No Holds Barred (1)

(Ophelia)

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[A/N: Just a small warning for the harassment scene in the middle of the chapter for some violence and generally inappropriate comments on a lot of fronts.]

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Running on mental autopilot, I pushed Koharu along the backs of the sparse buildings—breaths and steps harsh. Their shadows gave us enough coverage during the tense seconds as I thought of what to do in a haste. All my choices for a route were laid out before me, but they became convoluted in my vision until I was panicked and confused.

She did not say anything to me, and she simply followed orders, which I greatly appreciated. We didn't need any delays. However, it did strike me as strange that she didn't put up a fight, but my anxiety was all-encompassing then.

"Come here," I told her when something caught my eye.

She trailed me around the corner with a sharp turn. There was an alleyway between two battered stores with one selling cigarettes galore and another claiming itself to be a pub.

With a frightened brain, I frantically glanced between the doors.

*Left? Right? Left? Right?*

*Eh…*

*Fuck it.*

A door screeched open behind me, and I feared it was the police getting out of their vehicle as there were no buildings in that direction.

We were running out of time!

My heart pounded.

Koharu tapped my bicep before pointing to the left side. I nodded without questioning.

We entered the bar with rushed steps, yet they were restrained enough to not arouse much commotion or suspicion. I figured the place would have a few empty rooms in the back to hide in without thick smoke clogging the ventilation. Koharu made a good choice.

The bell chimed gently, much too merry for our situation. (A church bell would have been more fitting, tolling away to the melody of our fate.)

The bartender hardly noticed us barge in as he cleaned off a champagne glass and was unfazed when his elbow slammed into a bottle of whiskey that was still sealed.

Several people sat along the counter, and many were perched on wooden stools around tables, chatting about whatever unfiltered things they could think of.

Koharu, still breathing heavily and terrified with her large eyes, tilted her head towards an open door.

"Let's hide in there."

I nodded to her again, and we ran off. Tables and glasses rattled beside us as we passed them and bumped into wooden slabs. The wallpaper and bottles flitted by—

*Uh?*

I froze up when a man grabbed my wrist, my heartbeat ceasing for several moments.

*Shit. Did the police catch up that quickly? Is this the end of our heist? Am I going to—*

"Where are you going, princess?" a gritty voice said to me, slurred and drunken.

*I'm not the princess here…*

When I turned around, I saw a greasy man with an unkempt beard and a slender nose. Perhaps he would have been handsome in a sort of primal way if he bothered to clean himself up, but he didn't seem like the kind of person who would treat me nicely if the interaction went south.

I remained cautious. Because I didn't visit them often, I was unused to dealing with people in bars.

"To sit down," I told him blankly with just enough force to hopefully shut him up.

"Ah," he said with a shiny grin, holding up a beer mug in the other hand. "Let me join you, dear."

Koharu looked as if she wanted to beat the living shit out of the man due to the disgustingly sweet way in which he talked to me.

"Get your hands off her," she complained, pushing the man's soft stomach. He didn't budge, so she smacked him again.

I kept quiet to not ignite the coals of anger even more, but truthfully, I was scared to the point of immobility. Gulping, I glanced around the area in which I was trapped.

*Sorry, Koharu. Sorry, myself. I can't do much of anything to fight back.*

"What are you?" he snarled. "Her girlfriend or somethin'?"

"Why does that matter?"

Koharu's fists curled, but I doubted she intimidated the man even slightly.

"Don't touch her," she commanded again with thick malice laced in her voice.

"So then, you are," he mused. "That's hot."

The next second, he pulled me closer to him, and an icky, disgusting feeling welled up in me as he placed a hand on my cheek to rub it.

*Don't you fucking dare.*

"How about this, sweetie: Why don't the two of you come with me to my apartment for some fun?" Raising his eyebrows, he placed his thumb over my lips.

"I'll show you what it's like to do the real thing with a man. Your pretty eyes look like you're begging for it." He clicked his tongue.

*Done it before! Not doing it with you!*

The pet name and coddling entirely crossed the line for me!

I spat on his hand and lifted the one gripping my wrist so that I could bite it. He yelped as blood trickled out in thick ropes.

While he was distracted by the leaking wound, I used my fist to smack him between the legs. He backed away with a sickly look, but he seemed volatile and perhaps more dangerous than before, even as he nearly stumbled.

*Crap. He's very drunk.*

Koharu pulled one of those rocks from her pocket that she had for some strange reason and lobbed it at his stomach so that he bent over at the waist, directing both of us to run across the establishment.

We did not get very far before the man seized my arm again and threw me against the nearest wall.

"Who the fuck do think you are playing hard to get like this? You think you're a celebrity or somethin'?"

Looking back at him, I could not move under his piercing gaze, scared that I would upset him to where he would beat me. My hands were tense as they balled into fists, sweating profusely. I had no way out from the corner I was backed into.

Koharu was much less passive than I was, though. Fed up with him, she swung her leg into the back of the man's knee to disturb his balance.

"I already told you to go away!" she yelled. "Why don't you listen to good advice?"

I used the opportunity to come to my senses and push the man's chest away so that he plunged to the ground.

Koharu kicked him in the ribs. "Don't you ever touch my girlfriend again! You hear me?"

I had never heard her get quite so angry before, and it was simultaneously very sexy of her and very fucking scary.

He grabbed the leg of her pants, stretching it some. She flung her calf away.

"Don't lay a hand on me either!"

As the yelling match ensued between a pit bull and a wounded chihuahua, I caught my breath. I glanced over at Koharu in admiration. That was the second time she had saved me since we got here, and I knew I owed her whatever she wanted for that.

The chiming bells resounded at the front; they drew my attention immediately.

