"Akali?" Samantha called her, once they finished their music class.
"What's on your mind?"
"I feel kinda ashamed about myself."
"Why?" The girl asked, turning to her teammate.
"You confessed so much and I did not even mention who I lost," Sam answered, blushing a little.
"You do not have to tell me that if you do not want to, I do not require such things from you."
"But I want to, it is only fair if you know the truth." The brown-haired woman whispered.
"Only if you are ready, it can only cause you more pain. It is just a new wound that is still bleeding, but if speaking about it helps you heal it, go ahead, I am here if you need me."
"Thank you," Sam said coolly. "We have at least 15 minutes of break and I am ready to face my own demons."
"Lead the way then, I will follow." The teenager replied.
Samantha quickly went to the nearest bench, sat, patted the space beside her, inviting Akali to join her. As soon as the black-haired woman did so, the older girl hugged her tightly and hid her face in the crook of the rogue's neck.
""I am sorry that you are the one who is helping me get through this, regardless I am grateful." She whispered.
"It is ok, take your time, gather your courage and when you are ready, just start." The ninja ran her fingers through brown tresses, trying to calm down the girl buried in her arms.
"During the math class, the teacher mentioned a boy named Phil Darth and my relationship with him." Sam started.
"Yes, I remember it, you quickly answered that it is not the reason why you wanted to postpone the test. You added that it would never be a case again." Akali responded quietly.
"Yes, he was my boyfriend since I was 15, two days ago he was in a car that was being driven by my uncle. They had a nasty accident on their way home." The girl tried to keep her voice from trembling.
"They died, didn't they?"
"Yes. My uncle died right away because the car that that crashed into them, hit perfectly at the driver seat. Phil was badly wounded, he lost a lot of blood, but doctors said he would make it. When they took him into the operating room and started the surgery it turned out that they did not know everything. One of his broken bones was perfectly located into the leg artery, doctors did not notice that and once one of them moved it a bit, the soft tissue was cut in half causing the internal bleeding. He was dead before they could do anything. Two days ago I lost my beloved uncle Joe and the boy whom I started to plan the future with." Sam ended the story and started to weep. Her whole slender body was shivering, nails penetrated the thin layer of the black-haired woman's skin and drew a small amount of blood.
"You are so brave. You put your everything into confessing that dreadful event that happened to you. Let yourself rest a bit, if you want to cry, do it, I will be there to hold you and keep you safe." Rogue whispered softly into the ear of the smaller girl.
"You are too pure, too precious, too kind to be a real person, Akali." The brown-haired girl stated once she calmed down which took her at least 5 minutes.
"I am who I am, nothing more, nothing less. We need to hurry to reach the next classroom before the bell rings. The question is, will you be able to deal with your own thoughts? Are you ready?"
"I am certainly not fine right now, but I will be. Let's go, I will try to be like you, no matter what happens, I will endure it." Sam announced.
"You do not have to be like me to be strong, Sam. As long as you are true to yourself it is fine."
"How can you be that strong?"
"I would say that I am the strong one because someone needs to be, it is as easy as it gets." The ninja responded with a warm smile.
"I do not understand."
"You do, but you do not want to admit it yourself."
"Oh fine, come on, we need to hurry up."
"Lead the way, Sam."
As soon as they got up from the bench, they ran all the way to the next classroom that was located in the main building of the school on the second floor. Their next class was biology and as far as Akali knew the subject was being led by the left hand so to speak of the headmistress, the second most important person in the school. If she recalled correctly his name was Shen Agasaki.
"Have you had any classes with Mr. Agasaki before?" The black-haired girl asked.
"Yes, I had chemistry with him during my first year here. He is just a cool, fair teacher, as far as I remember, he never gets angry and always keeps his composure." Sam replied instantly.
"It's nice."
"Akali, do not believe my words, you will make your opinion after a first-class with him, I am pretty sure about it."
"If you say so," Akali responded coolly. "We are here."
"Splendid, I was a little nervous, we would be late."
"Oh, come on. Let's get inside and ready ourselves for a lesson."
Just as they assumed there was no-body there from their group. To some extent it was helpful for them because they were free to choose whichever desk they wanted. To Sam's utter disappointment the raven-haired girl chose the first desk, as always, she reminded herself about the habbits of her new friend. As both girls sat, the younger one started to look around the room curiously. Frankly saying the whole classroom was not huge, if anything it was small and modestly decorated with furniture that was made of the black wood. In the back, the girl spotted the lone skeleton that was hanging on a thin rope connected to the ceiling of the room. Aside the skeleton, a couple of desks, blackboard, and two additional cabinets behind the teacher's seating, there were not many objects in the class.
