"Len!"
Len glanced over and burst into a smile. Miku was running over, wearing a blue sundress that faded light green towards the bottom, a small light blue purse hanging from her shoulder, the one they'd bought together on their first date. She was running in flats and somehow failing terribly, stumbling along every once in a while, making her only more the so cuter in Len's eyes. He waved and jogged up to her, joking, "Miku, you're so late! I've been waiting here for forever!"
"Hey!" she pouted, lightly punching him in the shoulder. "Aren't boys supposed to say that they hadn't been waiting for long to the girl?"
"You've been reading to many shoujo mangas!" Len laughed, grabbing her pale, soft hand before starting down the street. "Besides, I'd wait forever for you, no matter how late you might come."
The girl's face erupted into a giant smile, a tint of red in her cheeks. She laughed, "Now that sounds like a line you borrowed from a shoujo manga! Have you been reading Rin's mangas lately?"
"What? No!" Len defended himself, an expression of mock hurt on his face. "Sheesh, did you have to ruin my moment of greatness, Miku?"
"Hai, hai~" Miku replied in a sing-song voice. "What does the great Len want in return?"
Len didn't even hesitate as he leaned in towards Miku's face and whispered, "How does a kiss sound?"
He pecked her quickly on the lips before Miku could respond, his grin widening as Miku's face blushed a faint red. He chuckled, "Gotcha~"
Unable to come up with a comprehensible response, Miku could only pout and cross her arms stubbornly as they continued down the street, Len cheerfully sauntering along beside her. Finally though, a smile appeared on her face again as she playfully poked Len in the ribs, laughing, "Why are you are always so sneaky?"
"I'm not sneaky. That's what you call being fun," Len corrected, jabbing Miku back. He grabbed Miku's hand again and they started walking down the busy street, window-shopping. Len was pointing out all kinds of little things he thought Miku might like, jewelry and clothes and candy. Miku would mostly just laugh, pushing him away from store windows to keep him from making a big scene in asking Miku if she liked something.
Eventually, after finding themselves in a small jewelry shop, Miku gave up and told Len she'd let him get her a simple bracelet of turquoise beads under the condition Len let her fix his hair. Len grumbled a bit at the suggestion. For some reason, his hair was a weird object of obsession to Miku. She'd sometimes 'trick' Len into letting her braid his shoulder-length hair or do something funny with it.
"But it's all silky and pretty," Miku sighed, twirling a strand of her own long hair. "It's not every day a girl has a boyfriend with beautiful hair."
"But you're going to do something weird again!" Len grumbled, now wondering whether buying Miku the bracelet was worth having her play with his hair.
"Not really," Miku shrugged, staring down at the bracelet. It really was a pretty color, matching her hair. She had to admit, Len had good taste when it came to jewelry. Living all these years with a twin sister must have helped. She tried the bracelet on again and continued, "I'm just going to redo your ponytail. It's too messy."
"But I like it this way," Len started to pout.
"Bet you can't see much with your bangs in your eyes," Miku retorted, shooting Len a wry smile.
Len froze for a moment, trying to think of a reply before he smiled and shook his head, his bangs waving with it. "I don't need to see anything," Len sighed with a hint of a snicker, acting like he couldn't believe Miku didn't get it. "As long as I can still see you, it's fine."
"Oh shut up." Miku rolled her eyes and lightly hit Len on the head.
"Ow," Len muttered, slightly bent over as he glared up at Miku. They stared at each other for a while before they both burst into laughter, doubling over and wheezing for breath until the store manager hooted from the counter with a grin, "So, you two lovebirds gonna buy something?"
They both turned slightly red from being mentioned as lovebirds, though more embarrassed that they'd momentarily forgotten where they were. Len let out a sigh and wiped the happy tears that'd formed in his eyes. He gingerly took the bracelet off Miku's wrist and said, "Well, I guess I can endure it again."
"For the twenty-sixth time," Miku added.
"Yes, for the twenty-sixth time," Len sighed as he headed over to the counter to pay for the item. Soon enough they were outside in the fresh open air again, a sparkling bracelet on Miku's wrist. They walked a few blocks down to a park in the middle of the shopping district and sat down on an empty bench. Len immediately twisted his body so he was sitting facing the end of the bench, his back to Miku who yanked out Len's hair tie.
