A/N: Really late update (like over a month) Sorry! I was working on my other fanfics...and end of the year school craziness _ This chapter may seem a bit scattered and different, just testing a different style. I was going to cut out the scene with Bel for the next chapter, but decided to include it here. Hope it's not too all over the place! And please excuse any OOC-ness. Constructive criticism/advice/and REVIEWS would be greatly appreciated! ^^
Promotion: If you're interested in KenXChrome, feel free to check out my one-shot Pineapple Band-Aids and if I-pinXFuuta sounds appealing, please do read Trampolines. Since the last time I've updated this fanfic, A Thousand Flowers has three chapters, and if you'd like to read nextgen, please do check it out (with apperances from the original cast as well XD). If you're interested in BasilOC (friendship), please do check out the prologue for "The Lost Sea." As I've mentioned before I do plan to have a fanfic for Kotone-chan! ^^
So please do enjoy and leave your thoughts and feedback! Please do warn me if Aki is getting too OOC (I hope she isn't )
A jealous man does not come to your house bright and early in the morning to help you pick out your outfit for your first date. And he does not give you tips on how to impress the other guy. Aki seethed as she glanced at her watch for the umpteenth time. Gokudera was late, fifteen minutes had already passed and she had been hit on at least five times within that time period. If Dino wasn't even jealous, what was the point of going on a "date" with Gokudera?
"D-D-Dino! What are you doing here?" The sleepy-eyed girl cracked open the door, annoyed. She blocked most of the entrance and made sure to give him an extra glare. "It's 7 am."
"I heard you were going on a date with Gokudera, so I came to help you out and give some advice!" responded the young boss cheerfully, giving her a thumbs-up.
"Help with what?" she asked, her face a tired scowl, letting the blond into her house reluctantly. "I'm sure you really care that I'm going on a date."
"Of course I care! My cute little sister is finally growing up, hehe," smiled Dino warmly, giving her a high five. "Did you decide what you're going to wear?"
"Wear something nice, right?" Aki made a face and followed Dino into her room, still sparsely decorated. She threw open her closet to reveal the new clothes that she had bought (or rather, that Dino had bought her) still freshly pressed in their bags. The girl grabbed a few choices and threw it onto her bed. "Anything that might look good?"
Dino surveyed the mess of clothes and picked out a red tank top and a short denim skirt. He smiled confidently and held them out to the Aki, "I think these would look great on you."
Aki looked at the clothing doubtfully but realized that red was Gokudera's "color," so it wouldn't be such a bad idea to go with Dino's suggestions. "Let me go try these on." When Dino didn't move from his spot on her bed, she scowled and pointed at the door. "Out! I'm changing, you can't stay!"
The blond laughed sheepishly and held his hands up in surrender. He backed out of the room and closed the door behind him with a soft click. Dino leaned against the wall, chuckling softly when he heard Aki through the door, calling him "idiot Dino."
He waited a few minutes before the door swished open to reveal Aki in the outfit Dino had chosen. She had tied her hair up in a neat ponytail and plucked nervously at her spaghetti straps and the hem of her skirt. "This skirt is too short!"
"Fine, what about that black skirt over there," pointed Dino, to a longer and frillier skirt on the floor. Aki examined the skirt briefly before agreeing to try it on. When she stepped out a second time, Dino let out a low, appreciative whistle.
"It looks good, Aki-chan," winked Dino, clapping his hands together. "Go and knock Gokudera's socks off."
"Meh, I'd rather not, because then his feet would smell," shrugged Aki, a playful smile shadowing her face.
So here Aki was, all dolled up and waiting for Gokudera, because Dino had insisted upon it. When the silver-haired teen finally rounded the corner, she beamed and waved him over. Finally! Someone to keep away the nanpa-ers*! Her smile melted into a disapproving frown when she noticed the lazy cigarette hanging from his lips.
"Gokudera-kun, cigarettes are bad for your health and my health. Have you ever heard of second-hand smoking? And you're late! These boys by the train station keep pestering me. "
"Tch, like I care; don't forget that you're the one who asked me to accompany you today. I could be with the Tenth right now if it wasn't for you," scowled Gokudera, taking a drag from his cigarette and blowing the smoke out in a puff of annoyance. "Let's get this over with." Maybe asking Gokudera wasn't the brightest idea. Someone nicer and who didn't smoke could have worked.
