Sinking Into Pools of Mocha 2
AN: Crawford is OOC and it's understandably due to the fact he is such an enigmatic person like many other Animé or game guys I know. Obviously I am open to constructive criticism relating to this character.
****
Her stunned green eyes couldn't focus after receiving that nasty facial blow. The throbbing pain on her right cheek wasn't getting any better and she could feel a bright red rash form from the mighty backhand strike. Makoto stared at the new figure who had arrived at the fight scene. Damn, was this fight making her hallucinate? Or was she the one in need of glasses and not the guy standing in front of her? This surely was impossible. It couldn't be that hotshot from five years ago.
She had no time to make a remark when another punch came right at her. Makoto managed to divert the incoming left hook away from her face, preventing a second bruise to the other cheek by defending with an upper rising block. She came in with a roundhouse elbow but the strike was cancelled by a stronger and larger arm. The end of her elbow clashed against another hard bone, causing the rest of her arm to experience funny sensations. Very rarely did she come across any opponents who could punch like that. Who would have thought that a guy who ordered coffee every day had hidden such a skill?
"I see you remember me," said the guy known as Brad who easily evaded more punches coming to his face with casual blocks. "However people call me Crawford rather than my first name." He then threw an uppercut to the jaw, making the brunette girl skid backwards to almost crash into a shop window.
"I…" Makoto was unable to speak much from the shock she was suffering through these attacks and by discovering a recognisable face from the past. "I don't understand."
"Really, you Japanese people should be aware of such customs." Crawford was slightly annoyed with the girl's lack of quick understanding though still continued to explain his reason for being called by the preferred name." I feel it is more business-like and respectful to be referred by surname."
"That's not what I…" She couldn't seem to get the words out of her mouth and struggled to catch her breath. Once recovering in less than a minute, her mind was intent on asking who this guy really was when she found herself dodging another punch by jumping away from the window, landing in a different part of the street to distance herself from Crawford. She heard a familiar laugh tickle her ears and she realised that the white haired dude, who was licking his knife disgustingly, seemed to be enjoying this show. Shit, my night really sucks She thought before forcing her head to turn away from the horrible sight.
"Now, now Fraulein. How can you say that when Crawford is having fun with you?" Another foreign tone joined in. Dammit just how many more were they going to be? Makoto watched a third shadow appear into the light and stand aside the knifeman. Just how did he know what she was thinking? Ignoring this suspicion, Makoto cast her eyes on the appearance of the third part member. The first thing she perceived was the difference in clothing between the two. Compared to the white haired dude with a scarred face, this new guy was into strange yet sleek fashion plus had long orange hair which seemed to be flying behind his shoulders. And why was it was that these three guys had a nasty habit of smirking sadistically. "Crawford, are you sure you don't want me and Farfarello to join in?"
"I can take care of her, Schuldig," Crawford answered, flashing a small grin to his friends. Makoto certainly didn't find any of this fun at all. In fact it was a nightmare to be bullied by more than one person. Ever since school she hated bullies who picked on weaker people. And it never made her any angrier to find out that a man she had a previous crush on was one of these commonly conceited losers who teased innocent individuals. These guys must have planned the assault on that poor teenage girl. It was to get Makoto's attention, wasn't it? That had to be the answer.
What a bunch of bastards. Makoto found herself growing twice as enraged since taking on that cropped haired knifeman a few minutes ago and didn't waste another second to re-commence her fight against a certain black haired man in an expensive suit. She released a spiritual cry and charged at Crawford with two punches from both hands. It didn't matter whether her knuckles were reddening from the clash against another pair of fists. Her main concern was to get this guy to bleed and turn him into the police, alongside his buddies. Crawford still had a nonchalant smile around his lips while he continuously narrowed the damage of her incoming punches. Makoto could tell his defences to the abdomen were good, particularly against her punches. It wouldn't have surprised if he turned out to be a professional boxer. Boxers had good defence against fist strikes after all, right?
Makoto was convinced that the other two (Schuldig and Farfarello were probably their names, which sounded pretty weird in her opinion) were whispering to each other about something. The topic had to be about her, didn't it? Despite the fact that Crawford told them he was okay fighting her, she had to expect the unexpected. You couldn't trust what your opponents say. Maybe they wanted to throw you off guard and startle you from behind with a group attack. Of course she had to keep her focus on Crawford though also on the other two weird guys as well in case this prediction came true.
