Chapter 12 –

Arimon stared stunned at their surprise visitor. 'Kazume's father...'

The man squinted at the taller man. "Did you not hear me, laddie?"

"Arimon! Who's at the door?"

Both men turned at the sound of the young female voice. Kazume appeared from behind Arimon and the man's eyes widened.

"Kazume…is that really you?"

Kazume, however, stared blankly at the stranger. "I'm sorry…do I know you?"

The man smiled. "Look at you, you've really grown up."

Kazume gave him a weird look. "What're you talking about? I've never seen you before."

The man shook his head. "Well I suppose I can't blame you, it has been nearly eighteen years."

Kazume stood rooted to the spot as all of a sudden flashbacks of her childhood ran through her mind. The last thing she saw was an image of a man driving off and leaving her completely abandoned. Her blank expression turned to one of shock as she realized just who this man was.

"F…father."

Her father grinned widely. "So you do remember! Well then come and give your old man a hug!" He stepped forward with his arms stretched towards her but stopped when she backed away from him,

"Kazume? What's the matter sweetheart?"

Kazume glared at him. "Shut up, you're the last person who deserves to call me that."

He stared at her. "But…I came to get you. I've spent so long searching for you."

"SHUT UP!"

His eyes widened at her raised voice.

"You abandoned me…you left a five year old girl all by herself in the middle of a storm at a ridiculously late and dangerous hour." Kazume looked away, avoiding his gaze. "What kind of father does that to his only child?"

Her father sighed impatiently. "I know that I made a mistake! But I'm here now, trying to make it up to you!"

Kazume glared at him. "You lost your chance eighteen years ago! I don't care what your excuse is! But I grew up parentless because of you!"

When he went quiet she looked away again. "I lived my entire life all alone…it wasn't until I moved here that my life finally started improving."

Her father looked critically at her. "And just what is so fabulous about this place?"

Kazume smiled. "I made friends here, I moved in with someone who became the best friend I could've ever asked for! I…" She stepped backwards and intertwined her fingers with Arimon, who her father now turned a hard glare onto. "I fell in love here."

Arimon, who had been quiet during the whole exchange, matched the older mans' glare, not at all frightened of him. Her father, however, growled at this development.

"You're dating this man?"

Kazume tightened her hold on her boyfriends' hand. "So what if I am? I love him."

He glared at her daughters 'boyfriend.' "You love this punk? What did he do that makes him so great?"

Kazume was starting to get fed up and could feel tears gathering in her eyes. "He's done a hell of a lot more than you ever did! He hasn't turned his back on me once, he's always been by my side! He's supported and loved me through everything! You have no right to just barge in here and judge all the people in my life!

Arimon rubbed his thumb comfortingly against her hand which calmed her immediately. After she had quietened down, he turned and glared at the man that was 'supposed' to be her father.

"I think it would be wise for you to leave. Kazume is an adult; she doesn't and has never needed you. She's fully capable of taking care of herself."

Kazume's father was livid. "I don't think so! She's my daughter! I didn't come all this way for nothing!"

His hand suddenly shot out and wrapped tightly around Kazume's wrist. He roughly yanked her towards him, ignoring Kazume's painful pleas. Arimon saw how this man was hurting her and was now seeing red. He lunged forward and grabbed the mans' hand that was around his girlfriends' wrist. He pulled it away, grabbed the collar of his shirt and lifted him high off the ground.

"STAY AWAY FROM HER YOU BASTARD! NO ONE…AND I MEAN NO ONE PUTS A HARMFUL HAND ON MY GIRLFRIEND AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!"

Kazume watched as her boyfriends' body was surrounded by a red glow and she knew that he was starting to really get angry. 'Uh oh'

Arimon snarled at the helpless man. "I SWEAR IF YOU LAY ANOTHER FINGER ON HER I WILL BECOME YOUR LIVING NIGHTMARE! DO YOU HEAR ME?"

The man nodded his head, too terrified to speak or even notice the bright red light surrounding his attackers' body. Kazume knew that if she didn't calm Arimon down soon, then he could really hurt him. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around her boyfriends' waist.

"Arimon, calm down, it's okay now."

Arimon's head snapped in her direction but his grip didn't soften on her fathers' shirt.

"Kazume…give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip this controlling bastard to shreds!"

Kazume buried her head further into his shirt. "Listen…I know he's not exactly the ideal father. But he's still my father. So please, let him go. It wouldn't do either of us any good if any harm came into him."

As he listened to her plea, Arimons hold on her father lessened. "Kazume…I…"

"You're a gentle person…loving and caring. I'm begging you, show me the man I know you are. Show me the man I fell in love with."

Her words finally broke through and Arimon placed the trembling man back onto the ground. However, he leaned into leer at the mans' face.