"Ow, that hurt," Len muttered, massaging the back of his head, his hair now down and falling over his shoulders. He started playing with a strand of his own hair, twirling it around and massaging it with his fingers until Miku snatched it out of his hand. He sighed and sat still, feeling Miku carefully brushed his hair back into a ponytail, the strands that weren't long enough naturally falling back over his eyes. There were times when he did contemplate letting his hair down so he could feel his hair ripple along in the wind, loose and free, but it'd make him look too much like a girl. Or at least make him a replica of Rin, minus the bow, and he didn't want that.
"There, all done!" Miku declared proudly, sitting back and pulling out a small mirror so Len could look at himself. He raised it up at himself and immediately squinted at it, tenderly patting his forehead that felt oddly bare.
"I look weird."
"What, that's your first comment?" Miku pouted, clinging onto Len's back as she stared at the reflection of Len in the mirror. Though she did sort of agree. There was something weird about seeing Len without bangs.
"Well, I do appreciate it and all," Len drawled out slowly, casting a glance around him. "But then why do I feel like everyone's staring at me like I have some strange disease or something?"
Miku let out a long sigh. This was what Len was worried about? She patted him on the shoulder and said, "Why are you always so self-conscious about yourself? No one's looking at you, and even if they were, it's cause you look beautiful."
"Not handsome?"
Miku studied him for a second and shook her head with a cheeky grin on her face. "Not handsome," she repeated as Len finally swung his legs back off the bench, planting them on the earth below. He collapsed backwards on the bench with a hand over his over-exposed forehead, grumbling something incomprehensible. Miku just snickered and got up to her feet, declaring, "Well, I'm going to get some ice cream. Want some?"
"Not now," Len groaned, his mouth barely moving. "Let me revel in the despair of my girlfriend not even seeing me as a boy."
Miku sighed, shaking her head. "Fine then, I'll go get some by myself," she huffed, walking off towards the frozen yogurt store just down the block.
Len tilted his head slightly in her direction, watching as she moved down the sidewalk and disappeared into the store. His eyes never once left her figure until she was safely inside the shop. He let out a sigh. Honestly, Miku got annoyed so easily sometimes. Of course, he did know part of it had to do with him. If he wasn't always so self-conscious about himself, maybe, just maybe he would've been able to enjoy whatever he and Miku did together, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
Without even realizing it, Len had started tugging at the strands of his hair pulled back into the ponytail. By the time he was aware of what he was doing, his forehead was hidden again behind his messy tangle of bangs. He glanced down at the mirror he'd forgotten to return to Miku. His original self was back, and as much as he hated to have ruined Miku's 'hard' work, he was glad that his hair was back to the way it used to be, hiding his gaze from others.
With another long sigh, Len swung his weight forward, getting up on his two feet. He tugged at his bangs a little more and headed down the street towards the ice cream place, tucking the mirror into his pocket. He hadn't seen Miku leave the place, so he assumed she was still in there, waiting for him to arrive.
To his surprise, the moment he entered the shop, it was oddly empty, Miku no where to be scene. She must have left when he was busy fixing his hair, Len decided as he gave a meek smile to the girl at the counter.
She gave him a bright smile as he stammered, "Hey, um, did you see a girl with long turquoise pigtails come by?"
"Oh, yeah, the girl in the cute sundress? She left with her brother a while ago. Ya looking for her?"
"Uh, yeah," Len replied, furrowing his brows in deep thought. Suddenly, he exclaimed, "Wait, her brother?!"
"Well, that's what it looked like," the girl shrugged. "They had the same color hair, not to mention they seemed pretty familiar with each other. What's so—hey! Where ya going?"
Len wasn't listening as he pushed his way back out onto the streets. He broke into a sprint, scanning his surroundings for a glimpse of Miku. This was bad. Bad. He'd met Miku's brother Mikuo once, and he couldn't say it was a pleasant meeting. Ever since Miku's parents divorced, Miku's father had been trying to get custody of Miku like he had with Mikuo, and apparently, being rich gave you a lot of influence over people. Len had already heard plenty of reluctantly told stories from Miku about her family situation. The threats towards them from her father, the horrible relationship she now shared with her brother, who now seemed to resent Miku for some strange reason, if that really had been Miku's brother who'd come to talk to her, Len was almost scared to think what he might want.
