Ai no Kusabi: Fated Hearts

4. A Circle of Friends and A Circle of Enemies

Meanwhile, Riki sat with his own group of elites looking ready to explode. Kirie, the brunette with mismatched eyes,  was causing trouble again and he was annoying Riki. The kid didn't know when to stop. Kirie crossed his arms while pouting as the others jeered and made fun of his idea. What was so wrong with it? The Blondies had done it before why not allow pets. He was even suggesting they enslave the Blondies which no one had succeeded in ever doing or attempting. Riki drank some of his beer glad to be allowed out to go to his favorite local bar with the others. Guy, Riki's pairing partner sat beside him with an arm wrapped around while the rest of Bison sat in a circle. They all seemed cheerful except Kirie. They had brushed off his ideas and simply came to the bar to drink. Just seeing Kirie made Riki want to reach out and choke the life out of him, but Guy kept him calm and relaxed as best as Guy could so Kirie still lived. Riki wasn't the only one to notice Kirie's attitude. Sid reached over and slapped Kirie on the back in a playful way trying to get him to relax. "Fuck you, Sid!" Kirie sputtered making Sid smirked. "Oh, look he's asking to be laid now." He pulled Kirie into his lap. "I would be more than happy to oblige you Kirie." Kirie struggled looking like the frightened thirteen year old he was. It wasn't the first Sid or Luke used him and took their pleasure from him. He looked to Riki for help but saw none pain and despair filling his eyes. He whimpered feeling Sid's hands slide into his pocket but then without warning his hand was yanked out by an angry Guy. "Quit it, Sid! Can't you see he doesn't want it?" Sid smirked some. "Oh, he wants it. This is just a game we play." Kirie whimpered again but Sid wasn't letting up. Riki growled and this time Sid let him go. Embarrassed and angry, Kirie shouted he didn't need their help. Riki couldn't help it, he just couldn't. He reached out and punched Kirie in the jaw looking like a savage animal. "Shut up you simpering whiney puppy." He growled at. Kirie shrank back and trembled in a corner. It wasn't long before Norris was nudging him. "Hey, Kirie you still crying. Come on, kid. I know you were embarrassed but you asked for that punch. Come and sit with me Maxxie." Kirie nodded and came sat with them. Unlike the others, Norris and Guy were the only two that cared about Kirie. Though Norris was the one who cared the most. He reminded him of his kid brother that died in front of Norris so he took Kirie under his wing. Maxxie wasn't impressed but never once argued with his pairing partner. He loved him too much for that knowing what Kirie meant to him. Kirie pressed into Norris wiping his tears away. There was already a large bruise on his face. He didn't say anything knowing he would just get in trouble if he spoke up. He honestly hated Riki. All Riki was some freaking pet to a stupid supercomputer so why did the others think him so great. He just couldn't get it. Finally, he couldn't take it. Never the bright one, Kirie stood up and pointed at Riki. "Why do we have to take crap from some pet? We should make our own turf and not listen to that stupid computer." The others all laughed but Guy looked worried knowing full well Riki hated being called a pet. "You don't know nothing kid. Just sit down and be a good boy or head back to our room for some fun," Luke said taking a drink of his scotch. Kirie paled some and backed away trying to back into Norris but Norris had had enough and had moved away. When Kirie got like this, it was best to stand back and watch the train wreck and then pick up the pieces afterwards. However, it seemed Kirie was saved in the nick of time by a commotion outside as a group of men and a single woman entered the bar. They all looked different and interesting. One in particular that seemed to be the leader of the group looked over at the booth the others were sitting and narrowed his eyes glaring at Riki. Riki froze having never felt so much hatred thrust at him like this before. He sat there rigidly until the group left after buying what they needed. Sid watched them go. "I bet they were Blondies." The others quietly agreed watching them go. Noone noticed that Riki had gotten up and slipped out the back way. He was curious about them. Why did he feel so much hatred floating about them like fog? The last thing he heard was Norris calling Kirie an idiot saying Blondies could change there looks. He didn't even hear Guy call out for him. He simply slipped outside and quietly followed after the group. He pulled the collar of his jacket up. Nights were still cold in Ceres and tonight as it started to grow dark was no exception. As he walked he could hear others around him asking each other if he was really Riki. Some said he couldn't possibly be since he was wearing his street clothes. All they had ever seen him was his elite garb he hated so much. He chuckled a bit as he listened but soon found that he had lost the group he was following. He started walking faster to catch up but suddenly found himself being grabbed and yanked back. He looked up to see the leader of Bison rival. The Jeeks' leader was a huge muscled man that was glaring down at him. "Look what we got here boys. It's Riki! Grab him!" Soon Riki found himself being held down as the leader brought a knife to Riki's throat. "You know Riki we don't like you and what you are doing to Ceres so we'll just take you out here and now. You should have stayed home in your nice safe cage Pet." Riki struggled but then whimpered feeling the knife prick his skin causing his neck to bleed. Fear flashed in his eyes before he closed them hoping no one had noticed. the jeers and taunts that reached his ears however told him that they had seen and were now laughing at him. Suddenly, it all went quiet and Riki opened his eyes. He looked up to see the stranger from before. He hadn't noticed before but now he could tell that the man had short silver hair. He watched as he pulled off the shades he had been wearing and Riki shrank back as he saw a pair of beautiful azure blue eyes. What made him shrink back was the look of utter hatred in them. He suddenly looked about him and saw the entire Jeeks' gang passed out. Riki stood up balling his fists. "I had it handled bastard!" He yelled running at him. Without warning, he felt a sharp pain in his neck and fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. Iason looked down at Riki. "Oh, it looked like you had it handled." He said frostily. Gideon chuckled from behind Riki. "Looks like his guard isn't here. Lets kill him now." Iason smirked some. "No, lets take him with us." With that he picked up the fallen Riki and stepped into the mist disappearing into it with the others following behind him. Noone noticed a pair of mismatched eyes watching them as they vanished into the night nor did they hear the sound of Kirie's dark laughter.