He never understood people who said Kira didn't stand out. To him she was like a sole lily amidst a sea of weeds. So when he was sauntering in the mall, he immediately spotted her as she entered. She was a floor lower and if he had been like most people he would have used the escalator to reach her. As it was he climbed over the railing and jumped down some five feet away from her. For a moment she was startled, then her sweet smile coloured her face.

"Rei, are you shopping?" she asked as she swung her bag around her shoulder.

"Nah, just hanging out, you?" he replied.

"I am looking for some new pencils," she said, still smiling shyly.

"Ok, let's take a look around then," he said and offered his hand. She grabbed it with both hands and followed him through the crowd. He felt her bracelet against his arm

and realized how much it belonged there. They went inside a little stationary shop.  Carefully she studied all kinds of pencils in an attempt to find the perfect one.

"You're not bored, are you?" she asked after a while as she looked up for a moment. He shook his head. Actually he was a little, but he reminded himself of how many times she had busied herself with motor parts. Finally she bought three very the same looking pencils and put them in her bag.

"So where are we going now?" Rei asked smiling.

"Well, I was planning to sketch some children in the park this afternoon," she said hesitantly.

He shook his head, smiling.

"But you won't mind one little ride, do you Kira?" he said teasingly.

"I would like that," she replied softly. Rei led her to the exit of the mall and pointed at the long tail fluttering behind her.

"Like the hairdo," he said. The familiar colour came to her cheeks.

"You do? I have never wore it like this, but Harumi insisted I would," she said. Harumi.

He was still amazed by how her attitude towards Kira had changed so completely. Maybe that's the effect she has on people. They reached his motorcycle and he went for the keys in his pocket. Suddenly there was the loud sound of some speeded up engines. He looked up to see three motorcycles drive up the parking lot. They were all painted black with red stripes across the wheels. Shit, it's those guys! The Red Firebrands or whatever. Apparently they had recognized him as well for they were driving straight at them. Kira looked up at him with a questioning look on her face. He tried to give a reassuring smile and pushed her somewhat behind him. The cyclers stopped in front of them and the biggest one took of his helmet, revealing a big nose and a greased quiff.

"Rei."

"Toru," he replied, giving him a casual stare. Normally he wouldn't have given a shit if these guys would come after him, but something had changed; Kira was with him.

"How nice to see you again, I never thought we would meet up with you again," Toru said sarcastically. Rei smiled.

"Likewise. I thought I had lost you guys forever. Are you still calling yourselves by that lame name?"

Toru lost his cool.

"You asshole, you're going to cough up blood once we are finished with you!" he hissed. From the corner of his eyes he saw how Kira shot him a puzzled look. He wished she would just walk away. Instead she grabbed his hand. He didn't know if she did it to seek comfort or to give it. The others now also laid of their helmets and placed themselves next to their leader.

"Who's that guy?" the youngest asked.

"He's the one who burned our garage! Man all the motors we had in there were destroyed," the other said angrily. Both now shot him a menacing glance. Kira squeezed his hand a little more. He had never wanted her to know about this. My behaviour has already shocked her enough times. Rei turned around to her and nodded his head in the direction of the road.

"You'd better leave now," he said. She looked up at him and shook her head.

"Kira, I can't handle this with you here!" he yelled. She looked startled for a moment, but let go of his hand. It was clear she still hesitated. At the moment she turned around, Toru stepped forward and grabbed her by her tail.

"What soft hair. Is she your girlfriend? She looks like a prude but is actually kind of cute," Toru said laughing about the little rhyme. Kira tried to pull away, but he pulled harshly at her hair. The next moment Rei's fist was in his face.

"Run!" he shouted to Kira. Then he turned around and was almost stabbed by a knife. He ducked away at the last moment and used the force of his opponents swing against him as he grabbed his hand and threw him to his bike. The boy fell back against it and caused it to fall. Toru and the other one came at him from both sides. He avoided a flying foot and immediately threw a punch. After that he kicked Toru against his neck. He fell back, gasping for breath. Rei looked back for a second and saw Kira disappearing quickly Good. Then he resumed his onslaught of kicks and punches. The youngest was the first to run away, but the other two were advancing on him. Both of them were good fighters, which wasn't really surprising; they probably had fights like this every other day. One of their punches connected with his face causing blood to stream down his nose. It fuelled his desire to hurt them. When the same fist tried to hit him at the same place again he took a step back. His assailant's hand only connected with air. And the force the guy had used now almost made him lose his balance.

"Aaah, you piece of shit," he screamed frustrated.

