"Heads up!"

I turned my head and saw a dagger flying towards me. Instinct took over, and I quickly deflected it with the dagger in my hand. The thrown dagger clattered away from me and slid across the ground a couple feet away. Glaring up at Gray who was clearly the culprit, I growled, "What was that about?"

Gray suddenly broke out into a grin. "I knew it."

"What?" I asked.

"Are. You. Ready?" Whistle Man's voice rang throughout the arena. "On your marks, get set, go!"

It took me a full second to get what was going on. The screams from the crowd snapped me out of it. Before I could even observe the scene though, Gray charged at me.

"Woah!" I cried as I narrowly dodged his strike.

He attempted again to aim for my side, but I blocked his attack with my dagger. I wanted to look over to my other opponents to see what was going on, but Gray was too fast and skilled. Somehow, it looked as if he was only using half of his speed and power while I was using my full strength just to block off his attacks. Continuous clangs echoed throughout the field.

Gray seemed to be mildly surprised. "Not bad for a daydreamer like you."

I clicked my tongue, annoyed and drove him towards the wall that was behind the targets. Our daggers clanged against each other again, and I tried to push him until his back was against the wall. Suddenly the weight of his dagger was gone, and I almost fell over. When I regained balance, I looked up again. My heart almost stopped. Gray ran towards the walls at full speed and didn't show any interest in stopping.

"Gray!" I yelled.

Just as his name left my voice, Gray ran up the wall and did a backflip, high in the air, and soared over me. I stood there stunned. Everything about the fight flew out of my mind. No way....

Why did I just see him in Gray? The exact same form and style. When he backflipped on the tree and when Gray backflipped against the wall, they were both so similar. And it was the same when Gray was throwing daggers. Gray's structure and the way the both of them threw their dagger were too much alike. But for some reason, Gray somehow seemed to be more sturdy—

A sudden force against my back jerked me out of my mind. I was slammed against the wall and a familiar cool sensation touched my neck. I gasped and squinted through my dotty vision.

In front of me, Gray frowned. "Daydreaming during a match? Not good."

I tried to shake myself loose but Gray's arms had me pinned against the wall. My dagger was thrust out of my hands while I was still shaky and fell a few feet away from me. My mind raced as I tried to find a new way to escape. Gray pressed against me harder.

The crowd suddenly roared loudly. Despite the position I was in, I stole a peek over Gray's shoulder to where the crowd was yelling at and felt my eyes widen.

Gray's head moved, blocking my view. "Hey, are you even focusing on the match?"

I didn't answer. Gray nudged the hilt of his dagger against my throat. "Hey. You listening, daydreamer?"

"I'm sorry," I said quietly.

"What?" Gray asked.

As soon as the words left his mouth, I grabbed his arm and kicked him in the groin. Gray doubled over and gasped. Quickly, I wrenched the blade from his hands and started to run.

I launched myself in the air and kicked the man fighting the woman. Instantly, confusion erupted from the crowd. The man went flying a few feet away from the woman. Groaning slightly from the numb impact in my legs, I bent down and helped the crying woman up.

"You alright?" I asked, swinging her arm around my neck.

"Y-yes," she grimaced painfully, holding the side of her waist.

"What did he do?" I asked.

She smiled grimly, her face dirt-streaked. "Well you know, not that much. Just a few kicks here and there."

"Why did you even come here if you know you can't fight?" I grumbled, struggling to hold her weight against mines.

She coughed up blood and just shook her head.

Suddenly, I was jerked away from the woman. I turned around to see Whistle Man's angry face turned at me. Behind him stood the silver haired man, his head tilted down so I couldn't see his face. Whistle Man's grip tightened. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I should be asking you that question," I spat, yanking my shoulder away from him. "Are you just going to standby and watch this woman get beaten to death by him?"

"That's not your problem, girl," Whistle Man sneered. "This is crowd entertainment. Before joining, everyone should know that there is a risk of possibly losing...something on the battlefield here. Now move aside and don't interrupt!"

He shoved me away, and I stumbled back a few steps. Whistle Man reached for the woman, who was fainting in and out of conscious from her pain. He grabbed her hair and yanked her face up. "What are you doing on the ground, huh? Stand up and fight! Fight!"

I watched in horror as blood started to drip from her nose and forehead. My feet were rooted in place and for some reason, my voice could not work. The crowd roared loudly but to me, it was faint. So faint, I could barely hear it over my breathing. Finally, the woman could not remain silent and screamed out in pain. "Please! Stop! I-I won't fight anymore so please!"

Her voice brought me back. Suddenly, I felt myself fill with adrenaline, and I shot forward. I pointed the dagger's tip into Whistle's Man neck and pressed down lightly. He froze. The crowd went silent.

"Drop her," I said, my voice deadly calm.

He dropped her hair, and the woman's head hit the ground with a sickly thud. I tried not to focus on her bleeding figure as I stared at the dagger.

"Y-you better think about that girl," he stammered, his voice angry but shaky. " There's a crowd here. Do you think—"

"Oh don't worry," I smiled sweetly. "This is, afterall, just for the crowd's entertainment."