*Holy shit.*

"Koharu," I told her desperately as I pulled her shirt, intimidated by the sight before me.

"Koharu!" I yelled again as she verbally sparred with the man until it seemed his windpipes heaved for air.

(That seemed excessive, but he was getting quite feisty again himself. Messing with Koharu—as short and weak as she appeared—was one of the worst ideas imaginable.)

She turned to me with that upset look on her face, but it soon softened. "Yes, love?"

That duality was amazing, but I didn't have time to dwell on it.

"We gotta leave now. The cops just walked in."

"Crap," she told me with bulging eyes. "Where are we going?"

Three men surveyed the bar from the entrance, one stupidly scratching his butt as they peered around. They must have been the ones who left their metal bull unattended a few minutes prior, somehow just finding their way inside after likely visiting the other shop.

"You seen these girls?" one of the men said to the bartender, who was as apathetic as before.

"No. I ain't seen nobody lookin' like that 'round here." He wiped the counter in front of him as the cops prodded his brain for more information.

Their conversation—of which I heard small pieces—provided a workable distraction for Koharu and me. Meanwhile…

*Think, Lia. Think. How do we get out of here when they're by the front door?*

My brain ached, and I grew flustered for a moment.

*Are we trapped? That can't be right…*

As I glanced around, the most obvious place for us to run was a long hallway nearby with a pitiful curtain concealing it. It seemed to be an area reserved for the staff, which meant it probably had a door to outside.

That could be our ticket out, I thought.

If anything, it was worth the risk just for the possibility we could escape. There was no other way we would have a chance of leaving unscathed.

I gathered my thoughts and pointed to the area.

"There," I whispered to Koharu.

"Got it."

To avoid attracting attention, we did not run, but we instead slid between the smelly throngs of people, overwhelmed by the pungent scent of alcohol. We crashed into bare skin and chilled glasses, yet we were fortunate enough not to knock over a half-nude waitress on our way out amidst all the tipsy adults.

When we reached the hall, we breezed past the useless sheet, which rained dirt in our faces. I coughed slightly, feeling vaguely stuffy like when Leo whisked fairy dust around.

*Never thought I'd miss him, but if he was here, then we'd escape so much quicker!*

The curtain revealed a thin walkway covered in wooden boards that had nearly been peeled off the walls, leaving gaping black holes. The hallway splintered off in two directions, each of a shallow length and depth. One was marked as containing the washrooms, while the other had an empty white sign. Koharu zipped ahead of me to examine the latter fork.

"Come here."

I dashed so that I was behind her. I tried to remain stealthy, but the creaking under my feet did not reassure me.

"There's a window on this door," she muttered, curling her hand towards her. "I think it's a way out. Come on."

We bolted to the potential exit, and she played with its golden lock until it twisted correctly to allow us to pass through. There must have been a faulty spring or something as the door shot away like a bullet, exhibiting the great outdoors to us.

I nearly shouted in relief when the fresh air stimulated the skin between the rips in my clothes. However, that intended cheer soon turned to one of disdain. Not even ten seconds passed before I realized we should have taken the simplicity of the lock as a caveat to us.

It was easy for something to give the illusion of freedom. All it had to do was appear to not be inside a container—appear as if it stood on its own like a mother bird—and it seemed as such.

We thought we were those free birds for a moment, staring at the trail of grass in front of us like it was a path to treasure. We thought we could fly over adversity and make a run for Centauri and Orbis with fields of flowers ahead of us.

But our eyes were led to tan and mahogany stacks that covered that miraculous horizon we sought.

Really, we sat idly in a box.

*For once, Koharu and I are the same.*

The clearing we entered was sealed off by piles of bricks, caging us in as if we were zoo animals. We were rambunctious, feisty to get out as we gnawed at our fencing in vain.

Alas, this was a fortress we could not soar over.

I had no idea why such a space was attached to a bar, but it didn't matter.

Of course, we could have tried to ascend the frail bricks, but it seemed they would disintegrate like corpses weakened by scavengers if they were so much as touched. Being squashed was more likely to be an explicitly dead end for us than watching the shackles wrap around our wrists.

The inherent danger in turning around—attempting to storm through the tavern—was so great that we had better luck sitting there like captured prey rounded up by a predator while waiting for the final verdict. I closed my eyes and inhaled.

*Unless…*

"Koharu, listen to me." My voice was hurried, breathless.

There wasn't any time left. I had to be concise.

"Yes?" she said, skin paler than usual.

I sighed.

*If I have to make a choice…*

"I want you to stand on my shoulders and try to get over the wall. Okay? Think about it: At least one of us will make it out—"

"No." She sounded offended.

"If anything, we're going down together, baby," she said while chuckling, trying to diffuse the tension of the situation. "When I said I loved you, I made a vow that I would never leave you behind."

Stepping forward, she inhaled the gentle aroma of the surrounding flowers peeking through slabs of concrete. "I won't break that now."

*How fucking idiotic of you! We're adults! Not lovestruck teenagers!*

Somehow, I felt she indirectly referenced how I abandoned her before in the forest, but that was irrelevant then.

"I'm telling you to break it," I told her with what felt like bloodshot eyes. "I want you to be safe. Listen to me. Listen, please. I'm begging."

*Because even if you don't get back, at least you'll be able to live your dream.*

I moved towards her and gripped her shoulders in desperation. I was sure my gaze appeared like I was possessed as I shook her aggressively.

Unfazed by it, she shook her head and exhaled.

"It's too late for that," she said in a distraught manner while she locked her eyes on something beyond my frame.

With a chorus of clomps, three sets of boots skidded to a stop.

"Put your hands up!"

*Shit! It's over! Close the doors to the stage!*