Today Never Happened

Chapter One

Kysen

Rain in the well-known city I now call home never bothered me. While almost everyone on the streets stayed within their houses or apartments, I wandered with my hood up. Thoughts were always crowded in my mind and there was not many ways to clear them, but walks with just the calming sounds of the rain pounding on to the ground below my feet helped.

Today, however, was not a day I tried to calm my mind.

Today was a day I was waltzing away from the biggest gang in the city. The Purple Dragons knew every little thing about me and used the information as an advantage. They knew my past with not just my action of dropping out of school due to being expelled every other week, but also that my mother passed away when I was only five because of a gang in Salt Lake City.

The Dragons, whenever I came across them and I refused to give them what they wanted, they would taunt my mom's name to make me cave at their feet. It's only been a full month since I had moved here and they've caused more damage to me than I have myself.

Sooner or later, I would snap, and there was not a doubt in my mind that it would end horribly.

Pushing the door open, I listened to the ding of the bell and took in the familiar scent of the small restaurant. I smiled and pulled my hood down to reveal my half-dry head of long, black hair.

"Good afternoon, Kysen," Murakami greeted. "How are you?"

I rolled the sleeves of my black jacket up and walked behind the counter. "I'm alright," I lied. "You?"

"Oh, I am doing just fine. Today has been a good day for me. I made four new friends that saved my life a few days ago. Such friendly boys they are."

"That's good, Murakami," I said, although I was utterly confused at the mentioning of four males who supposedly saved his life. "How did these guys save your life?"

"They saved me from those Purple Dragons, dear." My fist collided with the counter in front of me and I grit my teeth. The thought of those men having a blade to the man I count as family made me fume with anger. Another reason to want to knock their front teeth out had just been marked on to my list. "Oh my. Kysen; I'm alright. The boys that saved me have been checking in on me daily. In fact, you thankfully just missed them."

"Thankfully?"

"Ah, never mind that. All you need to know is that you do not have to worry about my safety with those boys around," he said. Murakami sent me a smile that made me sigh.

Pulling him to me, I gave him a tight embrace. Not only did him telling me not to worry scare me, protection for him wouldn't always be present terrified me. Murakami was one of the few elder family members I had left in the world. I promised my grandparents and father before I moved on my own that I would try and protect him; but it wasn't me that protected him.

It was four strangers that he, for some odd reason, did not want me to meet.

"I'll be back later," I said. I backed towards the front door and pulled my hood back over my head. "I have to go deal with something quick."

"Alright, dear. Be safe."

_____

The rain drops had started to fall harder before I got to my destination. It caused me to shiver, but it didn't cool my boiling blood. I was fuming with anger and my knuckles ached for contact with the gang members' faces.

"Look at who it is, boys!"

Freezing in my tracks, I clenched my fists. Slowly, I retraced the few steps I took until I was standing in front of an alleyway. The four Purple Dragons I was just on my way to find stood besides a large dumpster. Fong was leaning against the brick building to his right, a smug look on his face.