"But you're the expert on spirits and exorcism, I couldn't have asked anyone else," responded Aki tartly, reaching over to grasp the end of Gokudera's cigarette with strained fingers. She patted him over with her other hand and triumphantly pulled out his lighter. The girl crushed the cigarette under the heel of her boot and simultaneously shot the lighter into the nearby trash can.
"What the hell did you do that for?" yelled Gokudera, his face contorted with fury and annoyance. The boy grabbed her arm and glared into her eyes. "You don't take cigarettes from Gokudera Hayato."
"Just don't smoke when I'm around, got it? You could get Tsuna-nii sick too, you know," taunted Aki, sniffing disdainfully at the scent that clung to his clothes.
"The Tenth will…?" Tsuna's self-claimed right-hand man's head jolted up, alarm in his eyes. "He could? Because of me, the Tenth has kept silent about it? I'll t-try not to smoke near the Tenth again."
"There's a good boy; although it's not that easy quitting," she smiled, like talking to a spoiled child. "Let's go to Namimori Shrine first, we can go buy ofuda* there. Lead the way, Gokudera-kun!"
"Aren't you the one who invited me? How do you not know where we're going?"
She shrugged in response to this, giggling that he should just give her a break and be courteous for once. The boy thought about it, the faster he helped her, the faster he could ditch her. Gokudera brightened at this prospect and started walking down the crowded street.
"It's this way," snapped Gokudera, turning around briefly to tell Aki to catch up. He slouched and kept his hands in his pockets, keeping a fast pace, although Aki easily kept up with him. The girl frowned, this wasn't going the way she had imagined at all; she had hoped they'd have an enviable atmosphere around them, but at that point, if someone found them together they'd merely point and laugh.
She tugged at his sleeve, yanking really hard when he didn't stop. "Can you wait for a bit? I just saw something I'd like to investigate."
"Do it on your own time."
"It won't take long, I promise." Without looking to see if he waited, Aki ran across the street to the convenience store with a flyer in its window with the words [HELP WANTED] emblazoned across.
It was a slow morning at the local NamiMart and Chiyo was bored nearly out of her mind. The only alleviation to her boredom was recording her observations of her co-worker, Miyamoto Seiji, her classmate and one of the popular boys at school. It wasn't as if she liked him or anything. She liked to use it as bait for her friends and other girls who liked him. Chiyo could get them to do almost anything if she gave them some of her secret observations at work. Of course, she never disclosed where exactly in town she worked at.
"Miyamoto-kun, can you go see if we have a restock of the curry bento? It seems like it's been pretty popular recently," she asked sweetly, hiding her magazine and observation notepad beneath the counter.
Seiji looked up sleepily, yawning. He stretched his arms out and unplugged his ear buds, giving her the ok sign. He got up from his spot at the other cash register and headed to the back of the convenience store. Once she made sure that he was completely in the back storage room, Chiyo scurried over to his register and gingerly picked up his mp3 player, scrolling through his playlists and recording them in her [MIYAMOTO SEIJI OBSERVATIONS] notepad. She jumped when the door opened and a girl in a red tank top, leather vest, and black skirt walked in.
Stealthily, Chiyo slid Seiji's mp3 player back beneath his counter and approached the prospective customer. "Welcome to NamiMart, how may I help you?"
Aki glanced around at the empty store nervously and asked in a hesitant tone, "I saw a flyer in your window that said help wanted?"
"Oh, you're not a customer?" When Aki shook her head no, Chiyo dropped her friendly façade and pointed at her register. "I have some papers for you to fill out. It's not like we really need any new employees anyway, it's pretty slow around here."
"I think I could help attract new customers. What you guys need are more sales to entice people," said Aki, feeling a small flare of confidence, taking the forms that were given to her with her free hand. "It's a good marketing strategy, if I do say so myself."
"Huh? It's not like I call the shots here," scoffed Chiyo, stepping behind her register. "You're not really in that kind of position, you know. Read the papers, fill them out, and return them as soon as possible." She peered out the door to where Gokudera was leaning against the frame.
"Is that your boyfriend?" asked Chiyo, gesturing to the front of the store. He was pretty hot, concluded Chiyo, crossing her fingers that he was free.
