Sumire walked rapidly down the street, heading for the meeting place that she and Fujima had set. She growled to herself as she rounded a corner, heading for the ice cream shop Fujima had taken her to on their first "date". Why did Mom have to suddenly give me a mile-long grocery list just because I so happened to be going out?! I'm going out on a DATE with my boyfriend! It's not like I was going to go shopping! She glanced momentarily at her watch, and groaned. It was just five minutes to four in the afternoon, and she was NOWHERE near the ice cream shop yet. "Oh great, just great! NOW I know I'm going to be late!"
She looked around her, trying to see if she could take a shortcut somewhere. She sighed in relief when she saw a small alley to her left. Oh thank God! She turned on her heel, heaving the grocery bags, and started walking purposefully down the alley. I think this leads to the little side street that opens up on the side of the ice cream shop… Hopefully if I take it I'll get there on time.
She was halfway down the alley when she heard groans and thumps coming from the other end. She stopped, listening carefully. What's this? A fight? She knew that the most logical thing to do would have been to just turn around and get the hell out, but her curiosity got the better of her, and she walked forward slowly, trying to avoid being seen.
What she saw immediately made the blood freeze in her veins. Oh God… Right in front of her, a group of men were all ganging up on another guy, who seemed hardly able to stand up anymore due to the fact that he had taken so many injuries already.
One of the men laughed wickedly as he kicked the other one in the gut. "Serves you right for just leaving us like that, Mitsui. Now you're going to pay."
Sumire hardly noticed it when the grocery bags slipped from her nerveless arms and landed on the pavement with soft thumps. Mitsui… These guys are beating up MITSUI?! But I thought he was the leader…after all, he had to rape me if wanted to become a leader… So why this?
"I told you guys before, I gave up on all this shit!" Mitsui yelled at his attackers, even as he clutched his hurting abdomen. "I had better things to do than this! I found something better…"
"What? That pathetic game of yours? That basketball?" The leader of the gang shook his head. "You gave up on basketball two years ago all because you had an injured knee…that's pretty pathetic, actually. You joined up with us because you felt your other teammates wouldn't accept you. You felt that they had looked down on you after that. You really WERE weak, Mitsui. And to think, I always believed you had the guts to be a gang leader, especially after what you did to that pretty girl we found for you two years ago."
"LEAVE HER THE HELL OUT OF THIS!" Mitsui shouted back. "That was the worst mistake of my life!!! I didn't want to do it to her, I didn't want to hurt her…but what could I do?! You FORCED me to do it!!! You forced me to!!! You told me that I HAD to rape her if I wanted to be accepted!! You MADE me do it!!!!"
The gang leader smirked. "Like hell we did. You did it yourself, Mitsui. You did it all by yourself. We just found her and told you to do it. You did it anyway. We didn't force you. Face the music like a man." And with that he kicked Mitsui again.
Sumire stepped back slowly, shaking her head. What? Mitsui didn't really want to do it? He did it…against his will? She realized then what her heart had been screaming at her all along: that Mitsui was as innocent as she was, mere pawns in a game wherein those who wanted to be accepted had to do outrageous, even criminal, things to belong. He just wanted to fit in… Just as much as I would want to belong, just as much as ANY TEENAGER would want to belong.
And she knew then the significance of his words to her those two years ago…
Gomen nasai…
I didn't want to do it to her, I didn't want to hurt her…but what could I do?! You FORCED me to do it!!!
Sumire screamed in surprise and in pain when a hand grabbed her roughly by the wrist. When her eyes focused again she realized that the gang leader had now grabbed her wrist, and was looking down at her with a malicious gaze.
"Well, well, well, look what we found!" he exclaimed as he pulled Sumire harder towards him. "I remember you… Yeah, you're the one we caught for Mitsui!" He grabbed her other wrist, and pulled it up over her head as he shoved her against the wall. "Mitsui had his fun with you… Now it's my turn…"
Sumire wanted to scream, wanted to struggle, but she couldn't. It's just like before… I couldn't do anything… She closed her eyes, wincing. Is it going to happen all over again?
"NO!"
Sumire felt the hold on her wrists weaken, and she managed to pull herself out of their grasp and back away farther into the alley. A slightly hunched figure stood in front of her, a figure that was covered in cuts and bruises. Her eyes widened. Mitsui?