I pressed the dagger deeper into his neck, and he squeaked. Before I could do anymore, the sliver-haired man behind him stepped in. If I had not seen him coming from my peripheral view, I would've jumped and accidentally thrust the dagger into Whistle's Man throat.

"Wait," I heard him say behind me. His voice was rough and scratchy, but calm and full of authority. "Don't hurt him. I'll bring a doctor right away to tend to her if you let him go."

I looked over my shoulder and narrowed my eyes at the man. He stared back and didn't flinch even when I stood up and walked right up to him until there was only a foot away from us. Whistle Man behind me hurried and hid behind the man.

"If you're planning on duping me..." I hissed quietly but didn't bother finishing my sentence.

"Thank you. I'm sorry on behalf for this man's rude behavior," the sliver-haired man bowed towards me. I didn't respond and waited for him to fulfill his promise. "A doctor! We need a doctor!"

At once, a few people from the crowd emerged to the front. They crowded around the woman who seemed to had blacked out. I hovered over them and asked, "Will she be alright?"

"She just endured a lot of pain and fainted from it. It seems like her body is used to tolerating pain," one of them said. "She'll be fine after a few days of medication and rest."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."

The doctors carried her out, and I started to follow them. A hand rested on my shoulder and I turned around to see Gray standing behind me. "Where are you going?"

"I'm making sure she's going to be okay," I said, pushing his hand off my shoulder.

"The doctors already said she would be okay," he responded.

"Right but if she isn't and those doctors were just a fluke," my eyes connected with Whistle Man's and narrowed. "I'm coming back for him."

"That's great but right now you need to at least finish the fight," Gray said.

Around me, the crowd began booing. I scanned the audience and realized they were all throwing frowns and objects at the woman being escorted out. Anger fueled me. Behind Gray, the man who had been fighting with the woman wobbled up.

"Fine."

I pushed Gray aside and came up towards the man. He turned around and bared his teeth at me when his eyes found mine. His fist came towards me; I quickly ducked before jamming the hilt of my dagger into his stomach. I could hear the crowd suddenly roar with excitement.

The man coughed out in pain; without hesitation, I swept my foot underneath his and pushed him down. He fell on to his back, and I stepped next to him before squatting down and placing my dagger's point gently on his neck.

His eyes bulged like a frog's as he froze, too scared to move. The crowd fell silent for a second before going crazy and roaring in excitement.

"W-wait..." he croaked.

"I didn't see you wait when you mistreated that woman back there," I growled.

"A-alright, alright it's my fault," he confessed. "C-can you bring that dagger away from me?"

I stared at him for a long second before standing back up and putting my dagger away. I turned around and began to walk away; I felt him move towards me without having to look behind me. I raised my foot ready to kick him down when a streak of black hit the man down.

I put my foot back down to see Gray shaking his hand. He looked up at me and grimaced. "That was a cheap move from him."

I rose an eyebrow and tilted my head. "I could've dealt with him."

"Not even a thank you?" Gray grinned.

I smirked and nodded my head towards him as my thank you. Tucking my hair behind my ear, I walked off the ring. The crowd immediately parted for me as I walked past the whispers and stares. Ignoring the crowd, I searched for the doctors, but they had already disappeared. 

Frantically, I tried to look for her, but she was no where to be seen. As if he could read my mind, Rezin landed on my shoulder and chirped.

"Do you know which way they went?" I asked.

Rezin took off and veered left. Quickly, I followed the bird. The crowd seem to have become smaller and smaller, and soon there were only just a few people walking around. Rezin stopped suddenly in mid-air. I looked around, but I couldn't see any hospitals or nursery that was around. Then, Rezin moved again and veered into a dark, small alley that was in between two tall buildings. I would've never even notice that dark alley if Rezin didn't point it out.

I looked down the dark alley and clicked my tongue. It was littered with trash and reeked of something dead. I jumped over large trash bags that were in the way and kicked aside some dead rats' bodies. 

I did it without thinking and suddenly stopped, surprised by myself. If it was the me in the past, I would've freaked out and moved houses if I ever caught a dead rat in my house.

Forcing my eyes ahead, I reached a dead end and frowned at the wall. There was nothing but darkness and a bad smell around me. I bit my lip, frustrated.

Just where did they take her?

Before I could take another step, I heard a faint sound coming from the wall. I stepped closer and strained my ears to try to hear. It sounded like people laughing. Placing my hand on the wall, I felt around until my hand bumped into something. A doorknob.

I swung the door open without thinking and stepped into the room. It was slightly dim, but I could still make out everything. 

It looked like a club in here. Alcohol bottles and cigarette butts were scattered across the floor. There were both adult men and women, but the majority were males. My eyes landed on a woman dressed in a tight red low cut dress sitting on a man's lap and drinking alcohol. In fact, most of the women here were doing the same exact thing: Getting drunk with men and flirting around.

