tampered | Log; Completed

Log; Completed

When; October 1st; evening
Rating; PG-13 (mentions of rape)
Characters; Naota

listlesshonesty, Watari

scienceinacan, Mamimi

insurgently, and Canti

out_of_his_head
Summary; Shortly after these threads, Naota enlists the help of Canti and Watari to help him find his "wife."
Log; Riding on Canti's back with Watari at their side was both a blessing and a curse. While he felt safe with the both of them there, knowing that they would both protect him if he needed it, he realized at the same moment just how weak he was.

He couldn't find Mamimi on his own, much less even protect her. And that guy... It made his blood boil to think about it. He shouldn't want to hurt a person as much as he did, but that... That thing deserved it!

Naota's hands clenched tightly in Canti's jacket and he sat up a little straighter. He was going to make things right; he'd fix everything. All he had to do was find her, first.

"Mamimi! Where are you?!"

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Canti flew low, lights flashing brightly as he scanned the city for Mamimi. Naota's worry was shared, but nothing could be done until Mamimi was found.

"............."

He looked over his shoulder at Naota. The boy'd been missing for a while. It was only by chance that Canti'd even wound up in The City in the first place. Apparently he hadn't come soon enough. Hopefully the girl would still be okay by the time they arrived.

It was supposed to be a game... Always just a game. Mamimi never meant it. Not in that way... She left her mark, and she moved on. She had thought Cassian was joking... A game with a chair in an alley, right? Maybe the beer had made her stupid... Her clothes still stank of it.

...And other things, considering she was currently curled up behind a dumpster, thighs squeezed tightly together in an attempt to hide the blood that had dried there. He hadn't believed she was a virgin. Did he believe now? Did he care? No... He still called her those things. Whore. Tramp.

That knife against her throat had kept her from screaming, but apparently she hadn't even been allow to whisper out for Takkun. That had just gotten her struck. And her Senpai? Struck once more. Her black eye and bloodied lip were the evidence left behind.

She didn't respond when she heard her name in the distance... Didn't want anyone to see. She had deserved this. Was this what she had wanted...?

With a sigh, she just kept staring down at her bare feet. She couldn't even find her panties...but maybe she wouldn't be able to recognize them if she found them anyway. As if someone might yet be watching, Mamimi tucked her skirt in a little more and thumped her head back against the dumpster, letting out a clang.

The end of her cigarette flared as she inhaled once more.

Yutaka followed Naota in relative silence with 003 fluttering above his right shoulder, hooting softly. It was too much, and Yutaka couldn't do anything about it. Where had he been when Bon was with that thing? How could he let Mamimi down like this?

He kept his eyes open for any sign of Mamimi, all the while keeping close watch on Naota. At the very least, he would keep Naota safe from the drunken people on the streets.

Hah, even he thought that was pathetic. Some shinigami he was.

"Mamimi-chan! Mamimi-chan!"

But it was no time for self-loathing, Yutaka knew, and he squashed all those useless thoughts.

A sound from the alley caught his attention admisted the buzzing and whirling of Canti and his lights. It was sparsely lit and hard to see from the street, but he could've sworn he saw the faint glow of something; maybe one of her cigarettes, in the dark.

Naota didn't wait to tell Canti to stop, or even to point out what he thought he saw. Instead, he let go of the jacket he'd been keeping a death grip on ever since he showed up and slid from the robot's back to the ground. He stumbled on his landing, regained his balance, and scrambled for the alley way.

"Mamimi?" It looked like one of her shoes, one the other side of the dumpster. He hesitantly stepped closer, peered around the corner of the dumpster, and felt his stomach sink at what he saw.

She had... He felt like he was going to be sick.

Caught off-guard by the action, Canti whirled around mid-air to watch Naota run toward a nearby alleyway. He set back on his feet and hurried up after, skidding to a stop as he reached the corner. The robot peered his head over Naota's, his face illuminating the dank alley. Say what you may about robotic emotion, but Canti visibly flinched at the sight.

Being more level-headed than Naota was capable of being under such circumstances, Canti immediately ran past him and over to Mamimi, slowing down as he got close enough. As a gesture of good faith, he turned the brightness of his screen down, leaving just enough so the alley wouldn't be pitch-black.

Canti turned his head over his shoulder to look to Naota, making sure he was okay. He looked faint, but there were more pressing concerns.

He turned his head back to Mamimi.

As soon as she heard the voice, Mamimi curled in on herself even more, backing up into the corner that the dumpster and the brick wall provided. Bare toes curled against the cold ground, and she let out a shudder as she lifted both arms to shield her face from view.

Under her breath, she just barely muttered, "No. No. Mamimi's not a whore. Mamimi didn't get paid. Mamimi didn't want to."

Yutaka had followed Naota as soon as he'd jumped off his strange friend. He kept his distance though. When the boy suddenly came to a stop, looking at something hidden from his view by a dumpster, Yutaka felt his stomach lurch. He knew then that Naota had found Mamimi, and that it was not good at all.

It would be redundant to ask now, Yutaka thought. So, he waited for confirmation from Naota instead.

