An Unexpected Turn

It was raining. Not heavily, but the odd droplet was still making itself known as he made his way home. His mother would no doubt be pissed off that he was home so late, but he could always claim work overran or something and hope she bought it. And hey, as long as he was quiet coming in, she may never find out.

He shivered slightly, and blamed it on the cold. There was something in the air that made him feel a little...unsafe. Not that he had to worry. He was a tough guy, the kind who was hard to beat down, and most of the kids in school knew that. He gave an internal chuckle, feeling sorry for anyone who dared try anything with him. Even so, he sped up a little, deciding he wouldn't mind getting home a little bit quicker.

The rain started to get a little heavier and he raised the hood of his coat, tucking his hands into his armpits in a vain attempt to stave off the cold. Could have sworn it wasn't that cold a moment ago. Maybe it was the distant voice making a grip of ice form around his heart...a voice, weak and desperate, begging for someone else to stop whatever they were doing, calling for help. A second voice, this time a man, called for silence.

Kai, the young man who by this point just wanted to go home and huddle into his bed, rounded the corner cautiously, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. He heard the sound of skin on skin as the offending man supposedly hit the girl crying for help. Now, random acts of heroism were hardly Kai's thing. In fact, he'd much rather just carry on and pretend he never heard or saw anything, but the struggling girl turned her head away from her attacker and after a moment, caught his eye. There was no doubt he'd been seen, so just walking past and pretending nothing was happening or standing around watching would no doubt get him in deep water. This girl was one he recognised. They went to the same school, were in the same class. And god damn it, it was that one hot girl that he really liked but who really hated him. What damn luck.

Then again, as the attacking man lifted the schoolgirl's skirt (a short denim thing that already showed a lot of leg) with one hand and unzipped himself with the other, he had to admit he felt a tinge of annoyance at least, a bubbling anger at most. He didn't want to make it seem like he cared too much about this girl, especially since she hated his guts, and he was said to have a bad attitude when it came to women himself, but only a desperate creep would take advantage of another person like that. Kai was neither desperate nor a creep and he certainly didn't do rape. He'd gladly flirt and use his own charms to get off with a chick (and usually he was successful. Only the very best seemed able to resist Kai's advances) but if he was the kind to sink to such disgusting and dishonest means to get a bit of pleasure from a particularly hot girl, he would have dragged that particular girl to a dark corner against her will too many times to count by this point in time.

At first, he wasn't aware he was moving. Heck, he'd probably had all that thought while his legs surged onward. By the time he realised what he was doing he was almost there, with just enough time to raise his fist to strike the bastard pinning the girl he loved down.

Did he just refer to her as 'the girl he loved'?

Oh never mind, he had to focus here as the bastard staggered back. "What the fuck?" He started, glancing over and finding his eyes level with...Kai's jaw. Damn, this guy was short. At least he was compared to the redhead in front of him.

