“I should’ve taken a cab”, Rio took a deep breath and prayed in the wind while tightly clutching her bag. Her walk towards her apartment usually takes around 30 minutes but Rio never minded the distance. She usually enjoys her walks… but not today. The change of season was evident by the colour of the skies and by the time Rio finished her shift in the hospital, it was already dark.

Her walking pace accelerated upon seeing two unfamiliar individuals trailing her since she had left her work place. The girl’s heart pounded so aggressively; she felt like it was about to burst out of her chest.

“You can’t run away”, a whisper out of nowhere was heard, enough to send chills on Rio’s spine. Cold sweat went down her body, alongside her thumping head and fast rate heart beat. Before she knew it, a series of heavy footsteps came running after her.

She forced her feet away from the two men with an attempt to get to safety. However, the faster she ran, the louder their footsteps became. As she raced towards her apartment, the chilly autumn breeze cut through the surface of her skin and prayed for someone – anyone to pass-by and rescue her. “Yama-chan”, she unconsciously mumbled Ryosuke’s name while running for her life.

Following wherever her feet takes her, she had stumbled upon a dead end. She looked around and realised that she is now inside a private parking lot just a couple of buildings away from her apartment. With her mind clouded, she must have taken a wrong turn which led her to her own nightmare.

She looked around for a possible route of escape but noticed the two men catching up to her. “We’re done playing catch, Miss Rio”, one of man’s voice echoed in her ears. Rio panted and showed signs of laboured breathing as soon as her eyes landed on the two men wearing black clothing. She became alert when she saw one of them holding a knife, while the other played with a baseball bat.

“What do you want from me?”, with much courage, she shouted, not minding the agonising pain on her chest. The men smirked and walked towards her. Rio found herself taking a step backwards every time they took a step towards her direction. Rio mentally pictured an exit but struggled after seeing multiple cars blocking her view. By this time, she knew… she’s trapped.

“Since we can’t get close to Yamada, I guess we’ll just make him suffer some other way”, the other man chimed.

His companion gave off an evil smile before explaining further, “We’ll make his girlfriend suffer instead”.

“Wh-What are you talking about?!”

“We know that you’re the one with him on the papers – no need to hide it from us”, he replied, anger and hatred evident on his face, “We’re going to end him after we’re finished with you. We just can’t stay quiet knowing what he does to his fan girls. Not only for that girl he sent to a coma… but for our girlfriends who left us for him”.

“You’re such cowards!”, Rio felt a mixture of both anger and fear after knowing that these men are after Ryosuke. She clenched her hands and knew that there is nothing she could say to change their minds. “Since beating up a girl may be the best thing you'll ever do, then I’ll let you. But don’t ever touch or stalk Yama-chan again”, the poor girl shouted before seeing the two men charge at her direction.

It was then when she felt a painful strike on her face, making her stumble on the ground. One of the men grabbed parts of her hair and aggressively pulled her head back to make her face him fully. Rio hissed in pain and felt the coldness of the metal knife touching her left cheek. The poor girl held her breath and saw one of them standing so close, trying to intimidate her, “Seeing you protect him makes me want to hurt you even more”.

One of them grazed his hand on Rio’s thigh and smelt her neck like a complete ert. She struggled but the man’s hold on her hair became tighter which made it difficult to even move an inch. To make matters worse, one of them pointed the sharp end of the knife at her face, creating a small cut across her chin and made her bleed. The man caressing Rio’s thigh was about to go further when suddenly…

“YOU BASTARD!”, Ryosuke made his presence known. He charged at the man touching his girl and had pounced on him on the floor. He placed his weight on his body and started serving him punches, "You'll pay just for touching her!". Seeing his companion taking all the beating, the other man dragged Rio’s hair and threatened Ryosuke.

“You better stop if you want your girlfriend alive”, Ryosuke looked up and stopped his fist from giving another blow, “I didn’t think you'll actually show up. Things just got interesting”.

“What are you doing here, baka?!!”, Rio shouted and feared for both hers and Ryosuke’s safety. She cursed, knowing that these two men will not hesitate to hurt the man she loves.

The man gave off a victorious smirk, knowing that he has the upper hand against Ryosuke. He knew that as long as Rio’s life is on the line, Ryosuke would not dare fight back.

