Chapter 2- I Saw Her Standing There

Akasaka-san stepped forward. "Please excuse my friend's ill manners. It's lovely to see you again, Edowara-san." He acted as though it had only been three weeks instead of three years.

"Same to you, Akasaka-san," the girl returned politely. "And don't worry; I hadn't really expected much from Ryou." Hazelnut's words bravely masked the turmoil of emotion inside her that had come from seeing Ryou again. She had anticipated seeing him after Ichigo mentioned the Mew Project, but she had thought she would have been able to handle it better. However, it was true that she didn't expect anything from him.

A "hello" would have been nice, though.

She inhaled deeply. "It smells like cake in here," she said, looking at the pastry chef with a hungry gleam in her eye.

The older man smiled. "Not until you start work. Here, I already made you a uniform."

Hazelnut stared in utmost horror at the poofy yellow waitress outfit. "No…freaking….way. You will not get me to wear that thing! Don't you have anything else?"

Keiichiro's eyes had an odd, and very unnerving, look in them. "But I made it special for you, Edowara-san."

Hazelnut recognized that gleam. It could mean death if she wasn't careful. Honey-colored eyes flicked to Akasaka-san's ponytail and back.

She swallowed. "Alright. I'll wear it."

A few minutes later, Hazelnut was waiting tables just like everyone else, however malcontented.

"For the record," she had commented. "I'm only here because I like your monkey."

The monkey in question had piped up. "Pudding is a lion!"

"Ah, sorry, Pudding-chan, my mistake."

Hazelnut decided she rather liked the hyperactive middle school girl.

"She's nothing like I was at that age, thank goodness," she thought.

Hazelnut's glory days had been in her last year of junior high. Precious few people dared stand up to her gang, and those foolhardy enough to try were beaten down immediately.

Even though she was at the top of her game, Hazelnut had no satisfaction with life. She felt that nothing she did had meaning. She didn't even care about her the members of her gang, and they certainly didn't care about her. Fear was the only thing that bound them to her. But she didn't know where else to go. Fighting was the only thing she was good at, and besides, in the heat of battle, she could forget about the emptiness gnawing at her insides. But a girl can't be fighting every second of the day.

One afternoon, while she was wandering aimlessly around the city, she caught the flash of a rival gang member's coat disappear down a dark alleyway.

"Perfect," she thought. She hadn't been in a good fight all day.

Striding easily after the girl, she gave chase, to discover, not one, or two, but at least twelve other gangsters loitering in the alley.

Hazelnut didn't mind, she'd probably been in worse.

The other girls didn't notice her at first, being preoccupied in threatening a haughty looking blond boy.

Waiting was not Hazelnut's style. "May as well give them a reason," she thought, and plunged in, placing herself between the mob and the blonde.

"If you want him, you'll have to go through Hazelnut Edowara."

A couple of the gang members blanched at the mention of her name (she had quite a reputation), but the one who was obviously the highest ranking of the group beckoned them onward. "There's only one of her and twelve of us!"

"Heh," Hazelnut thought. "There could be twenty of you and I couldn't care less."

Behind her the boy muttered, "I didn't ask for your help."

Hazelnut looked at him, flashing a grin. "Who said I was doing this for you?"

The gang members rushed at her all at once. With the ease of experience coupled with natural talent, Hazelnut thrust herself into the battle, adrenaline rising. "Is that all you got?" she taunted.

She struck high and low, with amazing speed and agility, for a girl hitting people with a pipe. Although she would have been an excellent match for four or five of them, twelve was wearing her down a little more quickly than she would have liked. Nonetheless, she was prepared to go down fighting.

She was surprised when the blond boy also joined the fray.

"You get six, I'll get six?"

The boy nodded.

Wordlessly, they bonded as a team, fended off the attack and sent the gang members scurrying back to from whence they came.

Hazelnut crouched a little, breathing heavily. "Hey, you're not so bad; you want to join our gang?" she teased.

The boy smiled. "I think I'll have to decline." His eyes flicked to a large gash on her arm. "Ah, you're bleeding."

She glanced at the substantial flow oozing onto her skin. Her head began to spin. She had never been so good with blood.

"Oh, so I am," she said lightly, and promptly fainted.

When she woke, Hazelnut was lying on a strange couch in a strange house. With immense relief, she noticed that her wound had been bandaged.

The blond boy from earlier entered the room. "Ah, you're finally awake. It's been three hours."

There was something in the condescending tone of his voice that Hazelnut really didn't like. Had he really just been fighting alongside her? "Just so you know, I'm not so weak that I faint like this after every fight. I just don't like blood," she growled groggily.

The boy looked incredulous. "A squeamish gang member?"

"There are ways of hurting people without drawing blood," she muttered darkly.

He laughed. "You really are an interesting character. I'm Ryou Shirogane, by the way."

"Hazelnut Edowara."

"Just so you know, then, Edowara-san, I don't always rescue girls who faint in alleyways."

"If you expect me to feel honored or something, you're wasting your time."

Ryou looked a little taken aback. "He's probably used girls fawning over him all the time," Hazelnut thought. "He certainly has the looks."

The boy recovered quickly. "No more honored than you'd expect me to feel, I'm sure, from being rescued against my will."

"I already told you, I didn't do it for you. I just like fighting."

"I don't usually think very highly of pugnacious gang members, you know."

"I don't usually think very highly of spoiled rich kids."

He laughed again. "You're certainly an enigma, Hazelnut Edowara. I wonder what you'd be doing if you weren't in that gang."

She snorted mirthlessly. "Like I could even do anything else."

He leaned back and casually put his hands behind his head. "You shouldn't sell yourself short like that. For all you know, you could be destined for greatness."

She scowled. How could this little punk speak so nonchalantly of destiny? She knew what she was destined for. Nothing.

She stood up. "I'm going home."

She wasn't really; she tried to avoid staying at home as much as possible. But she didn't want to stay with this guy any longer.

"Suit yourself." Ryou lazily waved her off.

"Baka," she thought, and slammed the door behind her.

This is for you, JuniperScaymoore. Thanks for caring.

I named the chapter after a Beatles' song again. I really am searching for some creativity, okay? It's not my fault it just seemed to fit at the time. Perhaps I should listen to a different CD while I type.