Self-conscious, Aki whirled around to see where Chiyo was pointing. Her expression relaxed when she noted Gokudera waiting for her. "No, he's just a friend."
Chiyo eyed Aki's attire, "Do you always dress like that? No offense, but you looked like you're dressed for a date."
"It's kind of a date," confessed Aki, blushing as she clutched the papers tighter to her chest.
This sparked the older girl's interest. "Kind of? It's either a date or it's not."
Slowly backing away from Chiyo's aggressive look, Aki explained quickly, "H-h-he doesn't really know it's a date. It's supposed to look like a date. It's really nothing. I'm just trying to make someone jealous."
To Aki's surprise, the NamiMart employee chuckled darkly, "Why, jealousy is my expertise. But more importantly, does that mean he is free, no strings attached?"
"I suppose so. He seems to hate girls in general though." Aki's demeanor darkened when she had a sudden realization. "Ah damn, I shouldn't have asked Gokudera-kun to come with me, he would never go on a date with anyone. No one would be jealous of us since Gokudera-kun so obviously fawns over only Tsuna-nii. I should have asked Kyoko-chan's brother from yesterday."
For the first time, Chiyo seemed to notice the younger girl's wrist brace. She touched it hesitantly, with surprisingly gentle fingers. "Hey, how'd this happen? You're not one of those yankees* are you? We don't allow for those kinds of employees, you know."
Mentally, Aki rolled her eyes. The mafia was way worse than a bunch of local yankees. On the outside, she smiled politely and denied it, coming up with a quick lie. "I'm not associated with delinquents, please don't worry. I got this sprain from a…football game. I was trying to catch the ball when I tripped and sprained my wrist. It's healing nicely."
"Clumsy, huh? So that guy outside is free? Score!" Chiyo did a little dance but when Aki shot her a raised eyebrow, she coughed and smoothed the edge of her uniform. "You know, if the guy really likes you, he'd get overprotective if he sees you with other guys. That's one way to test his jealousy."
"If he gets overprotective, it's probably because he thinks of me as his little sister," muttered Aki, gritting her teeth in annoyance and nearly folding the edges of her forms.
"How old is he? Your crush, that is." Chiyo leaned forward, curious about this girl. She thought Aki was kind of cute, going through all this for a guy. Chiyo tried to remember the last time she had gotten riled up for a guy for real, probably her first year of middle school. Anyway, this girl was definitely a better distraction then that Miyamoto, whom she saw everyday at school.
"He's twenty-two," stated Aki, looking at her feet awkwardly.
Chiyo whistled, "You look like a middle schooler. I can tell, you don't wear make-up at all. And even if he liked you back, wouldn't that make him a pedophile? He could get arrested for going out with you." Seeing the wilted tilt of Aki's lips and quick blinking eyes, Chiyo hurried to say something. "But you never know, it could work out."
Aki lifted her eyes sharply, "Just say it. It's never going to happen. I don't want to feel this way about him. He's an idiot who trips over his own feet and disgustingly refers to himself as "Dino-nii," and did I mention he's an idiot? I'd feel much better if my feelings for him were sisterly. It's frustrating, really, really, frustrating."
The taller girl propped herself up on her elbows, smiling indulgently. "Are you done yet? Since we're on such a personal topic, I'd like to introduce myself. I think we're going to be good friends. My name is Mochida Chiyo. I'm a first year at Seifuu Gakuen. It's a pleasure to meet you. And you can call me Chiyo, if you want."
Hesitantly, Aki bowed and introduced herself. "My name is Sawada Aki. I'm a second year at Namimori Middle School. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'd like to be friends with you, if you don't mind, that is."
"So I was right, you are a middle schooler," grinned Chiyo, snapping her fingers together. She reached over the counter to tug at Aki's ponytail playfully. "If you ever need anything, Chiyo-nee will be here for you, you cutie. Of course I'll be friends with you! Is it alright if I call you Aki-chan?"
Aki nodded happily, another female friend! That made three…which was much more than she'd ever had in her life. She squirmed slightly as she asked, "So, it's alright to call you Chiyo-chan? It's okay to call each other by name if we're friends, right?"
