Loving Rescue

Author's Note: (ducks from thrown garbage) OMG! I haven't updated this beast in a loooooong time. Well, becoming obsessed with a totally kick ass band (coughGorillazcough) sorta takes time up, hm? But no excuse! Even though Cibo Matto is related to Gorillaz considering she played as Noodle in Phase One! So I was still thinking of JSRF in a way…ahem…and 2D has nothing to do with this, but I shall get his little figure…well 13 inches tall is kinda…tall…for a figure but ANYWAYS! I typed this chapter and a bunch more like…a year ago and never posted it. I feel like such an ass. Well, if anyone's still reading this…here you go!

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They followed Gum all the way back to Beat's apartment where they found the teen still sleeping, or knocked out. They weren't sure which. Gum pulled Beat up a little, resting his head comfortably on the armrest and pushing his legs to the side so she could sit. That cushion had become her property. "This guy is grade A one hundred percent tough, huh?"

Yoyo shrugged, "Hey, I told you already. That's how he is, yo."

"I don't think so…"

The two looked at Rhyth, who was quietly seated on her side of the other couch. She was leaning her cheek against the palm of her hand, watching Beat sleep. Yoyo sat on the other cushion and pulled up a knee, "Whaddya mean?" She didn't move her gaze, "I mean, he may be a little strong with his words and appear to be ice cold, but he isn't totally rock hard." Gum glanced at him and softly smiled, but stopped as soon as she caught herself. She couldn't be smiling at him. He didn't deserve it.

"Coulda fooled me, yo." muttered Yoyo, rubbing his arm lazily. "Well, he has to have some heart in him if he saved you from the police, right?" Rhyth said, turning her head to him.

"Well….I guess…"

"And he agreed to break Gum out from jail, also allowing me to come along, right?"

"Right…"

"And he's been letting us stay here, even if he put up an argument over it, he's still letting us be here, and don't forget he stood up for you, Gum!"

Gum sighed, hoping Rhyth wouldn't bring that up. But she did, and the two were staring at her, waiting for her to say something. She closed her eyes, her pride slightly defeated, "I guess he did, didn't he?" Rhyth nodded happily and Yoyo rolled his eyes, hating mushy girly moments. "So where would your friend be right now?" he interrupted, feeling highly grossed out.

Gum opened her eyes and they flashed with seriousness as she leaned over and laced her fingers, "Hmm…Corn's a difficult person to predict…he goes to his own flow, you know what I mean? God knows where he could be this time of day…" Yoyo shook his head, "Didn't you say he found a place big enough for a gang to hideout in?" She nodded, "Yes, but that's where I was going the day I got caught. I was on my way to meet him so he could show me where it was. Writing stuff down and mailing is dangerous business, nowadays, police go through your mail."

Yoyo shoved his hands into his pockets as he stood up and paced in thought. According to Gum, Corn was the best of the best, and Yoyo was probably the worst of the worst. If he could only think opposite for a moment, where would that lead him? "Right now…I'm hiding from cops…keeping a low profile…trying to figure out everything I need to know for living against the streets…" he mumbled, with the girls staring at him.

"But…if I was a pro at this already…" he started with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, "I would be out on the streets, spreading my name, getting the cops annoyed, and recruiting some kids who know the streets like the back of their hands!" he shouted excitedly, and Rhyth jumped. Gum tapped her cheek in wonder, seeing herself agreeing to Yoyo's theory. "That definitely sounds like something Corn would be doing…considering he's trying to start his own gang and everything…so it makes sense! And you make it sound like you never think!" she smirked, ruffling his hair.

Gum glanced out the shades, "The sun is setting already…we can start looking for him tomorrow, if we get dad's permission, that is." she finished, glancing at Beat. Yoyo snickered and shook his head. At the same time, his stomach burst a growl for food. He blushed and grinned, "Guess I'm hungry." Gum glanced at Rhyth, who was already getting that look for food in her eyes, "Yeah, I guess we could go for something to eat. Well…" she said, pulling some money out of her dress, "You can't really mug for a pizza, so take this and get a pie."

She gave the money to Rhyth and she stared back. "You want me to get it?" Gum sat herself back on the couch and relaxed with her arms supporting her head, "Well, you do have the money, now don't you?" Rhyth nodded nervously, "B-but, its night…" Gum arched an eyebrow, not sure what the girl before her was getting at. "So?" she commented carelessly. Rhyth rubbed her elbow uncomfortably, "Isn't it…dangerous?"

