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****
The next week passed all but lethargically. Still waiting for Seth's 'opportune moment'. I would be surprised if it came even this month. It suddenly occurred to me that it may never come at all. I hadn't even thought of that. I swallowed a lump in my throat, and continued on.
Last period had ended, and I was walking out to my car. Uneventful day, (aren't they all?) and I was beginning to restless and agitated. There was nothing I could do, and I had come to hate that phrase over the life I'd had. Just because of what it meant. There was nothing I could do.
'It's not all that bad,' Seth spoke up. I shrugged. 'I mean, you at least have a chance. Most guys would die for that much.' I couldn't help but agree. She at least had once shown signs of caring about me, so maybe the emotion wasn't completely alien. Still, at the moment, things were looking hopeless.
I finally reached the car, and unlocked it. I had run late that morning, thus had been forced to park in the distant reaches of the parking lot. I stepped into the car, and stuck they key into the ignition. Nothing. Just to top off the day, my car wouldn't start. This was really, officially an annoyance.
'This is why the ancient Egyptians never depended on automobiles,' Seth smiled weakly, making a half-hearted effort to cheer me up. I just nodded. This meant walking home. Oh well. Suppose it could be worse.
I didn't know then, but it would come to be known as the most convenient car incident ever to occur.
I trudged down the road, to the uncanny music of my name in whispers. Everyone was talking. It was common knowledge that I had a multi-million dollar custom made car. A single glare could only shut up one group of people.
I'd never really walked home before. It meant walking through downtown Domino. It wasn't really too bad of a part of town, but there was occasional graffiti alleyways and gang hangouts. Some sections were a little uncanny, but I had no reason to be afraid.
Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice in a nearby alley.
"I already told you, I don't know anything!" she shouted. Seth and I were both thinking it: It could only be Serenity. I walked silently and almost cat-like into the small alley-way. I needed to get my bearings on the group. What I saw shocked me.
Serenity was sitting in a chair looking defiant, and if I could be so bold- looking like she was trying to mask fear. There were three or so boys in their late teens standing in a circle around her. One held a knife.
"We have reason to think you do know something," smirked a tall dark-haired boy with a pointed face. He stepped a little closer. "Let me tell you a little story."
"You see, we're old . . . friends, so to say, of your brother," continued a stocky blonde boy. The other snickered. Serenity shrunk back.
"We got him out of a tight spot once or twice, and he owes us," the blonde continued. The others nodded.
"Hundreds of dollars," a rough-looking brunette added.
"I know nothing of my brother's former friendships and or engagements," Serenity spoke in an all-business tone. The others eyed each other skeptically.
"Regardless of how much either of you know, we thought that he might need some . . . inspiration to get back to us, if you know what I mean," the dark-haired boy sounded again. He appeared to be the spokesperson of the group.
"What do you mean?" Serenity's voice shook.
"We mean like . . . this!" the brunette whispered, taking a bronze switchblade out of his back pocket and flicking it open. I took a sharp intake of breath, scolding myself afterwards for taking a chance of bringing attention to myself.
The boy with the knife took Serenity's hand. She was about to scream, but the dark-haired boy that was the first to speak put a hand over her mouth. I saw tears gather in the corners of her eyes. Sweat gleamed on her cheeks.
Slowly, he lowered the knife to her palm. I suddenly realized what he was going to do.
Suddenly I stepped out of the shadows, catching everyone off guard. All of them looked up at me. They gave me a once over. The blond looked a little afraid, as did the boy with the dark hair. However, the one with the blade smirked.
"So her little boyfriend comes to save her," he ridiculed. I scowled, pounding my fist into the opposite hand. Running his finger slowly down the flat side of the blade he whispered. "Bring it on."
"Gladly." I stepped up to him undautingly, fully aware of the fact that I was completely unarmed. He approached me, knife in hand. Serenity watched in horror from behind me, obviously wondering if I was crazy. In a way, I couldn't help but wonder the same thing.
The other members shrunk back. It was a one on one face off. For now.