Mitsui stood in front of her, his arms up in a defensive posture, heaving in air in ragged pants. "If you want her," he muttered as he glared darkly at his opponents, "then you're going to have to get past me first. I hurt her once, and I'm going to make sure she never gets hurt again by the likes of YOU!!"
Sumire stared up at her "protector", even as she managed to get back on her feet again. "Mitsui…"
He glanced at her, smiling slightly around the many wounds on his face. "I know I can't pay you back with money, but I guess I can pay with my life." He nodded towards the other end of the alley. "Look, start running right now. I'm going to be right behind you. I'll try to keep this guys busy so you can have a head start. Can you do that?"
"H-hai!" Sumire stammered as she started heading towards the other end of the alleyway. From the back, she could hear a couple of punches being thrown, and then the sound of someone running behind her. She was tempted to look back and see if it was Mitsui, but then a thought entered her head. What if it isn't him? This thought made her run all the more faster.
In no time she had burst through the end of the alley and into the main street. As she looked around, she found Fujima standing just outside the ice cream shop, obviously waiting for her, and looking just a tad impatient.
"KENJI-KUN!" Sumire ran up to him then, throwing her arms around him. "Kenji-kun, they're after me, they're out to get me…"
Fujima gripped her gently by the shoulders, pushing her back so that he could look down at her face. "Mire-chan, calm down. What's going on? Why were you running like that?"
Sumire was about to answer him, but then, screams from passing women and shouts of "Gangster fight!" echoed back to them. Sumire whirled around, and moving all the more closer to Fujima as she watched Mitsui and his opponents emerge from the alley.
Her boyfriend's eyes narrowed when he saw Mitsui. "Nani? What's going on here?"
"He defended me," Sumire whispered as she watched Mitsui dodge kicks and punches from his attackers. "He defended me when those other guys wanted to-"
Fujima shook his head then. "Don't go on, Mire-chan. Don't go on." He clasped close to him then, his arms almost crushing her. "Kuso… I should have been there… I should have been there to protect you!"
Sumire only let her boyfriend hold her the way he did, relying on his presence psychologically to keep her sane. But Mitsui protected me when you couldn't Fujima… He defended me when you weren't around… And in that moment, it made perfect sense to her what she should do…
The police came at that moment, breaking up the brawl. They put Mitsui in an ambulance, while the other troublemakers they put in a police car. With the ruckus broken up, Fujima straightened up, and held Sumire's hand. "Come Sumire, let's take you home."
Sumire nodded as she followed her boyfriend towards their house. Their date may have been cut short, and she may have lost the groceries, but somehow that didn't seem to matter anymore. Not in the face of something like this.
I have to do it… And I will. Mom and Otoo-san might not like it, but they will have to understand… I will make then understand…
* * *
He really couldn't help but overhear.
Toru had been moving his things from the living room table (after working on a project) to his room when he heard the voices of his aunt, uncle and cousin discussing something loudly in the dining room. Since only an open doorway and nothing more connected the two rooms, Toru sat down on the sofa, and listened.
He heard his uncle's voice first. "WHAT?! You don't want to go through with the trial?!"
"I just think this is the best way to go…" Sumire's voice said quietly.
Now came his aunt's voice. "Hija, do you even KNOW what that means? He will get free, and he will rape other young girls like you, and-"
"Mitsui is NOT a criminal, Mom." The conviction in Sumire's voice was all too clear in Toru's ears. "I found out this afternoon that he was FORCED to do it. He didn't really want to do it…he did it just because he wanted to belong."
"WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE WOULD RAPE WOMEN FOR ACCEPTANCE?!" roared Sumire's father.
The silence that followed was stunning. Toru found himself holding his breath involuntarily. And then…
"When a person, especially a teenager, is desperate for acceptance, they're willing to go the extra mile for it, even if it should mean going against the law," Sumire said quietly. "He just wanted to belong, Otoo-san… If I were in his shoes…someone desperate to find acceptance…I would have done what he did."
The house was quiet again, and Toru thought that his aunt and uncle would turn his cousin down. Though I have to admit, I would understand why they would do that, he thought. After all, after what Mitsui did to her, I don't think he deserves any excuse, not even if he was forced to do it or any of that stuff Mire-chan keeps on talking about…
At last, Sumire's mother uttered a sigh, and said, "Well hija, if that's what you want, then it's just fine by us. If you have found it in yourself to forgive him, then I suppose that we can do the same."
"So you won't put Mitsui on trial?"
"No, if that's what you want."
"Arigatou Mom, Otoo-san."
