(This one should probably be rated T for violence. Sorry.)

Hazelnut had shown up for work the next day, and the day after that. She had stood at the front door for hours, hollering until she was hoarse for Ryou to open up or she was going to break it down. But there was never any answer. Not even Akasaka-san.

So she gave up. And three years passed.

***

The man with the knife wore his hair in a greasy black ponytail, which Hazelnut hadn't noticed the day before. But she recognized the large gash on his right bicep, now tied with a crude bandage. His injured arm remained oddly limp.

"Thought I'd find you here, kitten."

"I told you not to call me that," Hazelnut growled, though a cold sweat was breaking on the back of her neck.

He grinned icily. "Hardly in any position for lip, sweetheart. I'm not in a particularly forgiving mood after your little episode yesterday."

"Grab her," he told his men.

Three guys moved forward. Hazelnut took a fighting stance.

"No, you idiots, she took down three of us yesterday," the man snarled. "I'm not underestimating her again."

Three more came up behind Hazelnut, knocking her down. A brawny bald guy with a dragon tattoo running up his neck caught her in a stranglehold. His arm closed tighter around her neck as she struggled, so she went limp. His grip relaxed a bit, but his forearm stayed tight against her windpipe.

"Now her boyfriend." The young biogeneticist barely had time to react before another thickset man pinned his arms fast behind his back.

"He's… not… my …boyfriend," Hazelnut choked.

"He's not, eh? You won't mind us doing this, then." The man snapped his fingers and another gangster came forward and punched Ryou in the face, the force of the blow jolting his head back like a rag doll.

Hazelnut bit her lip as blood began to leak from Ryou's nose.

The man snapped his fingers again. And again. And again.

Hazelnut winced every time she heard the sound of fist cracking against skull. "Stop it," she said through gritted teeth.

" The ponytailed gangster strolled over to Hazelnut, holding his knife inches from her face. "How about I carve my initials in that pretty little neck of his, eh? You won't forget me then, will you?"

Hazelnut glared at him, pure poison burning in her eyes.

"I could take his head off all together." The man tightened his grip on his knife. "Perhaps the lesson would really sink in then."

"I'll kill you," she hissed.

He leaned in, and Hazelnut could smell the tobacco on his breath. "We'll see about that."

"Hey, he's not breathing!" shouted one of the men near Ryou.

The ponytailed man turned his attention away from Hazelnut. "Is he dead?"

His thickset crony thrust two enormous fingers on Ryou's neck. "Don't feel nothing." The man holding Ryou up released him quickly, thoroughly spooked by the idea of touching a corpse. Ryou's body collapsed in a crumpled heap on the ground.

The ponytailed man strode over to Ryou's body, and kicked it once in the ribs. No response. "Huh. Didn't mean to do that. Oh, well, one less brat in the world."

"Ryou!!" Hazelnut screamed as she stared at the limp form. "Ryou!!" She sobbed, tears splashing onto her captor's arm. "You've killed him; you killed him!!"

"You think I care?!" the man shrieked, eyes bulging, "I'll kill you next, girly, for what you did to me! You took out my right arm! My fighting arm!" He gestured with his knife to the useless lump of mass that now dangled at his side. "You severed the tendons, you ignorant cow! I'll never be able to use it again! I used to be feared! Now I can barely lift this knife!"

"But," he continued, maniac grin slowly spreading across his face. "I can still fight. And I'm going to take my revenge."

"Tie her right hand," he barked.

Hazelnut's wrist was roughly bound to her back, and the gangsters made a ring around her and the ponytailed man.

"Now it's fair. See?"

They began to circle each other. Hazelnut sized him up. She knew that, no matter what, she had no escape. Her last option was to go down causing as much pain as possible to those who had killed Ryou.

The man lunged at her, but she threw up her hand to stop the blade. He only grinned wider as he wrenched his knife out of her grip, watching blood drip from her palm. "Still got some fight left in you don'cha, girly? Let's see how many more times you can do that."

He lunged again and Hazelnut leapt out of the way, aiming a punch to his gut.

She caught him a little winded, but he landed a slicing blow on her forearm.

Hazelnut's vision staggered. "You lowlife piece of scum. I should have taken care of you when I had the chance."

"You have the chance now, girly. Fight me."

She mustered up the rest of her strength and threw herself at him. She saw his surprised look before she felt a sharp pain hit somewhere below her ribcage. She stumbled back and fell to the ground, clutching the place where the knife had pierced her.

Even the maniac grin was gone from the man's face now, leaving only cold fury. "It's time you join your boyfriend over there."

***

Poor Hazelnut. Ponytailed men are always out to get her.

Haha, you know, I totally forgot about her Mew Mew Powers when I was writing this chapter. But she probably forgot too. I mean, she's going through a bunch of emotional upheaval, and she's used to fighting with only her fists. (Besides, a magical girl transformation right in the middle of a knife fight might have been weird, don't you think?)

And didn't she fight Kish randomly in one chapter? Ahh…I'm sorry, there was a subplot there…somewhere…(pretend there wasn't ^^')

Gah! This site has changed so much! But look! I can use asterisks now!

What do you mean it's been over a year since I last updated? Ehehehehehehe, just trying to live up to my name. (At least the 'unmotivated' part of it.)

Love you all. You don't even have to review this time. Just let me know you're still reading. (If you are, that is.)