But Rei didn't have time to deal with him; Toru came from the other side and jumped up, intending to kick him. This time he didn't move away, but instead grabbed the others foot and pulled it up. Toru lost his balance and fell down on his butt. The Firebrand had a painful look on his face, but wasn't ready to quit yet. As Rei advanced on him he quickly rolled away and stood up a few feet farther. As this happened Rei walked to the other and hit him quickly with both his fists. The boy screamed and fell down on the road, trying to stop his fall with his hands. Still his knees were hurt as they hit the ground hard. He breathed heavily and rubbed his painful head. Then he tried to get up; it was too painful. His head hurt and his knees didn't agree with his wishes. Now Rei only had Toru to worry about. The gang leader looked surprised at his fallen friend and then with an angry look at Rei.

"Don't think you're going to win like this!" he screamed.

Rei sighed and rolled his eyes. As Toru rushed at him he didn't have to do much more than kick him in his stomach. The force and pain made stagger backwards, but Rei wasn't finished with him yet. His foot, which hadn't reached the ground yet, now went for the back of Toru's knee. Instead of backwards he know fell forwards on his knees. Rei grabbed his hair and pulled it back harshly, forcing his opponent to look up at him.

"Don't ever -ever- bother me again," he said. Then he released him. Toru's upper body now fell a little forward and he needed his hands just to keep his head from falling to the ground as well. Rei calmly walked to his bike and started the engine. Then he drove of. Some time ago he would have afflicted a lot more damage. Now he didn't want to risk going to far; Kira would be devastated if he would be locked up. For a moment he contemplated going to her house, but the nosebleed would probably concern her. Therefore he drove to his own house. As he run up the stairs Kenny hollered at him.

"Rei, you girlfriend called! She sounded a bit strange."

He nodded and threw of his jacket as he went for the phone. It was immediately picked up after he dialled the number.

"Rei?"

"Yes, Kira it's me," he said quietly.

"Are y  you alright?" she faltered.

"Yes, only a bit bruised."

"Who were those guys, Rei?" she asked concerned. He played with the telephone wire in his hand. Her concern did him good, but he didn't really want to tell her about what had happened.

"Is it okay if I tell you tomorrow? I feel kind of tired right now," he said. There was a short silence.

"Okay, see you at school then," she said softly.

"Bye," he replied.

It was clear she realized he wasn't planning to tell her at all and felt a little guilty. Still it's for the best. His troubles with the gang had started when he drove through their neighbourhood in full speed a few times. He had noticed how they threw filthy looks at him, but had ignored it. Instead he had enjoyed taking the route more often. One time he was driving through again, when six of them started driving behind them. It had seemed like a contest and had accelerated. They followed suit, but where not interested in racing. When he had to make a sharp turn one of them drove full speed into one of his wheels, causing him to fall harshly against a container. He had bruised his nose and broken several of his ribs. His motor had been off far worse. It was completely beyond repair. Instead of buying a new one he sorted out where their hideout was. In the evening he got there and took the best motor he could find. He had opened the gasoline tanks of two others and thrown a burning match at the substance. Only later he had found out the entire garage had burned down to the ground.

He yawned and stretched his arms behind his back. Maybe he should just take a look in his history book before he would go to sleep. He didn't want to upset Kira even more by not making his homework.

Of course he had forgotten to install the alarm clock the day before. Or maybe he had and pulled out the plug as it went of. In either case: Rei woke up far too late. He quickly grabbed some clothes from the floor and went for the basin. Then he threw some water in his face and hastily brushed his teeth. He run down the stairs to his motorcycle, started it up and teared away. He had already missed the first few hours and arrived a few minutes after the first break had begun. Tatsuya patted him on his back as he walked through the crowds.

"Hey, were you and Kira skipping class again?" he said teasingly.

"Huh? No, I was just late." He looked up at Tatsuya concerned.

"Kira wasn't at school?"

She's sick? Or maybe she doesn't want to talk to me?

"Nope, she wasn't. Miss Mikage even made the absentee manager call her at home, but no-one answered."

"Maybe she's to sick to even answer," Rei said, thinking aloud.

"Wonder what's wrong with her, maybe poisoned by love?" Tatsuya joked. Rei couldn't laugh about it.

"You got a few yen?" he asked. Tatsuya put his hand first in the pocket of his jacket, but found nothing. Then he reached inside the one on his trousers. After a moment his hand came out with a few coins.

"Here you go," his friend said as he handed them over. Rei nodded and headed over to the telephone booth near the school.

"Give her my well wishes," Tatsuya yelled after him.

He grabbed the telephone, threw in a few coins and dialled Kira's number. Her mother answered.

