Save Me (Ken “Draken” Ryuguji) 02 – Surprising Kindness

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''“My head is haunting me and my heart feels like a ghost. I need to feel something, ’cause I’m still so far from home. Cross your heart and hope to die. Promise me you’ll never leave my side.”'' Bring Me The Horizon – Follow You

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I groaned, feeling a sharp pain in my head as I came to. It took a minute for my vision to come into focus, not that it mattered much since I was surrounded by darkness. Man, that was… one hell of a fucking dream. It felt so real and I can remember every detail which is weird because I can never remember my dreams. Whatever, it's over and done with now.

I sat up, brow furrowed against the pain in my skull. Waking up with a headache is always the worst. I think I have some painkillers in the bathroom. Pulling myself to my feet, I started to slowly navigate through the darkness, reaching for where I knew the light switch to be, but there was nothing there, not even a wall! I know I'm forgetful, but surely I couldn't forget something like a light switch location. I continued forward, my hand held out to try and locate the wall when my foot suddenly caught on something. A yelp of surprise left my lips as I fell forward, barely catching myself with my hands. Phew, my face would've been even more fucked if it hit the concrete.

Wait…

Concrete? My room has wood floors!

I heard a male groan behind me. "What the fuck?"

My heart hammered in my chest and I scrambled to my feet just as the light was flicked on. It wasn't the brightest thing in the world, but it illuminated what looked like an abandoned warehouse or garage of some sort. This is definitely not my fucking room.

"What's going on?"

My head snapped to the side at the familiar voice and I saw the tall man from before, rubbing the back of his head as he yawned, his eyes half-lidded with sleep.

"She tripped over me." This guy had short, cropped hair that was bleached blonde and dark eyes. He, too, looked like he had just woken up, stifling a yawn as he looked at me. "You okay? That seemed like a hard fall."

I gulped, lowering my gaze to the floor as I slowly backed away, feeling like a trapped cat surrounded by hungry dogs. So… that wasn't a dream? I'm really in the past surrounded by dangerous guys who want to kill me? "This c-can't be happening…"

"You shouldn't be up yet," the tall boy commented, coming closer.

The smaller boy chuckled. "Draken said he tackled you like a linebacker."

"I did not," 'Draken' huffed at him before looking back at me, his expression softening as he reached out for me. "Come on, you need to -"

My body acted before my mind could catch up and I slapped his hand away, backpedaling until I was up against a metal cart with a bunch of tools on it.

The shorter boy stood up, frowning at me. "Is that how you treat someone that saved your life? Twice ."

"She's terrified," Draken muttered before jerking his head toward the door behind him. The shorter boy got the message, sending me one last look before he headed out, the door creaking loudly as it opened and closed.

I'm now alone with a guy I know I don't stand a chance against. Savior or not, I don't trust him. Besides, can I really interact with people in the past all willy nilly? What if I change something so drastically that something terrible happens? What if… what if Ryan Reynolds never becomes Deadpool?! Fuck, that would be terrible.

"Hey," he called softly. "I'm not gonna hurt you, alright? Why would I save you if I was just gonna hurt you?"

He had a point, but… what if he's some anime antagonist that likes to save people in order to enslave them and torture them? I feel like I've seen something like that somewhere. Or maybe it was a Dr. Phil episode.

"You hit the ground hard. You should lie down a bit longer." He motioned toward the side of the room I had come from and I noticed a small, makeshift bed made out of jackets, including the white and black one he had been wearing earlier.

"What…" I swallowed hard, my gaze staying fixed on that jacket. "…happened?"

"You don't remember?" He quirked a brow, folding his arms over his chest. With just a tank top on his upper half, I noticed just how muscled his arms were. Fuck, he could snap me like a twig if he wanted to. "You might've hit your head. Will you at least sit down?"

I noticed one of those black plastic containers that people used to keep milk in sitting near my feet and I slowly approached it, settling down on top of it. My head swam, a new wave of throbbing overcoming me. My eyes screwed shut and I held my hand over my face. I don't think my body's ever taken this much abuse in such a short time frame… I think it's revolting. Nice.

"Here, these'll help."

I glanced up at him as he held out a bottle of painkillers and a bottle of water. I hesitated, wondering if I should just endure the pain but fuck, it was a lot. Finally, I threw caution to the wind and took them, muttering a small thanks before unscrewing the lid. I was hyper-aware of his eyes on me which made me nervous, my hands shaking as I dumped a few pills onto my hand, which I noticed had a white bandage wrapped around it.

