A/N: I do apologise for the choppiness of last chapter's end but by that point I had been writing for three and a half hours that night and I was a day late anyway and wanted the damned thing done with. So I'll fix it up here a bit. Enjoy.
"So this is…?" the bounty station attendant eyed the bound and gagged Akihiro Kurata, who was writhing on the floor as he tried to escape his binds.
"Yep." Aika popped the p in the word as she kicked the man in the gut. The attendant raised an eyebrow. He then rifled through his various books and such, flipping the pages fast which seemed counter intuitive to Denji. The whole place smelled of old paper to him, a scent he never cared for. Yukio, for one, was looking quite relaxed in this environment. Denji wondered if he had been on edge, his earlier broadcasts seemed to portray that. He'd ask Yukio later. Meanwhile he watched this stick of a man with patchy brown hair and muddy brown eyes find the wanted poster for Kurata and examine the man tied up. Once he was satisfied, the attendant walked off to a back room of sorts and remained in there for a minute. Denji looked to Yukio, hoping to roll his eyes at the time this was taking. However he noticed his friend had a scuff on his cheek, from dirt or something else. Yukio looked at him from the corner of his eye and spotted Denji staring. He quickly wiped his face and looked away. What was up with him?
"Here you go." The man handed Aika the sizeable pouch of ryos that was their reward. Aika accepted with the minimum amount of thanks necessary before they exited, leaving Kurata tied up in the small station. They exited and, owing to the concealment of the alleyway, made their plans.
"Well I suggest we grab a hotel room for the night." Aika opened up as the four surrounded her. "Get a base of operations going for now and we'll see if there's anything else that we can do here while we are. Get some more money and have a nice stockpile before we need a big one again."
"You get the papers?" Yukio asked. Aika grinned and pulled a small folded bunch from under her cloak.
"We can check and see what's desirable. Most of these should be able to do by one person, they aren't high risk." Aika stuck them back into her pocket. "However let's do that at the hotel."
"Shouldn't we need two rooms?" Arine suddenly piped up to Aika's immediate right. "I mean the girls and the boys. With Tomoko here" she jerked her head to the girl, who looked like she had done something. Denji put a hand on her shoulder for comfort. "I wouldn't trust these two as far as I can spit."
"But you can spit far." Yukio replied dryly. "I've seen it. It's almost impressive." Arine glared at him and bared her teeth when Aika intervened.
"Actually, Arine does have a point." She said, agreeing with her student. "But a couple rooms is nothing for the reward we got. Plus whatever we get from these minor bounties. It'll be more than enough for a couple rooms and some food. We might be here a couple days so we'll need the extra funds."
"Can do." Denji spoke, hoping to get everyone a bit more up. They'd got their guy, why wouldn't they be happy?
"Good." Aika took a quick look around. "Let's get going. I want a hotel room as soon as possible."
"Yes, Aika." The group spoke in unison, sans Tomoko, as they headed out of the alley into the breach that was the public walk ways of the Hidden Sand. It wasn't long, however, before they found a small hotel that had a couple rooms available. The group split by gender and entered each room. Denji wasn't concerned with having Yukio as his solo roommate, he kept to himself. But still, Denji ventured out.
"So anything happen while you were searching?" he asked, making Yukio jump. He actually let out a sort of startled scream before rapidly turning, his breathing heavy. Denji raised an eyebrow. "You okay?" Yukio stared at him for a second before answering.
"I-I'm fine." He said, his breathing calming down. He swallowed. "Nothing happened. Met someone at a shop selling weights but they didn't do much. We had a short talk on ankle weights since I need heavier ones."
"Dude, you're carrying about a good forty pounds on you, wrist and ankles." Denji raised an eyebrow at his friend. "I mean what more do you need?"
"A lot more, dude." Yukio sighed as he grinned. "This forty? It's nothing now. I've had it for… how long now? Couple months?" he looked up as if the ceiling would have the answer. "Roughly." He waved his hand dismissively. "Anyway I need more weight so I can move faster."
"You're all ready fast." Denji was wondering what else there was.
"Yeah but I need to be faster. And stronger." He cast his eyes down and Denji wondered if something was really bothering him.
"Well I mean" he stopped, trying to find the words "you're already pretty good."
"Well I need to be better." Yukio responded adamantly. "Lest some schmuck off the street come and push me into the dirt. We need to be better, all of us. What if we get officials on us? We need to be better than their best."
"Dude, we'll get there." Denji tried to calm him down. "Just takes time."
"Yeah." Yukio let out a sigh. "Yeah, it does." He took another breath before shedding his jacket. "It's fucking hot in here." He said, tossing it to the floor. Around his waist was his spear holder which was now exposed.
"You sure you're okay?" Denji asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Yukio responded, sounding aggravated. He wasn't at all fine. Something was bothering him pretty bad. He ran a hand through his hair, making it more wild than usual. Though no matter what he did it went left, a fact Denji had teased him over quite a bit. However Yukio looked like he was about to punch something, hard. Denji held his tongue on the subject.
