The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

93 Thoughts Exchange

Just as usual, Emma would sit on a wooden park bench on the side of the river. She cleaned the seat and backrest on the part of the chair she would be sitting on from a layer of snow that had covered quite thickly. Apparently, no one was sitting there that day. While enjoying the fresh breeze, Emma prepared her instant cup noodles.

After waiting a few minutes, Emma took a sip of the noodle soup and instantly sighed in satisfaction. During her life, Emma had never eaten instant noodles because her elders said that the food was not good for her health. It was Kathy who introduced the delicious food to Emma. And now, she was starting to feel addicted. Emma was happy, realizing that she had become more and more like normal people.

While slurping noodles and enjoying the view and the peaceful atmosphere, Emma felt something moving around her shoes. She immediately looked down and found a white cat almost disguised by the snow, playing with the leather straps of her boots that had come off.

“Huh? Pixy?” Emma muttered as she caught the white cat.

A fairly long light blue leash warped Pixy’s neck, “Why are you alone here..?”

“Pixy! You damn cat!” A voice made Emma turn to the side.

Her face immediately turned sinister when she found Levi Wargos running towards her in an annoyed face.

Emma stood up from her seat with Pixy already moved into her arms, “Your mother shouldn’t have trusted you to take care of her cat,”

“You have no idea how naughty she is,” The man replied flatly by taking the cat back.

.....

“As far as I know, most animals are naughty. However, a careless owner will make things worse.”

“I can guess that you’ve never had a pet.” Levi’s reply made Emma unable to answer anymore. Because it’s true. In all her life, she had never had a pet.

“By the way..” Emma cleared her throat to change the subject to save her pride, “If you really have a hard time taking care of her, why do you keep bringing Pixy to a dangerous place like this?”

“I had to take her with me because my mother has to go to the airport today,” Levi answered.

“Why did Nancy go to the airport? Was that overseas?”

Levi nodded, “She has a specialist whose fine with her. Coincidentally, the doctor moved abroad one year ago. So, we have to go to his new place when Mom needs treatment.”

“Oh.. That must be quite a hassle. You and your brother are good kids. No wonder Nancy loves you guys so much.” Emma said.

“We did what we have to do,” Levi replied.

“No!! My cup noodles!” Emma exclaimed by approaching the red, bowl-shaped object that was no longer steaming. She quickly tried to take a sip of its soup, “Damn it! It’s cold...”

“Are you stupid? Of course, it’ll get cold in an instant. You’re crazy, eating instant noodles in a place like this.” Levi laughed in surprise.

“Shut your mouth! I’m not asking for your opinion,” Emma said with a stern look.

Then the girl walked towards the trash can which was not far from there. Then, with a heavy heart, she threw away the instant cup noodles that were still reminded quite much, “My peaceful atmosphere was instantly shattered. What a bad luck man! Every time he and his cat appear, I always get into trouble.” Emma muttered under her breath.

“You’re a little limp,” Levi said when Emma came back with an annoyed face. But of course, he didn’t notice it at all.

Emma sat back on the park bench with her arms folded across her chest, “I had an accident yesterday.” Then, she let out a surprised chuckle when she realized Levi was casually brushing the snow on the other side of the bench, “What are you doing?”

“I’ll sit down.” He answered with a cynical face, wondering why Emma suddenly raised her voice.

Emma realized that she had overreacted and been not classy. Her annoyed feeling towards Levi made her unable to control her temper. Then, Emma cleared her throat, “You’re still here? I mean.. I thought you were going home?”

“You kicked me out? Is this place yours?” It seemed that Levi understood what she meant.

‘Jerk! How could your brain respond quickly at this time? It seems this man does have negative thoughts towards other people.’ Emma thought.

“I’ve never said that,” Emma answered curtly, “How is your mother? Yesterday. I had the chance to cook the recipe she gave me, and it worked. I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear this news.” Emma smiled to herself.

“She’s fine. It’s only her health deteriorated a bit after you left. A surge of excited emotions that quickly descended to sadness seemed to affect her nerves.” Levi explained casually.

Emma narrowed her eyes as she looked at Levi, “You made me feel guilty on purpose, didn’t you?”

The man then chuckled, “For a girl with a sweet mouth, you actually have a negative perception of others.”

“Haha.. You talk like you’ve never looked at yourself in the mirror!” Emma laughed sarcastically. “Gosh.. Talking to you always makes my blood boils.”