He waited 'til I took them before he spoke again. "You ran out in front of a truck. I just barely reached you in time."

"How…"

"How what?"

"…you were there."

Realization flashed across his face and he rubbed the back of his neck, looking a bit sheepish.

"You f-followed me…"

"Can you blame me? You were clearly out of it, you were hurt, and you seem to like getting into trouble."

Of course I don't fucking like it, but it certainly likes me, it seems.

"I wanted to make sure you got home safe, but you didn't go home."

Home… does such a place even exist anymore? I wasn't too sure about that. The building might be there, but I certainly didn't live there.

"What did that old man say to you?"

"What?" My eyes snapped up to his but I quickly looked away. His gaze is so damn intense. "W-What do you mean?"

"You were talking to him and then you started freaking out. Was he harassing you?"

The front of the newspaper flashed in my mind. "July 2nd, 2010…" I muttered under my breath, clenching the bottle of pills tighter. How did this happen? How is it even possible? Even in 2020, time travel is just a fucking dream. So how… there was a flash in my mind - the face of the man who dragged me onto the tracks with him. I remember his repeated apologies to me as the train barreled toward us, repeated like a mantra on his tongue. Did he go back in time, too? If so… maybe he knows how to get back!

"Is that date significant or something?"

"What?" I snapped out of my thoughts, looking at him with confusion. "No, uh… it's not… significant. Sorry…"

"You're a strange one," he commented with a sigh. "And you don't have a place to stay, do you?"

I hadn't given it much thought with all the other shit happening but… I guess not. I don't even have enough for a motel, either. A groan passed my lips as I held my head between my hands. This keeps getting better and better, don't it? A large hand suddenly rested on top of my head and I tensed up, but his grip was warm and gentle.

"You can stay here for now."

"Why?" I whispered softly. "Why are y-you being so nice?"

"You expect me to throw you out on your ass with no place to go? You can't even protect yourself."

I winced at that comment, knowing full well he was speaking the truth but that didn't make it any less painful. "I have no m-money…"

"Not asking for any."

Was it really okay for me to stay here for free? Was it okay to even stay with this guy, to begin with? I knew nothing about him, aside from the fact that he's hella strong and he's called 'Draken' which honestly sounds like a supervillain name.

"If you want, you can help me out around this place. It's not exactly the cleanest or most organized place."

I slowly nodded and he removed his hand, but he didn't step back like I was hoping he would.

"What's your name?"

Should I give him a fake name? "Jae Winchester." Guess not, thanks for joining the huddle, brain, 'preciate it.

"Ken Ryuguji."

Ah, Draken must be some kinda nickname. Or maybe it's his villain name. "Ryuguji… san. T-Thank you."

"Don't be so formal," he muttered, sounding a bit embarrassed. "Just call me Ken. And you're welcome."

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I sighed, forcing myself up. I had been trying to sleep for the past two hours with no luck. I felt tired but my mind was just running too wild to find enough peace for rest. The other boy had never returned, but Ken was sleeping a few feet away, using his arm as a pillow and snoring softly. I'm not sure if he sleeps here regularly or if he's just watching me to make sure I don't fuck with anything. Though if that's the case, he's doing a poor job, sleepin' like a rock.

The building was drafty and the night was chilly, making me feel bad for the male. He had given me his overshirt, leaving him with just a tank top against the cold cement floor. Meanwhile, I had my hoodie to keep me warm. Why the hell would he do something so stupid? I shook my head, picking up the overshirt and approaching him slowly so I didn't wake him up or trip over anything again. The moon was in the perfect position to stream a ray of white light through a hole in the wall, landing on his face. It made him seem like he was glowing and, for a moment, I could only stare at him. Sure, he's still terrifying as fuck, but he's also really handsome. His hair is certainly a fucking choice, but it suits him somehow.

I gently laid the overshirt on top of him and I smiled softly before standing up, heading for the door. Maybe I just need some fresh air to be able to sleep. That's what I'm hoping for anyway. The night was chilly, making my body relax as soon as I stepped outside and I took a deep breath. Nighttime had always been my favorite because there weren't as many people out and about. It was just so peaceful and calm. Now, if only it were raining, it would be perfect.

I leaned against a large crate, sliding down until my butt hit the ground. The sky looked like blue velvet, dotted with twinkling stars and dark clouds that tried to obscure the moon but it was too bright and the clouds were too thin. I leaned my head back against the wood and closed my eyes, trying to clear my mind but it kept going over everything that had happened like a broken film reel. My first step is pretty clear - I have to try and find that guy and see if he has answers. If he even came through with me. There's no guarantee he did and there's no guarantee that if he did, he came through at the same point on the timeline as I did, in the same general location.

