Chapter Text
The running girl's footsteps echoed loudly between the asphalt and the residential buildings. A bunch of angry boys followed her, shouting all sorts of nasty things through the night air.
‘Stop running, you little whore. We'll get you anyway!’
Asa gritted her teeth and tried to sprint even faster. Her mouth filled with the taste of blood and her throat felt like a grater. Her eyes darted from left to right, up and down, trying to find a way out to shake off the guys behind her. She was headed straight for a barbed wire fence that fenced off an industrial backyard from unwanted visitors. It was all or nothing.
Panting with exertion, she slipped out of her ragged synthetic leather jacket as she ran and threw it over the barbed wire, leaping up the barrier in two long strides. As she jumped to the other side of the fence, she clumsily snatched the jacket with her feet and the barbed wire scraped her hip as she fell.
The blonde teenager cursed and glanced back as she ran. Although her pursuers were physically well above her, they were nowhere near as nimble as she was. Her heart leapt when she saw how the chubby boys tried unsuccessfully to jump up the fence and only hurt their hands.
‘Fuck you, you stupid wankers!’ she laughed at them and disappeared into the darkness of the car park.
In the end, it was an evening like any other for the 14-year-old. After taking her friend home, she was surprised by a group of slightly older boys on her own way home.
Since she usually didn't engage with the pick-up attempts and instead kicked the cockiest of them in the shin, she had no choice but to make a quick getaway. With a loud sigh of relief, she pushed her arms through the worn jacket sleeves, pulled the jacket over her shoulders with a tug and patted down the inside pockets on her upper body. Short fingers fished a crumpled packet of cigarettes out of the breast pocket and continued to search the rest of the pockets. To no avail. Naturally.
Asa put a cigarette in her mouth and, lacking a lighter, chewed on the filter. The night air was pleasant and the sweat slowly cooled on her skin.
Which way, wanderer? The girl looked around blankly.
The escape had brought her to a largely unfamiliar neighbourhood. She strolled through the car park and looked around the industrial grounds. A few production halls. An office building. A few forklift trucks that looked like lurking predators in the sparse light. On the other side of the compound, she could see the gatehouse. Something caught her attention.
Not far from her, she heard a rustling behind one of the production halls. She shoved her hands deep into the pockets of her jacket and quietly crept closer. What she heard was definitely an angry whisper. She felt queasy for a moment and hoped she wouldn't walk into the middle of a professional burglary. In the end, her thirst for adventure prevailed. Curious, she poked her head round the corner.
Less than a stone's throw away from her, two blonde boys were squatting on the ground, apparently arguing over a pile of banknotes lying on the ground in front of them. Asa took a deep breath and stepped in front of them. ‘Evening, boys.’ The muffled bickering stopped. She wiggled the cigarette between her lips. ‘You got a light?’ Two pairs of violet eyes stared at her bluntly.
‘Who are you?’
‘Why? Do you need my student ID to give me a light?’ Asa studied the boy who had answered her from head to toe. He scowled at her, but almost drowned in his too-large tracksuit. ‘Why not? You smoke? How old are you anyway?’ The girl blinked for a moment, but then began to laugh. ‘Anything else? Maybe my diaries from the last three years?’ The boy's gaze soured even more behind his large round glasses. ‘Get lost.’
She turned to the other boy, who hadn't said anything yet. Two braids framed his slightly more mature face and his tracksuit fitted like a glove. ‘What about you?’ The quiet teenager tilted his head. ‘My brother’s admittedly brash question still stands. Who are you?’ A sa thought for a moment and then squatted down, mirroring the braided boy. ‘Asa. I'm 16 and-.’ The scowling one of the two brothers interrupted her straight away. ‘ Does this property belong to your family? She had to laugh again. ‘That would be great. I wish it did.’
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed how the other one was now scrutinising her from head to toe. Did she pique his interest or had he caught her little lie? She went into the offensive. ‘And who are you? Do you have names or do I have to call you Pigtail & Dumpling?’
