My Hero
One-shot
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Usui's ass.
She was tired, beyond exhausted, beyond tired and exhausted mixed with a little tiny bit of pent up rage on the side. Maybe she was blowing it a little out of proportion, but when you have your over zealous and bubbly friend dragging you through the mall at almost midnight you would be cringing and thinking the exact same thing.
Ayuzawa Misaki liked to think of herself as a normal seventeen year old, although most who meet her for less than half a minute would gladly disagree with that silly notion of hers. She was how most of those people would say, "A little rough around the edges," or as boys at her school would say, "A psychotic man-hating she devil!" But I digress, under that harsh exterior was a heartfelt girl who cared about others feelings to an extent where she would forget her own, and that's where her kindness has taken her now. Running inside a mall at midnight to help her over zealous and bubbly friend buy a gift for her "boyfriend."
The long dark-haired girl heaved a sigh, "Sakura-chan, you know I want to find Kuuga a gift as much as you do, but we've been in every store, we've been through every aisle, every shelf, hell we've even asked cashiers if there's merchandise they're hiding from us. We can try again in the morning when you're mind is more clear and rested." She chided as gently as she could without trying to sound too aggravated and bothered. She didn't even like Kuuga! In her mind he was an unworthy jerk of her friend's affection, but yet here she was looking for a gift for that pompous little shit and upsetting her friend all at the same time.
"First Shizuko and now you too, Misaki-chan? Why can't my friends see the love I share with him?" Her friend started to whimper, which gradually grew into full on bawling.
Misaki sighed again, oh yes Shizuko. She abandoned them hours ago when the sun was going down. It was actually a pretty smart move to dump Sakura on Misaki now that she thought about it, and cursed herself for not thinking of beating Shizuko to the punch earlier. Then again, she had no idea what she was getting into when she agreed to go shopping with them. Unlike Misaki who was constantly preoccupied with being student council president, and having a part-time job, Shizuko was free most of the time to hang out with Sakura giving her more experience when it came to this sort of situation that they had placed themselves in.
"Alright…just a little bit more. I really don't see why we couldn't just buy him some clothes or a book." She mumbled more to herself than her friend.
The pig-tailed girl began to whine at her friends comment, "But-but, he only wears the most stylish clothes which this mall lacks, and he's too busy and popular to read books!" She stated as if it was most obvious thing in the world, at least in her world.
Misaki had a strong urge to go to Kuuga's house and beat the living shit out him for just existing, but she calmed herself by thinking of her friend who was in need of her help, even if it was useless to help such a lost cause. She was used to this though. Misaki defended girls on a daily basis; most were fragile and meek among the boys of her school, and someone had to help them. She understood that some girls just didn't have the guts to stand up to the boys; that was perfectly understandable, some of them were too intimidating to deal with. There was one thing she hated, and didn't understand about the girls though, and that was their damn confessions! It was guaranteed, like the sun rising and setting; it was just bound to happen once a day. A girl would confess to a dim-witted boy who would laugh in her face, and then Misaki was the one left to console the girl's broken heart. Not that she hated the girls for feeling love, it just bothered her that the girl would go back to school the next day and do the exact same thing over again, as if the boy had suddenly grew a brain over night and say yes to her! What a buncha bull! Sakura was similar in a way; she was head over heels for a boy who needed years of maturing before he could be in a serious relationship without being an arrogant jerk 24/7.
Misaki sighed for the hundredth time that night and caved, "Alright, well where to now?"
Sakura put her hand to her chin in a thinking motion, "Mmmm…well since all the stores are closed, I say we should head over to the department store at the edge of the mall again and see if we missed anything!" She cheered herself on at the wonderful and "well thought out" idea.
The amber-eyed teen rolled her eyes at her friend's excitement. She was actually pretty amazed that no one had kicked them out already; the mall had been closed for an hour it seemed, and every store was gated with iron bars and closed signs. There were one or two other people left, but all of them were looking for exits instead of shopping.
Sakura put her hand on Misaki's shoulder, "Misaki-chan, this place sure is creepy at night huh?" She stated uneasily.