"Well maybe we should go and see how Aika and them are doing." Denji proposed as she straightened and removed his jacket as well, setting it down calmly. "I mean we should be heading out for dinner soon."
"You go ask them." Was Yukio's curt response. "I gotta do some thinking."
"But you're-" Denji stopped before he got in an argument. He didn't need it right now. "Never mind, I will." And he walked out, leaving Yukio to brood as Yukio did sometimes. It was a nasty habit in Denji's humble opinion but he couldn't change it, at least not now. Then again Yukio could grow out of it or something, they were only fourteen. Things change in time, personality, actions, likes and dislikes. Denji made the quick trip and was about to knock on Aika's door when Tomoko opened it, unaware of Denji being there until she stepped out and jumped at his presence. She was wearing only a red shirt and black shorts. She smiled and chuckled at Denji after she jumped, leaving the boy a bit stumped.
"Sorry Denji." She started. "You startled me."
"Oh, sorry." Denji let his arms fall to his sides. "I was gonna ask Aika if we were ready."
"Oh she said that she'll come and get you guys." Tomoko explained which made sense to Denji. Why hadn't he thought of that?
"Okay. Well it seems we have a bit of time so… wanna just stand and tlak outside ot something?" he asked. Tomoko smiled.
"You know, I'd like that." And Denji lead her over to a side balcony on the small, two story building. They leaned against the railing and looked at the people walking below them with places to be and people to meet. The sun was still decently high but moving ever west ward.
"So, Denji." Tomoko started. "Where are you from?" she asked with what seemed like some restraint, he guessed. As if she were a bit tentative about asking. Denji chuckled.
"I'm from the Hidden Stone Village." He revealed. "It's been a long time, though, since I was last there."
"Oh, why?" she asked.
"Lot of stuff." Denji took a deep breath as he tried to not let the memories flood towards his mind, at least not those. "I lived with my family. My mom, dad, and sisters. One older, one younger. I was the middle child, nothing was ever really expected much of me, in all honesty." He shrugged. "Usual middle kid issues I guess."
"Well something must have happened. A falling out?" Tomoko asked. "I mean there's a reason you're travelling with Aika right?"
"Yeah." Denji responded, looking out across the buildings. "There is."
6 Years Ago
"So we found him with the money on him." The shinobi held eight year old Denji with a firm grip on his shoulder as Denji looked to the ground, trying to avoid his mother's scathing gaze. He'd almost gotten away with it if it weren't for that little tattletale Shirou. He'd distracted the guy for Denji but then got cold feet and told. Now Denji was being escorted home to his mother for what was undoubtedly more than just a tongue lashing.
"Well thank you for bringing him home." His mother thanked the shinobi with a stern voice, more or less directed at Denji. "I should hope the money was returned?
"It was, and it's at least my hope Denji here learned his lesson." The grip on his shoulder remained firm. "A first offense is forgivable, especially at his age. At least legally." The shinobi chuckled a bit despite how unchuckle-worthy this whole thing was. "However all punishments are left up to you and your husband but should repeated offenses occur he will be dealt with by the us." The shinobi warned.
"Oh trust me, he won't be making any more offenses. I'll make quite sure of that." Minatsuki, he could tell, was glaring at him.
"Thank you ma'am." The shinobi said, finally relinquishing Denji to his mother. Minatsuki get a firm grip on him before he could escape or run. The shinobi left and Denji was pulled inside, which was thankfully empty aside from them. Though Denji knew his father would hear about it. It wouldn't be pretty. The first words out of his mother's mouth were
"Sit down at the table. Now." Not even yelling or screaming. Just a stern tone. Denji made the few short steps to the table as if he were a dead man walking. He wished his mother would yell at him. At least he can take that, kids yelled at him all the time. It was usually settled with a fight but he couldn't fight his mother. In any way. Denji made it and sat down on a cushion as his mother sat opposite him. Denji kept his gaze on the table, unable to really filter out what emotions he was feeling. Anger? Sadness? Resentment? Irritation? He found it soon enough.
Guilt.
"Look at me Denji." Minatsuki instructed and Denji's immediate reaction was to close his eyes and not look. He didn't want to see it. "Look at me while I'm talking to you." She instructed and Denji gave in. He looked up into his mother's face and saw her brow furrowed and her eyes shining. She was trembling lightly, though from what Denji wasn't sure. Probably anger. They regarded each other for what seemed like eternity before she asked one question, a question Denji wasn't sure he had the guts to answer. "Why?"
"I…" Denji started but he swallowed. He was having trouble making the words.