Makoto ascended into the air, preparing a downward elbow attack. Predictably, Crawford blocked this move with that big arm of his…but how would he deal with something else? After landing back on the ground, she took this opportunity to pull away from her unsuccessful elbow and immediately performed a vicious roundhouse kick with her left leg. A brief gasp from the two onlookers was all she needed to hear. It was a hit. She got a strike in after God knows how many minutes of endless blocking with the hands and evading one's attacks. Makoto could see a small part of her footprint stain underneath Crawford's chin and the impact of the kick also caused his glasses to be put out of place from his nose. The sight of seeing him seriously pissed off was something that told Makoto victory was just round the corner. She could feel it.
"Surprised you there, didn't I?" She said as she set her left leg down. The young Karate student didn't provide the opponent a chance to recover from her unexpected foot attack and decided to perform the same move - albeit with the other leg. Seeing as this guy got a rough hit to the face she had to take this free moment to hit him hard again and delivered a second roundhouse. "Take this, you son of a…huh?" Her assumed target unfortunately didn't seem to connect and instead she found her right foot to be caught in a firm hold. "Dammit."
Crawford's dark grin was back on his face, which could only mean a bad sign. And yes indeed things were starting to look bad. The next thing Makoto knew she found her whole body losing balance and her back collided against the solid pavement. However her new surge of pain hadn't finished yet. Crawford's thick hands grabbed the young brunette by the jacket collars and hurled her across, smashing into the phone box. A déjà vu of her defeat against Fiore sprung to mind. This was how she landed after he hit her with a strange beam.
"Not bad," Crawford said as he approached Makoto, who was evidently having trouble gaining her balance to stand up. There was a lot of pain spreading from all parts of her body and she could barely move to escape from these psychos. Each time her hands gripped the broken glass on both sides she ended up shedding more blood from her palms. It was only worsening her condition.
"Well that was fun, wasn't it?" Schuldig remarked and joined the man in the suit.
"Look at the blood and bruises all over her face," replied Farfarello, aka the knife-licker as Makoto considered in her mind. "I want to taste some." He held out his blade to show his temptation to get close to the sight of blood.
"I think the pretty lady has lost her voice," added Schuldig, the guy with orange hair. He outstretched his hand to touch the top of Makoto's head as if attempting to get inside. She didn't know what the hell he was doing and couldn't exactly fight back due to the painful crash she had just encountered. Crawford looked at him, expecting an answer from his friend. When he took his hand off her forehead, Schuldig stated, "She still can't believe someone like you would do this."
Crawford knelt beside her, examining the loser in this fight. "It's my job to be ruthless when I need to be, Makoto." His eyes didn't show any care whatsoever when he spoke.
"Y-you remember my name as well," She exclaimed weakly. Was she meant to be thrilled that they recognised one another? But how could she? Now wasn't an appropriate time to throw herself into his arms and treat this as a carefree reunion. Besides, why should she be extremely overjoyed? It was obvious who the enemy was here. Makoto saw this was the first time tonight he was this close to her and she could get a better glimpse of him from where she was lying.
That cream suit he was wearing must be pretty expensive. She couldn't see any unwanted creases popping up on the sleeves or around the trousers. Very rarely were there any men who could iron their clothes with such neatness. Then again this guy may have someone else to be ironing his funky suit for him, which would explain why the garments looked like they had been used on a film set. Makoto noticed that the expensive suit made this guy look older than his age. But what hadn't changed from before were his dark brown eyes hidden behind those glasses. Plus the smooth black strands that blended well with his entire physique.
"Why don't you kill me?" Makoto suggested. "I lost, didn't I? So go on. Do it." Crawford, Farfarello and Schuldig looked at one another. Did they hear right? Did she just openly tell them to end her life? Makoto didn't care whether they believed her or not. She was being very honest. Her jade orbs watched Crawford slip his hand into his blazer. Even before his hand came out, she was aware of what he had hidden inside. This was extra proof that he wasn't a good guy. He was most definitely one of the baddies. The pistol snuggled smoothly underneath her chin and then moved towards her forehead in a swift motion.