Just as I expected him to, he immediately lunged. I jumped back. It continued like this for a while. I threw no punches or kicks, tiring him out before I tried anything. He continued to jab. When you have the weapon, you can afford to call the moves. However, the intelligence and method to his fighting weren't there.
Finally, I kicked, aiming for the hand with the switchblade. He by now wasn't expecting me, and I managed to catch him off guard. With absolutely perfect precision, I hit him square in the fist. The knife went flying, out of either of our reach. Some of the others could have made a move for it, but by now they were afraid to turn their back on me.
Completely predictably, they all lunged at once. I proceeded to fight, one attack after another, until, one of the three was on the ground. Of course it was the original holder of the weapon. He had learned to rely on it too heavily. A fair man to man battle was unmanageable.
It was now just two against one. A definite improvement, but I was beginning to tire myself. We still fought relentlessly. I was fighting currently with the blond, who had the most muscle of the bunch. Agility was his weak point, and I was just about to throw the 'coup de grace', if you will, when Serenity, now free to scream, called out.
"Seto, behind you!"
I flipped around, just in time to counter a square attack from the gang leader that otherwise would have taken me down for sure. With a spinning kick, the blond boy was on the ground. Now it was back to one on one.
The last one standing, who happened to be the leader, and I were both breathing heavily. We continued to throw punches and kicks, both winded and barely standing. Almost every punch was off, until finally, he hit me in on the side of jaw. Thank heavens he was off his game, or it would have been the center of my face.
I was doing all I could to stand back up, but my eyes were swirling from the pain and exertion. In a finally wave of fury, I hit him squarely in the eyes, knocking him unconscious. That could have been called a hit of pure luck, if you believe in that kind of thing, because I was dizzy and having trouble seeing straight.
I walked slowly over to where Serenity sat. She was in disbelief as she stared up into my eyes. I looked down, trying to focus. Getting down on my knees, I picked up the switchblade and used it to cut the ropes that held her to the wooden chair on which they had been interrogating her.
I stood up and turned the other direction to walk off. If she really cared at all, she'd call me back first. I was almost at the opening to the street when I heard the soft cry behind me.
"Seto . . . "
****
The next week passed all but lethargically. Still waiting for Seth's 'opportune moment'. I would be surprised if it came even this month. It suddenly occurred to me that it may never come at all. I hadn't even thought of that. I swallowed a lump in my throat, and continued on.
Last period had ended, and I was walking out to my car. Uneventful day, (aren't they all?) and I was beginning to restless and agitated. There was nothing I could do, and I had come to hate that phrase over the life I'd had. Just because of what it meant. There was nothing I could do.
'It's not all that bad,' Seth spoke up. I shrugged. 'I mean, you at least have a chance. Most guys would die for that much.' I couldn't help but agree. She at least had once shown signs of caring about me, so maybe the emotion wasn't completely alien. Still, at the moment, things were looking hopeless.
I finally reached the car, and unlocked it. I had run late that morning, thus had been forced to park in the distant reaches of the parking lot. I stepped into the car, and stuck they key into the ignition. Nothing. Just to top off the day, my car wouldn't start. This was really, officially an annoyance.
'This is why the ancient Egyptians never depended on automobiles,' Seth smiled weakly, making a half-hearted effort to cheer me up. I just nodded. This meant walking home. Oh well. Suppose it could be worse.
I didn't know then, but it would come to be known as the most convenient car incident ever to occur.
I trudged down the road, to the uncanny music of my name in whispers. Everyone was talking. It was common knowledge that I had a multi-million dollar custom made car. A single glare could only shut up one group of people.
I'd never really walked home before. It meant walking through downtown Domino. It wasn't really too bad of a part of town, but there was occasional graffiti alleyways and gang hangouts. Some sections were a little uncanny, but I had no reason to be afraid.
Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice in a nearby alley.
"I already told you, I don't know anything!" she shouted. Seth and I were both thinking it: It could only be Serenity. I walked silently and almost cat-like into the small alley-way. I needed to get my bearings on the group. What I saw shocked me.
Serenity was sitting in a chair looking defiant, and if I could be so bold- looking like she was trying to mask fear. There were three or so boys in their late teens standing in a circle around her. One held a knife.