"Listen I'm not going to say what your reason is from my perspective." Minatsuki began. "Because whatever reason it is, it isn't good enough." Denji had a sharp intake of breath. "Do you know what you did, Denji? By stealing that money? We're all ready in the low income housing, we're trying to make ends meet. When you go and try to steal, it's hurting us. If you're stealing not only could you end up in prison, but you could be taken away from us forever. Denji we don't want that." Denji watched his mother swallow before she continued. "And honestly I don't want to send you away but if you're going to become a thief then the best place for you is in the prisons." Denji felt his heart sink. His own mother was saying this? He opened his mouth but she plowed on. "I'm not going to be the mother of a thief. I'm not. Not now, not ever. Because I didn't raise you to be like this Denji. I raised you to be good and hardworking, like your father." Denji watched as a tear made its way from his mother's eye but she quickly wiped it away. "You have no idea how disappointed I am in you right now. How sad I am that my only son has degraded into stealing money. You have no idea how your father will feel about this. He will know about it, make no mistake. You need to be punished, you need to learn your lesson. Otherwise you'll keep stealing and I will lose you. And I won't lose you if I can help it."
"But I'm helping!" Denji pleaded, but Minatsuki held a hand up.
"No, I'm not going to listen. Because you're going to go to your room and you're going to wait for your father to come home from work. He is going to talk to you further about this and then we'll come up with a punishment. For now, go to bed without dinner."
"But-" Denji was cut off with a tearful glare.
"Bed. Now." She ordered and Denji had no choice. He slowly stood and made his way to his shared room where he lay down on his bed, looking out the closed window. He didn't make an attempt to escape. He just stared out of the window, reflecting on his mother's words. They stung. They hurt. He'd just been trying to help and he got burned for it. Badly. But what he was doing was wrong, morally. Objectively. He always tried to take from the upper class who had money to spare, and plenty of it. But still, his mother's eyes as she tried not to break down was the toughest thing about it. He'd expected a tongue lashing, harsh words and screams. Not that. Outside the bedroom door he heard his father arriving home. He could hear muffled conversation and already knew what was going to come. More noise signalled Kaguya and Kyoshi but they were irrelevant as Denji heard footsteps coming towards his shared room. He instinctively scrunched himself up into the fetal position, as if it would protect him from his father's words. It wouldn't but it was instinct to avoid punishment. His door opened and closed without a word being spoken. He heard footsteps slowly make their way to his bed. Denji scrunched up more, hoping beyond hope that maybe his father would think he was asleep.
"Denji." He heard. It didn't work. Denji tried to keep his back to his father in the slim hope he would drop it after a tiring day at work. Instead he sat down on the bed, his weight easily shifting the mattress. "Denji, look at me." He heard. Denji didn't want to, not after his mother. Not after seeing her almost break down. His father was silent for several seconds as Denji stared out of the window, not wanting to face his father. Finally a sigh was heard. "Okay Denji. I'm not going to make you look at me. Just listen." Hajime took a deep breath. "I'm told you were caught stealing from someone in the upper class. Your mother said she talked with you and wanted me to give you a talking to as well. Honesty I don't want to repeat her but I have to." He placed a firm hand on Denji's shoulder. Denji almost flinched. He wasn't expected a hit but a firm hand meant a sterner talking to instead of yelling. Just like his mother. "Son you can't go around stealing money, even if it is to help us get by. Just work hard and you'll achieve that goal. Honestly working hard enough, you can even surpass your mother and I. You can be rich and powerful, you can help those around you legitimately. You don't have to go skulking around stealing and worrying us. Trust me son, I don't want you being taken away to prison or wherever else. I don't want to send you away myself because you're a thief. I'm not a father to a thief, I'm your father Denji. Now I know we're struggling to make ends meet but we can't resort to petty thievery and crime. We have to work, otherwise it's not worth it. It's not earned." Hajime sighed before he stood. "We'll talk later tonight." Were his last words before he exited the room.
"Yeah." Denji whispered as he waited. It seemed to take forever but soon night fell and Kyoshi and Kaguya were in bed. There was a light knock on his door and Denji peeled himself off of his bed and slowly walked to the door, opening it to see his father standing there, his mother at the table. Denji walked over and sat opposite his mother as his father sat beside her. Things were awkward and silent for a minute before Minatsuki spoke.
"Denji, we're going to lay down some ground rules for the next while until we feel you've learned your lesson." She spoke softly so as not to wake his sisters.
"So here's what's going to happen." Hajime spoke up. "You're going to go to old man Lee's shop with your mother every morning and she'll be there to pick you up every afternoon. You're going to only be here or at your job until we can trust you to walk about on your own. Even then we'd like you to be in the presence of a family member."
"It's for your own good, Denji. We want you to learn that you can't steal otherwise the consequences will be severe." Minatsuki reasoned.
"You got off the hook this time but what about the next time? Or the next? You need to stop here even though you shouldn't have begun in the first place." Hajime emphasized.
"Is that clear, Denji?" Minatsuki asked. Denji looked between them and nodded. His heart ached as he looked at the sheer disappointment in their eyes. "We need to hear it." Minatsuki reasoned.
"I understand. No more stealing." Denji responded, his voice wobbly and unsure. However he saw the disappointment and sadness soften in his parent's eyes.
