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"OI!" She hollered. "LEAVE HIM! HE'S JUST A KID!"
Tomoko Higashikata did not know how she got roped up in this mess. Sure, she may have overstayed her welcome at the new arcade place and had gotten into a fight that made her nose bleed when it was already late out, and sure, she may have impulsively tried to walk back home even though she could've used the bus, but, still.
Well. At least she knew the route she was taking.
And her decisions led to this; her stumbling upon two punks kicking a kid (he couldn't have been older than nine) in the stomach.
The kid was sobbing, eyes screwed shut- his knees were scraped as well. She doesn't know what he did to piss those two off, but he was still just a kid. A kid who was probably lost.
They turned to her with matching sneers, and she clenched her fists even tighter.
"I'm warning you two," Tomoko growled, narrowing her eyes. "Cut that shit out or I'm kicking your asses."
The one with a poorly done buzz cut's eyes flicked to her bat and sucked in a breath. "Maybe we should leave," He suggested. "I've heard of her. Heard of her temper."
The one with the jacket scoffed. "Big deal, we could probably handle-"
Tomoko acted on impulse.
Blood, for lack of a better word, exploded everywhere as Tomoko hit him in the face, not even holding back on her punch. She doesn't care that the pavement or her hand was coated in blood, but she internally winced seeing a few specks of red covering her uniform.
"BRO!" The first guy cried out, taking several steps away from her.
The second guy stumbled back as well, clutching his face. "AUGH, YOU CRAZY SON OF A BITCH! YOU BROKE MY NOSE!"
Panting, Tomoko narrowed her eyes even more. "And you deserved it."
She wiped her blood from the nose. Mustering up the most threatening tone she could manage, she pointed at the two. "And your kneecaps will be next if you don't get the hell outta here!"
Like most people, it seems that they valued their kneecaps. So they bailed, cursing her out as they ran off into the night.
She scoffed, straightening her posture and crossing her arms. "Cowards."
And she felt something attach to her leg. Tomoko bit down a yell as she saw-
The kid. Now as she took a closer look, she noted that he had black, messy hair, and looked so, so tired.
And that he was mumbling into her skirt.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou-"
"Whoa, whoa, slow down. You okay, kid?" She asked, her tone softening. She can't help it, Tomoko's softer around kids.
"... No." ... In hindsight, that was a stupid question.
"Everythin' hurts..." He mumbled, releasing her leg as he clutched his stomach. "Don't think anythin's bleedin', though..."
Tomoko crouched down to his eye level and frowned. "Think you can walk home?"
A head shake. "Well... The police station where my dad works is nearby, you good walk to there?"
Another head shake. This is bad. She bit her lip, before extending a hand. "I can give you a piggyback ride...?" Tomoko offered, tone unsure. She points at her pompadour-esque hair, topped with a yellow headband and a ponytail. "Watch the hair, though."
The boy took a moment to think, before nodding. As he clambered on her back, he asked one thing.
"Why?"
"Huh?" She managed, slowly getting up. "Why what? Why those jerks came after you?"
"No." Tomoko couldn't see him, due to him being on her back, but she assumed that his face was the definition of 'lost in thought.' "Why'd you help me?"
She went quiet, already making her way to the station. Tomoko thought to herself- why DID she help him? She could've let him get hurt, the station was nearby...
"...Because I wanted to help." She finalized. "That's all."
She couldn't see it, but the boy's eyes widened in wonder like he had discovered the meaning of life. "Oh."
He held on tighter. "Okay."
The walk to the station was silent, and it seemed that the kid was a fast sleeper, as he was out cold by the time she got there.
"Dad!" She called out, looking around the station. Officers called out to her, trying to get her attention since- well, she WAS bleeding, but she paid them no mind.
She feared that she somehow got the wrong station.
Her dad, fortunately, was on his shift, and he widened his eyes seeing Tomoko and the sleeping kid. "Koko!" He said, rushing to her. "Are you okay? What's with the kid?"
She rolled her eyes. "'M fine, just walking home. But the kid's got hurt bad, think you can handle him for me?"
Her dad nodded, and she let him take the kid from her back. "We'll try to look for his parents," he assured. "But young lady, what you did was-!"
She tuned him out at that point.
After his tirade, Tomoko suppressed the urge to groan. "Okay, dad, I'll go home now. Can I borrow yo-"
"Absolutely not."
"Fine. See ya later, dad." She gave him a quick, if a little mocking, salute, and went out the door.
"...What am I going to do with her?"
Ryohei sighed.
Not that she would hear him, anyway.
As she exited the station, she realised that it was much later than she thought. The street was illuminated by stars and street lamps only.
She doesn't feel like she can walk home anymore.
Tomoko thanked the fact that it's a Friday night- or Saturday midnight. Depends.
She heard the door creak open and saw her dad, and raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were with the kid," she pointed out.
"He's with the station for now," he informed, getting his bike. "As much as I wanna stay with him, I can't let my daughter walk home all by herself this late."
She couldn't find it in her to argue. "Is he going to be okay?" Tomoko whispered.
"I hope so," her dad replied. "Now, get on, I'm taking you home."
Wordlessly, she got on.
As the station left her view, she realised she never got the boy's name.
Setting her jaw, Tomoko concluded she could ask another day.
She just hoped he'll get home safe.
…
She never saw him again.
And life moves on.
Years later, when she has a degree under her belt and a sickly child to care for, a young man helped her car get out from a ditch.
And Tomoko felt an odd sense of familiarity with that man, and the young man could say the same about her.