"Are you all ready to see the fight we've all been waiting for!?" A man yelled at the large crowd.
Hearing the familiar voice made me grind my teeth. This was a place I never wanted to return too. I don't have a choice though if I want to see what Takashi is up too. Why did he have this agreement with Hikaru? What could he have done to make Takashi come to something as dangerous as this? One part of me said to return to the hotel and forget this event. The other, screamed for to go in there and drag the tall man out.
I have to stop this once and for all.
I peeked through the wooden fence and saw the crowd was even larger than the last time I was here. It made me want to turn around and run but I had to do this. I wanted to know what Takashi was up too. I snuck up the entrance and squeezed past the group who blocked it. Once I was able to get away from most the people. I tried looking for Takashi. With him being so tall, I thought he would stick out like a sore thumb but he was nowhere to be seen. Where could he have gone? What did stick out to me was a head of hair.
It was white as snow.
My body froze as I wanted to deny what I saw. It couldn't have been him. That wasn't him I just saw. Before, I could get a better look the white-haired person disappeared into the crowd of people. I cursed myself for not getting a closer look. My curiosity was poking at me again to go investigate. However, I was here to find Takashi. My mind continued to spin as I couldn't get the image of white out of my head. I couldn't get the image of Tomo to go away. That couldn't have been him.
We made a promise.
He said he wouldn't fight anymore. He promised me that he would stop. He couldn't have lied. He would never lie to me. I pulled at my hair like I always do when I couldn't make up my mind. The stress was coming and it made me uncomfortable. I needed to find Takashi and get out of here. I went the opposite way, hoping to never see the white hair again.
I had to push through more people as a circle was forming. The fight was going to happen soon and I didn't want to be here to see it. The man in the center continued to pump up the crowd but gave no detail on who was going to fight. I didn't see the foot in front of me and tripped. I tripped, landing on my palms, thankfully. My eyes shot up to see who had done it but the culprit was already gone. I scrapped myself up, wiping the dirt away. That's when I saw him.
Bright orange hair and piercing golden eyes.
Anger boiling inside me from just looking at him. I had to collect myself or I was going to run at him. Hikaru was talking to some guy, a big smile plastered on his face. He was enjoying his time here, whatever he was up too. I bit my bottom lip, feeling it break. No blood seeped through as I walked towards him. I made sure I was blending into the crowd, I didn't want him seeing me. Maybe, I could get some information from him.
Why did he come here? What promise did he and Takashi make? He was a rich kid who went to a good school. He had amazing friends and I imagine his home life is good as well. What reason could he have to come to this fighting ring? What was the point in dragging Takashi into this as well? There were so many questions I wanted answers too but nothing would come to mind. All of this made me want to press harder. I wanted to know more even if it involved Hikaru.
I was close enough to hear them, despite the raging students and teens around me. I was hidden behind a trashcan that wasn't even three feet away from them. Luckily, it was dark and the only light around was the fire from the torches. I could hear his voice and it made my ears cringe. I didn't know who he was talking too but I could care less about that. I pressed myself as close to the trashcan as I could. I wanted to hear every detail.
"You sure your guy is going to win?" The other man asked.
Hikaru smirked, "Of course he is. I wouldn't bring him here if he couldn't."
I knew they were talking about Takashi. It didn't settle well with me and I wanted to jump out and tackle the twin. I knew better though, keeping myself hidden. I wasn't going to let my anger ruin my chance.
"What if last time happens?" The young man asked with concern, "I bet quite a bit on your friend."
I had a strong feeling they were talking about me.
"Do you mean her? Don't worry about it. I have people keeping a close eye out for her." The way his smile looked just then made me want to crawl out of my own skin.
I better be careful. This could be serious. With that said, I looked around but no one looked out of place. I was surrounded by teens who were itching for violence. Besides that, you could see others under the Influence. This place was a breeding ground for trouble.
The other kids scratched his chin, " I'll believe you for now. You better make sure I make some money tonight."
"Of course!"
I would have continued to listen in on the conversation, but I saw my main target not too far away from me. His dark raven hair stood out despite the darkness around us. If it wasn't for the torches, I would have surely missed him. His statue like demeanor made him stick out like a sore thumb. It was Takashi, I needed to talk to him. I had to make sure I could get him out of this place before the fight started.
I had a strong feeling it involved him.
I silently left my position and squeezed through the crowd once again. I kept my eyes locked on him, afraid that if I even blinked he would disappear. I'm almost there. Just a little more and we can get out of here. I didn't want to stay here longer than I had to, especially if people were looking out for me. Takashi was talking to a group of girls and for some reason, this made me unsettled.
This wasn't the time and place to be thinking about certain thoughts.
