I do believe I was in too big of a hurry. It was late, and Ikebukuro got really dangerous at night. Sometimes the danger finds you. So, that always scared me into rushing home down my usual route. I ran passed a rather tall, blonde man. I think he's that bartender that I see every so often, but who knew? There were tons of blonde bartenders. I ran straight into him, barely reaching his shoulder as I did, which caused some angry shouts after me.

"Oi! Watch where the hell you're goin' kid!"

Kid. Geez, I know I'm short. Don't have to just assume I'm a kid. I was running past an alley way a few blocks by the time he could have decided to chase after me (angrily, of course). However, I was stopped by a couple of low-lifes, with nothing better to do than harass barely-legal girls.

"Hey, hey~ Kenji, lookit what I found~" one would say. He was a bit tan, wore a black beanie that made his long, red-dyed hair flip outwards. If he wasn't such a drugee, he could've looked like a hot musician, or something.

"Ohoho~ What a beauty~ We'll have fun, eh?" the other would snicker. He was slightly on the tubby side – not attractive, whatsoever. He wore a beanie, too, with huge plugs in his ears and far too big lips to even use to kiss someone. Ugh, he looked like a horribly drawn Buddha.

Fatso and Stick-boy approached me, and I nervously backed up into the wall. I was scared, yeah. I had a switchblade on me, though. So, I sneakily pulled that from my pocket and flicked it, before dangerously swinging my arm, giving the thin one a nice, big cut across his cheek. It was deep, and it was bleedin' plenty.

"Oooh, you're gonna get it for that." he growled, wiping the blood off and wiping it off on his jacket. How lovely. He ninja-kicked that blade right out of my hand, and it spun across the concrete sidewalk, hitting a kicked-over trashcan halfway. I winced, tearing up, then. "Heh," he licked his lips, the fatty staring in the background as he hungrily awaited his turn, "Now, sweetcakes, how about some playtime for Heizen, eh?"

That's when he pinned me against the wall, and I turned dark red, spitting at him, "G-Get off me, you pervert!" I tried to knee him where it'd hurt, but he certainly dodged that.

"Tch, not after this cut you gave me."

I gave a scream, and he shoved his lips against mine to silence me, and I tried to push at his hands, but the grip on my wrists only got tighter, probably bruising my weak little arms. I gave a whimper, crying lightly, but still struggling for all it was worth. He tried to slip his tongue into my mouth, and I hissed, biting his lip hard, and he yelped a little. His buddy laughed, softly, which got him a slap to the face to shut up. He did.

With a growl, this Heizen guy turned back to me, and I gave out another screen, and then I could hear footsteps. The other guys couldn't, though, and Heizen's hand started to slip down my pants and panties, and between my legs. I gasped and squirmed more, trembling and struggling to get free, my face red as I holler and yelp, even shouting for fire. A mouth bit down on my collarbone, and I panted for breath, whimpering and kicking weakly as I just felt my strength totally drain – what little I had. A hand squeezed and groped a breast, flicked over a nipple…

Then, I felt the weight lift off of me, and I slid down the wall onto my ass, my face red as I pull my legs to my chest and shake. It…was a blonde-headed figure. That same one I ran into!

A hard, violent kick was giving to Heizen's stomach, causing him to gasp and ram into a wall, which left a dent. The blonde man turned to Kenji, and lifted him, and threw him into the nearby dumpster, just in time to kick at Heizen, throwing him into the asphalt, and lift up Kenji before moving on to grab the skinny one, too. "Your kind…" the blonde growled, "make me really fucking sick, you know that?"

"Wh-What are you?" they both shouted, and they were then thrown into a nearby warehouse, crashing through the wall and probably K.O.-ed for a good while.

He was handsome. He had a good, square-ish chin. Sunglasses, though. I couldn't see his eyes, then. I then, realized, due to the destroyed streetlight nearby, that this was none other than Shizuo Heiwajima. I…couldn't believe he'd go out of his way to defend me! However, I was more than happy, at the same time.

"Sh…Shizu…o…-s-san…" I whimpered, and the next thing I knew, I was lifted, a bit roughly, into strong arms. Lithe, but certainly strong. My jacket was tugged around me, closer, and I nuzzled into the chest that I was being held to.

"Shut up." He said, a little harshly. But that's just Shizuo. The tall, blonde male started to carry me. Where? I didn't know. I was comfy in his arms, though. Pretty. Damn. Comfy. I didn't think someone with such strength could have such warm, soft-feeling arms. I ended up sleeping.

It was so soft…

What are these, clouds?

I could just stay here all day…

And sleep…

Sleep…

In a bed, was where I woke up. I rolled over, lazily, with a cute little sigh as I nuzzled into some soft, warm covers. I sat up immediately, though, scared to all hell and back, before realizing, for a second time, that a very lovely, slightly misunderstood man named Shizuo saved me. This bed was just as comfy as those arms were! Soft, fluffy, and warm!