Soon enough the bell rang again, signalizing the start of the next lesson. Most of the students who entered the room shortly after were bored and dissatisfied. It didn't take them long to get to the seats and to prepare for their next meaningless class. At least half of her group were lying on their desks, engaged in conversation, Rogue noticed. It was weird and sad for her that a lot of young people seemed to be forced to attend school, they did not care what they were doing, they did not care that some of the information that is passed during the classes could be useful in the future, for her studying was her way to achieve something, to show the world that she was not only the orphan that was left to rot, that she was worth much more. Akali has been pulled away from her thoughts by the sound of the closing door. The raven-haired girl quickly located the teacher. He was tall and more than muscular, probably in his thirties, she thought to herself. The man was dressed in plain, brown trousers, a long-sleeved t-shirt, and hiking boots. He had a short cut hair in the color of the night, the girl could see the slight beard, he probably did not cut it in two maybe three days, Akali assumed. As Sam told her, he was stoic, his facial expression did not reveal anything that was on his mind, but it didn't hide two little nasty scars. The first one passed through the eye, the second one was located on his jawline. The teacher's deep-brown eyes seemed to be spectating the whole room, never stopping on the same point for longer than what felt like the blink of an eye. Something deep inside of the ninja told her that the man was not 100% what he seems to be in a first glance. Once again she was pulled back to reality by the interesting human being that stood a few steps before her.
"Welcome to all of you, I am Shen Agasaki and I have the privilege to be your biology teacher for this last year of your studying here. I expect you to cooperate with me, nothing else, you can dislike me if you want, but if you want to pass this subject, you will have to obey the rules." Shen greeted them with a stoic, deep voice.
"First of all, I plan to make at least 3 test during our time working together, the quantity of them will depend mostly on you, if you respect me and each other, work on given assignments, there is no reason to make your life harder, but if you start to cheat, there will be no remorse, you will have to take more tests." The man continued. "For now, the only rule is respect me and put forth effort and I will make the class as easy as I can. Mind that the rules will be added as the time goes on. So do you have any questions related to the subject, or we can start working on our assignment?"
"That's what I was thinking." He said after a minute or so of the complete silence.
To be honest the class was not a total disaster as the black-haired woman expected. To Shen's credit, somehow he was able to control the group of teenagers. Even though he could not prevent two boys from earning themselves week-long detention. Akali was so happy when she exited the class, that words could not express it, this group was going to be the death of her, they were loud, impatient, nosy and in most cases stupid. The girl was thankful that there were only three classes left and it was all PE, she could use some moving after what felt like an eternity of sitting in the classrooms.
It didn't take her much time to reach the school's playground. Frankly saying the school owned a huge stadium with athletic treadmills, gym, soccer and football pitches. The whole place was enormously big and for a while, the raven-haired girl was walking with her mouth agape. Thankfully soon enough Akali had to change her outfit to prepare for a solid two and a half hours of sports activities. It seemed like the whole sports complex was pretty new, it could not have been built or restored further than a few months ago. Before they entered the locker room they were given special magnetic cards that enabled them to open one of the lockers. The card was then registered into the IT system to prevent anyone to open a given container without an exact card. Rogue was really happy to see that the locker room was not shared between the boys and the girls, as it was in the orphanage. The girl was sure that it would only cause a lot of trouble, after the little time she spent with her class, she had no uncertainties that at least some of her fellow classmates would try to sneak in and have a quicky. Honestly, it disgusted her, it is said that love is love no matter what, but no-one said that having sex with another person is equal to loving that person, and she was pretty sure that most of the relationships that existed in her group were founded on the desire of each other's bodies, not deeper feelings toward each other. Akali felt old, she felt like she was born at the wrong time. No matter how hard the girl tried she could not come to terms with the insanity that most of the people called the present world. For her, a lot of things that were happening around her were just insane, unbelievable, unacceptable. If Rogue were to say what she thought would change the world, her answer would be short and simple, change the minds of people, restore some moral values. Easier said than done, unfortunately, most of the people she knew would not find it disturbing or even worth spending the time to adjust their lives.
Coming back to reality was harder for the raven-haired woman than she expected. After what felt like just a minute, she heard the loud and unpleasant voice that probably belonged to the coach. He insisted for everybody to move faster and quoting him, to get the fuck up there at once. With a mixture of disgust and uncertainty, she quickly put on her sport outfit and ran to the open field. In a matter of minutes, the girl arrived at the pitch and stood beside the rest of her group. The coach was an elderly man with remnants of his grey, short hair. Regardless of his age, he was fit, dressed in a pitch-black running outfit and blue Adidas shoes. His face was wrinkled and devastated by the flow of time, but his yellowish eyes still held a living spark inside of them.
