Stolen Night [Kaede, Sora]

Kaede jumped slightly at the huff, scooting a bit away from Sora in mild concern. She wasn't sure how angry he was with her, but, she knew when someone was angry, and instinct pulled at her to shut up and listen. She didn't dare risk making him more angry. But...was he angry with her, or angry at the situation? She...couldn't tell, and it only made her more wary.

As he spoke, Kaede's suspicions were confirmed, causing her to recoil and slide away more, especially as he stood up. But, instead of doing anything to hear, he just...walked away, and went to the kitchen. She didn't follow him, but, she could still hear the snap of a bottle top being pulled, as well as the slam of the door, causing her to flinch and look down in her lap.

"Why do you even care? Hell, why did you even let me in?! You could have just left me out there and never involved yourself with those assholes! It would have been easier to pretend not to know some stupid, flat-chested klepto..."

She went to put her arms around herself, but the backs of her arms grazed against her bruise, causing her to wince and try to move them away.

"Besides...I already live with someone else. Ehefra probably would get really angry with me if I just...up and left to stay with some guy I barely know. She'd probably think I'm just relapsing and pull me away."

Seeing that she decided not to come out, Sora returned to his bedroom and stood in the doorway, staring at her as she asked her stupid questions. Taking a sip of his beer, Sora shook his head at her. “You’re a piece of work,” he said, leaning against the door frame. “You didn’t run to Ehefra. You came here. If it was convenience, then go. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.” Sora took a step back to let Kaede get past him and gestured toward the front door. She was free to go.

Even though she'd come to know this almost cold indifference, she still felt scared for some reason in the presence of it, at least currently. But, then the last sentence hit. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. Even though he had framed it like a choice, that one part made it painfully clear that he wanted her out. Kaede's expression changed, her gaze looking hurt as she slowly got up and quietly shuffled her way past him.

He didn't even bother answering her. That was another clear indicator -- he didn't really care. He probably just wanted to make sure saving her from jumping didn't stay on his conscious or some shit like that. She didn't say a word as she came to the door, turning the lock, stepping into the hallway, and heading to the stairs.

Her backpack dangled from her hand, idly swaying as she walked down to the first floor, her gaze not moving from the floor the entire time. Just as she was lifting her head to open the door, she swore that she saw someone move for a second. Opening the door, she peeked to the right, only to find nothing. She stepped out the door, letting it shut behind her and starting her way down the street.

"Found you." An irritated voice called out.

Two pairs of hands grabbed her, and while she was able to scream for a moment, it was very quickly cut off. All that remained in place as she was dragged away into a nearby alley was her backpack.

Sora saw that hurt look and chose to ignore it. He also ignored the guilt in his chest, letting her walk out of his apartment. He had done his job, protecting her from those bastards, getting her off that bridge. She still left then, why stay now, right? It wasn’t like they knew each other well, or really at all. She was just some girl he didn’t need to care about. ‘Then why does this feel like complete shit?’

Sora went to lock the door when she left, hesitating for a moment, locking it, then unlocking it. He took a drink of his beer and sat it on the counter. ‘Damn it!’ he cursed himself and then opened his door. He hoped she was still there, but obviously she wasn’t going to be. Sora hurried after her, moving at a decent pace down the stairs and to the first floor. As he reached the floor, he could have sworn he heard a woman scream. He darted forward and looked up and down the street.

“Shit, shit, shit…” he muttered, glancing back and forth multiple times until he saw it. Her backpack was lying on the ground. He rushed over and picked it up. The nearest spot was that fucking alley. Letting the backpack hang from his hand, Sora ran over to the alley, going down it to see if he was able to see her anywhere.

Kaede kicked and let out muffled screams the entire way as she was dragged down the alley, resulting in her kicking a shoe off, as well as one of their sunglasses, something that promptly caused them to punch her in the stomach. Kaede tried to curl up as best she could, sniffling as tears ran down her cheeks. The biggest one of the group slung her over his shoulder, taking her to an abandoned, tiny empty lot. It was at the end of a small, zig-zag shaped path between two of the buildings.

The group tied her to a pipe at the end of the alley, and as their leader moved in close, Kaede squirmed to try and face away from him, but, he promptly forced her back around. All she could do was let out muffled whimpers as the man started to pull her shirt up, but recoiled at seeing the bruise.

"Damn, we fucked you up more than we thought, huh? Well, s'long as the goods downstairs aren't damaged, lil' bit o' ripeness never hurt nobody, right boys?"

As his hands started to resume, Kaede started to thrash around, trying to force his hands off, resulting in her kicking the man in the face. His hand went to touch the area, before looking back at her. Kaede's feet quickly tried to push herself back, but, there was nowhere to go. She turned her head long before the punch connected.

"That's what you get, bitch! Andy, Sam, hold her down."

Her eyes went wide as she tried to start thrashing around again, but, it didn't take long for the two men to overpower her. She let out more muffled screams, but, the leader of the group just laughed.

"Scream all you want, no one's gonna hear you. Barely anyone even remembers this place exists. Face it, bitch, nobody's gonna save gutter trash like you."