My hand would move to brush my hair back, and I gave a tired groan. My wrists were hurting, and I looked down at them. Yep. Bruised. Wonderful, isn't it? I looked around the room, and this was obviously, now, not my house. "Ah…" I thought, looking around before sneakily sliding off the bed, "Where could he be…?"

"Back in bed." A voice demanded, and said, "You're exhausted."

Who was he, my daddy?

"But…"

"No."

"Ugh!" I huffed, and then flopped backwards, pouting and then moving to snuggle back into the covers, and then giggled some, "Okay~ If you say so…" I started to think about last night, though, and shivered. After a while, I started to cry softly. I could've been…taken… like that. It would have ruined my mind, no doubt. It was pretty fragile recently as it is.

A presence went to sit on the bed, and I could smell cigarette smoke. I nibbled my lip and peeked out, and his face – without those sunglasses, ooh~ those eyes – turned to look at mine, awkwardly.

"U-Uh…" I started, wiping my eyes and sniffling a little.

"Um…" he rubbed his neck, "Um… sleep…good?"

"Y-Yeah… thanks…" I blinked, and said, "Wh…Where'd you sleep? This bed is amazing."

"The couch." he took another drag of his cig, and flicked the ashes into a nearby trashcan.

I sat up a teeny bit, and tugged the blankets around me, "That's not good for you, you know. Did you know that cigarettes have four hundred n' three poisonous chemicals?" I looked up at him, and he stared right back.

"Who're you, kid? My mom?" he gave a dark chuckle, but put his cig out, anyway. But, I puffed my cheeks out, pouting. Childishly, of course.

"I'm eighteen, I'm not a kid!" I whined, and then crossed my arms, before sighing, "I dunno… maybe I am…" I flopped over, nuzzling into a pillow while my hair spilled out in all kinds of crazy ways. I gave a sigh, and closed my eyes, nuzzling more into the rather fluffy pillow of smoosh before peeking at him. He was staring, awkwardly. He obviously wasn't used to people just lounging about in his bed.

"Thank you…" I said, softly, and looked away, my face reddening, "for saving me, I mean. It must've been out of your way, I'm sure…"

"Don't thank me…" he said, quietly, but gruffly, "I was only making sure that didn't happen again, at least from those two."

"Mm… well thank you for your contribution to society, then, Shizuo-san."

"Nn."

I sat up, then, and kissed his cheek before saying, "That's another thank you, then, O kind hero of Ikebukuro." I giggle, and then stand, weakly, before collapsing back onto the bed, "Ugh… I gotta get back to the shelter, help with dinner, I guess…"

With a determined huff, I stood again, slipping my sandals back on and then tugging my jacket back around me. "I'll be going…" I was sad looking to have to return to the wretched place. Running with cockroaches, and prostitutes, and the like. I hated it. But it was where I lived since my mom died, not much to do about it.

"Shelter?" he blinked, and then grabbed my wrist. I winced, giving a little cry and jerking my arm away. He looked surprised, but he shook his head and pulled me by the hips to sit on his bed again, "No. You…"

A dark pink spread on his cheeks, and he huffed, "No shelter for you. You stay here." He nods, almost like some old sage, and says, "Just… don't mess anything up in here… and you get to cook dinner tonight." He gets up, stretching some, before I realized that he was in just his work pants. That body…that v-line… that… oh, lordy. I shivered, "Nngh…" I whimper, and say, "I don't have any clothes thooouuuughhh…"

"Then you'll get new ones. The only shelter that's even around is full of shitty people. I'm surprised you weren't…" he paused, and sighed, "Just… no."

I blinked. Was he normally this nice? Did he always invite homeless people to live with him.

…Wut?

I blushed some, "Th…Thank…you?"

A t-shirt and some sweatpants where then thrown at my face, and I fell over, giving an eep and shivering, "E-Eh?" I blink, pulling the fabric from my face and then saying, "Oh… clothes… Thank you." These…would be so horribly baggy on me, but still… dirty clothes? Ew.

So, I promptly tugged my shirt off! Only… oh. Right. There's a guy in the room.

Said guy's face turned red, and he covered his nose before he stood and walked into the bathroom to stare intently in the mirror, as if trying to prevent any sort of peek or… some things, to poke up. I simply continued dressing, tugging his pants up my slender legs, and tying the drawstring as tight as possible, so they hung on my hips a little nicely. The shirt was fairly long, but not too much. Must be an older shirt, then.

"Ah~ Thanks~!" I giggle, softly, and last night was slowly becoming just a scary memory, "Ah, what for lunch, Shizuo-san?"

"Shizuo."

"Huh?" I blinked.

"Just call me Shizuo."

A/N:

Yeah, so, I hope that was decent enough for a start to a new fanfiction! I found there weren't enough Reader x ? fanfictions on the web, so I've decided to make one myself.

Shizuo's going to be a little OOC for a while, because I'm kind of rusty on writing about characters other than my own. So, please bear with me. I'd love reviews and whatnot, so please feel free.

And yes, there will be more chapters. :D