A/N: Wow.. it's been a while. This is kinda short.. but it's all I could come up with. I'll try to get another chapter out soon.
Till You Came Along- Chapter 3
Keitaro awoke to maniac laughter and yelling. He slowly cracked open one eye, then the other. Adjusting his eyes to the sudden brightness, he realized that he was in a prison cell. A desk was positioned in front of the bars. An officer occupied the chair that was stationed at the desk, seemingly to be staring off to space. Keitaro could tell the man was struggling not to fall asleep.
'Who can blame him? Boring job….' Turning around, he saw eight gangsters yelling and laughing and making as much ruckus as humanly possible. Blood and mud dripped off their clothes in equal amounts, making Keitaro cringe in displeasure. Two of them were talking, or rather, kissing up to a certain man in a black shirt.
'Probably the boss… seeing as how everyone's scared of him…' Keitaro sneaked several peeks at them, hoping that they wouldn't notice. His prayers were not answered. The one he presumed as the boss suddenly stared right back at him. His beady eyes seemed to dig right into Keitaro's soul and Keitaro found it hard to breathe.
As one, the other gangsters started advancing towards him, purposefully looking down at his half-crouched form. Keitaro shuddered. One suddenly reached a hand and laid it on Keitaro's shoulder.
"So… what did a pretty-boy like you do to get in here?"
"I… I … uh… I… d-ddidn't do a-aanything," Keitaro stammered, his heart pounding.
"Oh, really? I heard you raped a young girl…. Hmmm. So, what's the deal? If you didn't do that…. Why are you here?" This from another man, who was presently twirling Keitaro's hair absentmindedly. Keitaro opened his mouth. Then, closed it. Then, he took a deep breath.
"I really didn't do anything!" Keitaro struggled not to start whimpering in front of his tormentors. The boss, who had been quietly watching his minions' antics all this time, suddenly walked up to Keitaro and grabbed a fistful of Keitaro's hair.
"Answer us! What did you do? You won't like it when I get angry," he growled. Keitaro gulped, staring fearfully at the man who was practically tearing his hair out. Suddenly, the door swung open and the officer walked in. Everyone froze and the boss let go Keitaro and pasted a smile on his face. Keitaro visibly relaxed and thanked the gods that the officer had walked in when he had.
"You're free to go. The case has been cleared. Sorry for the misunderstanding." It must have been the best news Keitaro had ever received. He immediately shook the officers hand and bowed, thanking him countless times.
Coming out of the police office, Keitaro shivered as the coldness of early morning overcame him. 'What do I do now? I'll probably get beat up if I go home. Ugh…. Why me!'
Keitaro arrived home an hour later, having given much thought to his dilemma and realizing he really only had two options; going home or freezing his ass off in the streets. The latter certainly wasn't appealing. Opening the front door, he saw his mother making dinner. In her hand was a dough roller. Immediately seeing him, Mrs. Urashima asked him if he had gone to Hinata. (I'm not sure which neighborhood Hinata Sou is in so I'm just making it up.)
"Yeah…" Keitaro replied half-heartedly. Trying to escape as fast as possible, Keitaro rushed past her. Mrs. Urashima wasn't going to let him go that easily. Just as Keitaro was about to slip into his room, she brought the dough roller down on Keitaro's shoulder. Keitaro yelped in pain and looked at her in disbelief.
"YOU WENT! Your grandmother said you NEVER went to her place!" As she said this, Keitaro, sensing trouble coming, started to run. Mrs. Urashima didn't give up, she chased him around the room, swinging the roller everywhere in an attempt to hit him.
"I said I went to Hinata, not to Hinata Sou!" Keitaro yelled, trying to find a way to stop the madness while still running all over the place, desperately trying to avoid being struck. His mother could hit very hard when angered. 'God! Why ME! All this for a GIRL!'
Keitaro stood in front of the café, nervous and apprehensive. The girl from the other day had somehow gotten his phone number and called him. She asked to meet him somewhere. And so, here Keitaro was, waiting like a man with a death sentence.
"Keitaro?" The soft but demanding voice bought him out of his thoughts. He jumped as he turned his head towards the source of the sound. There was the girl. Remembering the question, he nodded slowly, warily, not sure of what was in store for him. The girl looked at him a moment longer before turning around and entering the store. Keitaro followed.
"What do you want to drink?" They were at the cash register.
"Um.. Milkshake or Coke…" Keitaro's face screwed up in concentration, but it was unnecessarily as the girl decided to order for both of them.
"Two coffees please." She looked at Keitaro. "Your treat." Keitaro stared at her in shock, mouth opening and closing. What is up with this girl? After a moment, he sighed and took out his wallet. Then, they chose a table and sat down at it.
Keitaro was nervous. He didn't know why this girl wanted him to come out. He didn't know what she wanted to do to him. He didn't know what to say. So, he stared at his cup of coffee, sipping it at odd intervals.
"What happened that night?" Keitaro looked up and tried to compose himself. He hadn't expected her to speak. Now, he wasn't sure he wanted her to.
"Um.. well.. y-you were d-drunk and uh…" Keitaro stuttered.
The girl glared at him. "Stop stuttering," she growled. Keitaro gulped. She glared more. God, if looks could kill, I would so be dead right now.
"So, yea.. you were drunk and I took you to the hotel, because… well, I didn't know who you are or where you lived or anything so.. there really wasn't anything else I could have done. I couldn't have left you in the stree-"
"Why not?" The girl asked with genuine curiosity.
"What? Well… um.. you don't just … I couldn't just leave you alone…" Keitaro trailed off, not knowing how to explain.
"I see…. What happened in the hotel?" She looked at him as if he were a criminal.
"I didn't do anything to you if that's what you're asking." The girl looked doubtful. "I swear!"
"Alright.." She paused. "Let's take a walk…" She stood up and started walking towards the door. Keitaro looked at her, then looked at the table with their cups. He sighed again. Keitaro stood up and threw out the cups as he followed the girl out. He still hadn't gotten her name. And for some reason, he was afraid of asking. Wasn't that weird.
FEED MEEEEEE ! ( with reviews )