Misaki only nodded slowly, she didn't want to think about it too much. She didn't want people to know she was deathly afraid of these sorts of things, ghosts, the dark, and anything that casted a shadow at night. No one would take her seriously if they knew her fear.
Sakura began to giggle much to Misaki's annoyance, "W-What's so funny?" She stated defensively.
"Misaki-chan has an admirer…A cute one too…" As she said this she pointed to a tall well-built young man, with bristly golden hair, emerald eyes, and a smirk painted on his lips. He wore a standard police uniform, while leaning against a store podium with his arms crossed. He stared dead on at Misaki, and there was no mistaking it. She couldn't just play it off by saying the rather drop dead gorgeous man was staring at the both of them, because he had purposely made direct eye contact with only her.
What was a police officer doing here at midnight? She knew security guards were needed, but was his presence really necessary? Besides his stare was making her uneasy, 'What's his job anyway? To ogle at girls all night in a mall?' Misaki thought to herself fervently.
"I've seen him before too, like an hour ago staring at you. I didn't really think of it much, but now that he's doing it again…Hehe this is so moe. Especially since he's wearing a police uniform, hehe you gotta love a man in uniform!" The pig-tailed friend squealed in the highest pitch she could muster.
Misaki's eye twitched as she broke eye contact with the police officer. "That's just creepy, let's hurry up, buy that damn gift and get the hell out of here!" She said as she grabbed her friend and made a dash to the department store.
It was Closed. The iron gates stopped them from entering and Sakura began to wail in hopeless despair.
Misaki shook her head, "Well that's the end of the line." She was about to turn around and take Sakura with her when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It wasn't Sakura's hand this time, it was large and flexing with sheer muscular strength, she could even feel it pulsing.
"Oi, do I have a couple of shoplifters?" The voice was velvet against the ears, and deep enough to make a teenage girl's knees buckle from under her. But that was a normal teenage girl, Misaki was an exception, and she wasn't fazed by his touch, his voice or even his intent gaze. She shoved his palm as far away as she physically could and stepped back in an intense motion.
Gritting her teeth at his stolid manner, she barked back, "Who the hell are you calling a shoplifter?"
Sakura, who had remained silent for a good portion of their staring contest decided to intervene after her friend's comment, "Misaki-chan, you can't talk to a police officer like that, don't you know anything?" She scolded with her eyes shut.
"Police officer, him? Ha! Don't make me laugh. What police officer stays in a mall all night, maybe even all day just standing around? He's a pervert! I've read about people like him! Pretend to be a cop to lure in unsuspecting girls like you Sakura, but I won't fall for it!" Misaki stated passionately as she pointed at him.
His passive nature was pissing her off to no end. She just caught the bloody pervert in the act and he still did nothing, not even deny it! He stood there with his hands in his pockets, not even releasing his glazed look on her.
"Che." He clucked under his breath and began to smile down at her.
Her body started to tremble without her control, and her tense look softened.
Sakura groaned "Please excuse my friend Officer-"
"Usui." He answered, his gaze still there, still lingering.
"Yes, Officer Usui, we've had a stressful night. Well, hehe it's my boyfriend's birthday tomorrow, and being the procrastinating person that I am, I decided to go shopping tonight. Misaki is a really thoughtful friend for putting up with me; please don't think less of her for saying that to you." Sakura laughed nervously as she put her hand behind the back of her head, showing her uneasiness.
Usui scoffed, "I would never think less of Misa-chan." He gave a Cheshire like grin at the petite girl.
Misaki was about to yell at him, a complete and total stranger, for saying her name in such an intimate way. She abruptly stopped though, she already reprimanded herself for yelling at him the first time, and she didn't want to look like a fool in front of him again. He made her feel like a howling idiot, with his unresponsive swagger and heated gaze. She did not like people who made her feel confused, and frustrated, and he, a stranger, was making her falter, question herself and her actions within minutes of meeting him.
"Well, we better be off Sakura-chan" Misaki persisted as she grabbed hold of her friend's arm.
"Oh, hold on a second, I need to use the little girl's room before we leave." The pink haired girl insisted as she detached herself from her friend's tightly wound grip.
Misaki started to panic at the thought of being left alone with the perverted stranger, even if he was a so-called 'Police Officer,' "H-hey! I'll go with you!" She yelped as she tried to reach for her companion's arm, but was swiftly rejected by the pig-tailed girl.