I was merely inches away from grabbing his hand. I could almost feel his big rough palms against mine. I just had to grab them and I could take us away from this hell. It wasn't meant to be though. I felt someone grab the back of my clothes, yanking me away.
No! I was so close.
"Look who we have here."
"Funny seeing you, thinking you were going to break up the fight again?"
I looked over my shoulders to see my captors. They were two tall boys, at least a foot taller than me. They both look like high school dropouts. They smelled of mildew and old cigarettes. It made my nose crinkle. I wiggled to escape his grasp but his hands were tight against my clothing.
I growled, "Let me go!"
They ignored my protesting, dragging me away from the crowd of people. No matter how much I struggled against their strength, I just wasn't strong enough. Why couldn't it be one of those situations to were since I was dead I would have some kind of inhuman strength? Nothing ever went the way I wanted it. Once we were safely away from the crowd, they threw me in the dirt.
"Now, what can we do with you?"
One of the guys steps forward, placing his hand on his front shoulder. "Didn't Hikaru just say to make sure she was kicked out?"
His friend shook his hand away, "What would be the fun in that? I say we have a little bit of entertainment of Our Own."
Fear was growing inside me. I couldn't control my shaking hands as I try to find anything to keep them still. Here it was again. I was showing my weak side. Why did I have to be this way? This is the exact reason why everything goes bad for me. If I could just stick up for myself like I should, none of this would be happening!
I didn't even get to call for help as one of the boys threw himself on top of me. I was defenseless. I was too weak to fight against him. I could smell the scent of alcohol on his breath. It made my face scrunch up. He was under the influence of something else as well. I could see it in his eyes. This made me even more afraid. He wouldn't listen to reason.
"You have really pretty eyes, such a shame I'm about to ruin them." I was confused until I saw him pull out a pocket knife from his coat. Why was he doing this? I glanced at his friend, silently hoping he would help me. This was insane. They were going to hurt me! My prayers were unanswered as his friend looks just as amused. He too was enjoying the pain they were going to inflict upon me.
I went to Scream but he put his hand over my mouth. This was exactly what I wanted. I open as wide as I could and crunched his fingers between my teeth. He shot back and pain, yelling and cursing. I took this as my chance to push him away. Scraping myself to my feet, I ran as fast as I could.
Perhaps, I wasn't that weak.
As I was getting away from my tormentors, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I was met with a back as hard as bricks. I landed on my butt, I shook my head. Trying to get myself situated. Looking up, my heart skipped a beat. It was none other than the white hair I was trying to avoid.
It was Tomo.
He wasn't happy.
His cold eyes met mine. It was like the first time I met him at the festival. He didn't want to see me. Quite frankly, I didn't want to see him either. This wasn't the time nor the place for me to ask for his forgiveness. I scrambled to stand up. He only continues to stare at me. It made me nervous. I didn't like the way he was treating me. This wasn't the Tomo I was used to. Taking in his features, I noticed he looked rough. His face had a bruise on his left cheek. It was fresh and purple. What did he do? I wanted to reach out and caress it, to give him some kind of comfort. I knew better though.
What I was most concerned about, was the question. Why was he here? Then he promised me that he wouldn't do this anymore. I know that I made him unhappy with what I did with mother. I thought that we had a better connection. I would never have thought that he would have broken our promise. I wanted to yell at him, I wanted to scream, I wanted to yank the beautiful white hair out of his head. I wanted to demand answers on why he was here, but this wasn't the time. I needed to find Takashi and leave.
"You look pathetic." His icy tone cuts through me.
I shook it off like it didn't affect me, "I don't have time for this"
"Then you better run home, little girl."
My mind tried to block out his attitude. The last thing I wanted was to hear him beat me down. I tried to walk past him but he blocked my way. I bit my bottom lip, trying my best not to fight back. That's what he wanted. I knew him. He was trying to get a reaction from me. This was the old Tomo that I despise.
"Get out of my way," I demanded with as much courage as I can muster.
It was hard sticking up to him.
It always was.
"Look who's barking now." His eyes drifted away from me as he saw the two boys running in our direction. I gasped, instinctively getting behind Tomo. I cursed myself silently. I wasted too much time being here. If they catch me now, I may not get away again!
He senses the fear in me and even though he was still giving me a cold glare, he didn't move. He remained still like a shield. They were getting closer but they haven't spotted me yet. This is my chance to get away. I didn't like the idea of leaving Tomo alone. It's not like he wanted me to stay.
"Go." He spoke flatly.
I didn't question him as I took off. I could hear a smack as one of the boys cried out. I dared not look back. Afraid that if I did, I would regret it. I never wanted to see Tomo fighting ever again. Something inside me still wanted to believe that even though he was here, he would never fight another human being again. That there was a small hope.
That he kept our promise.