"I'm warning you, lay another hand on her and my behaviour just now will be heaven compared to what I'll put you through. DO YOU HEAR ME?"

Kazume's father nodded rapidly. "Ok…ok please…let me go."

Arimon shoved him away, while the man stumbled over himself. He turned and glared at the couple. "I'm not finished here; I swear I WILL get my daughter back!" He then turned and disappeared around the corner.

Kazume sighed tiredly. "My gosh he was barely here for five minutes and the whole thing has left me exhausted."

Arimon rushed over and put an arm around her. "Are you alright Kazume? Did he hurt you?"

Kazume smiled. "No he didn't, I'm fine."

Arimon stood up and offered his hand to her. "Come on, let's head inside. You still have your breakfast to finish."

Kazume grinned and allowed him to take her hand and pull her to her feet. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder again as he led her back into the apartment. As the couple disappeared behind the front door they were unaware of Kazume's father glaring at them from behind a nearby tree.

'Damn you, I swore to myself that I would get my daughter back and that's exactly what I'm gonna do.'

(Several hours later)

Kazume did her best to forget the brief encounter with her only family. Instead she used the morning to spend some quality time with Arimon. The couple were snuggled together in the living room and chatting casually when the other female resident finally emerged from her bedroom. They halted in their conversation and turned to see Megumi sleepy shuffle in the room.

Kazume grinned at her best friend. "Morning Megumi!"

The brunette mumbled a hello back, her eyes barely open. "wha fu brekfas?"

Kazume giggled while her boyfriend looked confused. "What did she say?"

She winked at him. "She's asking what's for breakfast."

Arimon chuckled and looked back at the brunette. "It's waiting for you on the kitchen bench, Megumi. It may be a little cold so all it needs is some warming up."

Megumi smiled sleepily, which Kazume assumed was a thank you, and wondered past them towards the kitchen. Kazume smiled then turned back to Arimon.

"Hey we should do something today."

Arimon smiled back at her. "Sure, I'm all for that. What did you wanna do?"

Kazume stared upwards and thoughtfully tapped her chin. "Hmmmmm what do I really wanna do?"

Before she could come to a decision, she was interrupted by her phone ringing from her pocket. She dug around for a second then pulled it out and answered it.

"Hello?"

….

"Hey Keiichi!"

…

"Oh…really?"

…

"That's a shame, but sure I'll be there."

…

"No problem, I'll see you later…bye!"

Kazume hung up the phone while Arimon stared quizzically at her. "What was that all about?"

She glanced sideways at him. "Apparently they're doing a lot of test drives with some new vehicles at the Auto Club. Unfortunately they don't have enough riders for all of them so they've asked me to do a bunch of them

Arimon raised an eyebrow. "How many vehicles are you covering."

Kazume grinned sheepishly. "About ten."

Arimon's jaw dropped. "Are you sure you're not overdoing it a little?

Kazume shrugged and stood up. "It's not the first time they've asked for my help in these kinds of situations."

Arimon stood up as well. "Yeah, I know but doesn't it wear you out?"

Kazume smiled. "Who're you talking to?"

Arimon chuckled. "Good point."

Kazume raised her arms above her head and stretched. "Well guess I better head out."

Arimon smiled. "Would you like me to go with you?"

Kazume shook her head. "No it's okay, I'll be fine. I should be home by dinner."

Arimon stepped forward and gave her a quick kiss. "You be careful alright?"

Kazume smiled. "Always am! Bye!

Arimon watched as she grabbed her helmet and rushed out the door. He heard the start of her engine then her revs as her bike took off down the street. He sighed, already missing his girlfriend but shrugged to himself. 'May as well keep myself occupied.'

"Hey! Arimon!"

Arimon jumped and turned at the sudden voice but relaxed immediately when seeing who it was.

"Megumi! You scared the crap out of me!"

Megumi raised an eyebrow at him. "Relax tough guy, I just wanted to thank you for breakfast."

Arimon grinned. "Oh…not a problem."

Megumi then stopped and stared at him with an unreadable expression. "Hey…wait a second." She looked around confusingly then looked at back at him. "Where's Kazume? She was just here a minute ago!"

Arimon chuckled. "The Auto Club rang and asked for her help with several test drives, she'll probably be there for most of the day."

Megumi folded her arms. "I see, so…what are you gonna do for the rest of the day then? I rarely see a day you two aren't joined at the hip."

Arimon rolled his eyes. "Whatever, and I dunno I'll occupy myself somehow. Maybe I'll go to the temple, haven't spent much time with my cousins lately."

Megumi smiled. "That's a good idea actually, I don't have any plans myself I'll tag along.

Arimon nodded. "Alright, let's go then."