"Miku! Miku!" Len shouted as he ran through the streets, glancing in every dark alley, searching for Miku. Screw the weird glances he was getting. If something bad happened to Miku, if something bad happened… Len dreaded even the thought of it.
Suddenly, he thought he heard her. Len skidded to a halt and looked around desperately.
He found it, a glimpse of a turquoise through the crowd, a shimmering as it vanished into a dark alley across the street. Immediately, he took off running towards the intersecting, his feet thudding on the pavement as he burst out onto the pedestrian crossing. The light was blinking red, and Len knew his feet couldn't take him that far this fast, but screw it, he thought. He was running like his life depended on it, and in a sense, it did. If anything happened to Miku, he would hate himself forever for letting Miku get hurt.
He was oblivious to the cars honking at him when the light turned green as he reached the other side, gasping for breath. He hobbled a bit in the direction where he thought he'd seen Miku disappear. It slowly became a slow jog that sped up into another full speed sprint. Len pushed through the crowd that was here to shop, dodging people and leaping over obstacles, almost tripping once over someone's dog. He saw the alley looming ahead. Pausing to catch his breath, he sucked in a giant gulp of air, turned into the alley. It was horribly dark inside, and he couldn't see much, but he didn't stop running. Deeper and deeper he went. The alley seemed to be endless. Just where had Miku gone?
He thought he heard voice. A ray of sunlight seemed to peeking out from the buildings, so he ran towards the source, mostly blind to what was ahead…
And ran smack into Miku.
Miku let out a strangled shriek, and someone from within the darkness shouted, "Who's there?"
Len massaged his forehead, glancing up at Miku from where he'd fallen down. He forced a smile and said, "Uh, hi, Miku."
"Len! What are you doing here?" Miku demanded, pulling Len up to his feet with an alarmed look on her face.
"Well, you didn't come back, so I asked around and found you," Len replied, twirling a strand of hair. He added, "And, uh, sorry, but I messed my hair up again."
Miku's face lit up with a smile. She cheerfully ruffled his hair and said, "Well, I tried."
"Hey, banana head, get out," the someone growled from within the alley. Len gave a start. He'd forgotten that Miku wasn't here alone. The voice sounded familiar to Len, a lower pitch than Miku's, husky but quite pleasant to the ear. Thudding footsteps echoed within the alley, and the person stepped out into the sunlight that peeked through the tall buildings.
"I was talking to my sister first, so get out," Mikuo repeated again, his eyes narrowed. Len unconsciously gulped. His face was almost the same as Miku's, save for a more muscular jawline, but for a second, Len had the impression that Miku was the one glaring at him, eyes radiating hate.
"It's fine, Len," Miku spoke up, Len still unable to think of a response. "We were just about done talking anyways."
"No we weren't!" Mikuo snapped. "You haven't promised me anything y]et!"
"I have nothing to promise you," Miku shot back. "I've told you a million times, I'm not going to leave Mom and live with the two of you."
Mikuo clenched his teeth together and spat, "You know how Dad is! He's not going to give up on this. He thinks he can do whatever he wants, and if you still don't agree, he's going to force you to. I'm saving you a lot of trouble by asking you to go back with me."
"And I don't need your help," Miku defiantly said. "Mikuo, I know you care about Mom and me, but we can take care of ourselves."
Mikuo's fists clenched together, the whites of his knuckles showing. He lowered his head, bangs hanging low over his eyes. When he made no move to respond, Miku said, "If that's all you came to say, then we'll be going now."
She grabbed Len's hand and started to head back out into the busy streets. Len's mind was still drawing a blank, completely boggled by the Hatsune siblings' argument, but he couldn't help casting a glance back at Mikuo.
"Miku, wait a second," Len said, tugging at Miku's hand to make her stop. She was about to argue when her eyes fell on the expression on Len's face, a mix of concern and shock. Confused, Miku followed his gaze to her brother, just in time to watch a single tear trail down Mikuo's cheek and fall to the cobble stone ground.
"M-Mikuo?" Miku stammered, unconsciously gripping Len's hand harder. Was Mikuo crying? But Mikuo, he never cried. Never.
