Forbidden Protege

Ch. 5: Kidnapped Day Off (Part 5)

Haruichi's eyes went wide. Standing between him and the guy with red hair was Alexia. Her head was titled to the right and she spit on the ground before straightening up and meeting the older guy's glare head on. His mind fluttered for a second before he put two and two together. Alexia had jumped between them and taken the hit meant for him. His stomach clenched in worry but he sensed no hesitation or fear in Alexia's voice.

"Fucking try that again and I'll rip your dicks off." Haruichi gulped. He couldn't see her face, but he wasn't sure he wanted to. The venom in her voice was potent and dripped with the threat. The ringleader took a step back, obviously affected himself. His cohorts retreated a few steps as well, but the blond snickered.

"Don't you have a mouth on you," he grinned broadly as he walked up to Alexia, standing not a foot away from her. "Defending your little boyfriend? Come with me and I'll defend you."

"Fuck off."

"Oooh, so you're a foreigner? Your accent sounds perfectly American," he continued talking. Haruichi's stomach flipped over and he seethed in anger. Haruichi went to take a step around Alexia, but without so much as tilting her head, her hand wrapped around his wrist. Tight. He swallowed hard. She obviously wanted to sort this out herself, but that didn't make him any less nervous.

When Alexia didn't respond, the guy snickered again. "Come on, sweetie. Don't tell me you're actually interested in that brat. He's so damn scrawny and-" The guy didn't have the chance to finish his sentence.

In one swift movement Alexia had brought her left hand from Haruichi's wrist up to his nose. A resounding crack was heard and the guy staggered backwards, blood leaking out from between his fingers. His friends were shocked still.

The guy with red hair growled, clenching his own fists. "What the fuck, you bitch?"

Alexia took a step forward, letting Haruichi have room to step out to the side. He looked to the door of the store, debating whether or not to get the others. Alexia's voice reached him, calm and smooth. "Talk shit about me all you want. But try something, or start spewing shit about my friends and I'll fuck you up."

Haruichi stood frozen, staring at Alexia. She had stood her ground when they approached her, yes, but she had only struck out when they had threatened him. Now she was glaring them down. The guy with black hair was supporting the one with the likely broken nose and the one with green hair was standing at the leader's back. Alexia was facing them with her arms crossed, not making any movement towards any from them.

What made Haruichi break into a nervous sweat was not the stand off Alexia was having with two older guys, it was the look on her face. Her eyes were burning purple daggers, observing and analyzing every inch of her opponents. He had never seen such an intense look before. It was if she was able to see right through them and know exactly what they would do and how to counter it. Her mouth was quirked up into a mix of a smirk and a smile. It felt natural and unnatural all at once. It was terrifying. Her expression, when paired with her almost nonchalant stance, arms crossed and leaning on one foot, made Haruichi scared. And she was defending him. None of the four guys made a sound. They were all rooted to the spot, just as unnerved as Haruichi was.

"Hey! What the fuck is going on here!" A voice yelled from behind Haruichi, snapping him out of his daze. He turned and saw Kuramochi, Miyuki, and Ryosuke all running from the store towards them. The red haired guy glanced at the new comers and cursed under his breath. He turned tail and ran, his friends quickly following. Alexia didn't move, only shifting her gaze to follow their retreating figures.