Page 58 of Shifting Gears

When I got to my car, she was already sitting inside, phone on my dash with the first address to drive to in the shopping district. I started up my car, and we drove, the radio quietly playing in the background. She looked at the buildings as we drove by, not saying a word. We parked alongside a building that looked more like a costume store than a clothing shop. We got out and walked in.

She browsed through the rows of items as I found a chair to chill in, next to a large mirror in the back.

She rounded the corner, going through the shelves of clothing near me.

She spoke slowly as she approached. “You can’t fight, looking like you do right now. This will never work if he knows you were the same fighter who stood in for Touma. If he finds out we’re working together? I don’t see this turning out the way I need it to,” she said as she sorted through the stack of clothes on the shelf in front of her.

There were a lot of similarities between her and Raven. Except where Raven had been more guarded, contemplative, and soft, Sydney was the opposite. She was bold, not afraid to speak her mind to anyone, and acted with less information to go on than her sister had. They both had confidence that radiated off of them, but Sydney’s was like a punch to the gut. You couldn’t ignore how she walked into a room and commanded attention.

Her spunk was sexy. The way she didn’t back down from a challenge and how she had come up with a plan to get the man who had taken her sister’s life put away for good so fast were things I couldn’t help but admire.

“Not sure you should stare at my ass like that,” she said as her eyes glanced up at mine.

I chuckled. “How do you know I was looking at your ass?”

She shrugged and picked a shirt off the rack and tossed it at me. “Just a hunch. No offense, but I’m not interested in getting with my dead sister’s secret boyfriend.”

I grabbed the shirt midair and tossed it onto my shoulder. “We weren’t serious like that. We had a good time with each other, but it wasn’t more than good conversations and casual hookups.”

I never fully opened up my emotions and feelings to Raven, so I wasn’t exactly lying. Even if I’d had a hunch that she was really into me and I had liked her, we never got past that point.

“Just go put the shirt on. I need to see if they have another size if this one doesn’t fit,” she said as she walked around the other side of the clothing rack.

I smirked and yanked my hoodie off right there in the middle of the shop, tugging on the new one in its place. I straightened the skintight sleeves that went down to the tops of my elbows and chuckled when I noticed that a certain someone who was trying really hard to not stare was doing exactly that as she pretended to browse more.

I flexed in it, rolling my shoulders to see if the fabric constricted my movements.

“It looks good. Hides most of your tattoos too.” She nodded in approval. “I also found something else. This, without your hat, will really create a new look. If I’m right, you’re going to be incredibly intimidating-looking with everything put together.”

She walked back around the corner and held out a mask. It was a half mask—made of silicone with mesh over the nostrils and mouth openings. It looked like a monster with large fangs.

“It’s an oni mask. Samurai used to wear them back in the Edo period. It’s a symbol of a fierce warrior,” she said as she gestured toward a mirror.

I walked over, slipping the mask on over my head as I went. I stared at myself. She was right. In my opinion, I looked intimidating on a normal day if I wanted to, but with this getup and mask? I looked like a monster, ready to rip a man apart. The way the lighting in here picked up the amber tones in my eyes almost made them glow.

“Akuma.”

I barely heard Sydney’s whisper as she walked up and stood next to me.

“What?” I glanced down at her out of the corner of my eye.

“Akuma. It means demon. You looked like a demon just now. I think it’s perfect.” She smiled at me for the first time since we’d met.

It looks good on her.

“Perfect for what?” I said as I turned to face her as I took off the mask.

“For your new ring name. It’s fitting—don’t you think? My sister called you a Hero because it’s what she needed. I don’t need a hero. I need a monster to destroy my enemies.”

And just like that, her smile disappeared as a frown took its place, and her eyes turned cold.

I reached my hand out and placed it on her shoulder, pulling her into me. I leaned down, meeting her glance in the mirror as I muttered into her ear, “I’ll take down anyone who gets in my way.”

She shifted her weight from foot to foot, and her cheeks turned rosy.

“That’s what I’m counting on,” she said as she lifted my hand off her shoulder and walked away, clearing her throat. “Anyway, let’s buy these things and head out. There are still a few places we need to stop at before heading back.”

I removed the shirt, tugging my sleeveless hoodie back on as we made our way back up front. She paid for the clothes as I walked outside. The air was cool against my skin, making my body shiver at the sudden change in temperature. Until I felt her warm hand on my biceps.

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