Hello readers! No, this isn't DeNice. This is... Chan Yoruyamatiha! Yay!! That's right, the same Chan who is writing The Reconciliation. ^.^ I'm co- authoring this thing with DeNice, my partner, hehe! Have fun reading this, and don't forget to review! We both LOVE getting reviews!

Chapter 6: The Man

"It's him..."

Uriko's eyes widened in shock as she saw Rei hit the ground on his face, his eyes wide open as a silent scream of pain emerged from his lips.

"REI!!!!" She screamed as her eyes rose from his body lying on the ground to the man standing behind where Rei had been previously standing.

Sakura, Sakura Satsu, and Darrell, stood frozen in place as the huge man's face turned into a mean snarl.

Sakura Satsu's eyes slowly widened as she realized that this was the man that Uriko had told her about. The same evil man who had taken Uriko's family hostage and was making her and Rei rob for him.

The man glared down at Uriko as cracked his large knuckles. He was an intimidating figure, wearing all black clothing with a large black poncho covering most of him. He wore a hat and black shades and stood a good 6'10. Uriko began trembling immediately as he raised a hand to her.

"I see that you want your family to die... Our agreement was that if you told anyone, they could die. And now, they will. I'll even record their slow, painful deaths on a video to show you... Soon, you will join them!"

A high-pitched scream streaked through the air as Uriko hit the ground and writhed in pain, tears streaming out of her dark eyes.

"NO!!!!"

A large wound was on her chest and blood was quickly seeping out of it. All eyes turned to the short, blunt knife the man held in his hand. It was sharp enough to inflict damage, but not long enough to kill. He smiled in a vicious manner.

"I'll see you again, you stupid girl..."

"JUST A DAMN MINUTE!"

Sakura stepped forward with her fists raised, her dark eyes ablaze with fury.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, YOU OPPRESSIVE BASTARD!?"

Darrell grabbed one of Sakura's arms to hold her back, but she jerked herself away from his caring clutches as she took a swing at the man.

Her attack was canceled, however, by a violent backhand that smacked Sakura across the face and knocked her into Darrell's arms.

"Foolish girl..." The man turned his back and began to make a break for his license-less car parked about 20 meters away when another voice called out to him.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Stunned at the sound of a new voice, the man turned and saw a young man chasing after him. He was a good height of about 6'4, about 17 years old, with honey-brown hair and hazel-colored eyes. He wore the stiff-shouldered school uniform that all of the males at Sakura's high school wore.

Sakura turned her head away from Darrell and looked at the boy who was chasing after the man. She was surprised to find him extremely handsome, but totally unfamiliar.

"Who are you? How long have you been watching me?!" Spat the man as the boy approached him with an angry look on his face.

"Long enough to see you abuse two innocent girls!" The teen retorted, his fists balled in challenge. "And if you want to hurt any more, you're going to have to discuss that with me!"

The man cackled at the teen boy. "Don't you realize that you are meddling with affairs that are not your own?"

The boy smirked in return and whipped out a cell phone. He flipped up the lid and hit three numbers before holding the phone to his ear. "Yes, I'd like to report a man here outside of Koui Hospital, he's just hit two females, and he's now threatening a couple of-"

The man took off before the boy could finish his sentence, hopped in his car, and drove off. Unfortunately, there was no license plate so Darrell couldn't take the number.

While Sakura Satsu tried to pick up the hysterical Uriko, Darrell and Sakura watched the brown-haired boy give them one final glance before heading in the opposite direction and disappearing into the crowd of people that was now forming.

"Sakura... Are you okay...?"

Sakura shook herself free of Darrell's arms and turned her back to him.

"Gomen..." Sakura looked at the ground as Sakura Satsu tried to lift Rei up off the dirty ground.

"Oh my god, this boy IS heavy! I say about 165 pounds!"

Darrell stole one final glance at Sakura as he knelt to help Sakura Satsu lift Rei off of the ground.

("What's going on in her mind...?") Thought Darrell as he glanced at Sakura, who was looking at the ground, biting her lip. She looked as if she were about to cry...

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Chan Yoruyamatiha: Ahahaha cliffhanger!

Darrell: Chan... that was wrong.

Chan: Oh I know... But you will know what's going on in her mind in the next chapter! ^-^ Darrell: ...Oh, I hate you now.

NOTE TO DENICE: Okay... ^-^ Hope I carried out the plot well! The next chapter's on you.