Gum sighed, understanding her now, "Rhyth, this is your home now. You can't be afraid of the streets or you'll get torn apart by dogs. But, since this is your first time alone…" she said getting up and opening the door. Rhyth skated out slowly and Gum grabbed Yoyo by his hood, throwing him out, "You can take a knight in shining armor! Get a cheese pizza and behave you two!" she winked, closing the door as fast as the words left her mouth.

Yoyo clenched his teeth as he got up and dusted himself off, "I think she likes picking on me." Rhyth began skating out of the alleyway, "No, I think it was a way to spend more time with Beat." Yoyo cocked his head to the side, "Nah! She doesn't like Beat! …Does she?" Rhyth giggled, "Not all girls like showing their emotions, Yoyo." Yoyo shrugged, "I still think it wouldn't make sense. Beat's sleeping. It's not like she can have a decent conversation with him."

Rhyth looked at Yoyo oddly, "You don't have to talk to a person to enjoy a moment spent with them." Yoyo bobbed his head slightly until his eyes popped open, "Whoa! What are you talking about?" Rhyth looked at him innocently as they passed a few shops, "I didn't mean anything like that, Yoyo!" He grinned teasingly, "Yeah, sure. So you do get thoughts like that in your 'deprived', pure, innocent mind, eh Rhyth?"

"I do not!" she pouted, in Yoyo's opinion, making her look even cuter than when she was frustrated. "You're the one who needs their mind washed out with heavy duty soap, you pervert!" she growled, glaring at him. He laughed as they neared a pet shop which was right next to the pizzeria. "Ah, we're teenagers, Rhyth! Don't make it sound like a sin for a thought or two to damage our minds a little." he winked.

Rhyth rolled her eyes, thinking that Yoyo needed something to eat and he was lacking sleep indefinitely. He was going a little too teenage for her liking. Her eyes widened and shimmered as they began to pass the pet shop, and she paused, leaning against the glass. Below were a couple of puppies snapping playfully at each other as in another box, kittens were sleeping all cuddled up. "Aww…." she melted, her heart filling three times as much with love.

Yoyo glanced back, noticing she had stopped and skated back to where she was, smiling a bit. "Cute pups." he smirked as a yellow one chomped on another's ear. "What about the kitties?" asked Rhyth in a bubbly tone, glancing at him with her eyes aglow. "They're cute, I guess, but I never really liked cats…I'm more of a dog person." They stood there, watching the animals play with each other for about five minutes and Yoyo's stomach growled. He grabbed her wrist gently, "Hey, I think we should get the pizza now."

The fluttery, happy light in Rhyth's eyes slowly died out, "Aw…but I wanna see the babies…" Yoyo rubbed his neck, wanting to please this girl and his stomach at the same time. "Look, I'll get the pizza, but when I come back, we gotta head home, alright?" he offered, and Rhyth smiled as if this was the best present he could have ever given her. "Okay! Thank you, Yoyo!" she squealed, sliding her arms around him and nuzzling her cheek into his chest.

She froze and quickly let him go, realizing what she was doing. He swallowed and nodded, face fully consumed in red, "I-I…uhm…pizza…n-now." he managed to say, zooming into the pizza shop. Rhyth stood glued to her spot with her heart beating against her chest as if she had seen the scariest movie on earth. She even felt dizzy, but it was a happy dizzy. Almost…a fluttery dizzy…

She kept her eyes low as she tried to hide her smile, but there was no possible way to hide the blush blotting her skin around her cheeks and nose. Rhyth didn't notice anyone by the counter, but the door was open and the lights were on, so she assumed the store was open. As she picked up one of the kittens that had awoken and allowed him to nuzzle against her cheek, she thought about Yoyo. The more she thought about him, the more she came to understand that she was developing a crush on him. She wasn't too sure about it, but whenever he smiled, she felt happy and when he was embarrassed, she thought it was the most adorable thing.

She scratched the kitten behind its ears and it mewed softly. She closed her eyes and cuddled it against her cheek, loving the creature for what it was. Her happy state was cut short by a male yell and a whine of fear. She quickly placed the kitten back in its box with the rest and tiptoed the best she could to the back of the store, where there was an open door that was labeled, "Employees Only". She held her breath and leaned to her right, peeking in.

From where she was, she could see that the next room was more of a cellar; its walls lined with hardwire cages and a few tables with knives and spoons on them. One of them she saw soiled with…blood. Her eyes widened, "What kind of place is this…?"

"SHUT UP YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

Her eyes zoomed to the only person in the room. He was tall, pale, with dark eyes and black hair pulled into a tight pigtail in the back. His clothes were tattered, exact type to be working on a farm, but his face was covered in scars, a monster for people and animals alike. A shock of fear ran through Rhyth's veins by just looking at him. He made the room feel like ice and darkness. "He takes care of these sweet animals?" she wondered, her stomach fearing the worst.

