Innocence

Chapter Two

Oujirou Mihara was not a person who was usually extrememly angry or cruel. Only certain circumstances could make him truely infuriated at a person and cause him to lose his cool composure. Not even Icchan could move the unflappable Oujirou Mihara, or so they said. However, there were a few things that could make his blood boil, such as the scene that was unfolding mere yards in front of him.

As he rounded the corner from the coffee vendor, carefully handing two steaming cups of cocoa, he noticed something odd about the bench where Misaki was sitting. First, Misaki appeared to have grown quite a bit, and looked very mishapen. Only when he heard quiet weeping, yelps of pain, and harsh grunts did he start to truely suspect that there was something very wrong.

"Ou...Oujirou! Please!" The harsh sobbing pierced the chill night air like a knife as the Layer's Prince began to sprint towards the bench, hot cocoa comepletely forgotton. There, on top of his Misaki was what appeared to be a totally drunk man, apparent from the stench of alcohal that was radiating from him and his careless, clumsy movements. And Misaki was choked with sobs, trying uselessly to pull herself away from the one who was hurting her so. Oujirou's control snapped completely and he leaped forward to pull the man off his Misaki.

"Get off her, you lousy bastard!" he growled, pulling the man off so that he faced the angered Prince. When Oujirou noticed that his pants were unbuttoned and had been pulled up quite hastily due to their messy appearance, he became even more infuriated. Suddenly, his fist connected with the man's face, sending him spiraling towards the ground. The man groaned, looked up at Oujirou fearfully, and ran off, stumbling drunkedly as he went.

A tiny whimper dragged Oujirou out of his anger which melted into immediate concern and love.

"Misaki-chan," he whispered, gathering the small girl up into his arms carefully, "Misaki..how badly are you hurt?"

She looked up at Oujirou with so much anguish in her eyes that it broke his heart; he pulled her even closer. He noticed she still clutched Hikaru and Wizard to her chest tightly, and he gently tried to pry Wizard out of Misaki's grasp; she held them closer.

"N-No, please don't take Wizard-chan away from Hikaru-chan. She'll be s-sad if you do, Oujirou," Misaki whispered, tears coursing down her cheeks like minute streams. She shook with sobs and Oujirou was only able to hold on to his Champion tighter, trying in vain to comfort her.

"I was so scared, Oujirou," she choked out, her tears creating a dark stain on his shirt. "Th-Thank you for coming for me." She trembled violently, trying to control herself.

"How could I not come for you, Misaki?" he whispered, smoothing her hair,"I love you. How could I ever abandon you?"

Misaki's sobs grew louder as she tried to speak. "A-A-Arigatou, Oujirou-san. I'm s-so happy that you could be here for me, and...,"she paused, as if afraid to talk,"I love you too. I h-have for a long time."

"Oh, Misaki-chan...," Oujirou breathed into her hair as she whimpered softly. "I promise that I'll find who ever did this to you. And I'll make them pay for hurting you."

Through all of her pain, emotional and physical, Misaki was able to show a slight smile, even as tears poured down her cheeks relentlessly. When she noticed Oujirou beginning to shake slightly, she pulled away from his hold a bit and looked up at his face. The Champion was shocked at what she saw in front of her. The Prince of the Layer was crying. The attempts to calm his breathing were obvious and he succeeded somewhat. Still, the dark lines down his cheeks were evidence enough of the small moment he had lost his calm attitude.

She'd never forget the look on his face. She never wanted to be the cause of his pain again.

A/N: Yipe. I don't know why I uploaded the next chapter to this...it's obvious no one's really interested in it, as the only review I've recieved is from my little sister...oh well. Hopefully, someone will take interest in this story. I'd like to get at least one more review(not from my little sis) Buuut...do as you please. I'll post more in a few days.