Because the school board decided that it wouldn't be wise to hold classes right after an incident like that, I found myself with a lot of spare time on a warm Thursday.

So I took a walk outside.

Big Sis was currently working, and Uncle Stu was exhausted from who knows what, which left me with no other person to spend time with.

Yeah ok, I get that I sound lonely, but really, when you've got extra time to spend with your family, you take it. Especially when you're an ex- assassin.

So, that's how I ended up walking around on the sidewalk without any place of destination in mind.

Just kidding, that was a lie, I actually did have a place of destination in mind.

Since Classic High was closed for today, I figured I may as well use the vacant field there to chill for a bit.

I mindlessly turned left and headed straight down, knowing that I'd stop at the school at the next turn. My ears were both plugged with earbuds and blasted dubstep. I had picked up the habit of listening to music wherever and whenever I wanted, which, of course would've been a disadvantage had I been an active assassin.

You could still say it was a disadvantage, because I wasn't prepare for what happened next.

One moment, I was lost in the beat of the music, the next moment, a soft body collided with me and pulled my earbuds painfully out of place.

I swore loudly and tried to collect my earbuds that had fallen. They were old and I was scared that they might break if I got too careless with them.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Are you ok?"

I froze at the sound of the voice that had apologized. I recognized the voice, and I slowly glanced up.

Embyre held a hand to her forehead, as if to massage it. She apparently hadn't noticed who I was.

"Uh... yeah. Sup, Embyre?" I flinched at the lameness in my response.

The supervisor for the Amas company snapped her head up at me. Her eyes widened as she registered who I was.

"Dante? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question. But I'll play nice and just say that I wanted to chill in the school's field."

Embyre's eyebrows furrowed, as if she wanted to say something else, but then the sound of footsteps behind her stopped whatever she was going to say next.

"Hey.. cutie.. whyja.. have to.. run like that?"

Three guys dressed like common thugs came up to us. Embyre had stiffened at their voices and quickly moved behind my back.

I raised an eyebrow at her, but turned my attention towards the more.. pressing matters.

"What do we have here..." I muttered underneath my breath.

The three guys in front of me were all wearing dark beanies, muscle shirts, and tennis shorts. On top of that, they looked to be around my age.

I was very glad I wasn't like them.

"Hey, who's this guy you're hiding behind? Come on out, we just want to play." The bigger of the three stepped forward, tuffs of blonde hair sticking from beneath his beanie.

As the guys moved forward, Embyre pulled me back. It seemed like we were headed into an empty alley.

I felt like I was in a very generic and predictable situation, but Embyre said something unexpected.

"This 'guy' here is my bodyguard, and you three better watch out, cause he'll beat you guys up. So just stay away."

I blinked at her.

"Come again?" I was happy that she felt so much confidence for my combat skills, but I was also a bit annoyed that she essentially made me her bodyguard without my consent.

Well, technically, I was her bodyguard for a while, at least until X Cross got tired of trying to kill her.

"Pfft, this guy? He doesn't even look all that great." This time it was brown haired teen.

"Yeah, come on, hang with us. We'll show you a good time." And finally, there was the black haired teen.

I sighed quietly.

"Guys, please. Just leave her alone. I don't want any trouble, trust me." I raised my hands apologetically.

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to do, because Blondie, Blackie, and Brownie showed hostility in their eyes.

"Hey, guys, it's us three versus one of him. You thinkin what I'm thinkin?" Blondie looked at his friends and grinned.

I stabilized my breathing, because I could pretty much sense what was going to happen next.

"Since you won't let us near Miss Cutie over there, bodyguard boy, I guess we'll have to get through you first."

I pushed Embyre away by softly bumping my back into her. I trusted her enough to fall back as I used the momentum from colliding with her to dash forward to engage with the guys.

Three against one may seem unfair, but then again, I did beat two whole elevators filled with amateur assassins.

Blondie threw a strong but sloppy right hook, which I easily avoided by leaning back. I followed up by stepping on his right foot and pulling on his outstretched arm to trip him past me.

Somehow, I felt that Blackie and Brownie figured that double teaming me would be a good idea, seeing as they saw Blondie easily dealt with by me.

Throwing as many punches as they can, Brownie and Blackie kept me entertained as I tried to find an opening.

It was surprisingly difficult; it seemed as though Blackie and Brownie were so close that they filled each other's weaknesses.

So I got bored and force my pain reduction levels to the max. Blackie punched my stomach while Brownie kicked my leg. In that split second, I gritted my teeth, endured the pain, and fired a punch each to their faces with enough power to knock them out.

They didn't expect me to punch them while getting punched, so I guess they were completely caught off guard and took my attack full force.

The light disappeared from their eyes as they fell to the ground, unconscious. I wiped my jaw and whirled around, looking for-

"Dante!"

