Saved

Chapter 1

I paced around the hallway, tugging anxiously at the sleeves of my pastel pink sweater, which reached just below my waist, covering my jean shorts, making it appear like a dress. I was so deep in thought that when I looked up, I hadn't noticed Hiroki standing only a few feet away from me, watching me. I jumped back a bit, out of reflex. "W-What do you want?" I stuttered. His dark blue eyes narrowed and a mischievous smile spread across his face. He began walking towards me, and I stood there in fear. He now stood directly in front of me, and I backed up a bit until my back hit the wall. He followed me, moving closer, until he was so close I could feel his jet black hair brush against my cheek. His firm grip took hold of my wrists, pinning them to the wall. I closed my eyes and turned my head away from him. "Leave me alone." I said, turning my head away from him."And why would I want to do that?" He said, a sick smile on his face. I felt him place his hand under my chin, turning my head back to him. "It's not all that bad, is it?" He said in a condescending tone, pressing his lips against mine. "Stop. . ." I whimpered. He only laughed in response. "Stop it!" I screamed. As my screams echoed the halls, an alarmed and shocked expression appeared on Hiroki's face. "What the hell, you little bitch!" Hiroki yelled. I felt the blow of his open palm hit me across the cheek. He continued to punch and beat me. I was unable to fight back, not able to match his strength. Tears fell down from my eyes to the floor as I begged him to stop. He ignored me, continuing to beat me until I began to feel weak, and my tears combined with blood on the hard floor. Suddenly, I heard a loud thud. I opened my eyes and saw Hiroki now laying on the floor, several feet away from me. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I heard an unfamiliar voice yell. I heard Hiroki laugh. "Screw you." He said. I saw him get up and run away. I looked up and saw the boy who'd saved me. He seemed to be a few years older than me. He rushed over to me. "Are you okay?" He asked, sounding genuinely concerned. I nodded weakly. It looked like Hiroki had been able to fight back, as the boy's face was greatly bloodied. "What about you?" I asked weakly as he picked me up in his arms. "I'm fine." He said, not looking down at me. He had unkempt dark red hair and pale brown eyes. "B-But you. . ." I coughed and stopped talking, too weak. "I said I'm fine." He said, more firmly this time. When we got to the nurse's office he set me down, not bothering to tell the nurse what happened. "Just take care of her." He'd said when she'd asked. When she asked me, I gave no reply, instead only shaking my head. I fell unconscious in there for a bit and she managed to bandage up most of my wounds. When I woke up, instead of going to my 5th period class, I went and grabbed my pale blue backpack from my 1st period class, went to the office to check myself out, and walked home. My mom asked what happened, and when I didn't reply, she just decided to leave it be and go to work. I went into our kitchen, grabbed some pocky and iced tea and headed to my room. I sat down on my bed and opened my vanilla white laptop, opening up a file containing books I'd written. I was working on one of my stories, when I heard a gentle knock on my bedroom door. I looked over and saw the same boy who'd saved me from Hiroki earlier. "Hey." He said. "I caught your mom as she was headed to work, and she let me in."

"Oh, um. . . Okay." I said softly, tucking a loose strand of my lilac-colored hair behind my ear. He walked in and sat down next to me. I moved away a bit more, and he noticed. "What is it with you?" He asked. "What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "Scared of being near me? Do you think I'm a murderer? A cannibal?" He smiled. "Uh- N-No, it's just. . ." My face felt warm, and I realized I was blushing. I covered my cheeks with my hands, not wanting him to see. He laughed a bit and moved, sitting right next to me again. "Well, maybe I am a murderer, and you just don't know it." He said. "Shut up!" I said, grabbing his cordless headphones from around his neck and holding them in the air. I knew it was pointless though. He was a lot taller than me, and could easily reach them anyway.

"Hey! No fair! I save you from Hiroki and this is how you repay me?" He chuckled.

"Oh, right. . . " I handed him his headphones back. "Thanks for saving me, anyway."

"Yeah, just trying to do what's right." He said, the smile fading from his face.

"You okay?" I asked. He nodded, not saying anything. There was a long silence.

"So, what's your name, anyway?" He asked after a while. "Oh, um, Mika." I said, beginning to fidget and tug on the long sleeves of my sweater again. "What about you?"

"Akio Akame."