He was right. Ehefra was nowhere nearby, and she'd just been told to leave by one of the only people who had been nice to her. Isamu wasn't anywhere nearby either. She wasn't strong enough to get them off. All she could do was lay there and take it. At least then it'd be over with quicker. Kaede sniffled, going limp as she resigned herself to her fate.

“…even remembers this place exists. Face it, bitch, nobody's gonna save gutter trash like you." Sora felt heat rise in his chest when he heard those words, a puff of smoke escaping his nose. Now carrying one of Kaede’s shoes, Sora stomped into the alley way. A brief glance that confirmed they had Kaede was all he needed to let loose. They didn’t even realize he was there until a roundhouse kick to the side of one of their heads slammed Sam’s head into the wall, breaking his nose and a couple teeth, and knocking him out. Sam’s body slid down the wall and collapsed in a pathetic lump. Sora stepped on him to get over him.

“Who the fuck do you th-.” Andy’s incoming punch was interrupted by Sora grabbing his wrist, twisting his arm so the elbow was to the floor, and sending the palm of his hand upward. The force behind the strike snapped the bone, making it bend backwards. Andy let out a pained yell, but it was also cut shot by a quick jab coming up under his chin. The man bit off his own tongue. The leader released Kaede and charged Sora while Andy was still screaming, firing a heavy punch at Sora’s jaw and connecting. The pain stunned him, allowing another strike to hit and turn him the opposite direction. The third punch that came in was caught.

“What the…” The leader said, shocked, and then there was a moment of realization. “Wait, you’re that fucker from the third floor. You were hiding her!” Sora pushed the man back enough to get his foot up between the two of them. He kicked the man back with all of his strength, causing him to stumble back past Kaede. Sora followed him closely. The moment he was about to retaliate, Sora punched him in the jaw and caused him to fall. Kneeling over the man, Sora made sure this bastard looked at him before he punched him again, and again, and again, and again. The man couldn’t even defend himself. His face was swollen and bloody.

Sora finally stopped hitting him, “Touch her again, I will not stop next time. Understood?” All Sora got was a pained groan, the man barely conscious. “Understood?!” Sora yelled and could make out a mumbled ‘yes.’ “I’ll beat you to death, asshole.” Sora let the man fall to the ground and stood over him. He wanted to hit him again, maybe really kill him, but he couldn’t. Sora stood silently, taking a moment to catch his breath before he looked over his shoulder at Kaede.

Kaede was fully ready to accept the hand that fate had dealt her. But, then she heard stomping, then the sound of something being hit. She opened her eyes, a muffled, surprised noise coming from her as she saw someone standing there...it was Sora. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she tried to talk, forgetting for a moment that she'd been gagged. Her happiness was quick to turn to fear, however, as the scene continued to unfold.

She flinched and winced at every move that was made to hurt them, her eyes growing wide as she watched Sora brutalize the group. She found herself scrunching up against the wall, only able to watch as Sora eventually took down their leader, attacking him again and again. Even as he stopped, Kaede still suddenly felt...so small in that moment, made even worse as he yelled.

But, even in all that fear, as Sora looked over his shoulder at her, Kaede couldn't stop the tears and muffled sobs. She was safe. Sora had saved her. Even if that sudden outburst had scared her, something felt so...so relieving and wonderful about seeing him there.

Sora took a deep, steady breath and slowly exhaled, a faint wisp of smoke slipping through his teeth. The fiery glow in his eyes dimmed as he approached Kaede, gently pulling the cloth from her mouth. After a frustrated glare at it, he angrily tossed the rag aside. He then reached up and untied her from the pipe, carefully ensuring she didn’t fall. Once she was steady, he took a step back in order to give her some space and watched her carefully. He looked nervous, like he was waiting for her to yell at him. In his eyes, he would deserve it. He shouldn’t have made her leave, not like that. He should have known they were out here waiting…

Thankfully, Sora untied her and took out the gag, and Kaede wiped her mouth, nose, and eyes off with her shirt. For a minute, she just stood there, silent as she looked at Sora. Part of her was scared at how brutal he was, but, the fact that he was there at all made her thankful, grateful, all these different things that she didn't even know how to describe.

Eventually, more tears welled up in her eyes, and on instinct, Kaede stepped forward, burying her face into his chest and shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around him, crying quietly. She didn't know what to say -- not like she could say much of anything right now with how tight her throat felt, and how she was only breathing in short, sharp, and shaky inhales as she tried to compose herself.

That was a surprise. He expected the crying and some yelling. He expected her to hit him, throw a fit, call the cops. He did not expect her to hug him and cry into his chest. He looked down at her, performing a nervous swallow before bringing his arms up. He hesitated multiple times until finally he put his arms around her and just returned the embrace. “You’re safe…” he let the words slip out, but it was a true message. He wouldn’t let someone harm her again.

Sora removed one arm from her, pulling his cellphone from his pocket, and dialing the police. “Yeah, I’d like to report a crime,” he said, rubbing Kaede’s back, but looking over his shoulder at the bastards he laid out. “Three men were attacking a woman in an alleyway. They’re unconscious now, and they will need an ambulance. The girl… Uh…” Sora looked to Kaede, measuring her expression.