Right on cue, a small Chihuahua crawled out, half terrified with death labeled in its eyes. It kept quiet, but the man kicked it anyway, flinging it to the other side of the room. A small whine came from the animal, but that was it. Rhyth's heart cracked deeply for its pain, if it was still alive. She glared at the evil caretaker with hate, tears burning at her eyes. A sudden bark startled her as a medium sized dog charged for the man, biting his leg gruesomely.

The man smacked at the dog, cursing at him and trying to shake him loose. It finally let go, and snuck under one of the creepy tables, knowing better than to come out for some biscuits the man was offering it. The man growled, throwing the entire box at the table with force and grabbed the nearest garbage bag, opening a back door and leaving the room. Rhyth snuck in a little more, wondering if the Chihuahua was okay. She entered the room cautiously, chest on fire, throat feeling very dry.

She crept to where the man had kicked it, and her lip trembled as she pet the limp animal's body gently. It was gone…

Angry tears steamed down her face as she ran out of the room, unaware of a small shadow following her. She burst through the front door, bumping into someone immediately. "Whoa! Hey, when I said we gotta get home, I didn't mean…what happened?" Rhyth looked up as Yoyo's emotion went from joking to dead serious. "Inside…the owner…or whoever he is, he's mistreating the animals! There are weird tools on the shelves in the back room and I saw him kick a little puppy…" after that scene, she couldn't hold it back anymore.

She sobbed into Yoyo's shoulder as he held her in a hug, rubbing her back gently. "I-It was j-just a baby puppy…" she sighed, trying to catch her breath, as she faced away from his neck. "Rhyth, there are some sick bastards in this world…and they'll get their cut in the end…" he whispered, leaning his head against hers. "Yoyo, he killed it." she said shakily, sniffing.

"He killed it?"

"He killed it."

Rhyth pulled away from his comforting grasp to look back through the glass window. "We have to do something." Yoyo looked at her worriedly, "Like what?" She placed her hand against the show glass and sniffed, the tears streaming down her cheeks, "Like saving these animals…" Yoyo's eyes widened, "Y-you mean…like right now?" Rhyth turned and faced him, staring into his eyes with such determination it scared him, "Yoyo, if we don't get these animals out tonight, some won't live till tomorrow! That nutso was after this other dog, but it hid from him. Please, Yoyo, I don't wanna sleep tonight with an unsure feeling if that poor animal made it out alright or not!"

Yoyo scrunched his face in thought with the guilt that Rhyth was loading on him. He glanced at the pizza box in his hands and sighed, "Well, you know Beat probably wouldn't go for it…" Rhyth looked at Yoyo with her lip trembling, deeply hurt that he wouldn't take this seriously. "But," he continued, glancing at the store, "I'm not Beat. What's the plan?" Rhyth sniffed a choppy breath with a tearful smile, wanting to throw her arms around him and hug him tight, but he was holding pizza and it wouldn't be a comfortable hug.

She didn't know how to thank him, but time was slipping away. Besides, she could always thank him later. "Well, there's a back door and a bunch of filled cages in the room back there. And then there are the animals there in the front room…" she said, glancing at the storefront. "We just gotta get that punk outta the way first…" added Yoyo, pulling the door open. Rhyth entered in, and Yoyo followed in, placing the pizza on the front counter. The smell traveled to the back room, arousing the owner of the shop.

"What the hell-oh, hi. We close in fifteen." the man said, unlocking a door behind the counter, leading into a smaller room that belonged to him. It had a small desk and TV on top with a swivel chair. The furniture hardly fit in the room, but the man put something from his pocket in the desk and closed the door halfway. Yoyo noticed he continually glanced at their pizza that was on the counter, sizzling with cheesy goodness.

Rhyth inspected the animals held in the cages, as if she was going to buy them, but she was really thinking within her mind, "Don't worry little guys! We're gonna get you out of this hell hole. I promise!" She quickly made her way to the back door, which was left open and she stared at the small rabbit in front of her, focusing on its fluffy little ears, its beady little eyes, and pink little nose, subconsciously focused on the door to her right.

Yoyo walked from the glass display to Rhyth, "See any one you'd like?" he asked, keeping suspicion low. The man checked his watch, "Thirteen minutes, buddy." Yoyo nodded and squinted to see the name tag, "Thanks for the update…Conni." The man gave a nod to Yoyo and glanced at Rhyth with a stare that made Yoyo want to smash the guy's teeth in. Rhyth jumped as if she had been shocked with electricity, "Do you have a bathroom here and if yes, may I use it?" she asked with a perky attitude.