"I hate you, Miku," Mikuo sniffled, wiping away his tears. "You're my older sister, aren't you? And yet you've done nothing to take care of me."
"Mikuo, I'm sorry for whatever this about, but you have Dad, don't you? He's been taking care of your needs, right?" Miku stammered.
"My needs?" Mikuo let out a snort. "Yeah, sure, he gives me a couple hundred everyday to let me do whatever I want. Is that what you're talking about?"
He spat out the last few words with a vengeance. He pulled out a few crumpled hundred dollar bills and threw it at Len and Miku, where they landed a couple feet from the two. "If you're so jealous, then take it! Just take it! I don't want it. I don't want it! I don't want any of this!"
He crumpled to the ground, his hands clutching at his ears as he let out a sob. Miku stared at him in shock, unable to come up with something to say. Len just stared down at the crumpled money on the ground. Any normal teenager probably would've been psyched to get several brand new hundred dollar bills, but from the distressed cries coming from Mikuo as he repeated "I hate you" over and over again in a broken tone, Len pretty much could tell what was going on.
"Mikuo, what's happened? What's wrong?" Miku almost begged in a hushed tone. "I-I don't know what I did, but it's something we can fix, right? Stop crying, please? Please?"
Mikuo didn't seem to hear Miku's words, his cries threatening to make Miku start crying as well. Len glanced between the two siblings and gripped Miku's hand tighter to reassure her. From what he could tell, these two siblings probably hadn't had such a big fight before, locking them both into a standstill where neither knew how to proceed. Len thought back to his own fights with Rin, their brawls that sometimes went out of hand but were always settled in the end. With each other, Len and Rin were blunt to a fault, screaming out their opinions and until the misunderstanding was resolved. The Hatsune twins, they didn't seem able to do that, so Len gave Miku a brave smile and decided to give them a little push.
"Um, I know, as an outsider, I probably have no say in this, but…" Len trailed off as he stepped forward and squatted down in front of Mikuo, who suddenly froze up. The turquoise haired boy jerked his head up, his eyes staring up at Len, alarmed.
"What do you want?" Mikuo spat, steeling his gaze just as quickly.
"What do you want?" Len asked back, staring down at Mikuo. When all he got was a confused look in return, Len suddenly reached down and grabbed Mikuo by the collar, pulling him up until he was eye-level with Len. Both Miku and Mikuo gave a startled "Eep!" but Len cut through their surprise as he demanded, "Why do you keep saying you hate Miku?"
Mikuo gulped and tried to form a sneer. "You going to hit me for insulting your girlfriend?"
"I would if that were true, even though you're Miku's brother," Len calmly replied back. "But if you really hated Miku, then you wouldn't be here, trying to convince her to go back and live with your well-off dad, would you?"
The sneer melted off Mikuo's face just as Len let go of his shirt, taking a step back. Len asked again, "No one's going to know what you want if you don't say it yourself, Mikuo."
"I…I…" Mikuo stammered, his head drooping forward as he stared down at his shaking hands. He glanced once back up at his sister and back at his hands as they clenched into trembling fists. "Miku, I…"
Miku took in a deep breath and came forward, kneeling down in front of her brother. She rested a hand on his trembling shoulder and said, "It's okay, Mikuo. I know, I'm not the best sister in the world, but in the end, we're still family, so you can tell me what's on your mind. I'll be listening, so don't do this to yourself and clam up, okay?"
Mikuo gulped, clenching and unclenching his fists. For a moment, Len feared that maybe he was wrong, maybe Mikuo wasn't hiding something, or maybe he wouldn't open up to Miku. After all, not every sibling relationship was like his relationship with Rin. What if he'd guessed wrongly, maybe worsened Mikuo's hate for Miku.
Suddenly, Mikuo wiped away his tears and sat up. He glanced over at Miku again before lowering his head, hesitating.
"Mikuo," Miku drawled out in an almost teasing tone. "C'mon, the day's gonna end if you don't start speaking."
Miku just let out an annoyed huff, rubbing his nose once in a while and blinking rapidly. Finally, he slowly mumbled, "I… I just wanted to live with you and Mom again. That's all."
Silence fell over the three of them. Mikuo's embarrassed look, Len's surprised face, and Miku… Her bangs had fallen over her eyes. Was she mad? It looked like it to Len as he sat there awkwardly, the silence droning on and on until…
"Seriously, Mikuo, are you stupid?"
