Chapter 8

"Miyu!! No!! Give me back my Miyu!! I'll give anything, just return my Miyu!!" A woman screamed hysterically, shouting Miyu's name.

"Mom.." Miyu, recalling her dark past, closed her eyes with a profound pain in her heart.

"You won't ruin and separate me from my family!!!" Now a man yelled, desperately trying to regain his family.

"Dad..." Miyu, with her eyes closed, couldn't hold back the tears that now wet her cheeks.

Miyu clenched her fists, trying to contain the anger within her, unaware that her eyes had started glowing red.

Miyu's aura surged and spread throughout the surrounding area, but it all dissipated when suddenly water poured over her head, bringing Miyu back to reality after she had briefly lost control.

Miyu opened her eyes and looked at her hand gripping a water hose that was now writhing uncontrollably like a snake due to the water pressure, compounded by Miyu not holding the hose properly.

"Chronoir..." Miyu, who had regained control over herself, was reminded of the night she encountered and fought against Chronoir. "What could you achieve with such puny powers!?" Chronoir's words pierced her heart as Miyu realized the vast difference in their strengths.

"It was satisfying to get rid the corrupted souls" In Miyu's eyes, Chronoir was nothing more than a serial killer toying with justice, without considering the lives of those he took.

"Isn't that right? Ojou?" Miyu appeared frustrated because deep inside, she understood that with her current level of power, it would be nearly impossible for her to capture Chronoir and put an end to his deadly games with people's lives.

Miyu found herself lost in her thoughts, realizing that she was not even capable of landing a single blow on Chronoir. Chronoir was highly skilled, and although Miyu had undergone intensive training in a specialized military academy, facing Chronoir put him at a significant advantage. Chronoir had been engaging in these acts for a long time, and that experience worked in his favor.

Miyu shouted, "One day, I will have my revenge!! Remember that!!" Her voice echoed loudly, catching the attention of Tsukasa, who was standing beside her. "Hmmm, whom will you get your revenge against?" Tsukasa asked, curious about Miyu's declaration.

SHRIEKEDD!!

Miyu let out a piercing scream upon realizing that Tsukasa was next to her. Due to Miyu's scream, Tsukasa had to cover her ears slightly. "You, do you have to scream like that?" Tsukasa complained to Miyu, expressing her annoyance at the loud sound of her shrieking.

"Tsu... Tsukasa, you!? Since when!? I mean, no, there's nothing I would seek revenge for," Miyu, who was extremely surprised to see Tsukasa suddenly there, was unable to speak fluently. It was as if something was holding her tongue, causing her to speak hesitantly while also trying to cover up what she had just said.

"You know, i just arrived here when I saw you lost in thought while holding the flowing hose, so I thought I'd greet you, but instead, you screamed so loudly. You know, it made my ears ring," Tsukasa complained to Miyu about her piercing scream.

"Wait a minute, why are you complaining to me!? I should be the one complaining to you. Why did you suddenly appear out of nowhere? You're like a ghost, honestly," Miyu responded with a slightly annoyed expression as Tsukasa complained to her.

"Did they ask you to clean the pool as a punishment for being late again?" Tsukasa chimed in with an innocent face. He couldn't help but to hold his laughter upon seeing Miyu cleaning the swimming pool behind their school as a consequence for her usual lateness.

Miyu, feeling embarrassed as Tsukasa hit the mark with his remark about her punishment, immediately turned around and covered her now reddened face while pouting. "Is that a problem for you?" she retorted.

Tsukasa, who was now crouching by the edge of the empty pool, quickly stripped off his uniform, leaving him in shorts and a black t-shirt before leaping into the pool where Miyu was.

"Eh? Tsukasa? What are you doing?" Miyu, confused by Tsukasa's actions, tried to understand what he was doing. In her mind, it seemed unlikely that Tsukasa would help her, especially since they had just met that morning.

Tsukasa, pulling a soapy mop, immediately began scrubbing the empty swimming pool. "What do you think I'm doing right now?" Tsukasa glanced mischievously at Miyu.

Miyu was taken aback and bewildered to see Tsukasa suddenly removing his uniform and jumping into the pool to clean it. In her mind, the punishment was only meant for herself, and she didn't expect anyone else to be assigned the task of cleaning the pool near the school.

"Well, I mean, I understand you're trying to clean the pool, but it's not your responsibility, right? So, I thought you didn't need to clean it because it's my responsibility."

Hearing Miyu's words, Tsukasa couldn't help but burst into laughter, finding it highly amusing. Miyu, witnessing Tsukasa's loud laughter, immediately felt awkward and confused, unable to grasp what was so funny about her statement.

