01
the bad boy bleeds
THAT GIRL VOCIFERATING in the middle of the courtroom is none other than Akari Hill-Miuri. In short, you can just call her Akari. She's part American and part Japanese you see. That would explain the name. She's in the middle of something right now, quite important and a little bit serious.
"Your Honor," Akari paused deliberately. "The integrity of the tape is compromised, as the recorded date, originally displayed in the right-hand corner in Arial font, appears on the left-hand corner with a different font in the evidence presented by the prosecution. Allow me to illustrate with an excerpt from the unaltered original tape."
"The position of the date does not matter—"
"Yes, it does when that's the only tape where the position is different." Akari cut the opposing attorney off, returning a smirk to the scowl directed towards her.
"Hence, I would like to conclude, as it is evident that the culprit is Ms. Delaney," Akari declared, punctuating her statement with a dramatic table slam. Her arguments against Delaney and their residence had been so compelling that everyone present was truly captivated by Akari's presentation. Despite having law students among them, the consensus leaned towards Akari as the spokesperson, given her dedicated efforts in handling the Stolen Trophy case.
The court erupted into commotion as chatter filled the air. The Judge lowered her glasses before commanding silence from the room.
"Based on the evidence presented by the plaintiffs, it is evident that the tape has indeed been tampered with. With three witnesses attesting to witnessing Ms. Delaney stealing Kappa Thi Theta's trophy, I hereby pronounce Ms. Delaney guilty. Those allegedly involved in aiding Ms. Delaney will be subject to appropriate punishment, including serving detention and engaging in charity work for the next three months. The stolen trophy must be returned to Kappa Thi Theta within the next three hours."
Cheers erupted from one side of the make-shift courtroom. Members of Kappa Thi Theta surrounded Akari in victory as she smugly nodded, utterly proud of herself.
"Akari, oh my god, you crushed Beta Beta like crushing a grape. That was amazing!" Ha-eun, best friend of Akari exclaimed as she jumped up and down while hugging her. The rest of the members fussed around, clapping and hugging Akari in happy tears.
Akari was part of an organisation, Kappa Thi Theta—the organisation was founded for the good of animals and Akari loved animals. That was the sole reason why she decided to join the organisation in the first place.
Each year, a charity event takes place to donate to animal shelters and the organisation with the highest amount of money collected receives a trophy. That, my dear readers, was stolen on the night they won. After a month of gathering pieces of evidence and trials, they finally won the case, knowing from the beginning that it had to be Beta Beta— another organisation for the welfare of animals in their University.
So, you can see why this victory meant a lot to them.
Professor Davis got down from the make-shift podium for the Judge and took off her robes before heading towards the cheering Kappa Thi Theta members.
"Congratulations," She smiled before adding, "Although I'm happy for you a lot, please do not call me ever again to act as the Judge for these kinds of silly things. I will not help again."
"It won't happen again, Professor." Akari nodded gratefully. "None of this would have happened if they hadn't stolen our trophy."
"Oh well." Professor Davis shook her head before walking away, "Don't forget to submit your essays on Streptococcus and its causes, tomorrow is the deadline."
Groans broke out amidst the victory cheers but before the sour mood of writing essays could solidly make its way to everyone's minds, Rebecca—a senior yelled, "Let's throw a party tonight for our victory!"
Merriment filled the room once again just when the clearing of a throat made everyone's heads spun.
"This isn't over." Betsy Delaney, the red-headed leader of Beta Beta made a snarky remark, holding the trophy in her hands before passing it to Jesse Gilmore, the leader of Kappa Thi Theta's organisation. "This year's trophy will be ours."
"By stealing it again?" A voice erupted from the crowd, followed by guffaws including Akari's.
The red-head crossed her arms against her chest before marching away in annoyance with her fellow Beta Beta members grumbling under their breaths.
As everyone dispersed to get ready for the party, Akari was tired of the day's events and decided that she would hit the sack early for the day. Ha-eun, however, was keen on not letting her rest. "Come on, you have to attend. We won because of your last argument. If you hadn't found that recording date detail, we would still be in this mess. You are the star of the night."
"Well, since the star of the night saved the show, the star of the night gets to do as they please," Akari whined, "which is rest."
"No."
"Yes."
"I'm not letting you." Ha-eun threw a purple dress at her face and Akari dramatically pretended that it hurt.
"Besides, I have not finished my essay." Akari sat up on her bed. "Have you?"
"Of course, I have." Ha-eun replied, shrugging her shoulders. "You can just copy mine like you always do. That's not a problem."
Ha-eun was the topper of the class and having the topper of the class as your best-friend slash roommate has its benefits. Akari and Ha-eun moved out of the college dorms in their second year. They found a lovely apartment by the park for a cheap price and immediately decided to move there as they continued their studies. It's been a year of staying in this apartment and they have made it as cosy and homely as it can be.
"I'm not going, Ha-eun." Akari curled up in her soft bed with soft sheets. "I'm really tired."
"Fine." Ha-eun gave up, slowly approaching Akari before her expression turned a tad-bit serious, "Are you ok? Do you want me to stay with you?"
"I'm fine. Don't worry. I'm just sleepy and tired. You will be wasting your time staying with me. Besides, Fleur would be at the party, so you have to go if you want to make her your girlfriend as soon as possible." Akari teased, knowing she will surely be left alone now, but not before receiving a small whack on her forehead.