"Good." Minatsuki said, a small smile on her lips. "Now let's get you something to eat before bed, okay?" she said, producing a bowl of cold stew. Denji ate it as Hajime went off to bed. He finished quickly and his mother took the bowl and put it in the sink before kissing him good night and sending him off to bed. As he lay there, Denji felt so guilty. But he hated seeing his family like this. He had to find a faster way.
He had to.
"So that's one of your worst moments?" Tomoko asked after a minute's silence. Denji kept leaning against the railing as he looked out at the village. He still felt the pangs of guilt from that incident on occasion though it was overshadowed.
"Yeah. One of them." He answered, smiling. "Let it be a lesson, always listen to your parents. Never resent them." He looked to Tomoko. "Unless, you know, they're like your dad."
"Yeah." Tomoko had a small smile on her face. "I guess you're right." She stepped closer to Denji but he didn't move. He didn't feel like it. The story drained him emotionally at that point.
"Well not me. My parents. Good people." Was his answer. "My sisters too, they worked hard. I didn't. I always tried to find a way out, an easy way. The tough road never occurred to me." He smirked. "Ironic, I'm working so hard now to become strong now with tough work and time. I mean" he flexed his biceps as he leaned "you think I got this in a week? Two years of constant training. I never had that patience as a kid."
"Well you've matured now." Tomoko observed. "At least generally." Denji let out a hearty laugh. It was good to laugh, he felt. He always tried to lighten the mood and here Tomoko was, doing it for him. Yukio was right, she was good for him.
"Well tell that to Aika and Arine." Denji raised an eyebrow. "They still say I'm twelve."
"Well twelve wasn't that long ago."
"You sure?" Denji looked to her as he thought about it. The past two years played by in his head, the events sped up in his mind's eye. Their first mission, the recovery, the next few missions, the White Lotus, and the various times they spent enjoying each other's company. He had to admit, from his current perspective, it did seem like all of that happened so fast. It was almost staggering. But his time with his family back in the Hidden Stone.
That was a life time ago.
"You're right, I'll admit." Denji chuckled. "You're pretty astute."
"Well I spend my life travelling. Stuff happens fast generally." Tomoko leaned beside Denji. He was starting to feel a bit nervous. "You gotta make split second decisions sometimes."
"Oh?" Denji asked. "Like what?"
"Well…" Tomoko quickly leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Denji's whole face lit up.
"Oh… I…" he stammered but Tomoko shushed him.
"Not now. Just let it sink in." she chuckled when the outer door opened. Denji turned to find Aika standing there. Her expression was less than pleased.
"So here you two are, hiding."
"Sorry, Aika." Denji made amends as he turned around. "I was waiting and we got to talking."
"Well." Aika eyed Tomoko. "We're ready. Been waiting a few minutes."
"Sorry." Tomoko spoke up. "It's my fault." Aika's reaction was muted.
"Regardless of the fault, blame is equal here I think. But let's get going, I'm sure you're hungry." Aika gave a bit of a grin as she left them. Denji stood there, his cheek still hot from Tomoko's kiss. Tomoko nudged him and Denji began moving, as if on command. He walked down the hall until he met with Yukio and Arine. Yukio was looking less…. Irritated. Arine was looking about usual. Aika greeted them.
"Well, now that we're all here, let's find some food."
What. Was. She. Thinking!? Anri was scolding herself all throughout supper. She was getting in too deep. But that never happened before! She was panicking. And she never panicked! Why had she kissed Denji? Why? She'd gotten the urge and just… did it! She was in the bathroom once they had finished and discussed targets. Denji would take her along with him to go for his decided one, a local reprobate who was a mouthpiece of a gang. Unfortunately he had spoken too much and had a bounty out.
But that aside, Anri was freaking out as she splashed water against her face. She stared into the mirror and noticed a bit of her hair was returning to green. She stared at the offending spot intently until it faded back to black. Last thing she needed was to panic and lose her disguise. Yet the more she lied to Denji the more her heart pounded with the need to tell him the truth. She shouldn't, she was getting in too deep! She'd have to be rid of them…
"grrrrrrrr." Anri made the noise into the sink. She was, thankfully, alone in the bathroom. However she made the noise quietly. She was frustrated. She didn't want to kill Denji. She never wanted to kill half the people she did but then again she never had objections because she didn't have to want to kill. It was generally necessary to eliminate a witness or possible leak. She did it efficiently, quietly. She was a walking perfect crime. But the thought of killing Denji sent her stomach convulsing and her heart immediately revolted against her mind. It was a battle, one she had never experience. Since a young age she had been an efficient, emotionless killer. Now she had been exposed to Denji and suddenly… she found herself caring. She was a sociopath, not a caring girlfriend!
Anri took a deep breath and stared at herself in the mirror. Only it wasn't her, was it? She was staring at Tomoko, the flighty traveller who was getting into Denji. She wasn't looking at Anri, the killer who'd been taken down by Gaara of the Desert himself. Suddenly, the left half of her face changed. It went back to what she really looked like. Her green hair, vibrant green eyes, her simple, plain lips. She felt so… so split! Anri felt like her body was at war with itself, heart and mind fighting back and forth between what she should do and what she wanted. And she'd never wanted anything before. That was the thing, this was an entirely new experience and it was so conflicting.