Both Mikuo and Len looked up in surprise. Mikuo stammered, "W-what?"
"Like really, why didn't you say something about this earlier?" Miku exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "All this time Mom and I thought you would hate being with us, and now you're trying to tell me that's not true? What in the world were we fussing over then, you idiot?"
"You were…worrying about me?" Mikuo asked, incredulous.
"Of course, we were!" Miku said. "We all know how Dad is like, but Mom's not exactly rich compared to him, so she thought you'd be happier with Dad since he can take care of all your needs."
"Then why didn't you say something about it earlier?" Mikuo demanded.
"Well," Miku mumbled, twiddling her fingers, "it'd be pretty obnoxious sorta if we tried to get you to come live with us when you were happy where you were, so we thought we'd wait and see if you were displeased about living with Dad, so…"
The twins stared at each other, identical crystal blue eyes blinking with disbelief. Just as suddenly, their laughter simultaneously rippled through the air, tears, happy tears, appearing in their eyes. "We're so stupid!" Mikuo gasped between snickers, clutching his stomach.
"No, you're the idiot!" Miku laughed back, rubbing her fist into the back of Mikuo's head. "You should've said something about this sooner!"
As the twins continued their cheerful banter back and forth, Len took a step back and stared at the Hatsune twins with a smile on his face. He couldn't quite describe what he was feeling inside, this happiness that Miku had cleared things up with her brother, that he had in someway helped.
Before Len could go over and pat them both on the back, he heard a strange sound coming from the deeper in the alley. The hair on the back of his neck standing on end, he listened as the thudding noise came closer towards them, heavier with each step. A person. A group of people, they were coming, and Len couldn't shake off the bad feeling he had.
"Uh, Miku, Mikuo?" he nervously asked, poking them both on the shoulder.
"Oh, Len, sorry!" Miku exclaimed, getting up on her feet and pulling Len into a hug. "I'm sorry you had to get involved, but uh… thanks. Thanks for helping us."
She said those last words in a mumbled rush, burying her burning red face into Len's shoulder. For a second, Len just stood there, petting her on the head, when he suddenly remembered the noise.
"Wait, no, uh, before that, we should go," Len hastily said, breaking free from the hug.
"Oh, right, we're still on a date," Miku teased with a playful smile. "Where do you wanna go next?"
"Uh, well, let me think about it later, maybe," Len replied. He turned to Mikuo and said, "You should come with us too."
"Why? I'm not mean enough to barge in on a date," Mikuo grumbled, getting up.
"No, it's not about that!" Len stressed before Miku could get a wry comment in. "I think—"
"You think what, Boyfriend-kun?" a coarse voice leered from the darkness.
Mikuo let out a surprised shriek and instinctively leapt for Len and Miku, dashing behind them. Len gulped as a someone stepped out of the shadows, closely followed by a small group of men, all dressed in black. The man in question stood out from the rest, not necessarily towering over the others and yet exuding a hidden malice from the sly smile on his lips. His body was covered in freshly wrapped bandages, snaking around his torso and his two arms all the way to his neck and over his right eye. His left eye was a glowing purple that matched the malice dancing on his smile, his hair matching his eyes to a shade of purple that almost matched black. The fringe of his coat was in tatters and hung off his shoulder, lazily following its master with every step he took.
"Taito," Mikuo breathed, his grip tightening on Len and Miku's shirts.
"If it isn't the young master?" Taito said in a taunting tone. "Your father's been worried about where you've been, you know. And yet I thought I heard something about you wanting to leave your dear father alone?"
Taito shook his head dramatically, sighing. "Youngsters these days, they don't seem to know how to be grateful to their parents."
"What do you want?" Mikuo grumbled, finally letting go of Len and Miku, having gotten over his initial shock.
"I was just sent to pick you up, that's all," Taito said, shrugging with a wry smile, twirling a strand of hair.
Mikuo let out a resigned sigh. He turned to Miku and Len and lowered his gaze for a moment. He mumbled, "Well, then, uh, thanks for everything. I'll see you around then."
"Oh right, I have a warning for the young lady over there," Taito remarked, tapping the side of his head. The smirk on his face was obvious as he tauntingly said, "Your dear father's still waiting for you to make your decision, so while you're thinking about it, please don't plant ideas like these in Mikuo's head please."