“Are all girls like you?” Levi asked suddenly.

“What?” Emma was stunned for a moment. Then began to answer, “Maybe a few.. But humans have different personalities, right?” she added.

“There are some people who have multiple personalities. Some even fake their personalities. Some even lie to themselves.”

Emma looked at Levi. He was watching a small family who was tidying up after playing in the snow a few feet from the bench they were sitting on, “I’m sure they have their reasons for doing that.”

“You think so?” Levi turned to the girl beside him quickly.

Emma nodded, “There’s a reason for every action someone takes. It’s not up to us to judge them.”

Levi was silent for a moment, then, took a deep breath, “You must be very happy because I’m starting to think that you’re not that annoying.”

“Unfortunately, I never cared what you thought of me. So, please keep that joy to yourself.” Emma smiled.

Levi nodded, “For a person with a big mouth, you have quite an open mind.”

“For a very annoying person, you can give compliments to other people.. even in an annoying way too,” Emma replied. Then, she smiled widely and extended her hand to the man, “It seems we have quite similar personalities. Let’s be friends!”

Levi looked at the hand that was wrapped in thick white gloves, “I never intended to be friends with anyone. The more relationships I have with other people, the more burdensome my life will be.”

“Hmm.. That’s a strange thought.” Emma lowered her hand. Although she had never received such a rude rejection, it seemed that Emma had started to get used to Levi’s character.

“I’ll just think of you as someone to talk to. Nothing more than that.” Levi said flatly.

Emma looked at him sarcastically with a smirk on her face, “You are the worst man with a feeling of superiority I have ever met. Do I look like I’m begging you to date me now? Your attitude is unbelievable,”

“You said yourself that there is a reason for every person’s actions,” Levi replied.

“Ughh.. I’ve been sighing too much today by just talking to you.” Emma massaged the bridge of her nose. Though the purpose she came to this place was to calm her soul, she instead ended up practising patience. “Okay, Fine! I’ll try to understand your attitude. What’s your reason for behaving like that, huh?”

“Can we not interfere in each other’s personal affairs?” Levi asked.

It felt like Emma was going to bury her head in the snow to quell her anger that was about to explode. Then, she closed her eyes for a moment to regulate her temper by clenching her fists, “Of course.” She smiled sarcastically, “I don’t want you to know about my private life either. So, we should just share thoughts without knowing anything about each other.”

But, Emma’s face immediately turned confused when she saw Levi who suddenly held out his hand to Emma.

“Deal.” Said the man.

‘He really is a very strange person. But.. I can’t deny it. What he said in the car at that time had opened my eyes to what I had to do to make my dream come true.’ Emma thought.

The big hand with the back covered with tattoos was still hanging in the air. Then, Emma flashed a smile with a quick shake, “Deal!”

“Well.. I’m going home now. Thanks for wasting my time and my instant cup noodles,” Emma said as she stood up, then, bent down a bit and stroked the head of the white cat that sleeping comfortably in Levi’s warm-looking arms, “See you again, Pixy..”

“Usually, I’ll put my legs higher when I sleep whenever they got injured,” Levi suggested as Emma was about to leave.

“Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll go now.” Emma waved her hand briefly and then walked away.

While walking towards her car, Emma looked at her own hands, “With that cold look, he has really warm hands.” she muttered.

***

A man with long, rocker-like hair, wiped his bloodied hands with a damp cloth. Behind him, two men laid down. They were his men who were caught interacting with members of the other group.

“It’s true what Kei said. All this time, I’ve spoiled you all too much.” The shirtless man muttered. His name was Ron Smith, the number one of the Hell Gate group.

“Now, beating them all out is also pointless. We have to come up with a new strategy to recruit strong men. Otherwise, all of our members will be exhausted. Hell Gate will eventually fall.” Kei replied as busy chewing his sushi.

“You don’t have to worry, Kei. Those bastards won’t be able to beat us down.” Said Ron.

“The loss we have suffered is huge. I don’t even know anymore how to deposit to the Black Hole.” Kai sighed tiredly. Even though he looked relaxed, there was a dark hue in his eye bags. “I fought a lot for this. You know that, right?” he continued in a mumble.

Ron immediately turned to Kei with a frantic face, “Trust me, Kei! You know how strong I am, right?!” he patted his own chest.

“I know. And you also know that Jita Kyoei seems to have joined the black helmet. Are you still that sure?” Kei asked.