Suddenly a knock was heard on the door, startling Anri. She shifted her appearance back to Tomoko, a transformation she was beginning to hate slipping into. She went over and opened it to find Arine standing there.
"You having issues?" she asked, her tone irritated. She stood, arms crossed at the entrance.
"Sorry." Anri breathed. "I just had to fix a few things."
"Well I gotta go." Arine stepped past her and closed the door, leaving Anri out in the sparsely populated restaurant. She walked towards the table and slid in beside Denji, pinning Yukio against the wall again but he didn't complain, which she noticed. He was irritated now for some odd reason that Anri wasn't entirely concerned about. She was more concerned about her own issues.
"We'll get ready once Arine's back." Aika reported as she finished her drink. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Arine returned and they paid the fee before leaving. It was a short walk back to the hotel but Anri was still fretting over what she would do if she wound up telling Denji. Would she have to reveal herself to the rest of them? Would they even help her? So many variables, something she rarely bothered with. She never had to deal with it much. But now she was stuck in this position that was difficult to get out of without outright leaving them while they sleep.
She looked over the people in the group. Aika would be tough to deal with should she come after Anri. Arine would as well, if only for her sheer anger. Yukio, from what Denji had said, was incredibly smart. And that 195 IQ he mentioned was an intimidating number on its own, but when applied to someone's brain power, it was almost frightening. He could undoubtedly, find her. However he seemed distracted. He kept looking around as if someone were following him. Anri wondered what his issue was now and if he was distracted, perhaps he'd be easier to escape should she have to leave.
Denji… Anri didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to think about having to fight Denji. She shouldn't be thinking about him like this but she was. Something about him was affecting her. She didn't know what to call it but it was affecting her thinking severely. She should be able to imagine a scenario where she would have to fight him…. But she couldn't.
Something was really wrong.
Yukio read through the paper again and again, wondering why Aika hadn't mentioned this Anri Nomura back at dinner. This was a huge, huge bounty. Incredible. It'd supply them almost as long as Kohta's did. No not almost, more than. Still, he looked over to Denji who had now fallen asleep. He heard nothing over from the girls' room. Good. He folded the paper and slipped it into his pants pocket before he slid his jacket on. He was going to fight Karako and he was going to win. She was good and he got over confident. That wouldn't happen this time.
Yukio exited the hotel quickly and quietly, heading out into the semi-lit streets of the Hidden Sand. He memorised the path to the lot where he and Karako fought and he hoped she would honour his last second rematch request. It wasn't an agonisingly long walk, but it took a while. He stayed to the shadows as much as he could, which wasn't difficult but he also kept his hood up as he stalked just in case. Someone might recognise something, you never know. He walked past the closed shops and around the back alleys until he spotted a familiar area. Yukio was between a couple small buildings and almost stepped out. He saw Karako but when he got to the edge, he saw something else. A couple of big guys were before her, cornering her in the lot. She had a look of irritation on her face. He could hear them talking to her but nothing really audible. Just the noises of conversation. They were quiet though their intentions were clear with a girl out late at night. Yukio worked his chances out in his head. Couple of guys like this could be easy, but safe was better than sorry. One of them had long, floppy brown hair while the other had short, blonde hair. Yukio stepped out from the alley and walked towards the lighted lot and came into range of the conversation.
"C'mon it's late. Come with us, we can get you a drink and a place to sleep." The blonde one asked.
"I've got a place." Was Karako's curt response. The men simply laughed at her malice-filled tone.
"But our place is better." The brown haired one tried as they closed in. Karako raised her fists when she spotted Yukio. Her eyes went wide, which caught the attention of Karako's attackers. They both turned and Yukio saw them for what they were immediately. Strong, handsome boys who either got the easy girls in less than desirable places or just took them by force wherever. "Who the fuck are you?" the brown haired one asked, his brown eyes plain in the light.
"Just a concerned citizen." Yukio responded, quoting a book he read about a vigilante who cleaned up crime in his city violently. "I believe the young woman there said no to your offers. My advice would be to leave it." Yukio grinned, placing an arm over his chest in a self-gesture. "Trust me, she's tougher than she looks."
"Yeah well she ain't gonna stop us and neither are you." The blonde spoke up. Yukio actually chuckled, more for effect but it actually was funny.
"Well, don't let me stop you." He jeered, sliding his hands in his pockets. "I'm just saying I shouldn't need to remove my hands from my pockets."
"Oh yeah?" the blonde grinned and looked to his friend. Yukio gave them a full toothed smile, his right lip curling up. He didn't know when he started it but he enjoyed it. It creeped Aika out so he knew it had an effect. It did as well here. The brunette ran at Yukio as fast as he could, closing the gap quickly. Yukio kept an eye on him as he ran, his arm cocked back for a punch.
