Prologue

Mikoto

I hesitated. The sound of their voices was loud before I even reached the end of the park where the playground was. This was our original hang out spot. The girls who I had called my friends stood around the swings as they chat amongst each other while I just looked from a far distends.

These girls were my family...no, wait; these girls were my "friends" who I been through a lot with. I got into a lot of shit with them and most of the things we did was pretty messed up. Some times I was under some serious peer pressure. In the end, I did some horrible things and I couldn't tell anyone enough on how much I regretted doing Them. These girls encouraged me into doing those things in the past. I did it all and I knew that they were wrong. I'm not proud of it so today...it had to end.

The sky was dark and at night the park was lit up by the dim streetlights. As I walked out of the dark shadow of the park and into the light, everyone eyes landed on me. Nothing was unusual; they all just smiled and waved "sup" to me while playing their music (which I never had taste for) out loud while some smoked cigarettes and drink beer.

I waved to everyone, trying not to look unnatural and fidgety, which I knew wasn't even working. I had to calm myself and take a deep breath. I knew that unsettling vibe was buzzing off me, but what can I say, I wasn't an actress.

I looked at the girls and they didn't even pay any mind to me. It was only 7 of them total and they were already engaged in conversation.

"Shit! Those 3rd street gangs are really getting on my fucking nerves." One of the girls said. Her name was Hitomi and she was small. She was packed with 4'9 of complete fury and attitude. She had short bleached blond hair and had a cigarette in her hand as she talked in her non-intimidating small voice. "Why the hell do I see those dick bags everywhere but 3rd street?"

"Shut up, you always have a problem with someone who hasn't done anything to you." another said. She was much taller than Hitomi (as was everyone) and really pretty in the face. She had dark brown hair that reach her shoulders and didn't wear Anything underneath her jean vest but a black lace bra. Her name was Dara and she had a bit of a cold shoulder and wasn't afraid of anyone and didn't give a damn about what people thought about her.

"It's not for no reason though, those ass eaters been eying us down for the longest and I don't like it!" Hitomi dropped the cigarette and jumped on the swing, which in my opinion, looked like somewhere she'd belong.

"I don't really like you very much but I deal with it. Maybe you should do the same." another bleached hair girl who we called Kiki said. Out of everyone she was the most apathetic out of us all.

Hitomi jumped from off the swing and started walking towards Kiki, "What was that!? Would you like to repeat that!?" it only took one hand from Dara to hold her back.

"How about all you shut up!" Tomore voice was much stronger than the rest. Tomore was the leader of this pack. She was tall, intimidating, scary, bipolar, angry, and lastly, violent with homicidal tendencies. After she spoke, it left the chatting between the girls come to an utter stop and the only sound was the bad taste of music playing on one of the girl's phone. Everyone look at as though their moms who just caught them drawing on the wall and had yelled at them.

"Geez whatever." Hitomi brushed it off and went back to the swing.

I gazed at Tomore and she seem like she was having a bad day. That wasn't anything new. It was hard to read her. One minute she's happy, than mad, than excited, than mad again. Being mad was her common emotion but the good thing was it wasn't hard to make her happy at all.

Then without me even noticing, Tomore looked at me. It was weird, even though I was looking at her the whole time. I had to admit, that shit had scared me. And at that very moment I knew she could read me like a book. Another thing with her, even though most of us couldn't read her she could certainly read the hell out of us.

"Ishida, why are you so quiet over there?" she said. Okay yeah, that scared me. Maybe I was just being paranoid just a little to much.

"Umm...I don't know what you're talking about."

"That's nothing new, Ishida is naturally quiet." Dara said.

"Yeah but something's not right..." Tomore got up from the bench she was sitting on and walked towards me. Everyone eyes had followed. I could see that they all had concern in their eyes. It could be two things that Tomore could possibly get up from her seat to do. 1, it could be getting up to hug me, or 2, she could be getting up to punch me across the face. I didn't hesitated entirely, her punches I could eat. .

She looked me in the eye and studied my face. I guess this was one of her ways of "reading me". And I guess It was working for her.

But then what shocked all of us, she did not do what all of us expected she'd do. She put her hand on my shoulder and asked me in the most sincere way, "Is something the matter Ishida?" she looked me in the eye and I could tell that she was honestly concerned. Something seem new from her and I didn't really know what to say. 'She was being nice to me' I thought.

With that look on her face, how could I have possibly come to admit I came here today to tell them all that I would be betraying them and leaving them. I wanted out of this gang so that way I would have a life that would not involved in trouble. I would be shattering the bond that I have created with these girls and would be named as a traitor.

I closed my eyes and without even noticing it, the words had come out on its own.

"I want out."

Tomore expression didn't change much. Half the reason being is that she couldn't believe what I just said and the other being is she thought she heard me wrong.

"Haha...what?" She played dumb, which she didn't do so great with. "Can you repeat that again?" Tomore face stared to look hard and I could feel the rage building up inside her. My gaze went to the other girls and I could see that they all looked as shocked as I expected. In that short moment of time, something came over me just for a moment.

'What if I wasn't strong enough to carry on?' I couldn't possibly be thinking that way. I immediately shook the thought from my head and looked Tomore in the eyes. 'I had came to far to just back out now'

"I didn't stutter!" I spoke out louder, "I want out of this. With you, with them, the bullshit, I'm done." I took a deep breath and I just knew what I did was what only a few had ever done and made it out okay.

