Riley Ross
Chapter 46: I Am Not Your Friend

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: I Am Not Your Friend

"Ssh! Don’t push me!"

"W-what do you think they’re talking about...?"

"Do... you guys think they met somewhere outside the Academy?"

"That woman better not be trying anything with my brother!"

"Woman? She damn near smaller than Riley! I thought Riley and V was the youngest ones up in here!"

"Stop being racist, she’s just half Asian! Maybe... she’s part of the Yakuza?"

"You the one bringin’ race into it! And like—what the hell?! What you mean Yakuza?"

Hannah, Victoria, Pauline, Bella, and Gary were currently using another group of students to try to eavesdrop on Riley and Tomoe’s conversation, hiding behind them like they were some kind of wall. The other students couldn’t do anything, however... or rather, they didn’t do anything at all, as they were also quite curious as to what the two were talking about.

It’s only been the second day, but none of them have ever really seen Tomoe talk to anyone at all. She just stayed in the corner of the room, not even bothering to say hi to anyone at all—and the only time they heard her say anything was when Spectacular Mustache Man asked her a question.

Yes. Everyone in the class was trying to hear their conversation.

Unfortunately for them, Tomoe noticed the slow but steady encroachment and quickly summoned a crystal wall, cleanly cutting her and Riley off from the rest of the class.

"Thank you for giving me your number, Riley," Tomoe bowed, engraving Riley’s number in her mind as soon as he told her the digits. "We should plan on how to do it soon. Preferably before the dormitories become available."

"That is only two days from now, Tomoe."

"And you managed to do that before the night was over yesterday," Tomoe replied, her voice seemingly more monotonous than Riley’s, "If we don’t do it soon, the earliest we can do it would be a week."

"Hmm." Riley tilted his head, blinking as he subtly glanced toward Hannah’s group, causing them all to flinch and immediately look away. "Okay, let us do it the night before the dormitories become available, Tomoe. Let us discuss this more after the class is over—the others and I were in the middle of thinking up our superhero names."

Tomoe seemed about to let the conversation end, but then she spoke again. "Are you... not going to ask why I want them gone?"

Riley, however, only shook his head and still turned around.

"It does not matter, Tomoe. I am not doing this for you," he said, "You merely provided me with a new target."

"Are you... not scared of being caught?" Tomoe asked as the crystal separating them from the rest of the students started to crumble, "From what you told me, you have already done it to three people in the span of almost a week. You have also already been questioned by the police."

"I am a child, Tomoe," Riley finally glanced back at her shoulder, a smile that reached from ear to ear, now planted on his face, "There will never be a better time to commit these atrocities than now. People think of me as... cute."

Tomoe’s eyes slightly turned wide as she heard those words. She hadn’t slept since witnessing what Riley had done. Instead, she’d spent the night scouring the internet, reading article after article about serial killers, trying to find out everything she could.

In truth, that wasn’t the first time she’d looked them up. Thanks to her parents’ indifference—never caring what she did or consumed online—Tomoe had long been free to explore even the darkest corners the internet had to offer.

While the other kids her age were busy playing Roblox, Fortnite, or screaming about chicken jockeys, she was deep in forums reading about gruesome murders.

She had been obsessed and infatuated with all the killings for the past year now, whether they were mass-murdering supervillains, or more intimate serial killers that have been caught by the police with the help of superheroes.

...And she quickly noticed that Riley ticked all the boxes. The only difference was that while they were killing animals at a young age, Riley skipped that part and was already killing people.

And from what she had seen so far, Riley was... in a different league than them. Even his first kill alone showed what sort of serial killer he was going to be.

If he ends up not being caught early... just how many bodies would he leave? And if he does indeed get caught a few years down the line... just how impressive would his documentary be?

...And would she be a part of it?

No. She wanted to be a part of it. She would—

"Oh."

Before her thoughts could spiral deeper than the dark web, Riley’s voice broke through her daydreams.

"Have you thought of a superhero name yet, Tomoe?" Riley suddenly asked, "I told Sister I was thinking of naming myself the Albino Born From Ohio, but she got angry for some reason—I thought it was a good name."

Tomoe blinked a couple of times as she stared at Riley. Trying to think if he was making a joke or not—but from how he seemed genuinely confused, it would seem he wasn’t.

"I think it’s a stupid name," she then said without holding back, "Even Spectacular Mustache Man is better than that."

And as soon as he heard that word, ever-so-slowly, Riley’s eyes slightly turned wide.

"I thought it was good," Riley narrowed his eyes and placed his hand on his chin, "It is straightforward, and people will not have to ask why I chose the name, as it is self-explanatory, Tomoe."

"It’s not a good name," she insisted without a hint of hesitation.

Riley stared at her for a moment, then nodded with a quiet hum of reluctant agreement.

"Hmm. Interesting," Riley’s eyebrows lowered. "Would you like to join us, Tomoe? Sister and the others could need your input too."

"I’m... not here to make friends."

"I am not your friend, Tomoe."

"T—" Tomoe was about to say something, but then she noticed the look in Riley’s eyes... and she couldn’t help but suddenly hold her breath. She could recognize that look anywhere... it was similar to the same look her mother and stepfather had given her multiple times.

It was similar, but different.

It was colder, and more... detached. Almost as if he wasn’t looking at her at all, even though she was right there. Interesting.

’Riley... is so interesting.’

"Would you like to join us, Tomoe?" he asked again.

This time, she nodded.

And so, Tomoe joined the group.