Determined

6.

Len's dagger slammed into Tei's as soon as his feet hit the ground in front of her, the metals clashing with ferocity. Her eyes held an odd glint to them, as if she was hiding something secret that only her devious self knew of. As if she were better than him, and that he was the bad guy in the wrong. Her lips curled into a wide, almost taunting smile, showing her pearly teeth in their full glory in a way that only fueled Len's spite.

Then, he caught a glimpse of something; something that Tei held in her other hand, which glinted ominously for a split second before returning to the shadow which Len couldn't see through.

He'd seen enough, and experienced it enough, to know that she had a trick up her sleeve- maybe literally.

He drew his dagger back swiftly as Tei slashed at the now empty air with a glinting steel dagger that was previously hidden, but not hidden well enough. She lunged once more and the glint from the dagger flashed as Len caught her wrist. He tightened his grip, and she went under his arm and charged into him, sending him to the floor, ripping the breath from his lungs. He grunted as he threw the girl off, and rose to his feet.

From the corner of Len's eye, he could see Yohio keeping close to the shadows, slinking ever closer to Tei with footsteps as light as the clouds. Len knew what he was trying to do- take her by surprise. He wondered if it would work.

Len decided to assume that it would, and made another move towards Tei. She leaped back in defense, and in that moment, Yohio pounced like a leopard attacking its prey. He took Tei's arms and pulled them back tightly. Len raised the dagger, but it never found her heart.

There was a click of a gun, and Len's blood froze in his veins. "Miku, get down!"

A man with a long face and a buzzcut stood at the door which they entered from, gun aiming at the tealette. Len lost his cool, in a split second of panic, and he felt control over Rei begin to slip. Shit!

He half expected to be knocked off his feet, and half expected to be struggling for control over his movements. He felt no such thing. Oddly, he felt a surge of power, like he drank a Gatorade mixed with Rockstar and cocaine. Not the healthiest, but it was an oddly refreshing feeling. The ache in his shoulder faded into the back of his mind, and his mind was clear. But he didn't have time to waste, wondering when and how he got a strange power up. Before him was a man with an order, a gun, and malicious intent, and in his way, a girl who he cared about. Everything slowed as he threw the dagger towards the man. With a sickening noise, it buried itself into his head and he fell to the floor with a resounding thump. Len felt his heart beat against his ribcage, the sweat drip down his temple, and for a moment he felt something he'd felt two too many times that day: fear. It made him want to puke, and be angry at the world for giving him such an emotion. But he knew that it caused a desperation to fight, and saved his life many times. In these situations, rather than cursing it, he thanked it. It was a complicated relationship.

A small, thin stream of black suits began to pour in. He glanced back at Yohio, who seemed just fine holding off against Tei. Len guessed that he'd be okay for a little longer, and he'd be thanking him later for allowing him to blow off mountains of pent up anger and frustration onto the cause of such fury.

Len picked the gun and knife up in a swift motion, and picked off the men one by one. He shot at the ones near the back who'd already began to aim, and they crumpled like puppets whose strings had been severed. He rushed toward the men closest to him and stabbed one in the chest, shoving him into his comrades who stood behind him and extracting the blade simultaneously. They fell, and Len dropped to the ground as a bullet, followed by the unmistakable sound of a shot, whizzed over his head. He brought down the knife onto the neck of one of the fallen men, aimed the gun at the man who'd shot at him, and pulled the trigger. He fell, like the others.