Yoyo gave her an awkward expression as Conni, the store's owner, nodded with a smile, "Of course you can, beautiful." He led her to the back room and showed her the door. "Thank you!" she said happily, closing the bathroom door. Conni came back looking pleased with himself. He leaned on the counter, very close to the pizza, "That's some friend you have there." he said to Yoyo, and he replied icily, "Yeah."

"Are you two together?"

"We came in together, didn't we?" Yoyo snapped, hating this guy more and more. He paid attention to the animals in the cages, turning his back on the jerk. "No, I mean, a couple." the manager asked in a sleepy tone. Yoyo's fingers curled into fists and he clenched his teeth, spinning around, "Look dipsh-"

"Excuse me."

Yoyo glared at the man as he went into his private little room, closing the door to answer the business phone. Yoyo snorted, spitting on the floor, "Lucky bastard…" An arm waved to him from the back room and he rushed over, "Rhyth! I-" Her hand clamped over his mouth as she continued talking quietly on the phone that was in the room. "Yes, do you carry purebreds?" she asked in a very snooty, arrogant voice.

She pointed at the cages and he nodded. He pushed open the back door quickly and set the cage on the top to lock in so the door would stay open. He opened each cage and carried whatever animal it was to the door, giving them a little push to run off. A medium white dog shot out from nowhere and began trying to jump on Yoyo, wanting to grab his attention. Yoyo glanced down at it, "Go on, boy! Get outta here!" The dog sat and wagged its tail with its mouth open, resembling a grin. It followed Yoyo as he ran back and forth continually, freeing the animals as Rhyth held the owner on the phone.

Yoyo snuck quickly to the front and released those animals which were locked up or in a storefront box. He grabbed the pizza box and waved his arm to Rhyth. She suddenly hung up the phone and raced out with him, hearing a scream a few seconds later. "GET BACK HERE!" she heard the owner scream in fury as a few dogs cornered him and attacked. Most of the animals ran off, happily howling or screeching freedom, but five dogs followed after Rhyth and Yoyo.

"I helped get them out, but we cannot bring them home, yo!" Yoyo yelled in a breath. A familiar ring sirened through the air, alarming the two. "Of course he had to call cops!" groaned Yoyo, ducking into an alleyway, pulling Rhyth with him. The dogs chased after and kept quiet in the alley, looking up at Yoyo. Their eyes were focused on the box in the boy's hands, the smell keeping them attached to him. A cop car sped by, screeching at a few halts due to some animals jotting across the streets.

"Just a few blocks." whispered Rhyth, and they made a run for it, dashing as fast as they could. The familiar buildings welcomed them, and the shadows hugged them into safety. Rhyth banged her fist against the door so hard she felt her pinky pop and she squealed, snatching her hand back. Before Yoyo could ask if she was alright, the door whipped open with Gum, staring at them. "Guys! I gave you money to get it, you didn't have to ste…what's with the dogs?" she said suddenly, watching as five dogs entered the apartment, sniffing everything in sight.

"Uhm…well, heheh, it's a funny story, really!" Yoyo started as he handed her the pizza and she became the popular one with the dogs. "I'd love to hear it sometime…" Gum said, trying to avoid stepping on any of them. Rhyth, however, was practically in heaven as she hugged each of them and played with them happily.

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"Okay, let me get this straight. You and Rhyth went to get pizza and on your way there, Rhyth saw this mean guy who was abusing the animals so you somehow manage to break all the animals out and you have a police report and search against you?"

"That's pretty much it." nodded Yoyo, trying to keep his slice from mutts. "You guys better get rid of these dogs before Captain Cranky wakes up from his beauty sleep." Gum warned, scooting a large black dog from her spot on the couch. "You're Shadow." named Rhyth, petting his head. He barked happily, but nothing was going to wake Beat up. It's amazing what medication and a knock to your head can do to you.

She tickled a smaller white dog behind its ears and cuddled her, "You're Angel!" Yoyo smirked as she named the other two Beetles and Misty. Yoyo shook his head, "You know what they say, Rhyth! Once you name it, you grow attached to it." Rhyth blushed slightly, "Well, they need proper names! We can't just say you all the time. And if one's bad I need to know which and…"

"Rhyth, we're not keeping them." he reminded, sitting in his own spot.

"Yeah, but…."

Gum sighed, "Fine, name them. But remember. We're finding homes for them by tomorrow." Yoyo tilted his head as a bright idea bloomed, "I know the perfect place."

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Author's Note: And where will that be? Well you won't hafta wait long since I have the answering chapter already long done, but I won't post it for another couple of days. I like to see how I'm doing, even one will do. XD