"As I assume you are all here, am I right?" The man told with a stern voice.
"Yes Sir, the whole group is ready for the lessons." The short, plump girl with dark hair said.
"Elise, right?" The coach asked. "You are not the type of person I would put as a leader of a group." He added once, the girl nodded. "The leader should be fit and always ready to act, in your case, the best I could say is that you would be better off running away than fighting."
"Sir!" Elise gasped.
"Hush, you are on my territory, where my will is your order. You will either do what I say or you will be doing extra exercises for insubordination. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Sir." The group responded without excitement.
"I didn't hear you, small babies could answer louder than that."
"Yes, Sir!" They said again, this time in a louder manner.
"Oh, so you are not worthless apparently." The man told with a nasty smile on his ugly face. "Let's go back to business. My name is Tarry Crom, I am a retired US Marine. I expect from you complete obedience and no questions asked. By the look of you, probably no-one will be able to survive anything that I've planned for today, but my goal is simply to make men and women from you by the end of this school year. For the warmup, we will be running 3 miles, the last person to reach the end line will be given a special punishment. Get to it, worthless babies." He shouted at them.
For most of the class, it took several seconds to adjust to the situation and start running. For Akali it was not a case, she quickly grabbed Sam's hand and started to jog at a pretty fast pace. Soon enough it appeared that most of them weren't in a shape to be able to beat the first given order. To make matters worse, the elderly man was running with them, shouting, spatting at them. Most of the boys just clinched their jaw with a wave of anger, but some of the girls just mentally broke down and started to cry, which only cause their coach to shout even more and even louder. The raven-haired girl was sick of it after a short time, so she just plugged her headphones into the phone and continued to run still holding the hand of an exhausted Samantha.
"Oh, sorry Sam, I didn't notice that you can't keep up with my pace." Akali instantly apologized.
"It … it … fine …" The brown-haired girl said, trying to calm down her breath.
"We are at the finish, one more lap and we are done."
"Kill me." The girl whined.
"Don't nag, we will beat it together." The ninja responded, laughing.
To the utter pleasure of Sam, they finished their 3 miles run before she collapsed. Her whole face was red as a mature tomato, her lungs were working as if they were smithing bellows.
"Great job, Sam." Akali congratulated the brown-haired woman.
"I …do… not… think… so." The older girl responded, catching her breath.
"Oh, come on, it was not that bad. We were first, after all, the rest are still running."
"You will be the death of me," Sam said in a playful manner once she stabilized herself. "By the way, are you trying to catch someone's eye when you decided on that outfit?"
"Not really, you are flattering me too much," Rogue replied with a wide smile.
"Girl, you just look like a freaking sports goddess right now. I bet everyone was running behind you just to stare at your perfect, little butt." The brown-haired girl winked.
"Nah, I do not really look that great, in comparison to my protector I am an ugly child."
"If you think so, I really do not want to see her ever, I am not sure if I am going to be able not to stare at her." The response was given with a burst of loud laughter.
"I would say that you would definitely stare at her, but as much as she likes to repeat that it is impolite to stare, she adores it too much. I feel like she would be disappointed if you do not stare at her." The honest statement was provided by the rave-haired girl.
"Oh, does she love the attention that much?"
"I think so."
Samantha looked at the younger girl with a hint of jealousy hidden inside of her eyes. The teenager was just too perfect to be a living person. As she said before the girl was just too pure, her most recent action only proved that statement. Akali was dressed in skin-tight black leggings and a really short white crop top behind which Sam could see her deep-purple sports bra. She didn't exaggerate when she stated that probably everyone in their group was just caught staring at their new classmate. If Akali was into men, she could just pick anyone or could wait and see who would come at the top of the boys after their fight over her. Honestly, Sam doubted that her new friend at any given moment would just randomly choose a person and run with him/her for quick sex, it was not the black-haired girl's style. The youngest of the group was just so different from them in so many aspects. Meanwhile, she was occupied with her own thoughts, the raven-haired girl started to stretch, not that she needed to, but the ninja loved the feeling of her stretching out muscles, it was just so natural for her to keep herself fit as if she was born to be a soldier or athlete.
Soon enough the rest of their classmates or at least most of them finished the run. Frankly saying some of them looked like they were about to throw up or faint. The coach didn't seem to be pleased with the result of his group, he straightened up and started to shout once again.
