. My throat went dry when her stare clashed into mine again.

“V-visiting?”

“You need to leave,” she quickly approached me and pulled my arm to remove me from my seat. I stumbled as I stood, letting her force swayed me towards her and she led me back to the living room. I was defenseless and was so lost in a whim as I strutted behind her until we paused by the front door. She turned around and faced me, her eyes narrowing into slits as she regarded me with heavy distaste.

“We talked already, right?” she spitefully remarked, her grip on my forearm tightening as she spoke, “I’ve agreed to a date. Why are you here now?”

She kept glancing alarmingly behind her and I wondered why she suddenly looked like she was trying to hide something. I frowned at her and only then did I finally regain my ability to speak.

“I’m just visiting,” I calmly replied to her, pulling my arm gently from her hold yet she still did not let go.

“For what?” she spat back.

“Relax, Nari,” I reassured her, smiling uneasily but her eyes kept darting back over her shoulders. “Why are you acting like this? I’m not doing anything wrong.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going here today?”

“I don’t have your number.”

“Fine,” she sighed in surrender, her whole body collapsing into a look of complete surrender that I suddenly begun to feel a bit suspicious of why she was actually acting like this. “I’d give it to you but you really need to leave now.”

“Why?”

“Because—“

“Why did you bring that guy here, Nari?”

Maria’s voice appeared behind us and it immediately cut Nari off as we both turned to look at her. She was giving Nari a warning glare and her arms were crossed in front of her.

“Guy? Me?” I frowned, puzzled over Maria’s question. I glanced back to my side to give Nari a questioning look but she ignored me as she returned Maria’s stare.

“Why is Ren here?”

Ren? That guy? He’s here?

“It just happened, Mom,” Nari merely explained, her grip loosening on my arm and she finally let go of me after speaking. She really looked helpless and I could not help but feel the same as I kept mulling over the thought that she brought that guy here at her place.

“Just happened? What is he to you?” I suddenly asked, unable to mask my jealousy as I stared her down and waited for her to explain. Nari faced me upon my demands and angrily met my eyes. Shooting me a cold look, she spat back.

“It’s none of your business.”

“Is he your boyfriend?”

She just narrowed her glare at me.

I was suddenly driven by impatience when she did not even try to answer my question. I tried to bite back the words I was about to say and gently shoved her away from the front door. Before she could even stop me, I was already exiting their house and sharply walked towards the driveway. I almost did not want to believe it but I quickly saw the Ren guy leaning on the side of his car just at the front of the house. And seemingly unable to stop myself anymore, my entire vision went dark right after that.

“Taiyo!”

I did not see the punch coming back at me when it hit me on the side of my face. I was automatically pushed down on the ground by the sudden impact and my teeth banged against each other as I felt my head smacking down on the floor. Instantly, I saw Ren charging down towards me and I quickly raised my arms up to shield my face. Everything just happened so fast and we ended up rolling over the weeds on the frontyard of Nari’s house until her voice finally registered into the background. Only was then did I finally came back to my senses and stopped.

Ren still landed another heavy punch on me before he finally pulled away and kicked me once more as he stepped back. I was panting hard and my throat was totally dried up. I closed my eyes, my entire face was numb. I could not even open my eyes steadily into the view of the sky above me. I was still lying on the ground when Nari came into my vision. She was looking down at me, her eyes were filled with fury and disappointment.

I almost thought she was crying, but she started sputtering angry words at me and Ren.

“Ren! What the hell is wrong with the two of you!” she shouted so loud I immediately regretted all of my actions. Feeling so tired, I closed my eyes and tried to catch my breath. I felt pain all over my face and my shoulders. Ren stood from a distance and Nari continued to reprimand the both of us.

“This is so stupid!” she spat with a huff, her frustration apparent in her loud voice. “You’re not kids anymore!”

“He started it,” I heard Ren grimly replied back to her, his voice a little shaky as he wiped the side of his mouth that has been bleeding. I just kept my silence as I heaved and tried to push myself off from the ground. But I still struggled to sit up, feeling my upper body almost giving away from the soreness all over it. I grunted and Nari somehow stopped her nagging.

“I need you to leave for now, Ren,” She softly pleaded to the other guy and I snapped my head towards her, surprised that she was actually making him leave not me.

“What?”

“Just for now, please,” she said with a pleading tone and Ren hesitated for a moment as they continued to stare at each other. I just silently watched it with pure distaste and after a long moment, Ren finally let out a long sigh and retreated back to his car.

“I’ll wait for you tonight, Nari,” was all he said before eventually leaving the place. I was still mulling over his last words when Nari suddenly appeared above me and our eyes met as she regarded how bad I looked now.

“How stupid can you actually get?” she said in a rhetoric remark and I smiled bitterly, feeling quite embarrassed now that things had finally sank in. I grunted once again, trying to push myself up to stand but I wobbled and almost stumbled back on my butt. Nari reflexively rushed to my side and wrapped her arms around my shoulder and chest. Her sudden proximity had me staggering a step back but she held onto my body tighter as she managed us to turn back towards their house. I could not even stop myself from blushing as we started to walk side by side.

“No reason to feel shy for you now. You’ve made a lot of bad impressions already.” she said, slightly speaking in a teasing tone as I kept my silent, unable to even muster any words as of the moment. I still was lapsing in the feeling of her warmth on the side of my body.

When we got inside the house, she quickly guided me towards their sofa and I sat quietly, wincing when I felt the burning pain on the side of my cheek.