If I Win
Based on The Mercer Sister's Your Most Prized Possession
Chapter Eleven: Attacked
Akari exited the building and headed back home. She hadn't gotten much further when she was attacked by two masked men, and pushed her towards a wall.
"Well, well, well, look what we have here. A little lady, all alone, who just exited a jewelry shop." one of them sneered.
"C'mon lady, cough up the dough." the other one snarled.
"I didn't buy anything." Akari said truthfully while she was struggling to break free.
"Sure you didn't, and I'm Santa Claus." one said, rolling his eyes. Then they began to close in on her. Akari struggled even more violently, but to no avail.
"Help! Somebody please help me!" she cried out, panicking.
"Heh, this is a secluded place, lady. Nobody would hear you cry for help." one man said, smiling grotesquely, as he continued to close in on her.
About to resign to her fate, Akari closed her eyes and waited for the kill. She didn't feel any moves towards her, and she opened her eyes. What she saw, shocked her. The two men were lying on the floor, groaning in pain. Beside her, was Akira.
At Nuit Noire not too long ago…
"Ohayo again, Touya-kun!" Saki said, beaming at him.
"Ohayo, Sadimitzu-san." Akira greeted.
"Your usual table, Touya?" Saki said, smiling. Akira nodded, and was seated. He sighed in frustration, his thoughts on a certain girl.
Akari was the first friend who had seen through the façade of his Go obsession that he built. Ever since he was a child, he was different from the other children, because of his father's titles. Everyone expected him to follow in his footsteps. Thus, as a result of that, Akira was unable to have a normal childhood.
He thought that it was normal-at first. However, it was apparent, when he entered school, that it was far from normal. All the other kids talked incessantly about the latest fads, and playing some new sports game or the other. He felt out of place by the other kids. No matter how hard he tried, the other kids would shun him. Even at Go, the would shun him, because he was better than everyone else at it. It wasn't as if he wanted it that way, but there was nothing he could do about it. Thus, he resigned to his fate of being a loner whose only hobby was playing Go.
Akira had finished his meal, and began to drive home. 'There goes another usual, boring day…' he thought. While he braked at an intersection, a certain burgundy haired girl walked pass his car, but he paid no particular attention, because his thoughts were focused on something else. Then the light turned green, and he made a left turn.
A little after, he noticed two men in black, closing in on a girl. He quickly braked his car, and went out to help. He snuck up behind them, and gave them hard blows to the head, causing them to drop onto the floor. Much to his surprise, the person he rescued, was Akari.
"Fujisaki-san!" he said in surprise.
"Touya-kun!" she said, equally as shocked.
"Are you alright, Fujisaki-san?" he asked concernedly.
"Iie, I'm fine. They didn't do anything to me, thanks to you, Touya-kun." Akari said, gratefully. He nodded and then turned to the two men.
"If you ever harm her again, you will have to answer to me, understand?" he said menacing. The two guys ran off as quickly as they could.
"Well, thank you very much, Touya-kun. I think I'll be leaving now." Akari said lamely, flushing when he had said, 'you will have to answer to me'.
"Don't be absurd. You were nearly attacked by those men, and you want to walk home? Forget it. I'm taking you home." Akira said, heatedly, and before Akari could say a word, he dragged her to his parked car.
Grumble!
Akira turned around, as Akari smiled sheepishly.
"G-Gomen, I'm just a bit hungry." she said guiltily. Akira allowed a tiny smile to escape his mouth as he made a U-turn.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"Taking you to eat." Akira simply replied.
"You don't have to…" Akari began.
"Just think of it as you treating me to a meal then. It's like repayment for me saving you." Akira suggested.
"Wha-oh, fine. " Akari said.
"See, there you go! Now, what do you think about sushi?" Akira asked. Akari shrugged.
"Works for me." she replied.
Pretty soon, Akari found herself finally full, since she didn't eat much from her date with Hikaru.