"What the fuck was it ladies? Do you think that I exaggerated when I said that you will be punished for your incompetence? You can count on it that as long as I live you are not allowed to be a failure, at least not before my eyes. As your punishment, we will go through some additional basic strength exercises such as pull-ups, sit-ups, push-ups and many more. You filth have 2 minutes to catch your breath and then we will proceed to pull-ups first."
"Excuse me, Sir. Could I start right away?" Akali asked.
"Ah, you were the one that finished the run in a decent time? Sure go on rookie, we will see how many you are able to do." The man responded with a smirk.
"I must say that I did not do pull-ups in quite some time but I should be good to go, how many do I have to do for a minimum?"
"I would say at least 25."
"Consider it done then, Sir," Rogue replied moving to the bar station.
"Confident, aren't you?" He asked venomously.
"Yea, I think I can handle it."
With these words, she quickly jumped and got a hold of the bar, the girl let herself hang for a few seconds before she started to work out. The raven-haired woman nearly effortlessly pulled herself up to the bar's level about forty times, before her movement started to be slower and less precise. The ninja gave up after fifty-five, clearly not satisfied with her results. As she turned around and faced the coach once again she could promise that for a short moment Akali saw a pure shock and disbelief painted on the rough face of the Marine.
"Could be better." The man murmured. "But to tell the truth I do not expect anyone from those ladies to even reach half of your set." The grey-haired coach added, pointing at the rest of the class.
"Not everyone is training every day for at least 2 hours." The teenager responded coolly.
"Get back to work worms, I will have a little chat with our prodigy." He spatted. "So tell me what do you train?"
"Honestly, Sir? It does not matter most of the time to me, what I am doing, what matters that I am improving my abilities and my body is staying fit and ready if the situation needs it." The girl explained in a soft manner.
"Do you hit the gym, jogging, train martial arts?" The Marine asked curiously.
"I would say that all of them and a bit more. I enjoy playing soccer too, but I do not have a lot of chances to play it or at least not very often."
"Would you like to play for the school then, we have a team but frankly saying they are not the greatest, we could use the upgrade in team composition. Interested?"
"I would say so, Sir. What's the catch?" The raven-haired asked.
"Uh, I think I like you, little one. You are clever as it seems, for now, I would say that I will go easy for all of them if you agree to play for us. Does it sound fair to you?" The man asked coldly.
"It will be easier for them to survive the year, so consider me as a new striker for your team." The girl said bluntly.
"Splendid, show me how many sit-ups and push-ups you can do. Consider yourself to be interesting enough to acquire my sole attention. This class will be living Hell for you now, but I'm sure we'll soon seen the benefits."
"I'm used to hard training routines, Sir you will have to set up the game to exhaust me." The ninja told coldly. "As long as you will leave them without harm, I will do whatever training plan you want me to do."
"It's so refreshing to have at least one soul that is capable to endure some exercises. It reminds me of the military, you should sign up, they would make you a deadly weapon."
"I don't think my future is connected with the military but how knows, will keep your offer in mind, but for now let us proceed," Rouge growled.
"Oh, I'm sure I will be able to fulfill that request. Get back to work then, little soldier." He laughed like a crazy man.
After the PE class Akali was exhausted, the Marine kept his word and literally started to torture her with every single exercise he could think of. It felt like an eternity for the girl, but she endured it, not once breaking down, not once showing a sign of weakness. Every single muscle in her body was tensed to the point of pain. When she left the stadium she was pretty sure the next day would be extremely difficult for her. Even though her body recuperated fast, it would not undo the whole amount of pressure that was put onto her shoulders during the rough training. In her mind, there was only one solution to best her current situation, she would need additional supplementation for her body to recuperate faster. Unfortunately, those kinds of products are not cheap, so it meant that she would have to talk with Eve about getting them. Suddenly she felt that her phone started to vibrate, Akali quickly pulled it out of her trousers and check the caller id. A wide smile crept on her face in an instant, the screen was displaying 3-letters word: Eve.
"Hey, Eve. What's up?" The girl said happily as she answered the call.
"Hello dear, are you ready yet?" The woman asked in a low voice.
"I've just finished my last class as of a few minutes ago, but I need to take a shower and change."
"Fantastic, I have a very important order for you, sweetheart. Put your little, pretty butt into motion and come to my car, I am parking in front of your school."
"I am on my way, but I'm exhausted thanks to my PE coach." The raven-haired informed.
"Oh, did he? I must meet this person, and find out his secret to wearing you out." The magenta-haired woman said seductively. "He succeeded in something I thought was nearly impossible."
"Eve!" The ninja whimpered.
"I'm just playing with you, darling. Come quickly, I have something for you that will definitely cheer you up in an instant."
"What did you bring?" Akali wanted to know.
"I may or may not have bought you a hot chocolate and a protein bar."
