This was a really bad day.

A really really bad day.

You tensed at the sound of what was no more than 5 thugs noisily crowding you in the alley you just happened to be in. You silently prayed they didn’t have any interest in you.

“Hoi hoi!!! What’s this? Some little broad is lost tonight?” One of them belted out behind you, causing you to spin immediately in their direction. His cohorts cackled and jeered loudly. “Don’t you know you shouldn’t be out in bad places like this when it's getting dark? Who knows what dangerous situations you can get it?”  The ratty looking entourage advanced into your space, pushing you back into the dark of the alley.

This was a really bad day.

A really really bad day.

It started with breakfast, learning at the absolute last minute that you had absolutely nothing to cook. Not even rice, or even so much as an egg. For Christ's sake there wasn’t even any milk or cereal. You needed kick your own ass later for being so careless.

You headed to work, hungry, but thought you’d be able to get a quick snack at your job site. The pre-made tuna salad looked good, sitting seductively in its container at the local vendor. You were going to buy it and teach it a lesson for being such a naughty, tasty looking tuna salad.
But it looks like it taught you a lesson instead. Always check the expiration date. The mayo didn’t quite turn, but the tuna itself tasted dank as fuck. You conceded to the salad and ate crackers instead. You would be near starving by the time you got off.

You picked up a bad habit of feeding your unfinished food to stray animals, namely cats. A habit you picked up from a friend who had a similar interest in feeding strays. The bad tuna salad was only a couple days bad, not nearly rancid, but at least still good enough to feed some strays.
And that’s how you ended up in the middle of an alley at dusk in your work clothes, hand bag in one hand, container of betrayal in the other. With 5 skeevy looking men closing in on you quicker by the moment.

This was a really bad day.

A really really bad day.

Shaking in almost a cold sweat, you weighed your options here.Their echoing chuckles and seedy looks told more than you wanted, but you weren’t going down without one hell of a fight. Your battle outfit: sensible, knee length, dark grey dress. Smart looking, matching cardigan. Loose fitting, milky cream white button up blouse. Black thigh high stockings and a pair of flats, equipped specially for your trek home that evening. You were ready to rumble. All you needed now was something to fight back with. You scanned the ground around you, eyes falling on the gleam of a discarded bottle of Gassan sake. Perfect! You’d beat your way past these thugs and run to freedom, victory lap all the way home.

Snatching the bottle up quickly you gripped it tightly by the neck. The gang stopped, glaring at you and the bottle, their criminally jocular mood dissipated once it became obvious what you had in mind. In a swift motion you bashed it against the wall near you, only to receive a rather loud, hollow clunk as it met with the wall without so much as a crack.

Fuck.

Panic.

Wait no.

Don’t panic. Plan B.

The gang’s collected growl told you they weren’t happy with your display. But you had another trick up your sleeve.

You took another firm grip on the bottle neck, reeling your arm back tightly, and launched the bottle full force velocity, then launched yourself full force behind it.

They saw it coming, and took no time dodging the stray bottle, and to grab you as you attempted to break past them. Roughly they slammed you ass first on the oily, murky concrete.

Alright. Panic.

“Hoi you wretched bitch! What that hell’er you think you’re trying to do!?” Cracking knuckles and growing anger washed over them. You screwed your eyes shut, knowing that you fucked up royally, but now terrified for your life. Your mind racing on what to do next, calling for help would serve to make things worst, but it might garner the attention you need just to save you. You heard scraping iron against concrete, dragging closer to you among the footsteps of your impending doom. You inhale, preparing yourself to scream for help…

“Oi…. What’s this?”
A deep, sulky voice, quiet but clear. Your eyes snapped open, the gang stopped in their tracks, turning to the source of the voice behind them. “Who the fuck are you?” They chuffed in vexation, turning their full attention to the intruder.

“Doesn’t matter who I am… What the hell are you even doing?”

“What are you some sort of hero?” You couldn’t see who they were talking to from your place on the ground, but the voice… you were positive… “Don’t fuck with us!” They spat venomously, leaving you behind in the darkness as they went after their new target.

A quiet chuckle reached your ears. “I’m no hero… But I am your nightmare….”

It hit you suddenly, you knew just who was saving your ass right now, and holy shit you couldn’t have been more pleased to hear his voice.

“Tch… This joker thinks he’s funny!” One said, out of your view as they crowded the intruder. Metal dragged along the concrete as you watched the gang suddenly back up. “Whoa, Whoa!” “Are you fucking crazy?!”  They yelped and scattered, dodging the swinging pipe that you finally got a quick glimpse at. “He is fucking crazy! Bail!” As the gang took off out of sight, you still sat on the cold concrete of the alley way while your savior glared at the gangs retreat. His slumped over figure with a 3 foot pipe in hand turned attention to you as he slowly shuffled in your direction.

“Oh God.” You breathed a sigh of relief as he approached you, tossing the rusted pipe aside. “I didn’t know what was going to happen to me…” You wrung forced smile to your lips, trying to hide the sweaty panic you were in from being so goddamn close to being fucking raped. He glared down at you, eyes dull, listless and what looked to be a permanent downcast frown on his lips. You bristled nervously, positive he was pissed at you.

He extended his hand down to you to help you to your feet. You took it shyly as you mumble another thanks dusting off your clothes. Twisting your mouth again into what you felt was a smile, you choked out a goofy chuckle. “Thanks for helping me o-”

He popped you in the forehead, hard at that.

Your hands immediately shot up as you hissed loudly. “Yow! What the hell, Ichimatsu!?”
“Dumbass! What part of stay out of the alleys around here did you not get?!” He growled at you. “Are you wanting someone to hurt you?” His face inched close to yours, eyes bloodshot, teeth gritting. Crowding your space gradually. “Cause all you had to do was as-… Y-You’re bleeding…” He stopped short in front of you. You backed up a bit from him, although you knew he was more bark than bite, the mention of blood caught your concern. He pulled your hands from your head, looking to see if you had actually gotten roughed up, but your own quick glance at your palms revealed a rather nasty looking gash in your right hand. You must have gotten it from some broken glass when ass-planted in the alley.

He furrowed his brow in a moment of frustration, muttering under his breath as he pulled the sleeve of his sweater over his palm to mop the smeared blood from your forehead and grabbing your good hand to lead you out the alley in quite a huff. You knew where he was headed, and frankly you got just a bit nervous.

“Um… Ichimatsu?”

“Nn.” He replied.

“… Aren’t your brothers going to be home?”

“Today is allowance day… They’re all at pachinko.”

You noticed his grip getting a bit tighter as he padded hurriedly along with you in tow, you grinned a bit to yourself as you briefly remembered a time when he would barely look you in the eye, let alone protect you from a gang of creeps.

“Ichimatsu… How did you even know I was back there?”

“… I didn’t… I was just making sure they weren’t trying to harm the cats that usually stay there.”

You couldn’t help but chuckle. He was as one tracked as ever.

“…. You know… …That nightmare line was corny as hell.”

“… Sh-shut up…”