"I didn't do anything like that," Miku definitely shot back, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder.
The smile on Taito's face wavered. His eyes narrowing a bit, his voice shifted to a much more serious tone as he said, "Let me rephrase myself then. If you try to take him away, not only will you fail, you shouldn't try to hold anyone responsible for the…" He reached out and pinched Mikuo's cheek, causing the latter to wince. "…unhealthy consequences."
For some reason, as vague as his words were, the meaning behind them was clear as day. Someone was going to get hurt. Very badly.
"You're a bunch of sick bastards, doing whatever you want to other people's lives."
The words slipped out of Len's mouth before he hold them back, his initial impulsive anger turning to a realization that he'd probably just said something pretty offensive to someone he most definitely should be somewhat scared of.
Taito shifted his eyes onto Len, his eyes narrowed into a glare. Slowly, he said, "You're the young lady's boyfriend, aren't you?"
"Yes." Len for some reason felt compelled to reply. Taito opened his mouth as if to say something else, but Len cut in, his stupid side kicking in. "And I know, it's not my place to say anything about this issue here, but as Miku's boyfriend, I think I'm entitled to having the duty of protecting her, so if you want to hurt her, you'll have to go through me first."
Len finished with a deep breath, glaring back at Taito determinedly as some unknown breeze ruffled his hair. He blinked and glanced over at Miku, who had this almost amazed look in her eyes. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and said, "Let's go then, shall we?"
Miku nodded, almost as if still wrapping her head around what Len had just said. Len was slightly amused, especially when seeing that Mikuo seemed to have that same look on his face. Len had a moment to wonder if he and Rin were like that too, sporting identical expressions, when he heard Taito sneer, "Well aren't you confident, blondie? But you've already made a fatal mistake here. You should never turn your back to the enemy, especially when you've pissed them off."
"Look out!" Mikuo shouted just as Len turned around, alarmed. He was a second too late as a fist caught him right in the face, propelling him backwards into the pavement of the alley.
"LEN!" Miku screamed, rushing over and helping him get up as he painfully pushed himself off the ground. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Len mumbled, clutching his cheek and trying to find his balance, his head spinning from the numbness.
Miku turned and shot Taito an glare, shouting, "What did you do that for?"
"Oh, it seems like I tripped," Taito cheerfully replied, studying the back of his hand with mock surprise. His eyes shifted towards Len with a cheerful smile that oozed of hostility, if that even made sense. "But even so, you just insulted my master, did you not? If I remember correctly, you said something about him being a…sick bastard, right, blondie?"
Len felt a shiver run through his entire body, the contempt packed into that last word striking him with an uncontrollable fear. The vehemence in those words alone was enough to get Taito's message across without him ever having to say it.
Len was going to die.
"I mean, you insulting me means nothing, but saying such insulting things about my master when he's not even present about things that children like you couldn't possibly understand…" Taito's grin only widened from there on out, a glint of madness in his left eye. "As his friend and servant, I'm afraid I can't overlook that. You said you'd protect the young lady, right? Then let's see what you've got."
"Len, let's get out of here," Miku desperately whispered, tugging on Len's sleeve. Len gave a small nod, still wavering on his two feet. Miku cast her brother a sorry glance and turned, starting to run back out the alley, dragging Len behind her.
"Oops, not so fast," Taito chimed, leaping over in one graceful jump and wrenching Len out her grasp. Len let out a surprised yelp just as Taito slammed him into the brick wall beside them. Gripping the front of Len's shirt, Taito dragged Len up to eye-level with him and watched Len struggle against his grasp. He taunted, "Come on, blondie. Try and defend yourself, won't you?"
"Leave him alone!" Mikuo shouted, pushing past the other men. He grabbed Taito by the arm and hissed, "You just came here to get me, right?"
"Of course, but first I have to teach this boy a lesson," Taito replied, letting Len drop to the ground, gasping for breath. Miku attempted to help him stand again, but Len found it more difficult this time, his head ringing from the impact of hitting the wall.
"No, you don't!" Mikuo snapped. "Just let them be, Taito!"
