"Whoa, that guy's huge!"
"Scary, isn't he?"
"He looks like he belongs in a gang."
"Do you think he's killed anybody...?"
"A-Ah, shit, he's looking this way!"
A group of schoolboys in straight-laced blazers and ties immediately ducked their heads in unison, with eyes cast to pavement below like submissive dogs. The blonde merely blinked and passed by the fragile teenagers with little thought, readjusting his cigarette in his mouth with the edges of his teeth. He could practically smell the perspiration that dripped down the tips of their noses and hear the heavy palpitating of their hearts -- this was what it meant to be feared. As soon as the bunch of boys passed the bartender's looming figure, their heads popped up like anxious gophers. They turned to look at one another, their fear suddenly twisting into pompous victory as they grinned at one another.
"W-Wow, he didn't even hurt us!"
"He sure is a monster."
A monster -- perhaps. Shizuo couldn't help grinning at the thought. He had been called that so many times back home; it was only a matter of time before the trend caught on here, too, in the depths of Kairos. The chatter of boys and girls alike filled the wide city street as school was over for the day and kids were making their way back home. Apart from the band of boys, there were few who dared to cast a look up at him or comment further on his looming presence; perhaps they thought he was one of the students' bodyguards. Nevertheless, as he perused the streets, a certain girl who stood by the school gates seemed to stick out like a sore them.
Unlike all the other students, who were in pairs of two or more, this girl was a poor party of one. A flock of gabbing schoolgirls appeared at the gates then, whose gossiping lips came to a halt when their dark, dolled up faces came across the single girl. And while Shizuo certainly could care less about whatever frivolous emotional turmoils girls were said to go through in school, it didn't take a genius as to what was happening then and there. Though the girls only gave her a simple, judgmental stare, it was enough to set the girls off into a whispering rampage when they were out of the girl's earshot.
"She's a weird, one, isn't she?!"
"Her accent is so stupid!"
"Yeah, she's in my class and I always have to try not to laugh!"
"What was her name again?"
"Who cares? She's just a country bumpkin, hehe~"
His eyes turned to look over at the girl who stood by the gate once more. So, this was what it meant to be hated. Was it better to be feared than hated? Or was it better to be hated than feared? Perhaps she and him were the same. A brief memory of being teased in grade school popped in his mind then; but, unlike this girl, he wasn't too sure if she could lift up a vending machine without straining a muscle or two.
When he had arrived at the gate's entrance, Shizuo did the unexpected and planted himself firmly within hearing range of the girl. He cast one last glance at the prattling girls. "They're not really worth impressing," he began, pulling his cigarette out from his mouth. "They look like a bunch of bitches if you ask me."
