Without You: Chapter Six

Friday evening arrived a little faster than I was hoping it might. I stayed with Nikki and Ewan the whole time since the meeting. It wasn't hard to convince Nikki to let me stay with him. I said I wanted to be with a friend before getting my ass handed to me.

I also, truthfully, wanted to get a few good nights of sleep before the fight. Sleeping on a bed was quite the luxury lately, and I shamelessly took advantage of that.

The moon shone into Nikki's window and fell on the bed. We sat on the floor in front of it, the moonlight lit up his blond hair from behind making him look almost angelic.

I laughed with that thought and I didn't realize I laughed out lout until Nikki quirked a brow at me.

"What was that for?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Sorry, I had a funny thought." I said. He shook his head at me. "Don't worry about it."

He took my hand in his and brought it to his lips. "Are you ready for tonight?" He asked.

"You've asked me that three times already, Nikki."

"I know, I guess I'm not quite ready. After two years I'm hopefully going to get some answers. But I can't do it without sending in the girl I love to fight for her life. It's kind of a double edged sword."

"I promise I'll come back. And I promise I'll do it with some answers."

"And I promise I'll be there when you come back." He said. He leaned in to kiss me. His lips had only just touched mine when his phone rang.

He sighed, snatching it off the bed. "It's Aoki." He said, before putting the phone to his ear. "Hey, how's everything going on your end?"

He listened. "Yeah, she's ready whenever." He responded, listening to his friend again. "Sounds good. We'll meet you there in 10 minutes."

He hung up. "We have our meeting spot. Ready?"

"Let's do this." We got up and Nikki informed Ewan we were heading out. Ewan said he would notify the Captains but he called out to me before I left. I turned back to him as Nikki started his motorcycle.

"Be safe out there." He said. "Don't forget the moves I taught you. Muay Thai is great for getting out of a tight spot."

I smiled. Ewan was a sweet friend, he had taken a lot of time to teach me a few moves that would keep me from getting myself into too much trouble. I stepped up to him, going on my toes and kissing his cheek. I told myself that when I got back I would have to spend more time with Ewan. He was a good friend and a badass at fighting.

"Thank you, Ewan. I appreciate all the help." His cheeks flushed but he did his best to hide it.

"You don't know how much this means to my brother and I." He said. "We'll owe you big time."

Ewan was a lot more soft spoken about that day compared to his brother and it made me wonder how much guilt he still held on to.

"Don't worry about me. I'll make it out of there."

"I trust you." He said.

I hurried out to Nikki and hopped onto the bike behind him. He sped off and drove to the meeting location in a few minutes. He parked his bike and we both stepped around to the front of it.

"I should go right away, but I wanted to say something before you left." He said, taking my hands in his. "Thank you. I really wish it could be me in your place, but I'm glad its you I can put my trust in."

I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Truthfully, I was very nervous. I kept promising I would come back, but I still didn't know how I might secure that victory. The brave face I put on was faltering and I didn't want him to see it.

I pulled away when I collected myself and placed a kiss to his lips. He smiled when I took a step back, and hopped on his bike. He drove off without another word.

Silence settled over me as the rumble of the engine faded in the distance. I took in my surroundings, standing at an intersection on the edge of town. The traffic lights were blinking a slow yellow.

A boisterous group of boys exited a dark building to my left. I turned my back to them trying to look inconspicuous. The group quieted down and I swear they had walked off but when I turned around to check, three of them were coming up on me from behind.

I recognized one of the them. Cline.

Two of them cornered me and Cline came at me dead on, a fist swinging through the air. I ducked, narrowly avoiding his fist, as two sets of large hands held me in place.

This isn't good. I let them get the jump on me. I thought. But Aoki should be here soon...

"Amaterasu, the unbeatable, huh?" Cline mocked the nickname that followed after my first fight with Nikki. He wound up another fist and I dodged backward as he let it loose.

All three of them smelt strongly of alcohol. It shouldn't be too hard to fight them off, my one disadvantage being that I let them get close enough to grab me. I took a breath and as I slowly let the air out, I stomped on a foot below me. The man on the right lost his grip.

I swung that arm hard and fast with an open palm, hitting the guy on my left square in the nose. His grip on my arm failed as he stumbled back and grabbed his face.

The other guy was standing back up, I turned around and swung my leg up to my head, slamming it down as hard as I could. I heard something snap when my foot connected with his shoulder.

He let out a scream and doubled over, clutching his arm.

I turned to Cline, he seemed unbothered by his comrades squirming on the ground. A knife was in his hand and pointed at me.

I heard a car approaching from behind me, the lights shone on Cline in the dark and he flinched. I slapped the hand that held the knife away from me, coming in low to his chest with an open palm. I struck the center of his diaphragm. His warbled breaths were confirmation enough of the 3 seconds it would take him to recuperate.

I spun around and saw a mini van in front of me, the driver leaned over and pushed open the passenger side door.

"Get in," Aoki yelled from the drivers seat.

I sprinted to the car but as I was stepping in, Cline made a desperate attempt at one more attack by throwing his knife.

It struck my thigh.

I pulled my leg in, stifling back a scream. "Drive - go." I ordered him. He hit the gas and took off.

"Who the hell was that?" He asked.

"An old acquaintance." I said through gritted teeth as I gripped the handle of the knife, slowly pulling it out of the muscle in my thigh.

"Holy shit, he actually got you. We should get you to a hospital." He said, attempting to change directions.

I flipped the knife around and held the bloody tip to his throat. "Continue with the plan," I said as calmly as I could. "I will fight tonight."

"But you're bleeding -"

"I'll be bleeding from the fight as well, it makes no difference to me."

He hesitated, slowing down at a stop light with his blinker still on.

"You will see this through, or I will slit your throat right here." I threatened in a low voice.

He looked at me out of the corner of his eye and with no more than a seconds consideration, he turned the blinker off and continued forward.

"Good choice." I sat back in the chair and pulled my shirt up over my head.

"What are you doing?" Aoki asked.

"Tying off the wound or I'll bleed out." I tore the shirt around the center, sliding my foot through the head hole and tying it off with the sleeves. I took the bottom half and stretched it out, snapping the seams at the bottom. I tied that piece over the top as tight as I could.

"You're going to fight in your bra?"

"You got a spare shirt in this van?" I asked sarcastically.

"No...No I do not."

"That's what I thought. Will this wound affect the physical test?" I asked.

"No, actually..." He sighed. "it's common for people to come in either already beat up or bleeding. They'll do a jack job at stitching it and then pump you full of pain meds and whatever drug they use to heighten physical strength."

"See, why even worry then?" I was gripping the side of my chair as hard as I could to try to forget about the pain.

"Nikki is going to kill me when he finds out." He mumbled.

"I can tell him it was from the fight to save your ass if you really want." I suggested.

The car slipped into a tunnel that surrounded us in darkness, it was hard to see Aoki even from where I sat in the front seat. He drove quietly for a minutes, then came to a stop.

"We're here."