'' What you holdin' on, holdin' on for?
If you wanna leave just leave
Why you wanna bite your tongue for?
The silence is killing me. ''
╭ ・ $$$ ― ― ― ― ― ― ― ― ― ― ―
Yume laid on the floor of her apartment, staring at the ceiling.
Taiju had moved in with her after that day, as the girl lived in constant fear that someone would come to her house to attack her again.
Though, they didn't talk at all.
It was as if Taiju was just her bodyguard.
They just had to live with each other in obligation, practically.
He spent most of the time in the backyard, learning how to fix bikes and reading books about business management and related topics.
They weren't alright with each other.
Taiju was hurt by what had happened to Yume, and he wanted to help her, but he didn't know how.
The girl didn't let him touch her, and she only replied with short answers.
"Yume, do you wanna watch a movie?" "No."
"Yume, are you hungry? I'll make dinner." "Okay."
"Yume, do you need anything from the shop?" "No."
"I will be going out with my friends today." "Okay."
"Yume, did take my phone charger?" "Yes."
Was how their conversations went most of the time. They only exchanged words they needed to due to living together.
Yume was clearly traumatized by what happened to her, and she wasn't allowing anyone to help her.
Hakkai and Yuzuha were the only ones who knew.
She had a strict routine now, everyday.
She would wake up at five in the morning, step in the bathroom and shower.
She would throw a tracksuit on and go running, then around eight in the morning she would come back, and take another shower.
Then, she would lay on the floor staring at the ceiling as she listened music on their radio, that sat next to their TV, until Taiju woke up, as the boy now used to wake up quite late.
They also slept on separate beds, Taiju slept on the floor, on a futon, while Yume slept on the double bed in the bedroom.
Then, she would stand up and clean the whole house, and then take another shower.
She would then watch TV in silence without blinking, until she got tired.
Then, she would get their dumbbells laying at the living room and work out for a while, while Taiju watched TV, or if he was out, she would listen to music again.
Taiju would sometimes join the girl if he was home.
Before bedtime, she would take one long bath, and get in bed at only eight.
The girl had developed an obsession with taking showers and bathing, and it worried Taiju.
It's impossible that her actions could be healthy in any way.
But the girl couldn't help it.
She felt dirty, all the time.
Everyday, she would feel dirty as she remembered that one night.
She blamed herself.
'It's because I went out by myself that night. Because I wore a tight small dress. Because I took drugs. Because I was surrounded by males all alone. Because I let my guard down.' She could come up with one hundred ways to blame herself and her actions, but the truth is that it wasn't her fault.
She just wanted to party, like a normal sixteen years old teenager.
She just wanted to enjoy her life, have fun and dance with her friends.
But they weren't her friends. They were criminals, who she didn't know.
She wasn't in the wrong for trusting them, after all, they had lied and betrayed her.
She had just fallen into a trap, like anyone else would.
Like the invincible Mikey would, like Taiju would, like Takemichi would.
She didn't take the drugs. They forced her.
It wasn't because she was alone. It was because they had ganged on her, like thirsty hienas.
She didn't let her guard down.
She knew, and she had escaped. She had survived.
But was it worth it? Was it worth escaping? Now that she had to deal with these feelings everyday, unable to escape them, was it worth it? Maybe she should've given up that night, she kept thinking.
But if she had given up that day, what would've happened to her friends?
She didn't want to think about it.
Because maybe they would've died the day Kakucho attacked them.
They all counted on her, to help them win the coming up battle.
And she would win it for them. She would take revenge, and regain her happiness.
She would take back her womanhood.
Because she hadn't given it away.
They had stolen it, and she was going to take it back. Even if deep inside, her womanhood was still inside of her.
Because she was a woman fighting to stay alive, to overcome her issues.
She would become a strong and confident woman, just like she had dreamed of her whole life.
That's what womanhood is.
Taiju worried everyday, and he called Yuzuha everyday, asking what to do.
But the girl always replied with the same words.
"Give her time to heal. Just support her."
It was so easy to say those words, while he suffered seeing the love of his life cry everynight, and take at least three showers daily, as she screamed in the shower, while she tried to scrub off the disgusting feeling all over her body.
But he knew she suffered even more. So he wasn't going to act selfishly.
Today, he had decided to buy the girl a bouquet of roses, as he knew they were her favorite flowers.
After all, Taiju had tons of money saved, from all the business he had made while he leaded the Black Dragons.
The girl had just finished showering, and Taiju walked through the door with a bouquet of twelve red roses.
Her face was red from the hot water, just like her legs were from scrubbing.
She looked beatiful, though.