Taito lazily cast Mikuo an annoyed glared, scratching at the bandages over his right eyes with his pinky. Suddenly, he turned to the other men who'd been on stand-by and said, "Escort the young master back. I'll deal with this brat."
"Taito!" Mikuo shouted, trying to shake off the hands that suddenly grabbed him.
"Sorry, kid," Taito said, giving him a sly smile. "I only obey your father's orders, and otherwise I'm free to do what I want. And… that doesn't mean I'm letting the two of you run away again."
"Run! Now!" Len shouted, pushing Miku ahead of him as they burst into a dash. The corner was just ahead, the light growing stronger from where the crowds of shoppers were. If they could just get there, close enough, they could get help, and Taito would stop his pursuit.
If only they could get there.
Len heard the screeching noise of metal grinding against cobbled stone just as he swerved into the next alley. He made the mistake of chancing a glance backwards. A blur silver was all he saw before something hard hit him right in the back of the head. Len grunted in pain, tripping and falling face-first into the pavement.
"Len!" Miku screamed again as she froze in her tracks, about to turn around. Len caught a glimpse of her pale face, drowned in terror as her eyes widened with horror. Was she scared? Of course she'd be scared. But Len couldn't let Miku get any closer. If she did, she'd never leave and get help. They'd both be stuck here, and maybe she'd get hurt too. He couldn't let that happen. He had to protect her. He had to.
"Don't stop!" Len shouted, his voice hoarse but enough to startle Miku from getting any closer. He struggled to push himself up onto all fours, panting for breath. His head felt a little dizzy, but he ignored it, shifting his eyes to meet Miku's. "Don't stop running until you find help or get the police! I'll be fine so just go!"
"But I can't leave you here alone, Len!" Miku shouted, her fingers clenched together, unable to stop shaking. "If I do that, I… I don't know what will happen to…"
"The young lady's right," Taito sneered from behind Len, a dull thudding noise pounding steadily behind him. It sounded like a bat, or a pole, that Taito was holding, smacking his hand on the round surface, ready for a fight. "Who knows what will happen to you."
On hearing that, the look of terror on Miku's face intensified. She held her ground, but Len knew she was about to run over any second now. He couldn't let that happen. Not when he's just promised to always be there for her, to protect her.
"Ignore him and just go, Miku!" Len shouted, his voice urgent. "If I go with you, he won't give up, so run and get help! I'll be fine so just hurry up and run!"
Tears were brimming Miku's eyes by now. She bit her lip, hard, before shutting her eyes and tartly nodding, spinning around and heading the other direction. Len felt himself smile. He wasn't sure why as he got up onto his two feet again, turning to face the bandaged man. It looked like a pole in his hands. Len really couldn't tell anymore. His head was ringing, his vision a blur, but he held his ground anyways, meeting those malicious purple eyes with a determined glare.
"Now that's the spirit," Taito grinned, suddenly dropping the pole (Len decided it must be a pole. The sound of it hitting the floor rang to loudly in his ears for his comfort.). "Let's have a nice fair fight as two men, shall we?"
Before Len could react, Taito lunged for him, a punch aimed at Len's face. Len ducked at the last second and willed his entire body forward, hoping he'd make contact. Really, he didn't have any experience in fighting at all, but he had to buy time. At least hold on until Miku found help, was safe.
He made impact, but it was a futile effort. Taito barely grunted, instead grabbing the back of Len's shirt and tossing him to the side like a rag doll. Len winced in pain as he felt himself hit something concrete. He struggled to push himself up, but his vision was dancing with red and black spots. Was someone laughing? He thought he saw a wild grin sneering at him, a face absent. Like the Cheshire Cat. Len chuckled to himself. What was he doing, referencing his favorite childhood books? Was it because he was going to die? No, he didn't quite want to die, not yet. Not yet. He had to at least make sure Miku was ok.
"Hmph," Taito's voice snorted from somewhere. "Even if I call it's a fair fight, there's nothing I can do about you being weak!"
By some miracle, Len evaded the kick aimed at his stomach by dodging to the left. His left was Taito's right. His bandaged eye. Maybe he couldn't see. Len wasn't sure how he was still thinking properly, but he leapt onto his right foot and spun around, his left coming into contact square into Taito's chest. He flung himself at Taito almost immediately afterwards, tackling him into the ground and somehow leaping back onto his two feet. He misjudged his balance, wobbling a bit before his butt hit the floor, a sharp pain tearing at his ankle.