The older girl laughed and wiped away fake emotional tears, "That's so adorable! You're so innocent!" She came around the counter and pulled her into a hug. "Of course you can call me anything you want, as long as it's not an insult, haha." Immediately, Aki tensed, and inhaled sharply.
"What's wrong? You don't like hugs?" Chiyo asked, letting go of the smaller girl, a retort ready on her lips.
"No, it was just sudden, that's all," said Aki stiffly, pulling her arms closer to her body, like a turtle retreating back into its shell.
"Um, Mochida-san. We have full inventory, and I just remembered that the curry bento restock is coming Wednesday," said Seiji, locking the back storage room and walking the tense space back to his counter. He gave Aki a nod of acknowledgement as he settled onto his high stool.
"Ah, thanks. Hey, Miyamoto-kun, isn't she cute? She's going to be our future co-worker," squealed Chiyo, thrusting Aki in Seiji's direction, forgiving the girl she had deemed "fragile." The boy studied her face and Aki blanched under his studious gaze.
"Your eyes are blue," he commented in a casual tone, returning his attention back to his music. "Huh? That's weird, my playlist got switched."
Had he been listening to their conversation? She wouldn't have said anything if she knew that this boy had been hiding behind doors and eavesdropping.
"So what if they're blue?" Aki stalked up to him, her face a slab of icy rock, two blue flames flaring from her eye sockets. "You lousy eavesdropper."
"Did I say something wrong?" Seiji looked confused, a mouse trapped in the corner while the cat danced dangerously closer. "I'm sorry if I offended you."
"You don't listen to music when others speak to you. Show some respect. No wonder you can't get any customers." With her good wrist, Aki snapped Seiji's ear buds from his ears, dangling them around her neck as if it was silky scarf.
He stared longingly at his headphones and reached out to take them back but Aki slapped his hand away.
"Don't touch me," she snapped, turning her back on him, flinging her ponytail in his face. She ducked her flushed face, her eyebrows knitted together above stormy eyes. "You heard everything didn't you? Don't bother denying it."
"I didn't hear anything; I didn't even know you were here. Mochida-san asked me to check on the storage in back. What you see isn't everything. There's another backroom behind that storage room. Please don't accuse me without evidence," replied Seiji calmly, his glossy professional persona sliding in place. He pulled a deck of cards from his jeans pocket and fanned them out in her face with his left hand. He reached over to pluck his ear buds from her neck with his right hand, while his cards distracted her. She twitched in anger at being diverted by something so simplistic but another distraction soon arrived.
"You idiot woman," yelled Gokudera, bursting into the store noisily. "What's taken so frickin' long? You've been in here for ten minutes already. I don't have all day; the Tenth is probably waiting for me!"
Aki giggled at how Tsuna always seemed to be on Gokudera's mind. "You miss Tsuna-nii already? How cute, Gokudera-kun. But don't you think you're being kind of clingy?" She glanced at Seiji, who was folding his cards back into his pockets and she felt the temptation to bare her teeth. Instead, she frowned and turned to give Chiyo a quick wave.
"I'll return these when I have time. Thank you for your help, Chiyo-ch-ch-chan," she said, stumbling over the informal suffix. "Let's get going Gokudera-kun."
"Oi! That's what I was saying to you," said Gokudera, his face the perfect sketch of frustrated irritation.
"Senpai, good morning," waved Yamamoto as he crossed paths with Ryohei in their neighborhood. "Are you doing some training too?"
"Yeah," grunted Ryohei, jogging in place as he chatted with his kohai. "Do you want to join me, Yamamoto? It'll be refreshing TO THE EXTREME!"
The baseball player laughed and shrugged, "Why not? Where were you heading?"
"I was going to jog near Namimori Shrine and then go past the school and then stop by the shopping district to go look at boxing gloves," grinned Ryohei, not breaking a sweat while his legs naturally quickened their pace.
"It sounds like a good route, senpai," laughed Yamamoto, fanning himself with his open palms. "Do you want to play baseball later?"
Ryohei's eyebrows dipped down like seesaws and Yamamoto couldn't help but chuckle at his odd facial expression. The boxer shrugged lightly, his face morphing into a broad grin, "I'm not so good at baseball, but I'd box, TO THE EXTREME!"