"Fine." Ha-eun got up from her crouched position. "Re-heat the pasta in the fridge if you are hungry. There's also Ramen." She stated, picking up her belongings before locking the bedroom door behind her.
"Have fun!" Akari yelled, an edge of slumber in her voice as she heard the faint click of the front door closing before her eyelids shut tight as sleep caught her in its arms.
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AKARI WOKE UP grudgingly before staring at the clock ahead on the side of her room. It was nine. She had slept for two hours solid and she felt a lot more refreshed. As she lay in her bed, eyes wide awake, she thought of food for dinner and felt like eating neither Ramen nor Pasta.
Akari wanted Japanese food. It's been a long time and her sudden craving for Japanese cuisine was not going down. Quickly getting up and getting dressed, taking her wallet and phone, she was out of the house in a matter of minutes, scrolling through Instagram as she watched pictures of the party flow in through the timeline.
Akari didn't regret her choice of not attending at all. It seemed like fun but Akari just didn't have the motive to attend a party that day. Once outside, it was chilly and she hugged her coat closer. Her neighbourhood was safe, there were no burglaries and everyone was nice, so she didn't have to worry a thing about walking down the dark street as she entered the small Japanese restaurant.
It smelled cosy.
"Konichiwa." Akari greeted the old married couple that was running the restaurant. There were two customers seated and Akari quickly ordered her food before taking a seat as she continued to scroll through social media pages, liking all the photos Ha-eun was tagged in.
After what seemed like ages, her food was ready and she was out back in the street, waving goodbye and tugging her coat even closer to herself as the cold air hit her cheeks.
The smell of Katsudon coming from the packed carry bag in her hands tingled her nose and made her mouth watery as her hunger grew, footsteps growing faster as she paced towards the elevator to reach her apartment and dish in.
But, as soon as she got off the elevator and looked towards her door, her stomach dropped and all thoughts vanished as her mind became empty. There was a man, lying against it, heaving up and down heavily and with the poor lights in the corridor, she couldn't make out the face.
Akari thought about stepping back in the elevator when the face turned towards her and she stopped in her tracks, heart beating in her ears and gnawing her bottom lip as her mind reeled to a thousand different conclusions.
"Akari..." The man breathed the word out and immediately, she gasped, the bag in her hands dropping and forgotten as she slowly moved forward, blood running cold as she figured out the face of who was lying against her door.
Julian Jones.
Just as she was about to ask him what he's doing here, his body went limp and Akari fell to the ground beside him, shaking his shoulders. "Wake up." Akari breathed. "Jones, you have to wake up right now." She gritted her teeth and then looked at his t-shirt and hands which were covered in what seemed like blood. For a moment, she panicked and placed her palm against his chest. Feeling the heartbeat underneath her palm made her give out a cry of relief.
Oh, this is bad. This wasn't how the night was supposed to go at all.
"What's all that noise?" She heard the door behind her unlock and Mrs Petunia sticking her pointy nose out as she arched her perfectly trimmed eyebrows, scowling at Akari. Akari immediately made sure to hide his t-shirt and hands from her view.
"Nothing. Sorry. It's just my friend." Akari blurted out. "He's drunk."
"Take care of him, then." Mrs Petunia grumbled. "It's noisy and it's night."
"Yes, I'm sorry. I'm bringing him in." Akari responded before the door shut behind her with a mutter of words from Mrs Petunia that made Akari gulp.
Having no choice, Akari slowly lifted him, placing his right arm around her shoulder as she fiddled with the lock. The heavyweight made it very difficult for her to balance herself as she dragged him in. She can tell that the blood was staining her clothes too and the thought made her sick to the stomach.
For a second, Akari paused to think what she was doing was crazy but she pushed that thought aside and decided to just do what her heart says now.
Akari knew who Julian Jones was alright. He was a really quiet boy in College and he doesn't usually talk to anyone. No one associates with him either. With a bucket-hat always on his head, he was a really difficult person to read. Only this time, he didn't have a bucket-hat and his hair was disarray.
She dragged him to the bathroom before sighing, letting herself take a breath she needed at the moment as a thousand questions circled her small mind. She took off her coat, pushed it into a bucket of water and then washed her hands to get rid of the bloodstains. Luckily enough, the floors weren't stained. Circling her arms around his torso, she pulled off the shirt he was wearing, tossing it into the bucket as well.
Why on earth was she doing this again?
She remembered how desperate his voice sounded when he said her name. She had never spoken to Julian Jones before. They were from completely different sides of the University.
Why is he here? Why did he sound so desperate saying her name?
Just as she was deep in her thoughts, her stomach grumbled and she remembered the Japanese food that she had just dropped in front of the elevator.
Placing him properly against the wall, she rushed back outside to see that the bag was still there, taking it and entering her apartment, before locking the door behind her.
A text lit up her phone as she placed her food on the kitchen counter.
'I will be staying at Fleur's tonight. Is that alright?'
Akira gulped. 'Yeah, ok.' She replied, fingers slightly trembling and she didn't know why. She went back inside her room, seeing Julian Jones at the same place she left him. Once again reminding herself how crazy this is, she pulled him up, cleaning his hands and torso off the bloodstains before placing him on her room's couch.
Just in case you are wondering, Akari was a medicine major. And, even though a dozen dark bruises were forming on his face, neck and chest, one thing she knew was that the blood was not his— and that single thought made her regret whatever she was doing.
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Thoughts please? Continue or not? (:
Would love to hear them! ❤️