Chapter 14: Kristallnacht
"Atsushi!"
The tall man looks up at me in a daze from the gymnasium floor, flashing me a lazy smile as he outstretches his hand for me to take. Swatting it away in annoyance, I stomp down on his chest enough for him to gargle out in pain.
"Tora-chin is sexually frustrated."
"I-Idiot! Don't say weird things like that!" I yell even more angrily, as I twist my foot deeper into his jersey.
The preliminaries for the Winter Cup were to go underway in just a few days. Months before this date I had spent much more time less socializing with all my new friends and more time with just the team of Yosen. Like how it had used to be back in the day. Before the return of Taiga and the new addition of Aomine. Before my life had grown so complicated, back when everything was normal and stress free.
Not finding the time for both boys and them not finding the time for me, made both parties equally deprived of one another's company. I desperately missed Taiga's old stories and friendly, loving attitude. And I did miss Aomine's cool, yet extremely obnoxious, perverted self. I missed getting caught up in the middle of it all.
The last time I hung out with either one of them was last month, and I had sent a text to each last week. No response back as of now. Fortunately, I had the boys to keep my spirits up, but I did as well miss everyone else. Like Momoi and Kuroko.
Upon seeing my pained expression, Atsushi sits upright as he sighs out in response. "You know it's not their fault."
"I know."
"Then wipe that look off your face. It makes Tora-chin look even more like an old hag."
Staring down at Atsushi, I begin to contemplate as to what his punishment would be for calling me the demeaning name. But for some reason, I can't help but crack a much needed laugh and smile by his words.
"What's my girl laughing about?" chimes in a happy Fukui, as the blonde haired boy drapes his arm casually around my ivory shoulders.
"Your hook shots," I reply firmly, as Atsushi finds himself snickering at the comment.
Clearly dejected by the sudden jab, Fukui begins to walk away with a deathly aura surrounding him.
"I think I broke him."
"Better go after him."
"I-I think he'll be fine."
"I don't think him tying that rope around his neck screams 'fine' at all."
Eh?
Looking down the gymnasium, I watch as Fukui, with little effort, begins to make a noose around his neck.
"F-FUKUI!"
Running and yelling a slur of profanities at him, I knock him to the ground where I immediately untie the rope from his neck.
"What the-"
"Relax. I wasn't going to-"
"Your actions said otherwise! Look, I'm sorry. You know I was kidding. Please-"
"You should make it up to me then," he implies a little too haughtily.
Cracking an eye at him, I cautiously ask him what he wanted, a suspicion already clear in the back of my mind though.
"A date."
"No," I say flatly, as I begin to climb off of his torso. Grabbing my wrists, Fukui holds me down onto him.
"Why not?" he says solemnly with a light frown to his lips.
Sighing, I begin to explain to him why for what would have to be the hundredth time.
"I-"
"Thee is a senior and Tora a first year," suddenly explains a deep, monotonic voice. Looking over my shoulder, I find Liu and Atsushi beside him.
"So? When I'm-"
"Let go of Tora-chin."
Fukui gives Atsushi a playful look before I notice the dangerous glint in his eyes. Oh no. I knew exactly what he was going to do today. Seems he was in a mood to play in the lion's den.
Sitting upright, Fukui turns my smaller frame easily around in his grasp, hugging my body tightly into his torso as he rests his chin on my head.
The blood boiling deep inside my core, I was ready to burst within seconds. I could only imagine what Atsushi was feeling.
"Toraaaa. Just one date. I promise I'll be good," he coos lovingly into my ear, as his hot breath nips teasingly against the nape of my neck. About to maul his face off like a deranged bear, someone beats me to the beating itself.
Swiftly kicking Fukui in the head, Atsushi yanks me upright as he tows me across the gym.
"Old, leprous man," grumbles Atsushi in annoyance as he tugs me along.
XxXxxxxXxX
"Flick, don't hit."
