Let's Start Over... Aoi X Umeji

- The Confrontation -

"I'm going in there with you."

"You don't have to do that."

"You know as well as I do that that's a lie."

                The two of us stood in the driveway of Umeji's house, staring at the rotting wood door. That door was all that separated us from the person Umeji had been hurt by all his life. We both stood there for a good five minutes, completely silent.

             "He might be passed out," Umeji said, breaking the silence, "If we're lucky, we can get in and out without having to talk to him.

"Yeah," I nodded a little, ruffling my hair, "There's always the possibility."

We stood there in silence for a few seconds, and I contemplated what I'd even say, should Umeji's father spot us. I patted my pocket, making sure my pepper spray was still there, as well as the Taser my Aunt gave me because "No woman should walk the streets unarmed." I never thought I'd need to have it until today.

"Well," I muttered, taking a deep breath, "We've stalled enough." I looked up at him, mustering a slight smile. "You ready?

Umeji paused for a few seconds, and I could truly see how nervous he was, with his fidgeting hands and nervous eyes. However, he gave a silent nod, walking up to the door. I followed him up, making sure my Pepper spray was in my hand. He pulled a key out of his pocket, sticking it into the lock on the door, twisting it. With a click, the door unlocked, and he opened the door. He looked back at me, and I gave a little nod. We both walked in through the door, leaving it open behind us.

The floor creaked and groaned with every step we took, as we walked down the dust-filled halls. We hadn't even SEEN his father yet, but just being there was enough to put me on edge. I couldn't imagine what it must've been like living here.

We eventually made it to Umeji's room. In contrast to the rest of the house, this room was pretty clean; that is, if you could even call it a room. There was a mattress on the floor next to a few Small Cardboard boxes, and a closet without doors on it, which contained a few uniforms, pairs of jeans, and t-shirts, and that was it. It looked so void of life; so void of hope.

Umeji shut and locked the door behind us, which would buy us some time if his dad tried to do anything. He grabbed the box closest to the closet, throwing the clothes from the closet into it. I grabbed the other box, which seemed to contain a few school books, as well as what seemed to be a photo album. I was about to ask what it contained, but before I could open my mouth, we heard footsteps approaching the bedroom; ones that weren't ours.

I looked over at Umeji to confirm that it was who I thought it was, and he nodded, eyes wide. He immediately ran over to the window, attempting to get it unlocked. I pulled my Pepper spray from my pocket, angling it towards the door, standing between him and the door.

          After a few seconds, I heard the click of the window being unlocked, at the same second I heard the doorknob jiggle. I looked back at Umeji, as he slid the window open. He quickly grabbed one of the boxes, tossing it down out of the window. He took the other from me, throwing it out the window with the other one. I heard banging on the door, along with a gruff voice.

"Hey, shithead," I heard, followed by another bang on the splintering wood door, "You'd better not have locked this fucking door; Don't make me break it down again."

I quickly moved in front of Umeji to shield him, in case the door broke. I turned my head to him, nudging him a bit.

"Climb our first," I gestured to my Motorbike, still parked outside the house. "I'll jump out after you; there's Bungee cords on my bike so you can tie down the boxes." He opened his mouth, like he was about to argue, but I stopped him. "Just go, okay? I've dealt with worse." I flashed a smile at him, attempting to hide my uneasiness. He gave me a reluctant look, but he climbed out of the window, landing in a bush.

After he jumped out, I heard the crunch of breaking wood, and I turned to the door. There was a giant hole in the door, right by the doorknob. I saw a calloused Hand reach through the hole towards the doorknob, flicking the lock to unlock the door. The door swung open, and a man who appeared to be in his 40's stormed in. He was bald, with a slightly lanky figure; however, he could easily overpower any one of the other students at Akademi.

I aimed the pepper spray at him, spraying him directly in the eyes. He staggered back, hitting the wall behind him. I stepped forward to zip-tie his hands so he wouldn't be able to follow us for a while, but as I did, he started blindly throwing punches, one of which hit me in the nose. Immediately, I could feel blood begin to gush from my nostrils. I managed to grab his arm, yanking him forward, pinning him to the wall with his arms behind his back. I zip-tied his hands, before wiping blood off of my face with my hand. Hopefully Umeji wouldn't see it.

Finally managing to hop out of the window, I landed in the bush below, running towards where I parked. Umeji was bungee cording the boxes to the Motorbike like I'd told him to, his helmet already on. I quickly grabbed my helmet, putting it on before Umeji could see my nose, which was likely still bleeding.

           "Ready to go?" I got his attention, hopping on the front of the bike, "I bought us some time, but I personally think we should get outta here as soon as we can." He nodded, getting on behind me. He wrapped his arms around me, as usual, and we sped off back to the house.

AN : Hey all! I've decided on an update schedule, since I want to be able to have consistent updates for you guys! As of now, I will attempt to update every other Tuesday; this may change in the future, but it's what I plan to stick with as of now. Once again, thank you all for following this story, and reading my long ass Authors Notes. Have a nice day!

-Ky