School Rumble (Broom and I)

Mei watched Kuki very closely...she could follow her attacks...barely. She was extremely fast, faster than anyone Mei had seen in a very long time. "Tch." Mei decided to walk over to the scene. She didn't run...because there was no need to. Blood had been spilled, Kuki had already started a war with the gang. Though that didn't mean all was lost...if Mei and Damien could convince her to stop the attack here...well maybe she wouldn't have to take on the entire gang.
 
"Kuki!" Damien said, moving into the living room, or the makeshift one. More bodies, more unconscious and bleeding ones. The music had drowned out their screams, but it wouldn't be long before something worse happened. He sighed, grinding his knuckle into his forehead in thought. But...he did notice one thing, the noises upstairs had stopped. He blinked, glancing up at the ceiling in surprise.

He got a real bad feeling in his gut...
 
Well..if she got to them this quick than maybe that had nothing to worry about? Mei stepped over the unconscious bodies nonchalantly. Though...she also shared a similar feeling. When stuff went silent, it always gave her a bad feeling, but...Well, she just headed upstairs. The anticipation was nerve wrecking.
 
Damien followed after Mei, rubbing his hair a moment as they moved upward. It...wasn't pretty, but that was how Kiki worked. There were Five Tigers everywhere, most of them unconscious or silently groaning in pain. "Dammit, Kiki..." he mumbled. Blood was everywhere, it was to make a mark...prove a point. But there she was in the hallway, facing both of them. Her eyes were hollow, empty, her blade was smeared with blood and dripping lazily to the floor.

"Kiki," Damien said, stepping forward. Her eyes changed in an instant, and there was only the faintest flick of her arm that made Damien tilt his head to the right, the shoulder fabric of his shirt tearing. Furious, barely containable anger poured out of her like a wave of energy.
 
Mei could sense that anger...and while she wasn't one to show or feel any emotion at all, she still felt an affinity towards it. She didn't move, seeing as how she apparently attacked her supposed friend to keep him from moving any closer to her. "Good job, Kuki. You finished your mission. Now you can stop." At this point, Mei wasn't going to attempt to restrain her. No, she didn't know anything about this girl...except that she was crazy fast.
 
Kuki's eyes slid over to Mei a moment. She focused on her, deeply. Looked over every inch she could before she finally spoke, her voice was soft and quiet. Like a shy girl who was too afraid to say anything at all.

"...Get away from him," she said faintly, her katana back in it's sheath. But her hand was casual on it's grip. "Or you'll be cut down, too."
 
Mei raised an eyebrow, hesitating for a moment...she probably should have gotten away from Damien. However, she wasn't one to take orders...not being someone who was used to giving orders. "I'm not going to hurt him. I'm not going to hurt you either. So perhaps you should just relax."

The hairs on the back of Mei's neck rose as the air around her got colder...she was getting defensive just in case Kuki tried anything. However, she remained calm.
 
"Mei, it's okay," Damien murmured. "...I deserve it-"

"SHUT UP!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, her eyes like a wild animal as she surged forward in a flash of red. Damien reacted in a half second, the butterfly knife in his jacket drawing out as her blade connected with a spark of energy.
 
Oh...so that's why she told her to move. Mei didn't really see the point in stepping between them. Whatever those two had to settle, Mei was a third party and didn't really have a right to try to interfere with their personal issues. She'd step in if Kuki attempted to kill Damian, but other than that..
 
Damien sunk his heels down as Kuki glared at him with fury. Damien's expression hardened a moment, and he pushed her away. Kuki held up her sword in warning, expression focused.

"...Hey, Mei," Damien murmured. "...You want to know why I left?" he said, drawing his other butterfly sword. "You're looking at her."

"Shut up!" Kuki snarled, launching at him again. Her anger made her more like a precise, bladed whip. Damien was known for his fighting talents, it was impressive that he was able to deflect every lash-like swing. He parried them quickly, ducking and weaving when he could before he caught her blade in another block. "Long time ago...back when I started getting...famous, I guess..." Damien mumbled. She shifted, and Damien ducked her swing, her arm was already back for a swing that Damien blocked again with a faint sigh.

"There was a murder."
 
A murder. Mei immediately started to put the pieces together. This was obviously the reason why Kaka Kuki was so angry at him. "Damien...you should focus on your fight. You can explain later." Mei needed them to finish soon. The quicker they did, the faster they could get out of his place. If they Five tigers figured out one of their hideouts got attacked, then all of them would be swarming here for revenge.
 
"No, Mei, you don't understand," Damien said. "This fight won't be over. I'm the reason she's like this, this is my problem. Get out of here," He said. "I'll find you later...this is something I need to finish." He should have finished it years ago, but he was a coward. There was so much he could have done, but he didn't. And Kuki was the result of all of his failures, rolled into one dangerous child. Kuki stepped back with a frown, blade lowered in annoyance.

"Why don't you fight back!?" She growled.

"Because I don't want to hurt you," he shrugged. "I'm the reason you're like this...so if you need to take it out on someone...take it out on me, not on everyone else."
 
The fight won't be over? He was going to finish it? Which one was it? "Don't tell me what to do. I'm going to watch this fight, just like I've watched many before. Besides, if you two keep dancing around here, sooner or later those thugs are going to find both of you and try to kill you. I might as well help when that time comes. Now hurry up and settle this, or finish it. Whichever one."