"Sorry!"
"Straight back, please."
"S-Sorry!"
"At least keep your eyes open, Sakurai!"
The scared boy in front of me snaps alive when I yank the stick out of his hand to hit him on the head.
"S-Sorry! It's just that all I've been doing is-"
"Well it's not practicing drumming, that's for sure. Sakurai, throw me a bone here. I know it's been stressful with the preliminaries coming up and I don't expect you to practice extensively like you usually do. Even 15-20 minutes would be okay. As long as you didn't lose your edge. Now it seems we're back to square one. Tell me truthfully, how long has it been since you last picked up the sticks?" I nag, as I cross my arms judgingly over my chest.
"Y-Yesterday," he says slyly, as he averts his gaze from me.
Grabbing his hair in my fist, I twist his head to meet my gaze. "Let me rephrase that. When was the last time you picked up your sticks and practiced on an actual drum set?"
This time, Sakurai has no smart ass words for me as he looks away in embarrassment, the brim of his eyes filling with hopeless tears.
"I can't help you, if you won't help me by practicing, alright? At least, at least practice for 10 minutes. Can I expect that much?"
Sakurai nods his head in disappointment as he apologizes gratefully towards me. Rubbing his head affectionately, I tell him to go home and get some sleep.
"A-Are you sure?"
"There's nothing I can do for you when you've done this much for yourself. It's clear that you're exhausted and it's even more clear that Yosen has to step up their game if Touou's pushing their boys this far. How's everyone else doing?"
Sakurai remains quiet for a few seconds before he answers. "Well, we don't practice that much often as a team together. We found a system where it works better if we all practice by ourselves. So that's what I've been doing lately. I haven't seen much of the guys lately besides at school and practices. I-I haven't seen Aomine-kun much either. Even though he's not practice-"
"Wait, what?"
Aomine wasn't practicing? Surely he wasn't studying either because let's face it, he wasn't the type. What else could he be doing with all that free time to the point where he couldn't even answer a single message from me?!
"Aomine-kun has always been like that. He usually sleeps when we practice and by the end of school he's already long gone for home."
Strange. Maybe Aomine thought I was busy so he didn't want to disrupt my training. But I was the one sending him the texts after all. He obviously had time to reply back. Unless…unless he was seeing a girl…!?
Slumping down in horror, I bury my head deeply into my arms.
"T-Tora-chan, did I say something-"
"N-No, it's fine. I'm just getting crazier…here, I'll show you out."
Leading Sakurai into the dark halls of the music store, Sakurai asks me as to why most of the lights were all off.
"Thanks to a little someone not practicing like I ordered, our session took longer than expected to the point where it went past closing time. No worries though. I have the keys to lock up and the alarm code."
Sakurai mumbles in response as he realizes the depth of him not practicing. All those months of progressing gone down the drain.
Opening the door for the dejected boy, he shivers in the cold, night air as he wraps his scarf daintily around his thin neck.
"Well, goodnight, Tora-chan."
Sakurai begins to walk away before I have time to say anything. Exiting out of the music store as well, I keep in mind to make what I had to say to Sakurai simple and short. Leaving the store open and with no one inside did worry me.
"S-Sakurai!" I call out, as I grab his already ice-like hands into my warm ones. Looking down at this, he smiles sadly and shyly.
"Look. Don't stress too much about-"
"Drumming? I-"
"No. About basketball. The fact that your fingers are bandaged and your palms are blistered aren't exactly all that reassuring. Although I don't see you that often I want you to know you can drop by and call me whenever you need someone to talk to. I can tell that the boys on your side aren't exactly the brotherly type so come talk to me when you're looking for just that. Alright?"
Flashing him a reassuring smile, I blow my hot breath onto our hands, warming them up as Sakurai laughs softly.
Wishing me a happier goodnight, I watch now at ease as he begins to run towards the flashing crosswalk.
