Dangerously In Love

~𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑶𝒏𝒆~

*𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐷𝑎𝑦*

𝑫𝒂𝒚 𝒏 𝑵𝒊𝒕𝒆,
𝑰 𝒕𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏
𝑰 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈
𝑴𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅
𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆
𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒔
𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚...

DaMario sat by his lonesome on the rooftop of the Sensō-Ji temple with nothing but his calming music to keep him company. This was the new normal nighttime routine for him, however, and he didn't complain one bit about it. It was quiet, almost peaceful. Most nights wouldn't be this calm, usually, he'd have to face anything that would be a threat to his precious city, whether it'd be a villain or an almost everyday criminal. He felt a slight breeze blow passed him but his suit kept him warm and cozy for the time being. Although it was warm, it wasn't as comfortable as he thought it would be. The boots he was wearing were like steel and his pants were scratchy. His fingers ached in the gloves and the metal jingasa was giving him the worst headache, as to why he took it off and set it down beside him. Taking out a little jerky snack, DaMario unwraps it with ease and takes a bite out of it as he looked down at the civilians walking around with either their children, spouses, or just by themselves. He'd stare at the couples and would think about what it'd be like to have someone to love like that. Relationships were never really his thing, though. Occasionally a girl or two would come his way, but he never wanted to date any of them. As he took another bite of his meat snack, his phone vibrated repeatedly in his pocket. The device was connected to the suit, almost like a Bluetooth, but better. He pauses his music before answering, "Yeah? What's up?" "Hey man, I think it's okay for you to go home now. I've checked and there's nothing villainy going on in that part of town nor is there anywhere else." It was his best Afro-headed friend, Phoenix King. A friend, indeed, but he also acted as his manager whenever Mario went into superhero mode. "Good, I could barely keep my eyes open anyway and I think my stomach is cussing me out." DaMario joked with a deep chuckle. "All I had earlier was breakfast and miso soup that I had with it. Right now I'm eating nothing but a meat stick, and it's dry as hell might I add.." he could hear Phoenix snickering in the background. "Well if you hurry you can get some instant noodles down at NewDays. They don't close until around 1 AM." "What time is it now?" "It's 11:35 PM right now, you have time before it closes." Grabbing his jinsaga and placing it on his head, DaMario stands up and finishes the rest of his snack then puts the empty wrapper in his pocket. Convenient store food sounded great, better than what he already had at home. There was a pack of unopened sashimi in his fridge that needed to be trashed, sadly. "I'd come over so we could chill, but I have stuff to do over here. I'll meet up with you tomorrow, sound good?"  Mario agreed with that plan and they both said their goodbyes before hanging up. He eyed the town one last time before leaping off the back of the building so that no one would notice him and he was free to disappear within the shadows.

                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~

From where DaMario was, the stroll to NewDays was a long one. He stopped by his apartment to change out of his suit and slipped into his favorite grey slug hoodie and a comfortable pair of red basketball shorts with black and white tennis shoes. He finally made it around 12 AM and proceeded through the sliding doors of the convenient store. The normal stares he would get from everyone wasn't as bad, seeing as there were only three to four people shopping in here. The cashier leered at him with judgment, but Mario only ignored his stares and went on about his business. The little store had almost everything when it came to snacks or having a quick bite to eat when you're busy. Noodles, packaged foods, drinks, snacks, it was all here. How convenient. DaMario moped around until he found the noodle section with various types of noodles to choose from. Sighing, he rubbed his toasted-brown hand over his freckled face and began his search on which noodles he wanted to take home. Beef, chicken, seafood, cheesy, spicy, cold noodles....but no instant Ippudo Ramen. Internally groaning, he picks up three beef flavored ramen noodles, two cheesy ramen noodles, and one spicy ramen noodle. "This should keep me alive for a bit, or at least hold me out until I go grocery shopping again.." he yawned out. Taking out his phone, he checked the time and yawned once again. The sound of feet padding their way around the corner and into the same aisle he was in made him glance away from his precious noodles to see who it was. It was a woman that looked about twenty-ish and she wore a white, baggy t-shirt and magenta-colored leggings with beige, furry boots to go along with the outfit. Her hair was blue and up in a messy bun with a pink headband on. Not wanting to seem weird or creepy for staring, DaMario looked away for a while before glancing back at the woman. She was on the phone with someone and seemed agitated about something. "Girl I checked everywhere in this damn store! They don't have that mochi shit you like. No, I'm not gonna look again because I already looked about 50 times already." The blue-haired woman exaggerated and rolled her eyes. "I'll just buy you some noodles and some green tea pocky. Is that okay? Good." He watched as she hung up the phone then picked up two boxes of pocky and quickly looked away again when she started to come over to where he was. Mario was caught off guard after he felt a finger poking his shoulder. "Excuse me," he turned around to face the limestone skinned woman. Her eyes were a beautiful dark brown. "Is there any Instant Ippudo Ramen over there. My friend loves that stuff and I'm trying to buy a couple for her." Her voice kinda sounded like all the female's voices back home in Chicago. "Nah, they're fresh out of the good stuff. They have beef and chicken and some other flavors though." Reaching back, DaMario grabs a beef-flavored noodle package and handed it to the woman in which she thanked him with a warm smile. "Thanks, and uh, I like the red dreads and the face tats. They look good on you~" she complimented him and made him grin a bit. "Heh, thanks. I was gonna say I like your hair too. You don't see much colorful hair around here that often." They two share a few laughs here and there and talked a little more before the cashier finally cussed them out in Japanese for them to hurry up and purchase their items. DaMario grabbed a cold drink from the fridge and the girl grabbed two before purchasing them at the counter. They strolled out of the store together and stopped in front of it as the doors closed. "Um, it's DaMario by the way, but my friends call me Mario for short. What's yours?" He asked her with some sort of interest now. She smiled at him with pearly whites. "It's Isis, Isis Lee."  𝐼𝑠𝑖𝑠..What a peculiar name. It had a nice ring to it. After exchanging a few more words, the two-part ways and DaMario heads back to his apartment to indulge in the delicious delicacies that were ramen noodles.