"Hello, Mrs. Asa it's Rei," he said.

"Hello Rei, what can I do for you?" she asked sounding a little surprised.

"I was wondering about Kira, is she sick?" he asked politely.

"Sick? No, she's at school. But why do you ask? You picked her up yourself," she said confused.

"Picked her up? No, I just woke up. Did she say I would?" he asked. Creepy thoughts began to enter the edge of his mind.

"No, but just as she left the house I heard a motorcycle hit the brakes. I assumed it was you and wanted to say hi, but as soon as I looked out the window she was gone," Kira's mum said.

SHIT! It has to be them! He should never have assumed they would lay of after a beating. Many thought shot through his head at once, but he was absolutely determined to keep the police out of it. They'd bring her in danger.

"Oh, guess it was a friend of mine, I just arrived at school so I wasn't sure if she was alright." He knew he spoke incoherently and hoped Mrs. Aso wasn't alarmed.

"I see you guys later then?" she asked, sounding a little hesitatingly.

"Yes, after we go to the library," he said to buy some time. "See you later then."

"Bye Rei, take care of her."

Take care of her. I should have done that in the first place. As soon as he had laid down the phone he ran to his motorcycle on the school yard. Tatsuya looked at him startled as he passed him. But he had no time to explain. He started the engine and teared away. Where is she? What do they want from her? How did the find her? Did that kid yesterday follow her? Many of the motor gangs he had dealt with weren't exactly gentle with girls and he feared, really feared.

He didn't expect them to have moved very far from their last hide-out as they had seemed very attached to their territory. Therefore he drove up the ring way and headed in that direction. It was a backward neighbourhood, just like the one he lived in himself. Children were raised by brothers and sisters which were not much older than themselves, addicts hung about and people lived in the decayed houses. No miracle kids turn into crooks.  Rei jumped of and headed for the first teenager he spotted.

"Where do I find Toru?" he asked.

The kid eyed him suspiciously.

"I know no Toru," he replied. Rei grabbed him by his collar and pushed him against a wall.

"I have no time for this, where is he?" he hissed.

"Go to hell!" the kid yelled and tried to wrestle himself free. Rei once again pushed him against the wall.

"I think he's a little closer than that."

The boy once again wrestled. Now Rei squeezed his throat, causing him to gasp for breath.

"I don't… stop! stop… it man!" he panted.

"Where?"

"You… mean Toru from… a motor gang?" the boy asked. Rei nodded and eased his grip a little.

"They hang out at… the corner of the… next block," he said as he pointed a finger. Now Rei released him completely and jumped back on his motor. The teenagers swearing reached his ears, but it didn't really get through to him what he said exactly. He raced to the street the boy had indicated and looked around. On the corner he spotted a small garage. Nobody was on the outside, but that didn't mean anything. The door was closed but not locked and he slowly pushed it open. The hallway was completely dark, but he heard noises coming from another door. He swung it open and stared straight into Kira's eyes.

She was sitting on a small chair, looking terrified at Toru who was standing next to her. There were a few other guys spread over the room.

"Rei," she whimpered.

"Kira! What have they done to you?" he screamed. Tears started streaming down her face.

"I'll kill them, have they…?" he said as he walked towards her.

"Not yet," Toru replied instead with a smirk on his face. "We wanted to wait until you showed up, player." Rei clenched his fists and shot an angry look at his enemy. Kira stood up and wanted to walk over, but Toru pushed her back in the chair roughly.

"No, no honey, you're mine now." Rei didn't know what infuriated him more: that he pushed her or claimed her as his. He run up to Toru, but was stopped by three of his comrades, who tried to subdue him. Blinded by anger he didn't know what he was doing, he kicked, punched  and even bitted someone. Then he looked at Kira for less than a second to see if she was all right; he failed to notice the fist that came down on his head hard. Immediately afterwards an arm was twitched behind his back and two guys pushed him to the ground. Toru walked towards him.

"Now we'll teach you something about pain, asshole," he said and hit him in the face with his fist. It was a hard punch and he needed a moment to orientate again. But a second fist already hit his head. Rei spitted some blood and braced himself for another attack. A fist swung at him but didn't reach him. Toru fell down to the floor. He looked up surprised to see Kira standing above him, holding the chair. She looked downwards, clearly shocked by her own actions. All the gang members looked both at her and their fallen leader perplexed. Rei saw his chance and ducked under the one who had held his arm. His opponent fell forward when he punched him in his back. Others jumped at him, but he wasn't where they were headed anymore. Two of them he hit with two fast kicks, another's head connected with his elbow. One tried to get up, but he hit him again. Someone tried to grab his ankles, but he used his foot to stamp on the hand.