Still, if a guy that much taller than you came up and hit you in the face, you'd be intimidated, and that was something Kai loved about himself. That indomitable talent for making others quake in their shoes.
"Listen, freak, the girl said to stop, so I'd suggest you stop." He'd never felt so protective over someone before, and the words sure as hell didn't come naturally to him. It felt so awkward telling someone off for taking advantage of a scantily-dressed woman, even though most level-headed people would condemn it in a second. Not that most level-headed people would actually step in to save someone. Most people would actually ignore the screams and walk away, so really that made this...pretty damn heroic. Strange, Kai was probably the least heroic person he knew.
The 'freak', as he had labelled him, tried to make himself look taller and tougher. "Give me a break, man, look at her! She's asking for it!"
And once again, before he knew what was happening, he'd punched the man again and even raised his voice. "Get out of my sight, you little fuck, before I call the cops on your fat, greasy ass!"
The man stepped back then. "Yeah, you just want her to yourself, I know your game!"
Kai raised his fist again and the man hurried away. Next to this commotion, the girl was straightening her skirt and trying to get her breath back. After a moment, he turned to her, lowering his hand and his voice once more. "You okay?"
"Yeah, fine..." There was a long pause before she uttered a small thanks and went to leave. He quickly fell into step with her.
"You want me to walk you home?" He asked. It wasn't along his way, but he could still make sure she didn't run into the freak or anyone worse again.
She shook her head quickly, obviously thinking what the freak had said. "No thanks, I don't feel safe walking with a stranger."
"I'm not a stranger, Tohko." He lowered his hood and shook out his hair, giving her a smirk. Her worried face slowly formed a scowl.
"Oh. You."
"Yeah, me, and you might want to be a bit more polite. I just saved you."
"I could've gotten out of that myself just fine, Shimada."
"Yeah, sure, that's why you were practically screaming for help. What are you doing out so late dressed like that for anyway?"
"Mitsuki's birthday party." She walked on and he shrugged, following. "Why are you out so late?"
"Work overran." He lied. Okay, truth was he'd been on one of his little vandalism sprees, but that hardly mattered, did it?
She arched an eyebrow, obviously not believing him, but let it slide. No snark comments for tonight. They just walked along in silence. It was probably the nicest she'd been to him for a long time. She probably had no clue he lived in the other direction, and if she did, she made no comment about it. Maybe she was just grateful to have someone with her after that near-disaster. It wasn't an awkward silence by any means. At least, Kai was certainly comfortable. maybe he was just happy to be in her presence without her spitting nasty words at him.

All too soon, they reached the Kirisaki house, and Tohko bid him goodbye, escaping into her home as quickly as she could. Perhaps she no longer felt safe in the all-encompassing darkness of the streets. He hung around a moment or two, as though trying to regain his bearings, before turning back the way he'd come and making his way back home. For a moment he felt eyes on his back, as though Tohko were watching him from her bedroom window, but it was a very brief feeling and all too soon, her gaze had left him. He felt a slight smile grace his features. It felt strange to do something so good for a change. He just hoped it wouldn't get out and ruin his reputation.

~*~*~*~*~

Tohko had been tempted to stay out of school the next day, it had to be said. Even so, she was less inclined to tell her mother what had happened, and it was obvious she wasn't feeling sick, so she did her hair as usual and dressed quickly before heading to school, deciding to get there as quickly as she could.

It seemed like a painfully normal day. She spent her time with Emi and Mitsuki as per usual, talking about the usual things, with the odd interruption to speak about the party last night and how annoyed their parents where about their latecomings and dress sense. Tohko didn't say anything about what had happened after they'd all split off. She'd noticed after a moment that Kai wasn't in, but that wasn't in her head for long. He came in late every now and then anyway. He was a model for a magazine, so his work sometimes intersected his schooling, and he would probably turn up at lunchtime with his usual abrasive attitude. It would be unlikely that he would say anything about last night either.

When lunchtime finally arrived, Mitsuki heaved a sigh. "Okay, Tohko, you've been acting off all day. What's wrong?"
She looked up, confused. As far as she was concerned, she'd been acting the same as she always did.
"What do you mean?" She asked after a moment, doing her best to sound unimpressed. Even so, it came out squeaky.
"You're jumping whenever someone brushes against you, you keep zoning out, you're looking around all the time..."
Emi spoke next. "Did something happen?"
Tohko shook her head fervently. She jumped when she heard the door to the classroom open, looking to the door in a fright only to see Kai finally arriving, only to dump his bag, look through it, curse once or twice as he shoved things aside, then leave without the bag. There was a moment of silence before she decided to use the interruption to change the subject. "Someone got up on the wrong side of bed."
"Don't change the subject." Mitsuki scolded. "It's rude. Now come on, we're just worried about you, Tohko-san. What's wrong?"
To be honest, if she didn't tell anyone, she may have burst with all the stress left over. After an internal debate that seemed to take forever, she agreed to tell.