Turning back around I quickly scamper towards the unattended store, bursting inside as the hot warmth from inside tickles my frosted skin. As I lock the main entrance from inside, I fail to notice that someone had already turned the 'Open' sign over to the 'Closed' sign.
Exploring the vast and crowded store with various instruments for any sign of turned on lights or switches; I pull out my phone as well to text Aomine and to check if he was doing anything on a Friday night. Sending him a few texts, I ask if he could come down to the music store. I wasn't exactly scared of closing by myself but I didn't exactly trust my surroundings either. Aomine sends me a message back, the first in weeks saying that he was tired and didn't feel like making the trip. Slightly infuriated by this, I ask Taiga who calls back saying that he flat out did not want to make the trip either. I didn't call Atsushi because I knew he was spending the weekend with his grandparents. He should be at the train station by now.
Tucking my phone gingerly into the side pocket of my blue sweater, I continue to descend further down the darkly lit hall to make sure the lights of each session room was turned off.
Oddly enough, the one Sakurai and I had just been using was still lit. That was funny. I could've sworn I had turned it off and even locked the door on my way out.
Maybe like Sakurai the stress of the preliminaries was getting to me as well. Fishing around the string of keys in my pocket, I enter the room to turn the lights off when they go off by themselves, the door of the room creaking shut and locked. W-What?
Searching around in the dark, I lay my hand against the cool surface of the wall, tailing for the light switch when I suddenly grab something warm and fleshy. Something alive.
Grabbing it tighter in my grasp I hold it in my hand as I use my other hand to turn the lights on finally.
Upon seeing what is in front of me, I immediately try to let go of what I had grabbed, but instead, it holds onto my hand tighter, a sly smile creeping onto its lips.
"Might I say that yer' a very busy girl. It was hard finding you alone seeing as how you have a boy on your arm at all times," he mocks in annoyance, as he pulls me deep into his chest.
I notice immediately that he was in a school uniform. That of Fukuda Sogo. A team that I knew that would be participating in the preliminaries.
"Let-"
"I'll be taking these."
Without my knowledge he grabs my set of keys and cell, smashing my black device to pieces onto the ground as he loops the keys into the hem of his pants.
"If ya' want them, come and get 'em."
I think I'd rather die by his hands than to voluntarily touch him there.
"I see you're not sporting those ugly cornrows of yours. What happened? Did a girl actually reject you?" I mock menacingly, as I begin to back away from him.
His once black, braided hair was now set from the demeaning, God awful rows as it lay flowing towards his shoulders. If he wasn't such a hot-headed, scowl wearing bastard, I'd probably find him somewhat attractive. Somewhat.
"Who knew a compliment from those lips would make me feel something unexplainable," he says slyly, as his longer strides immediately catch up to mine, pinning me against the door. Looking behind his head, I search for the exit door in the far back and find it. But much to my dismay, it hadn't been used in a long time so a huge pile of boxes and equipment lay blocking it. By the time I moved everything he would catch me and do who knows what.
Damn. If and when I get out of this I'm calling the manager first to let him know why we need these exit doors cleared.
"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm here?" he asks a small frown to his lips as he begins to play with my raven locks.
Scoffing, I flick his hand away as I push him away from me, but he grabs my wrists tightly in his grasp.
"Well, I'm taking a guess that you didn't come here for a drumming lesson, now did you?"
Smiling warmly at me, the man whose name I still didn't know suddenly stomps down roughly onto my toes.
Screeching in pain he muffles my voice yet keeps his other hand locked on my left wrist.
"After some much extended research on the beautiful maid who broke my heart that night, I found that yer' competing in the preliminaries. Now, my first plan was to sleep with you and break you into a million pieces. But with the onslaught of men going and coming into your life, I found that I'd much rather keep this handsome face intact rather than to sleep around with you. Believe me, if I had it my way you'd be locked in my closet by now waiting each night for me to come and do unspeakable things to this delectable little body of yours," he purrs soothingly, as all at once he begins to squeeze my wrist, yet with his other hand he forcefully tears my blue sweater, exposing my ivory coloured flesh as he as well begins to suck and tug at the exposed skin of my neck.