"Oh please Misa-chan! I'm a big girl; I could find my way around a restroom fine thank you very much." She said with her nose stuck in the air, and a triumphant grin on her face.
The amber eyed girl was dumbfounded, "Y-You even said this place is creepy at night, besides the closest restroom is almost on the other side of the mall!"
The other girl placed her hands on her hips as she countered back, "I would've been done already by now Misa-chan, just let me go!"
Misaki groaned, but submitted. Freeing her friend from her death grip, she took her place standing a good three feet away from the pokerfaced cop.
Sakura waved at the couple as she rounded the corner; her hair bounced with every step she made, and fading smile graced her lips as she disappeared from the other side the wall.
An unspoken moment or so had passed with gradually increasing awkwardness. She would catch him watching her blatantly while she turned to look the other way red as a tomato. 'Does this guy have no shame or what?' 'What's so interesting; do I have something in my hair? Dammit now I'm self-conscious!' She mentally cursed herself while clenching her teeth in irritation.
Just as she was about to yell at the young officer, things had taken an unsuspected turn.
Maybe it was fate as some would put it; Misaki on the other hand would say it was shit timing, because at that moment the lights in the entire mall had gone completely dim.
There was a tense moment where neither teen knew what to do. Usui was the first to compose himself, "Misaki-san, are you alright?" He questioned. His voice was slightly on edge and coated with something she wasn't familiar with, fear? No, she couldn't picture him being afraid. Perhaps worried, whatever it was it was making her lose her nerve.
The anxiety of the moment got the best of her as she began to involuntarily shake. A neon beam started to flash in her eyes. She cringed and put her hand over her face to protect her eyes from the light, "Eh?" She groaned.
"It's just a flashlight, come with me; I'll get you out of here and somewhere safe." She could hear his voice to the left of her.
Misaki rolled her eyes at his valiant comment, "My Hero." She stated sarcastically as she stretched out her arm grabbing a hold of his larger hand.
"I won't feel safe until Sakura is here with me, if you were a real police officer you would help both of us." She sneered the last statement out since was he wasn't able to see her glare.
Usui chuckled playfully, "Aww, I was hoping Misa-chan would feel safe with me too," He feign disappointment.
The teenage girl scoffed in annoyance while blushing prettily, secretly thanking god that he couldn't see her face in the dark.
After agreeing to find Sakura they steadily walked toward their destination with the light beaming in front of them. Misaki noticed the young officer was a little tenser with each step he took; he was different from how he was a few moments ago, but then again everything was different a few moments ago.
She became frustrated with the silence, "What the hell is going on? Do the lights turning off have something to do with you being here?" The fiery-eyed girl questioned.
"Well first of all I don't just stand around the mall all day staring at cute girls; I've been looking for suspicious people who fit a certain category." He answered back.
Misaki's curiosity peaked at his statement much to her surprise, "Oh? And what category do I fall under exactly?"
She could practically feel the dirty blonde smirking as he gripped her hand tighter, "You were very suspicious, always walking back and forth through the mall for hours and staying past closing, I had to keep an eye on you…plus you were cute and I was hoping you really were a shoplifter so I could take you in and punish you personally..." He stated with a smug grin, although Misaki couldn't see it, she could imagine it clearly in her mind, and it ticked her off. He was purposely teasing her!
The dark haired girl clenched her fist, "How can I take you seriously as a police officer when you say idiotic things like that?" She mumbled aggravatingly.
Usui just shrugged and smirked, "The real reason is there have been burglaries up and down this district for a month now. Even some fatalities." He whispered this faintly in Misaki's ear.
She let out a shudder, "D-do you think-?"
"Possibly, but perhaps not. We best be on our guard though, don't you think?"
"Hai." She answered back, trying to sound confident, but it came out more like a plead.
Usui noticed this immediately, "Wait one second." He stopped moving, as did she, and gently freed Misaki's hand from his own. He pulled out a walky talky like object from his holster and put it next to his lips.
"This is Officer Usui Takumi, what's your current situation?"
There was mumbling on the other line.
"Hai..." He responded back hastily.
