It's Friday. A few hours have passed since I returned home from school. It's dark, but the weather outside is mild. Sometimes I wander outside, perhaps out of boredom, perhaps for a change. I'll do that today too. I got ready to go out and opened the front door of the house. Arima was in front of me when I opened the door. I guess I opened it just as she was about to knock.

  "Ah! Grey, are you going somewhere?"

  "I was going to take a walk outside."

  "Can I come too?"

  Arima clasped her hands and looked pleadingly. It's like she's asking as if I'm going to say "don't come.".

  "Come on," I replied.

  Arima put her hands in her two pockets.

  "But before that... Ta-da!"

  Arima took out two plush toys from her pocket. Both are rabbits. One is dressed in blue, the other in pink.

  "Look, I brought these for you. The blue one is you, the pink one is me. Aren't they cute?"

  I took the rabbits from the girl's hand.

  "Wait a second."

  I went to my room and left the rabbits on my desk. I returned to the door. I put on my boots.

  "We can go now. I left the rabbits in my room."

  I took Arima's hand. We went outside together. We started walking. A little time has passed since we went outside. Arima opened her mouth as we walked.

  "It hasn't snowed since Sunday, has it?"

  "No."

  "I want it to snow. And I don't want it to snow as little as last time, I want it to snow a lot."

  "You want it to snow a lot so school is canceled, don't you?"

  "You caught me."

  Arima grinned. But her grin didn't last long. She looked at the alley of the neighborhood we were in. When I looked, I saw a man lying on the ground. He looks homeless. His clothes are worn out.

  "These people are so pitiful. They have to stay outside in the winter."

  "I wouldn't feel sorry."

  "Why?"

  "Didn't you notice as we were passing by? The man had a syringe in his pocket."

  After I said this, Arima seemed to understand what I meant.

  "So you mean he used drugs. That's why he passed out."

  "Yes. Exactly."

  Arima bowed her head. She looks angry.

  "I don't feel sorry for him if he's stupid enough to get involved in such dirty things."

  Arima's voice sounded harsh. She's really angry. Let me ask why she's angry.

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  "You look angry. I don't think you'd care about someone you don't know. Why are you so angry?"

  "A relative of mine also got involved in this filth. It caused a lot of trouble for my family. Those memories came to my mind."

  "I see."

  We continued walking. A few more minutes passed, but Arima still looks unhappy. So let me do this. I stopped where I was.

  "What happened, Grey?" Arima asked.

  I approached Arima, who looked surprised. I held the girl from her left arm and the right side of her head. I leaned in a little and put my lips on Arima's lips. We stayed like this for about ten seconds. Then I pulled back. Arima was staring into space, shocked by my kiss. Her face turned red.

  "I think I cleared the negative thoughts from your mind."

  Arima nodded.

  "Then let's continue walking."

  I took the hand of the girl who had gone to another world and started walking. Arima is still looking confused. That's why she's going in the direction I'm going. So...

  "Let's turn right at this corner," I said.

  We turned the corner. After a while, a man appeared in front of us. He's taller than me, and his clothes are torn.

  The man in front of us spoke.

  "You look good. Give me money."

  Arima and I tried to pass by him without caring, but the man grabbed Arima's wrist.

  "Let me go."

  "I'll let you go if you give me money."

  Arima was trying to get rid of the man.

  "Let me go, I don't have money. You're hurting me."

  "I won't cause trouble if you give me money."

  Arima's eyes started to tear up, it's obvious that she's in pain. Then I should take action. I also grabbed the man's wrist where he was holding Arima.

  "Let her go."

  The man turned to me with bruised eyes. He doesn't look beaten.

  "Oh, what if I don't?"

  With a quick move, I punched the man in the chin. The man fell to the ground from the punch he received. This is how Arima was saved. I took the hand of Arima, who was staring at the man on the ground with teary eyes, and returned to the corner we came from with Arima. We moved a little further from there. Then we came to a park. I sat Arima on a bench.

  "I pulled you away to get away, but is your wrist okay?"

  "Yes."

  The park we came to seems safe. Arima can calm down now.

  "I'll be back in two minutes. Wait here," I said.

  Arima nodded. I stopped by a market near the park. I came to the beverage aisle. I found what I was looking for. I went to the cashier to pay. When I gave the cashier the drink I was going to buy, the cashier asked.

  "This drink is alcoholic. Can I see your ID?"

  I took my ID out of my wallet and handed it over.

  "I'm 17, as you can see."