One glance at all three smirking faces and she anticipated the next action within an instant. It was time to say goodbye to this world once again. How many more times was she going to die and then get resurrected? Then again she may not be resurrected this time. Perhaps her time to rest in peace was here at long last. There wasn't anything she could do to fight back. The pain was unbearable. Almost made her feel paralysed. While waiting for the trigger to click and the bullet to jam into her cerebral, Makoto closed her eyes tightly to brace for the pain. However…none of that came, which amazed her.
Maybe it wasn't her time to die at all, which would explain why Crawford suddenly took the gun off her forehead. But why the hell was he still smirking at her in that cruel way of his? Makoto didn't understand what was going on and it looked like the other two friends weren't expecting this change of plan either, judging by the puzzled façades developing on their faces. Releasing a loud 'humph' into the air, Crawford placed his gun back into his blazer and stood up as usual, facing away from Makoto.
"Let's go," He told Farfarello and Schuldig, who both still seemed to be aghast by what their buddy just did. "What? Do you not understand my order?"
"What about her?" Farfarello queried about the fallen girl by the destroyed phone box.
With his back still turned, Crawford took one last peek over his shoulder and his eyes met hers for one minute. It was now a game of who could win in a glaring contest. Anyone could win, it seemed. On the contrary Crawford wasn't going to hang around for long to play this game when there were sirens blazing nearby now, was he? The police or whatever emergency service was working had arrived at last. "Leave the girl." And without another word, the three men disappeared in front Makoto's eyes.
Did that girl pluck the courage to dial the emergency number at the *last minute*? She had no idea what kind of hell Makoto had gone through tonight. In spite of gaining an intention to scold that teenage girl the next time she saw her, Makoto was glad the victim managed to get some help from outside. The girl was smart enough to at least obey a trustworthy person's order. If only she could have done so sooner then none of the injuries Makoto received would have taken place.
"Makoto, are you okay? Oh my god, what happened?" Tai's voice rang her eardrums. He must have heard the commotion while doing his shift tonight. Although his shocked intonation seemed to be fading further and further away when she felt herself losing consciousness right this minute. "H-hey, Makoto, don't die on me now. Just hang in there." But she was already out cold when he said that.
****
Schuldig couldn't hold back his amazement. "I didn't think you would actually let her…"
"Don't talk, Schuldig," The Schwarz leader said as he steered the car out of town.
Schuldig ignored his command and went on. "I read her mind and there was something peculiarly interesting inside. It just makes me wonder whether it had anything to do with letting her live." He raised his eyebrows curiously, hoping it would catch the American's attention. And yes it did. Crawford looked at the German with one eye while keeping the other on the road. By hearing the telepath say that he must be up to his mischievous self again. Something peculiarly interesting…why couldn't he say something simpler rather than hide the truth behind long words? "What went on between the two of you in the past, Crawford? Hmm?"
"*Nothing* happened in that brief period of time," Crawford answered firmly. "Five years ago, I was working undercover while still at Eszett. She worked as a waitress and we just happened to see eye to eye briefly. Why I let her live tonight is still confusing me, ok? Are you satisfied with what I said now?"
"Oh definitely. Yep I totally believe you." The orange haired team mate heaved his hands in the air to show he was happy. Of course Crawford's given answer wasn't enough to hold him off from finding out more about Makoto. Schuldig was persistent when it came to tormenting people's minds and hurting them with images relating to their memories or feelings. The Schwarz leader wasn't going to let the rebellious German do as he pleased when he was around. No way! What he intended to do with that Japanese girl was his business. It had nothing to do with the rest of Schwarz.
His thoughts shortly went into a flashback of the moment when his dark brown irises clashed with those pools of piercing jade. Their locked glares met in a hard impact for a few seconds prior to the arrival of the police, ambulance or whoever it was that had come to ruin Schwarz's night. Even though she was hurt, Makoto still had that angry, fighting spirit burning inside, ready to take Crawford out the next time they saw each other. Hopefully she would understand that was the primary reason for being allowed to live. Although it was likely that she was also not aware of other excuses too.
TBC