Question is, will it be a straight punch or a wide one? Yukio took a breath. Duck either way, he won't expect it. The brunette threw a wild haymaker, his arm swinging around in a wide arc that Yukio almost found laughable. He ducked quickly, hands still in his pockets. He didn't retaliate. Instead he watched the confusion on the brunette's face as he realised he'd missed. He righted his right arm and cocked his left one back. He'll likely change it up Yukio thought to himself go for a straight punch and hope I won't do much. Going back would be futile. Roll forward. Yukio felt an urge of satisfaction as the man shot his left arm forward in the same instant Yukio surged forward, rolling over his shoulder and coming up behind him. Now, strike. Yukio straightened and lashed out with a kick, driving his heel into the man's spine, earning a yell of pain. Yukio then slammed his left foot down and spun on it, swinging his right leg around and hitting the guy in the jaw with his heel. The impact felt good, cathartic. Yukio put his right foot down and moved his left back so he was a few feet from his combatant. Yukio flicked a glance to his blonde friend, who was shifting position slowly. Yukio chuckled, he couldn't help it. He was trying to be clever. Karako, meanwhile, was watching in either amazement or horror. He couldn't tell but he didn't care. Yukio simply let the brunette get two steps in before he put his weight on his left foot, spinning around fast and driving his heel into the other side of the man's jaw. He stumbled and tripped over his own feet as the blonde shot forward.
"You little prick!" he let out as Yukio eyed him. Yukio blinked and could see his body temperature. His legs were the hottest part, the muscles working as he ran. But his legs were lowering as he ran, he was handing his knees. Crouching. He was going to pounce.
Not bad. Yukio thought as he let his legs fall out from under him, dropping to the ground just as the blonde pounced. Yukio landed on his rump and rolled onto his back and shot his legs up, hitting the blonde as he soared overhead, knocking him off course enough to make him land before Yukio, who got up straight using his legs. His hands remained in his pockets. He quickly jumped up and landed on the blonde's back, both his heels driving his entire body weight into the man's spine. The yell of pain was audible and satisfying as Yukio leapt off his back and landed a few feet away. Both were down, but the brunette was beginning to get up. He glared at Yukio, who raised an eyebrow. The brunette got up sloppily as he ran at Yukio, who popped his neck. The brunette was closing in and Yukio was beginning to wonder what he should do to him. I could trip him. Childish but simple. But I need to add a bit of flair. Yukio grinned. He found it. Just as the brunette was within arm's reach, he side stepped, as if he could trip him, but then drove his right heel into the man's knee, dropping him instantly. He fell to his uninjured knee and cried out. Yukio had been expecting this. He sent his knee up, slamming into the man's jaw, closing it with incredible force on his tongue. Blood sprayed out as the man's tongue was shredded by his own teeth. Yukio stepped back as the man groaned in pain. The blonde slowly got up, holding his back. Yukio lashed out with another kick to the brunette's head and then held it there with his foot. He leaned down.
"So here's the deal, friend. You're going to leave the woman alone and your friend is going to join you. Otherwise you'll have to get beaten again, or worse, by a fourteen year old kid." Yukio grinned as his words sunk in. He took his foot off and stepped back. "Now go on, git." He jerked his head in a direction and the two of them hobbled off into the night. Yukio felt a good sense of satisfaction from that street fight. He reveled in it for a second when his hood was pulled down from behind. He jerked himself around to see Karako was right there. Her face was one of mild irritation.
"You know" she started "I could've taken them."
"Oh of that I'm perfectly aware." Yukio chuckled. "I was more or less concerned for their safety."
"Their safety?" Karako's face became astonished and confused. "Why in the world?"
"Listen, from one fight with you, you're crafty. Crafty, but vicious. I've no doubt you would've killed them outright or severely injured them." Yukio sighed. "and I'd prefer to avoid as much bloodshed as possible." He watched Karako as she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He hoped she didn't know he actually did it to kind of be the hero. He had the urge to protect her and he did it. And dead bodies would've proved troublesome. Last thing he needed was a tongue lashing from Aika.
"So you're not from here, are you?" she asked, as if she'd harboured this suspicion for a bit. Yukio gave in. A bit.
"What gave me away?" he asked.
"No one I know here uses lightning jutsu." Karako elaborated and Yukio felt a small pang regret. He shouldn't have, it gave himself away too much. However he had an appointment and he had to make it quick, improvise.
"Well you had me pinned and I had an appointment to keep." He said. It was as far as he could go. "I do apologise if that's the case." Karako simply smiled and chuckled.
"Nah, just surprised me is all. But I gotta say you've got moves. Took them out without hands, which takes guts."
"Not really." Yukio admitted. He held no fear in the slightest. If anything he over thought the whole thing to simply not screw up. He got overconfident with Karako and paid the price by losing. He didn't want to make that mistake with a couple of reprobates. "Just some quick predictions and a few choice spots. Spine is easy to hurt since it's quite prominent. Don't even need to break it. It's a sensitive spot. As for the tongue…" Yukio chuckled. "That was for giggles."