This is why humans shouldn't mess with time travel! There are just too many possibilities and way too much room for error. Though, I suppose I should be thankful that it was only ten years and not a hundred. I definitely would not be able to survive that far back. I'm already missing my phone so much. And I haven't logged into my games in days, all that free loot gone to waste!

With a scowl, I pulled my phone from my pocket, holding down the power button and quietly encouraging it to turn on, but it remained dead, the screen black as ink. Even if the battery wasn't shot, I doubt I'd be able to do much on it. This is the era of flip phones, which I admit, I always wanted one when I was a kid. They were the hot new thing and all of the coolest movies featured someone with a flip phone! But by the time we had enough to get one, the trend had moved on to a better, more updated version closer to what we have now.

"Is that a phone? How strange."

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the voice near my ear, the phone slipping from my grasp and landing a few feet away. I scrambled to the side to put some distance between me and the blonde from earlier, my heart hammering in my chest.

"Sorry, didn't meet to scare ya," he smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Oh, don't worry, it's not you, it's literally me. I used to be so strong, not flinching at even the scariest of horror movies, but now I jump at the tiniest of sounds. It's kind of pathetic.

He straightened up so he could pick the phone off the ground, turning it over in his hands and tossing it into the air a couple of times to test its weight. "I've never seen anything like this before. Is it a foreign thing?"

"Uhm… s-something like that…"

He hummed thoughtfully before holding it out to me. When I didn't immediately take it, he waved it a bit in front of me. "Here. Hopefully, it didn't break."

My hand shook as I took it from him, muttering a thank you as I shoved it back into my pocket. Whether it broke or not doesn't matter since it's useless here anyway. Silence fell over us and I figured he was going to go inside, but he didn't, choosing instead to plop down on the ground beside me, keeping a bit of distance between us.

"So, what's your story?"

"Eh?" I looked at him in surprise.

His elbow was resting on his knee, chin propped up against his palm as he watched me curiously. It made me uncomfortable because it felt as if he could see through me. "Well, you have to admit that it's a bit strange. The way you act, how you managed to catch Draken's attention and get saved by him not once but twice. You have no money and you don't seem to have a place to stay, either."

I knew what he was getting at; he thinks I worked my way here with some kind of intention, whether that's to hurt them or spy on them. He's trying to figure out if I'm the enemy and I know I'm not, but I still feel nervous under his scrutinizing gaze. One of my biggest fears has always been that I would get into trouble because my nervousness makes me look guilty even though I've done nothing wrong. Looks like I can check that fear off the list of shit I hope never happens. What do I even say? 'I'm not your enemy' doesn't seem like the best option, but it's the only thing coming to mind. He didn't say it outright, he just implied it, so if I were to bring it up like that… wouldn't that just make me seem even more suspicious?

"Jeez, you overthink things a lot, don't you?"

I frowned, picking at a loose piece of thread on my shorts. "I… I'm not… your enemy."

"I don't trust you," he stated calmly, making my shoulders tense up. "But for whatever reason, Draken seems to and I trust him. Just know that Toman is not a place you can infiltrate and destroy from the inside."

Toman? What the fuck is a Toman?

If he noticed my confusion, he ignored it as he stood up, dusting off the seat of his pants. "I'm going to sleep. Don't stay out too long, the temperature is dropping."

I listened to his footsteps heading for the door, disappearing inside as the door creaked closed behind him. Seriously, what the fuck is a Toman and why does it make me feel scared thinking of it? Oh god, what if they're a gang? Or a cult? Yeah, no, I'm out. There's only one cult I'll willingly join and it's centered around a fucking sims 4 character on the internet. Before he could decide to come back outside, I stood up and walked as fast as my legs would carry me, not looking over my shoulder once.

I don't know what these guys are into and I don't want to know. I've had enough fucking craziness to last me two lifetimes! I know I wanted to change and actually get out to experience the world, but this is a bit of overkill! I don't want a dangerous or exciting life, I want a quiet, safe life where I sit behind a computer pretending to be a rogue who saved the fucking kingdom and befriended a dragon or that hoe that spent hundreds of millions of dollars on virtual cars despite knowing nothing about cars in real life!

I've done a lot of shitty things in my life, but nothing bad enough to deserve this. If god exists, he's a cruel bastard playing with us like an Irishman playing with his sims. Well, I'm done being a pawn for some deity's amusement. I have no fucking idea what I'm going to do, but I'm out.