                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was late as hell and started to get colder by the second, which encouraged the freckled-faced man to hurry up and get back home. He carried the two bags of ramen noodles and drinks as he walked down the street sluggishly from how fatigued he was. DaMario rubbed his eyes tiredly and after he turned a corner, he noticed the sound of footsteps behind him. The strangers must've been following him for a while and he just didn't notice. Without seeming too suspicious, he makes a sharp turn and cuts through the alleyway, but it was a dead end. "Great, just my luck.." he groans out in annoyance. Turning around to walk back out, he saw that there were three other men blocking the way. They all looked fairly young, maybe nineteen or twenty-ish. The ones on the left and right were skinny but had some muscle build to them and the man in the middle was burly looking. "Hey there buddy,.." the one in the middle, assuming he was the leader, spoke gruffly with a weird, creepy grin plastered on his face. DaMario scoffed as he already knew where this was headed. "Listen, we don't want any trouble, just hand over the wallet and whatever shit you have in that bag and the gentlemen and I will be in our way~" The man insisted before gesturing to the other men to take out their weapons, which were medium-sized pocket knives. They all began to chuckled darkly but stopped and eyed Mario as he placed the bags down beside him and proceeded to remove his hoodie. "The hell are you doing man?" The three men stood there and stared at the red-dreaded man with a look of confusion on their faces. DaMario drops his hoodie down next to the bags, cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders in slow, circular motions before turning towards the men again. The look that was on his face went from tired and bored to something more deadly and vicious. "I don't wanna get any blood on it, that's why I took it off." He stated smugly before getting into a fighting stance. Aggravated, the leader of the two pulled out his own weapon, a dull-looking switchblade that was kept in his back pocket just for this occasion. "So you wanna be cocky, huh asshole?" The man began to walk slowly to Mario and soon that slow stroll turned into a sprint, his switchblade gripped tightly Ashe was ready to gut him like a fish. "Let's see how big and bad you are after I gauge your fucking eyes out!" At this point, everything seemed to be moving quickly. The man had every intent to aim right for his abdomen, but before even the tip could pierce Damario's skin, he'd grab the wrist that held the switchblade with his left hand, squeezing his grip to make him drop it before immediately coming in with a right hook, connecting it clean against his jawline. "Son of a bitch!" The man shrieked in agony as he doubled over, giving DaMario the opportunity to grab the mans head and swiftly knee him right the nose. The impact was so hard that he was positive that it was broken. The man roared in pain while the other two decided to both rush him at the same time. If he was still tired, it would've worked. One managed to graze Mario's shoulder with his pocket knife, but the small victory quickly came to an end. With quickness, he grabs his arm and twists it behind his back before ramming him into the cold brick wall and keeps him there. The other man thought he could pull a fast one and attack him from behind, but DaMario briskly gave him a donkey kick to this midsection, sending him flying to the other wall and making a slight crack in the bricks. The man he had pinned against the wall started to cuss him out and tried to escape his grip. Gripping the back of his head, he slams it into the wall with enough force to knock him out only, not kill. "You all really could've avoided all of this. Who fights over a couple of cups of ramen? Geez.." DaMario questioned the events of what just happened while slipping his hoodie back on and picking up his snack bags again. He whistled his favorite song and scuffed out of the dark alley, leaving the two men unconscious and one still writhing on the ground in pain. A little while later, he makes it back home safe and sound and enjoys his well-deserved noodle dinner.