I felt coldness, pain and torment all at once. It was truly the worse. Trembling in his grasp I try to control my breathing. I couldn't break now. Not yet. That would give him more opportunity than needed for him to take advantage of me. I wasn't going to let that happen.
Struggling in fear and pain, I knew that one of my toes had to be broken.
"I also found out that you're somewhat decent at the game of basketball. Interestingly enough, I also found out that you play the same position as me and as well are left handed. Now see, if you weren't such an animalistic bitch we might just-"
"And if you weren't such a pretentious, conniving mother-"
Muffling my mouth once again, the cornrow-less man before me squeezes one of my breasts tightly as he shows me my left wrist in front of me, dangling it helplessly. What was his-
And then I realized what he planned to do. He begins to laugh at the wide eyed, panic stricken look on my face as he kisses my forehead.
"If you value yourself and your team, then you'll come home with me tonight and leave in the morning. If you don't, then I guess you know what I plan on doing, right?"
As if I had a choice. My toe was already broken. I couldn't play. It didn't matter what I wanted. Not now. I just desperately wished Aomine or Taiga had changed their minds and were on their way.
"I…"
"Yes?"
"…hope you die. May your death be so painful, gruesome and horrifyingly vile that not even the paper nor funeral homes would wish to print your story or hold a service in your name you sick, twisted, horrid scumbag," I grit through my teeth angrily, as I build up my adrenaline for what was coming.
"I suppose I'll see you in Hell?"
"Hopefully we can discuss all of this with a cup of tea as Satan caters to our need?"
"I don't care if you won't admit it. Yer' the exact same as me. It's a shame that I have to do this to you."
"Then don't," I suddenly plead desperately, not caring the least as to how shameful I really sounded. For all the talk I did, truth was, I was terrified to my very core.
Flashing me a smile, he shakes his head from side to side. "Beggars can't be choosers."
With those words, I don't bother to escape my chosen path as within a few sharp, quick snaps my left wrist is broken within two places. I was sure of this when I felt two, unexplainable, earth shattering cracks as he did. Slumping to the ground, my keys and phone are thrown towards me as the man exit's the room, not before wishing me a goodnight.
Grabbing what was left of my phone, I break it into further pieces out of sheer anger and pain as I begin to scream and cry, slamming my wrist onto the concrete wall, damaging it further. My sanity was gone. The preliminaries, the Winter Cup, the only thing I was looking forward to in a long, long time was snatched away from me. All because of my temper, my attitude towards others. All because of me my wrist was broken, my toe and innocence as well. All because of me Yosen's chances at the Winter Cup were cut in half. We weren't like other teams. When one went down, the whole team did as well.
Now here I was. Left broken mentally and physically.
I wasn't sure how long I sat in the session room for on the ground, contemplating how I was going to tell this story. Possibly a, "I stubbed my toe and fell onto my wrist."
But that didn't explain the bruising and red marks that hard formed on my wrists due to his tight grasp, nor the much needed explanation of the red, kiss like marks against my neck, or my ripped sweater. It certainly did not explain at all my emotional insanity that was to take place of the way he had touched me.
Screw having his way with me. He practically did.
I believe it was a good two hours before I heard the main entrance open with a set of keys and loud, thunderous voices running and calling my name.
Slumping further down the wall, I begin to crawl towards the exit in the back, nestling deep behind the large equipment and boxes.
I didn't want to be found. I wanted to hide and live in my own life of torment for not telling anyone sooner about the man from the festival. I was too ashamed. Especially of the evidence of the vile bastard that was left on my neck and body. It didn't take a genius to know what they were.
I wanted to curl up and wish myself away. I was mortified.