Even if her eyes had deep dark circles under them and she didn't use makeup anymore, she looked naturally beautiful. And she would always look beautiful to Taiju, even when her face was busted up and she looked deadly sick.
Because he loved her.
The girl noticed the bouquet in Taiju's hands, and her eyes started shining.
She had her hair up, wrapped in a towel, as another towel covered her body, leaving her shoulders to sight.
The boy held it out for her, as he smiled softly at the girl that admired the flowers.
She grabbed it, and she looked at the card that hanged off them.
'Twelve red roses because I'll always love you twelve months a year for the upcoming years." The girl's eyes filled with tears, as she murmured 'thank you'.
She took the flowers to the kitchen, where she placed them inside a jar filled with water.
She placed it on top of their dining table, making the place look more lively.
She smiled softly, as she was able to forget all her worries for a second.
Then, out of nowhere, her phone starting ringing, bringing her out of that temporary happiness.
She ignored it, but it kept ringing over and over again.
She took it from the table, as she saw the caller's name.
"Chifuyu..." She mumbled, as she picked it up.
"Hello, Chifuyu?" She answers, as Chifuyu's heavy breaths are heard.
"Nee-san! Help! Please! Takemitchy has been taken by the fifth division! Sanzu-kun and Mucho-kun took him, they beat him up! Please save Takemitchy!" He said as his voice held worry in it, as Yume's lip twitched in anger. The boy was heavy breathing, and steps were heard. He was most likely running as he talked on the phone.
Would they never let the girl rest in peace?
"Where are they, Chifuyu?" She asks, a serious tone now held by her. She held the bridge of her nose, as her body filled up with stress. Thankfully, her body had recovered from the injuries, and from all the working out she had done, she was in top shape.
"I.. I followed their car! They're at some sort of abandoned storage room next to Shibuya station! Please come!" He says as he quickly hangs up, signaling the girl to run into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
Taiju stares in surprise by the girl's sudden moves, but she quickly leaves the room with her hair tied in a low ponytail as she wears her Black Dragon's uniform.
She puts a mask over her face, along with her black leather gloves.
"I have to save Takemitchy. I'll come back for dinner, hopefully." She says as she leaves the house, leaving Taiju with the words in his mouth.
He was going to ask her if she wanted him to come along, but the engine roaring past the house was soon heard.
He was too late now.
Meanwhile, Mucho had taken Koko, Inui and Takemichi, beating them all as he had tied their hands and legs.
As Koko and Inui told them that the first division weren't traitors, and that Takemichi didn't know anything either, Mucho confessed that he was one of Tenjiku's founding members.
After all, Yume was right.
The day they had attacked Tenjiku's hideout, Yume had said that there probably was a traitor inside Toman.
He wanted to take Koko to Tenjiku, so he had to kill Inui, and Takemichi had to die now that he had heard his confession.
Koko only followed Inui and Yume's orders, but mainly Inui's, as the boys had been friends for years, and Inui was everything Koko had left from his forever love, Akane.
Since Mucho couldn't get Yume, as she was unbeatable, he took Inui instead.
If Koko didn't have Inui, and Yume who now was weak, the boy wouldn't have a choice but to join Tenjiku.
Because at the current mental state Yume was at, everyone thought that only two options were left for her.
Going totally berserk, or disappearing.
Or that's what they thought, because Yume busted the door open with her feet.
"Koko is my subordinate, my assistant, and my best friend, Mucho. I am not going to give up on him so easily, so take me down first." She said as she had heard Mucho tell Koko to choose between joining Tenjiku and he would allow Inui and Takemichi live, or he would kill them both.
"Yume-san..." Koko and Inui said in relief, surprised by the girl.
They didn't expect her to come save them.
"You thought I'd let some peabrain take my boys away? Koko, Sei. I'd kill for you!" She says as her eyes turn dark, visually angry at Mucho for hurting her closest friends.
"Yume-chan! I'll fight by your side! I'm motivated now!" Takemichi said with a grin, as he stood up with his arms tied behind his back. The fact that the girl had arrived just made him one hundred percent sure that they would win this fight. So he wasn't going to just sit back and watch.
"Me too, Boss!" Inui said with a smile, glad the girl hadn't let him down.
Though, they didn't know how she had found out.
Then, Chifuyu walked in, even though he had been beaten up by the fifth division's members, he could fight.
"Me too, we're the Baji Union!" He said as Chifuyu and Takemichi stood by the girl's sides, Inui next to Takemichi.
"The Baji Union?" Mucho asks as he laughs, making an irk mark appear on Yume's forehead.
How dare he disrespect her family's name?
"Oh, you're done now." Koko said as he laughed, as Mucho had messed up really bad.
The thing the girl hated the most in this whole world...
was her family name being insulted.