"We have reason to think you do know something," smirked a tall dark-haired boy with a pointed face. He stepped a little closer. "Let me tell you a little story."
"You see, we're old . . . friends, so to say, of your brother," continued a stocky blonde boy. The other snickered. Serenity shrunk back.
"We got him out of a tight spot once or twice, and he owes us," the blonde continued. The others nodded.
"Hundreds of dollars," a rough-looking brunette added.
"I know nothing of my brother's former friendships and or engagements," Serenity spoke in an all-business tone. The others eyed each other skeptically.
"Regardless of how much either of you know, we thought that he might need some . . . inspiration to get back to us, if you know what I mean," the dark-haired boy sounded again. He appeared to be the spokesperson of the group.
"What do you mean?" Serenity's voice shook.
"We mean like . . . this!" the brunette whispered, taking a bronze switchblade out of his back pocket and flicking it open. I took a sharp intake of breath, scolding myself afterwards for taking a chance of bringing attention to myself.
The boy with the knife took Serenity's hand. She was about to scream, but the dark-haired boy that was the first to speak put a hand over her mouth. I saw tears gather in the corners of her eyes. Sweat gleamed on her cheeks.
Slowly, he lowered the knife to her palm. I suddenly realized what he was going to do.
Suddenly I stepped out of the shadows, catching everyone off guard. All of them looked up at me. They gave me a once over. The blond looked a little afraid, as did the boy with the dark hair. However, the one with the blade smirked.
"So her little boyfriend comes to save her," he ridiculed. I scowled, pounding my fist into the opposite hand. Running his finger slowly down the flat side of the blade he whispered. "Bring it on."
"Gladly." I stepped up to him undautingly, fully aware of the fact that I was completely unarmed. He approached me, knife in hand. Serenity watched in horror from behind me, obviously wondering if I was crazy. In a way, I couldn't help but wonder the same thing.
The other members shrunk back. It was a one on one face off. For now.
Just as I expected him to, he immediately lunged. I jumped back. It continued like this for a while. I threw no punches or kicks, tiring him out before I tried anything. He continued to jab. When you have the weapon, you can afford to call the moves. However, the intelligence and method to his fighting weren't there.
Finally, I kicked, aiming for the hand with the switchblade. He by now wasn't expecting me, and I managed to catch him off guard. With absolutely perfect precision, I hit him square in the fist. The knife went flying, out of either of our reach. Some of the others could have made a move for it, but by now they were afraid to turn their back on me.
Completely predictably, they all lunged at once. I proceeded to fight, one attack after another, until, one of the three was on the ground. Of course it was the original holder of the weapon. He had learned to rely on it too heavily. A fair man to man battle was unmanageable.
It was now just two against one. A definite improvement, but I was beginning to tire myself. We still fought relentlessly. I was fighting currently with the blond, who had the most muscle of the bunch. Agility was his weak point, and I was just about to throw the 'coup de grace', if you will, when Serenity, now free to scream, called out.
"Seto, behind you!"
I flipped around, just in time to counter a square attack from the gang leader that otherwise would have taken me down for sure. With a spinning kick, the blond boy was on the ground. Now it was back to one on one.
The last one standing, who happened to be the leader, and I were both breathing heavily. We continued to throw punches and kicks, both winded and barely standing. Almost every punch was off, until finally, he hit me in on the side of jaw. Thank heavens he was off his game, or it would have been the center of my face.
I was doing all I could to stand back up, but my eyes were swirling from the pain and exertion. In a finally wave of fury, I hit him squarely in the eyes, knocking him unconscious. That could have been called a hit of pure luck, if you believe in that kind of thing, because I was dizzy and having trouble seeing straight.
I walked slowly over to where Serenity sat. She was in disbelief as she stared up into my eyes. I looked down, trying to focus. Getting down on my knees, I picked up the switchblade and used it to cut the ropes that held her to the wooden chair on which they had been interrogating her.
I stood up and turned the other direction to walk off. If she really cared at all, she'd call me back first. I was almost at the opening to the street when I heard the soft cry behind me.
"Seto . . . "