"So, because you're responsible for cleaning the pool, I'm not allowed to help you?" Tsukasa, still laughing, quickly took the hose from Miyu's hand.

"Give me your hose," said Miyu, who was now silent and transfixed, observing Tsukasa's actions. She was unable to provide an answer to Tsukasa's question.

Miyu simply watched as Tsukasa helped her clean the sizable pool, her attention fixed on Tsukasa as she scrubbed the surface.

But Miyu's focus was instantly shattered when Tsukasa sprayed water from the hose he was holding. Miyu was taken aback as her face was unexpectedly doused with cold water, soaking her entire face and the clothes she was wearing.

Seeing Miyu flustered and surprised by his prank, Tsukasa burst into loud laughter. "You should have seen your own face, you looked so funny when you were startled," Miyu trying to contain her annoyance at being pranked by Tsukasa. Holding back her irritation, She quickly ran towards Tsukasa and delivered a strong slap to his back.

Tsukasa, who was laughing at the time, immediately stopped and went silent, squatting down and holding his reddened back from Miyu's slap. "You are deserved that," Miyu said with satisfaction, smiling while placing her hands on her waist.

Tsukasa, who was furious at being hit so hard, got his revenge by spraying water towards Miyu with the hose he was still holding. "I thought you needed to cool your head with this water as you have an issue with your rage," he said, engaging in a playful back-and-forth.

"Give me that hose," Miyu attempted to reach for the hose Tsukasa was holding, but Tsukasa didn't simply hand it over. Instead, he raised his hand high above his head, making it difficult for Miyu to reach.

"Perhaps you should just take the hose yourself if you can, that is, if your hand can reach it from mine," Miyu, feeling increasingly annoyed by Tsukasa's antics, used her wit. She pulled Tsukasa's elbow and swiftly twisted his wrist."

As a result, the water that was previously flowing in the opposite direction from Tsukasa suddenly drenched him from above.

Instantly, Tsukasa became soaking wet, his previously dry appearance completely transformed. Miyu, witnessing the scene, burst into laughter with great satisfaction, knowing that Tsukasa had experienced what he had caused.

Slowly, Miyu distanced herself from Tsukasa, fully expecting him to having his revenge. However, as Miyu jumped away, she realized that Tsukasa's head was directly above hers.

They bumped their head at each other.

"Ughh.. Tsukasa! I'm sorry, please forgive me, i don't know your head is above mine" Miyu, feeling panicked, immediately lowered her head in guilt towards Tsukasa. However, Tsukasa simply laughed at Miyu's reaction, saying, "You're something else."

Tsukasa stood up and reached out his hand to Miyu, who was still keeping her head down but turned to face him. "You okay?"

Miyu stammered slightly, "Huh.. oh yeah, uhmm, thank you..." Miyu reached for Tsukasa's hand, accepting his help to stand up. Tsukasa chuckled softly as he assisted Miyu to her feet.

Feeling embarrassed once again by Tsukasa's laughter, Miyu playfully hit his arm. However, as Tsukasa continued to laugh in front of her, Miyu unconsciously found herself smiling and chuckling along.

"Let's just finish our little playtime; there are still untouched areas waiting to be cleaned. We should be able to finish faster unless you want to get stuck here until evening," Tsukasa, who had been acting like a child, suddenly transformed into a mature demeanor, his behavior doing a complete 180-degree turn.

Having witnessed something she found unique, Miyu didn't hesitate to express what was on her mind. "You know, Tsukasa, I think you're kind of an interesting person."

Tsukasa turned towards her, smiling meaningfully. "Oh, is that so? Then what do you think makes me interesting?" Tsukasa, reverting back to his mischievous mode, asked Miyu with a grin.

But Miyu wasn't going to let herself be pranked for the second time. Smiling back at Tsukasa, she spoke with a slightly louder tone, "I've never seen someone who appears so cold on the outside but becomes quite warm once you get to know them personally."

Upon hearing Miyu's comment, Tsukasa burst into laughter once again. "Is that so? You know, that's quite amusing, isn't it?"

Miyu felt satisfied with her remark. "Well then, you're quite fun despite always being late." Tsukasa replied to Miyu's remark.

He smile widely at her. "Come on, let's finish cleaning this stubborn pool and head home." He started scrubbing the pool they were cleaning, and Miyu, laughing at Tsukasa's smile, nodded and joined him in cleaning the pool.

***

As Miyu and Tsukasa continued cleaning the pool together, they were unaware of a boy in a different school uniform observing them from behind the iron fence that separated them.

The boy clenched the fence tightly, his frustration evident. "It should be me there, not him! Just you wait, I'll make him suffer."

With a resentful kick to the fence, the boy walked away.