Pigtail snorted and turned his head to the side, Dumpling jumped up angrily and pushed the girl. ‘You seem to think you can get away with anything just because you're a bit older than us. But NOBODY talks to the Haitani brothers like that.’ Asa toppled backwards and caught her fall with her hands behind her back. ‘Haitani brothers?’ Something rang a bell. It was those two teenagers who were currently stirring up the whole Roppongi district. Catlike, the other brother turned back to the action and looked at her with drooping eyelids. ‘Do you get it now?’
The blonde girl clicked her tongue. ‘Hot shit. You guys are pretty cool, I hear.’ This remark seemed to put them both in a friendlier mood.
‘Rindou’ The boy with the dumpling-like hairstyle on his head shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants and nodded at Asa. ‘This is my brother Ran.’
The brother in question stood up and also stepped in front of the girl. He was taller than she had estimated at first glance and held out his hand to her. She grabbed it and pulled herself up against him. ‘Cool. So what’s up now? You got a light for me or not?’ Ran took a step closer - very close - and leaned towards her. Something clicked between them and a spark of flame flared up. Long, slender fingers held a lighter in front of her nose. ‘Sure.’
The girl lit her cigarette and did not take her eyes off the boy, who towered almost a head above her. Violet eyes stared down into pale green ones. ‘The question still stands, what are you doing here at this hour?’ Asa blew a solid puff of smoke in Ran's face and shoved him playfully away from her. ‘ Same.’ Curious, she looked behind him, at the pile of money on the floor. ‘Did you steal that? What's that pile of cash?’ Ran took in a breath to say something after some consideration, but Rindou beat him to it. ‘Fat Goro thought he could blackmail some nerds here. We took everything from him and charged him reasonable interest.’
The second Haitani brother strolled around the pile of banknotes and pushed a few bundles together with his foot. ‘Interest means double repayment and ... “ damages.” Briskly Asa followed up, knowing full well what he meant. ‘You mean you beat him up or what?’ The younger brother's laughter was enough of an answer. The face framed by braided pigtails turned to her with an unpleasant smile. ‘’You're not even that stupid, though you do talk kinda funny.’ Asa snorted and flicked her half-smoked cigarette at the bully. ‘Fuck you.’ Laughing, Ran jumped to the side and looked at her with a cheeky grin. ‘Foreigner, huh?’ The girl eyed Ran venomously. ‘Problem?’
Unconcerned, Ran picked up the half-smoked cigarette from the floor and blew the dirt off the filter. ‘Nah. Quite sweet, actually.’ The ciggy found its place between thin lips. ‘I like blondes.’ Heat spread under Asa's cheeks. Was the guy serious or was he picking on her? She suddenly felt uncomfortable in her scuffed jacket, holey tights and worn-through boots. His expression was hard to read. His tone of voice was similarly unreadable. ‘You're really scruffy, but kind of cute.’
Asa stared at Ran, completely perplexed. How old could he be? Going by what his brother had said earlier, younger than 16, right? But boys her age didn't talk like that. There was something about him that got under her skin. Her first reflex was to say something nasty back, she was sure the Haitani brothers were just messing with her. But her heart was also racing a little and she was relieved that they weren't beating her up, unlike the guys before. And the money made her curious. In the end, she mumbled something barely intelligible.
Rindou snapped to attention behind her. ‘Huh? What was that?’
Ran snickered shamelessly. ‘It's all right, brother. That wasn't meant for your ears.’
He suddenly put his arm around Asa and pulled her close to him. ‘The doll wants to keep us company. The girl wriggled out of his grip and stole back the cigarette she had started. ‘Don't call me that.’ Shaking her head she looked him up and down and huffed indignantly. ‘Gross.’ Ran's confused blink set Rindou off and he laughed gleefully. ‘I guess you're not as much of a heartthrob as you thought, brother.’
The spurned Haitani brother and the dingy street girl looked at each other in silence and something unfamiliar stirred in both of them.