"I will be there in a minute, do not drive away." The younger woman responded eagerly as soon as she heard about the chocolate.
"I'm not going anywhere, honey. I'm waiting in my luxurious vehicle and waiting for a little naughty ninja to come join me in a crime." She whispered sensually.
"What … crime … we… are … talking?" The latter mumbled.
"Oh nothing major, we might be going for some karaoke later tonight. And Rogue do not forget about taking a shower, I may not be able to resist getting intimate if you're covered in sweat."
"Got you, I will be there as soon as possible." The raven-haired promised.
"Oh, take your time, sweetheart."
"See you soon."
"Definitely, see you soon, dear."
As soon as the call was ended, Akali undressed quickly and went into the shower stall. This time she chose warm water instead of the cold. The change was wordlessly welcome by her body. The whole sequence of the activities that needed to be done before she could just run to her protector's vehicle seemed to take only a couple of minutes, once dressed in the school outfit with freshly washed hair, the girl left the locker room. With great pleasure, the teenager inhaled the scent of the perfume that was put into her bag by Evelynn, it smelled just wonderfully, the perfect mixture of lavender and vanilla. The smell was just intoxicating for the young woman to the point that she did not even notice when she had reached the parking lot. The task to find the lawyer's car could not be labeled as a difficult one, let's be realistic, there were not many people driving to the school with a luxurious, sports vehicle. Frankly saying, it took her maybe three to four heart beats to spot the BMW from the morning. Without hesitation, Akali covered the distance that separated her from the diva.
"Hey." The girl greeted eagerly as soon as she entered the car.
"Hey, Rogue." The magenta-haired woman whispered. "Darling, you smell wonderful, I don't regret packing you some perfume, it seems to suit you well."
"Oh, yeah me too. Thanks for giving it to me." The latter responded with a wide smile.
"Anything for you, my dear." The siren chuckled.
"So? Where is my hot coco?"
"Here you are, have a good snack." The diva said, handing the food to the girl.
"Thank you, thank you." The ninja responded while having her drink. "Where are we going next?"
"It's too early to go to karaoke, I was thinking we could have a nice dinner at one fo the Asian restaurants, since you seem to enjoy Asian food a lot. After we eat we can fool around for a bit and then go for karaoke. I was thinking about having a little competition there, I am still thinking about the prize though. Are you up for it?"
"Are you seriously asking?" Akali questioned rhetorically. "Of course I am in, it will be fun."
"I was sure you would say that, then it is settled, let's go."
"You are the most wonderful person I've ever met, Eve. I want you to know that." The girl confessed with a wide smile.
"Akali!" Evelynn cried out.
"Hmm?" The raven-haired hummed, surprised.
"You can't be that cute. You are making me blush and it should only be my power or ability whatever you would call it." The woman responded with the red shade visible on her face.
"Nope, I need to learn how to do it more often, maybe then I will have a chance at winning a conversation with you." The ninja giggled.
"You little…"
"Little what?"
"I can't find the perfect word to describe you, unfortunately." The diva sighed.
"Shit?" The girl hinted.
"Don't be that vulgar, dear." The woman said. "But, yeah, you are little shit."
"I'm not just a little shit, I'm your little shit," Rouge replied with a wink.
"You… seem… to… have a way with your wording." The siren mumbled.
"I'm sure I do."
Once the two were done chatting, the vehicle engine roared once more and they pulled out of the parking lot. Evelynn true to her words drove to the nearest Asian restaurant. The journey didn't take them long, a couple of minutes later they were seated in a fancy looking dining room. To Akali's surprise, it turned out that the restaurant was in fact owned by emigrants from China, the founder met them in person once they were led to a table at the corner of the room. He looked fifty or maybe even older, but he didn't seem to act his age. The man was cheerful, talkative and in a matter of seconds started to tell them the story behind his and his wife's sudden departure from China. The raven-haired girl had to admit that the Asian didn't have the greatest memories of his early years in the USA. Soon enough he noticed that his story was preventing women from ordering their food, the man quickly bowed, apologized and waved at one of the waitresses, asking her to come over. Once the really young black-haired girl with cute little dimples on her face came, the owner bid his farewell, apologizing again for his behavior. The waitress handed them the menu and informed them that if they needed some time to decide what they are having, she would return to them in a couple of minutes.
"It is not required, dear." The dive said smoothly. "I already know we will have. I'll have a chicken with vegetables, my pretty little date here will have a chicken in chili sauce. Furthermore, we'll a can of soda and can of coke."
"Noted, I'll bring your order as soon as it is ready." The small Asian girl informed the lawyer.
