By shadows/of/flame
Prequel to Karigoya Yabureme (you don't hafta read KY to understand it though). How they met. One shot.
Kinda dark and gloomy, drugs and prostitutes mentioned.
It was a dank, dull night as the tattooed wonder walked through the deep puddles, a slight mist hanging over the slums.
The Undergrounds second in command needed a break, and the only haven away from work was the Hip Hog Heaven saloon.
He drew his tattered trenchcoat more tightly around him as he walked, trying in a desperate attempt to ward off the cold breeze that nipped at his ankles.
The Hip Hog Heaven Saloon was not the best place to socialise - annd the owner, Krew, was an obnoxious fat man, and a drug trafficker, who encouraged the ladies to "hang around".
Torn raised a non existant eyebrow at the number of prostitutes and female lap dancers populating the bar that night - but then again, he thought dryly, Thursday was the booze night of the week.
He slaundered into the dingy tavern, the door slamming shut behind him.
Various fights and brawls were going on, as they usually did, but the ex KG paid no attention to them.
All the booths were full, and Torn rolled his eyes.
If he had only been there a few minutes earlier, he would have got a seat.
Not wanting to leave, the tattooed wonder looked around at what sort of people were seated; some talking, some singing, some armwrestling, or having someone lap dance around them.
He spied a young woman, in about her late teens or early twenties, talking to an old man that Torn could smell the drugs off from a mile away.
He narrowed his eyes in annoyance as the man put a scraggly hand on her hip, and whispered something in her ear.
She stared at him, disgusted obviously at what he had just said.
"Look, I am not a junkie! I do not do that sort of thing"
She exhaled loudly as the geezer persisted, his liver-spotted hands moving further up her hips.
Torn raised an eyebrow at the old geezers courage, and the tattooed wonder watched as he was thrown halfway across the room.
The green haired girl snorted in utter disgust, pushing away her nachos, her appetite for them gone.
He watched her for a few seconds, comtemplating whether getting broken bones like the old man was worth a seat or not, but he found his feet already making their way over through the roaring crowd.
"Excuse me, ma'am..." he began, wishing to make a good first impression, when she glared suddenly at him.
"Don't you junkies ever have anything better to do?" she hissed, making the hair on Torns spine stand up.
"I am not a junkie, I was simply going to ask for a seat..."
Her face softened, but only ever-so-slightly.
"... I don't trust you."
He sneered at her, his tattooes glowing eerily in the flashing lights.
"Never mind." He turned and walked flatly out of the bar, elbowing everyone out of his way, the dreadlocked commanders wish for alcohol ruined.
The rain picked up, and he walked swiftly back to the Underground hideout, but even as he stripped off his clothes, and got into his night clothes, the green haired mechanic was still on his mind.
He fell asleep, her eyes, hair, heck, her whole being etched into his mind.
The KG commander tossed and turned, not being able to sleep.
Eventually, he had had enough of his restlessness, and got up again.
The clock read 12:48am as he started walking the streets again, a lot of people having had vanished from the rain sodden streets compared to only half an hour ago, and a lot of the hovers were too.
"They've picked up their cargo for the night..." he thought dryly.
He knew his wanderings had a purpose, as yet again he found himself at the Hip Hog saloon.
A lot of people had left since he had left before, and now a lot of the booths were empty, littered with rubbish and ash.
The lights had been dimmed, usually allowing for dirty dealings to go on in the shadows, but the slender girl was ignoring them all.
Torn guessed she was a mechanic, from the goggled clasped firmly around her neck, to the oil stains covering her arms.
It interested him to eventually find out that she had created the zoomer.
There was a slight rustling sound, and the swish of a rain-jacket.
"Hey babe."
Torn stiffened and narrowed his eyes in disbelief.
Erol!
The girl smiled at the red-head, pecking him lightly on the cheek as he sat down beside her.
"Hows my favourite mechanic?" Erol purred, giving Torn enough time to slip into the booth nest to theirs to eavesdrop.
She giggled as he carressed her arm, sending shivers down her spine like small bolts of electricity.
"I'm perfect, hun. The hovers upgrade is nearly finished - it will be done in time for the races, no sweat!"
Erol smirked dryly, nibbling gently but forcefully at her neck.
She twisted in her seat, gasping lightly as he laughed.
"I'll be back later, princess."
He left the booth, his laugh echoing around the murky room.
Torn was utterly disgusted.
The girl left the booth, about to leave the bar altogether when she saw the tattooed wonder, sitting alone in the next booth along.
"What did you hear?" she asked him, narrowing her eyes unpleasantly.
Torn decided to play his trump card, and replied, "Something about an illegal racing part, and by the sounds of the noises you two were making, Erol seducing you. I am part of the KG, you know, and I won't hesitate to report you."
The mechanic suddenly became frantic, grabbing for his hands as tears appeared in her eyes.
"No... please, I beg of you! I'm... really sorry, but I just lost all of my friends, and I have been alone in this horrible place for 1 year... all sorts of peope hit on me, including Erol, and my friends"
She started to cry, leaving small trails through the mud amd grime caked on her once pure rosy cheeks.
Torn took her by both hands, leading her out of the tavern and away to the Bazaar.
"Then lets talk, shall we?"
Torn had never laughed so hard in his life as she continued talking, both oblivious to the fact it was past 4:30.
"And Erol, oh Mar he has the worst bed hair ever... sticks up a few centimetres from his head, I swear!"
She giggled at Torns expression, and then noticed a clock.
"4:30? Oh gods, I have to get going!" she gasped.
He helped her out of her seat, and the two stood facing each other.
The grime was gone from her cheeks, and a healthy pale red shone through them.
He smiled, and paid the bill.
"I guess this is goodbye then." he said, turning back to her.
She nodded slowly. "I must thank you for this... I haven't had so much fun since..." she sighed, wistfully looking up at the sky.
"Since... a long time ago."
Torn nodded sympathetically, knowing what it was like to lose friends.
She smiled softly.
"I needa go - the race garage doesn't clean itself!"
He grinned, and as she turned to leave, remembered something.
"You never told me your name."
She giggled slightly. "My mistake. I'm Keira."
He chuckled. "Torn. We'll meet again, right?"
She giggled as she walked down past the bazaar, and turned around a few hundred metres away.
"Of course silly!"
She left him with many thoughts swirling around inside his head, one of them being that he had finally found a friend.
Wow... That was... angsty and dark. Comments and critiques are welcome.