Embyre was just a few feet away from me and the downed guys. I sighed as I moved away from the two boys on the ground.

Wait.

Two boys on the ground.

Where did the third one go?

"Dante?" Embyre tilted her head, and behind her, I could see Blondie.

My danger senses skyrocketed.

"Embyre, behind you!" As I shouted, I desperately made a mad dash towards her. If anything happened to this girl..

The supervisor of the Amas company turned and was face to face with Blondie, who grinned and lunged at her.

Subconsciously, I realized that there was no way to reach her in time, so I looked around the alley to find a weapon so that I could somehow save Embyre.

"Hyah!"

I blinked at the scene I was witnessing.

Embyre reacted to Blondie's attack by swiftly kicking him in the.. lower region of his body. He yelped in a tone much higher than before and doubled over, face contorted in pain.

Heck, even I had to cringe in sympathy.

Embyre wasn't done though, and she followed up with a perfectly executed spin kick to his jaw. Blondie hit the ground and was out cold.

I slowly sided up to Embyre.

"That.. I.." I could only stammer. I mean, when you had to rescue someone and find out they could take care of themselves, wouldn't you be speechless too?

Embyre smiled at me while she tried to catch her breath.

"Surprised? I took a self defense class for a few years just in case anything like this ever happened."

I could only return a wry smile.

"We should go before someone sees all this." I didn't give Embyre a chance to reply as I strode out of the alley, pulling her along with me.

We spilled out onto the sidewalk, and I was glad that there was no one around.

I let go of Embyre and walked ahead towards the school. I wasn't counting on Embyre to follow along, though her footsteps that echoed behind me reassured my nerves. It meant that I could protect her without stalking her.

I didn't want the walk to be awkward, so I broke the silence with what I thought was a good ice- breaker.

"Why are you following me?"

Good one, Dante.

"Well, for starters, you obviously have a place to go and I don't. Second, you have a job to protect me, so I have to stick by you."

I slowly turned around.

"How'd you know about that?" My eyebrows furrowed.

Embyre seemed taken aback.

"I was just joking around? Dante, is there something you're hiding from me?"

Her confusion turned into suspicion and I had to think of something.

"Uh, no. I'm your bodyguard, remember?" I reflected on what she said earlier and prayed that she'd buy it.

Embyre cracked a smile.

"Well, since you're so into it, how bout you escort me back to my place?"

I silently breathed a sigh of relief. I walked forward again, Embyre keeping pace with me.

"Yeah, I'd be glad to, but why are you out here in the first place?"

The supervisor's mood suddenly turned dark and she scowled.

"Well, being one of the heads for the Amas company isn't exactly all fun and games, so when I had the chance, I snuck out to get some fresh air."

Her words reminded of the time when I was still in X Cross with Shida and Alphred. We three used to mess around a lot in our spare time, which we hardly ever got.

I nearly made a bitter smile at the similar situation, but then remembered who I was with.

"That sucks. But if you don't have time for break, how do you have time for school?"

I tried to keep the conversation going, but my words furthered worsened Embyre's mood. Thankfully, it wasn't directed at me.

"I'm busy all the time, even during school. In free periods, I have to respond to calls and make sure contracts are signed and whatnot. And my portion is only the smallest compared to the other heads of the company. If you take what I just said, can you imagine the workload I'd have once I'm at the age to take full control of the company?"

She peered into my eyes, and I could see the huge amount of stress in those dark brown eyes. For some reason, I wanted to help this girl with her problem, but I couldn't figure out how.

And then it hit me.

Offering a reassuring smile, I gathered up the courage.

"Sounds like you have a lot of stress. I think I can help with that. If you're not busy next Wednesday, do you.. I don't know, want to come with me to the Ayudo Clan festival? But only if you're not busy." I quickly added the last part so that I didn't seem like I was forcing her.

"Hmm, the legendary Ayudo Clan festival that I've heard so much about... " Embyre started mumbling to herself. She looked up at me and grinned.

"Sure."

A feeling of elation rose in my chest, and I grinned back.

"Awesome."

I wasn't sure when, but a black limousine suddenly appeared next to us and beeped, as if waiting for us.

"What the-"

Embyre finished my sentence with a curse of her own and her mood changed again in an instant. As she stomped over to the limousine, she glanced back at me and forced a smile.

"What time should I get there?"

"Around 6. I can pick you up if you want." I hesitantly replied.

"Sure. I'd like that." And then she slammed the limousine door. The long car rolled out and left me alone on the sidewalk.

I sighed and watched it drive out of sight.

"Looks like you got trouble there. You know, you always had the worst luck with girls."

I jerked around to see who had said that.

Blue- gray irises and silver hair. I knew this teen.

"Alphred." I said out of shock.

"Hey Dante." Alphred said, nonchalantly.