"Wonderful, darling. Do not keep us waiting."
"Why didn't you let me to look at the menu?" Akali asked as soon as the waitress walked away.
"Darling, I just quickened the whole process, I ordered something that may not be as spicy as the ramen you had yesterday but it is spicy enough for me to not even consider ordering it for myself." The woman explained in a cool manner. "I'm pretty sure you will love what I've ordered for you."
"We will see." The teenager responded. "How was your day?"
"Frankly saying it was decent, I didn't have too much trouble, the case I'm currently working on is pretty complicated but I think I will be able to close it to the next month."
"Sounds important, what is the case about?" The girl questioned shyly.
"It's not much different from 75% of my cases, I'm not allowed to speak about the details, but I can say that it is as nearly always the problem of someone being unfaithful to their partner."
"Hmm." The raven-haired hummed. "Who betrayed this time, the man or the woman?"
"It's quite surprising but the wife is accused of seeing a lover of some sort, to tell the truth, there is a huge age gap between them, so it somehow explains at least the motivations of the woman. The problem is that my customer wants me to prove that she was cheating on him to cut her off from his life."
"Did he give you any proof?"
"Not really, as far as I know, he employed a private detective to obtain them, but as of right now I don't have any evidence," Evelynn responded after a few seconds.
"Is there any chance that maybe he is cheating on his wife? The part where you said that he just wants to cut her off from his life would point to it."
"I have thought about it, to tell the truth, this is the part where the case is starting to get complicated. His wife reached out to me for the same case, the only difference is that she thinks that her husband has a secret relationship with his secretary, who by the way is more beautiful than her, far more beautiful."
"Yeah, it seems pretty complicated, but to be honest there are more pieces of evidence that are working against your male client." Akali summed up.
"Darling, maybe you should try to be a detective in the future, you have quite an open mind, and you are not looking at the situation from one point of view. Frankly saying, it's the same assumption that I've come with. There are too many if's to be certain, but the woman seems to have the better alibi."
They were forced to halt their conversation, due to the fact that their order was served. Two large plates filled with a mixture of vegetables, meat, and rice were put on this table by the waitress. Their drinks were placed shortly after.
"We wish you a good meal, in case of any problems or if you have any questions for me, I will be near the kitchen." The waitress stated.
"Fantastic, I'm sure that there will be no problems with the food if you could bring us the bill it would be wonderful. I would like to pay via phone." The magenta-haired woman said in a soft manner.
"As you wish, ma'am. I will be back in a few." The black-haired waitress responded, bowing slightly.
"Have a good meal then, Eve." The ninja told.
"You too, darling."
The meal was eaten without either of them saying a word, the only sounds that accompanied them were soft oriental music, the sound of the fork hitting the plate, the sounds coming from the kitchen. As Evelynn requested their bill was placed on their table pretty quickly. Soon enough they finished their food, to be honest, is it was delicious, Akali made another mental note for herself that there was no point in arguing with Eve about what she ordered for her, the woman seemed to know exactly what to get her. Once they cleaned their lips with napkins, the waitress came to collect the plates.
"How did you like it?" The lawyer asked.
"Honestly, it was better than I thought it would be." The girl replied.
"Oh, I see. Let us pay the bill and then we are free to go for some more shopping before we go to the bar."
"Ok, it sounds great."
The diva rose from her seating in an instant and walked to the counter where the waitress could be spotted. The older woman exchanged a few sentences with a black-haired and then proceed to pay. It took her maybe minute to pay before she turned around, Akali noticed that her protector put some cash into the pocket of the Asian girl who smiled widely and thanked her, bowing all the time.
"Are you ready?" The siren asked when she returned to the table.
"Of course. Lead the way, shopping monster." The latter giggled.
"I'll show you this monster's true potential. Be ready." The woman replied in a slightly colder manner.
"Oh, come on. I know it'll be fun."
"Of course, it'll be. It's us and shopping." The diva chuckled.
The younger of the women could not say with certainty how they got into another shopping mall, the last thing that she recalled perfectly was the moment when they exited the restaurant. The mall was the smallest one that they visited recently but for Akali, it didn't really matter, she still hadn't adjusted fully to her new life, the girl thought that she would never adjust. Throughout the entire hour, they went to maybe two stores that did not offer anything special for them, when Evelynn was out to exit the shopping center, she was stopped by the younger woman.
"What caught your eye?" The lawyer instantly asked.
"Music store, it reminded me that I will need a guitar for those lessons that I told you about earlier today. I don't need it today, I kinda wondered if I could look at them for some time, maybe decide which one I would want to get in the future?" The ninja said in a shy manner, lowering her gaze.
