She suddenly felt his arm around her. That immediately made her uncomfortable, but she didn't want to look weak, so she just looked forwards, ignoring his attempts at flirting. She just wanted to get out of this situation. She wanted to go home. Her hands were trembling.

Both guys now walked up to her, one on each side. "Yeah... Why don't you come with us? You're all alone right now, so, why not?"

The one with the bat laughed; it seemed like a scary implication.

"No, I'm okay," Saki said nervously.

"Oh, so you're rejecting us?" The one in the red hoodie said, looking livid. He was close to her, and she could smell his sweaty, foul breath. She froze, trying not to show the fact that she was clearly terrified.

"Is that so?" The one with the bat, who had been silent, suddenly spoke. He raised his eyebrows at Saki. "Then why are you here alone, eh? A pretty girl like you shouldn't be walking here all alone. You must enjoy the attention."

She yelped as he grabbed her arm, dragging her to a dark alleyway with no one around. She tried to pry herself off him, but he was stronger, not letting go of her arm. She tried kicking and yelling out, but he put his hand over her mouth.

"Be quiet now... You don't want to yell for help, do you? No one will hear you out here," he hissed, smiling at her.

The gang member said, "So, are you going to obey us, or will we have to force you?"

Saki was shaking so badly she didn't even attempt to fight back. She couldn't even say anything. The gang member was still gripping her arm, and she was still trying to scream, but nothing was coming out. She was about to cry, but stopped herself, which made it worse and made her shiver. She tried to nod her head frantically, scared of what would happen if she didn't obey. She was about to be forced to do God knows what...

Hysterically laughing, the gang member said, "Clothing off now."

She did not want to do what he was telling her to do, but at the same time, she feared what he would do to her if she didn't obey. So, she started to take off her clothes, trying to hide her body as much as possible. She was trembling and shaking, trying to cover herself with her arms. She was crying, but she couldn't make any sound. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it was going to jump out of her chest. She was terrified and felt so vulnerable. All she could do was hope that this would be over soon.

Suddenly, the weird loner college kid named Leo passed by the alleyway. He seemed very down but caught a glimpse of what was happening. Scared and frightened, he screamed out trembling in his voice, "S-S-Saki??"

The gang members immediately stopped what they were doing the moment they heard someone call out Saki's name, in a trembling voice, nonetheless.

The one who was 'using' her stopped and looked up, letting go of Saki's arms as she scrambled to her feet. "Who's that?!"

"We should get rid of him!" one of the other gang members said, glaring in the direction of the person who shouted Saki's name. He looked like a weirdo with glasses and all. Saki turned her head to see the 'weirdo' who yelled out her name, he was trembling, which was expected, since he just saw Saki in such a horrible situation. She tried to call out for help but was too scared to say anything. All the gang members turned to look at him.

"Who the hell is that?"

"Looks like a pathetic idiot to me."

"Let's do away with him!" one of them said, stepping forward.

Leo, looking down, mumbled shit multiple times to himself.

"Oh, come on, just do away with him. He saw all of what we were going to do to her, anyway..." one of the gang members said, cracking his knuckles.

"Yeah, let's beat him up for trying to be 'such a good guy..' Who does he think he is?!" another one said, glaring at him. They were about to beat him up when...

Leo, scared shitless, took on a fighting stance.

The others started laughing. A lot. They couldn't believe he thought he could take them on. Two of the gang members approached him.

"You seriously think you can go against us? We could beat you up without even sweating."

Another one sneered at him. "What have you got up your sleeve, freak? Think you can kick us? Oh, I bet you can't even punch right." He grinned.

The gang member hit Leo directly on the nose, making him get a nosebleed.

"Oh, look, what a poor pathetic wimp," one laughed, continuing while Leo was still getting hit.

"Ooh, look at the blood dripping from his pathetic little nose, he's definitely a weakling," another one said, stepping forward and hitting him too. Blood ran down his nose, and he winced in pain; they were hurting him, a lot.

Leo stood up again, visibly upset but very concerned and scared for his life. He took a stance and reflected over his life before punching one of the gang members directly in the face, making him fall to the ground. For a split second, the other gang members were very aggressive. Saki was still very scared and crying, looking at the whole ordeal.

The gang members were shocked, one of them, the one with the bat, was on the floor, stunned by the fact a weakling like him managed to put a good punch.

The one who got hit looked up in anger, bleeding from his nose. The other one was still laughing. "You think that actually did anything to me?" He laughed, but then saw Leo's stance and his bloodshot, glaring eyes. He stopped laughing.

"D-Don't touch Saki, you bastards," Leo said, his voice trembling.

".. Huh? What did you say? Don't touch her? As if anyone would even want to touch her. She's too disgusting for anyone to want to touch.." the one who got hit said, laughing again. He looked around, all the others laughed and laughed.

The other one laughed as well. "What, you want to protect her? Well, let's see how much you can protect her, huh? She'd probably be crying and begging for mercy if we tried to touch her. Pathetic, all girls are weak."

"Shut the fuck up," Leo said.

Saki stood there, trembling in fear as she witnessed the fight. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. The gang members had always been the most intimidating out of everyone at school, but the quiet, skinny, weird kid was standing up to them??

"What the hell?" one of the gang members said, getting hit. He fell to the ground and winced in pain from Leo's hit. He had a bloody nose, but that was expected. The gang member with the bat was now starting to take it seriously, dominating the fight, but one thing no one was taking note of. Leo is still standing, fighting his all even when he is clearly losing. Even Saki didn't realize that he was managing to last this long.!

The gang members intensified their assault on Leo, landing blows without restraint. Despite the onslaught, Leo refused to defend himself any longer, his face battered and bloodshot. He stood, battered but unbroken, his resilience a testament to his resolve.

Then, a sudden thud echoed through the alleyway. One of the gang members approached Leo, brandishing a bat with malicious intent. Leo, barely able to stand, faced his assailant with grim determination. Saki, trembling with fear, could only watch helplessly as Leo endured the punishment.

Suddenly, the sound of sirens pierced the air, shattering the tense atmosphere. The gang members froze, their laughter turning to apprehension as the approaching police sirens grew louder.

END OF chapter 2