Toru scurried up to his feet, and ducked into his room just before his aunt, uncle and cousin left the dining room. As he closed the door softly behind him, he stared into space, utterly stunned. She's going to forgive him?! She's going to let that do'aho get away for what he did?! He glared at the wall in front of him. She can't, she CAN'T!!! She can't let that bastard get away without paying, without even SUFFERING at the very least!!!
A soft knock on his door brought him back to reality. From the sound, he knew right away who it was. He turned around, and opened the door to reveal Sumire standing in the doorway.
His cousin smiled up at him. "Could I talk to you for a minute, Toru-kun? Or I can wait later, if you're busy…"
"Iie, now's a good time to talk. And I want to talk to you too," Toru replied as he let Sumire walk into his room before the closed the door behind him. When he was certain that it was firmly shut, he whirled around to Sumire, and hissed, "I can't BELIEVE you're going to let him get away!!!! Just last week you were going on and on about not being able to forgive him and now you're just going to let him go?! What's gotten into you, Mire-chan?!"
Sumire smiled at him, though there was a hint of sadness in it. "Heh, I knew you were listening in." She sighed, and plopped down on his bed. "Do you want to hear why I suddenly thought about it that way?"
"Of course I do," Toru replied as he sat down beside Sumire. "And it'd better be a good explanation, because otherwise I'm going to tell Auntie and Uncle to go on with the trial whether you like it or not."
And Sumire then told him about what happened that afternoon, how Mitsui had actually protected her and prevented her from getting raped a second time. She also told him that Mitsui hadn't really wanted to rape her, that he was forced to do it because he was craving for acceptance.
"And I think you would do the same thing, if you were put under the exact same pressure he was," Sumire told him quietly. "Wouldn't you be desperate to be accepted if the same thing had happened to you?"
Toru smirked. "You know that I would NEVER, under any circumstance, allow myself to stoop so low as to actually RAPE a girl just to be accepted by some bunch of morons!"
"Put yourself in his shoes for once, Toru-kun. Imagine getting injured almost permanently, unable to play the game because of that… I know you, Toru-kun. A large part of your life revolves around playing basketball. It's the same thing with Mitsui. He was kicked out of the team – albeit for a while – because of his injury. He couldn't do what he loved to do the most. And then…and then it started to spiral down from there, I guess."
Toru was silent, thinking it over. Would I really be that desperate? He put himself in the situation Sumire had made him think about, he thought about what he would have done… And he shuddered. He realized that yes, he would have done the same thing if he were in Mitsui's situation. He shook his head, and sighed, bending it. "I guess…you're right, Mire-chan."
Sumire sighed, and hugged him comfortingly. "Don't worry, Toru-kun. I know what I'm doing. I know that he deserves to be forgiven. I was just too stubborn to notice it, and too hurt, I suppose."
Toru nodded, putting his other arm around her as well. "I always knew you were smart, Mire-chan. And I guess this is one of those times when you're just absolutely brilliant."
"Stop flattering me, Toru-kun. You know, if you keep that up you're never going to have a steady girlfriend."
"Yeah right. Flattery will only make the girl fall all the harder."
Sumire glared at him. "Then does that mean you're just flattering me?"
Toru grinned. "I didn't say anything."
"TORU-KUN!!!!"
AUTHOR'S OOC:
Harle glares at Mitsui: All right, I made sure you got away. Now will you PLEASE let go of my boot now?
Chibi-Mitsui nods, and lets go: Oh, arigatou Harle-sama!!!
Maia shakes her head: You should've just squashed him, you know. You ARE wearing your steel-toed boots…
Harle shakes head: I'm not the one who will do the squashing…
Chibi-Fujima and Chibi-Toru glaring at Mitsui: You're going to die…
Chibi-Mitsui looks at Harle desperately: Oi, Harle-sama, I thought they weren't going to beat me up anymore!!!
Harle shrugs: Not in the official story, but here, I have no control over them, so… Sorry?
Chibi-Mitsui eyes widen in panic as Fujima and Toru get closer: Aahh…guys, we can talk this over, ne? Ne?
Chibi-Fujima eyes flash fire: No.
Mitsui runs off, leaving a little dust-cloud in his wake, followed by Fujima and Toru
Maia sighs: And there they go… Wonder if Mitsui will survive this?
Harle shrugs: He will. He's been able to survive other things; why not this? Anyway, I think it's about time we wrapped this thing up. However, I don't think this is the end just yet…not by a long shot…