Kiku Mori [H4] - You can get it wrong, and still you think that it's alright.
“Be quiet!” Dai said in a loud whisper.
“Dai, why? Why are you doing this to me?”
“It’s what you deserve. You lied to me, you fucking lied.”
“We weren’t even dating!”
Dai turned around, still sitting on her chest, facing her and stared at her with his cold eyes.
“You promised.”
“Dai, I know, we were both drunk and-”
“Yeah, I know, I talked to Taro already.”
A shiver ran through Kiku’s body.
“What? Like, in the game?”
“Yeah, before I came here, I saw Taro.” He had a roughness to his voice, even moreso then when he’s mentioned Taro in the past.
“What did you do to him? Don’t tell me you killed him!” She cried.
“I would have liked to. I really wanted to. But I know he’s not the one who betrayed me.” He said, holding the blade at her throat.
Kiku tried to swallow, but couldn’t.
“Dai, don’t do this! Under normal circumstances you wouldn’t!”
“But we’re not under normal circumstances, now, are we?”
“If you do, then what? Then what are you going to do? Probably kill yourself?”
Dai slowly pulled back the blade.
“What is this going to accomplish? You know I’m going to die anyway! Please, don’t take her life too. She hasn’t done anything wrong.” Kiku cried. “Just let her live first.”
“Well, how is that going to happen in the next three days, you’ve got a month left.”
“No, I don’t.” She sighed. “I have about 2 weeks left.”
“More lies!” He held the knife at her throat again. “What else have you been lying to me about? Your mother? Did you ever even love me?”
“Of course I loved you! Dai, please… You’ve known me for ages… You’ve seen me at my best… and my worst. What happened to that Dai? Not only do I love you, but you’re my best friend, the one person I’ve known I could always rely on…”
“Then why didn’t you just tell me, Kiku?” He asked, pulling back.
“I… I don’t know. I didn’t want to disappoint you. You’ve done so much for me over the years, I just couldn’t bear to disappoint you like that… Do you know how much you mean to me, Dai? I mean, if you hadn’t been there for me when I was ‘at my worst’…”
“Oh, you mean…?”
Kiku pulled out her cell and dialed the familiar numbers quickly. She wasn’t sure what time it was, but it had turned dark long ago. The party had lasted a while. Tears flowed onto her dress. She had bought it just for the party. And it had been so pretty too... It was red with lacy flowers across it. It was V-neck, and came to about mid-thigh. Not to mention she had worked her butt off to buy that dress!
“Hello?” The groggy voice answered.
“D-Daisuke?” Kiku asked, trying not to choke.
“Kiku? Kiku, what’s wrong?”
“Can you come get me?”
“Where are you?”
“At Shinobazudori and Kasugadori.”
“What are you doing there?”
“Please, just hurry!”
She hung up. It seemed as there were hardly any streetlights out here. All the nearby stores were closed. There was a shiver across her left thigh. The dress had been ripped to where there was a slit in the side, and it was freezing outside.
How’d you get like this? The role model A+ student... left out in the cold like she’s some homeless lowlife. I never should have gone to that party… I should have known he wasn’t interested in me. Guys like that… they’re not interested in 14 year old girls… Why didn’t I listen to Dai?
Her teeth were chattering as the mist escaped her mouth when she breathed. Her jacket was gone. She had left it when she ran out the door, trying to escape. Her mascara was running down her face through her tears and her hair had gone from the cute curls she had in it to a rat’s nest.
“Well, hello little girl.”
Kiku gasped and turned around. There was a man about in his thirties behind her, smoking a cigar. He smelled of beer. His clothes were ragged.
“How much?” He asked with a snicker.
“Wha…?” Her eyes widened, understanding what he meant. “No, I’m not...!”
“Why don’t ya let me take ya home, huh?”
She slowly backed up. “Please, just go away.”
He came towards her. “I’ll take real good care of you.”
“Go away!” she cried. She turned and ran off.
“Come back here, you little slut.”
She looked back. He was running after her. She could see something shiny in his hand.
How’d I get in this mess!?
She turned down a nearby alley, hoping to lose him. She looked back and couldn’t see him, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to stop running. As she neared the end of the block, she felt herself hit something, someone. As she fell, she felt arms go around her.
“Let me go!” She screamed, flailing her arms at the person.
“Kiku! It’s alright! It’s just me!”
She turned around, looked up at Daisuke, and wrapped her arms around him. She was so happy to see him she nearly cried.
“Kiku, what happened?”
“We need to get out of here.”
“Why?”
“Come back here!” The man yelled.
Kiku gasped and turned around. Now she could see the object in the man’s hand was a knife.
“Leave her alone!”
“Dai!” Kiku cried. She just wanted to leave.
“Well, well, well, who’s this? What, am I too old for you, darling? You’re new at this, aren’t you dear? You need a man with experience, not this kid. And for your virgin ass, I’ll give you a little extra cash.” He gave a slight chuckle.
What happened next seemed like a blur. Daisuke’s fist, blood squirting, gleam of the knife, and before she knew it, Daisuke had tackled the guy to the ground and grabbed out his pocket knife and held it to his throat.
“Leave her the fuck alone!”
Daisuke got up and the guy ran off. Kiku was still standing there, speechless.
“D-Daisuke...”
Daisuke turned around. He was holding his left arm with his right hand. Blood was oozing out from in-between his fingers. Kiku ran up to him.
“Dai! Oh my gosh, are you okay?”
“Yeah, just a little cut.”
“No, no it’s not.” Kiku ripped off the bottom part of her dress.
“What are you doing?”
“It’s ripped already. Besides, I don’t think I’d wear it again even if it were fixed.”
“What happened?”
Kiku bit her lip as she held back a cry as she remembered what all had gone on that night. “Don’t worry about it.” She wrapped his arm with the fabric.
“Kiku, you know I will.”
“You probably need stitches.”
“Kiku, you know you can tell me anything, why are you stalling?”
“Because…” She felt herself choking up. “Please… don’t…”
“Kiku…” His voice was soft and gentle, yet in a pleading tone.
“Y-You should probably get to a hospital…”
“I’m more worried about you.”
They got to where they were near the park.
“But… your arm…”
“It’s fine, I told you. Now come on.” He went and sat on a bench in the park, “Sit down.”
Kiku gulped and looked around.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let anyone else come near you.”
Kiku cautiously sat down next to Daisuke. “Daisuke, you scared me back there.”
“I...I scared myself actually. Kiku, you know I’m not the violent type. It’s just... when that guy was saying that stuff… It was like I wasn’t even thinking anymore. I just did it... Kiku, I wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt.”
He hugged her close.
“Thanks.” She thought of all that had just happened and began to cry again.
“Sh... it’ll be alright.”
Kiku looked up at Daisuke through her teary eyes. He pulled away from hugging her.
“Kiku, how’d you get a black eye?”
“Tatsumichi... I... He...”
“Tatsumichi did this to you?”
She nodded.
“Why?”
She burst into tears again. “Because, I resisted.” She sobbed out.
“Resisted...?” He asked, afraid.
“I resisted... so... he...”
“He beat you?”
“He forced me!”
Daisuke turned to her. “You mean... He... he raped you?”
She nodded as the tears flowed down her cheeks. He pulled her tight to him.
“Oh my gosh, Kiku, I...”
He cut off into silence. There was only the sound of her crying.
“Let’s go back to my house and get you warmed up.” He held her close as they walked. It was near 5:00 am. Hardly anyone was out, all the houses were dark.
“Is your mom home?”
“No, she’s out for the next few days.”
“You should stay with us. I don’t want you home alone.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, I’ll just tell my mother you thought you heard noises at your house and don’t feel safe.”
“Thanks.”
There was a silence as they walked.
“Kiku... why... why did you like him?”
“I don’t even know anymore. I suppose I did just because he’s the star player of the basketball team and the guy every girl wants to date. And, I dunno, the fact he was older and interested in me, I just felt like a million bucks…”
“But he’s not the guy you deserve.”
She looked up at him. He stared straight into her eyes.
“We...We ought to get some ice on that.”
They went inside Daisuke’s house and up to his room. Kiku lied down on his bed.
“I know I deserve someone better, but there never seems to be the right guy, you know?”
“Mhm. I’m going to get some ice for you.”
“What about your arm? Seriously, you need stitches I think.”
“Nah, it’s already healing. See? If I just wrap it, it should be fine.”
“… If you say so… I still think you need stitches.”
Daisuke left and came back with a plastic bag full of ice. He pulled a chair up next to Kiku’s head and placed the bag gently over her eye. She flinched as it touched her skin.
“I don’t think the perfect guy exists.” She said.
“What’s ‘the perfect guy’?”
“You know, the nice guy, who’ll never yell at me, or hit me, or make me do something I don’t want to. And he’ll always respect me, and treat me like I’m something special. Something he’s proud of. Someone who’ll call me everyday...”
“Someone who’ll protect you from danger. Someone who will take care of you no matter what. And when you get hurt, he’ll be there, right by your side, doing everything he can to make you better.”
“Precisely. He’d-”
She stopped. It suddenly hit her. Daisuke was all those things. What was wrong with him? She lifted her head up and looked at him.
“You...You should lay back down.”
“But...”
“Really, you should.” He pressed his other hand lightly against her head and pushed it back down.
She sighed. “Alright.” A smile formed on her lips. “Of course, I could be wrong. Maybe there is a perfect guy out there somewhere. I’ve just never realized it.”
“I… Yeah…” He smiled back at her.
Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to give Daisuke a chance. But, right now? It’s... it’s too soon. And, it seems like he might like me too... Though, what if it’s just being friendly?
She got discouraged at the thought. Wait... she shouldn’t care if he liked her or not. In fact, she should hope he didn’t, right?
But still... the way he’d look at her, the way he’d smile...
She gently closed her eyes and smiled.
“And now you’re no better than him.” Kiku cried.
“But… I…”
“I think I was right… There is no such thing as the perfect guy. I thought you were, Dai…”
“Kiku… I…”
Dai looked up and suddenly pulled back away from her.
What?
Kiku looked over the same direction as Daisuke and noticed a figure approaching. As the light came upon his misshapen face, she recognized who it was immediately.