"Are…" Karako raised an eyebrow "are you a sadist?" she asked, her voice filled with… horror?
"Oh, no." Yukio hastened to prevent such a view from forming. "No, no. I just figured it would make me chuckle the most. His reaction, not the act itself."
"Still sounding sadistic." Karako crossed her arms, which now held wrist weights as her ankles held ankle weights.
"Well I didn't pin me to the ground." Yukio retorted. Karako chuckled.
"What? It was fun. You enjoyed it." She grinned and Yukio felt his face heat up.
"I didn't!" he countered but Karako laughed as she walked over to the lighted lot.
"So we doin this or what?" she asked, a grin on her face. "I promise I'll be gentle." Yukio felt his face heat up again. He wasn't going to let this girl get the advantage over him. He walked over to the lot and readied himself. He held his fists out as did Karako. They slowly circled each other, eyeing one another for openings to take. Yukio took a deep breath. He couldn't let Karako- whoa! She swung out with a straight punch to his face that he barely dodged. She retracted her arm and dropped down for a spin kick that Yukio jumped over before, on a come around, Karako brought a punch that hit with all her kinetic force into Yukio's chest. He was sent sprawling from the impact and his lack of footing. He landed hard on his back and the breath was well and truly forced from his lungs in one gasp. He spluttered and coughed as he caught his breath, turning over and getting up on his elbows. He took a couple breaths before he fully stood, slowly.
"You know… what you did…" he panted.
"Was good, I know." Karako grinned as she shot forward, giving Yukio barely anytime to side step her punch. She quickly turned and punched again. Yukio dodged it as well before another came. Karako was throwing punches one after the other in rapid succession, not letting up one second.
She's going- dodge –too aggressive- dodge –not letting up- dodge –at all! Yukio dodged again when Karako lashed out with her leg and hit his knee with a good amount of force, causing Yukio to fall to one knee. Karako readied a punch that would send him into oblivion so he acted fast. He threw a wild uppercut that caught Karako off guard. He nicked her chin as she recoiled and Yukio rolled away, getting some distance between them. His knee throbbed as he tried to stand. Karako looked to him and grinned. She ran at him with incredible speed as Yukio rolled away as fast as he could at the last minute, basically dodging at the last second like she was a charging animal. It was working for a few times but Yukio could tell Karako was catching on quickly. She was slowing down as she charged, trying to catch him. Yukio was barely avoiding her at this point. However his luck ran out when Karako managed to grab his left arm and flipped him over her shoulder, slamming him back first into the ground. Karako was, once more, on him. She pressed herself into him hard, giving Yukio no wiggle room.
"See, that's how you deal with a predictor like yourself." She explained as she kept him pinned. "Keep the pressure up, gives you little room to actually think and formulate. Not many grasp that concept despite how simple it is." Karako grinned. Yukio tried wriggling out but it was useless. Unless he used another lightning jutsu, he was stuck. Karako was practically giving him a bear hug, her arms clamped tight around his body. Her legs were tangled with his, pinning them.
"How ironic." Yukio tried to quip, keeping still now. He hoped to relax himself enough to escape her grip. Anything caught by a snake generally relaxed itself to escape the grip of the snake. He took a few deep breaths while he kept talking. "I mean to beat a predictor you had to predict."
"I've just fought too many people who've tried to go the prediction route. I've adapted a strategy." Karako revealed as Yukio kept relaxing himself as much as he could. He didn't feel Karako's grip tighten around him, in fact, it felt like it had loosened due to his relaxation.
"Well that's a good way to learn." Yukio commented as he took another breath. His heartrate was calming down, he was relaxing even more. He felt a bit more room. He suddenly jerked his limbs out, surprising Karako enough that her grip weakened, giving Yukio some free room. He tried to crawl, his arms pulling as hard as he could. However, it wasn't enough. Karako got Yukio on his back and pinned him limb by limb. It was a second before Karako was a mirror image just inches above Yukio. She was panting, a feral smile on her face.
"Not bad." She growled. "First time I saw that." She leaned her face in, her lips almost toughing Yukio's. Yukio found his breathing was increasing as Karako breathed on him. Her breath warmed his face and Yukio was beginning to wonder why she was so focused on pinning him.
"Well first time a girl is focused on pinning me." Yukio quipped, hoping to throw her off. Karako simply chuckled
"Well you're kinda cute in a scrawny way." She admitted.
"Scrawny!?" Yukio exclaimed, hearing only that out of the sentence before the rest sank in. Karako started laughing through her teeth. "What?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Guys are always so dense." Karako rolled her eyes and grinned.
"What do you…" Yukio asked before Karako's words finally sank in. She thought he was…cute? "Cute?" he asked, again, grasping the most important word at the time.
"Holy- it is true." Karako started laughing heartily as she rolled off of Yukio, leaving him there, lying beside her, confused as he finally absorbed the full sentence and its meaning.