"Of course, darling. If something really catches your eye, we can get it, I have a few guitars back at my parent's house but I don't want to go get one from there, and they would probably need some refurbishing. Let's buy you a new one, it will be easier." The woman said with a small smile glued to her face.
"Thank you, Eve. You are the best." The girl squeaked happily. "Do I have a budget?"
"Don't worry about the cost, besides I'm pretty sure you will not choose anything to particularly expensive for at least 2 reasons. The first one you do not want me to pay for your stuff, the second on is that you think that when you are learning you do not need a high-end instrument." The lawyer explained.
"You know me all too well."
"I'm trying, but I'm not gonna lie, I don't know many things about you, but I want to know more."
"It's the same with me. I would love to know everything about you, but I think we will have a lot of time to get to know each other better." The raven-haired girl stated.
"It's the truth, isn't it?" The woman giggled. "Now, go and have a bit of fun. I will be in the store so feel free to send me a text or find me once you find something you like."
"Fine, maybe try to find something for yourself, that way you won't be waiting for me as long."
"Not a bad idea, darling. I'll give it a try." The siren promised.
All it took was a single moment, shorter than a blink of the eye, for Akali to run into the shop, the woman saw that the girl quickly found one of the employees and started to ask them questions, using a lot of gestures. Frankly saying the older woman was amused by the way Rogue acted. That was conflicting that in one moment the ninja could be the most confident person in this world but only a few seconds later she could start to doubt her own value. Nonetheless, it was something that attracted the magenta-haired woman to the little raven-haired girl, she was like a moth and Akali was the fire she was drawn to, no matter how hard she tried to just label her as her protégé. Without anything better to do, the diva entered the store a couple of moments later and started to look for the accessories that the teenager probably wouldn't think about. As Evelynn was searching through hundreds if not thousands of accessories connected with a guitar, she heard footsteps, someone was approaching her. Then she smelled the cologne that she was too familiar with, with a heavy sighed she turned around to face a quite tall muscular man in a brown elegant jacket, he was blond with eyes as blue as the clear skies. The woman noted the wide smile on his handsome face.
"Eve, I wasn't expecting to meet you in such a place." The man greeted her.
"Chris, what are you doing here?" Evelynn asked with the most bored expression on her face she could muster.
"Just passing through." He answered with a smile. "I've missed you, it has been so long since we've last met."
"I told you, that it was our last time, and I haven't changed my mind." The woman said with irritation.
"Oh, come on. I know you, you love to be the center of attention, and I was the one who gave it to you and more. You've made us both very happy, why not continue that?"
"As I said, Chris, I'm not interested in you, not for a relationship, not for a quicky."
"Was I that bad? I don't think so, you were very vocal every time you reached out for me." The blond said with a smirk.
"Maybe, but that's the past, everything that once was connecting us, is no more. I just want you to leave and never come back." The diva tried to remain calm, but with each passing moment, it was becoming harder and harder for her.
"I don't believe you, you were really an attention whore, I don't think you've changed that much in that regard. Look, I'm here eager to spend another wild night with you."
"But I don't want to. Leave me alone." She spatted and turned around.
To her horror, she instantly spotted Akali. She was standing near the stand where many guitars were hanged. Momentary she gaze softened, her mind was filled with thoughts regarding the younger innocent woman. That moment Chris chose to come near her and enveloped his arms around her waist. The woman tensed in an instant.
"What are you doing?" She growled through her teeth.
"Who is that pretty little girl?" He asked suddenly. "By the look of her, she can't be older than 18, maybe 20. From the way you look at her I assume, she is a special one for you, whore." The man whispered to her ear.
"What did you call me?" The anger could be felt in her low whisper-like voice.
"You are a whore, dear, you've always been. No matter what excuse you say, deep inside you know that it is the truth. Truth is you crave attention as much as a junky needs his drugs, as alcoholic needs alcohol. To some extent you are just a typical slut, to live you need to bed someone, not caring about him or her."
"Maybe you are right, but it doesn't matter now. Do not even try to involve her in this." The siren raised her voice.
"I think if we are done, I will take her as my compensation. She may not have the same body as you, but a few glances at her is enough for me to say than soon she will be just a perfect little lover with an amazing body, my loins can't wait to taste her, my ears can't wait to hear her moans and screams, my eyes can't wait to see her fully naked, and my lips can't wait to ravish hers. Of course, you can save her by getting back together with me."
"First of all, she isn't some kind of a prize to be won, secondly she isn't into men, thirdly if you dare to touch her and somehow you live to tell the tale, I will hunt you to the end of the world and beyond, for as long as this world will last, even a day longer. If I were you, I would rather start to pick your words better, I would think at least twice or even three times before they escape your throat." She threatened the man.
