Chapter One: The Lonely Wolf and the Wounded Cosplayer

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“The truth is….” Mamiko brushed her hair as the cold wind blew upon us. “...I’ve always loved you…”

Another gust of wind passed. The leaves of the tree that were shading us from the light of the orange sunset was the only thing that could be heard. After the breeze passed, the only thing that I could hear was my heartbeat. The students who were on their way home kept on staring at us as if we were in the middle of a shooting of a cheesy movie with a low budget. But it didn’t matter because it felt like we were on our own world.

Did the time stopped? I had to ask myself. But such things doesn’t happen in real life.

I’ve known Mamiko since we were kids. We were childhood friends. And now that we’re just a month away from graduating, what did I felt? All these years that I’ve spent with her? Was that of a friend? Or that of a sister?

Mamiko then stared at me with her small brown eyes with tears almost falling. Her long ponytailed hair swayed by the wind.

What should I say to her?

And then, the choices flashed on screen of my laptop.

A: Tell her “I love you too”.

B: Run without looking back.

C: Run and look back for a second.

D: Take the knife she’s hiding behind her and stab her with it.

”What the…?” He suddenly muttered. The fuck is wrong with this game? Run? A girl just confessed to you, and you’ll just run? Run and look back for a second? It’s just the same thing as B. And D? Does she even have a knife? He thought.

Oh well… He scratched his head as if there were tons of dandruff on his hair and chose A. It has to be A….

He clicked A.

”I’m happy… I really am.” Mamiko said as she smiled with tears flowing from her eyes.

Awwww…. I finally conquered her now... Mamiko-chan. You’re mine now. Guhe guhe guhe guhe.....

”But I don’t want other girls to have you. So I’ll have to kill you.”

“EHHHHHHH???” He shouted. Now his face is like that of someone who just drank a jar of vinegar.

“You’re mine now… forever……”

Then, stabbing sound effects was heard with Mamiko’s pretty face turned into a creepy smile. And with that, the words “Bad End” were written on the screen with blood.

“…….” That made him speechless. In fact, he made the same face on the day his father was being buried in the cemetery. I’m sure I made the right choice! What kind of crappy game is this? He pressed ‘enter’ and it returned him to the title screen. High School Love and Murder 3. I totally forgot about the ‘murder’ part. But why on Earth would someone who’s still sane would put ‘murder’ on a dating simulation game?

This game sucks… He thought. But at least in games, I can make girls fall in-love with me… He pressed alt+f4. I’m not touching that game again. He decided as he removed his headphones and placed it on top of his keyboard. He looked at the time on his desktop. 11:11PM. Crap. That explains why I feel so sleepy. He reached for his phone. Not because he has someone to text. It’s kind of sad, the reality that he is facing. People talks, calls and sends him messages when people need him. His phone doesn’t have any use except for games and music. And internet… and…. you know… videos…

‘You have 34 missed calls from Claire Svartsevich.’

Oh my…..´ His phone vibrated and now the screen shows ‘Claire Svartsevich is Calling.’. I must answer… His hands was shaking when he pressed the answer button.

“Hello…?” He said as he tried to pull his guts together.

“Albert. Tomorrow. Spaghetti.”

And then she hung up.

As always, she’s asking him to cook for her at the club again. Claire just texts and calls him whenever she needs something. That’s what friends are for. He thought.

Forgetting that it was already December, he did not put his jacket on. He just went out on this cold weather. In the Philippines, twenty degrees is already considered as ‘cold’. Since it is indeed a tropical country. ”Winter is coming.” He said as he felt the wind brush on his cheeks. It gave him a chill on his spine as he walked on the streets of Panghulo. It was dark and filled with swagg breezy boys and girls smoking cigarettes as if they were the coolest shit in town. And most of them are younger than Albert. He just went pass them. Albert continued his walk. He saw Christmas decors on houses. Lights flickering on and off with various colors. It makes him think that everyone is spending their time with their families and stuff. He actually envy them. They get a chance to spend it with their loved ones and him on the other hand, sleeps all through it. Just like New Year… and Valentine’s Day.

