Gangster Cinderella

Chapter Thirteen: Protective Sister

A/N: this is what Baji looks like to Chieko; ie. Big scary demon boi. To Shikha he looks like a feisty little kitten.

I come back to my room after taking a short shower, to find Shikha reading one of my manga; more specifically Mars volume three.

She looks up at me nervously and says, "Chieko...I also came here to ask for some advice...about a boy."

My ears prick at the word 'boy' and my protective instincts go into overdrive, "Who's the boy?" I practically demand the information.

"His name is Keisuke Baji and...I think I like him." She says with an innocent blush dusking her cheeks.

I've met Baji only once...so I can't exactly make a judgement call on the guy. I must investigate for Shikha's protection.

"So what exactly do you like about him?" I ask as I'm changing into my clothes.

"I like how gentle and protective he is with animals. He kind of reminds me of an angry little kitten. He may seem a little scary at first but when you start talking to him, he has a lot of interesting things to say. It feels like he's genuinely listening to you. It also doesn't hurt that he's good looking. He has this wild sort of charm to him." She says with this dreamy look on her face.

"I've only met the guy once through Mikey but...I'm curious as to how you met him."

"I met him on the streets when I was playing the guitar. He approached me talking about the cats that gathered around me and asked me about what kind of music cats like."

I deadpan, "What a weirdo."

She giggles a little, "Yeah he's weird, but I think that's what I like about him."

"Still wanna go to the bookstore?" I ask her.

"Yep!" She sits up.

"Come on, we're taking the bike. You're gonna get a little taste of what mommy dearest is wanting to take away from me."

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By the time we arrive at the bookstore, Shikha is a sobbing, shaking mess. "I-I thought we were g-gonna die...not even Baji rides like that."

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself."

Before she could continue, we hear someone call out, "Oi, Cinderella!"

We both turn to see the tall lanky boy with hand tattoos. Shikha looks to me and asks, "Do you know that guy?"

"Yeah, I've raced him a few times."

He runs over to us, "Princess, it's too bad we didn't get to talk after the race. Mikey just had to go and steal you away, huh?"

"Could you please tell me your name so I can stop calling you hand tattoos guy in my head." I beg him.

"I'll give you my name, if you give me your phone number." Then he notices Shikha and an unmistakable glint appears in his eyes. "So who're you? Princess's little girlfriend." 

She shakes her head fervently, "N-no, we're stepsisters."

"Then can you get Princess here to give me her number?" His smirk turns wolffish as he continues to play and tease Shikha.

I roll my eyes and take out my phone, "Fine, I'll give you my number if you stop picking on my sister."

He hands me his phone and watches as I punch in my number; he seems smart enough to check first if the number is a fake, so I put in my real number to avoid the awkwardness. After I put in my number, he turns his focus onto Shikha.

"You too~ Any friend of Cinderella is a friend of mine."

Before I could object, Shikha takes his phone and puts in her real number. I study my normally nervous sister and note that something in her eyes changed as well. Almost like innocent fascination; fascination with this strange and mysterious creature before her. Something turns in my gut as I begin to fear what this mysterious boy has in store for Shikha.

He flashes another lupine smile at her and says, "Thank you very much ladies." As he turns to walk away, my phone goes off. I pick up and hear his voice on the other end, "The name is Shuji Hanma, Princess." 

"Please don't call me Princess, I have a boyfriend." I inform him.

"Aw, that's too bad. How about your sister?"

"That's none of your business." I say before hanging up. I look to Shikha and tell her, "Don't get close to that boy, he's bad news." 

"I'm not, besides I already have my heart set on Baji." She confidently answers me. 

We walk inside of the bookstore and spend our time eyeing books and manga. 

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After we bought our books, we go to a small cafe nearby and enjoy some royal milk tea. I look over at my sister as she's reading some new horror manga.

"So when're you going to tell Baji how you feel?" I ask her.

She blushes and stumbles on her words, "I-I...I don't know. Just when I'm about to tell him, I get this fear that he'll hate me for having these feelings towards him. It's silly...I know."

"It's normal to fear that...but you should tell him. He won't hate you. No one's gonna hate someone for having a crush on them. Besides you'll regret never saying anything."

"You're right...I'll try to tell him the next time I see him." She boldly declares.

"See who?" Standing behind her is the aforementioned boy she wants to confess her feelings to.

I smirk before standing up, "Look at the time, I need to head home if I ever want to get my homework finished. Baji, could you take my sister home? The way I ride is too scary for her."

"Sure I don't mind." He replies obliviously.

I look over at Shikha and wink in her direction. She glares at me; her face is as red as a tomato. I walk away leaving the love birds to figure it out for themselves. But I can't help but text Shikha to remind her not to blow it.

As soon as I reach my motorcycle, I get a call from Hanma; and against my better judgement I answer, "What do you want?"

"Aw don't be like that. Is it because I was teasing your sister? I'm sorry."

"Fine whatever, why did you call me?" I ask.

"Come meet me at my hide out, I wanna race with you."