Misaki, who was trying not to be nosey, but also wanting to know their current predicament came closer to Usui and the walky talky. His body was a hair away from her own, and she could even feel his breath against the top of her head. In a normal situation this most definitely would not be happening to her, but now the closeness didn't even occur to her.
"The wires are all cut off, there's someone in there for sure. Armed or not we need you down in the east side of the mall immediately."
Misaki's whole being shook to the core. There was someone besides them in the mall now. And they wanted something.
Usui was silent for a moment contemplating, "No can do. I have a civilian with me. Have you called back up?"
"A civilian, this late? Well of course we did a minute or so ago."
A loud screeching noise followed by flashing red lights had gone off in the two's current direction.
"What the hell?" Misaki cried in confusion.
"One of the store alarms went off in the east side of the mall." Usui said as he spoke into the walky talky.
Misaki was still for a moment until realization hit her, "Sakura is over there!" She gasped, running off in the direction of the sirens.
A strong pair of arms wrapped themselves around her midsection, stopping her completely in her tracks. She desperately tried to break free from his unyielding grip, but to no avail. She kicked and hollered as tears threatened to escape, "W-What kind of police officer let's this happen?" She croaked, finally giving in, and falling on the hard chest behind her.
There was silence for a moment, until Usui rose the walky talky to his lips once more, "We have another civilian, and she's on the east side. Possibly in the restroom or wondering off somewhere." He muttered still clutching onto Misaki as if she would fly away if he didn't.
"Are you kidding me Takumi? The whole system is on lockdown. We're trying to get in, but the security on this mall is jammed completely shut. There's no way we could get to her in time. You need to turn off the alarm manually from the inside." The voice from the other side instructed strictly.
Usui held onto Misaki harder as if she was the only thing keeping him up, "You mean to say we're stuck in here with potential armed robbers, and you can't do anything about it?" His voice was surprisingly steadier than Misaki thought it would be. If she would've been in his situation, she would have no clue what to do, and yet here he was holding his composure fairly well.
The voice on the other side groaned, "There's nothing else to say. You should stay with the civilian and look for the manual off switch in the mall's basement. There are men posted at every station outside of the mall, we're going to try and negotiate and find out exactly what this guy wants from here. Give us updates if you find her."
Usui sighed, "…Hai." He placed the walky talky back in his holster and that was that.
Misaki tried to copy his calm aura by breath steadily, and thinking rationally, 'We can do this. Usui has his flashlight plus his gun, and Sakura is a smart girl...she'll be ok.' She realized the more she tried to think, the more she began to panic.
"You need to stop thinking Misaki-san. Leave this to me." His voice was soothing to the ear, and reassured her but for a moment.
"Sakura. What about Sakura? Please, you must have an idea besides only looking for that alarm." She pleaded in the direction of his voice.
"You're my first priority; I need you to be safe. Looking for her at this time would be illogical. The quickest way is to go to the manual off switch and by then, more police will be allowed inside." He answered back like a robot reciting something.
Misaki tightened her already compressed fist until the knuckles were fully white, "Screw fucking logic! My friend needs help, and you want me to think logically? You're the illogical one here!" Her screams echoed through the mall, and a grave chuckle followed.
Heavy footsteps slowly dragged their way towards the two teenagers. Usui was the first to react, placing himself directly in front of the shivering Misaki.
The chuckle became hysterical laughing as Usui beamed his flashlight on the two dark figures, "Shuddap, ya whore! I got another one here, you bastard cop. I ain't afraid to kill, I've done it before!" The man cackled and wheezed as he held the pig-tailed girl in a head lock, pointing a gun towards the top of her skull.
Sakura's entire body was quivering as wet and dry tears covered her red cheeks, "M-M- Misaki." She whimpered. The man kneed her harshly telling her to 'Shuddap.'
Misaki was horrified, "Sakura-chan!"
Usui was tired of games, in a swift motion he dropped his flashlight to the floor and replaced it with a 45 caliber handgun in what seemed like a split second. "You don't want to do this; you'll never get away with whatever the hell you're planning. There a police barricading in every direction outside just waiting for you. Be smart for once, give it up, and maybe we'll go easier on you. And if you don't comply…your dead." His voice was still as nonchalant as the first time he spoke to Misaki that night.