Every year was the same. Since his dad died. That was about three years ago. He got all the money he’ll ever need since his dad gave him all his money that his father saved and his mother got the company. And then, her mother remarried. Told him to scram off their house, and live on an apartment and start to live alone. So he did. He learned money could buy everything. But… family is something that money could never buy. And thus, he reached his destination. The supermarket.

After getting what he need he roamed back to his house on the same route. Although, something is different now.

“Get your hands of off me.” It was a girl with long light blue hair. And she’s wearing an armor. A cosplayer, perhaps? Albert thought.

“Why? Are you going to hurt me or something?” The hip-hop swagger filth said as he held her hair and smelled it.

“Bro, careful with that chick.” Another hip-hop swagger filth who’s wearing this huge blanket-like shirt said. “She’ll stab you with her Sanpakto!” He’s probably referring to that huge sword behind her back. Then, both of them roared with their stupid laughter.

As he continued to walked, he realized that the girl’s stomach is bleeding. Is it part of her cosplay?

“Ugh…” The girl with the light blue hair said as the guy pulled her hair. “L-Let me go…”

“Or what?” The guy with the blanket shirt said.

“I’ll slash your head off and feed it to the dogs if it wasn’t for that arrow earlier…”

“HAAAAAAH??? YOU BITCH TALKING ALL BIG HAA?”

He decided to help this cosplayer girl.

“Hey… dude… stop…” The blanket guy said as he saw Albert walking towards them.

He knows who I am. Good.

”Stop what? Don’t ya want to have a good fucking tonight? This girl will be a good fucking machine.”

“I’m outta here, dude.” He ran off.

He still doesn’t see Albert coming towards him he just continued to pull the cosplayer girls hair. I hate violence against women. Albert thought. And now he’s about to grope her breasts. Before his hands feel her chest, or her breastplate, his face met Albert’s right fist first. He stumbled over from the impact. Albert suddenly remembered the times when he was a one man gang pulverizing machine. When he used to beat those thugs on his school. Those thugs who used to bully his crush.

“W-W-W-What!?” He said as he is finding his strength to stand up. Blood was flowing from his mouth to his chin. He wiped it with his hand and stood up.

“Don’t bother this girl again.” Wow! I’m so fucking cool!!

“T-T-The Lone Wolf…!” People still call me that? ”I’m sorry... Okay... I won’t bother her again….” He then ran as fast as he can. That’s when he turned around to gaze at the cosplayer.

Albert the Lone Wolf. More like The Lonely Wolf. He thought.

He was called that because he used to be a one man gang. He beats up gangs on his own without anyone on his back. He beats them up one by one without them knowing. And before they even knew, it’s already too late. Though his reason to fight no longer exist.

Albert studied her closely this time. The girl had long pale blue hair with green eyes and red lips and reddish cheeks. Her skin is white and stands about Albert’s shoulder. She wears this armor just like Erza’s normal armor but somehow, different in many ways. Also, her stomach is bleeding.

“Are you fine?” He had asked.

“Besides from the bleeding that I got from the arrow that pierced my stomach,” She looked at her stomach. Then looked at Albert with this ‘Have you drank some milk tea this morning?’ look and said “I’m fine.” She then showed her stomach. It was indeed bleeding. He could see blood still gushing from her stomach.

He instantly took his handkerchief in his pocket and placed it on her wound to stop the bleeding. This made her utter a weird sound that somehow turned Albert on.

“We should go to a hospital.”

“A…. hospital?” She looks confused.

“A place where you take sick people to be taken care of.”

“Oh… I see. Don’t worry. This would be healed tomorrow.” She smiled.

“Okay….” She’s weird… maybe she hit her head a while ago…. And arrow? She was shot by an arrow? That made it even weirder… “Where do you live? I’ll take you there.”

“You can’t…. I… ran away from home…”

While wearing that costume?

“What’s your plan then? I’ll take you to your relative’s house if you want?”

“They’re all dead. Except for my cousin.” She then frowned. “But he’ll be dead too.”

Crap… I just stepped on a landmine…… how am I supposed to leave that topic? And how did they die? Kinda made me wonder…

“What are you planning to do then?

“Take me to your house.”

Somehow, he already imagined the cosplayer wearing his long sleeved shirt as she blushed. "Damn." He said as he clenched his face. A perverted smile was seen on his face.