"We're here," called out Yamamoto to his senpai, indicating that they should slow down. The moment they had settled upon their route, their competitive spirit flared and both jocks had streaked through the streets like bullets.
"That was energizing," announced Ryohei, happily looking around the shrine, with just a lick of sweat rolling down his neck. Yamamoto agreed, it was nice having a jogging partner to pace with once in awhile.
"Argh, I hate stairs, they definitely defy gravity." A female voice floated up like the moon, waning gradually as it grew closer. Yamamoto's ear's perked up, he recognized this voice!
"Aki-chan!" Unconsciously, he had started walking toward her voice and was halted in his tracks when the top of her head slowly appeared at the top of the stairs like the sun rising from its bed beneath the sea.
"Takeshi? Kyoko-chan's brother?" Panting, she reached the last step and sat on it. Burying her head in her hands, she whimpered softly to herself, ignoring the two jocks despite having acknowledged then.
"It is Aki-chan, right?" Yamamoto did a double take. He didn't quite recognize the girl on the stairs. It occurred to him that he hadn't seen her outside of her uniform, in addition to a different hairstyle.
"Of course it's Sawada," said Ryohei cheerfully, yanking Aki up by her wrist brace. "This is the proof that she should join the boxing club, look at her fighting spirit!"
"What are you saying, uma? Of course it's me," exhaled Aki noisily. Rotating on her axis, the wrist that Ryohei clutched, she kicked the boxer in the chest, loosening his grip on her wrist so that she could wiggle free. "Sasagawa-senpai, did you forget that MY WRIST IS SPRAINED?"
"Sorry about that," yelled Ryohei, scrunching his face up like a child. "That was an amazing kick, Sawada! You should join the boxing club; we could use your kind of spring, to the extreme!"
"I don't want to see it," said Aki, straightening her skirt and sat facing the stairs again, "all those sweaty upper torsos. It's not like I want to rip off my shirt and be punched either."
"Just come once and you'll see how fun it is!" Ryohei argued, pumping his fists in the air and yelling into her ear.
"Mah, mah, senpai, if she doesn't want to do it, then she doesn't want to do it," said Yamamoto, holding the boxer's hands down. Once he had calmed Ryohei down, Yamamoto tilted his head slightly, as if seeing her at a different angle would help.
"Huh? Aki-chan, you look different today. Did you get a haircut?"
"No, but just let me state my hatred for these boots, it's so hard to run in them. And have you never seen a ponytail before?" The girl sat down again, taking off a boot and rubbing the sole of her foot. "I don't understand why people wear this kind of footwear."
They gave her a strange look, because who else removes their shoes at a shrine? Yamamoto broke the awkward silence, "If you don't like them, you should wear something more comfortable."
"I know, but Dino told me to wear them," mumbled Aki, sighing as she stretched her legs and stuffed her foot back into her boot. "Sorry about that. Gokudera-kun should be catching up pretty soon."
"Octopus head? What were you doing with him?" asked Ryohei, his brows furrowed in confusion. Before she could respond to that uncomfortable question, Gokudera came clomping up the huge set of stairs.
"You stupid woman, you did know where the shrine was, you don't need me at all," grumbled Gokudera, climbing up the stairs with clenched fists and a scowl. His inner monologue was moaning about his lost time with the Tenth.
"You're right, Gokudera-kun, I don't need you at all," she repeated, her fingers itching to grasp something. She had a sudden urge to lick a lollipop; maybe it'd look more taunting. "I'm sorry for wasting your time."
The two jocks glanced at each other confusedly. Why would Gokudera be with Aki on a Sunday? Oddly enough, it was the box-headed boy who finally got it, his face a scarlet carpet showcasing his wide gray eyes. "N-N-N-N-NO WAY TO THE EXTREME!"
She plugged her fingers into her ears, hoping to drown out Ryohei. When that didn't work, she decided it was best to leave before too much confusion ensued. Using Gokudera hadn't been such a good idea she realized, they weren't a very believable couple together.
"I'm going home now. See you tomorrow." She winced when she stood on her feet but she was going home after all, she couldn't wait to start the next level of her game with the lava!
"You're going home already?" Yamamoto shot his hand out, halting the girl. Uncharacteristically embarrassed by his own reaction, he dropped his hold on her only to realize that the tip of her nose was at his mouth when normally only the top of her head reached his lips. He couldn't resist asking in surprised tone, "Did you grow taller, Aki-chan?"