The flashlight that shone from the ground reflected all four of the individuals giving them all impaired sight of one another. The man had another induced fit of laughter, "You, you, you! Honestly, you damn rookie, you think that bullshit works on me? Damn fucking pretty boy! I need me a hostage so bitches like you can't touch me!" He sputtered out as he nuzzled the gun harder on Sakura's head.
Misaki could hardly stand to look at her friend anymore and cried out impulsively, "You damn monster! You want someone, how about me?"
Usui had practically fallen from his stance at her cry, it had taken all his will power not to drop his gun and hold her close to him, "Misaki, doing that won't solve anything! Are you out of your mind?" Usui hissed, his voice laced with worry and frustration, it was the first time he had lost his cool that entire night.
Tears threatened to spill as Misaki looked over at her friend again, "I want to do this. I would never forgive myself Usui." She mumbled this as she stared off into the dark abyss of the mall.
"How do you think I'd feel if I let you do this, Misaki? Do you honestly think I wouldn't feel the exact same way? There's no way in hell I'd let you go!" He shouted back passionately, this struck a chord with Misaki and the armed robber.
The man snickered some more, "Oh I see. I see it now. You two are uh haha. The cop's worried about his little squeeze, huh? Don't worry, Imma take care of her. Come over here baby." He insisted.
Usui's eyes bulged out as Misaki went a few steps closer, "Misaki!" His shout went on deaf ears.
She looked up fiercely at the man clutching her friend, "Let her go first, you understand?" She spit out as she clenched her fists.
"Oh I understand, buh come closer so your boyfriend don't get no ideas."
She complied taking a few steps closer. When she was an inch away from Sakura and the man, he swapped the two quickly almost throwing Sakura to the floor. "I'm taking this one with me I think. She's pretty hot, don't you think, man?" The man asked as he sneered at Usui, who stared daggers back at him.
The man began to lead Misaki with him into the dark void, "Don't follow, or she'll be no good to you when I'm done with her." With that they both disappeared into the darkness.
Sakura hiccupped as her knees collapsed from under her and she fell to the floor. "You have to do something!" She cried as she covered her face with her palms.
Usui nodded, already knowing what to do, and began running in the opposite direction from where the armed robber and Misaki had gone.
Sakura looked up and stared in disbelief, "Where are you going? They went the other way!"
No answer.
She looked down at a small object on the floor, "Mmm…won't he need his flashlight?"
Misaki noticed she and the man were slowly moving backwards. It was completely unsafe since it was pitch black and they could run into well, just about anything. But she really had no time to be worried about running into things, at that moment the only thing that mattered was escaping, and hiding in the dark long enough until hopefully Usui turns off the manual alarm. The plan could only really work if she was able to get away from the man's grip. One main problem came to mind, the man's gun pressed against her skull. If only he didn't have it, she could easily take him down.
The man pressed his lips to her ear "Hehe, whatcha thinking about? You think your boy gonna save you?" He hissed.
She struggled against him, "I don't need saving."
"Oh? Heh, I like tough girls. That pinky girl wasn't doin' it fer me really, I can see why that boyz crazy fer ya." He spoke in a hush tone, getting his lips closer to her own.
Misaki squirmed more, but was dragged roughly to the floor as the man's entire weight fell on top of her, "Ahh!"
"Che. Calm yourself Misa-chan." The velvety voice whispered as a masculine hand grabbed her from the floor placing her behind him and away from the man.
"What the-?"
"I side swiped him when he was busy getting ready to violate you."
Misaki was still as dumbfounded as ever, "Buh how did you-?"
"I went in the opposite direction which leads back to here. I knew he'd only think I'd come in from the front."
"But-!"
"I just knew Misa-chan, that's all you need to know."
"Quit your damn explaining Sherlock. Didn't we make a deal?" The man wheezed pulling himself up from the fall.
"Serious police officers never make deals with criminals." He answered back smoothly.
Misaki could sense the man a few feet away from her, and knew she was next and sort of behind Usui. Without light she wasn't able to catch the gun aimed at her.
