Forbidden Protege

Ch. 5: Kidnapped Day Off (Part 4)

Alexia sighed as she stepped out of the store. She held both her bag and Miyuki's in her left hand and she fished for her phone with her right. He had practically thrown his bag at her while saying he was going to the bathroom, not giving her a chance to toss it back before walking off. She checked her phone and found another message from Fable.

Fable: Thanks for doing this. I told Severus his form was fine but he insisted you check it. He's really nervous taking over from you.

Alexia smiled and typed back.

Alexia: It's alright, I don't mind. He's always been concerned about living up to my standards. I'm sure he'll be fine but I'll tell him myself once I can. The time difference might cause some issues.

The reply was almost instant.

Fable: Had to type in Japanese, huh? Glad I kept up on my studies.

Alexia chuckled to herself and stuck her phone in her pocket as she saw Haruichi standing off to the side. She made her way over to him and called out, noticing that he held a new bat. "Hey, Haruichi-kun. Found what you needed?"

He turned to her and nodded. "Yeah, I did. It looks like you did, too."

"Yeah. When I moved, I donated a lot of my clothes so I had to buy new ones. This bag is Miyuki's. He's making me carry it," Alexia held up the bag and gave Haruichi a tilted smile.

Haruichi chuckled. "Isn't that why you're here?" His voice was teasing but Alexia could swear she heard a tone identical to Ryosuke's. Maybe these brothers were more alike than she had initially thought.

Alexia rolled her eyes, but before she could reply a group of guys approached them. There were four guys who Alexia guessed to be in college and they all screamed delinquent: dyed hair, piercings, and ripped and ragged clothes. Alexia was the last person to judge based on looks, but they radiated trouble.

"Hey there, little lady. Spent some time shopping this morning?" The guy standing at the front of the group spoke, dragging out his words and eyeing Alexia up and down. His hair was scarlet red and slicked back with the sides shaved. His hand's were stuffed into jeans so tight Alexia knew something had to be pinched and large gaudy earrings lined both ears. The way the others, one with blond hair, one with green, and one with black, stood behind him told her that he was the boss.

Alexia kept her body facing Haruichi but turned her head and made a show of sizing him up. "Yeah, I did. Brilliant observation skills," she replied, her voicing dripping with sarcasm.

The guy didn't seem to pick up on it. "Well, I hope you got some nice clothes then. You know, if it weren't for your hair, I would have thought you were a guy," he crossed his arms now and several rings caught the light, glinting. He smiled at Alexia and she worked to keep a poker face.

"I get that a lot," she said flatly. She felt the corner of her lips twitch up into a smirk as she added, "but if I gave a fuck, then I'd have cut my hair." The group looked taken aback. Green-head was the first to recover.

"Come now, sweetie. I'm sure you look nice under those jeans, why don't you dress up a little. I'm sure you could get a lot of guys," he purred. Alexia felt her skin start to crawl and she flexed her fists at her sides. She lightly set down her bags before turning to face the group and crossing her arms.

"I know I'm fucking hot, but I don't give a damn about dressing up. I'm not interested, so could you please screw off?" She let her voice show her irritation and a nasty smile was plastered on her face. She was ticked now. 'Why the fuck did these shitheads have to show up when I was feeling so good?' she complained mentally. Beside her she felt Haruichi tense up and guilt pooled in her stomach. She hadn't meant to instigate anything, but now that she had Haruichi might be drug into it.

"You should watch your language, young lady," the third one said. His black hair was cropped close to his scalp and he narrowed his eyes at her. "Guys don't like it when pretty little things mouth off like that."

"She's already made it clear she's not interested, so please leave us alone."

Alexia's jaw nearly dropped when Haruichi spoke up. He took a few steps to stand in front of her and Alexia noticed that he held the bat down at his side casually, not threatening at all. As quiet as he was, Alexia had been almost certain that he'd stay back and let her deal with them. She felt bad for underestimating him.

The guy with bleach blond hair that could rival a beach model spit towards Haruichi. "Just stay out of our way, brat. Ain't no way a tiny shit like you is her boyfriend." His voice was arrogant and demeaning, but Haruichi didn't even flinch.

"I'm not, but she's said that-"

"Oi, just shut the hell up!" The guy with red hair yelled. He took a menacing step forward, but again Haruichi stood his ground.

Alexia couldn't see his eyes because of his bangs up until that point, but when the guy with red hair stepped towards him, he met dark brown eyes with flaming coral. She sucked in a breath, startled at the intensity in his glare. Never would she have guessed that the timid first-year could look so damn terrifying.

"Get out of our way, brat," the leader demanded as he shoved Haruichi back.

Haruichi stumbled for a step but quickly regained his balance. He never broke eye contact with the older guy and his gripped tightened, likely subconsciously, around his new bat.

The leader gritted his teeth. "I said fuck off, shithead!" The leader pulled his fist back as he yelled at Haruichi. He froze, unsure what to do when he saw that the older guy fully intended to hit him. He had stood up for Alexia and thought that they weren't stupid enough to start a fight in broad daylight. Apparently he was wrong and now a guy at least twice his size was about to punch him. He flinched and pressed his eyes closed, anticipating the loud thud and hard impact to his cheek.

The sound came, but the pain never did.