"Arigatou, for saving me out there, Touya-kun." she said again, smiling gratefully.
"No problem. But how did you came to be in that situation?" Akira asked.
"Well, I went inside the jewelry shop there, and when I came out, I was walking home, and they just attacked me." she explained.
"Why though?" Akira asked.
"Because they thought I bought something from the jewelry shop." Akari answered.
"I see…" Akira mused.
"So why were you there anyways?" Akari asked.
"I just finished my dinner from Nuit Noire." Akira answered. Akari nodded, and the pair was faced with sudden silence.
"So…how…how have you been?" Akari finally said.
"Fine…you?" Akira replied.
"The same…" Akari said. Then both of them let out a sigh at the same time. They stared at each other and laughed.
"I-" they said at the same time and stopped.
"You first." they said again, and laughed. Finally, Akari was able to regain her breath to speak.
"I never thought I'd end up seeing you by rescuing me from a pair of thugs!" she exclaimed. Akira laughed.
"Me neither…" he replied, as the two of them were set into a brief moment of silence.
"It's been a while, but I've really missed talking to you." she said. Akira looked at her in surprise.
"So did I…" he replied softly.
"I feel as if I've known you my entire life…" Akira continued.
"That's exactly what I think!" Akari exclaimed, and they smiled at each other.
"So what did you do today?" Akira asked, interested.
"Well, clean up my room, and then go out for my date with…Hikaru…" she said lightly. Akira's face twitched at the words 'date' and 'Hikaru', but he didn't let it get the better of him.
"How about you, Touya-kun? What did you do today?" Akari asked back.
"Well, I went to my Go match against Ogata 10-dan today…" Akira started.
"I see…so did you win?" Akari inquired.
"Yeah…but by a small margin. That guy has some serious staring issues…rumor has it that he owns piranhas…" Akira musied.
"Yeah, I heard that from Hikaru too…so what happened next?" Akari said.
"Then I went home and came back out for dinner at Nuit Noire. Now, I'm having dinner with the person I rescued…" Akira finished. Akari laughed.
"What an eventful day, ne?" Akari remarked. Akira nodded.
"Yes, it has been an unexpected twist of events. I woke up dreading the boring day this morning. Who knew that it would turn out like this?" Akira mused.
"Yeah, some things like these, you just have to leave it to fate…I mean, think about it, if it wasn't for a boring day to begin with, we would have never met again…" Akari said.
"You can say that again…" Akira replied softly as the two of them remembered all that had happened today to lead up to this.
"So, are you ready to go now?" Akira asked, changing the subject.
"What's the matter? Trying to get rid of me?" Akari teased.
"No…but it is getting late." Akira pointed out.
"Alright, so let's go." Akari agreed and they stepped into his car for another long conversation.
At Akari's Door/Porch…
"Well, this is goodbye…I guess…" Akira said lamely, shuffling his feet.
"Yeah…" Akari said uncomfortably. Then, an overwhelming sense of belonging seized her, and she threw her arms around Akira for a hug.
"I don't know why I'm doing this, but I really missed you…" Akari muffled onto Akira's shoulder, who had returned the hug, but cautiously.
"I missed you too…" Akira replied softly, pulling her back, his senses warning him not to get so close with her. Suddenly, it seemed as if the whole world was quiet around them, and they came in closer…and their lips met.
Just as quickly as it happened, they pulled back. It was brief, but to Akira, it was something he never experienced before. To Akari, it was never like any of the kisses that she shared with Hikaru.
"I-I'm sorry!" Akari gasped, went inside, and closed the door. Meanwhile, Akira quickly went back to his car. However, the same thought was running through their minds. 'What have I done…' they thought miserably.
A/N: Ooh, a cliffhanger, I know. I will try to post another update sooner, but I can't guarantee anything. Anyways, thanks for reading If I Win, and please review! It only takes like about a second, but I'd love to see what your opinions are! Thanks again!!!