A lump had former in his throat; might be his stomach, he couldn't really tell any more. Hearing her say those words... Naota clenched his fist in his jacket, moving to sit on her side. He was afraid to touch her; she could be hurt where he couldn't see, she smelled like beer and sex and what probably was blood.

And still, he wrapped an arm around her side and hugged her tightly, his face pressing into her side. His apologies were muffled into her clothing, and he felt tears run down his face. This was all his fault.

Canti, knowing full well he could do little more to contribute than to offer only his presence as reassurance to the two. He sat quietly at the entrance to the hole created by the wall and the dumpster, the dim light from his screen illuminating them both for a moment. They didn't want to be seen, though. It was written over both of their faces. The robot turned his head to look toward the other man who'd followed them here. His screen displayed an ellipsis to note his concern.

"...."

Naota was the only one who could really do anything to help her right now. Good to know he'd grown so much in the short time he'd been away.

The touch didn't register immediately. It just made her slump a little... There was a bright light, and then it was gone. What was happening? Was she still in that alley? Still in Endsville?

Then Naota's hug registered, and his voice, but it wasn't his voice she heard. 'Don't tell anyone or you'll regret it.'

Her muscles went rigid and she yanked back, arm scraping against the wall as she tried to scramble away from Naota. Her cigarette dropped, crushed beneath her knee as she flinched to the side. "Mamimi won't, Mamimi--"

Something was stopping her from escaping, though. Something hard. She smacked right into it and looked up, only for her jaw to drop a little. Canti-sama!

She cowered then, knowing she had done something wrong. Her forehead was practically touching her knees as she bowed, hands shaking as she tried to find her lighter, and voice practically hysterical with panic. "Cantido-sama, I'm not worthy! Forgive Mamimi, who couldn't even burn down Endsville for you!"

They didn't want to be seen?

At least, the machine with a TV for a head seemed to give off that message as it blocked the entrance to Naota and Mamimi. Yutaka was sure now that Mamimi had been found; he heard her voice. It wasn't loud, but it was... distressed. Yutaka feared the worse had happened, especially considering the nature of the curse.

He folded his arms, for a while satisfied by just waiting. After a few moments though, Yutaka decided it wouldn't be good to stay out here too long, especially if Mamimi was hurt or anything.

"Naota-kun...? Should we go back?"

Naota glanced up at Watari once Mamimi had pulled away, quiet and uncertain. He didn't know what to do, but... He supposed he was right. Keeping her out here wasn't going to do any good.

He pulled his sweatshirt over his head; it was big on him, so it might just fit the girl. And even if it didn't, at least she'd have... Something to cover herself up in. He placed it on the pavement next to her, then looked to Canti.

"...Can you carry her?"

He seemed like the only one she trusted right now, and if touching her made her that upset... He wouldn't do it ever again.

Canti looked down at Naota hesitantly, then back at Mamimi. It should have been the boy, but... She'd chosen him. Naota was hurt. His voice proved it well enough even to the robot.

Still, Naota and the other man were right; she needed to be taken somewhere to clean off. There was nothing else he could do.

Gingerly draping Naota's jacket over Mamimi's shoulders, he proceeded to gingerly pick her up. He noticed a certain something lacking, though. A red streak formed across the robot's screen, but it quickly went away as he adjusted Mamimi so she could be better concealed. Holding her close to his chest, Canti patted her on the head reassuringly. He couldn't say anything to her. In a way, he wasn't sure she'd believe him anyway. But she knew him, and she knew he wouldn't hurt her or let her be hurt (again, at least...). With that twinge of guilt, only half that of Naota's significant burden, Canti walked over beside the boy, watching him and Mamimi closely.

This was something far beyond his ability to fix alone.

The sweater draped over her shoulders made her turn her head as the kind robot picked her up, and Mamimi reached up on instinct to pull it tighter around her shoulders. It wasn't cold out...so why was she shivering?

It wasn't the pat on the head that made her still, but the scent that accompanied the sweatshirt. Takkun.

Eyes sliding shut, Mamimi curled up and nuzzled against the jacket Canti wore, muttering something inaudible under her breath, though her lips seemed to form the word 'Takkun' somewhere in the mix.

Cantido-sama would protect her, even if she had failed Takkun. She was a terrible wife.

The word to describe Mamimi at that moment was no longer just subdued. It was broken. Yutaka decided upon this as he watched the way the robot took her into its arms. This realization was frightening, even more so when he began contemplating the many possibilities that could have led to this.

To have broken Mamimi-chan like this; what could have happened?

A part of him knew; the place they found Mamimi at, and the state she was in, spoke volumes. Yutaka refused to believe it though, that something like that could happen to Mamimi-chan. As he moved, following Naota, Mamimi, and their friend, he kept his eyes peeled in search of clues. He hoped to find something that would... dissuade him from the possibility of rape, but instead, he spotted something that only served to strengthen it.

A piece of cloth, rumpled, and left haphazardly in a shadowed corner. It looked small enough to be a-- He turned his eyes to Mamimi quickly, searched her without actually coming closer or anything. He found, to his dismay, that there were streaks of red on her legs.

Enma...

He said nothing.

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Log; Completed

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