Okay, so admittedly, Touya had made some poor decisions in his relatively short lifetime. But that didn't matter. Because he didn't care about the consequences. At least, not when they only affected him. He was charming, rich and tough. Nothing could really knock him down for long.

However, when his actions affected the few people in his life he had actually grown to care about, that's when Touya began to see things in perspective.

It was safe to say that, without Sam, Touya would have dropped out of college during the first term of freshman year. But their unlikely friendship had given him something to look forward to every time he opened his eyes in the morning.

Therefore, to see his best friend looking the way he did as he laid in Callie's lap, as a direct result of his foolish, drunken antics, really fucking hurt.

And what the hell had Russ meant about Toga?

Damn...had she really come chasing after Sam again in the hopes he'd lead her to him? And Callie must have seen it all go down and get the wrong impression.

Shit...And once again, good 'ole Master Gaster had kept his mouth shut for him. He really was too good of a friend for his own good.

Unlike Touya, who was currently speeding along on his bike towards, what he hoped, was his solution to all this mess.

He rolled to a halt in the parking lot of Grillby's and knocked loudly on the door. The bar was shut at this hour, but he knew at least one of the twins was still inside.

Kuro pulled open the door and greeted Touya with a stern glare.

"The bar's closed." He droned, staring down his long nose at him. As he went to close the door, Touya jammed his booted foot into the gap.

"Kuro. I need a favour."

The slender bartender cocked a brow, eyes dropping to the biker boot on the ground, to the blue eyes staring intently at him.

"What kind of favour?" Kuro asked, his voice steady.

"10,000" Touya retorted.

For a moment, they simply stared each other down.

Even though the rumours had been circulating campus for years, there wasn't actually any solid proof that Kuro was part of an underground, criminal organisation.

So this was the moment of truth.

"So? You gonna help me?"

And when Kuro opened the door wide to let Touya enter the gloomy bar, he felt the breath he had been holding in his chest leave his body in a relieved whoosh.

"What do you need the money for, Todoroki?" Kuro asked as he walked behind the bar. Touya took a stool opposite him.

The place was kinda eerie without all the neon and the warm bodies to liven up the place. But Touya refrained from showing his discomfort. All he was focused on was sorting out this mess before sundown. He cast his eyes towards the clock. There were several hours left, but their meeting point was quite the drive away and the money still wasn't in his possession. Could Kuro really deliver?

"It's a long story." Touya sighed, placing his elbows on the bar.

Kuro's face remained impassive. "Well, I want to hear it." His tone, despite his initial reluctance, made Touya oblige.

After his recounting of the tale, a silence washed over them.

Deciding it better to let his words sink in, Touya remained quiet as he watched Kuro drum his slender fingers against his arm.

Eventually, the hard-faced bartender spoke up.

"What makes you think they're going to simply take the money and leave?"

Yeah. Touya had already considered this. "I mean...what other choice do I have?"

Kuro sighed. "When you take them the money, come straight back here. I'll have my brother pick up your friends and bring them here too."

Touya blinked. Kuro continued.

"You can all lie low here until we know they've left town."

Wait so...

"So you can get me the money? I can pay it all back!" He had risen from his chair in eagerness.

Without a word, Kuro disappeared into a back room. When he re-emerged, he was holding a beat-up old backpack. When he tossed it onto the bar, a couple stacks of money slipped out.

"Take it. And drive safe."

Touya eyed the money in quiet disbelief.

"Remember, come straight back here once you've handed it over."

He scooped up the wads of cash and hitched the bag onto his shoulder.

"Damn. Thank you, Kuro. Really."

The bartender nodded and waved a dismissive hand. "Go on now."

Touya didn't need telling twice. The meet-up location was a good 2 hours ride away; he was pretty sure they'd chosen such a way off location just to make the whole ordeal even more stressful.

He recognised the address as soon as they'd given it to him. It was an old warehouse on the outskirts of the city. Touya had been there a few occasions to attend illegal raves back in junior year. He was pretty sure it had lain abandoned ever since the cops shut the last gathering down.

As he sped along the highway, his eyes repetitively flitted towards the horizon and the setting sun. Hopefully, Kuro and Grillby had taken the Gasters and Callie in by now. At least then they'd be safe if anything went wrong with the drop-off. Man, it felt good to have criminals on your side.

After riding for what felt like an eternity down desolate roads, the looming silhouette of the warehouse came into view. Unlike the last few times he'd pulled up to the place, there was no booming baseline, nor flashing lights, nor alcohol fuelled bodies bopping about. Instead, it was eerily quiet.

Dimitri's car was already there, parked in the shadow of the run-down structure. Heaving a steady breath, Touya pulled off his helmet and swung his leg off his bike. Clutching the bag full of money to his shoulder, he strode confidently towards the vehicle.

As he drew closer, out stepped the three men who Sam had described. Yeah, they were big guys. 5f6 Sam wouldn't have stood a chance. Fuckers...

Swallowing hard and steeling himself, he stopped a few meters away from them.

"I got the money," he called, keeping his voice hard and his stare harder.

Without a word, the middle guy jerked his head towards the warehouse in a gesture for Touya to follow.

Into the gloomy building they went in a silence that you could cut with a knife. Once inside, Dimitri spoke.

"Show me." He ordered, clicking his fingers.

Touya inhaled as he swung the bag from his shoulder. "You know..." he began, keeping his eyes locked onto Dimitri's in an act of bravado, "if I'd have known this chick was gonna cost me 10gs, I'd have found the nearest cat house instead."

Dimitri's face remained impassive. Touya threw the bag towards him.

"It's all there." Touya stated, refraining from shuffling nervously despite the building anxiety in his stomach. Instead, he held his ground and relaxed his shoulders. Fuck these guys for what they did to Sam...

Dimitri handed the bag to the guy on his left who immediately pulled it open and began to count the money. Once he'd finished, he nodded curtly towards Dimitri.

"Well, well. Looks like you've managed to save yourself and your little friend, Sam Gaster. Hm?" Dimitri leered with a dark smile. "Give him our regards."

Touya felt his fingers twitch. He pressed his lips into a thin line to stop himself from spouting the words that had begun to build in the back of his throat.

"Are we done here?" He clipped, eyes glaring.

A smirk, a nod and a dismissive gesture. "Yes. Run along now..."

And like a damn fool, he turned his back on them. Had he been thinking straight, instead of worrying about getting back to his friends, he wouldn't have made such a stupid mistake.

The blow to the back of the head knocked him down in an instant. Stars erupted in front of his eyes, then the darkness began to follow.

Just as unconsciousness began to envelope him, the smell of smoke stung his nostrils and a low voice snarled in the distance.

"Consider this a farewell gift, asshole."