"Bullshit. I told you if you followed she'd come back no good to you. Unlike you I take my deals seriously." And with that the barrel rose at the terrified Misaki who in turn wasn't sure of her fate just yet. A small beam of light however began to grow steadily in front of her until she saw a figure appear from behind holding the flashlight, 'Sakura.' The girl in turn stopped dead in her tracks with a mortified expression displayed on her face. Curiously, Misaki looked in the same direction as her friend was, and held her breath, too horror-stuck to think quickly enough. Usui took a second to react and instinctively threw himself at Misaki. A pair of gunshots sounded and the two were on the floor. Misaki sat up shakily and scrambled over to Usui.
She looked at his closed eyes and silent tears trickled down her face and onto his. Her emotions had gone haywire as she cried out his surname hopelessly shaking him, "Usui! Usui!
With that, his jade eyes opened to look into her amber colored ones, "Che...Calm yourself Misa-chan. It's just a little graze." He playfully muttered, as he clutched onto his bleeding shoulder.
"You call that a graze?" She bellowed looking at the bloodied upper arm.
He smiled tiredly, "It is. You're just scared of blood, ne Misa-chan?"
She stubbornly shook her head, "Shut up. This is no time to tease me, damn it." She then remembered the man who was about to take her life, and tried to looked over at him, but not before Usui covered her eyes with his hand.
"It's not something you need to see Misaki." He spoke dryly as he gently turned her face in another direction where her friend stood.
"Sakura." She smiled shyly up at the girl, who was still quaking in her shoes and grasping the flashlight in her hands for dear life.
"I-I thought I lost you, Misa-chan!" The girl wailed, falling to her knees and close to the black haired girl.
Misaki lightly patted her on the head. She then turned to Usui, who was lying on his back, "I'll be the one getting you out of here and somewhere safe this time." She spoke determinedly.
He raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "My Hero."
An hour or so later, Misaki and Sakura had manually turned off the alarm. With that, an army of police officers and officials seized hold of the mall. Sakura and Usui were both taken into care, though Usui had first refused Misaki was having none of that. The man, who was still trying to be identified was presumed dead by the bullet Usui had shot through his heart.
Outside of the mall, Sakura and Misaki sat on the back of an ambulance truck sipping coffee. Both of their parents had been notified and were waiting for them.
Sakura sighed and took a swig of her coffee, "I'm sorry it turned out like this Misa-chan. Stuff like this, you never guess it could happen to you."
"It's no ones fault Sakura. We're both alive and unhurt. That's really all that matters."
The pink haired shrugged and made a small giggle, "I think I should've gone with my first idea and baked Kuuga a cake."
Misaki laughed along with her, people walking by looked at the two curiously. What those two had been through, no one would have guessed they'd be smiling and laughing only an hour later.
Misaki took a breath and looked out into the crowd of police vehicles, news wagons, and crowds of people behind yellow caution tape. One person stuck out from all this though, he was wearing a black t-shirt and a blood soaked bandage on his shoulder.
She looked over at her friend who nodded earnestly, as she excused herself and walked over to him.
"You saved my life you know. I have so many questions for you, it's driving me crazy." She stated with a rosy face.
He sniggered quietly, "Is one of the questions asking for my number?"
She was about to shoot venom at him for his teasing, but settled for an even heavier blush, "Shut up…I want to make it up to you." She said as determination spread on her face.
Usui couldn't help himself and pulled the minor into a tugging embrace, "Make it up to me?"
Misaki unconsciously buried her head into his chest, "Hai. Anything…"
"Anything?"
"Nothing perverted!"
He pulled away from the one-sided hug, and looked down at her, "Take me seriously as a police officer."
They both stared at each other blankly, before Misaki smiled prettily, "Of course."
"And…" He continued.
"And?" Her voice locked up even further as his face grew into a sly grin.
He quickly leaned down and placed his lips on hers. "And think of me as your hero, always."
End
A/N: I've never, ever, ever wrote anything like this before. I mostly did it because I wanted to step out of my usual element and give it a shot, so tell me what you think, you don't need to review, send me a PM and critique it, give me your opinion and tell me how to improve. The main reason I write fanfiction is to become a better writer, so I'm not afraid of a little criticism.