She just found Kuki...she wasn't going to let this girl out of her sight.
 
"Ah...you're just as stubborn as you used to be," Damien sighed, rubbing his head. "More importantly, Kuki...what are you doing with a scumbag like Nicholas?"

"What I do is none of your business," Kuki muttered. "Let those fools come, I will cut all of them down, and grow stronger."

"She's always like this," Damien said idly. "Worse than a naggy girlfriend..."

"You dare insult me, after everything you've done!?" Kuki hissed. "I should kill you for that!"

"Go ahead," Damien said casually, sheathing his weapons as Kuki blinked faintly, eyes narrowed warily as he fished out one of his cigarettes and lit it.

"...What?" Kuki muttered faintly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean kill me," he said, taking a drag. "That's what you want, isn't it? Go ahead, kill me. I deserve it."
 
..A scumbag like Nicholas? So Damien wasn't allied with him? Then again, he did say something along the lines of only wanting to help this girl. When he told Kuki to kill him, Mei just rolled her eyes. Did his life mean nothing to him? Mei really didn't want to step in..but she didn't want to see anyone die either. She could only hope she could stop Kuki in time if she decided that she actually wanted to take his life.
 
Kuki narrowed her eyes a moment, her fingers tightening on her sword. He was...he was serious? His posture was completely casual, the cigarette hanging lazily from his lips. She wasn't going to ruin this chance. She could finally have her revenge, like she always wanted. She took a half step, and was already in mid swing to go right for his neck. The air went frigid, so much so...that she saw her breath mist as she swung her sword with a barely perceptible speed.
 
Kuki was fast, but Mei had extremely good reflexes. She could see the attack before she even made it..just by looking into the girls eyes. The decision to kill Damien was reflected in them, so Mei immediately darted forward and parried Kuki's attack with enough force to send her stumbling back. Mei lowered her sword and looked at Kuki's feet, instantly freezing them to the floor. "Kuki, I don't know what Damien specifically did to you, but I can't just watch you take a life in front of me. It's against the law..." Mei glanced back at Damien and then sighed. "Besides...do you really want to get your revenge on a man who refuses to defend himself? Is that really going to make you happy? Being a cold blooded murderer?"
 
"What do you know!?" Kuki practically exploded, tears rushing down her face even as she struggled to tear out of the ice. "You don't know what it's like, being alone! Having no one to tell you when...when you're scared, or...what to do when you have nothing! I had nobody! This is what I did to stay alive! Who are you to judge me!?"
 
"I'm not judging you." Mei replied as she walked closer to Kuki, her ice only strengthening the closer she got to it. "I can't tell you that I know exactly what you're going through. I have a family, and I have always had everything I've ever wanted. Still..." Mei bit her lip, realizing she had to admit something that she never cared to out loud. "I was alone. I didn't have anyone either. Sometimes I still don't think I do but...they always prove me wrong." Mei imagined Jana for a moment and then took a deep breath, keeping herself composed. "Even before that, I never let my loneliness blind me from doing what was right. Even if I had no one, I still wanted to believe in the good of this world and be apart of that goodness. Eventually that led me to finding others who cared about me. Even though I tried very hard to ignore those people. They still found me. Being alone isn't permanent unless you want it to be."
 
Kuki just stared at her, her eyes wavering a moment before she lowed her head. "...But I am alone," she mumbled. "...Nobody...nobody wants to be around me, I'm just some...some sellsword. I do things that nobody else wants to do...how can anyone like that?"

"Someone can, and people will," Damien murmured. "...But only if you let them, Kuki."
 
Mei looked at Kuki for a long while before shrugging. "Damien is right. If you truly need someone to be there for you, you just have to want them to be." Mei snapped her fingers and the ice on Kuki's feet dissipated. "So, Kuki...let me be the first to say that I'd like to be around you...you are a very talented girl from what I have seen."
 
"R...Really?" Kuki said, her voice dropping to the original tone as her face settled into a light blush. "You...but I-"

"I'm with Mei," Damien murmured. "...There's not a lot of kids your age that can do what you're doing, seems like a bit of a waste doing this," Damien said, waving off to the bodies around them. "I think she'd do pretty good in the DC, don't you?"
 
Mei looked at Damian and gave him a nod. "She would be an excellent member of the Discipline Committee. With her skills, she could really be a great asset to us. So..." She looked back at Kuki and placed her hand on the girls shoulder and gave her a small smile. "Would you like to discuss this over coffee?"
 
"I...I would love to," Kuki admitted, smiling widely. "T...Thank you, so much...Um-" Of course, before they could say anything...there were more than enough footsteps down below. Damien glanced down the stairwell, and jerked his head back when a throwing knife zoomed past his head. "Oh boy," Damien sighed. Of course, that wasn't all that was happening. There was another set of shouting, and roars of fire...and the sound of multiple impacts and cursing.
 
Well...there was that. Though they had taken a bit too long to calm that fearsome girl down. Mei immediately heard the foot steps invade downstairs and then...oh a throwing. "Alright Kuki. Let's take care of these scoundrels and then we'll go somewhere nice. The place I like makes really good frozen cappuccinos." With that, Mei froze the floor where the stair way entrance was...a very annoying obstacle for the very angry gang members.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom