Chapter 6 (Volume 1)

CHAPTER 6 V1 

The present time... 

The hand clamping over her mouth was big and strong. His grip was harder than the soldier's but didn't show any aggression. The footsteps skid to a stop once they round the corner. “Where did that little bitch go?” a voice snarled as the footsteps split up.

After a couple seconds of standing there in the dark without moving, he slowly released his hand off her mouth. 

"I think they're gone..." He says quietly. 

Yumei didn't care if he saved her or not, she didn't know who this was, so without thinking she spun around attempting to punch his face, but he caught her fist effortlessly, his hand closing around her small fist as if it were a child's toy.  

"Is it really that hard to say 'Thank you?'" he said with a smirk.

Their eyes finally adjusted to the dark. 

"Oh." They both say at the same time. 

"Hey Alakan. Lovely day, don't ya think?" He says, his smirk returning. 

Yumei couldn't believe her 'luck.' Of all people, it was Tadashi Meyers, the stupid school jock. All the girls drooled over him. The irony was almost comical. Of all the people in the school, why did he have to still be alive? This is the teen who made her highschool life hell. 

Before she could react, the sounds of approaching footsteps came fast towards their location. Tadashi put a finger to his lips. 

"Find her! Now!" a voice boomed from beyond the closet door. 

The closet door handle rattled, the metal shrieking as it began to turn.
Thinking on his feet, Tadashi quickly lowered Yumei to the ground, the movement impossibly silent. He grabbed a pile of the Janitor's discarded overalls, and draped them over them as he laid on Yumei. 

His weight pressed heavily on her, and his knee shifted and accidentally rubbed against her injured calf. A cry of pain threatened to escape, but Tadashi anticipated it, his hand clamping over her mouth before the sound could leave her lips.  

'Why me?' She says in her head. This is her bully, for Pete's sake.

The closet door creaked open a fraction, then paused. The sounds of gunfire and shouting erupted from the hallway, followed by the frantic scramble of retreating feet. After a few moments, Tadashi got up, lifting Yumei to her feet with effortless strength.

"Run," he said, the word a quiet command.

Tadashi sprinted, his movements blurring into a streak of motion. Yumei barely registered the pain in her leg, lost in the frantic pace. He looked back at her and noticed how slow she was and her slight limp so he scooped her up into his arms without breaking stride.

To be continued...