"Where have you been?" Aki pinched his earlobe with the fierceness of a crab, tipping her head to look up at him. "I have heels on, you moron. Why do you think my feet hurt? I was running in heels, like an idiot."
"That's your own fault, you stupid woman," growled Gokudera, annoyed at being surrounded by not only Aki, but also the baseball freak and the stupid lawn-head. "I'm going home too; this was a waste of time."
"Ohhhh, that makes sense," laughed Yamamoto, patting her head gently, noting the short distance between them. "Well, you should come over soon; you wanted to meet Oyaji, right?"
"Your father? The one with the deep voice? Of course I want to meet him," she said excitedly, getting into a sumo position, wrestling with an imaginary opponent. "I bet he does this in his spare time, right?"
Ryohei laughed competitively and locked wrists with Aki, joining in on her play sumo. "I'll show you SAWADA! Boxing is the best!" She gave him a confused look and winced when he tugged on her wrist brace too hard. They wrangled as Aki tried to break his grip but the hot-headed boy kept his stance and refused to let go of her. It was the last rice grain chafing her irritation, especially since Sasagawa Ryohei seemed to be such a pig-headed jock. She brought her head down against his, smashing her skull against his thick head, and kicked him in the chest again.
"Really, I'm never going to join the boxing club, so please save your breath." The girl stomped agitatedly away from the trio, her fingers itching to hold a controller or hit some buttons of some sort.
Yamamoto was left with a strange regret that he hadn't pressed his lips against the tip of her nose to see if it was as soft as he imagined it would be and Ryohei was as passionate as ever, overcoming his disappointment with a plan to continue on with his regimen, to show that BOXING WAS THE BEST!
"Ushishishi, I've found you," giggled Bel, perched atop a streetlamp, swinging one of his knives in a loop. "Shall we start your test now?"
The blood drained from Aki's face like water swirling down the sink. Bel laughed at her expression, as if she had seen a ghost.
"What's with that pathetic face? Let's start quickly, I'm bored," smirked Bel, launching a pointed knife at the girl's wrist brace. Her feet stuck like candy to the ground, and she watched like a passerby, as the blade struck the material covering her hand. There was a moment of fierce clarity at the center of the attack, numbing her already injured hand even further. Then it all dissipated into a mass of living pain.
"You're name was…Bel?" Paralyzed, Aki's mind dredged up the memory of Mammon saying "Bel, let's go get some sushi." Her words came out clipped and false, even to her own ears. She hid her hands behind her back, slowly backing away from him.
"I don't think you're in the position to talk," the prince sneered, flinging another short knife at the girl. She clumsily side-stepped despite the aching in her feet and ripped the knife out of her arm as if it were a band-aid. The girl winced slightly, quickly replacing it with a forced glare.
"Just leave me alone, Bel." Hoping that the knife would travel somewhat like a shuriken, she threw the knife back, aiming for his chest. The Varia genius merely sneered as he caught the targeting weapon and sent ten times the amount at the escaping girl. Hobbling on unsteady feet, she only managed to dodge half of them, unintentionally allowing the other half to slice her arms and legs. She cursed underneath her breath, something she rarely did, and couldn't help feel a whirlwind of panic rise to her throat at the stream of red sweeping down her skin. It felt like a horrible replay of the incident three years ago.
Scooping up the fallen knives, she dumped them into the purse that Dino had claimed completed her outfit. Her fingertips searched for anything that could delay her assailant but all she could feel were the teeth of a comb. Throwing it would give her no advantage, but it could prove to be a good distraction. She was really regretting throwing out Gokudera's lighter; she could have sent flaming lipstick or mascara stick at him.
"Why am I so stupid these days?" she screamed internally, cradling her wrist close to her body, the soles of her feet scuffing the ground as she raced into her neighborhood. Unfortunately, Bel was hot on her heels, peeling knives from his body as if they were extensions of his clothing.
"I do like a game of tag," snickered Bel, lifting the wired knives to his face and licking the cold steel with delight before throwing it at the retreating girl's back. Aki blocked all but two knives with her purse, giving her fresh wounds across the skin above her left knee and the soft flesh to the side of her throat.