"I…" Yukio sighed. He didn't know what to think about this. He just didn't know what he could possibly think. Or what he should think. He closed his eyes for a second and opened them to find Karako standing over him in a non-threatening way, a hand held out.
"Come on." She urged, grinning. Yukio reached out and grabbed her hand and she hauled him up to an upright position with the ease and grace of someone far less aggressive. Yukio was feeling dazed with this new batch of info put before him. Karako found him attractive? He'd never dealt with this before. Girls never came up to him and admitted their feelings to him in sudden, unforeseen displays of affection. Despite what Denji said, Yukio never noticed girls enough to pay them any mind unless they had something useful to offer. The sheer fact that Karako had admitted anything to him was shocking enough to give him many days' worth of material to ponder and mull over. It was a lot of information to consider.
"So…" he started, his hand still in hers unintentionally, but for lack of remembering. "what started this?" he asked, unsure of how to bring it up. Karako chuckled and Yukio could swear he saw her cheeks colour deepen. He quickly adjusted his eyes and saw a lot of heat through her body, so it was useless to say it was. He switched his eyes back and saw Karako acting almost… sheepish?
"Well I mean I don't see too many guys in weight shops that aren't overbuilt muscle heads." Karako admitted as she looked around, avoiding eye contact. She must be a bit embarrassed over it. "Also the fact that you seem pretty smart was a plus." She looked at Yukio's face and made a sort of snort. "Well kind of. You're in the clouds right now."
"Kind of." Yukio admitted. Karako kept chuckling.
"That and after fighting you, you're a pretty good fighter. Just need a bit of an edge in the department of someone keeping the pressure up on you. And also, as I said…" Karako looked away. "You are a pretty cute guy." She flicked her gaze to him. Karako frowned as she didn't get a response. "You okay?" she asked.
"Uh…" Yukio, in fact, stumbled forward suddenly but Karako caught him and he was jarred into reality. He jerked up and stood as straight as he could while Karako held his arms.
"You okay?" she asked and Yukio was suddenly hit with a wave of exhaustion. The day's events catching up with him he supposed. His body ached and he felt like he could sleep for
"Yeah." He admitted as he shook his head to keep himself awake. "Just tired. Eventful day.' Yukio let out a yawn and Karako's expression turned from surprise to sympathy.
"I feel you. You need some help to where you're staying?" she asked. Yukio took a deep breath and nodded. He wasn't sure of himself right now. He was about ready to collapse and should he be left alone, who knows what could happen.
"Yeah, I could use an escort." He chuckled lightly. "Last thing I need is to pass out in the street."
"All right." Karako got an arm around him as she supported him. "Let's get you somewhere you can sleep."
"It's a hotel, a small distance from here. Close to the market place." Yukio gave her the rough directions and they started off. Yukio, as it turned out, walked with ease but he kept Karako along just in case. As they walked, they talked about small things. Karako revealed that she occasionally traveled but that she was a native to the Hidden Sand. She asked Yukio and all he felt comfortable giving away was that he travelled a lot. Karako seemed to accept this at first before she popped the question to him as they neared the hotel.
"You're a bounty hunter, aren't you?" she asked and Yukio eyed her. Clearly she was smarter than he thought, or just able to pick a person's occupation out quite easily.
"What makes you say that?" Yukio asked neutrally and Karako shrugged.
"The radio you had on you and someone said they found someone. Then you ran off and I assumed." Karako's smile dipped sideways and Yukio attempted to reassure her.
"Well you're not wrong." Yukio admitted. "Though I'm not gonna technically say I am, but if I were I'd hope you can keep that information a secret?" he asked. Karako smiled and nodded. Something about her, he realised as she held him, she was constantly buzzing with energy. Her body was warm and she was always moving in some regard. He wondered if that's why she took up fighting.
"Don't worry, secret's safe with me." Karako mentioned as they reached the hotel. "Just don't wind up hunting me."
"Don't do something to earn a bounty." Yukio quipped back. He smiled and Karako let him go, allowing him to stretch. "Thanks." He said once he finished. "You're a really good fighter. First one to defeat me in a couple years now." Yukio admitted, though he found it a bit difficult.
"Well thanks." Karako gave Yukio a dry grin as he began making his way to the hotel. Karako waved him goodbye and walked off, possibly to her home. Yukio limbed the steps, his legs, especially his knee, aching from the day's events. Karako had given him something to think about, possibly discuss with Denji since he was the one most experience in real relationships out of them, if only from his life back in the Hidden Stone he said.
Regardless, Yukio didn't have time to think about it now. He found his and Denji's room and opened the door to find the big guy sleeping peacefully on one side, as Yukio had left him. That was good, it meant he hadn't woken up to find Yukio gone. Otherwise the alarm would've been raised and they would've found him with Karako.
However, he couldn't worry much about that now. Yukio slid the door closed and dropped his jacket on the ground before he slowly, painfully, lay down on the floor mat and quickly drifted off as his body's aches pulled him into the land of healing slumber.
A/N: Slightly shorter than last time but I hope it was worth it!