Chapter: Fateful encounter

For a moment he thought time had stood still. Keichi continued to stare in the eye. Deep blue, dark eyes ...
A strange feeling came over him. His body seemed to get lighter and he relaxed. Slowly he lowered his hands, which were still clenched in fists, and his breathing became calmer. "What happens to me?", Keichi wondered while his eyes closed against his will and he relaxed his head to one side. “Why… can't I move?” He tried to raise his arm. But in vain. His body seemed paralyzed. "All I see is just this ... this ..."
Keichi suddenly stopped thinking. He wandered off, his thoughts slipped into another world and he thought he was going to pass out when a violent jerk of his body brought him back to reality.
Finally he could think clearly again and still a little blurred he could now perceive what was happening to him there.Something had grabbed his hands. With full force he was now pulled forward and his body swayed. Just in time he put his right leg forward and finally came to a stop. Keichi reflexively grabbed his attacker's hands, turned them around and threw himself backwards with all his might.
A loud outcry. Then his hands were released and behind him he heard it stumble and finally fall to the ground. …Silence. Keichi was breathing hard. Fear and horror were reflected in his face. He was trembling all over and had his arms crossed protectively over his head. He couldn't believe what had happened to him.
"I must be completely crazy!" He stammered. "As if a pair of blue eyes could rob you of your mind. Keichi, you are an idiot!" He shook his head and rubbed his hand over his eyes, as if he wanted to make sure that he could see clearly and sharply again .
He heard a groan behind him.He hesitated, but then made up his mind and turned around. Now he saw the creature that attacked him and cast a spell over him. And when he realized what he was looking at, he turned pale as a sheet. He hadn't expected that ...
A girl, no older than him, crouched on the cold floor and rubbed her knuckles, her face contorted with pain. She had long red hair that she had tied in a braid with a black leather cord and shimmered pink in the sun. It whipped her face ruthlessly in the blowing wind and made her swear softly a few times.
Keichi eyed the girl carefully. She was shorter than him, but just as thin. But the first thing he noticed about her was her strange clothes. He noticed immediately that she could not have come from Devonshire or from any other area here, because no one wore such fancy clothes as she.
The girl wore a kind of combat suit, not with sword or armor, as he knew it from the samurai and the white warriors, no, this type was different.Her top looked very much like a modern corset, was sewn from fine golden fibers and was richly decorated with black ribbons that held the garment together. It branched over the arms and formed a kind of protective shield for her shoulders. Her ruby ​​red skirt completed the strange clothes. He noticed that this clattering sound that he had heard behind him earlier must have come from her high boots, because they had pitch-black heels.
The girl had tilted her head back and was looking at Keichi from top to bottom with her deep blue sapphire-colored eyes. "That wasn't very nice," she said aloud, but with an appearance of amusement in her voice. "You don't hit girls!"
"Tsss", Keichi wasn't sure whether she was making fun of him or just wanted to annoy him. "I didn't hit you at all," he contradicted and held out his hand politely but reluctantly."Well, then just pushed," the girl admitted and gratefully took his hand. As soon as he had helped her up and she was standing on both feet again, he took a hasty step back. In case she attacked him again, he was ready.
But the girl was evidently too busy wiping the dust off her skirt and getting herself dressed again. "It's always the same," he heard her grumble, annoyed. As she tied her long red hair back, he looked at her face, which she had ignorantly turned to him. The blue eyes were already well known to him.
She had a happy face, with long eyelashes on the lids and a little snub nose. When she noticed that Keichi was looking at her and looked at him in surprise, he quickly turned his head to the side, but he kept an eye on her. The girl looked at him in silence for a few seconds and then took a step forward.
"I'm sorry if I scared you," she smiled at him friendly and tossed her hair embarrassedly over her shoulder.'Hah, frightened is no expression,' he thought, but said nothing. "My name is Shiori," the girl continued when she was standing right in front of him and held out her delicate hand to him. "Nice to meet you ... um ..." "Keichi", he said, but didn't take her hand. "My name is Keichi."
"Keichi?", The girl smiled again. "A nice name."
"Oh really? Yours is weird"
"Hey!", Shiori glared at him defiantly. "I got the name from my mother and the main thing is that I like it, right?" She paused for a moment. "Besides, I just wanted to be nice," she added quietly. Embarrassed, she looked at the floor and shuffled her feet, but Keichi ignored her. "What do you want?" He asked without responding to her comment.
She looked up, confused. "I mean, why did you pull on me and all," he replied when he saw that she didn't understand. “Oh,” Shiori gave a short laugh, “you mean that!” Keichi made a dark face.
"Is that so funny?"" Well ... actually not. Listen, "she grabbed his hand and her features suddenly turned serious," you have to come with me immediately. We need your help! "The brunette broke loose and took another step back.
'Now I don't understand anything anymore,' he thought while trying not to look her in the face. "We?" He asked the redhead. “Who are we?” Shiori slapped his forehead with his hand.
'Naturally! He doesn't know anything about the assignment. He doesn't know anything about what we're up to or what's going on in Darywell. I'll have to explain everything to him. Oh how I hate that! '
She sighed in agony. "Well what is it?", Keichi was impatient.
"Oh sorry," she smiled sheepishly. “I was in thought.” He didn't say anything.
"Okay," Shiori continued. "I ... I'll tell you everything. But you have to promise me something. Promise me that, first of all, you won't tell anyone what I'm entrusting you with now. Absolutely nobody!And second ... "she broke off." Yes? What is? ", Keichi wanted to know. Shiori bowed her head." You ... you have to help us, "she stammered." Without you ... "
"What? What if I don't want to help you? What if I don't feel like helping you?"
She looked at him seriously. "If you don't come," she whispered, her hands trembling, "then ... then more lives will be destroyed. And more crimes will follow." She gave him a piercing look. "Incidents will happen. Incidents like ..." Keichi turned pale. She couldn't mean that. Not that! "... like in Kirjaka", she finally finished the sentence.