I fell forward, grunting as my hands scraped against the pavement to break my fall. I’d been pushed, apparently, and I didn’t appreciate it. With legs resembling jelly, I regained my balance and stood. Blinking my crystal blue eyes a few times, I pointed at the spikey haired rich kid who’d pushed me.
“Hey,” I slurred, swaying on my feet. “Did you push me?” The teen turned, staring for a few seconds. No doubt he was judging me, and I couldn’t blame him. I was a drunken mess.
“Uh-“
“I’m sorry!” I slung my arms around the stranger without warning, hanging off of his neck. “I’m not mad, really! What’s your name?” The hazel eyed man scrunched his nose up at the smell of my breath, not that I minded, I was quite disgusted with my odour too.
“Kazushi Sato.” He answered, trying to pry me off. “And you?” I hiccupped, letting go and stumbling to the right for a moment before regaining my balance once more.
“Courage,” I answered, before brushing a bleach blonde lock behind my ear. “Courage Tezuya.” Kazushi studied me for a moment, before his face contorted into something that didn’t resemble disgust.
“You’re that girl that gets in with all the rich families, right?” I pursed my lips, stumbling forward a few steps.
“’Getting in with’ isn’t the correct term!” I scolded, “I just happen to be friends with some of the-“ I cut myself off, before covering my mouth with my hand. “Never mind!” I chimed, stumbling to the curb, “I guess I’ll see you around, Tazashi!”
“It’s Kazushi!” Said male shouted from behind me, but I merely waved him off.
“Whatever you say, Taza’!” I stumbled around town blindly for a few hours, and if anyone hadn’t guessed already, I was blind drunk. Innocent little Courage was off her face, which would’ve been a surprise to most. Even more so, since a ‘again’ should be added after the word ‘face’.
“I’m a little girlie, short and stout~!” I sung, changing the lyrics up because of the cloud of alcohol that loomed over my mind. “Here is my hand, and here is my mouth~!” At that point in time, I hadn’t registered that I was wandering into an alleyway, all I was focusing on was my ridiculous remix of ‘I’m a little tea pot’. “When I get all steam up, I just SHOUT!” I threw back my head and let loose on the last word, my voice echoing off the walls. Losing my footing, I fell into a wall. “Then shut me up and calm me down~.” I whispered the last bit, because it was at this moment in time, I’d heard a whimper.
When I heard another whimper, I got down onto my hands and knees. The cloud lifting due to the fear coursing through me, my instincts kicked in. I needed to find out who was hurt. Just because the cloud had lifted, didn’t mean it was completely gone, and it didn’t cross my mind that the assaulter could be nearby. My morals came through, and won out.
To calm my erratic heartbeat as I crept forward into the darkness, I continued singing. “I’m a very special girlie, it is true…” I ignored my tight dress as it came up over my backside, and pressed forward. I’d scold myself for being influenced to wear the skimpy costume later, I figured. “Here’s an example of what I do…” Another whimper echoed out from in front of me, this time closer, and I smelt something fowl in the air. I couldn’t tell if it was the rat carcasses I’d passed, or the victim. “I can crawl and sing at the same time…” I swallowed when I heard my voice shaking, “While trying to stop a man from-“ I stopped myself mid-sentence, shocked at the sight before me. “Dying!” I gasped, hurrying forward.
It was Izumo, the heir of the infamous Ibaraki clan. His green hair was splattered with his own blood, and his mouth hung open loosely, as if his jaw was broken. We’d spoken a few times, and those few times had been short lived, because he’d been quickly ushered away by his guards. The first thing that ran through my mind, oddly, was how did he end up like this? Those guards, what happened to them?
Brushing that thought under the rug for the time being, I quickly reached out to help. He’d been whimpering a moment ago, so maybe I still had a chance of saving him, no matter how many shot’s I’d had.
“I wouldn’t do that.” Chuckled a voice beside me, and I tried not to scream from fright. How the man had approached so inconspicuously, I had no idea, but he was currently an inch away. Now that I was aware of his presence, the power radiating from him was blatantly obvious. I struggled to utter a coherent sentence, and was sent into a stumbling mess. “Kisame,” The man answered, “If that’s what you were trying to get out.” The body in front of me sighed, and that’s when I knew Izumo was officially gone. The life was gone from his eyes, and he was limp, even I could see that.
“You-You-You-“
“Yes,” Kisame grabbed me harshly by the shoulder and yanked me to my feet, ignoring me when I tripped over my heels. “I killed him, and you, my little rat, weren’t supposed to see this body.” My breathing was shaky, and it finally registered in my mind that I could quite possibly die if I wasn’t careful.
So, what’s more careful than to scream as loud as you possibly could while in the hands of a murderer?
Another hand covered my mouth, and I was pulled against the man’s chest roughly. “Shut up, Blondie, unless you want to die, too.” I whimpered quietly, only barely comprehending what was happening around me. It seemed as if tonight wasn’t the best of nights to get drunk. “I guess I’ll kill you too, since-“
“No.” There was another voice, which I could only assume was the accomplice. “I’ve heard of her; she could be a good bargaining chip.”
“You know this drunk?” Kisame repeated, still not letting his hand drop from my mouth. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself to believe that this was just a nightmare. In the morning, I would wake up and have a killer hangover, and then I’d get yelled at by my boss for being late to work, and I’d get my third warning and be forced to clean the men’s restroom as punishment.
“She’s well known around this town. Her name is Courage Tezuya, and she’s friendly with a lot of the rich families.” Footsteps sounded, and I realised the man was coming closer. “We could use her as a bargaining chip of some sort, or put out a ransom. We should bring her to Leader, and if he doesn’t want her, you can kill her then.” Kisame grunted front behind me, and pressed harder against my mouth, but this time, covering my nose.
I struggled for air, panicking. “You were always such a softie, Itachi.” Was the last thing I heard before I feel unconscious.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
1000th fan celebration chapter c': I guess you can call this an intro, but still. Courage is my baby okok. alright, time to go back to rolling on the floor because I'm just so estatic.
AND AND AND NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT LATE UPDATES OR ANYTHING BECAUSE I HAVE UP TO CHAPTER 11 WRITTEN OKOK
