The walk home from the cafe was usually the most peaceful part of Arjun's day, a time when he could finally shed the skin of the "clumsy waiter" and return to the silence of his own thoughts. But tonight, the air felt different. It was thick with a humidity that promised more rain, and for the first time in weeks, Arjun wasn't walking alone.
Right behind him, the rhythmic clicking of heels against the pavement followed his every step. He didn't need to turn around to know it was Diya. Her presence was like a vibrant hum that refused to be ignored.
Arjun adjusted the strap of his bag, his shoulders tensing. He wasn't used to being followed—at least not by someone who wasn't trying to kill him. The awkwardness of the situation began to gnaw at his nerves until he finally spun around.
"Why are you following me?!" he demanded, his voice sharper than he intended.
Diya stopped, planting her hands on her hips. She didn't look intimidated in the least. "It's not my fault your home is in the same area as mine!" she shot back with a defiant grin.
Arjun groaned, turning back to continue his pace. "Can't you go on a different route?!".
"And my usual route is blocked because of construction" she countered, matching his stride.
"Fine. Have it your way," Arjun muttered, resigning himself to the company.
As they walked through the narrowing streets of the residential district, Arjun's internal alarm system began to quiet the mundane annoyance of Diya's chatter. His eyes shifted, scanning the dark alleyways and the reflective surfaces of parked cars. He slowed his pace almost imperceptibly, his senses extending like a web.
'Those two... they've been following us for three blocks,' he thought. 'From the way they're moving, they aren't professionals. Just normal thugs. But why follow us?'.
He needed to know their intent without alerting Diya. He pulled out his phone, holding it up as if checking a notification, but he was actually using the dark screen as a mirror to watch the men behind them. He focused on their reflections, his mind translating the movement of their lips into words.
"Just look at her," one thug whispered to the other. "She's so sexy. I want to make her mine tonight".
"Just wait," the second one replied, a predatory edge to his voice. "Wait till this guy leaves her".
A cold, familiar rage flickered in Arjun's chest. 'So that's why she's been staying so close to me,' he realized. 'Those thugs make me sick. Picking on a woman they think is weak'.
He began to shift his weight, preparing to double back and "handle" the situation quietly, but before he could even take a step, Diya stopped.
"Hey!" she called out, spinning around to face the darkness of the street behind them. She didn't wait for them to come to her; she started walking directly toward the two thugs.
Arjun froze, caught off guard. "Diya, wait—"
"I noticed you two following me," she said, her voice loud and clear, echoing off the damp brick walls. "Do you want something?!".
The two men stepped out from the shadows, looking surprised but quickly regaining their arrogance. The lead thug let out a low whistle. "Since you came up first, would you like to come with us?" he asked, stepping into her personal space. "I'll give you money if that's what you want".
The words were barely out of his mouth when Diya's hand blurred.
SLAP.
The sound was like a gunshot in the quiet street. The thug's head snapped to the side, his cheek instantly turning a violent shade of red.
"How dare you!" Diya hissed.
The thug staggered back, his expression twisting from shock to pure malice. "You bitch!" he screamed. He lunged at her, his companion following close behind.
Arjun's hand went to the hidden pocket of his jacket where he kept his daggers. 'No, I have to save her,' he thought, his muscles coiling like a spring.
But he didn't get the chance.
Diya moved with a fluid, practiced grace that Arjun recognized instantly—it wasn't the raw power of a God Stone, but the refined skill of someone who had trained for years. She ducked under the lead thug's clumsy swing and delivered a sharp elbow to his ribs, followed by a lightning-fast kick to the second man's knee.
Within seconds, she had systematically dismantled them both, leaving them groaning on the pavement.
Arjun stood there, his hand still on his weapon, his mind reeling. 'Never mind,' he thought, slowly relaxing his posture.
"Are you all right?" he asked, stepping closer.
Diya straightened her clothes and brushed a stray hair from her face. She looked perfectly fine, her breathing barely elevated. "Of course I am," she said, giving him a look of pure confidence. "Do I look like the type to take a hit from losers like them?".
Arjun looked at the two men on the ground and then back at the slight girl standing before him. 'No. Definitely not,' he admitted to himself.
However, the threat wasn't over. One of the thugs, fueled by humiliation, scrambled to his feet. He reached into his waistband and pulled out a jagged, rusty knife. He didn't go for Arjun; he lunged at Diya's exposed back.
Arjun saw the glint of the blade in the dim light. In that split second, the "waiter" disappeared. Arjun moved with a speed that was impossible for a normal human. He intercepted the thug before the knife could even come close to Diya, his movements a blur of lethal efficiency.
He didn't use his daggers. Instead, he unleashed a barrage of precise, heavy punches that targeted the man's nervous system. The thug didn't even have time to scream before his eyes rolled back, and he slumped into a heap, unconscious.
Arjun stood over the fallen men, his breathing calm, his hands steady. "That was very easy," he remarked quietly.
He turned back to find Diya staring at him, her mouth slightly agape and her eyes wide with shock.
'WAIT,' Arjun panicked internally. 'Did I show too much? What should I do?!'. He was certain he had just burned his cover. An assassin's movements were distinctive; anyone with an ounce of combat knowledge would realize he wasn't a normal civilian.
Diya stepped toward him, her finger pointing at his face. "Arjun... you...".
Arjun braced himself for the questions about Silverhound, about his training, about his past.
"You also go to the Yoga Baba Karate class?!" she exclaimed, her face lighting up with excitement.
'What the fuck?' he thought.
The tension drained out of Arjun so fast he felt lightheaded. He felt a wave of immense relief, followed immediately by a profound sense of confusion.
"I... used to go," he stammered, deciding to play along with whatever bizarre conclusion she had reached. 'What the hell is Yoga Baba Karate?'.
Diya laughed, the sound bright enough to cut through the gloom of the alley. "I knew it! I recognized that stance! My instructor always says the quiet ones are the best students".
She began to walk again, her mood shifting from combat-ready to cheerful in an instant. "By the way, are you free tomorrow?" she asked.
"No," Arjun replied automatically. "Why?".
"Well, since you helped me—even though I didn't really need it—I would like to repay you by offering a dinner or something like that," she said, glancing at him sideways.
"You don't owe me anything," Arjun said, his voice returning to its usual coldness.
Diya stopped walking and turned to face him, her expression suddenly serious. "Don't be like that! I've noticed you don't befriend anyone," she said softly. "You always look like a dead person, Arjun. I don't like that".
Arjun felt a strange tightening in his chest. "You...".
"I won't take no for an answer!" she declared, her energy returning in full force. "Let's hangout tomorrow!".
Arjun looked into her eyes, seeing a stubbornness that rivaled his own. He knew he should say no. He knew that getting close to anyone was a liability in his line of work. But as he looked at her, standing there in the middle of a dark street after just beating up two thugs, he found he couldn't bring himself to walk away.
"I can't say no to her," he whispered to himself.
Back in the apartment, Arjun went quiet, the memory of that night clearly playing behind his eyes.
"That was the first time I felt like a human being again," he told Rudra and Raj. "She didn't see an assassin. She didn't see a beggar. She just saw a guy who went to some fake karate class."
Rudra leaned back, a small smile on his face. "She sounds like she was exactly what you needed, Arjun."
Arjun didn't answer. He just looked at the rain outside, knowing that the spark of light he found that night was not going to last long.