Ryoko's POV

I woke up when I heard a siren going off from a firetruck. "What the hell? Where's the fire?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. I yawned and noticed two dark figures walking this way. "Damn. Am I caught?" I asked myself rubbing my eyes again.

I looked at the figures again, my eyes adjusting this time. No, I wasn't caught just yet. "Hey, this is our spot. Get lost, little girl." A guy said as his partner stood beside him. 'Thugs, huh? I figured as much.' I thought.

"I'm pretty sure you don't own the alleyway, boys. Anyone can be here." I said. "Getting cocky with us, are ya? Shouldn't do that, girly." His partner said. I yawned again and stood to my feet.

"Looks, guys. I don't have the energy to fight with you guys. Now, just run along and go find somebody else to pick on. And since I don't know your names, I'll call you Thug  #1 and Thug #2." I said.

"You little brat!" Thug #1 went to punch me until I stopped his fist and punched him in the face. "Ow..." I said, shaking my hand off. Punching that guys face felt like punching a brick wall. Thug #2 went to punch me, but I kneed him in the balls before he could do that.

"Now would be a good time to run, Ryoko." Gelus advised. "No way. I don't back down from a fight." I said. "In this case, you might as well." He said. "But I- Oof!"

Because I was talking to Gelus, I got distracted and got punched in the face. I fell to the ground, rubbing my jaw. "Didn't your mother ever tell you that it's not nice to pick on a lady?" I said, turning around to look at Thug #1 and 2.

"Well, it's too bad I never listened to her." Thug #1 said. He grabbed me by my hair and yanked me to my feet. "You never should picked a fight with us, girly. Now, you're gonna get it." Thug #2 said. "You punched first, dumbass!" I snapped.

I should've kept my mouth shut, but it was too late for that. Thug #1 went to punch me until someone yelled out, "Hey, leave her alone!"

I looked towards the entrance of the alley as someone stood there. It was hard to see them clearly due to the darkness. "This has nothing to do with you, punk! Get lost!" Thug #1 shouted to them. "Not a chance." They replied.

Thug #1 shoved me to the ground, making my head hit the ground hard, and he and Thug #2 walked towards the person near the entrance. I can only assume they were going to fight them. My head felt dizzy, so I tried to shake off the dizziness as I heard punches being thrown and grunts.

After that, I heard feet running away. "Hey, are you okay?" I looked up as a cute guy reached his hand out to me. "Yeah, I'm fine." I said, grabbing his hand. He helped me to my feet and I dusted the dirt off my clothes.

"Sorry to get you involved." I apologized. "Hey, don't sweat about it. I'm glad I was able to help you out. My name's Kenji, by the way." He introduced. "I'm..." I trailed off as I thought about giving myself a new name just to be on the safe side.

"I'm Kiku." I lied. "Nice to meet you. Now, what's a cute girl like yourself doing out here?" Kenji asked. "Oh, you know. Just taking a midnight walk." I lied again. "Well, you're not safe out here. Come on, I'll take you to my place." Kenji offered.

"Uh, okay. Thanks." I said. I grabbed my bag as Gelus was in it and walked with Kenji, heading to his house. I was glad Kenji couldn't see Gelus.

"Here we are. Home sweet home." Kenji said as he opened the door to his apartment. "Nice house." I commented. "Thanks. Listen, I have a guest bedroom in other room. You can sleep there for the night." Kenji said.

"Wow, thanks. You're way too nice." I said. "Needless to say, I get that a lot." Kenji chuckled. "Hey, do you mind if I take a shower?" I asked. "Not at all. Bathroom's down the hall." He said. I gave a nod and headed to the bathroom.

I took a shower, washing my hair and body. "Hey, Kiku," Kenji knocked the door. "Yes?" I called. "I left brought you a towel and some clothes. I'm just gonna set them on the counter here, okay?" He said. "Thanks." I said, and went back to washing my body.

When I was done in the shower, I dried myself off with the towel I was provided and got changed into the clothes, which was a t-shirt and some boy shorts. I walked out of the bathroom, heading to the living room.

"Thanks for the shower and the clothes." I thanked Kenji. "No problem." He smiled. "What are you watching?" I asked. "Just an old TV show." Kenji answered. "Do you mind if I watch with you?" I asked. "Go right ahead." He said, scooting over.

I sat next to him on the couch and we watched the program together until we felt tired and went to bed. "Kenji seems nice and all, but something tells me he's a pedophile." Gelus commented as I got ready for bed.

"Oh, come on, Gelus. He's just being a nice guy." I said. "Sure. He's nice one second, then raping you in your sleep the next." He said. I chuckled at his comment and picked him up from my bag, getting into bed.

"So, what now? Are you gonna stay here?" Gelus asked as he lied next to me. "Well," I turned on my side so I was facing him. "Tomorrow, I'm going back to the house to see if I could find anything that might help me catch Kira." I said.

"Which house? Your aunt's or the house where you and your Mom lived?"

"Both. I'll go Aunt Chie's house, then I'll go to my own house."

"What if you get caught?"

"I won't. They'll never find me, and they'll never catch me."

"Famous last words?"

"As if. This isn't going to be the end for me, Gelus."

"I know. I was just trying to be funny."

"Well, at least you tried. Get some sleep, Gelus. We'll need our energy in the morning."

"Right. Goodnight, Ryoko."

"Goodnight, Gelus."