"Hmm, not bad, blondie, but there's nothing you can do now," Taito snarled, slowly pushing himself up to tower over Len, who was clutching his ankle in pain. "Looks like you sprained it. I wonder just how much bad luck you must have?"
Taito kicked Len right in the stomach, sending him flying backwards. Len hit the ground, gagging as his shoulder ground into the pavement, coughing up blood. He tried to get up, but the searing pain in his ankle kept him from doing so. A hand reached out from nowhere and grabbed his collar again, lifting him up into the air. A pale white face glimmered from behind a messy mass of blackish-purple, but he couldn't make out a face, even though Len was a hundred percent sure it was Taito. Struggling to get out of Taito's grip, Len thought he heard Taito snicker, "That's right, that's the spirit. Keep on struggling blondie. I still have time to pay you back for that insult."
Len swung the leg that wasn't hurting at Taito out of instinct, but either he missed, or Taito didn't even feel it. A blow hit Len right in the stomach and he crumbled back onto the floor again, his face buried into the cobble stone mixed with dirt and grime.
"Come on, get up!" Taito sneered, digging his heel right into Len's side. Len let out a cry of pain but Taito glowered at him and snarled, "The fun's just started you know. You can't give up yet, not until I properly pay you back. No one insults my master, you hear me! No one!"
For every sentence he spat out, Taito drove his foot deeper into Len's side, eventually resorting to kicking at Len's back like he might do to a soccer ball. Len just shut his eyes tight, clutching at his head, his mind already screaming for Taito to stop, to leave him alone. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt, it hurt ithurtithurtithurt IT HURT IT HURT! Len wanted to scream out loud but he bit his lip until there was something wet, salty in his mouth. He couldn't scream. He had to wait for Miku to come back, to show that he was okay. Taito would get bored soon. He would, Len knew he would, he wanted him to. He wanted it to stop, he wanted to fight back, but he was powerless. All he could do was stay there, crumpled, his body unable to fight the kicks aimed at it. Taito would stop soon. Please please please stop soon. Len was almost ready to beg someone, anyone, to stop the pain, but he couldn't open his mouth. It hurt to move, so he just lay there silently, a whimper sometimes escaping from his mouth.
"Tch, I got bored," Taito suddenly snorted, his foot just an inch from hitting Len again. Len heard him adjust his coat before his breathing hissed into Len's ear, "You ought to count yourself lucky. Maybe you'll survive till the young lady comes back."
Len didn't dare to open his eyes. Thank god. He was going to stop. The pain would stop. Miku was going to come back. He just needed to wait for her, patiently. He just just had to wait for Miku. He just had to wait for Miku. He just had to wait—
Something hit the back of Len's head with a dull thud. Something heavy. Someone's words got jumbled into the mix. Len for some reason didn't feel the pain. He was numb all over. Numb. His vision was flickering now. Shoot, he was going to pass out. Miku wasn't here yet. She was coming right? Of course she was. He just had to wait for her. He could wait for Miku. He would wait for her.
He was suddenly plunged into a world of darkness. He couldn't see anymore, he couldn't feel anything either. Was he dead? It couldn't be. He was probably just unconscious, Len tried to convince himself. If he just waited patiently, patiently… He had to wait for Miku. He had to wait for her. Her. Her? Len suddenly felt nauseous. Was something clutching his head? What was it? His own hands? It didn't matter. All he needed to do was wait. He had to wait. Had to wait. Wait for…
Who?
A/N: Hahaha… Well, here's another horribly long and I guess somewhat depressing flashback that I was too lazy to conclude (again)… How long has it been since I last updated? It feels like it's been forever… Apparently being on vacation only makes people lazier, or at least in my case… T_T
Taito was a last minute addition, cause I suddenly decided I didn't want Mikuo to become an evil brat, haha. And I sorta went crazy towards the end, so feel free to tell me if you didn't like how I depicted it. It also might've happened cause I somehow wrote the last bit in one sitting at like midnight… so yeah…
But all in all, thanks for reading! And for putting up with my lazy updating! I'll try and be more prolific from now on! (Well, uh, once I finish all my summer homework that is… XP)