Keiko made her way home from school, the neon lights of Tokyo like brilliant colored glass in the looming darkness. She had stayed after school thanks to student council paperwork and fundraising and the weekly book club. She would shine in her future days of glory at her chosen high school, but only if she pushed her mind and patience to the limit. Keiko was no stranger to hard work.
A chill in the summer evening rose the hairs on the back of her neck. She didn't particularly enjoy this walk home alone at night, and her pleated skirt fluttered against her leg as she picked up her pace.
Shadows loomed around every corner, darkness in the tiny side streets a stark contrast to the candy colored light of the electric signs. Fighting cats yowled and screamed like demons somewhere in a back alley.
She passed a shroud of blackness, and a strange hand yanked on the back of her uniform.
She shrieked and spun on her heel. She swung her briefcase blindly at the threat and the weight from the books slammed into someone's head. They groaned and hit the pavement with a thud.
Keiko bolted.
Behind her a male voice hollered: "She knocked him out!"
"You bitch!"
Her heart lurched in her throat, adrenaline shooting through her veins, as she barely felt the pavement under her shoes. Heavy footfalls stomped behind her but she didn't dare glance back in case she tripped in the darkness. Wide eyes scanned her surroundings but she saw no people, only bricks and trashcans as she flew past abandoned buildings.
She hurtled around a corner and crashed into a sturdy body. Her momentum knocked the wind from her lungs and she plummeted to the ground, hands splayed out on the sidewalk, blood oozing from her palms and knees.
The footsteps came to a halt behind her and a pair of fists jerked her up from the ground by her uniform collar. She wasn't really surprised when she glared into the bruised face of the thug from earlier. He grinned at her, though no light reached his eyes. "Hey there, it's Urameshi's whore."
Anger swamped over her fear and she kicked him full force in the groin.
He let go of her shirt and doubled over, but recovered enough to back hand her hard across the face. Her head snapped sideways and little bright stars swarmed her vision. Her attacker clutched his wounded crotch but someone else yanked on the back of her hair.
Stunned, she felt closed in by bodies and hands and distantly she thought, as if this were happening to someone else, that she was in a very, very bad situation. Someone forced their chapped, dirty mouth over hers and she tore their lips with her teeth. They howled in pain. Bam! Another hit to the side of her head. She spat the blood out of her mouth. More hands in places that had never been touched and revulsion sank through her like lead in her veins.
For some reason all she could think about was a scalding hot bath. Burning hot. Wash this off, wash this off…
One of them shoved her full force and she hit the concrete again, her raw hands scraping the ground in an attempt to brace herself.
"YOU'RE SO FUCKIN DEAD!"
The attacks halted. At first Keiko winced, expecting more hits and forced touches but something clicked in her mind as she let herself lie there on the grimy street. "Yusuke…"
It was as if a panther had been set loose in the alley. Chaos exploded all around her. The boys screamed as the spirit detective tore through the group like a demon, all his years of street fighting erupting into a rage. He cursed them as he gripped a boy's hair and slammed his face into the brick wall over and over again. Two others charged at him, but Keiko could barely see the carnage, only hearing the impact of fists on jaws and the snapping of bones.
"DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH HER!" Keiko heard him above their panicked cries. "Don't look at her don't come near her or I'll kill you!"
What Keiko guessed was a trash can crashed to the ground behind her; Yusuke must have thrown one of them into it.
Silence. It was over before it had even started.
Ignoring the fire in her legs and her pounding headache, Keiko rose to her knees. Warm liquid tickled down her calf. She only heard the dull sounds of faraway traffic and Yusuke's heavy breathing. She smiled to herself. Yeah, they sure pissed him off.
Sturdy familiar arms surrounded her waist and lifted her into his arms. He held her like a bride. She blinked back tears and searched his face for injuries, but only one purple bruise marred his handsome features. He gazed at her with worry in his large dark eyes, half of his bangs spilled over his forehead. Even after a brawl, Keiko thought, he was still such a hottie. She blushed despite how out of place those thoughts were with the situation.
"Aw Keiko…,"he said, gripping her tighter, unaffected by the blood slowly staining his shirt. "Sorry dammit, I should have followed you closer." Guilt lingered on his face. "Lets get you home."
All tension fled her body, leaving her exhausted and drained. She rested her head on his chest. "Can I stay with you instead?"
He smiled. "That's what I meant."