Descending deeper into the burrow of darkness I had made for myself, I hear footsteps welcome themselves into the room as by the sound of his voice, Okamura, the captain of Yosen, points towards my mess of a phone that had been stomped on. Figures, he was the one who bought it for me when my previous phone had a basketball thrown into it by his powerful force.
Divulging deeper into my little nest, I pray that no one finds me. Until I hear someone's footsteps begin to walk towards my hidden body.
"I swear to God…" the voice trails off, slightly agitated as I recognize it to be Aomine's.
Suddenly the equipment and boxes that lay comfortingly around me are thrown off as my demeaning, broken form is exposed to the light and forms of a many. The manager of the store, the boys of Yosen, Taiga, Kuroko, Momoi and of course, Aomine.
Squirming at the sight of everyone looking at me, my deformed, gruesome wrist, my awkward leg and most importantly red neck and exposed chest, I watch as they begin to pity and judge me.
"W-What?" stutters a quiet, confused Aomine, as he and Taiga begin to crouch towards, ushering me into their protective arms.
No. How could I when they could've prevented all of this? I had asked them both to come down not out of selfish reasons like to hang out but because I was afraid and just needed some reassurance. Instead they shot me down like I was nothing. Under the misconception that I could handle myself. But I couldn't. I never could. That's why I was surrounded by boys constantly. I was helpless on my own.
Scooting backwards into some boxes I begin to kick my feet at their forms.
"Get away from me!" I yell hysterically at them both. Yes. I had lost it by now.
"The hell's yer' problem?!" yells Aomine angrily, as he grabs a hold of my leg. Deep down, I knew Aomine would never hurt me. But what if he was like the man from earlier? What if he was going to break my leg and further damage my basketball career?
Lost in hysteria and insanity, I kick Aomine in the face as he stumbles backwards and even though Taiga didn't do anything, I kick him further away from me as well.
In this moment, I don't think much of Aomine's nose that was beginning to bleed profusely nor the fact that Taiga caressed his right eye in pain.
"Leave me alone! I-It's all your guys' fault! I asked, pleaded for one of you to come and you both denied. So what the hell are you two doing here now?! You two only care if something happens to me. Other than that who gives a rat's ass about Tora anyways, huh? Get the hell away from me!"
"T-Tora-chan. Please calm down," reassures Momoi, as she tries to come closer towards me. In hopes that a females presence would calm me down.
Sobbing into my palms I begin to yell for Atsushi. Like a lost child for its mother's comfort.
Looking around the room through my blurry gaze I half expect him to be here. For him to drop his own life just for me. But I knew I couldn't ask him to even if I caught a hold of him on the phone. I don't find his comforting, lavender hair anywhere. But instead, I watch Aomine staring at me with shock.
"D-Did someone k-kiss…your- W-Why is your sweater ripped?" he asks cautiously, as he reaches out to grab a hold of my face. Flinching and sobbing even more at his forcefulness; he and everyone else get a good look at my red, bruising neck.
"Aomine-kun!" yells Momoi, as she throws Aomine out of the room. Instead he fights her grasp and begins to come crawling towards me. Okamura and Kuroko hold his lunging, angry form back. He was yelling something, but I couldn't hear over Taiga's loud, frantic voice who was beginning to crumble as well.
Cowering I begin to scream and cry as my body is suddenly engulfed with something so warm, so loving, so friendly that my tears immediately stop. Opening my eyes I find the lavender that I had been searching for in the dark aura that had suddenly engulfed me, restoring colour to my once cold despair. That was all I needed. All the reassurance in the world was right before me in my arms. Holding him tight I begin to plead shamefully into his ear for him to take me with him. Wherever he went. For him to never leave me out of his sight.
He brushes my hair comfortingly, whispering into my ear that I owed him nothing but my love and friendship for the rest of my life. A sealed binding had been made for life in this moment of my despair and shame, his guilt and heartache that I had caused him.