“She doesn’t have anything to do with this, so just let her go and fight me like a man”, he proclaimed and shot stabbing looks at the two guys near Rio. Sensing their advantage, the two agreed before throwing the poor girl against the wall and tied her hands onto a pole. Ryosuke grinded his teeth in annoyance and fought the urge to beat the living day light out of the two for hurting his Rio.

“This is the day you’ll meet your end, Yamada Ryosuke”, one of them played with his knife while the other swung his baseball bat around before trapping Ryosuke in the middle.

At once, both of them charged for an attack and gave him swift punches and kicks. Ryosuke did the same and landed a few blows on their faces. He grabbed one of his opponent’s collar and swung his hand on his stomach, making him drop the baseball bat off his hand. However, his companion pulled Ryosuke back and threw two punches on his face.

“You’ll pay for that!”, Ryosuke felt pain coming from his sides from the impact he received from the man who swung his knife at him. He was lucky that he had missed the knife at a tangent and only grazed his skin. With much strength, he extended his leg and reciprocated the opponent with a swift kick. He then grabbed the other and threw multiple punches on his jaw.

“S-Stop!!”, Rio saw a massive bloodbath right in front of her. She trembled cold at every blow Ryosuke received. She pinched herself back to reality and tried to shake off the fear she’s currently experiencing. She used her teeth and every strand of patience left in her to remove the piece of cloth attaching her to the pole. After about a thousand pulls, the tie was loosened and Rio was able to escape. She had successfully freed herself and tried her best to think of the best action to save Ryosuke.

This is when she saw the baseball bat on the floor.

“AHHH!”, Ryosuke was busy dodging every punch from both his opponent when he heard a loud thud just behind him. He turned around and saw Rio holding a bat and an unconscious man on the floor.

Ryosuke leered at the trembling girl but was amused on how she handled her captor, “That’s my girl”, he grinned before grabbing her hand and attempted to run.

However, seeing that his companion was unable to stand, the other man held his knife firmly and pointed at the couple before they were able to escape. Ryosuke was quick to shield Rio behind, determined not to put her in any more danger.

“When I say run, you go without me”, Ryosuke whispered.

“WH-WHAT?! N-NO WAY!”

“Just do what I say, Rio!”

“There’s no way I’ll leave you”, Ryosuke clicked his tongue and was unable to counter Rio’s stubbornness.

The couple were not given a chance to argue further when they saw the man lounging forward. Seeing this, Rio pulled Ryosuke back and unconsciously threw herself in front of the boy to shield him.

.

.

.

She closed her eyes and waited for the painful impact when she heard police sirens entering the parking lot.

The man stopped upon seeing a blinding spotlight at him, making him drop the knife that he was holding.

“Put your hands up!”, one of the police instructed. The man quickly followed this command and felt two police officers grabbing both his hands before placing them behind his back. They then forced him inside the police car before pulling his companion with him.

--

“Thank God, both of you are still alive!”, Yuto felt an overwhelming wave of relief upon seeing his best friend and Rio still standing. He was thankful of Ryosuke’s clear instructions to find Rio, “I’m sorry I was late”, he continued before noticing Ryosuke’s stance. Alongside a few cuts on his face, it was obvious that he got hurt from that fight.

“Thanks for coming, Yuto. I owe you one”, the boy said in gratitude while trying his best to hide the fact that everything hurt in random places.

“We need to tend your cuts! My apartment is just around the corner”, Rio ordered placing his arm over her shoulder. Yuto did the same and carried half of his weight towards his car. Within just a few minutes, the trio arrived at the apartment.

--

Without letting go of Rio’s hand, Ryosuke dragged the girl inside her room and made her sit on the bed. He stared at Rio for about 5 seconds before hissing at the sight of the cut on her chin. The girl looked at him peculiarly after seeing his stern expression, “Where’s your first aid kit?”.

“It’s up there”, Rio pointed and watched the boy turn around to get the box. However, before he can even take a step, Rio pulled his shirt and made him sit down instead. “Why are you acting like I’m the one who’s hurt? You took all the beating earlier”, Rio sighed and soon took some gauze and betadine from the kit.

Rio attempted to tend Ryosuke cuts when the latter suddenly