When she'd finally finished, she felt tears on her cheeks. Her friends looked absolutely horrified. "At least someone stopped him before it got too far." Emi managed.
"Yeah, it could have been worse...just...thank god you're okay, you know?"
"I'm super sorry I left you to go home alone..."
Tohko shook her head. "Hey, I was sure I could take anything. I just...couldn't. I probably would have insisted you go off anyway, you know? You don't even live that close to me and...and stuff."
They were silent for a moment before Mitsuki moved round to give her friend a comforting hug.
Emi raised her hand slightly. "Did you know who it was who beat the guy up? I mean, it would have been a bit weird to let a stranger walk you home, even if you did get saved by him..."
"He was...a guy from school." She admitted. She wasn't about to say it was Shimada. How bloody embarrassing would that be?
"Really?" Emi's eyes lit up with curiosity and wonder. "Was it Kizami?" She knew all about my crush. "Because that would be so romantic!" She clasped her hands together, a dreamy look on her face.
Mitsuki hit her lightly on the shoulder, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry about her. Still, at least it means you can do something for him in return. Lord knows how you hate looking weak and helpless."
Tohko nodded, giving a disgruntled grunt of agreement. "Plus I never properly thanked him...just told him to buzz off. Maybe I'll buy some doughnuts or something and give him some." She shrugged. She hated feeling like she was in debt to someone, so the sooner she could do something in return, the sooner she could act like things were normal. Then again, it was unlikely doughnuts would make things equal, but maybe they would make her rude manner afterwards a little less poignant. Besides, he was clearly in a bad mood. Perhaps a bit of chocolate would help him feel better.

Meanwhile, Kai couldn't deny he was in a bad mood. That morning he'd overslept, thanks to being out so long, and when he tried to explain himself to his fuming parents, they'd naturally refused to believe him. He'd even chosen to tell the truth and say he'd come across a girl from school being attacked and had stopped to help her. He was too tired to make up some stupid lie they'd find out with one simple phone call. After listening to them yelling while he tried to dress for school, he had to run to get the bus, and even though he had been as fast as he could, he was still late for his photo shoot with the magazine. Once again he got in trouble, and now he was just pissed. Finally, his day brought him to school, only to find he'd forgotten to pack a lunch, and his wallet and keys were missing, as well as the maths homework due in that afternoon. Great, he'd be locked out of his house until his parents got back and undoubtedly get shouted at again.

~*~*~*~*~*~

After school, Tohko and the girls stopped by a corner shop to buy the doughnuts. The shop was very close to the school and most students passed it on their way back, and she'd seen Kai hang back to talk to Ohkawa and Katayama, so it seemed to her that he would still pass by. She hoped he'd still be with the other two so it wouldn't be too obvious who she was gifting them to. After all, everyone knew how much she hated that annoying lout and there would be all sorts of ridiculous misunderstandings. People would probably start saying she had a thing for him or something.

Thankfully, when he did come into view, he was still talking with the other two. Heaving a sigh and swallowing her pride, Tohko approached the three of them. "Hey...any of you want a doughnut?" Met with the confused looks she decided to think up a good lie. "Leftovers from Mitsuki's birthday, nobody else wants them." She thrust the packet at the three boys again, trying not to catch Shimada's eye. After a moment, he walked on, taking the complete avoiding of him as a sign that he was exempt from the offer.
"Hey!" Tohko snapped as the other two each gladly took a doughnut. She turned away, going after the redhead. "I offer you something nice and you just flounce off like I've presented the greatest insult? It's not like it's a fermented soybean!" There was a strange silence and she realised she'd shouted at him. He was staring at her, almost as though...shocked. Perhaps he was surprised she knew it was his least favourite food (there was no taste he hated more than that of fermented soybeans). She felt her cheeks heat up as she realised there were people staring at the two and she decided to just get out of the situation there and then. She pushed the box into his hands. "Just take them! It's for last night, okay?" She was still shouting, and as she said the last part, he tried to bid her to be quiet. Her response was to run off before she could make matters worse. It was just all so embarrassing.

Kai stood there for the longest time, staring at the box and trying to get his head around what had just happened. Damn it, that girl was hot...and maybe she might be a little less unkind towards from that point on.