"When have you started to be into girls?" Chris asked curiously.
"I have never started and never stopped. I chose my partners without restriction on their sex, but she is not my partner, she is far more important to me." The woman confessed in low filled with emotions voice. "If you dare touch her, if anything happens to her, I will kill everyone responsible for it and then probably myself."
"Oh, Evee is serious about someone." The man said ironically. "How long will it take for you to not be able to restrain yourself? How long will you be able to hold your high libido? How long will it take for you to finally abuse her and make her your next plaything?" He asked in a husky whisper.
"She will never be a plaything, she deserves more, so much more. I am warning you, Chris, there is the line that can't be crossed without suffering the consequences. I want you to disappear from my life, find another woman and make her fall for you, It shouldn't be that difficult for you."
"What happens if I say to you, that I want her?"
"Your life will become a living hell. You said it yourself, you know me, you know what I'm able to do, what I'm able to sacrifice to reach my goal, and in her case, the stake is even higher, so you have your choice. Play your next card with caution." She warned him again.
"You don't leave me any other choice but to try and see how much you are affected by her." The man said strengthening this grip on her waist.
"Akali, can you come here so a second?" The lawyer asked coolly.
"Yeah." The raven-haired responded instantly and closed the distance between them in a matter of seconds.
As soon as she spotted the situation taking place before her eyes, her whole body tensed, the jaw-line was tight and her whole body started to emanate the 'don't fuck with me' aura.
"You have two options." The teenager spatted. "You can either release Eve right now, apologize to her, and walk out or you can have your bones crushed, the choice is yours."
"Little thing, are you really trying to intimidate me?" The man chuckled. "I'm probably twice your weight, at least twice or even more times stronger than you, kid you have no chance to win against me in a fair fight."
"I've heard this sentence too many times before, the men started to beg me to leave them with remnants of their dignity, you aren't the first one, I bet you aren't the last. I ordered you to leave her alone." Akali repeated herself.
"I would love you to see you try to stop me."
In a heartbeat or maybe even faster, the girl grabbed his wrist and squeezed hard. The reaction was immediate, the grasp was loosened and the man whined in pain. The raven-haired could easily spot that his eyes had started to get moist, his jaw tightened. Without remorse, she grabbed him once again and pushed away from them.
"If I were you, I wouldn't show myself here anymore."
"You're a fucking slut just like the whore next to you." He cried out.
"Have you thought about the consequences of your actions?" The lawyer asked in a cold manner as soon as she regained her composure.
"I'll have both of you one day, you'll be begging for me to fuck you senselessly." Chris spatted venomously.
"I think I'll have to live to see that, but I doubt it'll ever happen. As for now, I think I've enough evidence to charge you for threatening me and my protégé. I'm giving you the last chance to walk away with your dignity mostly intact."
"Fuck you, bitch. You little slut." The blond pointed at the girl. "Asked her about her past, ask her whom I was to her, how sluty and bitchy she was, she is and she'll be."
"Sure moron. I want to know everything about her, her past isn't bothering me, what was done is done, there is no time in this world to live in your past. I may not know her when she was younger, but I know her now, for that single maybe to you meaningless reason, I'm willing to fight for her, to protect her with all of me. Leave now, or I'll fuck you up more."
The atmosphere between the women was tensed for at least a couple of minutes after the man decided that in fact, it's better for him to leave on his own. Evelynn wasn't sure what was the girl thinking in the current moment. With a heavy sigh, she embraced the younger woman and rested her chin on the latter's shoulder.
"What are you thinking about?" The diva asked softly.
"Nothing important, I guess. I was thinking about what I was about to do if he didn't back off." The girl responded with a smile.
"Akali, I'm sorry…"
"There is nothing for you to apologize for. Do you still want to go for that karaoke?"
"Not really." The woman replied. "I would love to return home and get a glass of wine."
"I think I'm not in the mood for a singing contest too. By the way, I've found the guitar I want."
"Come, show me. Later tonight we'll do singing but not in public. We'll spend that time together, but first let's get your instrument." The lawyer whispered.
"Akali?" Evelynn said after a moment.
"Yeah, Eve?"
"Thank you, once again for protecting me."
"Nothing major, I was always alone, you gave me a reason to live, to wake up and have dreams. As I said I'm willing to give myself for you, to protect you with all my strength. Right now we aren't alone in this world. We have each other, and I'll do anything to make it last." The raven-haired confessed.
"You definitely have your own unique way with wording, but it touches my very soul, darling." The siren whispered playfully to the ear of the latter.