  The cashier examined the ID for a few seconds. Then he gave it back to me.

  "Okay. Your age is right."

  Recently, the age of majority was lowered from eighteen to sixteen. That's why sellers are still unsure. I paid for the drink and went back to Arima. As I approached Arima, she saw me but turned her head away from the direction I was coming from. She had her arms crossed. She's probably sulking. I sat next to Arima. The drink was in my left hand.

  "Did something happen, Arima?" I asked.

  "Hmmp..."

  I don't understand this reaction.

  "I won't know what happened if you don't tell me."

  Arima spoke with her back turned.

  "Why didn't you help me right away when that man grabbed me?"

  She gave me a valid reason. I should apologize.

  "I thought you could break free from him. Forgive me."

  I lied. I know very well that a girl can't break free from that man. Arima turned to me.

  "So you can have foolish behaviors too. I forgive you."

  I handed Arima the drink in my hand.

  "But Grey, I can't drink this. It's alcohol."

  "I know. I chose one with a low alcohol content and sweet. It will relax you a little, and the ethanol in the drink will warm your body by relaxing the closed blood capillaries due to stress. That's why."

  Arima seems to be convinced by my explanation. She stuck the straw into the cardboard box of the drink and took a few sips.

  "Oh! It's really sweet. And it tastes like apple. My favorite."

  We started waiting while Arima slowly drank her drink. Two minutes later, when the drink was finished, Arima spoke.

  "Grey, you're so strong. How did you knock that man out with one punch?"

  Arima seemed excited. I didn't do anything big, I should explain.

  "I'm not strong, the man was weak. His face was sunken, and he was limping. Also, he was a drug addict. Drug addicts don't eat properly. So it's possible that he was exhausted from hunger."

  Arima doesn't seem very convinced.

  "Still, knocking someone down in one go shouldn't be easy. You're stronger than you look."

  She smiled at me. Arima approached me and hugged my arm. I think the drink started to take effect.

  "Let's go home now, darling, but I won't let go of your arm until I get to my house."

  We both got up from the bench and set off. Arima looked good while walking, and she started pulling on my coat more and more. I'm having trouble walking. Anyway. I'll endure it for a while. I looked at the phone with my free hand. It's almost half past eight. It's getting dark and cold. As I approach the end of a day I spent with Arima, I increased the gamble I played a little more. I had planned everything that happened from the moment I met Arima at my front door until now. The first stage of my plan was to surprise Arima. I achieved this by kissing her when she wasn't expecting it. Afterwards, Arima didn't realize it, but I took her to a street where drug addicts were common. There was a drug store in that street that had been opened since drugs were legalized. For this reason, addicts in this street can cause problems for others. This street was a suitable place for the second stage of my plan, which was to scare Arima. Coincidentally, someone bothered us. I deliberately held back for a while while Arima was trying to get rid of that man. After making sure Arima was really scared, I saved her. The second stage was also completed in this way. The third stage of my plan was to comfort the scared girl. I used alcohol for this. I was by her side. Now, Arima's tight hug while returning home shows that the third stage of the plan was also successful. Thus, by making Arima experience back-to-back emotional changes, I made her even more attached to me. Time will tell the effects of this plan of mine. We arrived at the entrance of the apartment where Arima lived. Arima entered the door's lock code. I thought we would separate after this, but we came to Arima's apartment door. Arima rang the bell. A woman opened the door. She looks just like Arima. She must be her mother. The woman put her hand on her cheek and spoke.

  "Oh! You must be Grey. I see that my daughter is giving you trouble again."

  Arima is pulling my coat so much that it's choking my neck now. And Arima's mother said "again"? Arima suddenly shouted.

  "Mom, mom. You know what? Grey saved me again."

  "Oh! Really? But it would be better if you let the boy go now."

  Arima's mother is smiling and speaking very calmly. Arima let go of me and entered through the door. Arima stood next to her mother. When I saw them both like this, I took a closer look. Arima and her mother have brown hair and their noses are considered small. I straightened my clothes and prepared to leave the building. As I was about to leave, Arima's mother spoke.

  "Grey, are you free this weekend?"

  "Yes," I replied.

  "Then would you like to come to our place tomorrow? I was going to invite you now, but it's late. I'd like to get to know you better."

  I have no reason to refuse this invitation. I will accept.

  "Of course I'll come. Good evening to you."

  "Good evening, Grey." (Arima and her mother said this at the same time.)

  I left the building and headed for my own house. I understand that Arima has similarities to her mother.

  ?s Grey a bad person or a good person?