I looked at Tomore dead in the face. it was almost like looking an angry wild tiger in the eye. I just knew that I had hit something within her. I didn't care though; I had to do this, I was ready.

"What are you stupid or something?" the voice came from behind Tomore. Of course the first person to say anything would be Hitomi. She seemed more pissed off than Tomore. She walked up close to me and stood next to Tomore and said, "You must be as stupid as you look. You know the payment for anyone to say some stupid shit like that. You have a death wish!?"

"Shut up, Hitomi!"Tomore yelled to the short girl staring ever so hard at me. I knew that she wanted to just end me at that moment.

"She's right though," another voice came from the back ground, Kiki stepped forward and rolled her eyes at me. "Who ever calls out get their ass handed to them." Kiki flicked the cigarette that was in her hand just inches away from my feet. "Literally." she finished and I could feel the hardness in her tone.

"So what is it now?" I said, "Are you going to beat me up or something?" I grew tired of waiting. I knew that if they were going to kick my ass they could at least hurry the hell up.

Tomore was at her boiling point with me but at the same time it was like she hesitated to do anything.

"What are we even waiting for?" Hitomi said, "I'm all for kicking her ass." She said it as though we were never friends.

Tomore got more closer to me and slapped me across the face. "You bitch!" She said it as though she was speaking through her teeth. My face stung from her slap but I did not move or cry out.

My eyes moved to look at the girls who I once called my friends and saw them near the swings. They walked over near the jungle gym and pulled out their lead pipes they had hidden safely under it.

Now at this point, I was wondering how the hell I was going to get out of this. Now don't get me wrong, I knew how to fight. But in all seriousness how the hell am I suppose to get out of a fight with 7 girls with lead pipes. I had been around these girls to know how they are. Once they decided on something that was it. I knew they wouldn't think twice on giving me an ass beating of a life time. They could fight just as well as I could. In fact, I believed all of us was experienced in some form of martial arts. I, believed me or not, was a 2nd degree black belt in tae-kwon-do. Tomore grew up on a Aikido trained family, Kiki boxing, Dara Kendo, and Hitomi...well I didn't know exactly if she was trained or not. If wild and crazy was a M.A, then she was definitely it.

I looked around my surroundings and of course no one was around. No cops, no citizens. What to expect, it was 10 at night and no one walked through the park at night. That was the whole reason why we stayed in the park. I looked at the girls and they was ready to kill.

"Hey girls," Tomore said, while still looking at me, "Make sure she's unrecognizable."

Those cold words...I only heard her say to another person in the past. That meant she hated me at this point and I knew she could careless if I just dropped dead. I took another deep breath. I counted to 3 in my head. Barely making it to 4, a pipe had hit me in the side so hard I thought my ribs shattered.

Before another hit landed on me, I immediately grabbed it and looked the girl who did this in the face. It was Chitose who threw that first hit. (Which surprised me.) She was like a year younger than me but the most cowardly out of us all. When I grabbed the pipe from her, I quickly kicked her in her torso and she fell to the floor hard.

Now I had a lead pipe. I had no real use for it, my hands and feet were my tools. I was never a big fan for weapons, especially pipes that wasn't even meant for war.

The next person to hit, unsurprisingly, Hitomi came along and swung the pipe, aiming for my head. I ducked under, nearly falling to the ground. I was now at her level and knew she had an advantage. The pipe did not hit me in the face. No, I moved just in time. But that didn't make a difference. She hit me in the chest and that left me unbalanced and tumbling to the ground.

Everyone gathered around in awe and laughter. It was no use of me moving. I was trapped and my face was going to be pounded until I was "unrecognizable".

I looked up to my friends...my enemies...I was a traitor and this was a punishment fit for one. Tomore bent down to see my face. I looked at her and I tried ever so hard to hide the fact that those hits were hard and painful to bear.

She used her finger to brush my black hair from out of my face and gave me a fake warming smile. "You know Ishida, you're a very pretty girl. You have fair skin, chocolate colored eyes, long beautiful hair. You almost look like a model if you ask me." She began to laugh like she just heard the most amusing thing in the world. But after a few seconds, it went away. Suddenly her eyes darken and her face have harden. The killer face had no remorse or kindness behind it. She grabbed on my hair, pulling me ever so closely to her to the point we were noses way from each other. I looked into her darken, full of rage, eyes as she looked at me. "I wish you death."

That's when it all began.

The first kick aim to my head and another and another to the point I lost hearing in both ears. The shoes came in contact with my face, repeatedly, nonstop. Some still had their lead pipes, repeatedly hitting me with those 10 pound Solid iron pipes. I felt another one of them kicking me in the gut until I threw up blood out of my mouth.

My legs began to feel numb, then my arms, then my whole body went entirely numb. I could still see, but only partially. Everything was a blur. But that's when the beating had came to a sudden stop and I could see them immediately running away.

'What could it possibly be that they are running from.' I thought. I tried my hardest to turn my head to the right and that's when I saw the flashing lights, red and blue. 'Does this mean I'm dead?' I didn't know what to think.

I could see a shadow coming towards from the lights. No, wait...it wasn't a shadow nor was a ghost off any type. But an man...in uniform

"C–cops..." I spoke barely. Some type of sound started coming through my ear, it was sirens. 'definitely the cops' I thought.

I could hear the mans voice asking questions but I couldn't hear what he was saying. The only thing I could make out, "We need back up."

At that moment I knew I was safe. I had survived. I wasn't dead and that was truly a good thing. I could tell that a little smile peeked on my face, while I whispered, "I made it..."