Chapter 4: Broken Youth
"Crow you're not showing her your little dick are you," Agito asked while walking up from behind them.
"I'm gonna kick your ass," Ikki hollered.
"Um, sorry to interrupt but I really have to go. See ya!" Myzuki interjected, and quickly rode off.
"Shit," Ikki muttered.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town in an abandoned warehouse three guys went over the days' events. The leader of the groups' name is Kenshin, and he was not surprised to hear the news Tadashi brought him.
He's tall, and somewhat good-looking if you like the mysterious stoic type. He looked like a Goth guy with short dark hair, and had bangs that hung over his dark ominous eyes. He wore all black, with all black AT's that had small white skulls & cross bones on the heels.
"So let me guess, it didn't go over so well," Kenshin stated dismally, while sitting on a crate glancing at his laptop. He was getting to know all the AT riders in Japan, and scheming his next move.
"Kenshin, you know she's an obstinate girl," Tadashi replied with a small hint of humor. He was grinding on the rafters of the warehouse; listening intently to the two below him.
"I don't know why you put up with her shit. We should do what we came here to do. I hate all this waiting around crap," A guy with shaggy brown hair and slight facial hair asked as he took a drag of his cigarette. He wore loose black jeans and a black leather jacket opened with no shirt. That gave him the appearance of a rugged biker.
He was entertaining himself by etching his wheel markings with his AT's on the wall behind him which he was leaning on. They had the appearance of combat boots; they were all black with no significant markings on it.
With a smug look on his face Kenshin says, "You lack the intelligence and charisma to win her over.
Katashi took another drag off his cigarette, and got off the wall he was leaning on. "Hmph" is all Kenshin could hear as he left. Katashi had plans all right, and his plans didn't involve any type of allure.
"You guys get so serious sometimes. You could learn a little something from me." Tadashi added in his usual cheerful spirit, as he jumped down from the rafters to stand in front of Kenshin.
He looked up and responded "Perhaps". He closed his laptop put it in his backpack and took off.
Tadashi just stood there with a dangerous glint in his eyes. He too was also planning his next move.
"Dad, I'm home!" Myzuki yelled through her new home as she walked in.
No response. She wondered if her dad was home yet. She went upstairs to her room to put her things away and to change. As she put her bag on her bed she noticed a piece of paper on her desk.
Zuki,
I had to go out of town for business. Yeah, I know that was fast. I got caught off guard. Anyways, I will be doing inventory in the warehouse in Okinawa. I'll be there a few days. I left money in your top drawer of your desk it should suffice. Don't do anything I wouldn't do.
Love you! Dad ^-^
"I get the house to myself for a few days. Awesome," Myzuki rejoiced.
"Let's see what should I do first? I know I'll go ride around and grab a bite to eat while I'm out," she thought out loud.
She quickly took a shower and got dressed. She put on a black tank top with a see trough back, and her jean shorts. She jumped out her window and soared through the air on her AT's checking out the landscape.
It was getting dark when she came across this small shop that seemed to be on this bridge where train tracks went across; it had a bright neon green sign that read "The Glum Slum".
'I wonder,' she thought to herself as she rode up to the shop.
"A new comer," The woman behind the counter greeted.
She didn't sound Japanese. If Myzuki had to guess she would think the woman was from Russia. She was a rather portly woman that looked like a beast that would eat her if she said the wrong thing.
"Yeah, I guess. I'm from America," Myzuki replied.
"America, I see…so what can I help you with," the woman asked. She took a long look at Myzuki and seemed fascinated for some reason.
"Well, what is this place," Myzuki inquired. This place seemed familiar, like if she had seen it back at home. That was impossible though, or could it.
"I thought you of all people would know this is an AT shop. We move the shop from time to time. We were in America a few months ago," the woman teased.
"Phew, I thought I was going crazy there for a minute. How long will you be in town," Myzuki asked relieved that she wasn't hallucinating.
"We'll be here for the next few months or so. I guess it depends if anything interesting happens," the woman replied with a huge smirk.
"Then I'm sure I'll see you again," Myzuki waved as she jumped down the train tracks.
'I wonder if she knows the old man that thought me how to ride AT's. He said that he had an AT shop, but that was so long ago that I don't remember the old codger's name,' Myzuki considered.
She remembers meeting this old man on what she thought were rollerblades. It must have been like ten years ago. He had showed her that they weren't just mere in-line skates but that they had a motor built inside them. He had told her she was meant to fly, and he was right.
As she rode up to her house, there on her front steps sat Ikki. He wore black pants with the right leg rolled up; he also wore a black jacket that was opened with a white t-shirt underneath. He was leaning back on the palm of his hands studying her as she rode up the walk way.
She didn't know how to feel about this. When she had first met him, she thought he was cute and flirtatious with a confident attitude. She had like that about him. Then when he pulled that stunt at school, all she could think of was what an ass he had been. He was way too confident, that it made him out to be an arrogant jerk. Then he had tried to redeem himself by trying to be chivalrous. So instead of telling him to go to hell she decided to give him another chance.
"Hey," was all he said.
"What are you doing here, and how did you find out where I live," she asked as she jumped over her fence and made her way up the concrete path.
"Actually, I was over at Kazu's house and he lives across the street," he pointed in the direction of the house, and added "I noticed you leaving earlier tonight, So I waited," he said bashfully, as he got up from the steps.
"I hope you're not some creepy stalker. So, what was so important that made you wait all this time for me," she asked while stopping to stand in front of Ikki.
"I want to know about what happened today after school? Who was that," he asked.
"Look, what happened today is really none of your business. I mean you did help me out, so thank you. If you think about it, it is the least you can do after that little stunt you pulled during lunch," she said matter-of-factly.
"I'm not sorry about what I did. I couldn't help myself," he answered smugly.
"You're wasting your time, because I don't like guys that think they're hot shit," she lied and added "Like I said earlier Thanks for helping me, but to be honest I had the situation under control," she stated
"You could have fooled me. I seem to recall you liking my cocky attitude when we first meet." It was Ikki's turn to sound matter-of-factly.
Her blood began to boil. 'Bastard', he saw right through me,' she thought.
"Stop acting like you know me so well," she said as she pushed past him and went into her house and slammed the door in his face.
'Damn, why does she have to be so stubborn? It kind of reminds me of someone,' Ikki thought.
He was hoping she would have cooled off by now. He didn't know why he liked her, I mean yeah he thought she was hot and all that, but there was something about her. Something he couldn't put his finger on. He jumped on the fence and then leaped onto the phone lines and skated off wondering how he could get her to acknowledge him.
To her dismay she was quite aggravated with everything that has been going on. 'If Tadashi is here that means that Kenshin is close, right along with that other jerk he considers a friend. Why do I even care? GOD! Guys can be so confusing. I don't get them, I mean look at Ikki he is so full of himself and stubborn, he kind of reminds me of someone,' She thought.
That night Myzuki had a tough time falling asleep, thinking of everything that happened. The last person she thought of before she went into a restless sleep was Ikki.