Meanwhile, Kazume had just arrived at the racing tracks. She parked her motorbike inside the closest available garage before going out to greet her friends. At first sight of her, the two big club leaders immediately backed away. Ever since their first impression of her, back when she had boldly defended Keiichi and yelled at them, they had been deadly afraid of the small but feisty redhead. Kazume grinned to herself when she saw the pair of them quietly sneak away. 'Just a couple of Teddy Bears.' She thought to herself

"Kazume!"

She turned and smiled at Belldandy, who was waving openly in her direction. She waved back and jogged to meet with their group to which she was then greeted or hugged warmly by her friends. Keiichi, who was the last to say hello, spoke.

"You ready for this Kaz? It's gonna be a long day."

Kazume punched her fist into her palm with a confident smirk. "Bring it on."

Keiichi grinned back. "Great! Come with me then and I'll show you all the vehicles we'll be testing."

Kazume nodded and followed Keiichi to a different garage a little further away. As they walked, Kazume couldn't help but mentally agree with Keiichi's earlier statement.

'He's right…this IS going to be a long day.'

She sighed.

'Sorry Arimon…looks like you'll have to wait a little longer than I thought."

At the same time, the man on her mind was at that moment bored out of his mind as he sat in the company of the two other goddesses. Megumi had arrived there with him several hours ago but had left shortly after due to some unknown call which must've been some sort of emergency. There was no better reason to explain why she took off as fast as she did. So now Arimon was left alone to hang with the only other two females that he knew. 'Oh joy for him.'

"So tell me again why you guys didn't go to the tracks with Keii and Bell?"

The older cousin shrugged. "They're only doing road tests, it didn't sound very exciting."

Arimon nodded in understanding before turning to the youngest. "What about you Skuld?"

The smaller goddess pouted. "Big sis forbid me to go."

Arimon smiled to himself. 'She probably plans to have some time alone with Keii later.'

He then sighed. 'Kazume is gonna be busy all day…what the hell am I supposed to do until she gets home? Hmmm, she'd appreciate a nice dinner waiting for her after all that work. Yeah! That's what I'll do! She's usually home by dinner time anyway.'

"Arimon… you alright there?"

Arimon looked up. "Huh?

Urd grinned at him. "You were looking extremely pleased with yourself. Like to tell us what's on your mind?"

Arimon scowled and looked away, which unfortunately gave his cousin all the answers she needed.

"Oh I see, thinking about your precious girlfriend eh?"

Arimon growled, not liking the teasing tone in her voice. "Shut up Urd. I can think about her as much as I like. She is after all, as you say my girlfriend."

Urd laughed. "Relax cuz, I'm just having some fun with ya."

Arimon shrugged. "Whatever.'

After that it became unnervingly quiet. Arimon never found himself very good with bringing up conversations. Skuld was too absorbed into some other weird invention and he sure as hell didn't want to give Urd any more chances to tease him, especially when it came to his relationship with Kazume.

With his girlfriend once again locked in his mind, Arimon stared longingly out the window, already missing his beloved. And coincidentally, the very same words that rushed through Kazume's mind minutes earlier also happened to cross his.

'This is gonna be a long day.'

(Many long, dragging hours later)

Kazume stretched tiredly as she finally made her way back to her motorbike. She had driven vehicles of all kinds all throughout the day and now with the sun already setting she was more than ready to head home. All the others had already left long before she did, but not before a concerned Keiichi voiced his fears of her being alone. Of course being as she was, Kazume just laughed and waved him off, claiming she would be fine.

She approached her vehicle and was about to mount but was stopped when a hand roughly grabbed her wrist. She yanked her hand back and turned to face her attacker only to lock her gaze with brown eyes identical to her own.

Kazume glared at him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Her father stared intensely at her. "To bring you home, I told you I'm not giving up until you come with me!"

Kazume growled. "I already am home! Now leave me alone or I'll call the cops!"

He just smirked. "The police don't frighten me, I've escaped from them many times.'

Kazume looked horrified. "Escaped? Just who in the hell are you?"

He stepped towards her and reached out to grab her. "Come with me now! Or suffer the consequences!"

Kazume moved the side to avoid his hand. "Get away from me!"

Her father now glared at her with dangerous eyes and Kazume was starting to feel scared. Without thinking, she zipped past him and ran back outside. She didn't stop, nor did she look back. She just ran and ran until she was sure she has lost him. Of course by that time she had no idea where she was and the sky and streets had long since turned dark. She wandered over to the nearest wall to catch her breath before turning her attention to her surroundings. She honestly had no idea where she was, she was just so focused on getting away from her so called deranged father.

"Well well, lookie what we go here fellas!"

