Sequel to [Juvenile.]

Chapter One.

"Len...?"

The voice is a distant one, swirling around in my hollow mind in a faint whisper. The only sounds that I can focus on are the cries of pain that rip from the man below me, his wails turning into gurgles as he desperately tries to breathe through the blood that's flooding into his throat. His chin is covered in the crimson liquid, and it stains my scraped knuckles as I crack him in the face again and again.

"Len."

It's enough of a release for me - more than enough to take my mind off the pain that still twists within my blackened heart. The poor thing has been so beat up in the last few years, what with my parents being the way they were...and then there's her. She made it worse, her voice echoing within my ears every time I try to get it to go away. Every time I try to forget, it seems like she's just there. Like I can still feel the way her long, slender fingers would ghost over my skin and touch my face when she moved in to kiss me.

"Len...!"

This man doesn't know what's going on, and he'll be lucky to survive. Right now, I just need a punching bag to take my frustration out on, and seeing the way he twitches and writhes beneath me at my punches makes me smile in a cruel, sadistic way, that gleam coming back to my dark eyes. I'm thankful that I live in the dangerous parts of this city, where violence and crime like this can occur and police might not even show. Those who live here sometimes don't even make reports because things like this happen so often.

"Len!"

I break away immediately, stumbling off the body off the weakening man while he pants and gasps for breath, and I do the same. I land on my bottom, wincing slightly at the pain that shoots through me from hitting the concrete so damn hard. It takes a moment for me to regain my senses, but once I do, I leap up and spin to shoot Gakupo a glare for interrupting.

"What the hell?" I shout fiercely, and even though I'm much shorter than him, the purple-haired man winces.

"Len, you need to calm down and try to think about this," he reasons, blinking slowly, sympathetically.

"What's there to think about?!" I yowl in frustration, turning away from the man who's laying on the ground bleeding. My footsteps pound on the ground as I shove past Kaito - who had been standing back with Gakupo, watching and waiting to stop me in case something got out of hand, I suppose. "She left me! No, wait..." I whirl around, my ragged hair slapping against the side of my face. My eyes glow with the rage that's been haunting me since that day. "She used me, Gakupo! How would you feel if that were how Luka treated you!?"

"I..." He's taken aback by the question, and it clearly shows within his limpid violet gaze. "I...don't know. I've never had to think about it."

"It hurts!" Clenching my hands into fists, I storm back in the direction of the street so I can head home. I have no point being here anymore. Most of my anger and frustration has already poured from my heart, through my fists until they stained red with blood. It's about time that I get that out - it's unhealthy to have that trapped within myself.

One of my hands dips into my pocket, and after a moment of fishing around, I'm able to withdraw my cellphone. Sure, I accidentally cake the little gadget with a bit of sticky red liquid, but that won't matter. I haven't really had a care for personal hygiene since. I'm a mess, and I don't need anyone else to tell me that for me to believe it. My hair is greasy, and my skin is covered in dirt and grime and blood.

She's on speed dial.

My finger is able to find the button instinctively - I don't even have to look at it. My gaze remains fixed on what's ahead of me, eyes narrowed with such cruelty that I could probably scare any random passersby who happen to catch my gaze. I place the phone by my ear just as I round the corner to turn into my own alley, and with each telltale ring, my grip tightens around it.

"Damn it, Rin. Answer the phone for one damn time your life," I snarl under my breath as I come to a stop next to the stairs that lead up to my window.

"Hey; this is Rin! I can't come to the phone right now, but I'll call you back if y-"

I grip the phone so tightly that it's practically a miracle the damn thing hasn't snapped in half in my hand. "Like hell you will," I mutter to myself, in regards to her voicemail message. I must've left a message ten times, and I still haven't so much as gotten a text in acknowledgement. Maybe she really doesn't want anything to do with me anymore? Maybe I should just give up, because maybe - just maybe - it really was all just a big lie.

Thinking about it gives me a headache. I turn to look at the brick wall that rises high at the end of the alley, full dumpsters pushed up against it. With a loud cry of irritation, I chuck my phone right at the damn thing, aiming to shatter it to a million pieces, and just my luck, the thing flies right over. I can hear it crack a couple of times as it bounces and skids along the concrete.

"Damn it, Rin. You little, pathetic tease..." I lean back against the brick wall, covering my face with my hands as I let out one long, ragged sigh. Slowly, I slide down the wall until I reach the ground, and I pull my knees up to my chest. "You were such a whore. I should've known."

"I think you dropped this."

The voice is a familiar one, one that I certainly wasn't expecting to ever hear again. I lift my head, turning in the direction of the girl who'd spoken so gruffly, yet with a friendly tone. Her face is remarkably close to mine, her crimson eyes filled with curiosity and concern. Her breath is warm against my own lips - and when I notice that, I quickly place my hands on her shoulders and push her backward.

"I thought you ran off," I tell her monotonously. "Why are you back, Neko?"

"Nya..." She pauses for a moment as though to think, but she continues to wave my phone - now scratched and scuffed - in my face until I snatch it from her and stick it in my pocket. "I just didn't want to get caught by Akaito. He'd kill me, you know?"

"Ah." I nod uninterestedly, leaning back so that my head hits against the wall. My hands rest atop my knees, battered fingers tapping restlessly on them as I wait for a response from the deep-voiced girl.

Neko shifts a little bit until she's sitting next to me, in the same position. Except her face is turned to look at me, and she doesn't show any signs of looking away even though I refuse to turn to meet her gaze. "You know," she begins slowly, "you seem like a good kid at heart."

I laugh coldly, but make no other move to speak.

She sighs. "I think you're just confused. You seem like you could be a really good person if you weren't caught in the middle of all this nonsense." Neko pauses for a moment before she touches my cheek gently with her warm fingers. "If Blondie didn't appreciate you, then you don't need to spend your time thinking about her, right, Lenny?"

I would listen to her words if I didn't think she only wanted me for herself...

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(:Mizune