Light Impulse

We're family

He didn't really know how he managed, but he got her to his apartment safely. She still seemed on the verge of consciousness. Chifuyu sat on the edge of his bed, a little stunned by everything that had happened and unable to come up with what to do. He looked at her over his shoulder. Her clothes were stained in dirt and blood and some of it had dried up in her hair. He wanted to do something to help her but he felt frozen in place. This was not how he imagined having a woman in his bed for the first time would play out. It was close to midnight and his adrenaline started to wear off. His body felt cold and heavy and his head was throbbing. He was mulling over what to do with this situation when his phone started buzzing. He tried ignoring it but after every missed call it instantly started buzzing again. He reluctantly took his phone out of his pocket. It was Draken, so the news had probably gotten around. He sighed as he picked up.

"You alright?" the low rumbling voice of Ryuguji Ken sounded from the other end.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Chifuyu answered. "They didn't take long to get the word out," he added grumpily.

"I happened to be in the neighbourhood picking up some parts," Draken explained.

Chifuyu didn't answer, he didn't have time for this.

"Rumor has it there was a girl involved," Draken asked carefully.

Chifuyu sighed. "Yeah, they beat her up pretty bad," he whispered, looking back over his shoulder again.

"You did the right thing, man," Draken said resolutely.

"I don't know..." he said while rubbing his eyes. "She begged me not to take her to the hospital..." he muttered, a little defeated, leaning his chin in his hand.

"Wait-," Draken said, a little shocked. "If she's not in the hospital-," he stuttered.

"Yeah," Chifuyu sighed. "I brought her back with me," he said quietly.

"Is she conscious?" Draken checked quickly.

"Barely," Chifuyu answered.

"We're coming," Draken said resolutely and he instantly hung up.

His ears were ringing as he let his phone fall to the bed. At least help was coming. Maybe Draken was the best person for the job, he was used to living with women after all. He'd probably know what to do. He slowly got up and felt his ankle sting from the jump kick he had landed on the brawler. "That's what you get," he reprimanded himself. He leaned down and looked at his empty fridge as he bonked his forehead on the kitchen counter softly. He took out a beer with a sigh. The can opened with a click and a fizz as he let himself sink to the floor, resting his back against the side of his bed.

"Can I have a sip?" a faint voice sounded behind him.

He jolted up right and turned around and saw Yuuna reaching for his beer. He laughed softly despite his overwhelming worry. "No, you can't have this," he said sternly.

Her eyes were dull from exhaustion but she played a weak pout. "You know I'm older than you, right?" she muttered.

He shook his head as he laughed again. "I'll get you some water," he said. But as he attempted to get up her hand reached for his arm and she was able to snag a bit of his sweater.

"Please don't go," she whispered softly.

He sank back down to the floor and watched her closely. Behind her tough façade he saw it. She was scared. "I won't," he whispered. "I'll be right here," he said softly. Her hand trembled on his arm and her eyes fell shut again. He couldn't bring himself to let her out of his sight so he sat there, watching her shallow breathing, until he heard roaring motorcycle engines in the distance. He got up and stepped outside. Within moments the sound grew louder and two motorcycles turned into the parking lot. Draken and Mikey kicked out the stands of their bikes and the rumbling engines were cut off.