Chapter 12 – Bad Weather

DISCLAIMER~~ We do not own anything from the Skulduggery Pleasant series! Derek Landy is the rightful and amazing owner of the awesomeness that is Skulduggery and Valkyrie, and all the other characters!

So.. This chapter.. Well, if you like anime, you'll know immediately where love-struck Shan got the idea for this one from. Obviously, it's been altered to fit the.. 'style', I guess, of Skulduggery and Valkyrie. All the same- enjoy!

Keep up with the reviews!

ooOoo

It was pouring it down.

The sun had gone in to hiding once and for all, and had left the clouds to their mischief.

In fact, pouring it down was an understatement. The rain was literally throwing itself at the ground and everything around, including Valkyrie.

She had made the stupid decision to go home early from Skulduggery's- but she wanted to walk home, for some unknown reason. She wasn't even sure they knew she'd left. She just got her things and went out of the door.

And now she was regretting it.

Soaked to the bone, she trudged on down a dark road, not too far from the pier.

She kicked a stone and watched it fly away down the road. She watched it until it stopped at a pair of feet.

She looked up from the stone and at the person standing there. Well, at the two guys standing there.

She raised an eyebrow as she stopped in front of them. They were just standing there, looking at her.

"What's a young lady such as yourself wandering about at this time of night?" one of the men asked her, taking a step closer to her.

It was hard to make out most of his facial pictures in the gloom, but she was certain that these guys were dodgy.

I shrugged a reply, staring back at them. She was determined not to be intimidated by a couple of creeps.

The other man stepped forward this time. "All by yourself? Maybe we should escort you."

"Are you two for real? You're asking a young girl if she wants two creeps who hang around in the middle of roads at night to take her home? No thanks." she said, and she started walking again. She shuddered slightly as she passed them.

A hand went to her shoulder and spun her around. "I think you've got the wrong idea- who ever said we were going to escort you -home-?" The first man sneered at her, and his buddy went and grabbed her other arm.

Valkyrie frowned and started to panic. "Get off of me, creeps!" She struggled against their hold as they began to drag her in the opposite direction of the pier.

A little further back, up the path she had walked..

Skulduggery took off his hat and shook the rain from it. His plan of stalking Valkyrie was going well. She didn't suspect him in the slightest.

She thought that no one had noticed her when she left, and she never said good bye, so he decided to follow her.

At this time of the stalking stage, he reckoned she was just going home. But something was up, otherwise she would have asked for him to drive her home, especially in this weather.

He put his hat back on and looked down the path to see Valkyrie standing in front of two, dodgy looking men.

Valkyrie, having been held up by the two men, fell to her knees. Skulduggery knelt in front of her and took a hold of her shoulders.

If he had lips, he would be frowning. He crossed to the other side of the road to where the trees covered most of the path and slowly made his way down to them, being extra careful as to not being seen.

As he got close enough to hear them, Valkyrie started walking again.

Then one of the men put a hand on her shoulder, and Skulduggery clenched his fists. He could see where this was going.

When they began to drag her away, he pulled his gloves tighter over his hands and ran at them.

Seeing as they had their backs to him, he had the element of surprise, and landed a full-on punch in to the back of the first guy's head. The man collapsed to the floor, unconscious from the impact of the blow.

The other man turned around, saw his partner on the floor, and legged it up the path.

Valkyrie, who had been held up by the two men, fell to her knees. Skulduggery knelt in front of her and took a held of her shoulders.

"Valkyrie- are you okay? Did they do anything to you?" he said, searching her face for signs of pain.

Valkyrie looked up at him and smiled slightly, "No, I'm fine. They only held me. Thank you."

Skulduggery let out a sigh of relief. "Valkyrie, you're not to go anywhere without telling someone who can protect you, okay?"

"What, so you can tag me every time I leave the house? So much for human rights, Skulduggery." Valkyrie frowned at him.

"Valkyrie, what if something like this were to happen again.."

"Then I'll train harder and be better prepared! You don't have to know where I am all of the ti-"

"Valkyrie.. You're a young girl. You may wield magic but you're still a girl." Skulduggery sighed at her.

Valkyrie shrugged his hands off of her shoulders and raised an eyebrow. Skulduggery sensed her stubbornness coming up and he stood.

"Valkyrie, I wont talk to you until you realize your mistake."

Valkyrie pouted slightly, and stood as well. "You're going to -ignore- me? Well. Have fun." and she turned around, making her way back to her house.

When she got to her house, it was empty. The two men flashed in to her mind and she ran in to the kitchen. On the fridge was a note from her mum.

Valkyrie relaxed as she read that her dad's company needed them some place for the night, so they left dinner in the fridge for her.

She felt overly tense as she sat down at the kitchen table, her head in her hands.

Was Skulduggery being serious? What made him think that giving her the silent treatment would make her realize anything?

She supposed that she owed him something for kicking those guys butt's though, but she couldn't go back and tell him that now, could she?

As she pondered her situation, the front door creaked open.

She snapped her head up and looked in the direction of the door. "Hello?" she called out wearily.

She got no reply.

She scanned the kitchen for some kind of weapon, and her eyes landed on a bread knife sitting next to the sink. She grabbed it and made her way to the front door.

It was swinging back and forth with the wind, but no one seemed to be there.

Probably already in side the house.. she thought to herself.

There was a clattering in the hall behind her, and before she could react, and arm wrapped around her throat, whilst another restrained her hand with the knife in it.

"Where's your ninja friend, now, little girl?" a husky voice whispered in to her ear through clenched teeth.

Valkyrie shuddered, hating the feeling of his breath in her ear. She lashed out backwards, kicking him multiple times, but to no prevail. He held her, trying to get the knife from her hand.

Something exploded through the window in the kitchen and a tall, thin figure stepped up in front of them.

"Skulduggery!" Valkyrie spluttered, gasping for air.

Skulduggery took a hold of the man's shoulders from behind her and literally hauled him over their heads and towards the door way. Manipulating the air, Skulduggery pushed the door, and made it slam straight in to the man's head as he fell forwards.

Valkyrie, breathing heavily, walked up to the man, the knife still in her hands. She raised it slightly, glaring down at the unconscious human.

She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and she turned to see Skulduggery looking at her. She dropped the knife a few inches from the man's leg and fell to her knees once again, holding back tears.

Skulduggery took off his jacket and put it over her and held her close in a skelly hug.

They stay like that for a while- mainly because Skulduggery had no idea what to say.

He kept going to say something, then decides against it. He was never really good in these situations.

Finally, he thought up something that would express his never ending concern and care for her-

"Are you okay?"

Valkyrie looks up at him with a look that suggests that if he weren't already dead, she'd kill him, so he tried something else.

"You know, this means you'll have to work harder in your training."

Valkyrie punched his arm and remained silent.

"Well. Seeing as you're not going to say anything, I'll just keep talking.."

"God, no." she murmured.

"You know, I was right after all. And if I hadn't been here to sa-"

"Thank you for saving me- now please shut up before I kill you." she said, rolling her eyes at him.

Skulduggery smirked and hugged her again.

ooOoo

Well, thar you go.

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- Shaniee!