"I prefer hide-and-seek," she retorted, ducking into a doghouse to catch her breath, hoping her princely chaser hadn't noticed. "I just need to get into my house and I should be fine." Aki bit her lip to stop the tears resulting from pain, since her wrist definitely needed to be treated again. Anyone seeing her casually in the street would wonder about the blood stains across her skirt and the blood clinging to her boots.
"Aki-chan?" Dino's face peered at her from the doghouse entrance. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. It was Dino, the idiot after all.
"Where were you?" she hissed, shrinking closer to the back wall. It was an unreasonable question, but there is no reason in pain. "How'd you know I was here? That Varia guy keeps following me."
"I remembered you didn't have a cell phone, so Romario gave me a GPS tracking device to slip into your purse this morning. I was worried about creepers who would be after you while you waited for Gokudera," replied Dino, brushing his fingers against the cut near her neck, rubbing the blood between his fingers cautiously. "Let's have Romario treat you."
"I don't want to go out there," she huddled in the corner, her voice a broken shout, crumpled like a tossed-out sheaf of paper. "Make him go away, that's all I ask. I hate — hate hiding like I have no other options. Dino, can you make me stronger?" Her eyes glared at him, daring him to take up her challenge.
The young boss's eyes darted behind him and he said in a low voice to someone behind him, "As I thought, she's being stubborn. She's probably in shock right now. We'll need to use that anesthetic and maybe even the tranquilizer on her."
"Dino Cavallone, you do not use an anesthetic on Sawada Aki," spat Aki, backing farther away from him, afraid of the vile hatred she felt for the man at this moment. There was nothing more she wanted to do than kick that concerned expression off his face and get far, far away from Namimori.
"Sorry Aki-chan, please talk to me when you feel better," said Dino, an apologetic frown on his face as he leaned into the doghouse to retrieve her. Those were the last words she heard before the anesthetics knocked her out. In her rising level of dread, she had failed to notice that Dino had managed to stick a syringe into the largest vein in her leg.
"You're lucky she's not awake or you'd get a painful kick in your face right now," joked Dino to Romario who was sterilizing the gash that ran above Aki's knee.
The older man chuckled at the inside joke and wrapped a bandage over the wound. He stood up and said to his boss, "All her wounds have been treated. Shall we take her home now?"
The blond Italian nodded, "I'll stay over to look after her. Romario, you can go back to the hotel."
His subordinate faltered, worry etched into his brows. "But, Boss, what if something happens? You know your motor abilities aren't as up to par without us around." Dino gave him what was supposed to be a reassuring smile and told Romario that if anything happened, he would notify them. Even so, Romario made a mental note to station Dino's men outside Aki's house.
Having left her front door wide open once again, Dino easily gained entry into Aki's house, the girl knocked out from chemicals on his back. He laughed uneasily, "I'm certainly going to get an earful from her tomorrow when she wakes up." Coincidentally, he used the same futon Yamamoto had slept on when the baseball player had invited himself over.
It was just before dawn when Dino was awoken with hands clasped around his throat. He woke up with a startled yelp to find Aki's clammy hands around his neck. She sat on his chest, with her legs parted on each side of him, crushing the breath from his lungs.
Recalling the many times three years ago when Dino had been roused from his sleep to find Aki babbling or rolling around in his room at night, the young boss realized with dismay that the glassy, marble-like eyes of this girl wouldn't be up for a conversation about puppies and ponies.
"Dino Cavallone," she addressed him monotonously, leaning in closer as if to see him. Her eye-lids were weighed down heavily, as if she'd fall back into her silky, slippery dreams at any moment. Cautiously, Dino chokingly raised a hand to brush the hair from her face.
"Yes, Sawada Aki? What manner of business do you have with me?" He spoke gently, afraid for her safety, afraid that she'd do something that she'd regret.
"Prepare yourself, Dino."
A/N: So yeah, I've updated on the last day of June (well...half an hour left till July, haha), but hope you've enjoyed this chapter anyway. If you haven't, feel free to leave me a review with ways to improve! Reviews=motivation. Although I do have to warn you that I still have prep school and summer assignments, so I'll still be busy, but not AS busy. =) and haha, this was the longest chapter so far XDD
Thank you for the kind support! =)