You were doomed. The both of you. Sure, he might be able to beat one of them by pure luck alone, but three? He should just save himself at this rate and get the hell out of here before they drag him along.

In the face of potential danger, he walked towards you, interjecting himself into the conflict. And the danger welcomed him in with open arms as the other two goons surrounded the both of you on either side.

You sighed. You could only see this ending in one way, with bruises from the fight and a guilty conscience for getting your "savior" caught in this mess.

Then you were back on your feet, the delinquent's grubby hands no longer lifting you by the collar. It all happened so fast, your brain hadn't registered that you could stand again. So instead, you fell. But rather than focusing on the dull throbbing from the fall, your eyes were locked onto the motionless figure slumped against the wall he was knocked into.

The nerd had defeated the leader in one hit. You couldn't believe your eyes. And apparently neither can the other two delinquents. They charged at him, both at the same time, with a battle cry of some sort. You'd applaud their foolishness if not for the fact you were too busy gawking at your hero.

Had something happened to the world when the anomaly, known as yourself, came along? Because as important as morality and justice may be, this is taking the "good guys always win" saying to a whole new level.

He was beating them up effortlessly, as if he had dealt with worse in his life; like ten page essays and finals. And for all you know, he may very well have, based upon how he barely broke a sweat while beating them shitless.

And then as soon as he had started, he was done, frowning down at the trio who knelt in a row. You forgot to mention he had beaten their unconscious leader back into consciousness just to make him drop to his knees next to his lackeys.

If they hadn't threatened you in the first place, you would almost feel bad for them.

"Didn't your moms ever teach you not to bully girls?!"

You blinked. That was quite an interesting question to lead off with after beating them senseless. Although, not more interesting than the fact that he actually won against them. By a landslide even. You might have to turn off your logic receptors after this event.

The cowering trio couldn't even answer him, but then again, you doubt he was expecting a response. Presuming it was a question of rhetorics.

"We're sorry!!" They chorused out, heads lowered in a deep bow, unable to meet his eyes.

With a scoff, he kicked at them, "Don't you ever let me see you picking on girls again!"

This time, they didn't even bother crying out their apologies as they scrambled to their feet. Within moments, they were but a pinprick of black against the reddish orange horizon, painted by the setting sun. When they were fully out of sight, your mysterious stranger turned around to face you. You didn't move as he walked towards you, but it wasn't as if you could, since you were still sitting on the ground. You wonder what he'd say to you.

"You alright there?" He crouched down slightly to extend a hand to you.

Oh. That was more normal than you expected, to the point where you blanked, staring at him. His appearance was no longer immaculate as when he had first shown up. Instead, his outfit was creased in disarray; the white dress shirt beneath showing where the buttons used to hold the jacket closed. His tie was slightly crooked too, no longer suffocatingly tight around his neck. But despite all that, his hair stayed in the binds of the hair tie, and his glasses remained in place. It was an odd sight for reasons you couldn't explain. You can't even begin to tell where he crossed the bounds between normalcy, perplexity and all the in betweens. What you can conclude is that your day wasn't going to go by smoothly, regardless of whether Mikey and Draken decided to pop in. You probably jinxed it somehow when you thought it was a rather dull day.

You must have taken too long to answer, as now he's the one looking at you in confusion. Then his gaze flickered down to the hand he was holding out, before mouthing an "oh".

"Forgot girls don't like blood, sorry 'bout that."

True to his words, his outstretched hand had dried blood speckled over the surface. His other hand reached into his bag to pull out a handkerchief.

Before he could go to wipe it off, you quickly grabbed onto the bloodied hand and pulled yourself up. Sure, you didn't like blood, but it had nothing to do with being a girl; most people don't. Except for those that live for the bloodlust... Anyways, you weren't finicky to the point of ignoring your unlikely knight in shining armor just because of a little blood.

"Sorry, I don't usually make a habit of staring into space... And thank you for helping me." You gave a sheepish chuckle, as you thanked him.

Maybe you surprised him, because he was silent for just the briefest moment. Then he smiled, giving you a toothy grin, and revealing a pair of sharp canines. His eyes, however, were still covered by the glasses.

"No problem, someone's gotta teach those bastards to stay in check."

His grin was contagious, in a different way than Hinata and Takemichi's. If they were the welcoming hearth on a cold winter day, then this stranger is a storm on the loose. And you were in the eye of the storm, touched by only the calmest and gentlest of winds. To be surrounded by such power and knowing it wouldn't turn on you; it makes a rush of thrill run through you. You decided you like him, as a person. And you wouldn't mind getting to know him more.

It was only then that you realized you were still clutching onto his hand. Flustered, you pulled back, mumbling your apologies. You ignored how your heart throbbed at the sudden loss of contact with his warm hand.

A phone rang.

You didn't even thought for a second that it might be yours, since you don't have any contacts yet. At least in this world. It'd be weird if people from your past life could still reach you. You made a mental note to ask Hinata for her number sometime. Maybe Takemichi too.

The stranger quickly pulled a phone out of his pockets before flipping it open to answer the call. Except he didn't so much as get out an "hello" before unintelligible shouting came through the line. He winced at the noise, pulling the device further away from his ear.

You didn't try to eavesdrop. That would be particularly rude to someone who saved you. So you stood there patiently as he finished the call. Then he turned to you.

"Gotta go before my mom decides to kick my ass," He laughed, a nervous sound. "Stay out of trouble!"

You barely had time to thank him again before he was running off, waving a hand behind him in farewell. You were saddened, to say the least, at the missed opportunity to even get his name. But you didn't decide to chase after him, accepting what you already got out of the meeting. Whether or not you'll meet again; you'll leave that up to fate. Or the universe in this case, which seems to have orchestrated his being here and any other situations you found yourself in.

Brushing off whatever dirt that may have clung to your clothes when you fell, you turned around to make your own way home.

A bag stood in your path. A school bag, to be specific. To be even more specific, it was the school bag that the mysterious stranger was carrying.

"Ah."

You turned around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the boy, despite knowing he was long gone. It was exactly as you thought, the streets bare and empty except for you and this bag. You stared at it as it sat on the ground innocuously, then you picked it up. Hefting it up, you continued walking home with a slight stumble to your steps, balance offset by the weight. It was unexpectedly heavy. Did he carry all of his textbooks in there? Regardless of how studious one may be, that was going above and beyond.

You shook your head but smiled, not without the slightest guilt that the boy might be frantically looking for his bag. You couldn't just leave it there in case someone else shows up and takes it before he returns.

And... this might be your ticket to seeing him again.

____________________

In a world so unfamiliar, I found you.