I looked around, searching for any sign for the women or the men who had taken her but there were none. I turned on my heel, ready to get out of this weird, creepy place but a hand on my arm stopped me. Looking back, I immediately cringed away from the smell of alcohol.

A man around his thirties was panting hard like he had just ran a mile without stopping and was red to the ears. His eyes were shaky and unfocused as they ran up my body. He smiled drunkenly and crooned. "What a beautiful, young girl you are. Come play with me."

"Let go," I said.

He ignored me and dragged me towards a table. Instinct screamed at me to grab my dagger from my boot, but I was in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. If I grabbed out my dagger now, there was no guarantee that I'll make it out alive.

The drunkard sat on the chair and tugged me towards him. I resisted and planted my feet to the ground. We tugged back and forth a few times before the man stood up and pushed me towards the chair with strong force. I stumbled back into the table, my back hitting the edge. Pain shot up my side, and I groaned, rubbing my sore spot. Before I could get up again, the man grabbed the collar of my cloak and pulled me towards his face.

I stopped an inch away from his red face but made no attempt to stop him when he inclined his face forward. Gripping my palms tightly, I felt his hot breath grow closer and closer to my neck. Squeezing my eyes shut, I prepared myself for the worst.

Don't start. Keep it in...

Suddenly, someone grabbed my arm, and I was jerked away from the man and into someone's chest. Trees and soap... I recognized the smell of the person immediately. Shocked, I looked up to see if I was right or not.

I sighed, feeling ridiculously happy and relieved. "Justin, what are you doing here?"

"Shouldn't I be asking that question?" he shot back, looking pissed off. 

"Ehhhh?" the man slurred. "You two together?"

"Yes. She's mine," Justin cupped the back of my head and brought my head against his chest.

"That's news to me. Last time I checked, I belonged to myself," I rolled my eyes but kept my head against Justin's chest for the sake of the man leaving us alone. I couldn't deny being this close to Justin wasn't bad either...

"Ehh? Then why weren't you with her in the first place? Are you two really together?" the man narrowed his eyes at us. "Just let me borrow her for a second—"

"I said she's mine," Justin's eyes turned dark and angry. The man flinched away. I reached out to calm him down, but he grabbed my wrist suddenly and bent down. The last thing I saw were his dark eyes before I felt his lips gently brush along my jawline. 

The air around me suddenly disappeared as my mind went blank. All I could try to do was pray that my legs would stop shaking. Over my racing heart, I heard the man walk away from us and let out a relieved breath when Justin finally let go of me.

"Geez, people these days—"

I smacked the backside of his head. " Don't just casually do that and then act like nothing happened!"

Justin blinked at me and then suddenly broke out into a smirk. "Well sorry for touching you without permission, Princess, but I'll make sure to go all the way next time."

"You little—" I started but was interrupted by Justin.

"Back to the question," Justin loomed over me with a scary demeanor. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Haha," I scratched my head, backing up. "Strange question. Small world isn't it?"

"And for some reason, I keep bumping into you in the most unfortunate situations," Justin said. "What were you thinking? How could you stay still and just let the man harass you?! How did you even find this place with your bad sense of direction?"

"Ah well I had thought about pulling my dagger out on him and kicking his ass—"

"That sounds more like you."

"But I'm in unfamiliar territory so I decided against it," I ignored his last comment.

Justin brought a hand to his forehead and sighed. "It's a good thing I got here in time."

"Which brings us to the next important question," I rose an eyebrow at him. "What are you doing here?"

"None of your business," Justin said, glancing the other way.

"Wrong. It is my business. Tell me what you're doing here," I demanded.

"I got tricked by a con artist and ended up here," he answered without hesitation.

"Nice try but I know you better than that. You wouldn't pay attention to a con artist, more or less follow one to a sketchy place like this," I crossed my arms. " So what are you really doing here? You've been acting strange since—"

Before I could continue, the door banged opened. I looked over my shoulder and my mouth dropped open. These two....

I stomped over to the newcomers and planted my hands on my hips. "So...where's the woman who's supposed to be treated? And what are you doing with him?"

"Oh!" Gray looked surprised to see me. "What are you doing here, daydreamer? This place is way too scary for a little girl like you. This must be fate, hahahah!"

Ugh. He's just like Yuri, but the bad version. Displeasure must have shown on my face because Gray grinned broadly and patted my head. "C'mon, why do you look so mad! Who do you have behind—"

Gray stopped and the hand on my head slipped off to his side. He slowly straightened up and stared behind me. Besides him, the silver-haired man looked just as stunned as Gray. I looked over my shoulder to see Justin who was facing downwards.

"J-Justin?" Gray stammered. I felt my breath hitch in my throat. What was going on?

Slowly, Justin raised his head and smiled bitterly. "Hey Gray, Eugene. Long time no see."

~~~~~

Tattoos together~something to remember~

Ahhhh Lauv is such a good artist. Anywho, thanks again lovelies for reading this chapter! I think this town is my favorite one...trust me there will be much more exciting things coming up :)

Make sure to hit the vote button and comment below your thoughts if you guys enjoyed! Love you guysss <333