"Autsj!!" the guy screamed, looking at his painful hand startled. The other guys now looked at Rei startled, but didn't stop from attacking him. The guy that had been with Toru the day before took a knife and run forward. Rei grabbed his hand and turned it off, driving the weapon deep inside the others leg. The guy fell to the ground screaming. The next guy that came at him got a hard hit on his nose. Rei could practically hear it break. He looked down and took up the chair, which lay on the ground. He first used its legs to give a hit in a stomach. Then he swung it in another opponent's head. Someone tried to pick it up, but Rei kicked away the hands. He grabbed it up again and swung it in his face. 

Toru got up again. With a sudden movement he grabbed a knife from his pocket and advanced towards Kira. Scared she looked from him to Rei, who was at that moment swinging the chair at the last guy still standing.

"You fucking bitch, wait till I am ready with you!" She tried to run away backwards, but he was faster than she.

"Rei!" she screamed panicked.  She ran behind a table, trying to keep it between them. But her assailant closed the distance between them and lashed out with his knife. Kira couldn't duck away anymore and the weapon went for her stomach. Then Toru's hand was caught in midair. He looked up startled to see Rei looking at him. Toru flinched when he saw the terrible expression, but it was too late to expect mercy. A fist hit his head and another. The knife fell on the table as he was thrown to the floor. His head was picked up and slammed against the concrete. Rei couldn't stop himself anymore. He had always been quick to defend himself with violence, but now that they had harmed Kira….

"Rei stop it," the trembling girl behind him said.

But he didn't listen. He had left them alone once before and then this had happened. They must die … or they will never stop. Now he stood up and kicked the panting boy in his side a few times. Then he grabbed the knife from the table.

"Man, stop it…. we will leave you… alone from now. God you're insane!" the guy with the broken nose panted, looking horrified at the murderous look at Reis face. It didn't matter anymore, he saw black before him and he stabbed the knife at Toru. Kira jumped in front of the Firebrand, protecting his chest with her body. He held back and shot her a deadly glance.

"Get away, Kira."

"No," she said and closed her eyes, waiting to get stabbed.

"Why are you protecting him!?" Rei screamed. Her eyes were still closed as she replied.

"I am not. I am protecting you. I don't ever want you to be locked up again!" she said with a panicked voice. For a long time the both of them remained like that. Neither of them was  willing to move an inch. Toru was terrified an kept himself behind Kira.

I am protecting you! Was that really what she was doing? She was so brave waiting there to be hurt, but refusing to give in just to protect him. Finally he extended his hand.

"Come."

She looked up with wet eyes, shivering, not taking the hand. He sighed.

"I am sorry, Kira, I am, just come with me," he said quietly.

Still shivering she finally grabbed his hand and stood up slowly. He used his other hand to wipe away a few tears of her face. Then he laid an arm around her shoulder.

"Shh shh, it's going to be alright, Kira," he whispered. She still sniffed a little, but let him lead her to the door. He turned around when she had already gone through the door.

"If one of you ever…ever… lay your hands on her again, I swear I'll torture you to death," he hissed. Then he closed it behind him.

As they walked towards his motor Kira laid her head against his shoulder. He softly caressed her hair. Rei felt very guilty about what she had gone through. If it wasn't for me those guys would never have bothered her.

"You're not going to tell me steer clear from you now, are you?" Kira said. He looked at her surprised and noticed her smile. How well she knows me!

"You see what happens when you hang out with me," he said quietly.

Kira shook her head, making her light locks swirl around her.

"But you protected me in the end," she said. He looked down, but she touched his cheek lightly, making him look at her. Her lips awfully close.

"I knew you would come Rei. I was scared to death the entire time. But the only reason I didn't lose it completely was that I knew you would be there to protect me." Once again Rei was perplexed by the amount of faith she had in him. I can't miss that. He pressed her closer against him with his arm and brushed his lips softly against hers. She looked at him shyly and then smiled, laying her head trusting against his neck. He softly rubbed her back and guided her towards his bike.

"Come, I'll take you home."

The end.

Aren't Rei and Kira great together? I adore them and hope you liked this story.

Reviews are very welcome.

Greetings,

Miss Kissranada.

p.s.

I got a review saying what happens in this story is kind of like what happens in the manga later.  The idea of this fic came to me when I had only read 1 and 2 (and maybe 3 I am not sure). It feels kind of disappointing as I know it's much nicer to read something like that in the official story. Well I still hope you've enjoyed this and I look am looking forward to what Fuyumi Souryo will come up with next.