Kazume stiffened at the unfamiliar voice. She turned her head to see around five thugs grinning perversely at her which made her blood run cold. She instantly went to run again but an arm stopped her and pulled her roughly into a nearby alleyway. She struggled to escape the man's grip but he easily overpowered her by shoving her up against the wall and covering her mouth with his hand.

The man grinned. "Looks like a cute one boys!"

His followers cheered and laughed while Kazume wriggled around. This just caused her attacker to laugh.

"Ooh we got a feisty one! Now be a good girl and behave."

Kazume's eyes widened when he moved closer to her. She pulled her mouth free and bit down hard on his hand. He yelped and stepped backwards in surprise. Kazume took advantage of her opening and swiftly kicked upwards between his legs causing him to bend over in pain and collapse on the ground. Kazume again tried to make a run for it but was caught by one of the others and once again pushed against the wall. Another one of them lifted his hand and slapped her hard across the face.

"You hurt our boss you wench!"

A groan was heard from the ground and Kazume looked to the side to see their supposed leader stagger to his feet. He looked at her with lethal eyes.

"You're gonna get it now, hold her still!"

While the others held her, he approached her with outstretched hands and an expression that frightened Kazume beyond words. She clenched her eyes tightly in fear and prayed that the only person she knew could find her would save her before it was too late.

"ARIMON! HELP ME!"

Arimon paced impatiently around the living room with an equally concerned Megumi watching his every step.

"Something's not right, she's always home by dinner but it's already way past that time and no one's heard any word from her."

Megumi rolled her eyes. "I'm sure she's fine Arimon, she probably got carried away with her driving again. You know how she is."

Arimon run a frustrated hand through his hair. "I know! But I just have this feeling something's wro-"

'ARIMON! HELP ME!"

Arimon froze in his tracks at what suddenly appeared in his mind. The voice was Kazume and she sounded terrified. At first he dismissed it, disregarding it as paranoia on his part. But his heart was clenching too painfully for him to ignore.

'She's in trouble.'

With determination he turned to Megumi. "I'm going out to look for her, you stay here in case she comes home."

And before she could comment or object he was already out the door. Arimon flew faster than he had before, his love for Kazume guiding him in the direction of her voice. He stopped suddenly when he heard someone scream his name. He dashed down and landed directly in front of an alleyway. He ran into it until he came across a sight that set his blood boiling.

Kazume kept her eyes shut and head turned to the side. She couldn't watch, she couldn't believe this was happening to her. She opened her eyes weakly in hopes of seeing a friendly face. Her eyes widened when she spotted her father standing behind the wall and silently watching what was transpiring. She locked her eyes to his and silently pleaded for him to help her. But he just stood and watched with a blank expression and Kazume felt her heart break.

'He's abandoning me all over again! Why? Why can't you help me?'

Tears gathered at the side of her eyes as her attacker grabbed and ripped her shirt. Grabbing onto her last resort for help, she lifted her head upwards and screamed.

"ARRIMMOONN!"

Arimon arrived just in time to see four perverts restraining a helpless, frightened and crying Kazume while a fifth member was already in the middle of tearing off her clothes. All he felt then was white, hot rage. Blinded by this anger, he charged straight for the man abusing her and delivered a full punch straight to his jaw. Knocked clean out, Kazume's attacker crashed unconsciously to the floor. His followers, startled by Arimon's appearance, all let go of Kazume who collapsed to her knees. Arimon rushed over and stood protectively over her, his body once again surrounded by a red glow. He snarled at the remaining men.

"I WILL KILL YOU ALL FOR HURTING MY GIRL!"

The now frightened men scattered in different directions to avoid the wrath of the newcomer. Their leader, however, was just coming to and immediately glared at the taller man.

"What the hell dude? You interrupted my fun!"

Arimon stormed over to him and picked him up tightly by his throat.

"THAT WAS MY GIRLFRIEND YOU BASTARD!

Arimon would have killed him if not for the sound of soft sobbing behind him. He turned his head to see Kazume crying nonstop into her hands. He threw the man to the side (who then scurried away like the rest of them) and hurried over to his girlfriend. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder but was met with a violent thrashing of her arms.

"NO! Stay away from me!"

Arimon firmly grabbed her shoulders to calm her down. "Kazume! Calm down!"

"NOO! Someone help!"

"It's me Kaz! It's Arimon!"

Kazume stopped thrashing at the sound of his name. Slowly she lifted her head and looked at him.

"Arimon…is…is that you?"

Arimon gently took her face in his hands and wiped her tears away with his thumbs.

"It's me, it's okay."

If it were possible, Kazume sobbed harder as she collapsed into his arms. Arimon just gently hugged and rocked the distraught girl and stroked hair soothingly.

"You're safe now."

End of Chapter