He deserved this...
Somewhere in the deepest depths of his mind, he knew he deserved it...
Athena...
He remembered her, even now, as vividly as the day he had met her. A beautiful girl, filled with life; a girl who had shown him tenderness and care and a life... a real life... a life he could have had... a life with her...
He loved her, he knew it then as he knew it now. How could he not. She'd given him everything, revealed the truth of his old life and he'd repaid her with harsh words and humiliating defeat.
Was it really any wonder why he now reaped what he had long since sown?
"What am I doing?" he asked himself softly.
What was he doing? Why was even he trying to contemplate kidnapping the young girl in front of him, especially when his circumstances were his fault to begin with?
He approached her slowly, careful not to give off an air of his intent. Even from a glance he could tell that she was not the most worldly of girls. She was alone, at night, and staring at a vending machine in utter bewilderment; true prey for any predator.
"You look cold."
But he was not a predator, nor would he ever be. Athena had been hurt by him, by his own darkness; he would never let it happen again. Even if he died he would never hurt another girl again.
She nodded slightly, "I was at a party, one thing led to another and I ended up running away. That is why I forgot my coat..."
She sneezed. It was a cute sneeze. Even if he had frozen his heart, even if he had decided to kidnap her, he doubted that he would have been able to ignore her after that.
A gentle smile crossed Hayate's face as he draped his coat around her shoulders.
"You shouldn't let yourself freeze like that. Put it on."
A good deed... and one that more than likely would cause him to kick himself later on, but if she was even remotely thankful then he would have no regrets.
"This is a very cheap coat."
twitch
"It's very rough and really heavy."
TWITCH
"Not to mention the size is too big."
TWITCH
"But it's warm. I like it."
A feeling of warmth enveloped him at her words and the first true smile, he'd had in a long time, crossed his face. It was worth it. Everything he'd ever faced in his admittedly short life, was worth it. “Come on,” he grinned, “let‘s get out of the cold.” The girl nodded gratefully.
The walk was…comforting, Hayate realized. Even though there was silence, it wasn’t the same oppressive type he’d always felt around his parents. Perhaps it was because of the girl herself, or maybe because he finally came to terms with his life? He wasn’t exactly sure, but in the end, it was nice.
“Ah, ojou-sama!”
The voice was musical. The type of voice one expected from princesses and royalty. It was the type of voice that reminded him of another girl he’d met so long ago.
It was hard to fight the bitterness as he watched them interact. The young ojou-sama and her maid; the young butler and his master; the two relationships were so similar, and yet so different…
“Become a good person ojou-sama,” he whispered.
At the end of the day, it was all he could hope. He had no home, and was now on the run from the Yakuza. The parents who he had lived with and paid off debts for had sold him, and to ask for help meant to get someone else involved in his struggles. There was no way out was there?
Hayate sighed softly. There was nothing for him anymore. Soon enough he would either freeze or get caught, yet either way, at least he could remember the smile that he had put on the young ojou-sama’s face…
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(Posted Sat, 15 Jan 2011 02:19)
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